Those herb-roasted new potatoes are a tasty accompaniment to any meat dish. They are so easy to make and come out so nicely golden brown, crisp and delicious. A real crowd-pleaser! Turn the potatoes over at half-time to ensure even browning if needed, I left them unattended during cooking. Use other herbs, like rosemary, marjoram or even sage in place of thyme. I will definitely be making these again and again!
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten and Taste Food

• 700 g Small or new potatoes, leaving skin on
• 2-3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Freshly mulled black pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 4 Thyme sprigs, plus extra for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 215C/420F. Cut the potatoes in quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss until the potatoes are well coated. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer on a baking tray. Scatter the thyme sprigs around the potatoes.
2. Place baking tray in the middle rack of the oven. Roast the potatoes for an hour until golden brown and crispy. Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.

I'm reposting the Pinotage Spaghetti with Arugula for a dear friend - Monet at Anecdotes and Apple Cores, who has had a really rough and difficult year. Two sweet ladies - Kate at Kate's Kitchen and Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake were really kind to assemble some comfort food recipes for Monet in an effort to support and show some love. I feel blessed to be part of something so special.

This is easy to fix and soooooooooo tasty! Linguine can be used in place of spaghetti and the vegetables, like carrots, and peas can be incorporated into the filling. Now open a bottle of Valpolicella Classico and enjoy your pasta!
Recipe adapted from Essen und Trinken

• 200 g Spaghetti
• 3 tbsp Parmesan, grated
• 2 tbsp Breadcrumbs
• 2 Large eggs
• 3 tbsp Whipping cream
• 1 Tomato, diced
• 50 g Prosciutto, diced
• 125 g Fresh Mozzarella cheese, diced
• 3 tbsp Chives, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Tomato sauce to serve

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta. Return to same pot and toss with grated Parmesan and breadcrumbs.
2. Use a fork to stick into the spaghetti and bring up a heaping forkful. Turn and twist the pasta to form a nest. Repeat until you have 8 nests. Place them on a baking tray lined with paper. At the same time, preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
3. Stir together the eggs and cream until just blended. Season to taste. Add in diced tomatoes, Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and chopped chives. Divide the mixture and spoon them in the center of each nest. Bake the spaghetti nests on second rack from the bottom of the oven for 15-18 minutes.

Those cookies are traditionally in triangle shape, which represents the three corners of Haman’s hat, filled with poppy seeds or prune filling. The shape may also represent the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who inspired Queen Esther. More information can be found here.
Adapted from Smitten's Kitchen

1. Place the flour, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and egg yolk and process until the mixture forms a ball. Scrape onto a sheet of plastic and wrap it tightly. Chill the dough for an hour or overnight.
2. If you can't find ground poppyseeds, use a spice mill or coffee grinder with whole poppyseeds. Heat milk, sugar, lemon zest, ground poppy seeds and chopped dried cherries in a small saucepan over medium heat. On a low simmer, cook until the seeds have absorbed the milk and the mixture has thickened, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice, and butter and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn the heat off and stir in lemon extract. Cool completely.
3. Preheat the oven 180C/350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 4mm/1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut 6cm/2.5 inch circles. Put a teaspoon of the filling in the center of each and press up the sides to form a triangle or any desired shape.
4. Place them on the prepared trays and brush the tops with the beaten egg for glaze. Return tray to the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes; chilling them again will help them hold their shape while they are baked. Bake until cookies are golden, about 15 minutes. If trays are on different racks, switch them after about 10 minutes.

As the worst of the E.coli out break is over, and the cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce were given an official all-clear by German authorities. Finally I can buy again what my appetite tells me and enjoy without worrying about the salads.
A delicious combination of pan seared herbs-marinated prawns, fruit and vegetable. It's perfect as an appetizer or a light dinner on its own. If possible try to cook the prawns with the shell intact, as this will keep their flavour and helps in reserving the moisture.

1. Combine mustard, white wine, and herbs in a pan. Cook the mixture over lower-medium heat until the wine has almost been absorbed, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in pressed garlic, season with salt and pepper. Finally stir in olive oil and mix until well blended. Add the prawns to the marinade and mix well. Cover with a cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. In a pan, heat the oil over high heat until hot. Add in prawns and cook until they have turned pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes.
3. Mound the salad on two plates. Add avocado slices, carrot shreds, tomato wedges, onion rings and the prawns. Drizzle the salad with a bit of balsamic cream and serve with lime wedges if desired.

