Delicious pasta bake

Sometimes I find a new recipe and I can almost feel my arteries clogging up as I read it - heaps of butter, cream, cheese, more cheese.  Now, I like rich food and could quite easily munch my way through a whole baked Camembert cheese but I know that these can only be occasional treats in an otherwise balanced diet.

Salmon & broccoli pasta bake

I came across a salmon & broccoli pasta bake that I loved the sound of - but with much less of the suggested fat added to it.  I cooked my version of it last night and it was delicious (even if I say so myself :-)) - creamy but not over the top. 

I guess that's the beauty with cooking - you can always change the recipe into something you'd prefer to eat, so please feel free to play with this one.

Right, I guess I had better updated the much-neglected recipe index - I am still trying to find a better way of listing all the recipes in a more user-friendly way.

Quinoa patties - a quick & healthy lunch option

Not impressed

Keith the dog wasn't too impressed with me when I took him out for his walk in the pouring rain.  For a water-loving spaniel it is quite remarkable just how much he hates the rain :-)

We've had a relaxing weekend with long walks on the beach and plenty of yummy food - one of our new favourites is the Malaysian curry I wrote about a little while ago, so we had that on Saturday night.  I'll be making up another batch of curry paste later today to pop into the freezer - it's the ultimate fast food and healthy, especially when made with reduced fat coconut milk and plenty of vegetables.

Quinoa patties

Another healthy recipe that would make a nice change for lunch is for these quinoa patties. One of the latest foods to be labelled a "superfood", quinoa is surprisingly high in protein, magnesium and other nutrients compared to other grains (although apparently it's not really a grain as such).  It's easy to cook and very versatile - a great alternative to rice.  You can even get in precooked in a pouch which might be a good option if you are trying it for the first time and don't want to buy a whole bag of the stuff.  Always nice to try something different, so maybe these little patties will find their way into your lunch box one day.

Easy tray bake recipe

Isn't it funny how some conversations can give you energy and others leave you feeling drained?  I have had lots of lovely chats this week - with family, Mr Happy Larder but also with people I don't know or at least not very well.  And with the great comments here on the blog there is a real feeling of community which I love, so thank you to everyone who has made my week special - I hope I have been able to return the favour :-)

Talking of things that make me smile, how about this easy to prepare jam tray bake I made for the weekend?  I came across this recipe on Pinterest and simply had to try it - the original recipe can be found on Marie's fabulous blog "The English Kitchen".

This is a simple but very tasty cake and it'll definitely be featuring on our plates again :-)  I made half a tray's worth and froze a few pieces - just to stop us from gobbling up the lot.

Have a lovely weekend!

Easy chicken burger recipe with a twist

Minding his own business

Doesn't he look cute, our cheeky dog?  No mishaps on this morning's walk, I am happy to say.

It's still quite warm and sunny here - the last few summer days.  I fancied something for my dinner yesterday that would somehow match the weather and made these lovely chicken avocado burgers.

Chicken burger

Packed with minced chicken, cubes of creamy avocado and crunchy tortilla chips, they had an additional kick from a squeeze of lime juice, a handful of coriander (cilantro) and  a bit of chilli.  Such an easy burger recipe but a nice change from the usual.
I think they would also work well with a bit of sweetcorn or black beans added to the mix, so I might try that next time.

Fluffy white sandwich bread

Isn't it great when your dog manages to completely embarrass you? :-)  Keith the dog decided to interrupt someone's personal training session in the park this morning by running off with some of the equipment they were using.  Luckily, I got it back relatively quickly but not without having everyone concerned in stitches with laughter.  Thanks Keith :-)

Soft white bread

Now, back to the recipe I promised to share for a fluffy white sandwich loaf.  It's probably my best attempt at making this type of bread so far.  I used a technique I hadn't heard of before but came across in my search for the ultimate white bread.  The unusual ingredient or technique is called "tangzhong" and is used in Japanese milk bread recipes.

Basically, it's a mix of water (and/or milk) and flour which gets heated to a custard-like consistency (like a roux but more liquid), then cooled and added to the bread dough.  I am not 100% sure why it works so well but it is helping to keep the dough moist and results in a fabulous texture.  I have since made a wholemeal version of this and it worked equally well, although it was slightly denser (but not much).  You could easily make this into soft rolls for burgers or a sweet cinnamon or raisin bread.  Yummy!

Sweet bread

I have to have a little rant today about sugar in unexpected places.  Well, what happened is that we fancied some soft brown rolls for our lunch at the weekend and as we were out doing our food shopping, we picked up a packet of wholemeal rolls.  Lunch was to be a roll filled with lovely ham from our deli with a bit of lettuce, a smear of mayo and lots of sugar. What?  No, the latter hadn't been the plan but you wouldn't believe just how sweet those bread rolls were.  When I looked at the list of ingredients, sugar was listed in third place, even before yeast and salt.  There is absolutely no need to add sugar to bread and especially not that much.  Needless to say that we didn't really enjoy our lunch that much :-(  What makes me really mad is that a lot of this stuff is labelled as healthy food - even those rolls had a big sticker on the packaging declaring the wonderful amount of fibre they contained.  I am sure they have a lot of fibre from the wholemeal flour but what about all that sugar? 

Next time you buy ready-made stuff from your supermarket or shop, have a look at the ingredients and you'd be surprised what items have been sweetened: soup, bread, so-called low-fat cereals and "healthy" yogurts.  Before you know it, you will have eaten several teaspoons of sugar without even realising you've done it.  Don't get me wrong, I love to have a sweet treat now and again and you will find plenty of cake recipes on my blog.  But the thing is that I'd like to decide myself when I have something sweet.

Anyway, rant over!  Guess I will just have to try to make even more stuff from scratch and where I don't or can't, I need to read the labels even more carefully.

The positive result of all of this is that I have since discovered a wonderful recipe for a fluffy sandwich bread that will satisfy when we crave soft bread - minus the sugar.  I will share the recipe for that tomorrow, so watch this space...here's a picture to get you drooling :-)

Soft white sandwich bread

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.