Couscous! Mediterranean Style

Couscous, where have you been all my life?

I remember my sister making a Mediterranean couscous years ago (It was amazing!) And I’ve bought store couscous salad, which isn’t bad. But OMG, homemade is waaaay better!

It’s not only delicious and versatile, but, it’s so simple;

Cut up a whole lot of salad stuff and place in a bowl; I went for a Mediterranean style, but you can add anything – even veggies, like peas, corn, broccoli etc

In a bowl I added cherry tomatoes, chopped spinach, mushrooms, red capsicum, cucumber, mustard seeds, garlic and olives – with a good drizzle of a homemade vinaigrette.

You can also roast some sweet potato and carrot to add in when cooled – the ideas are endless!

For every 1 cup of couscous (uncooked), add 2/3 cup of boiled water – straight from the kettle. I did 2 cups and it’s made a salad big enough for sharing at a BBQ – if you want to share. I also sprinkled in a teaspoon of vegetable stock (1 cube)

As soon as the hot water hits the couscous, it starts to absorb, keep fluffing with a fork then once water is absorbed just cover the bowl and leave on the bench to cool.

Now you have a bowl of yummy salad and a bowl of cooled couscous – add it all together and it’s done.

We’ll be having our couscous with the scotch fillet steaks, now marinating in the fridge.

Cheers!

Western Australian Rock Lobster

What does a writer do when not writing? Cook, of course!

Well, this is how I love to show my family I love them. And on a hot summer night, champagne cocktails are a great starter.

And in Western Australia, we have beautiful beaches, gorgeous weather and scrumptious produce.

I had a go at cooking up two Western Australian rock lobsters (AKA crayfish) and they were delicious.

Here’s some quick and easy steps, if you’d like to give it a go;

When you buy them, or are gifted them from someone who likes fishing, they’ll usually be already boiled and be a glorious orange colour.

First, once thawed, you’ll need to get yourself a large, sharp knife. Cut longways down the centre; make the first slice from the grove which looks like the head, toward the eyes. Then slice from the same same point directly down the tail.

See the long stringy thing on the tail? That’s the intestine, so you’ll need to gently pull that up and out – it should come away easy.

Then using a smaller, sharp knife, gently remove that brown/green gunk – you can rinse this part under some cold tap water, but try not to wet the meat too much or it takes a lot of the flavour!

To add over my Lobster, for a quick bake in the oven, I made up a spicy garlic butter. But you can do any creation.

I spooned some on each Lobster half and drizzled with olive oil – you can drizzle with melted butter – and a squeeze of lemon.

These beauties went into the oven for 10 minutes (make sure it’s pre-heated!) at 180 degrees.

To accompany our WA Rock Lobster, I whipped up a quick broccoli and spinach linguine – some green to go with that vibrant orange.

I was very happy with result!

Easy Beef Curry & Sweet Potato Dahl

I love to cook on a Sunday afternoon, when the chores are done and I’ve spent time writing. Being married to a Burmese guy, I’ve learned to cook simple, healthy curries the whole family can enjoy (yes, even those fussy eaters and the “I don’t eat hot” kind of people).

For over 20 years I’ve been perfecting my curries, with minor adjustments to how and how often I create a curry.

The most important thing about cooking a good curry is not what goes in, but the length of time it cooks for – three hours on a Sunday afternoon is perfect!

Also, you need to cook with ingredients that are easy to find or already in your pantry. Every Burmese curry I’ve ever cooked has five main ingredients ( always in my kitchen).

1. Onion

2. Coriander

3. Ginger

4. Garlic

And lots of love ❤️

Here’s my most cooked curry; Beef and Chick Pea.

1 onion (chopped)

5 or 6 curry leaf (don’t worry if you can’t get your hands on these)

3-4 coriander bunches (wash, cut off roots and chop stalks – keep the leaves for later)

1 teaspoon chilli powder or 2 chopped fresh/dried chillies (optional)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 teaspoons chopped ginger

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1kg beef (diced) – buy the cheapest cut, like casserole or chuck

2 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce or soy sauce (fish sauce has a smell that isn’t for everyone)

1/2 tin of diced tomatoes

1 heaped tablespoon of a good curry paste. I make my own, which can be stored in the fridge for days, but a jar from your local Asian grocery would work too

Method<<<<<<<<<<<<<
on, garlic, ginger, coriander, curry leaf, paprika, turmeric, cumin seeds and chilli in a teaspoon of coconut oil.

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ow the ingredients to mingle, turn down the heat to medium, add half a tin of diced tomatoes – let the juice reduce and add a teaspoon salt. You don't want the ingredients spitting at you , but it needs to fry for a minute.

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the beef, stir and coat the cubes with the gorgeous paste.

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At this stage, add the fish sauce and stir. The chick peas are next, drained before going in.

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n the heat up a little, add your curry paste and mix the ingredients well. You should be wrapped up in the aromas of Asia right now!

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There should be plenty of juices for this curry to simmer in for the next two to three hours, but if you like you can add 1 cup of water ( I’ve used coconut water before and it’s a lovely add to the Asian aroma).

Turn the heat right down to a gentle simmer and relax.

Or make a sweet potato Dahl to go with your delicious curry?

You’ll need;

1 teaspoon oil

1 small onion (diced)

1 clove garlic (crushed)

1 stem coriander ( keep leaves for later)

1 small sweet potato

2-3 curry leaves

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

Add these into a medium saucepan and fry gently.

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n the ingredients are soft and blended, add about 170 grams of red lentils ( about half of a 375 gram bag).

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Add water to cover about an inch over the top. You can always add water as the lentils soak it up, but it’s harder to dry it down. (Vegetable stock works well too)

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Add the sweet potato, carefully – turmeric stains!

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Bring to the boil – don’t look away, it might bubble over! Then, turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

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Taste for salt and add small handful of coriander leaves to garnish.

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Have I made you hungry?