I had long given up on the whole idea of baking or creating anything cake-related in my kitchen when I stumbled upon a whole new world of sweets about 5 years ago. For someone like me, not all that fond of sugary, sticky, carby, calory dense, cake-related treats, the discovery of the no-bake cheesecake was the light at the end of the tunnel. Channeling my obsession with fresh fruit and berries into experimenting around with these cakes to come up with new combinations and make them as delicious, healthy and low-cal as possible still keeps me rotating around my kitchen from time to time.
Author: nahdalaskitchen
GW2 Cheese Triangle or: Gruyere Cheese Crackers
Well, at first glance, unceremoniously turning the GW2 version of a cheese platter (or roll? I’m actually not quite sure what the devs intend this to be…) into a bunch of cheese bisquits might not make a lot of sense, so I’ll give you guys the full scoop behind my choice. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t just cook my way up and down the Tyrian menu, sometimes I let the ingredients listed take me into a different direction, sometimes I somewhat stick to the general idea of the ingame recipe or, if it’s a classic, I try to wow you guys with my mad kitchen skills in the classics department… you get the picture, I think. In this case, it wasn’t the dish itself, or the ingredients that set me off, it was the name of the dish. The simple combination of the words „Cheese“ and „Triangle“ made a long forgotten childhood memory rise to the top when I spotted the ingame recipe in the list of snacks. My grandmother’s infamous cheese crackers. She used a triangular cookie cutter to shape them.
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Asparagus & Strawberry Salad
Like I mentioned in my Tyrian Edition of the Asparagus Season Celebration, I absolutely love asparagus. While I was growing up, the „usual“ way to serve them was pretty simple. A pile of white asparagus spears, a stack of crêpes or some potatoes, a selection of smoked or cured hams and a bowl of Sauce Hollandaise or Vinaigrette, with a side of fresh strawberries – what grows together, goes together, right?
GW2 Grilled Banana & Passion Fruit Caramel Sauce
Today was one of those days, the ones you wish you didn’t have had the bright idea of doing anything more than heating an instant soup in the kitchen. I felt like prepping my thai salad for dinner like I’ve done tons of times before. As soon as I tipped over the bowl I was grating my radish into, redecorating my kitchen floor in the process, I started getting that sinking feeling… but I soldiered on, having no idea what else to do with the remaining ingredients due to a sudden food brain freeze.
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Heart of Gold
„42!“ some of you might think at the mention of a „Heart of Gold“. And yes, you’re correct. For those of you who might jump to the conclusion that I’m loosing it, here’s a perfectly sane explanation.
The starship Heart of Gold is the hottest commodity in the universe, powered by a prototype of the faster-than-the-speed-of-light Infinite Improbability Drive, thanks to which the ship „passes through every conceivable point in every conceivable universe almost simultaneously”. The core of the Infinite Improbability Drive, which was invented „following research into finite improbability, which was often used to break the ice at parties by making all the molecules in the hostess’ undergarments leap one foot simultaneously to the left, in accordance with the theory of indeterminacy“ turns out to be the Golden Ball of Prosperity, hence the name „Heart of Gold“. Oh, and 42 is the „ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything“, by the way.
GW2 Steaks, Asparagus and Sauce Hollandaise
Asparagus season! Finally! I have been eyeballing the Tyrian Steak & Asparagus dish for months now, internally drooling and ticking the days off on my calendar, the X marking the beginning of the season. I know, I know, basically everything is available at any given time (if you ignore outrageous prices), but some things, for me, just have to remain a seasonal thing, something to look forward to and revel in once it arrives. Cherries, strawberries, plums, mushrooms… and asparagus. Only once did I make the mistake of giving in to the allure of a box of pretty-in-white asparagus I found some time around christmas. Apart from them having a terrible texture and no flavor, eating asparagus in winter was just plain weird.
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Ostrich, Cape Gooseberry & Peach Chutney and Sweet Potato Fries
I’m always on the lookout for new ingredients to play around with, having an extra eye out for lean and healthy meats. Quite some time ago, ostrich was being marketing’ed all over the place every time the words “health”, “shape” and “alternative for chicken” popped up. Ironically you couldn’t get a hold of the stuff anywhere outside of a ponzy restaurant. Up until about 2 or 3 years ago, after which it became much more common, ostrich steaks sometimes appeared as a highly overpriced rarity during BBQ season, ready marinated and prepped for convenient use. I really, really don’t like approaching a new ingredient if it’s already been messed with, especially if it’s doused in „marinades“ or „sauces“ of questionable origin and flavor that usually come with a ton of don’t-worry-about-its in them, so I ignored these birds for a while.
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GW2 Potato & Leek Soup
Like I’ve hinted at in last week’s stock-101, I’ve recently spent a lot of time in the kitchen, refining and educating my soup-skills. One of the soups off the Tyrian menu demanded my attention right away – first and foremost because I’ve always liked it but never actually made it myself and secondly because it fits into springtime perfectly, at least in my opinion: A light and creamy Potato & Leek Soup.
Fig Chocolates
These little balls of happyness are one of my favorite types of chocolates for several reasons. They are really quick to make, they’re actually healthy and they don’t involve too much chocolate. I came up with these a couple of years back, after the christmas holidays. Hubby is a chocoholic, if there’s chocolate in the house, it’s as good as gone already.
GW2 Basics: Stocks
A couple of weeks back we decided to taste-test a new Indian place at lunchtime. It was nice enough for a lunch-place in the courthouse district, standard menu, friendly waiters, pushy customers, the usual lunch business. While the dishes we ordered weren’t too bad (although….dousing spinach in coconut milk doesn’t make it a curry, really…), there was something… off, out of place. It took me about two spoonfuls of my something-with-spinach to pinpoint what was bothering me.
Nahdala's Kitchen 