Fall broth with acorn squash and kale

Soups are a staple in the Hungarian kitchen, for gathering it is expected to have at least a soup and a main course, and all kids love a good, simple soup. I chose to cook Hungarian until the kids were home as for me cultural identity is an equal mix of food, language, books, traditions, music, and more.. and food takes a highly elevated position :). Now that we are "home alone", also known as empty nesters, I can venture to any taste, any time. Having loads of time at disposal, and no worries about schedules and college admission, also gave me the patients to follow recipes, which I notoriously avoided up till now.

First documented trial is an adaptation of a soup recipe from "Sunday Soup", in an attempt to make smaller portions suitable for the two of us, and maybe even for the kids to try.

 Ingredients

1/2 acorn squash, approximately 350 - 400 g peeled, chopped into about 2x2 cm cubes

1 package bacon, anything between 100-150g

1 medium sized onion

1/2 cup pappardelle pasta, about 2 small handfuls

1.5 liters chicken broth (6 cups), or 1 liter broth + 0.5 liter water, aka 4 cups broth + 2 cups water

1 bunch of kale, maybe about 150g, coarsely chopped or torn in stripes (original recipe asked for Swiss chard, I may try it next time) it should loosely yield about 0.5 liter (loosely fill about 2 cups)

paprika powder (you can omit the paprika powder if you prefer a transparent, pale broth)

pinch of cayenne pepper, and a small red chili pepper for spiciness and serving

5 cm x 5 cm piece or1/2 cup coarsely grated parmigiano reggiano

Preparation

Prepare the acorn squash by cutting in half, peeling it, cutting it into 4-5 slices as it is more convenient, and then cut them into about  2x2 cm, or 3/4x3/4" cubes. We will use only half in this recipe, reserved the other half for later.

Slice the bacon and finely chop the onions (you should have about 200-250 ml, slightly shy of 1 cup), and set aside until you prepare the bacon. 

Saute the sliced bacon in medium size pot (about 4 liters / 4 quarts) util golden brown and crisp. Remoce the bacon from the pot, set aside on a paper towel to remove excess fat.

Add the onions into the hot bacon fat and saute until they get that golden, translucent shine. Remove from the heat and add 1 tsp paprika powder. Stir until combined with the fat. Place it back to the heat and add a cup of broth. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Add the cubed acorn squash and pappardelle pasta with  the remaining liquid (broth, or broth+water).

Let it simmer for 13 minutes, as it is indicated on the pappardelle cooking instructions.

Add the kale, and boil for another 2 minutes.

Serve with the small red chili pepper and add some freshly grated, or the coarsely grated parmigiano reggiano.

Bon appetite!

Ricotta-lemon gnocchi

 

Sometimes a simple ingredient makes you crave a dish in which it can enjoy it's prime spotlight. 

The lemons looked sooo inviting in the fruit basket that it got my thoughts swirling around a best use for them, but let's face it.. Cooking is relaxing, as long as it is not a chore, and today I wanted something quick, new, tasty, and light, ready in less than 10 minutes.

With ricotta and gnocchi in the fridge/pantry, this was meant to happen :).

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 package of gnocchi (1 pound)

3 tbsp butter

5 tbsp ricotta

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 lemon (zest, and 1/2 of the juice)

handful of fresh Swiss chard  (about a cup chopped)

 

In a small pot bring water to boil. 

In a larger skillet heat the butter, add the smashed garlic cloves, toss until gets a light cream-golden color. Add the lemon zest, stir, add the ricotta, and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Mix until the texture is smooth and creamy and the flavors blend, 2 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the gnocchi according to the instructions, but cut the cooking time short. Mine asked for 3 minutes, I barely cooked them for 2.

Scoop the gnocchi from the boiling water and add them to the ricotta-lemon sauce, let it simmer on very low for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Wash and chop the Swiss chard, add to the top of the gnocchi, and serve with extra lemon veggies.

Bon appetit!

Jam traybake - kavart tészta

 

Going through all the mess in the house, another recipe book surfaced, this time one with my favorite recipes from my grandma's cakes, in fading ink. I guess it is time to retry them all and digitize them before they fade forever.

The simplest of all is a traybake, made with few ingredients and jam, an easy and cheap one from the good ol' communist days of empty shelves. 

The flavor resembles that of a banana bread without the bananas, but if you have some laying around bananas can be added. I did.

