Easy Mediterranean rice

This is my latest invention.

It was one of those days when I felt mega uninspired about what to cook and I didn't have enough food in my fridge.

I would so have loved to go to Burger King / Macdonalds and get the whole lunch thing over and done with. BUT being a Mum to two young boys, I simply couldn't feed them junk food and hope that they would not be hungry. Sammy has a love-hate relationship with his cheeseburger and while Gabriel likes french fries, I find it hard to justify french fries as a proper meal.

So whether I liked to or not, I had to cook.

Don't you hate those moments?

Well, so I did the next best thing I could do. I ransacked my fridge and freezer for whatever remnants of food I could find.

I found frozen prawns, frozen green beans, mozarella cheese and a couple of fresh tomatoes.

Usually I would cook pasta with tomatoes, but how could I possibly put green beans into my pasta? I'm sure my boys wouldn't have minded, but my hubby would have slaughtered me. Hah.

I decided to cook some rice and see where my creative juices took me. And oh boy! Was I even impressed with my own cooking! It was so easy to cook this meal - just one pan and I fried everything together. And because I didn't follow any recipe (I only seasoned it with salt and pepper), that really brought out the natural flavors of the shrimps, tomatoes and beans! The boys ate everything up such that we hardly had any leftovers.

It's one of those meals that you feel you can give yourself a pat on the back. Enough greens in a one-pot dish and yet tasty enough for your hubby to eat. Yeah, my hubby is the barometer of taste in the family because if he could have it his way, he wouldn't necessarily need any vegetables in his meals.

I'm no professional mediterranean chef, but this tasted mediterranean enough for me. It's like Italian fried rice. 

Ingredients:-

- 2 cups rice
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 3 Tomatoes, diced
- Handful of beans
- 250 grams Shrimps
- 1 packet Mozarella cheese, diced
- Handful of Basil leaves, chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 large Onion, chopped

1. Cook the rice. While the rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients

2. Fry garlic and onion in olive oil until fragrant.

3. Add in the tomatoes and fry until the water almost evaporates.

4. Add in the chopped beans followed by the shrimps.

5. When the shrimps are almost done, add in the rice and mix well.

6. Season it with salt and pepper.

7. Before serving, garnish it with basil leaves and mozzarella cheese. The heat from the rice would melt the mozzarella cheese.

8. Serve warm.

Chef's notes:

- You can add whatever leftover vegetables you have in your fridge. But fresh tomatoes are of essence here, because you want the tomato juice to coat the rice.

- If you have more time, it would be better to cook the rice in advance and allow the rice to cool down before frying it. That way the rice grains remain intact while frying.

- We didn't have time for the previous step, so I fried the rice over very high heat. That way I limited the cooking time and the rice still remained intact.

- The final product tasted a lot like mediterranean baked rice without the additional baking time. Win!

(Disclaimer: We do go to fast food sometimes when we're in a time crunch. Everything in moderation yo.)

Italian noodle salad

My favourite (and only) noodle salad

It's been wayyy too long since I last blogged about a new recipe.

I do still read up on new recipes and print them out in the hope of trying them. However, when it comes to crunch time, I'm always dishing out tried-and-tested recipes that I can recall without having to refer to my recipes.

Being a Mom of two, my cooking time is very (ie.extremely) limited so I'm never adventurous enough to try out anything that takes me longer than 30 minutes in the kitchen.

I've been wanting to blog about this new recipe for the longest time, but have never been able to snap a photo of it before it was gone - that's how good it is!

Noodle salad is a staple in the German household. It makes it appearance at almost every party that I've been to but I have always given it a miss simply because I don't like the distinctive taste of pickles in it. Oh and have I mentioned that the first time I tried noodle salad, I was appalled that the pasta wasn't warm! I mean, who in the right mind eats cold pasta? It's like eating cold rice! Ok, the Japanese eat cold rice with sushi but regular Chinese meals with cold rice??? Bleah!

