Chickpeas, Carrots, Courgettes and Snap Peas

I spent the last nine days in London and had the pleasure of seeing many friends for the first time in years. We don't travel through London regularly, so it has been eight years since my husband and I were there together. Most of my friends asked about this blog, since my food blogging was at its peak when we were living in London and I was cooking for them. My change in job has led me to blog very little these last few years, but I still enjoy cooking (and eating) healthy food.

While in London I bought the new Yotam Otoolenghi cookbook, Simple. I have cooked several Ottolenghi recipes before -- they were delicious and inventive, though not simple. The recipes in this new cookbook contain fewer ingredients, are more quickly produced, and are easier to make ahead. I am really excited about trying out many recipes!

I arrived home and had to rustle up some food for myself (Anthony is staying on to work in London another few days). This meal was inspired by a recipe from the new book, but the welcome-home emptiness of the fridge meant that most of the ingredients were substitutes.

Chipotle Beef-Topped Portobello Mushrooms

Please excuse the quick kitchen counter photo. But I wanted to share this brilliant dinner. It's a portobello mushroom topped with chipotle beef chilli and vintage cheddar cheese.

After mananging to do some meal planning recently, I have been able to actually cook from a recipe instead of throwing together whatever I can find in the fridge each night. This dinner is from Weeknight Wonders by Ellie Krieger. It's nice to pick this cookbook up again after many months away from any serious cooking.

Coffee and Chilli Steak Salad

I"m a people pleaser at heart. It's a feature, and a flaw. I guess in cooking, it's more of a positive! My husband certainly appreciates that I have honoured him by not becoming a vegetarian.

In general, I find meat boring. I don't enjoy the taste, and that, together with the environmental impact and the cost, leads me to not prioritise it in my thinking. However, I keep making meals with meat as a way of pleasing my husband. And thankfully, over the years we've been married I've learned to cook meat in ways that both of us find interesting.

This salad makes us both very happy. Raw spinach is my favourite food and steak is his. The steak is crusted in a mixture of coffee grounds, chilli powder, smokey paprika, and cumin. The cooking time is short and so this made a fast weeknight dinner. It uses a single steak and made enough for three salads (his, hers, and one lunch).

Pumpkin Pasta with Walnuts and Lemon

This unusual dish caught my eye because of the combination of ingredients I wouldn't have thought went together: walnuts, pumpkin, cream, sage, and citrus zest. I can perhaps imagine putting three of these things together (pumpkin, cream, and sage, maybe; or walnuts, pumpkin, and sage) but all of them at once sounded delicious.

Combinations like this characterise Yottam Ottolenghi's recipes for me. They are unexpected puzzle pieces that you suddenly know will fit together perfectly into an incredible dish.

Beer and Beef Skillet Stew

Thanks to Ellie Krieger, I have discovered how to make a quick dinner that resembles stew. Real stew, like the kind my Grammie makes, takes hours. I do not have that time on weeknights.... Let's be honest, I don't often have that time on weekends, either. To make a quick version, here are four easy steps.

Easy Ideas for How to Eat Grain-Free

Over the last two years I have transitioned from a pretty normal Western diet to eating grain-free. I discovered that my body functions better without grains. I did some two week elimination tests in order to come to this conclusion. For me, avoiding wheat is the most important, but I also don't eat oats, barley, rice, and corn. From time to time I eat a bit of rice or corn because they affect me the least.

Many people seem to be coming to the same conclusion as me. If this is you, or you are curious, here are some hints.

Beans with Sausages, Bacon, and Poached Eggs

My husband loves sausages, bacon, and all other pork products. A few years ago I took this picture of him.

I knew that he would love this Donna Hay recipe:

• simmered borlotti and kidney beans with soft onions, rosemary, and thyme;
• sausages wrapped with bacon and then baked;
• all topped with poached eggs.

This is a pork-lover's dream! It reminds me of an English breakfast, but much more posh.

Loaded Hummus Plate

It was my pick at Eating with Ellie this week and I selected a recipe from Ellie Krieger's cookbook for this loaded hummus plate. A good homemade hummus should be in every cook's repertoire; it's a revelation compared to supermarket hummus. Here's a classic hummus recipe of mine. I also like cauliflower hummus!

Chicken with Lemon Potatoes

I recently made this simple dish for dinner. It's so easy because the chicken and potatoes are all cooked together in one large frying pan. The recipe is here on the Donna Hay website.

First the chicken is browned in some oil. Then wine, stock, and lemon juice are added, thinly sliced potatoes and sprigs of thyme are thrown in, and it simmers away until everything is cooked. See, simple.

