Homemade Caramel Vodka

Yummy ...

2 possibilities here ... the homemade traditional one that tastes better (but is not clear) and the quick fix.

First ... the homemade caramel sauce method:

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup golden syrup
3/4 cup whipped cream
a drop or two of vanilla essence, if you like that added flavour

Preparation
Combine sugar, 1/2 cup water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat and boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Carefully add cream (you may want to stand back — mixture will bubble vigorously).
Stir sauce over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve and sauce is smooth.
Left-over sauce can be refrigerated and made pourable later be slowly heating without cooking it again.


Make the vodka ...
Take a 750ml bottle of vodka and pour out about a 1/2 cup of vodka and keep aside.
Pour in a half cup of caramel sauce and set aside for a week.
Turn the bottle every 2 days to mix and infuse better.
After a week (or closer to actually serving), strain through a paper coffee filter and bottle.


Then ... the quick fix method ...
Pour a cup of vodka out of the bottle.
Add a cup of sugar (or half a cup of glucose, which you can get from a pharmacy - this makes the texture must smoother and dissolves easier).
Add a 40ml bottle of Caramel essence.
Add whatever vodka you can back into the bottle.
Shake until dissolved, refrigerate and serve.

Yum!


Enjoy!

Quick Oriental Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1x large chicken thigh per 2 persons sharing
1x pack of 2-minute noodles per 2 people sharing
1x handful of frozen chopped veggies per person
1 x Onion, peeled, chopped in rings and rings cut in half

Method:
Grill the chicken in an oven pan at 180 degrees C until fat runs out.
Add the onions to oven pan, stir through the chicken fat - continue grilling chicken and onions until done.
Remove, cut all the meat off the chicken, remove all bones and dice into small blocks.
Keep onions and chicken fat.
Boil veggies in a little salted water in a saucepan until almost soft.
Add the appropriate amount of boiling water to veggies to cook the noodles with.
Add the noodle flavour sachet.
Add the 2-minutes noodle cake.
Boil until soft.
Add the onions and chicken fat and any seasoning to taste.
Add the chicken.
Simmer for a minute or two while stirring well.
Add water if you need it more runny. Simmer again and stir well.
Dish and enjoy :)

Custard slices

Ingredients:
1 Pack Cream Crackers

1 litre milk

250 ml Sugar

60 ml Margarine

120 ml Koekmeel (sifted)

100 ml Corn flour (Maizina)

10 ml Custard poweder

2 ml Salt

100 ml Cold water

3 eggs, seperated

5 ml Vanilla essence
500 ml Icing sugar (sifted)

+- 40 ml Boiling water

Method:

Butter a flat rectangular container of 25 x 35 x 5 cm (or Spray-n-Cook it).

In bowl, lay 15 creamcrackers in rows of 5x 3 (point them all in the same direction!).

Heat the milk in a big saucepan and bring to the boil.

Add sugar and margarine, stir until dissolved and take off the stove.

Mix cake flour, corn flour, custard powder, salt and cold water well, to form a paste.

Add egg yolk and whisk or beat well.

Beat some of the milk mixture into the paste, to make it runny.
Pour the paste mixture into the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan and stir continiously over a low heat for about 5 minutes until thick.
Remove from stove and stir in the vanilla.

Beat egg whites until fluffy.
Fold egg whites into mixture.

Pour warm mixture over cream crackers - and cover the mixture with 15 more cream crackers.
Let cool completely in the fridge.

Mix icing sugar and boiuling water to a pourable/spreadable icing.
Slowly pour over top layer of cream crackers and spread evenly.

