Every now and then you just have one of those days, that nothing but a calorie ridden bowl of pasta can make you forget. Sometimes only butter, cream, and copious amounts of cheese can cure you of your woes. Enter the chicken alfredo, just perfect for such an occasion. I don’t think my recipe is particularly authentic but this is how I always make it and it always hits the spot. It’s comfort food at its finest, quick and easy to make, and extremely satisfying.

Ingredients

200g of  dried pasta

1 chicken breast

1/2 an onion

3-6 cloves of garlic

5-6 mushrooms

200ml of cream

100ml of milk

1 -2 glugs of white wine

1 chicken stock cube

1 knob of butter

1 glug of olive oil

1 teaspoon of freshly chopped parsley

Freshly grated parmesan (as much as it takes for you to feel good again)

Directions

Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in the olive oil for a few minutes until they have softened and become translucent. Chop the chicken breast into pieces and add to to the pan and fry until it has cooked. While the chicken is cooking put your pasta on to boil. When the chicken is done remove everything from the frying pan and put it in a bowl to the side. Drop your knob of butter into the pan and add the mushrooms, cook for a few minutes until they are done, then add the cream, milk, and wine and bring to the boil and reduce the heat so it’s simmering. Crumble in the stock cube and stir until its dissolved and the wine has cooked off. Drain your pasta once it is done. Then add the chicken and onion back into the pan with the sauce and mix together. Pour the chicken and sauce on top of your drained pasta and make sure it is evenly coated. Sprinkle with your chopped parley and grated parmesan. Serve in a bowl and top with more parmesan. Pour yourself a glass of that wine and say ahhhhhhh. Voilà my everything will be okay chicken alfredo.

Since it’s Monday I thought I would offer up one of my more healthy recipes. For me summer equals salad and this is the one I took for lunch today. I’m always trying to think of interesting ways to make my lunches different and this is one of my favourites. The tastiness of a Thai curry but in the form of a salad. Switch it up and swap the chicken for some shrimp or tofu and change the veg to whatever you have in your fridge. Stop eating the crap they give you at work or those 5,000 sandwiches from Paris Baguette and get up 10 minutes earlier and make yourself some sizzling salads for lunch. This recipe will make at least 4 portions and if you keep it in an air tight container and only add the dressing on the day you want to serve it, it should last 3-4 days. Bikini season is well and truly here, so I’ll try my best to bring you a couple more skinny recipes to get you through the summer season.

Ingredients

1 or 2 chicken breasts

1-2 tablespoons of green curry paste

200g of rice noodles

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1/3 of a cucumber

50g of red cabbage

2 handfuls of lettuce leaves

A handful of coriander (cilantro)

Dressing

10 tablespoons of coconut milk

2 tablespoons of lime juice

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce

1 tablespoon of sesame sauce

Directions

Marinate the chicken in the Thai green curry paste for about an hour, then fry it in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side until it’s cooked through. Whilst the chicken is cooking, cook the noodles according to the directions then rinse in cold water and allow to cool. Cut the cucumber, peppers, and red cabbage into thin strips. To make the dressing, combine the coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, sweet chili and sesame seed oil in a bowl and mix togther. When the chicken is done, cut into thin strips too, and toss together with noodles, coriander and vegetables . Then drizzle with as much dressing as you like. Serve on top of a bed of salad leaves and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Voilà Thai green chicken salad.

After making my lovely key lime pie, I wondered if the mix would work as well with lemons. It certainly did, plus I had the added bonus of being able to use fresh lemons instead of concentrate without having to bankrupt myself. It was still quick and easy to make and totally delicious. You can also make it with just a trip to your local Korean mart.

Ingredients

200g of digestive biscuits (Graham crackers)

100g of butter

1 can of condensed milk

3-4 lemons (zest and juice)

3 egg yolks

200ml of whipping cream

Directions

Crush the digestive biscuits until they resemble fine bread crumbs. You can do this with your blending or smacking them up a bit with a rolling pin.  If you wrap them in a tea towel and keep them in the packet, you can prevent making a big old mess.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, then add the biscuit crumbs and mix together  Pack into your pie tin and make sure you bring the mixture up around the sides.

In a separate bowl mix together the condensed milk, egg yolks, and lemon zest and juice. Pour this mixture onto the biscuit base. Then bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool then pop it in the fridge for 2 hours to set. Once the pie has been chilled, whip the cream and then pipe around the edge to decorate. You could also add a slice or two of lemon and a little zest too. Serve with more cream and strawberries. . Voilà the lovely lemon pie.

