MySuit&Apron is One Year Old!

Exactly one year ago today, I launched MySuit&Apron, after years of being prodded by family and friends. The blog was a way to share my recipes of home cooked food, pictures of which I had often posted on my personal Facebook account.

Now a year has passed and MySuit&Apron is One Year Old! How time flies! The goal was to post one recipe per week: 52 recipes for 52 weeks, since I work full time and can only really cook leisurely on weekends. Today, MySuit&Apron celebrates the year with a total of 65 recipes, exceeding the initial goal.

What started out as just a humble hobby garnered some unexpected recognition when MySuit&Apron was one of the finalists for Best New Blog and Best Cooking Blog in the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards.

As I end a full year of food blogging, I'd like to thank the following people:

*My Mother, who at 74, still works full time, goes to the gym and still cooks everyday;

*My daughter M, for patiently teaching me how to use Blogger, for designing the blog and the logo;

*My family, the best and worst critics of my creations in the kitchen, the "victims" of many a failed recipe;

*My best friend M, who launched her own blog, Mama Munch's Kitchen, a few days ahead of mine, and gave me that final push. She's also the one who came up with the brilliant idea of the apron I'm wearing in this photo, which was conveniently commissioned during a very recent trip to Bangkok.

*My dear friend and ex-colleague K, of Twice as Delicious, who encouraged me to blog about food. I still remember that it was during one of our monthly foodie dinners, over steak and wine, during her birthday dinner at Wooloomooloo Steakhouse.

Thanks so much to all of you for all your support! Happy New Year! Keep cooking for your family and friends, because whatever you cook will surely be sprinkled with love, something that you can't get from a restaurant or takeout. :)

Baked Squid with Rice, Raisins & Pine Nuts

This is a flavourful, baked squid dish, on top of rice with tomato sauce, raisins and toasted pine nuts. An alternative is to stuff the squid with the rice but if you have no time (like me, during this particular weekend of making this dish), you can just put the squid on top of the rice, bake it, and it will just be as impressive. The dish is best eaten with tzatziki, a Greek yogurt based dip. The recipe for my tzatziki is here.

It's a very pretty dish...

 

Serve it this way!

Tzatziki

We love making our own tzatziki, a Greek yogurt dip which is a perfect accompaniment for baked or fried dishes. Here's my recipe for it.

Baked Squid with Rice with Raisins & Pine Nuts. Recipe in this blog too.

One table, Seven Christmas looks

This post isn't about recipes per se, but I just wanted to share how one dining table can have sevendifferent Christmas looks. It all depends on your creativity--using different placemats, tablecloths, dishes and centrepieces, some of which even include my children's toys!

Merry Christmas!

This one features poinsettia Christmas plates on red Vietnamese lacquerware placemats. The centrepiece is a green runner, with silver candelabras, a poinsettia bowl and my son's Battle B Daman marbles.

Baked French Toast with Caramelized Bananas

This is a delicious breakfast, and making it will fill your kitchen with the scent of cinnamon and caramelised bananas. It reminds me of Christmas mornings.

Bittergourd (Ampalaya) & Tomato Salad

Ampalaya (Bittergourd) Salad, a refreshing Filipino salad perfect with fried fish or meat.

The salad is very simple to make and is a perfect accompaniment for dry, fried food, such as fish or pork chops. Because of the vinegar, it eventually turns into pickles, so you can store it in your ref for a prolonged period of time and just grab it when you have your next fried dish.

Spaghetti with Shrimp & Roe

This is one of my favourite "go to" recipes when I want to make a quick seafood pasta. It's easy to make, flavourful and lemony. It uses two types of roe and some nori (seaweed).

Zucchini, Carrot & Orange Cupcakes

Yes, these cupcakes have vegetables. But your little ones won't even notice them. They're very fragrant too, what with the orange zest and juice.

