Indian Melon Curry

2 tablespoons oil
1/2 brown onion, finely chopped
2 thin slices fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/4 to one chilli pepper, minced
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cardamon seeds, crushed
pinch of salt
3 cups rock melon or honeydew melon, cubed
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons honey

Heat oil. Fry onion, fresh ginger, chilli pepper until soft.
Add turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin and crushed cardamon. Stir and fry for one minute.
Add melon cubes, and stir to combine with spices.
Reduce heat to medium.
Add the lemon juice and honey. Mix well, bring to boil over medium heat.
Simmer one or two minutes to heat the melon.
Serve hot or cold.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 thin slices laos, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh chilli, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon blachan shrimp paste
1 cup cooked meat, finely sliced
1/2 cup cashew nuts
3 to 4 cups cooked rice
spring onions or fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Heat the oil. Add onions, garlic, fresh chilli and laos, and gently fry until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add coriander, cumin and blachan and stir for about one minute.
Add nuts and cooked meat.
Add the cooked rice, and gently heat.
Serve garnished with spring onions or fresh coriander leaves.

Note: laos, a spice much like fresh ginger, can be found in oriental shops or some vegetable shops. If you cannot obtain it, you may leave it out.

Mushroom and Onion Quiche

This beautiful recipe makes good use of the wild mushrooms I collect in the Australian autumn, usually in May. Depending on the weather, I sometimes find them as early as February. I chop them, cook them simply in olive oil, and then freeze them.

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
3/4 cup milk
1 small onion, chopped very finely
2 large eggs
250g (1/2 lb) fresh mushrooms, sliced
125g (1/4 lb) bacon, fried and drained
250g (1/2 lb) cheddar cheese, shredded
one 23 cm (9inch) pie shell, baked

Saute onion in butter 3 to 4 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and continue cooking for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; drain and cool slightly. Sprinkle crumbled bacon into pie shell. Cover with onion-mushroom mixture. Cover with grated cheese. Lightly beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 230 degrees Celsius (450 degrees Farenheit ) f0r 12 minutes. Reduce oven to 150 C (300 F) and bake for 25 to 40 minutes until set.


This recipe comes from a website called "the Kitchen of Babsonline", but it appears to have vanished from the online world.

Mocha Frosting

This quick and simple recipe makes enough frosting to sandwich two layers. Or save half the quantity for another single layer cake.

1/2 cup butter, softened
5 cups icing (powdered) sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup strong coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
milk (optional)

Cream butter at medium speed in an electric mixer. Add sugar, cocoa, coffee, and vanilla, beating until fluffy. Add enough milk, if necessary, to make frosting a spreading consistency, beating well.

Onion Tart 2

This onion tart is simple to make, and less rich than the earlier one featured in this blog. It is best if left until the following day.

4 tablespoons olive oil or butter
6 medium onions (about 900 g/1.9 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced
3 thyme sprigs
salt
one sheet shortcrust pastry for 23 (9 inch) cm flan tin or ceramic dish

Heat the oil or butter in a low-sided heavy-bottomed pan. Cook the onions over medium slow heat until soft and juicy. This will take about 30 minutes. Add salt and cook a few minutes more. Put into a bowl to cool. If the onions are very juicy, pour them into a strainer over a bowl to drain. Remove the liquid.
Roll out the pastry into the flan tin or ceramic dish.
Spread the onions over the dough (removing the thyme sprigs as you go).
Bake on the bottom rack of a preheated 190 C/375 F for 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown on the bottom. Slide the tart on a rack to cool. Serve warm.

Note: You may add some black olives and anchovies for more flavour, if desired.

This is an adapted recipe from Alice Waters' book, "The Art of Simple Food: Recipes, Notes and Lessons from a Delicious Revolution", 2007.

Pavlova

This classic Australian dessert looks good and tastes even better, and my guests said recently it was the best pavlova they have ever tasted!

Serves 6 to 8.

6 egg whites, at room temperature
pinch salt
2 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
whipped cream for filling
fruit or other topping of your choice

If you have a gas oven, preheat it to very hot (230 C/450 F) before starting to mix pavlova. If you have an electric oven, preheat it to slow (150 C/300 F).

Beat egg whites with salt at high speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop beating when all sugar has been incorporated and fold in vinegar and vanilla.

