I'm used to breakfast rice bowls being savoury. This is the first time that I've tried a sweet one. It's fine. Not amazing, but nothing wrong with it either. It gives slight rice pudding vibes. I think I'd add a sprinkle of cinnamon next time just to lean into that a little more.

Sweet Brown Rice Bowl

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• ~1/2 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 Tbsp. raisins or sultanas
• 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• ~1/4 c. milk (or to taste)
• sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the rice, raisins, and walnuts.
2. Top with brown sugar, pour on the milk, and sprinkle with cinnamon (if using).
3. If you would like a warm rice bowl, microwave for 30-60 seconds.

I found a discount cauliflower at the green grocer the other day, so I made soup! This was delicious, very easy, and wee Eyren loved it too. We've frozen a bunch to use as baby food in the upcoming months.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1-2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3-4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4-1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Toss cauliflower with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.
3. Spread the cauliflower out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 200°C (400°F) until very tender (30-35 minutes).
4. Melt the butter over medium heat.
5. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
6. Add 3 c. of stock and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Purée and use additional stock to thin soup to desired consistency. (I used the full 1 c.)
9. Stir in Parmesan.
10. Serve topped with additional Parmesan and/or fried onions.

Masaaledar Phool Gobhi (Spicy Cauliflower)

I really liked this curry. I accidentally made it with twice as much onion, garlic, and ginger as it was supposed to have, but I would absolutely do it that way again. I loved the sweetness of the onion with the acidity of the tomato and the spiciness of the cayenne.

Masaaledar Phool Gobhi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 12 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 small (400mL) tin diced tomatoes
• 450g cauliflower florets
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chickpea flour (besan)
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until well-browned (12-15 minutes).
3. Add the cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne, and turmeric, stir to combine, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
4. Add the tomatoes, water, and cauliflower, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is tender (~12 minutes).
5. Stir in the chickpea flour and cook until sauce is slightly thickened (1-2 minutes).
6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This is a very brothy curry. Basically a soup. Which would normally feature "drumsticks" as the vegetable component. I'm not a huge fan of drumsticks, so I swapped in asparagus since it's now in season here. I also reduced the water quite a bit to make a thicker curry. While I found the results acceptable, neither of us were blown away by it and I probably won't be revisiting this one. It wasn't bad, just not good enough to get excited over either.

Palidu

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. skinned split pigeon peas (toor dal)
• 2-4 c. water, divided
• 1-2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. chickpea flour (besan)
• 2 tsp. dhania-jeera masala
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chiles (or 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne + 3/4 tsp. sweet paprika)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped and cut into 5cm pieces
• 4 pieces kokum¹
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the pigeon peas, then place in a pot with 2 c. of the water.
2. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until peas are tender (20-25 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, heat ghee over medium heat.
4. Add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds and sizzle for 10-20 seconds.
5. Add garlic paste and cook for another minute or so.
6. Add chickpea flour and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Once peas are tender, blitz with a blender.
8. Add the chickpea flour mixture and stir to combine.
9. If you want a thinner broth, add up to 2 c. of additional water.
10. Stir in masala, ground chilies, and salt.
11. Add asparagus and kokum and bring to a boil.
12. Cook for a minute, remove from heat, stir in cilantro, and serve.

---

¹ I didn't have any kokum, so I tossed in a tsp. of tamarind concentrate in its place. ^Back

I wanted to make something a bit special for dessert last night. These not only fit the bill, but had a pleasingly short bake time. I didn't have enough ramekins, so I used some extra-large muffin tins instead. I suspected that the cakes might cook a bit faster in the muffin tins than in the ramekins, so I shaved a minute of the baking time. It turns out that I should've gone with my original instinct and shaved a full three minutes off the baking time! The resulting cakes were soft in the middle, but decidedly not "molten". Oh well... now I'll know for next time.

I also used 72% dark chocolate because that's what I had on hand, but I think that was actually a bit too dark for this recipe. If I do it again, I'll use 50% dark chocolate instead. They weren't bad as-is, but they were a bit darker and more bitter than I would've liked. But with a slightly less dark chocolate and baked for just a couple minutes less, I think they would've been perfect.