Strozzapreti with Cherry Tomatoes, Bell Peppers & Chorizo

Here's a dish inspired by something I ate at Rome a few weeks ago. It's Strozzapreti Pasta; literally, it means "priest strangler." Click here to learn more about the pasta's unique name.  I've mixed this with some very fresh cherry tomatoes and bell peppers in yellow and red, as well as some chorizo. You can use bacon too, but since I had an oversupply of chorizo in the ref, it seemed opportune to just use that.

Dutch Baby with Fresh Fruits, Mint & Chocolate

I have been Missing in Action in my blog for the past two weeks. :(  Was very busy at work and also went on a family trip to Italy! It's a good thing I have a "draft post reserve," and I'm calling on it right now by sharing a recipe of Dutch Babies. (Some Italian recipes later, after I experiment some more in the kitchen...)

Ever heard of Dutch Babies? It's a pancake cum popover cum Yorkshire Pudding that is served at breakfast. Actually, it's not even Dutch; it's American! It originated in Seattle, Washington and was first served at Manca's Cafe in the 1900s. See more of the history here.

A Dutch Baby, served in a cast iron grill. This version has fresh strawberries, plums, blueberries, mint, underneath a layer of melted chocolate.

Anyway, regardless of its origin, we love having it from time to time at breakfast. We love the crispy edges of the Dutch baby. Hubby eats the edges first, to enjoy the oven baked crispness, while I save the edges, the best for the last. Whichever way it's eaten, it's a Saturday morning breakfast family favourite.

Fried Eggplants with Honey

This is a dish that we tasted in Cordoba, in the South of Spain. It is served with a cold, tomato and bread puree, called Salmorejo. See recipe here which I shared last week.

The original version of the dish was sprinkled with poppy seeds. But since this is a banned ingredient in Singapore, I replicated the dish sans poppy seeds.

Here are the eggplants, served with Salmorejo, extra hard boiled eggs, chopped jamon and bread. Yummy!

Salmorejo (Spanish Tomato & Bread Puree)

Went on a family trip to Spain last month and it was wonderful and unforgettable! Still missing Spain up to now. :(  We were able to taste a variety of food, some of which are very similar or exactly the same as Filipino food, such as Cochinillo (suckling pig, which we Pinoys call lechon), Callos a la Madrileña (tripe and chorizo stew), paella, among many others. One dish which made a strong impression on us was a dish from Southern Spain called Salmorejo.

We visited Cordoba (the home of the famous religious and architectural wonder, the Mezquita), and Salmorejo is a dish that originated from there. It is a puree made from fresh tomatoes, bread, garlic, and sherry vinegar, and is served cold, perfect for the summer months and during our visit in August, the hottest month in Spain. Salmorejo is topped with chopped jamon serrano and hard boiled eggs and is eaten with warm bread.

We fell in love with this dish and I've replicated it here.

My homemade Salmorejo, served with chopped hard boiled eggs and jamon serrano.

Zucchini "Pasta" with Mushrooms, Tofu & Fresh Oregano

I made this dish a month ago, after our recent family vacation in Spain. It was really great, from a historical, cultural and gastronomical standpoint. We loved the food and could immediately identify with it, as there are many common dishes between Spanish and Filipino cuisine. However, we sorely missed vegetables! Aside from the potato and occasional eggplant, there was hardly any vegetables among the food that we ate in Spain. :( Our family likes to eat healthy and after almost two weeks of a delicious but meat intensive diet, it was time to purge and go back to simple vegetables.

Thus, the weekend after we came back, we experimented with making a fully vegetarian "pasta" made from zucchini "noodles," mushrooms, cubed tofu and fresh oregano.

Passionfruit Orange Souffles

I really like desserts made from sour fruits like berries and passionfruit. Not everyone likes passionfruit because it is a bit strange. They're slimy and sour, and also "crunchy" at the same time, because of the seeds, which are edible. But the texture contrast is why I love this fruit on otherwise sweet desserts, like a pavlova or a soufflé.

