The problem with the Teriyaki marinade is that if I buy a bottle of those ready-made ones, I would use it once or twice, and the bottle will sit there on the shelf untouched for ages until it’s covered with cobwebs and a teriyaki plant will grow inside it (there is no such thing as a teriyaki plant).
This recipe gives an alternative, using stuff you probably already have around the house, and takes about 20 minutes to prep (and that’s including marinating time, people). Pair it with some simple soba noodles with lots of crunchy veg and there you go, proper weekend lunch with plenty of extra time for lazy naps. This recipe serves 2. What You Need: For the salmon teriyaki marinade: 2 steaks of salmon 1 heaped tsp. minced garlic 1 level tsp. grated ginger 1 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp. light soy sauce For the soba noodles: Soba noodles ½ carrot, peeled into thin ribbons 1 handful sugar snap peas 1 tsp. sesame oil 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp. light soy sauce Juice of ¼ lemon Chili flakes (optional) What You Do:
I find fish to be intimidating. Maybe because it’s slippery, fragile and looks like I can easily screw it up. I’m also particular about my fish. I don’t like the flesh too dry, overwhelmed with heavy sauces or worse, smelling fishy. Enter one evening watching Jamie Oliver, and his simple recipe for fragrant grilled salmon looked too doable to not try. The crispy skin is also the money here. I find that it’s best to keep the side simple, and this yoghurt-dressed cucumber is a treat. Since then I have made this recipe repeatedly, including it in my repertoire for when I want to impress friends. This recipe works best when the salmon is fresh, as I’ve tried using local Cardiff salmon on a trip there once. You can use either fresh or dried basil. This recipe serves 2. What You Need: 2 pieces of salmon, skin on 1 tsp. of dried basil or fresh, chopped 1 tsp. of grated lemon zest Olive oil 1 cucumber 6 tbspn plain yoghurt Juice from ¼ lemon 1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped What You Do:
From top (clockwise): marinated olives, broiled steaks with roast potatoes, basil and lemon salmon, and sides of sautéed mushrooms and and sautéed eggplants and beans. All from the day's market!
On my last trip to Thailand, a friend suggested that we take a cooking class. I was dreading this because the last thing I wanted to do while traveling was cook, but because she was really excited about it we decided to follow suit (you can read about it at www.bootsoverbooks.com/show-up). That class turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip! It was fun and beautifully located at a village around Chiang Mai, and I’m so glad I learned to make so many Thai street food (and left with a recipe book too). My personal favourite has always been Pad Thai. There’s just something really delicious about a steaming plate of stir fried spicy flat noodles, with lots of tofu, egg, shrimp, veg and a generous helping of crunchy peanuts and chili flakes. Through the class I also discovered that it took literally five minutes to make in the wok – I mean, if that’s not a promise for an awesome quick midweek dinner, I don’t know what is. Be sure to get the flat Pad Thai noodles (not egg noodles, not glass noodles, not soba noodles) which you can easily get at any grocery store. This recipe makes one serving. What You Need: 1 shallot, sliced 1 firm regular tofu, cubed 5 medium sized shrimps, cleaned and peeled 60 gm/1 pack flat rice Pad Thai noodles (see picture), soaked in hot water for 1 minute 1 handful beansprouts/chives/both 1 tbsp. fish sauce 1.5 tbsp. tamarind juice 1 tsp brown sugar 1 tbsp. chili flakes (see picture), or depending how hot you want it to be 1 tbsp. ground peanuts, plus extra for serving 2 tbsp. water What You Do:
**Note: If you're interested in joining this class on your next trip to Chiang Mai, do contact them at http://www.cookingathome-chiangmai.com/ They will cater to your dietary needs such as halal, vegetarian, or any of the fancy shmancy mat salleh diet you may have (gluten free, vegan, paleo etc etc) The type of flat noodles and Thai Chili flakes you can get at the local grocery store. The cooking class.
This recipe was totally made up by a huge craving I had one night for a giant bowl of pasta and some kind of crispy meat and cheese. It’s an adaptation of Jamie Oliver’s sausage fusilli recipe, but since I didn’t have English sausages and I don’t take any form of alcohol and I love my veggies, here’s an improvisation. The chicken bits are nice and crunchy especially if you chop them up small enough, but not too fine that they resemble minced chicken. The trick is to also really use the pasta water to get silky, shiny pasta.
It’s one of my favourite weekday dinner options, as it’s protein and veg all in one pan. One of those key occasions where the stars align and you can be lazy AND still make/eat awesome food! This recipe serves one. What you need: Fusilli pasta 100 gm of chicken fillet, roughly chopped 1 tsp ground aniseed 1 tsp chili flakes 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 1 tsp oregano flakes 1 handful spinach Juice from ½ lemon Parmesan, amount according to preference What you do:
In an effort to try and eat more organic food in 2016, I recently bought myself a mushroom-growing kit, out of curiosity as I saw a friend having it in her kitchen (my lettuce died, so I'm starting over with something more achievable). The instructions were simple enough, and within a week of spraying the provided wood dust with water I got myself enough oyster mushrooms to harvest! They were clean white and plump and smelled deliciously musty, begging to be eaten. It almost made me forget my sad attempt to grow my own salad leaves. Cleaning them up was no fuss, and I had them in omelettes, soupy noodles and my personal favourite, as a crunchy topping for an almost-vegan pizza. This ‘pizza’ recipe isn’t exactly recipe but more of an assembly job, since all the veg are roasted in the oven and everything else is pretty basic. I’ve tried a few different combos, but this one is my favourite as the oyster mushrooms are crunchy and not overcooked so you get to enjoy their freshness, and the roasted cauliflower is a nice texture, with creamy avocado and nutty hummus to compliment. Not to mention it takes literally 10 mins to prep (the rest is oven time), so it’s officially my new favourite Meat Free Monday dinner menu. This recipe makes 2 mini ‘pizzas’.
