Recipe: Chilli grapes and cheese

We hosted our first lunch at home in HK yesterday. While it wasn't the way I usually do things i.e., cook everything myself, it was fun nonetheless! 

We ordered in some Indian food and did the starters at home. I was delighted that nobody had to go running to the supermarket to get ingredients, everything was available at home! Starters included nachos and home made salsa dip, onion flavoured macadamia nuts, roasted almonds, fresh fruits and my favourite, chilli grapes and cheese.

Came up with the chilli grapes idea while staring at a box of grapes... very simple, very spicy, very fun.

Here goes the recipe -

Ingredients -

• Washed seedless grapes, green or black
• Assorted cheese, we used to smoked cheese and emmental
• Olive oil
• Paprika
• 1/4 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 3 tablespoon lime juice
• Pepper
• Lemon pepper

Method -

• Take 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Add paprika, granulated sugar, salt, pepper, lime juice, pepper, lemon pepper to olive oil and mix
• Let sit for 10 minutes and then pour over grapes
• Toss the grapes in the oil mixture and put in the freezer about an 45 minutes before serving
• Keep cheese in the freezer as well, this will make the cheese easier to cut
• Before serving, take out grapes, toss again and serve with cheese on the side!
• Make sure you pour out the remaining oil mixture on the grapes - this will really bring home the tanginess and the cheese will pick up the flavours too! 

Do let me know if you liked this quick and easy snack! Did you make any changes to it?

Drunken fruits: Sangria love!

Anybody who knows me well enough knows how much I love sangria. 

White wine, red wine, rose all types of sangria work for me. Wine soaked apples, green apples, oranges, green grapes, purple grapes, pomegranate, lime, passion fruit, strawberries all are welcome to my glass(es)/jugs/pitchers of sangria! 

Home made white wine sangria with green grapes

Drunken fruits - remains of home made red wine sangria with purple grapes and apples 

The best Sunday afternoons are spent in the company of the husband and sister and glass(es) of sangria; cooking with sangria, watching TV with sangria, eating while sipping sangria, singing with sangria, listening to music with sangria! The first thing prepared on Sangria Sundays (even before the morning glass of hot water and lime!) is the perfect pitcher of wine and fruits followed by an interminable wait for the fruits to get suitably 'drunk'!

Dia sparkling white wine sangria with strawberries (super yum, super easy to make!)

While I am a big fan of homemade sangrias for the simple reason that there is ample room for experimentation, my favourite sangrias are found at Cafe Mangii for the freshness of the fruit, Woodside Inn for the yummiest sangria and Indigo Deli for the potent(est) and most interesting sangria combinations and Ivy for the pitchers!

Green apple sangria at Indigo Deli

What are your favourite sangria flavours? Where should we head next for some more super sexy sangrias? Do let me know in the comments below.

In the meanwhile, cheers, let's drink to that!

Pancake day

Opened my eyes to bright, sunny Sunday morning. It was one of those days where you wanted to head to the kitchen and make something beautiful and vibrant. Not so much to eat it but to marvel at the colours and feast on it with the eyes. The sort of Sunday which makes you fall in love with cooking for someone you love.

Homemade pancakes to me make for the perfect holiday breakfast - easy to make, delicious to taste and allows for leisurely eating. And oh, did I mention, it's one of the things that is so open to interpretation and experimentation!

These Sunday pancakes were made with flour (maida), sugar, milk, hint of salt, dash of butter, whiff of baking powder and spoonfuls of honey. Topped with yogurt, fresh strawberries and grapes, and rounded off with honey for those with a sweet tooth.

Heaven!