Honey Mustard Dressing

2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
pinch paprika
pinch salt
Batter:
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup chicken broth (Swanson)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup self-rising flour
6 to 10 cups shortening or vegetable oil (amount required by fryer)
10 chicken tenderloins
1/2 cup flour
Instructions:
1. Make honey mustard sauce by combining ingredients in a smallbowl. Cover and chill until needed.
2. Heat shortening or oil in fryer to 350 degrees F.
3. Combine beaten egg, milk, chicken broth, salt and pepper in amedium bowl. Whisk for about 30 seconds todissolve salt. Whisk in 1 cup self-rising flour. Let batter sit for5 minutes.
4. When you are ready to fry the chicken, coat each piece with dryflour (1/2 cup in a medium bowl), then dunk the chicken into thebatter. Let a little batter drip off the chicken and lower it intothe hot oil and fry for 7 to 9 minutes or until it's golden brown.
Depending on the size of your fryer, you should be able to fry 3 or4 tenderloins at a time.
Drain fried chicken strips on a rack or paper towels for a minuteor so, and serve with the honey mustard dressing on the side fordipping.Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as an entree

Chicken Salad with Apricots and Avocado

The Sweet-tartness of apricots is an appealing foil for chicken and avocado

3 cups cubed cooked Chicken

1 1/2 cups slivered Apricots (unpeeled, pitted)

1/3 cup thinly sliced Celery

1/4 cup thinly sliced Green Onions

1/3 cup each Mayonnaise and Sour Cream

1 tblsp Dry Vermouth1

/2 tsp grated Lemon Rind

1/8 tsp ground Nutmeg

1 Avocado (peeled, seeded, and sliced)

1 tblsp Lime or Lemon Juice

Boston or Butter Lettuce Leaves

1/4 cup toasted sliced Almonds

Lightly mix chicken, apricots, celery, and onion.

In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, vermouth, lemon rind, and nutmeg until smooth. Combine with chicken mixture, mixing lightly until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours to blend flavors.

Brush avocado slices well on all sides with lime juice. Line 4 plates with lettuce leaves; divide chicken mixture among the plates. Garnish each serving with a fourth of the avocado slices. Sprinkle with Almonds.

Serves 4

Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

4 ripe, large tomatoes, washed
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 oz. (1 1/4 cup) button mushrooms (finely chopped)
2 Shallots, (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs
1 oz. (1/4 cup) almonds (finely ground)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
Sea Salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely grated jack or swiss cheese.

Slice the top off each tomato and carefully scoop out the seeds.
Heat the oil in a pan and cook the mushrooms, shallots and garlic for a few minutes.
Add a couple small dashes of sea salt.
Stir in the breadcrumbs, nuts, herbs, seasoning and cheese.
Fill the tomatoes with this mixture and replace the tops and cook at 350 degrees F, for about 12 to 16 minutes.
Serves 4.

Basil Vegetable Soup

Perfect for those cool Fall and Winter days!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (15 ounzes) Cannellini or Great Northern beans, undrained

1 pckg (9 ounzes) frozen cut Green Beens

3 medium Carrots, thinly sliced

3 medium Zucchini or Yellow Squash, cut into thin slices

2 quarts Beef Broth (Chicken Broth may be substituted)

2 cloves Garlic, minced

Salt & Black Pepper to taste

2 to 3 ounzes uncooked Vermicelli or Spaghetti

1/2 cup tightly packed fresh Basil leaves, finely chopped

Grated Romano Cheese

Combine Beans, Vegetables, Broth, and garlic in stockpot or Dutch Oven.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer until Carrots are tender.

Season with salt and black pepper.

Add Vermecelli; bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce to low. Simmer until pasta is tender, but still firm. (Pasta may be cooked separately; add to soup just before serving.)

Add basil; simmer until basil is tender.

Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Fruit Salad

One ingredient in this salad that you will not likely find in U.S. grocery stores is the zalak, a fruit which grows on a spiny palm in Indonesia and Malaysia. You may substitute lychees or use a pear or apple for an approximate texture.

1 medium fresh or 1 large can papaya
1 wedge watermelon
1 zalak or 4 lychees or 1 apple or pear
juice of 1 lime or lemon
thick coconut milk* or dairy cream
2 bananas
1 ripe mango
4 slices pineapple
1 tablespoon brown sugar

• Cut the papaya unto 2 halves, remove the seeds and carefully scoop the fruit with a teaspoon to curl fruit into balls.
• Slice and cube the other fruit and then arrange the fruit either in the papaya skins or in a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon or lime juice and sugar. Serve with cream or thick coconut milk.