Tuna and Kidney Bean Patties

What to eat when the fridge is almost empty? I have discovered that these tuna and kidney bean patties can be made with pantry ingredients and one egg. You just need a can of tuna (or salmon) and a can of kidney beans (or chickpeas, or cannellini beans, or pinto beans). Mix them up!

Pad Thai Salad

I like Thai food because of its fresh flavours. I love the zesty lime, crisp carrots and bean sprouts, and the crunchy peanuts.

As I was making this pad Thai salad I realised that it's actually quite similar to the coleslaw with which I grew up in Canada - the base is just shredded vegetables. Then there's a sauce and some add-ins. (And almost all of my cooking has a formula not unlike this.)

As I was slicing the mint and basil for the pad Thai, my mind was constructing this table. Suddenly the superiority of pad Thai salad over coleslaw became obvious!

Carrot and Cashew Soup

I was intrigued by this soup recipe in which the cashews are blended into a carrot soup. It reminds me of things my vegan friends do. Cashews seem to do everything creamy in the vegan world. For example, my friend Michael blends it up to make cheese as the basis for cheesecake. Also, he blends up cashews with water and vanilla extract to make a cream for breakfast parfaits. Cashews can be made to make ranch dressing. So why not use cashews in soup? You don't have to be a vegan to enjoy new uses for an ingredient!

Beef with Parley Pesto and Sauteed Vegetables

People are always asking me how I eat complete meals with no carbohydrates. First, I answer by pointing out that vegetables are carbohydrates, and actually I only avoid starchy carbs such as pasta, bread, and grains. Secondly, I make meals like this: full of veg and filling, too, thanks to the protein and fats.

Herb Salad with Goat's Cheese

I am terrible at using up the herbs that I buy in little plastic packets. And I am annoyed at myself for this. Often I will buy a pack of mint or parsley or coriander to use with a specific meal. Then I put the remaining herbs away thinking they will be just the things to sprinkle over a meal in a day or two. But then I forget. Later I realise I have a pack of leaves where half of them are already past using and the rest should maybe--no, definitely--be used right now.

Zucchini Noodles with Rocket, Lemon, and Capers

People are always asking me how I eat so many vegetables. Today I am going to share with you one of my tricks. I adapted this pasta recipe from a published Donna Hay recipe. Regular readers already know one trick that I used: I replaced the spaghetti with zucchini (courgette) noodles. But today I want to talk about another trick.

Pork Banh Mi Lettuce Cups

Anthony and I spent a weekend in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam a couple of years ago. Today's Eating with Ellie recipe is Vietnamese Pork Banh Mi sandwiches, and it brought back memories of our trip.

Tandoori Chicken Wraps

Think about the sensory perception involved in eating tandoori chicken wraps. You smell the spices and the ripe tomatoes. You can see the many colours and the steam coming off the chicken. You hear the lettuce rustling when you put your fingers in for a handful. And you feel the filling inside the flexible wrap when you're eating it. You taste the many flavours one at a time as you munch your dinner.

Pumpkin and Sage Pasta

I was at the Singapore National Museum last week and I saw these watches on display. They are designed by Hanson Ho and Matteo Colella. The placard said that the watches explore "the relationship between the quantitative and qualitative aspects of time." The hour, minute, and second hands are all the same length. This "allows for both the absolute and arbitrary reading of time, catering to the needs of the various contexts and situations."

Pan-Fried Threadfin with Pine Nut Brown Butter

When I started blogging (on my personal blog) way back in 2004, there was only person who read it--my best friend; she started blogging first and we were doing it to keep in touch. After a while a few others started reading my blog, too, first my parents, then some friends.

In time I realised that I wanted to blog mostly about home cooking. So I started Simply Cooked in 2009 and imported all my cooking-related posts from my personal blog. And now there are more readers than my best friend and my parents! (I'm up to 15000 pageveiws a month, actually, so thanks for reading!!) I feel blessed to be able to share ideas with you, thoughtful bloggers and readers.

Dukkah Roasted Chicken with Tahini Yogurt

Would you rather have a live-in massage therapist, or a live-in chef, or a live-in cleaner? I'm quite happy to do my own cooking. But cleaning--oh yes! I would rather leave that to someone else. And a live-in masseuse! Wow, wouldn't that be amazing?

There is a little shopfront near me that does neck and shoulder massage while you sit (face forward) in a chair. I have bought a little package of time that I can redeem in 15 minute blocks. After work from time to time I wander over and get 30 minutes of neck and shoulder rubbing. It is amazing. After my first visit, the therapist struggled with my tense muscles. She said, "You should come back again next week." I giggled. Sign me right up.