The famous Laura Thai Marinade

My thai marinade has become infamous with those who frequent our dinner table and also when we are invited to barbeques. I get asked for the recipe all the time, so finally folks, here is the secret to my Thai success!

This amount makes enough marinade to coat 6 chicken skewers, or 2 pieces of meat.

Combine the following in a bowl or measuring cup:

• 1 stalk lemon grass, end roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbs olive or peanut oil (I use olive)
• 1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded if desired
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 Tbs fish sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar

Mix well, so the sugar dissolves. Pour over your favourite meat - I have done this with chicken, turkey and fish and all have turned out superbly. I think it would taste good on pork, but unsure about red meats.

The marinading can be done an hour before cooking the meat. I usually give it 4 hours.

The meat can then be grilled, barbequed or baked.

Thai marinade in action!

On Tuesday night I had 3 of my gorgeous girlfriends over for dinner and we were having so much fun and laughing without the need for alcohol!

Our dinner was detox friendly, pregnancy friendly and dairy free. 

Not only did we have Thai marinade chicken, but we also had sweet potato slices shallow fried in coconut oil, garlicky goodness snowpeas and a simple & delicious salad provided by Kate & Erin - toasted almonds, broccolini, avocado, tomato and lettuce mix in a balsamic dressing.

Spicy garlicky cripsy goodness snow peas & salmon

Ok, I think the title gives you the idea on what this is all about.

Recipe inspired from myrecipes.com, snow peas fresh from my in-laws garden :)

Tonights meal - hoisin glazed salmon, with steamed vegies and spicy garlic snow peas!

Hoisin salmon: 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 2 teaspoons of tamari (or soy sauce) and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Marinading only needed to be done 10 minutes prior to cooking. I cooked mine in a fry pan with a bit of coconut oil, but it can also be baked.

The snow peas were the star of this dish and I had to share how to make AMAZING snow peas in 5 minutes!

Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add snow peas and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in 2 crushed garlic cloves and your choice of spices (I used Shichimi pepper mix); sauté for 1 minute. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon sugar; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil. Spicy, garlicky, sweet, crispy goodness.

And the steam vegies on the side, look to my steam vegies blog for more on those!

Whats on tonights menu? Quinoa Tabouli!

Ok, so its not really tabouli. Tabouli is traditionally made with bulgur, parsley and tomatoes chopped up. This is a bunch of other things chopped up, but its pretty and green and still just as nice to have as a side.

With winter approaching, its important to keep up our leafy greens. They are still out there growing, but because we associate making salads as a summer affair, we tend to skip our raw crunchy fresh veg and replace it with roasted goodies. Don’t get me wrong, roasted vegetables still are a fantastic source of nutrients, however some nutrients can be lost in cooking, so its important to keep up the raw stuff as well!

This salad is chock full of leafy greens, which are a powerhouse of nutritional goodness and are one of the most concentrated sources of nutrients in foods. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium) and vitamins (including vitamin C, E, K and many of the B vitamins). They also contain a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin which are important for protecting cells from eye damage and age-related problems.  The darker the green, the richer the nutrients. Kale (also known as Tuscan cabbage) is a favourite among naturopaths and healthy food followers as it very dark green and therefore very nutritious (and delicious!).  To learn more about kale, goto my friend Natalies brilliant blog, where she shows you how to cook kale in 5 ways... http://nataliethenaturopath.tumblr.com/post/21426066710/kale-five-ways-part-i-kale-smoothie

Now its salad making time!

How to make...

