Seared beef & papaya salad with tamarind soy dressing

Couple of days ago was the first day I really felt like the winter had arrived - it was cold, grey, rainy and windy. And that got me thinking back to last year. I was in the UK getting ready to visit my friend in Norway and then heading to my parents'. Usually when I get the wintery feeling I want to stuff myself with warming soup or a lovely stew, but for some reason I just felt like fooling myself into thinking that it's not winter at all. I wanted to have something fresh, light and that would take me back to South-East Asia.

As I was flicking through the last copy of my BBC Good Food magazine I came across this salad and I knew immediately that it was just what I needed. So the next day I headed headed out to buy all the ingredients. I made two portions of this lovely salad and had one straight away with beef still hot and had the second portion for lunch the day after and it was equally good.

I love the fact that it was a nice change from the usual salads - tomato, cucumber, salad leaves and then either chicken or salmon. Further, sometimes when it's dark and grey something colourful, fruity and zingy is all one needs to feel better and more full of energy. So if you want a lovely pick-me-up salad or just crave a light but filling dinner or want something different for your packed lunch then this is the perfect choice.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)
- 2 x 150g sirloin steaks
- Olive oil
- 100g baby spinach
- 2 papayas, deseeded and sliced
- 1 small pack of coriander
- 1 small pack of mint
- 1 tsp lazy chillies

For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp tamaring puree
- 1/2 tsp grated garlic
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 1/2 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- pinch of chilli flakes

Directions
Season the steak with salt and pepper. Heat a pan with the oil and fry the steaks for 2 mins each side and then put aside and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Mix the dressing ingredients together with 1 tablespoon of water until the sugar is dissolved. I used a very small jar with a screw on lid for mixing the dressing. Arrange the spinach, beed, papaya, herbs, cucumber and chilli on a plate. Pour the dressing on the salad and enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food January 2014 magazine

Butternut squash & sage soup

My recent inactivity regarding posting is not because I have forgotten about my blog and my dear readers, but more to do with the fact that as the winter has arrived I resort to making a huge batch of soup, then freezing it and defrosting it as and when needed. Needless to say that it takes me quite some time to get though a whole batch of soup and, maybe more embarrassingly, I have treated myself to my all time favourite soups: tomato & basil soup and butternut squash soup. So I finally managed to rid myself of all the soup and when it came to preparing something to eat for the rest of this week I decided to give another soup a chance.

I have to confess that I still haven't gotten over my fascination with butternut squash and therefore when I set out to find a new recipe I knew what the main ingredient was going to be. Apart from the fact that butternut squash soups are so lovely in colour, pureed squash is nice and creamy - I can almost go as far to say that butternut squash soups (in various different forms) are a real comfort food for me. Nothing gets rid of the cold and damp feeling better than a hot bowl of soup served with a toasted bread. And the fact that vegetable soups in general are good for the waistline is just an added bonus!

While I was making this huge (this one is 8 servings) batch of soup on a cold Sunday afternoon, the aromas the filled the flat were absolutely amazing. Firstly the long frying of onions and chopped sage and then when the soup was simmering... I takes relatively little time to make this soup and that can be halved if you buy ready prepared butternut squash. It makes a lovely starter as it is not too rich to have, but at the same time it's a lovely warming and filling soup on its own and makes a perfect lunch or dinner, especially during wintertime. I've frozen most of it and will defrost during the week just by taking out the portion in the morning and leaving it on the counter and it will be nicely defrosted by dinnertime. All in all, it's a lovely dish and a nice change from my "usuals", easy to make, and most importantly warm and filling enough to get you through the dark winter evenings.

Ingredients

(Serves 8)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped sage
- 1.4kg peeled and deseeded butternut squash
- 1 tbsp clear honey
- 1 1/2 vegetable stock
- Salt, to season
- Pepper, to season

Directions
Firstly melt the oil and butter in a large saucepan and add the onions and sage and cook on a low heat until they're really soft for around 15 minutes. Then add the squash and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the honey and stock and bring to simmer. Cook until the squash is tender (approximately 15minutes).

Blend the soup into a smooth puree using a handheld mixer and season to taste. Place the soup in a bowl, decorate with a sage leaf (I used deep fried crispy sage leaves) and enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food

Salmon with celeriac gratin & green beans

I am a huge fan of salmon and want to constantly incorporate more of it into my menu. So, whenever I see an interesting recipe with it I want to try it out as quickly as possible. When I flicked through my October copy of BBC Good Food magazine and saw this recipe I marked the page immediately. But as usual, it took me quite some time to get around to making it, but I can proudly say that I've made it twice already (once without the gratin) and fell further in love with the way this tastes like.

