Tastorama

Onion Soup

2009-04-26T22:00:00.001+02:00

I love soups. They're probably my favorite food - warm and comforting, and still a fairly light meal. I was prejudiced against onion soup for years, but an acquaintance who is a chef finally convinced me to try it (and gave me this recipe). I find it incredible how something with so few ingredients (the main one of which is the humble onion) can be so amazingly rich and tasty.
This soup is served with cheese. I usually use gouda or edam (as for everything else, really), but any cheese that melts and doesn't have a very strong taste will do.
I haven't yet tried the famous French onion soup, which is usually done with a sharper cheese, but it's on my "to make" list, so I'll let you know when I do.

Ingredients:

1 kg/2 lb 3 oz onion
2 stock cubes
1 cup sour cream
water
1 tsp sugar
cheese
toast
salt, pepper
oil
water

Peel the onions and chop or slice them roughly. Heat oil in a casserole and add the onions. Cook for about 30 minutes - without water at first, stirring often. If the onion start changing color, add a bit of water. When the onion is softened and transparent puree it in a blender or food processor (a hand blender will do as well). Return to the casserole, add the stock cubes (you could use real stock if you have some, but the cubes work just as well), 1 tsp of sugar and 1.5 l of water. Mix the sour cream with a bit of water and stir it in as well. When the soup starts boiling try it and add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour in bowls, grate or slice cheese on top and serve with toast or croutons.

Leek And Spinach Quiche

2009-03-29T14:09:00.007+02:00

I love quiches - mostly because they are extremely simple to make. Another thing I like is that there is an infinite number of variations you can come up with - depending on the season and the current contents of your fridge. Spinach and feta are one of my all time favorite flavor combos, and as I've recently discovered, leeks are a welcome addition, lending this recipe just a hint of sweetness. Add a glass of yogurt or milk, and you have yourself a perfect breakfast!

Ingredients
Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
3/4 C chopped leeks
300 g/10.5 oz spinach, washed and roughly chopped
5 eggs
2 C sour cream
1 C crumbled feta cheese
salt, pepper
1 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 380°F/200°C.
Roll out the puff pastry and transfer it to your pie plate or baking tray. Trim the edges if necessary.
In an oiled pan, saute the leeks until soft. Add spinach and cook just enough for the spinach to wilt.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until they become fluffy and light. Beat in the sour cream. Add the feta, spinach and leeks and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the pastry and bake until the quiche is golden and the filling is set (Baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the quiche. I used a 20x35 cm/8x14 in tray, and the quiche took around 45 minutes to bake).

Simple Guacamole

2009-03-28T09:30:00.001+01:00

After a few months' hiatus, I'm finally back! God, I've missed blogging, but the truth is, I was so busy I didn't even have time or energy to try out new recipes! However, things are slowing down a little bit, and while I won't be able to post every day, I hope there won't be any breaks as long as this one either.
For a start, I'll leave you with this extremely simple but gorgeous guacamole recipe. Here in Europe, guacamole is not the staple food it is in America, so I first tried it just a few years ago. I must admit that I didn't like it at all! To be honest, up until this point, I rarely if ever bought avocados... I know they're supposed to be very healthy, but I just couldn't for the life of me find a good use for them. So it's a mystery really, what drove me to buy some at the supermarket the other day. I guess I just loved how ripe and perfect they looked. So, when I got home, not knowing what else to do, I decided to give guacamole another try. I found a very simple recipe over at Pinch My Salt, and it worked beautifully. the only change I made was to add a bit of garlic. I'm happy to report I ate the whole batch alone, in one afternoon! So I guess I'm converted now!

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados
1 lime, juiced
1 chili, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
salt

Halve the avocados, remove the seed and scoop out the flesh from the skin. Mash the avocados with a fork until you reach your preferred consistency. Add the lime juice, and stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Orange Turkey/Chicken

