Daring Bakers - Avocado & Granny Smith Soufflé

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Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

Ajo Blanco

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Although I am not a vegetarian and definitely no vegan, I am mindful of what I eat and like to bring variety in my diet and sometimes this expresses itself in the form of a meatless dish.  So when I came across this monthly vegetarian challenge, I bookmarked it for later use.

I didn't plan on participating in the No Croutons Required March Challenge, hosted by Lisa's Kichen as the theme for this month was "Raw".  I immediately associate raw with sashimi, but this being a vegetarian challenge, any fish was obviously out of the question.

Daring Cooks - Let's get cheesy

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Sawsan from chef in disguise was our March 2013 Daring Cooks hostess! Sawsan challenges us to make our own homemade cheeses! She gave us a variety of choices to make, all of them easily accomplished and delicious!

When I first read about the challenge, I felt a mix of different emotions : enthusiasm about my very first official challenge, but also fear of failure, as cheese making seemed to be such daunting enterprise. And my major question was : where do I start?  I didn't have a cheesecloth, or a mold. Let alone this exotic sounding rennet.

Homemade hazelnut chocolate spread (Nutella)

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Like most kids from industrialised counties, I grew up with Nutella.  Countless times when my mother wasn't watching, I would dig in the familiar jar and walk away with a spoonful/s (read tablespoonful/s) of the chocolate goodness.  And to this day, although I have tried different brands and types of chocolate spread, I keep coming back to the well-known Italian brand.  Because whoever has tasted Nutella will tell you, it really is taste-wise the best around.

Japanese Cooking 101 : Miso & Clear Soup

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As I announced in my post on Feb. 22, Maki from JustHungry started an online Japanese cooking course (Japanese Cooking 101), initiating us into the wonderful world of Washuko cuisine. The first lesson was all about making dashi and then using that dashi for cooking miso and clear soup.

Personally, I have never been a huge miso soup fan.  Don't get me wrong, I do like the occasional bowl, but I just can't become lyrical about it. And even a homemade version hasn't turned it into a favourite, although I have to admit that I prefer the homemade version to the ones I have taste until now.

Surf & Turf Pasta with Pistachio Pesto

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Since joining Daring Bakers and Cooks last month, I started to look all over the internet for more of these food blog related challenges. Because nothing gets me going better than a challenge to live up to.  These challenges however have proved to be rather elusive, or maybe it's just me using the wrong search words with google. Who knows. 

Either way, I hadn't seen many interesting ones until I stumbled upon the Pasta Please challenge; initiated by Tinned Tomatoes.  Now, pasta is always a welcome dish at our house : it's quick, easy, liked by almost anyone (quite handy when you have unexpected eaters) and yet very versatile.  So, any challenge involving pasta means that I am game :o)

Daring Cooks - Paella

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Our Daring Cooks’ September 2012 hostess was Inma of la Galletika. Inma brought us a taste of Spain and challenged us to make our very own delicious Paella!

When you have real Spaniards around, it takes some guts to make a Spanish dish like paella, because you expose yourself to being compared to the real thing, la paella casera, and most of the time, you don't come out a winner of this battle.

Daring Bakers - Raincoast Crisps, the DIY version

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Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

Because I am only a official Daring Bakers member from March onwards, I found out about this challenge on the reveal date i.e. last Wednesday. Nevertheless, the different pictures that appeared on the Daring Kitchen website were so tantalising, that I couldn't resist giving these crackers a try.