After the success of my Key Lime Pie, I thought I would whip up a chocolate one. I also had half a pint of cream that desperately needed to be used, so a chocolate pie seemed the perfect solution. It is very rich, so I would recommend sharing it with your very lucky friends and family. It is also incredibly quick and easy to make and no oven is needed.

Ingredients

200g of digestive biscuits (Graham crackers)

120g of butter

250g of coveture milk chcolate

200ml of cream

Directions

Crush the digestive biscuits until they resemble fine bread crumbs. You can do this with a blender or by bashing the hell out of them with a rolling-pin. Life has been a little bit stressful for me lately so I have been using the rolling-pin method a lot. If you wrap them in a tea towel and keep them in the packet, you can prevent making a mess.

Melt 100g of the butter in a sauce pan, then add the biscuit crumbs and mix together  Pack into your pie tin and make sure you bring the mixture up around the sides.

Put the chocolate, cream and remaining 20g of butter in a glass or metal bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until all of the chocolate has dissolved and you’re left with a lovely ganache. Pour the chocolate ganache into your pie crust then pop into the fridge for several hours to set. Once set remove from the pan and serve. If you’re feeling indulgent you can serve with extra whipped cream.

This week I had my first ever taste of Key Lime Pie! I can’t believe I had been missing out on this for years. Back in Blighty we certainly have savory pies covered. However we are seriously lacking in the sweet variety. We have good old apple of course, but it’s fair to say no one has the variety of pies like the good old US of A. My lovely friend Jen made this Florida favourite for me this week and I was in love. She rocked my world. So much so I ran right out and bought the stuff to make some more.

I’m calling my pie Korea Lime Pie as Key lime juice is pretty much extinct in Korea. Jen was lucky enough to have her lovely family send her some from home. If anyone else knows where else to get some then please let me know.

Ingredients

200g of digestive biscuits (Graham crackers)

100g of butter

1 can of condensed milk

3/4 cup of lime juice

3 egg yolks

1 lime zest and juice (optional)

200ml of whipping cream

Directions

Crush the digestive biscuits until they resemble fine bread crumbs. You can do this with a blender or by bashing the hell out of them with a rolling-pin. Life has been a little bit stressful for me lately so I have been using the rolling-pin method a lot. If you wrap them in a tea towel and keep them in the packet, you can prevent making a mess.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, then add the biscuit crumbs and mix together  Pack into your pie tin and make sure you bring the mixture up around the sides.

In a separate bowl mix together the condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime juice. Pour this mixture onto the biscuit base. Then bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool then pop it in the fridge for 2 hours to set. Once the pie has been chilled, whip the cream and then pipe around the edge to decorate. You could also add a slice or two of lime and a little zest if you have some. Voilà the Korea Lime Pie!

I first fell in love with rocky road when I lived in Australia. There was a chocolate store there called Daryl Lee which sold the most sumptuous bars of white or milk chocolate rocky road. I could never decide which one I liked most and would usually end up getting both. Back in my mother country of England I never knew that such a divine dessert existed. Last week I just couldn’t get rocky road off my mind after seeing pictures of it everywhere on  Pinterest. I saw one in particular that looked spectacular and I quickly set upon making my own version of it. So I present to you today the delectable snickers rocky road. If this doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth then nothing will.

Ingredients

6 snickers bars

200g of milk chocolate

200g of white chocolate

200g of marshmallows cut into chunks

150g of nuts (I used almonds as I had them already)

Directions

Line your chosen tin with clingfilm and make sure it hangs over the sides. Mine is an 7×7 inch square. Next, chop your snickers into 1-2cm chunks. Place your milk chocolate and 3 of the cut up snickers bars in to a glass or metal bowl over a pot of simmering water and allow to melt.  Once the chocolate has melted (the snickers will not melt completely), stir in the rest of the snickers chunks, pieces of marshmallow and nuts and make sure they are coated in the melted chocolate. Then pour the mixture into your tin. Clean your bowl then melt the white chocolate and drizzle it on top of the rocky road bars. Put them in the fridge for a few hours so they are completely set. Once it has set remove the rocky road from your tin and pull away the clingfilm and cut into to slices and enjoy. Voilà the easiest and tastiest chocolate bar ever.