2008-10-19T23:16:00.007+02:00

Friday night is my absolute favorite time of the week: the weekend is stretching ahead of you, and there's a world of possibilities. This Friday was even better as, due to some brilliant and completely unexpected circumstances I finished work a bit earlier than usual. When I arrived home, I felt like treating myself to a tasty dinner and a cup of strong coffee and curling up in my armchair to read Dexter In The Dark (a great read, btw). I had an astonishingly beautiful piece of turkey breast, and thought I might somehow enhance it with bacon. However, then I remembered I had seen a pretty cool looking orange chicken recipe over at Dishing Up Delights and decided to give it a try. On Friday I made little turkey breast rolls with leeks and carrots, and then served them with the orange sauce. It was so good I had to make it again today, but this time I didn't bother with the rolls. I just stir-fried the meat with some carrots and followed the original recipe with just a few changes.
Even my husband enjoyed this recipe, and he generally doesn't like Asian cuisine. I, on the other hand adore it, and am really happy that I have finally found a recipe that truly tastes like stuff from a good Chinese restaurant.

Ingredients

1.5 lb/700 g turkey or chicken breast, diced
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
2 tbsp corn starch
salt
oil

For the sauce

2 oranges, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp sugar,
2 tsp corn starch
salt and chili powder to taste

Season the meat with salt and coat it with the corn starch. Fry the meat and carrots in hot oil until the carrots are cooked and the meat golden. Remove from heat and when it cools down slightly, add the toasted sesame seeds, scallions and garlic.
In a saucepan combine all of the ingredients for the sauce, apart from the corn starch. Boil for 3-5 minutes, then run through a strainer (to get all of the juice from the oranges, mash them slightly with a fork). Return the strained liquid to the saucepan, bring to a boil, and add the corn starch dissolved in a tablespoon or two of water. When the sauce thickens, remove from heat and add it to the meat and vegetables. Stir to coat everything. Serve with rice.

Lasagna

2008-10-02T21:53:00.005+02:00

Lasagna is the Italian dish that I crave the most often. I usually use homemade sheets, but yesterday I wanted a quick lunch so I used store-bought. It was the kind that you don't have to cook beforehand, and I was very happy with how it turned out. Delicious and done in no time!

Ingredients

250 g (9 oz) lasagna sheets
500 g (1 lb) ground beef
100 g (3 1/2 oz) smoked bacon
2/3 cup chopped leeks
500 ml (2 cups) tomato sauce
350 g (12 oz) grated gouda
oil, butter
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp rosemary
salt, pepper

For the bechamel sauce

1 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp flour
500 ml (2 cups) milk

Cook the leeks and bacon in a skillet. When the bacon starts turning golden, add the beef. Stir occasionally to help the beef separate. When the beef has separated, add the tomato sauce and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the oregano and rosemary.
In the meantime, in a deeper pot melt the butter and add the flour. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Cook for a few minutes, until it starts bubbling and thickens.
Grease a baking dish with a bit of butter and arrange 1/4 of the pasta sheets to cover the bottom. Add a layer (1/3) of meat (spread evenly), then 1/4 of the bechamel and 1/4 of the grated cheese. Add two more layers of everything, and finish with pasta covered with bechamel and cheese. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Rice Croquettes

2008-10-01T15:32:00.005+02:00

This is my second attempt at rice croquettes. My husband used to eat them when he was a kid (I never did until now), so the first time round I tried his sister's recipe. However, I wasn't too satisfied with the end result, so I improvised a little bit. Basically, I used my onion rings batter, and just folded in the rice and ham.

Ingredients

1 cup rice
3 eggs
300 g (10 oz) ham (diced)
120 g (4 oz) flour
75 ml (1/3 cup) milk
75 ml (1/3 cup) sparkling water
2 tbsp fresh or 1 tbsp dried parsley (chopped)
salt, pepper

Boil the rice.
Separate the eggs. In a large bowl combine the yolks with the flour, water and milk. When the batter is smooth add the ham, rice and parsley and season with salt and a generous quantity of pepper (around 1/2 tsp). Whisk the egg whites, then fold them gently into the batter. Spoon the croquettes into hot oil and fry until golden.

