Pineapple Strawberry Mint Sorbet

It's been a hot day, and I cooked up a fabulous pizza for tea, but that was hot too.

While I was outside picking some of my happy greens for my pizza I had this marvellous idea.  I could make strawberry mint sorbet.  I was trying to think of what other flavours I should include... I have lemons, that could give it a bit of zing.  But then I saw the pineapple - yes!  Perfect.  It was better than I imagined it would be.

Approx 400 grams of frozen strawberries.
1/3 a large pineapple, with the peel cut off
5-6 fresh mint leaves.

Blend for approx 2 minutes on speed 9.  Check for no lumps, but otherwise - that's it!

Try not to eat too quickly as it will give you a cold headache.  ;)  This makes 3-4 serves.  I think.  Depending on how hot it is, how hungry you are, and your ice cream eating habits.  I know males who could have easily eaten the whole lot themselves!

If you don't have a Bellini, Thermomix, Kogan, al, etc. a good blender should do the trick, but be careful that you don't kill it.

Homemade Pizza

Tonight I was going to hang out with some friend and celebrate end of exams - or at least end of my exams, but we was all too tired.  So instead of eating out I decided I had better create my own delicious dinner.

I've been dying to try homemade pizza since I saw this recipe for the base on Jo Whitton's blog, Quirky Cooking.  It was amazing.  Just in case you were wondering.  ;)

Crust as per Jo's instructions.  Be careful though, I burnt my top base because it was too hot in the oven, and I sliced 10 minutes off the cooking time too!  I would stick with putting them on bottom shelves, and don't accidentally splash too much oil on them - I think that makes it worse.

Joy diced up 3 cloves of garlic for me (speed 9, 5 seconds), I then added 8 small tomatoes (speed 9, 10 seconds), and cooked on steam temperature for two minutes, I added 1/2 small brown onion.  This took about 4 minutes to get from watery, to tomato paste.

Spread 1/2 of tomato paste on base, add olives and 1/2 onion, cook for 5 minutes while you clean up the mess you just created... (oven temp 180C)

Pull it out and add other toppings (mushroom, parsley, mixed herbs, baby spinach, spring onion, and the rest of the tomato paste to hold it on.)

Cook for 10 more minutes... delicious!!!  Mmmmm, the whole house smelled wonderful.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Dash of Macadamia Nut Oil
3 cloves of garlic
3 tins of coconut milk
3 carrots
1/2 bunch of kale
1 brown onion
1/2 bunch of spring onion
1 capsicum
2 small zuccini

1 broccoli head
1/2 cauliflower
Additional dried garlic, curry, tumeric - to taste

Method:

Chop and cook the chicken in a wok or huge frying pan.

After a few minutes add the onion and 1 tin of coconut milk.

Blitz the garlic and add.

Blitz the carrot, broccoli and cauliflower in a blender until they are fairly small chunks, but not tiny, add them, stir in a bit.

Blitz kale and add.

Add another tin of coconut milk.

Add other herbs and spices.

Blitz capsicum, and zuccini and add (if you wanted more veg then you could add eggplant and/or mushroom here - especially if you want a vegan version.)

Stir in final tin of coconut milk.

Cook for a few more minutes, and then it should be done.  (taste test - curry amounts vary on the strength of the curry and the stomach of the person eating it.)

This can easily be vegan, just skip the chicken, and it should still be just as delicious.

Menu Plan

I've been meaning to create one of these for months.  I just couldn't work it out.  However, the power of procrastination, plus lots of exposure to foodies, al etc., has combined to bring me my first ever menu plan, and gosh, I want to make it all and sample it all, all at once.  It's okay.  I have self control and can wait.  Anyhow, for anyone else who is struggling and perhaps hasn't got the combined powers behind them here is my plan for a start... and for those friends visiting for tea... now you know what you're in for - for the next 2 weeks anyway.  ;)  I aim to take photos (except of all those salad & chicken meals) and post recipes.  As I'm liable to forget - if you want something in particular let me know/remind me... 

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Lunch	Salad & Chicken	Salad & Tuna	Salad & Chicken	Salad & hake/dory battered with pysllium husk	Salad & Chicken	Salad &chicken/legumes	Salad & Salmon
Tea	Pizza (chicken)	Spag bog with mung bean pasta	Roast chicken	Salad & Lamb chops	Apricot Chicken	Beef Stew	Re-heated/Leftovers
Lunch	Chicken/Salmon Salad	Salad & Tuna	Left over Mexican wraps	Turkey rissoles & Salad	Stir Fry	Left over chicken with wraps	Salad & Salmon
Tea	Home made Pizza	Mexican: Beans w mince on cc, salad chopped, covered with chilli tomato, avo & cashew cream	Turkey rissoles with cooked veg	Shepherd’s Pie	Roast Lemon Pepper Chicken	Meat Pie with peas	Re-heated/Leftovers

Other ideas: Lasagne, pumpkin soup, veggie soup, cabbage rolls, stuffed capsicum, meatloaf, crunchy chicken noodles, cold rolls, home-made bread & BBQ;

Sweets ideas: fruit crumble, fruit toast, fruit salad, frozen fruit cake, coconut chocolate icecream;