In search of inspiration...

Ruske šubarice / Russian Hats

2012-01-24T16:58:00.002+01:00

Već smo dobrano zakoračili u novu 2012. godinu, a post s novogodišnjim kolačem vam predstavljam s ogromnim zakašnjenjem. Nadam ste da ste lijepo proveli blagdane u krugu obitelji i prijatelja i da ste uživali u finoj hrani bez puno debljanja. Moram priznati da sam ja bila poprilično umjerena tako da sam novu godinu dočekala bez potrebe za držanjem dijete. Međutim, jedna od novogodišnjih odluka je bila nastaviti vježbati što sam malo zanemarila zahvaljujući lošem vremenu, a i poslu koji sam dobila u 11. mjesecu. Taj događaj je ujedno i obilježio cijelu 2011. godinu. Nakon mjeseci potrage, napokon sam počela odrađivati vježbenički staž i za sad sam vrlo zadovoljna na novom poslu i mogu samo poželjeti da se zadovoljstvo protegne i na 2012. godinu. Blog sam malo zanemarila u posljednjih nekoliko mjeseci što mogu najviše zahvaliti radnom vremenu i nedostatku prirodnog svjetla, a kako već možda i znate, umjetnu rasvjetu nemam, a ni ne planiram ju napraviti sve dok ne kupim malo bolji fotoaparat. Do tada se snalazim kako mogu, a preko praznika sam uspjela zabilježiti jedan od mojih omiljenih kolača kozačke ili ruske šubarice. Meni su osobno puno finije s mljevenim orasima, ali i s kokosom nisu za baciti. Iz priloženih fotki se vidi da su kod nas šubarice s orasima planule pa su za fotkanje ostale jedino one s kokosom.

Sastojci

Za biskvit

200 g šećera
5 jaja
200 g brašna
10 g praška za pecivo
180 ml suncokretovog ulja
1 žlica kakaa

Krema

400 ml mlijeka
6 žlica brašna
200 g šećera
10 g vanilin šećera
200 g margarina za kolače ili maslaca

Glazura

100 g čokolade za kuhanje
3 žlice mlijeka
1 žlica šećera
1 žlica maslaca

Plus

150 g kokosa ili mljevenih oraha

Priprema

Odvojite žumanjke od bjelanjaka. Istucite snijeg od bjelanjaka. Žumanjke i šećer pjenasto izmutite, dodajte ulje, prosijte brašno, prašak za pecivo i kakao te kratko izmiksajte mikserom na najnižoj brzini. Pomoću žlice, lagano umutite snijeg. Izlijte u pravokutni kalup preko kojega ste stavili papir za pečenje i pecite na 180 stupnjeva. Pomoću papira izvadite pečeni biskvit i ostavite da se ohladi. Za to vrijeme skuhajte kremu.
Brašno, šećer i vanilin šećer razmutite u malo mlijeka (koje ste oduzeli od onih 400 ml). Preostalo mlijeko zavrijte i ukuhajte smjesu s brašnom. Miješajte na laganoj vatri dok se ne zgusne (5-10 minuta). Kad se krema ohladi, mikserom umutite omekšali margarin ili maslac.
Običaj je da se šubarice prave pomoću kalupića u obliku kruga kako bi stvarno nalikovale na ruske šubare po kojima su i dobile ime, ali ja sam ovaj put izrezivala kocke kako ne bih imala viška biskvita. Mislim da je tako puno ekonomičnije tj. dobije se više kolačića. Dakle, izrežite krugove ili kvadratiće i svaki prerežite po dužini na pola. Donji dio biskvita filujte, poklopite gornjim dijelom i premažite filom stranice. Umočite stranice u kokos ili orahe (meni je varijanta s orasima puno draža). Gore prelijte glazurom.

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Božićna čarolija u mom domu / Christmas Magic In My Home

2011-12-26T22:21:00.002+01:00

Sretan i blagoslovljen Božić svim dragim blogerima i čitateljima ovog bloga! Kako uživam čitajući vaše postove i gledajući fotografije kojima prenosite dio čarobne božićne atmosfere u vašim domovima, odlučila sam i ja sama podijeliti djelić ugođaja iz mog doma.

Sve je počelo sijanjem pšenice odnosno kupovinom ovog slatkog, kako ga od milja zovemo, Krumpirka kojemu je rasla "kosa" iz dana u dan.

Potom sam napravila vjenčić od gingerbread čovječuljaka i ukrasila ga ljubičastom vrpcom jer sam odlučila da će ove godine Božić biti obilježen ljubičastom bojom.

Božićna jelka je trebala biti okićena ljubičastim kuglicama, ali si nisam mogla pomoći pa sam joj ipak dodala meni posebno drage crvene ukrase poput ovih pločica na koje se kredom može napisati željena poruka. Ovakvi ukrasi su mi predivni jer imaju dušu i daju nekakav poseban topli štih.

Svim na Zemlji mir, veselje...

Ili jednostavno borić s tufnicama. :)

Drveni ukrasići zauzimaju posebno mjesto na mom boru.

Svjetlost lampica se nježno probija kroz otvore na ukrasićima te se reflektira od površine stvarajući romantični ugođaj.

Tu je i snješko na klizaljkama

A stigao je i djedica sa sobom i ostavio darak za svakoga. :)

I jedna iznimno loša fotka iznimno finih kolačića: punč kocke, mađarica i baklava. :) Poslužite se!

Nadam se da ste blagdane proveli u miru i u krugu obitelji, a sutra nas već čeka odgođeni početak novog radnog tjedna pa tako sve do subote i najluđe noći u godini. Sretan Božić!

P.S. Jedino su kalupići za paprenjake ostali neisprobani, ali dogodine će se sigurno i paprenjaci naći na blagdanskom stolu.

Perece sa sirom/ Pretzels With Cheese

2011-12-20T20:14:00.001+01:00

Božić je vrijeme pečenja raznoraznih slatkih kolača i keksića. U četvrtak se bacam na izradu slatkih delicija, a kao alternativu vam nudim ove slane perece koje možete ponuditi gostima koji nisu ljubitelji slatkog. Meni su najbolji kad se ohlade, pa i drugi dan jer se onda masnoća koju sadrže nekako slegne i dobijete savršene grickalice koje mogu poslužiti i za gledanje utakmica. :)

Christmas is time for baking cakes and cookies. On Thursday I plan to start making sweets but as an alternative I present to you these salty pretzels which you can serve to those guests who don`t have a sweet tooth. I prefer them cold or even the next day because the fat tones down a bit and you get a perfect snack which you can nibble on even while watching sports.

Sastojci

250 g višenamjenskog brašna
250 g margarina za kolače ili maslaca
250 g svježeg kravljeg sira
prstohvat soli

1 žumanjak
3 žlice mlijeka
prstohvat soli
kim i sezam

Priprema

Umijesite glatko tijesto od brašna, margarina ili maslaca te svježeg sira i soli. Pobrašnite ruke ako je potrebno. Zamotajte ga u plastičnu foliju i ostavite u hladnjaku 30 minuta. Razvaljajte ga na pobrašnjenoj površini na debljinu od 0,5cm i pomoću kalupića za perece izrezujte oblike. Možete tijesto izrezati i u obliku tankih prutića. Pomiješajte žumanjak, mlijeko i sol te dobivenom mješavinom premažite perece. Po želji posipajte kimom ili sezamom. Pecite na 180 stupnjeva dok ne postanu zlatnosmeđe boje.

Ingredients

250 g all purpose flour
250 g margarine or butter
250 g fresh cow cheese
pinch of salt

1 egg yolk
3 tbsp milk
pinch of salt
caraway and sesame seeds

Preparation

Make a smooth dough out of flour, margarine or butter, fresh cheese and salt. Flour your hands if necessary. Wrap it in a plastic foil and let cool in a fridge for 30 minutes. Rollit on a floured surface about 0,5 cm thick and using a pretzel mold cot out shapes. You can also make sticks and different kinds of shapes. Using a fork, mix egg yolk, milk and salt and brush your pretzles with this mixture. Sprinkle with caraway or sesame seeds. Bake on 180 Degrees Celsius until golden brown.

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Pobjednik darivanja

2011-12-01T10:51:00.000+01:00

Po prvi puta organizirala sam darivanje na blogu u kojem su mogli sudjelovati svi dragi čitatelji bloga. Odaziv je bio velik, a od ukupno vas 40 izabrala sam jednu sretnu dobitnicu pomoću widget-a random.org. Widget je odlučio da nagradu osvaja sretnica koja je ostavila komentar pod rednim brojem 17.

A to je...

Nagradu osvaja Vali s bloga Vali voli torte.

Čestitam ti draga Vali i molim te da mi svoju adresu javiš na mail. Potrudit ću se poslati ti nagradu što prije, ali molim za strpljenje. :)
Ostalima želim više sreće u nekom od skorih budućih darivanja koje planiram organizirati.

Božićno darivanje

2011-11-12T15:56:00.006+01:00

Po prvi puta na ovom blogu odlučila sam organizirati malo darivanje za sve svoje vjerne čitatelje. S obzirom da nam se bliže božićni blagdani i vrijeme darivanja, pripremila sam nešto prigodno za sve vas koji s nestrpljenjem očekujete sezonu pečenja kolača i keksića. ~~Sudjelovati mogu baš svi, a sve što trebate napraviti je ostaviti komentar na ovaj post u razdoblju od 12.-30.11. 2011. godine do 23:59h po mom lokalnom vremenu.~~ U obzir će ulaziti samo oni učesnici koji su u svom komentaru ostavili e-mail adresu kako bi se mogli dogovoriti o slanju nagrade. Ako izvučem nekoga tko nije ostavio e-mail adresu, ponovno ću izvlačiti broj. Dobitnika ću odabrati pomoću widget-a random.org.

Nagradica uključuje:
1. 3X3 modlice različitih veličina u obliku srca, zvjezdice i gingerbread man-a,
2. pločicu za pisanje (na koju možete pisati kredom) u obliku zvijezde,
3. limeni tanjur za kekse s božićnim motivom
4. 3 ukrasa za bor u obliku bora i
5. mini modlicu za pečenje u obliku snjegovića.

Želim vam svima sreću i nadam se da će vas sudjelovati što više. :) Pobjednika ću objaviti 1.12.2011. godine.

Darivanje je završeno!

Kisela cikla / Pickled Beets

2011-09-30T10:10:00.001+02:00

Spremanje zimnice mi je jedna od omiljenih zanimacija koja me jako veseli i u kojoj rado uživam svake godine na prijelazu ljeta u jesen. Obično napravim nekoliko vrsta pekmeza i ukiselim krastavčiće, paprike i ciklu. Ove godine moju smočnicu krase džem od šljiva s rumom i cimetom, džem od jagoda s bazgom te obični, namaz od jabuka te kisela cikla za koju vam recept upravo donosim. Recept sam dobila od mamine kolegice, vrlo je klasičan, ali zato jako ukusan. Cikla bude slatko-kisela i izvrsno se slaže sa zimskom hranom.

Pickling and preserving is one of my favorite things to do every year at that cross between summer and fall. Usually I make different kinds of jams and pickles, pickled peppers and beets. This year, my pantry is the home for plum, rum and cinnamon jam, strawberry jam with elderberry flowers and plain one, apple butter and pickled beets for which I will give you recipe right now. We got it from my mother`s friend, it is a classic but the beets turn out a real treat. It`s a sweet and sour taste which goes great with hearty winter food.

Sastojci

3 kg cikle (neoguljene)
500 ml octa
1500 ml vode
200 ml šećera
2,5 žlice soli

Ingredients

3 kilos beets (unpeeled)
500 ml vinegar
1500 ml water
200 ml sugar
2,5 tbsp salt

Priprema

Operite neoguljenu ciklu. Zavrijte vodu u velikom loncu, stavite ciklu i kuhajte dok ne omekša (vrijeme kuhanja varira ovisno o veličini i sorti cikle, probajte nožem je li mekana). Ogulite skuhanu ciklu i narežite na tanke ploške.
Zavrijte ocat, vodu, šećer i sol, stavite u tu mješavinu ciklu i zavrijte. Vruće stavljajte u sterilizirane staklenke, prelijte tekućinom i odmah zatvorite poklopcima. Staklenke zamotajte u deku, ali pazite da se ne dodiruju i ostavite ih tako do sutra dok se ne ohlade. Ciklu možete jesti nakon mjesec dana.

Preparation

Wash unpeeled beets. Bring water to boil in a big pot, put in it your beets and cook until soft (this may vary depending on the size of the beets; just try with a knife whether they are cooked). Peel cooked beets and cut into thin slices.
Bring to boil vinegar, water, sugar and salt, put your beets into prepared liquid and bring to boil again. While it is still hot, put your beets into sterilized jars, cover with liquid and immediately adjust lids.
Wrap the jars in a blanket, make sure they don`t touch each other and leave over night to cool down. You can eat your pickled beets 1 month later.

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Pogača s maslinovim uljem, češnjakom i mediteranskim začinima / Focaccia with olive oil, garlic and mediterranean herbs

2011-09-16T23:43:00.005+02:00

Kruh je jedna od osnovnih namirnica koju kupujemo gotovo svakodnevno, no jeste li ikad zastali i proučili listu sastojaka kruha kojeg možete kupiti u supermarketima? Brašno, voda, kvasac i onda oni zastrašujući E aditivi zbog kojih poželim nikad više ne kupovati kruh iz trgovine. Stoga se trudim što češće napraviti domaći kruh koji je puno ukusniji od kupovnog, daje vam mogućnost kontrole sastojaka s kojim ćete ga napraviti a za koje znate da nisu štetni za vaše zdravlje. Ovog puta, napravila sam focacciu ili pogaču - poznati talijanski kruh s mediteranskim začinima, a premazala sam ju mješavinom maslinovog ulja, češnjaka i još začina. Zvuči dobro, zar ne? Kad sam ju izvadila iz pećnice, focaccia je bila hrskava, a sljedeći dan je ostala mekana, baš onako kako ju volimo.

Bread is something that we buy almost every day but have you ever stopped and studied the ingredient list of the breads that you can find in supermarkets? Flour, water, yeast and then those horrible E additives that pretty much scare me so that I really never ever want to buy bread in stores again. So, as often as I can, I make my homemade bread which is delicious and you can pretty much control the ingredients you put in it and you know are good for you. This time I made an italian style bread called focaccia with mediterranean herbs and brushed it with mixture of olive oil, garlic and more herbs. Sounds good, right? The focaccia was really crunchy when it came out from the oven but the next day was nice and soft, just the way we like it.

Sastojci

Za tijesto
1 kg višenamjenskog brašna
600 ml mlake vode
40 g svježeg kvasca
1 žlica soli
1 žlica mediteranskih začina (origano, bosiljak, mažuran i majčina dušica)
1 žličica meda
4 žlice maslinovog ulja
Za premaz
3 žlice maslinovog ulja
1 češanj češnjaka
1 žličica mediteranskih začina
prstohvat soli

Ingredients

For the dough
1 kg all purpose flour
600 ml tepid water
40g fresh yeast
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp mediterranean herbs (oregano, basil, marjoram and thyme)
1 tsp honey
4 tbsp olive oil
For the brush
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp mediterranean herbs
pinch of salt

Priprema

Pomiješajte brašno, sol i začinsko bilje. U zdjeli rastopite med i kvasac u 200ml mlake vode. Ostavite da se udvostruči na toplom mjestu. Udvostručeni kvasac dodajte brašnu zajedno s maslinovim uljem i ostatkom vode (400ml). Izmiješajte dobro rukama, a kad se počne formirati tijesto, premjestite ga na površinu koju ste lagano pobrašnili i mijesite oko 5 minuta. Posudu premažite s malo ulja, stavite tijesto u nju, prekrijte vlažnom krpom i ostavite na toplom mjestu da se udvostruči.
Zagrijte pećnicu na 190 stupnjeva.
Udarite tijesto rukom kako bi izašao zrak i istresite ga na nauljeni lim veličine pećnice. Raširite ga rukama na veličinu lima, napravite rupe pomoću vrška drvene kuhače i nožem označite kriške. U mužaru izlupajte maslinovo ulje, češnjak, začine i sol pa tom mješavinom premažite focacciu. Pecite 40 minuta dok ne postane hrskava i zlatnosmeđe boje.

Preparation

Combine flour, salt and herbes. In a bowl, disolve honey and yeast in 200 ml tepid water. Let it rise until it doubles in size in a warm place. Then add it to flour mixture together with oil and the remaining water (400 ml). Mix well with your hands and when the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Lightly oil the bowl, place the dough in it, cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 190 Degrees Celsius.
Knock down your dough and place it into a lightly oiled tray (which is the size of your oven). Flatten it with your hands, poke with a top of your wooden spoon and cut the surface with a knife to mark portions. In mortar, beat olive oil, garlic, herbs and salt and bursh your focaccia with this aromatic mixture. Bake for 40 min or until nicely golden and crispy.

