Talk about next level tacos! Your Taco Tuesday will never be the same after trying my beef taco recipe.This is a recipe that you definitely must try out because it is packed with an  utter sensation of flavors that will explode in your mouth.

These tacos are very healthy yet mouth-watering at the same time! They go very well with tuna patties, but they are not a must-have in this recipe. Fresh lettuce leaves really just give this recipe its dynamite as they they elevate it to a whole new level.

Time: 2 hours
Yield: 6 tacos and 6 tuna patties
Main course
Ingredients
For the tacos

• 6 taco-size tortillas
• ½ green lettuce head
• ½ red lettuce head
• 1 large red onion
• 2 cups cooked and shredded beef
• ¾ sweet & sour bbq sauce
• 1 carrot (shaved into ribbons using a potato peeler)

For the roasted potatoes

• 4-5 medium sized potatoes
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons mixed herbs

For the sauce base

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 large carrot

For the tuna patties

• 2 mashed medium-sized potatoes
• 1 can tuna
• 1 small onion
• ⅓ cup green beans
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons chicken spice
• Oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To prepare the potatoes, wash them and cut them into cubes that are not too small. 
2. Boil them for 20-25 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
4. Drain off off the water and add them to a baking pan together with the paprika, salt, mixed herbs and black pepper. Ensure that they are evenly coated with all the spices.
5. Bake them for 45 minutes- 1 hour until they are golden brown and crispy.
6. (It is advisable to only toss them once while they are in the oven so they do not break and become mushy)
7. In the meantime, to prepare the tuna patties, chop the onion and green beans and fry them in a sizzling hot pan for 4 minutes.
8. Add the mashed potato and the tuna together with the salt, black pepper, mixed herbs, paprika, cayenne pepper and chicken spice to the pan and fry for 15 minutes until  everything is evenly cooked.
9. Cover the pan and put it aside until it is time to plate.
10. For the tacos,start by tossing the beef in the sweet & sour bbq sauce until it is evenly coated in a medium bowl.
11. To prepare the base sauce, add the mayonnaise and all the other ingredients for the base sauce to a small bowl and make sure everything is well combined.
12. Warm the grilled potato cubes in the microwave for 3 minutes. 
13. Slice the red onion into rings.
14. Peel the carrot and cut it  lengthwise into 2  and then cut those two halves lengthwise into 2 as well.
15. Use a potato peeler to make the carrot ribbons by shaving each carrot stick down to make thin transparent ribbons.
16. To plate, place two tortillas on each plate.Put a bit of mayonnaise on one end of each tortilla and stick the ends of the two tortillas in each plate to each other so  the centers are upright as shown in the picture. 
17. Spread equal amounts of the mayonnaise base sauce onto each tortilla.
18. Evenly distribute the potato cubes among all the tortillas.
19. Roughly tear some of the green and red lettuce leaves and add them to the tortillas.
20. Add a generous amount of the beef each of the tacos.
21. Heat the tuna-patty mixture for two minutes.
22. In each of the plates, spoon some of the tuna-patty mixture into a round cookie cutter and press it down before lifting off the cookie cutter, to create the pattie shape.
23. Repeat that with the remaining patty mixture in each plate.
24. Arrange the remaining lettuce leaves, carrot ribbons and red onions around the plate and your meal will be ready to serve!

Talk about 5 minute drinks! This purple cocktail looks stunning but it is ridiculously easy to make!  It reinvigorates ordinary juice boxes and the lemonade adds the fizz that just makes this cocktail totally irresistible.

Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 5 glasses

Ingredients

• 2 litres lemonade(chilled)
• 1 liter Apple juice
• 1 liter mixed berry juice
• Purple food coloring
• 2-3 sprigs of mint to garnish
• Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place a tiny drop of the purple food coloring in the bottom each glass and the desired amount of ice.
2. Combine the apple juice, berry juice and lemonade in a jug.
3. Pour the cocktail into each glass( please do not stir as it disrupts the beauty of the color forming) and top each cocktail off with a sprig of mint!

I came up with this recipe after thinking to myself how I could revitalize
the tedious green salad we’re all used to. I opened the fridge and found a variety of fresh vegetables that simply needed to be collaborated artistically .

This salad is made of a pineapple salsa in a bowl lined with lettuce, red onion slices and yellow lemon slices. It  is very important not to toss the salad as it destroys the beautiful composition you
would have created. 

This is a great salad you should definitely try out and it does not require a lot
of skill and time yet it looks highly impressive!

