One of Natasha's favourite breakfasts beside scrambled eggs, cornflakes with milk, or oatmeal are pancakes! Last night I made Natasha 26 mini yogurt pancakes. She LOVES pancakes for breakfast, and it's also a great way to get yogurt into a picky toddler. Today she ate 3 of them for breakfast with strawberry jam. And the rest I layered in a large plastic container between pieces of wax paper and froze for later use. I love Annabel Karmel's First Meals book, and the recipe below is taken from there:

Yogurt Pancakes

Prep: 10 minutes; cooking: 2 minutes
Makes 8 portions

1. 1 egg, lightly beaten
2. 2/3 cup mild, full-fat natural yogurt
3. 2/3 cup milk
4. 1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
5. 1/4 tsp salt, OR 2 tbsp maple syrup (for sweeter version)
6. Vegetable oil for frying

Mix together the beaten egg and the yogurt, then stir in the milk, flour, and salt or maple syrup. Mix until you have a smooth batter.
Heat a little oil in frying pan until sizzling hot. Drop heaped tablespoons of batter into the pan, leaving plenty of space around each one, and flatten slightly with a spatula. They should spread about 6cm (2.5 inches) across.
Cook 1-2 minutes until lightly browned, then turn and cook another 1-2 minutes until browned on the other side and set in the centre.
Drizzle maple syrup over pancakes or serve with fresh fruit or berries (strawberries, raspberries, sliced peaches, etc.)

*I added golden raisins to mine.

Friday night was a fish night for us. I am a huge fish lover but definitely not a huge seafood lover; shrimp, mussels or anything else in a shell is just not my cup of tea. My favourite type of fish is Tilapia - either baked or fried, it turns out soft, flaky, and generally great tasting. I also love salmon, white fish, carp, and several other types of fish. And I guess it partially co-relates to my upbringing where many of my favourite family recipes included fish. At special occasions such as holidays or birthdays, we always had many types of fish dishes on the table - baked fish, sandwiches made of canned sardines, herring salad, tuna and potato salad... the list can go on. I grew up eating mashed potatoes with herring and onions for breakfast every Saturday morning. And to this day, this is my absolute favourite meal - ever.

Then I met Matthew and things changed... Matthew was not exposed to fish during his life, and in fact, his understanding of fish came down to eating tuna from a can. Ugh! That is generally all he knew. (Sorry, Matthew, but it's true!) And so when he started visiting my family for occasional dinners, my mom would serve all kinds of fish dishes which he was not familiar with. We would have fried Tilapia and mashed potatoes for dinner; herring with Borodinsky bread as an appetizer before dinner. And as snacks, we sometimes got the infamous Russian Red Caviar (don't even get me started on how much I love this!). Matthew was skeptical at first, but also curious. He slowly started learning the names of different types of fish and their colouring, and Red Caviar quickly became one of his favourite foods! And now, whenever my mom brings us over a container of Caviar, Matthew is ready to eat the entire thing in seconds. He has definitely become a fish lover and I am glad to have transferred that unto him.

So back to Friday. Since I was at home, I messaged Matthew at work and asked if fish was ok for dinner. After getting his, "yes yes yes", I got 2 Tilapia fillets and then found a fantastic recipe online because I wanted to try something new. Lemon Garlic Tilapia turned out fab! We had it with creamy mashed potatoes. Here's the recipe:

Lemon Garlic Tilapia (serves 2)

• 2 Tilapia fillets
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp butter, melted
• 1/2 clove finely-minced garlic
• dash of paprika, pepper, and spice mix to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with either cooking spray or brush with a bit of melted butter.
2. Rinse fillets under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Place fillets in baking dish. Brush the garlic on top of the fillets, then pour lemon juice on top. Drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with paprika, pepper, and the spice mix, as needed.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until fish is white and flaky.
(I added a mixture of frozen veggies to the dish as well, before placing it in the oven). Yum.

I've been wanting to try and make a homemade cheesecake for a long time now. Matthew is not huge on cakes, especially overly sweet ones, but he does love cheese cake a lot, and so that is what I wanted to try. However, whenever I made any type of cake before I always ended up throwing half of it out because between the two of us, we could never consume an entire cake by ourselves before it went bad. So I found this great recipe on Allrecipes which was for cheesecake cups and it turned out fantastic! And the best part is I didn't have to make as many as the recipe asked but only as many as we could eat. I made nine and they turned out so light, moist and delicious! I think we both loved them. Here's the recipe for 9 cupcakes:

Prep time: 30 min
Cupcake/muffin pan
Muffin paper cups

Ingredients:

• 9 vanilla wafer cookies
• 350 gr cream cheese, softened (I used Philadelphia)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line the cupcake/muffin pan with 9 paper cups.
2. Place 1 wafer cookie on the bottom of each paper cup.
3. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the wafers in paper cups. Fill about 2/3 of each cup.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden and set.

**optional: I used a can of cherry pie feeling for the topping. You can use other flavours of pie feeling, chocolate chips, or fresh berries for the top as well.

