Quinoa with Courgettes and Onions...

...not exactly an inspiring title to a vegetarian dish is it?!? But the fact that it had quinoa (one of my two fave ingredients at the moment) in it caught my eye, which is why I decided to give it a go last night for dinner...

Mexican Feast...

...we had another of our 'Dinner In' with friends last night...this time the theme was Mexican Feast Night...

Simple Roast Tomato Salsa...

...I don't like tomatoes when they are raw in salads or sandwiches, but this salsa gets you to dry roast them in a pan before using...

#4 Saturday Night...means...

...It's "Fake-Away" night...you know what I mean, a "take-away" made by you...or in this case, me...

#2 Saturday Night...means...

...It's "Fake-Away" night...you know what I mean, a "take-away" made by you...or in this case, me...

#1 Saturday Night...means...

...It's "Fake-Away" night...you know what I mean, a "take-away" made by you...or in this case, me...

Quick and Easy Quinoa "Salad"...

...Not sure if this actually qualifies as a salad...but It's very similar to those ready packaged little boxes of so-called 'salads' that supermarkets sell...you know, the ones alongside the couscous salad etc...

Mexican Madness #3...Green Rice

...This is another side dish that we'd tried at Wahaca itself...there they serve it in small earthenware pots that look really great next to the Refried Beans and Guacamole...and it's another dish that I've been meaning to make for ages!!! So I'm really pleased to say I have now done just that!!! It takes a wee bit of preparation at the start, but nothing too taxing...

Mexican Madness #2...A Simple Guacamole...

As you know from the earlier post, this Friday's menu theme was Mexican Madness...

...So to start what else could I make but Guacamole and tortilla chips...

Mexican Madness #1...Frijoles Refritos...

 So the theme for this weekends culinary delights was Mexican...

...and the five recipes I made were taken from Tomasina Miers' book 'Mexican Food Made Simple'...

The Simple Life...

...do you ever get fed up of cooking? I do...a strange thing to say for a foodie blogger type?? I don't think so...I think lots of us feel this way from time to time...


Sometimes I just feel as if I've 'had enough of food', of cooking and of eating...sometimes I crave simple dishes and meals, ones that require minimum effort, yet still use great ingredients.


Tonight was a bit like that! After the weekend of foodie heaven I just couldn't be bothered with anything rich or time consuming...so whilst at the supermarket I kept my eye open for ingredients that might take it upon themselves to tempt me!! Guess what they did!!!

Pea and Potato Samosas...

...as those of you that read all my posts know, we have had veggie friends staying this weekend...and on Friday night I made a Veggie Indian Feast for us...so far I have shared the Paneer Fritters, Saag Paneer and Raita recipes with you...well here is the next...Anjum Anand's Pea and Potato Samosas...from her Indian Food Made Easy Book...There are a few spices in the filling...all of which bar one were already in my store cupboard...

Herb and Spice Paneer Fritters...

...This is another of those recipes that I ripped out of a magazine about two years ago, but am only know getting around to trying!!!...this one comes from the Good Food Magazine dated April 2010!!!



They taste subtly herbed and spiced, with the toasted cumin seeds coming through quite well in the taste stakes...and they go well with the Cucumber and Mint Raita I made...and even better with a slightly spicy dip such as a sweet chilli or a spiced mango chutney...

Cucumber and Mint Raita...

...Mmmm cool, crisp cucumber, zingy mint and creamy yogurt...the perfect accompaniment to the Paneer Fritters and Pea and Potato Samosas...


And so very very simple to make...

Midweek Veggie Night...

...Hi guys, it's midweek (well it was when I made this meal earlier in the week!!!)...which means meat-free meal time...As I said a while ago on here, we try to eat meat-free at least once a week, but more often than not twice...I seem to recall a while ago the push for flexitarianism...where you mainly eat a veggie diet, but are pretty cool about the odd bit of meat...well we are kind of midway between that and being omnivores...in that we do like red meat (in moderation of course!!), white meat and fish...but we also eat a hell of a lot of veggies...So what are we trying to do by taking this approach to eating??? Trying to eat a balanced diet I would say, with the odd treat thrown in for good measure...Ooops...rant over...to the food...

Golden Balls of Loveliness....

...that title has got you a little curious hasn't it...no it's nothing like that!! It's arancini, that great recipe for leftover risotto...that I had never attempted until the other day!! Here is the result...