Eggless Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

I wanted to send some cupcakes for my husband's team at his office after a successful project, but didn't have any eggs at home. A quick search led me to this recipe which I altered a little. It was easy to make and very tasty.

For the cupcakes:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cornstarch
*1/2 cup sugar 
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup yogurt (don't use the whey)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk

*(It's low on sugar because the frosting is very sweet - if making only cupcakes, add 1/4 cup more sugar)

Cream the butter and sugar well - just over a minute, then add the vanilla and mix some more.
Sift all the dry ingredients into a separate bowl.
In another bowl, mix the yogurt and milk.

Add the dry and wet ingredients into the creamed butter alternately, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Once all ingredients are incorporated, put into cupcake moulds and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg Celsius for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool completely before topping it with the frosting.

It gave me 12 medium cupcakes.

Frosting:
200 gm unsalted butter at room temperature
200 icing sugar (sifted properly)
Food colouring (optional)

Cream the butter and sugar well. Make sure there are no sugar lumps as it will interfere when you pipe the frosting. I used a piping bag, but you could also lather it on with a spoon, or improvise and use a ziplock bag with a tiny cut in the corner.

Add sprinkles for joy!

Spiced Pumpkin and Lentil Soup

Just in time for the 'winter' months. Although it is not really winter here, it does get a little chilly in the evenings with strong breezes.

I made this in 2 parts - first the lentil then the pumpkin - then mixed it together for a nice drink on a chilly evening.

You'll need:
*1/4 cup uncooked split mung lentil or red lentil
1 cup of water
1 tsp turmeric
*250 gms pumpkin, peeled
1 large carrot
2 tomatoes
Salt to taste
2 tbsps roasted cumin, crushed
Cream to garnish (optional)
*You can adjust the quantity of the lentil and pumpkin depending which flavour you want dominant

Wash then cook the lentils in the water with the turmeric and some salt. I use a pressure cooker and leave it for just one whistle. Microwaving takes longer (about 15 minutes), and if using an open pot, then add some extra water. The lentils should be cooked thoroughly, and for a smoother texture, just blend it for 10 seconds. Keep aside.

In another cooker, boil the pumpkin, carrot, and tomatoes. Once it is soft enough, blend it in a mixer then sieve and season it with salt. Mix it in with the lentils.

While serving, reheat if necessary and garnish with cream (optional) and the crushed roasted cumin.

Kale Salad done Two Ways

After reading so much about the benefits of Kale all over the Internet, I finally found a place that stores these leaves in Bombay. 

I assumed I would use it as I do any other salad leaf, wash, pat dry, dress, and eat. It is fortunate I looked up recipes for kale salad hoping for a new salad combo I could try. It turns out kale is not to be used like any other salad leaf...it is a much tougher variety. So, the first step is to get the kale ready.

For the Kale:

1 bunch of Kale
2 tbsp walnut or olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar or lemon juice

Wash the kale leaves thoroughly. I soak it in salt water for 5 minutes then rinse it our with fresh water. Remove the stalk completely - it is too tough to be eaten. Roughly chop the leaves and put it in a large bowl. 

Add the oil and vinegar, then with your fingers, gently massage the oil into the leaves for a minute or two. Leave this to marinate for 15 minutes at least to 24 hours at the most. It won't wilt like regular leaves.

I used half of the leaves for a dinner salad (top picture), and the other half for lunch (bottom picture) the next day. It still retained some crunch and felt fresh.

Salad 1:

A bowl of the prepared kale leaves

1 chopped red onion

1 chopped tomato (or a few cherry tomatoes)

4-5 walnuts

2 chopped figs

1 chopped carrot

2 tbsp Ranch dressing

1 bunch of other salad leaves (I used rocket and celery leaves)

Mix it all together. I like something crunchy and a hint of sweetness in my salad. Here, onion, walnuts and fig do that, but you can substitute (with something like apples or oranges) or remove any of the ingredients.

Salad 2:
A bowl of the prepared kale leaves

1 chopped tomato

3-4 orange segments (peeled and seeded)

4-5 walnuts

This is a much simpler salad. It can be used as a side but it was a filling lunch for me.