This recipe is adapted from baker Paul Hollywood's Passionfruit Souffle recipe.

Detox Green Smoothie

Hello! My name is Melissa and I’m the daughter of MySuit&Apron's creator. I’m currently guest-blogging, to add a new element to Mom's blog that consists of recipes of a greater variety, from our whole family.

When I left for university in 2012, I strove to maintain a healthy lifestyle comprised not only of a strict workout regimen but healthy eating habits. Living alone for the first time enabled me to take greater control of my food decisions, which eventually led me onto a path of a predominant vegetarian lifestyle, now nearing vegan, for most of the week, aside from fancy dinners out once or twice a week.

That being said, after our family vacation to Spain last month and surviving on a diet rich in meat and bread (something my body is no longer familiar to), I decided to embark upon a green smoothie cleanse. Green smoothies have always been part of my diet. Though now, I have greater motivation to allow them to play a larger part, serving as my breakfast substitute, as something to quench both my hunger and my thirst in the mornings, during university lectures, until I manage to find some time to eat. That being said, this recipe I’m sharing today is part of a cleanse, meaning that it has some rather potent detoxifying effects, at least, for the first two days of consuming it three times a day with an accompaniment of a raw vegetable meal for lunch. The task is to not use any processed ingredients in the smoothie - no artificial sweeteners, not even honey - and if you must, liquid stevia is preferred, though opting for a banana to sweeten is a bit better, in my eyes!

Chicken Pimiento

This is my most favourite dish from my childhood. I don't know the origins of this dish, but if I remember correctly, it came from one of those Filipino cooking shows on TV in the early 80s; can't remember anymore. Back then, I was always tasked by my Mom to write down recipes from cooking shows on TV and this was one of them.

The original recipe featured quezo de bola, a sharp, salty cheese we have in the Philippines, shaped like a ball, and coated by red wax, usually eaten during Christmas and New Year's Eve. But I've always found that too salty and when I started cooking this for my own family, I replaced it with just plain cheddar cheese and made the sauce creamier. It's the absolute comfort food for me and my kids!

Squid Ink Linguini with Seafood and Pink Peppercorns

Made this spicy, seafood pasta for Christmas dinner a few months ago. Though the noodles are black, the parsley and pink peppercorns make it a colourful, festive and delicious dish!

If you are intimidated by the squid ink in the linguini, replace it with regular linguini. At any rate, you can't taste any of the ink anyway in the pasta.

Spaghetti with (Giant!) Meatballs

This is a dish my son and I love to make together. It's simple, comfort food made from scratch. Nothing fancy, just pure, simple, fresh Italian flavours.

My son had fun mixing and making the meatballs, and we made too much, but I figured we'd eat the meatballs for breakfast this week too. You can also serve them with mushroom sauce (see post on My Mom's Hamburger recipe for the sauce here).

Don't let the picture deceive you. Those meatballs are huge; 2" in diameter!

Barley Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Coriander

I am writing this blog post on a train from Cordoba to Barcelona. I have been in Spain for vacation for the last ten days and it has been amazing, from a historical, gastronomical and personal standpoint! The Philippines (where I grew up) was colonized by Spain for 333 years, so you can imagine that our culture--from the food, language, certain behaviors and even our names---are heavily influenced by Spanish culture.

It was great to finally try the authentic versions of some Spanish influenced Filipino dishes like lechon (roast suckling pig, which the Spaniards call Cochinillo), Callos Madrileña (tripe and chorizo stewed in tomatoes), chorizo (sausage), churros con chocolate (Spanish doughnuts with chocolate), and many, many others. Our versions of these dishes are very close, if not identical to the originals, and that was very refreshing to see.

However, what we noticed is that Spanish cuisine lacks vegetables (aside from the occasional potato and eggplant); and we missed vegetables and fruit so much!

So for this week's blog post, I'm posting a salad made from barley, cucumber and carrots. Oh vegetables, I missed you so much!

