Easiest way to make stove-top popcorn

I love popcorn, but I never seem to be able to get the microwave variety right – it either tastes burnt, or I have half a packet of unpopped seeds.  So I decided to attempt making popcorn on the stove.  After all, it’s a whole lot cheaper, and it tastes a whole lot better.

Give it a try, it’s easier than making microwave popcorn, with no burnt or left over kernels.  Really, no jokes.

You need:

Popcorn seeds (1 tbsp seeds for each cup of popcorn, approximately)

A tall pot with a lid

Oil

Salt and seasoning to taste

Method:

1.   Put a little oil in the pot.  Just enough to cover the bottom of the pot with a thin layer.  If the popcorn seeds are swimming in oil, you’ve put in too much oil.

2.      Heat the oil on the stove.  I usually put the stove on 60% power.

3.      After a minute, put 2 or 3 popcorn seeds into the pot, and cover with the lid.  When you hear the seeds pop, remove the pot from the heat. (This lets you know when the oil is at the right temperature).

4.      Add the rest of the popcorn seeds into the pot, in an even layer.  Cover, and wait 30 seconds before returning the pot to the heat.  (This allows the popcorn seeds time to heat up evenly).

5.      Once the pot is returned to the heat, the popcorn should start popping.  Give the pot a gentle shake.  Keep the lid slightly skew to allow steam to escape.   Once the popping slows down to several seconds between pops, remove from the stove, remove lid and pour into bowl.

6.      Season and enjoy!

Quick Tip, the Second : A way with mushy avocados

I'm always forgetting to eat the avocados I've bought and then a week later I find them in the fridge and theyre all mushy.
Sound familiar? Well, here is a good way to enjoy them instead of throwing them away.

Avocado dip:
Peel the avocados, (you can cut around and throw away any bits that are brown).
Smash the avocados into a paste with a spoon.
Add black pepper, salt and lemon juice to taste.

Tastes good with potato chips or you could even eat on toast.
I once added humus that I had bought at Woolworths and that tasted pretty good too.

Any other ideas? Please send them our way :)

Financial Year End and Prepared Meals

 It's getting closer to year end at the company where I work.  No, I don't mean Christmas/New year/holidays/parties.  No, not that year end.  I'm talking about the time of year which strikes terror into the heart of all accountants and auditors out there..*gulp*.. Financial Year End.  A time where data needs to be completed, recons need to be reconciled, balance sheets need to be balanced, cash flows need to flow, consolidations need to be consolidated.. and the auditors are at your heels.  Inevitably, this will result in late hours at the office, ticking up schedules and tying up numbers (for those of you who dont know what this means, count yourself fortunate).  Ah, the life of an accountant.
So, I am going to try to list my ideas for 'go-to' prepared/semi prepared meals which I have come across and really enjoyed.  These meals are not exactly 'dinner party' material - but they are certainly a step up from eating scrambled eggs and toast for supper.  Ladies, feel free to email these ideas to your other half -  "Honey, I am working late tonight, please can you prepare dinner.. Its really easy.. No skill required".  Also, I would suggest including where certain items are located or you may be getting some frantic calls (e.g. "Frozen fish? - It's in the freezer - thats the big white box in the kitchen - where you get ice from - no, not the fridge, the other one - yes, the one thats very cold").

1.  Fish with vegetables
What is easier than fish with vegetables?  There is a huge variety of frozen fish available, only requiring 20 mins in a preheated oven.  Some varieties are microwave prepared, which is even quicker.  I enjoy serving fish with creamed spinach and feta, which comes in single serve portions, which go directly from the freezer to the microwave and onto your plate.  Alternatively, oven baked vegetables or chips are also a firm favourite, and these can go into the oven with the fish.

2.  Fish burgers
Fish burger pattis + a roll and some relish = A delicious quick meal.

3.  Prawns burger
I recently discovered frozen prawns - these are prawn tails in batter.  Fry the prawns in oil, add a roll and some relish and you have delicious prawn burgers.  Healthy - not so much - I'm definitely not a promoter of deep fried food, but I think once in a while an exception can be made.

4.  Hot Wings
Another of my recent discoveries at my local butchery: hot wings! These are delicious prepared chicken wings already with all the sauces needed.  They are not covered in batter so there is no need to deep fry - just place in a pot with a little butter and cook on medium heat until done.

5.  Marinated chicken
Along the same lines as the hot wings above, there are chicken pieces available already prepared with all the spices and sauces required. Just cook and serve with rice or roti.

6. Frozen Leftovers
When making meals that can be easily frozen, double up on quantity.  Freeze half the meal so when dinner is required, defrost and ta-da! A meal with no extra work. Our butter chicken recipe works quite well for this.
 
7. Pizza!
Thank you so much to a follower of this blog for the following tip - Keep frozen pizza bases on hand - the type with the cheese and tomato topping. These pizzas usually need 10 to 12 minutes of oven time. Enjoy as is or add any extra toppings (like yesterday's leftover chicken).

Next time you visit your local supermarket or butchery, take a few minutes to have a look at the semi-prepared meals on offer.  With a little inspiration and some planning ahead, working late does not have to mean eating take out.   Keep some easy 'go-to' meals in your freezer and there will always be another option.  What is your 'go-to' meal? E-mail your ideas to us, we will add them to the post!

Quick tip número UNO : Change the way you eat oats

Everyone knows that oats are good for you,but I really wasn't a huge fan. It just looks gross doesn't it? All slimy and not so satisfying. Well, here's a good tip from my cousin mandareen ( no, it's not her real name, I just call her that)

Try eating your oats with a little milk, raisins and a sprinkling of cinnamon powder. I promise it tastes good and it has transformed my oats eating FOREVER. ( a tad dramatic I know, but it's really good!)
Try it.

Strawberry and chocolate chip loaf

Do you know which recipes are my favorite? It's the kind where you just throw in all the ingredients and by some magic the end result is a yummy one. Here is one such recipe that I have adapted from many other recipes I found online.

Here's what you need :

2 cups of flour
1 cup sugar
Half a teaspoon Baking soda
Two teaspoons baking powder
One teaspoon cinnamon powder
A quarter teaspoon salt
One teaspoon vanilla essence
Two eggs
One cup chopped fresh strawberries (I would probably increase this to about a cup and a half next time though)
Chocolate chips (I used a handful but you could add as much as you like I guess)
250ml milk

The very complex putting it together:

Mix flour,baking powder,sugar,baking soda,cinnamon and salt together in a bowl.
In another bowl, add the eggs,vanilla essence,strawberries, chocolate Chips and milk.
Combine all ingredients, bake in a greased loaf pan at 200 for about 25 mins and..... You're done! :)

Sam’s Spinach Lasagna

Spinach is really healthy and rich in nutrients.  Eating spinach is said to make you really strong (remember Popeye the Sailor Man?).  The recipe below is great for ‘Meat Free Mondays’ (or for any day of the week, really).

Thank you to my friend Sam for this recipe.

Spinach Lasagna

Step 1:  Spinach

300 - 400g spinach, chopped* (depending on the size of the dish you are using – see note below)

1 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp jeeru
1 tsp crushed garlic
salt to taste
¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp ground green chilies

1 cup fresh cream

Braise onions in butter/ghee until soft.  Add garlic and braise.  Add spinach, and spices, and cook until spinach is done.  (Spinach should be limp and soft at this stage)
Add the fresh cream and allow to boil once.

Remove from heat and leave aside.

Step 2: Tomato chutney

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp mixed herbs

½ tsp basil

½ tsp basil/origanum

2 tsp sugar

Braise onion in butter/ghee until soft. 

Add garlic, tomato and spices. 

Cook until chutney is done.  (Chutney should be thick.  The onions should have ‘disappeared’ into the chutney).

Step 3:  White Sauce

1 green pepper, chopped.

1 green chili

½ litre milk* (depending on the size of the dish you are using – see note below)

Salt, pepper

1.5 tbspn maizena (cornstarch)* (depending on the size of the dish you are using – see note below)

Blend together the above, in a food processor.  Heat 3 tbspn ghee in a pot.  Pour the above mixture into the pot, and allow to boil, to a custard consistency.

