Aubergine, Sweet & Green

2019-12-09T13:06:00.002-08:00

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Rose Baklava

2011-03-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

As you may have already noticed, I'm a bit obsessed with Oriental desserts. When I was in Paris, of course I enjoyed a rich variety of French food, but I was also daily visiting the Turkish delights shop in the Latin Quarter. I was fascinated with interesting taste and appearance of their tiny colorful delights. Few years later my friend from Syria brought me a box of beautiful baklava. The box was meticulously decorated, and baklava was prepared with pistachio and cadaif. It was so delicious that no words can describe it. But it was not until recently that I started to prepare such treats at home.

Growing up in Croatia, Baklava was quite popular because of Bosnian neighborhood. Therefore Baklava was the only one among this kind of sweets that I was preparing for years, or better said “trying to prepare”. Of course I made baklava with store bought fillo dough - that’s easy. But the problem is how to make home-made dough baklava or some healthier version of this tasty treat. My idea was to make it with whole wheat flour and with less sugar. While the baklava without much sugar is an impossible task, often sugar can be cut in half and also be replaced with healthier choice of natural sweeteners like honey or agave syrup. However, the dough of whole meal flour is usually difficult to roll out very thin, so baklava becomes hard and it should be soaked in syrup for days to become edible. I experimented with all kinds of nuts, including pistachios. I came to my version of syrup made with honey, which is excellent. Recently I was at a Turkish dinner, for dessert, of course, was the baklava...and then I tried to make it again but didn’t get much further again. Around the same time my daughter came across and interesting cookbook in the library. It was the Persian children's cookbook titled "Happy Nowruz" Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year, from Najmieh Batmanglij. Cookbook is full of wonderful sweets served for this holiday, many of which we tried.

Among other delights, there was a recipe for baklava. The baklava was made up of only two layers of dough with almond filing in the middle, which I immediately recognized as a potential for my idea of baklava from whole meal flour. It was full of spices, and the idea with rose petals immediately won me visually. But still I had to change the flour, reduce the sugar, I added honey, flax seeds, mint, and changed the amount and selection of few spices. That’s how this fragrant baklava recipe was accomplished and it has become our favorite family recipe and the secret that I am unveiling to you to celebrate spring. If you cannot get rose petals, remember this recipe soon, when first roses start to bloom.

Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:
1 cup whole meal flour (240 ml)
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (360 ml)
1/2 cup butter (113 g)
1/4 cup oil (60 ml) (olive, coconut or sunflower)
1/4 cup milk, soy, rice or cow’s (60 ml) slightly more, if necessary
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rose water

Filling:
1 1/2 cups almonds (360 ml)
1 1/2 cups walnuts (360 ml)
1/4 cup ground flax seed (60 ml)
1/2 cup brown sugar (120 ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Syrup:
3/4 cup honey (180 ml)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar (360 ml)
1 1/4 cup water (300 ml)
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon rose water

For the garnish:
10 blanched almonds, chopped
1 tablespoon dried rose buds petals (available in Mexican groceries)
½ tablespoon dried mint

In a bowl, sift flour and mix all other ingredients for the dough. Knead until smooth adding more milk if necessary. Divide the dough it into two pieces, wrap in foil and leave to cool for 30 minutes or longer.

To prepare filling place all filing ingredients in a food processor and process for few minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease baking sheet.

Roll out one half of dough very thin, slightly larger than the baking sheet. Place the dough on the sheet, and leave the edges of the dough to hang over the edges of the sheet. Evenly distribute the filling and pat it well with hands as much as you can. Roll out another layer of dough and cover the filling. Fold the edges of the dough neatly.

With a sharp knife cut the baklava diagonally, so that you get diamonds shapes 1 inch wide. Brush the surface of baklava with two tablespoons of oil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until it gets nice and golden.

In the meantime prepare the syrup combining honey, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil and when all sugar is melted, remove it from fire and stir in the rosewater and lime/lemon juice. Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately pour the syrup evenly over it.

Decorate with the almonds, rose petals and mint. Cover the baklava with aluminum foil and leave to soak and cool down for at least 2 hours before serving.

This Baklava is prepared with no excessive amount of syrup in order to avoid too much the sugar consumption. Therefore, it is best the other day, so feel free to prepare it few days ahead. If you like juicy baklava make some more syrup, but keep in mind that way you will take much more sugar which, honestly, is really unnecessary.

Fragrant Vegan Cookies from a Buddhist monastery Tassajara

2011-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

I used a recipe from the Tassajara as an inspiration for my first cookies that I have made with Stevia. Good news for those who avoid sugar in food – they turned out very tasty, and stevia in cookies is even better than in drinks.

"Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is a Buddhist temple located near San Francisco. Among other things, it is known for its healthy gourmet cuisine. Recently published cookbook "Tassajara Cookbook" by Carla Oliveira is about with the part of Tassajara’s kitchen which is the most popular - recipes for snacks, picnics & appetizers.

These cookies are like the usual vegan oat cookies, but in addition to not containing eggs or dairy products, they are made with many spices, pepper among others. These cookies are packed with energy, so they make excellent breakfast or dessert for packed lunch. I tried several recipes for cookies in which the eggs and butter are replaced by a banana, but this is by far my favorites. I think they differ from other healthy cookies by a large amount of spices and the addition of dark chocolate, though only ½ cup of this otherwise rather large amount of cookies. They are very simple to prepare.

These cookies are becoming my favorite routine - when the kids fall asleep and after my evening yoga session, I relax with one of the cookies and a cup of Ayurvedic tea. I convinced myself that great amount of these healthy spices will scare away all the viruses from me and so far it works for me. Maybe it can do a miracle to you too!

Let me finish this introduction with a quote from Tassajara Cookbook: "When you cook, you are not just working on food, you are working on yourself, you are working on others." Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups oats
1 cup whole meal flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (my addition)
Pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1 banana, pureed in food processor
Stevia sweetener, 24 servings* (or ½ cup brown sugar or other sweetener)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (olive, coconut or sunflower)
Up to 1 cup soy milk (coconut or rice milk)
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
¾ cup raisins
½ cup dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix all wet ingredients and half of the milk and add them to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. If necessary, add remaining milk, but make sure you do not make it too liquid *.

Scoop tablespoon-sized portions on greased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. The original recipe says that if you want a softer cookie, bake 8 - 10 minutes, and for more crisp cookies 16-20 minutes, but I find it perfect baked for 15 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and store in airtight containers.

I find it impossible to give a right amount of spices that will suit everyone. I reduced the amount of pepper and cumin and add cardamom. Feel free to experiment with your favorite of spices.

* My cookies turned out too soft the first time, I suspect that the banana was very large. So I added that the milk should be added gradually, just as much as necessary for the mixture form into dough.

* I used stevia powder that comes in packaging with applicator. One serving equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. So I just came to the conclusion that since the recipe asked for 1/2 cup of sugar (120 ml) I have substituted it with 24 servings of stevia (1 teaspoon = 5 ml, 1/2 cup = 120 ml, 120 : 5 = 24). Depending on the type of stevia you use (in dry or liquid form), you'll see how it is used. If you use stevia for the first time keep in mind that it is 30 times sweeter than sugar, and in this recipe it is good to dissolve it in milk to make sure that they will be evenly distributed throughout the dough. Feel free to taste the dough and sweeten it gradually to prevent excessive sweetness.

Iced Oranges

2011-01-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

Lovely idea for this healthy and attractive desert I found in a Spanish cookbook, or better said the manual for cooking "Best of Spain". The original recipe sought for much more oranges and large amounts of sugar cooked in syrup along with fruits, so I decided to simplify it, to avoid added sugar, and vitamin destruction by cooking fruits. I made a simple orange sorbet with fresh cranberries, added honey and decorated it with fragrant bay leaves. The dessert is so simple that it hardly can be called a recipe - this is more an idea.

Although most of us love to eat dessert after meals, it is often more about ritual than the actual need. Even more common is the fact that sweet and fatty desserts are totally unnecessary and can only lead to feelings of guilt and weight in our stomach. The beautiful presentation of this fresh dessert will satisfy even the most finicky gourmand. At the same time, unlike most fruit, which is not good to eat after a meal because it can interfere with digestion, citrus fruits are allowed, even desirable, as vitamin C from oranges will enable the absorption of iron that you probably eat in the main meal.

If you can, use organic oranges. Otherwise, soak oranges in solution of water, salt and lemon juice or vinegar for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Although you will not eat the peel, most oranges have been treated with pesticides that do not want to have on your plate.

Recipe

Ingredients:

6 oranges (or more, depending on how juicy they are)
1/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries or other red berry fruits such as sour cherries, raspberries or pomegranate
Sweetener to taste (sugar, stevia, honey or blue agave syrup)
Orange liqueur, orange flower water, or other flavoring following to your taste

Wash oranges and cut the top part. Cut the inside of oranges with knife and then scoop them. Squeeze the content and save the juice. Squeeze the remaining two oranges as well. In a blender or food processor puree the red fruit and mix it with juice obtained from oranges, sweetener and flavorings. Transfer the mixture to a container and freeze. Every hour or two stir it with a fork. Wrap hollowed oranges with their lids and freeze as well. After 4 hours, oranges and sorbet would be ready to be served but they can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.

To serve, fill the oranges with sorbet and cover with orange lids. If necessary, cut a few millimeters on the basis of each orange to make them more stable. Attach one fresh bay leaf on each lid. Serve immediately.

Carrot Orange Bundt Cake with Candied Carrot Curls

2011-01-10T10:48:00.000-08:00

I became fond of Carrot Cake while I lived in London. Ever since the first time I made it at home, it was a hit on a variety of parties including children’s birthday parties. It was adorn even by children who didn’t liked cakes at all. Only after several years of continuous making of carrot cake I cooled down a bit from it and last time, after a long time, I prepared it for the last New Year's Eve.

Somehow, the decision was made that for Christmas I will make Carrot Cake in a mold for Bundt Cake. I decorate it with candied carrots curls, recipe from Gourmet Magazine, December 2007. I have always used cheese icing on Carrot Cake so this was the first time I used plain sugar icing because I thought that it emphasizes the beautiful shape of Bundt Cake better. It was also more suitable base for these pretty carrot decorations. Instead of walnuts, I used almonds, substituted part of flour with whole wheat flour and I have also added a bit of orange zest and ginger.

Recipe

Ingredients:

6 cups of grated carrots
2 cups of brown sugar
1 cup of raisins, very finely chopped
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup of vegetable oil (olive, coconut or sunflower)
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
1 cup peeled, minced oranges (about 1 large or 2 small oranges)
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups whole meal flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon ginger powder)
1teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup of finely ground almonds

For the icing:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons orange juice

Candied carrot curls garnishes:

1 large carrot (or 2 smaller), try using a thick carrot
1 cup of water
1 cup of brown sugar

Grate carrots in the processor, then pure peeled and deseeded orange. Combine carrots with half of the sugar in a bowl. Set aside for an hour. Then stir in raisins, minced orange and spices.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat the Bundt cake mold with oil and sprinkle with flour.

In a large bowl, mix eggs with electric mixer, until they become pale and foamy. Add the remaining sugar, oil and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and add to the liquid ingredients, then mix everything together with the carrots. Do not over mix. Finally stir in almonds. Pour the batter into the mold and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes in the mold, then turn on a serving plate.

To prepare the icing, combine sugar with orange juice just until you get very smooth paste. Pour the icing over the cake and decorate with candied carrot garnishes.

To prepare carrot garnishes peel layers from carrot lengthwise on one side with peeler until you begin to get wide slices. Peel wide strips, reserving them, until you get about 15 (there will be a few extra).
Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add wide carrot strips and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl, discarding syrup. Let stand 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 225°F with rack in middle.
Line a large baking sheet with nonstick liner, then arrange candied carrot slices flat in 1 layer on sheet. Bake until dry but still flexible, about 30 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Wind carrot strips, 1 at a time, around end of handle of a wooden spoon in a loose spiral, then slip off each curl and return, seam sides down, to lined baking sheet.
Return curls to oven to dry until crisp, 30 to 45 minutes more. Cool completely on baking sheet.
Carrot curls can be made 5 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature. Recrisp in a 250°F oven 10 minutes.

Large, Thin, Very Gingerly Oat Cookies

2010-12-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

I know I'm posting too much sweet food lately, but if not at this festive time, when to publish recipes for cookies? It is difficult however to find meaning in posting a recipe for oatmeal cookies, since it is so easy to find any kind of oat cookie recipes. As a fan of oatmeal, I make them sweet and salty, with chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, or just plain. Playing with various ingredients I came across this combination this summer and made them many time since then. The reason is mainly the healthy ingredients and nutritional value that makes them very convenient breakfast on the go. They do not contain flour, but only oatmeal. Another reason is that they are very large and thin and are therefore slightly different from other cookies I make and for that reason my children are very fond of them. If you have not yet prepared such thin cookies I believe you will find interesting this simple technique of making them. Although these are everyday biscuits, you can add them as a little healthier addition to your holiday cookies collection.

Recipe:

3 cups rolled oats (720 ml)
½ cup (113 g) butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar (80 ml)
1/3 cup honey (80 ml) (you can substitute it with rice or barley malt)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons grated ginger (you can substitute it with smaller amount of dried ginger powder)
¼ cup coconut flour (60 ml) (instead of coconut you can use ground almonds or walnuts)
½ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in processor until the dough starts to form into a ball. Place the dough on a piece of foil, wrap and refrigerate for about an hour, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare two baking and coat them with parchment paper or with oil.

Divide dough in half, then each half into 8 balls. Flatten each ball between your palms. Arrange cookies on the baking sheets, leaving lots of space between them.

Cut a piece of foil the size of the sheet and cover the cookies with foil and press with your palms until cookies become very thin. Carefully peel the foil and press half teaspoon of oats into each cookie for decoration. Bake cookies 10 minutes, rotating them after 5 minutes to be evenly baked.

For 16 large cookies

- Cookies can be prepared without the food processor but in this case, you should use oatmeal rather than rolled oats

-other ideas to decorate cookies include ginger sugar, lemon sugar, sesame seeds, chopped cranberries or other dry fruits and nuts.

Princess Donuts Muffins

2010-12-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

These donuts are not Princess Donuts, but one of my kitchen experiments, which turned out quite interesting. This is a combination of Yorkshire Puddings and light vanilla egg cream made with rice flour. They are very tasty and easy to make.

Recipe:

For muffins:

1 cup flour (240 ml)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (240 ml) at room temperature
3 large eggs, 30 minutes at room temperature
2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon

For filling:

2 cups milk (480 ml)
¼ cup rice flour (60 ml)
¼ cup brown sugar (60 ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter (60 g)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Brush with oil muffin tray and put it in a warm oven.
In a bowl, mix flour, salt and cinnamon.
In another bowl, combine all other ingredients with a wire mixer or electric mixer.
Pour liquid ingredients over the flour and mix well.
Remove hot muffin tray from the oven and immediately pour the batter into the tray.
Putt the mold in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. Do not open oven!
Remove muffins and cool them completely.

To prepare the filling, mix rice flour and sugar with ¾ cup of milk. Boil the rest of the milk and when it boils add the flour mixture and stir constantly until it thickens. Remove it from heat and stir in the yolks with a wire mixer or blender. Then stir in the vanilla and butter. When the butter is completely melted, putt aside to cool completely.

To assemble muffins plunge your fingers into each muffin and lightly part the dough to increase the opening that is formed during baking. Spoon as much as you can cream into each muffin. Since these muffins can barely stand on the plate individually, I served them, in a muffin tray. Since I avoid sugar, I have only briefly dusted them with powdered sugar. If you do not eat white sugar, grind brown sugar in electric coffee grinder, you will be surprised how much sugar that will be light in color.

For 12 muffins

- For this recipe you need to have a metal muffin tray - silicone or flexible mold will not be good for the tray should be hot when pouring batter.
- Rice flour should be from white rice

Dates Stuffed with Ginger & Almonds

2010-11-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

“As a healthy dessert, snack, or hors d'ouvres, stuffed dates are a multifaceted treat. Better make a double batch!” Is said about stuffed dates on ayurvedic website Joyful Belly where I got the idea for this recipe. Instead of crystallized ginger from the original recipe I made something like ginger jam so that the filling is firmer and stuffed dates can last for days. Here is more explanation from the original recipe: “Fall is the time of year to sweeten the blood. Dates and almonds nourish the blood plasma carrying sugars, fats, and proteins to nourish all cells, essential for helping the body prepare for colder days ahead. Dates and almonds, like most nourishing foods, are heavier to digest and should be paired with spices like ginger to stimulate the stomach and circulation.”
If you like healthy and healing foods, make a note of this recipe as a healthier alternative to Christmas cookies.

Recipe:

3 tablespoons of almonds (25 almonds)
16 dates
3 tablespoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon water

Cut dates from one side lengthwise to remove stone and to prepare pocket into which you will put filling.
Peel the ginger and chop into small cubes. Chop almonds.
In a small bowl boil ginger, sugar and water. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid becomes a thick syrup.
While the mixture is still hot, add almonds and stir well.
Stuff dates with mixture. Stuffed dates will be a little firmer when filling cools completely.

Witches Mushroom Brew with Skulls

2010-10-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

This Halloween soup is so easy to make and is an ideal Halloween's menu starter. It is a light and healthy soup made with button mushrooms and sweet potato and to make mushroom skulls you won't need any fancy tools – just a knife and a straw and of course a pair of little helping hands. Children would enjoy this fun project.

Recipe:

10 oz button mushrooms sliced (set aside 5 to 10 nice mushrooms to make skulls)
1 sweet potato, medium size (2 cups cubed sweet potato)
1 onion (1/2 cup chopped onion)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoon millet
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh herbs like parsley, oregano, basil or thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauté onion on butter, than add sweet potato, sliced mushrooms and millet. Add salt and pepper and water and simmer covered for 20 minutes. In the meantime prepare mushroom skulls. Using drinking straw, scoop out two holes for eyes, triangle shape for nose and carve lips and teeth with little knife. Add skulls in the soup after 15 minutes of cooking, so that you cook them for 5 minutes the most. Soaking them too long in the soup would result in them being too heavy so they won't float nicely in the soup. When soup is cooked add olive oil and fresh herbs.

If you don't have all ingredients for this soup don't despair. You can substitute sweet potato with pumpkin or even carrots. Instead of millet you can use rice or soup noodles. Even though this soup is really nice for any occasion, I think the idea is clear!

Tahini cookies with black sesame seeds

2010-10-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

These cookies are eggs and dairy free. They are tender as if they were made of the finest flour while I used regular unbleached flour. Because of their unusual texture they taste like cross between cookies and halva. With only a few ingredients, these tiny cookies are so easy to make in last minute, though interesting enough to impress the queasiest guests.

Recipe:

1 cup tahini
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 – 3 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Prepare dough mixing all the ingredients except sesame seeds, in bowl. Cover the bowl and let it cool in a freezer for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Shape the dough into 32 balls and roll each ball, top side only into a black sesame seeds. Bake them on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Cool thoroughly and keep refrigerated for up to a week.
Makes 32 cookies.

Sesame Seed

Granola with Ginger and Almonds

2010-09-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Recipe:

3 cups oats
1 cup almonds, chopped
2 tablespoon finely grated ginger
½ tsp salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup honey

In a large bowl mix all ingredients with wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture onto a large greased baking sheet. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes. Stir once after 15 minutes. Cool on tray. When completely cool store in an airtight container. Serve with yogurt and/or fresh fruits.

Ginger Beer

2010-09-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is Jamie Oliver style Ginger Beer or what he calls “Easy Peasy Ginger Beer”. I just measured the amounts a little bit different, as you can do too, because as Jamie says “these amounts are always a little variable so just follow your own taste”. I became addicted to this drink ever since the first time I have tried it. Jamie Oliver says he “can’t think of anything more sexy than having a big pitcher of iced ginger beer on the table with a barbecue on a hot day".

Recipe:

½ cup grated ginger (you can leave the skin on)
¼ cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
Lemon grind
5 – 7 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups sparkling mineral water

Coarsely grate the ginger and lemon rind and sprinkle with brown sugar. Squeeze the juice from lemons and add it to the grated ginger. Add water and let it sit for 10 minutes. Pass the ginger beer through a sieve and serve in a large pitcher with lots of ice and some springs of mint.

Sopa de Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Bean Soup)

2010-09-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Recipe:

1 lb black beans, dried (2 ½ cups)
¼ cup olive oil
1 big onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 big carrot, chopped
1 big green pepper, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 OZ or 411 g
8 cups of water (2 l)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh Oregano, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry oregano)
¼ teaspoon crushed dry red chile pepper
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 slices of lime

Garnishes:
Fresh cilantro, parsley, lemon thyme or basil
Avocado slices
Cherry tomatoes halves
Lime slices
Sour cream
Grated cheese
Boiled eggs

Wash the beans well and soak them overnight, than drain the beans. In a large pot sauté onions, add garlic and carrot and sauté for a minute. Add diced pepper and tomatoes, water and all seasonings except fresh herbs. Bring the soup to boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered for 2 hours. At the end of a cooking time, the soup will start to thicken so make sure you scrape the bottom of the pot occasionally.

In a food processor puree 2 cups of solids from the soup. Return the puree to the soup, mix and boil for another couple of minutes. Add fresh herbs.
Serve the soup hot in bowls, garnished.
Serves 8 (or more)

Sage Ice Cream with Brown Sugar

2010-09-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

This ice cream is a real hit in our household and definitely one of my favorites. It is not only the flavor of sage but bits of leaves that you can feel under your tongue, that are giving this ice cream its distinctive feature.

Recipe:

2 egg yolks
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ tbls fresh sage leaves (about 20 leaves) chopped

In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, mix the egg yolks and sugar. Add milk and cream and cook, stirring, over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add chopped sage leaves and cook for 10 minutes more, until custard coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Transfer the mixture into a container and freeze for 2 hours. Before ice cream is set mix it with electric mixer to prevent crystallizing. Repeat the process several times, every hour. Serve garnished with fresh sage leaves.

If you really want to impress your guests, serve it with candied sage leaves which you will prepare following this recipe: Candied Flowers

Cornmeal Cookies – Zalleti the Venetian Cookie

2010-09-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Venetian Cookies are made of corn meal and currants. Currants can be soaked in rum, and lemon zest can be added. You can really experiment with these cookies: try to add lemon or orange zest, instead of currants try finely chopped prunes or dry apricots or cranberries, and soak them in rum, cherry brandy or your favorite liquor. My Zalleties are made with orange blossom water and orange zest.
Adopted slightly from The Italian Baker by Carol Field via David Lebovitz.

Recipe:

3/4 cup (90g) dried currants, chopped
1 tbls orange blossom water
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbls (20g) flour
5 1/2 ounces (155g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (120g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1 cup (140g) corn meal, regular or coarse
½ tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Soak the currants in orange water. Live for 15 minutes. Mix 2 tbls flour into the currants and shake well.
Mix all ingredients by hand until smooth, then stir in the currants.
Form the dough into a rectangle 4- by 7-inches (10 by 18 cm), wrap in plastic, and chill the dough for about an hour, or until it’s firm enough to handle.

Divide the dough in two, lengthwise, and roll each piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a smooth cylinder 7-inches (18cm) long. Wrap the cylinders and freeze until ready to bake.
If you prefer to bake the cookies right away, pinch of pieces of dough about the size of a small unshelled walnut, and roll into balls. Place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet and press them down gently with your hands to flatten them partially.)

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325F (170 C)
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Slice the cookies into 1/4-inch (.75cm) slices and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets. (The dough is easier to slice when frozen, but if it’s too firm or crumbles when you cut it, let it sit out on the counter until it reaches a good consistency.)
Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, until the cookies are very light brown on top. Remove the oven and let cool completely.
Serve with tea or coffee.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to four days. The dough can be refrigerated for up to one week, or frozen for one or two months.
About 50 cookies

Cantaloupe Granita with Lime

2010-09-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Recipe:

1 small or ½ big cantaloupe (3 cups purred cantaloupe)
1/4 cup light honey
3 tbls freshly squeezed lime juice
Zest of 1 lime

Slice melon and discard skin, cut into large chunks. In your food processor puree melon, honey, lime juice and lime zest until smooth. Transfer to a freezing bowl, place in freezer, uncovered and freeze, whisking every half an hour to keep it from becoming too solid. Serve with slices of lime.

Banana Muffins with Lemon and Honey

2010-09-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

These healthy muffins contain no eggs, milk or butter. They are super easy to make and they are ideal for breakfast.

Recipe:

3 small bananas (1 ½ cup of banana puree)
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
2 tsp lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a bowl mash bananas coarsely with fork. Add other wet ingredients.
In another bowl combine all dry ingredients. Pour liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix with wooden spoon or fork. Do not mix too much. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins

Strawberry Yogurt Ice-Cream

2010-09-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

This ice-cream is so easy to make, sour cream is giving it lovely, real ice-cream texture.

Recipe:

1 ½ cup fresh strawberries, cut in smaller pieces
½ cup light honey
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sour cream

Mash strawberries with a fork, add honey and mix well. Gently fold in yogurt and sour cream. Do not over mix. If you are not using an ice-cream maker, put the mixture in freeze and mix it vigorously with fork every half an hour. Your ice cream will be ready to eat after about 4 hours.

Walnut Bread with Dry Apricots and Rosemary

2010-08-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

Recipe:

4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbls dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbls brown sugar
1 tbls rosemary chopped
2 tbls olive oil
2 cups water
½ cup dry apricots, chopped
½ cup walnuts, chopped

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except apricots and walnuts. Mix with a wooden spoon, adding water gradually. Mix in chopped apricots and walnuts. Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest at warm place for an hour.
Preheat the oven at 350 F. Roll the dough to a floured surface until covered in flour from each side. Put the dough into a greased and floured loaf pan. Cover with kitchen cloth and let it rise for 15 more minutes at warm place.
Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.
It’s delicious served warm with butter. You can also slice it, freeze it and toast it for your breakfast.

Beet Sorbet

2010-08-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Did you ever hear about detox ice-cream? If you are crazy about beet like me, you will try to put it in just about everything…that is how I got the idea for making an ice-cream with beet, or more precisely sorbet. I added some other fruits and some honey to sweeten it, so my children always ask for more. I hope you will like it too.
Recipe:
1 beet medium size
2 bananas medium size
1 apple medium size
1 orange
2 tbls honey (optional)

Peel and cube all fruits and smooth them with honey in a food processor. Freeze. Enjoy without guilt.

Green Beans with Almonds and Thyme

2010-08-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

Recipe:
1 lb green beans, (fresh or frozen)
2 tbls butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard
½ tsp salt
1 tbls chopped fresh thyme
A handful of almonds, coarsely chopped

Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and transfer them to a large bowl of iced water until they get nice green color. Drain them well.

In the same pot (still hot but dry) melt the butter and mix in garlic, mustard and salt. Add the green beans and toss well adding thyme at the very end. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Serve lukewarm. Cooled leftovers make delicious addition to sandwiches.

Detox Ginger-Lemonade

2010-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is a great way to enjoy ginger and its healing properties as often and as simple as possible. You will need several roots of ginger peeled and cut in smaller pieces. Juice the ginger in your juicer and pour the juice in an ice tray. Freeze it. When you wish your ginger drink, melt a cube of iced ginger in water, add some freshly squeezed lemon (or lime) juice and sweeten it with honey to your taste.

Pumpkin (or Sweet Potato) Muffins

2010-06-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

You can make these muffins with fresh pumpkin or sweet potato. Use any orange kind of pumpkin or Butternut squash.
Recipe:
1 cup whole wheat four
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup almond meal (or finely ground almonds)
1 ¾ cup grated fresh pumpkin (or sweet potato)
½ cup olive oil
2 eggs
¼ cup milk (soy or cow’s)
For icing:
1 ½ tbls carob molasses
1 ½ tbls tahini (sesame paste)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients including pumpkin. In a measuring jar mix all wet ingredients. Pour liquid into the flour mixture and mix with wooden spoon or whisk. Do not mix too much. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen. Prepare icing by combining molasses and tahini in a small bowl. Fill a cut-open pastry bag (or ziplock bag) or a squeeze bottle to decorate muffins while they are still warm. Do not decorate them while they are hot.
Makes 12 muffins

You can grate pumpkin or sweet potato in a food processor.
If you are trying to reduce sugars you can lessen the amount of sugar in this recipe (up to ½ cup).
For vegetarian muffins substitute eggs with two small ripe purred bananas.

Carrot Pudding - Gajar Ki Kheer

2010-06-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Recipe:
4 cups milk (soy or cow’s)
2 tbls rice
2 cups finely grated carrots, firmly packed
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbls almond meal (or finely grated almonds)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (or ground cinnamon)
1 tsp rose water (optional)
2 tbls ghee (or butter)
15 almonds, chopped and roasted

Combine milk, rice, carrot and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered for 35 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cinnamon and butter, mix well and remove from heat. Mix in rose water and pour the pudding into a molds or serving glasses. I used a flexible silicone molds. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Sprinkle with chopped, roasted almonds before serving.
Serves 4 to 6

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

2010-06-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

Recipe:
1 cup quick oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 cup soy or cow’s milk
½ cup olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 F. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
Put all dry ingredients into a bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Do not mix too much. Spoon into muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen.
Makes 12 muffins
For vegetarian muffins, instead of egg use one small ripe purred banana.