I first tried this Italian noodle salad at a friend's birthday party and instantly fell in love with it. It has everything I love about Italian food - rocket (rucola), cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and garlic. What's there not to like? Oh and no pickles!

This Italian noodle recipe has singlehandedly made me into a noodle salad convert! It has been tried in our household three times and has always been a hit with guests. It was originally from this popular German website, but I have modified it to suit my taste and most importantly, translated it to English of course!

Also, because its pretty much a cold dish, you can prepare it in advance and eat it later at your convenience. I personally eat it immediately after I prepare it, so it tastes fresh even if the pasta is cold. When I eat it one day later, I like to scoop out a portion of the salad, heat it up in the microwave and allow the mozarella to melt over the pasta. That way it tastes great on the second day too.

It makes great party food too. Be wary though. Once you make it, you can be sure that your friends are going to ask you to bring it again for the next party.

Unfortunately, this salad might not be suitable for young kids since it uses raw garlic. I'm speaking from experience because try as I might, Sammy refuses to eat a bite of it despite our attempts to feed him. I think he finds the balsamic vinegar too sour for his taste buds? 

Ingredients:-

- 300 gram Pasta (eg. fusilli) 
- 250 gram Cherry Tomatoes (quartered)
- 250 gram Bacon bits (Katenschinken)
- 100 gram Pine nuts
- 300 gram Mozarella balls
- 100 gram Rocket (rucola)
- Parmesan cheese  (in a block)

 For the salad sauce:-

- 70 ml Olive oil
- 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Pesto (I used balsamic pesto)
- 1 tsp Mustard
- 1 tsp Honey 
- 1 clove Garlic (chopped)

1.  Cook the pasta al-dente according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. While the pasta is cooking, dry roast the pine nuts over medium heat paying attention that it does not burn. Set aside.

3. Fry the bacon bits without oil. It will fry in its own fat. Set aside.

4. Place the pasta, pine nuts, bacon bits, mozarella balls, cherry tomatoes and rocket in a big salad bowl.

5. Prepare the salad sauce and pour it over the rest of the ingredients.

6. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. I omit the salt usually because bacon is salty enough.

7. Before serving, shred some parmesan cheese over the salad. Enjoy!

Before mixing

Salmon pesto pizza

Now that my hands (and feet) are tied with two little ones, I know the importance of being able to churn out dinner with no time at all.

I used to think that I was efficient with handling my household chores with one kid - until I got another one that is!

The body does adapt quickly though. Now that I'm into my 4th week of being alone with the two kids and Gabriel has turned 6 weeks old, I find myself slowly finding my rhythm in the daily grind of endless diaper changings and breastfeeding. 

One of the challenges that remain is trying to figure out what food I can possible cook without having to stand at the stove or spend ages preparing.

This was when the idea of preparing salmon pesto pizza popped into my head.

I usually cook salmon in pasta, either with a cream-based or a tomato-based sauce. If I do it Asian, I make ourselves some Japanese teriyaki salmon with grilled vegetables.

Hence, salmon on pizza was a first for me.

Verdict? It was awesome! Took maybe 10 mins to prepare and that's it!

Sammy loved it and so did I. Hub is still more of a salami-and-ham pizza kinna guy, but this is still going straight into one of my must-have recipes.

Ingredients: -

- 400 grams Salmon (sliced)
- 200 grams fresh Mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 can Pesto Rosso (Barilla brand)
- 1 sheet of ready-made Pizza dough 
- Italian herbs
- Salt and pepper
- Mozzarella Cheese / Pizza cheese
- Fresh Basil leaves

1. Prepare ingredients by slicing salmon and mushrooms

2. Spread pesto rosso on a sheet of ready-made pizza dough

3. Arrange a layer of fresh mushrooms followed by salmon.

4. Season with Italian herbs, salt and pepper.

5. Top off generously with pizza cheese. Bake at 200 degrees celsius for about 20 minutes (follow the instructions on the pizza dough packet).

