A weekend treat...super easy sponge cake

It's almost the weekend and what could be better than having a nice treat to serve up with a cup of tea or coffee?

Rather than reaching for a packet of shop-bought biscuits, why not make this quick sponge cake that can be filled with cream & jam, a fruit mousse,...?  I couldn't believe how easy it was to make this - it was mixed and baked within 30 minutes!

Easy sponge cake

Have a lovely weekend!

Looks good enough to eat...Korean sweet & spicy sauce

When I was a little girl I liked nothing better than sitting on the sofa looking at the pictures in my mum's cookbooks.  I still do it!  I love recipes with photos - it helps me imagine what the dish will taste like if that makes sense. 

Korean sweet & spicy tofu

I often go online and do a recipe search by image - that's exactly what happened a couple of days ago when I needed some inspiration for a tofu dish.  Not being a vegetarian, it's not something I have much experience cooking with and to be honest, I have had tofu that tasted more like a wet sponge than anything else, so I was a bit wary of what I might end up with. 
Well, this recipe for Korean sweet & spicy tofu (continuing yesterday's theme of world foods) was a revelation!  Before you recoil in horror, this would work equally well with chicken, pork or prawns :-)  The tofu was crispy thanks to a coating of cornflour applied before frying, the sauce was sticky, sweet and spicy and I demolished the lot in seconds.  The sauce is probably one of the best I have made - we will have this again soon with chicken and stir-fry vegetables! 

In 80 meals around the world...Vietnamese spring rolls & spicy peanut dipping sauce

I moved to London in the early '90s and over the next few years got to experience so much food from around the world that I had never had before.  My first Indian curry gave me the hiccups as I wasn't used to the spices and heat from the chilli but I loved every hiccup-y mouthful.  My first Thai food almost had me in tears with delight at the delicate fragrant flavours.  Since then I've eaten Japanese, Mexican, Korean, South African, Tanzanian,...the list goes on.  I feel incredibly lucky to have tasted so many delicious cuisines and can't wait to try many more.  My dream trip would be travelling around the world with Mr Happy Larder and eating in every country of the world - I'd die one very happy & full woman :-)

Spring rolls with spicy peanut dipping sauce

I guess where I live "unusual" ingredients have become so much more accessible and whilst I try and watch out for food miles, I also love trying out new things.  The latest is Vietnamese rice paper wrappers.  These thin rice papers are used to make spring rolls and make a fabulous change from having sandwiches for lunch.  You can have them as they are or fried/baked - on this occasion I tried the "original" version.  Simply soak the papers in warm water for a few seconds, then stuff with your favourite filling and roll up tightly. folding over the sides to create a sealed roll.  I had mine filled with fresh salad veggies, cooked brown rice and some salmon. These little buddies went especially well with my homemade spicy peanut dipping sauce - you can find the recipe below.

Mhm, which country will my culinary journey take me to next? 

The quest for a great veggie burger

I've been trying to go running a bit more regularly and have managed 3 outings this week, straight after the dog's morning walk.  I can feel that the exercising is doing me good - the only thing is that I want to eat all the time. ;-)  Guess my metabolism has been jump-started, so not to undo my good work I have been looking for healthy recipes to satisfy my hunger.

One thing that falls into this category and that  I love is a good veggie burger but finding one that doesn't have a mushy, baby food texture is not that easy. 

Well, I think I may have found at least one answer to this: chopped nuts - adding a few of those gives a great crunch and lovely taste to the burger.  Next time I may also add some grated carrot for an even better texture and to include more veggie goodness but these did turn out lovely just as they were. 
 

I am hungry - now! ... Easy miso stir-fry

Miso stir fry

It's been a busy day today, so when it got to 6pm I was absolutely starving and needed food quickly. And luckily I already had this dish in mind - super fast, tasty and healthy: stir-fry vegetables, salmon, rice and miso soup.  The miso broth came from an instant sachet from our local health food shop - all natural ingredients, so I didn't mind using it (anyway, I wouldn't even know where to start making miso soup from scratch).

This was done in minutes (thanks to the cooked brown rice I already had) - you could also easily use quick cook noodles to make this satisfying dish.  I felt really full afterwards (in a good way) and will definitely make this again.  My kind of fast food!

