Same same different

I bought 750 g of lamb mince and couldn't decide what to do with it.  Looking into the fridge and spice cupboard, I decided to make a sort of  kofta.  Then I decided I had made too much, so ended up making 2 meals for 2 different days  which used the same ingredients differently.  The first night, we had lamb kofta, 1/2 sliced red capsicum, 1/2 Roma tomato, sliced lengthways, and 1/4 large fennel,sliced,  with a cucumber yoghurt sauce on burritos.

 

The second night, we had lamb meatballs, couscous with red capsicum, onions and fennel, and the cucumbers and yoghurt sauce:

Lamb Kofta/ lamb meatballs

Ingredients :

750 g lamb mince
3/4 cup couscous
I small onion
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Ground salt
Ground black pepper and green pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground dried chillis
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard seeds
1/ teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 egg, beaten
I clove garlic, chopped finely
1 handful of parsley, chopped
4 pre- soaked bamboo skewers

Method:

Pour 3/4 of hot water on couscous and leave, while preparing the rest.
Mix together other ingredients, then mix in the couscous.
For koftas:  place 1/2 of the mixture on  skewers, squeezing each into a sausage shape.  Grill for about  10 minutes or until cooked, turning occasionally.
For meatballs:  preheat oven to 180 degrees. Roll into walnut sized balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until cooked.

Cucumber and yoghurt sauce:

Ingredients:

1grated Lebanese cucumber
1 small tub natural/ Greek yoghurt.
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt
Pepper
A dollop of olive oil.

Method:

Mix all together.

Vegetable Couscous:

Ingredients:

olive oil
1/2 red capsicum, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/4 large fennel, diced
1 cup couscous
1  1/2 cup boiling water
Pepper

Method:

Heat olive oil in pan.  Add vegetables and cook on medium heat until tender.  Turn off heat.
Pour in stock and then add couscous and stir.  Leave for about 4 minutes stirring occasionally until soft, but with seperate grains.

Other dishes cooked this week were banana cake, grilled oysters, potato and leek soup (courtesy of a friend's recipe):

and turmeric fish with vegetable couscous:

By the way, this turmeric fish is very tasty and very simple. I used white snapper, cut into chunks and mixed it in a bowl with a sprinkling of turmeric and curry powder, salt, pepper, shredded coconut and natural yoghurt.  Heat some olive oil and heat the fish mixture, stirring constantly until cooked through.

Of course, the ladies who lunch lunched.  We went to the old favourite, New Farm Deli and Café where we tried the poached egg and mushroom

salmon omelette

omelette and fennel

orange and almond cake

and berry muffin.

We also discovered the very trendy, Leaf, where we shared a quick baba hanouj and toast, thick chips and dip, and toasted cheese on bread.  Nice!  Plus, we could sticky beak at the cooks preparing the evening's meal.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

The ladies who dine had a knitting day, and all contributed to morning tea ( sourdough fruit bread and some beautiful little cakes), lunch (potato and leek soup with yoghurt and chopped chives, Spanish sourdough bread,and little caramel tarts) and lots of tea and coffee.  Since I was contributing the breads, I decided to try out Brewbakers in Albion.  The parking availability in the area is atrocious, but the bread was straight out of the oven and very good.  Judging from the amount of customers buying and dining there, the shop is considered well worth the stress of driving round searching for a park.

Another bakery I tried out this week was Sol Breads in West End.  This time I tried the cheese twists and the olive and thyme heat sourdough.  The cheese twists are delicious.  The sourdough here is heavier and drier, and I prefer it toasted to fresh.

I had lunch with a friend at Sakura Sushi, where the sushi train offered a good variety

 

(though the edamame were a bit too cold)

 The crab balls were good

 as was the grilled salmon on rice.  I also enjoyed a spiced  beef sushi plate and a packaged mocha.
Diners can help themselves to free tea and water.  They were very tolerant about us chatting on and lingering, so I appreciated the hosts.

We also had a day out at Mooloolaba with friends.  We tried out Bella Venezia restaurant in Mooloolaba, which was quite cosy, with helpful staff.  We tried the duck and mushroom risotto, which was apparently good:

the seafood risotto, which was a bit of a disappointment:

 and the fish of the day which was very good:

As well as that, we ordered wine by the glass since we all wanted different wines and there was a good variety.  After, we went for a stroll along the foreshore amongst the pandanus palms, eating ice-creams from Gelatissimo, before the bad weather rolled in.

Another day, we tried to get into Aspley oriental forYum Cha but got fed up with huge queues and waiting, so ended up at the Oriental Yum Cha in Fortitude Valley instead where we got in immediately.  This time we had steamed Char Siu Bao

pork and black bean sauce, steamed dumpling, steamed wrapped king prawn :

Lo Mai Gai

 

 

 and, the only disappointment, mango pudding, which was fairly tasteless:

 

,
This week's home meals included the left over oxtail stew with additions to make a pasta sauce.

Then, we had  vegetarian minestrone soup and sourdough bread:

Quick Vegetarian Minestrone soup:

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 can mixed beans
I can chopped tomatoes
 2 garlic cloves, chopped
fist sized piece of pumpkin, chopped into chunks
1 onion chopped into chunks
2 celery sticks, chopped into chunks
I large handful of French beans, topped and tailed and chopped into chunks
2 cups chopped cabbage
vegetable stock to cover
salt and pepper to taste
oregano to taste
2 bayleaf
grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Heat oil and sauté garlic and onions till soft. Stir in other vegetables, canned tomatoes, and juices from can of beans, then add stock and seasonings and heat to boil.  Turn down and simmer until just tender.   Add beans, check taste, and adjust if necessary.  Heat through, then serve with parmesan sprinkled over the top.

We also had black bream with kale and tomato:

and seasoned chicken wings and baked vegetables with beans.

 

Oh!  And we had microwaved apple stuffed with cranberries, pistacchios, cinnamon and brown sugar for dessert one night.