I have to admit that I'm not that keen on the celeriac gratin, but I think that the fact that this was the first time I've had celeriac in such a form might have had something to do with my opinion of it. Or maybe it's because I'm very used to eating potatoes with my salmon that I just found it slightly out of place. Nevertheless, the taste was interesting and I would definitely give it another shot when I'll make it again.

Salmon with the whole-grain mustard coating is a totally different story! I fell in love with it. I love the way the mustard adds so much flavour to the salmon and balances out its richness. Here I have to take a second and thank this blog as it is the sole reason I now eat mustard - all thanks to the honey-mustard chicken that I made to push myself further in trying to find new recipes to post. The second time I made it I used a whole chunk of salmon, rather than individual fillets, and my dad who usually doesn't eat salmon at all helped himself to a second portion!

If you leave aside the celeriac gratin, this dish is very easy and quick to cook and requires very little preparation. And even if you make it with the gratin, one of the beauties of it is the fact that you put it in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes and then can do other things in the meantime. So, if you want to try out an amazing new way of cooking salmon and want something tasty, filling and warming, this is definitely something to try.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)
- 400g celeriac, peeled
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- Fresh thyme
- Grated nutmeg
- 2 salmon fillets
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 250g green beans

Directions
Heat the oven to 180C fan/200C. Slice the celeriac as thinly as you can and find a baking dish that would fit all of it in. Add a layer of celeriac, sprinkle with garlic, thyme and seasoning and repeat the layers finishing on a celeriac layer. Mix the stock cube with 230ml of boiling water, season with nutmeg and pour over the celeriac. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When the gratin has 15 minutes to go, place the salmon on a baking sheet, cover with mustard (add some salt and pepper if you wish - I find that mustard on it's own is enough) and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the green beans. When everything is ready, arrange on a plate and enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food magazine October 2013

Egg white omelette with feta & sundried tomatoes

I once again try to go unnoticed in the law library as I put up this post, feeling slightly guilty that I'm using my study time to do that. The good news is that I will finally get my internet up and running this Friday so there should be no more long pauses between my posts. I have to admit that the month or so that I've been without internet access at home (I still get my emails through to my phone and stuff so I haven't been totally cut off from the world) I have been incredibly productive with my studies. I literally have been so bored that there's nothing else to do apart studying. But in all honesty, I'm happy my time without internet is coming to an end. 

In the meantime I have prepared a handful of dishes that I'm dying to share with you. I always feel that during weekends (or when I have mornings off) I have a nice reason to treat myself to a lovely breakfast instead of just making something quickly and eating it even faster. One of the things that I've wanted to try for quite some time was an egg white omelette. I'm a huge fan of omelettes for breakfast and to me they are something that one should eat slowly, savouring every bite. But as I'm usually in quite a hurry in the mornings, the idea of chopping things up is out of the question. As I had a Friday off a week or so ago I finally got around making the omelette. 

What I really love about this omelette is that it kept me full until lunchtime and I did not get any cravings. In addition, it is simple and relatively quick to make and can be adjusted to any tastes. Have it whatever cheese, veggies or meat you want and you are guaranteed a warm satisfying breakfast. I was tiny bit afraid of just using egg whites, mainly because I thought it would end up as a runny and soggy egg mass, but to my pleasant surprise everything looked very presentable (hence the reason it's going up here). So if you're looking for a tasty and filling breakfast and want to try out something new, give this one a go. Feel free to change the ingredients, load it up with different vegetables or serve with some crusty bread instead of the salad. But I can promise you that even if you don't change anything, this one is still a treat. 

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

- 100g egg whites

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 5 sundried tomatoes, chopped

- 50g Feta, crumbled

- Handful of basil, chopped and some to serve

- Handful of mixed salad leaves

- Black pepper, to serve

Directions

First chop up the tomatoes and basil, crumble the Feta and mix all together. Heat the oil in the pan and add the egg whites. When they start turning opaque add the mix on top of. Once it is almost done, roll the omelette and fry it on each side for another minute or so until cooked thoroughly. Serve immediately with a handful of mixed salad leaves and some freshly ground black pepper.