Slow cooking the Mexican way - chicken mole

Keith the dog has been busy helping to put the finishing touches to the new kitchen over the weekend.  Not that he has been that helpful but who can be angry with such a cute bundle of furry enthusiasm? :-)
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I've been meaning to write a post about a recipe I recently tried:

Chicken mole

Mexican chicken mole. 

It's a slow cooked dish with a deep rich sauce ("mole") - we had it with tortilla breads and guacamole and it was absolutely delicious!  As with many recipes there are lots and lots of versions for this dish but this one worked well for us.

What intrigued me when I first started looking at the different recipes was the use of dark chocolate in the sauce - it gave a lovely richness to the dish.  And being a slow cook kind of recipe it practically cooks itself whilst you can get on with other stuff :-)

To health with wholemeal bread

It's been a strange few days.  My visit to Germany was lovely but also tinged with sadness as my sister's father-in-law had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, aged 70.  The day after my return he passed away, four short weeks after his initial diagnosis.  A difficult time for the immediate family and everyone who knew him.
For me, it has brought into focus (yet again) just how precious our health is and how we should do everything to protect ourselves from illness. 

It's a bit difficult to find a cheerful link to a recipe but I guess today's recipe is all about health, so that's positive.  I have been looking for a good recipe for wholemeal bread and tried a few - by combining the bits I like most from all the different recipes, I have now come up with one that is not only easy but also super-tasty and good for you.  The most surprising ingredient I found in one of the recipes was half a vitamin C tablet - apparently, it lightens wholemeal bread's texture...I tried it and it does seem to work!

This bread doesn't contain any sugar or other sweetener and yet rises fine by just using the natural sugars (starch) in the flour - another plus for our health.

I hope you enjoy this one!

On the road again...

It's 7:15am and I'm on the train to London to catch a plane to Germany.  I'm very excited to be visiting my youngest sister and her family and to be there for my nephew/godson's 8th birthday.  Yes, it did mean waking up just after 4am today to get the train at 5:27am but it's so worth it.  Mr Happy Larder even got up to take me to the station - best husband ever!  Keith the dog was slightly puzzled to see us so early but pleased nonetheless.

I do have some more recipes I want to write about.  There is the one for chickpea burgers and red pepper hummus I promised but also another one: Mexican chicken mole (mole means sauce & is not to be confused with the blind furry critters answering to the same name & living underground :-)).  It's a one-pot slow cook sort of meal and very tasty indeed - next time I'll tweak it a little as I was a bit conservative with the chilli but I'll write about all of that early next week when I'm back.

In the meantime, have a happy & healthy weekend! xx

A nice cup of tea...Masala chai made easy

Oh, I love drinking tea and coffee!  There is just something about starting the day with a hot drink.  And whilst I am trying not to overdo the coffee consumption, a nice cup of tea can't be that bad for you, can it?

Masala chai - a spiced tea

For a while now I have been meaning to make masala chai, a spiced milky Indian tea.  Now, from what I understand this is usually quite sweet but in my recipe I cut down on the sugar since I always have my tea and coffee unsweetened.  It was delicious with all those wonderful flavours of the spices and yet I don't have to fear that my new addiction will cost me my teeth.  Yes, after having had just one cup of the stuff I am already hooked :-)  No doubt families all over India have their own recipes for this and I bet it tastes different in every other household.

If you don't have the time to make this from scratch whenever you fancy a cup, why not put ground spices together with a little dried milk in a jar and when you are ready for your fragrant tea, simply pop a tea bag into a mug, add some of the mix and pour hot water from the kettle on top.  Leave to steep and enjoy - couldn't be easier!

Easy-peasy pitta (pita) bread

Pitta pockets

I've not done that much baking lately but put that right over the weekend when I made pitta breads for the first time. 

These little pockets are a lovely alternative to sandwiches, especially when stuffed with all sorts of things - salad, hummus, chicken,...the list is endless.  The version I tried didn't contain any yeast and was therefore a lot quicker to prepare.  I opted for wholemeal flour and am really pleased how these came out :-) 

I turned mine into a yummy lunch with red pepper hummus and a vegetarian chickpea burger - delicious!  I will post the recipes for both soon.  For now, I can highly recommend giving these a try!