Everyone loves the weekend papers, going section by section, picking out the articles that pique your interest and then savouring every word! Moving across the pond I often yearn for a good weekend newspaper, namely The Guardian. The features are well written and researched, regulars that hook you in and fashions spreads that are attainable.
I often look at the website version of the paper and this feature for 12 of he Best Summer Salads caught my eye. The Stuffed Conchiglioni by Eleonora Galasso reminded me of stuffed shells popular here in the US and this version looked less heavy, more fresh, light and summery.
Yay or Nay: Yay
I wasn't expecting much from this when I was making it, however, I was tasting as I was cooking so had my chef's delight! This is a really amazing alternative to the stuffed shells; light and healthy. It was pretty easy to make, the hardest part was the chopping but now I'm just nit picking!
Working at a library has its pros, you can spot new books and grab 'em to check out! I always thought that you'd have all day to flick through books but I hardly have time at all! When I see a cookbook I'm all over it!
Pure Delicious caught my eye as it was a cookbook that specialised in dairy/nut/allergy/gluten free meals. The book is by a blogger called Heather Christo whose family has various allergies so she has been cooking meals that suit their needs. As I am always looking for alternatives so I figured what harm could it do to browse at home? The only danger is wanting to cook most of the meals!
Apparently, taco salad is just taco meat slopped on tortilla chips
with cheese, lettuce and salsa. That didn't put me off as Heather's version was a healthy Mexican
meal worth a try.
Yay or Nay: Yay
O.M.G. This is my new favourite meal to make. I mean the sauce, the sauce...It truly is the bomb, the mix of fresh crunchy veggies, salty chips, spicy meat with the zingy sweetness of the sauce to cut through it, is a mouthful of heaven! This version is available in the book but here are some other versions on her site.
We're always looking for a new place to eat and somehow I saw an article about a place that sold mussels and frites, a classic Belgian meal and suddenly I was craving mussels. I remember in London there was a restaurant, Belgo, that just sold mussels and frites in different sauces - but the best thing was, whatever time you turned up that's how much your meal was, so if you arrive at 5, then it would be five pounds!! I don't know if they still do this but I loved that place, with it's ahead-of-the-times industrial lighting and dim lights.
With some research I found Food Network's recipe for Spicy Mussels with Chorizo and Wine. I was looking for something that I could eat without the lashings of butter or cream. I figured with this recipe I could make a couple of changes quite easily; swap butter for olive oil and cream for cashew cream and it would still be tasty.
Yay or Nay: Yay
I don't know why I hadn't made this sooner, I mean it was so easy to make - a doddle! Super quick to prep and cook, I had to break cooking into two parts as I had to work late and figured the mussels would taste better freshly cooked instead of steamed and then reheated later. So I made the sauce and then once we were ready to eat, heated up the sauce, put the mussels in and added the cream.
TIP: I would up the harissa and red pepper flakes for a but more heat but this was delicious to mop up with some crusty bread!
I first heard of Chrissy Teigan when I randomly read a gossip mag and realised she was married to singer John Legend. I think I was more taken with the fact that she was half-Thai and that she had turned from swimsuit model to food blogger to daytime TV cook. Personally, I am not a 100% convinced on her credentials, but maybe her new cookbook would reveal all.
I was eager to get my hands on her cookbook, Cravings, to see what she came up with, and I must say the recipes were too decadent for me. The only recipe that stuck out was her Sesame Chicken Noodles which I figured were pretty healthy and easy enough to make to put on the rotation, that is, if it is any good.
Yay or Nay: Nay
To be honest, it's not like I hadn't made a version of this recipe before, I think I was expecting something different from the ginger peanut sauces I have made in the past. The tahini does add a earthy depth but overall it is nothing special. I did use different noodles as I forgot to buy flat noodles so it does look different to the book pic but it doesn't really affect the taste. Sorry Chrissy, stick to the day job.
Like most cities, lunch on the go is a huge thing, buy a sandwich or salad to eat at your desk - a meal deal if you're feeling lucky! I miss popping into these places to get a healthy snack as well as inspiration. One of the places I used to frequent after a sweaty hot yoga session was Crussh. It served smoothies, juices, healthy salads and sandwiches and my favourite was the Butter Bean, Cherry Tomato and Parsley Healthpot. It was easy to copy the recipe as they had the listed ingredients on the pot and it was just a matter of testing to see the ratios.
