tagged ‘spices’

Favourite spices

in Inspiration, Small bites, Taste -

Favourite spices

I often think that cooking is like putting together an outfit. Your basic ingredients are the garments and spices are all the little things that make an outfit special, like a great hat, a colorful scarf, a beautiful simple belt, a distinct piece of jewelry, a nice deep red lipstick or a killer pair of pumps. Your outfit would be ok without them, but, adding one or more of those accessories instantly elevates it and makes it shine. Same with spices: you can do without them, but honestly, why would you when just a pinch of this and a dash of that can make a simple dish all that more interesting and appetising? [READ MORE]

Carrot & mango cake with cream cheese lime frosting

in Desserts, Taste -

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Even though I love all desserts almost equally, I tend to play favourites: cookies are usually my go-to, followed by pies and little fruity and chocolatey bites. Cakes are not at the top of my list; I think that’s probably because they are often associated with childhood baking memories, of which I don’t have that many. My mom rarely made any cakes (safe for this delicious, festive one), and when she did, usually in our house in the country, she had to fight our super temperamental oven: all desserts that went in there would come out almost always half burned- but we almost always ate them (apart from that one time, when she accidentally sprinkled a whole cake with corn flour, instead of icing sugar. I think we held off on that one). [READ MORE]

Dinner party appetiser: hummus & mini flatbreads

in Small bites, Taste -

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Appetisers are my favourite thing to prep for a dinner party; they can be as simple as the hummus featured here- or even a little different, such as this fragrant quince paste, perfectly paired with cheese. You don’t have to go all out on appetisers; make sure there’s enough for your guests to nibble on while enjoying some drinks and get in the mood for dinner and plate them in a simple, yet appealing way to set the tone for the rest of the night. [READ MORE]

Roasted pumpkin seeds

in Small bites, Taste -

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Pumpkins must be my favourite autumnal ingredient; growing up, we’d usually cook with the squashes from our garden, but ever since I moved to London, it seems like I’m discovering a new kind of pumpkin every year. I love the variety in shapes and colours, how durable they are, as well as their versatility: soups, quiches, pies, cheesecakes- I’ve incorporating pumpkin in so many dishes, and I still can’t get enough. [READ MORE]

Nutty granola

in Breakfast, Taste -

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This week is all about breakfast; my favourite meal of the day, my favourite thing to make and eat.

“Breakfast is everything. The beginning, the first thing. It is the mouthful that is the commitment to a new day, a continuing life… Somewhere, someone is starting breakfast and thinking, ‘Today will be better than yesterday’…Wherever, whenever breakfast comes, it’s a mouthful of stoic optimism.”,  writes A.A. Gill in ‘Breakfast at the Wolseley’.  [READ MORE]

Spicy carrot soup

in Savoury, Taste -

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One of the (few) things I enjoy about cold weather is my craving for comfort food. Most specifically, my craving for soup.

I absolutely LOVE making and eating soups!  As with most of my cooking, this has also been influenced by my mom: the woman can turn just about anything into a delicious soup and I grew up half in awe of this ability of hers and half resenting the frequency in which we had soup for lunch and/or dinner.  Ever since I moved to London however, faced with full-on cold autumns and winters, soups have also become my go-to dish from the moment temperatures begin to drop and this carrot soup was one of the first dishes I  was making on repeat during my first year in London. [READ MORE]

Cardamom

in Taste -

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It seems that lately, I ‘ve been using cardamom almost every time I bake. As filling for buns, added to cream cheese frosting for a carrot cake or to crunchy granola. I ‘ve been more reluctant to incorporate it in savoury dishes, but I have discovered it gives great flavour to a quick vegetable rice and a nice kick to a simple pumpkin soup.  [READ MORE]