Phyllo pastry appetizers/4 recipes

Cheesy and delicious. The whole wheat crust is so flakey and tasty, the filling is made with sauteed onions, asparagus and gruyere cheese, packed with yumminess. It's great for an appetizer, or a vegetarian main course.

New potatoes in a tangy cheesy butter caper sauce.

Fresh soybeans (edamame) dip on crackers topped with a roasted cherry tomato. Perfect light tasting finger food when company is coming.

Italian asparagus. How to cook asparagus Italian-style. Classic flavor-packed cold marinated asparagus with an onion, caper, lemon and mint dressing. Perfect to make ahead and serve anytime with simple ingredients. It's even vegan and vegetarian.

Fresh peaches fill into an almond and flour crust, the sweetness, slightly sourness, and refreshing taste from the peaches go very well with the nutty crusty. It's a light, fruity and delicious dessert that fits a hot summer day wonderfully!

So to start off with the first post, I decided to make a meal that screams of comfort food. Whilst it does take a bit of a while to get the meal done, once you take that first bite, heaven couldn’t seem closer if you were Adam trying to touch God’s finger in the “Creation of Adam” fresco created by Michaelangelo. The meal I speak of is Cottage Pie. There is much debate as to what exactly a cottage pie is and how it is different to a Shepherd’s pie...I don’t know. The dominant theory is that Sheperds pie uses lamb mince, whilst a cottage pie uses beef mince. I don’t know about you, but the term “Sheperds Pie” does not get my tastebuds going quite as well, so I prefer the term cottage pie. Besides, comparing the price of ground (mince) beef to ground lamb, a student would pick up the beef mince in a heartbeat without even so much as glancing at the lamb in the meat section. This cottage pie that I made is full of flavour, and just makes you want to cuddle up next to a fire and watch TCM movies all day either by yourself, or with a significant other. Here is the recipe:

It's easy to make your own home-made pasta. Many Italian families do it every day. This is a very traditional original recipe from Larousse Gastronomique the French bible of fine dining and cooking.

Only 4 ingredients! Grape juice studded with banana slices makes this all-natural dessert delightfully glorious!

Delish herring canapes that are perfect for any party or gathering. They will have everyone coming back for more!

Lemongrass soup with shrimp.

Ran out of plums and had leftover so developed this recipe to use strawberries instead of plums that the original called for.

This is a delicious recipe that helps you make a tasty dish with leftover rice and whatever veggies you have on hand.

Soft and creamy mozzarella balls wrapped in a thin slice of zucchini then marinated in a savory mix of olive oil, lemon zest, coriander and mint. Party poppers that are healthy and tasty.

Very easy to make, and it came out delicious with great texture. I halved the recipe, used whole wheat flour, half butter and half olive oil, and baked it in 4 individual ramekins. I ate one while it was still warm, very good; later had one after chilled in the fridge, even better. Definitely a keeper.

Grilled portobello mushrooms are juicy, tender and flavorful, it's a delicious ingredient that can be used to make a salad, with the slightly bitter peppery arugula, and mild gruyere cheese, a tasty, quick and easy salad ready to enjoy!