Tomato sauce for pasta with end of season tomatoes

Tomato harvest 

Tomato sauce for pasta using end-of-season tomatoes...

I really can't believe it is that time of the year again... all of a sudden a chill is noticeable in the air, the evenings start to get dark before you know it, and it is time to harvest the laaaast of the vine ripened tomatoes. Yup, it is officially the end of summer.

Over the last few months, we have enjoyed eating the sweetest tomatoes plucked straight from the vine. Often, they are eaten just as they are, sometimes simply sliced thinly then topped with capers and finely diced red onion.  But these colder days call for something warming like a tasty homemade tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes.

Warm Kale & Artichoke Salad with toasted almonds

Kale, artichoke salad tossed in anchovies and toasted almonds

Green leafy kale salad bursting with flavour and crunch...

It is early spring and the days have just started to get warmer, but there is still a noticeable chill in the air.  Today, I feel like a salad that is full of leafy green goodness that is warm, comforting and full of flavour and texture.  And I have just the thing, for kale, pan-fried, is seriously tasty, and even more so, when combined with the bold saltiness of anchovies, flavourful artichokes and crunchy toasted flaked almonds.  

Chinese Noodles in mushroom & pork gravy

 Chinese noodles in Soy Mushroom Sauce using Leftover Roast Pork

Chinese noodles in a mushroom gravy...
There is a kind of noodle dish where the noodles are neither immersed in broth nor stir-fried in a sizzling hot wok.  Instead, the cooked noodles are tossed in a deliciously rich, usually soy flavoured sauce, with each strand of noodle glistening with mouth watering gravy.

I find this style of noodle the most comforting mid-week, when in the dark of the evening you arrive home, the mechanical hum from the long train journey still ringing in your ears and the ideas from an earlier brainstorming session still buzzing in your head.    

Chicken, Sweet Potato & Mixed Vegetable Lettuce wraps ("Sang Choy Bau")

Chicken Sang Choy Bau with Sweet Potato

HEALTHY SANG CHOY BAU with chicken and sweet potato...
Sang Choy Bau is a Chinese classic commonly served as a starter all around Australia, where I grew up.  It literally translates to "lettuce wrap" and in its traditional form, is simply a lettuce cup filled with minced pork and vegetables.  These days, you will find many variations of the original recipe, from minced beef or chicken to duck or even quail meat.

In creating this recipe, I was keen to fill my Sang Choy Bau with lots of different coloured vegetables, rather than simply with meat.  So, this healthy recipe brings together lean chicken breast and everyday vegetables like carrots, celery and peppers with soy and oyster sauce to create a quick and tasty modern twist to a Chinese classic.

Japanese-style soba noodles in ginger miso soup recipe

Japanese-style soba noodles in ginger miso soup with shiitake mushrooms, pak choi and leftover roast chicken

Leftover roast chicken and noodles in ginger miso soup
When I was growing up, my mother would make noodle soups all the time.  With four kids in the house, it was the perfect way for her to prepare a quick, easy meal and to use up whatever was available in the fridge.  Small quantities of a variety of vegetables like pak choi or choy sum would be thrown into steaming hot broth, along with any leftover meat that was available at the time. When I eventually left home and had to fend for myself, this was a dish that featured prominently in my weekly meal plan.  With my limited cooking skills, it was a fast, healthy hot meal that well and truly satisfied.

Edamame bean, seaweed & glass noodle salad with wasabi dressing

Edamame Bean, Wakame seaweed and mung bean vermicelli salad

Green food salad with edamame beans, seaweed & bean vermicelli
After all the indulgence over Christmas and New Year, it is time to detox by going veggie and loading up on green super foods.  So I have put together a salad combining some of my favourite foods: edamame beans, Wakame seaweed and avocado.  The beans are frozen ones which come straight out of the freezer and the dried wakame seaweed and glass noodles are store cupboard ingredients.

Apple, Carrot & Chinese Cabbage Salad with Vietnamese dressing

Apple, Carrot & Chinese Cabbage salad

Fall in love with this Asian-inspired apple carrot salad recipe infused with coriander and limes

To celebrate National Apple Day this month, this salad recipe uses British apples as it's central ingredient.  I have chosen Jazz apples as they are tangy and crunchy.  To balance out the sweetness, carrots and Chinese cabbage, a crisp mild tasting, pale leaved cabbage (also known as Wombok), are added to it.

The dressing is inspired by the Vietnamese dipping sauce, Nước chấm, which combines the flavours of fish sauce, limes, vinegar and sugar with garlic and chilli.  A crunchy topping of fried shallots, is thrown over the salad, just before serving.

Swiss Chard, Walnut & Miso Pesto

Swiss Chard, Walnut & Miso Pesto 

A Swiss Chard Pesto recipe infused with Asian ingredients.

When it is overcast and grey outside, and large drops of rain have begun to fall from the skies, there is little motivation to tend the vegetable patch, and all I want to do is huddle up indoors with some nourishing, comforting food.  It is days like this that I dream of wholesome spaghetti drenched in warm, delicious green nuttiness.