* You can make thick coconut milk by combining the meat from one fresh coconut, cut into chunks, with 1 ½ cups hot but not quite boiling water in a blender. Blend two to three minutes. Let stand for twenty minutes. Strain in a cloth, squeezing all the liquid from the coconut. Use immediately or keep in the refrigerator for up to four days. If you do not have a blender, you can grate the coconut by hand and pour the boiling water over it.

Recipes from Indonesia

Indonesia is a country made up of over 13,000 islands, inhabited by nearly 300 ethnic groups speaking 250 or more distinct languages. Because of the spices available in the Moluccas and because of its strategic location, other civilizations throughout the centuries have tried to establish a foothold here. For cooking, the result is a cuisine that mixes the best of Asian traditions, especially from India and China, with the ingredients and cooking methods of Pacific Islanders. One Indonesian tradition, the rice table (known in Dutch as "rijstaffel") is a meal prepared for celebrations of all kinds. Steamed rice serves as the meal’s foundation, with a variety of vegetable and meat dishes and spicy sauces accompanying it. Check your local library for Indonesian recipes for this kind of meal.

Risoles

Ingredients:
250 gr flour,
70 gr butter,
1 egg,
2 pieces of chicken legs,
100 gr carrot,
50 gr scallions,
4 pieces of shallots,
2 pieces of garlic,
15cc sweet soy-sauce,
200 gr bread crumbs,
salt.

Direction:

1. Mix 1/2 of the egg with flour and butter
2. Form thin layer of squares - for wrappers
3. Remove the bones from the chicken legs, cut into small pieces
4. Skin carrots, boil until half done, and cut into
5. tiny pieces. Cut scallions into tiny pieces.
6. Grind shallots and garlic.
7. Heat pan with butter. Put in shallots and garlic.
8. In a couple of minutes, put in chicken
9. Stir a little bit, and put in carrots, scallions
10. Mix evenly.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste, add sweet soy-sauce.
12. Cook until chicken is done.
13. Put 1 spoon of the result above into each square.
14. Wrap it.
15. Dip it in the 1/2 egg left, pour flour.
16. Heat oil in a pan.
17. Deep fry the risoles on medium heat until golden brown.
18. Serve with hot chili pepper.

Klepon Cake

Ingredients:
300 gr sticky rice flour,
30 gr sagu,
8-10 suji leaves,
150 gr brown sugar,
300 gr coconut.

Direction:

• Grind suji finely, mix water. Shred coconut
• Mix flours, add suji and a little water.
• Form balls, put brown sugar inside
• Boil until done
• Sprinkle with shred coconut

Pandan Cake

Ingredients:

8 egg yokes,
6 egg whites,
175 gr sugar,
180 gr flour,
3/4 cup thick coconut milk,
1/4 tea spoon of salt,
3 spoon suji extract,
green food coloring.

Direction:

1. Boil coconut milk, salt, suji extract in low heat
2. Beat egg yokes and egg whites and sugar
3. Add food coloring
4. Slowly add the coooked coconut milk, mixing it evenly.
5. Butter the cake pan, put the mix inside
6. Bake until done

Bali Satay

Ingredients:

350 gr beef,
1/2 coconut,
3 pieces of garlic,
4 pieces of red chili peppers,
1 spoon brown sugar,
10 gram corriander,
10 gram kencur,
1 lime, galanga,
1 teaspoon shrimp paste,
salt and pepper.

Direction:

1. Shred beef, shred coconut
2. Slice garlic and brown it.
3. Heat shrimp paste a little bit
4. Get lime juice
5. Mix garlic, chili pepper, brown sugar, corriander, kencur, galanga, shrimp paste with a blender
6. Mix evenly with beef and coconut and the spice mix above add salt, pepper, and orange juice
7. Form thumb-sized pieces from this mix, and stick each on a skewer
8. Barbecue until done

Beef Satay

Ingredients:

300 gr beef,
5 shallots,
2 spoons of sweet soy sauce,
1 spoon of vegetable oil,
1 lime,
salt and pepper.

Direction:

• Slice beef into bite sized pieces, slice shallots
• Mix everything evenly
• Put beef in skewers
• Barbecue in medium heat until desired level (medium rare recommended).

Clam Satay

Ingredients:

1 lb of clams,
5 shallots,
2 spoons of sweet soy sauce,
1 lime,
salt and pepper.

Direction:

1. Boil clams. After they are done, let it cool.
2. Take the meat out.
3. Slice shallots
4. Mix shallots, soy sauce, and lime juice with the clams
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
6. Put clams in skewers, barbecue for a little bit

Rendang

Ingredients:

2 lb of beef,
20 pieces of shallots,
10 pieces of garlic,
150 gram red chili pepper,
50 gram ginger,
10 pieces of clove leaves,
60 gr kunyit,
300 gr candle nut,
5 helai salam,
8 cups of thick coconut milk,
8 cups of thin coconut milk.