I also reduced the sugar amount in the recipe from 300 g to 200 g knowing that I'll add the bananas, plus, due to over the 22 years of low sodium & lower sugar cooking we would probably not like it with that much sugar/flour ratio.

Ingredients for the basic cake (really good on its own)

2 large eggs

200 g (1 cup) sugar (the original recipe asked for 300 g sugar)

300 g (2 cups) flour

1 lemon zest & juice

2 heap-full tbsp of jam (I added strawberry to make a strawberry-banana bread, but anything works very well), it would be 4 tbsp measured strictly by American tbsp standards

1 tsp cinnamon (optionally add cloves, and cardamom, too)

1 tsp vanilla essence 

pinch of salt

250 ml (1 cup) milk

1 tsp  baking soda (you can add 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp baking soda if you don't like the taste of one or either of them in a cake)

1/2 cup flavorless cooking oil

Optional (my grandma's recipe did not ask for any, but I used to sprinkle walnuts anyway)

bananas (I mixed in 3 bananas that I had on the counter, overripe to be eaten as is)

walnuts, pecans (1/2 - 1 cup), preferably soaked (I didn't have any pre-soaked nuts, so I just chopped about 1 cup of pecans and divided it on top of the two breads)

Preheat the oven to 360F, and line a 22cm x 35 cm tray (9" x 13") or two banana bread trays (5" x 9") with parchment paper, or grease with butter and sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.

Sift the flour, and mix in the salt and the dry spices, and add the baking powder to the flour mix, and / or the baking soda to the milk.

Whisk the eggs together with the sugar, add vanilla, the 2 tbsp of jam, the lemon zest and juice, 

At this point you can mix in the banana, if you add any.

Then pour in the milk (with the baking soda), add the cooking oil, mix thoroughly. Sift in the flour, and mix for 5 minutes until smooth (grandma's recipe asked to be mixed for 10 minutes, but I don't know if that is really necessary, especially with a stand mixer).

Mix in the soaked, drained nuts. I like them soaked because they will not absorb the moisture from the cake. If you did not soak them n worries, just sprinkle them on top of your batter. That's what I actually did, I very much like some crunchy nuts on top of my cake 😄.

Bake on the middle oven shelf for about 40 minutes until golden brown.

Remove tray(s) to a rack, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for about 10 minutes. You can then remove it from the tray if you wish, or cut them into smaller, easier to store, blocks if necessary, or just leave them in the tray until serving. As it stands the moisture dissipates thorough the cake and makes it wonderfully moist, and I prefer to let it sit for about 2 hours (at least) after baking.

Do not cut into tiny serving sizes before you are actually serving them, they dry out much faster. I like the IKEA cake plate with cover, keeps the cakes moist and it looks awesome, too. Stores without any issues for 2 days at room temperature. It doesn't last longer in our family.

Bon appetite!

Corn flour - milk cake, aka mâlai dulce

The polenta from last night reminded me of a cake I ate last summer at a bakery, more like a pastry shop, in the former capital of Transilvania, Cluj Napoca. While walking around the Opera I found two places, the pastry shop, and a street food vendor that served delicious yeast dough filled with all sorts of great things.

While my son was enlarging his head with mathematics, I quickly googled the net to find some recipes, and as I got home I adapted one to be my very own 5 minute whip-up cake.

On the internet everyone is claiming that they ate this at grandma's. Hmmm... Seriously? Apparently I have not visited my Romanian friend's grandmas, because last summer was the first time I ever ate this cake, but it definitely felt like I missed something out in my childhood for not eating this!!!

Maybe they weren't Transylvanian grandmas, but rather Oltenian grandmas who baked this.. will just keep musing.. That should make me feel a bit better for missing out.

Will let you know tomorrow how it tastes, or look likes, keeping fingers crossed that at least remotely will resemble the pastry shop's cake, but tonight I am typing the ingredients and amounts in to be able to reproduce it in case it turns out good.

Ingredients

1 1 /2 cup corn grits, aka polenta

1/2 cup grits (cream of wheat)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

lemon zest of 1 lemon

3 large eggs (I used 3, but wasn't fluffy enough, so tomorrow will bake one with 4)

1 cup sugar

2 cups yogurt ( I actually used my last bottle of creamy kefir with a little extra store bought)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

Serve on its own with a tea, or with a dollop of jam, maybe even whipped (sour)cream if you wanna be extra fancy. I will definitely try it with some whipped sour cream tomorrow.

