Prawn and Leek Dumplings

Dear Foodies,
Inspired by the campest man ever to have attempted a cookery programme (Gok Wan himself) I decided to make my own version of a dumpling which I first tasted on a family holiday to Vietnam. I had always thought of dumplings being a heavy pastry laden and almost spongy ingredient served up in a lumpy English stew by my well meaning Gran, that was until I tasted these deliciously light morsels, their crispy fried outsides giving way to a delicious creamy middle with that slight tang of spring onion and the salty aftertaste from the soy sauce which is an obligatory dipping accompaniment. These dumplings are said to have originated in Korea in the 14th Century and travelled throughout Asia via the Silk Road. While Gravenhurst may be some way away from the exotic delights of Asia the Chinese Supermarket on the A1 provides a road to the exotic. So here goes my version of Asian Dumplings with a prawn and leek filling.

Ingredients
400g Prawns minced
1 leek - finely diced
2 spring onions - also diced
1 teaspoon of ginger paste
4 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of Shaoixing Rice Wine or Dry Sherry
1 egg
1 packet of white wonton wrappers

How to Make

• Combine prawn, leek, spring onions, ginger, sesame oil and rice wine with the egg white to create your dumpling filling - do not throw the egg yolk away

dumpling filling

Wonton Wrappers - this packet was 85p

• On a lightly floured board lay out your wonton wrappers. Place a small teaspoon of the filling. Brush egg yolk around the edges and fold to create half moons. Press down on the edges of dumling and crimp with a fork

place a small teaspoon in the centre of each wonton case

make sure your dumplings have as little air as possible in them

• Steam dumplings for 5-8 mins - for those on a health spree they are now ready to eat
• For a final luxurious touch fry on each side for 1-2 mins to add a crunchy finish

Happy Eating
Lots of Love from a food enthusiast
xxx

Banana, Chocolate and Oatmeal Tea Bread

Dear Foodie,
We had some left over bananas in the fruit bowl which were begining to go black and so i decided to make this recipe. It is a recipe that I found in the waitrose food magazine although i doubled it and added my own embellishments. These were using ginger chocolate to give some extra zing, adding more bananas and putting slices of banana and scattering granola in the bottom of the tin to give a sort of upside down pineapple cake effect. I was also forced to leave out the bicarbonate of soda as we had none in the fridge but this hasnt effected the rise, taste or texture of the cake.
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 large egg
75ml Vegetable Oil
125g Caster Sugar
3 bananas
30g rolled oats
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate soda
1tsp ground cinnamon
40g Dark Chocolate

The Cooking

• preheat the oven to 180/gas mark 4
• butter and line a loaf tin (roughly 1 litre)
• whisk eggs, oil and sugar until thick and creamy (like mayo)
• slice and mash the bananas and whisk into the mixture - it will now look gloopy and be quite runny
• add the rest of the ingredients and stir until all are combined
• pour into the tin
• bake for 30-40 mins

 Here are some photos of my finished product:

At roughly 300kcal per big serving you can afford to share this with friends and family. I would love feedback on how yours went or what you think of mine.
Love from a food enthusiast
xxx

Why?

Dear Foodie,
I am a 17 year old who adores cooking, be it simply chopping an onion or whisking eggs with milk I think there is nothing more relaxing than creating a beautiful sum from all the individually fantastic parts. I finished my International Baccaleaureate exams on May 14th and so I now have time to truly explore my passion for food. I am currently hoping to study English at university but a niggling feeling at the back of my mind keeps screaming chef at me and so this blog will serve to show me whether I should pursue a career in the food industry. My aim is to share with you what I cook and I hope that you will enjoy following me on the journey between what I hope to create and the end product.

So here goes ............

Love from a food enthusiast
xxx