INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon fresh grated giner
1 teaspoon fresh grated turmeric, or half a teaspoon of ground dry turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon
half teaspoon of clove
half teaspoon of nutmeg
half teaspoon of ground black peppercorns
a teeny pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

1-2 cups of water

honey or sugar to sweeten. I choose honey because I think it smells and tastes nicer
milk

WHAT TO DO
Put all the ingredients, except for the honey into a small stove top saucepan or pot. I'd love to try this in a billy over a campfire. I think it would be amazing. 

Simmer gently until you can smell it and it has coloured the water. If you like your tea strong, you'll brew it longer. I do. If you like a weak tea, or herbal teas, you may like it brewed for less time.

Strain your brew through a tea strainer and into a warmed mug. Add your choice of milk: soy, almond, skim, full cream. 


Enjoy.

Slick's was in a back street of Hamilton, a suburb of Newcastle. It was an in-the-know kinda place serving up a menu of choose-you-own-combo burgers and loaded hot chips well before McDonalds and the current crop of fancy burger establishment's in Sydney.

This was the 1990s and for the University of Newcastle's struggling student population, pooling your share house's spare cash and making a dash to Slick's marked many an occasion. It was the perfect fuel for an all-night study session. It marked the end of assignments, aided us through messy break-ups, was a required accompaniment to watching Beverly Hills 90210 or Melrose Place (watched on beaten up televisions at the actual time of airing) and celebrated every Austudy windfall, of which there were few.


Two decades have passed since and Slick's is long gone, but every so often I will still crave a bowl of Slick's Chips. They're the ultimate comfort food and perfect Sunday lunch fare on a wet and miserable winter's day.


INGREDIENTS
Crinkle cut frozen chips
Avocado
Salt and pepper
Lemon
Sour cream
Sweet chilli sauce

WHAT TO DO
Bake or fry the frozen chips as per the directions on the packet. I bake mine, under the illusion they'll be healthier for me. Oh to be young again. Some 20 years ago I was none too concerned about the calories. 
Make an avocado smash by removing the avocado flesh and smashing in a bowl or on a plate with the back of a fork. Add a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper, to taste. 
When the chips are golden brown, dump into your serving bowl, shake over salt and top with a generous dollop of avocado smash and another of sour cream.
Pour over a little sweet chilli sauce.

Polished stones categorised onto coasters by the grandmunchkin. She's three.

For me it’s usually muesli or granola, with a no fat yoghurt and, of late, a fruit compote. I was introduced to compotes by a friend of my partner’s, who swears by them for sustained energy and as a way to add fruit-based fibre to her daily menu.

This recipe from the Monday Morning Cooking Club is delicious and easy and stores well in the fridge. I’ve given the quantities listed in the club’s second cook book, The Feast Goes On, but next time I make it I’ll cut everything in half – it’s only me that eats it and half the quantities will keep me going for a fortnight. I’ll also cut down the nuts. They’re delicious but I find them hard to take first thing in the morning.


INGREDIENTS
1 cup pitted prunes, halved
1.5 cups dried apricots, halved
half cup of soft dried figs, quartered
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup blanched almonds
1/3 cup pine nuts
teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (The recipe calls for freshly grated but I didn’t have that and just used ground nutmeg to taste)
¼ cup brown sugar
zest and juice of an orange

The recipe also calls for a tablespoon of rosewater, but I think it’s lovely and fragrant without it.

WHAT TO DO
Make up one to two days before serving.
Place all the cut fruit and nuts in a large bowl - I used a Pyrex bowl with lid for storing it in the fridge. Cover the fruit and nut mix with cold water, stir and refrigerate. Stir a couple of times a day. The mix will become lovely and thick with syrup.

As well as using on my morning granola and yoghurt, I’ve thrown a tablespoon into banana and berry smoothies and it’s yum.

Enjoy.

NOW, this is an exciting rice recipe.

My thrifted, 1961, Reader's Digest supplement, 60 Exciting Rice Recipes, boasted the gag-worthy Ham 'N' Rice Ring, with accompanying photo of the Spam-speckled, moulded rice dish and spoonful of boiled peas heaped in the middle for further gag inducement. Exciting? Nuh-uh.

There were a few mildly titillating nods to the grand rice eating populations of Asia with a 'Bengal Rice Curry' - the exotic ingredients being curry powder and an apple - and a double page of Chinese dishes that would have made any rural Chinese takeaway a little nervous about what the good folks of their town could now cook at home. Again, the 'exciting' exotic ingredients extended to soy sauce and pineapple, with the curry powder making an appearance again in a 'Chinese Style Curry' - don't ask, just assume cornflour makes an appearance.

Now, my own Thai flavours are none too fancy, but thank goodness things have moved on a bit and we can now get interesting and sometimes exciting ingredients from most suburban supermarkets. And, should you be hunting for a quick and easy TV dinner, here it is. Happy fast, 'exciting' weekday cooking to you all.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 medium brown onion, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 red bird eye red chillies, seeds removed and chopped finely
1 tablespoon brown sugar, or finely grated tab of palm sugar
500g chicken thighs, cubed
1 small red capsicum, cut into strips
two handfuls green beans, topped and tailed and cut into similar size lengths as the capsicum
150g unsalted, whole cashews
4 cups cooked long grain or jasmine rice (about 1 1/3cup dry rice)
20ml fish sauce
20ml soy sauce
shake of oyster sauce
Good size handful of torn basil leaves, Thai basil if you have it but I used ordinary basil

WHAT TO DO
Cook the rice and leave to drain and cool a little.
Prepare all other ingredients ready to be tossed into your stir fry,
In a wok, or frying pan, heat the oil. Toss in the onion, chillies and garlic and fry off until the onion is soft.
Add the sugar and dissolve.
Add the chicken and stir fry until browned.
Add the capsicum, beans and cashews and stir fry until vegetables are glossy.
Add the rice and toss through all ingredients.
Add the sauces all at once and again toss through all ingredients.
Add the basil and toss once more.
Serve, and enjoy with a cold beer.