1. Cook up ¾ cup of raw quinoa (pronounced keen-WAH) in a rice cooker (the ratio of water to quinoa is 2:1) or saucepan. It should take about 20 minutes to cook. Drain (if cooked in a saucepan) and allow it to cool.
2. Toast a handful of pine nuts in a frypan on a low heat. Once they start to be aromatic and turn golden, take off the heat, they can burn quite quickly. Set aside to cool. *This is an optional extra, but adds new dimensions when added to foods!
3. Using a knife or food chopper (not sure if thats the official name of it, but it chops food, so therefore I name it this!), chop up finely your greens. This can be whatever greens you want. Tonight I used a mix of spinach, rocket, kale and basil. I used a few handfuls of spinach, 1 handful of rocket, a handful of basil and 10ish kale leaves (stalks removed).You could also add parsley, mint (if you’re after a freshness, but I wouldn’t add much), beetroot greens, coriander, mustard greens, carrot tops, celery leaves, bok choy...  Once finely chopped, put into your salad bowl.
4. Chop up any extra ingredients you want. This not only gives you colour, but provides the extra flavours which will complement your greens. Tonight I added pine nuts (see above), sundried tomatoes, red onion and capsicum. Stuck for other vegies to add? I’ve also used tomatoes, carrot and celery. Use your palate to decide what you want. Add the chopped extras to the bowl with the greens.
5. Just before serving, combine all ingredients, add cracked pepper, olive oil and a dash of sesame oil (if you have it), then toss.

Serves 4.

This can served as a side (as pictured above), or by itself. Tonight I served it will salmon cooked in coconut oil and topped with salt, pepper and shichimi (Japanese pepper mix).

Don’t be afraid of your kitchen, it can smell your fear. Instead, face it head on armed with a bunch of ingredients and show it what you can do!

 –Laura x

Whats on tonight's menu? Ridiculously Easy Pasta!

I grew up on supermarket pasta sauces. Ads make them look delish, showing a saucepan filled with tomato, garlic, onion and other herbs which have been gently simmering together.  Apparently this saucepan of goodness is the sauce you buy in the jar.  I don’t know what half of the ingredients are on the back of those sauce jars, but I know its not like an Italian mamma used to make!

People buy stuff in a jar because its convenient and easy. I offer you a pasta sauce which is ridiculously easy, 100% real food ingredients and healthy for you too!

All you need...

• Roma tomatoes (2-3 big ones, or 5-6 small ones)
• 1 Red onion
• Fresh basil leaves,torn up (a small handful should do)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

*****

1. Chop up your onion and gently fry.
2. When onions are translucent, add the tomatoes (which are diced up to your desired level of chunkiness), plus some salt & pepper to taste. Allow it to simmer gently (just like the ads!)
3.  Add the basil a few minutes before the pasta is cooked.
4. Once the pasta is drained, put the pasta back in the saucepan, add the sauce plus a few drizzles of olive oil. Toss, then serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese.

Yep, thats it.  And you can improvise with this too – pine nuts, garlic, carrot, fresh mince, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, chilli, beans, rosemary, oregano, parsley – all these can be added to the sauce.  My sauce tonight has added sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and garlic.

Simmering up a storm!

 To keep the healthiness going in this dish, avoid using white pasta. There is little nutritional value in white pasta and it has a high glycemic index (which means it will give you a high energy boost quickly, followed by a quick energy drop). Wholemeal pasta, buckwheat pasta or spelt pasta has a lower glycemic index (lower energy release) and contains fibre. Did I mention that they taste good as well?

Bon appétit!  

-Laura x

Creamy sauces on a non-refrigerated shelf... anyone else think this is just plain wrong??

Whats on tonights menu? Pesto crumbed salmon!

Whats on tonights menu?

Tonight its roast vegies (beetroot, zucchini, capsicum and onion) with pesto-crusted salmon. I make my own pesto and breadcrumbs, so heres the recipe for one of my favourite dinners:

Pesto:

In a food processor, blend up:

2 cups washed, fresh baby spinach leaves and rocket mix

2 garlic cloves

¼ cup pine nuts

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbsp parmesan cheese (use fresh stuff, not powdered!)

Small handful of fresh basil leaves

Pepper to taste

I make my own breadcrumbs in a coffee grinder. After looking up the ingredients on the back of pre-made crumb mixes,  you will be motivated to make your own crumbs too!

Smear the pesto on your salmon, then sprinkle with crumbs. Cook for 25 minutes in a 180 degree oven.

Too easy and tastes great!