Zucchini and Basil Soup

Brrrrrrr it's so cold outside, which is pretty unusual for this time of the year. Rather than complain about the Antarctic winds and torrential rain, I've decided to embrace this unseasonal wintery blast by jumping into my favourite pyjamas, cooking a healthy but hearty Zucchini soup (a recipe I pinched from my Aunty Karen) then warming myself up by the fire. Don't you just wish it was winter so you could do this every night?

What you need

2 zucchinis diced
2 bunches of basil (2-3 cups)
1 red onion diced

2 cups carnation milk (or cream)
600ml vegetable stock

Dice the onion and zucchini into fairly small chunks.

Throw onions, zucchini and basil into a large saucepan with vegetable stock. Bring the soup to the boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes with lid on. 

Once all the veggies are soft pour soup and carnation milk into a food processor to blend, return to pot and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.

Serve with some crusty bread covered in HEAPS of butter :)

What are some of your favourite winter-warming recipes?    

 

Authentic Teriyaki Beef

Konnichiwa my fellow bloggers! I luuuuuuuurve Japanese food but I was never game enough to cook this cuisine myself. I was, shamefully, a bit of a xenofoodie (fear of cooking foreign food). I thought the ingredients would be hard to come by and I believed I'd be slaving away in the kitchen for hours, only to end up with a failed attempt at a Japanese dish. I was oh so wrong, the thing is guys and gals, their dishes are so quick and easy to make and you'll find most of the ingredients in the asian section of your local supermarket. So without further ado, let's get cooking.

What you need

600grams of lean beef topside roast

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup mirin (asian section of supermarket)

1/4 cup sake (can use dry sherry)

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Slice beef thin, this is so it can cook through before the Teriyaki sauce becomes too thick

In a bowl combine soy sauce, mirin, sake and caster sugar and stir with a fork until sugar has fully dissolved    

Add beef to sauce and refrigerate for 2 hours, this ensures the flavours infuse into the meat.

Fry until meat browns. Serve immediately with steamed Japanese rice.

どうぞめしあがれ  (bon appétit).