incipient

Practicing with the trusty little Rebel, courtesy (and with prior permission) of the Organic Foods & Cafe here in Dubai.

Jamie Oliver’s “The Easiest Sexiest Salad in the World” from his cookbook, Happy Days with the Naked Chef. My husband put this together so quickly + I was anxious to eat it = me going ahhhh well any photo will do… bon appétit!

A mildly spicy stir fry (even one made as lovingly as this) just isn’t the same for me without oyster mushrooms. Either the grocery stores I frequent have been out stock for a long time or I just have terrible, terrible timing (could definitely be the latter). Whilst trying to figure out if there is a season for them I came across the Wiki for oyster mushrooms which says they are “one of the few known carnivorous mushrooms. Its mycelia can kill and digest nematodes, which is believed to be a way in which the mushroom obtains nitrogen.” Odd? Slightly. Delicious and still wanted? Yes and yes.

MmMm. I’m all about super easy cooking and baking. And Aunt Gail’s Lemon Bars from Atlantis Home definitely live up to that claim. Now to try and sort out the perfect cup of (iced) tea…

With recipes like zucchini fritters featured on gorgeous blogs like Atlantis Home, I can’t help but daydream about having a garden. Anyone up to their ears in zucchini is lucky! My fritters ended up way too big, but delish nonetheless. Next time I make them I might try adding more egg/flour/baking powder so they hold together better.

Also very yummy, and cooked perfectly according to a certain (and beloved) texture-conscious eater in my life, was the recipe for carrots with cream and herbs in The Newlyweds’ Cookbook (Ryland Peters & Small). I know – we definitely don’t count as newlyweds anymore. But it’s still a beautiful collection of easy, modern and traditional recipes. And so far, it works really quite well for non-cooks like me.