6. Garnish with fresh basil leaves before serving. Enjoy!

The Pesto Rosso I used

Smoked salmon pasta

I can't believe that I haven't posted this recipe!

It's one of my family's favourite recipes and I could whip it up in about 15 minutes flat. The only fresh ingredient needed for this dish is the smoked salmon, which can easily be kept in the fridge for a couple of days.

Other than that, the other ingredients can be kept for a long time.

Usually the taste of salmon is not strong enough to give taste to pasta, but smoked salmon itself tastes soooo good that I don't even need to add any salt.

Try it and you'll realize what I'm talking about! 

Ingredients:-

- 400 grams smoked Salmon
- 220 grams Spaghetti / Linguini
- 5 cloves Garlic, chopped
- 1 / 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 400 grams of cream (I used lactose-free cream)

- 1 teaspoon capers (optional)
- Handful of grated cheese
- Dash of freshly-crushed black pepper
- Handful of chopped parsley for garnish

1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat up olive oil in a wok / pan.

3. Stir-fry garlic for a few minutes ensuring that it does not burn.

4. Add the pasta and stir-fry pasta in garlic until aromatic.

5. Add in the smoked salmon and fry until it breaks up into small pieces.

6. Add the cream and mix well. 

7. Add the capers, grated cheese and black pepper for taste. Mix well.

8. Before serving, garnish with a handful of chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Bacon and spinach pesto pasta

I've been wanting to post this new recipe for the longest time, but just couldn't find the time to do so.

This is such an easy recipe and one does not need any fresh ingredients so it's absolutely great for weekends and when one doesn't have time to head down to the supermarket.

I like to have my meals healthy, so I try to include greens whenever I can. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of frozen vegetables so I try to get my salad / vegetables fresh.

That's why I simply adore this dish. Although I use frozen spinach, it tastes pretty awesome compared to the regular frozen mixed vegetables. Hubby and Sammy polish off their portions whenever I cook it and it's usually done in about 15 minutes flat.

For Mummies with kids, this recipe is awesome!

Ingredients:-

- 220 grams Pasta (3 portions)
- 5 Cloves Garlic (chopped)
- A handful of frozen Spinach
- 300 grams Bacon
- 200 grams fresh brown Mushrooms (optional)
- 200 grams Créme Fráische
- Grated Cheese

See Sammy's mini portion in the background?

1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions.

2. While pasta is cooking, chop up garlic finely.

3. Fry bacon in wok. No need to add oil because bacon will fry in its own fat.

4. Add garlic and mushrooms. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add Créme Fráische and frozen spinach. Let the sauce simmer for a while

6. When sauce is almost done, add grated cheese.

7. Mix pasta together with sauce and serve hot.

Another variation to this recipe would be to get streaky bacon and fry it crispy. Remove bacon and use the bacon fat to fry the garlic.

Seafood cream sauce pasta

We're back from our Berlin trip! It was beyond incredible! :) I've got so much to say and so many photos to share such that I will need some time to organise them into bite-sized blog portions.

Hubby "complained" that we only had Asian food during our 5-day stay in Berlin. It can't be helped cos Asian food there is incredible! I found myself just researching online about which restaurants to try and 5 days was simply too short to satisfy my palate / cravings!

Anyway, now that we're back home I decided to pacify my dear hubby by cooking western food again. We made a trip to METRO - it's like the Ikea-version for groceries and managed to stock up on seafood!

I managed to get frozen scallops there for about 2.20€ / 100gram, which is considered very cheap. The only drawback about Metro is that somehow the entire warehouse was freaking cold! I felt like I was walking in a life-sized refrigerator / freezer! And we were so not dressed for it, having come in summer wear cos it's so hot outside and we went cycling that day.

Oh boy, this recipe turned out so heavenly! It takes 30 minutes max to prepare and the cream sauce tasted even better than those at Italian restaurants. I like seafood but hate shellfish so I usually don't order the regular seafood pasta. Hence, its perfect that I can reproduce my favourite seafood pasta according to my liking in the comforts of my own home.

