recipe notes for myself (will be an ever expanding post)

Bulgar and Spinach Pilaf
Great recipe - loved the taste of the roasted plum tomatoes - the first time I made this I added double the tomatoes than were asked for in the recipe which is why I think it turned out particularly tasty. The labneh is easy to make and yummy!

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne
Realized blue cheese wasn't my thing - at least not in too much quantity and not in my lasagne for sure. Otherwise a good recipe so won't use gorgonzola next time. I liked the pine nuts sprinkled on top.

Garlic and Herb Potato Wedges
To satisfy my potato cravings :)


Saffron Rice and Red Pepper Pilaf
No photo but a nice simple recipe that I think I can use as a base - can add other stuff into it, maybe nuts and raisins


Roasted Vegetable and Brown Rice Gratin (above roasting vegies, and below the final outcome)
Ate celeriac and swede for the first time in my life. Didn't like the former, the latter was okay. Didn't use carrots and parsnips since the quantities were too much anyway, so next time I should use these instead of the celeraic (and maybe even chuck the swede). Also next time will use lesser cheese on the top.


Parsnip Dark Spice Cake
Oh yum! Good as a tea-time cake.

Celery, potato & leek soup
Very nutritious and all that, but didn't like celery as the dominant ingredient in a soup.

Split Pea Soup
Lovely filling soup (spinach was added after i took the photo)
A variation recipe: Split Pea Soup

Broccoli soup
A good basic broccoli soup recipe

Asparagus soup
No photo but it was good!

More soup recipes to try out:

Carrot & coriander soup
Spiced carrot and lentil soup
Spiced roasted parsnip soup
Chunky minestrone soup
Roasted Asparagus soup with spring herb gremolata
Curried butternut squash soup

Salads and dressings:
Oriental zucchini and brown rice salad
Vinaigrette

Dals etc:
Masoor dal
Dal makhani
Kadhi
Chana masala

Other recipe notes:

Upma

Eggless Banana bread
When I don't have eggs in the house :)
Wholegrain banana bread
Wholewheat chocolate chip cookies

Pancakes
Basic pancake recipe

Conversion tables

more experiments in the kitchen

Sugar snap peas with lemon, garlic and basil
(a good side-dish and I love crunchy sugar snap peas)

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli
(Good recipe - I like the subdried tomatoes in it though I think I overdid their amount and will have to go a bit easy on them next time. Also I didn't use the cashews or the white wine mentioned in the recipe since I didn't have any at home. Also would not add the raw scallions to this at the end, maybe some fresh herbs but not sure what - parsley maybe)
and in case you're wondering what that strange looking lump is next to the quinoa, it is
Broccoli Baked Potatoes
(I'd made it because I had some remaining broccoli and I also had too many potatoes in the house - but didn't enjoy this so will not make it again - it also looks quite unappetizing though the photo in the BBC recipe looks pretty good!)

And finally, I attempted for the first time to make fish since a friend told me that salmon is easy to make and tastes good even if very simply prepared - so I found a quick and simple recipe for salmon that sounded a bit like the way she cooks it - I was quite happy with this though I think I overcooked the salmon a bit so one side of the salmon got a bit too crispy.

Grilled Salmon with Chili and Lime Butter

cooking experiments

I've been thoroughly enjoying cooking and particularly buying ingredients I've never cooked with before (bulghar wheat, butternut squash, harissa paste, oyster sauce, tofu - yes yes i've never cooked with tofu before, bean sprouts) and then pouring over the internet looking for good-sounding recipes. Some dishes turn out good, others are okay - thankfully no total disasters yet. (If I still know where the recipe came from, the link is below the picture). And by the way, I don't think it would have ever occurred to me to take pictures of food if I'd never met Herlily - so this post is dedicated to her with love :-)

Spiced bulghar, chickpea and squash salad (Yum!)

Potato Spinach Gratin and leftovers of the spicy bughar salad (Yum!)
(the gratin was my own take on all the potato spinach gratin recipes I saw on the internet since I wanted to use both parmesan and cheddar)

Chinese Aduki beans salad
(I wasn't too impressed with this one, maybe coz I got the recipe off the aduki beans packet)

Thai Basil Tofu Fry, Szechuan Green Beans and Jasmine Rice (Absolute Yum!)

More coming I hope!