This Asian-flavoured, warm chicken sandwich recipe is truly delicious prepared with homemade yakinori chicken and Kaiser bun fresh out of the oven. It would make a great snack or paired with some French fries and call it a meal!

Adapted from Essen und Trinken

• 10 g Fresh ginger
  
• 4 tbsp Sherry
  
• 4 tbsp Soya sauce
  
• 1 tbsp Water
  
• 2 tsp Brown sugar
  
• 150 g Chicken breast
  
• 1 Tomato
  
• 1 stalk Spring onion
  
• Green bell pepper
  
• Red onion
  
• 1 tbsp Corn oil
  
• 2 Kaiser rolls (adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice)
  
• or toast bread
  

1. Peel and thinly slice the ginger. Mix sherry, soya sauce, water and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add in ginger slices.
   
2. Slice the chicken breast and add into the marinade. Set aside for 30 minutes. Cut tomato in slices, spring onion, red onion and green pepper in rings.
   
3. Remove the sliced chicken from the marinade, drain. Reserve the marinade. Heat a skillet with oil. Add in sliced chicken and cook for 5 minutes until lightly golden brown. Now pour in the reserved marinade and cook until chicken is done.
   
4. Cut the roll crosswise in half and toast. Layer chicken, tomato slices, spring onion, green pepper and red onion rings on the Kaiser roll bottoms.

Thank you, Anne of "From My Sweet Heart", Eli of "Food and Thriftfinds", and Cooking Rookie of "Cook Book of Trial and Error" for sharing those beautiful awards with me.

A delightful combination of eggplants, canned tomatoes and spinach taglierini make this pasta dish a delicious and satisfying main course meal, and you won't even miss the meat.

• 250 g Spinach taglierini or linguini
  
• 2 Large aubergine
  
• 8 tbsp Olive oil
  
• 2 clove Garlic, crushed
  
• 2/3 can Crushed canned tomatoes
  
• 1/4 tsp Crushed dried chillies
  
• 1/4 tsp Dried oregano
  
• 1 handful Chopped spring onions (or basil leaves)
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

1. Cut off the tops and bases of each eggplant and cut across into two. Cut each piece lengthways into thick sticks. Place into a colander and sprinkle them with one teaspoon of salt. Place the colander over a bowl and leave the eggplants for 40 minutes to disgorge some of their juices. Pat the eggplants dry with kitchen paper to remove the salt and excess juices.
   
2. Heat 6 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add in the aubergine pieces and fry, turning occasionally, until golden-brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
   
3. Fill a large pot with enough water and bring to the boil. Add the salt, then the spinach taglierini and cook according to packet instructions, or until al dente. Shortly before the pasta is ready, add the remaining olive oil and the garlic to the frying pan and return it to the heat.
   
4. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the crushed chillies, dried oregano and the tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggplants and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add in chopped spring onions or basil leaves and mix well.
   
5. Drain the cooked spinach taglierini and divide into 2-3 bowls. Spoon the eggplant mixture over. Serve right away with some shaved Parmesan cheese if desired.

Layers of soft sour cream chiffon cake nestle between spread of stabilized whipped cream flavoured with rich ducle de leche and top with fresh blueberries. Vanilla buttercream would be a great substitute for whipped cream.

Adapted from Food and Wine

	Dulce De Leche Whipped Cream
3 disc 10-inch Sour cream chiffon cake (without cranberries) 400 g Blueberries, rinsed and dried 2 tbsp Apricot jam 1/2 tbsp Water White chocolate curls or mint leaves to garnish	450 ml Heavy cream, chilled 120 g Dulce de leche, chilled 4 sheet Leaf gelatin

1. Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Remove the gelatine from the water, squeeze it between fingers to remove any excess water. Melt the squeezed out gelatine in a microwave on high power about 10 seconds.
   
2. In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream with the dulce de leche. Beat the cream until slightly thick, then slowly add in the dissolved gelatin and beat until the cream holds soft peaks.
   
3. Place one cake layer, cut side up, on a round cardboard. Spread 1/3 of whipped cream over cake.Repeat procedure twice. Smooth the top of the cake with the flat edge of your spatula. Hold a decorating comb on the side of the cake and run around the cake to form ridges.
   
4. Arrange the blueberries on the top. Heat the apricot jam and water in a microwave until melted. Strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. Gently brush on the blueberries. Garnish with white chocolate curls or mint leaves.

Black fungus has a reputation in Chinese herbal medicine for increasing the fluidity of the blood, improving circulation and purifying lungs and intestines, etc. As black fungus carries a compound called polysaccharide that inhibits tumor growth and prevent cancer. Besides this, black fungus is also rich in protein, vitamins D, B1 and B2.