No salt is required for this recipe since smoked salmon is salty as it is. Ever wondered how to get this lovely orange tinge in pasta? It's the combination of tomato and cream sauce.

Ingredients:- (serves 3)

- 200 grams Smoked Salmon
- Handful of Rucola (rocket salad)
- 6 giant Scallops
- 6 giant Prawns
- 5 cloves Garlic (chopped)
- 2 / 3 tablespoons concentrated Tomato Puree (Tomatenmark)
- 400 grams Cream (schlagsahne)
- Handful of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- Handful of chopped chilli (I used dried chilli pods)
- Olive oil
- 200 grams spaghetti / linguini

1. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

2. Fry the garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes or until fragrant.

3. Pan-fry the smoked salmon in oil until cooked

4. Add in the scallops and prawns and fry for 2-3 minutes, taking care to ensure that they are not overcooked. Scallops cook very quickly so I'm usually very careful here.

5. Add in the cream, tomato puree and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the chopped chilli.

6. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for 3-4 minutes so that it absorbs the seafood taste from the ingredients.

6. Serve hot with pasta. Garnish with rucola.

Salmon spread finger food

Ok, I admit. The not-so-fantastic iPhone-quality photo does not do justice to the taste of the food.

I made some finger food the other day for a monthly church gathering and was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy this recipe was. I got it from mother-in-law after trying it at her place and decided that I simply had to do it myself!

It was soooo good that hubby and I were contemplating finishing it by ourselves instead of contributing it to the buffet table. LOL :) It takes 10 mins tops to prepare this, so you bet that we're gonna revisit this recipe real soon!

Ingredients:

- 300 grams smoked salmon
- Mayonnaise (1 tbsp)
- Full milk yoghurt (1 tbsp)
- 2 Spring Onions
- Capern (optional) (1 tsp)
- Lemon juice (1 tbsp)
- Salt and pepper

1. Puree 200 grams of smoked salmon

2. Add the mayonnaise and yoghurt

3. Chop the spring onions and the remaining 100 grams smoked salmon finely.

4. Add the spring onions mixture to the cream mixture.

5. Sprinkle with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

6. Spread on black bread (Pumpernickel).

Salmon blinis

This is another easy-as-pie and yummy recipe. I got this idea from my friend's blog, thanks Bel! :)

Now that I meet up with some ladies regularly for playdates, I'd like to have some recipes at hand to contribute to coffee and cake.

I love salmon and am always in search for salmon recipes, so this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:

- 1 packet of Blinis (round pancake-like base)
- 100 grams smoked salmon
- 100 grams sour cream
- Some chives (chopped)
- 1 lemon
- Fresh ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix chopped chives in sour cream. Spread mixture on blinis

2. Add smoked salmon on top of mixture

3. Season with freshly-ground black pepper and fresh lemon juice

4. Garnish with more chives.

Notes:

- One can substitute the sour cream with crème fraîche

- Sour cream can be placed on top of the salmon instead of below so that the blinis are easier to hold

- Blinis can be substituted by Pumpernickel (German black bread cut in circles) instead.

Quiche Lorraine

I realize that I hardly make western meals. Most of the recipes on my blog are Asian, while my western recipes are mainly limited to pasta.

The good thing about having western meals is that the oven does most of the cooking for you. Compared to Asian cooking when one has to stand at the stove until the food is done, western-baked meals are cooked in the oven, so one only has to spend time preparing the ingredients.

Believe it or not, this is the first quiche that I've ever made and so far the only one I like! Most of those that I get in stores are a bit too salty for my taste.

I compared recipes in English and German, so here's my adaption of Quiche Lorraine. Hubby loved it and I must say that I enjoyed it so much that I was so glad that there was enough leftovers for both of us for lunch. :)

Ingredients:- (makes 8 servings)

- Shortcrust pastry (1 packet)
- 300 grams, bacon (small bits)
- 1 Onion (sliced)
- 250 grams fresh brown mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 leek (chopped)
- 1 red pepper (chopped)
- 3 eggs
- 200 grams crème fraîche
- 100 grams milk 
- 200grams Cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 200 grams Gruyere cheese (grated)
- Some nutmeg (powdered)

1. Bake shortcrust pastry for about 15 mins in an oven-proof dish. This is to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy.

