Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1.5kg good-quality blade or chuck steak, trimmed of fat, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1 bottle (750ml) good-quality red wine (merlot is ideal)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled, chopped
• 150g pancetta, rind removed, cut into strips
• 3 tbs (1/4 cup) plain flour
• 1 cup (250ml) beef stock
• 1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled
• 12 eschalots, peeled
• 300g button mushrooms

• Bouquet garni

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1 piece orange peel

Balti Paste

Ingredients:

      5 -6 tb Coriander seed
      2 -3 tb Cumin seed
      2    3" pieces of cassia bark
           -(can substitute cinnamon;
           -but cassia is superior)
      2 -3    Habaneros or whatever you like
      2 ts Mustard seed
      2 ts Fennel seed
      3 ts Cardamom seed
      1 ts Fenugreek seed
      6    Bay leaves
      25    Curry leaves; or more
OTHER
      2 tb Ground turmeric
      1 tb Ginger powder
      1 tb Chilli powder
      1 pn Asafoetida
 
  Roast the spices and allow to cool, grind to a powder, then add additional ingredients.
  
  Mix spices and place in a bowl, add 6-8 fl oz (175-250 ml) of vinegar. 
 Mix the spice into the vinegar, adding water if needed to make a creamy paste.
  Let this stand for a while, 1/2 hour is best.
  
  Meanwhile heat 6-8 fl oz (175-250 ml) vegetable oil.
 Add paste to the oil, care is needed here as it will splatter very easily.
 Stir the paste for about 5 mins, do not let it stick. Remove from heat and stand for 5-10 mins,
 if the oil rises to the top the spices are cooked, if not add more oil and cook again for a while, don't forget to keep stiring.
  
  Bottle the paste, (sterile jars essential) and cap with hot oil. This is well worth the trouble to make and will store for a long time. It never
  lasts long in my house though= !!!

Lentil Dip

Red lentils
Olive oil
Cumin
Lemon
Preserved Lemon
Salt and Peeper

Cook lentils for 5 minutes and leave them for 10, add to blender with the other ingredients until you are happy with the consistency and taste

Granola Bars

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Prep Time:

20 min

Cook Time:

40 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

16 (2-inch) squares

Ingredients

• 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
• 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
• 3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup
• 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
• 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
• 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

Directions

Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Cost: $0.75 per portion (depending on quantity and quality of dried fruit)