One of my friends keeps on giving me shit about not having enough meat recipes. So Simone, this is for you.

I got this recipe from the kind chef at the L.A Museum of Art’s cafe. It’s pretty basic but I think what makes this magic is simmering the wine until it’s syrupy.

• Stew beef (anything with fat running through it), cubed
• Bottle of red
• Onions, carrots, potatoes and any root veg you have lying around, roughly chopped.
• Store-bought beef stock or three cups of homemade stock

1. Get a big pot, add a little, little bit of olive oil and when the temperature is on high, brown your cubed meat. Do it in batches if there’s heaps.
2. Take out the beef and set aside. Turn the heat down to low, add the veg and stir on low until the brown bits of the beef come of the bottom of the pan.
3. Add two cups of red wine. Drink the rest, if you’re into that. Simmer until the wine is almost halfed and syrupy. Don’t boil otherwise your veg would turn into mash.
4. Add the stock and add enough water so everything is covered. If you’re using store-bought stock, don’t add salt but add pepper.
5. Bring to the boil until the sauce thickens and then simmer for two hours, at least. The longer, the better. Serve with some crusty bread.

I found myself cooking for twelve strangers last Thursday. Amanda fucking Palmer was in town. A couple of months ago, she asked if any fans had

a) a living room that could fit 12

b) food that could feed 12 bellies

and well, my apartment is tiny. So I sent off an email and thought nothing of it until I got a reply. This is what I cooked for a woman that continues to inspire me.

Zucchini slice, that I had previously blogged about and hadn’t pictured. Fred from the Nervous Cabaret thought it was a bread of some sorts. I was stoked that he didn’t realise it’s main ingredient was (drum roll please) a vegetable.

Pumpkin and tatsoi pasta. A uber healthy shot of baked pumpkin (butternut squash), tatsoi sauteed with garlic, pine nuts, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil and goat cheese. Substitute a cream sauce with olive oil and the left over oil from the sun-dried tomatoes. I know you think that the prep work is crazy but I roasted the butternut a couple of days before and sauteing the tatsoi took 5 minutes tops. You can use spinach or any leafy green.

Roasted mushrooms in tomato and chickpea sauce. Easy as. Two cans of pureed tomatoes, one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, washed mushrooms with the stalks removed. Oven at 180 C (350 f) for half an hour. Garnish with basil. Done!

And at midday, I had this:

And at the end of the day, it was gone.

© Tash Jayasinghe

You will need:

• Left over roast veggies (can be left out – don’t sweat)
• Stale bread, crust on, cubed
• One sausage, sliced
• Grape tomatoes
• Chopped herbs

1. With a little bit of olive oil, cook up some sausage and the veg until almost cooked. Just when it starts to get brown around the edges is perfect.
2. Add the bread and tomatoes. Add a huge dollop of butter if you value your taste buds. If you want to use any spices or cheese add now.
3. Serve onto plates. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and a bit of balsamic and olive oil, if you so please.

You will need:

• three strips of bacon per person (unless you’re using non-American bacon, in which case use two)
• buns cut in half or lightly toasted bread
• one overtly ripe tomato, washed and sliced. Remember to smell your tomatoes at the market. The more they smell like tomato, the better it will taste. No smell = no taste.
• rocket (arugula) lettuce
• sliced onion
• four tablespoons of good mayo
• 1 clove garlic
• half a lemon
• salt & pepper

1. Slice your onions and tomatoes.
2. Turn a pan to medium and fry up the bacon until it’s brown and crispy. Leave to drain on absorbent paper.
3. Dice the clove of garlic very finely. When you think it can’t get any smaller, add a sprinkle of salt (which draws out the moisture) and dice until it’s practically smooth.
4. In a small bowl, mix half the garlic clove, four tablespoons of mayo and salt and pepper. Add a quick squeeze of lemon juice. Adjust to taste.
5. Smooth some of the garlic mayo onto the bottom of your sandwich, add the salad, then tomatoes, onions and bacon. Add some garlic mayo on the top of your bun and bob’s your uncle. Eat promptly.

