cilantro

I wanted to find another recipe that would suit sitting in front of the TV Sunday night for my uber-exclusive, faux Oscar party (uber-exclusive because the select attendees must fill the prerequisite of living in this house). I needed something that was easy to make, could be partially prepared ahead of time, would look good and could be eaten as ‘finger food’. Did I mention I wanted it to taste like comfort food too? Afterall, chances are we’ll all be dressed up in our best sleepwear!

Extremely tasty, fast to make and easy enough to spice it to your liking: a hit in our family—or, at least, with my husband, our toddler and me. Our 19-year-old housemate/student/my sister-in-law was a little less enthusiastic as she has issues looking at shrimp on her plate. If shrimp are submerged in soup, mind you, she can easily gobble them up and ask for another helping (like with the Restaurant-style ginger-scented shrimp and mushroom soup), but there is something about seeing shrimp curled up on her plate that turns her off. For the record, she doesn’t do well with having a whole fish, head and all, on her plate, either.

This meal was not what I was expecting, but not in a bad way. I was thinking this recipe for Chicken on cilantro-ginger noodles would be hot and mushy and would taste like a Thai food takeout dish. Boy, was I wrong. Do you ever eat something so cool, crisp and healthy that you feel clean and refreshed afterwards, like you just stepped out of the shower? I'm not kidding. I usually only feel like that after a salad on a hot summer day.

Sometimes to shake up Taco Tuesdays we have quesadillas instead. I know, we’re wild. So I’m always on the lookout for recipes to enlighten Taco Tuesday, and I wasn’t disappointed with this one

I have not had bulgur in a very long time. It’s a ridiculously healthy, nutty-flavoured wheat grain that we should eat more often. Perhaps it will help counteract the effect of my frequent visits to the new ice cream parlour that just opened up near my home. Bulgur is packed with nutrients like fibre, folate and manganese and it’s extremely easy to prepare. If you don’t think you can wait the 20 minutes for the bulgur to simmer, then make this dish with couscous instead, which takes only 5 minutes. Tabbouleh is a delicious Middle Eastern salad that can also be used as a great filler for a pita sandwich, should you be lucky enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.