Last week I made this cake in honor of my friend Sarah’s birthday. It is a coconut and mango cake  (aka the Princess Sarah) in tribute to a costume she once wore at a fancy dress themed birthday. I had been longing to make this for a while now. I made a coconut sponge and coconut cream cheese frosting and it’s filled with mango curd. It was nice change from my usually chocolate or coffee creations and will swiftly be added to my repertoire. I once again made the sponge in the rice cooker. I just find that they bake a lot more evenly than when I do them in the toaster oven as the heat is more evenly distributed.

Ingredients

Cake

2o0g of all purpose flour

200g of white sugar

200g of butter

3 eggs

4 tablespoons of coconut milk

1 teaspoon of baking powder

Mango curd

200g of frozen mango (you can use fresh, but it’s very pricey in SK)

85g of butter

4 egg yolks

100g of white sugar

1 tablespoon of corn starch

200ml of orange juice (you could also use mango juice)

1 lemon (juice and zest)

Frosting 

200g of cream cheese

1 stick of butter

400g of sugar powder

3 tablespoons of coconut cream (the thick white stuff at the top of the can of coconut milk)

Directions

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs. Stir in the coconut milk then mix well. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Then fold into the coconut mixture. Take your rice cooker pan and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Then put the cake mixture inside. Press the cook setting and then continue to keep checking it every time it pops up. You may have to go though several cycles depending on the make and model of your rice cooker. However you will get there in the end so hang in there. You can tell when it’s done when the top is spongy to the touch. Remove the cake from the pan and leave to cool for a couple of hours.

To make the mango curd blend the mango and the juice until the mango is completely pureed. Put the pureed mango in a saucepan along with the sugar, cornflour,  lemon juice and zest and whisk together. Turn on to a medium heat. Continue stirring, until it starts to bubble. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Continue to stir until the butter has melted, then whisk in the egg yolks one at a time. When the mixture has completely combined, turn the heat back on to low and stir continuously until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Allow to cool completely before using in the cake. You can store any remnants in an air tight container and keep in your fridge for weeks.

To make the frosting, let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature and mix together in a bowl. Stir in the sugar powder bit by bit  until none is left and you have a very thick butter-cream consistency. Add the thick coconut cream from the top of the can a spoonful at a time. Add as much as you need but don’t let the frosting get too runny, you can add more powder sugar if you need it.

To assemble the cake cut the sponge into two halves. Pipe a circle of frosting all the way around the edge then fill with the mango curd.

Top with the second half of sponge then add another layer of frosting on the top and sides so it is completely coated. You can decorate the cake however you wish. I made my pretty frosting flowers on the top and decorated the sides in desiccated coconut. Once you have finished decorating pop the cake back in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Voilà a fruity delight of a cake, perfect for any princess or birthday girl.

The weather is cold, but nothing warms you up like a good bowl of homemade soup. Korea has plenty of soup options that are ready to buy. However despite its popularity throughout the globe, tomato soup has yet to make its debut on the supermarket shelves of Korea.  Sure you can buy a can of Campbells in the Foreign Food Mart but it’s not available in your local supermarket.  Back home a tin of soup and a few slices of bread really hits the spot. So if you’re hankering after a bowl I present to you my recipe. Which is as close as you can get to the cream of tomato soup from back home. With the added bonus that this homemade variety is even better. You can also source all your ingredients at your local home-plus.  I also make a fantastic roasted tomato and red pepper soup, however I usually  make that in spring when tomatoes are cheap, ripe and plentiful. This is the store cupboard standby of you dreams.

Ingredients

2 cans of hunts tomato paste (comes in small cans found at homeplus etc)

400ml chicken stock

600ml milk (I use half fat, but go full fat it you like it very creamy)

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

200ml cream (optional)

A knob of butter

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

Fresh basil leaves

Salt & Pepper

Directions

Finely chop the onions and garlic and fry off in a little oil and a knob of buuter. Add the tomato paste and chicken stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Once the soup is boiling, add the milk and cream. Stir in the herbs and salt and pepper then serve with delicious homemade bread.Voilà tasty tomato soup.

My bestest friend in the whole wide world turned 30 last week. To celebrate this momentous occasion I made a sinfully decadent dessert in her honor.  Sadly for her and my waist line we are living on different continents so she will not actually get to eat any of the trifle but I know she appreciates the thought. This is no ordinary trifle you would have on a Sunday afternoon, this a celebration trifle. So I made it in gigantic proportions, Rachel would have wanted it that way. So there’s nothing left for me to do but man up and plow my way through several pints of this sinful sweet. I’m just that good of a friend. You could also make smaller portions of it like I showcased above if your friends have smaller appetites than mine. Happy Birthday Rachel, this one is for you!

