Strawberry Banana Smoothie

I'm drinking it now and it's yummy, so I figured I'll save the recipe...

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup strawberry yogurt
1/2 cup vanilla icecream
2 bananas
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Blend all ingredients until thick and creamy.

Nectarine Chicken Salad

This is another easy-to-make fruity salad that goes well for lunch or supper.

Ingredients for 2 servings
1 green lettuce
1 nectarine or peach
2 pieces chicken breast or thigh
powdered ginger and dried herbs for seasoning the chicken

Coarsely chop the lettuce, arrange it on 2 serving plates and sprinkle it with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the nectarine in half and remove the pit, then cut each half in thin slices. Arrange the slices in a circle on top of the lettuce, and sprinkle with some lemon juice.
Rub the chicken with a little powdered ginger and your favourite dry herbs - such as basil or thyme or oregano. Grill the chicken on both sides, then cut it into slices and layer it in the middle of the plates. Decorate with a couple more nectarine slices, and you're done.
Ready in minutes!

Spaghetti Marinara

This is an easy way to make some fish fillets or whatever seafood you have in your fridge go a long way and create a delicious meal.

Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound fresh tomatoes or 2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 pound or more - fish and other seafood: shrimp, prawns, mussels, scallops or calamari rings
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
spaghetti
parsley or basil for garnish

If you decided to use fresh tomatoes, you have to peel them and dice them first. The easiest way to do this takes just 3 steps:
1. remove the hard core of the tomatoes
2. cut a 1-inch cross on the opposite side.
3. drop them in boiling water for about 20 seconds, or until you see the skin starting to peel back.
Then you can rinse the tomatoes in cold water to cool them down, and you can peel off the skin in seconds. All there's left to do is dice them, and then you can proceed.

Finely chop the onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and saute them carefully, so as not to burn the garlic. Then add the fish pieces, squid rings, scallops or what ever you will be using. If your shrimp or prawns are already cooked, they can be added later.
Cook on medium heat until the fish is almost completely cooked, then remove the seafood and save into a dish.
Put diced tomatoes into the fry pan and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. If you have canned tomatoes, however, you can add them directly into the seafood since they are partially cooked.
Add the wine and some black pepper to the tomatoes in the fry pan, and stir in the rest of the seafood. Allow them to simmer until they are completely heated through.

In the meantime, boil the spaghetti until cooked, but still a little firm (al dente). Drain them and rinse them in hot water to remove the starch, then melt a little butter through. This will not only make them taste good but also ensure that they do not go dry or stick together if they remain in a bowl.

Place the pasta in a serving dish or on plates, top with the marinara and decorate with some chopped parsley or basil leaves.

Strawberry Stilton Salad

Well, the original recipe calls for Stilton but in fact any blue cheese will do well. This recipe is worth a try even if you don't particularly like blue cheese - combine it with strawberries and the taste will be much improved.

Ingredients:
2 cups quartered strawberries
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
a little lemon juice and olive oil

Chop the greens and arrange them on 4 serving plates. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice, then top with the strawberries, blue cheese and basil. Goes well with French bread.
Enjoy!

Simply Green side salad

Rediscover the fresh taste of an all green salad aside your meal!

For about 4 servings, use one head of butter lettuce and 8-10 fresh basil leaves.
Chop or tear the lettuce into coarse pieces and chop the basil leaves into fine shreds. Toss the lettuce and basil with 1 tablespoon olive oil and one of lemon juice, OR 2 tablespoons Caesar dressing. Divide onto 4 side plates and serve.
Savour the aroma of fresh basil!