Blondies

I always though brownies were the yummest and easiest to make, till I tried these. The sugar you use makes all the difference in taste.

You'll need:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar*

1 cup flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Handful of hazelnut, butterscotch chips, walnuts, or chocolate chips (optional)

*A good quality brown or muscovado sugar is the best. Dememara sugar will remain as crystals and won't give you a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Whisk the butter and sugar till well blended. Add the vanilla and the egg and whisk some more. Sift in the flour and baking soda and powder. Mix well. Pour into a greased baking pan.

If using any of the optional add-ons, mix them in the batter or spread them on top of the batter before putting the pan in the oven.

Bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes. Let it then cool for 20 minutes before slicing them up.

Rice Pudding

This is a quick rice pudding with a nice texture. I substituted half the rice with steel cut oats (NOT the regular porridge oats please) and it gave a nice woody flavour to it.

You'll need:
1 cup rice (or half cup if you plan to add steel cut oats) soaked in water for about an hour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar or jaggery
2-3 Green cardamoms, crushed
4-5 blanched almonds for garnish (optional)

After the rice has soaked for an hour, grind half of it into a paste. Bring the milk to a boil then on simmer, add all of the rice. If using steel cut oats, then add it directly to the milk. Keep it on simmer till the rice and oats are cooked.

Add the sugar and cardamom. Stir till the sugar dissolves, and the pudding thickens to a gooey paste. Don't dry it out too much because it will thicken some more once you take it off the heat.

Garnish with some blanched almonds. It can be either served warm or cold.

Mochi with Mung and Black Sesame Fillings

I got introduced to mochi (glutinous rice flour) while I was living in Hong Kong. After that, I have had cravings for it but didn't know where in India I could get some. Recently on my trip to Bangkok, I picked up a packet of mochi flour to satiate my cravings at home! It was surprisingly simple.

Start with getting the filling ready.

Mung Beans Filling:
1/2 cup split mung beans (uncooked)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar 

Wash and cook the mung bean in the water till it's soft enough to be mashed. In a saucepan, add the sugar (adjust sweetness to taste) and bean paste. Stir and cook till the water is absorbed and let it cool.
Makes enough for about 10-15 mochis.

Black Sesame Seeds Filling:
1 cup black sesame seeds
2-3 tbsps honey 

Roast the sesame seeds on a pan and grind it coarsely. Add the honey till it forms a sticky paste. Makes about 8-10 mochis.

*Keep aside some roasted seeds if you want to use it as sprinkles on top.

After the rice flour is mixed, you will have to work fast so keep everything ready to go.

• Once both the fillings have cooled, roll them into balls, roughly the size of a golf ball. 
• Keep some water in a small bowl to seal the dough.
• Keep a cup of cornflour to dust the surface.
• Use a rolling pin and a chopping board or flat surface to roll out the dough .

Mochi:
1 1/2 cups glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
Food colouring (optional)
1 cup cornflour for dusting

In a microwave-safe bowl, add the the flour, sugar, and water. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying, and cook in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Keep checking in between, it shouldn't become too dry. If it is just add a little hot water, if it is too runny then heat it some more.

Add food colour if using and mix well. Once the dough is cool enough to handle (it should be worked warm as it will harden as it cools - so work fast). Dust your hands and rolling surface with cornflour. Take a small amount of dough and roll it our into a circle large enough to encapsulate the filling. Since the flour is sticky, it can stretch without tearing, but don't roll it too thinly or else it will crack when it dries.

Place the filling int he center of the dough. Seal the edges using some water to make it stick together. Dust off the excess cornflour. Dab some water on the top with your finger and add the sesame seeds.

Makes about 12-15 mochis.

Store them in the fridge in an air-tight container if not having immediately. It will last a few days. It can also be frozen without significantly changing its flavour.

Grilled Buttery Lemon Fish

Fish is the quickest thing to cook. This was a quick meal...with some outside help in the form of packet baked potatoes, but they could have easily been made at home as well. There's a lot of garlicky stuff happening all at once in this dish because we love the flavour, but you could tone it down and remove it from any of the dishes.

