Brinjal, Mushroom & Rocket Salad

Most of you will know that I'm not a salad kind of guy. I enjoy eating them but I really don't like making them. I leave that to The Lovely Wife and at the risk of repeating myself, she makes damn good salads. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if I've EVER made a salad!

Some time ago, we went for dinner at this place where we had this salad with Brinjals, Mushrooms and Rocket. It wasn't a cold salad but neither was it hot. Bottom line was, the taste combination was really, really good.

So, as I am accustomed to doing, I decided I was going to try and replicate it. And replicate it I did!





This is what I did:

Ingredients
3 cloves Garlic - chopped
1 tsp basil
3 baby brinjals - cut into slices
200g Button Mushrooms - quartered
50g Rocket
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Method
Degorge the brinjal by sprinkling some salt over it and then patting dry. Sautee the garlic with the basil till soft. Add in the brinjal and lightly fry until the brinjal is tender. Add in the mushrooms and cook till juices are released and mushroom is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Toss together with Rocket and balsamic vinegar.

The salad was really tasty and I liked the slightly sourish taste of the balsamic vinegar. The trick is not to put in too much and you can even leave it out if you don't like the taste of vinegar.

The rocket added a nice crunch and freshness to the salad while the mushrooms and brinjals complemented each other really well. Make sure that the brinjal is cooked through thoroughly but not to the extent that it is mushy.




A great salad to serve as a side dish or make a larger batch as a vegetable accompaniment to a main meal. Whatever you choose to do with this, you can't go wrong.

Now who says I can't make salads!!

Chicken Mushroom Salad

This is something I whipped up some time ago when we all felt like a healthy lunch. You all know about my love for mushrooms and how the family loves them too. Both my boy and girl love anything with corn in it and The Lovely Wife just adores anything that has to do with vegetables - especially if the word Salad is in it.

Salads are always great to have on a hot day - which is practically every day in Malaysia. The thing about salads is that you can eat a lot of it and not feel guilty. Aside from that, its really nutritious and wholesome and best of all it doesnt take long to make!



The real beauty about a salad is that you can add anything and everything to it and it tastes just great. To add more body to my salad, I added in some chicken.
This is what I did:

Ingredients
200g chicken breast - sliced
200g brown mushrooms - sliced
1 onion - sliced
1 clove garlic - chopped
1 tsp oregano
Salt
Pepper
1 Head Lettuce Leaves
1 Orange Capsicum - sliced
1 Red Capsicum - sliced
1 Cucumber -sliced
1 tin corn

Method
Sautee the garlic and onion and then add in the oregano. Put in the the mushrooms and chicken and cook till tender. Season with salt and pepper.
On a separate plate, combine the lettuce leaves, cucumber, capsicum and corn. Arrange the chicken on top and toss before serving.

Very tasty and very wholesome. I didnt add any dressing but you could add in a little vinagrette dressing if you like. The mild flavours from the chicken and mushroom provided enough of a dressing for me and you could get the real taste and flavour of the vegetables.



Fresh, crunchy, tasty and perfect for a quick meal!

Better than or at least as good as Chilli's

A close friend, Lynn, remarked the other day that I am a 'kill-joy' because I always want to try and make something that the kids like at restaurants. She says that if I keep doing this, the kids will never want to eat out anymore and will never enjoy food outside. I replied that it wasn't actually a 'want' but more of a 'need' - I need to know that I can do it better or at the very least, as good as what you get outside!

I kind of see her point though, but at the same time I dont see any reason why they shouldn't realise that Daddy (and Mummy) make food that is just as tasty, if not better, than what they would get at eateries outside. Furthermore, at least we know what goes into homecooked food, it is definitely more wholesome and also cheaper.




One of our favourite places to eat out is Chilli's Grill and Bar I find it rather interesting that this American Food chain is almost a worldwide name now as they have outlets all over the world. There are Four outlets in Kuala Lumpur alone and I believe one in Penang.

We love going to Chilli's as not only is the food good, it is value for money as Kids eat Free with every Adult Meal, How's that for Free Advertising for Chillis!! I also love the Bottomless drinks, otherwise known as unlimited refills, that you can order there. I usually make sure I finish at least 5 glasses of Coke when I order the bottomless drinks - much to The Lovely Wifes disenchantment! These days though, I try and stick to just water.



When the kids were younger, they would be happy with their own kids meals but nowadays they enjoy sharing the food we order as well. We all enjoy the salads at Chilli's as not only are they tasty, the portions are large and salads are always best eaten shared!


So since we all enjoy the salads there, can you really blame me for trying to make something similar at home? I think not! This is what I did.

