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I love yogurt. Until relatively recently, though, aside from Tzatziki, it was a sweet food, usually for breakfast. Even plain yogurt, which is more sour than sweet, I considered a food to be had with oats and raisins, or with syrup on a crêpe. For lunch though? Maybe muesli, but even then, I consider that more sweet than savoury, loaded up as it is with fruit. Imagine my delight, therefore, when I discovered borani, a savoury Persian yogurt dish. The yogurt is flavoured with herbs and spices, salt and pepper and served with vegetables. I started out following recipes for it, but have since gone my own way. I've enjoyed playing around with different veggie toppings and herb or spice combos too. It is no longer what you might call "authentic" but it is tasty! I also love that it is tasty eaten at room temperature, and within reason, it doesn't need to be refrigerated. I found that it worked well as a packed lunch when working in a refugee camp, for example, where we had no microwave and no fridge. Here's our most recent one. Ingredients: 3 c yogurt 1 tsp sumac 1 tsp herbes de Provence 1 tsp Thyme 2 c spinach 1 tbsp butter 2 onions, sliced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted Salt and pepper 1) Strain yogurt through a cheese cloth until thickened to the desired consistency. Mix with herbes de Provence, thyme and sumac, salt and pepper to taste. 2) Wilt spinach and sauté briefly with butter. 3) Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry onions over medium high heat until crispy. 4) Assemble bowls, first a dollop of yogurt, then some spinach, some onions and a sprinkling of pine nuts. Incredibly quick to assemble and at once refreshing and filling without being heavy, this was the perfect lunch last week after a morning bike ride with Little Bit. It was a lot of steep uphill (and then a much quicker descent) so I was happy to be able to plate up something quick when we got home. I made this using home-made yogurt which we'd left out a little too long, so the flavour had ripened a little. For breakfast, the flavour was a bit much, but mixed with herbs and spices for a lunch borani, it was perfect.

Third on the challenge of coming up with four different types of ravioli in a week for my sister is the Pork and Apple Ravioli. We had these with a creamy mushroom sauce, just like the Pumpkin and Sage Ravioli on night one, but this time I added some apple cider vinegar and Spiced cacao to the sauce to match the other flavours. These came out really nicely. Ingredients: For the Pasta: 2 1/2 - 3 c flour 3 eggs 2 tbsp apple sauce 1 tsp thyme Pepper For the Filling: 2 tbsp olive oil 250-300 g pork, minced 1 c apple sauce 1 large red onion, minced 1 tsp cinnamon 1 - 1 1/2 tsp tandoori powder 1/2 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao For the Sauce: 2 tbsp butter 1 c mushrooms, chopped 1-1 1/2 c milk 1/4 c apple cider vinegar 1 tsp Aloha Spiced Cacao Nutmeg, freshly grated 1) In a large skillet, heat the oil for the filling and sauté the onion. When it is soft, add the pork, cooking until the meat begins to brown. Add the other ingredients for the filling, stirring regularly, until it all comes together. Taste test and put aside to cool. 2) Meanwhile, place flour in a large mixing bowl. Grind in pepper and add thyme. Make a well in the flour and crack in the eggs. Add the apple sauce and mix the flour into the apple and eggs gradually with a fork, to form a soft, elastic dough. 3) Pass fist-sized pieces of dough through progressively higher settings on a pasta maker until as thin as possible. Use a ravioli mould to make hollows in the sheet of pasta and place 1/2 tsp of filling in each. Place a second pasta sheet over the top, seal and cut. (alternatively use a ravioli cutter). 4) Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. In the meantime make a roux. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour, and then add milk bit by bit, stirring well. Add the vinegar and Aloha Spiced Cacao. Sauté mushrooms in the remaining 2 tbsp butter and add to the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. 5) Boil ravioli in batches for 4-5 minutes at most. Fresh pasta doesn't take long! Drain and serve with some sauce. These were really tasty, and I feel that they were a worthy inclusion in this challenge. I might have done a different sauce for these, except that one of the conditions of the challenge was to try and use only a couple of different doughs and a couple of different sauces, using the fillings for the variation for the most part. As we had these all in a row, I've added some variations, but I do feel that the variations would be easy to add in even with four different types of ravioli going at once. A note on the challenge of making ravioli. I struggle to get them to not stick to each other or whatever surface they are on between making and cooking. The longer they sit, the more problematic it can be. I've tried using flour or cornstarch. I try to avoid plastic wrap as much as possible so that is out. As far as it goes, the corn starch works quite well, probably better than the flour, but it is hard to get good enough coverage to avoid any sticking and tearing in the ravioli. Part of my problem is also my lack of counter space in the kitchen. I have to make these in the dining room on the table and then transfer them, which is easiest done on cutting boards, but then limited space means that it is more tempting to stack them up... If any one has any better ideas, I'm all ears! In case you want to try making these but don't have a pasta machine , pasta tree or a ravioli cutter, click on the links to get one of your own! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

