Borscht

Update: Submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging #199 (hosted by Mele Cotte)

Time to be honest: I'm not a big fan of brothy soups. I prefer my soups thick and smooth. The need for chewing should be minimal. That's not to say I don't like a brothy soup every now and again (can anyone say miso?), but they generally don't form part of my top ten, soup-wise. And apologies to my Eastern European counterparts, but a soup consisting of cabbage and beetroot chunks floating in a thin broth really didn't sound too appealing.

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Elrieta's Super-Moist Chocolate Cake

Deliciously moist and nutty chocolate cake baked by the lovely Elrieta. Check out the flower as decoration!

Pimentos Relleños (Stuffed Peppers)

When I saw that Blazing Hot Wok's Regional Recipes Roundup for September was Spain, I knew I had to participate this time. I'd discovered her site a few weeks ago, but wasn't going to be able to make it for the last round-up (China), due to some time and budget constraints. You know the drill. 

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Nachos, My Way

Nachos. Na-chos. Even the word sounds stuff-it-in-your-mouth-able. Doesn't it? Sure, it isn't the healthiest meal you can whip up, but sometimes only a plate of crunchy tortilla chips drenched with toppings and gooey cheese will do the trick. The best part for me is that string of melted cheese when you pick up the first chip. And when you take that first crunchy-spicy-cheesy bite? Man you know that belly-bliss is not far off. Arrrrrriba!

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Spaghetti a la Carbonara

One mouthful and I was addicted. I can't believe I'd never had it before Wednesday - of course I'm talking about that silky-smooth-richness that is carbonara sauce.

The venue: Primi Piatti.
The diners: myself, TheHusband and my parents.
The verdict: OhMyGoodnessIHaveBeenMissingOutWhyDidn'tAnyoneTellMeAboutThis?

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Mango Lemongrass Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Lemongrass is one of those ingredients that most people tend to give the evil side-eye to in the supermarket. Surely a squeeze of fresh lemon would give the same flavour and is much easier? 

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Silky Aubergine with Asian Flavours

I didn't believe Jamie Oliver when he said that steamed aubergine was a fantastic thing. In my mind it couldn't be anything else but mushy and rather flavourless. Surely it needed to be fried in oil or at least roasted in the oven with a drizzle of oil to be properly appreciated?

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Lamb, Spinach and Butternut Pilaf

Not a lot of cooking went down this past longweekend. 


First we moved some stuff into storage space, then had a birthday party on Saturday evening, a braai (barbecue for the non-South Africans) on Sunday with friends and yesterday afternoon my parents surprised us with a visit all the way from Durban on the other side of the country.

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Moroccan Lentil & Spinach Soup

I really like the Taste.com site - they have some amazing recipes on there, you can search by different criteria and the ingredients are usually easy to find. OH! And they promote winter recipes in our winter, unlike the other (mostly American) sites out there who live on the opposite hemisphere and leave me wanting with all their fresh salads in our coldest months. 

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Peppermint Crisp Cupcakes

 
For Andri who was the inspiration behind this cupcake. Thanks for an awesome idea!

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Chickpea, Carrot & Currant Salad

So after all the soups and potato bakes and cupcakes, it was time for something a little lighter (and healthier), right? Right? And since I didn't have a lot of time to prepare a meal before our weekly dance lesson (yes, TheHusband and I are taking ballroom lessons and enjoying it a lot!), a quick salad fit the bill perfectly. The folks over at Fitsugar provided the recipe (adapted slightly by yours truly), and we provided the eager hungry tummies. It works out well, you see?

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Oreo Cupcakes

And so my cupcake obsession continues....

I stumbled across an awesome post for oreo cupcakes, and it had a picture of the cupcake from the bottom, and you could see the oreo cookie peeking through the wrapper and my mouth started to water, but alas, I did not bookmark the post (don't you just hate it when that happens?).

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