4 Ingredients Cookbook

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The Secrets to Success for 4 Ingredients
Bub Hub E-Newsletter, August 2008, Issue 71 - Article 3

We recently had the chance to interview Rachael Bermingham, one of the co-authors of the very successful family cook book, 4 Ingredients 1. Read on for an interesting insight into the world of a busy mother and business woman, and check out 2 great meal ideas from her first book, 4 Ingredients 1, she shares with Bub Hub viewers.

Explain the philosophy behind your book, 4 Ingredients 1, and what inspired it.

RB: Basically we wrote a book WE needed so we could save time and money in the kitchen and get out and do what we love and that is spend time with our children. We compiled over 340 recipes and each had to be; recipes using 4 or fewer ingredients, each recipe containing ingredients readily available and that you could mostly find in your kitchen already, the methodology could be explained using on average 4 sentences and of course they HAD to be delicious!

	What would you suggest as the top 10 most important ingredients that no pantry should be without?
	RB: In the front of the book we have an essential pantry list - some of these include; For the sweets - self raising flour, cream, eggs, raw sugar For the savoury - pasta, rice, sour cream, soup, vegies

What issues do you encounter when juggling motherhood and a growing business?

RB: Kim and I have to juggle being mums, wives and friends with a very busy little business. In addition to this, our normal day also consists of interviews, meetings, a lot of cooking, a million emails and an equal amount of phone calls! l have another business as well as all the motivational speaking I fit into it all; while Kim has a 4 week old baby as well. FORTUNATELY, we are both very proactive women who get a lot done in a short amount of time. We have learnt to be ruthless with our time and always put our priorities first which are our children.

	What is the most memorable time in the kitchen you've had with the children?
	RB: There are TOOOOO many to mention - every day is memorable when you have beautiful little treasures. We are blessed we can spend so much time at home working with them!

	Have you ever had any failures in the kitchen?
	RB: Oh my goodness YES!!!!!!! We've had a fair few disasters. When you cook thousands of recipes like we do - there's always going to be a few shockers!

	When time poor and working to a tight budget, what do you most love to cook for dinner parties?
	RB: Some of the simplest recipes are dinner party worthy like the Sweet Chicken with cornflakes - a real crowd pleaser and sooooo cheap!

	Kids like simple food. What's been your most successful attempt at hiding the vegies?
	RB: In the tangy lamb balls we shred zucchini, carrot and sweet potato into the mix; It's so easy and they love them!

	Any great tips for catering for children's parties?
	RB: Yes … the fabulous chicken nuggets are brilliant for any child's party and the fruit kebabs are ALWAYS a hit and the first thing to go. Keep it simple and colourful.

	When deciding on which recipes to include in your book, who did you invite to be your official taste testers?
	RB: Everyone who came anywhere near our homes was made an official taste tester. Fortunately, we had lots of willing guinea pigs!

What is it like appearing on TV Shows such as Sunrise and Mornings with Kerri-Anne? Do you get nervous cooking for a national audience?

RB: It is exciting to be on national shows like Sunrise, Today Show, A Current Affair and Today Tonight - we are very grateful we receive so much fabulous support from the media! Our first national interview was on Sunrise and we were INCREDIBLY nervous - we shook for the first minute and made a fair few blunders while talking but survived and have since been back on fortunately!! Recently, we did a 6 week shoot for our own TV show which airs on the LifeStyle channel on Sept 11 at 7.30pm so it's becoming easier as time goes by.

Too Easy Chicken Nuggets (Recipe from 4 Ingredients 1)
Serves 2.

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1.5 cups breadcrumbs
1.5 cups whole egg mayonnaise
1 tbs. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180C. Coat chicken with mayonnaise and roll in breadcrumbs. Lay on a baking paper lined baking tray. Drizzle with a little butter and bake for 20 minutes.

Fruit Kebabs (Recipe from 4 Ingredients 1)
Serves 4-6.

1 packet skewers
Choice of 2 fruits (berries, melon, citrus; whatever you have in the fridge or in the fruit basket)
Choice of 1 tub of fruit yoghurt or 1 tbs. of organic honey

Dice fruit into bite-size pieces (skin and clean, where required). Thread the chosen fruits alternatively onto a skewer, leaving enough room at the base so the skewer can be held. Drizzle with yoghurt or honey.

4 Ingredients 1 is available direct online and in all good bookstores. Rachael and Kim are about to launch their latest edition, 4 Ingredients 2, in mid-August and are happy to announce that they will soon be releasing a children's cook book and would love to hear about your childrens' favourite recipes.

ph: (07) 3359 1144
website: www.4ingredients.com.au