Here’s what you need: Flatbread (available at most grocery stores) Oyster mushrooms Breadcrumbs 1 egg 1 floret of cauliflower, stemmed 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 avocado Hummus Cherry tomatoes (optional) Here’s what you do:
Note: a.) The best bits of the roasted cauliflower are the disintegrated, slightly burned ones. b.) Don’t buy hummus at the conventional grocery store because they are always so expensive. Try the ones in middle-eastern grocers. They’re cheaper and tastes much better. One day I decided to try a recipe from Deliciously Ella (www.deliciouslyella.com) for a sweet potato bake. I like trying new things especially for Meat Free Mondays, as vegetarian meals can get pretty repetitive sometimes. What resulted was an immediate addiction to baked sweet potatoes, and I ended up having this meal four times that week, meat free day or no meat free day.
What’s great about this is that, a) it takes minimal effort, which makes it great for weekday dinners b) you can stuff the baked sweet potato any way you want. But this recipe is pretty much my preference when it comes to combo – creamy hummus, crunchy roasted cauliflower and delicious sautéed mushrooms. What a plate of goodness. This serves 2. Here’s what you need: 2 medium/large sweet potatoes Hummus (at grocery stores in the ‘spreads’ section, or any nearby Middle Eastern restaurants) ½ floret of cauliflower 100 gm field mushrooms, or any mushrooms you fancy 1 clove garlic Chili flakes ¼ lemon Here’s what you do:
I’ve probably made this more than 50 times. The first time I tried this recipe was when in college. I was never the instant noodles kinda girl – I liked proper good food, so as a student I was always looking for cheap, healthy delicious food that wouldn't burn a hole in my purse. So far, out of the roast chicken recipes I’ve tried (and believe me, I’ve tried many), this one still stands as the best, takes zero effort and is just completely gratifying. I still make this now and then, especially for cold, weekday dinners when work is giving me a hard time.
This recipe serves 2. Here’s what you need: 2 chicken legs, cut ¼ from a whole chicken ½ a bulb of garlic 2 large potatoes, cut into golf ball sizes 2 handful tomatoes, whatever size, halved or quartered 1 tspn dried basil, or a good bunch of fresh chopped basil 1 red chilli, roughly chopped Here’s what you do:
I’m a working woman with an 8 to 5 job, and I enjoy my sleep. But during Ramadhan (fasting month for Muslims) I won’t be fully functional in the day if I don’t eat a full breakfast in the morning! But since I don’t want to spend so much time making food in the wee hours of the morning, I came up with a few recipes that are max-packed with protein and other good stuff to get me through the day.
Here’s a quick recipe of a really, really good wrap that takes minutes to prepare (even less if you make the avocado smash the night before), and is proven to give me less hallucinations of a car-sized burger walking around at lunch time. Here’s what you need: A ripe avocado (you know this when the skin is blackened) Lemon A good sized steak (around 300 gm should be enough for 2 people) Tortilla wraps 1 chilli (optional) Hot sauce (optional) Here’s what you do: 1. To make the avocado smash, cut up the avocado and scoop out all the flesh in a bowl. 2. Season generously with salt and pepper, add in some chopped chili if you have any. 3. Squeeze in some lemon juice and mash together with fork. 4. Put the pan on high heat. Season steak with salt and pepper, drizzle over some olive oil. 5. Place the meat on the hot pan for 3 minutes on one side, then 2 minutes on the other. 6. Remove meat from heat and let rest for a couple minutes. Meanwhile, spread the avocado smash on the tortilla wrap. 7. Cut the steak at an angle, then arrange on tortilla. 8. Eat. I think you have ten more minutes to go. I don’t eat meat on Mondays. Mostly because I think I consume too much meat than I actually need, so it’s good to give it a break sometimes. ‘Meat Free Mondays’ is also a great opportunity to dedicate one day a week of eating just clean, healthy meals that are plant-based or recipes that are low-cal and low-fat.
Admittedly, going meat free can sometimes be a challenge if you love the rich taste of meat. So to avoid the craving I experimented with a lot of recipes to make sure I don’t miss flesh at all. Here is a recipe of a super easy basil pesto. I made it for my parents last week and they loved it! It may require you to hit Cold Storage, but it’s worth it. Here’s what you need: A good bunch of fresh basil 1 clove of garlic A handful of pine nuts (slightly pricey, but lasts long on the shelf!) Olive oil Parmesan cheese, grated Pasta 1 large tablespoon Capers Sage leaves (optional) Here’s what you do: 1. Boil pasta according to packet instructions. Save some of the pasta boiling water. 2. In a small food processor/blender/pestleandmortar, place the basil, garlic, pine nuts (you can toast them if you like), salt, pepper, and a good glug of olive oil. Blend/pound these into a pulp. 3. Place the pesto in a large mixing bowl. 4. Add drained pasta into the mixing bowl. 5. Mix pasta, the basil pesto, cheese and pasta cooking water until you get a nice sauce consistency and the pasta is all nicely coated. 6. Taste and adjust with salt if needed. 7. In a small pan, heat some olive oil and fry the capers until they look crispy (you can fry the sage leaves as well if you have them). Remove capers from oil. 8. Put the pasta on a plate in the fanciest way you can possibly manage and top with the capers, sage and a drizzle of the olive oil from the pan. 9. Eat to your heart’s content. |
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