Courgette & Feta penne

Dear friends, first of all I'd like to apologise (again) for disappearing from my blog for a bit. But believe it or not, this time I have a decent excuse - I've been very busy moving from one continent to another and in addition to all the errands I've had to run I started the last bit of my legal education last Monday so my days have been full of trying to get everything ready. Also, I won't have internet at home until late October so it's quite tricky to get the posts up in the library without getting evil looks for not studying, so I finally found out where the closest public library is and signed up for that. But enough of the excuses and on to the food.

Last week I had a very dear friend of mine over from Estonia with her boyfriend so eating together took priority over making them wait until I take the photos for my blog, with the exception of our last dinner together. To finish the week off we decided it would be a great idea to have pasta, especially as we'd had chicken, fish and beef during the previous days. And as the autumn has arrived properly we opted for a very hearty dish - the moment I opened my pasta cookbook and found a pasta recipe with courgette in it that I had bookmarked ages ago we had to look no further, especially as courgettes are in season at the moment. 

One of the big perks of cooking from scratch at home is that the house (or flat in my case) is filled with divine aromas. Most of the stuff that I've made, especially the cakes, leave the flat smelling nice but I have to admit that this dish probably created the best smell I've ever had whilst cooking something savoury. Firstly the sizzling courgettes in olive oil, then the aromas of garlic (you either love it or hate it) and to top it all of some lovely white wine (I used Pinot Grigio). After it was done simmering for 10 minutes of so the whole flat smelled so lovely - very hearty and autumn like. Now add to that slightly salty Feta, aged parmesan and some wholemeal pasta and what you get is an amazing (and quick!) dinner to help you get through those cold and dark autumn nights. Serve with a glass of crispy white wine and you're all set for a lovely evening at home.

Ingredients
(Serves 3-4)
- 300g wholewheat pasta (I used Penne)
- 2 smallish courgettes
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 100ml white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
- 200g Feta
- Fresh basil, to serve
- Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve
- Garlic bread, to serve

Directions
Firstly wash and slice the courgettes. Then heat the oil in the pan and fry the courgette on both sides until golden brown. Add crushed garlic and fry for another couple of minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer for 10 minutes. In the meantime cook the pasta in salted water, strain it and place back in the pot. Chop up the Feta and basil and add to the pasta. When the courgettes are done add them in as well, then mix well and serve with a generous amount of Parmesan.

Recipe inspired by the Penne suvekōrvitsa ja Ricottaga in "Pastaraamat"

Red lentil, chickpea and chilli soup

I have to confess that I really thought that I could escape the autumn feeling by spending my last two weeks of summer holiday in Singapore. But I was so wrong - for the past couple of days the weather has been horrible. It literally has been pouring down rain all the time (not to mention the occasional thunder in the mornings) and I haven't seen the sun in days. I guess my plan to get a nice and glowing tan before heading back to the UK has failed miserably. The reason that I'm talking about the weather is that for some weird reason plays a huge part in what I decide to make for dinner. Salads just don't seem to fit the bill for those grey and rainy days and I think that stews are a bit too wintery so that's left me with lovely soups. They warm you up, they're not too heavy and they're so-so tasty.

After having my usual tomato soup and butternut squash soup I really felt that it was time to try out something new for a change. I flicked through some of my Good Food magazines and found this soup. I obviously couldn't locate the right magazine when I wanted to make it again but thankfully it was up on their website. As I said, I've made it twice already as it was a huge hit with my other half - he loves that it is really filling and slightly spicy (the second batch came out a bit too spicy for me but the Greek yogurt helped to balance it out for me). For me this soup was a nice change from the usual smooth puree soups as I left it a bit chunky and the chickpeas really went well with the rest of the soup.

A lovely Middle-Eastern flavoured soup that is guaranteed to keep you full and tingle your tastebuds. And as I've discovered, nothing goes nicer with soups than some lovely toasted bread!

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- Large pinch of chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 140g red split lentils
- 850ml vegetable stock
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 a can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped (plus some for serving)
- 4 tbsp Greek yogurt, to serve

Directions
First dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes until fragrant. Then add the oil and onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils, stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Simmer it for 15 minutes.

Blend the soup into a rough puree, pour back into the pot and add the chickpeas. Heat gently, season well and stir in the coriander. Serve with a generous dollop of Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food

Simple Feta salad

I know it's almost September and kids in most countries have started or will shortly start school again and that kind of me has always meant that the summer is over and autumn has begun. However, as I still have my last 3 weeks off I refuse to recognise the fact that the summer's over and thus it's still ok to have fresh salads and and BBQ. And so I made myself a lovely salad for lunch, keen on enjoying the last few weeks of summer.

