Cookbooks and magazines still remain a core of my recipe repertoire, but blogs are a significant source of inspiration for me. In some ways, it is less of a chore to bookmark a recipe on a blog for a rainy day than to deliberately seek one out in print. The two following dishes I made recently were gleaned from the online world of cooking – but there are many more to come!

Spiced Paneer with Spinach, Tomatoes and Potatoes

Although mutter paneer is one of my favourite dishes at Indian restaurants, I’ve never tried cooking with paneer at home. When I saw Michelle’s easy recipe for spiced paneer with spinach, tomatoes and potatoes, there seemed like no better way to start.

I had thought paneer would be available at Superstore, but that wasn’t the case (we ended up picking up a package at Spice Centre, our go-to Indian grocer). The package and white block reminded me very much of tofu, but of course, it is much more dense and firm in texture.

As promised, the recipe was very fast to pull together (we used Doef’s tomatoes and Greens, Eggs and Ham potatoes). I loved the wilted spinach, and the spice combination – great flavour, with just the right amount of heat for us. Next time, I’d likely include onions, and because I love tomatoes, I would double what the recipe calls for. Overall though, it’s a keeper!

Spiced paneer with spinach, tomatoes and potatoes (photo much less alluring than Michelle’s)

Thai Red Curry with Halibut

Trish Magwood’s Thai chicken curry is a rotating staple in our kitchen, but for whatever reason, we haven’t really used any other protein with that sauce and vegetable combination. Cream and Sugar’s recipe for Thai red curry with halibut was a good reminder that we should change it up.

We had some wild Alberta shallots from the Italian Centre, a bell pepper from Doef’s, and halibut from Ocean Odyssey, though we also threw in some green beans we had in the freezer. Similar to the dish above, this cooked up quickly, and had the by-product of scenting the condo with fragrant coconut milk.

We didn’t have fresh basil and cilantro on hand, unfortunate because I know it would have brightened up the dish considerably. Still, the curry was tasty – the halibut held up very well, and the vegetables cooked down to tender perfection.

Thai red curry with halibut (another photo that doesn’t even remotely compare to the original blog shot)

Which cooking blogs inspire you?