For the Grilled Fish:
2 fillets of fish such as salmon or basa
3-4 tbsp butter
1/2 small lemon sliced 
1-2 cloves garlic
Seasoning

Heat butter on medium heat, then add the garlic and lemon slices. Reduce the butter for a minute or two, then put in the fish fillet. Spoon over some of the butter on top of the fish. Season and cook for about a minute and a half on both sides.
*Remember, if you are using salted butter then adjust the salt you add on top.

This could be cooked in an oven. Just wrap the ingredients in some foil and bake at 180 deg C for about 15-20 min.

Spinach Sides:
1 small bunch spinach, cleaned
1 clove of galic
1 tsp olive oil
salt to taste

In a pan, heat the oil and add the garlic. Add the spinach and cover for 3 minutes. Then cook on high heat to reduce the water. Season.

Garlic Bread:
2 tbsp butter at room temperature
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
Sprinkle of chilli flakes
4-6 Bread slices

Mix the garlic and chilli with the butter (if you are not using salted butter then add a pinch of salt). Spread it on to the bread slices as little or as much as you like, bake for 10 minutes at 180 deg C.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I used to get the packet mix pancake till I realised that homemade ones are easy to make and tastier.
This recipe makes around 4 to 5 medium sized pancakes, enough for 2 people for breakfast.

For the Buttermilk:
1 cup milk at room temperature
Add 1 tsp vinegar or the juice of 1/2 lemon
Let it rest for 5 minutes. It will curdle.

Pancake batter:
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tbsp butter
1 cup Buttermilk
Additional butter to cook

Optional (any 1):
1 mashed Banana
1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients together, but not too smoothly. The batter should be a bit lumpy. Heat a pan and add some butter to the base. Pour a layer of the batter. Once it starts to set at the bottom, flip it and wait for a minute or so to cook completely. Remove from pan. Repeat for the rest of the batter.

Toppings (single or combine your favourites) :
Maple syrup (avoid the sugar syrup available in most stores)
Honey 

Chocolate syrup
Jam
Butter
Fruits (bananas, berries, apple, poached pears, etc)
Cinnamon

Thai-style Mango with Sweet Sticky Rice

I've always loved this dessert...Mangoes are my absolute favourite and this combination with rice makes it more fulfilling.

1 cup uncooked sticky rice (or sushi rice*)

200gm (or 1 can) coconut milk

1/2 cup brown sugar**

1 mango (a sweet or juicy variety is the best combo)

Toasted sesame seeds

* The pre-cooked sushi rice has added vinegar used only for making sushi. Use plain rice for this recipe.
** (I used jagery, but white sugar can also be used - all these sugars have variations in taste and sweetness so add accordingly)

To cook the rice:

Wash the rice and soak for about 4 hours. Drain the water and steam-cook it. I used a saucepan filled with water, put a splatter screen on it, flipped a bowl of rice on top of the screen and let it steam for about 30 minutes. (Flip it once in between to ensure even cooking.)

For the sauce:

Heat the coconut milk in the microwave. It should be hot enough to dissolve the sugar. Pour this on the cooked rice and mix well. 

Peel and slice the mango and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve the rice warm.

Chewy Oat Cookies with Candied Fruits

I had some candied ginger and cherries from my last holiday that I thought would go well with oat cookies. They made for a nice breakfast.

1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 cup of candied cherries and ginger
1/4th cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4th cup butter
3/4th cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
2/3rd cup flour
2 cups (250gm) porridge oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp boiling water

Melt the butter in the microwave and the sugar and syrup. Mix well. Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients, and add the egg at the end.

Arrange spoonful of the batter on a baking tray and bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes. (For a crispier cookie, bake at 160 deg C for about 25-30 min.)

Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 12
to 15 cookies. Store in an air-tight container once cool.

Baby Potatoes with Mustard Salad

This is a quick and easy recipe for a starter or salad...when you want some variety for your guests but don't to spend the whole day in the kitchen. It can be made in advance and kept in the fridge.

You'll need:
500gms baby potatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp mustard (I like the grainy variety)
Salt/pepper to taste
2 tbsp thick yogurt (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
Small bunch of chives or coriander (optional)

Wash the potatoes, cut them in half, and boil them in salted water till they are cooked (but not mushy). Remove from water and let it cool. Pat dry (if required) before adding the mustard and other seasonings.