Now a little bit about this salad. I first encountered this healthy salad in a party with some Japanese friends. It's very simple and refreshing. Barley is a healthy, whole grain that is high in protein, and packed with nutrients and antioxidants. Read more about barley and its health benefits here.

Barley Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Coriander

The salad is very simple to make. In fact, the first time we tried to replicate it at home, my teenaged son made it by himself. It's great with roasted, grilled or fried food, especially dry dishes.

Three Berry Baked Lemon Cheesecake

Yesterday was the last day to vote for the 2014 Singapore blog awards, where MySuit&Apron is competing in two categories: Best Cooking Blog and Best New Blog. Thanks so much to all of you who voted! Regardless of the outcome of the contest, I really feel honored to be selected as one of the finalists. This blog started out (and continues to be) a personal hobby which I thought of doing on New Year's Eve. It is only 8 months old, so whether it wins or not, I'm happy and proud enough as it is. :)

Actually, this week, I am on vacation somewhere in Europe--loving the food, culture and the warm but windy weather, a welcome respite from humid Singapore!  But wherever I find myself every Friday, I always make it a point to release this week's blog recipe, culled from my arsenal of draft posts. :)

This week, it's cake! I have a confession to make: I don't really like making nor eating very sweet desserts, like cakes. I normally bake cakes only if there's a party in my house, or if I have a potluck party to bring it to. Dessert is often just fruit in our household, but whenever I have to make a dessert, this one is one of my "go to" recipes.

I like desserts that have a touch of sourness and that's why I use berries a lot. This cheesecake is light and is baked, and topped with a homemade berry compote, fresh berries and lemon rind. It's delicious and not as sinful as your normal sweet cake, and it looks so impressive too!

Beef Stew

Beef Stew---the perfect comfort food, especially on rainy days or nights, or just when you're famished! This is a modification of my Mom's own recipe. It takes hours to soften the beef (you could use a pressure cooker to shortcut this), but the rich, full flavour after that more than makes up for the wait!

Beer & Cheddar Spicy Pull Apart Bread

(This post is part of an ongoing series on the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards, sponsored by Panasonic.)

This is a savoury, delicious and impressive looking bread that is good enough to eat at home, or serve at parties. I've made this a few times by making the dough by hand and it is always a conversation piece. The kids love to participate in shaping, stuffing and baking it, as it is quite fun to make, and half the fun is waiting for the bread to "bloom" and transform into something really beautiful.

The bread itself has the taste of stout beer, accentuated by the spicy, cheesy, herb filled filling.

This time, instead of doing the bread by electric mixer and hand kneading like I usually do, I used the Panasonic Bread Maker and it not only saved me at least 2 hours, but also resulted in a smooth, perfectly kneaded dough, which gave way to a bigger, puffier loaf! From now on, I am going to use a bread maker to make this bread. (I never thought I would ever say that....my Le Cordon Bleu Boulangerie teacher will kill me! Shhhh!)

Gnocchetti with Pistachio Pesto, Chorizo & Mushroom

As you may have noticed, I have been posting a lot about bread lately, due to the requirements of Panasonic Singapore (sponsor of the Best Cooking Blog category in the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards) to produce 3 recipes using their Bread Maker. Please don't forget to vote! You can do so EVERYDAY, till JULY 31! Please click on the links below to do so.

BEST NEW BLOG
BEST COOKING BLOG

But contest or no contest, life goes on for MySuit&Apron, and my weekly recipe posts shall continue.  So what shall it be this week? I consulted the whole family last night and showed them my 20 draft posts, and they voted for this pasta. I'm the official "pasta chef" in the family and it's one of my most favourite things to cook. This time it's Gnocchetti with Pistachio Pesto, Chorizo & Mushroom. Of course, if you don't have gnocchetti, you can substitute with any pasta you have at hand.

