Rice and Quinoa Salad

 There can never be enough salads when you are entertaining for Christmas. Here in Australia we have hot Decembers - and hence the need for cool and cold salads. Recently we met at a friend's house for a pre - Christmas get together and everyone brought something to share. I was tasked with getting a rice salad to share and I researched to get a perfect one.

I found a salad on line and added my own twist to it. Having recently returned from Turkey, I had with me a couple of bottles of precious Nar eksisi - or pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate Molasses is dark burgundy in colour and is sour with a slight hint of sweetness. It is the equivalent of tamarind in my South Indian cooking. 

It pairs well with roasts and makes a great salad dressing. You dont need to add too much of it, a tablespoon of it gives life to the flavours on your plate.

Rizogalo - Greek Rice Pudding

 I tried my hand at making a very traditional rice pudding for my daughter's Greek family. I read a lot of recipes online, but this recipe from themediterraneandish.com rang true and authentic and I am so glad I trusted my instincts. Ruth Bardis is an Australian of Greek ethinicity and I must say that her recipe got me a lot of compliments from all the people who tasted it.

The only effort required for this recipe is to whisk the milk / rice mixture consistently and almost constantly.  It takes around 45 minutes, but the results were awesome.