Step 4:  Layering

Lasagna sheets

Add tomato chutney to the spinach.

Layer lasagna as follows:  White sauce, softened lasagna sheet, spinach mixture, white sauce, softened lasagna sheet.
(Optional:  To soften a lasagna sheet, place the lasagna sheet in a dish of hot water for a few moments, and then use in layering.  It helps the lasagna to soften in the baking process).

Top with cheese, if desired.  (This recipe is already very rich as it has a cup of cream in it – adding cheese is entirely up to you)

Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.

*Note:  The above ingredients should be altered depending on the size of bakeware you will be using.  I used two 18cm x 11cm dishes – see picture.

 

Super Easy Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is one of the most popular dishes on on the menu of any Indian Restaurant.  It is a creamy chicken dish (there's no butter in butter chicken) - not spicy for those who don't like spicy foods - and for those who do, its easy to up the spice factor.

  

The dish can be served with roti, or white rice.  To impress special guests, serve it with Naan bread - these can be purchased from an Indian restaurant, or even from some supermarkets.  It really gives the dish that extra 'something' and it will really impress your in laws.

If you have extra chicken, double Step 1 of the recipe, and kept half of the prepared chicken aside for use in sandwiches - Perhaps chicken and mayo for lunch tomorrow?

 

Butter Chicken

Step 1:  Chicken:

1 kg chicken fillet - cube and drain 

1 tbspn ghee

1.5 tsp chili powder

1 level tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ginger garlic

2 squirts lemon juice

1 tsp dhana jeeru

+- 0.5 cup water

Method:

1.  Heat ghee in a flat pot.

2.  Add cubed chicken, let chicken cook for a few moments (until the chicken starts turning white - should take less than a minute), then add all spices.  Mix together so that the spices coat chicken.

3.  Slowly add water, try not to pour directly onto the chicken pieces.

4.  Cook chicken on low heat until water absorbs.

Leave aside. 

Step 2:  Gravy:

2 chopped onions
4 large tomatoes / 6-8 normal tomatoes / 1 tin tomato - liquidised (tin tomato works best)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 small tub of fresh cream
Chopped Almonds (optional)

Method:
1.  Saute the onions in oil until light pink
2.  Add the liquidised tomatoes
3.  Add the spices and let the mixture absorb for a few minutes
4.  While the mixture is cooking, add the prepared chicken, and let the mixture cook.
5.  Add 1 small tub of fresh cream before serving while the stove is on low.
6.  Add almonds

Served with roti, naan bread, or white rice.

Enjoy!

Baked Beans Lasagne

So, the other day I got home to realise that my options for supper were quite limited given that I haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while.  Ah, the joys and sorrows of living on your own. After thoroughly inspecting the fridge and grocery cupboards, I decided that baked beans was to be my supper of limited choice. It was pretty decent as well, only thing was that it was quite a big can of baked beans for one little me and the result was enough baked beans to last a very long while. So, I thought to myself, what does one do with baked beans ?For a long while, I couldn’t get scenes from Dennis the Menace out of my head, but then, I thought what about a baked beans lasagne. Turns out, it was a pretty good meal. Here’s what I did :

First I made a chutney with the baked beans:

1)      Cook half an onion in two teaspoons of oil. Turn down heat once onions transparent.

2)      Add in two chopped tomatoes, or you can use half a can of tinned tomatoes like I did  (convinced that there are no good cooking tomatoes in Johannesburg)

3)      Add a teaspoon of chilli powder, a quarter teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt. Close the pot lid and allow to cook for about 10 minutes or until it resembles a chutney.

4)      Add in your can of baked beans. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

Now you can layer your casserole dish with first a layer of baked beans and then a layer of lasagne.

Repeat this step. Cover the last layer of baked beans with cheese. I added oreganum as well to give it that awesome smell as it was baking. Bake for about 35 minutes in a preheated oven on 180 degrees.