Photo goes here.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 250g dark chocolate (pref. 50%)
• 55g butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, sifted
• 3 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease six ramekins or a 6-well jumbo muffin tin. Dust generously with cocoa powder.
2. Gently melt the cocolate with the butter.
3. Mix in the vanilla and set aside to cool.
4. Beat the egg yolks with 3 Tbsp. of the sugar and the cocoa powder.
5. Drizzle in the chocolate mixture while beating. (Resulting batter will be very thick.)
6. In a clean bowl with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until frothy.
7. Gradually beat in the remaining 3 Tbsp. of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
8. Stir half of the meringue into the batter to loosen it.
9. Gently fold in the remaning half of the meringue.
10. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins/muffin tins.
11. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 10-13 minutes. (10 minutes for muffin tins, 12-13 for ramekins.)
12. Turn cakes out onto plates and serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream, and/or raspberry coulis.

This was meant to be spiced clementines with toasted pound cake but a) we didn't have enough eggs or sugar left to make the pound cake and b) it felt like a bit of a waste. We were going to have them with some store-bought sponge, but the local Countdown was all out. So we ended up just spooning them over a bit of vanilla ice cream instead. And they were quite tasty that way. A nice, refereshing summer dessert.

Spiced Clementines

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 allspice berries, lightly crushed (or 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground allspice)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise, lightly crushed
• 2 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6-8 clementines
• 1/4 c. fresh mint¹

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, water, allspice, cinnamon, star anise, and black peppercorns.
2. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out. Add both the seeds and the empty pod to the pot with the other ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar has dissolved completely.
4. Peel the clemeintines and slice crosswise.
5. Add clementine slices to syrup and remove from heat.
6. Allow to steep for 20-30 minutes, then serve over cake or ice cream and top with mint.

---

¹ I completely forgot about the fresh mint when I made this. Even though that was half the reason for doing it since I had a bunch of mint in the fridge that needed using. Whoops! ^Back

Jhinga Vindaloo (Shrimp Vindaloo)

I had a busy day of moving boxes and furniture today, so I wanted something easy for dinner. I decided to throw together this simple curry and serve it with rice and dal. It worked out quite well! Even if I didn't make it quite to spec. (My shrimp were much smaller than what Iyer calls for and frozen rather than fresh.)

Jhinga Vindaloo

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 10 raw cashews, ground
• 450g large shrimp (32-40 per kilo), peeled and deveined
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine vinegar, coriander, cumin, cayenne, salt, turmeric, and ground cashews and stir to form a paste.
2. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat.
4. Add the shrimp (reserving any residual marinade), and sear for 1 minute on each side.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, add any remaining marinade, and cook until shrimp is pink, opaque, and curled.
6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Aardak Lasoon Masoor ki Dal (Ginger-Garlic Red Lentils)

I wanted a dal to go with my shrimp vindaloo and I felt like red lentils and/or pigeon peas would work particularly well. This red lentil dal caught my eye first, so that's what I went with. It was very nice. Especially with the optional spinach. It could probably use even more if you wanted to work some more veggies into the meal.

Aardak Lasoon Masoor ki Dal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. skinned split brown lentils (masoor dal/Egyptian lentils/red lentils)
• 3 c. water
• 1-2 onions¹, coarsely chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1-2 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies
• 4 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. ghee (or coconut oil for a vegan option)
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1-2 dried red cayenne/arbol or Thai chilies
• 1 small (~400mL) tin diced tomatoes
• 1/4-1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach or kale (optional)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Thoroughly rinse the lentils.
2. Add water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat.
3. Skim off any foam, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender (~20 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, add the onions, garlic, and green chilies to a food processor and pulse to chop.
5. Melt the ghee over medium heat.
6. Add the cumin and dried chilies and sizzle until fragrant and chilies blacken (20-30 seconds).
7. Add the onion mixture along with the ginger paste and stir-fry until onion softens (~5 minutes).
8. Add the tomatoes and spinach (if using) and cook until spinach is thawed and sauce has thickened slightly (5-10 minutes).
9. Pour the sauce into the pot with the lentils and stir to combine.
10. Simmer to let flavours meld (3-5 minutes).
11. Stir in cilantro and serve.