Preheat the oven to 320 F, 160 C.

Grease a 9" x 13" (30 cm x 40 cm) with butter and flour, or line with parchment paper.

Mix the dry ingredients together (corn meal, grits, flour, salt, baking powder).

Beat the eggs gradually with the sugar, add vanilla, yogurt, milk, and oil, and mix in the dry ingredients until the batter is smooth, no lumps at all.

Bake on the medium rack for 45 minutes, until light golden brown.

Just checked mine, and the smell is ahhhmahhzing!!! Can't wait to get it out of the oven, and I already feel the guilt for eating those coconut thins that were way too sweet, and not needed in my diet. 😜

Bon appetite! 

Ps. Now you are on a journey of developing this recipe to perfection. If you have time wait until I bake some more varieties, but if you are adventurous join me and bake along to fix mistakes :).

Brownie cheesecake

 

This is recipe I learned from a Hungarian (actually Transylvanian) girl living in Paris about 20 years ago, and was a favorite back in Finland. I (thought) lost the recipe. Looked for it desperately among my emails for some time with various search words, nothing. I was convinced it fell victime to one of my cleanups. *sigh*

Needless to say, I was over the moon when I found it in a recipe book scribbled along the "Jälkiruoka", aka desserts, and could not hold back, had to bake it the next day..

It is still a hit!!

Ingredients

For the cheesecake

250 g ricotta (go ahead and replace it with farmers cheese it you don't have, or want to buy ricotta, just swap out a dollop of cheese with heavy cream, as farmers cheese is a bit heavier than ricotta)

150 g farmers cheese (2/3 cups)

35g powdered sugar (4 tbsp, I added 50 g as I measured 4 heap full tbsp of sugar, but it was OK)

vanilla essence

2 eggs

120 g heavy whipping cream (4 fluid ounce)

15 g flour (2 tbsp)

For the brownie

200 g butter

300 g chocolate (Girardelli  chocolate chips, or some high quality baking chocolate that melts smoothly will work)

6 eggs

200 g powdered sugar

vanilla essence

150 g flour (20 tbsp or 1 1/4 cups)

large pinch of salt

 

Preheat the oven to 360F or 180C and line a 9" x 13" tray that's about 2" deep with parchment paper. In centimeters that would be a 20cm x 30cm x 6cm high baking tray.

Prepare the brownie batter

In a double boiler, or bain marie, or best, simply in a bowl over simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, mixing until smooth and shiny. Let it cool slightly.

In a separate bowl beat lightly beat together the eggs with the sugar and vanilla. If you beat the eggs too much it becomes more spongy, which is usually not very well received among brownie lovers, but we like it, so I just beat it as I please at the moment :D. Add the melted butter and chocolate, combine folding slowly, and add the flour ans salt. Don't overmix the batter, it is really not necessary.

Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan.

 Prepare the cheesecake

In a clean bowl beat lightly beat together the cream with the sugar, (don't whip it fully into a regular whipping cream consistency), mix in the cream and vanilla, and finally the eggs. Fold in the flour.

Transfer the batter into a piping bag, push the hole of the piping bag into the brownie batter, and disperse the cheesecake batter in random swirls into the brownie (DO NOT COMBINE THE TWO BATTERS TOGETHER!!) 

It is best if the cheesecake batter is all under the brownie batter, but as you can see I was not really paying attention this time, and the cheesecake shows on the top.. Hey, it is just as good, but if you are more careful you'll have a crunchy brownie top thorough the cake, rather just in spots.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let it cool completely, at least 2 to 4 hours.

I like it cut into perfect 5cm x 5 cm (1.5" x 1.5" squares) or smaller (like 4x4).

 Bon appétit!

Tomato soup

 

New recipe in da house, and one to stay, for sure.

My hot zoupp'a'day new year commitment was failing today as I had little in the fridge to work with, so I improvised, and added a twist to my childhood favorite tomato soup.