Crunchy, nutty amaretti cookies, also known as Italian macaroons, are usually baked with ground almonds, egg whites and sugar. They can be plain, flavoured with liqueur or sandwiched with jam. The creation doesn't stop there! I have found this creative amaretti recipe with THYME from Küchen Götter, and decided to give it try with my "lemon thyme". They have turned out so well and super delicious!

• 3 Egg whites
• 200 g Castor sugar
• 10 g Lemon thyme leaves
• 200 g Ground almonds (I used hazelnuts)

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/280F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the castor sugar, ground hazelnut and lemon thyme leaves in a bowl. In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until firm. Fold in the dry mixture.
2. Fill the pastry bag with the cookie mixture. Pipe 1inch mounds onto the prepared baking trays, about an inch apart. Bake in the heated oven until cookies become crisp, about 40 minutes.

Crispy, crunchy and loaded with chocolate flavours. Those chocolate wafers are perfect ANYTIME sweet treat! Serve with ice cream, or sandwich them together with whipped cream. They're also great by themselves.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 200 g All purpose flour
• 70 g Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 200 g Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Baking soda
• 180 g Unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into smaller pieces
• 3 tbsp Whole milk
• 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract

1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda in the bowl of food processor and pulse to mix thoroughly. Add in butter, milk and vanilla extract and process until the mixture clumps around the blade or the sides of the bowl.
2. Place the mixture on the work surface and form into a log about 14 inches/35 cm long. Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or overnight.
3. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the log of dough into slices a 1/8 inch/3 mm thick and place them 1 inch/2.4 cm apart on the lined sheets (cookies will spread). Sprinkle the top lightly with granulated sugar if desired.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the the cookies puff up Remove from oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. These cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Spinach is low in calories yet packed full of nutrients, like vitamins, minerals and fibre, which are good for you. This is such a versatile vegetable. It can be eaten raw in salads or enjoyed cooked on its own or added to soups and other dishes. However, people who have kidney problems will have to be careful about eating this green, as "oxalates/草酸" in spinach may interfere with the absorption of "calcium/钙", as well as potentially crystallize. Find out more information of how to select, store, and enjoy spinach here.
The outbreak of the intestinal bacteria EHEC has now killed more than 10 people and hundreds of people falling ill in Germany. It is suspected that the outbreak is linked to contaminated salads and vegetables, but there has been no confirmation of the source. So to play it safe, I have prepared all sorts of leafy vegetables these days COOKED, even those greens on the pizza.

• 375 g Spinach, roughly cut into chunks
• 2 Shallots, finely diced
• 1 clove Garlic, pressed
• 25 g Butter
• 200 ml Red wine
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Pinch off the spinach leaves and discard stems. Soak the leaves in the water for 30 minutes. Drain. Rinse and drain a couple more times until the water is clear. Drain and roughly cut the leaves into smaller chunks.
2. Finely chop the shallots and crush the garlic through a press. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Stir in chopped shallots and garlic over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour in red wine and cook until it’s syrupy. Add in chopped spinach and cook, covered, for 2-3 minutes. Taste with salt and pepper.

1. Cut small x in base of each tomato. Bring a large pot of water to boil. In a large basin or container add cold water and some ice. Using a slotted spoon put a few tomatoes in the boiling water for about 20 seconds. The skin will split where the x was cut. Transfer each tomato to the prepared ice bath. After the tomato cools use fingers to pull the skin off of the tomato. Slice the tomato in quarters. Remove the seeds and chop.
2. Heat oil in large pan. Add in chopped onions and cook over medium heat for until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, paste, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 30 minutes.
3. Stir together the flour, salt and instant yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead the dough at the lowest speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Punch dough down, divide into 2 balls, and allow them to relax for another 30 minutes. Heat up pizza stone in a 250C/500F oven. Form a 12 to 14-inch pizza crust and place on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with yellow cornmeal.
5. Top pizza dough with pizza sauce, spreading with back of a spoon to within 1/2-inch of edge. Place topping on the crust and place the pizza, with the parchment paper in the oven on the pizza stone. Bake until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 10 minutes.

A wonderful mixture of Romaine lettuce, cherry radishes complimented by the addition of honeydew melon, blueberries, and leftover teriyaki chicken and enhanced lively with a bright, tangy peach vinaigrette.

1. To make the dressing, place all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
2. Rinse, drain and tear Romaine lettuce into bite-size pieces. Cut each cherry radish into 6 pieces. Arrange them in a serving bowl together with onion rings, shredded carrots, blueberries and honeydew melon balls. Finally top the salad with leftover teriyaki chicken.
3. Pour dressing over salad just before serving, and toss to coat.