I have to admit that this is the first time I've ever used French vinaigrette. I'm usually not big on drizzling anything on my salads as most of the salads that I've tried have just been soaked in oil. However, having tried a similar salad at a barbecue a couple of days ago I just had to give it a shot at home and I have to say I was very happy with the result I achieved.

I love the fact that Feta gives the salad the nice saltiness and also it makes it more filling - let's face it, mere salad leaves and fresh vegetables won't keep anyone full for long enough. For extra goodness I added a couple of spoonfuls of different seeds and in addition to the fibre and vitamins, seeds add a lovely bit of different texture to the salad. All in all, easy to make and bound to be a crowd pleaser no matter whether served as a main or a side. Feel free to use different seeds, different salad leaves and add different veg - one of the beauties of salads is that you can modify them to suit your taste without much of an hassle.

Ingredients
(Makes 2 mains or 4 sides)
- Bag of mixed salad leaves
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 125g Feta cheese, cubed
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2-3 tbsp French vinaigrette
- Fresh pepper, to serve

Place all the ingredients in a big bow, pour over the vinaigrette, mix well,  season with pepper and serve immediately.

White chocolate & blueberry cheesecake

I am currently visiting my parents in Estonia and it is nearly impossible to stay over and not make a cheesecake (or two). Although my mum was insisting that I'd make the classic one, I really wanted to try out something new and different. And to my pleasant surprise I made such a good choice that she said that she likes this even more than the other one!

This is slightly different from the other cheesecakes I've made as it uses curd cream (this is the one I used). Curd cream is something I've only seen in Estonia and I know it's available in Scandinavia, the Baltics and Russia as well, but if you don't have curd cream, use ricotta instead.

I love trying out new cheesecakes and have to say that they make a lovely summery dessert, even though they're quite heavy. The fact that you can have berries and the cake is served chilled makes up for the heaviness. This cake is really simple to make and takes a lot less work than the ones I usually make. On top of that the blueberries go so well with the creamy vanilla cake that it just melts in your mouth. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the white chocolate didn't make it too sweet and you can just barely taste it. All in all, a lovely summery dessert that's guaranteed to go down a treat.

Ingredients
(Serves 12/16)
Base:
- 300g Digestive biscuits
- 150g butter

Filling:
- 500g Philadelphia cream cheese
-  380g vanilla curd cream (quark cream)
- 1 dl sugar
- 2 dl flour
- 1,5 tsp vanilla sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 dl cream
- 200g white chocolate
- 2 dl blueberries

Directions
First preheat the oven to 175C and line a round springform tin with baking paper. Then prepare the base. Crush the digestive biscuits and melt the butter. Mix together and press into the baking tin. Bake for 10 minutes and then set aside.

To make the filling, whip the cream cheese and curd cream. Then add sugar, flour and vanilla sugar. Add the eggs one by one and finally add in the cream. Melt the white sugar in a bain marie and add into the filling mixture.

Pour the mixture on top of the base, top it off with blueberries, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then leave it in the oven for another 30 minutes with the door open. After that place in the fridge and chill properly before serving.

Steak, roasted pepper & pearl barley salad

As most of you know I'm a huge fan of BBC Good Food and have recently discovered their magazine. I know it's more convenient to browse the recipes online, but nothing beats real magazines. I don't know what it is, but I really prefer flicking through pages to scrolling down. And its the same when it comes to books - I love the feeling of reading a real proper book rather than looking at a screen. I know it more convenient (and a lot cheaper) to have all the books and recipes in one place but I honestly can't see myself doing away with "real" books and magazines any time soon.

So, as it usually goes after I get my new copy of BBC Good Food - I flick through it wanting to try basically every other recipe in there and then kind of just forgetting about them. And then one day I was tidying home and came across the July copy and as I flicked through this recipe stood out once again. I have to admit that it was partly due to curiosity that I chose to try it as I have never cooked barley before and I really wanted to know how it tastes like and what I can do with it.

I was really happy with how the salad came out - healthy, filling and so tasty that my other half (who is not a salad person) told me that I can make it again. I guess it had something to do with the juicy steak on top of it ... It is a lovely mid-week meal and is perfect for lunch or dinner. I also think it would be perfect for a dinner party - double the quantity and voila! You have a lovely dish to share. And one of the best bits about is that it is so quick and easy to make.

