Melon Salad

The first time I've heard about this melon salad was during my diploma. I have to look for a few dishes from South Africa and this melon salad was one of the recipes for their dessert. They were easy to make and absolute refreshing treat to have during summer. The original recipe I found in the internet years ago contains some alcoholic drinks. But I'm not drinking. So I've altered the recipe a bit to my liking and convenience.

To make this melon salad, you need is a few types of melons. Watermelon and honeydew are two of my favorite melon to use. But you can always use the yellow melon, rock melon, sunlady melon, any melon that you like. 

The fun part was to scoop the melon with a melon baller. Then you will need some mint leaves, lemon juice (or orange, or lime) and just a little bit of plain syrup (or mint syrup). Toss the ingredients together and there... You have it. Store them in a container for a night before consuming for a better result.

Grilled Sardine with Orange & Pasta Salad

I'm no expert on fish. To tell the truth, I rarely had any chance to clean any fish. In my memory, there were only once where I had to clean a fish which was during my basic western class (though, I did this with a friend). In fact, if they asked me to clean any fish during my final exam in Culinary study, I would fail miserably. I probably wouldn't be able to have my diploma, or my degree. It's not that I didn't know how to do it. It was just that, I never had much opportunity to do it (or, I seemed to be avoiding them).

I made this Grilled Sardine as part of a challenge for myself to clean a fish. The combination of sardine & orange is really refreshing.

Grilled Sardine with Orange & Pasta Salad (inspired from BBC Good Food)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp orange zest

4 fresh sardine fillets

2 oranges

2 tsp orange juice

2 cups boiled Rotini Pasta (spiral)

1 cup spinach - washed, tossed

1/2 cup coriander leaves

1 shallot, thinly sliced

salt & pepper

1. Lightly slash the skin of sardine and marinade fillets with ground black pepper, orange zest and salt. Keep refrigerated for an hour.

2. Heat the grill.

3. Segment the orange. Peel away any white pith.

4. Grill sardine, skin side up until crisp and cooked through in about 5 minutes.

5. Toss in cooked rotini pasta with orange juice, segmented orange, shallot, coriander leaves and spinach.

6. Divide pasta between 2 plates, and top pasta with grilled sardines.

7. Ready to serve.

Waldorf Salad

 

It was my parents' anniversary. I had to prepare some dishes, a dinner for them. I had to think of something really simple, and really easy to make. Then, I came up with a menu.

Appetizer

Waldorf Salad

Soup

French Onion Soup

Main Course

Broast Chicken with Oven Roasted Potato Wedges and Oven Roasted Vegetables

Desserts

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

We were really hungry by the time I finished (well, my parents are). I didn't manage to shoot more pictures of others dishes. Waldorf Salad was the only dish I manage to shoot.

Waldorf salad was one of the simplest salad to prepare. It's healthy too! I read an article, and it said that it's good to consume fruits before any meal. That's why I decided on Waldorf Salad.

Waldorf Salad

2 apples - cored and diced
1 stalk celery - sliced or diced
1 handful walnuts - toasted and chopped coarsely (I omitted this)

3 tbsp fruit salad dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
lettuce - for base

1. Mix the apple, celery and walnuts in a bowl.
2. Mix the dressing, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Toss the salad with the dressing.
4. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

I came across an article that said that chickpea is good for metabolism, and great for weight loss. Spicy food too, helps a lot in weight loss. I thought that maybe I should try them. Besides, I rarely had any beans or nuts in my diet. So, when I went shopping for ingredients, I bought a can of chickpea with chickpea salad in mind.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

1 can Chickpea

1/2 tbsp Chili flakes

2 tsp Garlic

2 tbsp Capers

1 Tomato 

Salt and pepper 

Vinaigrette

1. Chopped some garlic.

2. Diced the tomatoes.

3. Combine all ingredients.

4. Drizzle some Vinaigrette, and season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator before serving.

Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap with Tomato and Olive Salad

I was thinking that I need to eat something healthy. Well, it worries me that I haven't lose any weight. It's hard to discipline myself to stay in diet while staying home. My mother is a good cook. She never fails to lure me to eat more than necessary XD

So, when my mother went out with my brother, I made myself some Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap with Tomato and Olive Salad. This dish is very simple and easy to prepare. If I had to make myself a bento, I will definitely add in this dish in my bento box.

Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap with Tomato and Olive Salad

Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap

Tortilla

Chicken Fillet - Shredded

Sliced Cheddar Cheese

Capers - Chopped

Mayonnaise

Lettuce

Salt and Pepper

1. Mix mayonnaise with capers and shredded chicken fillet. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

2. Arrange lettuce, cheese and chicken on tortilla and wrap!

3. Cut into rounds to serve

Tomato and Olive Salad

1. Heat oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the tomatoes and stir until they're wrinkled, about 5 minutes.

2. Mix in the olives season with salt and pepper. 

3. Mix the tomatoes and olives with lettuce before serving.