These golden wholemeal spelt shortbread sticks are not too sweet and full of fragrances and characters. They are seasoned with fresh thyme, lemon zest and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. If you do enjoy a little digestives in the snack, this is the right one for you. They're irresistible plain or served with a cheese dip.
Adapted from Food

1. Stir together the flours, sugar, salt, lemon peel and chopped thyme. Cut in butter and rub together, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Lightly beaten eggs and reserve 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture for brushing.
2. Add the remaining egg mixture and blend until dough comes together. Wrap the dough in a plastic film and chill for 1 hour until firm. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough between plastic films into a rectangle, about 12x7-inch. Cut the shortbread dough in half, forming two 6x7-inch rectangles. Using a pizza wheel, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips. Place the shortbread on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the reserved egg mixture and sprinkle sea salt on top. Bake for about or minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Baked chocolate base (adapted from Joy of Baking) filled with a layer of fluffy cream cheese peanut butter mixture (adapted from Betty Crocker) and finished off with a chocolate layer. Those bars are super easy to prepare and they make a great party food.

1. Preheat oven to 190C/375F and line a 12x8-inch rectangular baking pan with baling paper. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars and vanilla extract on high speed for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg white. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely.
2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and whipping cream on low until blended. Beat on high about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Place the chopped chocolate in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly till the chocolate begins to melt. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in diced butter until thoroughly blended and smooth.
4. Spread 1/4 cup chocolate mixture evenly over the cooled cookie base. Place it in the freezer until the chocolate is firm, about 5 minutes. Now evenly spread cream cheese peanut butter mixture over the chocolate layer. Give the rest of chocolate mixture a quick stir and then spread evenly over top of the layer of cheese and peanut butter mixture. Cover the pan with a plastic wrap and chill overnight. Once set, use a sharp knife to cut into small squares. Serve them cool and store the rest in the fridge.

This Asian-flavoured, warm chicken sandwich recipe is truly delicious prepared with homemade yakinori chicken and Kaiser bun fresh out of the oven. It would make a great snack or paired with some French fries and call it a meal!
Adapted from Essen und Trinken

• 10 g Fresh ginger
• 4 tbsp Sherry
• 4 tbsp Soya sauce
• 1 tbsp Water
• 2 tsp Brown sugar
• 150 g Chicken breast
• 1 Tomato
• 1 stalk Spring onion
• Green bell pepper
• Red onion
• 1 tbsp Corn oil
• 2 Kaiser rolls (adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice)
• or toast bread

1. Peel and thinly slice the ginger. Mix sherry, soya sauce, water and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add in ginger slices.
2. Slice the chicken breast and add into the marinade. Set aside for 30 minutes. Cut tomato in slices, spring onion, red onion and green pepper in rings.
3. Remove the sliced chicken from the marinade, drain. Reserve the marinade. Heat a skillet with oil. Add in sliced chicken and cook for 5 minutes until lightly golden brown. Now pour in the reserved marinade and cook until chicken is done.
4. Cut the roll crosswise in half and toast. Layer chicken, tomato slices, spring onion, green pepper and red onion rings on the Kaiser roll bottoms.

Thank you, Anne of "From My Sweet Heart", Eli of "Food and Thriftfinds", and Cooking Rookie of "Cook Book of Trial and Error" for sharing those beautiful awards with me.

A delightful combination of eggplants, canned tomatoes and spinach taglierini make this pasta dish a delicious and satisfying main course meal, and you won't even miss the meat.

• 250 g Spinach taglierini or linguini
• 2 Large aubergine
• 8 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 clove Garlic, crushed
• 2/3 can Crushed canned tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp Crushed dried chillies
• 1/4 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 handful Chopped spring onions (or basil leaves)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut off the tops and bases of each eggplant and cut across into two. Cut each piece lengthways into thick sticks. Place into a colander and sprinkle them with one teaspoon of salt. Place the colander over a bowl and leave the eggplants for 40 minutes to disgorge some of their juices. Pat the eggplants dry with kitchen paper to remove the salt and excess juices.
2. Heat 6 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add in the aubergine pieces and fry, turning occasionally, until golden-brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
3. Fill a large pot with enough water and bring to the boil. Add the salt, then the spinach taglierini and cook according to packet instructions, or until al dente. Shortly before the pasta is ready, add the remaining olive oil and the garlic to the frying pan and return it to the heat.
4. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the crushed chillies, dried oregano and the tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggplants and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add in chopped spring onions or basil leaves and mix well.
5. Drain the cooked spinach taglierini and divide into 2-3 bowls. Spoon the eggplant mixture over. Serve right away with some shaved Parmesan cheese if desired.