Quality chicken stock from a whole chicken

Making stock always seems so time consuming that I have never bothered. I now realise it's worth the effort and a batch of good quality stock goes a long way.

You can freeze the stock as you're unlikely to use the whole lot at once.

I used a whole chicken as it has been recommended that this will produce a stock which is great for your immune system and well being. Also using a whole chicken means that you don't have to deal with all the messy small bones.

I made it without salt as prefer to add the desired amount of salt to whatever I'm cooking but it could be added upfront as well.

1 small free range chicken

2 carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks

2 sticks of celery

3 bay leafs

3 sprigs of thyme

Put all of the ingredients in a stock pot and bring to boil. Then turn it down to a very low heat, cover and let it simmer for 8 hours or so. You can periodically check on it from time to time and scoop off any residue that forms on the top.

Put the stock through sieve and leave in the fridge overnight. The next day you can skim off the white layer of fat and you will be left with a jelly like good quality stock.

Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Syrup

An adapted recipe from Good Chef Bad Chef

I had mine with maple syrup for an indulgent Sunday morning breakfast.

The blueberries melt into the pancakes which will give you some seriously yummy pancakes!

Makes 8-10 pancakes

Serves 4

2 cups self-raising flour
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup muscovado brown sugar
2 1/2 cups of milk
1 punnet of blueberries
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
butter for cooking

To serve:
maple syrup

Sift the flour into a bowl and mix it with the eggs, milk, sugar and bicarbonate of soda. Mix until it is smooth batter without any lumps and leave to rest for half an hour.

Mix the blueberries into the batter. Put a knob of butter into a medium size pan on a low to medium heat. Ladle out the batter into the pan and cook on both sides.

Serve with maple syrup and enjoy!

Lamb meatball and pea curry

This is an all time favourite from I Love Curry by Anjum Anand. In her book the recipe is called 'hearty meatball pea curry' as you could make it with beef or lamb. However I have always made this with lamb and it's just perfect with some basmati rice.

I like to balance it out this meal with small side salad of chopped tomatoes, grated carrots, chopped cucumber and red onion. Dress the salad with a squeeze of lemon juice and touch of pepper and salt.

This is pretty much Anjum's original recipe with minor adaptions such as additional fresh chillies and cinnamon powder.

Serves 4-6

For meatballs

500g minced lamb
3 large sliced of bread, breadcrumbed
1 egg beaten
1 tsp salt
5g fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed

For the sauce

4 fresh tomatoes
20g fresh ginger, grated
5 cloves garlic, crushed
4tbsp mild olive oil
8 green cardamon pods
8-10 cloves
2.5cm cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
2 onions, finely chopped
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
2tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 mace
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
3 handfuls of peas
large handful of coriander

Using your hands mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs until well combined. Make walnut sized meatballs from this mixture and place on a tray. You will get around 25 meatballs.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (preferably non stick). Add all the whole spices including the bay leaves and cook until aromatic (around 30 seconds). Then add the onion along with the green chillies and cook until golden brown. Add the blended tomatoes, ginger, garlic and all the powdered spices including the salt. Cook the sauce on a medium to high heat until the sauce thickens to a paste like texture.

Add 700ml of water and bring to a boil. Pop all the meatballs into the simmering curry. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes, then add the peas, and cook uncovered for further 10 minutes or until the curry has reduced down to a gravy like consistency.

Breakfast Pancakes with Mixed Berries

I love making (& eating!) these on a lazy Sunday morning. The recipe is from Bill's Basics by Bill Granger.

I serve them with mixed berries or whatever fruit I have and a generous drizzle of the good quality honey. The original recipe serves them with maple syrup instead and additional yoghurt. I hope you enjoy them with whatever you like on your pancakes!

A small pan will give you around 24 pancakes as opposed to a large pan which will make around 12 pancakes.