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 85g pearl barley
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
- 1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300g lean steak
- 50g watercress, chopped
- Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions
Firstly put the pearl barley in a pan of water, bring to boil and boil for around 30 minutes or until tender. When it's done transfer it to a bowl.

While the barley is boiling, heat the oven to 200C / 180C fan. Put the peppers on a baking tray with the onions and pour over the olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Then it's time to cook the steak (make sure you take it out of the fridge approximate 1 hour before cooking). Generously season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides and rub both sides with olive oil. Heat a non-stick pan and when it's hot, cook the steaks on both sides around 3-4 minutes (or depending how well you like it done). Set the steak aside to rest for around five minutes.

In the meantime, add the roasted peppers and watercress to the pearl barley. Mix it well, mix in the lemon juice and put on a plate. Slice up the steak and place on top of the barley. Enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine (Asian Edition) July 2013

Steak sandwich

This is in my opinion the most manly meal I've ever wrote a post about - a proper steak sandwich. And I'm sure I'm not wrong in saying that it is probably every meat eating man's dream. I find that there's something really manly about eating steak - maybe it's the whole caveman thing in a more modern angle.

We have a couple of steaks at home that need to be eaten before we leave for Vietnam this weekend and I started it by making a lovely steak wrap for my other half for yesterday brunch. And then suddenly inspiration hit me - I should make him a steak sandwich instead. And I wanted to make him a proper steak sandwich and thus I found myself making bread a couple of hours later as I really wanted all of it to have a lovely home made feel to it. And I must say I was not disappointed with the outcome.

Apart from baking the bread and letting the steak come up to room temperature the whole thing was really easy to put together. And by all means use some nice and fresh bread or bread rolls from a bakery - had I been short of time that would have been exactly what I would have done.

I really love the rustic look and feel of those sandwiches. And you should have seen my significant other's eyes when he saw them when I was taking photos. That was pure happiness. So here you go - a juicy filling homemade lunch which is guaranteed to go down a treat.

Ingredients
(Makes 2 sandwiches)
- 4 slices of bread (I used this)
- 200g steak
- Butter
- Lettuce
- 1/2 tomato, sliced
- 4 tsp mustard
- 2 gherkins
- Salt, pepper to season
- Olive oil

Directions
Start by taking the steak out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking in order to allow the steak to come to room temperature before cooking it. When the time has passed, heat up a non-stick pan. In the meantime season both sides generously with salt and pepper and then rub the steak with some olive oil. When the pan is hot, place the stake on it and cook for a couple of minutes (this really depends on the thickness of the steak and how well do you like it cooked). Whilst the steak is cooking, spread some butter on all four slices of bread and add lettuce and tomatoes on 2 slices. Then flip the steak and cook for the same amount of time. In the meantime slice up the gherkins. When the steak is done, remove it from the pan, place on a chopping board, cover with cling film and let it rest for about 5 minutes, so the juices that concentrated in the middle of the steak could even out and result in a more flavourful and juicier steak.

So finally, slice up the steak, divide it between the sandwiches, top it off with some mustard and gherkins. Place the other slices of breads on top of it and enjoy!

Quick chicken stir-fry

I've got a couple of announcements to make before I turn to todays blog post. Firstly, I had my graduation last Thursday and as of then I'm officially Master of Laws and it feels so good to finally know that all the hard work down here in Singapore has paid off properly. Secondly, because of that I did a fair bit of travelling over the last two weeks as I my sister came down here so unfortunately I've been unable to make any posts. And lastly, I think I should just give you guys a small heads-up with regards to my upcoming 10-day trip to Vietnam in the beginning of August where once again I will not be able to post anything. Looking on the bright side, we're doing a half-day cooking course whilst we're there so hopefully I can share some of the Vietnamese dishes with you after I'm back. But enough about the announcements ....

Stir-frys have a sort of sentimental value for me. When we lived back in the UK and went down to the countryside my fiancé always made us a nice stir-fry for dinner. It was like an unwritten rule. After we moved to Singapore we carried on having stir-frys every now and then for two very simple reasons - they're quick to make and healthy. And on the plus side the ingredients here are quite a bit cheaper than back home. What I personally love about stir-frys is that you can modify them to fit all tastes as you can put in almost anything. Also, it is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you eat your 5-a-day. Just pick up a nice bunch of vegetables, all in different colours, and prepare yourself a filling rainbow coloured dish and you're all set of for the day.

