I LOVE bimbimbap. There, I said it. It's been one of the 'it' meals for a while and believe me it's worth the hype. BUT, I was eating this waaay before it because the hot thing. After living in Korea, I know what makes a good bimbimbap and so I'm reluctant to try a recipe from somewhere that isn't from Maangchi or learned from someone Korean.
I've been trying to entice The Hubby to try more veggies so I knew he would go for this, such is our love for the ricey, spicy goodness that is bibimbap! I found a recipe for bimbimbap from Alice Hart's book Good Veg. What attracted me to this recipe were the lack of ingredients, nothing more I hate than an endless list of ingredients - all of which I don't have at home!
Yay or Nay: Yay
I must say, I'm impressed. Mostly with the sauce - it is pretty identical to ones used in Korean Kimbap shops. The mushrooms were nice and savoury, the peppers added sweetness and the wilted spinach was subtly gingery! I
did sub some of the veggies for ones I had available or for preference,
but the beauty of this dish is that you can combine a whole bunch of
things and as long as you have the sauce - it's dynamite!
In the past I've made mussels in a fragrant wine sauce but I was inspired by a recipe in Sirocco. However, most of the ingredients were hard to come by and I had just finished my tube of harissa! On the next page there was a recipe for Tumeric Clams and via a search on Pinterest I knew I could find a recipe that combined mussels and tumeric with easier to find ingredients. Luckily, I found Recipes From a Pantry's recipe for Tanzanian Style Mussel Curry which sounded delicious!
Yay or Nay: Yay
This was fast, healthy and most importantly yummy! It tasted like a fragrant and light curry which didn't overwhelm the taste of the mussels. The best part was that the sauce was so saucy that it was brilliant to mop up with bread!
Thinking of inexpensive but thoughtful Christmas gifts for co-workers I came across this recipe for Gingerbread Granola. Now, I'm a die-hard fan of Deliciously Ella's Granola but it wasn't very Christmassy! When I think of Christmas I think of Mince Pies, Christmas Pudding and more recently Gingerbread (very American not British!) so hopefully The Healthful Ideas's recipe for Gingerbread Granola would be a mouthful of Christmas first thing in the morning!
Yay or Nay: Nay
This was fairly easy to make, I'd say pretty similar to the Deliciously Ella one. However the ingredients didn't really clump together like you see in the shops. On the plus side, the addition of nut butter gave it a richer taste but I was surprised by the 1tsp of ginger powder. I don't know about you, but gingerbread screams a ton of ginger to me so I ignored the recipe on this front and went for three! I figured the recipe as it currently stands wouldn't have a strong enough gingerbread taste and I didn't want to tell people it was 'gingerbread granola' and for it to taste nothing like that! Even with the change there still isn't a strong ginger taste but there is a little hint of spice. BTW MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
This recipe for Ants Climbing A Tree has been sitting in my Pinterest to-make list and finally I had an opportunity to make it. What enticed me was my husband's and I's love for Sichuan food. Both of us are not big fans of Chinese food (apart from Dim Sum), especially as the offerings are usually horrible greasy western versions of traditional dishes. However, there is a local joint that is Proper, with a capital P, Sichuan cooking. How do we know? The clientele is a big hint (no one speaks English as well as the staff!). We love the spicy, numb your mouth spices although we HATE the super s-l-o-w service!
So instead of waiting around, I decided to make this dish based on its ingredient of spicy fermented bean paste - I have no idea if I bought the right thing but based on the ingredient list I have to just cross my fingers...
Yay or Nay: Nay
It looked so promising, the ginger and spicy sauce making everything a hot shade of red. The flavour is spicy yes, but doesn't have that much depth. It's kind of bland, it could be because I didn't have the two types of soy sauce and just used one, or the paste was the wrong kind but it was a big disappointment. Lesson learned, don't be fooled by styled food pictures!
I'm always on the lookout for easy weekday meals, now the mains jump out, however, side dishes are always a pain to find. There are staples that I run back to but when you want something that is quick, tasty and healthy it is quite the gamut.
This recipe for Andie Mitchell's Healthy Peanut Sauce reminds me of Gado Gado, which is always good! I figured I'd pair it with some spicy baked tofu and drench the sauce on some noodles. I found some mung bean noodles which I thought would make a good alternative to regular wheat or buckwheat versions.
Yay or Nay: Yay
The sauce was a no-brainer, I mean peanut butter, who doesn't love?! I do have to say that the sauce was a lot thicker than I was expecting but the recipe does say to add water to get the consistency right. The mung bean noodles were a surprising hit - chewy and carb-free so win-win! I would rinse the noodles as instructed but I thought the heat from the noodles would help loosen and coat the sauce a bit better.
While surfing Pinterest for dinner ideas I must have come across cashew chicken as an option. I was either looking for slow cooker/crock pot ideas or just anything that would jump out. I asked the Hubby what he thought and it was a surprising yes! Originally I found a recipe somewhere else, but after endless scrolling and clicking just to find it again I found Cookie Rookie's version; 1. It was easy to follow, 2. It was similar to the one I found initially and 3. I couldn't be bothered to look elsewhere at that point.
Yay or Nay: Yay Yay Yay!
It's always good to find something unexpected that is easy, tasty AND is exactly what the recipe promises. Cookie Rookie says that it is SUPER EASY and it is exactly that! I would say it is not worth searing the chicken beforehand if you're short on time as you can leave it in a little longer in the crockpot to cook. Also, I had an excess of ginger so I put waaaaaay more than is in the recipe and I have to say it does add more of a spicy flavour. Apologies for the rushed and dodgy plate pictures! TRY THIS NOW!!