Oats Dosa with Onion Chutney

I don't like porridge oats at all. Many have tried to coax me to eat it, and I've tried, but it doesn't happen. Not wanting to miss out on the goodness of it all, I keep trying ways to make it edible for me. Cookies are one way. The other is this very simple dosa (crepe).

You'll need:
3/4th cup porridge oats
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
salt to taste
About 2 cups of Water

Oil to cook

This makes the basic batter that should be easy enough to spread on the pan.

For topping, finely chop and mix into a separate bowl the following:
2-3 green chillies
1 onion (or spring onion with leaves)
some corriander
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 inch ginger

Heat a flat pan on medium to high heat. Spread the batter with a ladle, and add some of the topping. With a spoon, pour some oil on the circumference. Keep an eye on the heat - turn it lower if the pan gets too hot. On medium heat, this doesn't need to be flipped over. Each should take about 3 minutes to cook.

Onion Chutney
Grind together:
1 onion
4-5 red chillies
1 tsp tamarind paste
2 inch fresh coconut (optional)
1/2 tsp salt 
Keep aside.

In a small wok, heat
2 tbsp oil

Once hot, add
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp Black gram (urad dal)

Once they start to sizzle, add the onion paste and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve with warm dosas.

Freeze!

I get lazy most evenings especially in the summer and end up ordering food from outside. But I've recently tried to fight the urge and have started to freeze as many items as I can to make it easier to prepare dinner.

When I get some time and patience I prepare the item to be frozen so I don't need to do it all at once. It has helped reduce our eating out on weekdays (weekends I like to take a break from the kitchen).

I prefer to divide it in 2-3 boxes or zip-lock bags by portion size usually needed for one meal so that I don't need to thaw the whole box when I only want some of it.

I also keep nuts like walnuts and almonds in the freezer because they stay crisp and don't get rancid. Same with spices that are not used frequently.

1. Pesto - When I make pesto at home, I usually make enough to be used twice. So half of it goes in the freezer for a quick meal some other day.

2. Spinach - This is best frozen on the day it is bought to avoid loss of nutrients. Boil water in a saucepan, and blanche the cleaned leaves for about 30 seconds, then remove on a sieve and immediately put under running cold water (or in a bowl of ice water). This will stop the cooking process and the spinach will not turn blackish. Chop it up or blend it in and put it in the freezer once cooled.

3. Avocado - Once the avocado ripens, scoop it out, mash it up, and add the juice of 1 lemon, or 1 tbsp vinegar for each avocado. It won't blacken.

4. Yoghurt - I wanted to make frozen yoghurt, so I let regular yoghurt sit on a fine sieve (or cheesecloth) for about 30 minutes to let the whey drain out. Then box and freeze.

5. Banana Ice cream - I had made this ice cream earlier, but added some chocolate in the mix as well.

6. Green Beans - I just washed, de-stringed, and froze the beans, but you could even blanche it as with the spinach and store.

7. Kidney Beans - Soak the kidney beans (1 cup) overnight. The bowl should be big enough as the beans with get bigger in size, and the water should be triple the quantity of the beans. Drain the water the next day. In a pressure cooker, cook the beans on medium for 10-12 minutes with half a cup of water. Add a teaspoon of salt if you are sure you'll need the beans only for savoury items.

8. Strawberries - Wash and remove the stems of the berries. freeze whole. Use it to make milkshakes, frozen yoghurt, or just have them whole once thawed.

Frozen Strawberry Yoghurt

This summer, there will be no store-bought ice-cream (ok, maybe just a few).

You'll need:
8-10 strawberries (cleaned and de-stalked)
2 cups yoghurt (put in a cheesecloth or fine sieve and let the whey drain out for 30 min)
3 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Blend all, and freeze. Repeat 2-3 times.
Add more honey or sugar as per taste.

Red Velvet Cake with Fondant Icing

It was husband's birthday in March; he's a big Superman fan and his name starts with an S too, so this was the obvious choice of icing.

For the cake:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• Pinch salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar - set aside  for 5 min to curdle)
• red food colour according to instructions (1tbsp if using liquid colour, a few dabs with a toothpick if using gel)
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp baking soda

In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Keep aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar till creamy. Add the vanilla and the eggs, and whisk some more.

