What’s for dinner tonight?

No time to shop, no time to cook, but we do want a variety of easy-to-make, delicious and healthy food. Sounds familiar? This little kitchen diary shows our way to deal with a busy schedule on the one hand and a desire for good food on the other. Simple but tasty recipes, illustrated cooking instructions, and a few basics for those of you who think kitchens are scary monsters. Enjoy!

Fried brown rice with snow peas, mushrooms and rhubarb

C R U N C H Y !  There is no better word to describe this dish. Lene called me from the supermarket today and said: “They have Rhubarb. Can we do anything with that?”. Initially, probably like most of you, I thought of cakes, pies and jams, but then I decided to give rhubarb a try on the savory side.

Great success – this dish is fresh, crunchy, healthy and full of flavor.

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Tilapia in a bag

Last night was a classic example: I came home late after a long working day, had to finish some work on the computer, had absolutely no time to cook, but really needed some food in my belly!

This dish is just the perfect match for occasions like this. You chop some vegetables, add some fish, put all ingredients in a bag, fold it, place it in the oven and 15 minutes later a delicious and light dinner is ready. It really can’t get much easier.

I cook several different variations of this, including one with salmon and a light yoghurt-tarragon-mustard sauce, one with tilapia, sliced tomatoes and lots of herbs on top, another one with a yoghurt-herb sauce.

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Mediterranean quinoa salad with grilled scallops and orange vinaigrette

Quinoa is a grain that is unusually hight in protein, but also contains essential amino acids and fiber, in other words: It’ good for you!

This salad is easy to make and has some beautiful, typical Mediterranean flavors that make this dish a perfect, light and healthy summer lunch or dinner. Of course you can substitute shrimp for the scallops or skip the seafood altogether.  We just happened to have the scallops in the fridge and I think they are a perfect addition to the salad.

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Open shrimp and ginger wontons with Tamarind dipping sauce

Traditional wonton recipes usually call for closed wrappers with the typical half-moon fold. I think this open version is a nice variation. It looks nice because you can see the colorful filling inside, and you can drizzle your dipping sauce into the wonton.

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Eggplant Caprese – a quick snack

Super simple, super fast, a very nice snack or starter. This dish can also be used as a side-dish for many Italian meals.

Tip: Eggplants soak up Olive oil like sponges. If you are concerned about calories, you may want spray the eggplants with a little oil before you put them into the pan, but then add a little water (or stock) to steam the slices instead. However, using only Extra Virgin olive oil will taste better.

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