Friday, May 30, 2014
Cream Cheese Pudding
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Crostini with Goat's Cheese, caramelised onions and figs.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil and a little more to drizzle on bread.
- 2 small Baguette rolls (2x150gm)
- 150 gm Goats cheese sliced
- 150-200 gm cream cheese mixed with 1 teaspoon of any favourite herbs. I used rosemary, chopped fresh mint and a pinch of freshly ground pepper.
- 2 Large Onions sliced thinly
- 1-2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tableapoons Brown sugar
- Few soft figs sliced (soft center and not too dried)
- Fresh mint leaves
- Toasted almond flakes and sunflower seeds.
- Honey or agave syrup (optional)
- Slice onions and fry with olive oil till limp, add balsamic vinegar and cook few minutes then add brown sugar. Cook till no liquid and onions brown and caramelised. Set aside.
- Baguette bread..cut into half and slice horizontally, halving it; place on oven tray. drizzle or spray little olive oil on each slice and toast in the oven at 200C for 8-10 mins or till slightly brown and crisp.
- While bread in oven, Slice goats cheese and Mix cream cheese with favourite herbs.
- When bread is done, divide the onions equally on each slice.
- Place goats cheese slices on both ends of bread and add a blob of cream cheese mixture in the center of each slice on top of the onions.
- Dress with a mint leaf and toasted almond flakes and sunflower seeds. You can drizzle some honey if desired.
- Serve warm and immediately so the goats cheese slices melt just slightly with the hot toasts, making it a perfect texture.
- Best served with red wine. I personally do not drink alcohol at all, so I take it with NON alcohol red wine....yes it's a perfect match!!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Mixed Rice Stuffed Aubergine/Egg Plant
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Spicy Rice filled Eggplant/Aubergine with yogurt and salad. |
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Stuffed Eggplant/Aubergine ready for the oven |
- Optional : 250 gm ground beef
- 1 cup basmati rice ( i just cooked extra to have extra fried rice on the side.
- 2 large aubergines/eggplants
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, halved, finely chopped
- 1 red capsicum, halved, deseeded, finely chopped (I used one half red and one half yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed (I used 5)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander (I used 1 tsp coriander seeds)
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (I chopped a thumb size dried ginger)
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chilli or 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, fresh or dry is fine.
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh continental parsley - I used 3 stalks.
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup yoghurt. Greek, plain or fat-reduced...any will do perfectly fine.
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint (I had no mint so I just made a simple raita mix of chopped tomatoes and chives instead…just as good)
- salt and pepper to taste.
- pinch of garam masala or chilli powder for the yogurt (only if you like a spicy flavour)
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Ground beef and capsicum |
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Fried Rice with ground beef |
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Stuffed Aubergine/Eggplant |
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Yogurt Salad/Raita |
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Mothers Day, every day
There is one precious gift that any parent would want and wish for...and rightly so deserve, and that is to be in their kids daily prayers just as they have their kids in theirs. My mum has been there for me from the day I was born, through all my ups and downs even till today, even thousands of miles away... her love, support, care, advice, words and most of all, her prayers are with me. While appreciation for any parent should be every day of the year, most of us still love to extra appreciate mothers on this special day. I had no idea how hard (yet so rewarding and amazing) motherhood was until I got there myself. So my love and respect for my own mum and anyone out there who has ever raised a child grows more and more every day.
Although I really value the thinking behind Mother’s Day—recognition of our mothers and everything that our mothers have done for us - I think that part of being a mom is turning every day into Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is all about being appreciated for everything they do all of our lives every single day....and as a mother myself, I don’t need anything fancy to show me that. I just need to look for signs of it in my daily living to turn every day into Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother's Day to my very own amazing mom..and to all of you mummies and mamas out there!
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Herb Potatoes and Eggs - Great anytime, anywhere.
Ingredients
- Boiling potatoes, 4 small or 2 medium potatoes, rinsed and scrubbed
- 2 stalks celery sliced small
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 tabs olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Generous pinch dried herbs or spices, such as oregano, basil, Italian herbs, tarragon, thyme, herbes de Provence, paprika, or ground cumin.(optional). I added a little mixed masala, rosemary, thyme, basil, dried coriander.
- 3 large eggs
- 1 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup grated or crumbled cheese, such as aged or extra-sharp Cheddar, pepper Jack, feta, goat cheese, Gruyere, aged Swiss, provolone, or regular or smoked mozzarella.
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, cilantro or dill (optional)
Directions
- 1. Dice the potatoes pretty small but not super tiny. (You want them small enough so they more or less fit in a single layer in an 8-inch nonstick skillet and will cook quickly. Aim for about 1/2 inch dice–no larger.)
- 2. Combine the potatoes, water, oil, and salt in the skillet over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly, cover, and set the timer for 5 minutes. Let the potatoes cook, stirring once or twice if you think of it, while you prep the rest of your ingredients. By the end of the 5 minutes, the water should have just evaporated and the potatoes should be barely tender and maybe even have started to brown.
- 3. Uncover the potatoes and use a spatula to loosen them from the skillet. Cover again and cook over medium to medium-high heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, 2 to 5 minutes longer. If using dried herbs/spices, sprinkle them over the potatoes now.
- 4. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Pour the eggs over the browned potatoes, strew with the scallion, and scramble until the eggs are just set, maybe a minute or so. Sprinkle the eggs with the cheese and fresh herbs, remove the skillet from the heat, and let the whole shebang stand until the residual heat melts the cheese and finishes cooking the eggs. (If you don’t mind losing a little crispness on the potatoes, you can cover the skillet so the cheese melts more quickly and evenly.) Scoop the mess from the skillet, place it onto plates, and pass the forks.