Custard tart

I made those custard tarts out of lack of original idea. I do have some 'blank' moments. I used the shortcrust pastry to make the crust and cooked the custard using custard powder. This is actually easy to make. I thought it looked like an egg tart and if you do think about it, this could  actually be a 'so-called' egg tart. Personally I prefer the custard powder taste than the custard made from the egg yolks.

Spiral pasta with corned beef

This is an old time favourite of the family. I personally like corned beef, it does make a tasty dish in my opinion. I am referring to the canned ones. I used to stir fry it with green peas before, when we were opting for quick and easy dish. Now since I am a lil more of an amateur cook, I am going for slightly more complicated meals. Complicating my life yes. So I cooked it with pasta. To make it balanced, I added a grated carrot and zucchini. This is absolutely delicious. If you would prefer a creamier version, I would advise eating it with avocado. A total winner.

 

Creamy mushroom fettuccine with salmon

This was for our Saturday lunch. Alright so for the fettuccine, nothing too difficult because I used the sauce jar; I only added some fresh button mushroom with it. This is a great dish. Also, we had some salad on the side: lettuce and carrot, idea of making it a whole meal. Simple and easy.

 

By the way, I know we are eating a lot of salmon lately- okay not so much- but still compared to before it is like a huge improvement, and this is simply because seafood is very healthy for you and salmon  is especially nutritious owing to its heavy content of omega 3. So do not be afraid of eating seafood (way of speaking); they are good for you.

Tea time

I usually drink green tea and peppermint tea. Drinking tea is such a delicacy for me now. This new range of lipton tea is simply the perfect opportunity to try new options and discover new sensations haha. I bought fruits of the forest, mint, summer fruits, earl grey and passion raspberry. The tea bags are pyramid shaped, unlike the usual square. At the moment, I have tried the earl grey; it was my first time and I can say it tastes nice, not too strong. I also had the forest fruits and blimey they smell so fruity; it's like a perfume, and the taste is awesome. Liking this new range. More tea? Yes please :)

Yes free advertising haha

Choko gratin

Being very traditional at the moment. Remember in an earlier post I hoped to make a great dish out of those exquisite choko. Successful bet. I initially planned to stir fry them, but then I remember about 'gratin chouchou'. Chouchou is what we call them in Mauritius. This is originally a Reunion Island dish. I try to make it with the knowledge I have of making gratin. I was awesome. I basically cooked the choko with some garlic and onion. When they are tender add some milk/ cream and cheese, and lot of herbs. Top with breadcrumbs and more cheese. In the oven until the top is crusty and filling is bubbling.

 

Red lentils

This was my real first time cooking pulses. I love pulses. I mean this is the old-time favourite dish of the family. Anyway, back in my home country we used to have pulses like every week. We had lentils, yellow split beans, broad beans, kidney beans, and what else. This is so delicious. Well, I have not been having them a lot here. However, this is going to change now because I kind of learn how to cook them. This is awesome. So basically for the recipe, you need a pressure cooker. First, you rinse you pulses twice or thrice to remove of the dirt. Fry some onions and garlic with oil. Add some thyme. When the veggies are cooked, add your pulses and fill in with water enough to cover it about 2-3 centimetres. Add some chopped carrots. Then, close the lid and cooked for about 10-15 minutes or until the pressure cooker has released steam about 2-3 times. Remove all steam out and your soup should be ready. If not, let simmer for another 5 minutes or until well done. There you have it.

 

Ravioli

Hehehe I'm back with ravioli again. This time I did not make the sauce. We simply bought it ready made (as well as the ravioli). I however did add some garlic and mushroom to it, idea of making it more flavoursome. Maybe I will make my own someday. I just think that there are food items which are easier bought pre-cooked because it is a life-simplification, and I'm sure we can't but make good use of these handy things. So I add one whole avocado with it. I love avocados so much. They goes so well with anything. Anything.

 

 

 

Custard and polenta pudding

Dessert time. Today I made a polenta and custard pudding. They are really easy to make. For the custard you simply follow the instructions on the packaging itself and for the polenta same procedure. The only exception for the polenta is to use milk instead of water, and add some vanilla essence and sugar per tasting. Done. This polenta pudding reminds me of my home country because this is quite a typical pudding, among so many else. We have semolina pudding, sago or even cassava. Greatly praised because they taste so good. I like the smoothness from the custard and the grainy texture from the polenta. You can top them off with coconut powder if you want to.

Yet another throwback

I promise I  am coming with new dishes later this week. I know this is long overdue. Anyway today I am showing, again, some of the food I cooked over the last week. Some zucchini squash bites and tacos. I made the squash bites because squash was on special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Throwback in the kitchen

I will be repeating myself because I have already cooked those like many times and I will certainly cook them a lot more in the future. Few of those dishes. This is why I am simply posting the pictures instead of writing a post for each. Some photo-sighting why not?

