FINYS FABULOUS FOODS AND FINDS

I had family from Interstate, and did not have much in the house, so we decided to make our own pizzas.  These are far healthier than bought ones, and two of the people also had to eat dairy free, so I knew exactly what was in the pizzas. Pizzas are not really difficult to make, nor do they take a long time to make.  I usually make double the dough and freeze it so that I can just take it out of the freezer and make a pizza whenever I feel like it, or whenever I have leftovers! However, in this instance, I had no dough and was in a hurry so used a bought base, which is not as nice as my own! Pizzas are great as they can be made with whatever you have in the pantry, or the fridge, and the following are some suggestions for when you have unexpected visitors, or if you want a very tasty casual meal.  It is also a way to get children to eat vegetables, as they are often "hidden" when cut finely and cooked.  You could also put grated vegetables in the dough which...

These are healthy spring rolls which are not fried, and therefore have no oil.  Rice paper rolls are easy to work with, and are an Asian speciality and available in the Asian isle of most supermarkets. The prawns have been roasted in the oven, and the quinoa boiled, plus the recipe has raw vegetables in it.  It therefore has many healthy elements to it and saves you making a salad.  They are great either hot or cold, on a buffet table, and I also made a dipping sauce with them. They are also good for lunch boxes, and are very versatile, and most importantly, my lovelies, they are very delicious!  I am often tempted to buy these, however even though they are a bit fiddly, they are quite easy to make, and you can virtually put in whatever filling you want.  If you don't eat prawns, substitute - anything goes with this recipe.  I also love cooking with Hoisin sauce as love both the smell and the taste of this Asian sauce. I ate them on their own with ...

This chicken roulade (or roll) has a wonderful mixture of smooth cream cheese with bacon and almonds, and a hint of olives. They are a bit fiddly to make, but well worth the effort. The taste is very delicate and the flavours are brilliant mixed together. You need to flatten out the chicken as it is nicer if it is thinner, however this is optional.  I always cut off the bits of fat if there is any on chicken breasts, and I generally use Mt Barker (A West Australian chicken company) as I find their free range chickens are nicer than the cheaper ones. I always emphasize, however, that you never over cook chicken breasts or they become dry - if you just cook them till the pink is gone, they will be tender and delicious. This recipe is suitable at a buffet, as you can slice the chicken into thin slices and serve with any other finger foods. Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes Makes: 5 servings Ingredients 2 large or 4 smaller chicken breasts 125 ...

This is a rich, very yummy tasting family pie, which is easy to make, and cannot fail! Pies are so much nicer when home made as against buying them, and particularly as you know what is going in them. You could use this as a buffet style meal where everyone helps themselves, or you could cut it into squares and serve. I served this pie with some rocket, spinach leaves, lettuce and mini tomatoes. Preparation Time : 20 minutes Cooking Time: 60 minutes Serves: 4-6 servings Ingredients 1 sheet Puff pastry 1 onion, chopped 1 potato, sliced thin (optional) 4 short cut bacon rashers, diced 250g pack frozen chopped spinach 5 eggs or 4 extra large 300 ml cream ½ cup grated cheese 100 g Australian style feta Cooking oil spray Instructions Preheat the oven to 170°C or 150° if it is a fan forced oven.  Spray a 20 cm pie dish with the oil.  Defrost the pastry and put it into the dish, bringing it up the sides - use 1 ½ sheets if you prefer thicker pastry....

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...

Lime curd or lime butter - what can I say!  It is one of the most delicious desserts or spreads for use on toast. It can either be lemons or limes and in this case I had limes on a tree, and as I do not have a lemon tree, I used up the limes. I also made my own pastry as I like to do, as I know exactly what goes into it if I make it myself.  I also find that the bought pastries are too thick, and the pastry takes over the whole tart or pie, or whatever you are making.  Hence I also do not like to buy pies as against making them from "scratch", as if buying a shop made product, in most cases the pastry is way too thick. Pastry is really very easy to make, there is no standing or resting as you do not use a rising agent so pastry really takes no longer than about ten minutes to make.  Once you have made your own, you will only go back to a bought one, when you are really in a hurry. I had also made a batch of the lime curd a few days before, and you can see thi...

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...

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...