Direction:

• Cut beef into several-bite sized pieces, and boil until half done
• Skin shallots, garlic, and mix with chili, ...
• Brown this spice mix for a few minutes
• Boil beef and this spice mix in the thin coconut milk
• Put in daun
• Boil until dry
• Add thick coconut milk, boil until coconut milk dries while mixing it occassionally

Beef Semur

Ingredients:

1 lb beef,
6 pieces candle nut,
5 cm of ginger,
5 pieces of shallots,
3 pieces of garlic,
salt,
pepper,
soy sauce.

Direction:

• Slice beef thinly
• Peel shallots and garlic, slice thinly
• Slice ginger and grind candle nut
• Brown shallots, garlic, ginger, and candle nut
• Put in beef and mix them evenly
• Add salt and pepper
• Add 2-3 cups of water so beef will cook evenly

Sweet and sour shrimps

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of medium sized shrimps,
5 pieces of garlic,
3 oz. flour,
1 piece of egg,
2 spoons of tomato sauce,
1 lime,
1/2 spoon of sugar, salt and pepper.

Direction:

• Clean the shrimps, remove the heads, keep the tails
• Clean garlic, and slice thinly. Sprinkle over the shrimps.
• Make a mix of the flour, egg, with enough water, salt, and pepper.
• Heat oil on a pan.
• One by one, put the shrimps into the pan by first dipping it in the mix above. Fry until golden.
• Put on a plate, pour tomato sauce over them.
  Tomato sauce: Heat tomato sauce, add sugar, and lime juice

Baby Corn Soup

Ingredients:

5-6 ears of baby corn,
5 spoons of milk,
1 spoon of butter,
1 spoon of flour, salt and pepper.

Direction:

• Boil baby corn and let it cool
• Grind/powder corn with a blender
• Heat butter, put flour after it melts, mix evenly
• Put in powdered corn with salt, pepper, and milk
• Let it sit for five minutes in medium heat

Crab Soup

Ingredients:

2 litres of fish stock,
2 medium-sized crabs,
100 gram ginger,
50 gram scallions,
50 gram Indonesian parsley, salt, pepper to taste.

Direction:

• Make fish stock by boiling fish bones in 8 cups of water
• Remove these bones after a few minutes.
• Wash crabs, split into several parts
• Cut ginger into very thin slices
• Cut scallions and Indonesian parsley
• Reheat stock for about 5 minutes, put everything into the stock
  Add salt and pepper to taste

Noodles, Tofu and Wakami

Ingredients

8 oz.buckwheat noodles/soba
1/4 C. oil
1 lb. firm tofu, cut into 1 in. cubes and patted very dry
3 c. thinly sliced mushrooms (8 oz.)
1 1/2 tsp. minced gingerroot
2 c. vegetable stock
1/4 c. tamari soy sauceabout
1/2 oz. wakami

Directions :

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop in the buckwheat noodles.Cook about 10 min.Drain well.
2.Meanwhile,heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking.Add the tofu and stir - fry until golden, about 10 min.Remove from the pan and set aside.
3.Reduce the heat to medium and add the mushrooms..Stir-fry until the mushrooms are brown and tender, about 7 min.
4.Meanwhile,put the wakami in a bowl and soak about 5 min.Remove from bowl and chop, removing and discarding the tough rib.
5.Return the tofu to the pan and add the ginger.Stir-fry 1 min.Add the vegetable stock, tamari,and wakami and boil 2 min.
6.Place some noodles in each soup bowl.Spoon equal portions of the tofu mixture and broth over each serving.Enjoy!

Fried Tofu Agedhasi Tofu

Ingredients :

1/2 tofu (momen or hard-type)
minced green onion
1 tsp. grated Japanese radish mixed with powdered red pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch oil for deep-frying,
1 tsp. each of mirin and soy sauce,
4 tbsp dashi stock.

Directions :

(1)Quarter tofu and drain well.
(2)Cover tofu with cornstarch and fry in oil at medium heat until golden brown.
(3)Place tofu on plate and top with boiling-hot(A)sauce. Garnish with green onion and grated radish with red pepper.

Miso Soup

Ingredients :

1/2 tofu
60 grams wakame
4 cups soup stock
60 grams miso paste.

Directions :

(1)Cut tofu into small cubes (1cm)and wakame into 2cm squares.
(2)Bring soup stock to a boil in a pot. Dissolve miso paste in the stock. Add tofu cubes and wakame. Heatsoup to a slight boil. Remove from heat and pour into soup bowls.

