Always thinking of the next meal...
Who isn’t on a diet at the start of the year? If you’re hosting a party after Christmas and worrying about what you should serve, these little kebabs will help you out. Not only are they fun to prepare and look elegant, they’re healthy too. This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay‘s new Fast Food book and indeed it doesn’t take more then ten minutes to make.
November is Vegan Month and Suganya from Tasty Palettes is looking for vegan recipes. Vegans don’t eat any animal products at all; that means no eggs, no milk, no cheese, nada. As you can see lots of people have stepped up to the challenge to go vegan for a day, week or a whole month. As much as I love animals, I think I will be cheering from the sidelines on this one. When I eat vegetarian for a few days at a time, I get this strange floating sensation when walking, which means after a month I’ll probably be on my way to Mars. Who’s going to post you all these yummy recipes then? Eating meat roots me firmly to the ground and I like it here on planet Earth.
A lot of people I have met frowned at the idea of pairing meat with fruit. Yet year after year folks queue hungrily at the carvery for a coveted slice of turkey and dive into the cranberry jelly. Recently I prepared this salad for my dear friend Robyn. She successfully refrained from screwing up her face (it took a lot of effort) and hesitantly said she would try “a bit”. In a few minutes she finished every morsel on her plate and exclaimed her disbelief at how scrumptious it was. Are you willing to give it a try?
Recently I’ve checked my website statistics (the traffic has skyrocketed by the way) and saw a new site linking to me. Curious as always I went to investigate. Nicole from For the Love of Food decided to make my Chicken Calvados and it was a great success which really delighted me. After reading her site for a while I noticed she has a monthly contest, called Taste & Create. The idea is to cook another blogger’s recipe and give feedback. Nicole will then do a monthly roundup of the results.
A savoury terrine is ideal for the summer and makes an ideal light lunch or starter. Elegant or rustic, it suits every type of occasion and can be served at picnics, buffets or anything you can think of! Eat it hot. Eat it cold. Eat it on crusty bread, or like me with a crunchy salad with a fruity dressing. The possibilities are endless!
Avocado and grapefruit is just one of those classic combinations in a salad. The seriously rich and green taste of the avo is extremely well complemented by the sweet and fruitiness of the grapefruit. There is no need for salad dressing either, because more than enough grapefruit juice would have accumulated while you were in the process of peeling and segmenting the citrus fruit. Since grapefruit possesses the same qualities as lemon, it will keep the avo from turning brown. To prepare the spinach leaves you use the technique the French call “en chiffonnade”, “chiffon” meaning rags. (In Michelle language that would mean “to raggify”.) Take a few leaves at a time and roll them into a tight cigar before finely cutting. The leaves unroll into tiny, delicate “rags”. The lightness of the salad is unreal and would make an excellent starter.
The beauty of salads is that they are so easy and (usually) quick to prepare. It is very difficult to go wrong, since most of the time there is nothing to cook. What’s more you don’t need a lot of ingredients to put a salad together and if you don’t have the components to make your own salad dressing, you can simply reach out for a jar of mayonnaise or ready-made salad dressing. Yet again this is a more substantial salad that can also be served as a main course.
[Read more...]
Like most men Neil regards salads as fluffy, bunny food and I can’t say I disagree. Our main issue with most of them are that you are starving half an hour later after getting up from the table. This problem has been solved by adding protein and starch to the leaves. Breakfast Salad is my other name for this dish. It’s got eggs, bacon and potatoes without all the grease and some greens with vitamin goodies. On a warm summer’s day this is perfect for al-fresco dining.
[Read more...]
A very green soup indeed. Sometimes it is difficult to get your 5-a-day, but this soup really helps in this regard, not to mention all the fibre it contains. It seems like an unlikely combination but once you try it you’ll appreciate the verdant and robust taste of the broccoli, the sweetness of the peas and the “leeky” flavour. The potato helps to give the soup a bit more “weight”, in other words more substance so that it can easily be served as a main meal. What’s more this soup can be enjoyed year round.
[Read more...]
If you’re like me and stop at the seafood section in your supermarket on every shopping trip and yearn for the overpriced, elegant ready-made seafood starters, you will love this recipe. It is shockingly easy to prepare, tastes better and is cheaper. What’s more you don’t have to wonder who touched the food nor if there is salmonella lurking in the attractively displayed food. On a brighter note, this dish is ideal as a starter to wow dinner party guests or a substantial snack.