2. Fry bacon. Using the oil from the bacon, fry onion, mushrooms, leek and red pepper. 

3. Turn off heat. Put ingredients in quiche dish.

4. Beat eggs, cream and milk in a bowl before adding it to the quiche.

5. Season mixture with some nutmeg. Add the cherry tomatoes and top it with gruyere cheese.

6. Bake at 200 degrees celsius for about 30 mins.

Pasta Aglio Olio with Langoustine

We went to Strasbourg a few weeks ago and I chanced upon some lovely Langoustine in a French supermarket. I couldn't resist the vision of churning up some garlic, rucola and seafood goodness in my kitchen, so this is my little super easy concoction for our Sunday lunch / brunch.

 Ingredients:

- Some Langoustine
- A lot of Garlic, chopped
- Olive oil
- Tomatoes, diced
- Fresh rucola leaves
- Dried chilli flakes
- Thin pasta, preferably Linguine or Spaghetti

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet's instructions

2. While the pasta is cooking, fry the garlic in some olive oil until fragrant

3. Add in the langoustine and toss it with the garlic for 2 mins

4. Add in the diced tomatoes. Toss.

5. Arrange pasta and the rest of the ingredients in a pasta bowl.

6. Garnish with rucola leaves and sprinkle some chilli flakes over pasta. Serve hot.

(I added in some smoked salmon since I had it as leftover. It gave the pasta a stronger seafood taste)

Prawn and salmon with rice

We had this for dinner yesterday. Today we had simple takeaway cos Sammy and I seemed to have come down with some stomach bug. Poor boy puked like 3 times today and just when I thought it might be due to the fact that he didn't burp at his last feed, I had puke myself. :( Really hope that this will be over soon.

Anyway, this post is about my little discovery yesterday. While I'm all for trying out new recipes, I still need to bear in mind that I do have a little baby whose needs are 24/7. Hence, when the inspiration for this dish came to mind, I simply knew that it was from God!

This conconction is soooo simple, quick AND tasty that I could eat it everyday!

Ingredients:

- 500 grams Salmon (4 pieces)
- 1 packet Thai Kai Yang marinade sauce
- Some fresh salad (rucola, cress etc)
- 1 packet of herbs cream sauce (Kräuter Rahm Soße)
- 12 prawns with shells on it
- 1 lime / lemon
- 200 grams rice

1. Season the salmon in the Thai marinade for 1-2 hours in the fridge

2. Grill the salmon in the oven for about 20 mins at 200 degrees celsius

3. While the salmon is grilling, cook the rice in the rice cooker

4. Skewer the prawns onto a wooden stick. Add some olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill them in the oven together with the salmon only in the last 5 - 7 minutes, bearing in mind that prawns don't take long to cook

5. Make the cream sauce according to the instructions on the packet (usually you just have to add water). The sauce is to be poured over the rice.

6. Assemble everything together. I added some lime to give it a zesty flavour. You can use lemon too.

Chilli oil & bacon pasta

Ohh, I love this recipe.

I first saw it at my Jap friend's place, when she whipped up a quick dinner for my impromptu visit. Since then, I have been cooking it whenever we have only 15mins to spare for preparation and cooking altogether.

Its beyond tasty and I'm absolutely sure that you will love it too!!!!

Ingredients:
- 250grams bacon (be sure to get bacon. You need the fat content)
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground pepper
- 4-5 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 medium-sized shallot (chopped)
- 2 dried chillies
- Olive oil
- 3 medium-sized tomatoes (chopped)
- 220 grams spaghetti

1. Heat up some olive oil in a wok.

2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the 2 dried chillies. Keep the heat on for about 5 -10 minutes to allow the oil to absorb the taste of the chillies.

