* Beef Rendang

This Beef Rendang has been lightened up by omitting the cooking oil at the beginning. It's a recipe that I adapted to be slightly more Slimming World Friendly and to suit my own taste buds. I've deseeded the chilli and added in chilli powder because it allows me more control over the amount of heat in the dish - but by all means leave the seeds in if you like the major burn that a fresh chilli can produce...

So... this could become a *thing* again (blogging). Well, for a little a while any way - at least until I spot a new shiny and chase it, whatever it may be.

I honestly thought I'd never blog a food recipe again - though I have kept my friends entertained (bored shitless) with photos of my experiments on my personal facebook page - I chucked all of my accumulated food props out when we moved home a year ago - including my beloved and much worn bread board that I used in the majority of my food photos. I also lost my beautiful desktop and pricey photo/paint program when The Little Man in our lives downloaded so much crap onto my pc that it kind of imploded.

He's not allowed on this one. It's not all singing and dancing like the last one... but if he breathes on it, I may kill him.

So... I'm going to *wing it* on the photo front for a bit and see how it goes - hopefully I won't put anything that resembles a pile of puke with rice, up for your perusal...

Oh... wait...

* Raspberry Coconut Cupcakes

Raspberries are cheap in Aldi at the moment, so of course - I purchased a ton of them. Not quite enough to make ice cream, though I'd really like to (mum keeps dropping hints), but certainly enough to make a cakey or two. We've only recently had Raspberry Almond Squares, and I haven't successfully made a cupcake in FOREVER, so it was about time for another dubious attempt.

They worked.

Go me.

There was dancing and everything.

As I stood icing them, my friend Trina appeared (she has a cake radar) for a cup of tea, and got so excited at the prospect of cake that at one point I thought she was going to drop her head in the icing bowl. When we're out in public I often pretend I don't know her - especially when she discovers matching jewellery. Ever seen a girl nearly wet herself over a bangle? I have. It's the stuff of nightmares.

I couldn't find my piping bag and nozzles, so iced the cupcakes with a palette knife and they ended up with a slightly shabby chic appearance, that I actually quite liked once I stopped licking the palette knife long enough to take notice. You'll be happy to know that I did not lick anything whilst in the midst of icing, but waited until I had finished. Honest.

I was genuinely chuffed to bits with the end result. They were moist and tasty and nommy and sweet and there's none left already.

You didn't expect otherwise, did you?!?

HAVE YOU MET ME?!?

* Coconut Lime Prawns with Noodles

It's been a tad quiet around here of late, for a number of reasons. The biggest being that I just haven't had time to cook anything blogworthy, and when I've attempted to (via my new slow cooker because suddenly I've forgotten that I have other cooking appliances... like.... gosh, I dunno AN OVEN!!!) - it's all gone drastically wrong and ended up in the dog. I'm not joking.

Also, I haven't much felt like this is MY blog, since I first signed up with google adsense just over a month ago. Not their fault, but all of a sudden Abbe's Cooking Antics stopped being about the cooking and the recipes and the odd bit of "Hello my name is Abbe I'm NOT as good at the game of life as I want to be"... and started being purely about traffic - how to increase it etc. Apparently, using the word f*ck (which I nearly haven't), is NOT a great way to maintain a relationship with your advert providers either... so I stopped using it. For a while.

Anyway, long story short - the adverts are gone and this feels more like it's my own private space again, where I can write what I want and cook (or try to) what I want too - rather than what I think I should (not that I have, but it's the thought that counts). Believe it or not, what pleases me, usually pleases you lot too. My traffic has been decreasing very slightly, since I took too much of an interest in it! Turns out, some of you actually prefer the real me, to the dumbed down version... ARE YOU MAD?!?

I've also remembered how to use the oven/stove for food other than chips (fries). If I'm eating chips I know I'm not in my happy place. I don't like chips. So... this next recipe was a rather quick and tasty pasta (sort of) dish with big, beautiful prawns... oodles of creamy coconut milk... and a wodge of spinach...

... because I couldn't help myself.

I never can.

* Chicken, Pineapple and Coconut Curry

Last night I was invited to "A Really Good Night In" in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, at my friend Lynne's place. The idea was that we all turn up with a bottle (or three) of whatever we wanted to drink, and some nibbles - then put the money that we would have spent in the pubs and clubs, into a pot supplied by Macmillan. I've no idea how much money we raised, as "the hostess with the mostest" is currently nursing a hangover of mammoth proportions and has completely lost the ability to count...

I - however - am bright and breezy this morning because I drank alcohol-free wine all evening. Yes I did.

Noooo - I'm not back on weight watchers - I had to drive home because I had to go to work this morning. See... I can act responsibly when required. Although - twenty years ago when I couldn't drive, it wouldn't have phased me to go out socialising all night, then get up and go to college in the morning, then to work in the evening... then back out again for more... socialising.

I have NO IDEA how I managed to do that. Even thinking about how I managed to do that is making me feel like I need to go lie down somewhere and recover. It's also making me hungry. Even now, on a night out, I crave junk food of some description. I've spent many an evening sat on a wall, stuffing my face with a donna kebab or a take-out curry... my bum slowly turning blue from the cold. Walls are never warm at night in this country, neither are pavement edges, car bonnets... or boats...

I really need to get in the habit of mentioning my recipe at the beginning of a blog post, rather than ramble on until the end and suddenly realise I have no segway into it. The recipe really isn't the afterthought, it's the reason.

Note to self: Develop better blogging habits...

Dammit... I'm doing it again.

The recipe... the recipe... what's the recipe?!? .... oh yeah. Chicken, Pineapple and Coconut Curry... goes very well with Chicken Flavoured Rice. Of course.

It's lush. Eat it.