A lazy dinner...

... with aubergines.
I tried to warn you about my aubergine-obsession....

Sometimes a simple, but still nice pasta dish is all you need. For me, pasta has - and probably always will be- a comfort food. Pretty high on the list are Lasagne and Bolognese. Both of these dishes take quite a while to prepare and cook, at least if you attempt to do them correctly. (Yes there is a correct way of cooking a Bolognese... and it takes time. A lot of it.)

Naturally, I am in love with pasta sauces that take not much longer to cook than it takes to boil the pasta.

So here is my newest addition to the comfort-pasta list:

Lemon Cake

"Wait ... What? A cake? But you never bake"; says everyone who knows me a little.
And it is true. I rarely bake.
If I do, there usually is an occasion to go with it... birthdays, anniversaries things like that.

I was bored. Out of my mind bored.
I started watching Gilmore Girl reruns, mindlessly surfing the Internet and reading magazines... And then, I just wanted to bake a lemon cake. I swear that is how it happened.

Surprisingly it turned out really well... and we had to eat cake for three days straight. Ah well, bikini-season is over anyhow...

So here it is, a fool-proof Lemon Cake recipe. As tested by a baking-fool ... me.

Bacon Wrapped Lemon-Chicken

Oh wow, that sounds strange. Even to me... and I know what to expect.

Here is the thing: I like chicken. In my opinion it is easy to prepare and very versatile. But after watching 'Food Inc.', I really have issues with purchasing it in a supermarket without knowing where it is from.
Trust me, I am not an 'animal rights activist' (is that a thing?) but that documentary stuck with me. I am a student and on a pretty tight budget, so I have to either trust what the label says (there are some for local, organic and so on) or go to the butcher across the street and hope he is honest about where he got the chicken... and not too pricey.

Yes, well, this is not going to be a meat-eating-morality post... I am, and probably always will be carnivore :) Just putting out there that you could maybe try to opt for the more animal-friendly version of the meat you buy... or not. Totally a personal choice. No judgement.

I had the same thing about McDonalds and BurgerKing after watching 'Supersize Me', and now I am back to sometimes enjoying a burger when on the road. (Hoping that the rumours about German standards being higher is actually true... if you are German speaking go watch this)

Back to my Bacon Wrapped Lemon-Chicken.

Soooo easy... soooo good. And boyfriend approved. A win-win-win situation.

Aubergine... eggplant... melanzana

Aubergines (or eggplants) are probably my favourite vegetable...Or they were until I learnt that it actually is a fruit.



Still, I love the taste and the variety of recipes you can create with it.
When they are in season in Europe (right now) I am not going a week without using at least one aubergine. Usually they end up in pasta sauces, any vegetable stir fry or fried in a salad.

But my favourite dish hast to be an Aubergine Parmigiana.
Even though I really love this recipe and often recreate it, I worked my way around a lot of the preparation time and made the Parmigiana easier. (Maybe a little less traditional, still delicious)

Chicken Curry overload

One thing I really love about cooking is inviting friends over for dinner. I know not the most original thought, but it is so much fun sitting down with them. And I've the good fortune of having friends who actually enjoy my cooking.
So yesterday I made dinner. It started out as a chicken-stir-fry, but somehow becam something similar to a chicken-curry-dish.

 Yes, smelled.

If you saw me cooking you would probably notice that I smell everything before it goes into a pot or a pan. (except for chicken, I seriously don't like the odour of raw chicken).
It might sound weird, but that is how I cook.






So back to the curry.
I know it is not really a traditional one, but since when have I ever done things the traditional way. But it turned out really well, and I thought it would be worth sharing with you.... luckily I took some pictures. (With my phone, so don't expect too much)