The Kiwi Mental Kitchen

I've had the stevia syrup sitting in my fridge waiting for me to get around to juicing some lemons. Tonight I finally got around to it. The recipe I'm using for this lemon cordial is 3:2:1 lemon juice to sugar to water. I've kept that ratio for the lemon juice and the water and added the stevia by taste. And I believe the sweetness of the syrup will fluctuate a bit. The stevia syrup is brown and makes the concentrated look a little brown but once you dilute it to drink the colour change is not noticeable. This should hopefully be a good replacement to the lemon and barley cordial we often have. Lemon Cordial sweetened with home made Stevia syrup 1 Cup Lemon Juice approx 30ml Stevia syrup 1/3C of Water

So I've finally found a recipe that works in my kitchen. I finally decided to ask a friend who lived in the states for a while if she had one. The recipe I got had quite a lot of sugar in it so I took a gamble and made it without and it was brilliant. Tonight is my Second time making it and I tried baking it in a spring cake tin to see if that made it easier to get out but it stuck even more so here is a photo of the first one. Cornbread! Serves 4 1 1/4 C Flour 3/4 C Cornmeal (also sold as polenta in NZ) 2 tsp Baking powder 1/2 tsp Salt 1 C Milk 1/4 C Vegetable oil Grease loaf tin or other appropriate tin Preheat oven to 200 deg. C Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl Pour into tin  Bake  for 20-30 min (depending on thickness) or until a wooden skewer comes out clean Best served warm with chocolate chili. Today I didn't have any Capsicum so I finely grated 2 yams(little ones) and 2 carrots into the chili mixture.

Another quick dinner I throw together and leave to cook. This one is a household favourite, though I don't cook it often. I don't generally measure this one so these are approximate quantities. 4 Ingredient Meatloaf Serves 4 250-500g mince 500g sausage meat 1 C of breadcrumbs 1/3 -1/2 C of BBQ sauce (you can use tomato but we prefer BBQ) Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl Place in loaf tin Bake at 180 deg. C for at least 60 min Drain off excess liquid before turning out onto a chopping board for slicing Like I said easy. I generally serve with mashed potatoes and steamed veg

Tonight was a dinner that had to be able to be reheated and still taste good because hubby had a long day at work. I was impressed with how well it came out. I always trim my chops before I cook them, just makes them less greasy all up. My meds are still making me sleepy at the moment so dishes I can put on and leave alone while they cook is really good for me at the moment. Savoury Mutton Chops Serves 3-4 6 mutton chops 1 onion 2 Tbsp each, brown sugar, flour, tomato sauce, vinegar 1/2 tsp each, curry powder, ginger powder and mustard powder 1 1/2 cup of water (or enough to cover the chops) Preheat oven to 150 deg. C Place the mutton chops in a casserole dish Chop the onion and add to the dish Mix all other ingredients into the first 1/2 cup of water and pour over chops Top up the water to just cover the chops Bake with the lid on for at least 1 1/5 hours I served mine with mashed kumara and steamed carrots.

Sorry, there's been so little content from me lately my mental health hasn't been the best so there have been some med. changes and with med. changes come side effects. This has meant I haven't been spending quite enough time in the kitchen and that for the last we while I've slipped back into old habits but today I'm doing a bit better so today we are eating a bit better! My husband has been a great support through this time but he works 12-14 hour days with a one hour commute each way so he's definitely not up to cooking if I'm struggling. Also as a warning the total cook time on this pie is over 4 hours so make sure to start your prep early enough. Chicken and Pumpkin Pie Serves 3-4 500g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks 1 apple, peeled and sliced oil for frying 1kg boneless pork shoulder 50g butter (or ¼ cup oil) 1 large onion, chopped 6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped or 6tsp of the precrushed 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme le...

We call this one Pseudo Satay because it's full of cheat ingredients and yet still manages to taste like a decent Satay. This is a once in a while meal for us and It was a nice change to have in on rice noodles. I'm still working out ways to add in vegetables without ruining the basic feel of the meal. Pseudo Satay Serves 4 3 Chicken breasts or thighs  3-5 Tbsp Sweet chilli sauce 2 heaped Tbsp Peanut butter 1 Can of coconut cream or coconut milk Dice the chicken In a large fry pan fry the chicken until cooked Add Chilli sauce and Peanut butter and mix well Add coconut cream and stir until it takes on the colour of the peanut butter simmer for 10 min Serve over rice or egg noodles Nice, easy and surprisingly good. If you like you satay hot use the hot version of the chilli sauce or add a little chilli powder. If you really like it nutty you can add some chopped peanuts as well, and they make a great garnish.

I was meant to put together a casserole last night but I didn't really think about dinner until far too late for mutton with needs to be in a slow cooker for a while to be tender. So I went searching for a recipe in my collection of books that I could put together in a reasonable amount of time with the ingredients I had on hand. I found a recipe for bean burger patties and realised I could make a quick soda bread as buns to make our own burgers with an extra trip to the shops. The original recipe used dried beans and would have taken too long so I worked with canned beans. Black Bean Burgers makes 6 reasonable patties 2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed 1 large or 2 small onions oil to fry 2 tsp oregano 2 tsp marjoram 1 tsp chilli 1 tsp beef stock 2 eggs 2-4 Tbsp breadcrumbs Mash the beans in a large bowl or pot (I find it easier to mash against a large flat bottom) Add onion, herbs and spices and mix well Beat in the eggs Mix through b...

