Oyako Donburi

Ingredients
1/2 lb raw chicken cut from bone (1 large breast)
5 eggs
flour
1 cc water
3 dried mushrooms
1/4 c sugar
1/3 c Japanese-type soy sauce
2 scallions, cut diagonally or one onion, sliced
2 c chopped fresh spinach



Ways of Working

Cut chicken into small pieces. Beat in a bowl the eggs. Dust chicken pieces with flour, dip in eaten egg (reserve extra), and fry on both sides in hot oil until brown. Combine in saucepan the water and mushrooms. Simmer 10 minutes, remove mushrooms, and cut fine.

Drain any excess oil from skillet. Add to skillet the mushrooms and liquid, sugar and soy. Simmer 15 minutes. Add scallions. Simmer 10 more minutes.

Add spinach. While spinach is still bright green, add reserved beaten eggs to skillet and cover.

Cook briefly, just until set. Ladle over individual rice servings in bowls and top with chopped parsley.

Shumai

Ingredients

24 wonton skins
300 g lean ground beef
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger root
2 tbsp finely chopped green onion
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
1½ tbsp sesame oil
2½ tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp green peas


Ways of Working :

Mix ginger root, onion, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and corn starch and add the mix to the lean ground beef. Stir and mix well until the mixture becomes sticky. Divide into 22- 24 fillings and place on the center of the wonton skins. Forn the wonton skins into "bowls" with flat bottoms.

Place a geen pea on the center of the filling. Steam 12-14 minutes over high heat. The skins may also be seald in shaped into "half moons". Deep-fry in oil (180°C) until golden.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Ingredients
115g Butter
115g Plain chocolate, broken
300g Caster sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon
Vanilla essence
115g Plain flour
2 tablespoons Cocoa powder
Pinch Salt
100g White chocolate chips



Ways of Serving
Preheat oven to 180C, 350F, gas mark 4. Grease 7 inch square cake tin with butter and line with baking paper. Place the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gentle simmering water until melted. Stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla essence. Add the eggs one at a time, stiring until blended. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool before serving the chocolate chip brownies.

Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

225g soft margarine
100g walnut pieces
110g plain chocolate
170g plain flour
400g caster sugar
4 eggs
2.5ml salt
10ml vanilla essence
2.5ml baking powder
100g chocolate chip


Ways of Working

1. Melt the margarine and chocolate together.
2. Remove heat add sugar mix well
3. Add the vannilla eggs and chocolate chips
4. Sift the baking powder with flour and salt
5. Fold the flour into the chocolate mixture
6. Pour into lightly greased 23cm square or circle pan
7. Bake at 160c for fifty minutes
8. Remove from oven and leave to cool for 12 hours

Bruschetta

Ingredients

8 slices ciabatta bread

2 garlic cloves, halved

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

8 ripe tomatoes, sliced

8 fresh basil leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Toast the bread lightly. Rub with the garlic, cut side down, while still hot. Season with salt and lots of pepper, and drizzle enough oil on each slice to soak thoroughly.

2. Divide the tomato slices evenly between the slices of bread.

3. Top each bruschetta with a fresh basil leaf. Serve immediately

Serves 4

Fish: Good fat vs. bad

In seafood, it's key to know which fat can help your heart -- and which can hurt it. The fat in seafood is the kind you want to eat -- even in a low-fat diet. A "fatty" fish still has less fat than the "leanest" red meat. Better yet, the fat in fish helps prevent heart attacks. For maximum benefit, resist the urge to cook your seafood in butter, or ordering it fried out -- almost all oils used for commercial frying contain artery-clogging fats. Cook seafood at home with small amounts of canola or olive oil -- or no added fat.

Eat more to Weight Less

If you want to lose weight permanently, eating several small meals throughout the day to help you with this. Try to eat a small meal consisting of protein, fat, and complex carbohydrate. An example would be; for breakfast 1 hard boiled egg, and an orange, at 10am have a can of tuna on toast, for lunch a Chicken breast and any vegetable, at 2pm have a protein shake, for dinner a chicken breast and vegetable, in the evening have some celery and peanut butter. You get the idea. Avoid sugar, bread, pasta, salt, but not fat.

