brown chicken or whatever you like .. add some laksa paste .. or thai curry paste .. toss around chicken in paste .. add chicken stock and water .. to make a soup .. add half a can of coconut cream .. to get the correct laksa taste ..
add fish sauce for flavour .. and a lime leef if you have it .. if not dont worry ..
simmer soup till chicken is cooked .. it wont take long .. ((and you dont have to brown the chicken first if you dont want to .. you can cook the chicken in the soup)) ((i just like it browned))
add tofu and allow it to simmer with the chicken and absorb the lasksa flavour ..
add veggies .. bean sprouts, bok choy .. green beans .. in the last few minutes .. so they dont get over cooked ..
prepare egg or rice noodles of both before hand ..
I like to add noodles to the base of each bowl and then pour the soup ontop .. but you can also add noodles to the soup .. but be careful not to let the noodles absorb all the soup .. cos they will .. the devils ..
fresh basil is nice to add .. but the most important fresh herb with laksa .. is corriander (sp?)
do not even think about making a good laksa without it
lol
bon appetit!!
keep smiling
'Smoke me a kipper .. I'll be back for breakfast!'
Here is one desert I will force onto my guests tomorow:
Ginger-pears with saffron
8 pears (rather hard ones)
1/2 L water + 2dl sugar
1/2 vanilla stick
2 spoons of fresh ginger cut into very tiny pieces
1 piece of cinnamon
1/2 g saffron crushed with some sugar
Boil the water, sugar and sliced vanilla for 5 mins.
Peel the pears but leave the stems (will help hold the pear together and easier to lift). Put the pears in standing position and close together in a saucepan and pour the syrup over them. Add the ginger and cinnamon and simmer the pears for 20-25 mins (depends on how large the pear are I suppose?). Add the saffron when 10 mins remains. Let the pears cool down in their liquor and serve with cream or vanilla icecream. You can also save the pears in the freezer.
Sure Skyweir, if you can get here in about one hour...
One word of warning: do not attempt to pour the hot syrup and pears in a glass bowl - it might crack (and you will get very yellow, sticky syrup everywere and no bowl )!
I've got a recipe for my fellow college students out there.... I call it, "Lord Foul's Gastrointestinal Torture Part One: The Corruption of the Ramen".
It requires two packs of ramen noodles (any flavor will do, preferably two different kinds), seasoning salt, pieces of chopped, cooked hamburger, barbeque sauce, bacon bits, salsa, croutons, and powdered gravy.
It's simple, really; all you have to do is cook the ramen as per usual, until the broth begins to evaporate, leaving the noodles mushy and without confidence in their abilities. Thus weakened, the normally firm, flexible, free-spirited noodles will succumb to the Corrupting powers of the additional ingrediants. Mix everything else in, adding water at times until everything is nicely mixed together, leaving you a tasty, tempting substance that will leave you as warped and as haunted as those changed by the Illearth Stone.
The Leper Fairy wrote:I accidently fed the cupcakes to the kids I was babysitting "These cupcakes taste funny!" But thankfully the alcohol evaporates out... or at least I hope.
Oh girl, good thing CPS was not near you I bet those kids were quiet happy
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony"
This first one is my absolute, hands down favorite vegetarian diabetic recipe. I am not responsible for the name, and if any of our African posters feel it is misleading I apologize. But, it's so good!
African Vegetarian Stew American Diabetes Association Holiday Cookbook
by Betty Wedman 1986
8 servings
4 small Kohlrabies, peeled, chunked** (I used parsnips)
1 large Onion, chopped
2 Sweet potatoes, peeled,chunk
2 Zucchini, sliced thick
5 Fresh tomatoes (16 oz can)
15 oz Can garbanzo beans & liquid*
1/2 cup Couscous or bulgar wheat
1/4 cup Raisins
1 tsp Ground coriander
1/2 tsp Ground turmeric
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground ginger
1/4 tsp Ground cumin
3 cup Water
** Parsnips may be substituted for the kohlrabi.
* Chick-peas
Serve the couscous separately, if desired.
Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Menolly's notes:
I like to serve the couscous separately. I cook up a box of couscous, and put it on a platter. Then I make a well in the center and ladle the stew into the well to serve.
For non-diabetics, I offer pita bread, and they can scoop up the couscous and stew with the pita. But diabetics need to pay attention to serving size and the exchanges. It makes a good potful though, a 1/8 serving is a lot.
This next one can lower the carb count by serving in bowls instead of the bread bowls. But even with the bread bowls, the carb count isn't all that high.
