Just Add Yoghurt

Between the ages of 8 – 12 creamy pastas were my favourite. Alla Panna, Alfredo, Carbonara - all of them were commonly found on my dinner plate. However every time I ate a creamy pasta it would give me a horrible stomach ache because it was just too heavy for my little kid stomach (actually I had a huge stomach – after all I did eat a lot of creamy pasta dishes). Then one day in high school Home Ec class, we made a simple creamy pasta and the recipe gave a healthier alternative to cream – yoghurt. An overweight teenager eager to lose weight, I had to try it. It was this moment that my infatuation with yoghurt started. Now I’m slowly converting my friends to adding a dollop of yoghurt to their pasta dishes. So why is yoghurt a healthier alternative to cream, sour cream, ice-cream or a sneaky custard? Yoghurt has a lot of good bacteria, often referred to as probiotics, which can help your digestive tract, adjusts the microflora (natural balance of organisms) in your int...

I was one of those strange kids growing up – I didn’t really like pancakes. They never excited me.  This disinterest in pancakes stayed with me throughout university. However when eating breakfast with a friend at Billy Baxter I decided to try their savoury ham and cheese pancake. Its cheesy and meaty goodness transformed my opinion of the humble pancake. Then when joining Mr Bball at an annual Christmas eve pancake breakfast with his friends I was officially hooked. So when friends were coming over for breakfast, I thought I would make a savoury pancake in honour of my Billy Baxter pancake experience.   Yoghurt and ricotta pancakes Ingredients: ¾ cup wholemeal plan flour ¾ teaspoon bi-carb soda 2/3 cup of Greek yoghurt 1 teaspoon salt Pepper ¼ cup fresh basil roughly chopped 70g ricotta cheese 1 egg ¼ cup milk Method: Sift flour and bi-carb soda Add the Greek yoghurt, salt, pepper, basil, ricotta cheese and egg a...

Who hasn’t eaten Mars Pods? What about butternut snap cookie tartlets with a beautiful creamy chocolate filling? My sister-in-law makes white chocolate butternut snap cookie tartlets every Easter and they are amazing. Everyone goes crazy over them. This recipe combines the two. A soft sweet cookie with creamy chocolate filling packed with a surprise, honeycomb. I made these for a work fundraiser – bring a plate to raise money for the Nepal earthquake. The earthquake in Nepal was a horrible event so I was really looking forward to helping in some tiny tiny way. This recipe is easy and perfect for any morning or afternoon tea and let me tell you…they flew off the plate!   Ingredients: Cookie base: 120g butter 1 cup brown sugar ¼ cup white sugar 1 egg 1 cup S/R flour ¾ cup plain flour 1 tsp baking powder Chocolate filling: 150g dark chocolate melts 50g butter, chopped 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt 1 violet crumble, chopped ½ boost bar, chopped M...