Cherry Cheesecake

2008-09-28T18:24:00.007+02:00

Give me a piece of cheesecake with fruit and I'm a happy woman. It's probably my favorite dessert, but, funnily enough, I have only ever made it a handful of times, and never with gelatin. Up to now, that is. This recipe was adapted from a magazine, and I've been wanting to try it out for months. I finally mustered the courage last night. You see, I find gelatin really intimidating. I must say it wasn't all smooth sailing either: as it turns out, for some reason it just didn't work with the cherries. The instructions on the bag said not to use it with pineapple, kiwi, figs and papaya, but it didn't say anything about cherries. Anyway, I used a bag of vanilla pudding powder for thickening (around here a bag of pudding contains 40 g/1.5 oz of powder and is used for 500 ml/2 cups of liquid). When it was finished it still didn't look promising. To be honest, although it had cooled down almost completely, it was still way too liquid. I was starting to despair when I decided to shove it in the freezer. Which was a miracle really - after about an hour or two in the freezer it was perfect! It didn't freeze, and the consistency was just right. Afterwards I just transfered it to the fridge and it's been heaven ever since.

Ingredients

For the crust

250 g (8 1/2 oz) flour
125 g (1 stick) butter
50 g (2 tbsp) sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla sugar

For the filling

400 g (14 oz) soft cheese
500 ml (2 cups) whipping cream
1 bag (10 g) of gelatin
1 bag (1.5 oz) of vanilla pudding powder
500 g (1 lb) cherries
350 g (12 oz) powdered sugar

Combine all the ingredients for the crust in a bowl. It will be crumbly at first, but with a little patience it will all come together nicely. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Bake in a springform pan for about 20 minutes (200°C/390°F) or until golden.
Combine the cheese with 150g (5 oz) of powdered sugar. Melt the gelatin in 4 tbsp of cold water and leave it for 10 minutes, then melt it (without boiling). Add it to the cheese and sugar, combine, and leave to cool.
In a pan combine the cherries, the rest of the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar and let it rest for 10 minutes. The cherries will release liquid. Add enough water to have around 500 ml (2 cups) of the mixture. Heat it, and when it starts boiling add 1 bag of vanilla pudding powder dissolved in a few (3-5) tbsp cold water and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly. When both the cheese and the cherries have cooled, whip the cream and combine all three. Pour over the crust and refrigerate overnight.
Serve with whipped cream on top.

Onion Rings

2008-09-27T04:07:00.005+02:00

A bit of comfort food for Friday night!

Ingredients

2 onions
100g (3.5 oz) plain flour
2 eggs
oil
150 ml (2/3 cup) milk

Preheat the oil for deep frying to 190°C/375°F.
Peel and slice the onions into rings about 1 cm wide. Separate the eggs. Combine the yolks with flour, milk and 1 tbsp oil and mix until smooth. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold gently into the batter. Dip the onion rings into the batter and fry for 3-4 minutes. After removing the rings from the oil, set them on some paper towels to remove excess oil and sprinkle with salt.

Pork And Mushrooms

2008-09-15T19:40:00.007+02:00

When I came home from work today, I wanted something quick and decadent for lunch. I had some nice pork, and I came across absolutely perfect huge white button mushrooms at the supermarket. Thus, this idea was born.

Ingredients

1 lb pork (any lean cut)
2 lb button mushrooms
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated parmesan
oil
salt, pepper

Cut the meat into narrow strips, season with salt and pepper, and start cooking in a hot oiled pan. Add the garlic and parsley. Wash and slice the mushrooms. Add them to the pork. The mushrooms will release a lot of liquid - cook until it has all evaporated and the meat and mushrooms have turned golden. Add the sour cream and cheese. The cheese will serve as a thickening agent. Cook for another few minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sour cream bubbly. Serve hot with rice.

Roast Pepper Relish 2

2008-09-15T18:19:00.004+02:00

This is the second version of my roast pepper relish, the one I will be storing for winter. It takes a bit more time to make than the first one, but it's definitely worth it! I'm not giving exact quantities, because I usually make huge batches for the winter, with 10-12 kg peppers. Of course, you can just make a little bit to see if you like it and eat it straight away.

Ingredients

1 part eggplant
4 parts red peppers
salt
chili peppers (optional)
oil

Roast the vegetables until the peppers' skin blisters. Peel the vegetables and remove the seeds from the peppers. Run everything through a food grinder. I guess you could use a blender as well, but that's tricky - it shouldn't be too chunky, but it shouldn't be a paste either. Add salt and chilies to taste (I use 100 g of salt for a batch of 6 l already peeled and ground veggies - that's 3.5 oz). Add oil - 80 ml per kg of relish (that's 1/3 cup per 2 pints). Cook on stove top or in the oven for 30 minutes.
Ladle hot relish into hot sterilized jars. Adjust lids and rings. Cover with a dish towel until you hear the tops pop. Refrigerate after opening.

