Spicy Stir Fried Beef

This is a fairly quick uncomplicated meal. I have used beef but chicken or other meat of your choice could be used. It's also good for using up left overs. Served with rice of course would be the obvious accompaniment but I love it with baked potatoes. What ever you eat it with it is quick and that is always such a bonus. You can of course up the chilli if you like it really hot. The recipe for me is spicy enough. Just nicely tongue tingling. You can also use fresh ginger chilli garlic etc but it's great sometimes just to lift the little jars out of the cupboard and measure out what you need isn't it?

Serves two generously

Ingredients

450g (1lb) thick sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
10ml (2tsp) sunflower oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped

Marinade

10ml (2tsp) sesame oil/wok oil or any vegetable oil if you don't have these
Juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic granules or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
30ml (2tbsp) soy sauce
200ml (7fl oz)  coconut milk
150g (5oz) peanut butter (About two large tablespoons)



Boiled rice, noodles or baked potatoes and salad  to serve

Method

Place all the marinade igredients into a plastic bag and squish around until well mixed.
Place the beef strips into the bag with the marinade and squish around some more.
Do this for an hour before cooking at room temperature  or for a couple of days in the fridge

Heat a the oil in a frying pan
Finely slice the onion and gently fry for about five minutes until it is soft and translucent
Turn up the heat and add the contents of the bag stirring to keep it moving in the pan.
Fry for about five to ten minutes or longer if you like as long as you don't want the beef rare.

Serve with your chosen accompaniment.

If I have peppers or mushrooms etc  needing used up I often add them to the pan as well.

Chocolate Orange Cake

I was finishing off  Sally's Lemon Butter Cake when it occurred to me, if it tasted so good and had such a lovely texture, it might make a rather nice chocolate cake. Then the next wave of an idea hit me. Why not orange as well? Nothing for it. I grabbed my wooden spoon so to speak and off I went. I love messing around and experimenting in the kitchen but things don't always work out. I tell myself it's a learning curve. I didn't need to worry this time. The marriage of chocolate and orange was sheer ambrosia. The texture of the cake was light but moist. Intensely chocolatey. Perfect. I know I know, self praise is no recommendation but my resident eating machine agreed completely and as he is my fiercest critic who was I to argue. I hope you'll try it. I think you'll find it worth the short time it takes to throw this cake together.

Chocolate Orange Cake


Ingredients

250g /9 oz Butter or Margarine

250g /9oz Dark brown sugar

200g /7oz S.R Flour plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder or plain flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder (sifted)

50 g / 2oz cocoa powder

3 Eggs (beaten)

2 large tablespoons marmalade

Rind of two oranges and juice of one

Icing

2-3 tablespoons orange juice
2oz icing sugar

A few squares of chocolate melted with a little oil or butter (optional)



Method....

Pre Heat your oven to 180.C/160.C Fan/400.F/Gas 6

Grease and line a shallow baking tray 24 cms x 33 cms/ 13 inches x 9 1/2 inches.

Leave an over hang lengthwise of your lining paper so the cake can be removed from the tin easily.

Melt butter and marmalade in microwave on 50% power or in a large saucepan on the hob.


Stir in sugar, then the flour and cocoa powder, add the eggs, orange zest and juice from the oranges (reserving about three tablespoons of juice for drizzle icing.) stirring well. A whisk is good.

Pour into your prepared tin and bake for approx 20 - 30 minutes until the cake is springy to touch.


Leave in the tin until cold before removing


Sieve the icing sugar and mix with the juice giving a fairly runny icing.
Drizzle over the cake

Melt the chocolate and oil if using and drizzle over.

Cut into squares/fingers

Thank you Sally for setting of this chain of events. x

 

Sally's Lemon Butter Cake

I am sorry my  friends. I have not been blogging recently but family life was calling. I was on holiday then I had to attend a family wedding a distance away. None of these were hardships of course. Now I am back to catch up.
Sally a great friend and fellow Blogger drew my attention to this recipe on her Blog. It is perfect. Simple to make and tastes just wonderful. Now grab a baking tray and off you go. Trust me you won't regret it

Ingredients

250g Butter

250g Soft brown sugar

250g S.R Flour or plain flour with a teaspoon of baking powder (sifted)

3 Eggs (beaten)

1 Lemon

Caster Sugar for paste approx 50 gms/2 oz

Method....

Pre Heat your oven to 200.C/180.C Fan/400.F/Gas 6

Grease an line a shallow  baking tray 24 cms x 33 cms/ 13 inches x 9 1/2 inches.

Leave an over hang lengthwise of your lining paper so the cake can be removed from the tin easily.

Melt butter in microwave on 50% power or in a large saucepan on the hob.

Stir in sugar, then the flour, add the eggs and the zest from the lemon. (Keep the juice from lemon for later)

Pour into your prepared tin and bake for approx 20 - 30 minutes.until the cake is golden on top and springy to touch

 Mix juice from lemon with enough caster sugar to form a paste,.

Spread on cake while still hot from oven. A silicon pastry brush is helpful for this

Using the liner overhang lift from the baking tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack. 


My Notes


I used an orange and a lemon. I used all the rind but tipped about 2/3rds of the juice into the cake mix using the rest for the sugar glaze.


Limes would be nice too.


Let your imagination take you