3. In the meantime, cook about 220 grams of spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet

4. Fry the garlic and shallots in the hot oil, together with the chillies.

5. Add the bacon pieces. Fry for 2 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes. Fry.

7. Drain the spaghetti and toss it with the ingredients in the pan.

7. Season with lots of pepper and parmesan cheese.

8. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Home-made Apple Crumble

We were given sooo many organic apples when we went for this Intercultural seminar about 2 months ago. The owner of some apple trees simply went over to the building where our seminar was held and asked if anybody wanted free apples.

The Singaporean in me leaped for joy naturally! The apples were so fresh and natural that our entire car smelt of them for days after they were loaded inside!

However, having so many apples at home meant that they had to be eaten up within a short amount of time! Plus, most of them were pretty small (which is further proof that they are organic) so it wasn't that "enjoyable" to eat them directly. We kept them for as long as could before I decided to crack my brains to figure out what I could do with the apples. And wa-lah! Up came this dessert which I haven't made in ages.

Apple Crumble! 

The crumble needs to be huge, so that you can actually bite them into bits!

Serve them with vanilla ice-cream for the best dessert ever! Its superb for winter because its actually warm!

Ingredients:

- 240 grams Flour

- 120 grams Butter

- 60grams Sugar

- 5 to 6 large Apples (we just used all the apples we had)

(Please note that the proportions are arbitrary. A friend showed me once how she made apple crumble so I just tried to estimate the proportion)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

2. Mix flour, butter and sugar together in a bowl with your hands. It is very trial-and-error. Break up the butter and combine it thoroughly with the flour and sugar. The texture of the crumble should resemble huge breadcrumbs. You don't want them to be too fine, because the large crumbles taste the best.

3. Peel and slice the apples into bite-sized portions. Place them in an oven-proof dish.

4. Evenly spread the crumble on top of the apples. 

5. Place it on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until done. Keep an eye on it to ensure that top layer does not burn.

6. Serve hot with vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy!

Fusion Salad

I went out with my dear friend, T. last Thursday. Every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays there is the open market where the farmers sell fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers....everything that grows under the sun!

So there I was buying fresh Rucola, Endives, Cress at a fraction of the price I would pay at a supermarket. Oh man and they tasted soooo fresh! I told myself that I would try to buy vegetables from the market from now onwards - if I manage to make it down in time.

This dish is so healthy and tasty that I felt like I went for a detox! It seriously felt like my body was thanking me for feeding it with such healthy food!! Unlike fast food like Macdonalds where one goes to eat but comes out of it feeling, "Oh, I don't have to eat this for a while again", I felt that I could eat this meal anytime, any day!

Ingredients:
- Handful of Rucola (Rocket) salad
- Cress (Kresse in German)
- Endives
- Tomatoes (Strauch Tomaten)
- Mozarella Cheese
- 3 tbsp Due Vitorie Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 tbsp of Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 200grams Rumpsteak, sliced
- Garlic
- Red Thai Chilli (sliced)

1. Wash Rucola, Cress and Endives. Cut endives into bite-sized pieces. Mix all 3 vegetables thoroughly and arrange them nicely in a salad bowl.

2. Quarter the tomatoes and add them on top.

3. Slice mozarella chesse and arrange on top of the salad

4. Fry the garlic and red thai chilli for 2 mins

5. Add the rumpsteak and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, according to how well you want it done

6. Scoop out the beef and arrange them on top of the salad

7. Drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey.

8. Serve with garlic bread and orange juice. As I said detox!

Enjoy! This salad has a mixture of the Italian side (due to the Balsamic vinegar and olive oil) but the garlic and chilli beef slices makes the entire thing taste so exotic! Hubby and I finished it sooo quickly!

French Toast

We're back from Salzburg!