So I've got two recipes for you for this post. I had cooked up the soup and then found out my husband had invited someone over for tea last minute. So I whipped up a soda bread to go with the soup so that it spread further. I really shouldn't have worried though as the soup recipe made enough for 4(there are normally 3 of us as we have a flatmate). Also with having a guest I totally forgot to take a photo to put with the recipe for you. With the soup, I didn't have any bok choy so I just used silverbeet from the garden, a little less Asian but still tasty. The soba noodles are Japanese buckwheat noodles for a diversity of grains but you could use rice or egg noodles instead. Asian Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup Serves 4 easily 6 cups (1 1/2 litres) chicken stock 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, finely chopped! otherwise, you find bits in the soup 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped ...

So tonight chocolate chilli was back by popular demand though I cooked it as more of a mix between the happy kitchen recipe and my normal recipe. Though I did find out that it's better not to add extra chocolate. This also gave me another chance at cornbread. Armed with more research I tried a cornmeal only cornbread (no other flours). This was a disaster and I'm going to have to have another try another day. I'll ask around my friends and see if anyone has a good recipe. Chocolate Chilli Serves 4 Oil for frying 1 onion 2 cloves of garlic chopped or 2 tsp of crushed garlic 1 Tbsp tomato paste 500g lean mince 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground chilli 1 tsp cinnamon 125ml red wine 1 diced red capsicum 2 cans of chilli beans 1 can of chopped tomatoes Up to 8 squares dark chocolate preferably over 80% In a large pan fry the onion and garlic for approximately 2 minutes Add the tomato paste, mince, paprika, chilli and cinnamon  Once the mince is cooked add t...

I'm a fan of the occasional easy but tasty meal. This one is a mix of my mums fish pie but using my mums chicken pie "crust". I was lucky and found smoked snapper at our local farmers market on the weekend. I know this doesn't look like much but it's tasty! Smoked Fish Pie Serves 4 Half a medium sized smoke fish 5 slices of bread 100g of butter melted 1tsp mixed herbs frozen mixed veg or fresh beans 2 handfuls 1 can of condensed mushroom soup Pepper A handful or mushrooms (optional) Blitz bread in a food processor to make fresh breadcrumbs Mix in butter and herbs into the breadcrumbs Press the bread mixture into a pie or casserole dish  Shred fish into the pie base Mix in veg and mushroom Sprinkle on pepper to taste Pour over the can of mushroom soup Bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 min When you serve it, the base does not always hold together well. Don't worry it will still taste good!

I bought some frozen surimi at the fish shop over a week ago now and had no idea how I was going to use it. After reading many recipes I came up with this hot pot inspired recipe. In future, I would double the liquid content and make the liquid in a large stock pot and use that as a place to mix it together. Seafood Hot Pot Serves 4   A couple of handfuls of shrimp 1tsp sesame oil Salt and pepper to taste Around 300g of surimi oil for frying 200ml of chicken stock 1/2 cup of water 2 Tbsp of oyster sauce 1 Tbsp of dark soy sauce 1 Tbsp of crushed garlic (or 3 cloves crushed) 1 medium onion pinch of salt 2-3 tsp of chilli oil 200g of rice noodles 1 spring onion for garnishing In a large bowl soak the rice noodles in water In a small bowl combine the shrimp and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. leave for at least 10 min In a medium saucepan combine the chicken stock and water and bring to the boil Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce...

A few nights ago my husband and I both had a craving for pizza. So rather than head to the takeout, I whipped up a homemade base. I've done many pizza bases and breads before but this was my first time doing a pizza dough with something other than white flour. This base was such a success that it will definitely have repeat performances. while nowhere near as instant as ordering in they are worth the wait. Pizza dough makes 3 medium or 2 large bases 2 cups of tepid water 1 tsp of sugar 2 tsp of dried yeast salt 1Tbsp of oil 2 cups of rye flour 2 cups of white spelt flour In a large bowl combine water, sugar and yeast and stir until yeast is mostly dissolved. If the water is too hot you will kill the yeast if it's too cold it will take longer to activate. Leave to sit for 10 min. You should now see a froth formed on the top of the water, if not check the temperature of your water and leave it for another 5 min. If it still hasn't frothed you are better t...

One of the things that seemed most challenging to me about moving toward more fish and less meat was the costs involved. This recipe was my first attempt using canned salmon I needed to know what it looked like inside the can before I could use it in a recipe that called for whole fillets and I think it will do well even as fillets. The main trick is going to be getting the fish warm without overcooking it. These fishcakes came out creamy and fluffy and filling. I served them with salad from our garden and a balsamic dressing. Salmon and Kumara Fish cakes Serves 3 500g of cooked kumara (either boil or bake until soft) 1 cup of cooked frozen peas (you can even boil them with the kumara) 1 large can(approx. 420g) of pink salmon 1 diced chili  1 chopped stalk of mint 1  chopped handful of parsley  2 eggs 1 cup of flour(preferably wholemeal or spelt) salt and pepper to taste Oil for frying Mash kumara and peas in a large bowl Flake in pink salm...

My husband's favorite dish is Toad in the hole, which is sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding. He requests it most weeks so tonight I made my first attempt at change a recipe I currently use to better fit with the 10 Rules . In New Zealand I am lucky that it is easy to get sausages without preservatives or other nasties, they still have quite a high amount of fat so I am trying to reduce how often we eat them, but I do not see a need to cut them out entirely. While it was a great success I will probably continue to make more changes as I try more variations in the future. For example, I would like to try moving to non-dairy milk and whole wheat spelt flour. I want to make only one change at a time so that I know what works and what does not. Tonight my one change was replacing standard white flour with white spelt flour. Toad in the hole Serves 4 8 Sausages Oil 3 cups of white spelt flour 3 cups of milk 3 eggs Salt to taste Grease a Large casserole dish with the oil...