~Strange Veggie? Im all over that!~

Remember that strange veggie i showed you all in my last post? See that mushy yellow stuff up there next to the delish french onion roast and green beans and asparagus? Thats the strange veggie i showed you! Looks strange still doesnt it? Well like the saying goes "Dont judge a book by its cover!" That strange veggie is a rutabaga! Funny name? YUP! I often say it over and over and over again just cuz it sounds funny :P LOL Yup thats how i roll baby! Anyway you have heard me use this before remember that tasty soup i shared with you all? You know "the best soup i eva made" Well this time instead of keeping them in chunks we went for "mashed" rutabaga! Now my son does not enjoy potatoes...at all..he will "eat" them...but he does NOT enjoy them so he tells me LOL, but anyway he had mashed rutabaga for the first time a couple of wks ago over at Angie's during our weekly dinner and games on our usual friday nite! I did not attened that evening as it was when i was stuck in bed trying to die? *shrug* But the report from Hubby was that "Loche ate that stuff first before he touched his meat on his plate?!?" Now thats impressive for him cuz he loves his meat... Im not sure exactly how she prepared it other than it was mashed! So i decided while my french onion roast was simmering away i would do something different other then mashed potatoes to go with it!

Dont bother "washing" it before you peel and cut this sucker up....It is coated in wax it feels weird....and its kinda sucky to peel!

OH and these things are TOUGH to cut....This is my really long expensive knife....STUCK in the rutabaga..LOL nothing a lil counter bashing didnt help get it unstuck!

Take that mista rutabaga! Ima show u who's boss! So yes cut it peel it and then hunk n chunk it into bit sizes just cuz its easier to cook and mash when said and done...

Now wash it :) then i tossed it into a smallish pot

Threw in half a leek thinly sliced a tablespoon of garlic some salt and pepper and enough homemade chicken stock to almost cover the cubes...i leave the lid of the pot off till it starts boiling then i place the lid on and countine to boil. I check every once in awhile to see how the cubes are cooking when they are almost tender enough but still alittle firm i leave the lid off and turn it down to medium and let continue to cook with the lid off so that he stock cooks down (no one wants runny mashed anything!)

Once tender and ready for mashing i turn the heat off and let them sit for a few mins, then i start mashing them :) Now this is suprisingly sweet so taste it to see if ou need or even want to add more salt...I didnt as i added it b4 i started boiling them! I added about 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream to help thicken them up and give them a lil more "fluff"

And taadaaa! This is what that strange veggie turned out to be after a lil make over by me :D Just like at Angie's, this was the first thing Loche ate he made quick work of it numming away while enjoying every bite! And he had seconds of this which i didnt mind at all as Rutabaga's are pretty good for you! Click HERE to find out how good they are for you! Oh and if your wondering what a rutabaga taste like....My guys say it tastes almost like when you bite into sweet corn! I however do not agree with them LOL i think it has a taste of its own its a lil sweet but tart n tangy at the same time! Depends how you cook it!

I will post the recipe for the french onion roast and creamy balsalmic green beans and asparagus on a different post :)

Do YOU Kroger??

No food post 2nite i wanted to share some pics and what we have been up to!

Ore does! Hehe yea she was NOT impressed....But she looked so cute!

Loche and Duety getting ready for bed! Best of buds these 2 r!

Look at my handsome boys!

These eyes get so much attention its scarry! He has always gotten comments even when he was a baby!

This was us Valentine's Day before we headed out for the day!

We seen this movie! It was a geat movie! Straight after the movie we baught the sound track! I have not stopped listening to it since i LOVE this cd!

I got my hair cut and coloured as my hubbys bday was coming up! LOVE my hair dresser she is awesome!

Hubby turned 31! On the 19th of Feb! We had a great wkend celebration! This was one of 3 cakes he had that wkend :)

Here he is with his dad :) we invited friends and family to celebrate Nates bday at a resturant called Nagoya were we all sat around a Habatichi grill and the chefs cooked our meals in front of us!

Oh and did i mention we all got tattoos in the begining of Jan?? Yep we sure did... Hubby, Kev, Joe, Angie and myself! It was a group thing we did and we all love our tatts!

Hubbys tatt!

Kev's Tatt

Joe's Tatt

Angie's Tatt!