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Napomena: u subotu 17.9. u Vjesniku izlazi prilog o hrvatskim kulinarskim blogovima stoga svi trk na obližnji kiosk po svoj primjerak. :)

Krem juha od kukuruza / Creamy Corn Soup

2011-08-06T16:35:00.003+02:00

Ova juhica je idealna za ljetne dane i po sastojcima zapravo vrlo dijetalna pa tako u njoj možete uživati ne brinući se za kalorije. Ako vas pak ne muči višak kila, slobodno ju možete obogatiti s malo maslaca, vrhnja za kuhanje ili kiselog vrhnja. Meni je bila odlična ovakva kao u receptu.

This soup is ideal for summer days and actually very light so you can enjoy it without worrying about calories. If you are not watching your weight, you can make it even more delicious with butter, cooking cream or sour cream. I loved it just the way it was.

Sastojci

4 kukuruza
2 žlice maslinovog ulja
1 manji luk
pola l vode ili po želji
sol, kajenski papar, čili papričica i svježe nasjeckani peršin

Priprema

Pomoću noža, odvojite zrna kukuruza od klipa. Zagrijte ulje na srednje jakoj vatri, dodajte nasjeckani luk i čili papričicu, posolite i pirjajte 8 minuta. Dodajte kukuruz i pirjajte miješajući oko 2 minute. Zalijte vodom, posolite i dodajte kajenski papar. Pustite da juha zavrije pa kuhajte dok kukuruz ne omekša - oko 30 minuta. Ispasirajte juhu u blenderu ili pomoću štapnog miksera. Ja sam u svojoj ostavila malo komadića, ali vi sami odaberite željenu teksturu. Neka juha ponovno zavrije, po potrebi doradite začine i gustoću dodavajući malo vode. Dodajte nasjeckani peršin i poslužite.

Ingredients

4 corn on the cobs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
1/2 l water
salt, cayenne pepper, chili, freshly chopped parsley

Preparation

Using a knife, remove corn kernels from the cob. In a pot heat olive oil over medium heat, add chopped onions and chili pepper, season with salt and cook for 8 minutes. Add corn and cook frequently stirring for 2 minutes. Pour water in, season with salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil and cook until corn is soft, about 30 minutes. Puree in a blender or with a stick mixer. You can make a really nice, silky texture or leave some chunks. Bring the soup to boil again, work on the seasoning, add chopped parsley and serve.

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Cute Stuff From My Little Kitchen

2011-07-10T16:54:00.000+02:00

My favorite posts to read on other people`s blogs are those related to showing their kitchens and things that they use while cooking and photographing food. So, I decided to make a post in which I present to you some of my favorite stuff from my kitchen which I am really proud of and which makes this whole process of cooking and food blogging so fun. Plus it is a great way for you to get to know me better and see what really makes me happy. I have also written the stores in which I bought all of these so if you like something, you can easily find it (if they still sell it). Welcome to my kitchen! :)

P.S. I would really like to encourage you to write a simmilar post and show us your favorite kitchen stuff. If you do that, please send me a link in the comments section below.

1. Cute little ceramic dishes I bought just a few days ago... Couldn`t resist... And they were 50% off so I really didn`t have a choice you know. :) (NKD)

2. Ever feel like it`s more thoughtful to serve individual tarts to your guests rather than 1 big tart? I guess you feel more special when you get something made just for you. Little individual tart molds. (Emmezeta)

3. Gravy boat. Always wanted to have one of those and this one is pretty cool beacuse it`s see through. (Plodine)

4. I have a collection of mugs and these 2 are my favorite. Cappuccino tastes even better when I drink it from one of these cup. (Konzum)

5. Making homemade pasta is one of my favorite things to do. If you like to make ravioli, this thingy is great in helping you make them the same size. And I have 3 of them: large, medium and small. (Lidl)

6. Fancy bowls for pudding and stuff, nice big portions. :) (Konzum)

7. Salt and pepper shakers in form of little elephants, to die for. :) (Gift)

8. Another small ceramic baking dish. Unfortunately, I only have 1 one these so I haven`t used it yet. (Kaufland)

9. I love teapots so I decided to decoupage an old one that we had lying in the cupboard. Drinking tea can be fun! :)

10. Mats for glasses, of course with little teapots. You get the point: I love teapots. :) (Kaufland)

11. A bowl for soup which keeps it hot. I just hate to eat luke warm soup... Yuck! Even has room for a spoon. How clever! (Interspar)

12. I love these pretty little jars which remind me of Jamie Oliver`s kitchen in his cooking show Jamie at Home. I keep garlic in this one but you can use it for storing any kind of spice, dried herbs, chillis and jams.

13. I have 8 of these plates, 1 large for a cake and a spatula. I searched the whole city in order to get them and was happy like a baby when I finally found them. (Konzum)

14. If you`re a crazy Jamie Oliver fan like I am, you simply have to own a pestle and mortar. Great for making flavored oils and salts. (Pevec)

15. Have you noticed that steamed vegetables taste 10 times better than the ones boiled in water? Especially if you steam it in a bamboo steamer which adds another dimension. (Casa)

16. Pudding molds - just to make your plain old pudding a bit more interesting. (Don`t remember)

17. Finally - absolute cuteness all over the place. Creme brulee dishes. I fell in love with these. (Konzum)

Sour Cherry Popsicles / Sladoled na štapiću od višanja

2011-06-22T23:18:00.002+02:00

Prva dva dana ljeta obilježile su za većinu nas gotovo nesnosne vrućine. Ono što me uspjelo tek donekle rashladiti bile su smrznute poslastice od višanja koje sam napravila u mojim novim kalupićima za tzv. popsicles iliti sladolede na štapiću. Prvi popsicle je navodno nastao slučajno, davne 1905. godine kada je 11-godišnji Frank Epperson na trijemu ostavio prašak za sok i vodu u čaši zajedno sa štapićem za miješanje. Tu noć, temperature su se spustile ispod ništice pa se mješavina smrznula oko štapića i nastala je, danas, tako popularna smrznuta lizalica.

*Meni se nekako više svidjela ideja da vodu zamijenim mlijekom kako bih dobila bogatiji okus.
**Odobrila moja nećakinja. :)

The first two days of summer have been extremely hot. The one thing that managed to cool me down a bit were frozen sour cherry treats which I made in my new popsicle molds. The first popsicle was made by accident long time ago, in 1905, when 11-year old Frank Epperson left a mixture of powdered soda, water and stirring stick in a cup on his porch. That night, temperature reached below zero so the mixture had frozen to the stick and the very famous ice pop was created for the first time.

* I preferred milk instead of water to get a more rich flavor.
** Approved by my niece. :)

Sastojci

višnje
mlijeko
šećer

Ingredients

sour cherries
milk
sugar

Priprema

U blenderu pomiješajte i usitnite višnje očišćene od koštica, malo mlijeka i šećer po ukusu. Dobivena smjesa će biti tekuća. Ulijte ju u kalupiće za popsicles i zamrznite preko noći. Uživajte u ledenoj poslastici!
* Nisam pisala točne mjere jer ih ne znam i ne pravim po receptu nego onako odokativnom metodom. ;)

Preparation

In a blender combine sour cherries (depitted), splash of milk and sugar (add to taste). Pour the liquid in popsicle molds and freeze over night. Enjoy your frozen treats the next day!
* I didn`t give exact measurements because I don`t know them and don`t use a recipe when making them. ;)

Palačinke s borovnicama / Blueberry Pancakes

2011-05-13T22:01:00.004+02:00

Iako volim francuske palačinke, tzv. crêpes, imala sam želju isprobati i slavne američke palačinke s borovnicama. Inače, one su deblje od francuske verzije, ali je vrlo bitno da budu prozračne. Možete ih napraviti obične pa poslužiti s javorovim sirupom i maslacom, ali i s raznim dodacima poput borovnica, kupina, banana, hrskave slanine, svježeg kukuruza i sl.

Recept koji sam našla ovdje i modificirala u potpunosti dočarava bit američkih palačinki. Iznenađujuće su lagane, prozračne i ukusne.

I love French crêpes but I wanted to try the famous american blueberry pancakes, too. They are thicker than the french version and it is really important that they are fluffy. You can make them plain and serve with maple syrup and butter or with different flavorings like blueberries, blackberries, bananas, crispy bacon, fresh corn etc.

The recipe I found here and modified a bit truly represents what american pancakes stand for. Amazingly light, fluffy and delicious.

Sastojci

2 jaja

1 ½ šalica višenamjenskog brašna

1 prašak za pecivo

3 žlice šećera

prstohvat soli

1 šalica mlijeka

3 žlice ulja

borovnice

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
10 g baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
blueberries (about 150 g)

Priprema

Posebno izradite snijeg od bjelanjaka, a u drugoj posudi izmutite žumanjke. U žumanjke dodajte mlijeko i ulje. Pomiješajte suhe sastojke: brašno, šećer, prašak i sol i dodajte im smjesu mlijeka i jaja. Dobro izmutite i na kraju lopaticom lagano umiješajte snijeg.

Pecite palačinke u teflonskoj tavi na malo ulja. Ja sam pravila manje palačinke jer sam ih htjela poslužiti na malom tanjuru za kolače. U tavu ulijte željenu količinu smjese i pustite da se sama razlije (ja sam stavila 1 grabilicu smjese). Potom stavite borovnice (na ove manje palačinke stavila sam oko 5-6 borovnica). Kad se palačinka ispeče s jedne strane, okrenite je naglim pokretom i pecite.

Poslužite s javorovim sirupom ili sa šećerom u prahu.

Preparation

Separate egg whites from the egg yolks. Using a mixer (or a whisk) beat egg whites until stiff. Whisk egg yolks and add milk and oil. Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the mixture of milk and eggs into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Lightly fold in the egg whites.
Bake in a teflon pan lightly greased with oil. Pour as much of the batter you want and sprinkle with 5-6 bluberries (I made small pancakes). When gold, turn them around and bake until golden on the other side, too.
Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

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Kako sašiti mašnu - korak po korak tutorial sa slikama

2011-05-01T14:45:00.005+02:00

Prije otprilike pola godine ispunila sam si dugogodišnju želju i kupila šivaću mašinu. Na ovu odluku me uvelike potaknuo i post moje drage kolegice blogerice Sandre s bloga Zondra Art. Sjećam se stare Singerice, na kojoj su šivale moja baka i kasnije moja mama, koju smo nažalost prodali, ali mi je valjda ljubav prema šivanju prenešena genetski. Pri odabiru modela, u obzir je dolazila jedino Singerica, a odluka je pala na Singer Tradition 2250 i još uvijek nisam požalila.
Nisam imala nikakvog prethodnog iskustva sa šivanjem pa nisam čak ni znala uvući konac i ostale tehnikalije koje se moraju napraviti prije početka korištenja mašine. Polako ali sigurno, pohvatala sam konce :) i krenila isprobavati opcije koje moja mašina ima. Prvo sam vježbala najobičniji ravni šav, krenila s izradom jednostavnih jastučnica, potom se bacila na nešto kompliciranije prekrajanje zvonastih traperica u uske, skraćivanja i porubljivanja hlača i uvidjela da se uz vježbu mogu postići zadovoljavajući rezultati.
U zadnje vrijeme mi se jako sviđaju rajfovi i odjeća s mašnicama pa sam se odlučila okušati u šivanju ovog modnog dodatka. Poprilično sam zadovoljna kako su ispale moje mašnice iako je prva završila u košu. Nisam se obeshrabrila i druga (crna sa slike) je ispala odlično. Stoga sam napravila još jednu (s prugicama) i odlučila fotkati cijeli postupak kako bih ga mogla podijeliti s vama. Kad se uvježbate, sigurna sam da je jednu ovakvu mašnicu moguće sašiti za 20-ak minuta.
Odlučila sam se objaviti ovaj tutorial samo na hrvatskom jeziku jer ih na engleskom postoji i više nego dovoljno pa nema potrebe za još jednim.

Potrebno

tkanina u željenoj boji
konac u odgovarajućoj boji
šivaća mašina
škare
ravnalo
kreda

Postupak

1. Tkaninu okrenite na krivu stranu te pomoću ravnala i krede iscrtajte 2 pravokutnika dimenzija 14x6 cm ili po želji, ovisno koliko želite da mašna bude velika.

2. Pravokutnike položite jedan na drugi tako da obje prave strane budu unutra, a krive izvana.

3. Učvrstite pravokutnike pomoću pribadača kako se ne bi micali dok šijete.

4. Mašinu namjestite na ovu postavku:

Prošijte sve 4 strane ovako spojenih pravokutnika.

Ne zaboravite svaki put pri kraju prijeći naprijed-nazad nekoliko puta kako bi učvrstili šav.

Trebate dobiti ovo:

5. Preklopite po pola.

6. Točno na sredini odvojite jedan dio tkanine i prorežite škarama rupicu veličine oko 1,5 cm. Pazite da ne zahvatite i donju stranu tkanine.

7. Kroz rupicu, preokrenite tijelo mašne na pravu stranu.

Moguće je da vam se rupa pri preokretanju malo proširi pa ju po želji možete zašiti ručno pomoću igle i konca. Kod mene nije bilo potrebe.

8. Još je potrebno sašiti obruč pomoću kojega ćete oblikovati mašnu. Izrežite od tkanine 2 pravokutnika dimenzija 7x3 cm.
Preklopite ih na isti način kako ste napravili s pravokutnicima za tijelo mašne, tako da prave strane budu iznutra.

9. Namjestite mašinu na ovu postavku:

10. Učvrstite tkanine pomoću pribadača. Prošijte spojene pravokutnike, ali ovog puta samo s 3 strane tako da jedna kraća stranica ostane otvorena (ne zaboravite svaki puta pri kraju proći nekoliko puta naprijed-nazad kako bi osigurali šav). Preokrenite tkaninu kroz tu rupicu na pravu stranu.

11. Preklopite dobiveni oblik po pola. Prošijte i preokrenite na pravu stranu. Obruč za mašnu je gotov.

12. Provucite tijelo mašne kroz obruč i mašna je gotova.

Mašnu po želji možete našiti na majicu, tuniku, košulju ili haljinu, ali i staviti na rajf. Provucite rajf kroz obruč mašne i tako po potrebi možete mijenjati mašne ovisno o modnoj kombinaciji koju imate na sebi.

U izradi mi je uvelike pomogao i ovaj video.

Sretan Uskrs! / Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:38:00.001+02:00

... to all of my blog readers! :)

Homemade Pasta - Step by Step Tutorial/ Domaća tjestenina - Korak po korak

2011-03-23T17:31:00.003+01:00

Mnogi ljudi zaziru od pravljenja domaće tjestenine, a vjerujte mi, vidjela sam i one koji su odustali i prije nego pokušaju. Smatram da bi se svi trebali okušati u izradi domaće tjestenine jer je okusom 10 puta bolje od gotove koju kupujemo u trgovini, a jednom kad se izvježbate, poprilično je lagana za napraviti. Ako sam ja uspjela, bilo tko će uspjeti :)
Izradila sam tutorial s fotografijama kako bih olakšala postupak pripreme početnicima. Krenimo...
Prva stvar koju me mama naučila je da se na 1 jaje stavlja 100 g višenamjenskog brašna. To je to i uvijek uspijeva. Ako je tijesto malo ljepljivo (što se može dogoditi ako koristite velika jaja, jednostavno dodajte malo brašna), ali kako sam ranije napisala, ovaj omjer uvijek funkcionira.

Some people are afraid of making pasta at home and, believe me, I`ve seen people giving up before even trying. Everyone should have a go at making homemade pasta because it tastes 10 times better than store bought pasta and once you get a grip with it, it`s pretty easy as well. I figure, if I can do it, anyone can. :) Just to make things a little bit easier for beginners, I made a little photo step by step tutorial. Let`s begin.
The first thing my mother taught me is that per 1 egg, you need 100 grams of all-purpose flour. That`s it and it always works. If the dough is a little bit sticky (which may happen if you use large eggs, simply add some more flour) but as I`ve said before, this ratio really works.

Sastojci

2 jaja
200 g višenamjenskog brašna
prstohvat soli
veliki prstohvat provansalskog začinskog bilja (izostavite ih ako pravite običnu tjesteninu)
stroj za izradu tjestenine

Ingredients

2 eggs
200 g all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
generous pinch of Herbes de Provence (optional; omit it if you want to make regular pasta)
pasta machine

Priprema
Preparation

1. Prosijte brašno na čistu podlogu. Napravite rupu u sredini brašna. Razbijte jaja u zdjelicu, dodajte sol i lagano istucite pjenjačom. Ulijte izmućena jaja u rupu te dodajte začine.

1. Sift the flour on a clean surface. Make a well in the flour. Break the eggs into a bowl and add salt. Use a fork to whisk your eggs a bit and pour them into the flour well. Add herbes (optional).