---

¹ The original recipe only calls for 1 (red) onion, but my onions were on the small side, so I used two. ^Back

Nanny's Lemon Cream

This is the lemon curd that I grew up eating. It's my great-grandmother's recipe. And we all called it lemon curd, but when we got her recipe, she had it written down as "lemon cream". It's very good. Simple. And I like that it uses whole eggs rather than just the yolks. I've now also tried it with grapefruit and can vouch for the results. I expect it would work wonderfully with limes as well!

Lemon Cream

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 3 Tbsp. butter

Directions

1. Combine sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and water and mix very well.
2. Cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

---

Variations

Grapefruit Cream

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. (or a bit more) grapefruit juice
• 3 Tbsp. butter

This was delicious. And I like the ratio of chicken to broccoli.

Chicken and Broccoli in White Sauce

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 large chicken breast (~300g), sliced
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. oil

Broccoli and Sauce

• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 4 c. broccoli florets
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine chicken, water, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and oil, mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Combine the sugar, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and chicken stock, mix well, and set aside.
3. Bring ~6 c. of water to a boil.
4. Add the broccoli and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Strain out the broccoli, but keep the water boiling in the wok.
6. Add the chicken to the boiling water and cook until no longer pink. Drain and set aside, this time discarding the water.
7. Clean the wok, then heat the oil over medium heat-high heat.
8. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10-20 seconds.
9. Drizzle in the shaoxing wine around the edges of the wok.
10. Stir the sauce and drizzle that in as well.
11. Give the corn starch slurry a stir and slowly pour it into the wok.
12. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens.
13. Add the broccoli and chicken and toss to combine.
14. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until heated through.
15. Serve with rice.

I wanted dessert. I didn't want anything that require too much effort. Or an overnight chill. And I wanted to be able to make it with ingredients on hand. And to be tasty without being too rich.

This banana cake fit the bill. Although it looked overly sweet recipe-as-written. So I halved the sugar and honey. I also reduced the butter by 20% and replaced half of the remaining butter with unsweetened applesauce. Mostly because butter is very expensive here and I was trying not to use too much. And then, just for fun, I decided to replace 140g of the flour with whole wheat flour.

I'm happy with how it came out in the end. It's tasty without being decadent. Having tasted it, I think it probably would've been fine if made according to the original recipe, you'd just want to be prepared for a quite rich, sweet cake.

I do think that either version would benefit from some additional banana. Two bananas makes for a subtle banana flavour, but I think I'd appreciate a more intensely banana-y cake. I might up it to three or four bananas next time. It might also be nice to try replacing the brown sugar with additional honey just to double down on the primary flavours. Reiver also suggested adding some yoghurt to the recipe, which I think sounds like could make a great addition, so I've added it below.

Banana-Honey Cake

Adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. honey (or 1/4 c. brown sugar + 1/4 c. honey)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 3-4 bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 315g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour (or 140g whole wheat flour + 175g plain flour)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 20cm square cake tin.
2. Cream the butter with the honey.
3. Mix in the applesauce.
4. Beat in the bananas, followed by the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla.
5. Sift in the flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir to combine.
6. Pour batter into preapared tin and smooth top.
7. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-35 minutes.
8. Let cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Maggi Packet Knockoffs

The Kidlet has enjoyed making meals from the Maggie packets while she's been over here, so we're sending her home with a bunch. That said, I'd like her to still be able to make her meals even once the packets run out, so I'm going to put some suggested approximations here. I've only done (and tested) the bolognese one so far, but I'll add others as I do them.

Bolognese

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1-2 bay leaves

To Prepare

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• ~1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 100-200g mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 500g ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• ~1/2 can (~200mL) water
• 1 c. frozen peas or spinach
• 400g dried spaghetti or other pasta

NB: Reiver likes to add frozen peas. I prefer frozen spinach. We both like to add a few mushrooms. Feel free to simmer a cheese bone in the sauce as well.

Chili con Carne

Stroganoff

NB: The package only calls for 75g of mushrooms; I would recommend using at least 250g. I also recommend using at least 1/2 c. sour cream, rather than the 2 Tbsp. called for. Frozen peas are a nice addition if you have them: 1-2 c. depending on how vegetably you want it.