What can I say. The city was simply breath-taking. As a matter of fact, I commented that Salzburg could even pass off as part of Germany. Everything was very German - the architecture, the food... even the language is the same. The only significant difference is the Alps which frame the entire scenery of Salzburg so beautifully. Like how a photo frame makes a photo look so much better, the Alps changes Salzburg from a "wow" to a "WOW"!

Anyways, before I process the photos, here's a foodie post.

French toast must have been one of the first things I learnt how to cook - back in school during Home Economics. You see, many women from Asia do not necessarily need to know how to cook because eating out is so cheap, it doesn't make economic sense to cook for yourself. Hence, as part of our school's curriculum, we learnt how to cook and sew! And oh boy, I so wish that I kept some of my recipes!

When we came back from Salzburg, our fridge was so empty and I was famished. So was the hub.

I looked into my fridge and saw that we only had bread and 2 eggs. Suddenly it dawned on me that I could re-visit this dish which I haven't eaten in years! Literally.

You'd need:

- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sugar
- dash of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Slices of bread

1. In a pie plate or shallow, flat-bottomed container big enough for one bread slice, mix all the ingredients except the bread.

2. Over medium-low flame, heat butter or oil in a pan.

3. One at a time, dip both sides of the bread in the egg mixture. Place on pan.

4. In batches, cook until golden brown, turning once. Transfer to a warmed plate in the oven (optional).

5. Serve with fresh fruits and honey.

Enjoy!

Easy peasy fusion Chicken Roast

Left: The marinate I used for the chicken thighs.

Right: Before grilling

We had some guests over last Friday. I've been feeling pretty under the weather thanks to the massively hot temperatures, followed by a more than 15-degree temperature drop over the past few days. It went from 35-40 degrees to 18-20 degrees this week! Hence, I desperately needed some fast and wholesome food. I looked through my packet sauces (which I always have on standby) and found this one that I've been wanting to try ever since we had it at Steph's place last year. She cooked hers with salmon, but we decided to stick to the original recipe and grilled ours with chicken thighs.

45mins later, everything was done absolutely deliciously. 

Oh boy, I know that I rave about easy recipes pretty often. But this was a real no-brainer! In fact, it only took me about 10 mins to prepare the food and put them in the oven. The juices from the Chicken thighs completed the taste of this wholesome meal!

1. Marinate 900grams of chicken thighs with the packet sauce. Put them in the fridge for a few hours.

2. Cut carrots, potatoes into cubes. Place them in a roasting pan. Add the chicken thighs.

3. Season vegetables with Italian herbs, Herbs de Provence, Olive oil, salt, pepper.

4. Grill for about 30mins at 200 degrees celsius, fan-forced.

5. Add some cut fresh mushroom and spring onions at this point. I didn't put them in earlier, because they cook really fast.

6. Change the oven function to "roast". Cook for another 15 mins or until done.

Lazy but healthy meals

**Notice how the turkey slice curled up ever so nicely on the top left of the photo? This was to complement the curly pasta! **

Nah, that was by pure coincidence. But what an easy way to impress your guests, not just with your culinary skills but also with your artistic abilities in presentation!

That's my version of a superbly delicious pasta meal with my favourite Rocket / Rucola Salad.

You know how you have those days when you're famished but have absolutely not prepared anything in advance to cook?

I know I've had.

So the last time I knew that if I didn't eat within 15 mins, my hunger pangs would cave in immediately, I opened my fridge, looked at what I had to get rid and came up with this awesome meal!

I had:-
- 200 grams of cream
- Some leftover portions of uncooked pork and turkey meat
- 1 packet of Rucola / Rocket Salad
- Some colourful pasta
- Some Fresh Mushrooms
- 4 cloves Garlic (chopped)
- 1 Onion (sliced)

1. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
2. While the pasta is cooking, fry the garlic and onions in olive oil
3. Add the pork and turkey meat and stir-fry until slightly brown.
4. Add the fresh mushrooms
5. When they are almost cooked, add the cream.
6. Season with Italian herbs, Herbs from Provence, salt and pepper. I added some chilli for a touch of spicyness too.
7. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 mins.
8. Serve together with pasta and Rucola Salad mixed well.