The recipe is a twist on the usual pesto which is made from basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and oil. Pine nuts are sooo expensive here in Singapore, that I feel guilty just grinding them and "hiding" them in the sauce. Thus, I substituted that with pistachio nuts but still used whole, toasted pine nuts to mix with the pasta. This way, you can really taste the pine nuts with every bite. The combination with chorizo (and that delicious, orange lard that goes with it) makes this dish so flavourful. A little sinful, but hey, live a little, right?

Polenta Dough: for Extra Crispy Pizza & Flatbread Canapes

(This post is part of an ongoing series on the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards, sponsored by Panasonic.)

Homemade Flatbread with with Cheese & Horseradish Cream, Dill & Roe 

My family makes pizza dough from scratch, and we usually make it by hand. Homemade pizza is much healthier than commercially available ones (whether from a fast food restaurant or the frozen food section of the supermarket.). In addition, it challenges the family's creativity in using different ingredients versus your run-of-the-mill ham and pineapple or pepperoni and cheese.

I make the dough in advance and if the kids don't devour it right there and then, I store the extra dough in the freezer, oiled, wrapped in plastic wrap in a plastic container, so it doesn't dry out. Then we just take it out a few hours before we want to eat pizza. What makes this dough different is that it makes for extra crispy pizza (see tips below).

This time, I tried using the Panasonic Bread Maker, instead of making the dough by hand. It turned out well and saved me a lot of time! What would've taken me 2 hours to make took only 45 minutes with the bread maker.

So in this post, I'm going to share 2 recipes using the same dough. I will share some very different pizza flavours, and another recipe to show how you can use the very same dough to make some mini flatbread, topped with a mix of cream cheese and horseradish sauce, fish roe and dill. It really looks impressive and fancy, and makes for good hors d'oeuvres, but it's actually easy to make! My kids actually  helped to cut the dough into squares and once baked, top them with the cheese mix, the cut fresh dill and the roe. Too beautiful to eat and definitely more than presentable enough to serve at parties. But we didn't have a party this weekend, so the kids just devoured them for their afternoon snack!

QUINOA, FLAXSEED & CRANBERRY LOAF

(This post is part of an ongoing series on the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards, sponsored by Panasonic.)

Quinoa, Cranberry and Flaxseed Loaf

For the past year, my husband and I have been baking our own bread for the family, because commercially sold bread is simply not healthy, what with the high amount of sugar in it, and chemicals like dough conditioners and preservatives.

Cauliflower Risotto with Mushrooms, Celery & Bacon

It's been a pretty exciting week after I found out that MySuit&Apron is one of the finalists in TWO categories of the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards! Thanks to all of you out there who have voted! And please note that you can still vote EVERYDAY for BOTH categories, until July 31. And here again are the links to vote:

BEST NEW BLOG: Find MySuit&Apron under "Best New Blog" category (This requires a FB log on the first time)

BEST COOKING BLOG: Find MySuit&Apron under Best Cooking Blog (This is under the Panasonic Singapore page; you will be asked for personal particulars at the first time and for those of you not living in SG, for the NRIC field, just type in any letter, any 7 digits, ending with any letter).

Thanks again for the support. So on to the task of the day, which is posting this week's recipe...

Here's a different and  healthier way to make risotto: substitute grated cauliflower for the alborio rice, and add celery, mushrooms, bacon and cheese. So delicious and healthy! Omit the bacon if you'd like to make it purely veg.

MySuit&Apron: A CONTENDER IN TWO CATEGORIES OF THE 2014 SINGAPORE BLOG AWARDS!

(This post is part of an ongoing series on the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards, sponsored by Panasonic.)

Last Thursday evening, July 3, I was surprised when I got a call from Singapore Press Holdings, informing me that my blog was a finalist in the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards for the Best Cooking Blog! The contest is sponsored by omy.sg, Singapore Press Holding's leading bilingual news and entertainment portal.

