Lockdown at home is dull. Cooking becomes an activity that entertains as well as provides, but rather than mains, the side dishes can be the more exciting part to eat, especially when as simple to make as this salad.

A busy Indonesian salad with a sweet ginger dressing highlights the crunchy sliced cucumbers and shredded carrots and ties this cool, crunchy side dish together.

ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons crushed fresh ginger root
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons salt
1 yellow onion, cut in chunks
5 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
1 cup peeled and finely shredded carrot
2 cups julienne sliced cucumber

directions

Combine the water, vinegar, ginger, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine. 

Place the onion, cabbage, carrot, and cucumber in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing mixture over then toss well to combine. 

Place the salad in the refrigerator for 1 hour to chill. Toss again before serving. 

Salad can be chilled for up to 8 hours before serving.

Black biscuits will either sound wonderful or dreadful – if nothing else, try them for Halloween or use normal tahini from the store cupboard

• YIELD2 dozen cookies
• TIME1 hour, plus overnight chilling

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups/385 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
•  Cooking spray
• 1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 cup/125 grams unsifted icing sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature, plus 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup plain tahini & 3 tablespoons black tahini
• ¼ cup/50 grams coarse black sanding sugar (optional)

PREPARATION

1. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine 3 cups flour, the salt and baking powder; set aside. Coat a small loaf pan with cooking spray, then line with plastic wrap, tucking it into the corners and leaving plenty of overhang. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Add the large egg and the vanilla; beat on medium-high until combined, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
3. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed until combined; then increase speed to medium and beat until dough starts to clump together, scraping bowl as needed.
4. Remove dough from bowl, knead lightly and form into a fat log. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut into two pieces, one about 1/3 of the dough, and the other 2/3 of the dough. Return the larger piece to the bowl, add the plain tahini, and beat on medium speed until fully combined. Remove from bowl and set aside. Add the smaller piece and the black tahini to the bowl and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
5. On a generously floured surface, using a bench scraper or a knife, cut the white dough in half. Pat half the white dough into a 5-inch square. Cut the black dough in half, then pat half the black dough on top of the flattened white dough to match dimensions. Repeat with remaining white dough, then black dough, so you have four alternating layers of white dough and black dough. Cut in half crosswise, and gently knead and roll one piece to marble the two colors together. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Stack both pieces of dough together (they should be fairly soft at this point, so be gentle), and briefly knead the pieces together to form one dough.
6. Press dough into prepared pan, and fold the plastic wrap over the top to seal. Gently press down to even out the surface as much as possible. Chill until firm, preferably overnight, or at least a few hours and up to 3 days ahead, or freeze up to 3 months.
7. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Beat the egg white with 1 teaspoon water to thin it out. Spread the sanding sugar out on a small baking sheet. Remove the block of dough from the loaf pan and unwrap it. Trim the slanted sides and the top if you want them really square. Very lightly brush the outside of the block with the egg white mixture. Press the block firmly to coat all sides (except the ends) with the sugar, sprinkling and pressing it on to cover any bare spots.
8. Cut the block into barely 1/4-inch-thick slices, and lay them out 1 inch apart on two parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheets. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
9. Bake until cookies are golden underneath, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Since we’re stuck at home, baking seems a good option and the only things worth baking are things to cheer us up.

For the dough:

• ¼ ounce instant dry yeast
• ½ cup warm water
• ½ cup scalded milk
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 3 ½ to 4 cups flour

For the filling:

• ½ cup melted unsalted butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

For the glaze:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• ¼ cup softened, salted butter
• 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1) In a small bowl, dissolve dry yeast in warm water and set aside. With a stand mixer (using dough hook), mix milk, sugar, butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add the yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough pulls away from the edge of the bowl and is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Place in a well-greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for an hour or two until doubled in size.

2) Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Roll the dough out on a floured surface into an even rectangle. Spread softened butter on dough. Mix both sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over buttered dough. Starting at the bottom (on the long side of the rectangle), roll dough and pinch ends together to seal. Slice the roll into 2-inch pieces with a serrated knife.

3) Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Place the rolls close together in the pan and place in refrigerator overnight. (If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the fridge: Cover and allow to rise again for another hour until they double in size.)

4) Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake rolls for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned. While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by creaming the butter and cheese with a mixer until smooth. Whip in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired glaze consistency. Drizzle the glaze over rolls while they’re still warm to make them extra gooey.