Ingredients

Brownie Base

1 box of brownie mix

100g white chocolate chips

100g milk chocolate chips

2 tablespoons of peanut butter (optional)

Chocolate custard

6 egg yolks

1 egg

75g white sugar

25g of flour

4 teaspoons of corn flour / cornstarch (I got mine at the bakery mart)

500ml of milk

1 tablespoon of Vanilla syrup

A few drops of vanilla extract (you can use the extract, the syrup or a vanilla pod)

150g of milk chocolate

Topping

1 pint of whipping cream

Grated chocolate for decorating

Directions 

To make the brownie I just used a regular box which I pimped up a bit, full directions are in my Brownie post. If you want an even easier option you could just use some muffins or regular chocolate sponge, however I think the brownie makes it extra special and indulgent. Make the brownie mix according to the directions, (On the Tous le jour box you just add water and mix in a bowl). Mix in the chocolate chips along with the peanut butter if you’re using it. Stir to combine everything then transfer to a cake tin or if you don’t have one a disposable foil dish you can buy anywhere. Cook in the over for 15 – 30 minutes depending on how you prefer it (gooey or cakey). If you do not have an oven this brownie can also be cooked in the microwave for 3-4 minutes.

To make the chocolate custard I followed Raymond Blancs recipe for creme patissiere and just made a few small changes. Whisk your egg yolks and egg with the sugar until it has become a very pale yellow. Whisk in the flour and corn flour until it has combined then set aside. Heat the milk and vanilla on a low heat until it has just started to boil then take it off the heat and whisk for 30 seconds. Slowly mix the hot milk into the yolk and flour mixture until it has combined then pour it into a saucepan. Put the custard on a very low heat and whisk it continuously until it begins to thicken. This will happen all at once so make sure you keep an eye on it or it will curdle. Once its thickened into custard you can remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until you have lovely chocolate custard. Sprinkle icing sugar on the top to stop a skin forming as you wait for it to cool.

Pour the custard on top of the brownie mixture and allow to set. Whip the cream until it has thickened and put it on top of the custard once it has been refrigerated. Top with chocolate sprinkles. You can make one giant trifle or lots of mini ones, its up to you. However only the large one will satisfy my friends lust for desserts. Voilá my celebration chocolate trifle, best dessert ever!

After my success of making ricotta I decided to give making yogurt a go too. Never one to wait, I decided I would attempt to make it without buying a thermometer first. I was supposed to get one for the ricotta too but I’m very impatient and I couldn’t be bothered to go to Homeplus in rushhour traffic. It always a hell of a journey home and I always come back in financial ruin. I don’t know if I just got lucky or I’m culinarily blessed but my yogurt worked out perfectly the first time I made it, the second and third times too (I’ve eaten a lot of yogurt this week). This is a super easy recipe which you could make just from a trip to your local GS mart. So if you like natural yogurt I urge you to give it a go.

Ingredients

1 litre of full fat milk

2 Activia yoghurt’s (I used the plain ones, you could also try the Denmark brand as I heard it works too)

A rice cooker

Directions

Heat the milk in a saucepan on a low to medium heat until it starts to form bubbles around the outside but not simmering. If you have a thermometer it should be between 165 F-185 F but I managed well without one. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool until its warm but not hot to the touch or until it reaches 120 F, again I had to judge this but it turned out well. Put your two yoghurts into a bowl and add in a few spoonfuls of the cooled milk (remove the milk skin first) then add the yoghurt back into the milk and stir.

Fill you rice cooker with the hottest water you can get from you tap, two thirds full. Put a ceramic dish at the bottom. Poor your yoghurt milk mixture into a water tight jar or container. I used one of the large sour cream containers (which I seem to have about a million of) but anything you have should be fine. Put your milk mix into the water so it is standing on the dish (my container is plastic so if I put it directly on the heat it would melt). Switch your rice cooker onto the keep warm setting but leave the lid ajar. After 2 hours you can unplug the rice cooker and just throw a tea towel over the top and the heat should stay in. Leave the yoghurt in the rice cooker for a further 4-6 hours. When the time has pasted your milk should have thickened into yoghurt, if it’s a bit thin you can leave for a few more hours. Once you’re at a good consistency, put it in the fridge to chill for another 4-6 hours to firm it up. Voilà a delicious and cheap easy way to make yoghurt!