If in California do as Californians, and put those lovely organic citrus form the yard to a good use. Our Navel orange trees are ripening, so I added the zest of half a large navel orange, and to help the taste blend I went over-and-above, and added a dash of vodka. Shhhh... no need to tell hubby, he doesn't touch any alcohol, it would be hard to explain myself why I spike his soup. 😅

Ingredients (yields a little less than 3 liters / quarts)

vegetable oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pot + 1/4 cup (60 ml) more to make the roux

1/2 large or a medium yellow onion, chopped

1 liter (4 cups of chicken broth)

2 cans of 400 g, 14.5 ounce canned diced tomatoes

1 heaped tbsp (add 2 as you please), of minced green bell pepper paste (or Ajvar)

1 tbsp butter

3-6 garlic heads

zest of 1/2 orange

1 dash of vodka (1 liquid ounce, or 30ml, basically a Hungarian "kupica")

4 heaped tbs all purpose flour

1 tbsp dried lovage leaves or chopped dried or fresh celery leaves. If none available you could probably use parsley or basil, but I'll be honest, I haven't tried.

salt & pepper

To serve

yogurt, 1/2 - 1 tpsp / plate to be added when served

For topping and sides there are MANY options. Tonight I will use baguettes with toasted provolone, Swiss or Gruyere cheese on top.

My grandma also served her tomato soup with a heap of mashed potatoes placed on one side of the soup bowl and poured the soup on top.

 You can also reuse already cooked rice and quinoa from the fridge, or add 1/2 cup to the broth when you leave it to simmer,

Boiled potato wedges and simple croutons will also work wonderfully. Try them one by one!

 

In a large pot that accommodates 3 liters heat some oil and saute the onions.

When glossy, or lightly browned at the edges add the broth, the 1 tbsp pepper paste, 1 flat tsp salt, 2 cans of tomato, including the sauce, the orange zest, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring to boil.

Add the vodka and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

In a small pan heat the 1 tbs butter and add 3-6 garlic cloves, brown the lightly, and add them to the simmering soup.

While the soup is simmering prepare the roux. 

 

Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil of you preference ( I like avocado or sunflower, but olive oil is great, too) add 4 heaped tbsp all purpose flour, and on medium - high heat fry them to a nice creamy color, stirring constantly.

Add 1 liter of cold water, use an immersive blender to make a smooth broth. Add the 4 tbsp of roux, and bring it back to boil stirring constantly, until the roux cooks and thickens the broth.  Adjust saltiness. I had to add 1/2 tsp salt.

 

Serve while warm, with your chosen topping and side.

Bon appétit!

Beef-asparagus patties

I made some rice with asparagus to accompany chicken thigh for school lunch from Costco-s frozen asparagus but the bottom end of the asparagus was too fibrous for anyone's liking. Well, at least some of them.
For "safety", eg not to have the school lunch returned uneaten, I ended up chopping of the bottom third, but really didn't feel like throwing it away. I decided they'll go into some patties, especially that I already had minced beef at home.
After school I manually picked out the "bad" ones, they looked more yellow than the rest, and chopped them into very small, max 1/2 inch pieces, well, most of it.
It all weight about 90g..

Ingredients (serves 4)
300g lean minced beef 
about 200 g dry-ish bread (stone hard my take long to soften, but works, too) soaked in water and lightly squeezed
90-100 g asparagus, boiled and chopped
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt (adjust the salt to your liking)
pinch of minced chili, absolutely optional
avocado oil for frying

Serving
Basmati rice, in my case, but would go well with the potato salad, or most of potato side dishes really.


I washed and boiled the Basmati rice. How to do it.. follow the instruction on the packaging, I might add a short post later. (It takes 15-20 minutes starting with washing until it is cooked).
While the rice is cooking soak the bread, chop the asparagus, chop the garlic, and the parsley. 
Place the meat in a medium sized bowl. 
Squeeze most of the water out from the bread, add it to the meat, add the chopped asparagus, parsley, salt, pepper, mixed until evenly combined, and at the end mix in the egg.

Add about a generous quarter inch of avocado oil in a frying pan, and heat the oil. Reduce the heat back slightly, and form about 80-90g patties adding them straight to the pan. Mine were about 1.5 cm, or 1/2 inch thick.

Fry them about 3 minutes each side, or 4 if you like them more well done. They should be slightly springy when done.
Remove from the pan, on a paper towel lined plate, and serve while hot.
I offered soy sauce on the side with the rice as my family is big fun of it, but it is up to you. Potato dishes definitely don't need soy sauce.
It would definitely go very well with a mustard sauce, I'll come up with some variations next.