Total time: 25 minutes

Yield: a medium sized bowl of salad

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized lettuce head
• 1 large red tomato
• 1 pineapple
• 2 medium sized lemons
• 2 medium sized red onions
• 95 g Feta cheese or Greek mozzarella
• 50 g fresh coriander

For the dressing

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, black pepper, lemon and granulated sugar.
2. Gradually add the water whilst whisking vigorously, till it becomes smooth. Cover the dressing and put it aside.
3. On a cutting board, cut the tomato in small cubes and one red onion and put the cubes in a medium sized bowl.
4. Peel the pineapple and cut it into cubes and also cube the cheese and add them to the bowl.
5. Squeeze half a lemon into the bowl, making sure that no seeds enter the bowl and add two pinches of black pepper. Make sure everything is well combined.
6. Peel the lettuce leaves and wash them under cold running water.
7. Slice the other red onion into rings as well as one lemon.
8. Get the serving bowl and line it with the lettuce leaves, lemon slices, and red onion slices until it is completely covered (creating a ‘well’).
9. Drizzle the salad dressing over the lettuce leaves, lemons and red onions. 
10. Transfer the pineapple salsa from the small bowl into the bowl with the lettuce, lemons and red onions in the middle of the ‘well’ you created.
11. Slice the remaining half of the lemon you used earlier on and neatly layer it around your bowl (see the picture of the salad at the top).
12. Sprinkle the fresh coriander over the pineapple salsa and it will be ready to serve!

                              

BBQ pork ribs are undeniably an all time favorite! These juicy oven roasted pork ribs are packed with flavor, as there are two layers of delectable flavors, namely-the spice rub and the sweet and sour marinade.

This marinade is universal, so it is not solely for these spare ribs.You can double and triple the quantities and store it in the refrigerator for whenever you need it.  You may also go ahead and half the quantity, but remember to do that for everything ,because there is a tendency of forgetting to half some of the ingredients which might offset the whole recipe in the end.

Time:2 hours 30 minutes

Yield: 13-14 spare ribs

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork ribs

For the dry rub

• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin

For the BBQ sauce

• 1 ½  cups ketchup
• ½  cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup molasses
• ⅛ cup syrup
• 3 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp garlic powder 
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika

For the crispy spaghetti noodles

• 500g spaghetti noodles
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil.
3. Remove the membrane on the backside of your ribs by gently moving a sharp knife under the membrane then peeling it off.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the ingredients for the dry rub until well combined.
5. Evenly rub the dry rub on both sides of the ribs and place them onto the baking tray.
6. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours.
7. In the meantime combine all the ingredients for the BBQ sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes, until it has thickened.
8. After the ribs have baked for 1 hour 45 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and brush the top of your ribs with some of the BBQ sauce.
9. Place the baking tray back into the oven and change the setting from bake to grill for the remaining 15 minutes.
10. Remove the baking from the oven and let the ribs rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing  them.
11. Slice the ribs using the bones on the backside as  guidelines.
12. Brush some more BBQ sauce onto each of the sliced ribs then your ribs will be ready.
13. To make the crispy spaghetti noodles, preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
14. Place the spaghetti noodles on the baking tray and place the baking tray in the oven.
15. Toss the spaghetti noodles after every 20 minutes for an hour, till they are golden and crispy.
16. Combine the spices and sprinkle the spice blend over the spaghetti strips while tossing. Your side dish will now be ready !

If you need a fiesta of colorful desserts,

this resplendent dessert certainly

embodies the splendid fusion of color

and sweetness. It undeniably is a sugary

dessert, but the sugar is the quintessence

of this flamboyant dessert. I named the

dessert in Latin, the translation

being ' colorful dessert' as the Latin

name illuminates the festive feel that

is typified by the dessert.

Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 10-12 mini tarts, 5-6 waffles

Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 sheet puff pastry (245g) thawed
• 1 egg,beaten
• Vanilla ice-cream
• Golden syrup

For the purple pudding

• ⅛ cup cornstarch
• 1 ⅓ cup milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• A few drops purple food coloring

For the waffles:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup milk
• 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter (melted)
• 2 different food colorings

