I'd been staring at this recipe for a while, the mushrooms in the picture looked so tasty an knowing Andy doesn't particularly like mushrooms I couldn't not make this dish. It turned out scrummy which was a good thing as Andy refused to eat it.
The Recipe - Hot and Sour Cucumber with Sticky Mushroom Noodles from Donna Hay
60ml cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp dried chili flakes
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled, deseeded and sliced (I use normal ones)
1 tbsp sesame oil
100g namenko mushrooms (I used a mixture of hon shimenji, button and shitake)
125ml oyster sauce
125ml chicken or vegetable stock
270g green tea soba noodles, cooked
1 cup mint leaves
3 green onions, thinly sliced
The Method
- Place the vinegar, lime juice, chilli, sesame seeds and cucumber in a bowl and mix well to combine, set aside.
- heat the oil in a large non stick pan over a high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes or until soft.
- Add the oyster sauce, stock and noodles and cook for a further 1 minute or until noodles are coated in sauce.
- Place the noodles in a dish, top with the cucumber, mint and onions and serve.
I haven't felt much like baking this past week since having my wisdom tooth removed. It's not been great week, but at least the weekend is now fast approaching.
As I was up at an ungodly hour and unable to go to the gym I decided to try my hand at baking some lamingtons, I have never made then before and love coconut and love cake, so this seemed like a great choice. My recipe was for lamington wedges, instead o the usual square, I think I'll make the squares next time as the wedges were difficult to keep whole.
The recipe I have used came from two different books as the book I was using for the lamingtons said to use a ready made sponge, so I had to bake one of those first.
The Recipe - Sponge Cake from Stephanie Alexander's The Kitchen Companion
5 eggs at room temperature
150g plain flour plus extra for dusting
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup caster sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees, butter a 24cm cake time and dust with flour.
- Whisk up the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick and mousse like.
- Sift the flour on top of the egg mixture and fold in with a large metal spoon.
- Trickle the melted butter down the side of the pan and fold in using a large metal spoon.
- Poor the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden and springy to touch. place on a wire rack to cool.
For The lamingtons from Chocolate Indulgence Book
40g Cocoa powder
250g icing sugar
125ml bolling water
30g unsalted butter
180g shredded coconut
Method
- Trim the top and sides from the cake and cut into wedges.
- Sift the flour and cocoa into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Add the butter to the boiling water and stir until melted, pour mixture into icing sugar and stir until combined.
- Spread the coconut out onto a large plate.
- Dip the sponge into the icing, shake off any extra icing and place onto the coconut. Roll over until each side has a good coating and pace on a wire rack
For a first try these turned out really tasty, a light and springy sponge cake helped soak up the chocolate icing and gather good helping of coconut. Not bad for a first try.
