Eggplant & Lemon Risotto

There is nothing better than a creamy and cheesy risotto on a cold day. Well, there are other dishes that come to mind, but warm risotto definitely tops the list!

This version comes from the book Plenty. However, since I am incapable of following recipes, I adapted the basic idea of using lemon and eggplants in risotto. Thanks to the book, I also learned the real trick to making creamy risotto...it takes more work, but is worth it!

Borscht

Borscht is a Ukranian soup made predominantly with beets, potato, and cabbage. It is flavored with dill, and served with yogurt or sour cream.

This slightly adapted version of mine is heavily flavored with fresh thyme instead of dill, and contains a few additional vegetables. It makes a filling and healthy soup for the soup obsessed amongst us.

Hummus - Indianized Version

The Middle-Eastern dip made with chickpeas and tahini (sesame paste) is a healthy, flavorful, and a versatile dish. It is a very simple appetizer to prepare ahead of time or even in the nick of time, and goes great with chips, vegetables, and as a spread on toast.

Loaded with protein and bursting with the tangy and refreshing flavor of lemon, this Indianized version includes onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, and cilantro.

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Crumble

Peanuts and peanut butter are always in my pantry, thanks to my husband's love for all thing peanuts. So, when he asked me why I hadn't baked anything with peanuts/peanut butter yet, I had to rectify my oversight one weekend.

And this cake was born. Peanut butter features both inside the batter and in the crumbly topping. And for an extra notch of decadence, there's chocolate chips as well. My husband wants to marry this cake and live with it forever.

Nutella & Vanilla Marble Cake

This was an experimental cake from a few weeks ago. It came out decently and served as a simple dessert and tea time cake.

I realized that I hadn't utilized Nutella in any cake recently, so I decided to add it to a regular vanilla sponge cake (with butter and sugar levels adjusted). (If you're reading this, sorry J, for the blasphemy of using Nutella ;))