Vibrant Red

Regardez la couleur, oohlala! What a gorgeous red!

Quick N Satisfying Soup

This soup was much easier to prepare than I thought as the spicy chorizo imparted lots of flavour to it without our having to add any herbs and spices, great for those cold days when you want something warm and hearty and filling but don't wish to spend too much effort in the kitchen. I found the recipe here: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2628/chorizo-and-chickpea-soup

Modifications I have made to the recipe: I fried the chorizo to get rid of extra grease before adding to the soup and added diced green peppers. I guess pretty much any vegetables (onions, garlic, beans, etc, anything not overpowering in flavour) would work with the rest 0f the ingredients.

Sinful Desserts - Way To Go!

I am into rich desserts, the richer, the better ... dense, heavy, sinful stuff that needs 5 hours of jogging to burn it all off to be specific. This gorgeous warm fig and caramel pudding fits the bill: http://ilovemilkandcookies.blogspot.com/2006/11/dinner-for-friends_23.html I serve each slice warm and completely immersed in extra thick gooey caramel, oh yeah!

What's the Name of This Plant?

I *heart* this plant. It is so pretty yet a tough little thing that requires little care. Does anyone know what it is?

Cajun Chicken Cutlets

Got rave reviews for this one. Quite a bit of work involved here (by my standard) but a good treat for those meat craving moments.

Method:

1. To tenderize the meat, hammer the daylights out of a couple of chicken breasts till desired thickness (the thinner, the faster it cooks).

2. Season lightly with salt and pepper and let sit in the fridge for 3 hours. When I am in a hurry, I would skip this step although the meat would then not be as tasty inside.

3. Coat meat with flour, then beaten eggs, then a bread crumb mixture of crumbs, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and parsley (optional) for extra colour.

4. Shallow fry till golden brown on both sides and meat *just* cooked through. Serve warm with a simple mixed salad.

Favourite Snack - Samosas

I *heart* samosas! They are so addictive, I have to force myself to stop at two :) The deep fried ones from indian restaurants are so yummy but I have never been a fan of deep frying, so it is baked samosas - just as gooood - for me whenever I have a crazing for these gems.

Filling: Mix cooked potatoes, onions, peas, carrots, cashew nuts and hardboiled eggs all up with lots of your best curry powder, extra cumin if you are a huge fan like me and salt to taste.

Crust: The versatile ready-to-use puff pastry.

Brush with eggwash and bake till golden brown according to the pastry instructions. Bon appetit!

Fluffy Mimosa

It's Lemon Season!

For all lemon lovers out there, what else but lemon tarts?

This easy peasy lemon tart is lower in calories compared to most ones made with lemon curd as the lemon layer is made without butter, thanks to this recipe: http://www.mykitchensnippets.com/2007/08/lemon-bars.html The only modification I have made is the use of ready-made puff pastry for the base to make things simpler :) Due to the lack of butter, I was at first doubtful if it would taste any good... it turned out just as lemony although not as rich. Great for a quick fuss free dessert.

For easy reference, I will rewrite Gertrude's recipe for the filling here:

2 large eggs

3/4 cup of sugar

2 tbsp of flour

1/4 tsp of salt

2 tsp of lemon zest

1/4 cup for freshly squeezed lemon juice

Bake at 180 Degree Celcius till top and pastry are golden brown. Dust with icing sugar.

Apple Almond Loaf

This is really an apple almond tart shaped into a loaf. This way, I get a thick layer of the much adored frangipane each time (see how moist and grainy it is)... scrumptious.

For the recipe, please refer to that of my Pear Almond Tart: http://folliesofange.blogspot.com/2008/09/pear-almond-pie.html, both apple and pear work well in this recipe. If you are going to assemble everything in a loaf pan like I did this time, do bake a little longer due to the thickness of the frangipane. Voila, enjoy.