And here are mine...Yep i got 2! These are placed on either side of the back of my hips, no they are not considered "tramp stamps" lol... they have alot of meaning last year i lost both my childhood pets...I never got to make it home and see them and say good bye... I lost Shannel in april she was a very old kitty and i lost my baby Mootsy just afte christmas....So these tatts represent them they have Faerie wings and they looking at each other from across my hips..

I only have one pictured but you can get an understanding of what they are and where they are :) I would show them both BUT you would be subject to seeing my butt crack LOL! And i refuse to do that to u all!

So yes that is my post for this evening....Over the wkend i will be posting an interesting dish featuring this strange veggie!

~Mild Curry Pumkin Soup YUMO~

Monday just gone was yet another Meatless Monday! Yep im posting it late only because i had so many other YUMMY recipes to share! We skipped meatless monday the wk b4 as i was sick in bed and neither of the guys would have followed threw with making a MEATLESS meal LOL..

So here it is this simply delish dish is not only tasty but SUPA DUPA easy!

~Mild Curry Pumkin Soup~

2 Onions cut chunky!

1 butternut squash(one of the ones from my local fruit n veg stand!)
1 Sweet Potato

1 Sweet Dumpling squash

1 Sweet Potato squash

Salt and Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder

1-2 Tablespoons of Mild English Curry Powder
Olive Oil (enough to coat the veggies for roasting)

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream

2 roasting pans!

Preheat your oven to 370 degrees, skin your squashes and wash :) cut the onion up chunky and divide up into the 2 pans. Coat the veggies in some olive oil enough so that they dont stick to the pans while roasting! Sprinkle with S&P to taste, then sprinkle evenly over the 2 dishes your garlic powder and curry powder! You will want to roast these babies until they are good and soft so you can mash them easily! I think mine baked for about an hour. At that point i pulled the pans out and began mashing them in their pans with a eggflip type spatular! Then i added the cream to each pan and continued to pour the mashed goodness into a big bowl :) so i could use my hand blender to cream and smooth out the rest of the soup! If its to thick dont worry you can always add stock to it! But we like it nice and thick as its extremely filling that way (according to my boys!) You can put sour cream onto or freshly grated cheese to garnish as well but in this house we like it just like that with a nice thick slice of crusty sour dough bread!

~Pesto Beef and Creamy Fennel Veggies~

~Pesto Beef~

Couple pounds of thinly sliced beef, 1 large onion, 2 tablespoons of garlic, 3 heaped tablespoons of pesto, 1/2 cup of chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste.

Heat your skillet/pan up nice and hot add a lil olive oil make sure its nice and hot b4 tossing the onions and garlic in! Once they have cooked a lil sprinkle some salt into the mix to help the onions release some of their liquid. Now i used home made pesto that i froze in the summer so i broke off what "looked" like 3 heaping tablespoonfuls of pesto it cold have been more! But we love pesto in this house so more is GOOD! Let the pesto cook in with the onions and then add your sliced beef! Add your stock once the beef has sealed put the lid on your pan and walk away! Make sure your pan isnt to HOT otherwise we might have problems when you return to stir it :D Let the meat and onions cook down for a good 20 or so mins! If you find that it is sticking to the pan you might want to add some more stock! Keeping the lid on helps the meat cook nicely into the sauce! The longer you cook it the stronger the flavor i found! Goes really well with the Creamy Fennel Veggies and pasta!

~Creamy Fennel Veggies~

Gather around your fav veggies or even once you dont like for that matter as this will surely make them tasty!

Pictured here in my mix is

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Sweet Potato Chunks

Cabbage

you will ofcourse need;

Onions

Garlic

Ground Fennel (1-2 heaped teaspoonfuls)

Heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon of butter

Some S&P

and Olive Oil

Heat your pan add your oil and butter then toss in your onions and garlic, let them saute a lil then add your sweet potatoes toss them threw, now slowly adding your heavy whipping cream keep it moving so it doesnt thicken n stick to your pan making a terrible mess! Once the cream has been added i started sprinkling the gorund fennel into the sauce!

I added my shredded cabbage next so that it cooked down! Once it had cooked down i added the rest of the veggies making sure there was enough sauce coating everything! I then turned the pan to simmer and put the lid on and cook for another 5-10mins as my boys are not fans of MUSHY veggies :) i served these tasty veggies with the pesto beef and noodles BIG HIT with my boys!

~Spicey Seafood Noodles and Sweet Soy Green Beans and Cabbage~

YUP thats what was for dinner sunday nite!