2. Pomoću vilice, kružnim pokretima pomiješajte jaja s brašnom. Kada vam postane teško kružiti vilicom, počnite rukama mijesiti tijesto. Ne brinite se ako vam jaje iscuri iz rupe, nije kraj svijeta. Samo vam je potrebno malo vježbe. Koristite lopaticu za tijesto kojom ćete ostrugati brašno i dijelove tijesta s radne površine i sve zajedno umijesite u tijesto. Mijesite nekoliko minuta kako bi dobili elastično i glatko tijesto. Ako se tijesto lijepi, dodajte vrlo malo brašna. Kako biste dobili glatko tijesto, operite ruke od brašna i tijesta, ostavite ih lagano vlažnima i ponovno mijesite.
Pobrašnite tijesto, zamotajte u plastičnu foliju i stavite u hladnjak na 20 minuta.
S lopaticom razrežite tijesto na 4 dijela. Svaki dio pobrašnite da se ne bi zalijepili jedni za druge.
Stavite dijelove tijesta u plastičnu foliju kako se ne bi isušili dok radite s 1 komadom tijesta.

2. Start to incorporate flour into the eggs by making circular moves with a fork. When it becomes too difficult to mix with a fork use your hands to form a dough. Don`t worry if the eggs pour out from the well, it`s not the end of the world. You just need a little bit of practise. Use a dough scraper to collect the leftovers from your working surface and incorporate all of it into the dough. Knead for several minutes in order to get an elastic and smooth dough. If the dough is sticky, add a small amount of flour. In order to get a smooth dough, I always wash my hands in the end of kneading, leave them a bit moist and then knead again.

Wrap your dough dusted with flour into plastic foil and leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Using the scraper, cut the dough into quarters. Dust each quarter with flour so that they don`t stick to each other.
Place them into plastic foil so that they don`t dry out while you work with first quarter of the dough.

3. Uzmite 1/4 tijesta, formirajte pravokutnik i rastanjite ga pomoću valjka za tijesto (kako bi olakšali posao stroju).
Provucite traku tijesta kroz stroj na najširoj postavci stroja (1). Preklopite ga na pola pa još jednom na istoj postavci provucite kroz stroj. Preklapanje ponovite nekoliko puta pa onda počnite smanjivati razmak valjaka na stroju. Između svakog puta, pobrašnite traku tijesta.

3. Take 1 quarter of dough, form a rectangular strip and roll it a bit using a rolling pin (you have to do it otherwise it is going to be too thick for the pasta maschine).
Begin running the strip through the widest setting of your pasta maschine (usually 1). Fold it in half and run it again on the same setting. Repeat several times and than start to reduce the setting. Each time dust the strips with a little bit of flour.

4. Uvijek nastojim da trake tijesta budu što tanje pa ih razvaljam do najuže postavke na mom stroju (7). Izrežite trake na komade dužine 15-20 cm. Ostavite trake da se suše na stolnjaku 10-15 minuta. Ključno je da se dovoljno osuše, ali da se ne presuše. Ako nisu dovoljno suhe, tjestenina će vam se zalijepiti. Ako ih presušite, stroj neće moći izrezati trake.
Počnite rezati trake tijesta na stroju. Ovog puta sam radila tagliatelle. Izrezanu tjesteninu raširite po stolnjaku i sušite ju najmanje 24 sata, a potom čuvajte u hermetički zatvorenoj posudi.
Moju predivnu aromatičnu tjesteninu poslužila sam s najjednostavnijim mogućim umakom od gljiva. Uživajte!

4. I always make my strips as thin as possible (7). Cut each strip into 15-20 cm pieces. Let the strips rest on a clean table cloth for 10 to 15 minutes. It is crucuial that the strips are not too dry or not dry enough. In the first case, you won`t be able to cut them and in the second case the pasta would stick to each other.

Start cutting your pasta with cutting setting on your machine. Catch the pasta with your fingers and put it on the table cloth to dry. This time, I made tagliatelle. Dry at least 24 hours and store in an airtight container.

I served my beautiful homemade aromatic pasta with the simplest mushroom sauce. Enjoy!

*Sve ovo mogli biste napraviti samo uz pomoć valjka za razvlačenje tijesta, ali je puno jednostavnije ako imate stroj za izradu tjestenine. Osobno, ne bih nikad radila tjesteninu bez njega i mislim da bi svatko trebao imati ovakav jedan stroj, pogotovo zato što nisu jako skupi, a promijenit će vam prehrambene navike.

*You could do all of this using a plain rollin pin but it`s much more simpler if you have a pasta machine. Personally, I would never make homemade pasta without it and I think that every household should own one of these, especially because they are affordable and could change your eating habits.

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Brza popodnevna grickalica od kruha / Quick Afternoon Bread Snack

2011-03-09T17:42:00.001+01:00

16h... Već smo ranije ručali. Gladni smo.
"Mogli bismo istostirati kruh u tosteru. Da, može!"
Dosadno, ali hrskavo.
"Hm, čekaj! Mogli bismo ga umjesto u tosteru, ispeći na grill tavi."
Zagrijavam tavu. Padne mi na pamet ideja. Premažem tost kruh maslinovim uljem, dodam malo provansalskog začinskog bilja, češnjaka u prahu i odjednom dosadna popodnevna užina postaje zanimljiva. :)

Da, stvarno je tako jednostavno i ultra brzo. I fino. I idealno kad vam banu nenajavljeni gosti. :)

4 pm... We already ate our lunch earlier. We are hungry.
"Let`s toast some bread in the toster. Yeah, ok!"
Boring, but it`s crunchy.
"Oh, wait! Let`s use our new griddle pan and bake it there instead."
Heating the pan. An idea pops up. I brush the toasting bread with olive oil, add some herbes de Provence, powdered garlic and all of the sudden our boring afternoon snack becomes more interesting. :)

Yes, it really is that easy and super fast. Also delicious. And ideal when your friends show up unannounced. :)

Sastojci

2 šnite tost kruha po osobi
ekstra djevičansko maslinovo ulje
provansalsko začinsko bilje
morska sol
češnjak u prahu

Priprema

Zagrijte grill tavu na srednjoj vatri. Četkicom premažite šnite kruha maslinovim ulje, posolite, posipajte začinskim biljem i češnjakom u prahu. Pecite kruh na zagrijanoj tavi dok ne dobije zlatnosmeđu boju. To je to! Vaša 10-minutna grickalica je gotova!
*Umjesto dodavanja češnjaka u prahu, možete vaš pečeni kruh premazati polovicom režnja češnjaka.

Verzija za print

Ingredients

2 slices of toasting bread per person
extra virgin olive oil
herbes de Provence
sea salt
powdered garlic

Preparation

Heat the griddle pan over medium heat. Brush your bread slices with olive oil on both sides, sprinkle with sea salt, herbes de Provence and powdered garlic. Put the bread in the pan and bake on both sides until golden brown and crunchy. That`s it! Your 10 minute snack is ready!
*You can absolutely use 1 clove of garlic (instead of the powderd stuff), cut it in half and smear your toasted breads with it.

Printable version

Pužići s maslacem/Butter Rolls

2011-02-28T14:10:00.001+01:00

Kad vam dolaze gosti, lijepo je kad im možete ponuditi nešto slatko ali i slano, pogotovo za one koji nisu ljubitelji slatkoga. Ove rolice s maslacem, ili pužići kako se u originalu zovu, idealne su za obje grupe i gotovo sam sigurna da će se svima svidjeti. Često ih pravim za rođendane kao predjelo za kasnije slastice koje sam pripremila. Uvijek nestanu u trenu!

When you have guests coming over, it`s good to always be able to offer them something sweet but also something salty for the ones that don`t have a sweet tooth like I do. :) These butter rolls are ideal and I`m almost sure that both of these groups will love them. I often make them for birthdays as an introduction to later sweet treats that I prepare. They are always a hit!

Sastojci

Za tijesto
900 g brašna
40 g svježeg kvasca
1 1/2 dl suncokretovog ulja
500 ml mlijeka
1 žlica soli
1 žličica šećera

Za nadjev
250 g maslaca
3 žumanjka
2 žličice soli

Ingredients

For the dough
900 g all purpose flour
40 g fresh yeast
1 1/2 dl sunflower oil
500 ml milk
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar

For the filling
250 g butter
3 egg yolks
2 tsp salt

Priprema
Preparation

U 200 ml toplog mlijeka (koje ste uzeli od 500 ml mlijeka) rastopite kvasac i šećer. Pjenjačom izradite dok ne dobijete glatku smjesu. Ostavite na toplom mjestu da se udvostruči. Rukom pomiješajte brašno i sol, dodajte ulje, uzdignuti kvasac i preostalih 300 ml toplog mlijeka. Mijesite rukom na lagano pobrašnjenoj podlozi ili u stojećem mikseru oko 10 minuta. Lagano nauljite ruke, premažite tijesto, oblikujte kuglu i ostavite u zdjeli da se udvostruči. Prekrijte zdjelu vlažnom krpom i ostavite na toplom mjestu gdje nema propuha (udvostručit će se za 30-60 minuta).
Nakon toga, pripremite nadjev tako da izmiksate maslac, žumanjke i sol u glatku smjesu koja se lako može razmazivati.
Razvaljajte tijesto na pobrašnjenoj podlozi u pravokutnik debljine 1 cm. Premažite ravnomjerno nadjevom. Iskoristite cijeli nadjev.

First you have to prepare the dough. Disolve sugar and yeast in 200 ml warm milk (take it from those 500ml milk) . Whisk until nice and smooth. Leave in a warm place until it doubles in size. Using your hands mix flour and salt, add oil, yeast and the remaining 300 ml warm milk. Knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface or in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes. Lightly oil your hands and cover the dough with oil. Leave in a bowl to rise. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave it in a draft free space to double in size (this should take between 30-60 minutes).
Second, prepare the filling by mixing butter, yolks and salt with a mixer until it becomes smooth and applicable.
Take the dough and roll it on a floured surface into a rectangle so that it is about 1 cm thick. Then smear it evenly with the prepared filling.

Prerežite tijesto na pola, po dužini.
Now, cut the dough lengthwise in half, like this:

Počnite rolati svaku polovice izvana prema unutra tako da dobijete 2 dugačke role.
Begin rolling each half from the outter side to the middle so you get 2 long rolls.

Počnite rezati šnitice debljine 1,5-2 cm.
Start cutting 1,5-2 cm thick slices.

Stavite rolice na papir za pečenje tako da odrezana strana bude prema gore. Po potrebi ih oblikujte da budu okrugle.
Place on parchment paper cut side up. Make sure they are nice and round.

Pecite na 180 stupnjeva dok ne dobiju lijepu zlatnu boju.
Bake on 180 Degrees C until nice and golden.

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Ružičasti šećer/Pink sugar

2011-02-13T12:01:00.001+01:00

Predstavljam vam jednu zgodnu ideju kojom možete iznenaditi voljenu osobu na Valentinovo. Zašto ne biste napravili keksiće u obliku srca od vašeg omiljenog tijesta za kekse i ukrasili ih ovim prekrasnim ružičastim šećerom? Jednostavno je, slatko i prikladno je za sve slične prilike.
Here`s a nice idea for your Valentine`s Day surprise for your loved one. Why not make some nice heart shaped cookies from your favorite cookie dough and decorate them with this beautiful pink sugar? It`s easy, super cute and works for any other simmilar occasion.

Za ružičasti šećer potrebni su:

mužar i tučak

plastična vrećica
šećer
vanilin šećer
crvena boja za kolače
papirnati ubrus

Priprema

Prekrijte mužar s nekoliko slojeva plastične vrećice. Dodajte šećer, vanilin šećer i nakapajte crvenom bojom za kolače, prekrijte s 2 sloja plastične vrećice i istucite tučkom (vrećice koristite kako ne biste obojali mužar i tučak). Kružnim pokretima dobro izradite smjesu kako bi se šećer ravnomjerno obojao. Količinu crvene boje odredite sami. Moj je bio gotovo karmin boje, ali kasnije će posvijetliti. Prebacite šećer na papirnati ubrus i ostavite ga nekoliko sati na radijatoru kako bi vlaga isparila. Potom ga sameljite u mlincu za kavu. Dobit ćete šećer u prahu svjetloružičaste boje.
Ukrasite keksiće u obliku srca ovim šećerom i uživajte. Sretan vam Dan zaljubljenih! <3

Verzija za printanje

To make pink sugar you`ll need:

pestle and mortar
plastic bag
granulated sugar
vanilin sugar
red food coloring
paper napkin

Preparation

Cover your mortar with 2-3 layers of plastic bag. Add sugar, vanilin sugar and red food coloring, cover with 2 layers of plastic bag and beat with pestle (plastic is used so that your pestle and mortar don`t get stains). It`s good to make circular moves so that the coloring really incorporates into sugar. You should adjust the amount of food coloring according to your taste. It should be almost carmine and later on it will become paler.
When you get evenly colored sugar, transfer it onto a paper napkin and leave on a radiator so that the moist evaporates for 3-4 hours.
Now, take your sugar, put it into a coffee grinder and make powdered sugar. Sugar will change its color and become pale pink.
Dust heart shaped cookies and enjoy. Happy Valentine`s Day! <3

Printable version

Varivo od leće/ Lentil Stew/ Intervju na portalu Zdrava krava

2011-02-12T16:08:00.003+01:00

*Recipe available in English

Na kulinarskim blogovima mojih kolegica, saznala sam za nagradnu igru "Kuhaj u ritmu zime" na portalu Zdrava krava i odlučila se prijaviti. Poslala sam svoj recept za varivo od leće jer sam smatrala da u potpunosti odgovara zahtjevima igre: sezonsko je, a ujedno je i pravi comfort food. Moj recept je postao recept tjedna, a ja kuharica tjedna te ulazim u krug kandidata za kuhara zime. U nastavku vam donosim recept i, naravno, kratki intervju.

Sastojci (za 2 osobe)

100 g crvene leće
3 žlice maslinovog ulja
1 mani ljubičasti luk
2 mrkve
1 krumpir
komad korijena celera veličine palca
1 žlica pasirane rajčice
700 ml vode
prstohvat kumina
1 ili 2 peperoncina
1 žličica slatke crvene paprike
¼ žličice kajenskog papra
sol
svježi list peršina
2 šake sitne tjestenine
po želji malo limunovog soka

Priprema

Na ulju pirjajte sitno nasjeckan luk te mrkvu i celer izrezane na kockice (oko 10 minuta na laganoj vatri).
U mužaru istucajte kumin i peperoncino pa zajedno s crvenom paprikom i kajenskim paprom dodajte na luk.
Kratko popržite, dodajte leću, zalijte pasiranom rajčicom i vodom.
Pustite da zavrije pa dodajte krumpir narezan na sitne kockice. Kuhajte 15-ak minuta da leća i krumpir omekšaju. Posolite po želji.
Pred kraj ukuhajte sitnu tjesteninu i kuhajte prema uputama na pakiranju.
Na kraju dodajte svježe nasjeckani peršin.
Pri posluživanju, po želji dodajte i par kapi limunovog soka.

Verzija za printanje

Ingredients (serves 2)

100 g red lentils
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion
2 carrots
1 potato
thumb-size piece of celery root
1 tbsp tomato puree
700 ml water
pinch of cumin seeds
1-2 peperonzini
1 tsp paprica
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
fresh parsley
2 handfuls of small pasta of your choice
few drops of lemon juice

Preparation

On low heat, saute chopped onions, carrots and celery in olive oil for 10 minutes. Using a pestle and mortar, beat cumin and peperonzini and add them, together with paprica and cayenne pepper, to the onions. Saute shortly, add lentils, tomato puree and water. Bring to boil, then throw in potato chopped into small cubes. Cook for 15 minutes or until lentils and potatoes are cooked. Season with salt.
About 10 minutes before everything is cooked, add pasta and cook according to package instructions.
Garnish with chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice (optional).

Printable version

Uz recept je objavljen i mali intervju koji vam donosim u nastavku. Autorica članka je Martina Medverec, a možete ga pročitati i na portalu Zdrava krava.

Sa svojim varivom od leće Josipa je ušla u izbor za kuharicu zime

Josipa Božić iz Osijeka postala je nova kuharica tjedna sa svojim receptom za varivo od leće. Josipa je diplomirani psiholog, a u slobodno vrijeme kuha i vodi svoj kulinarski blog. Kuhati je počela s 14 godina i kaže da je već tada uvidjela važnost korištenja sezonskih namirnica

Josipa Božić ima 24 godine i po zanimanju je diplomirani psiholog. U slobodno vrijeme bavi se kuhanjem i fotografiranjem hrane, a svoje uratke predstavlja na svom blogu.