Roast Pork Loin with Potatoes

2008-09-11T00:08:00.007+02:00

Hoorah! My pics have been expertly recovered by my genius of a husband! Apparently there is a great open source (i.e. free) program called PhotoRec that got my pictures back in no time!
The beauty you see before you is a juicy pork loin marinated in mustard and garlic. This is my beloved reliable roast recipe and I seldom make pork any other way. Because I add a teeny bit of water while it's all cooking, the potatoes end up really tender and creamy, and crispy on top.
This piece of meat was around 3 lb, so adjust the other quantities if you're using more meat.
I served the pork and potatoes with coleslaw and tahini.

Ingredients

1 pork loin
3 tbsp mustard
3 garlic cloves - minced, or 1 tbsp powdered garlic
3-4 tbsp oil
2 lb potatoes
salt, pepper

Rub the pork with a mixture of oil, mustard and garlic (and, if you want, your favorite herb), and season with salt and pepper. If you don't have too much time you can start roasting it straight away, but, if you can, leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours to soak in the flavors. Roast it in a preheated oven. Start off with a higher temperature - like 220°C/430°F for just a few minutes, to seal in the juices, then lower the heat to 170°C/340°F. Cook for about 40 minutes. Peel the potatoes, cut them into wedges, season with salt and pepper. Place the potatoes around the meat and add half a cup of water. Cook for another 40 minutes.

Cherry And Yogurt Muffins

2008-09-10T17:34:00.010+02:00

I am so angry right now! I have (by accident) deleted the pictures of the wonderful roast we had for lunch yesterday, as the second course, after the creamy soup! So, unless my computer whizz of a husband manages to retrieve them somehow, I'm gonna have to make it again soon (Oh, hey! Well that doesn't sound that bad!). The roast was my planned post for today, but, due to circumstances, muffins will have to do for now.
This is part 2 of my muffin adventures. This recipe was found on The Pioneer Woman, but I changed it slightly. It was originally meant to be made with blueberries, but blueberries are quite sparse and expensive here, so I used cherries. Because I didn't want the cherries to ruin the color of the muffins, I used frozen ones - clever, huh? I guess you could pretty much use any fruit you happen to have at the moment. I also omitted the nutmeg mostly because I like to keep things simple and I thought just vanilla was enough. The muffins turned out beautiful, soft and sweet, with the occasional tart cherry.

Ingredients

3 cups minus 2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup unflavored yogurt
2 cups cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C/385°F.
In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together sugar, oil, vanilla, egg, and yogurt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and fold them in gently. Add the cherries and stir (but as little as possible so that the fruit doesn't bleed into the batter). Line the muffin pans with paper cups (or butter them, if you are so inclined). Scoop the batter into the pans, sprinkle each muffin with a bit of sugar for a special crunch, and press a few cherries on top. Bake for 25 minutes.

Creamy Vegetable and Chicken Soup

2008-09-09T13:51:00.005+02:00

Today I finished work really early (I love my job sometimes), and managed to go to the supermarket and be home by 10 o'clock. This, of course, means I had plenty of time to make us a lovely lunch. I decided to make soup as the first course, pretending that autumn is here and that it's not 30 degrees outside (that's 86° for you Fahrenheit using folks). Oh well, at least it's an improvement on 36°C/97°F we had two days ago...
Anyway, I wanted to use some of that lovely zucchini while it's still around. It turns out the zucchini was a great idea as it gave the soup a wonderfully creamy consistency. Of course, you could make the soup without it (when it's out of season) and just slightly increase the quantities of other vegetables. I must admit that I was slightly surprised at how flavorful the soup was before I even added any meat. It was so naturally sweet, there was absolutely no need to use stock.

Ingredients:

3 onions
4 carrots
4 parsnips
1/2 kg (1 lb) zucchini
1/2 kg (1 lb) chicken breast, diced
fresh parsley
1 cup sour cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 stock cube
salt, pepper
2 tbsp oil
water

Peel and roughly chop up the vegetables. Cook on hot oil until the onions turn slightly yellow. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and cook until the carrots are soft. Puree the vegetables using a blender. An immersion blender is simpler, but if you don't have one, just chuck everything into a regular blender. Add around 2.5 l (10 cups) water, the stock cube, and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil and add the chicken. Cook for 20 minutes, add the sour cream and tweak the taste with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley.