Gluten free pannukakku - old fashioned milk pie

Ingredients 

Milk pie/porridge base

1 dl porridge rice (about 0.5 cup)
3 dl water (1.3 cup)
5 dl milk (2.1)

Pie base

2½ dl heavy whipping cream
½ dl almond flour (blanched)
3 eggs

3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cardamom seeds (minced)
½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Serve with 

Vanilla ice cream

berry jam (raspberry, strawberry or mixed berries) or you can go with fresh berries

Preparation steps

Step 1: prepare the porridge base. 

In a pot add the water and the well rinsed rice, and boil until the water evaporates and the porridge thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the milk, and boil for an additional 40 minutes, mixing occasionally.

Let the porridge cool.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 200C, 400 F.

Lightly mix the eggs with the sugar, add the almond flour, vanilla extract, cardamom, salt, and the porridge base until the cooled porridge base.

Pour the mixture into a 10x16, at least 2 inch deep pan. (I add a sheet of parchment paper to make sure I don't have to scrape the pie out but rather it will lift easily.

Bake the mixture for 30 minutes, or until it feels jelly-ish to light shaking, and the top gets a lovey golden color. If the top browns too fast, throw a foil to the top to protect it from burning, and let it thcicken.

Let is cool, cut into squares, and serve as soon as it reaches room temperature with your favorite toppings.

Bon appétit!

German apple pancake

Uhh, I was thinking of trying these for a good while now, and finally got around it.
It disappeared in khhmmmm.. maybe 5 minutes.
Will be made again this summer, for sure!

Ingredients
Bottom
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced

Batter
4 medium eggs, room temperature
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
¾ cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 tsp salt
dash of vanilla extract 

Topping 
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 400F, 200 C.
In a skillet heat the butter. Add the thinly sliced apple, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon, and cook for 5 minutes, until lightly sautéd. Do not overcook.

Divide the apples between two 9" round pans. Add some parchment paper at the bottom, it will be easier to slide it out, but you can also just generously butter the bottom of the form.
Beat the eggs until foamy, add the milk, salt, vanilla extract and lightly combine in the flour.

Pour the batter, again divided between the two pans) on top of the apples, sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon topping, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
Let it cool for a very short while not to burn you mouth with the apples, but for the best taste enjoy while warm.
If you want to take it to a whole new level, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Yammmiii..
Bon appétit!

Gnocchi with butternut squash and gold beet

It's summer, and a verrrrrry hot one, no good (by Trump :D).
It means we don't really feel like eating all the meaty meals, but would rather stick to a lighter one. 
Speaking for myself, I was also in for something new.
Gnocchi is known as an italian potato dumpling, but it is actually a Hungarian pasta as well that's running under the name of nudli.
It is one of my childhood favorites with nothing but tossed in roasted bredcrumbs and a pinch of salt.
Today I was in for some boost from those beautiful butternut squashes I found, as well as the bunch of fresh golden beets. The outcome got a thumbs up from every family member.

The nudli (gnocchi) could be home made, but I was way too lazy and settled with some store bought ones, more precicely some Costco bought gnocchis. Worth every penny, not to mention that $5.9. A steel..
The topping is also very simple, and could be a side dish on its own.

Butternut squash topping (baked for 30 min at 350F/180 C)
Ingredients
1 medium sized squash
4 garlic heads
salt (about a small teaspoon, but alter based on your taste, try with less and add salt as needed)
freshly grated peppercorn mix
olive oil (2-3 tbs)

Gold beet topping (baked for 20 min at 350F/180 C)
Ingredients
2 large gold beets, peeled
2 garlic heads
salt (a large pinch, but alter based on your taste, try with less and add salt as needed)
freshly grated peppercorn mix
olive oil (2 tbs)

Gnocchi
1 bag (16 oz) home made, or store bough gnocchi

Fresh leaves
Fresh beet leaves, thinly sliced (try other salads, too, I think a rucola could work well)
or pea shoots

Serving
fresh-fried bacon slices

Preheat the oven to 350F, 180 C. Lay parchment paper in two smaller, or one large tray. I used two smaller ones because I removed the beets a bit earlier from the oven, and it was way more convenient to remove the whole tray than scoop them out from the larger one. However, if you have one large tray, go for it, it might be a bit of inconvenience, but all worth it.

