Beans, beans, beans!

April 21, 2026 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

When you go away, the weather is beautiful, and the veg patch greets you with a surprise on your return!

Australian Butter Beans

Rattlesnake Beans

Australian Butter Beans

Rattlesnake Beans

Australian Butter Beans

Purple King Beans

Rattlesnake Beans

I grow climbing beans every year, they generally produce abundantly right through autumn, they are perfect for braising in tomato sauce, but they are also fabulous pickled too.

Green Beans Braised with Tomatoes

Pickled Beans

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Salad, patties, snacks, finger food and more…

The Frugal Kitchen
Salad, patties, snacks, finger food and more…

Date: Friday 20 October 2023
Time: 10:00am to 2:00pm
Venue: Maffra Neighbourhood House
Cost: $35.00 per person
Bookings: Maffra Neighbourhood House – Ph: 0422 335 155
Max Participants: 6 participants

From a basket of a dozen simple ingredients, so many menu options…

Using what’s in the basket, as well as pantry staples and leftovers, to create delicious, inexpensive meals for family and friends. I wonder if you can guess what’s in the basket from what’s on the menu?

In this session you’ll work together to prepare a variety of dishes from the ingredients provided, for a meal to be enjoyed as we sit, relax, chat, and enjoy lunch to finish the session.

On the Menu:

Bacon, Egg and Iceberg Salad (Not quite a Caesar Salad) ||
Tuna and Bacon Patties || Chopped Salad || Lettuce Rolls (think rice paper rolls) || Mum’s savoury toasts (fabulous finger food) || Boiled Salad Dressing ||
Dip || Wedges || Crudites || Mini Carrot and Cinnamon Bundt Cakes

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Learn ||| Cook ||| Eat ||| Chat

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the form below.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Som Tam Salad (Green Pawpaw/Mango Salad)

March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

Som Tam is Green Pawpaw salad that originated in the north-east of Thailand (although some argue that it is actually from Laos). The wonderful, refreshing combination of sweet, hot, sour, salty and bitter is amazing and leaves you reaching for more, particularly on a hot summer’s day. This salad is Thailand on a plate.

Som Tam Salad (Green Pawpaw/Mango Salad)

Servings: 6
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This recipe is based on the Thai Salad, Som Tam, a dish that originated in north-east Thailand, but is now popular throughout the country, and also abroad. Normally served with sticky rice, we enjoy it served with Tod Man Goong (Thai Prawn Cakes).

Ingredients

3 green mangoes
150 g green beans, sliced and blanched
250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp peanuts, roasted and crushed
Fresh coriander leaves, to serve

For the dressing:

1 1/2 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 golden shallot, chopped
60 ml lime juice

Directions

Peel the green mango and cut the flesh into long thin strands, if you have a mandolin, use the fine julienne or grater attachment.
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, shallots, and chillies into a paste.
Add the palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice and carefully mix to combine. Set aside.
Combine the mango, beans and cherry tomatoes in a large bowl.
Add the dressing and, using your hands, toss gently.
Pile onto a large serving platter and sprinkle over the crushed peanuts and coriander leaves.

Som Tam (Thai Green Mango Salad)

Som Tam Salad

Som Tam Salad (Green Pawpaw/Mango Salad)

Until next time…

Happy Cooking & Bon appétit!

Links:

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A Thai Banquet – Sweet, Hot, Sour, Salty Bitter – Delicious!

March 8, 2017 / sbaskitchen / 2 Comments

While it sounds like someone has gone crazy in the kitchen, this is what Thai food is all about, balance and flavour, and there’s one thing I learned when taking a class in Thailand… That is if you need to adjust one element, you must slightly adjust other elements as well. This sounded a little strange – needs more salt? Add more salt – but also a little more sweet and sour as well!

Wat Chalong – Phuket

The combination of sweet, hot, sour, salty and bitter is wonderfully refreshing, and leaves you reaching for more. Chilli is one of the most important ingredients, providing the heat in Thai Cuisine, but there are a number of other key ingredients used to provide the balance, flavour and aroma unique to Thai food. These ingredients are fish sauce, coconut milk and cream, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar and lemon grass.

