Autumn is slowly approaching~! Not just according to the goods displayed on farmer’s markets and in stores, but in our tummies as well. Cravings for food and aromas of the „warmer“ variety are starting to build up after all the summery dishes we feasted upon for the last couple of months. Aromas bridging the gap between the spritzy and summery months in my kitchen to the truly warm and comforting winter dishes – combining a little bit of both, if you will.
Continue reading “Ras El Hanout Spiced Lamb & Artichoke-Fig Salad”
Chilli con Carne. In 35°C weather. You might think the heat in- and outside of the kitchen has finally taken it’s toll on my sanity. Well, believe me, I’ve considered an extended trip down to the looney bin on several occasions myself. This isn’t the result of slowly-stewing grey matter though, this is the result of the GW2 recipe list rudely kicking a part of my subconscious, usually hibernating during heatwaves, to life without offering it some coffee first.
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.
Late last October ArenaNet finally released the long awaited expansion Heart of Thorns. Since there’s usually a couple of recipes released with every chapter of the living story or the various festivals, I should have known something was coming my way. I only took note of the recipes for sale in the new areas in passing though, firmly in the grips of the new chapters and all the wild, new things going on all over the place. Little. Kid. Locked. In. A. Candy. Store.
After being reminded of the consequences (cleaning up the last remaining chocolate and caramel droplets from all available surfaces of my kitchen and … how the hell did it get up there? … with a nasty burn from the last drop of caramel I scraped out of the pan onto my hand really, really bites) of my sweets and chocolates marathon during the last couple of days in order to finish all the easter chocolates boxes, I decided to venture outside my planned order and post another treat off the easter menu. So here’s the Easter Eggstravaganza, Part 2!
Time for another little trip down memory lane! After I told you guys what inspired me to go tyrian in my kitchen from time to time, I thought starting with the first real thing I ever cooked up, the why of me spending so much time in the kitchen at all, would be a nice opener for my Midweek Special category. Fortunately the recipe for the salad has also been requested several times, so yay for hitting two birds with one stone.
Nahdala's Kitchen 