Orange Vanilla Bean Flan

Recipe but with the following 2 adjustments:

1. Add 1 vanilla bean to milk mixture.
2. Substitute 1/2 cup (of the 1 cup) heavy cream with soy cream.

It was excellent :) 

Homemade Carnitas

The finished carnitas.

Ingredientes:

• 4lbs pork shoulder
• 3 hot green chilis - roughly chopped
• 1 whole head of garlic - roughly chopped
• 1 small onion - diced
• 1 bunch Cilantro - chopped
• Cayenne pepper - to taste
• 5-6 tsp cumin
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 Cinnamon sticks
• 2-3 tsp star anise powder
• Salt
• Cracked black pepper - to taste
• White wine vinegar

Direcciones:

1. Preheat your oven to about 325 F
2. Cube the pork shoulder and brown it in a very hot cast iron pan with canola or peanut oil. Make sure it is very nice and crispy brown all over by turning it with tongs.
3. Once fully browned, add water until the meat is just about covered but not quite. (Make sure and use very hot or boiling water, lest you crack your cast iron!)
4. Then add all the rest of your ingredients (except the vinegar) and put the whole thing in the oven.
5. Give it a gentle stir every 30-40 minutes.
6. Continue to cook until the water has completely evaporated and the edges of the meat are just a little crispy.
7. Remove from the oven and stir it well to get the meat completely coated in the remaining goodness in the pan. Add a splash of the vinegar.
8. Let it cool until you can handle it with your bare fingers and then pull the meat apart.
9. Serve and enjoy with a delicious home-made margarita (perhaps a recipe on this sometime in the future...)

However the teriyaki pineapple tacos, I have written down here.

Browning the pork.

Bake time.

Turning the pork.

If you want good Mexican food in Brisbane, you must make it. Even the tortillas.

Pineapple Teriyaki Fish & Homemade Carnita Tacos

Chef: the bf.

Recipe on a 1-10 scale: 10!

It wouldn't be a fiesta without them.

Chili Pepper Chicken Noodle

Secret ingredient: dried shrimp!

Chef: the bf (as always)

Light Birchermüesli

Greek yogurt in soymilk w/ oats, flax seed, and pumpkin seed with a bit of ginger marmalade on top.
<3 Bf

Bacon wrapped Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Honey Mustard Spinach Salad

Main: the bf.
Salad: the gf.

Spicy Seafood Curry w/ Lemon Basil Coconut Rice

It makes grown men cry.

Chef: the bf.

Spicy Beef Stir Fry w/ Savory Sweet Potato Hash

Spicy Stir Fry w/ Hash, a photo by megs <3 on Flickr.

Stir Fry: the bf.
Hash: the gf.

It was a glorious pairing.

Beef Roast w/ Mushroom Gravy & Spinach Salad

Tender Beef Rump Roast w/ a Spicy Mushroom Gravy and a sweet Apple Spinach Salad

(perfect with a cabernet sauvignon!)

Spinach & Capsicum French Omelette w/ Bacon and Fresh Tomato

Grill the bacon rasher and then the veggies (in the bacon grease). Start your french omelette (Alton Brown's recipe) and add the filling!

Chef: the bf.

(Note: capsicum = bell pepper)

‘Roo Stuffed Tomato

Roo/Pork stuffing, wrapped in bacon inside the tomato, topped with sharp cheddar cheese and fresh basil, on top of a spicy chili pepper, caramelized onion and mushroom sauté.

Secret ingredient: celery leaf.

Chef: the bf.

Gourmet 'Roo Burger

Kangaroo/Pork patty, sauteed mushrooms, sharp cheddar cheese, bacon rasher, caramelized onion with fresh tomato on a grilled bun.

Our first night in our new place in Brisbane. We felt a beer and a burger were in order after a day of moving and unpacking...why not make it an Aussie burger! Secret ingredient: Vegemite. Chef: the bf. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Red Onion, sliced
• 1 tsp Vegemite
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Butter
• Few slices of Bacon
• 1 cup Ground ‘Roo
• 1/4 cup Ground Pork
• Spices for ground meat*
• Few slices of Cheddar Cheese (extra sharp)
• Burger Buns
• Burger fixin’s - tomato and mayo

Directions

1. In a frying pan, cook the bacon down until it is crispy but still slightly tender. Do this over low heat to render out the fat and not burn the bacon. Then add the mushrooms, onion, vegemite, and a bit of butter and/or olive oil and sauté over low heat until the whole mixture is browned and caramelized nicely. Remove the mix, leaving behind as much fat and juice as you can. 
2. Add the hamburger patties and brown them on one side. Flip and put the cheese on top and cook till medium. Then remove the patties, turn up the heat, and add the buns to toast them. Add mayo and fresh tomato and enjoy.

• *Spices include - grated onion, salt, worschestire sauce, soy sauce, cracked black pepper, mustard powder, smoked paprika, and unflavored gelatin for texture. 
• Note, Kangaroo meat is very lean (<2% fat) and needs a little help holding together, hence the pork and gelatin (without the added calories).