I never imagined I would enjoy a pesto without garlic and lemon but I have to say this recipe is pretty darned good. Hard cheeses are allowed on a low acid diet and the flavor from the pistachios makes this pesto really yummy. Feel free to use any kind of whole grain or gluten free pasta. Click to print recipe.
I have to say – I make kickass scones!
I always have them handy in my freezer for the slew of scone lovers in my life. You can make these plain or with berries which adds a wonderful fruity bite to them. You can use fresh or frozen berries. Just bake them a minute or two longer if using frozen.
I love eating my scones with clotted cream (if possible) and jam. My nephews bury their scones in whipped cream. Do what you will with these scones – they are truly a favourite in our household.
Click here to print recipe.
This might be one of my favorite ways to cook chicken tenders. It’s quick, crispy, delicious and doesn’t require deep frying. Sit them on large platter of anything – I used salad greens and roasted tomatoes but you can do sautéed veggies, rice, baked fries and so on. This chicken goes really well with a spicy hot sauce.
Asparagus is abundant in spring time and here is a yummy way to use it.
I love working with puff pastry because it is so forgiving that you can pretty much put anything on it and it tastes so good. I try and stock up on my puff pastry whenever Trader Joes has it (usually around thanksgiving time). Their puff pastry is affordable and doesn’t have all the extra fillers that some of the more popular brands have. I do love Dufour though – they are really pricey but are the best.
My tart has onions, mushrooms and asparagus. I had some ricotta lying in the fridge and used it as a thin layer on the base but this is really not necessary as the caramelized onions makes for a nice creamy bottom. You can however add any kind of cheese to this tart – goat cheese, Boursin , ricotta etc. if you wish. I will say that it was a bit of a struggle cutting the tart once cooked with the long spears of asparagus – so the next time around I might just chop it down into 1” pieces and sprinkle on top – it just won’t look as pretty!
My favorite chocolate cake is my mothers but that recipe has its own story and will be saved for another post. This is one of the few other chocolate cakes I make – it has beets in it which makes it super moist and healthy – right?
Chili cheese toast is a beloved breakfast/ snack item in India. It’s really easy – you can make the cheese mixture ahead of time and keep it in the fridge to use at will. It’s better to use breads that are a little denser as those wonderful holey, light and airy breads will have the cheese seeping right through when you toast them up. You can use any cheese – I use mozzarella or a Mexican blend but in India we use Amul cheese grated and that works fine too.
My favorite sauce to eat with cheese toasts with is Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chili Sauce (can be found in any Indian grocery store) but regular ketchup or tabasco works really well too.
We visited Lady M’s cake boutique and tried the famous Mille Crêpes Cake and fell in love with it several years ago.
So of course my daughter decided that this was the very cake she wanted for her 12th birthday – and it had to be homemade! Ive been making her this cake ever since!
Luckily I found a recipe in the New York Times dining section and The Smitten Kitchen blog and got to work.
I have to say the cake came out quite spectacularly!
I recently found this wonderful recipe for a roasted broccoli tart on Celeste’s Cooking Creation blog which I just had to try.
The tart turned out to be really easy to make and a wonderful appetizer or meal idea.
This might be one of my all time favorite soups! Passang makes this really simple, flavorful Tibetan version of chicken soup which has a really nice hit of spice to it.
She hand makes fresh noodles and adds them in but in my lazy version however I use any broad flat noodles or pasta I can find.
I find that glass noodles or any broad pasta works really well. You can vary the leafy greens you add in the soup. I use anything from spinach, boy choy, swiss chard to kale.
I had the best tomato soup recently at my friend Stephanie’s home.
It was so yummy and bursting with fresh flavors of basil and tomato.
She used a really simple recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. I recreated the soup the very next day at home and it was a super hit.
You can choose to reduce the amount of cream in this soup or even use milk instead. This soup freezes really well so whip up a big batch and freeze some of it for later.
The Restaurant Fairy's Kitchen™ 