approx. 20 brownies ~~ Difficulty: Easy Cherry and Almond Blondies, Take One Ingredients: 4 eggs 2 c Having said that, they were most definitely kid-approved, with both Little Bit (who usually has less me think that baking two batches of brownies back to back while doing bath-time and bedtime for the kids

Recipe Cook time: approx. 1 hour -- Portions: about 30 cookies -- Difficulty: Easy Almond and Chocolate

My sister asked me for four different ravioli ideas for her to make for a dinner with friends, two vegetarian and two meaty. Being me, I thought about it for too long, mulling over different ideas, and then realised that she needed the recipes in five days. That meant a ravioli every day for four days. This was day two ( Day 1 was the Pumpkin and Sage Ravioli). I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, and it was too long since I had gotten out the pasta machine, but it did also become an exercise in wrangling a toddler during a rather labour intensive meal prep four days in a row. Anyway, this one came out very tasty, and is definitely a good recipe to have stick around! Ingredients: For the Pasta: 2 c flour 3 eggs Pepper For the Filling: 2 chicken breasts, minced Juice of 1 lemon 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1/2 head garlic, crushed 1 onion, minced 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste For the Sauce: 6 tbsp olive oil Juice and zest of 1 lemon 3 tsp honey 1 1/2 tsp Pul Biber 1 tsp rosemary 1) Place chicken, garlic, lemon juice and balsamic in a bowl. Mix well, cover and refrigerate. Allow to rest 1-2 hours to marinate. 2) Heat oil in a skillet or frying pan and cook the chicken until just done. Set aside to cool. 3) Place flour in a mixing bowl. Add pepper and make a well in the middle. Crack eggs into the well and gradually mix the flour into the eggs with a fork to form a soft, elastic dough. 4) Pass fist-sized pieces of dough through progressively higher settings on a pasta maker until thin. Use a ravioli mould to make hollows in the sheet of pasta and place 1/2 tsp of filling in each. Place a second pasta sheet over the top, seal and cut ( alternatively use a ravioli cutter). 5) Heat a little oil in the bottom of a deep pan. In batches, brown the ravioli briefly then add 1/2 c water to the pan. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes, until ravioli are al dente and the water is gone. 6) In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add lemon zest, juice and honey. Reduce over low heat until well combined and thickened to desired consistency (if you reduce it too much, add a little move water back to it). Add rosemary and pul biber. Serve ravioli with a good drizzle of sauce. We had a little leftover chicken filling, so we served it up with the ravioli and sauce and cheese grated over it all and had zucchini as a side. This made for a thoroughly enjoyable meal, but a little light on the veg for my taste (the zucchini was a last-minute afterthought as I realised that aside from a little onion and lemon, otherwise, the meal had none). The labour-intensive nature of the ravioli making drove any thought of other elements of the meal out of my mind. If I had a do-over, roasted veg or basil carrots would work well with this, for example. We tried a variety of ways of cooking these, and as it turns out treating them kind of like gyoza worked best. In case you want to try making these but don't have a pasta machine , pasta tree or ravioli cutter, click on the links to get one of your own! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I started making my own apple pectin last year, and have used it a couple of times for jellies (like my Lemon and Ginger Chilli Jelly). Apple pectin is entirely naturally occurring in apples, and in the presence of sugar, it helps gel things. I wondered if it would be possible to use pectin instead of gelatine in other things, like Panna Cotta. I do like panna cotta and like playing around with flavours for it occasionally (like my lemon-topped one, or my savoury lemongrass and coconut one!). I was a little worried that the pectin would both flavour and colour the panna cotta as it is a pink colour. As for the flavour, I decided to run with it and pair it with applesauce. The idea has been bouncing around for a little while and I finally decided to try it. Recipe Cook time: 20-30 minutes + chill time 4 hours to overnight -- Portions: 4 -- Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: 2c cream 2 c apple pectin 3 tbsp brown sugar 1 c apple sauce 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1) Pour cream and pectin into a saucepan and heat slowly. Stir in sugar. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. 2) Mix the cinnamon and allspice into the applesauce and spoon it into the bottom of 4 or 5 glasses. Gently pour the cream mixture over the top of the apple sauce and chill overnight in the fridge. This worked. Ish. Better than I had feared but not as well as I had hoped. I initially started with 1 c pectin, but while the cream did thicken, it didn't gel. I poured it all (apple sauce included as I couldn't seem to get just the cream) back into a saucepan, and added the third tablespoon of sugar and another cup of pectin. I cooked it again and chilled it again. This time it worked! The cream was the right consistency for panna cotta, and absolutely delicious, with little bits of apple and lots of spice caught in it. The only problem was that the cream was a solid layer on top of a layer of juice. I don't know if it was from the apple sauce or from the pectin, or a little of each, but as soon as we started eating the panna cotta, the juice seeped up and mixed with the cream, and it was all a liquidy mess. Next time, I think I need to reduce both the apple sauce and the pectin a bit further to prevent that. It was still tasty though! So very tasty! Science experiment successful though. Pectin works to gel things other than jellies, as a replacement for gelatine. With some caveats! The other issue with using homemade pectin, scientifically speaking, is that it is not going to be a uniform strength. What took 2 cups of pectin this time might take 1 1/2 or 3 next time, there is no real way to know... I guess I will just have to play that one by ear. Luckily, that is how most of my cooking happens, so I'm ok with that. Also, it didn't turn pink, but was a little coloured by the spices. I will have to try this one again, with reduced ingredients, to see how it goes then. Served in little glasses, I think this could work quite nicely as a party food!

