Lisa's Lemony Kitchen

Miss E loves Craisins... and whenever Woolworth has some offer on Craisins (Ocean Spray)... I would buy few packets... and by the weekend... not even a packet could be sighted in my pantry. So what I'd do is to  leave a packet out, one at a time ... within her sight and keep the rest away. Otherwise I would not be able to bake this lovely Craisins Bread... recipe inspired by my favourite baker ~ Peter Reinhart ...  3 cups of bread flour 3 tablespoon of granulated sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 3 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 1 1/2 tablespoon orange or lemon extract 2 large eggs - lightly beaten 1/2 cup of buttermilk * 1/4 cup -1/2 cup of water* 2 tablespoon butter - melted 3/4 cup dried cranberry 1 cup raisins or sultanas 1 egg for egg wash Mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add orange or lemon extract, buttermilk, eggs and butter. Mix or if using the benchtop Kenwood - mix on low speed with the paddle attachment and slowly adding just enough w

One of my many favourite noodles... with lemongrass, fresh coriander and sweet chilli sauce... its a quick fix for Thai cuisine... yum..and easy to cook, especially on hectic days... :) a packet of Hokkien noodle 700g steak beef - thinly sliced 3 stalks lemongrass - chopped (or 3 tablespoon frozen chopped lemongrass) 1 cup of sweet chilli sauce 3 tablespoon fish sauce 1/2 cup of fresh coriander - chopped salt and sweet soy sauce (kicap manis) 1 garlic - chopped 1 bunch of bak choy - 1 carrot  - thinly sliced 1/2 chopped roasted peanuts lime for garnishing Marinate the beef with lemongrass, sauces, chopped coriander for at least 3 hours or overnight. Heat up the oil in the wok and pour about 3 tablespoon of oil. Add the marinated beef, and give a quick stir to seal the juice. Transfer to another plate. Heat up another 1 tablepsoon of oil and saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the bak choy stems and carrots. Give it a stir until the stem slightly wilted. Then ad

Kids are back to school after 2 weeks winter break... it was a good break for all of us... we visited family and friends... did some shopping in Kuala Lumpur... and eat!! Now I can get back to what I like to do best... baking and cooking... my suitcase was filled up with recipe books (of local delicacy)... and I am determined to try them all... slowly but surely... :) But first... I am posting this Donna Hay inspired recipe... 1 whole chicken (about 1.6 - 1.8kg)- butterflied,washed and wipe dry with kitchen papers 3 cloves of garlic - crushed 1 teaspoon chilli flakes 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 tablespoon fresh oregano - chopped 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup olive oil sea salt and cracked black pepper Pre heat the oven to 200C. Line a roasting tray with aluminium foil. Place chilli flakes, garlic, oregano, paprika, lemon zest, juice, oil in a bowl and mix well. Place the chicken on the roasting pan. Rub the chicken with some salt and b

These are some photos taken from our recent trip to Malaysia... We marched into a Thai Restaurant ~ Amarin Heavenly Thai and had to have Mieng Kam ... all the condiments goes very well with the betelnut leaf like.. known as daun kadok locally... which can't be found in Perth... its simple and refreshing... Then we ordered another plate of Thai Entree... kids get to savour the fried food and loving every minute and every bite of it...  Miss E ordered 3 Flavoured Duck... it was Ok and she was a bit dissappointed as it was laden with heaps of capsicum... sigh... she regretted not finding out more about the dish!!! Mr H Jr ordered beef cooked in fermented soy... the beef was quite dry... definitely no Thai element in the cooking  Miss E enjoying her Coconut Drink... from a seafood restaurant in Batu Kawan ... Miss E trying her hand on making chocolates... with her aunt..

We are still on a 'seafood' diet... and this is not going to be a lengthy post as I am having a bad cold .. :(

I have been away again ... its winter break, so I decided to take the kids on holiday to Malaysia... we did a lot of shopping, spending time with family and friends... A visit to Malaysia will be incomplete without indulging in local cuisine... will post some photos soon ... After indulging so much of spicy food... and of course too much of meat... the three of us (we went off without Mr H ... he has to work and earn $$$ for us to spend..hahaha !!!)...we are on seafood diet for a week... Mr H Jr will be green without his meat!!! 425g canned tuna in springwater 1/2 cup frozen peas - thawed 200 g butternut pumpkin - cut into 1cm size 1 medium leek - thinly sliced 8 eggs 1/2 cup lite sour cream 1 sheet ready rolled shortcrust pastry Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a 23cm loose base flan with the shortcrust pastry. Blind bake for 15 minutes until its light brown. Leave it to cool. Reduce the oven to 180C, line a baking tray with aluminium foil..... mix the pumpkin with 1

Miss E had her first Harp Recital on Sunday 27th June 2010. It was held at St Hilda's School in Mosman Park. Miss E (of course... the star for the day), Mr H Jr and I, sat through the whole recital... Mr H couldn't make it as he was busy working (chasing deadlines ... sigh). We received an invite from the organiser together with a small note... 'to bring a plate to share'...  I decided to make Lemon Bars (recipe adapted from Joy of Baking ).... as I still have lemons left from our backyard.. and it is easy to make... Lemon Bars recipe Base 100g cold butter 1 cup plain flour 1/2 cup icing sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt Mix all until it resembles breadcrumbs. Line a baking dish 8inch x 8 inch with baking paper. Spray some cooking oil onto the baking paper. Press the breadcrumbs firmly onto the baking dish. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes... until golden in colour. Top Layer : 2 large eggs 3/4 cup castor sugar ot more if lemon juice is sour 2 tablespoon pl

This is another Nonya dish... known as Fish Belanda ... The word Belanda means Netherland or Holland..