Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad

A no-fuss pasta salad which is great for hot summer days where minimum cooking is required.  In fact, you don't really need a recipe to make a salad.  Just look in your refrigerator to see what you may have on hand.  It will be more interesting to add a variety of different colours and textures into the salad.  Instead of whisking up your own dressing, just open a jar of store-bought pesto and add to your salad.

Ingredients:

150g Angel Hair Pasta
1 jar of Sundried Tomato Pesta (190g)
celery (cut into small chunks)
salad leaves
cherry tomatoes
cucumber (cut into small cubes)
button mushrooms (sliced)
carrot (cut into small cubes
salt & pepper
olive oil

• Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain.  
• Combine everything in a big mixing bowl.  Toss well.
• Drizzle some olive oil before serving.

I’m submitting this to Little Thumbs Up, hosted by Mui Mui@My Little Favourite DIY & Zoe@Bake for Happy Kids.

This is Mui Mui@My Little Favourite DIY’s 1st time in co-hosting an online cooking event with Zoe@Bake for Happy Kids.

Chocolate Almond Cookies

This Chocolate Almond Cookie recipe was given to me by an acquaintance more than ten years ago and it is definitely a keeper.   They look pretty too - see how the slivers of almond flakes stand out against the 'chocolatey' colour of the cookies?  These cookies are so delicate and melt in your mouth and they taste pretty awesome too.  

Ingredients:

250g butter
125g icing sugar
300g low protein flour
30g cocoa powder
100g cornflour
150g almond flakes
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

•  Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
• Sift together flour, cocoa powder and cornflour.  Fold into the butter mixture.  Then add in the almond flakes and combine to form into a dough.
• Divide the dough into two and shape into logs.  Wrap with clingwrap and chill in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
• Cut the logs into slices and bake in a preheated oven of 175 deg C for about 20 minutes.
• Cool the cookies on a wire rack and store them in an air-tight container.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover *

Earl Grey Tea Cake

Source:  Okashi Ishida's Earl Grey Tea Cake with slight changes


Ingredients:

150g butter, softened
130g icing sugar, sifted
3 eggs
150g plain flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
15g almond meal
Earl Grey tea dust from 3 teabags
1 lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
• Line a loaf pan.
• Sift flour and baking powder together twice.  Set aside.
• Beat butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.  Gradually add in eggs, one at a time.  Beat well to combine.  Add in tea dust, almond meal, lemon juice and zest.  Mix well.
• Fold flour mixture into the egg mixture.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and make a lengthwise slit down the middle of the batter with a spatula.
• Bake for 50 minutes or until cake is cooked.