My First Award! Yay!

2008-09-08T01:25:00.003+02:00

I'm so excited! And not only because I got my first award, but also because it came from one of my favorite bloggers - Dragon from Dragon's Kitchen! Ever since I discovered it, I've been reading Dragon's Kitchen with fanatical zeal. People, if you're not familiar with this blog make sure you check it out!

The rules accompanying this award are:
1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who has awarded you
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on yours and
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I love it that I need to nominate other blogs because there are so many that I visit daily and absolutely adore! So, here are some of my favorite foodie sanctuaries:

Carmen Cooks
Happy Love Strawberry
Panini Happy
Kalyn's Kitchen
For The Love of Cooking
Feeding Maybelle
Culinarty

Enjoy your awards!

Banana White Chocolate Muffins

2008-09-05T12:53:00.006+02:00

Well, this is my first attempt at muffins, and I'm happy to say the result was wonderful! I bought a muffin tin a while ago, but I just used it for mini cheesecakes so far. I found this recipe at Joy of Baking, and I was amazed at just how good it is! The muffins were moist, rich and soft, and delightfully crispy on the outside. In fact, they were so good, that this is the fourth time I've made them this week (and the first time we actually managed to take pictures before devouring them). This batch doesn't stray much from the original recipe, but I have tried some variations in my previous attempts, and they were all brilliant. I tried them with dark chocolate, I tried baking them as banana bread instead of muffins, I even tried substituting one of the bananas for a peach; it seems it's absolutely impossible to ruin this recipe. They always turn out mouthwateringly delicious! Definitely a keeper!

Ingredients

250g (1 3/4 cups) flour
150 g (3/4 cups) sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp vanilla sugar
100 g (3 1/2 oz) white chocolate (chopped)
2 eggs
120 g butter
4 bananas

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F
Combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and chocolate. In another bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Peel and mash 3 of the bananas with a fork. Melt the butter and leave it to cool slightly for a few minutes (so that you don't end up with scrambled eggs). Combine the eggs,bananas and butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently until smooth. Spoon the batter into a muffin tin. Slice the fourth banana and place a slice on each muffin. Bake for 25 minutes.

Crash Hot Potatoes

2008-09-01T23:10:00.007+02:00

Sometimes I can't believe how delicious something very simple can be. I found the idea for these potatoes at For the love of cooking. I think I first made them just because they looked pretty, but then I discovered they were very tasty as well. The outside is crunchy, while the inside is creamy and smooth. What I really like about them is that I find them very versatile, and I already have a bunch of ideas for serving them. I topped this batch with a mixture of clotted cream, sour cream, herbs and leeks.

Ingredients

10 potatoes
salt, pepper
oil

For the topping

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup clotted cream
1/2 tsp chopped fresh or dried parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh or dried dill
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped or sliced leeks

Boil the potatoes until soft. Place them on a trey (oiled or lined with parchment), season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Bake until crispy and golden.
Mix the topping ingredients and top the potatoes. Serve warm.

Before Summer Ends: Greek Salad

2008-08-29T23:11:00.005+02:00

This is another wonderful summer salad, and maybe my personal favorite. I usually eat it a few times a week during the summer, and sometimes, when it's very hot, a Greek salad and a piece of bread are my whole meal. Again, as with the Caprese, try to use the best and freshest ingredients available.

Ingredients

2 tomatoes (cut into wedges)
1 smaller cucumber (diced or sliced)
1/2 onion (sliced)
120 g/4 oz feta cheese (diced, grated or crumbled)
10-15 black olives
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
salt, pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)

Before Summer Ends: Caprese Salad

2008-08-28T19:17:00.005+02:00

Caprese is a beautiful, light summer salad. Because it is so very simple and features only a few ingredients, it's very important that these ingredients be of the highest quality.
The preparation process is very easy: just slice some ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese, place them on a plate, sprinkle liberally with fresh basil leaves, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with quality extra virgin olive oil.
That's it! All you need now is a piece of warm peasant bread!