In addition, I also found out that MySuit&Apron is also a contender in the Best New Blog. So my new, little blog is competing in two categories!  Winners are chosen by an independent panel of judges (70%) and the public (30%). So followers, may I request that you kindly vote for MySuit&Apron? You can vote once per day (a Facebook log on is required the first time).

BEST NEW BLOG:  Vote under Editors'/Judges' Choice

BEST COOKING BLOG: Vote under Advertisers' Choice

Crispy & Cheesy Broccoli & Cauliflower

This is a great and delicious way to have broccoli and cauliflower, two vegetables that are often avoided, especially by the kids. The thinly sliced florets become brown and crispy on the edges, and the parmesan flavoured breadcrumbs add an extra crunch.

Caramelized Pork Rib Stew with Egg

Have you ever tasted this delectable Vietnamese stew of pork belly with quail eggs? It's very hearty and is great with hot, steamed rice. It's a bit sweet, but oh so fatty. I've replicated it here, without all of the fat. This version is made from pork ribs instead of pork belly. We had it for Father's Day dinner. Yum!

Simply Chocolate Mousse

My friend S and her husband, A, gave me these two, huge packets of beautiful, pure, dark, Italian 72% chocolate. A works for a large, industrial food company and they supply different kinds of ingredients in bulk to restaurants, industrial bakers, small and big food businesses, etc....In short, the experts. I'm no expert, but I do know that when you have chocolate this pure and premium, you've got to use it in a recipe where the chocolate is the star. If it's masked, overpowered and drowned by other ingredients, that would simply be sacrilegious!

One bag of dark chocolate bits, perfect for topping the mousse, and another bag of big, dark chocolate chips.

So I decided to make a simple, chocolate mousse. Nothing complicated, just to let that chocolate flavour shine through.

Breakfast Quesadilla

This quesadilla was inspired by something I always eat for breakfast whenever I stay at the Westin Cincinnati Hotel, while on business trip to the global headquarters. The American version is HUGE (am I surprised?) and contains corned beef hash, an omelet and lots of cheese. This smaller version has the omelet, homemade shoestring potatoes, smoked salmon and cheese, and it's not as huge a portion as the original I ate. It's served with sour cream and fresh basil leaves.

Green Apple and Carrot Salad with Japanese Mayo & Wasabi Dressing

This salad is healthy, totally raw and refreshing, which makes it an excellent source of fiber.  It has a Japanese twist because of the Japanese mayonnaise, nori (seaweed) and wasabi.

Thai Spicy Beef & Whole Peppercorn Pasta

Whenever I visit Bangkok, one of my favourite dishes to eat there is a Thai-Italian fusion pasta at The Greyhound Cafe. It is a pasta with Thai ingredients like raw, green, whole peppercorns and Thai basil.  Whole green peppercorn is the dried, unripe fruit of the pepper plant.  It has an interesting, fresh taste and is not THAT spicy.

See more here on the different kinds of pepper:

Peppers - black, green, white and pink....

I buy the green, whole peppercorn and the Thai basil (which is different from Italian basil and more pungent) from Golden Mile Complex in Singapore, the frequent habitué of Thai workers here. I have tried looking for these in the neighbourhood wet market or supermarket, but have not seen any. Lots of authentic Thai ingredients at Golden Mile, including Sriracha sauce!

Here's my take on this Thai-Italian dish.

Linguini with Squid, Crab, Cherry Tomatoes and Breadcrumbs

This is a seafood pasta dish, with crab claw meat, flower cut squid, and yellow cherry tomatoes. The flavoured, toasted breadcrumbs on top add a great texture to the dish.

Carrot & Cucumber Sesame Salad

This is a cold, raw salad of carrot and cucumber, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, in a dressing of lemon, honey and sesame oil. Simple to do, very refreshing and perfect with dry, grilled or fried food. It's very healthy too, because it's completely raw and fresh!

My Mom's Hamburger Recipe

There are some dishes from my childhood that I have never forgotten because they evoke such warm memories. They're comfort food, the type you'd like to eat on a rainy day, or when you're tired, or very hungry, or you simply want simple food that satisfies.

