FINYS FABULOUS FOODS AND FINDS

If you are having visitors and want to impress anyone, then this is a recipe you could make.  With a "professional" look, it almost looks as if it has been bought. When you make food at home, it often is not "even", and has a rustic look that you do not see in bought meals from the supermarket.  This is particularly so when I make pastry as my pastry is rarely even.  However having jagged edges or being uneven to my mind, makes it look more authentic. This recipe is an authentic one, and one you will be praised for serving up to the most discerning guest at your dinner table. Of course, you can make it just for the family as well, which is what I did but either way, it will taste good and look brilliant.  I would term it a recipe that will impress! Although pistachios are expensive you can find small shops that sell things loose rather than having to buy a whole packet, so if you do not usually use pistachios, find one of these shops and just buy the amoun...

Rice paper rolls are a bit fiddly but I think they are SO worth it.  With vegetables (or meat) wrapped in a wafer thin pancake type of rolls, there is no limit to your imagination when creating different versions of these! They are generally with Asian inspired vegetables, however you could really making anything inside these tiny paper thin pancakes.  I have even made a dessert using them, and they were delicious as the pancake is not sweet and the sweet of a dessert balances it out to give a great sweet! They can also be vegetarian or not!  They are often made with prawns, which is a recipe I often make, however in this instance I decided to be "vegetarian" for the night!  My partner is a meat and veggies person, and was not impressed that I left out the meat part, however he even admitted that they tasted very good. If you do not eat fish, simply leave the tuna out of this recipe, however the tuna makes it extra healthy as it is packed with Omega3 which ha...

DUCK - I used to breed them, so now it is a bit odd to eat them! They are beautiful creatures, but then again if you think this way, we would all be vegetarians! Many people just love duck and some, of course, do not like it.  I think there is an art to cooking it, and I have cooked it over the years many way. One of my favourite meals, when I eat out is Peking Duck and you can read about some of the restaurants I have tried at this link , or this link . When done correctly, duck can be tender and delicious, however getting it right is not so easy. The latest way I am doing it is in slow oven, and baking it for longer than normal.  Getting the skin crisp is an art that I sometimes achieve and sometimes not.  I have even bought an Asian speciality to make the skin look like it does in the photos on the above links, however it was difficult to work with, went a nice colour but was still not crisp. One good way to bake duck is in a clear bag that is freely availa...

BRUNCH - is something that gets eaten a little later than breakfast! Or supposedly so.  Sometimes I make a big breakfast and I usually have this a bit later than my normal uncooked breakfast, as then I do not need to have lunch as well. Well, my lovelies, here is a recipe that is great for a Sunday morning, and it will save you making lunch for everyone.  I love breakfasts as eggs are one of my favourite foods (along with bacon and Nestle Sweetened Condensed milk). Sadly, I can no longer eat the Sweetened Condensed milk as there is just too much sugar in it, so I now concentrate more on savoury dishes, as well as a few sweets with no added sugar. But this article is not about sweets or my sugar levels!  It is about a brunch pie!  In this one I have teamed my two favourites - eggs and bacon and turned them into a rustic egg, bacon and cheese pie. Each week, the consensus is different about whether eggs are bad for your cholesterol levels or not.  Curren...

Gozleme - these are Turkish and are a stuffed flat bread type of meal. The Turkish people have been making these for many years, and I have been eating them out for about a year. In fact, I have written an article about Gozleme cafes, which you can check out here .   There are all different fillings you can put in these, however they are mostly spinach and feta, or rather that is a very popular option.  You can also have them with meat however I no longer eat red meat very often. Eating them out at Turkish cafes is usually very cheap and one serving is enough for two people for lunch.  This makes them only about $6 Australian each for a lunch, which is indeed very cheap! They are always made fresh, and you can often watch the skill and dexterity which they use in making this bread - I find this fascinating to watch. I decided I would try them myself as I generally prefer home made food as I know exactly what goes in it, and there are usually less chemical...

I may "harp" about the 5/2 diet however I was fanatical about it for a few years. Not that I wanted to lose weight - it has other effects which include lowering blood pressure and more.  This worked well for me for a while, however eventually I had to go down to 6/1 as I found I was losing too much weight! Currently this is what I do - I eat my 500 calories just once a week instead of two though it has not had the good side effects that doing it twice had. Anyway this article is not supposed to be about a diet but about food that is suitable for someone who wants to eat healthy, low fat and low calorie food, which this is. The other advantage of this recipe is that I have heard and read that we "should" eat fish twice a week as it also has so many health benefits, the main one being the Omega 3.  Many of us take fish oil supplements to get our Omega 3 however I am a firm believer in eating and getting vitamins naturally rather than taking a pill. On saying...

I used to be vegetarian, however after many years, I started to eat chicken and other poultry. Now I have reverted to also eating meat occasionally and I also eat and cook with bacon, as this is one of my favourite foods. I tend to have a vegetarian meal at least once a week still and seem to make a lot of chicken dishes, as chicken is so versatile. This recipe is one that I had most of the ingredients in the house and the only thing I had to buy were the bean sprouts, which I always buy fresh. I often keep frozen chicken in the freezer for those times when I do not know what to make for dinner, and as chicken is so very versatile, it is easy to defrost and make all in the one day. For this recipe I have used chicken breasts, which you need to make sure you do not over cook as they become very dry if you over cook them.  So important - only cook chicken strips for a few minutes if you want them to be melt in your mouth fabulous! I also always have cashews in my fridge (...

 Once a week I eat just 500 calories in a day for health reasons.  This is on the 5/2 diet and I do not do it to lose weight. This is a filling meal you could make and still be within your 500 calories for one of your two fasting days. I am always on the lookout for ideas for these days as a salad gets a bit boring after a year or so of being on this diet. This egg white omelette is ideal for this, or if you want an easy, low fat, low calorie meal.  It has approximately 235 calories in the whole meal! You can add whatever vegetables you like, and I have used what I had left in my fridge. I used the spinach that I grow in my garden as this climbing type variety is ideal for cooking or eating in a salad. Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes Makes: 1 omelette Ingredients 3 large egg whites A handful of spinach ½ stick celery, chopped fine ½ onion, chopped 25 g Mozzarella cheese (or any tasty cheese) oil, or spray 10 g parsley, chop...

Fish pie on it's own can sometimes be a bit tasteless.  So because I love prawns, I decided to add some prawns to a fish pie. Now, I have to admit I tried this twice as it did not turn out the first time!  This was really annoying as I wasted the prawns, but it made me more determined to get it right the second time. This fish pie is made more tasty by the addition of  these king prawns.  The two textures go very well together, and the prawns are nice and soft if not overcooked.  I have served it with my  quinoa salad . If you do not like prawns, I would put some soy sauce in, or extra salt and pepper, or even a bit of chili or curry to give it some extra taste. Or, the prawns could be replaced with a similar quantity of extra fish if you do not like prawns. Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes Makes: 3 servings Ingredients 400g potatoes, peeled 1 medium leek, washed 65g butter 250g king prawns  20 g plain flo...