The funny thing about our making-of; I had my wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday. Come Thursday, I was all gung ho to eat some real food. I made the mashed potato but then the pain killers I took an hour ago kicked in and I was stuck on the couch while W. took over. I couldn’t even drain the potatoes. My hand-eye co-ordination was that whacked out. Those American drugs eh. The plus side, I was assured W. can still follow a recipe and I haven’t turned his brain to gobblegook.

The best thing is, this is such a week day meal. Quick and satisfying. I was a bit hesitant of adding two onions to five sausages but it was great. It caramelises down to a yum sauce.

Prep time – 10 minutes
Cook time – 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 450g good quality pork sausages
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 100g/4oz red grapes
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (balsamic will do in a fix)
• Pre-made mashed potato made any way you like

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large frying pan set over a medium heat. Tip in sausages, cook for 10 mins over medium/high heat, turning every so often. Stir in onions, then leave to cook five mins more until sausages are browned and onions are softened.
2. Add minced garlic, fennel seeds & grapes and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often. The grapes should start to soften. Pour over vinegar and swirl aroud pan (The fancy word for this is deglazing). Cook for a few more minutes until onions are sticky.
3. Serve with reheated mash.

I’m posting this cause it’s a rarity: yummy greens. Not only that, these greens I would eat over a burger any day. You heard right, Tash is officially crazy.

The ingredients are cheap, the food is fast and it makes you feel good afterwards.

Get cracking on:

• A dash of sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• as much baby bok choy as you please. Remember that it shrinks down to 1/3 of the size.
• 1/4 cup water
• chopped coriander (cilantro), sesame seeds or anything else.
• cooked rice, kept warm.

for the killer sauce:

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon sugar, brown or white
• 1 tablespoon honey

1. Put all of the sauce ingredients into a small pan and start it on a low heat.
2. Get a bigger pot and splash the sesame oil into it. Grate the ginger into the sizzling oil. Add the baby bok choy. Stir every now and again for a minute.
3. Mix the sauce, it should start to thicken.
4. Add the water to the bok choy, bung the lid on and it’s going to steam for four minutes.
5. The sauce should be thicker, take it off the stove and let it cool a little.
6. Get your rice plated. As fast as possible, pull out the bok choy, cover it in the magic sauce and serve.

You need to eat this as hot as possible, otherwise it gets limp, cold and not so yummy.

Tip: You can buy ginger in bulk, peel them, shove it in a ziploc and put in the freezer. Grate straight out of the freezer as needed.

Another tip? Oh ok: Buy most of these ingredients at your local Chinese store, it’s cheaper, fresher and you get more.

The sesame oil on the left cost $7 from a Chinese market, the one on the right cost $14 from Safeway (Woolworths)

Make the extra effort to do this recipe. You won’t regret it. It could be your staple dish to make when people come over. The great thing is once all the toppings are on and you’re good to go, you leave the pizza to rise one more time for half an hour. That gives you enough time to clean up, platter up some appetizers and have a beer.

You’ll need:

• Olive oil
• Semolina (make the purchase, it’s worth it)
• 1 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon rapid-rise yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 41/2 – 51/2 cups bread flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig of basil, chopped
• chives, or any herb you prefer
• artichoke hearts
• char grilled capsicum (red peppers in U.S land)
• sliced red onion
• sliced ham and/or Italian sausage. Use chorizo if you can find it.
• sliced mushrooms
• goats cheese, sliced
• parmesan cheese, grated
• cheery tomatoes, sliced in half

1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Smear olive oil on the sheet and dust with semolina. In a mixer bowl, whisk by hand the warm water and yeast. Let it stand for three minutes so it disolves.
2. Whisk in sugar, eggs, oil and salt. Add flour, mix with a wooden spoon and knead if necessary to form a soft dough. Put the dough back in the bowl, sprinkle a little bit of olive oil on the top and cover with cling wrap. Put in a warm place, such as the top of the fridge, for 1/2 an hour.
3. Chop all of the toppings to any size you like. In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste, garlic and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and let rest for ten minutes. Lightly roll out the dough to a large rectangle or circle.
5. Brush the surface with tomato paste mixture. Distribute toppings.
6. Turn oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 Celsius). Cover the pizza with cling wrap again and let rest for 30 mins.
7. Bake until golden brown on the edges, approx 25 minutes. Cut, enjoy.