This is a recipe for a delicious tart made with with asparagus and green peas on a cheesy filling all on a buttery puff pastry. It makes a wonderful first course with wine or even to have as a late afternoon snack with the family on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading Asparagus and Peas Puff Pastry TartCategory Archives: From the Kitchen
Scandinavian Baking by Trine Hahnemann
Have you heard of FIKA? I hadn’t. Not until a few months ago that is, when I was catching up on my daily world news on BBC.com. I came across an article that read Why Are Swedish Workers So Happy?. This article was about FIKA, the Swedish workplace tradition of taking a coffee break with sweet treats and chatting. In many companies in Sweden this coffee break is not only encouraged but in some offices it is actually mandatory. Research has shown that taking a work-place coffee break leads to happier and more productive employees. Continue reading Scandinavian Baking by Trine Hahnemann
William’s Carrot Ginger Soup
I had the most delicious soup when we were invited to dinner at our friends Stella and William’s place one evening late last summer. Going to their home for dinner is always a fun treat. On this evening Stella and William had prepared a delicious meal of carrot ginger soup, vegetable lasagna, and a couple of local Ghanna dishes such as a thick well-seasoned stew and fried plantains. Everything was delicious. One of our favorite dishes was the carrot ginger soup which was in a league of its own. It was not your run of the mill carrot ginger soup, this was creamy and sweet with herbs and just the right amount of heat from the ginger; and the best part is that it was the easiest soup to make. Continue reading William’s Carrot Ginger Soup
Dark Chocolate Brownies With Salted Carmel
My friend Rose made these outstanding dark chocolate brownies a while back, and they were perfect little bites of pure chocolate joy. These brownies were gooey, chocolaty, and moist with a hint of espresso and they were not teeth-tingling sweet. Why am I surprised these brownies were so good? Rose is an amazing baker – just amazing. Her baked goods can win awards. If only she would open a bakeshop, her goodies would sell out for sure. Rose shared her recipe for these gooey brownies, which she got from trEATs by April Carter. Here is the recipe with a few of Rose’s own tweaks. Continue reading Dark Chocolate Brownies With Salted Carmel
Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bark with Apricots and Candied Ginger
I love Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Bar. It’s my favorite chocolate. I thought about making some at home but decided it was best to leave it to Cadbury’s to make it the way they do – just perfect. Instead I decided to make a more adult fruit and nut bar with dark chocolate and some of my favorite dried fruits and nuts like apricots, pistachios, and candied ginger. I also added saffron to give the chocolate an exotic flavor. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bark with Apricots and Candied Ginger
Stuffed Peppers with Mexican Spiced Veggies & Black Beans
This is a variation of stuffed peppers that I like to make with a frozen vegetable mix called Southwest Blend. This frozen veggie mix is really good, it has bell peppers, black beans, corn, poblano peppers, and roasted onions. With this combination of veggies you really don’t need to chop a whole lot of veggies. I took my cue for the seasoning for the stuffed peppers from the Southwest mix which has a Mexican slant to them.
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Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion Soup
This recipe is my all time favorite fall squash recipe. It’s this roasted butternut squash & red onion soup.
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Mushroom Curry with Shredded Paneer Cheese
This mushroom dish is a perfect dinner option on a cool evening. It tastes wonderful over hot steaming rice, quinoa or couscous. I used shredded paneer cheese in this mushroom curry, but you could easily substitute paneer with shredded chicken or any meat of your choice. Continue reading Mushroom Curry with Shredded Paneer Cheese
Greens, Grapes and Avocado Salad
Greens, Grapes and Avocado Salad
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 Avocados cut into wedges
- 2 bags of super greens or a mix of spring greens. About 4 cups
- 1 bunch of red grapes – 8 grapes cut in half, 8 grapes left whole
- 1 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp roasted salted pistachios
- Honey Vinaigrette. Here is a link to my basic Honey Vinaigrette
Honey Vinaigrette
This is a sweet dressing that tastes really good in any salad that has fresh fruit or even dried fruits. If you make salads with apples, peaches, apricots, pears or mangos, this is the perfect sweet and sour dressing to bring out the fruit flavors. Continue reading Honey Vinaigrette