Like many of us, the people of Thailand love to share a meal together, and a Thai banquet is the perfect way to share a meal with family and friends. There are no individual courses – Everything is placed in the middle of the table for everyone to share – a soup, a curry, a steamed or fried dish, a salad, a vegetable dish, the sauces/condiments, and rather than fried rice, a large bowl of steamed rice is served. A platter of seasonal fresh fruit makes the perfect simple and refreshing finale to such a delicious meal.

Over the next week or so, I will be sharing a number of dishes that we enjoy when we plan a Thai banquet. We hope that you enjoy the flavours and aromas of Thai cooking as much as we do. The first dish on the table is Tod Man Goong (Deep Fried Shrimp Patties).

Tod Man Goong (Thai Prawn Cakes)

Servings: Makes 12
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These fantastic little patties, are packed full of flavour and a Thai Banquet in our home would not be complete without them.

Ingredients

300 g green prawn meat
1 egg
1 clove garlic (chopped)
10 g coriander (finely chopped)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
40 g breadcrumbs
40 g minced pork fat or lard
Ground black pepper to taste
Sweet plum sauce (to serve)

Directions

Mince the prawn meat and lard/pork fat.
Combine with remaining ingredients and mix well.
Form into small patties.
Coat in breadcrumbs and place on try in fridge for half an hour or longer if possible.
Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.
Serve hot with sweet plum sauce, separately.

Notes:

Adapted from’Thai Country Cooking from Laguna Beach Resort’ (2002) p35.
You can substitute minced white fish meat for the prawns, the dish is then called Tod Man Pla.
These make a wonderful dish to share as part of a Thai Banquet, equally, served with a green mango or pawpaw salad, they make a delicious entree or main course.

Phang Nga Bay

We are slowly getting the Thai herbs and aromatics growing in our garden, and our Kaffir Lime is looking wonderful.

Chilli Apache

Spearmint

Lemon Grass

Coriander flowers – Seed Saving

Until next time…

Happy Cooking & Bon appétit!

Links:

Tod Man Goong

Nana Mac’s Potato and Orange Salad

February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 / sbaskitchen / 2 Comments

My mum has been telling me about Nana’s potato salad for the last few months, and with the oranges on hand, I called and got the recipe… It was boiled potatoes, diced; orange, diced; white salad onion, finely diced; and the dressing was the only dressing I knew when I was growing up – cream, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Of course there were no quantities given. Mum and I chatted a little and I told her I planned to change the dressing, add fresh herbs and use some different potatoes – she wants me to let her know how it went.

Nana Mac's Potato and Orange Salad - Recipe Image

A delicious, refreshing salad of potatoes, oranges and fresh herbs.

Nana Mac's Potato and Orange Salad

Servings: Serves 4
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This recipe was inspired by my grandmother's recipe for potato salad.

Ingredients

250 g Purple Avon potatoes (or similar)
250 g Sebago potatoes (or similar)
4 oranges
2 tbsp finely chopped mint
1/3 cup finely chopped chives
2 handfulls of baby rocket

For the dressing

2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sugar, to taste
salt and pepper

For Serving

1 tsp finely chopped mint
1 tsp finely chopped chives

Directions

Peel the potatoes and place into a saucepan. Cover with cold water and add a little salt. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until just tender.
Meanwhile cut top and base from each orange. Use a sharp knife to remove skin and white pith. Holding each orange over a bowl to catch any juice, cut along either side of the white membranes to remove orange segments and set aside. Using your hands, squeeze the off-cuts of the orange over the bowl to get as much juice as you can from them, discard the off-cuts.
Prepare the dressing by adding the mustard, white wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the juice and then whisk to combine, season with salt and pepper and add a little sugar if needed.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and cut them into wedges, while they are still hot. Add the potatoes, mint, chives and oranges to the dressing and, using your hands, gently toss to ensure the potatoes and oranges are well coated in the dressing and herbs. Set in the fridge to cool.
Just before serving, drain any excess dressing from the salad into a small bowl, add the remaining tablespoon of olive and whisk together. Add the rocket and toss to coat with the dressing.
Place half the rocket into the base of a serving dish.
Add the remaining rocket to the salad, and, again, using your hands, gently toss through.
Arrange the salad on top of the rocket in the serving dish and scatter with the finely chopped mint and chives.