Potato Soup

Ingredients

8 rashers back bacon

200g/7oz onion, chopped

450g/1lb potatoes, cubed

275g/10oz canned condensed chicken soup

600ml/1pt milk

1 teaspoon dried dill

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Sauté the onions in the bacon fat over a medium heat until soft and golden.

2. Add the potatoes and enough water to cover. Cover the pan, and cook for 15–20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

3. Stir together the condensed soup and milk until smooth, and add to potato mixture. Heat but do not allow to boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the dill.

4. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top to garnish. Serve hot.

Serves 5

Lobster rolls

Ingredients

450g/1lb lobster meat (fresh or canned)

2 celery sticks

250ml/9fl oz lemon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

6 small flatbreads such as pitta

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Ways of Working

1. Cube the lobster meat and the celery, and put in a bowl. Stir in three-quarters of the mayonnaise and all of the tarragon.

2. Warm the flatbreads under the grill. When warm but not toasted, spread with the extra mayonnaise, and scoop in the lobster mixture.

3. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and serve straight away.

Serves 6

Chinese Egg Soup

Ingredients

900ml/11⁄2pt chicken stock

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

2 tablespoons dry sherry

pinch of ground ginger

25g/1oz frozen peas

1⁄2 red pepper, seeded and diced

1 egg, beaten

Ways of Working

1. Put all the ingredients except the egg in a heavy saucepan, and bring to the boil.

2. Simmer for 5 minutes until the peas are tender. Remove from the heat, and pour the egg in a thin stream through the prongs of a fork so that it ‘flowers’.

3. Let the soup stand for 20 seconds to allow the egg to set, then serve immediately.

Serves 4

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

350g/12oz mushrooms, finely chopped

50g/2oz butter

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs (without any crust)

1⁄2 garlic clove

900ml /11⁄2 pt chicken stock pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons double cream

salt and ground black pepper

Ways of Working

1. Sauté the mushroom with the butter in a heavy saucepan for a few minutes. Add the parsley and cook, stirring, until soft.

2. Add the breadcrumbs and garlic, stir and pour in the chicken stock with a pinch of nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes

3. Purée the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return to a clean pan, stir in the cream and reheat gently. Serve hot.

Serves 5

Vanilla ice cream

Ingredients

600ml/1pt double cream

1 vanilla pod, split lengthways

pared zest of 1 lemon

4 eggs, beaten, plus 2 egg yolks

175g/6oz caster sugar

Ways of Working

1. Put the cream in a heavy saucepan and heat gently, whisking.

2. Add the vanilla pod, lemon zest, eggs and yolks to the pan, and heat until the mixture nearly reaches boiling point. Reduce the heat and cook for 8–10 minutes, whisking continuously, until thickened.

3. Stir the sugar into the cream mixture, set aside and leave to cool. Once cool, strain the mixture through a sieve.

4. Slit open the vanilla pod, scrape out the tiny black seeds and stir into the cream. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezing container with a lid, and freeze overnight until set.

Serves 6

Blueberry Sundae

Ingredients

800g/13⁄4lb fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 teaspoons cornflour

350g/12oz granulated sugar

600ml/1pt vanilla yogurt

Ways of Working

1. Reserving a few blueberries for decoration, purée the blueberries in a blender or food processor. In a large saucepan, combine the blueberry purée with the lemon juice and vanilla essence. Cook over a medium

2. heat for 5 minutes.

3. Combine the cornflour and 2 tablespoons water, and add to the fruit mixture, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat, and stir in the sugar.

4. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture through a sieve to remove the blueberry skins. Layer in tall glasses, alternating with the vanilla yogurt. Decorate with reserved blueberries. Serve immediately or chill until needed.

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Serves 4

Chocolate ice-cream sandwiches

Ingredients

6 amaretti biscuits

12 dark chocolate digestive biscuits

500ml/16fl oz vanilla ice cream

Ways of Working

1. Put the amaretti biscuits in a blender or food processor, and whiz until they form coarse crumbs.

2. Take one of the digestive biscuits and spread a 2.5cm/1in layer of ice cream on its non-chocolate side. Sandwich another biscuit on top, chocolate side uppermost. Squeeze the biscuits gently together and

3. smooth the ice cream around the edges. Repeat with the remaining biscuits and ice cream.

4. Roll the edges of the biscuit sandwiches in the crushed amaretti biscuits to coat them, then place on a tray in the freezer. Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serves 6