Pile mixture into a greased 20 cm (8 inch) china flan dish and lightly smooth top.
OR pile mixture into a greased 20 cm (8 inch) springform tin and lightly smooth top.
OR cover a baking tray with greased foil, mark a 20 cm (8 in) circle; mould up sides with a spatula and make a slight depression on top.

If using a gas oven, turn heat to lowest temperature, put pavlova in and bake 1 1/2 hour or until crip on top and a pale straw colour.

If using an electric oven, put pavlova in and bake 45 minutes, then turn oven off and leave with door shut for 1 hour.

When pavlova is cooked, remove from oven and cool completely. Remove sides of springform tin, if using. Fill pavlova generously with whipped cream, then with your choice of topping.

NOTE: The meringue may be sprinkled with blanched, slivered almonds before baking. They will toast to a golden brown.

This recipe comes from Margaret Fulton's "Encyclopaedia of Food and Cookery", 1983.

Onion Tart

Ingredients:
one 23 cm (9 inch) shortcrust pastry base
1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) mixed butter and oil
250 g (8 oz) onions, sliced
1 cup (125 g/ 4 0z) grated Gruyere cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup (125 ml / 4 fl oz) heavy cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
6 black olives, pitted

Preparation and cooking:
Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and gently saute the onions for 8 minutes without browning. Remove from the heat.
In a bowl, mix together the cheese, eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Stir this into the onions. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 C (400 F).
Decorate the tart with the olives and serve hot or cold.

This recipe is based on the Onion Tart recipe in Jean Conil and Fay Franklin's book, "The Flavours of France: Fabulous Vegetarian Cuisine for Every Occasion".

Manhattan Cheesecake

This cheesecake is just plain delicious, with no base.

Serves 10 t0 12.

Ingredients:
500g (1 lb) cream cheese
500g (1 lb) ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
4 large eggs
60g (2 oz) butter, melted
3 tablespoons each of flour and cornflour, sifted together
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sour cream

Decoration:
1 cup cream, whipped
strawberries or other fresh fruit

Preparation:
Combine cheeses and beat well until creamy. Gradually add sugar, then beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in melted butter, flour, cornflour and vanilla. Fold in sour cream. Spoon mixture into an ungreased 23 cm (9 inch) springform tin. Bake in centre of a preheated moderately slow oven (160 C/325 F) for 1 hour (cake will still be soft in centre). Turn off the heat and leave cake in oven for 2 hours. Remove and cool completely in tin, standing on a wire rack. When quite cold, chill for at least 2 hours before removing sides of tin and transferring to a serving plate. Decorate as wished, using whipped cream and fruit.

This recipe is from Margaret Fulton's "Encyclopaedia of Food and Cookery".

Tart Lemon Frosting

I put this frosting on lemon cake or cupcakes, or vanilla cake.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups of icing (confectioner's) sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 dash salt

Preparation:
Add lemon rind to butter, cream well. Add part of sugar gradually, blending after each addition. Add remaining sugar alternately with lemon juice, until of right consistency to spread, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add salt.

This recipe is from the Recipe Goldmine website.

Pad Thai

This is my favourite recipe for Pad Thai (or Thai Fried Noodles). The best part of making this dish is the garnish.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup small cooked prawns
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 eggs, beaten
375g (3/4 pound) rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained
1 cup bean sprouts

Garnish:
1 tablespoon dried prawn powder
2 tablespoons peanuts, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes (or powder)
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped
2 limes, very finely sliced

Cooking:
Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic until golden. Quickly add the prawns and stir fry until heated through. Add the sugar, fish sauce and ketchup and stir until sugar dissolves. Add the beaten eggs, letting them set slightly, then stir to scramble. Add the noodles and toss and stir for about 2 minutes. Reserving about 4 tablespoons of the bean sprouts, add the remainder to the wok. Stir over heat until the bean sprouts are barely cooked. Turn the Pad Thai onto a platter, placing the reserved, raw bean sprouts on one side.

Presentation:
Sprinkle the noodles with the garnish ingredients in the following order: prawn powder, peanuts, chilli flakes, green onions, coriander leaves. Ring the platter with the lime slices and serve.

This recipe comes from Jennifer Brennan's "The Original Thai Cookbook".