Camp Oven Madness

Lucky Klara is heading off cross country on a big camping trip. This lady has been wowing the competition with her Camp Oven Camp Fire Dampers, so much so that the last 3 years has seen her undefeated in her efforts to win the Damper Cookoff. Her rivals must have been practicing because Klara is keen to come up with something innovative to retain her Damper Crown for the fourth year running. Knowing We love a challenge she has enlisted our help. The only prerequisites it must be a camp oven, over hot coals, with readily available ingredients. It must've smelled pretty good, the neighbours on both sides came for a taste.

http://youtu.be/OW1TyMV315A. 

Chinese Stuffed Eggplant

Craftee Trace was after a Recipe for Stuffed Eggplant similar to those served in Chinese Restaurants. To be honest, my little Owlet, I've never heard of this dish , so the challenge was on to find a recipe or at least create one. Trolled through my myriad of cooking books without any success, my local Chinese restaurant owner gave me a blank look. Chinese recipes close to what I was looking for weren't in English, how do you say Thanks Google in Chinese?

Well this is what I came up with, flying blind. Richo, isn't a fan of eggplant, says it's too bland or that it can be too oily. He is , however, a huge fan of this dish. What was supposed to have enough leftovers for the following days lunch was devoured in one sitting. It was truly delicious. I must admit it wasn't the prettiest meal I have prepared but the taste Oh Emmmm Geee was divine. Everything about this was great, all the flavours and textures complimented each other. It was surprisingly simple to make. We have had so many unusual requests since starting our cheekyricho YouTube channel it has certainly broadened our repertoire of interesting recipes. Thank you very much for the request Tracey. I hope this helps brighten your week.

Check the video recipe out http://youtu.be/Um5I5ON1mdY

Korean Galbi or Kalbi Beef

We recently picked up a Korean hotplate on eBay. It was brand new, excellent quality sits atop a little gas burner stove  and was left over from a Korean restaraunt. We wanted to try a Korean Galbi Beef recipe which literally means BBQ short ribs but I can't find a butcher willing or able to sell me this particular cut of meat so I got Richo to sharpen my favourite knife and I set about slicing very thin slices of lean beef for my marinade. This meal was cooked at the table, with no smoke or spatter. The hotplate had a fair degree of burnt marinade on it which lifted off with very little scrubbing to my absolute delight. We served it with grilled green onions and mushrooms on a bed of steamed rice, lettuce cups and the spicy colourful Korean red pepper sauce. It was healthy, delicious, easy, economical and fun to make. We have posted a video recipe of this meal on our cheekyricho YouTube channel and you can easily make it on a BBQ or in a frypan. http://youtu.be/qaoXYML2DaE

Tefal OptiGrill unboxing, review & Turkey Burger Recipe.

This is the Tefal OptiGrill made by the makers of the Actifry and we all know how good they are.this 2000watt double plated, non stick bench top appliance will have you cooking all manner of foods to absolute perfection every time.the plates and ample sized drip tray are fully removable and dishwasher safe too. It has a sensor to detect the thickness of food and a heat activated light and alarm to notify you when your food is cooked to your personal preference.

The light changes colour according to the progress of the cooking cycle. There is also an audible alarm to alert you also. No excuse  to ever wreck another meal.

We created this burger in about 15 minutes, the bun, bacon, patty and onion were all prepared in the OptiGrill it was moist, tender, tasty and healthy, with all the fat drained away. Cleaning up was a cinch as well. Our first use was successful and we are looking forward to preparing more healthy low fat delicious meals.

http://youtu.be/6zsSZXnG3ol

Homemade Yoghurt 3 Ingredient cheekyricho recipe

Joelle has asked us to show her how to make Yoghurt, we have a Thermochef and she has a Bellini, I have made this recipe a number of times in the past but haven't posted it on out YouTube channel until now. We are no stranger to making yoghurt preferring the homemade creamy version over most store bought super tart tasting varieties. When the kids were small there was always a tub of easy yo yoghurt in the fridge and they were encouraged to eat it with fresh fruit and no added sugar. I believe this is healthy and encouraged them to reduce the amount of sugar they consumed then and now. We use yoghurt in ice cream , smoothies, cooking, in place of whipped cream or sour cream and even use it to mash potatoes instead of butter. Often we can take advantage of short coded milk and whilst still fresh it is much cheaper to buy and thus perfect for making fresh yoghurts and cheeses. Here is our really easy version of a super creamy, naturally sweet, not too tart, thick dollop able yoghurt using only 3 ingredients. 

