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