Banana Bread

A great lunchbox snack and if you fancy a cream cheese frosting then banana bread is a perfect vehicle to accommodate that craving.

Don't ditch those brown bananas yet... freeze them until you are ready to use them in a banana bread or a smoothie!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups of Self Raising Flour
1/2 cup milk (or 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup vegetable oil)
3 mashed bananas
1 tspn bicarb soda

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180'C or 350'F
• Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. 
• Mash bananas in a cup or bowl, add bicarb soda and mix well
• Add mashed bananas to sugar/butter
• Add eggs and continue beating
• Add sifted flour alternately with milk/oil
• Bake for 35-40 mins

Re-posting a favorite, Chow Mein

Tonight is chow mein night in our house.  What are you going to cook for dinner?  If you haven't already, this is the simplest meal ever and Oh So Good.  You could bake or fry a few spring rolls to eat on the side for something a bit special and enjoy!

http://whatsfordinner-mum.blogspot.com/2012/12/chow-mein.html

Creamed spinach

Creamed spinach.  I thought I had posted this side dish already as we have been enjoying it randomly for months now.  Sorry about that!  Super easy and a nice alternative to lightly wilted spinach, for those nights you want to enjoy a little more complexity alongside your main dish.

Spinach is a deceptive little vegie but as I've said before, if you shop at Costco for produce every now and again as I sometimes do, those big containers of spinach catch me every time.  I often resort to creamed spinach before I see the remaining 2/3 of the container go to waste!

Ingredients:
Spinach.  As much you like, the more the better!
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2-3 tblspn flour
2-3 tblspn butter
milk (approx 1 cup)
nutmeg, pinch
salt and pepper

Method:

• In a large frypan saute the onion in a little oil until tender and translucent 
• Add the garlic and continue to stir until fragrant.  
• Then throw in as much spinach as you can.  Do two or three loads if you have to, just wait a minute until the first lot starts to wilt and add some more. Once it's all in and 90% wilted, remove from the pan (or use a separate pan at the same time and do the following part)
• Add the butter and allow to melt
• Now add the flour and make a roux (a thick butter/flour blend) and whisk it together
• I guess the proper way of doing it is to have the milk warmed in another saucepan and add it to the flour warmed but that is too many pots for me so I go ahead and add the milk to the roux and then just spend a few minutes smoothing out any lumps.  It comes together fine and I would never bother making white sauce so often if it required separate pans for everything. 
• Taste it and adjust the seasoning and now add a pinch of nutmeg if you're into that.  I am.
• Once it is smooth and the consistency you want, like a nice thick gravy, add the spinach into the white sauce and combine. 
• Serve it under anything... beef, fish, over the top of grilled or poached chicken.  You can't go wrong.  Delicious.

Fish cakes

I had a few different ideas floating around today for this lovely big piece of cod fillet... I might write about my other ideas another time but tonight I wanted to get a good blend of vegetables into my family and so I thought some mild tasting, yet fresh, fish cakes would be a good start.  They were delicious.  I served them over a spread of creamed spinach and I was really impressed with them.  I think the use of cottage cheese made them lighter than I expected and for that I was grateful.  Try them, you might like them too! 

Made about 14 small cakes

Ingredients:
1 lb (500g) cod fillets
2 spring onions
2 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
good amount of salt and pepper
lemon juice
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
a good handful fresh parsley, chopped
vegetable or grapeseed oil, for frying

Method:

• Peel and cut your potatoes and place them in a saucepan of salted water.  Boil until soft, then mash.  (Don't add milk or butter, just mash them)
• At the same time, boil your fish in a pot of hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper.  Cook until the fish starts to flake away.
• Drain the fish and using a fork, flake the fish into a large mixing bowl.
• Add your mashed potatoes, salt, pepper, parsley, garlic and cottage cheese. Stir until well combined.
• Taste for seasoning and add lemon juice, more salt and pepper if needed.
• Add your egg and breadcrumbs and mix well.
• Mold mixture into golf ball size balls and place on a lined baking tray, cover with glad wrap and refridgerate until ready to cook.
• When ready, heat your oven to 350'F and heat oil in a large frypan or wok.
• Cook the fish cakes in batches, about 3-4 mins on each side.  The mixture is cooked so it is about getting the outside golden brown and crunchy as opposed to cooking the centre.  When done, remove and place on a paper towel and keep them warmed in the oven until ready to serve.
• Serve with your choice of vegetables or salad, I made some creamed spinach which worked really nicely.  Recipe to follow.