Yoghurt has numerous health benefits, it helps to reinstate healthy flora in the gut after illness or taking prescription drugs like antibiotics. It can assist with controlling candida outbreaks. It is reputedly soothing as a cooling balm for aftersun exposure. High in calcium and many other vitamins and minerals, it's inclusion in the diet has significant health benefits.

I have even heard of it being used in the garden to paint onto rocks to encourage the growth of moss.

For our simple recipe check out our cheekyricho YouTube channel and if there is something we can help you with, don't hesitate to request it and if we can get the ingredients where we live we will try to make it for you.

http://youtu.be/7Bu7pWnajP4

Souvlaki from scratch

We are big fans of Souvlaki but so often it is just too fatty to eat. There is a popular myth surrounding the saying "the flavour is in the fat!" Personally I hate the taste of animal fat or vegetable oil soaking everything I eat. It's unhealthy with numerous medical studies showing the correlation between a high fat diet and coronary or digestive disease. We decided to make a low fat, high fibre version of Souvlaki with the emphasis being on healthy flavours, fresh herbs and heart smart super lean lamb we even made a high fibre Pita Bread and tangy herby Tzatziki to serve it with. Pop I. Over to our cheekyricho YouTube channel for the video recipes for this healthy colourful delicious Greek meal.

Whole meal Pita http://youtu.be/msSToHuIohA

Tzatziki Dip http://youtu.be/eP9SbXDzk5A

Lamb Souvlaki

http://youtu.be/rN8LXnUFO2A

Mixed Teppanyaki

I went to Singapore on my honeymoon and tried Teppanyaki for the first time. Many years later I returned with my children and being keen to share this cultural experience with them I took them to a Teppanyaki Bar, we had soup with little pastry tops baked onto them, all different types of Teppanyaki and enjoyed the meals so much we returned many times. Up our return to Australia I tried to recreate the dining experience at home without the same success as I had no way of cooking at the table. I eventually found a Black and Decker Teppanyaki Bar, bought it and used it to death, to the delight of my family and friends. It's been packed away for a whole and after a recent trip to a Korean Restaurant where you can cook at the table I decided to drag out my Old Favourite and practice some of my new Korean recipes on this table top cooking appliance. Richo is delighted with the results as I have been harping on about building a BBQ into a table for outdoor summer dining. Look at the work my little old Teppanyaki Bar has saved him. If you'd like to see our cheekyricho YouTube Mixed Teppanyaki video recipe pop over to this link to check it out. It really is a fun way to cook entertain and eat.

http://youtu.be/bIhNHqfA_qg

National Zoo in Canberra

There is a privately owned Zoo in our Nations Capital which is in impeccable condition, the animals are in top condition and there enclosures are extremely well tended. They have some endangered species breeding programs in place for protecting those rare animals. With a surprising array of various animals, well formed paths, numerous viewing platforms and several Opportunities to interact with the more placid animals and even a petting pool in the aquarium. The Zoo is set in a lovely peaceful location on the banks of a waterway.  Whilst only a relatively small park apparently occupying around 25 acres it is very well done and is a delightful way to spend the day with your family.

How Happy am I!!!!

Finally found a Korean Grocery Store, run by a delightfully helpful couple. I showed them some of my Korean Creations and they were very impressed, offering helpful advice, recipe suggestions and they even stocked a Dolsot, which is a Korean cooking pot for serving Bibimbap. So of course I bought it. I stocked up Korean Pepper powder, korean popcorn, sweets, korean fish sauce, roasted soy powder, tapioca flour, more glutinous rice, dried honey dates, prune drinks and some fresh vegetables. All the things I can't get back home. I even bought this gorgeous tiny butane burner for the camper. It's a full sized burner, accepts full sized gas bottles and is half the size of my current one. Richo reckons it'll even fit in the kayak. 

Then it was off to celebrate at a local Korean Restaurant. miso soup, prawn Gyoza type steamed dumplings, bibimbap and a fragrant pork and vegetable dish with rice. Delicious healthy, colourful and satisfying. We will definitely be back. 

Dinner topped off a pretty good day. Visited my surgeon and after only 5 months since my ankle surgery , he is delighted with my progress, cautioned me about overdoing my rehabilitation and confirmed my actual progress is about 4-5 months further than he anticipated!! Yay me! His parting words were "it's not a race!" This ankle has been holding me back for 20 years. I have some serious catching up to do.