Recipe Cook Time: approx. 1 hour -- Portions: 4-6 -- Cooking Level: Easy Ingredients: for the mayo: 1

One of the rare days we didn't have soup for lunch, it was sunny and warm in the sunshine, but there was a nip in the shade with autumn coming on. This was quick and easy to whip up when I got back from running errands, and made for a great light lunch, with enough flavour and texture but no weight. A big hit with Hubby and Little Bit! Ingredients: 1 1/4 c flour (I used about 3/4 - 1 c of white flour and the rest was home ground barley flour. It is less finely milled, but the texture was great) 1 tsp Rosemary 2 eggs 2 c milk oil for cooking For the filling: Roast pumpkin wedges Mushrooms, sautéed in butter Grated cheese Bacon bits Fresh cheese or cream cheese of some kind (I used my homemade Fromage Blanc) 1) Place flour and rosemary in a bowl and add eggs then milk gradually, beating well after each addition, forming a thin batter. 2) Heat a crêpe skillet and oil it using a cloth or paper towel. Pour about 1/2 ladle of crêpe batter in and tilt to spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cook over medium-low heat until the surface becomes matte, then flip using a spatula and cook for a couple more minutes on the other side. 3) Place on a warmed plate with about 1-2 tbsp fromage blanc or other cream cheese down the centre of the crêpe and other ingredients sprinkled over it. Roll and serve. I really enjoyed this flavour combination. We happened to have left-over roast pumpkin as well as the other bits and pieces so it worked out very nicely. The bacon could be left out for any vegetarians joining in this deliciousness, too. On some of the crêpes, we also added a little of our Carrot Ketchup for a little added flavour. I also, for the sake of science, tried a sweet version, with fromage blanc, pumpkin and date syrup (although honey or molasses would work too), and it was scrumptious. We had this for lunch, but it could easily work for breakfast or dinner too!

Recipe Cook Time: approx 2 hours -- Portions: 4 -- Cooking difficulty: Medium Ingredients: 3 c potatoes

Recipe Cook time: approx 50 minutes -- Servings: 6-8 ( depending on size) -- Cooking level: Easy Ingredients