Deviled Sausages

I didn't love this and probably wouldn't bother making it again. That said, the Kidlet really liked it, so it might be worth keeping the recipe on hand for her sake if nothing else.

Bean Dip

Slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

Dip

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cans (~400mL each) chili beans
• 3/4 c. enchilada sauce
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• 1 c. grated cheese

Toppings

Pick 2-4

• Roma tomato, diced
• avocado, diced
• feta or cotija cheese, crumbled
• green onion, chopped
• fresh cilantro
• lime juice
• sour cream

Directions

1. Melt butter in and oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft and translucent (3-5 minutes).
3. Add beans and enchilada sauce and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Mash.
5. Stir in sour cream and half the cheese.
6. Top with remaining cheese and broil until melty and bubbling (3-4 minutes).
7. Serve with tortilla chips and desired toppings.

Masala Bhindi Tamatar (Okra and Tomato Curry)

I needed a vegetable curry that I could throw together on short notice with ingredients on hand. This worked. It did not achieve Iyer's result with his students of converting the dubious to okra lovers. But I was a perfectly acceptable vegetable side that got the job done.

Photo goes here.

Masala Bhindi Tamatar

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 dried Thai or cayenne/arbol chilies
• 450g okra, sliced 1-2cm thick
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne (or Kashmiri chilies)
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the cumin and sizzle for 10-20 seconds.
3. Add the chilies and toast for 5-10 seconds.
4. Add the okra and cook until skin begins to blister (~10 minutes).
5. Add the coriander, salt, cayenne, and turmeric and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and water and stir to combine.
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~15 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

The recipe calls these marshmallow puffs, but, according to Reiver, these are basically rocky road. Whatever you call them, they make a surprisingly tasty low-effort dessert.

Marshmallow Puffs

Slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 27-36 marshmallows
• 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Directions

1. Line a 23cm (9") square tin with baking paper and grease the paper.
2. Arrange the marshmallows in the prepared tin.
3. Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat gently, stirring periodically, until melted and smooth. Alternatively, melt over low heat, stirring, until smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture over the marshmallows and allow to cool until set.
5. Remove from tin, cut into squares, and serve.

Dhingri Mutter (Mushroom and Pea Curry)

In theory this was meant to be "gucchi mutter" (morel and pea curry). However, morels are not native to New Zealand and getting them here is an extremely expensive prospect. I mean, they're expensive anyway. I've just been spoiled by being able to get them for free from my parents in the past. But, given that getting the required quantity of morels would've cost ~$100 here, I decided that maybe it was acceptable to swap them out for a different mushroom in this case. Especially since white mushrooms were on sale for $8/kg this week.

Dhingri Mutter

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2-4 Tbsp. ghee, divided
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 3-4 tsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2-3/4 c. water
• 250g mushrooms¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. Kashmiri garam masala
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Melt 1-2 Tbsp. of the ghee over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, almonds, garlic, and ginger and cook until nuts are browned (~5 minutes).
3. Pour 1/2 c. of water into a blender, add the tomato paste and onion mixture, and purée.
4. If the sauce looks too thick, blend in a few more Tbsp. of water.
5. Melt the remaining 1-2 Tbsp. of ghee over medium heat.
6. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook until they release their liquid or morels look slightly shriveled (~5 minutes).
7. Add the sauce, salt, ground chilies, garam masala, and turmeric and stir to combine.
8. Add the peas, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until heated through and flavours blend (10-15 minutes).
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

---

¹ If you're going for the authentic gucchi mutter, then you'll want morels, thoroughly washed and cut in half. Otherwise, Iyer suggests sliced porobellos as a tasty (if very different) alternative. I just used white button mushroom, halved, for my curry and, honestly, they were great! ^Back

Today is a day for nostalgia food. And I recently ran across a Pioneer Woman recipe that reminded me of a childhood favourite of mine. Her recipe was a bit more involved than I remember mine being, but it was still clearly in the same genus. I'm pretty sure the version that I grew up with was just ham, cheese, mayo, and pasta (preferably shells). The PW recipe adds mustard, peas, parsley, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, olive oil, bell pepper, and green onions. I thought the mustardd and peas sounded like excellent additions. The parsley and green onions gave a bit of extra green, so I also tossed them in. And the yogurt was a way to lighten it up a bit, so I decided to use that as well. I decided to leave out the olive oil and honey. But I did like the idea of a bit of extra acidity from the lemon juice, so I put that in too. I think the bell pepper would also be nice. (And possibly something that was also included in my childhood version. I just can't quite remember anymore.) But I left it out since I didn't want to poison Reiver.

Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 450g small shell or macaroni pasta
• 1 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 3/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 225g mild cheddar, cubed
• 225g ham, cubed
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 3-4 green onions, sliced thin

Directions

1. Boil the pasta until al dente, then add peas and boil for 1 minute longer. Drain.
2. Stir together mayo, yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, parsley, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Mix in the pasta and peas, cheese, ham, bell pepper (if using), and green onions.
4. Salad may be served immediately, but is best after it has chilled for several hours.

Thenga Paruppu (Coconut Lentils)

I haven't been feeling up to doing much cooking lately and my days have been pretty helter-skelter, so I can't really do much advanced planning either. That makes dals like this ideal for the days that I do manage to get it together enough to cook something.

Thenga Paruppu

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. mung beans (sabud moong/whole green "lentils")
• 3 c. water
• 1-2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 small (400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 15 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 1-2 fresh green serrano or finger chiles, cut into 5mm slices
• 1 c. shredded fresh coconut (or 1/2 c. dried coconut, reconstituted)

Directions

1. Thoroughly rinse the mung beans.
2. Place in pressure cooker with water and pressure cook (on high) for 20 minutes followed by a 15-minute natural pressure release.
3. Meanwhile, heat the ghee over medium heat.
4. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until seeds have stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
5. Add the onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
6. Add the ground mustard and fenugreek seeds and sizzle for 10-20 seconds.
7. Add the salt, tomatoes, cilantro, turmeric, curry leaves, chiles, and coconut and stir to combine.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tomatoes are softened (~5 minutes).
9. Once beans are cooked, stir the sauce into the pot and simmer until flavour meld (~10 minutes).

We needed something for dinner tonight and I actually felt up for cooking for once, so I consulted my short list. I wasn't up for a lot of cooking, but I felt I could do something small and simple and this cream sauce recipe fit the bill.

Dumplings in Cream Sauce

Adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
• ~100g ham, chopped
• 2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. milk powder¹
• 1 Tbsp. chicken stock powder
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 450g frozen dumplings (mini dumplings work especially well)
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 2-3 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil and butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook until they begin to release their liquid.
5. Add the ham and cook until heated through.
6. Add the milk, milk powder, and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
7. Stir in pepper and Parmesan and adjust seasoning to taste.
8. Add the dumplings and peas and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until dumplings are heated through and sauce has reached desired consistency.
10. Stir in green onions and serve topped with additional Parmesan.

---

¹ The original recipe called for cream. We only had milk. So I decided to try to approximate cream by adding some whole milk powder to skim milk. I'm quite pleased with how this worked and would absolutely do it this way again in the future. ^Back

I've made a few different chocolate waffle recipes before, but I hadn't tried this one yet. Honestly, it wasn't even really a recipe. It was just a suggested mix-in for the waffle batters in the Breakfast Bible. In theory, I was meant to add 1/2 c. sweetened cocoa powder to the standard batter and then top the resulting waffles with fresh cherries and cherry syrup. In practice, I have never heard of sweetened cocoa powder and I didn't have any cherries on hand. So, instead of that, I did my best to approximate when it came to the cocoa. And for toppings we tried homemade mandarin marmalade and whipped cream as well as bananas and chocolate sauce (with a little peanut butter on mine as well). Delicious!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Waffles

Adapted from the Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 190g whole wheat flour
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. Dutched cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 90g salted butter, melted

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder and mix well.
3. Beat the eggs and vanilla into the milk.
4. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
6. Allow batter to rest while waffle iron preheats.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat until all batter is used.
8. Serve waffles with your preferred toppings. Fresh berries, whipped cream, bananas, peanut butter, marmalade, and chocolate sauce all work well.