The so very “British” quick tea time breads are the scones; this time slightly sweet with lots of apricots, and pistachios  flavored with ginger and lime zest.
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Shredded carrots, oranges and nuts softly kissed with orange blossom water, orange and lemon juice and mint.

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A complete healthy meal in a bowl; a blend of wild and brown rice combined with beans,  fruits and nuts and tossed in an orange ginger sesame vinaigrette.

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Some added nuts & raisins/craisins crushed into a coarse powder, transforms vegetables from boring to delightful. An uncomplicated & adaptable recipe, this allows you to use any vegetable in any combination you want. Do not groan hearing vegetables… for this is a real lovely way to enjoy them. A teensy bit sweet, a lot spicy & the slight tang, along with the aromatic spices turns them into a delectable side dish.

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Update: (June 13th, 2009) – This was one of the winner recipes in the Pasta Sauce contest sponsored by Foodbuzz & Buitoni! (Read about it).

Thanks to the Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker program that I got these awesome Buitoni’s Wild Mushroom Agnolotti delivered to me.  These are “generously filled with fresh portobello & crimini mushrooms, imported Grana Padana & Parmesan Cheeses & fresh roasted garlic.” Actually I cannot wait to buy more of these! I am not usually a big fan of filled pastas, but this did beat anything around. These were just delightful, bursting with the earthy tones of mushrooms & garlic. The mushrooms  & the roasted garlic were really some serious business here, &  unbelievably delicious. I could just eat them boiled.

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Okonomiyaki means “whatever you like, grilled” in Japanese (Okonomi means “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki means “grilled” or “cooked”).  It is an interesting combination of frittata, a savory pancake & a pizza. The first time I came across Okonomiyaki is in 101 Cookbooks. Reading thru’ Heidi’s post, I found it really interesting & the different ways the recipe may be adapted, even when making at home.

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These look like Khandvis,  because they are Khandvis… only I have layered them & stuffed them. Basic old recipes are treasures, however sometimes when that adventurous itch rears it’s head, I need to give in to my temptations to the looming who knows what will happen. Sometimes the adventure is a disaster, other times quite fulfilling. This was during those times, when I got a little itchy… & the itchy witch was pretty daring for I had never made Khandvis before!  Along with the” first time”  of making Khandvis, came the desire to deviate. I must say & as you can see – I was happy to hop this time. So why shy away from trying something new & delicious from the traditional base recipes?

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Last week I was at the bookstore, just browsing & I came across this Book called “Fresh Moroccan” by Nada Saleh. I immediately got drawn to the beautiful picture of a heap of Saffron on the cover of the book. I started looking through it, & my heart refused to come back home without the book. So I listened to my heart & bought it home…Having cooked Moroccan food before, I knew I was not going regret buying this. It is a wonderful book – full of colors of the food & culture, with equally colorful, healthy & easy to cook recipes.

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Or A Non Traditional Shrikhand …

Shrikhand is a delightful Indian sweet dish (esp. In the Western Region of India) made with strained creamy yogurt,  often with fruit pulps or pieces of fruits added to it. Saffron, Cardamom & Sugar are used  to enhance the taste & flavor. It is very easy to make, with very little ingredients, most of which one would always have at home. Here is some information from Wiki…

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Kulfi, or unchurned Indian ice cream (without eggs), is a summer must have that you can whip up at home without an ice cream maker. It’s rich and creamy made with pure milk (traditionally & the milk is boiled down to reduce to half its amount), and it’s usually full of nuts in some form. The most common flavors are malai (plain), badam (almond), Elaichi(cardamom), jafrani(saffron) and pistachio. The nuts and the flavors are added to the reduced milk, boiled for some more time, cooled and put in moulds & frozen. Kulfi is traditionally sold on the street in India, in  terracotta molds (matkas) that impart their own beautiful flavor. The dish is of Pakistani or may be even Iranian origin brought to India during the Mughal rule.

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