U skladu s godišnjim dobima kuha od svoje 14. godine

''Važnost kuhanja u skladu s godišnjim dobom otkrila sam kad sam počela kuhati prije 10-ak godina. Uvidjela sam da je pogrešno krenuti od ideje što danas želim kuhati ili jesti, jer mnoge potrebne namirnice možda i nisu u sezoni pa bi bila prava muka uopće ih pronaći. Jednostavnije je otići na tržnicu, pogledati što je trenutno u sezoni i onda krenuti osmišljavati ručak za taj dan.

Nemoguće je da te bogata sezonska ponuda na tržnici ne inspirira da skuhaš nešto posebno. Lako bi bilo odlučiti da mi se danas jede torta s jagodama. Možda bi jagode bilo teško, ali ne i nemoguće pronaći, ali kakvog bi one okusa bile izvan sezone, znaš i sam. Umjesto toga, fina pita s jabukama i cimetom puno je bolji izbor'', kaže Josipa.

'Najradije kuham jela sa žlicom'

Josipa nam je otkrila da u hladnim zimskim danima najradije kuha jela sa žlicom: ''Fine guste juhice također često pripremam, pogotovo juhu od mrkve s dodatkom kumina i peperoncina.''

Pitali smo Josipu da nam otkrije svoje trikove zdrave prehrane, na što je odgovorila da je najvažnije jesti umjereno i raznoliko!

''Ne trebamo si uskraćivati nešto što volimo, ali samo ako smo u tome umjereni. Treba kupovati sezonski i odlaziti na tržnicu što je češće moguće. Znam da je to u današnje vrijeme vrlo teško jer su svi zauzeti i uvijek negdje žure, ali bar jedan dan u tjednu bi trebalo otići pogledati ponudu voća i povrća na tržnici", smatra.

Varivo od leće je pravi 'comfort food'

Za svoje varivo od leće Josipa kaže da je pravi ''comfort food''.

''Mislim da je ovo varivo vrlo ukusan i kompletan obrok. Leća kao namirnica je neopravdano zanemarena. Dugo sam imala otpor prema leći, uvijek sam mislila da je ona bezukusna i bezlična, ali uz pravu kombinaciju začina i ostalih dodataka, zapravo je vrlo ukusna i zdrava. Časopis Health ju je proglasio jednom od 5 najzdravijih namirnica!'' rekla nam je Josipa.

Čokoladni muffini bogatog okusa / Chocolate Muffins Packed With Flavor

2011-01-14T15:17:00.001+01:00

Sjećate li se muffina s makom i tikvicama od prošle godine? Neki od vas su bili skeptični prema ovoj kombinaciji, ali meni se zaista jako svidjela. Odlučila sam napraviti slične muffine pri čemu sam izmijenila neke od ključnih sastojaka i dodala nove kako bih još dobila na okusu. Kao zamjenu za tikvice i mak, upotrijebila sam jabuke i orahe. Ubacite još malo brusnica i komadića čokolade i dobit ćete ove prekrasne i ukusne muffine.

Remember my Poppy seed zucchini muffins from last year? Some of you were a bit sceptical to this combo which I really liked. I decided to make simmilar muffins in which I exchanged some of the key ingredients and added some more to make them richer. So, as an equivalent to zucchinis and poppy seed, I used apples and walnuts. Throw in some cranberries and chocolate and you get these beautiful and flavorful muffins.

Ingredients

Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp
3 heaped tbsp ground walnuts
pinch of salt
pinch of baking soda
5 g baking powder
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
generous pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 cups finely grated apples (you don`t have to drain them)
50 g chopped cooking chocolate (50 % cocoa) or chocolate chips
handful of cranberries

Chocolate glaze

70 g cooking chocolate (50% cocoa)
1 tbsp butter

Sastojci

Muffini
2 šalice brašna (koristila sam američku mjeru za šalice)
1/2 šalice šećera plus 2 žlice
3 pune žlice mljevenih oraha
prstohvat soli
prstohvat sode
5 g praška za pecivo
1/2 žličice čistog ekstrakta od vanilije
veliki prstohvat cimeta
1/2 šalice mlijeka
2 jaja
1/2 šalice suncokretovog ulja
2 šalice naribane jabuke (to je otprilike 1 i pol jabuka)
50 g nasjeckane čokolade za kuhanje (50% kakaa)
šaka brusnica

Čokoladna glazura
70 g čokolade za kuhanje (50% kakaa)
1 žlica maslaca

Preparation

You can follow the basic steps for making muffins. In 2 separate bowls, combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and stir just until combined. Or, in a stand mixer, mix all ingredients just until combined. Pour batter into 12 paper cups which you have placed in a muffin pan and bake until a tootphick inserted in the middle comes out clean (20-25 minutes on 180 Degrees C). Let muffins cool down on a cake rack and cover with chocolate glaze (to prepare the glaze, melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over boiling water or on very low heat).

Priprema

Muffine možete napraviti na 2 načina. Prvi način je da u 2 odvojene zdjele pomiješate suhe i mokre sastojke pa ih onda sjedinite tako da mokre sastojke ulijete u suhe. Miješajte samo dok se svi sastojci ne povežu.
Drugi način je da u mikser zdjelu dodate sastojke i na niskoj brzini mutite samo dok se sastojci ne povežu. Smjesu ulijte u 12 košarica za muffine koje ste stavili u kalupe i pecite 20-25 min. na 180 stupnjeva (probajte čačkalicom jesu li pečeni, mora izaći čista). Izvadite muffine na rešetku za kolače i prelijte čokoladnom glazurom koju pripremite tako da na pari ili vrlo laganoj vatri otopite čokoladu i maslac.

Printable version
Verzija za printanje

Mađarica

2011-01-08T13:53:00.002+01:00

*Please scroll down for English version.

Mađarica je vrlo popularan kolač kod nas. Obično se pravi za različite svečane prilike kad vam zatreba izdašan kolač za puno ljudi. Postoji velik broj recepata koje možete naći na Internetu, u bilježnicama s receptima vaših majki, baka pa čak i u kuharicama, ali se samo za rijetke može reći da su pouzdani baš svaki put kad ih pravite. Svo ovo vrijeme gledala bih mamu kako se muči s lošim receptima za mađaricu: ili tijesto bude mekano pa se raspada, kore pucaju, ne popuste se dovoljno, nema dovoljno fila, fil je rijedak, u njega ide rum (kojeg ovdje nikako ne volim) ili glazura nije dobra pa kolač ne možete uredno rezati... Kad sam dobila recept od moje dobre prijateljice Ines, pomislila sam da je to još jedan u nizu takvih recepata, ali i da me ništa ne košta probati. Tako sam otkrila recept za mađaricu koji me još nikada nije iznevjerio i koji nikada neću prestati praviti niti će me itko uspjeti nagovoriti da postoji bolji. :)

Sastojci

Kore

600 g brašna
80 g masti (nisam nikada probala zamijeniti mast maslacem jer me ovaj recept nikad nije iznevjerio)
140 g šećera
2 jaja
1 vrećica praška za pecivo (10g)
180 g kisleog vrhnja (12% mm)

Čokoladna krema

8 žlica brašna
3 žlice kakaa
100 g čokolade za kuhanje
250 g margarina za kolače ili maslaca
250 g šećera
1 vrećica vanilin šećera (10g)
1 l mlijeka

Čokoladna glazura

3 žlice vode
3 žlice šećera
80 g margarina ili maslaca
100 g čokolade za kuhanje

Priprema

1. Od svih sastojaka zamijesite glatko tijesto. Dobro je jaja prije malo izmutiti vilicom u zdjelici pa ih onda dodati ostalim sastojcima. Podijelite tijesto na 4 jednaka dijela i svaki dio zamotajte u prozirnu foliju da se ne osuše. Uzmite kvadratni pleh i preokrenite ga naopako. Treba vam pleh donje površine otprilike 32x32cm. Lagano ga pobrašnite. Uzmite kuglicu tijesta i oblikujte ju rukama u kvadrat koji ćete potom razvaljati na kvadrat da pokrije pleh (s krive strane). Pecite na 170 stupnjeva 5-10 minuta ili dok rubovi lagano ne dobiju smećkastu boju. Isto napravite s preostala 3 komada tijesta. Kad je kora pečena, odmah je lagano dugačkim nožem odvojite od pleha i premjestite na rešetku za hlađenje. Kad se kore ohlade, stavite ih jednu na drugu, prekrijte aluminijskom folijom da nemaju zraka i ostavite preko noći.

2. Idući dan skuhajte fil. U zdjelici pomiješajte suhe sastojke i izmutite pjenjačom s malo hladnog mlijeka (koje ste uzeli od 1L) pazeći da nema grudica. Pustite da preostalo mlijeko zavrije, ukuhajte smjesu od kakaa i kuhajte 5-10 minuta da se zgusne stalno miješajući pjenjačom. Maknite s vatre i u vruće dodajte čokoladu narezanu na kockice te komadiće margarina ili maslaca. Ne brinite ako vam se čini da je krema rijetka, ona će se stisnuti preko noći i biti savršena.

3. S vrućom kremom filujte kore. Stavite prvu kremu i premažite ju s 1/3 kreme. Poklopite s drugom korom i opet premažite. Stavite treću koru i premažite ostatkom kreme. Na vrh ide zadnja koru i nju ne filujete. Ne brinite se ako malo kreme iscuri sa strane.

4.Stavite na mađaricu nešto teško da se stisne (npr. 2 lima za pečenje). Pazite da se kore ne pomaknu. Ostavite 2-3 sata na sobnoj temperaturi.

5. Potom premažite čokoladnom glazurom koju pripremite tako da sve sastojke otopite na pari ili na laganoj vatri.

6. Mađaricu ostavite preko noći u hladnjaku i režite.

Kore se lijepo popuste, lako se režu, glazura također, a cijeli kolač je jako kremast.

Verzija za printanje

Mađarica is a popular cake in our country. It is usually made for festive occasions when you have to feed lots of people. There are plenty recepies for this pie on the Internet, in your mother`s notebooks, cookbooks, from your grandmother etc. but only few of them are really really trustworthy. Over the years, I`ve been watching my mum struggling with bad mađarica recipes but the problem was solved when I got just another (so I thought) recipe from my good friend Ines. I decided to give it a go, after all, I didn`t have anything to loose. And that`s how I discovered a never failing mađarica recipe which I`ll never stop making nor will someone convince me that there`s a better one. :)

Ingredients

Layers

600 g all-purpose flour
80 g lard
140 g sugar
2 eggs
10 g baking powder
180 g sour cream (12% mm)

Chocolate filling

8 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa
100 g cooking chocolate (38% cocoa part or more but not those bitter ones)
250 g margarine or butter
250 g sugar
10 g vanilin sugar
1 L milk (3,2% mm)

Chocolate glaze

3 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar
80 g margarine or butter
100 g cooking chocolate

Preparation

1. You can make the dough using your hands or mixer fitted with dough hook attachment. Mix all the ingredients and knead until you get a smooth dough. It`s good to break your eggs in a small bowl, beat them with a fork and then add them to the rest of the ingredients. Divide dough into 4 equal parts and wrap each one into cling wrap so they don`t dry out. Take a baking tray and turn it upside down to bake your layers. My down side of the tray was square shaped (32x32 cm). Dust the tray with a thin layer of flour. On your working surface put some flour and 1 part of your dough. Roughly, using your hands, make a square. Then, using a rolling pin, role it to 32x32 cm square and transfer to floured baking tray. Bake each sheet on 170 Degrees C for 5-10 minutes or till sides are slightly brownish (be careful not to overbake it, sheets have to be pale). Immediately, using a long knife, run under each sheet to remove it from the tray and transfer to cooling rack.
Put your layers on one another once they are cooled, wrap them into aluminum foil and leave overnight.

2. Next day, prepare the filling. In a bowl mix flour, cocoa, sugar and vanilin sugar. Add some cold milk (from that 1L) and whisk just like you`re making pudding, leaving no lumps. Bring the remaining milk to boil and slowly add cocoa mixture whisking. Bring to boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, constantly stirring. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate and butter (while still hot). Stir until completely melted.

3. Now, it`s time for filling your sheets. You have to do it while the cream is stil hot. Take 1 sheet and cover it with 1/3 of your cream, put the other sheet, cover with the second third, and finally, put the third sheet and cover with the remaining cream. Put the last sheet on top.

4. Put something heavy over your mađarica (couple of baking trays) and leave to set for 2-3 hours. Then, cover with chocolate glaze and put into refrigerator.

5. On low heat, melt all of the ingredients for the glaze (or even better over boiling water) and cover the top sheet of mađarica.

6. It`s best to leave it overnight in the fridge and then cut it.

The sheets get really soft, you can easilly cut the cake and enjoy its creaminess. :)

Printable version

Sretna Nova godina! Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T10:29:00.001+01:00

*Please scroll down for English version.

U 2011. vam želim...

Odličan početak u siječnju,

ljubav u veljači,

mir u ožujku,

bezbrižnost u travnju,

zabavu u svibnju,

radost od lipnja do studenog i

sreću u prosincu.

Neka vam je sretna i veličanstvena 2011!

Sretna Nova godina!

Dragi kolege blogeri i čitatelji ovog bloga, želim vam sve najbolje u 2011. godini! 2010. je za mene bila poprilično dobra pa se samo mogu nadati da će 2011. biti još bolja i da će se moja zemlja početi oporavljati od ove strašne ekonomske krize u kojoj se trenutno nalazi. Najpozitivnija stvar koja se meni dogodila u protekloj godini je da sam diplomirala što je veliko postignuće kako za mene, tako i za moju obitelj. Ostala događanja u godini su također bila pozitivna, bilo je puno onih sitnica koje nas svakodnevno usrećuju, a one tužne sam brzo zaboravila.

Kakva je bila vaša 2010.?

My wishes for you in year 2011...
Great start for Jan,
Love for Feb,
Peace for march,
No worries for April,
Fun for May,
Joy for June to Nov,
Happiness for Dec,
Have a lucky and wonderful 2011.
Happy New year!!

My dear fellow bloggers and readers, all the best wishes for the year 2011! My 2010 was pretty good and I can only hope that 2011 is even better. I wish that my country recovers from this economic crisis that hit as all real bad. The most important positive thing that happened in my life is that I finished college which is really an important achievement for both me and my family. Personally, everything else was quite well, too. It's about all the little things that make you smile every day and forgetting the bad stuff.

How was your 2010?

Sretan Božić/Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T19:24:00.000+01:00

Sretan i blagoslovljen Božić svim dragim posjetiteljima ovog bloga! Nadam se da uživate u blagdanima u krugu obitelji i naravno, uz finu papicu. :)
Ove godine planiram urediti božićni stol detaljima od tkanine na crvenobijele kockice pa sam i sašila prigodnu košuljicu za pšenicu.

Bor je već okićen u sličnom stilu:

I jedna u mraku:

Stol će biti uređen nekako ovako uz manje dopune:

Toliko od mene... Veselim se pogledati kako ste vi uredili svoj dom za praznike. Do čitanja... :)

Gingerbread Man Cookies - Tips For Decorating Cookies With Royal Icing

2010-12-04T20:43:00.003+01:00

It`s almost second Advent Sunday and it`s time for more cookies. I`m not going to give you a recipe because there are plenty on the internet and I˙m sure you have your own favorite recipe for these cookies (plus I used Dr. Oetker`s mixture for honey cookies or gingerbreads). These cookies are special because of the spice mixture they contain which makes them so christmasy and delicious. And of course, you can decorate them with royal icing which makes them interesting and super cute. The kids will love them, too. I always thought that icing cookies is difficult and you have to be an expert to do it. Boy, was I wrong. It is actually pretty easy and fun. I`ve done far more complicated cookies than these (breskvice/peaches, linzer cookies etc.) so I enjoyed decorating them.
To make royal icing you will need egg whites and icing (powdered) sugar.

Ingredients

A good measurment is 1 cup (120 g) of powdered sugar to 1 egg white (from 1 medium egg) but this always varies a bit depending on the size of the eggs.

Preparation

With your mixer start beating 1 egg white on low spead for 1 minute. Slowly start to add your icing sugar and beat until smooth (5-7 minutes). It has to be thick enough so that it doesn`t drizzle but not too thick so that it doesn`t go through your piping bag. Add as much or little sugar you think it needs. If you want to color you icing, you can add a few drips of food coloring when it`s done and lightly mix it on low speed. It is best to use powder food coloring so that it doesn`t change its consistency. You have to use your icing immediately, otherwise it will dry to a very hard consistency.
To decorate cookies, place your icing into a plastic bag, cut off a tiny bit of 1 corner with scisors and start icing. Also, you can use different kind of sprinkles, raisins, m&m`s etc. to make your gingerbread men real interesting. Leave your decorated cookies sitting on a wire rack so that the icing hardens (which will happen in 15-30 minutes).

