Cauliflower rice with mixed veggies

Speedy and super tasty

A scrumptious dinner in less than 10 minutes

Love carbs but hate the feeling of getting bloated? Like rice but don't have the patience to cook it? Have no fear, for cauliflower rice is (finally) here. A recent discovery of mine (thanks to reading the Minimalist Baker's superb blog post), this white rice dupe is the perfect light supper option. Simply buy some cauliflower, mince it up in a food processor (or a box grater if you don't have this fancy gadget), saute it in a pan and hey presto, there's your dinner! To avoid blandness, I recommend adding a good sprinkle of salt, pepper and lemon/lime juice when you're cooking the rice. I also topped mine with some red chilli flakes, just for an extra bit of spice and tastiness. Serve it with whatever you want (in my case, boiled veggies).

A healthy but filling way to end the day. Totally beats a microwaveable TV dinner. 

Recipe from: http://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-cauliflower-rice/ 

Miss Vogue's Warm Blueberry Cakes (Pudding)

Usually when I read Vogue, the first thing I head for is the section that tells you what the latest trends and styles are through a visual gallery boasting a kaleidoscopic array of colors. I think much less about any recipes it recommends, mainly because I'd much prefer to go to an online recipe site or foodie magazine. However, I do think it's important to read openly, especially since you might be in for a delightful treat. In this case, Miss Vogue's Warm Blueberry Cake (or lil' pudding) was definitely a scrumptiously sweet surprise (alliteration for literature geeks). Of course blueberries go well in anything in my opinion, especially in cakes. For this recipe however, it acted as a sort of syrup (think sticky toffee pudding except made with water, sugar and blueberries). The amount of water it asked for was considerably higher than the value allocated to the cream and self-raising flour. Having baked quite a bit myself before, I was slightly skeptical at these numbers. Nevertheless, Miss. Vogue definitely proved me wrong; my worries about the recipe failing quickly evaporated as soon as my eyes were met with the golden scented heart that stood in front of me as the oven door was opened.

A light and somewhat healthy dessert option for those that are wary of their weight - that's how I'd summarize it.

Recipe from:
http://www.vogue.co.uk/miss-vogue/whats-up/2015/03/warm-blueberry-cake-recipe

Lemon and Lavender Chicken

Attempting the extraordinary

As much as I like sticking to recipes (for the sake of accuracy mainly), I do like jazzing them up a bit every so often. These happen to be the very rare instances where I’ll act slightly more daring than usual and employ (somewhat) wacky ingredients. Sometimes they go wrong, sometimes they go right. In this case, it was the latter (thankfully). I’ve never really liked lavender as a fragrance or lotion; I much prefer a more fruity scent. However, when it’s combined with lemon, it’s a completely different story. It’s also a bit of a tongue twister; I ended up calling it lamon and lemender chicken quite a few times. Whether you want to try it with chicken drumsticks like I did or the entire poultry, Rachel Khoo’s French recipe is definitely a zesty dinner-time delight. As there’s honey in the sauce, it goes perfectly with a crusty baguette. However, I found that a mixed veggie fried rice is also a winning accompaniment. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself.

Chicken recipe available from two sources:

• Rachel Khoo’s The Little Paris Kitchen book
• http://www.popsugar.com/food/Lavender-Chicken-Recipe-27060764

Healthy udon noodles with homemade chicken dumplings

The question of dinner

Is a difficult one. However, I do like a good challenge and, seeing as I don't have a microwave, ready-made meals are a huge no no in my household. Instead, I consult one of my cookbooks, Rachel Khoo's The Little Paris Kitchen to be more precise. This time, it was chicken dumplings I was after. Not the usual ones you get in Chinese restaurants (although they taste really good too) but quenelles, the French version. Although in this case, it was important to opt for a light chicken soup rather than a creamy one. With this slight twist from Khoo (2012: 60-1), these homemade chicken dumplings make a healthy but filling option that takes ever so little time to make. The secret? Bread (white preferably). No kidding. Rather than wrapping them in floured bases, these little dumplings gain their shape with crustless bread that's mixed, in a food processor, with chicken breast, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, 100ml single cream and a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg (Khoo, 2012: 61). And that my dear friends is what gives them their lovely puffy shape that's ever so springy and scrumptious when you bite into them. Add some udon noodles, chicken soup and veg and voila! Dinner is served.

But what exactly did you do with the leftover crust I hear you all ask?

You'll just have to wait for my next foodie post ;)

x

Khoo, R. (2012) "Bouillon de poulet avec des quenelles de volailles: Chicken dumpling soup" In The Little Paris Kitchen. London: Michael Joseph. p.60-61. 

Spinach Tortelloni in a Chopped Tomato Sauce topped with Sliced Soft Mozzarella

Speedy but scrumptious

I think it’s fair enough to say that at the end of a long and tiring day, the last thing that ANY of us wants to do is to spend hours cooking up a meal that may in fact turn out to be, quite simply, a disaster. And let’s not forget about the washing up – definitely not my cup of tea. In any case, we need food to function, so here’s a quick and simple recipe I came up with for one of my all-time favorite comfort foods – pasta.

Spinach Tortelloni in a Chopped Tomato Sauce topped with Sliced Soft Mozzarella to be more precise.

Ingredients

• Spinach Tortelloni (as much as you want to eat; I used half a 250g bag, so 125g)
• 1 x 125g mozzarella ball (don’t worry if you don’t use it up; just cut as many slices you want to top the pasta with)
• 1 x box of chopped tomatoes with juice (390g; I used the whole box but use as much as you want)
• Mixed dried herbs (optional)

Recipe (7-10 minutes)

1. In a pot of hot water, boil the pasta for 3-4 minutes.
2. Drain the pasta using a sieve; set aside for the moment.
3. Using the same pot (and hence less washing to do!), pour in the chopped tomatoes and juice; heat for 1 minute.
4. Mix the pasta with the chopped tomato sauce for 2 minutes.
5. Pour the pasta and sauce into a bowl.
6. Slice the mozzarella ball into as many slices as you want.
7. Place the mozzarella slices on top of the pasta.
8. Garnish with mixed dried herbs.
9. Eat.