Just Add Yoghurt

After a few work lunches at Jack Greens I fell in love with brown rice in salad. The nuttiness and slightly chewy texture, makes brown rice a perfect addition to any salad. So when my health-conscious cousin came over for dinner one night, I decided to give it a go. The rice and quinoa combined with hearty vegetables, adds great depth to the dish and makes it a complete meal. The yoghurt dressing cuts through the richness and natural sweetness of the corn and pumpkin, adding some needed tang. Ingredients: 1 cup quinoa and brown rice cooked 1 zucchini ½ jap pumpkin Olive oil 100g baby spinach 1 tomato 1 corn on cob 4 tablespoons yoghurt ½ lime juice 1 tablespoon chopped coriander 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 small red chili without seeds ½ garlic clove ½ teaspoon honey Salt and pepper   Method: Preheat oven to 220 fan forced Cut up pumpkin into 1.5cm pieces and mix with olive oil, salt and pepper Cook pumpkin until cooked through, approx...

Red dyed eggs, assorted shaped cookies and syrup soaked cake combined with church, candles and family make up the ingredients of my perfect Easter. Growing up Easter was about fasting (no meat for a few weeks, I could never do 40 days, a few of those days no diary and then even fewer days of no olive oil) going to church and red egg fights. There would be red egg shells found around the house for days after our egg wars, which involves hitting the end of each other’s egg until one cracks. From there the person with the clean egg tries to crack the other end of the opponent’s egg. This continues until one person is victorious and their egg is left unscathed – giving them good luck for the year. Then to top our Easter off, we exchange plates of cookies and cakes among family and every year I love adding something new and interesting to my plates. This year I wanted to produce something bright – so a yoghurt sugar cookie iced with royal icing was the obviou...

Six friends, 10 bottles of wine and one yoghurt inspired canapé - it was the perfect start to my  Just Add Yoghurt dinner party.  This light, salty, slightly sweet and creamy canapé brings together a handful of ingredients to make the perfect bite.  Blini 1 cup (150g) plain flour 1 tsp caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 pinch of salt 2/3 cup milk 1 tablespoon Greek Yoghurt 1 egg Method: Sift flour and mix with sugar, baking powder and salt Mix the milk, Greek yoghurt and egg together Combine wet and dry ingredients together with a hand whisk until it forms a smooth batter. Similar to a pancake butter Heat a pan until hot Spray pan with oil Once pan is hot, place 1 tablespoon of batter and pour with spoon facing down to make a circle. Repeat until you use all the batter Put blinis aside. Topping: 1 tomato 1 tablespoon caramelised balsamic 1 avocado 3 tablespoons yoghurt 1   teaspoon lime juice Pi...

A common British dish, trifle, is based on the old French term “trufle”, which means whimsical. The trifle is traditionally made with sponge soaked in sherry and custard. My version is very different. It combines ingredients from my Grandma’s secret cheesecake recipe in replace of traditional custard and avoids the use of alcohol (I don’t love alcohol in sweets). This is more for my tastebuds. This recipe is also a great way to use up any leftover, dry cake. Ingredients: 4 pieces of old dry sponge cake, I used chocolate 4 tablespoons milk 125g cream cheese ¼ cup sweet condensed milk 2 tablespoon yoghurt 125g cream 2 Tim Tam or similar chocolate biscuit 4 teaspoon of frozen raspberries, partly defrosted. Method: Place 1 teaspoon of milk (or a dash more if extra dry) on each piece of old dry cake Put cake in the fridge for 2 hours to soften Cut up the cake roughly Combine cream cheese, sweet condensed milk and Greek yoghurt until smooth Whip the cream Cut ...