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A Modern Rose

Light Meals and Weekend Treats from an English Woman in Berlin

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Weeknight Dinners

Big Batch Tomato Sauce

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I think that a good tomato sauce is the first thing that every cook should learn. It is incredibly useful! When I first went to University (a very, very long time ago now …!) I couldn’t cook a thing. I would constantly buy those ready made jars of tomato sauce to throw over some penne or spaghetti. Thinking about it now this was a lot more expensive than me simply making my own and I could have probably saved myself a small fortune considering how often I actually ate tomato pasta! I soon came to start making my own sauce and I have never looked back….

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Mini Toad-in-the-Holes

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For all my non-British readers I should straight away clarify exactly what Toad-in-the-Hole is! Simply put it’s sausages cooked in a thick batter (similar to a Yorkshire Pudding). It is a true British classic and one of my favourite comfort foods. It is also an incredibly cheap meal to make and is perfect for using up all those odds and ends in the cupboard and fridge. Which brings me onto the main theme of this blog post – Happy New Year!

Last year when I wrote my first Happy New Year blog post of the year I said how I wanted my blog in 2017…

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Leftover Turkey Panang Curry

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The days between Christmas and New Year can be something quite special. A lot of us have been fortunate to take a few days holiday and to be able to sit back and properly relax and there are plenty of friends and family around to catch up with. But what really defines these few days is the fact that any kind of meal plan or healthy and acceptable eating goes completely out of the window. Every meal is followed by a cheese board that just doesn’t seem to be going down, there is a constant flow of leftover party food such as sausage rolls and we are all desperate…

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Italian Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Spaghetti

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This Italian Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Spaghetti is such an indulgent and comforting dish. It is on the table in less than 20 mins and is a joy to eat. I have been making more effort to visit local delis to pick up fresh and good quality produce. It is so easy to get stuck in the trap of trying to get everything from the one, large supermarket that sometimes we forget to take advantage of all the wonderful local stores out there. I am fortunate to live in central Berlin where there is no shortage of local delis and specialised supermarkets….

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Honey and Thyme Baked Feta with Tomatoes

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When I was in Paxos I came across fried feta for the first time. I am usually quite boring when it comes to feta, simply adding it to salads or as a topping to some vegetables like in a Greek Briam. The only time I have really made proper use of feta cheese in a dish is in a Spanakopita, where in my opinion, it is more of a star ingredient than the spinach itself! I really liked the fried feta but it was the Saganaki cheese that I kept going back for ever since I had a delicious dish of Baked Saganaki with Honey. Saganaki is like a mix between feta and halloumi and I am a huge fan. …

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Beef Koftas with Tabbouleh

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I am a huge fan of Tabbouleh! There is no shortage of good quality Middle Eastern food here in Berlin and a well made tabbouleh has long been a favourite of mine. And while Berlin might be famous for it’s Döner Kebabs and slightly bland, cheap take out’s that serve cheap and greasy falafel, it is actually very easy to also find the good quality places! Babel, a laid-back Lebanese restaurant that serves the most delicious hummus and falafel plates or halloumi wraps is my favourite, especially on a warm summer evening….

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Halloumi and Aubergine Salad (with radish and celery)

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The humble aubergine may have received a little negative press recently in relation to arthritus. And I say little because it really is little. Self-taught nutrionists make up a very small % of the actual nutritional advice out there and are the ones without any real case-controlled studies to back their points. Research is also very limited and overall most of us seem to get on ok with the aubergine! Including aubergines in your diet is incredibly healthy and a great way for those working on weight loss or controlling type 2 diabetes….

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Mini Goats Cheese, Tomato and Basil Quiches

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It seems like this sunny weather is sticking around although I have felt slightly British the last few days by complaining about the heat already..! Every year it always takes me by surprise the lack of air coniditioning in Berlin. I get that Berlin is hardly the Mediterranean climate but the summers are hot! So instead, it means plenty of afterwork beer garden visits to the Prater or sitting on the balcony with a cold glass of wine….

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