Doesnt it look fantastic?!

It was SO spicey but OH SO tasty!

~Noodles~

Onions, Chilli paste, Garlic, Miso paste, Salty Soy Sauce, Few cups of your fav seafood! This mix had mussels, crab, fish, octopuss, squid, shrimp and scallops!

Get your wok out :) heat it up good n hot with a couple tablespoonfuls of oil, when nice and hot throw your sliced onions, garlic and chilli paste! Dont forget the chilli will take your breath away once it hits the hot oil! Once its sizzling away in the wok toss your seafood in! Mix it up good threw that spicey sauce, add a couple of tablespoons of miso paste now the liquid from the seafood should help water down the miso paste if its still a lil thick pour a few spoonfuls of your salty soy in! It wont take long at all for the seafood to cook now dont forget do NOT cook your seafood to long specially when it comes to scallops, squid and octopuss! IT will get really TOUGH quickly if you over cook it! Turn the wok off and now add the noodles of your choice! Toss it thew and let it sit there while you get your veggies ready!

MMMM Doesnt that just make our mouth water!

~Veggies~

Green Beans cut up to your liking! Cabbage cut up thinly so it cooks quickly! Sweet Soy.

Take you wok heat some oil in it toss the cabbage in add a little sweet soy so the cabbage cooks down into the sweetness of the soy, then toss your green beans and cook till your liking :) we like then anyway in this house hold whether they are still crunchy or cooked down a lil! Make sure theres enough sweet soy to cover the beans as well! Serve them on top of the spicey noodles! When it comes to spicey food i always serve sliced cucumbers it helps with the spice factor!

~Sweet and Spicey Green Beans~

This is one of the simplest side dishes you could EVER whip up :)

Im wondering if any of you own woks? Woks are awesome things :) I actually have 3 of them! I have a really expensive and 2 cheapy ones that i got from Ikea! (LOVE that store!)

Anyway my point is if you like asian cooking/food you should own a Wok!

Now onto this super easy recipe!

~Ingredients~

Green beans cut bite size or sliced however u like :)

Garlic

Chilli paste

Sweet Soy Sauce

Oil of your choice

~What to do with this stuff!~

So heat that pan/wok up good n hot with your oil in it!

Toss your garlic and chilli paste in! Dont stand to close the chilli will take your breath away! :)

Throw your beans into the mix toss em around in that spicey mix :) when they are to your liking

add your sweet soy stir it up and serve!

These super easy beans are pictured here with the Spicey Coconut Chicken!

~Spicey Coconut Chicken Similar To Malaysian Rendang~

Generally Authentic Malaysian Rendang is done with Beef and Coconut :) and just a few other things (; heh

This is my version of a recipe that my fathers mother taught my mum when she lived in Malaysia! This by no means is a tradional version! Like i said this is my take! My mum has the recipe that was taught to her im pretty sure i have it in one of the books that she wrote for me BUT its not mine to hand out :) this is just as tasty and its alot quicker! Tradional Rendang is a recipe that takes along along time to prepare and cook :)

~Spicey Paste~

So i made up a nice spicey paste to start off with which consisted of chillies, shallots, lemon grass, ginger, garlic and a little bit of galangal root.

I mashed it up good REAL good until it was a smooth paste. This is when those 1 cup food processors actually come of good use! Or you can do it the old fashioned way with a mortar and pestle :)

~What to do with the Spicey Paste~

In a hot pan i throw in some sliced onions and garlic make sure the oil is nice and HOT then i added in my bite sized pieces of boneless skinless chicken pieces! To ensure my chicken is going to be spicey enough i added a couple of tablespoonfuls of chilli powder to the chicken! Once it was almost cooked i added a few tablespoonfuls of the spicey paste to the cooking chicken, make sure the heat isnt to high at this point as you wont want it to burn the paste and chicken! Once the chicken is nicely coated in the paste i added a cup of desiccated coconut to the chicken and paste. I let it cook for awhile at a simmering temp if it starts to get to thick and dry to the point its sticking to your pan, add a little bit of coconut milk BUT you dont want it to be runny/soupy this dish is thick! :)

It is pictured served with brown ric and sweet and spicey green beans! Recipe for that will come soon :)

Sorry for my lack of updating my blog post since Valentine's Day... But i have become sick again..i know i kow excuses excuses! :) Im hoping to kick this thing tho.. I am so over being ill...