Roast Pepper Relish

2008-08-26T13:03:00.007+02:00

Autumn is my favorite season, and the smell of autumn for me is the smell of roast peppers. Roast pepper relishes are very popular in this area, and I have a few different recipes in rotation. I usually make around a dozen jars and store them for the winter. I love that ritual - strolling the market with all its autumn colors, lovely red peppers in bunches. I remember, when I was a child, we made tomato juice and pepper relish in my grandmother's garden, on a big coal stove out in the open. Now I do it in my tiny kitchen, but I still enjoy it. Last night I made a bowl of relish as a warm up for the real deal - which is quite a lot of work and will probably take up most of my weekend.
This is one version of the relish - with tomatoes, but the one I will be leaving for winter will probably be my eggplant and pepper recipe, which is slightly more elaborate.
Pepper relish is rather sweet (because of the natural sweetness of red peppers), so it goes really well with feta. Today I used it in feta and sausage sandwiches, and we scoffed the whole bowl in no time!

Ingredients:

2 kg red peppers
4 medium sized tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
salt
1 tbsp chopped parsley (fresh or dried)
1 tbsp chopped chives (fresh or dried)
1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar (optional)
2 tbsp oil

Wash the peppers and tomatoes and roast them whole in a preheated oven for around 40 minutes. Leave them to cool enough to be peeled (if you leave them in a bowl covered with cling-film or tin foil, they'll be easier to peel). Remove the stalks and seeds and peel the vegetables. Chop them up roughly, add finely chopped garlic, parsley and chives. Season to taste, add oil and lemon juice/vinegar (if using).
If you want some heat, you can add some chilli powder, or chopped chilli peppers. If you're using chillis, you can use them raw, or, even better, roast them with the peppers and tomatoes.

Peach Jam

2008-08-25T13:28:00.009+02:00

Peach jam is not something I usually make, but yesterday I had a few peaches that turned out to be a bit on the dry side. I didn't feel like eating them, and I don't like throwing food away, so I made some quick jam for today's breakfast. I'd already thought of making some peach jam for this winter, so this came as a nice experiment. It turned out perfect and it didn't require much work. I cooked it for about 40 minutes, but as it was in a nonstick skillet, it didn't need much stirring.

Ingredients

1kg peaches
150 g/5 oz sugar
2 tbsp vanilla sugar

yield: 1 cup jam

Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and chop up roughly (the peach pieces will melt as they release juice and will quickly lose shape so you don't need to chop them too finely), add the sugar and vanilla sugar and cook on medium heat for around 40 minutes. Serve hot over vanilla ice cream or cold on buttered toast.

Vegetable Frittata

2008-08-22T16:25:00.009+02:00

The vegetable diet continues with this colorful, scrumptious AND healthy frittata!
I generally love frittatas, but I got the idea for this particular combination while surfing a bunch of great food blogs yesterday. It was made by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and you can see her original recipe here. I changed it a little bit, but it's still very similar. It was utterly delicious, and hubby and I didn't get up from the table until we scraped every last morsel. To be honest, we barely contained ourselves from eating it all before we could even take pictures.

Ingredients

9 eggs, beaten
2 large peppers, diced or sliced
1 smaller zucchini, peeled and diced
1/2 cup cheese, diced
1 tsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp chives, chopped
2 medium-sized pickles, diced
salt, pepper
oil

Cook the peppers and zucchini in a hot oiled pan until they soften (5 minutes or so), stirring occasionally. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and add the parsley and chives. Add the eggs (if they push all your vegetables to the sides stir them straight away, before they start cooking). Sprinkle the cheese and pickles, lower the heat slightly and cook for another 5 minutes. When the eggs are almost cooked through put the pan under the broiler to cook the upper side. Serve with toast and a simple tomato salad.

Raffaello (Coconut Balls)

2008-08-22T11:34:00.006+02:00

I find it very strange that I like Raffaello - I don't enjoy sweets much, and I generally don't like coconut. I don't know what it is about this glorious candy that makes me adore it so, but I suspect it might be something to do with its creamy milkiness. Anyway, these homemade balls, though they're not the same as the store-bought Ferrero candy, still capture the general taste and idea. These are probably the only dessert I ever crave, and are, luckily, very easy to make.

Ingredients

125 ml or 1/2 cup water
250 g/9 oz butter or margarine
400 g/14 oz sugar
400 g/14 oz powdered milk
250 g/9 oz dried shredded coconut
100 g/4 oz toasted almonds or hazelnuts

Combine water, butter/margarine (margarine might work better because it has a less distinct flavor) and sugar in a pot and boil. Turn off the heat, add the powdered milk and 200 g coconut (leave 50 g/2 oz for decoration) and stir them in. If there are any lumps left, use a handheld mixer to break them. Leave in the refrigerator to cool. Roll 1 inch balls with your palms, placing an almond in the center of each ball, and then roll the balls in leftover shredded coconut.

Bruschetta

2008-08-21T15:05:00.006+02:00

The past few days, while our friend Nick was visiting, we ate meat every day: lots of barbecue, goulash and roast pork. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, I must admit I'm not used to such a diet (I do eat meat, but I've always been more of a veggie person). I think the next few days we'll mostly eat fruit and veg and try to cleanse our bodies of all the fat and salt we ate last week.
Well, one of my favorite summer meals is bruschetta (although I make them in the winter as well, as appetizers or quick snacks).When I got a basket of fresh cherry tomatoes from my sister's garden, I just knew I had to make some. Honestly, I've never tasted tomatoes like these! Yes, cherry tomatoes generally tend to be sweeter than regular ones, but these are incredibly sweet and fruity.
Bruschetta can be made with various toppings, but I prefer them simple - with tomatoes, olives, herbs and cheese. They have a real summery feel to them, and while I'm not mad about seaside holidays, these bruschetta really make me want to go to the Mediterranean and enjoy the sea and the cuisine.
I made today's bruschetta with whole-wheat toast, although a baguette or any other kind of bread will work just as well. Also, the quantities and ratio of tomatoes and olives can be altered to taste. It would be best to make them with fresh herbs, but I didn't have any today, so I used dried which are also okay.

Ingredients

5 pieces of whole-wheat toast
1 cup cherry tomatoes
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olives - halved
1 tbsp chopped basil (thyme and oregano are also great)
olive oil
salt, pepper
grated cheese

Toast the bread (in the toaster or the oven), and when it's done rub each piece with a clove of garlic. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
In a bowl combine the tomatoes (whole or halved if you're using cherry tomatoes, and diced if you're using regular ones), olives and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and coat with olive oil.
Top the toast with the tomato/olive mix and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake in a preheated oven for 5-10 minutes (depending on how you like your cheese).

Tzatziki

2008-08-21T12:30:00.005+02:00

Tzatziki is a Greek yoghurt and cucumber sauce, ideal for hot summer days. As today is one, I was really craving it. It's normally served with gyros or grilled meat. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that I made a bowl of it a few minutes ago and just ate all of it on its own! This is my take on it, perhaps slightly different from the traditional version. The Greek original calls for seeded cucumbers, but I quite enjoy the seeds, so I just leave them in. Also, I combine yoghurt with sour cream for a slightly richer taste.

Ingredients

2 medium sized cucumbers
200 g/7 oz yoghurt
200 g/7 oz sour cream
1-2 tsp chopped dill (preferably fresh, but dried will also work)
2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper

Peel and finely dice the cucumbers, chop the garlic as finely as possible, and combine all the ingredients. Season to taste. Optionally, you could add the juice of half a lemon. Leave in the fridge and serve cool.

Pigs In A Blanket

2008-08-21T10:31:00.004+02:00

Hey everyone!
I'm sorry I haven't been around for the past week or two - you know how it is - sometimes life interferes with blogging... We had a houseguest, so I didn't have much time to blog, and also, we mostly ate out. Well, I'm back now, and will be posting something later today (I'm brimming with ideas and can't believe how much I've missed cooking and blogging). For now, I'll leave you with a picture of this morning's breakfast: pigs in a blanket. I'm very partial to sausages and I've already mentioned that I always have some puff pastry in my freezer, so pigs in a blanket are a staple in our house. And, they're incredibly easy to make - just thaw and roll out the pastry, cut it up, and roll sausage pieces in it. Then bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven (for a shiny crust brush egg wash before baking).