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I found this recipe while browsing food blogs just before my exams. I believe it is called procrastination:-) The idea of a vegetarian pie is very appealing, even though I love meat, meat pies are often too heavy for my liking and I’ll end up feeling guilty and full after a couple of bites (Ok so maybe after a couple of pies:-). So I’ve decided to give this a go and use up all the vegetables in the fridge. You can find the original recipe in Yumblog which also has many more yummy recipes:-)

Enjoy:-)

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

• 450 g/16 Oz White Flour
• 1 1/4 fast acting Yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp runny Honey
• 50 ml light Olive Oil
• 260 ml warm Water

I always wanted to try cooking Moussaka at home but I was worried It may not be as good as the restaurant food and I’ll end up disappointed! However once I found some wonderful and fresh aubergines in the shop, I knew I had to give it a try and it was wonderful.

There are many different recipes for Moussaka and I modified mine a bit in order to reduce the amount of fat and make it slightly light without compromising the flavour. I was very happy with the final results and it tasted very much like the ones I had before.

Enjoy:-)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium Onions, finely chopped
• 2 medium Potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
• 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely
• 500 g/ 17.5 Oz lean Lamb/ Beef, minced
• 2 tbsp Tomato puree
• 400 g/ 14 Oz can of chopped Tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder
• 2 tbsp chopped Oregano
• 3 large Aubergines, peeled and sliced
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 50 g/ 1.7 Oz Butter
• 75 g/ 2.6 Oz plain Flour
• 600 ml Milk
• 4 tbsp light Olive Oil
• 50 g/ 1.7 Oz Parmesan, grated
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
• Salt and Pepper

I was watching Market Kitchen the other day and came across this recipe. It looked very easy to do and looked delicious. I also happened to have all the ingredients at the time so decided to give it a try for dinner. It turned out lovely and as expected was very easy to do. You can search for the original recipe on Market Kitchen site but this is quite similar to the original.

Enjoy:-)

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken breasts, Skin-less, cut into strips
• 50 ml White wine (I used medium white)
• 40-60 ml Double Cream
• 1 tbsp chopped Tarragon
• 1 tsp English Mustard
• 2 tbsp light Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Although not a big fan of oven baked fish, this mackerel recipe from Anjum Anand, definitely changed my mind about it. I grow up eating fried fish almost all year around and therefore have my reservations about fish being cooked any other way. However, frying fish is a messy business these days. Without a garden and proper out door cooker -like the one my Dad used- we would almost risk eviction from our apartment if make a habit of frying fish:-)

The picture in Anjum’s book of this stuffed mackerel with gorgeous Indian spices looked so inviting that I had to try it and I was not disappointed. I used fish fillets rather than whole fish and placed the stuffing over the fillet. Anjum uses garlic and ginger paste in most of her recipes but I used fresh garlic and ginger instead as I was out of the paste. Served with freshly cooked Saffron rice, it made a delicious week night supper and one that I would definitely try again:-)

Ingredients:

• 2 Mackerel fillets
• 1 medium Onion, sliced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp grated Ginger
• 1 large Tomato, chopped
• 2 tsp Lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper

I love onion bhaji but have never tried to cook it before until I cam across a recipe on Jeenas kitchen for baked bhaji and gave it a shot. These are very easy to make and taste good too without all the oil of deep fried bhajis.

Ingredients:

• 3 large Onions, sliced
• 3 tbsp Flour
• 1 tbsp Tomato pure dissolved in 100 ml boiling water
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground Coriander
• 1/4 tsp Chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp Ginger
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• Salt

I have resisted the temptation of adding sour cream or double cream to this soup in following my dairy-less 28 days diet. The soup, however, is tasty in addition to being healthy and if you love butternut squash as much as I do, you will love it:-)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 medium Onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves Garlic, chopped finely
• 2 medium Carrots, cut into cubes
• 1.2 litres/5 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil

I have never cooked with butter bean before as I am not a big fan of beans in general but this can of butter bean was sitting for ages in my cupboard and I knew I just had to do something with it. I used it in this dish with spinach and coconut cream and it worked well as it gives a lot of texture to the curry and is a good substitute for chickpeas.

Enjoy:-)

 Ingredients:

• 400 g/14 oz. can of chopped Tomatoes
• 250 g/8 oz. Spinach
• 1 large Onion, sliced
• 2 cloves Garlic, chopped finely
• 200 g/7 oz. can of Butter Bean, drained and peeled
• 150 ml/5 oz. Coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp Curry powder
• 1 small Green Chili, deseeded and chopped finely
• a pinch of Cardamom
• Salt
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil