Food: Read it, make it and eat it!

Norwegian Salmon with Kiwi Mango Salsa

2011-10-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

Get a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids from this salmon dish!

Ingredients:

4 Norwegian Salmon fillets
3 tbsp butter, melted
½ bunch basil leaves, chopped
3 kiwi, peeled
1 mango, peeled
2 shallots
1 jalapeño
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Pre-heat oven at 180° and rack set in the middle
Place salmon on a baking tray and brush with butter, then top with the chopped basil
Place in oven for 13 minutes (actual oven temperatures vary and you may find you need more or less time according to your oven). Do not turn salmon while cooking
While the salmon bakes, finely chop the kiwi, mango, shallots and jalapeño. Add the balsamic vinegar and mix together
Plate the salmon with the salsa and serve with your favorite side dish

Dessert: Carrot cake

2011-10-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

I am 6 months pregnant, and I am really craving for something sweet. So today i am making a carrot cake. I can hardly wait!!

Everyone has tasted carrot cake, and many have made carrot cake. All eager carrot cake bakers have their favourite recipe.

Most recipes for carrot cake seem to contain carrots (surprise!), eggs and flour. Everything else, we seem to disagree about.

Should there not be sugar in the carrot cake?

Not necessarily. Some do in fact use syrup. Those who agree that one should use sugar in the carrot cake still do not agree whether to use brown or white sugar.

And the disagreements do not stop there.

What to use to raise the carrot cake?

Some carrot cake bakers claim that baking soda is the best. Mainstream carrot cake bakers cling to the baking powder.

If you come across a recipe for carrot cake with baking soda you can replace it with baking powder. BUT: According to wikipedia, you can not use baking soda instead of baking powder as baking soda does not provide enough raising effect on carrot cake.

As if that was not enough carrot cake-disagreement, we have not even begun to talk about spices.

Most bakers of carrot cake believe that cinnamon should be mandatory (although here too there are some carrot cake bake circuits that diverge in this issue.)

Then there are many who would argue that carrot cake is not carrot cake if you do not use a little cardamom.

Ginger and nutmeg are the most common spices (except cinnamon and cardamom).

Personally, I find that orange (orange peel, perhaps) are quite good. Especially in combination with carrots.

With this initiative I hope that the pursuit of new varieties of carrot cake is started. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments below.

Here is my recipe for carrot cake!

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs

3 cups sugar

3 cups sifted flour

peel from half an orange (only the yellow! not the white)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds from a vanilla bean)

5 tablespoons oil or melted butter

5 cups grated carrots

Glaze

250 g cream cheese (such as philadelphia)

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar/extract

3 tablespoons melted butter

300 g powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Whip eggs and sugar fluffy, almost until it becomes white. Add the flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir it well (please use the food processor).

Add the butter or oil, grated carrots and grated orange peel. Stir it in well.

Grease a round cake tin. Pour in the batter. Bake in oven for 45-55 minutes. Check along the way if it gets too brown (add baking paper over if you are afraid it is too burned). Take it out of the oven and loosen it from the tin. Cool on rack and put a towel over. Let cake cool completely before you start with the glaze.

Glaze

Stir together all ingredients. Cake must be completely cooled. Cut the cake in half (lengthwise!). Apply a layer of glaze on the bottom. Put on the lid and apply a new layer on top. Garnish with some grated carrot.

Enjoy J

Dinner: Pork Steak with ruccolasauce

2011-10-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

This is what we are making for dinner today. Steak is food you can enjoy with good conscience, even on a weekday like today. This recipe is perfect for making dinner for one, but can be doubled if you are two.

Ingredienser

150 g loin of pork

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ tomato

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

1 slice cucumber, cut lengthwise with a cheese grater

Ruccola sauce:

100 g ruccola

4 tbsp curd

½ tsp ground white pepper

1. Run the ruccola and curd with hand blender. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Brown steak quickly on high heat, 2-3 minutes on each side. Then roast at a lower temperature for 3-4 minutes. Season the tomatoes and fry with beef in the last minute.

3. Serve steak with a long cucumber slice, fried tomato and ruccolasauce.

Enjoy :)

Dinner (seafood): Bacalao

2011-10-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of recipes for Bacalao around the world and in Portugal they boast that they have a recipe for every day of the year. Here in Norway the combination with Tomato is the most widely used. Easy to make and perfect food for festive occasions.

Ingredienser for 4 people

2 kg dried fish

1 kg onions

1 kg potato

2 pcs red chilli

3 box chopped canned tomatoes

10 pcs whole pepper

2 pieces garlic

4 pcs bay leaves

30 pcs black olives

3 cup olive oil

1. Put the dried cod in water overnight (put it in a large bowl of water).

2. Clean cut the fish from skin and bones, and cut into approx. 2 cm thick slices. Cut potatoes and onions for approx. ½ inch thick slices.

3. Add fish, potatoes and onions in layers in a large saucepan.

4. Chop garlic in half and place in pan with pepper, bay leaf, chilly, olives, tomatoes and olive oil. Let it cook about. 1 hour.

Enjoy :)

Vanilla sugar/extract - from Wikibooks.

2011-10-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Vanilla extract is alcohol containing flavor (vanillin) from the vanilla bean. Vanillin itself, produced by a modern chemical process, is widely sold in a form similar to vanilla extract. When a recipe specifies vanilla, usually the recipe is intended to work with either vanilla extract or vanillin. Such recipes will require modification if whole vanilla beans are used.
Vanilla is also used in the form of vanilla sugar. This can have different meanings depending upon the origin of the recipe. In Scandinavian countries, vanilla sugar is a powdered sugar with a strong vanilla flavour. In these countries, it is the main method of incorporating vanilla flavor into a recipe; vanilla extract is not commonly available. This form of vanilla sugar can be replaced by a roughly equivalent volume of vanilla extract. In other countries, including the United States, vanilla sugar usually is granulated white sugar that has been flavored over some time by a vanilla bean included in the sugar.

Moods of Norway-waffles

2011-10-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

Designer duo from Stryn in Norway has become world famous for their colorful clothes and suits, and when they launch a new collection or open a new store; waffles are always served to guests. This recipe is printed on many different Moods products.

Norwegians loves waffles!

Ingredients:

400 g flour
150 g sugar
150 g butter
6 cups milk
2 eggs
1 1 / 2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1 / 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (vanilla sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and make a crater in the middle. Pour in milk and whip it all together into a batter. Crack the eggs and whip them into. Finish by stirring in melted butter.

Let the batter swell for at least 30 minutes and cook waffles as usual in hot waffle iron.

Enjoy!! :)

2011-10-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Tapas Inspired catfish - simple, quick and delicious.

Ingredients 4 people:

4 pieces (160 g) catfish
8 garlic cloves
1 lemon
1 parsley
olive oil
2 heart lettuce
salt and pepper

Cut garlic cloves into thin slices. Rough chop the parsley. Squeeze juice of lemon.

Cut your heart lettuce in half and place it in the bottom of the plate. Add the olive oil, salt and a little lemon juice.

Put salt and pepper on the catfish. Fry it in olive oil over low heat. After a while you add the garlic. When the fish is cooked, approx. 7-8 min, you add the parsley and lemon juice.

The fish served on top of the heart salad, remember to pour cooking oil over the fish. Serve with baguette.

2011-10-24T04:36:00.000-07:00

This always makes me feel healty and great!

Fresh and good smoothie! Serve ice cold and fresh. Enjoy! :)

Ingredients for two:

2 kiwis

1 / 2 galia (melon)

2 cups yogurt with melon

2 1 / 2 cup apple juice

Make ice cubes of apple juice - 6-8 pcs. or use the juice as it is.

Peel and section the fruit into chunks and run everything in a blender.

Kiwis should not run too long because the stones can then be turned into pieces and tastes like pepper.

Serve at once.

Indian chicken soup

2011-10-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

A great friend made this for me a stormy autumn night, and it has been my favourite ever since!

A fantastic soup with lots of good flavours. Perfect as dinner or a rich lunch. Enjoy! :)

Ingredients for 4 people:

800 g grilled chicken

2 l chickenbroth

3 dl cream

5 g of fresh ginger

3 cloves of garlic

1 red chilli

3 carrots

1 apple

2 onions

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 / 2 teaspoon white pepper

4 fresh coriander

1 tablespoon curry

Peel the carrots and apples and grate them on a grater.

Peel the chicken free of skin and bones. Share it in strips.

Peel and finely chop onions. Peel and grate ginger root.

Remove the seeds in the chilli by cutting off the top and roll it between your hands to the seeds fall out, or divide it in half and scoop out with a teaspoon.

Chop the garlic and chili.

Add the ginger, garlic and chilli gently in melted butter in a roomy pot.

Add the grated carrots, apples and onions. Sprinkle over the curry. Add the chicken juices or broth.

Leave everything to simmer. Boil for 10 minutes.

Add the chicken meat and cream.

Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with fresh coriander before serving.

Serve with bread.

Tips: About Honey

2011-10-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

To substitute honey for sugar in recipes, start by substituting
up to half of the sugar called for. With a little experimentation,
honey can replace all the sugar in some recipes.
When baking with honey, remember the following:
Reduce any liquid called for by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used.
Add l/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used.
Because of its high fructose content, honey has a higher
sweetening power than sugar. This means you can use less honey
than sugar to achieve the desired sweetness.
When measuring honey, coat the measuring cup with non-stick
cooking spray or vegetable oil before adding the honey.
The honey will slide right out.
To retain honey's wonderfully luxuriant texture, always store
it at room temperature; never in the refrigerator. If your honey
becomes cloudy, don't worry. It's just crystallization, a natural
process. Place your honey jar in warm water until the crystals
disappear. If you're in a hurry, place it in a microwave-safe
container and heat it in the microwave on HIGH for 2-3 minutes,
stirring every 30 seconds. Remember, never boil or scorch honey.
(From: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/)

(Tips) Make Your Own Spice Mixes

2011-10-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

FIVE SPICE POWDER
    1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
    1 tsp. Ground cloves
    1 tsp. Fennel seed
    1 tsp. Star anise
    1 tsp. Szechwan peppercorns

ITALIAN HERB SEASONING
    1 tsp. Oregano
    1 tsp. Marjoram
    1 tsp. Thyme
    1 tsp. Basil
    1 tsp. Rosemary
    1 tsp. Sage

CINNAMON SUGAR
    7/8 cup Granulated sugar
    2 Tbsp. Ground cinnamon

TAMARIND PASTE
    1 tsp. Dates
    1 tsp. Prunes
    1 tsp. Dried apricots
    1 tsp. Lemon juice

CHILI POWDER
    3 Tbsp. paprika
    1 Tbsp. ground cumin
    2 Tbsp. oregano
    1 tsp. red or cayenne pepper
    1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Dessert: Blondies

2011-10-24T02:54:00.000-07:00

Brownies blond sister, a delicious coffee cake flavoured with peanuts and white chocolate.

Ingredients

100 g butter

150 g peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

175 g brown sugar

1 egg

75 g chopped white chocolate

125 g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 175 ° C

Beat together butter and peanut butter to a creamy consistency. Mix in vanilla, sugar and eggs. Beat in chopped chocolate, flour and baking powder in the end.

Spread batter into a well greased dish (20 x 30 cm).

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!:)

Salad (seafood): Bean salad with scampi

2011-10-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

This is a simple and filling salad that serves both as lunch and dinner. You could replace haricot beans with other white beans, like for example butter beans.

Ingredients

1 can (400 g) white haricot beans

1 finely chopped clove of garlic

3 finely chopped spring onions

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

12-16 scampi

olive oil for frying

Rinse the beans and mix in the garlic, scallions, salt, pepper and olive oil with a tablespoon. Cover it with plastic and let rest in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Cook the prawns for 2-3 minutes on each side in olive oil and arrange watercress on 2-3 plates and spread over beans. Arrange the prawns on top of salad and grind over some pepper.

Dessert: Cognac Chocolate

2011-10-24T02:29:00.000-07:00

To these it is especially good to use Hennessy. You can choose to make them in paper forms or just chill on the tray. You may well roll the balls in coconut instead of almonds as on the picture.

Ingredients:

300 g marzipan

3 oz cognac

125 g dark chocolate

100 g chopped almonds or coconut (for garnish)

Roll the marzipan thin and put out 25 small circles with a small glass, etc.

The marzipan leftovers are mixed with cognac and rolled into small balls. Place the balls on top of the circle.

Melt chocolate and dip the candy into it. Add the almonds before the chocolate hardens.

Dessert: Apple Brown Betty

2011-10-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

This dessert is seen as a real-American dessert but as many others it was Dutch immigrants that brought it with them from Europe.
You can use another type of fruit than apples.
During President Reagan's time, Apple Brown Betty was often seen on the menu at both casual and more formal occasions. It was Nancy Reagan's personal favourite. Long cooking at low temperatures gives this dessert its beautiful dark golden finish.

Ingredients

375 g apples, diced

10 slices white bread, cubed

1 / 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

a pinch of grated nutmeg

a pinch of salt

110 g light brown sugar

115 g melted butter

Preheat the oven to 150 ° C and place the rack a notch further down than the middle of the oven.

Grease a small pie dish with some butter and spread the apples on the bottom of the dish.

Mix together bread cubes, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and salt in a small bowl and spread this over the apples. Squeeze it firmly down and drip melted butter on top. Bake the pie for approx. 2 hours or until top is golden and crisp and the apples are tender. Turn the temp. slightly up towards the end if the top needs a little more browning.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!:)

2011-10-24T02:06:00.001-07:00

Dinner (seafood): Coriander Prawns with Longjing tea leaves

2011-10-24T01:41:00.000-07:00

Longjing is the type of green tea used in the Hangzhou region in China about 2 hours from Shanghai. If you do not get this type of tea you can of course use a different type of mild green tea you like.

Ingredients:

1 egg

100 g potato starch

Peanut oil

8 large cleaned prawns or tiger prawns with tails on

Steamed Jasmine rice

----

Herb sauce:

2 crushed cloves of garlic

A handful of fresh chopped coriander

4 large bunches broccoli

2 pinches of sea salt

1 tablespoon Longjing tea leaves

----

Crispy tea leaves:

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 tbsp Longjing tea leaves

Whisk together eggs and flour to a smooth batter.

Fill wok 1 / 4 full with oil and heat up to approx. 180 ° C. Check with a small piece of bread that the oil is ready. Is the golden brown in approx.15 seconds, you can begin. Dip shrimp in batter and drop down into the oil one by one. Bake them until they are golden brown and let them drain well on kitchen paper.

Use a blender and run together all ingredients to the sauce.

Pour the oil out of the wok, dry it quickly with some kitchen paper and pour in the sauce. Give it a quick boil and remove the wok from the heat.

Bake the tea leaves quickly in a small pan until they are crispy and put those on paper towels to let them run off. Spread rice on two plates, add the prawns and pour over the sauce. Finish with the crispy tea leaves. Enjoy! :)

Breakfast: Heavenly BIGBANG pancakes

2011-10-24T01:29:00.000-07:00

I love Sheldon eating habits in the series The Big Bang Theory. As long as things are done his way, he is a fairly competent cook even though he eats a lot of take-away food. He makes breakfast and then these pancakes are on the menu every Tuesday. They should be enjoyed warm with sliced fruit, usually strawberries, whole blueberries and just the right amount of maple syrup.

Ingredients:
250 g flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups of milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons melted butter

Mix together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a bowl and make a crater in the middle. Add the butter, the egg and milk and use a whisk to gradually add the liquid into the flour. The batter should be quite thick.

Heat a little butter in a just over a medium hot pan and fry the small thick pancakes. Enjoy! :)