In the buttermilk, add the food colouring and mix well.

Alternate adding the flour mix and the buttermilk into the creamy batter in 3 stages starting and ending with the flour (flour-buttermilk-flour-buttermilk-flour). Whisk lightly, incorporating all ingredients.

In a separate bowl, add the baking soda to the vinegar - it should fizz. Add this immediately to the cake batter, and mix well. Put the batter in a 9 inch lined/greased cake tin and put in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C. Try to minimise the time between the fizzing and shoving in the oven so that the soda doesn't fizzle out.
Bake for 35-40 min. Cool on a wire rack, then remove from cake tin and put it in the fridge.

For the icing:
Fondant icing sugar
Food colouring
1/2 cup ice water
1/2 cup cornflour

If using different colours as icing, divide the sugar into as many parts.
Sift the sugar (it is usually rock hard so I need to put it in a blender to reduce the lumps, then sift). Start by adding a few drops of water and knead well. Adding too much water will make it runny and it won't roll out. It should become pliable like pastry dough. Add the food colour of your choice.

The rolling is the difficult part. Sprinkle some cornflour on the counter, and coat your rolling pin and hands with some too. This will prevent the dough from sticking.start rolling carefully but don't roll it too thin else it'll break when you roll it over the cake: But too think and the cake topping will be too hard and sugary. Should be approximately 2-3 mm thick.

If cutting a design, use a sharp knife and lots of cornflour to pry the design out without breaking it. You could try rolling it out on baking paper if it helps.

Dab some water to make the fondant stick to fondant. Even if you have some tears or holes, just use a piece of same coloured fondant and some water to patch it up.

Pesto

Sweet basil pesto has a charm of its own, but there are other leaves that will give you awesome tasting pesto as well.

I had an abundance of lettuce that was close to wilting and was in no mood to have that much salad, so I converted the batch into pesto - pretty much the same deal as with the basil version, except that I had a few more ingredients lying around I wanted to finish.

Grind together:
2 large heads of lettuce leaves (I had iceberg lettuce)
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup mint
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1/4 cup walnuts
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan or other hard cheese (optional)

Since this recipe already has a lot of greens, I don't need to add any more to the pasta. If needed, cook the pasta, drain, and stir fry with some garlic, onions and chilli flakes. The sauce is creamy enough without adding cheese, but you can add cheese on top.

You could also make this out arugula/rocket leaves. I used 1 bunch of chopped leaves to make 1/2 cup of pesto. It could also be used as a sandwich spread.


You can also mix sweet basil to either of the pestos to add flavour. Or just use a cup of basil on its own for a classic.

Banana Ice cream

I was very skeptical of this recipe at first - I mean, what's ice cream without the cream? But it tastes delicious, it's versatile, and guilt-free. Perfect accompaniment this summer!

You'll need:
3-4 ripe bananas
Optional add-ons:
50gms chocolate or chocolate spread
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
Almond/walnut toppings

Peel and slice bananas and freeze for a few hours. Then blitz it in a blender. The creamy texture of the banana gives it a creamy consistency. Add the Add-ons (just one or a combination) while blending or as a topping. And Voila! The perfect refresher for the summer heat.

Banana facts:

• It's high in Potassium for good nerve and muscle function
• It's got Vitamin C for your immune system
• It's got Vitamin B-6 (mostly found in animal products) for cell rejuvenation
• It's a good source of fiber, manganese, and other nutrients like iron and calcium boosting your energy - a great pre and post workout snack.
• It's good for your stomach - helps reduce stomach acidity, is a good hangover cure, and promotes bowel health.

Spinach and Tofu Cannelloni with a toasty top

Tofu is a much healthier alternative to a cheese filling, and it tastes as good.

For the rolls:
Cannelloni rolls - 4-5 (or lasagna sheets)
Spinach - 1 bunch
Tofu - 250 gms
Salt to taste

For the White Sauce:
Milk - 1 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Flour - 2 tbsp
Seasoning

For the topping:
Sliced tomatoes - 2
Breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp
Grated cheese - 50 gms
Ground pepper - 1 tbsp
Oregano - 1tbsp
Chilli flakes - 1 tbsp

Par-boil the spinach, drain the water, and chop it up. Mash the tofu and mix with the spinach. Add salt. Stuff this mixture in the cannelloni rolls. Most brands don't require the rolls to be par-boiled. Check cooking instructions on the packet.