This was such a refreshing difference from the usual seafood pasta that we eat. I was quite surprised how "meaty" the sauce tasted even though the cooking process was really short. Will definitely try it again!

My Seafood Pasta Masterpiece

That´s my seafood pasta masterpiece - Lobster, prawns and scallops served in a creamy, white wine, garlic sauce and topped with fresh mushrooms and garden herbs..... heaven! Of course the best is reserved for the in-laws.....

That´s our more economical version - with Salmon instead of Lobster, but using the same sauce of course!

We invited the in-laws over for lunch last Saturday and I wanted to treat them to something that they haven´t eaten before. So when I saw lobster and scallops at the supermarket the other day, I bought it without delay.

What can I say. I think I have invented my favourite seafood pasta recipe!!!!

The recipe can be found here.

Pork chops in reduced red wine sauce

After my successful East-meets-west pork chops, I decided to try the same meat again, but this time with a different sauce. So what better way to grill pork than to use red wine! Hence, pork chops with red wine sauce it was. The verdict, "It tastes just like that in a restaurant!" claims my hubby.

Pork Chops with red wine sauce

- 700 grams Pork Chops (Schweinkotelett mit Knochen)

- Spring Onions, cut into thick strips

- 3 cloves Garlic

- 1 Shallot, chopped

- 2 tbsp Cooking Oil

- 200grams Meat Stock

- 200 grams Red Wine

- 250 grams brown Fresh Mushrooms, sliced

1. Put the fries in the oven first, as they take about 15-20mins.

2. Fry the garlic and shallot in hot oil for 2-3 mins ensuring that they do not burn.

3. Add the brown mushrooms and fry for 2-3mins.

4. Add the meat stock and red wine.

5. Let everything simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1/3 of its original volume.

6. In the meantime, grill the pork chops over a heavy iron grill pan

7. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper

8. Garnish with spring onions and cherry tomatoes.

9. Add some corn starch for a thicker sauce.

(But I don´t know if its a big no-no to Western cuisine?!?)

10. Pour the sauce over the pork chops and serve them with French fries and salad.

Guten Appetit!

Salmon and scallop pasta

Met up with Serene´s friends from Paris yesterday. Gone are the days when you get to know people face-to-face. Now most things happen online! We had an Email introduction, when Serene informed me that her friends would be coming to Stuttgart and we were delighted to meet up with them for dinner.  Bl-ore (blog + more) about that later!

I saw some scallops at the supermarket while bringing them around and couldn´t resist buying some since they taste awesome!

This time, I decided to pan-fry it for about 1.5 mins on each side and they turned out perfect! Cooked and firm on the outside and yet still soft and palatable on the inside, tearing apart easily when one lightly bites on them.

Tried searching for pasta recipes with both salmon and scallop, but didn´t find any that I liked. So I decided to cook them my style. Lots of garlic, onion and chilli! hahah.

Salmon and Scallop pasta

- 1 Salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces

- 200 grams Scallops

- 200 grams Spinach Pasta

- Lots of garlic, chopped

- 1 Onion, chopped

- 1 Thai red Chilli, chopped

- Olive oil

- Freshly-grated Parmasan Cheese

- Salt / Soya sauce, pepper

- Lemon juice freshly-squeezed from 1/2 a lemon











1) Cook the pasta as per normal, drain and set aside.

2) Pan-fry the scallops for 1.5 mins on each side. Set aside.

3) Using the same pan, fry the garlic, onion and red chilli with lots of olive oil

4) Add the salmon and fry it until cooked. Remove the salmon and set aside (so that it doesn´t break into bits)

5) Add the pasta and stir-fry it for 2-3 mins.

6) Add freshly-grated paramesan cheese and stir until it melts.

7) Season with salt, pepper

8) Return salmon and scallops to the pasta to warm them.

9) Squeeze the lemon juice over the pasta

10) Serve warm