Thai Prawn & Mango Salad

It was a hot, hot day yesterday - at least 38 degrees (100 deg F) so a salad was the order of the day and, oh my God, this one was beautiful.  It was a little hotter than I anticipated, but so nice if you like a little zing like me!
First, make a paste of chilli, ginger, lemongrass, coriander and a drizzle of olive oil (or you could be lazy like me and use a tube of Gourmet Garden Thai!  Hey, it was 38 degrees!)  Marinate prawns in the paste, along with some freshly squeezed lime.
Slice up some snow peas and red capsicum, cut up a beautiful juicy mango and place in a salad bowl on a bed of mixed lettuce.  Throw in some cashews for the saltiness and crunch and squeeze some lime juice over to make a dressing.  One more thing - and it is the hero of the dish - tear up some fresh mint and toss into the salad.
Fry the prawns in a little oil - make sure the pan is nice and hot so the prawns don't stew.
Serve the prawns on top of the beautiful fresh salad and eat.  So good with a fresh, crisp, chilled Sauv Blanc!

All I want for Christmas....

Dear Santa,
I would like one of these for Christmas.
27 inches of beauty
I promise I'll be really good!
While you're at it one of these would go nicely in the stocking too!
Nikon's latest baby DSLR
And maybe one of these to get the creative juices flowing...
Hands down, one of the best cams!
Anyway, I don't want to ask for too much so I think I'll leave it at that this year!  I'm sure if you can't fit it all in your sleigh, Apple, Nikon and Canon have free shipping!
Love Cam

Sunday Night Lamb Curry

OK, so this is my first recipe post. We had this lovely lamb curry last night which I threw together based on stuff I had in the freezer/pantry.

First of all, you need to make the curry paste - lightly toast some cumin, coriander seeds, cardamon pods, half a cinnamon stick and fennel seeds in a dry pan. This really releases the flavours of all those lovely spices.

Transfer all the spices to a mortar or flavour shaker and smash it up.

Chop up an onion, a red chilli (if you like it hot), a couple of cloves of garlic, a handful of coriander and grate a 5cm knob of fresh ginger into an oven-proof pot. Combine with the spice mix and fry for a couple of minutes. Add a couple of cans of diced tomatoes and about a cup of water. Return to the boil and then cover with some aluminium foil and pop in a 170 deg oven for up to an hour to allow the flavours to develop.

Fry the lamb in a little olive oil. Then add to the curry base and cook in the oven for an hour or until tender. You can add other things to this curry - I included potato but you could throw in chickpeas, spinach or anything else that takes your fancy.

Serve on a bed of rice and top with some fresh coriander and a dob of yoghurt and freshly ground black pepper. I served this with some yummy naan breads and while we had a red wine with this (Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cab Merlot), it would go oh so beautifully with a nice cold beer!

Important information for WIN digital viewers in Western Victoria

This is an ad I made to highlight changes to the digital television service in Western Victoria.

First Post

OK so this is the first post. You can never expect much from the first post but the first step is always the hardest. So stick with me and let's see what happens.

Cam