If you can't find black fungus, then substitute them with any other dried fungus, like shiitake.

• 200 g Skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  
• 10 Small dried black fungus (cloud ears)
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
  
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
  
• 1/3 tsp Dried thyme
  
• 2 tbsp Dry white wine
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1/2 cup Long grain and wild rice mix
  
• 120 ml Vegetable broth
  
• 25 g Parmesan cheese, grated
  
• Some cherry radish leaves, chopped

1. Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Rinse thoroughly, and dry with paper towels. Soak black fungus in warm water until soft and completely expanded, about 20 minutes. After soaking, rinse them thoroughly and trim the gritty part. Slice each into 2-3 pieces. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and mince the garlic.
   
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and thyme. Stir until onion is tender. Add in diced chicken and saute lightly browned. Add white wine and season with salt and pepper.
   
3. Cook until liquid almost evaporates,about 3 minutes. Stir in rice, black fungus, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in cheese and chopped radish leaves.

A deliciously simple, colourful salad with bite-size balls of fresh mozzarella, homemade ramsons pesto and rocket leaves that can be made in a jiffy. They are ideal as a great finger food or a side salad for barbecue meat.

• 15 Cocktail tomatoes


• 15 Bocconcini Mozzarella balls


• 3 tbsp Ramsons pesto


• 1 tsp Lemon peel, grated


• Salt and freshly mulled black pepper


• Rocket leaves to serve

1. Cut a thin slice off the top of each cocktail tomato. Scoop out and discard pulp. Sprinkle the cups with a bit of salt and drain.



2. Drain the bocconcini and place them in a bowl. Add in ramsons pesto, lemon peel and freshly mulled black pepper to taste. Mix well.


3. Arrange the rocket leaves on a serving plate. Fill the tomato cups with prepared bocconcini and place them on the serving plate.

This spring salad is really a WINNER. So simple and quick to prepare with easy to obtain ingredients and so delicious. I use salsa verde for the salad as I have some ready in the fridge, but a herb vinaigrette, or honey and mustard dressing would be great as well.

Salsa Verde	Salad
3 tbsp Olive oil 2 tbsp Parsley , roughly chopped 2 tbsp Basil, roughly chopped 1 tbsp Capers, drained and rinsed 1 clove Garlic, minced 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 Anchovies 1 Lemon, zested and juiced Salt and black pepper to taste	2 Eggs, hard-boiled 1 handful Baby greens 6 Cherry radishes, each cut into 6 wedges 1 tbsp Finely chopped parsley 1-2 tbsp Olive oil Some wholewheat bread, cut into inch dices

1. Put olive oil, the herbs, capers, garlic, mustard, anchovies, lemon zest, and the lemon juice in a food processor. Blend until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready for use.


2. Place the eggs in a small pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered for 5-8 minutes, depending on the desired doneness. Drain, rinse in cold water until cold enough to handle.


3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add in diced bread and toast until they are lightly browned and crunchy.


4. Divide the baby greens and cherry radish wedges into two serving plates. Peel eggs. Coat each with chopped parsley and slice into half. Arrange them on the serving plates. Spoon some prepared salsa verde over and scatter the croutons over. Drizzle with a bit of balsamic cream if desired.

Looking for more healthy salad recipes, check out Best Health today.

Ramsons is also known as "wild garlic" due to its pungent garlic odour, or "bear's garlic" as the brown bears after hibernation, seek it out to cleanse their system. Ramsons has similar medicinal properties to those of the garlic. It is therefore especially valuable for a spring cleaning and waste removal course of treatment. They can be used as salad, as a vegetable, in soup, or as an ingredient for pesto in lieu of basil.

	Ramsons Pesto
250 g Wholewheat spaghetti 10 Cherry tomatoes, halved 10 Bocconcini, optional A handful of baby greens Freshly ground black pepper	80 g Ramsons leaves, chopped 60 g Almond, chopped 80 g Parmesan-Reggiano, grated 130 ml Olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Add only enough chopped almonds to the skillet so they lie in a single layer. Turn heat on to medium and toast, stirring occasionally until the nuts are fragrant. Remove from heat and cool.
   
2. Rinse, dry and chop the ramsons. In a food processor, pulse toasted almonds and ramsons a few times. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on, stopping to scrape down sides of container. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. If you have a mortar and pestle, do use them to pound the ingredients.
   
3. To store the pesto, simply place them in a jar and allow the oil to rise to the top. If it doesn't add a little oil to seal the top. It will keep fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.
   
4. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain in colander and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add in pesto (about 1/2 cup) and gently toss to coat thoroughly. If pesto is too thick, you can add a tablespoon of the pasta water to thin it a little.
   
5. When pesto is mixed in, add cherry tomatoes, bocconcini if used, baby greens and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.