If using lasagna sheets, par boil the sheets, line the stuffing in the center of each sheet, then just roll it up. Set aside.

For the white sauce, heat the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Make it into a paste, then add the milk. Before it boils, turn the heat down and let it simmer. Mix well to remove any lumps. Add some more flour if the sauce is too runny. Once the sauce starts to thicken, add some seasoning and keep aside.

Heat oven to 180 dec C. In a baking dish, line the cannelloni rolls. Pour the white sauce evenly over the top of the spread. Layer it with the cheese. Then place the sliced tomatoes over the top to cover the tray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the rest of the seasoning. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. the breadcrumbs will give a nice toasty top with crunchy tomatoes without having to use much cheese.

Spinach and Sweet Corn Risotto

Risottos are a quick and delicious meal - it might not always turn out true chef style, but it can still taste good, and be healthy.

Stuff you'll need:

Spinach - 1 bunch

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Sweet corn - 1/2 a cup

Onion (chopped) - 1 large

Arborio rice - 1 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Veg/Chicken stock or water - 1 cup

White wine - 1/2 cup (can be substituted with 2-3 tbsp of vinegar)

Oil or butter - 2 tbsps

Cheese - 1/2 cup (optional) Any hard cheese would do.

Wash the spinach and cook it in a cup of water/stock in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Don't throw away the water/stock. In a blender, puree the spinach with the garlic.

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and cook till translucent. Add the rice and continue cooking for another minute. Add the milk and stir till it evaporates. Add the wine if using (if using vinegar, skip this step). Once it evaporates add the water/stock and reduce the heat to low-medium. 

Let the rice cook for about 5 minutes, then add the spinach and corn. Let it continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Check if the rice is done. Traditionally, the rice is supposed to have a little bit of a bite (it shouldn't be too soft), but some prefer it well done. Keep it for another 5 minutes if you prefer it soft. Add the vinegar (if using) and cheese. Increase heat to dry of excess liquid, but don't let it dry out completely.

Serve hot.

Makes enough for 2 people.

Chopped Salad with Apple and Dill

Summer's here and salads are the best meal options for the season. I had read of an apple and dill salad, but that would've been very light on its own. So I combined it with my regular salad mix and it had a subtle hint of sweet and sour (?).

I prefer to chop up my greens and veggies making it easier to eat and it mixes evenly with the rest of the salad.

This makes for a meal for 1 or a side for 2.

Salad bits:
Romaine lettuce - 5-6 leaves
Rocket leaves - 1 small bunch
Dill leaves - 6-7 stems
Carrot (peeled and diced) - 1
Onion - 1
Tomatoes - 2
Apple (peeled and diced) - 2 small or 1 large
Cucumber (peeled and diced) - 1

Dressing:
Option 1: Light Ranch (store bought)
Option 2: Olive oil 3 tbsps with 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Pasta with Fennel & Orange Zest

I've never made anything with fennel before so when I got some, pasta was the simplest thing that came to mind to experiment with.

For the White Sauce:
2-3 tbsps butter
2-3 tbsps flour
500 ml milk
Seasoning

In a saucepan, melt the butter, and add the flour. once blended, add the milk and keep the heat to a medium. Stir so that the lumps dissolve. Let the milk heat but not boil. Keep on low-medium heat till it thickens.
Add more flour if needed. Once done, add seasoning and keep aside.

Veggies:
2 bulbs of fennel
2 cloves Garlic
1 small onion
2 tbsp oil
Zest of 1 orange
seasoning

Separate the stem from the leaves of the fennel. Pry apart each layer of the fennel and clean thoroughly. Slice the fennel stem. Heat the oil and add the garlic. Then add the onion and fennel stems. Cook till they're soft. Then add the zest and seasoning. Lastly, add the chopped fennel leaves.

Remove from heat and mix with the white sauce. Pour this over a bed of pasta and serve!