Chocolate Thumbprints by Martha Stewart

2010-11-29T14:03:00.000+01:00

Christmas is my favorite holiday! Most of the blogs are now featuring loads of cookie recipes so you can choose the ones you really like and make them for that special day. My family isn`t really fond of eating dry cookies for holidays, we prefer creamy cakes and my mom`s specialty - baklava.
Nonetheless, I actually like my dose of cookies so I decided to make a different cookie recipe for every Advent Sunday. The first ones are Chocolate thumbprints by Martha Stewart. You can find the recipe here.

These cookies are really chocolatey but just a little bit hard. I think I didn`t make any mistake in the preparation and didn`t overbake them.

Actually, my niece was the one who liked them the most. :)

All in all, good cookies but not nearly enough to make it to my Christmas table. :) And, the second (out of 3) Martha`s recipe I tried but wasn`t really pleased with the results.

Apple, Yoghurt and Semolina Strudel

2010-11-07T19:24:00.002+01:00

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apparently, apples contain vitamin C which helps our immune system. They prevent heart diseases, cancers and tooth decay. They reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. Apples are low in calories so we should eat them instead of candy. And most importantly, they taste great, right? This all sounds pretty amazing but the only problem for me is that I really, really don`t like them. Another problem is that we received a considerable amount of apples from our cousins and we have to use them somehow. First I made an apple crumble pie and this weekend I made this beautiful strudel. The thing with this strudel is that apples aren`t that dominant and you can taste yoghurt real nicely so I liked it. If you don`t like apples, you can absolutely use sour cherries instead.

Ingredients

3 whole eggs
450 g yoghurt (0,1% milk fat)
16 g vanilin sugar (2 sachets)
175 g semolina
13 g baking powder
90 ml sunflower oil
280 g sugar

9 sheets of filo pastry (medium thickness; if they are thin, use 2 as 1)
6 apples

Preparation

For the filling whisk 3 eggs. Add yoghurt, vanilin sugar, sugar, semolina, baking powder and oil and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Peel apples and cut them into small cubes (1x1cm). Preheat oven to 180 D Celsius. Grease a large baking tray. Take 1 sheet of filo and cover it with a thin layer of your filling, sprinkle with apples. Cover with another layer of filo, put filling, sprinkle with apples again. Finally, cover with the third layer of filo and repeat the filling and apples. Fold your strudel lengthwise and put into your baking tray. Make 2 more strudels. Be careful to equally divide your filling and apples so that you have enough for all 3 big strudels. Brush folded strudels with oil and bake until golden brown (that`s roughly 30 minutes). Dust with powdered sugar when warm. They taste delicious even the other day. :)

Now, I just have to come up with some other apple recipes because we`re still left with plenty. :)

Printable version

Halloween 2010 - Part I - Jack`O`Lantern Pop-Tarts

2010-10-14T20:41:00.003+02:00

This year simply flew by and it`s already Halloween preparation time. Ever since I first heard of this day I fell in love with it. It all started with simple pumpkin carving and went from there to more complicated and fun stuff. Remember last year`s Halloween cupcake wrappers, spooky jar lanterns and scary toothpicks? And of course those interesting Halloween legends? Well, this year I am even more prepared. I bought a Deluxe Pumpkin carving kit on ebay and am hoping that it will make carving even more fun. And it came with lots of cool carving paterns, too.
Due to the fact that kids come to our house for Halloween, I wanted to make something scary but sweet at the same time. I think that these pop-tarts will do the trick (or treat). :) They are, sort of like, Halloween linzers really.

Ingredients

250 g all-purpose flour
120 g butter
pinch of salt
2 heaped tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilin sugar
7 tbsp cold milk
firm apricot jam for the filling

Preparation

Combine flour, salt, sugar, vanilin sugar in a bowl. Add butter cut into small cubes. Blend with your fingers until you get rough crumbs. Add milk, mix with your hands until you form a ball. If needed, add 1 more tbsp of milk. Wrap it into cling film and leave in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, roll it into a circle as thin as you can (about 4 mm). With a round cookie cutter, cut as much circles as you can get. Cover them with cling film so that they don`t get dry while you`re carving. With a small paring knife, carve jack`o`lantern faces on half of your cookies. You have to find the best way to do this on your own. Holding the knife more horizontally than vertically did the trick for me.
Don`t do it like this:

Do it like this:

Spoon a small amount of apricot jam on your uncarved cookies (1 cm from the sides, do not put lots of jam because it will boil while baking and could pour out from the cut-out parts), carefully place cookie with the carved face on it and press the sides with a fork to seal any gaps. Transfer to greaseproof paper.

Bake on 200 Degrees C for about 8-10 minutes or until the sides are brownish (do not overbake because they will be hard!).

It looks complicated but if you have company it`s not that difficult. I promise! :)
I`m thinking they`re way to cute to be scary. Look at this one! Am I right or what? :)

This is the scariest I could get:

These pop-tarts were inspired by: recipe 1, recipe 2.

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Check out how Mihaela from La casa de vainilla made them. Too cute! :)

Tomato Jam

2010-09-13T11:43:00.004+02:00

Yes! You`ve seen it right: tomato jam! Did you know that tomatoes are fruits and not vegetables? Although, botanically fruit, they have a much lower sugar content than other fruits and therefore are used as vegetables in most dishes. Taking into consideration that tomatoes are fruits and wanting to somehow preserve them for winter, I decided to make a jam. You know how certain jams require loads of sugar? I was feeling brave but not that brave. I mean, for most of my life I`ve treated tomatoes as vegetables so that jam would have quite an exotic flavor, right? I found a recipe, modified it and significantly reduced amount of sugar and got something beautiful, delicious and interesting.
The best tomato variety for this purpose are plum tomatoes which have a lower water content. I wanted a thick jam so I removed all the pulp (pips and juices) and used only the flesh (with the skins). I was really, really proud with the consistency of my tomato jam. It turned out exactly the way I wanted. I was, actually, kinda surprised. :) I baked it in the oven and when it was finished I used a stick mixer to get a smooth jam.

Ingredients

2 kilos plum tomatoes
salt
2-3 dried peperoncini (flaked)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp aceto balsamico (balsamic vinegar)

Preparation

Using a knife, cut your tomatoes in half. Squeeze out the pulp and juices, leave the skins on. Cut them into small cubes (1cmx1cm) and put into a colander which you have put over a bowl to collect juice. Add 1 tsp salt and stir. Cover your tomatoes with aluminum foil and leave them like that in the fridge for at least 5 hours to drain any excess fluid. All the pulp and juices can be later used to make a delicious tomato soup (DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY!).
Put your drained tomatoes into a glass baking dish. Add 1 tsp salt, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, peperoncini, cloves, sugar, aceto balsamico, cinnamon and stir. Put it onto a larger baking tray just to really protect your oven, get it into an oven on 180 Degrees C and bake it for 1h 30 minutes or until all the liquid evaporates. Stir every 15 minutes with a wooden spoon. When it is done, take it out from the oven, turn off the oven and put your clean jars in it to sterilize them.
This is not the final product yet. It will look a bit ugly because of the tomato skins but then it`s time for your stick mixer to kick in. Leave jam to cool down a bit (10-15 minutes, stir it occasionally), transfer it into something more appropriate and make a puree out of it with stick mixer. Then, you have to bring it to boil and check the flavor. It has to be balanced, so if necessary, add salt, aceto or sugar and if you want to spice it up more, go for it. Cook additional 5 minutes and pour it into sterilized jars. Seal. Cover with a blanket and leave over night to slowly cool down.

If you like exotic flavors, feel free to add pieces of ginger at the beginning of cooking or even more sugar. Enjoy! This is way better than ketchup or any kind of store bought tomato sauce.

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Plum And Apple Crumble Pie

2010-08-07T13:50:00.005+02:00

This all started when I got some extra plums from making knedle. I decided to turn them into a pie with my mum`s well known recipe. You make pie pastry, divide it into 2 equal parts, put 1 layer into your baking tray, then add fruits and on top goes another pastry layer. You bake it in the oven and have a perfectly good pie. The problem with plums is that they relase too much juice and the dough becomes soggy and you`re not able to cut it like you`re supposed to. So, I made a few changes but wasn˙t really planning to put the pie onto my blog... Until I got the most perfect pie I ever made. I had to take some quick photos and here it is. A hybrid between a crumble and a pie or crumble pie. :)

Ingredients

Pie pastry (for a baking tray approximately 36x22cm)

400 g all purpose flour
150 g butter
150 g white sugar
1 egg
splash of milk (about 2 tbsp)
pinch of salt
7 g baking powder

For the filling
2 apples
about 1 pound plums or more if you have
sugar to taste
cinnamon to taste
1 tbsp corn starch

Preparation

Cut your plums in half and remove pits. Peel apples, clean the centers and cut into small cubes. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste. I can`t give you the exact measurments because some plums are green, some are ripe and you need to adjust the amount according to this. Leave them like that in a collander to drain off the excess juices until you make your pie pastry.
I used a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment to make it. Put all of the ingredients into your mixer˙s bowl and mix until you get fine crumbs. Then use your hands to incorporate the crumbs into a round dough but do not knead because this is not a pasta dough. The less you knead, you˙ll get a better pie dough.
Wrap it in plastic foil and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven on 180 Degrees C. Prepare your baking tray by smearing it with butter and adding some flour to coat bottom and sides.
Take 1/2 and a bit more of your pastry from the fridge and using a rolling pin, role it to cover the bottom of your baking tray, you don`t have to cover the sides. It will be pretty thin. Pinch it with a fork all over to prevent it from rising and bake for 5-10 minutes, just to get a little color. Add corn starch to your fruit and mix. Now, try them and adjust the amount of sugar. Pour your filling onto prebaked pastry sheet. Take the rest of your dough and grate it over the fruits. Bake until golden brown (depending on your oven 30-40 minutes).

Cut into cubes and dust with powdered sugar.

I was really really happy with the way this crumble pie turned out. It was juicy but not soggy, it was crunchy but not hard, it was sweet but not too sweet. Perfection! I was just thinking how good would it be if I added banana slices to the filling. Heaven! :))

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Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins

2010-07-29T22:46:00.004+02:00

We live in a house which has a shared yard with 4 other neighbours. Our house is the only one without a garden or any kind of land to grow something in. So, I really can appreciate homegrown, fresh and organic products when I do manage to get them. A week ago or so, we got a really big zucchini from our friends` garden down the street. I was thrilled! I made my zucchini and celery soup, minestrone soup and fried zucchini - it was a really big zucchini indeed. :) By the time I used all of it, I wasn`t really into eating more zucchini for at least a month, eventhough I love them. Then, we got another one so I had to think of some other way to cook it because soups were just getting boring. First, I wanted to maybe make savory zucchini muffins but the only recipes that google popped up were for sweet muffins. I remember that I had some leftover poppy seeds and decided to combine them, not knowing what the final product would taste. I was worried about that first bite, you know... It`s not like we`re used to seeing something green in our sweet muffins. Also, I was affraid that zucchini skins would get into my teeth and that would be so repulsive. Boy, was I wrong! The muffins were so much better than I expected. No taste or feel of the zucchinis - just moisture from their presence. Ok, I would never go to a store and buy a zucchini just to make zucchini muffins but if you do have a garden and quite a few zucchinis you don`t know what to do with, this is a really nice recipe to solve that problem. Seriously! :)

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 heaped tbsp poppyseeds (minced)
pinch of salt
pinch of baking soda
5 g baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 cups finely grated zucchini

Preparation

Grate zucchinis straight into a cup and measure 2 cups. Then, leave it for 20 minutes to drain the excess water. Drain it with your hands as well. You know the usual steps in making muffins? Mix dry ingredients, and in a separate bowl wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ones and mix just until combined. Pretty simple, right? Now, forget that! I wanted to make it even simpler by getting all of the ingredients into a bowl (from a stand mixer) and mix it on low speed just until combined. That`s it! If you want to adjust the amount of sugar, just try a little bit of the batter. This amount of sugar was plenty for my taste. Pour the batter into 12 paper cups placed in a muffin pan. Bake 20 minutes on 190 Degrees C (it really depends on your oven).

If you do not like poppy seed, use walnuts instead.

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Old Ugly Clock Makeover

2010-07-16T09:40:00.009+02:00

We had this old ugly clock that was brown, depressive and from another time (but in a bad way). I decided to throw it out but then it came to me that I could give it a makeover and a new shine. I think I achieved somewhat of a shabby chic style...
This is the old ugly clock:

Pretty horrible right?

So, how did I transform it? It`s quite simple actually.
First of all, I used sandpaper to remove the old paint. Then I painted it with 3 layers of titanium white acrylic paint (between each layer I waited 24 hours). Then, I decorated it with paper napkins with lavender pattern using decoupage. Also, I changed the clock`s face using a template generously shared by Tea from Hobbychic (thank you Tea ;). And that`s it! :)
I got this:

Much better :)

I˙m really pleased with the way it turned out. Yes, it has tiny little imperfections but I don˙t care because I invested a lot of effort and love to make this. And it fit in with the living room excellent. :)
Once again, this is before and after:

What do you think?

Introduction to Tempura plus My Mushroom Tempura

2010-07-04T12:13:00.005+02:00

Recently I bought a wok and now I`m trying different ways of cooking asian food. One of them is tempura.

Tempura is a japanese dish but it is of Portuguese origin. It was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century by Portuguese missionaries and traders.

First, let`s see the usual ingredients in a traditional tempura:

seafood (prawn, shrimp, squid, scallop, anago, ayu, crab and different varieties of fish) and
vegetables (bell pepper, kabocha squash, eggplant, carrot, burdock, green beans, sweet potato, yam, potato, renkon, shiitake mushroom, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and okra).

Seafood or veggies should be cut into thin slices or strips.
IMPORTANT!!! Bell peppers, eggplants, shellfish and squid need to be scored with a knife to prevent them from bursting during frying and causing serious burns.

The second most important thing is the batter which is a mixture of cold water and flour but sometimes ingredients like corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, eggs and spices are also added. The batter should be lumpy which will produce crispier batter when fried.

Finally, when all of the ingredients and batter have been prepared, it`s time for frying. It is usually done in a wok in which you pour significant amount of vegetable or canola oil (like for deep frying). To test that the oil is hot enough for frying, cut a 1-inch cube of bread and carefully let it drop into the hot oil. The bread should turn brown in one minute, any faster and the oil is too hot. Any slower and the oil needs to be hotter.

Tempura is served hot with grated daikon or with a tentsuyu sauce (3 parts dashi, 1 part mirin and 1 part soya sauce). Instead, it can be simply sprinkled with sea salt.

You can find more about tempura here.

My Mushroom Tempura

Ingredients

200 g mushrooms (I used white button mushrooms)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
1 egg white
1/2 tsp curry powder
about 3 cups of sunflower oil

Preparation

Take 1 cup of water and put it in the freezer. Cut your white mushrooms in quarters or sixts depending on their size. Sprinkle curry powder on them and mix with your hands.
Heat your wok over low heat for about 3 minutes. Add oil and heat it over medium heat. You can do the test with a piece of bread to see when it is ready for frying.

Meantime, in a bowl, add flour, starch, baking powder and salt and mix. Now, take the water from the freezer (it has to be cold, not frozen) and add it to the flour mix. Add egg white and slightly mix the batter leaving small lumps.
Coat your mushrooms with batter and fry them until golden brown. If they stick to each other, use chopsticks to separate them.

It`s useful to have a rack that goes with your wok so that you can leave your mushies to drain the excess oil. You can absolutely drain them on a piece of kitchen paper towel.

I served my tempura mushrooms with sweet chili sauce (store bought) and sprinkled them with sea salt. The crunchiness of the batter really surprised me! It took me about 15 minutes to take photos and the mushrooms were still crispy and delicious afterwards.

I adapted the recipe from here.
Maybe next time I`ll try bananas and ice cream tempura... :)

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Tagliatelle aglio, olio e peperoncino

2010-06-26T22:13:00.003+02:00

Traditionally, spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino - spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and peperoncino.
I saw a recipe similar to this one in Ana Ugarković`s show and really liked the simplicity of ingredients and preparation so I decided to give it a go. Of course, I present you my version which has one extra ingredient to the 3 traditional ones: spring onions. I figured that the green part of the onion would be a great contrast to peperoncini and also, I think they added an extra flavor to the pasta.

Ingredients

200 g pasta (100 g per person; I used tagliatelle but you can absolutely go with the original - spaghetti)
peperoncini (you can go with 1 per person but decide that depending on how hot you`d like it to be)
2 cloves garlic (one per person)
extra-virgin olive oil (up to 100 ml)
3 small spring onions
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Preparation

Boil 2 liters of water (1 liter per 100 g pasta) and 1/2 tbsp salt for the pasta. Add tagliatelle and cook according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a pan heat olive oil and add peperoncini (flake it with your finger or even better in a pestle so you don`t burn your eyes later). After one minute of frying, add finely chopped garlic and spring onions and saute until garlic is golden and the onions are soft. Toss your drained pasta in the oil, add some of the water from the pasta and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add a pinch of salt, if necessary, and pepper. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

Enjoy in a quick, fresh and delicious summer meal! :)

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Strawberry Yoghurt Cake

2010-06-05T11:29:00.004+02:00

Remember when I published a recipe for egg-free strawberry ice cream, I promised you some more strawberry recipes? A month flew by and now I bring you a recipe for a refreshing and light strawberry yoghurt cake. This year we have a rainy spring so we had to wait a little bit longer to get beautiful tasty strawberries. I bought some nice ones a couple of days ago and decided they were ideal for a cake. My sister made this cake last year and I really really liked it. She doesn`t like to cook and bake as much as I do, so when she finally decides to give it a go, it`s always something very special. Here`s the recipe...

Ingredients

For the cake layer (26 cm or a 10-inch springform pan)

4 eggs
8 tbsp sugar
100 g butter
120 g flour
40 g ground walnuts
10 g vanilin sugar
5 g baking powder

For the cream

3 x 180 g yoghurt
50 g powdered white gelatin (I used this one)
500 ml whipping cream (this or this)
200 g sugar (or you can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste, I liked it just the way it was - sweet but not too sweet)
500 g strawberries

Preparation

So, let`s mix up the cake layer. Cover the bottom and sides of a springform pan with a thin layer of butter and then dust it with flour. Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Beat egg whites until you get a stiff foam. Beat egg yolks with 8 tbsp sugar until pale and fluffy. Into the yolks, add flour, walnuts, vanilin sugar, baking powder and melted butter and slightly mix with your mixer on lowest speed. Use a wooden spoon to combine egg yolk mixture with egg white foam. The mixture should be smooth and fluffy. Pour it into the pan and bake on 180 Degrees C until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then, remove it from the oven and leave it like that until it cools down. When the cake is cold, remove the pan sides and run your knife beneath the cake so you can easily transfer the whole cake onto a serving plate (you`ll transfer it later when you add the cream).Now, bring back the sides.
In the meantime, prepare your cream.
Slightly heat over low heat 1 yoghurt, add gelatin and mix well. Heat the mixture even more but don`t let it boil. Pour sugar in the remaining 2 yoghurts. Whip cream until stiff. Remove the yoghurt from the heat and combine all 3 mixtures (1. one with the gelatin, 2. whipped cream, and 3. yoghurts with sugar). Use a whisker to get a nice and silky cream. Chop strawberries into quarters and mix them into the cream. Pour it into the pan over the cake layer. Let cool over night (essential!!!) and then remove the sides of the pan, transfer the cake onto a serving tray and enjoy! :)

Try not to eat the whole cake at once! ;) Most of you would probably go crazy for the cream but my favorite part is the walnuty cake layer. One would think that it`s dry but on the contrary, it`s moist and perfect for this type of dessert.

Spring Zucchini and Celery Soup

2010-05-27T18:18:00.005+02:00

Thick soups are one of my favorite things to eat. I often make them as a quick and delicious main course with croutons. Most of thick soups are thickened with flour or cream but I make mine without them. I love them because that way they are healthier and put an accent on the flavor of the main ingredient (in this case zucchini). The first time I made this particular soup, I wondered what type of herb should I use. I had some fresh celery leaves and tried that. I absolutely loved the outcome so I`m presenting you the recipe.

Ingredients

1 zucchini (about 400 g)
1 small onion
1-2 celery leaves
water (to taste, depending on how thick you want your soup to be - I added 1 L)
salt, pepper

For the bread croutons
stale bread
olive oil

Preparation

Cover the bottom of your soup pan with a thin layer of olive oil, add chopped onions and cook them frequently stirring until translucent (5 minutes). Chop zucchini into smaller cubes and add it to the onions. Cook for additional 5 minutes. Add water, celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is soft. Leave your soup to cool down a bit and then make a puree with a hand blender. Bring soup to boil and add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with bread croutons (cut bread into small cubes and bake them in a pan with olive oil on medium heat until golden and crispy).

Celery leaves give this soup a nice aroma but don`t overcome the fresh flavor of zucchinis. If you want, you can add 1 garlic clove with the onions to get richer flavor.

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Chicken and Vegetable Roast With Rosemary and Peperoncini Flavored Oil

2010-05-19T20:49:00.002+02:00

So many things to do and so little time. That`s the summary of my life in the past couple of months. I have so many plans and good recipe ideas I want to try but I just can`t catch a break from work, college, family stuff etc. Everything is based on expecting the weekend but when it finnally comes, it flies by too fast. So I˙m bringing you one of my favorite recipes from my old blog. It˙s based on Jamie O˙s Chicken roast with potatoes and tomatoes. It`s ideal for the time of the year when there are tomatoes in season.

Ingredients

2 drumsticks
2 thighs
4 plum tomatoes
1 rosemary stick or 3-4 oregano sticks - you can absolutely use both and they should be fresh
1-2 peperoncini (be careful because they are pretty hot!!!)
olive oil
6 potatoes (medium size)
2 carrots
juice of half a lemon
salt, pepper
water for boiling
1/2 cup water for roasting

Preparation

In a mortar beat rosemary (or oregano leaves) and peperoncini. Add 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. Run it through a sieve into a small bowl.
Cut potatoes in quarters and carrots into 1 inch pieces. Bring water to boil, add salt and cook carrots and potatoes for 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and throw in your tomatoes for 1 minute. Take them out and peel off the skins.
Using a knife score the meat in one or two places. Season with salt and pepper and fry in a pan with olive oil just so that they get some nice color (5-10 minutes).
Cut tomatoes in half and add them together with carrots, potatoes and chicken in a roasting tray. Pour in 1/2 cup water. Season with more salt and pepper, add flavored oil and lightly mix with a wooden spoon.

Roast for 45 minutes on 180 Degrees C or until meat falls off the bone.

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Egg-free Strawberry Ice Cream

2010-05-03T10:16:00.003+02:00

May is a strawberry month so you can expect a few recipes containing one of my favorite fruits in the near future. The first one is strawberry ice cream. Most of the recipes for ice creams require eggs but once, I heard that every other egg has salmonella. My recipe is egg-free so it`s completely safe for you to enjoy it.
When you`re buying strawberries, you should smell them. If they have a nice strawberry aroma, immediately buy them. But, if you can`t smell it, then they are probably "artificial" - avoid them!

4 Ingredient Ice Cream

200 ml whipping cream
300 g sugar (or to taste)
180 g low fat sour cream
300 g strawberries

Preparation

In a food processor combine strawberries and sugar until you get a smooth puree. Whip the whipping cream and using a spatula incorporate strawberry pure and sour cream into the cream. Freeze over night and then enjoy.

This ice cream is creamy and at the same time it tastes a bit like a sorbet because of the water that is in the strawberries.

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Tartelettes With Creamy Cocoa Filling

2010-04-22T21:29:00.002+02:00

I`m more of a winter person but I appreciate summer because of every single veg and fruit that are in season. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, apricots - I love them all. So, last summer I was enjoying all these beautiful fruits but I got to a point when I desperately needed something chocolatey and I made these tartelettes. Don`t get me wrong - fruit is great but chocolate is... well, chocolate! :)

Ingredients

Pastry:
300 g flour
1 large egg
200 g butter
120 g sugar
pinch of grated lemon zest
pinch of salt

Filling:
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp flour
pinch of salt
3 cups milk
3 tbsp butter
rum to taste (you can absolutely omit it if you don`t like it)

Preparation

Sift flour onto working surface. Add sugar, salt and lemon zest. Incorporate the ingredients into one another. Make a small well in which you`ll add slightly beaten egg and cold butter cut into small cubes. Blend all of the ingredients into the flour mixture but do not overmix it. Pat the dough into a flat round, wrap it in plastic foil and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
I didn`t have any special molds for tartelettes so I used a muffin pan. I divided the dough into 12 pieces. Now, roll one piece of your dough to get a disk bigger in diameter than your mold. Tuck the dough into your mold (whic you buttered and dusted with flour) and evenly distribute it at the bottom and sides. Do the same with the remaining 11 balls. You can fill your tartelettes with beans and then bake them but I only pricked them thoroughly with a fork on the bottom and sides to prevent puffing up.
Bake 15 minutes on 180 Degrees C or 350F or until golden brown and done. Be careful not to overbake your tartelettes.
Carefully remove from pan while they are still hot.

While the tartelletes are baking, prepare the filling.
In a pot mix cocoa, sugar, salt and flour. Gradually add milk whisking well to prevent lumps. Put on low heat and bring to boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter and rum.
Pour hot cocoa cream into baked shells and let completely cool down. Decorate with whipped cream and a bit of sifted cocoa.

This was the first time I made this cocoa cream and I was really surprised with its richness of chocolate flavor. It`s like chocolate pudding but way better and homemade. The only "problem" was that I got more cream that I actually needed for these tartellets but that`s not a real problem, isn`t it? You simple cut the ingredients in half or even better: eat the leftover cream :)

This recipe was inspired by Cocoa Cream Pie.

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Asparagus at Its Best - Creamy Asparagus Soup

2010-04-17T15:17:00.002+02:00

I have never tried asparagus before but when I saw how beautifully Jamie Oliver cooked them in his show Jamie at home, I took a mental note to definetely try them when they are in season. Apparently, asparagus is really good for you. It is low in calories, contains no cholesterol and is very low in sodium. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium.

So, it`s spring and it`s asparagus time. Since this was the first time I bought them, I decided to make something special which shows asparagus at its best - creamy soup. I kept it as simple as possible and fell in love with this beautiful veg.

Ingredients

bundle of asparagus (about 400g)
2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
water to taste (from 1/2 - 1 cup)
salt and pepper
chives
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp butter
1 small onion
1 garlic clove (optional)

Preparation

Chop onions and garlic (I didn`t add garlic because I didn`t have any at home but I would recommend it). Cut asparagus tips and leave them to the side. Cut asparagus stalks into 1/2-inch pieces. In a pot heat olive oil and butter on low heat. Add onions and cook them 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Now, throw in your asparagus stalks and cook additional 5 minutes. Add hot chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste, bring to boil, add chopped chives and cook for 10 minutes. Use a stick mixer to get a nice and smooth puree. Add water if necessary depending on how thick you want your soup to be, bring to boil and add asparagus tips. Taste the soup and see if additional salt or pepper is needed. Cook the tips al dente (it took me 10 minutes).
Serve with parmesan and olive oil croutons (cut bread into smaller cubes; heat olive oil in a pan, add bread, sprinkle with parmesan, bake until golden brown). Garnish with chopped chives.

I really really liked the soup. It was light, creamy (but no cream added) and none of the ingredients interfered with the lovely taste of asparagus. It`s a shame that asparagus are so darn expensive cause I would love to eat them more often. :)

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Mushroom Calzone - Step by Step Tutorial

2010-04-13T17:11:00.003+02:00

Everybody likes pizza, right? But have you ever tried a calzone? Basically, it`s the same thing just folded in half. Italians pronounce the word [kalˈtsone]. They usually make it with tomatoes and mozzarella but what`s so great about it is that you can use any kind of leftover veg from the day before. A normal pizza can be a bit dry but in calzone everything is mixed up in the middle, the cheese is melting, the aromas are getting into the dough and staying in there. Bellissimo!
Here`s my step by step recipe with photos.

Ingredients

Dough
300 ml tepid water
1 tsp sugar
40 g fresh yeast
500 g flour
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Herbes de Provence

Filling
400 g mushrooms (white/button/champignons mushrooms or portobello mushrooms)
2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of pepper
pinch of Herbes de Provence
pinch of salt
2 tbsp butter
8 tbsp tomato puree (from the brick)
a handful of grated parmesan
freshly chopped parsley and basil
mozzarella (about 100 g)

Preparation

1. Sift flour with the salt on a clean surface and make a well in the middle with your hands. In a bowl, combine tepid water, sugar and crumbled yeast. Let it rise until it doubles in size, then pour it into the well. Add olive oil and herbs.
Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid (circle around the well each time incorporating a litlle bit more of the flour but be careful not to let liquid out from the well).

2. When it starts to come together, dive in with your flour-dusted hands kneading until nice and smooth. Dust a glass bowl with some flour, put your dough in it and dust a bit more. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place for about half an hour or more until it doubles in size (apparently yeast loves damp and warm places). :)

You can make 2-3 calzones from this amount of dough - I made 2 large.
3. When your dough has doubled in size, divide it into 2-3 equal pieces. Roll them out on a dusted surface so that they are circular and pretty thin.
Now, prepare the filling. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. Cut mushrooms in larger slices. Put them onto the oil and fry until water evaporates. Add pepper, salt and herbs and fry 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and add butter. Let it melt and add tomato puree, basil and parsley.
Divide filling between your 2-3 pizzas. On each, add some parmesan, mozzarella and, if you wish, a bit more of tomato puree.

So, let`s get to the forming of your calzone. You need to basically fold the pizzas in half. Then fold the edges as well away from you so that you secure the filling. Dust a fork and press along the side of your calzone. It`s secure and nice and pretty.

Bake on a greaseproof paper dusted with flour for 30 minutes on 200 Degrees C (it really depends on your oven).

This calzone was inspired by Jamie Oliver`s calzone from cookbook Jamie at Home - Cook Your Way to the Good Life.

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Cranberry Walnut Breakfast Muffins

2010-04-09T19:37:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I came across some cool muffin paper cups and immediately wanted to try them out. The only problem is that the cups were kinda enormous so I had to double the measurments for muffins. Usually, when I make dozen muffins we eat them like they are dozen truffles. So, I hoped that these gigantic muffins would last longer. Boy, was I wrong... :)

I had some cranberries and walnuts and decided to experiment with this combo for the first time. My niece tried them and said that these are the best muffins she ever tried. And she knows her muffins... :)

Ingredients (for 12 gigantic muffin cups "6,2 X 5,2 cm" or 24 normal size ones "6 X 2,8 cm")

2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup ground walnuts
3 cups milk
1 cup sunflower oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilin sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 g baking powder
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
1 cup cranberries (or more)

Preparation

Combine all dry ingredients: flour, sugar, walnuts, vanilin sugar, baking powder and soda. In another bowl, combine wet ingredients: eggs, milk, oil, vanilla extract and slightly whisk them. Combine dry and wet ingredients, add cranberries and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined.
Pour into 12 paper cups placed in muffin pan. Bake on 180 degrees C or 350 F until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I only regret that I didn`t have enough cranberries (I put maybe a handful) so that`s why I wrote that you should put 1 cup or more. They give a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the muffins with walnuts.
Trust me when I say, they are better the next day if you can withhold yourself from eating them immediately.

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Banana Jam

2010-03-28T18:43:00.003+02:00

My favorite fruits are bananas. I absolutely love them and could it them every day. I`ve even heard that they are good for your bones because they`re rich with calcium. Sometimes, when I give up sweets, I substitute them with bananas and I feel ok because they are really sweet and can make up for the lack of sugar from all those unhealthy sweets which I crave for every day. So, if you like bananas like me, you`ll go bananas for this banana jam. :))

Ingredients

1 kg unpeeled bananas (about 6 bananas)
2/3 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup brown sugar plus 1 cup white sugar (200g each)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

In a large pot mix all the ingredients except the bananas and bring to boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add mashed bananas (you can mash them with potato masher) and stir well until combined. Bring to boil on high heat and then reduce to medium heat. Cook for 20 minutes frequently stirring.
Pour your hot jam in sterilized jars and immediately seal them.

I tried my jam with pancakes (I made them with 2 eggs, pinch of salt, soda bicarbonate, baking powder and milk and flour - the mixture has to be thick). I really really really loved it! The combination was great - the pancakes were bland because I didn˙t add any extra sugar and the jam was nice and sweet but not too sweet. I think that chocolate sauce over the banana jam pancakes would be perfection. :)

I adapted the recipe from here.

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Bokharat - Arabic Seven Spice

2010-03-01T19:41:00.005+01:00

You may have noticed that my favorite chef is Jamie Oliver and he is the reason I`ve become so passionate about cooking. If you love Jamie the way that I do than you absolutely addore herbs and spices (chilli and lemon, as well). Many say that he exaggerates with the amounts but I am thankful that he introduced a whole other world of flavors to me. Plain food can become special and exciting with just the right combination of herbs and/or spices. My favorite herbs are:
1. rosemary (I most frequently useit with potatoes and in foccacia),
2. parsley (I could eat it with almost every food),
3. thyme (goes great with roasted carrots and cider vinegar),
4. basil (in every meal where there are tomatoes),
5. oregano (with potato soup and of course pizza)...
I recently came across Herbes de Provence which is a mixture of dried herbes like rosemary, sage, basil, thyme, oregano, fennel and others. I mainly use it in stews every time I`m in the mood for mediterranean cousine.
Recently, I started to use more spices than before because I wanted to make a change in my typical every day meals. I found some nice recipes that required 1 key ingredient which I couldn`t find in my town - cardamom. Andrea from Voće i povrće was kind enough to send me some cardamom seeds for which I`m ever so thankful. :) I had to make something with it but didn`t won`t to cook anything so I made Bokharat - Arabic Seven Spice.

The recipe is from recipezaar and I saw the link on Andrea`s blog. Obviously, this is the first time I made this mixture of spices so I used only half of the original measurments.

I used:
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp paprica
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinammon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

You`ll need pestle and mortar and/or coffee grinder to get a fine powder from all of these spices. Once you have grounded all the ingredients, combine them in a coffee grinder and transfer into an airtight container. Can you imagine the aroma that was spreading all around my kitchen? :)

Now, I only have to come up with ideas for recipes to use this great mixture of spices.

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Honey Pie

2010-02-22T23:14:00.001+01:00

Since I had some time off from my current job, I decided to make a cake for which I usually don`t have enough time. Honey pie. It` s simmilar to mađarica (unfortunately I don`t know the correct translation, anyone?) but the difference are the layers which are made with honey; and the filling which is made with semolina and is white (unlike mađarica which has chocolate filling). The recipe I got was a lot simmilar to Monika`s Honey Cake but it is a bit different so I decided to give it a go. This is an old recipe that our grandmothers used to make so I figured it had to be good and good it was... Excellent! :)

Here`s the recipe...

Ingredients

For the layers
150 g sugar
4 tbsp lard
5 tbsp milk
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
450 g flour
pinch baking soda

For the filling
300 ml milk
3 tbsp semolina
150 g butter (or as in the recipe margarine)
200 g sugar

For the chocolate glaze
3 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar (or less)
80 g butter (or margarine)
100 g dark chocolate

Making dough
Mix sugar, lard, milk, honey and slightly beaten egg in a pan. Bring to boil and cook 1 minute. Leave to cool down. When the mixture is cold, add flour and baking soda. Mix with a spoon and then begin to knead until you get a smooth dough. Divide it into 4 equal pieces and wrap into cling wrap so that it doesn` dry out.
Now, take a baking pan about that shape and size and turn it upside down. Dust the pan with some flour so the sheets won`t stick to it. Take a piece of the dough and roll it to fit your mold. I did that on a floured working surface and than transferred it to the pan. Bake the sheet (on an upside down pan) for 6-7 minutes on 170 Degrees Celsius unitl it´s golden on the edges but still pale. When the sheet is baked, transfer it carefully on a cooling rack. Repeat the procedure with the rest of the dough pieces.

Filling
Bring milk to boil. Slowly add semolina and sugar while whisking. Cook for 2-3 minutes until it`s nice and thick. When the cream cools down, beat butter into it with an electric mixer.

Put 1 sheet on a serving tray and cover with 1/3 of the cream. Put the second sheet, cover with 1/3 of the cream, do the same with the third sheet. Put the fourth sheet. Press with some heavy pans, secure with cling wrap and leave over night in the fridge.
In the morning, prepare the glaze. Put all of the ingredients into a pan and put on low heat to disolve. You have to get a silky and shiny glaze.
Remove the pans and cover the top sheet with the glaze. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and then cut and enjoy.

These photos were stylished for a photo event so that explains the heart which is not my usual style. :)

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Inspired Foodie on Facebook

2010-02-15T17:56:00.000+01:00

Hi guys!
I`ve just created a fan page on Facebook so if you have an account there, you can visit and become a fan here.
I will appreciate the effort and I really hope to see you there. Thanks a lot! :)
I`m doing this in to promote my blog and to make it more accessible. I promice you all kinds of extra photos that you won`t be able to see on the blog and lots more.

With love

Josipa

Brussel Sprouts and Bacon Pasta

2010-02-12T13:17:00.005+01:00

Brussel sprouts... Not many people appreciate them the way I do but they can be delicious when prepared the right way. I sometimes like to incorporate them in certain dishes so that the people who try them, don`t recognize them. My niece hates them but at the same time, one of her favorite dishes are gnocchi with brussels sprouts and mushrooms (by the way, she hates mushrooms, too). :) Go figure...

So, I had some sprouts in the fridge but didn`t have any meat to combine them with. I did have some bacon so I searched the Internet to find a recipe with these 2 ingredients. This is what I`ve found and slightly modified to match the things I had. This dish really celebrates the beautiful vegetable that is brussel sprouts.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g or 3 thin slices bacon

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and more for drizzle

1 large onion

300g brussel sprouts

3/4 cup homemade chicken stock

150 g penne pasta

2-3 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or any simmilar cheese

2 tbsp coarsely chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Preparation

This tasty meal is easy to cook once you had prepared all of the ingredients. So, let`s start...

You`ll need 3 thin slices of bacon:

Then you need to cut the slices into 3/4-inch pieces (2 cm).

Cut onion into thin slices. Trim the sprouts and cut them into halves or quarters if large.

Heat a dry teflon pan over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon on a paper towel to drain.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to pan. Then add onions and sprouts and cook till pale golden, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sprouts are soft, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and the penne. Cook according to package instructions. Drain and save 1/2 cup cooking liquid (or even more).

Return pasta to the pot, stir in sprouts mixture, the liquid from pasta, bacon and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add chopped parsley. Mix well.

Serve in a nice bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with parsley, grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

The stock, liquid from the pasta and parmesan will make a nice, sticky sauce. Mmmmm...

Printable version

FBI rukavice / FBI gloves - Voće i povrće

2010-01-27T10:31:00.001+01:00

This month`s FBI gloves, started by Maja from Cooks and Bakes, are dedicated to Andrea from Voće i povrće. I discovered her blog not so long ago and immediately fell in love with it. Andrea`s posts are interesting and always a pleasure to read. Her photos are breathtaking and she is my photographing role model along with a few other food bloggers. I (virtually) met her on a forum and she helped me a lot with my photographing skills which (I think) improved once I started to apply her advice. So thank you Andrea for your help, it means a lot! :)
I`m really impressed with Andrea`s recipes for savory dishes but I realized that for making most of them I lacked a few ingredients, especially some spices which I didn`t find here. So, I switched to sweet stuff and decided to make these Cranberrie muffins / Muffins s brusnicama.

I absolutely love bananas in cakes and found these muffins to be delicious and moist. I must admit that there were some problems in the preparation process. The batter was too thick so my mixer went bananas. :) I had to add some liquid to make it more smooth so I added 1 egg and a bit more milk. That did the trick and the muffins came out great. Another great thing is that I was I able to remove them from the paper cups really easy so that was a relief. All in all, excellent muffins!

Thank you Andrea for your great recipes and beautiful photos! You are such an inspiration to me!

Happy New Year!!!

2009-12-31T13:51:00.001+01:00

Once again I bring you my wishes for the year 2010. Have the best new year filled with love, health and happiness!

I wish you to have a .....

sweetest Sunday,

marvellous Monday,

tasty Tuesday,

wonderful Wednesday,

thankful Thursday,

friendly Friday,

successful Saturday.

Have a great Year! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-25T23:11:00.002+01:00

Merry Christmas to all of my fellow bloggers, twitter and blog followers, faithful readers, girls from the forum and to all of my family and friends! Wishing you all the best! And may lovely, happy times decorate this time of the season and may the wonder of Christmas be with you forever.

How did you spend your Christmas? Mine was great, the family got together, we shared some loughs, fine food and cakes and exchanged some gifts, you know, the usual stuff but it was a lot of fun.

P.S. I got a special X-mas present from Tea from hobbychic - a brand new blog design. I love it! She did some great things with it and really got it right. Thank you Tea for being so cool and creative! What do you think about the new design?

FBI rukavice / FBI gloves - Sweet Corner

2009-12-21T19:07:00.003+01:00

In this month`s FBI gloves, started by Maja from Cooks and Bakes we are investigating Jasenka`s Sweet Corner. Jasenka is very well known for her amazing cookie and cake recipes. Each time I need a fool proof cake recipe for family member birthdays or any kind of celebration I go to her blog in search for a never failing cake recipe.

Unfortunately, this month I didn`t have enough time to try a new recipe from her beautiful blog, but I will show some of what I made in the past.

First, I made Kokoline / Coconut cookies :

It might surprise you but these "dry" cookies reminded me of creamy delicate raffaello, that`s how amazing they are.

For her birthday, my sister wanted a cake that was a combination of chocolate and coconut. So I modified Jasenka`s Tortica od čokolade i vanilije / Chocolate coconut cake by adding 100g of coconut to the white cream and it turned out beautiful, creamy and delicious.

I don`t have a proper photo but I hope this one will do:

And for my nieces birthday I made Čokoladna tortica / Chocolate cake. My god, this cake is so chocolatey, perfect for all of us chocoholics.

I wonder which recipe will I try next...? :)

Thank you Jasenka for sharing with us perfect and delicious recipes - you make our lives easier. :) And most importantly, I admire you for being so kind and generous..

My Perfect Cheesecake

2009-12-14T12:03:00.007+01:00

It`s my opinion that every good cook wannabe has to have its own cheesecake recipe. So, this weekend I wanted to give it a try and make my own version with ingredients I like the best. I searched the Internet to cover my basics and here are the links I used to get, in my opinion, the best cheesecake:

Monika`s recipe for the crust

Dyann`s Amazing cheesecake for baking methods

The best part was that I used fresh cow`s cheese so this version is cheaper than most of the others. And it doesn`t lack the beautiful creaminess and lightness. And the taste, omg!
One of the important things in making a perfect cheesecake is not to allow it to crack while baking. Here I consulted Dyann`s instructions where she advices to bake your cheesecake in bain-marie.

What exactly is Bain-Marie?
Bain-Marie is basicly a water bath. The way to prepare a water bath is to place your baking pan in a wider pan in which you poured hot water. The water protects delicate foods from direct and agressive heat and ensures that the food is cooked "low and slow". An oven water bath is used with delicate foods and egg based desserts, for example custards and cheesecakes and egg-based sauces that would curdle, break or crack under too much heat. If you are interested in chemical implications of using this type of cooking, go to this site where it is all explained.

Ingredients for a 10 inch springform pan (26cm)

No-bake Crust:

200 g Petit Beurre or you could use McVitie`s Digestive

1 tbsp honey

80 g butter
2 tbsp ground walnuts
few drops of almond extract

Topping

800 g fresh cow's cheese (half fat)

220 g granulated sugar (or to taste)

10 g vanilin sugar (or you can use vanilla extract to taste)

180 g sour cream (12 % milk fat)

3 eggs

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 Degrees Fahrenheit or 165 Celsius.
First, you need to prepare the crust. In a food processor grind the cookies until you get a nice powder. Than add melted butter, honey, walnuts and almond extract. Mix again just until combined. Butter generously bottom and sides of your springform. Line the sides of the pan with a round of parchment paper. Press the dough evenly on the bottom of the pan. Refrigarate until you prepare the topping.

Beat the cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilin sugar until nice and smooth. Start adding the eggs one at a time but do not overmix, only until each egg is absorbed.

Pour the topping into the prepared crust. Take the pan and slam it a couple of times at the table. This will bring the bubbles of air at the surface and prevent cracks. Put your springform in another wider pan. Put it in the preheated oven and now pour the hot boiling water in it, about 1 inch high. Just to be certain that the water won`t get into your cheesecake, I secured the bottom and side of the springform with aluminum foil and then put it in water. Cook your cake for 60 minutes. Trust it and do not open the oven (I did because I couldn`t resist and nothing happened but just to be on the safe side keep it closed). When you take out the pan from the oven, give it a jiggle. The middle of the cake should be jiggly but the edges should be firm. This baking method will ensure that your cheesecake doesn`t crack or get brown.
Cool the cake at room temperature. Than, cover it in plastic or aluminum foil and cool over night in refrigerator. It will set and you`ll be able to nicely cut it and fully enjoy the best cheesecake you`ve ever had.

Printable version

Christmas Tree Icing Ornaments

2009-12-07T15:01:00.004+01:00

This year, I wanted to make some homemade Christmas tree ornaments. When I saw these, the decision was made. They looked so easy to make and adorable. And they are perfect for my tree which is going to be decorated in white and silver. I photographed them with Christmas lights and this is how they turned out:

If you decide to make them, you`ll need:

greaseproof paper

pencil

1 eggwhite

1 cup icing sugar (grind it in a coffee grinder so it becomes a fine powder)

pastry bag fitted with the smallest round tip

Start by drawing a desired shape for your ornament on the greaseproof paper. Then turn the paper upside down. Prepare the icing by mixing the eggwhite with icing sugar to get a sticky icing. Now start piping your icing onto your sketched ornaments. Make your lines thick and generously coated in icing. Dry over night and carefully remove from paper. With this amount of icing you can make up to 10 smaller ornaments. Be very careful because they can be a bit fragile if not dried well.

And finally, place a nice ribbon to be able to hang it on your tree on Christmas Eve.

Be sure to listen to Christmas carols while doing this fun Christmas craft and do include your kids. :)

Homemade Rosemary Tagliatelle

2009-11-28T19:07:00.007+01:00

One of my favorite things to do is making homemade pasta. There`s something special about homemade version compared to the store bought pasta. I usually make some extra, dry it and keep it for other occasions. It tastes better and gives any dish another dimension. If you would like to wow people coming to dinner, you should definately give it a try. And, it isn`t so complicated ih you have a pasta machine (I would never do it without it because rolling the dough with a rolling pin is pretty damn difficult).

The recipe is very simple: with 1 egg use 100g plain flour. This time, I wanted to make my homemade pasta extra special so I added a twig of rosemary which I chopped and bruised in a mortar and little bit extra virgin olive oil. Can you imagine the smell that was going around my house while rolling it?

Ingredients:

2 eggs

200g flour

pinch of salt

few drops extra virgin olive oil

1 twig rosemary

Preparation:

Sift the flour on a clean wooden surface. Make a well in the flour, break the eggs into the well and add salt. Use a fork to whisk your eggs a bit and than start to incorporate flour into the eggs. When it becomes too difficult to mix with a fork use your hands to form a dough. Knead for several minutes in order to get an elastic and smooth dough.

Wrap your dough into plastic foil and leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Cut it into smaller strips. Flatten each strip so that you make the job easier for your pasta machine. Begin running the strips through the widest setting of your pasta maschine (usually 1). Fold it in half and run it again on the same setting. Repeat several times and than start to reduce the setting. Each time dust the strips with a little bit of flour. I always make my strips as thin as possible (7). Let the strips rest on a clean table cloth for 10 to 15 minutes. It is crucuial that the strips are not too dry or not dry enough. In the first case, you won`t be able to cut them and in the second case the pasta would stick to each other.

This pasta truly deserves the best sauce you can make.

Printable version

Strawberry Flavored Marble Bundt Cake

2009-11-15T17:58:00.007+01:00

I have a confession to make. Lately, I`ve been neglecting my blog and I feel awful about it. This weekend I decided to make up for it so I had a baking session. I made this bundt cake and a beautiful focaccia which I`ll write about later on. We all have a recipe for a traditional marble cake either from our mother or grandmother but I wanted to make something a little bit different so I added a few drops of strawberry extract and baked it in a bundt pan. My little niece thought it was wonderful so we had to forbid her from eating the whole thing because we didn`t want her to get a stomach ache. :) At least, now I know that she`s a huge fan of good old-fashioned cakes.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

4 cups sugar (I used smaller coffee cup - 1 cup is about 80 g)

4 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp vanilin sugar

1 dl oil

1 dl milk

few drops strawberry extract

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Preparation

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 350 F. Butter and dust with flour a 10 inch bundt or tube pan. With a mixer beat eggs with sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add flour, baking powder, vanilin sugar, oil and milk and combine well. Pour 1/3 of the batter in another bowl and add cocoa. Mix well. In the yellow part add strawberry extract and mix. Pour the pink batter into the bundt pan. Now, you can start marbling your cake by pouring tha cocoa batter over the pink batter. With the end of a wooden spoon, draw swirls through the batter but don`t over do it. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

When the cake is baked, leave it to cool down in the pan, than remove the cake from the pan.

Keep it at room temperature. I like to serve it with tea or warm milk.

UPDATE!

I just learnt that November 15th is National Bundt Day in the USA! What a coincidence to publish this bundt cake recipe on its own day. So, happy Bundt Day everyone!

Printable version

Halloween Squash Cupcakes With Chocolate Ganache

2009-11-02T19:28:00.001+01:00

Halloween is over but I wanted to show you my Halloween cupcakes. You have already seen Halloween toothpicks which I made a few days ago. In the meantime, I made Halloween cupcake wrappers which were inspired by Judy`s cute cupcake wrappers. You can check them out here and here.

The cupcakes were made according to Jamie Oliver`s recipe for Butternut Squash muffins and then frosted with chocolate ganache (pour 500 ml hot cream over 200 g chopped chocolate, stir the mixture until smooth and silky on low heat, cool it in the fridge for about half an hour and then stir it well with a mixer until you get ganache of wanted consistency).