Bread Pudding

When I was younger, my mum used to bake us a bread pudding especially on really cold Winter’s Days. A sudden stroke of genius hit me today, when I realised that I don’t need for it to be Winter to eat pudding, so here goes:

-       Butter and spread a healthy quantity of Jam onto slices of bread.

-       Line in a baking tray. (the bigger your tray, the more slices of bread you have, you get the picture)

-       Toss in a handful or two of raisins.

-       Dissolve a teaspoon of custard powder and half a teaspoon of sugar in milk. Pour in just enough milk to cover the bread slices.

-       Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.

-       Done!!

Permission to have seconds and thirds : GRANTED!!!

The Green Bean

Maybe you have to eat vegetables today or maybe you’ve decided on a healthier option or just maybe, you, like me, are a fan of the slinky legume. Whatever the case, here is a quick and easy recipe to enjoy the green bean which by the way is also known as French beans or snap beans.

-          Heat two teaspoons of oil

-          Add half a sliced onion

-          Once the onion looks transparent, turn down the heat and add in the green beans. ( I usually use frozen, sliced green beans, am sure the fresh variety is probably best, but hey I did say quick and easy)

-          Add to the pot: 1 pinch chilli powder

                             1 pinch turmeric powder 

-          Close the pot lid and let this cook for around 10 minutes.

-          Add in one chopped tomato and allow green beans to cook for a further 10 minutes.

-          EAT!

Tastes best with pita bread.  ( I got these at Pick n Pay)

Who is The Unassuming Cook?

The unassuming cook is the culinary story of two young ladies with similar stories – both simple accountants who moved out of their parent’s homes to the ‘big city’ and discovered that, although the corporate world keeps their schedules very full, 2 minute noodles and microwave pasta is not a long term solution for a home cooked dinner.  With no prospects of returning home in the foreseeable future, and no option of getting home cooked dinners freighted to them (this option being thoroughly explored), it was decided that the time had come to embrace their inner chef and try out some new recipes.

This is their search for recipes which are easy and simple – and will fit into a busy schedule. 

Meet the team:

Cinnamon:

It never really occurred to me to learn how to cook.  I just assumed that it was something people did when they got married and wanted to impress their in-laws – and I would get around to that eventually.  Right now though, I would focus on what was important – studying, working, friends, family and having fun.  The first 3 years of my working life, I lived at home.  In between deadlines, leaving the office at 2am and still going home with 5 files and a hundred things to complete before 8am the next morning, a home cooked meal was something I took for granted.  There was always something bubbling on the stove, something delicious in the fridge - I never bought take out on the way home.  However, 2011 was the year all that changed.  I moved to a larger city for better job opportunities, and discovered that those microwave meals have some rather questionable ‘cheese substitute’ toppings, those drive through meals are made from what appears to be a rubber compound, and breakfast for dinner everyday does not an alert mind make.  So, (I thought, while watching Take Home Chef (yum - and I don't mean the food) ) how hard can this cooking thing be?  With numerous half hourly calls to my mother, all new cooking gear and an in-depth working knowledge of the ‘cook in sauces’ isle in the grocery store – I embark on my journey for culinary success.

Honey:

There was no hope for me.  I was completely uninterested in cooking.  Coming from a culture where the basic skills of life are the FOUR R’s – Reading, wRiting, Roti making, and aRithmetic – this was a dire situation.  My mother said I lacked the prerequisites for life itself, and as I got into my 20s with no change in my interest in the art of curry making – things were looking bleak.  Baking I could do – this was a precise, orderly art – exactly 1.5 cups of flour, exactly ¼ teaspoon of vanilla essence – these instructions I could understand.  But ‘salt to taste’? Sauté onions ‘until pink’?  What does that mean?  What exactly is a ‘pink’ onion?  However, fate conspired into forcing me to learn how to cook – an upcoming wedding, and an impending move away from the comforts of home.  A few cooking lessons later, some (rather feeble) attempts at producing a home cooked meal, a husband who does not criticize any meal (*thumbs up*), and I could finally produce a meal that is halfway decent.  No, I can’t cook for 10 people (or 5 people for that matter) – but I can cook.  And if I can do it, anyone can.