Crispy Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1 egg
1 Tbsp Honey
Pepper
Salt
6 Tbsp Corn Flour
3 Tbsp Plain flour
Oregano
Basil


Salad Leaves
Carrots
Cherry Tomatoes
Capsicum
Japanese Cucumber

Dressing
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise
Splash of lemon juice
1 chopped Gherkin
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp yellow Mustard (English if you want it a bit piquant)
2 Tbsp Honey

Method
Mix the flour, salt, pepper, oregano and basil together. Set aside. Beat the egg with the honey and set aside. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture then into the flour mixture and fry till well cooked. Cut the breasts into pieces.

To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together till smooth. Adjust it to your taste.

On a serving platter, arrange the salad leaves, cut Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Capsicum and Japanese Cucumber. Place the chicken over it and serve with the dressing

This salad not only looked like the real thing, it also tasted like the real thing - perhaps even better. The Chicken came out a lot better than I expected. It wasnt as cruncy as the chicken you get at Chillis, but it was certainly very tasty.



What I really like about this Salad is how you can customise it with whatever vegetables you like. Add more salad leaves or more tomatoes - just the way you like it!


The kids loved it and both The Lovely Wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A Simple, Tasty and Healthy dish - what more could you ask for! My son and daughter both remarked that although they still like Chillis, what we cook at home is just as good!

Rosemary Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

I've been putting on a bit of weight and since turning 40, have decided to look after my food intake a little bit more. That kind of implies that I used to look after it before, and that isn't very true! So, I'm going to try to start looking after my food intake and hopefully shed a few kilos in the process.
With that noble thought in mind, last weekend the Lovely Wife and I combined our talents to produce this wickedly delicious dish. We both love the salads that are served at Chillis Restaurants and so we decided to make our own version.


Often at restaurants, the chicken is fried in batter before being cut into strips. In an effort to try and be healthy, I decided I would roast the chicken strips instead. But how to give it lots of flavour?

This is when I decided to sautee some onions to caramelise them. I then threw in some garlic and lots of oregano and basil as well as black pepper. Then I tossed the chicken strips into this mixture, sprinkled it with some salt and layed it out in a baking tray to roast. I roasted the chicken till the juices that came out of the chicken had evaporated but the chicken was lovely, tender and juicy on the inside.

Once the chicken was cooked, the Lovely Wife prepared the salad leaves, capsicum and tomatoes and her lovely, lovely dressing. She has a knack for throwing together the most wonderful salad dressings and this time she didn't disappoint. Her Honey Mustard dressing was really wonderful. Not too thick or creamy either!


We really enjoyed this Chicken Salad and I was quite amazed at how quick and easy it was to throw together. The kids loved it too!

Pomelo Salad

Pomelo's are widely available in Malaysia, and are particularly famous in Ipoh, Tapah and Bidor. On a recent (end Oct) work related trip to Ipoh, I was instructed by not only my wife but my son and daughter as well - "Make sure you buy some Pomelo's on the way back."

I've learnt that safest thing to do is to do as I am told. Especially as far as my children are concerned!

I'm not a big fan of the Pomelo but the lovely wife and kids love it. For those that don't know what a Pomelo is, it's like a large lime. Perhaps a better way to describe it would be like an Asian Grapefruit? The peel is thick while the flesh inside is sweetish with a slide bitter aftertaste.



The picture above doesn't quite give an idea of how large a Pomelo is. The picture could simply be a magnification of a lime for all you know. So... compare the Pomelo to the head of an almost 4 year old. Yes, this is a pomelo next to the head of my 4 year old (going on 52!!) daughter, Sarah.



The lovely wife and kids polished off one whole pomelo at one sitting and then on the weekend my wife decided to make a pomelo salad. Basically, its the flesh of the pomelo placed in a bowl.



Then seasoned with some fish sauce, lemon juice, chopped shallots, chopped chillis and some peanuts.



Easy Peasy! Lovely on its' own or as a side dish.

Greek Salad and Stuffed Mushrooms

I know I've posted about my Stuffed Mushrooms before but I've never posted pictures of Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms. I made these for the starter for dinner last week. Portobello's are so much bigger and juicier then Swiss Browns or Buttons. This time, I stuffed the mushrooms with chopped chilli, pine nuts, breadcrumbs and garlic.

The pictures are also so much clearer thanks to my new DSLR. (I really don't know when I'll be able to stop harping on my new camera - the pictures are just sooo good! At least I think they are...)
After baking in the oven for about 20 minutes, all the flavours just combine beautifully and the mushroom gets tender and juicy,



And to complete the menu for the Dinner at Restaurant Dharm, we have the lovely wife making her signature Greek Salad. I've watched her make her salad dressing countless times but can never quite get it tasting the way she does it. She also somehow gets the right mix of greens, tomatoes, capsicum and feta cheese.

That is why, as far as possible, I leave the salads to her. Why mess around with a good thing? The salad was the perfect accompaniment to the Moussaka.