I served this stir-fry with boiled white rice, but there are so many nice noodles out there that would go so well with chicken and vegetables. So try out different flavours and experiment until you find something that you really like. Usually we mix the rice or noodles into the stir-fry whilst it is in the wok, but this time for photo purposes I served them side by side. This again is just a matter of preference and doesn't really change the taste - only the way it looks. The only key to making stir fries is to have all the ingredients chopped up a ready, because once you start cooking it is just a matter of minutes until you need everything and the dish is ready.

Ingredients

(Serves 3)
- 200ml rice
- 500ml water
- 2 skinless chicken breasts
- 100g baby corn
- 75g silver sprouts
- 200g bok choy
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 75g snow peas
- 1 clove of garlic
- Soya sauce

Directions
Firstly boil the rice. Place the rice in a pot, add the water and season with some salt. Bring the water to boil and then turn down the heat, place the lid on the pot and let it boil for 15 minutes.

In the meantime chop up all the ingredients. Heat up some oil in the wok, crush in the garlic and fry the chicken. When the chicken is almost done, add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until the vegetables have wilted. Finally, add the soya sauce and let it reduce down a bit. Now, if you want mix the rice into the stir fry or put the rice on a plate and top it off with the stir fried chicken and vegetables. Enjoy!

 

Simple sesame-seared tuna

As you can see I'm really taking my task of making the most of the fresh fish here quite seriously - last week I made a salmon tartare and now I made myself this super-quick tuna dish for lunch. I really love sushi and sashimi, but sometimes when I eat sashimi I feel like there's something missing. The fish itself has always been delicious, but sometimes I just crave for something a bit more than plain fish. And as the local fish and sushi shop does not do sesame seared tuna I had to get myself together and make it at home.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it was to put together such a lovely dish - it's just a matter of minutes! The asparagus takes the longest to prepare, but if you have your tuna without a side, then it'll be ready in just over a minute. Apart from the speed I really loved the taste and texture. I know that the middle is still raw (that's why you need sushi grade tuna), but the seared edges really make a difference. This was the first time I prepared something out of tuna steak and I was really pleased with myself. So no more excused for not cooking at home - it is possible to have a healthy, filling and satisfying meal ready in no time.

This works well as a starter or light lunch or dinner and on top of that, it is fancy enough to be served at a dinner party. And if you've got a bit more time and prefer slightly nuttier taste, roast your sesame seeds until they're golden brown before rolling the tuna in them.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)
- 110g sushi grade tuna steak
- 90g baby asparagus
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 5 tbsp soya sauce






Directions
First stir-fry the asparagus with a dash of soya sauce and set on a plate. Then sear the tuna steak by doing each side for 12-15 seconds and then roll it in the sesame seeds. Slice the tuna up and place it on the asparagus. Serve with soya sauce.

Blueberry & Almond porridge

When I was a kid, my mum always made porridge for Saturday or Sunday mornings and I remember very clearly that when I moved out nearly 6 years ago I told myself that there will be no more porridge for breakfasts. And so a couple of years passed and the next thing I knew was that I had porridge for nearly every morning... I guess there is some truth in the saying that mothers know the best.

Until recently I used the quick instant oat porridges that came with different flavours or used the neutral one to have with home made strawberry or apple and raspberry jam. Nothing warms you up and fills you up at the same time for hours on those cold winter mornings than a nice bowl of hearty porridge. As I'm trying to make tiny changes for a healthier and cleaner lifestyle I bought I nice big bag of rolled oats and left the instant porridges with added flavourings on the shelf. Instead, I mixed in some almonds and blueberries to make a delicious and healthy breakfast.

I know that making porridge isn't really a recipe as such, but it is a great way to start the day and is easily customised to satisfy even the pickiest eaters - choice of toppings is endless - drizzle yours with some honey, add coconut, different berries, dried fruit or raisins ... I could go on and on about what you could have your porridge with, but whatever you choose porridge makes a lovely filling breakfast that is good for you and guaranteed to keep you going without cravings until lunch.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 225ml water
- 35g rolled oats
- 2 tsp almonds
- Handful of blueberries

Directions
Boil the oats in water (or if you prefer creamier porridge then half water and half milk) for around 15 minutes. Whilst the oats are boiling, wash and dry the blueberries.

When the porridge is done, stir in the almonds, place the porridge in a nice bowl and top it off with few blueberries. Enjoy!