Come with me today and explore some fantastic work in numerous kitchens. It has been a bit busy here lately so I have not had a lot of time in the kitchen myself. It may be another week or so before I am back into the swing of things, but hopefully there will be a post or two in that time. I have lots of links to share with you today, so at least I can cook vicariously. Get your wrists working and click away.
Soups, Sides and Salad Things
- I was thinking about the word vinaigrette today. What a beautiful word it is! Not only does it sound good, it looks good too.
Thank you France for such a wonderful world. So, how about a vinaigrette to start. The District Goddess has an amazing Honey Roasted Almond Vinaigrette. - Ok, so there are lots of slow dried tomato recipes, but this one from Camemberu is accompanied by pictures to die for. It will send you straight into the kitchen to reproduce these wonders. Then pop on over to My Husband Hates Veggies so that you can stuff them with bocconicini and basil pesto oil.
- Is watermelon your thing? Is it hot where you are now? Have you ever eaten watermelon in salads? Soups? Well, try it with haloumi, if you will, or as a cold cold Gazpacho, savoured by My Food Blog.
- Or if you are at the other end of the world, with cold cold weather, but want something soupy and red, what about a Beet and Ginger soup, from My Feasts. I live the radish toasts she serves with it.
- Some soups are amazing - so simple yet out of this world flavour. There is an Goan one that I make which is almost like flour, water and cheese. I only made it because it sounded strange and I had to see what was going on. It is very very good. This turnip soup from Tea for One is a bit the same. Some turnips, water and yoghurt. (She is not vegetarian, so you will have to ignore the talk about eggs and non-veg things. But the soup if veg.)
- What to do with potatoes that is a bit different? Any left over boiled or steamed potatoes? Go Indian and make Potatoes with Lemon. From Veggie Platter.
- I am always a bit nervous about cooking okra. I do a couple of dishes, but always hesitantly. Tasty Palettes has a wonderful looking stuffed okra that looks so good and so easy. I might have to get over my hesitancy.
- Beans for breakfast? Yes, I can come at that, but maybe many can’t. In the Middle East it is quite common, as Kathryn points out, to eat vegetables for breakfast, and this helps with the 2 pieces of fruit and five servings of veges per day. Herbivoracious (what a word!) cooks the Middle Eastern Ful Mudammams - eat for breakfast or as a salad for lunch or dinner. Either way, delicious.
- Kolrabi anyone? That quite weird looking vegetable. Do you know what to do with it? Make a salad with Cooking Down Under.
- To finish this section, here are two mango recipes. First, a Tomato and Mango Curry from The Well Seasoned Cook and then, if that is not enough, try a Mango Caprese Salad from Anticiplate.
Nibblies
- Another Goddess is Yamuna Devi. I just love her work. It is probably Anglo-Indian rather than straight Indian food, but it captures the wonderful flavours and aromas of that country that I love. I have cooked a number of her dishes from Krishna’s Cuisine. Lisa’s Kitchen cooks from another of her books, and brings us Lime Biscuit Thins.
- If you are still in the mood for some dry nibbly things to go with dips, try Lisa’s Spicy Baked Tortilla Chips.
- What about this? Take some yeast dough, fry it and drizzle with honey and sugar. Desert Candy brings us Sopapillas.
- For a change, try Polenta Cheesy Croutons for nibbles or with soup. Another recipe from Lisa’s Kitchen. She must be a nibblies expert. And Cooking from A to Z has some Spicy Tofu Crisps, perfect for a needed protein hit.
Dessert Things
- Have you every seen a sexier apple than this, from A Gluten Free Day?
- Talking of sexy, have a look at THIS. Lavender, chocolate, saffron, cognac. Oh my. AND gluten free. From A Gluten-Free Day.
Let’s Visit India!
- Every South Indian knows about Pongal - the festival where a pot of spiced rice is cooked and allowed to boil over. Evolving Tastes cooks steel cut oats a la Pongal. I can’t wait to try this, as I have only just discovered steel cut oats. The sound of it is wonderful.
- People from Kerala love their food! None would deny that. And it is great food, colourful, vibrant and often with coconut. Ammupatti’s Thoughts cooks a rice and mung dal dish from Kerala called Parippu Pradhaman. It is a type of payasam (sweet rice with cardamom and cashews), but rather than using milk and sugar it uses coconut milk and jaggery. Y U M. She explains how to make your own coconut milk, but of course you can use a can. Oh, and My Diverse Kitchen also has a recipe - it was the first one that she ever posted. Then to make a payasam, go to Simple and Delicious for a Banana Payasam.
Feeding Grieving Friends
- Thank you, The Jew and the Carrot for giving us hints for providing food for families in grief. It is so hard to know what to do sometimes. I really appreciated this post.
Stay Focused. Have a little Zen in your life.
- I love the Zen-ness of Zen. Check these Top 100 Inspiration Quotes from Left of Zen.
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