Today I realized I had 4 thick defrosted pork chops on hand and wasn't too sure what to do with them. The old and infamous breaded-and-fried-on-a-pen way just doesn't excite me anymore. Besides, both Matthew and I really love experimenting with new ingredients and trying recipes we haven't had before. Anyway, knowing how much Matthew loves Indian foods, I Googled up some potential Indian recipes which use pork chops and unfortunately there weren't too many (Indian people don't eat pork much, I suppose). But I did find one really interesting recipe and happened to have most of the ingredients on hand (the ones I didn't, I substituted with what I did have), and the outcome was very delicious. All 3 of us enjoyed it. Yes, all three of us. Even little Natasha who has reached a point where she simply cannot and will not tolerate watching us eat without also having a taste of what we're having. So of course she too ate quite a bit of this delicious recipe and kept asking for more!

Indian Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of butter or olive oil
• 4-5 large pork chops cut up into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup uncooked rice (I used Basmati)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup thinly grated almonds
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 8 oz tomato or pizza sauce
• 1 cup water (plus)

Directions

Heat oil or butter in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add pork chops and brown on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). In a bowl, combine rice, raisins, almonds, onion, and curry powder. Spoon into the skillet over and around the chops. Mix. Pour in tomato or pizza sauce and water.  Mix well. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes until rice and pork chops are tender. Add more water as needed. Serves 4-5.

Note: If you do not have a cover for the skillet, simmer on medium-low heat for about 30-40 minutes.

This is a very delicious apple cake. If you like the apple and cinnamon combination, and if you prefer simplicity but great taste, then this is for you. The original recipe can be found here, although I've slightly altered it. Even Matthew loves this cake, and he's not the biggest apple cake (or any cake) lover.

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup 10% cream
• 3 medium green apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Topping

• 2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• extra cinnamon to sprinkle

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish (I used a rounded one).
2. Mix together 1.5 cups flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix in 1/2 cup butter/margarine until mixture is crumbly (use your hands). Stir together the egg with the cream and gently add into the flour until soft dough has formed. Press into the baking dish. Layer apples on top of dough, overlapping in neat rows.
3. Prepare the topping by mixing the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter/margarine and mix until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples, and then sprinkle the additional cinnamon (per your taste).
4. Bake in preheated oven until apples have softened, and topping has browned, about 25 minutes.

A few months ago I attempted at making a carrot cake and it turned out really well. The original recipe I found on a random website, but I've altered it quite a bit by cutting down on the sugar proportions (Matthew doesn't have a sweet tooth) and also replacing certain ingredients with what I had on hand. It turned super!

Carrot Cake with Icing

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable or sunflower oil
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flower
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cinammon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cups chopped pecans

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

To say that my husband Matthew likes Indian food would be an understatement. It's more like he LOVES it. I can't quite recall how or when he tasted it for the first time, but it definitely wasn't with me, and was already after our wedding. When I met Matthew in 2002, he used to take me to Chinese buffets, Pizza Hut, and Swiss Chalet, but now at every (rare) opportunity when we do get to go out, he prefers to have lunch at an Indian place. We've also started buying frozen Indian lunches at the Superstore, and I see many receipts from Indian restaurants which come out of Matthew's pants pockets. Initially, after trying Indian food, I was not too impressed - it seemed too foreign to me, and a lot spicier than I would have liked. But after trying several dishes in at least two different restaurants, I grew more accustomed to it and began to appreciate it a bit more. Now, I can better see why Matthew loves it so much. The ingredients in many Indian dishes are very basic: chicken breasts, potatoes, carrots, beans... but it's the exotic spices that add all the rich flavours that make the food different, but yet familiar at the same time.

Recently, we've started printing Indian recipes off the 'Net and preparing (or attempting to!) the dishes on weekends; Matthew even went to Bulk Barn and bought all the spices required to prepare the meals. Last week, we spotted an interesting Indian cookbook with colourful pictures at Indigo, so of course, we had to buy that too. So then I thought to dedicate a portion of this website to the meals we prepare at home (which turned out a success, only). I must also add that it's great to have a husband who's inspired to cook! Ohh, and of course, Natasha better love Indian food when she grows up, or else... !

The recipe below was adopted from a mixture of recipes taken from a cookbook we own, an online source, and our own additions/supplements. It turned out great!

Tandoori Chicken and Mixed Veggie Curry

Tandoori Chicken (4 servings)

• 12 chicken drumsticks
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• salt (to taste)
• 1 small/medium onion
• 1 tbsp tandoori masala
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
• 2 lime wedges to garnish (optional)

Wash chicken drumsticks and dry with paper towels. Place in a large bowel. Slash drumsticks with a knife 2-3 times. Sprinkle chicken with lime juice and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowel, place onions, masalas, ginger, salt, and yogurt. Mix well until smooth. Pour yogurt mixture over drumsticks and cover evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 400F. Drain any excess marinade from chicken. Place chicken on a baking sheet or a roasting pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until tender and well browned. Serve hot, garnished with lime wedges.

Veggie Curry (4 servings)

• 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2-3 large potatoes, cubed
• quarter of a cauliflower head, broken into flowerets
• 4 oz green beans (fresh or frozen) - approx. 2 handfuls
• 5-6 thin carrots, diced into bite size pieces
• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 1/4 cups of vegetable stock (broth)

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add onions and cook for 5-7 minutes until onions have softened. Stir in cumin, paprika, coriander, and turmeric; cook 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, and carrots, tossing in spices until coated well. Add tomatoes and stock and cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let cook for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes have softened and veggies are tender. Serve hot.