Jingle belle

J and I welcomed a beautiful little gift in December last year, our Baby Girl E. And she's certainly made her presence felt! But oh, what joy! She's been feeding exclusively at the breast for these past six months, but it's now time for the next chapter in her little life - a foray into solids. All very exciting. I'm looking up some lovely nourishing recipes for her at the moment. Hope she's a willing and lively participant!

Toast

A warm and toasty day for some light gardening. We've been intaking good amounts of Vitamin D today. The roses look happier too.

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Cool & Whipped

Last weekend, we hosted a dinner party for some of our friends. I served these delicious bite sized pieces of flavour-filled-freshness as appetizers and they were a beautiful, light start to a rather heavy main course. Use the freshest cucumbers you can find. Hand whip the yogurt into luscious, creamy submission. Gently knead the lemon between your palms before slicing.

RECIPE FOR COOL CUCUMBER APPETIZERS

Ingredients:

Fresh Lebanese cucumber, unpeeled - 1

Low Fat Greek Yogurt, whipped - 2 tablespoons

Chicken breast, roughly diced - 1/2, approximately

Lemon Juice, from half a gently kneaded lemon

Low-fat Yogurt - 1/2 cup, approximately

Chicken 65 masala* - 1 teaspoon, or to taste

Coriander leaves, chopped - as required

Method:

Make a marinade of yogurt, lemon juice and Chicken 65 masala* in a small non reactive bowl. Put the diced chicken breast in and coat well. Cover and leave to rest for about half an hour. Cook on a grill pan. Once cooked, taste for seasoning and add salt & pepper if needed. Remove and set aside until required.

Before serving the appetizer, wash the cucumber and pat dry. Cut into rounds. Top each round with some cooked chicken and ladle a scant 1/4 teaspoon of whipped yogurt on top. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve atop an unadorned circular white plate.

This dish is more than just aesthetically appealing - it is healthy, light and beautifully flavoured.

*Available at any Indian grocery store. If unable to find, substitute with a generic curry powder.

'Hello, world!'

So here then is my foray into this, the World of Blog. I envision this to be an inspirational record of recipes for living life more efficiently and beautifully!

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