Chicken chop suey

Seafood Fooyang

Pan-fried salmon

Homemade pizza 'not so'

I would lie if I say that I am not feeling lazy to post at the moment. It is one of those moments where you wish you had a personal assistant to help you with your daily activities. Alright just kidding because unfortunately anything you want is always best achieved when you do it yourself; this is one of my credo. As far as the pizzas are concerned, I say they are 'not so' homemade because we bought the pizza bases. The only thing required was to put the toppings. I think this is an absolutely fantastic way to make your own gourmet pizza. This is seriously the simplest thing ever. I cannot believe I have not thought of this earlier. For this one, my toppings were bacon, button mushroom and capsicum. It was light and crispy.

   

I slightly burned the edges for this one >.<

Choko and starfruit

Two pretty rare fruit and veggie. The starfruit is such an amazing fruit. I like it so much; it is sweet, but not in an overpowering way and it is acidic; got to like that tangiest side to it. Taste awesome to my palate certainly.
Now choko is a vegetable you often see in my home country's market. However here it is quite unusual and if you do see it, it will be rather expensive. I bought those two at $5 per kg which is quite okay I thought because the last time I saw them it was roughly about $10. So yeah I will hopefully make a great dish out of it. I will keep you posted.

 

Macaron #3 with rasperry filling

What has truly driven me to try and make these lovely cookies is the fact that firstly they are the yummiest thing ever and secondly the price- they are quite pricey- so you always end up wanting more or eat them too preciously. Since I started baking I am willing to try new stuff. Remember before I would never dare go round these untouched areas and making macaron was absolutely one of them. I thought you had to be a real chef or the like to be able to make them. Then I had a look at the ingredients and spent so much time on youtube. It in fact appeared to be rather easy to make . I was then so keen to try them. Alright so I first used it with the old hand mixer and damn it was so frustrating. However, I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with the first try. Anyway after a third time, I think that I have made real progress. Getting better and better. This time I try a new filling-rasperry. I used frozen raspberries. First strain it to extract the juices. With which you add sugar and some lemon juice. Add some cornstarch to thicken the liquid on low heat.This was awesome.

 

My macaron tower...lol

Pause break

I think I have run out of ideas. I spent half day cooking today. First I baked those lovely macarons with rasperry filling. I simultaneously baked some zucchini squash bites. After this I cooked the filling for tacos, and prepared the sides - tomatoes, avocados and lettuce. I am now literally exhausted. Yes because this mean that I stayed approx 6 hours on my feet and the other half cleaning as we go on. It is worth it though. I will repeat myself here, but nothing beats that the feeling of accomplishment and better than home made food. I will be back with some pictures tomorrow; for now rest time, or rather study time. Busy life indeed, no complaints here..

Chocolate marble cake

This is my second time baking a cake. This is my first time trying the marble effect. I was so willing to make that cake. I follow this recipe. I have no idea why I wanted to make it so badly. Anyway got to like those 'on-the'spur' moments. They are kind of refreshing and you know that in cooking there are always some kind of apprehension regarding the results. It does for me. So I am really excited but worried somehow about having a happy outcome. Ultimately it's only by trying that you'll find out. I use this as a driving force to push me to try new things, which is good. You always need to have a motive or a good spirit in everything you like or want to achieve. Back to the cake, I made it and I think it looked great. It was a lil bit dry but so nice.

 

Fried noodles

Let's see. Coming back with some more time consuming dishes. This is my version of fried-noodles. I totally missed the whole recipe point here. It tasted fine though. It has all the ingredients it is supposed to have. Somehow I don't know why I cannot make it like the ones at the restaurants. Anyway what matters is that it is edible, healthy and looks good. I trust that those fast food or food in those asian restaurants are too oily which is why you must not outside regularly. Thinking about health consequences. It is much better to have my own healthier version at home.

 

 

Pasta carbonara

Omigosh. 100th post. Wow. Just realised this. *cheers*

Back to posting, I reckon that this week has been on really simple and quick dishes. I will continue on this trend with an easy carbonara plate. Mind me, I used thick cream instead of the readily made sauce in the jars. So basically cook onion, garlic and your bacon. Bacon flavour is just so nice. Then add the mushroom, and vegetables (I used grated zucchini to make this a more complete dish). After this add the cream. Season with pepper and salt and parsley. Pour onto your cooked pasta and mix to coat. Serve with parmesan cheese.

 

Avocado sandwich with ham and tomato

Seriously, this is the best sandwich ever. I mean so much goodness in those lovely avocados and tomatoes. Great food. When I think of those fast food, nothing can definitely beat home made dishes. They are fresher, healthier and cheaper options.

 

 

Sweet treat #3

Chocolate. This one is just too tempting. With oreo filling. It is super good. Sweet combination.
More reasons to eat chocolate. Muahahahaha

Ravioli

Let's finish off this weekend on a simple dish. Ravioli. It is simple because I bought the readily-made ones hehe. Easy yaa. Basically you only need hot water to cook them. I however make my own sauce, which is a mixture of butter, onion, garlic, button mushroom,  a canned tomato, some heavy cream and mixed herbs. Top it off with some parmesan cheese. Lovely dish. Simple and easy.