One of these dishes is my Mom's hamburger. The patties are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, flavourful and above all, moist. The ingredients are very simple and the magic ingredient, I believe, is that dollop of mayonnaise. When I was a child, we used to eat this with a sauce of native toyo (soy sauce) and calamansi (a small, native Philippine lime).

Now I serve it to my kids at breakfast, lunch or dinner, sans the toyo and calamansi. My children also take it to school for lunch.

I've dolled up the recipe a bit by making a mushroom cream sauce to drizzle on top or serve on the side. But most of the time, we just eat it "naked," and even without this fancy Western sauce, it tastes soooo GOOD!

Strozzapreti with Spinach, Mushrooms and Sundried Tomato

On a recent business trip to Cincinnati, I ate at an American Italian Restaurant with my friend and colleague, M. We had an antipasti of Buffalo Mozzarella, with Tomatoes and Basil. So fresh! We shared a pasta (you know how American servings are, soooo huge!), which the restaurant called as "Country Style Pasta with Brocollini," with oven dried tomatoes, garlic and white wine sauce.

When the dish arrived, the pasta looked like short strips of dough which were rolled, so that it almost looked like coils with thin ends. Then I remembered watching a food show a few months back, showing two old Italian grandmothers, hand rolling these pasta, which are actually called strozzapreti. Strozzapreti literally means "Priest Strangler!" Why? Check out the interesting story behind the unique name here.

A few days later, on the way back to Singapore, I passed by New York City for a few days. On a visit to a Greenwich Village shop selling cheese, jams, foie gras and other deli items, lo and behold, I saw strozzapreti there and bought some!

Inspired by that dish at that American Italian restaurant, I've recreated my version of the dish here, Strozzapreti with Spinach, Mushrooms and Sundried Tomato, especially dedicated to my Pinoy friend M, now a Cincinnati resident.

This is a vegetarian version but you can easily turn it into a non-vegetarian one by adding some sausages. Or even bacon.

Spaghettini with Roe, Dill & Smoked Salmon

It's Good Friday, so no meat allowed for Christians. Here's a seafood pasta dish, that's fragrant due to the fresh dill herbs and a sprinkling of yuzu pepper. Very unique and refreshing.

Green Tea Banana & Granola Cupcakes

A lot of times, I tweak a recipe to utilise  certain ingredients I have in my pantry. I don't like wasting food, so I always watch out for stuff that needs to be used before they expire. Last weekend, I whipped up a batch of cupcakes from some soon to be unwanted ingredients from my pantry. The cupcakes are made from mashed, overripe bananas (the best for any kind of banana cakes or cupcakes!), breakfast granola, soy milk (a leftover when my husband made tofu; that's another recipe altogether), green tea powder and some chocolates a friend gave us for Christmas. So I made this:

Plus I wanted to use these very cute, girly Hello Kitty silicon cupcake holders which I bought at a recent vacation at Bangkok.

Sooooo cute, right? :)

Baked Cheesy Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage

This is like Mac & Cheese but only better. The rigatoni pasta is much bigger than macaroni, and holds more of the cheesy sauce, and the spicy sausage adds a flavour contrast to an otherwise rich dish. It's baked with flavoured breadcrumbs which makes the top crispy. Mmmmm!

Roasted Cauliflower Head

This recipe is adapted from Domenica Restaurant in New Orleans, and the recipe was featured in Epicurious magazine here. It made quite a stir and launched the lowly cauliflower to become one of  2013's "it" food.

The original dish is served with a cheese sauce (which I've tried making too), but when we eat it at home, we actually prefer it without the sauce as it is healthier. My version omits the salt and I use chicken bouillon instead, and I also add a tablespoon of mustard seeds. If you want to make it purely vegetarian, then substitute the bouillon with salt.

I love this recipe and have served it to friends, who are amazed how the mundane cauliflower can taste soooooo good!