Chicken & Pumpkin Stir-fry

I've been spending this week on a bit of a mini holiday, staying at Aarons place in Traralgon, which is about 2 hours from Melbourne. It has been a nice change of scenery and I have actually managed to catch up on a bit of my university study while he has been at work during the day. Yesterday I tackled 'Health Promotion Principles & Planning' and 'Socioeconomic Status & Health' and today I plan on conquering 'Biochemistry' & 'Principles of Nutrition'. I'm basically doing the last 3 weeks worth of work in just 2 days, but at least then I will be caught up and then it will be easier to keep up for the rest of the semester. Well, that is the theory anyway!

I brought down this weeks (more like months now!) Cookbook Challenge book 'Off the Shelf' by Donna Hay and FINALLY managed to cook something from it. I am so glad to be finished with this book and be able to change the picture in the sidebar to a brand new one. Well, the first few weeks the LibraryThing widget loved the old cookbooks, now it seems to have a thing for Donna Hay, with next weeks book being 'The Instant Cook'. I don't think I have cooked from this one before, I will have to check when I get home tomorrow.

Anyway, on to the recipe I made last night. Let's just say that Aaron doesn't cook all that much so cooking in his kitchen is a bit of a challenge. Ever tried to slice pumpkin with a tiny (not very sharp) knife? Been so stuck for a lid for the frypan that you had to use the smaller frypan as a make-shift lid?... then you know the kind of challenge I am talking about. I won't even mention the fact that I had to use the sesame oil from this recipe to cook eggs this morning, or maybe I just did. I think I am going to have to bring some of my excess kitchen supplies down here to have a vacation from my cramped cupboards and drawers, there is plenty of stretching space for them here, and they would only have to work every couple of weeks so I think that they would be very happy!

OK, enough talk about the emotions of inanimate objects. This dish was really quick to make and delicious. I changed it up quite a bit because the supermarket didn't have any chillies left (plus we aren't really spicy food kind of people) or peanut oil (hence the sesame oil) and I am not a fan of fish sauce, so I used the much sweeter and less fishy tasting Oyster sauce, which is one of my favourite sauces of all time - even though I generally don't eat seafood. I also served it on hokkien noodles instead of the suggested Jasmine rice, for two reasons. Firstly, Jasmine rice has one of the highest glycemic indexes for rices which means that it causes large swings in blood glucose levels. These swings in glucose levels are obviously a problem for people with diabetes (either type), but it actually isn't great for everyone else as well as it will leave you feeling hungry again soon after eating. Secondly, I just prefer to serve stir-fries on noodles, rice just seems odd to me, it is more of a curry thing or at least something with a lot of sauce.

Chicken & Pumpkin Stir-fry (Serves 4)

Slice 4 skinless chicken breasts and season with pepper. Heat 2Tbsp sesame (or peanut) oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add 2 sliced red onions and cook for a couple of minutes until soft. Add sliced chicken and cook for 3 minutes or until browned. Add 600g peeled, thinly sliced pumpkin, 2Tbsp oyster sauce & 2Tbsp soy sauce, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin is just soft, Stir through 1/4C roughly chopped basil leaves and serve with 440g pkt hokkien noodles prepared according to packet directions.

I'm back.... an update...

Thank-you to everyone who has offered my support at this time, it is lovely to know that there are so many people out there thinking of me and my family, you are all wonderful! Well, my break from blogging ended up being a little longer than I anticipated. February was definitely not the greatest month of my life, that is for sure!

Some of you might remember Bluey, the tough little fish that survived the heater malfunction massacre in my tropical fish tank. Unfortunately, mid-February he started acting strangely and towards the end of the month I had to move him to a quarantine tank. He was very skittish and started swimming upside-down and bumping into things. I knew there was nothing that could be done for him, but he was a trooper. It pained me to see him like that, I even came close to using the euthanasia techniques that are mentioned in the fish care book that I have, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Eventually he passed on to fishy heaven to go join his girlfriend Lemon and all his friends that didn't survive the massacre. RIP Bluey, you sure were a tough little fish!

Also, my boyfriend Chris & I broke up after almost 4 years of being together. Not quite as life-changing as the passing of my father, but the timing of it all compounded everything. We had our problems for a long time though, we were just very different people but it was always little things. However, when little things build up over time it starts to become obvious that it just won't work out.

As if that wasn't enough to catch up on, I now have a new boyfriend - Aaron - who is really lovely and sweet. He added me on Facebook because we went to primary school together, but to tell you the truth I actually don't remember him from then all that much! Anyway, last week I decided to shake off all the stress and everything that has been keeping me from cooking and conjure up some cooking mojo to impress him. He loves pasta and I was tossing up between Lasagne and Carbonara until I found out that Carbonara was his favourite dish. This one is usually my brothers forte, but I knew I could take it on!

The recipe is adapted from Margaret Fulton's book of Pasta & Pizzas. I'm sending this one over to Ruth at Once Upon A Feast for this weeks Presto Pasta Night! (Yes I am finally back Ruth!) I know it isn't anything innovative or creative, but it is a tried and true classic. It isn't exactly the healthiest dish in the world either, but right now I think some fattening comfort food is exactly what I need!! It's all up from here....

Fettuccine Carbonara (Serves 4-6)

Cook 500g fettuccine according to packet directions, drain thoroughly and return to the pan. Fry 125g chopped short rasher bacon until crispy and drain on paper towels. Add to pasta along with 60g butter & 3 crushed garlic cloves. Beat together 3 eggs, 2/3C double cream, 3/4C grated mature cheddar cheese, 1/2C grated parmesan cheese & 1tsp dijon mustard, season with salt & pepper and add 1Tbsp thyme & 1Tbsp parsley. Pour mixture over pasta and stir over gentle heat until the sauce is creamy and cheeses are melted. Do not boil as this will scramble the eggs. Serve immediately topped with more parmesan cheese.

I will be getting back into my Cookbook challenge this week, so look out for a recipe from Donna Hay's 'Off the Shelf' soon. I hope you are all having a great Easter break and enjoying some precious time with friends and family - Happy Easter :)