Matcha pistachio cupcakes

I attended a chanoyu (茶の湯 or Japanese tea ceremony) a couple of weeks ago at House of Tea. While not a lover of ceremonial preparations and presentations per se, I have been interested in matcha and its culinary application for some time now. 

Last November, I made a loaf of matcha pistachio bread (recipe and pictures to follow). It was quite a success. This time, adapting a recipe from Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or Less!) Cookbook, I made a batch of matcha pistachio cupcakes complete with frosting, which Husband helped to pipe! 

Matcha pistachio cupakes

Persian lemon chicken

A couple of years ago when we were holidaying in Dubai, we visited the Spice Souk and picked up a few spices. Among them was limu omani, or dried lemon/lime. When we got back home, I didn't quite know what to do with these dried citrus so I searched for recipes online and found one for Persian lemon chicken soup. I tried it out and while the flavours were nice enough, I wasn't completely sold and didn't attempt making it again. The rest of the limu omani were stored in a jar sitting on my spice rack.

Yesterday while trying to come up with a different way of using the chicken pieces I had, I remembered the limu omani and decided it was time to give them another go. And the result was a aromatic lemon chicken with cardamom turmeric rice. 

Persian lemon chicken with cardamom turmeric basmati and blanched green beans