Eggplant Miso Soup

Ingredients :

2 tb Miso
2 Scallions; chopped
1 qt Hot water
1/2 c Tofu; cubed
1 Carrot; chopped
1 c Eggplant; julienned

Directions :

In boiling wash, add miso.
Mash to dissolve.
Add carrots, scallions, tofu and eggplant.
Cook until veggies are tender.

TIPS 'N' TRICKS COOKING AND BAKING

To prevent the insides of the cooker from turning black Add a piece of tamarind or lemon peel to the cooker while boiling

To preserve the white color in cauliflower and cabbage. Add a teaspoon of milk or milk powder while cooking.

To prevent the burn sensation after grinding chilies Dip the hands in cold milk

To prevent milk from curdling while boiling .Add a pinch pf baking soda to it and it will regain its freshness

To save oil while frying Add a pinch of salt to the oil while frying ‘pakodas’ or ‘koftas’ and you will use up less oil.

Boiling Pasta & Noodles Boil pasta/noodles in plenty of water and remove just before it is fully cooked. They continue to be cooked even after it is removed from flame and drained.

French fries First blanch cut potatoes in hot water or medium hot oil till tender, then deep-fry in very hot oil till crisp. Take care not too add too many potatoes at once to the oil. This causes the temperature of the oil to come down and you will end up with fries that are greasy, not crisp!

If potatoes or carrots get over-cooked Just mash them well and serve with butter or use it as a batter for preparing cutlets

To soften cream cheese quickly remove it from the foil wrapper and microwave it on medium for 30-40 seconds.

When soups and stews get burnt, you can renew its taste By pouring the liquid gently and carefully into a clean pan and flavor with curry powder or mustard or some chutney to camouflage the burnt taste

When a recipe calls for instant coffee substitute instant espresso powder for an extra boost

To remove bitterness from karela Slit it from the middle and rub a mixture of salt, wheat flour and curd over it. Keep aside for 1/2 an hour, before cooking.

To regain freshness in stale chapattis Just wrap them in a clean cloth and pack them in an airtight container that will fit into the pressure cooker and pressure cook for two whistles and serve fresh and hot.

To determine if baking powder is still active add 1 teaspoon to 1/3 cup of hot water. If it bubbles vigorously, it's still active and will give good baking results

Save your margarine or butter wrappers to grease your baking pans, Just fold in half the wrappers and put in refrigerator. Take out and add a little shortening and spread in pan, then throw away

Retain the green of vegetables Green vegetables lose colour if subjected to continuous heat. So, do not overcook them.

Wet the measuring cup It will make removing the sticky ingredients like shortening or peanut butter easier.

Put folded paper towel in bottom of salad bowl. Add veggies and greens to a salad bowl containing paper towel . Just before serving remove towel (which has absorbed all the water and adds crunchiness to the dressing). Salad will be snapping crisp. This is great for carrying a salad to work. No more limp lettuce.

Tired Of Sticky Measuring Spoons & Cups? Before measuring honey, syrup, or molasses spray the measuring spoon or cup with a coating of nonstick cooking spray. The sticky ingredients slides right out with no mess on the spoon or cup.

Use your pizza cutter!! It does a great job cutting rolled out dumplin's into squares. Or use it to cut up the kid's waffles or pancakes

To prevent icing from running off your cake dust the surface lightly with cornstarch

To keep your bananas from going too ripe too fast keep them in a plastic bag

To avoid stickiness in Rice Add a few drops of lemon juice to the rice while cooking, you will find that the grains of rice will remain separate.

For crispy lady fingers Add a few drops of lemon juice while cooking for a crispy taste

To remove excess oil in any fried vegetables Sprinkle a little gramflour over the vegetables. Gramflour absorbs the excess oil and makes the vegetable tastier.

Serving Boiled Noodles later If noodles/pasta has to be used after some time, then refresh the boiled noodles in cold water and drain. This way they will not stick to each other.

Making potato cutlets? When boiling potatoes for cutlets add the salt to the water itself as potatoes absorb salt better this way.Curry turned out a bit oily and pungent ? Take two bread slices and powder them coarsely. Add this to the curry and mix well. Bread absorbs the excess oil and spiceHurry to cook 'dal' ? Add a little oil and turmeric powder to the dal before placing it in the cooker. It will get done in 10 minutes flat.

Make a soft fluffy omelet Heat a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Fry till done and serve hot.

Prevent onions from burning, frying Add a little milk to onions while frying, this will help retain a rich colour and prevent them from burning.

Soft paneer for children After taking out the butter in the milk cream add a little milk or curd to the remaining buttermilk and boil. Voila! you now have a soft paneer which is specially good for small children and those with weak stomachs.

Instant Lemonade Pour lemon juice with sugar and a little salt into ice trays, to make cubes which can be used for instant lemonade.