4 bread bowl loaves, tops cut off and hollowed out
1/2 oz dried porcini or polish mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
! TBS olive oil
4 shallots finely chopped or 1/2 cup chopped scallion whites
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb button mushrooms, thickly sliced
3/4 lb shitake mushrooms thickly sliced
1 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned, no salt added)
1 cup chicken broth (sub vegetable broth)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 TBS water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 tsp grated parmesan cheese
Combine dried mushrooms with boiling water and let stand until softened. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Brush inside of bread bowls with 1 tsp of the olive oil. Bake shells for 7 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp. (I believe this makes the bowls able to stand liquids without getting mushy.)
In a large non stick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tsp oil until hot but not smoking over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are softenend, about 4 minutes. Add the button and shitake mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are tender, 7 minutes.
Scoop the dried mushrooms from their soaking liquid, reserve the liquid, then rinse and coarsely chop the mushrooms. Strain the liquid through a paper towel-lined sieve and add to the pan along with the mushrooms. Increase the heat to high and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, basil, salt, and pepper and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minu;tes. Bring to a boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture, and cook, stirring, until
slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley, Spoon the stew into the bread bowls, sprinkle the Parmesan over, replace the tops, and serve.
Fat 7 G
Calories 297
Sat Fat 1.2 G
Carbs 49 G
Protein 13 G
I don't have the counts for this next one, but I'm pretty sure it can be used in a diabetic diet, especially if you use fat-free sour cream and whole grain egg noodles, if you need egg noodles at all.
3 lbs large Portobello mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth (3 to 4)
1 TBS dry sherry
3 TBS olive oil, good quality
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 lb mushrooms, (mixed button and crimini) wiped and sliced
1 pint sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 TBS Italian parsley, chopped
Slice the Portobello into 1/4-inch slices, then cut each slice into pieces about 2-1/2 inches long. Mix the sherry, 2 TBS of oil, salt, and pepper in a glass bowl and marinate the mushroom strips for about 30 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat one TBS of olive oil. Wipe off the marinating mushroom pieces and sauté in the oil until just tender. Remove to a side dish and reserve.
In the same skillet, heat the remaining oil and butter and sauté the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the sliced buttons mushrooms and continue cooking until they start to caramelize, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the skillet from the heat and blend in the sour cream. Reheat the mixture over low heat, being careful not to bring it to a boil. Add the sautéed portobellos and continue to heat over low. Taste for seasonings and adjust. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Serves 6.
I made this today, making some serious modifications to a South Beach diet recipe. If I do say so myself, it is the best damned homemade chili I've ever had. It's got some heat to it (you can change the amount: lower by using a different type of pepper than the habanero or chili de arbol or higher by leaving some or all of the peppers in the oil), but not so much that my wife who can barely stand tobasco couldn't eat it.
<<warning. after or even during making this, do not touch anything[/i] until you've thoroughly washed your hands>>
Syl's Chili
4 habanero peppers (remove caps, stems, seeds, slice into small strips)
6 dried chili de arbol peppers (remove stems)
1/4 cup or more olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
6 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper (remove cap, stem, and seeds, slice into long 1/4" strips
3 large cloves of garlic, diced
4 tbspn (or more) chili powder
2 tbspn (or more) ground cumin
1.5 lbs lean ground beef (or probably about 1.25 lbs ground turkey)
1/2 tbspn ground black and red pepper
1/2 tbspn seasoning salt
2 bay leaves
1 can of plain diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
In a 6 qt covered stockpot, heat olive oil at just under medium temp. Add habaneros and chili de arbol peppers (a few dashes of salt. I used coarse sea salt). There should be enough olive oil that the veggies are thoroughly coated and dripping with it, but not quite swimming in it. Cook for about 5 minutes or more. Unless you want your chili super freakin' hot, strain out the peppers and keep the oil. Add the onion, green onions, red bell, and the garlic (a few more dashes of salt). Stir in half of the chili powder and all of the cumin, using enough to coat it thoroughly. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Strain again, transferring the solids to a food processor. Pulse a couple of times. Leaving the olive oil in the stockpot, add the groundbeef, the rest of the chili powder, and the bay leaves and brown it. Stir in the black and red pepper and the seasoning salt. Add the tomatoes, black beans, and kidney beans, draining the excess juice out of the cans except for the tomatoes. Add the contents of the food processor. Stir, bring to a rapid simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Enjoy.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner