Tag: recipe

Vanilla overnight oats with mixed berries

Vanilla overnight oats with mixed berries

Ahh, oatmeal again??? If you asked me a couple of years ago, oats were not part of my staple, especially when making into oatmeal. Previously oatmeal seemed bland, especially when I saw it produced with water and sugar. Nevertheless, fast-forward to now, and I have …

Eating at the table

Eating at the table

      Eating at the table, is there someone coming over, a celebration, nope none of them. In all honesty, this was a habit that I wanted to cultivate but struggled with for many years. It was slowly leaning towards eating just for fuel. …

Turkish bread with baby spinach, tomatoes, feta, lemon and sumac

Turkish bread with baby spinach, tomatoes, feta, lemon and sumac

Audio: (Without the recipe)

Audio: (With the recipe)

Friday morning gradually emerged as the shades of golden, red, and brown leaves gracefully pirouetted to the light wind’s frigid autumn melody. Slowly walking across the lake with its own charm and beauty. The murky yet picturesque waterfall was gushing over each of the three platforms. The water flowed smoothly as syrup and was comforting to observe. The birds forming their own harmonious tune, and the smell of freshly cut mowed grass added to the lake’s vivid scenery. Time spent walking along the lake was a reminder of the power of immersing myself in nature and how it keeps me grounded from a busy and hectic life. It didn’t matter the tasks that demanded my attention. What mattered was that I embraced the moment here and now, welcoming peace for today.

This recipe is simple and humble yet packs a lot of flavour, freshness. The star ingredient is sumac which typically linked to the tartness of lemons. This paired well with the freshly squeezed lemon. You get the creaminess and saltiness from the feta, fresh greens from the spinach and olive oil to top it off. I can see this dish appearing in my staple for lunch, brunch.

[lt_recipe name=”Turkish bread with baby spinach, tomatoes, feta, lemon and sumac” servings=”2-4″ prep_time=”5 MINS” cook_time=”0 MINS” total_time=”5 MINS” difficulty=”Very Easy” print=”yes” ingredients=”Turkish bread; 1-2 cups of Baby spinach ;2 tomatoes ;1/2 cup Danish feta;Juice from 1 Lemon;1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder ;Olive oil ;1/2 teaspoon Sumac ;;” ]1. Cut the Turkish bread into the size of a bread slice and warm up so that it is soft.;2. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the Turkish bread and add some garlic powder.;3. Dice the tomatoes and feta.;4. Add the baby spinach, tomatoes, feta. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon. Sprinkle some sumac and add some olive oil and serve. [/lt_recipe]

Fattoush

Fattoush

I came across this salad when I was previously volunteering at Free-to-Feed. Free- to-Feed is a not for profit enterprise that has a purpose of assisting people seeking asylum to: Seek meaningful employment opportunities based on their existing skills and experiences. Promote social inclusion and …

Quesadillas Five bean mix & cheese

Quesadillas Five bean mix & cheese

Quesadillas are tortillas that are heated with melted cheese inside. It amazing how versatile quesadillas can be in terms of what you can add inside of them. However (for this recipe), I wanted to keep it simple and just used beans, cheese, and the Mexican …

Fettuccine pesto with bacon, parsley and parmesan cheese

Fettuccine pesto with bacon, parsley and parmesan cheese

I opened the kitchen pantry with excitement beaming all over my face wondering what will tonight’s dinner be. Immediately, the fettuccine caught my attention and I remembered an idiosyncratic incident at my parent’s house. The moment you mention the word “pasta” or “fettuccine” in my family house, you’re in for trouble. Faces will cringe in disgust and you will most likely hear screeching voices all over the household as if pasta is some kind of taboo that should never be said. By reading this you’ll know that pasta has a pretty bad reputation in my family’s house. My parents, cousin and younger brother only know of the traditional bolognese sauce and after having so many times, that they have grown tired of pasta and have made it become their nemesis and label pasta as boring.

I was thinking “Well…. wouldn’t it be nice to have more variety in the way how we make food?”  (Especially pasta in my family’s case).

I noticed the fresh basil, parsley and the pine nuts which were just sitting next to the glass fruit bowl. “All right, I am going to make pesto,” I said to myself. Even though pesto can be bought at the supermarket, the chopping and using the mortar and pestle to grind the ingredients was quite therapeutic if you’d ask me and I love the fresh smell of basil and parsley.

Continental Parsley

The fettuccine was prepared aldanté and I mixed the pesto along with it. After, the bacon bits, chopped parsley and parmesan cheese were added on top of the fettuccine pesto which really it looked visually appealing and appetizing (along with the salad which all the different colours which made this such an interesting dish to make. I like this dish because it encourages the use of fresh herbs (lots of it), garlic which is accompanied by a nice and simple salad to compliment the dish. I usually make salad dressing, however, I bought zumo tomatoes which tastes slightly sweet and didn’t need the dressing after all.

Salad

“Well pasta is not so boring afterall, ” I told them which everyone was shocked with the recipe. The very same ingredient that was perceived as boring can be also seen as a great staple to have in the kitchen when we are ready for a change and new experiences. The colours in this dish reminded me to see every day as a brand new canvas to paint our colourful experiences and memories. So each day, I will carefully paint a picture that I desire to see manifest in my life, a life full of abundance, joy, positive thoughts and praise. I do this so at the end of the day I won’t look at it and wish that I had painted something different.

[lt_recipe name=”Fettuccine pesto with bacon, parsley and Parmesan cheese ” servings=”2-4″ prep_time=”15 MINS” cook_time=”15 MINS” total_time=”30 MINS” difficulty=”Easy” print=”yes” image=”http://zhx.c1d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/doc-1146-700×467.jpg” ingredients=”45g (1/4 cup) pine nuts (toasted);1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves;2 small garlic cloves, halved; shredded parmesan cheese;3-4 tbs olive oil;200g bacon bits;Fettuccine;Chopped parsley to garnish;;;” ]Cook and drain the fettuccine ( I prefer my pasta aldanté);;In the meantime, toast the pine nuts gently in a frying pan or slow over no-oil until the pine nuts are golden brown in colour.;;Gently blend ingredients at medium speed whilst pouring in olive oil in a steady stream until smooth or you can use a mortar and pestle.;; Mix the pesto with the fettuccine until you get an equal distribution of the pesto and fettuccine.;; Add the chopped bacon first, then the chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese on top and serve with a salad of your choice.[/lt_recipe]

 

NOTE:

You can place the pesto in a clean jar a cover it with a small amount of olive oil. This can be stored up to two weeks.