Ginger, pineapple and cashew-nut fried rice ~ Secret recipe club challenge May 20th

This is my assignment with the Secret Recipe Club.The aim of the club is that you are allocated a blog from which you have to select a recipe and try  it and blog about it.
My assigned blog was A couple in the kitchen .I looked through the blog and stumbled across the Ginger, pineapple and cashew nut fried rice. It looked delicious and since there is an abundance of pineapples available in the market at the moment it was the perfect choice. I recreated the recipe with  a few minor changes.I swapped snow peas for peppers and added a little soya sauce and red chilli.

Delicious Chinese style fried rice with tastes of the orient with ginger and pineapple and cashew nuts.

Ingredients:

16 oz / 480 grams precooked cold basmati rice
3 spring onions  thinly chopped
1 carrot grated
1/2  green capsicum finely julienned
2 slices of fresh pineapple diced into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red chilli  finely chopped for garnish.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
1 tablespoon cashew nuts

Method:

1. Add oil in a wok and stir fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Remove them from wok and keep aside.
2. Add the carrots, green pepper, ginger paste  and spring onion to the wok and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the cooked rice, soya sauce and salt and toss the rice until its warmed through and mixed with the vegetables.
4. Add the pineapple pieces and cashew nuts and the red chilli pepper and toss again.
5. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.

NB- To prepare boiled rice wash 1 cup rice in cold water and soak it for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes transfer rice to  a large pan and add 2 pints water and bring rice to boil, reduce heat and simmer rice until tender, drain the rice in a colander and pour over some cold water to wash out starch.
Allow the rice to cool before using it in the recipe.

You may like:
Moroccan Tomato Rice

Submitting to:
Lets cook Rice Dishes event by simply.food

Strawberry Kisses ~Mini eggless strawberry muffins for World baking day.

English summer captured in  every bite in these wonderful strawberry kisses mini muffins for world baking day.

Ingredients:

12 strawberries
12 oz / 360 g plain flour
8 oz sugar / 240 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
75 ml sunflower oil
250 ml water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F
2. In a large bowl sieve together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. Stir in the sugar into the flour.

4. In a jug mix together the water, oil, vanilla and vinegar and mix well.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry by folding the cake mixture lightly with a metal spoon.
6. Line a mini muffin tray with muffin liners and  keep aside.

7. Hull the strawberries and dice them into small pieces.
8. Fold  the strawberries into the cake batter and fill the muffin liners with the batter.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown and tooth pick outs out clean from the center of muffin.

10.Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.
Serve with cup of tea or coffee

Submitting to:

Kids Delight Sweet treats event by spice your life guest hosted by Nivedhanam

Made with Love Mondays event by Javelin Warriors Cooking  w/ Luv

Provencal Tomatoes

Savoury baked tomatoes with  a herby breadcrumb filling.

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic finely chopped
2 tablespoons Pelia olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
pinch of chilli flakes(optional)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander

Method:

1. Slice the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp and seeds.
2. Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees / 180 degrees C

4.In a bowl add the breadcrumbs, chopped coriander, salt, pepper, chilli flakes,olive oil and garlic and mix well.

5. Fill the tomatoes with the herby bread crumb mixture and bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes until tomatoes start to soften slightly and breadcrumbs start to turn golden brown and crisp.
Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Submitting to:
Flavours of France event by simply.food guest hosted by Shruti Rasoi
Made with Love Mondays event by Javelin Warriors Cooking  w/ Luv

The Olive oil used in this recipe was sent to me by Pelia. Thankyou Pelia , the oil is very flavour some and perfect for cooking with and in all types of dressings.

OXO POP containers giveway

There can never be enough containers in the kitchen to store the vast selection of ingredients and food that we eat. OXO have created a range of storage containers, known as POP due the ability of their lids to pop up. POP, has been designed to help transform a messy, chaotic kitchen cupboard full of soggy biscuits and disused packets of ingredients into a systematic, neat and tidy pantry that any enthusiast cook or professionalchef can be proud of.

The 11 airtight containers are ideal for storing essential store cupboard ingredients such as cereal, pasta, flour, rice, herbs and spices, and feature a unique push button mechanism that creates an airtight seal with just one touch. The button can be easily operated with one hand, perfect for when you’re juggling several ingredients at once, and also serves as a handle when lifting off the lid. The body of the container is crystal clear making it easy to see what’s inside at a glance.

Each container can be stacked side by side and on top of each other so that they can fit in any space small or large The POP containers are also convenient for storing wet foods such as soups, sauces and condiments in the fridge and feature smooth, rounded corners to allow for easy pouring. Like most of OXO’s products, the lid comes apart for easy cleaning and is completely dishwasher safe so you can keep your cupboards neat, tidy and clean all at the same time.

The POP range is available in 11 different sizes so you can pick and choose the best containers for your store cupboard ingredients. The OXO range is widely available through a selection of national retailers including Lakeland, John Lewis, House of Fraser, Amazon, Dunelm, Selfridges and other leading cook shops.

Thankyou to OXO  who have been very generous and have agreed to supply a  a selection of POP containers in various sizes, worth £50 for one simply.food reader as a giveaway prize.

The prize:

T1 x POP large square container 3.8L
1 x POP cookie jar container 2.8L
1 x POP short large square container 2.3L
1 x POP short rectangle container 1.4L

 How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
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• Closing date - 16th June 2013 6.00 pm
• Read terms and conditions on Rafflecopter widget.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

You may like to read 10 tips on how to De-clutter and organise your kitchen.