Keep in fridge until needed. Slices in half-cream cracker slices - makes 30 slices :)

Quick and easy egg noodles

Ingredients:
Salt, to taste
Water
Spaghetti
Eggs
Olive oil

Method:
Break enough pasta for the amount of people you want to feed in half (This works great for 1 person too - in fact - works best in small quantities).
Put salt to taste and a teaspoon of oil in a microwaveable dish.
Add lots of boiling water from a ketle to micro dish.
Drop in the spaghetti and stir through oily water so they don't stick.
Cook on 100% power in microwave for 10 minutes.
Check if soft, but firm - if not, repeat in 5 minute intervals until soft and firm.
Drain the pasta.
Break and stir one egg per person through the pasta.
Microwave for 1 minute on 100% power.
Stir, repeat - until egg is nice and cooked and sticking to pasta.
Viola! Egg noodle!
Garnish / flavour with salt, pepper and a dash of lemon juice if needed.
A sprig of mint on top does the trick too :)

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with a Tomato Basil Red Wine Shrimp Sauce

Recipe by: Timonmeerkat
The recipe is in the order that the dishes are prepared to have them all done at the same time
Serves 3 - adjust to your needs

All references to salt:
Less is always better

Spaghetti - whole wheat
1x half a pack

Spaghetti - Method :
Bring a lot of water to the boil, with salt and a dash of olive oil
Once the water is boiling, cook pasta until "al dente" - soft, but firm
Strain, wash with cold water, serve in bowls

Sauce - Ingredients:
3x tomatoes
1x tablespoon olive oil
1x teaspoon salt
1x teaspoon basil pesto
1x teaspoon crushed garlic
200ml glass red wine
200ml water
400g clean shrimp
2 x teaspoon Bisto dissolved in a little cold water, if needed
Other spices, mildly, to taste

Sauce - Method:
Blend all ingredients in a blender / liquidiser until completely smooth
Add to a saucepan and bring to the boil
Add defrosted shrimp
Stir
Simmer until shrimp is cooked through
Add Bisto, if needed, to thicken

Bring it all together:
Pour generous amounts of sauce over each served bowl of spaghetti
Can be served with a side salad of fresh greens

:)

Low-fat, Low-GI Chicken Thighs with Marrow, Green Beans and Tomato Base Sauce

Recipe by: Timonmeerkat
The recipe is in the order that the dishes are prepared to have them all done at the same time.

All references to salt:
Less is always better

Marrow - Ingredients:
1x handful of baby marrows per person

Marrow - Method :
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
Spray oven dish/pan with 'Spray and Cook'
Spray marrows with 'Spray and Cook'
Salt topside to taste
Place in pan and in oven and bake until top side is wrinkly and grilled
Turn and salt the other half to taste
Bake until other half is wrinkly and grilled
Turn oven down to 100 degrees C to keep warm

Sauce - Ingredients:
1x tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1x medium tomato per person - liquidised or very finely chopped - skin and all
2x teaspoon crushed garlic
1x teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves (finely chopped)
3x teaspoon 'Bisto'

Sauce - Method:
Bring olive oil to medium to moderate heat in a big enough saucepan
Add garlic, rosemary and salt to taste
Fry for 3 minutes
Add tomatoes - fry for 3 minutes
Add enough water to form a somewhat runny sauce
Boil on high heat for 10 minutes
Add 'Bisto' dissolved in a little cold water
Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add more water or Bisto (dissolved in cold water) to get the right consistency
Test and add salt to taste
Simmer for 5 minutes, turn down to lowest heat to keep warm

Chicken - Ingredients:
2x chicken thighs, skinned, deboned and all the fat cut off per person
Mustard powder
1x tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Chicken - Method:
Salt chicken to taste
Rub chicken with mustard powder so all of it is coated
Heat olive oil in pan to medium to moderate heat
Add chicken and sear till cooked, turning occasionally
Turn down pan to low, keep warm

Green Beans - Ingredients:
1x handful of green beans per person
2/3rds of a cup of water

Green Beans - Method:
Chop ends off green beans
Place in microwaveable dish and add water, salt to taste (salt optional - they are really good fresh)
Repeat 3x: 100% power for 2 minutes, stir
Drain water off

Bring it all together:
Dish all items in a triangle around the edge of each person's plate
Pour a healthy helping of sauce in the middle
Serve

:)

Healthy low-fat, low-GI recipes

As part of my 2nd Body For Life exercise program, I have to come up with creative ways to make low-fat, low-GI food from mostly boring ingredients. I plan to share them here, because no one likes boring food and we could all eat a little healthier.

Watch this space ...