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Let the puff pastry thaw, while you make the pudding, so it will be easy to roll out later on.
2. In the meantime, combine the cornstarch and granulated sugar in a saucepan and whisk. 
3. Gradually add in all the milk, whisking continuously and ensuring that there are no lumps formed.
4. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat till bubbles start appearing(about 5-7 minutes). Do not forget to keep whisking, as lumps will form if you don't.
5. As it is bubbling, quickly beat the egg in a bowl and take 1 teaspoon of the hot mixture and add it to the bowl, whisking vigorously.
6. Repeat this step with 4 more teaspoons of the hot mixture, adding one at a time and whisking, before adding the next one.*(THIS IS A CRUCIAL STEP, BECAUSE IF YOU ADD THE EGG STRAIGHT INTO THE HOT MIXTURE WITHOUT TAMPERING IT, IT WILL TURN INTO SCRAMBLED EGG! )
7. Whisk the egg mixture into the hot mixture, and keep whisking for about 3-4 more minutes until the pudding has thickened, before removing the saucepan from the heat. The egg inside the pudding would have cooked by then.
8. Stir in the vanilla extract and leave the pudding to cool, while you prepare the puff pastry cases.
9. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
10. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put it aside.
11. Sprinkle some flour onto a cutting board or a clean countertop and lightly coat your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the puff pastry into a square/rectangle roughly the thickness of a coin.
12. Using a cookie cutter that is 7 cm in diameter, cut out 30 circles.
13. Place 10 circles aside. With the remaining 20 circles, stick one circle onto another circle by lightly brushing the top of 10 circles with a bit of the beaten egg and then pasting the remaining circles on top of the 10 circles that you would have brushed.
14. Using the bottom of a medium sized/small icing tip, cut out small circles in the middle of the remaining 10 circles you had put aside earlier. They should resemble the shape of a doughnut.
15. Turn the ‘ ring doughnut circles’ upside down and lightly brush some of the  egg wash onto each of them before placing the brushed side onto each of the 10 double circles.
16. Lightly brush the top  of all the 10 mini tart cases (just the top) before placing them onto the baking tray lined with parchment paper, making sure that you leave some space between each of them to give room for expansion in the oven.
17. Bake for 16-18 minutes, till they are golden brown (on the top) and puffy.
18. Let them cool for about 10 minutes.
19. Add a few drops of purple food coloring, or equal amounts of pink and blue food coloring, until the desired intensity of the color is reached.
20. Carefully spoon in some of the pudding into each of the small holes in the puff pastry tart cases.
21. To make the waffles, first preheat your waffle iron.(I used a triangular one).
22. Whisk all the dry ingredients in one bowl.
23. Whisk all the wet ingredients in another bowl, and slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry-ingredient bowl while gently whisking the batter, but not for too long. (It's fine to still have a few lumps in the batter.)
24. Place half of the waffle batter into a separate bowl.
25. Add a few drops of food coloring to that bowl and a different color to the waffle batter remaining in the mixing bowl.
26. Spray the waffle iron with non-stick spray and add ⅓ - ½ cup of the batter for each waffle. If you are using a triangular waffle iron, I used a ¼ cup for each triangular half. Remember to place an equal amount of the two different colored waffle batters when you place the batter into the waffle iron.
27. Let the waffles cook till they have crispy edges, and they easily slide off the waffle iron. Do this for all the waffles.
28. To assemble the dessert, stack two waffle halves, (in a criss-cross pattern).
29. Scoop the desired amount of ice-cream onto the plate. (It is necessary to ensure that it is still firm so it does not ruin any of the other dessert elements)
30. Place two of the purple mini puff pastry tarts.
31. Finally drizzle some golden syrup and you will be done!

Tropical Sunset Cocktail

There is nothing that screams ‘Summer!’ to me like a refreshing

 ice-cold cocktail as you watch the sunset with your family or friends.

 This cocktail is great for when you’re hosting a party, as you can 

make it in bulk, picnics or just any occasion that calls for a good

 cocktail! It is a definite crowd pleaser and does not require a lot of

 prep time as well.

Feel free to use whatever type of glasses you have at home as long 

as they are transparent, so you clearly see the magnificent colour

 gradient formed!

Time: 35 minutes

Yield: about 1 medium sized jug

Ingredients

• 1 can lemonade (can be substituted with sprite or sparkling water)
• 1 litre orange fruit juice
• 500 ml mango fruit juice
• A few drops pink, or orange food coloring
• 600 ml ginger beer/juice (homemade or store bought)
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 1 small lemon
• Ice cubes
• A few sprigs of fresh mint

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place all the liquids in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours before use.
2. For the sugar coating on the rim of the glasses, place the sugar in a medium sized flat plate.
3. Add about three drops of the food coloring to the sugar rub it into the rest of the sugar using your clean hands until all the sugar is evenly coated. Feel free to add more food coloring depending on the intensity you want to have of the color.
4. Cut the lemon in half and run it around the rim of the glasses then immediately dip the rim of each glass into the colored sugar and let them dry up, before pouring in the cocktail. 
5. Make sure the rims of the glasses are evenly and entirely coated.
6. Pour the orange juice, mango juice, lemonade, ginger and beer/juice into a jug and mix
7. When filling your glasses, add one or two drops of food coloring to the bottom of your glass before poring the cocktail in. Do the same for all the glasses.
8. Leave the glasses untouched and after about 10 minutes the color gradient will become visible!
9. Garnish with one sprig of mint on each of the glass rims and your cocktails will be ready to serve.

Recipe notes: You may double or triple the amount depending on the number of cocktails you need .You may also make half the amount if you do not need as much as the  recipe makes. Be sure to either double or half all the ingredients (not just some) if you decide if you need more or less than what the recipe caters for.