Food For My Belly

Pete and I were invited to a friend's place for dinner. They were cooking the main and I had the choice of picking between entrée and dessert. I chose entrée. As most of you already know by now, I am not a keen baker and my baked good are never quite right so dessert was not really an option for me. I wanted to make something easy which did not require much cooking so I browsed through the coles magazines that I had in my room and found this recipe. INGREDIENTS 200g rice vermicelli noodles 2 small carrots 1 lebanese cucumber 1 red capsicum 500g cooked peeled prawns 1/3 cup basil leaves 1/3 cup mint leaves 1/2 cup coriander leaves 1 cup bean shoots, tails trimmed 1/3 unsalted roasted cashews DRESSING 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce 1/4 cup lime juice 1 small red chilli, finely chopped 1 small garlic clove, crushed Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 5 mins, then drain into a colander...

The boyfriend and I have been watching a lot of Luke Nguyen in the past couple of weeks and after every episode, it made us hungry. It also made me want to cook the dishes he made on his show.  So...two Fridays ago, I made one of his dishes. Surprisingly, it turned out better than I expected, it was very fresh and the green papaya was crisp combined with all the different herbs made it oh so much healthier to eat :) One downside was that we underestimated how spicy my garden chillies were and was suffering for a bit. INGREDIENTS 1 green papaya (180g), peeled & finely julienne 200g cooked pork belly, finely sliced 200g cooked medium tiger prawns, peeled, de-veined and sliced in half lengthways 5 green mint leaves, finely sliced 5 Asian basil leaves, finely sliced 5 perilla leaves, finely sliced 5 coriander leaves, finely sliced 1 tablespoon fried red Asian shallots 1 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts 1/2 teaspoon fried garlic chips 1 chilli, chopped 3 tables...

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is not a common item in most kitchens, certainly not mine but I have eaten a fair share of it from the fine foods cafe across from work and also had the chance to cook it recently. I must say, first time cooking an ingredient that is foreign to me has turned out better than expected and absolutely delicious! A bit more info on quinoa; it's an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Pea and Mint Quinoa Salad INGREDIENTS 1 cup of quinoa peas goat's cheese fresh mint DRESSING olive oil salt and pepper apple cider vinegar coriander a bit of dijon mustard garlic *Note: I got this recipe online and it had no measurements at all except the 1 cup of quinoa so put in as much or as little depending on feel :) METHOD Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well after cooking for a few minutes. Cover...

This is probably one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. Out of all the ingredients, the only thing you have to cook in this dish is the rice :) It's a really healthy dish and oh so yummy. You won't be able to stop once you start eating, trust me. I got this recipe off an ex work colleague and unfortunately, my boyfriend stole the recipe to make it for his family and never gave the recipe back to me (I bet he doesn't even know where it is now). So below, the recipe is all based from memory but with this dish, you can really put as much of the ingredients as you want because its healthy...and not to forget, yummy :) INGREDIENTS 2 cups brown rice 2-3 spring onions, finely sliced 3-4 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped 2 medium sized capsicums, diced (any colour you like) 1 small can of corn 1/2 cup cashew nuts, roughly chopped a handful of sunflower seeds 1/4 cup currants   For the dressing: 1/4 cup sunflower oil 1 tbsp soya sauce 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 c...