Serves 4

Preparation Time Less than 10 mins

Cooking Time 10 to 30 mins

Calorie/Fat Count Energy 450kcal Fat 12g

Ingredients
350g/12oz long grain rice
30ml/2tbsp groundnut oil
100g/3½oz frozen peas, thawed
5ml/1tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
10ml/2tsp sesame oil
4 spring onions, chopped finely

Method
1. Cook rice in plenty of boiling salted water for 10 minutes until almost tender. Drain and rinse with boiling water. Spread out on a large plate and cool completely in the fridge to keep grains separate.
2. Heat a wok until slightly smoking. Swirl in groundnut oil and add rice. Stir-fry for 3 minutes.
3. Add peas, salt and pepper and stir-fry over a high heat for a further 5 minutes.
4. Mix eggs with sesame oil in a small bowl. Pour a thin stream into rice, stirring all the time for 1 minute. Add spring onions and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until eggs are just set.

Serves 2

Preparation Time Less than 10 mins

Cooking Time Less than 10 mins

Calorie/Fat Count Energy 170kcal Fat 13g

Ingredients
3 heads pak choi, cut in half lengthways
30ml/2tbsp sunflower oil
2.5cm/1in piece peeled root ginger cut in thin strips
100ml/3 oz Thai oyster sauce (if using Chinese oyster sauce, dilute with water)

Method
1. Steam pak choi for 5-8 minutes or
until just tender.
2. Heat a wok, add oil and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add pak choi and cook a further 30 seconds.
3. Pour oyster sauce over and toss
together.

Makes a great side dish or just as a snack! Enjoy!!

4 medium sweet potatoes
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
one-half teaspoon salt
one-fourth teaspoon pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease jelly roll pan and  set aside. (approx. size of pan 15" x 10" x 1")

Cut sweet potatoes into one-half inch wedges. In a bowl, mix the potato wedges in oil; covering well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Next- place the wedges in a single layer on shallow pan or cookie sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes; turning occasionally until potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork. Serve when hot.

This is a case of Brazilian cooks never leaving well enough alone and thereby coming up with something even better. Here canned black olives are used to create a spicy olive dish that is wonderful and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 can (15 to 16 ounces) black olives
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons preserved malagueta pepper*
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Prick each olive several times with the point of a knife. Place the olives and remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours for the flavors to mix. Serve chilled. They will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
*Note: You can substitute any preserved hot chili in place of the malagueta pepper, to taste.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10 side-dish servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) nonfat chicken broth, plus enough water to make 5 1/4 cups
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup dried tomato halves, snipped into strips
1 can (13 3/4 ounces) quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 can (2 1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation:

In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add rice; stir about 2 minutes until coated and slightly translucent. Mix in garlic; cook 1 minute. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, bring broth and water to simmering; continue to simmer gently.

Add wine to rice; stir until wine is absorbed. Add tomatoes and ladleful of broth mixture to rice; reduce heat to medium-low and stir until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Repeat process until rice is creamy, but firm to the bite. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. (You might have a little broth remaining.)

Mix in artichoke hearts, olives, thyme and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls. Add additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Tb blue cheese
2 Tb light cream cheese
1 Tb sherry
1 large onion
1 cup chopped tomato
2 cups pasta
2 tsp each parsley, basil & oregano
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast onion in oven for half an hour or until tender. Allow to cool. Peel and quarter. In blender, blend onion, blue cheese,cream cheese and sherry till very smooth. Cook pasta (gnocchi works well) in salted boiling water till done. Drain & toss with tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir in sauce and serve.

4 Servings

Slice the potatoes for this crisp pancake as thin as possible, and don't worry if they break up as you slice. Be sure to cook them until both sides are browned and as crusty as they can be without getting burned.

If the notion of flipping the whole pancake at once seems a bit daunting, quarter it in the skillet and turn each quarter individually with a spatula.

2 1/4 pounds baking potatoes (about 4 potatoes), scrubbed, peeled, and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
10 ounces yellow onion (about 1 large onion), peeled and thinly sliced (about 13/4 cups)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook the potatoes in a microwave oven at full power for 7 to 8 minutes, until fork-tender. (You can also boil the potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes in 4 cups of water to which 2 teaspoons of salt have been added.) Set the potatoes aside until cool enough to handle.

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. In the hot skillet, combine the onion, garlic, and wine. Stir to combine thoroughly and cook for about 15 minutes, until the onion is very soft.

Add the potatoes, parsley, and rosemary. Mix well and mash with the back of a wooden spoon to form a large pancake. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and somewhat crusty underneath. Position a plate upside down over the pan, flip the pancake out onto the plate so that the cooked side is up, and then slide it back into the pan. Cook for about 15 minutes more, until the second side is crusty.

4 pounds of baking potatoes-peeled and diced
8 cloves of garlic-peeled and left whole
1/2 stick butter
1 cup of cream or half-and-half
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup chopped chives(optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook potatoes and garlic cloves for 30 minutes, and drain well. Return to pan or mixing bowl. Add butter, cream, sour cream and salt. Beat well. Stir in chives.

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