Yay or Nay: Yay
It's not a new recipe but it did come to mind after a long hiatus over the winter. I used to make this for my work lunch and a large batch can last you a couple of lunches. I didn't have any tomatoes to hand but it does make it taste fresher and helps balance the parsley. Although it was a Yay from me, it was a Nay from the Hubby as he was not convinced by the mash-like texture - more for me I guess!
I made a different version of this pasta salad for Mother's Day but I pretty much made it the regular way, i.e. buying a jar of pesto and adding it to cooked pasta. This time I wanted to make my own as I have an over abundance of basil from my windowsill garden and why not?! If it doesn't work out then at least I can say I tried right?
I found this recipe (and there are countless on Pinterest) in Ruby Roth's book 'The Help Yourself Cookbook For Kids'. Judging by how easy her other recipes are (I mean, they're for kids - how hard can they be?) I knew this could be a winner.
Yay or Nay: Yay
I don't know if you've tried other vegan/veggie pesto recipes but this is AMAZING! It really does taste like real pesto - which kind of makes me question what is actually in those supermarket jars of pesto. Don't bother with them, make this NOW!
TIP: I used cashews instead of the traditional pine nuts (which are extortionately expensive - why exactly?!) and Ruth does give other options for nuts.
Browsing through the stacks of new Non-Fiction I found this gem of a cookbook. It is by Ruth Roth who has the blog We Don't Eat Animals
and has written a cookbook for children called 'The Help Yourself
Cookbook For Kids'. The recipes are easy, manageable and the
illustrations are super kitschy and fun! Even if you aren't a kid, there
are definitely recipes I will be trying out for this blog!
I love going to the Public Market on the weekends, especially in the summer as you see the abundance of seasonal fruit and veggies at their prime! Spurred by a friend's purchase of beets I decided to do the same. Back home I loved boiled beets, chopped into a salad but my love didn't quite make it over the pond. Mainly due to availability, but now I had my hands full, so I boiled half and quartered and ziplocked the rest. First things first, a beet dip I can put on crackers or dip veggies into!
Yay or Nay: Yay
It's kind of like a beet hummus but without the tangy finish, however this is just as good. I made a small batch to last me a few days and have been crunching veggies with this dip. FYI it doesn't last a full week even with cover (as it's as fresh as you can get - I do think this is a good sign) and in the heat it does get quite liquidy, but don't let that put you off! Just to backtrack it is delicious!
As school has wrapped up and I'm finding more time on my hands, now I have time to spend with friends - hence the Cookie Social. Its great to be off as I can truly look up new recipes, browse cookbooks for inspiration and have random events where food is the focal point!
Back to the making of the Cookie Social, the idea was for each of the group to cook a different cookie and basically drink wine, munch on cookies while catching up. While scrolling through Instagram I saw top YouTuber Tanya Burr promoting her new baking cookbook. One of her sneak peak recipes were for Salted Nutella Cookies. The book wasn't going to be released in time for the Cookie Social, so instead I found this Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal, Hazelnut and Choc Chip Cookies online and I was ready to bake!
Yay or Nay: Yay
SOOOOO good! I even managed to convert a sweet-hater to a cookie lover. I mean what's not to love? Nutella, toasted nuts, chocolate chips, chewy oats and a touch of saltiness to balance out the sweet. What are you doing reading this - go make them!!!
TIP: Mine
were slightly thicker in size as I tried to fit all of them on one baking sheet (made 15 not 16 like the recipe states) so I cooked them a little longer than the recommended 12 mins
and the nutella rolling was tricker than it sounded - prepare to get your
hands dirty. Do each step one by one rather than per cookie to reduce the mess!
Tofu is a staple in our house, especially when you've exhausted the other protein options. I know in the UK, designer Stella McCartney was promoting to go meatless once a week and I've tried to add in a meatless day as well as a fish day. It kind of balances out the ravenous meat-eaters we've all become. While searching for salad ideas, I came across I Love Vegan's Baked Sriracha & Soy Sauce Tofu and immediately jumped to add it to the new recipes to try.
Yay or Nay: Yay
Super easy and super tasty! Definitely an easy way to update or jazz up tofu. You can use it in a multitude of ways, a salad, in fried rice and most recently in a noodle bowl.