• 2 tbsp lemon suice
• 300ml milk
• 200g plain flour
• 3tsp baking powder
• 2tbsp caster sugar (preferably raw)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 30g butter, melted and cooled (plus some extra for cooking

To serve

• berries
• honey

Stir together the lemon juice and milk and leave for 5 minutes. Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar and eggs, melted butter and a pinch of sea salt. Stir in the milk with the lemon juice.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and brush lightly with butter. Use 2-3 tbsp of batter for each pancake. Cook the pancake for 2 minutes, until bubbles appear on the surface, then turn over and cook for a further minute. Keep them warm on a plate until you cook the rest. Serve them with berries and/or whatever fruit you like and a drizzle of honey.

Comfort Lamb Casserole

It has been a wet weekend in Sydney but on the upside it was a good opportunity to cook this one pot lamb casserole dish; it melts in the mouth when cooked slowly. You can pretty much throw in whatever vegetables you like but the below medley works pretty well. Serve on it's own or with baby steamed potatoes which will soak up the juices nicely. The lamb can be substituted with chicken thighs if preferred.

Any left overs will taste even better the next day. Throw any any left over potatoes into casserole dish and warm through in the oven.

Preheat oven to 150c

Serves 4-6

700g diced lamb
1 leek, sliced
2 onions, sliced
1 suede, cut into large cubes
3 medium carrots, sliced thick
1/4 small pumpkin, cut into large cubes
10 brussels sprouts
1 pint of lamb stock
2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp chinese five spice
1-2 tsp of corn flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish on a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, wait a few seconds for them to sizzle and turn brown before adding the onions and the red chillies. Cook until the onions are slightly softened and then add the leeks and garlic. Stir for around a minute and empty all the contents of casserole dish into a bowl.

Return the casserole dish to a medium heat. Add the lamb, season with salt and pepper and then brown on all sides.  Add the cornflour to soak up any lamb juices. Add the onion and leek mixture back into the dish followed by the suede and carrots. Stir in the lamb stock and add the chinese five spice. Bring to a boil and pop straight into the oven.

After 30 minutes place the pumpkin cubes and brussels sprouts on the top and cook for a further 40 minutes or until the vegetables and meat are cooked to your liking.

Kidney Bean & Capsicum Fajitas

I usually make these with the Mission Multi-Grain Medium/Soft Taco Flour Tortillas but you can use any other brand you like. These are super easy to make and healthy provided you go easy on the sour cream and cheese. I especially love the taste that the coriander brings to these.

Serves 4

For the main filling:-
400g tin of kidney beans, rinsed in water
2 small onions, sliced
1 red or yellow capsicum, sliced
1 green capsicum, sliced
1/2 pack of old el paso fajita spice mix
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil

Everything else:-
12 flour tortilla wraps
1 diced tomato
avocado salsa
sour cream
1 small bowl of grated cheddar cheese
1 small bowl of shredded cos lettuce
4 tbps chopped coriander
Jalapeños


Pre-heat the oven to 180c (or as per instructions on tortilla pack)

Heat the olive oil in a non stick pan and add the onions and cook on a medium to high heat for 5 minutes. You want them to be slightly cooked but not soft. Add the garlic and fajita mix and stir through the onions for a minute. Then add the capsicums and cook for 3-5 minutes before adding the kidney beans. Leave this to cook for 3 minutes and turn off the heat. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Heat the tortillas in an oven according to the instructions on tortilla pack. Put everything on the table and let people make up there own fajita. I add everything to mine!

Winter Rhubarb and Almond Crumble

I think this is best served with a generous helping of warm custard. This reminds me of school dinners when they used to be more wholesome.

Serves 4

For base:
400g cleaned rhubarb, cut into 1 inch chunks
50g raw caster sugar
1 tsp grated ginger

For crumble:
50g of raw almonds, roughly chopped
40g chilled butter, cut into small cubes
90g self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon
50g raw caster sugar
1/2 tsp grounded ginger

To serve:
Custard or ice-cream or double cream

Pre-heat oven to 200c

Mix all the base ingredients of rhubarb, sugar and fresh ginger in a bowl and empty into a baking dish. Press down on the rhubarb with your hands so it is spread evenly and is a fairly compact base.

In a large bowl rub the butter and the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Using your fingers works best. Then stir in the almonds, cinnamon, sugar and grounded sugar.

Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the rhubarb and press it down firmly using your hands. Run a fork over the top of the surface.

Place in the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 35 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving with custard, ice cream or pouring cream.