Aren`t they spooktacular? :) The kids loved them!

In the end, this was my pumpkin:

Halloween Legends

2009-10-28T21:15:00.003+01:00

When did I fall in love with Halloween? It was in High school in English class when we read an article Hallowe`en by M.E.Gibson. He described the history of this holiday and some really cool legends about it. Nowadays, most of you know the history but I thought it might be interesting to hear those not so familiar legends.

Photo taken from here.

Halloween was once the time when girls thought about their future husbands. In the old times, getting married was the only future for most girls and they were afraid of being "left on the shelf". On Halloween, there was a way to find out if a girl was going to marry. She was supposed to look over her shoulder as she brushed her hair in front of a mirror - apparently she could see the reflection of her future husband.

If she wanted to know who he was, she would peel an apple and throw the complete peel over her left shoulder. The letter formed in that way would be the initial of her future husband`s first name.

Another way, if she wanted to dream of her future husband, was to place her shoes beside her bed in the form of a T.

There was one more way to find out who she was going to marry and a rather complicated one. On Halloween the girl had to go at night to a stream which had to be at the place where three farms met. She had to wet her sleeve in the water and go home. Then she had to turn the sleeve inside out and hang her blouse in front of the fire. Then she had to hide in a dark corner of the room and wait. Soon her husband would come and turn the sleeve right side out.

There`s an old story about a girl from the Shetlands which are a group of islands in the north-east of Scotland. This girl followed all the instructions. Soon a young fisherman appeared, turned the sleeve the right way out and disappeared. But the girl wanted to see the handsome young man once again. So she turned the sleeve inside out and hid again. The man appeared again, turned the sleeve right side out, and disappeared. The girl was still curious, so she turned the sleeve once again. The young man appeared again, turned the sleeve right side out and disappeared. But this time he left a knife. The girl was very frightened. So she hid the knife in an old chest and forgot about it. Years later, long after she had married that young fisherman, he found the knife in the chest. He recognised the knife - it was his. He asked his wife how she got the knife. And she told him what had happened. He thought for a moment. Then he said: "I was at sea that night. There was a terrible storm and I was swept overboard three times. The last time I nearly drowned. That was when I lost my knife."

What do you think of these legends? Are there any truth to them? :)

Halloween Crafts - Jar Lanterns - Part II

2009-10-24T22:57:00.003+02:00

So, I`m kinda going over the top with this year`s Halloween decorations but as long as it makes me and others happy, it`s great. I`ve come across this great idea for jar lanterns here and immediately decided I have to make one.

For this particular lantern you`ll need: jar, acrilic black and orange paint, water, paintbrush, black marker and a tea light candle. Paint your jar with orange paint. When it`s dry, use a marker to draw a scary face. Then, paint the face with black acrilic paint.

I think I`ll make another one - maybe a ghost?

Halloween Crafts - Part I

2009-10-21T21:16:00.004+02:00

Each year, I`m really looking forward to one of my all time favorite holidays - Halloween. Nobody appreciates this day as much as I do, at least not in my neighborhood. But that doesn`t stop me from enjoying it and making spooky decorations, pumpkin cakes, cookies, soups etc. Of course, there`s pumpkin carving and more fun things to do for Halloween but I`ll write about them later.

Today, I wanted to show you these cute Halloween tootphicks which you can use as a spooky addition for your regular sandwiches for Halloween parties. The kids will love them!

First, you have to pick your favorite Halloween motifs. Spiders, ghosts, Jack`o`lanterns, cats, haunted houses, bats, mummies are all good.

Second, choose paper in Halloween colors: orange, black, purple and yellow.

Third, get a bunch of toothpicks.

Four, you will need scisors that cut straight or even better different patterns, glue stick and scotch tape.

When you collect all of these items, your Halloween crafts session can begin. Use your imagination, cut different Halloween shapes, decorate them with glowing eyes or windows and attach them to a toothpick with scotch tape.

Insert your toothpicks in sandwiches, finger foods, cupcakes or whatever you like.

These toothpicks were inspired by Judy`s cute cupcake decorations.

FBI rukavice - Krckave lepinjice/ FBI Gloves - Krckave lepinjice

2009-10-12T14:47:00.002+02:00

In this month`s FBI gloves, started by Maja, we are investigating the lovely blog of our hostess - Cooks and Bakes. One of my favorite things to try from other people blogs are breads and all sorts of baked doughs. So, I was very happy to see hleb i testa/ breads and doughs label on Maja`s blog. This time I decided to try out her recipe for Krckave lepinjice. You see, I simply adore salami, one could say that I am a salami addict - once I start, it seems that I can`t stop eating it so I try to consume it rarely. I didn`t have corn flour and I wasn`t feeling up to going to the store to buy it, so I used only wheat flour. Also, I had processed cheese with mushrooms which in my opinion was a great combo with the salami.

Lepinjice came out great! Crunchy, delicious and ful of taste. We ate them with beans - what a great comfort food for this cold and rainy day...

Thank you Maja for a great recipe, I will surely make these again. If only I had the time, I would`ve tried more of your beautiful recipes. But, I will make up for it soon. :)

Stuffed Peppers

2009-09-28T22:56:00.005+02:00

It seems that I can`t stop stuffing peppers. :) First I made Stuffed peppers in tomato soup, than I made these, but baked them in an oven with béchamel sauce. It`s because they are so darn delicious and they are shaped to be stuffed. :) Lots of ingredients and preparation steps but the final result is so worth the effort. You should make this meal while there are still peppers on your local farmer`s market because the season is almost coming to its end.

Let`s see the recipe...

Ingredients

15 peppers medium size

water

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil for baking dish

100 g cheese (edamer, gouda, cheddar or whichever you prefer)

For the filling:

2 filets chicken breasts - minced

1 onion

1 cup rice

3 cups water

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 dried peperoncini

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp passata

50 g bacon

leftover peppers chopped

For the béchamel sauce:

4 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 tbsp flour

3 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tbsp chopped parsley

nutmeg, to taste

salt, pepper

Preparation

Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tsp salt. Cut top of peppers, remove seeds and keep leftover peppers from the tops. Chop them and save for later. Boil peppers for 2-3 minutes. Drain.

Prepare the filling. In a frying pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions, bacon and leftover peppers and cook until soft and the onion is translucent. Add minced chicken, rice and water (add 1 cup, cook, than add the other one, cook again and finally add the third one). After adding the first cup of water, season with salt and cayenne pepper. Add turmeric, peperoncini teared in small pieces.Cook 10 minutes or more just until rice absorbs all the liquid. Remove from heat and add parmesan and passata.

Add 1 or 2 tbsp of oil in baking dish and smear it on the bottom and sides.

Preheat oven to 250 C or 480 F.

Stuff peppers with filling and place them in baking dish cut side up. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare béchamel sauce. In a saucepan heat oil on medium heat, add flour all at once, mixing with a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook another 5-10 minutes, whisking constantly. In the end, stir in parsley.

When your peppers have had 15 minutes on 250 C, lower heat to 200 C or 390 F, remove foil, cover them with béchamel sauce and put a piece of chesse on top of each one. Bake until nice and golden.

This recipe is my modification of Dad`s Stuffed Bell Peppers.

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Mexican Tuna Salad

2009-09-20T12:52:00.005+02:00

I like big complicated dishes but sometimes I just feel like making a simple salad for lunch. But when I do that I I try to make it extra special. Especially during the summer when I can find beautiful, tasty, ripe and sweet tomatoes and peppers. So, usually I combine them with chili and tuna and make my own version of mexican salad. It doesn`t get any better than that.

Here`s the recipe...

Ingredients

1 can corn

1 can red beans

1 can tuna in olive oil

1 chili (or half depending how hot you want your salad)

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt

cayenne pepper

2 tomatoes chopped

2 peppers chopped (in different colors)

1 tbsp chopped parsley

bread, 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, chili and tuna. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon. Add lemon juice and mix. Now, combine tuna and oil from the can with the other ingredients. Add chopped parsley and mix all together. Serve it with bread. In a pan, toast your slices of bread in olive oil on each side and than rub them 3-4 times with garlic.

The simplest and tastiest lunch ever! :)

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FBI rukavice - Brankin kruh/ FBI Gloves - Branka`s Bread

2009-09-18T12:58:00.001+02:00

In this month`s FBI rukavice/FBI gloves, started by Maja from Cooks and Bakes, we are investigating Branka`s beautiful blog Neretvanska nostalgija.

I didn`t really know which recipe to choose out of all the wonderful ones that Branka has on her blog but, when I saw her tag kruh i peciva/bread and bagels, the decision was made. So, this is my attempt in baking her famous bread with loads of small holes in it.

You can find the recipe here.

Here`s how it all went down. I prepared flour and used 800 ml water. Although I usually, when making breads, let yeast to grow, I did what Branka said. I even used my mixer to knead the dough which I never do. I`m used to kneading with my bare hands but I must admitt it was very practical - I didn`t have to wash my hands later. :)

I repeated the procedure twice and the dough grew very nicely each time.

I divided the dough into 3 smaller pieces and formed 3 breads which I baked on 220 degrees C for 40 minutes or so.

In the end, I got three beautiful breads which were light and crispy. The only thing that went wrong, were the holes. I didn`t get enough of them but maybe next time I`ll get it right.

I served slices of bread with a bowl of green salad dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. For me, this is an ideal lunch and I could eat it almost every day.

Thanks Branka for a great recipe!

Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Soup

2009-09-15T14:52:00.011+02:00

One of my all time favorite dishes are stuffed peppers in a nice thick tomato soup. I`m sure most of you know what I`m talking about but just to be sure, here is a link where you can find the explanation.

My mother is the expert in making this dish so these stuffed peppers were made according to her famous recipe. Be sure to make this dish while peppers are still in season because the ones you buy in your grocery store aren`t as good. You could freeze a bunch of peppers in late summer so you can enjoy eating this dish during the cold winter days. It will warm you up!
Here`s the recipe...

Ingredients

400 g minced meat

1 handful rice

400 ml passata

750 ml water

1 egg

salt, pepper

1 onion

3 tsp paprica

7 medium sized peppers (you can use a combination of green, yellow and red peppers)

7 tbsp oil

3 tbsp flour

Preparation

In a large bowl add meat, rice, egg, chopped onion, salt, pepper, paprica and combine well using your hand.

Put in the fridge until you clean your peppers.

Wash and drain peppers. Remove stem and seeds. If you wish, you can blanche your cleaned peppers for a minute or two but do this only if your peppers are hot.

Now, stuff the peppers with meat mixture all the way to the top. If you have any leftover meat, just make some meatballs.

In a large saucepan, heat oil on very low. Add flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add passata and water. Bring to boil. When the soup starts to boil, it is time to put your stuffed peppers in. Add salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 60 minutes (or until meat is cooked).

Serve with mashed potatoes.

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Donuts

2009-09-01T17:16:00.016+02:00

The other day, my family and I had a huge craving for something sweet. Nothing in the fridge but a few eggs, yogurt and Dr. Oetker strawberry sauce waiting to be used. I immediately started to think of delicious and light donuts recipe which I forgot about until I saw a recipe for donuts on my fellow blogger`s site a few days ago. The decision was made so I started mixing up the ingredients. These donuts are fried in deep oil so I was a bit concerned about the calories but it`s not if we`re like eating fried food all the time. And it is a scientifically proved fact that when it comes to tastes, women have a preferance for sweet and greasy foods as opposed to men who like salty and sour food. So you see, it`s not me, it`s the evolution. :)

Now, let`s check out the recipe...

Ingredients

200 g yogurt

2 eggs

pinch of salt

2 tbsp sugar

10 tbsp flour

12 g baking powder

a few drops of strawberry extract and rum

sunflower oil

confectioner`s sugar for dusting

chocolate or strawberry sauce

Preparation

In a bowl whisk eggs and salt. Slowly add sugar, yogurt, strawberry extract, rum and combine. Add one by one spoon of flour and in the end baking powder and mix well.

Heat up oil in a deep pan (more oil is better, pour about 2 inches of oil from the bottom). Depending on the size you want your donuts to be, with a teaspoon or a tablespoon, put small amount of batter in hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown. It`s better to fry only 5-6 donuts at a time so that the oil doesn`t cool down. Because the batter is kind of thin, you`ll get some pretty funny shaped donuts. The kids will love them.

Dust your donuts with icing sugar and pour some sauce on top of them. Enjoy!

A photo of these donuts has been published on tastespotting.

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Rice and Zucchini Patties

2009-08-28T10:56:00.022+02:00

I just love summer because loads od delicious fruits and vegetables are in season. One of my all time favorites are zucchinis which I love to make a soup out of with a touch of celery leaves. This time I`ve made delicious patties and served them with homemade ketchup.

Here`s the recipe for the patties...

Ingredients

1 zucchini (mine was 300g)

100 ml rice

300 ml water

5 g bacon

1/2 bellpepper

salt, pepper to taste

1/2 tsp curcuma powder

1/2 tsp thyme

1 egg

flour (start with 3 tbsp and add more if needed)

1 cup bread crumbs

sunflower oil

Preparation

Cook rice in boiling water (see preparation time on the bag) in which you`ve added salt and curcuma powder. Wash and grate zucchinis and half of bellpepper. Add finely chopped bacon, pinch of salt, pepper and thyme. In another bowl lightly beat 1 egg and than add it to zucchini mixture. Mix in cooked rice and combine all the ingredients. Add as much flour as you need starting with 3 tbsp. The mixture should be sticky but not to sticky so that you can form patties. Put some bread crumbs on a plate and start to form patties. Take some bread crumbs in one hand and with the other one take 1 large tbsp of the mixture, put it into your hand with breadcrumbs and form a pattie. The patties should be coated in breadcrumbs all around.

Place your made patties in refrigerator just until you clean all the mess you`ve made (15 minutes).

Heat oil in a large pan, fry your patties on each side until golden brown. Serve with ketchup or your favorite homemade sauce.

Omit bacon if you would like to make these patties vegetarian.

A photo of these patties has been published on foodgawker.

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Apple and Carrot Cupcakes With Buttercream Frosting

2009-08-22T14:46:00.026+02:00

I`m so excited to publish my first post on my new blog. It is going to be apple and carrot cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Doesn`t that sound delicious already?

Ingredients

For the cakes:
200g apple and carrot puree (about 2 apples and 1 carrot)
200g sugar
2 eggs
pinch of salt
300g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
175 ml sunflower oil

For the buttercream frosting:
2-3 cups sifted confectioners` sugar
1-2 cups softened butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
1-2 tbsp milk

This recipe is my modification of Jamie O`s pumpkin muffins. I must say that these are so delicious and moist - one of the best ones I have ever tasted. I strongly recommend you to try them.

Preparation:

First you have to prepare apple and carrot puree. Depending on the size of the apples and carrots, take 2 apples and 1 carrot (or more), slice them and cook in boling water until soft, almost falling apart. Put carrots first, cook for about 10 minutes and then add apples and cook more. In a food processor or with a fork make them into puree and measure 200g.

Combine all the ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour into 12 paper baking cups placed in a cupcake pan. Bake for 20 minutes on 180 degrees C or 350 F or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
And now, for the frosting, mix sugar and butter until smooth and silky. Gradually mix in milk and vanilla essence and mix another 2-3 minutes. Using a knife, spatula or piping bag frost your cakes and in the end dust them with some cinnamon.

A photo of this dessert has been published on tastespotting and foodgawker.

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Hello and welcome...

2009-08-16T20:42:00.003+02:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

Most of you know me from my old blog volim_kuhati but finally I decided to move on and transfer to another blog service.

There will be some changes in the structure and design in comparisson to the old blog. As you can see, my posts will be written in English in order to make this blog more non-Croatian-speaking readers friendly. Although my English isn`t perfect, I hope you`ll be able to understand what I`m trying to say. If you have any questions regarding the recipes or you are confused by some of the expressions used in my posts, feel free to leave a comment and ask about it.

Also, I`ve decided to open a twitter account so you can follow me there as well. I will be tweeting everything food and cooking related as well as links to certain websites that I find interesting and useful to food bloger community. You can find follow me on twitter link at the bottom of the page.

And now, a few words for those of you who don`t know me. I am a 23 year old psychology student born and living in Croatia.

I`ve always had a thing for cooking but I have been passionate about it for the last 4-5 years. I really like Italian and proper American food but I`m always willing to try out new things.

My cooking rolemodel is Jamie Oliver so I always try to keep my dishes simple but full of flavor. One could say I`m a herb and spice freak and now it seems that I can`t cook without them. I really like to make fresh pasta, homemade breads and desserts. And everything else.

That`s it for now. You can expect my first recipe in a few days. I have been cooking a lot lately but I have to sort it out and decide on my opening recipe.

Once again welcome and enjoy!