Just Add Yoghurt

As summer looms, the BBQ beckons and I am always drawn in. Longer days, warmer nights and the smell of charred meat makes entertaining so much more fun. For my family, a Christmas BBQ is the staple. Lamb chops, sausages, chicken and when we are lucky homemade burgers. While I love cooking a homemade burger, I am an overcooking culprit and often end up with a dry patty. So I tried adding yoghurt to bind and provide some more moisture to the patty. And oh did it work. Ingredients ½ brown onion finely diced 2 cloves of garlic 1kg beef 2 tablespoon oregano 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce 2 tablespoon MOO Dahi yoghurt 1 egg ¼ cup of breadcrumbs 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons salt (to taste) Method: Cook onion and garlic until soft, let cool Mix beef, oregano, BBQ sauce, yoghurt, egg, breadcrumbs and salt until well combined Add onion and garlic Divide the mix up into 8 portions Roll the portions into patties Cook patties on the BBQ or stove top for approximately 4-5 minute...

It’s almost Christmas time! As the holiday season approaches, I was inspired to create something to kick-start the Christmas cheer at work. A simple take on the butternut snap tartlets with a few extra ingredients to make it extra special. Ingredients: Arnott’s Butternut Snap biscuits 70g butter ¼ cup brown sugar ¼ cup white sugar 2 tablespoons MOO passionfruit yoghurt Pretzels Christmas M&Ms   Method: Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees fan forced Place 12 Arnott’s Butternut Snap biscuits in a shallow tartlet tray Place in the oven until they are soft enough to mould Carefully press the centre of the biscuits into the bottom of the shallow tartlet tray to form shallow cups Set aside to cool To make the caramel melt the butter and add sugar until it dissolves and thickens Remove from heat and quickly mix in the yoghurt Return to heat on low until it thickens (up to 5 minutes) Fill biscuit cases with approximately 1 tablespoon of caramel Place the t...

In an attempt to mix up our weekly meals, Mr Bball and I have started a tradition. Sunday night is country night. We are working our way through the alphabet, selecting a meal from one country per letter. So far we have made the good ole Aussie pie, Brazilian beef, Cuban sandwiches, Danish meatballs, Ethiopian chicken (the best so far), French beef bourguignon, German Currywurst, Haitian beef skewers, Italian pizza, Jordanian Maqluba and we have just completed K, using my MOO yoghurt bounty to create a spicy and light Kenyan chicken curry. This curry has a lovely tomato, creamy flavour with a punch. Warning, it isn’t for the faint hearted. We were sweating. Ingredients 2 teaspoons of grated ginger 4 garlic cloves 2 teaspoons ground turmeric Juice of 2 lemons ¼ cup of vegetable oil 1 teaspoon ground cumin 3 teaspoons garam masala 1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon paprika 1 ½ teaspoon chili flakes ¼ cup of MOO Dahi yoghurt 600g ...

Pumpkin salad is a staple in our household. A perfect BBQ offering, steak accompaniment or mid-week healthy dinner. It is fast, tasty and healthy. Pumpkin is a member of the cucurbita genus family and originated in South and Central America. Native Americans used pumpkins in medicines, dried them for eating and weaved them into mats. Then the Native Americans introduced the pumpkin to the American pilgrims and it became the icon of Thanksgiving. The pumpkin pie was born! Pumpkins are also synonymous with Halloween, which is why I decided to cook this for my blog. It’s almost Halloween after all! I hope you all have your outfits picked out. I think I may dress up as Where’s Wally (not scary I know). Ingredients: Salad 1/4 pumpkin (Jap or butternut is the best in my opinion) Olive oil 1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs Salt and pepper 200 grams baby spinach 200 grams rocket 50 grams feta cheese Pine nuts or walnuts Dressing 2 tablespoons yoghurt ½ teaspo...

Spring has sprung and that means one thing (besides flowers and angry magpies)…it’s becoming BBQ weather. As the weather gets warmer and days longer, the desire to sit inside quickly evaporates. So when dinner time comes around, the BBQ beckons. We cook the usual. Sausages, beef patties and chicken. However a healthy, tasty side perfect for vegetarians are stuffed ricotta and yoghurt mushrooms. Ingredients: 8 button mushrooms 150g ricotta 70g feta cheese (Danish is best for this) 2 tablespoons yoghurt 1 tablespoon basil pesto (or just basil) Squeeze lemon Salt and pepper to taste Method: Pull the stalk out of each mushroom – be careful not to break the mushroom cap Mix the ricotta, feta, yoghurt, basil pesto, lemon and salt and pepper until well combined Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of mixture into each mushroom – it will overflow Cook on the BBQ until the mushrooms are soft and filling has melted slightly. I’m not a huge mushroom fan but this...

The only way I get through my morning gym session is by watching cooking shows. First it was Huey’s Cooking and most recently Ben’s Kitchen. You may think that watching chefs cook indulgent, mouth-watering food is an odd choice when attempting to get healthy, however I love it. I love learning about different flavour combinations and how to present a truly fulfilling meal for all the senses. Recently on Ben’s Kitchen, he made a vanilla cake. At the onset it sounds a bit boring – something a Balfours tea cake would trump. However he proceeded to make a beautiful crema with mascarpone and cream and finish it off with fresh berries and nuts for some freshness and texture. The cake was ripped apart and each element was placed on the plate in a rustic manner that resulted in height and alluring colour. I wanted to do the same but needed an occasion. So when we were having family over for dinner, I took the opportunity. This red (or in my case pink because I only had pink food ...

I’m always on the lookout for ways to sneak vegetables into my meals. I’m a big kid at heart so not one to eat a lot of vegetables. I find bolognese a great way to sneak in some vegetables. This stuffed sweet potato recipe is a great easy meal with some hidden, healthy gems. Ingredients: Yoghurt sauce: 2 tablespoons yoghurt 4 mint leaves finely chopped squeeze of lemon Stuffed sweet potatoes 4 sweet potatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion finely chopped 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped 1 chili finely chopped (optional) 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs 2 carrots grated 500g beef mince 1 diced tomato 300g tomato passata salt and pepper grated cheese Method: Yoghurt sauce: Mix together the yoghurt, finely chopped mint and squeeze of lemon (to taste) Place in the fridge until ready to use. Stuffed sweet potatoes: Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees fan-forced Peel and cut the sweet potato into 5cm pieces C...