Cooking School: Beef Stroganoff

  

The desires of our culinary cravings is ostensibly so dependent on the weather outside. It was just a mere few weeks that I was preparing leafy green salads with strawberries or raspberries and delicious summery tarts with tomatoes and crumblings of goat cheese. Now as the weather turns from the warmth of summer to a rather undesirable cold and wet prelude to Autumn, my appetite seems to long for heartier and more robust meals. But my body is not there yet! 

Matcha Cherry Swirl Ice Cream – Guest Blogging

Twitter is a waste of time, I am not going to deny it! But boy, do many of us spend an enormous amount of time on this sweet waste. While in front of the scenes we laugh and joke about so many things that move us, the really juicy stuff happens behind the scenes via Direct Message (DM).

Then you make a mistake and send a DM meant for her eyes only, through an oversight, to her! When you realize, it’s too late and all you can do is hit your head hard on the table and wish the floor would rip open and swallow you.

But it did lead to a great collaboration. I decided to invite myself over to The Catty Life and bribe her never to reveal what happened with some of her favorite things – a matcha cherry swirl ice cream.

So, while Catty is sunning in lovely Santorini I am over at her blog tempting you with a deliciously creamy and cooling ice cream. A wonderful combination of matcha and cherries. Come on over and join us!

Hope you all have a grand weekend. I’ll be busy with a lot of baking for Soeren’s birthday party tomorrow afternoon and will return next week with a new recipe and maybe even something to reveal. Stay tuned!

---

All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

Celebrations: Apricot Saffron Cake

 

Celebrations. It’s in the way they have been a part of mankind over the centuries that I find truly sensational. We’re really party animals, aren’t we? 

Garlicky Marinated Halloumi Cheese with a Roasted Tomato Quinoa Salad

 

Having my cousin around at the moment is so exciting. The fact that the last time I saw her, she was still a toddler in her diapers and today she has blossomed into a beautiful and sophisticated 25 year old young lady, would probably surprise you. But it’s true! The last time I visited India was roughly 20 years ago. That in itself is astonishing considering it is my birthplace and some of my dearest family live there.

Ending on a High Note: Bacon Cheese and Leek Tart and a Giveaway

  

You can’t choose family. You just get them and are stuck with them for the rest of your life. You either love them or you don’t. But blood is thicker than water and regardless of the cards you are dealt with you know you will support, protect and love them for a lifetime to come. 

Raspberry Lemon Amaretti Cake

   

Could it be that summer’s moved on? And the way it goes you can’t tag a long. I want to though. Tag along with the fresh strawberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, zucchini, plums and blueberries. Play hide and seek with the summer sun, peeking out of the fluffy cotton clouds and refresh myself in a warm summer rain. Instead we’ve had a lot of days where I’ve noticed a slight chill in the air and quite a bit of cold rain.  

The Norwegian Kitchen, Smoking Salmon and a Potato Beet and Cherry Salad

  

Majestic landscapes and climatic contrasts not only offer a breathtaking experience for visitors to the country, but they are also the quintessence of the ingredients from which the culinary traditions of Norway are derived from. With a long and diverse coastline, Norway provides ample waters for wild and farm-raised fish, while the slow ripening process of fruit and vegetables during the mild but sun filled Nordic summer provides berries, pears, apples and other fruit and vegetables with a delicious and extraordinary flavor and aroma. Sheep, cows and livestock grazing on the rich, succulent pastures acquire a distinctive robust flavor.

The recipe I present here is not a traditional Norwegian recipe. It is however inspired by my travels through the country, by Norway’s magnificent landscape, by the flavorful produce available and by the wonderful Norwegian people I had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with.

I am delighted to be presenting this recipe over at Juls’ blog Juls’ Kitchen. Juls has a wonderful energy and I met her for the first time at the Food Blogger Connect 2010 this June. It’s hard not to be taken in by her great enthusiasm and contagious laugh. Shortly before the FBC she had contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing a guest post – the topic was summer vacations and food. We were in the middle of planning our summer vacation to Norway (read part one and part two) and I was going to see my all time favorite Norwegian 80s band a-ha in July (again!) and as it seems to be turning into the Year of Norway for me I was fairly clear on what I would be guest posting about.

Come join me over at Juls’ place as I share the quintessence of the Norwegian kitchen, smoke some salmon at home and make a salad inspired by my incredible journey to Norway. 

Hope you all have a great weekend. Relax and spend time with the family. Next week we’ll be getting back into some recipes for your sweet tooth. Make sure you come over and take a peek.

---

All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

Part 2 Serendipity in Norway - Bergen, Sognefjord, Nigardsbreen, Oslo, Kragero

Stave Church of Urnes

Norway really impressed me with the incredible and extreme variation in the landscape we experienced as we traveled from region to region.

This trip took us from the magnificent fjords and majestic mountains of the west coast, through the historically rich central Norway towards Oslo in Eastern Norway and then down the sandy beaches of Southern Norway.