Flavour Limbo

It's Wednesday and I've been hungry all day. It seems that we're in an inter-seasonal limbo, and though I'm craving things that are fresh and zesty, however I somewhat crazily long for warmth that I can balance with plentiful amounts of salad. These are some of the dishes that have fulfilled me recently. I've been making them with all of my usual tweaks, as well as serving them with epic amounts of leafy greens. Please also find some visual support from other meals we've enjoyed in the last few weeks. Clearly, cooking is both passion and obsession. And, eating. Nom!

One, Slow-cooker Cuban Black Beans. I found that this most favourite of winter meals works in springtime, too. Instead of bacon, I like to add diced chorizo, which I find lends itself well to the earthy black beans. As Australia doesn't have the most extensive selection of Mexican ingredients, I've been replacing the chopped green chiles with diced jar peppers and adding core flavour spices: cumin, coriander and chilli. Serve with baby spinach, grated carrot, fresh tomato and coriander salsa, Greek yoghurt and Valentina hot sauce. Or, just these*. 

Two, Warm Pumpkin and Brown Lentil Salad. I used to make this salad so much that I got sick of it, but with a fading winter palate, it's been reintroduced to our meal planner. Thankfully, this is a salad that ages tastefully, makes friends with all different cheeses (including haloumi) and is hearty enough to enjoy alone. That said, it definitely goes down more than happily with a roast chicken dinner! I like to add diced garlic at the sautéeing of the red onion, plus a more than generous glug of balsamic vinegar.  Again, also a winner with chorizo*.

Three, Mushroom Enchiladas. These enchiladas were such a tasty surprise when I first made them. Firstly, cottage cheese is more of a breakfast standby for me, but strangely enough manifests powerfully as a savoury ingredient in this dish. Secondly, I found that sautéeing the mushrooms in an extra-garlicky seasoning gives extra flavour. Finally, a drained can of corn adds sweetness as well as bulk to the finished product. Serve with shredded lettuce, lots of guacamole and jalapeños, and you'll have a great vegetarian meal. I've also mixed cooked, shredded chicken into the filling, and found that it was such a tasty combination barely any made it into the tortillas.

What are some of your most craved recipes? *Sooo, I'll eat anything with chorizo or spice of some sort.  

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Our dishes, clockwise, top-left start:

Egg and mushroom Ram Yun soup with Kimchi;

Spanakopita with lemon potatoes, quinoa tabouli and Greek salad;

Chicken salad with avocado, roasted capsicum pesto and raita;

These oven potato and sweet potato chips (so good!) with lime aioli and wasabi aioli.