Peel the butternut squash, slice and chop into about 1"x1" cubes, maybe a bit smaller, like 2x2 cm.
Slice the gold beets as well into 1/6" thin slices, about 2-3 mm thin.
Place a parchment paper in both trays and spread the squash cubes into one, and the gold beet slices into the other. Sprinkle with salt, ground a little peppercorn on top, and drizzle with olive oil, until they are lightly coated.  Mix with your fingers, or just joggle the trays to coat them.
Place them uncovered in the preheated oven, and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn the beets, mix in lightly the squash, and bake for additional 10 minutes.
Now you can remove the beets, and leave the squash for additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Prepare the gnocchi/nudli according to the instructions, and serve while hot, topped with some bacon and beet leaves.
Enjoy!

Bon appétit!

Finom túrós - light farmers cheese cake

OMG.. This roughly describes how we feel about this cake.
The whole family just LOVES it! It is light, not too sweet, full of eggs, cheese, butter and everything that's healthy.
On top of that, it's ready in less than an hour (unfortunately it is also gone in less than in hour :D), so what not to love about it? The 45 minute preparation time includes preps and baking, making it one of my favorites.
This time I spiced it up with sour cherry (Moreno cherry) compote to make hubby even happier, however, the original recipe doesn't ask for any.
Summery, fresh, healthy, and nothing else! Enjoy!

Pastry
300 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g butter (1 stick)
1 egg
150 g (3/4 cup) sugar (I alway add 100g or less, that'd be 1/2 cup)
4 tbs sour cream
1 egg for eggwash

Filling
5 eggs
100 g (1 cup) powdered sugar (again, I tend to stay below the suggested amount)
1 tsp vanilla extract
500 g farmers cheese (unsalted old fashioned farmers cheese), again, they sell the 16 oz, 1 pound packages, and that's what I'll use
3 tbsp breadcrumb, or grits

Serving
1-2 tbsp powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
In a medium bowl mix the flour with the baking powder and sugar, then with the butter and finally with the egg. Add as much sour cream as needed to get a soft, smooth, but workable dough.
Divide in two, and roll out in two sheets with the help of some parchment paper and/or flour, and place one sheet at the bottom of a 8"x10" (20cmx30cm) 2" high tray.

Spread the bread crumbs / grits on top of the pastry layer, evenly.

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla extract until foamy, and finally add the cottage cheese. Optionally you can add some raisins, as well.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Do not over beat.
Mix it slowly, by first adding only a few tbsp to lighten the egg batter, and then mixing it in fully, but try not to "break" the egg whites.
Pour the filling into the tray, and cover with the second pastry sheet. This is the point when I dropped in the sour cherry.
Poke holes in the pastry (to make way for the steam and get a nice and even cake), dabble the top with the egg wash and bake the cake for 25 minutes on the middle shelf, or until light golden brown.
When ready cover with a kitchen cloth, let it cool and serve with powdered sugar sifted on top.
Have a happy Rooster year!

Bon appétit

Meat balls with tomato sauce

Nom, nom..
Here comes a kid's hit, at least in our family.
Yesterday we were preparing a 15 liter pot, yepp, that's about 16 quarts, of stuffed cabbage, and not gonna say how many pieces, but let's just approximate it was over 200.
This time it is made of a mix of beef (60%) and pork meat (40%), and I bought the usual Costco quantities, ending up with just a "tiny" extra that was ready to be used for something else, plus I have a hubby who demands home made food.. Tell me about some spoiled family.. *sigh*

Anyway, this was a relatively easy dish, and to tell the truth, it is one of our top favorites! Maybe because this was the only edible dish at the highs school and university cantines :D.
I'll not go into details how to make the meatballs, I guess everybody is familiar with them.. or maybe later..

Ingredients
meat balls, 5-6 /person
mashed potato, I usually count with two larger, or three smaller, potatoes for each person
tomato sauce: 1 can organic tomato sauce, dried lovage leaves, if you don't have use dried celery leaves or if you don't have that either use basil, water, salt, black pepper
 
Make a potato pure using creamy potatoes (Golden potatoes are still our favorite for that), salt to taste, butter and sour cream.

Tomato sauce

Empty the tomato sauce in a small pot. Fill the empty can 1/2 or 2/3 with water, depending how thick you like the sauce, and add it to the tomato sauce.
Add a pinch of salt, black pepper, and a tsp of the lovage leaves.
Boil together on very low heat for 3-5 minutes, leaving the lovage some time to flavor your sauce.
Back home we always added some flour to thicken the sauce as there was limited tomato sauce available, but nowadays I prefer to use more tomato pure and no flour at all for thicker sauce.

Serve.. It can be  served also with the microwaved potato side, minus the duck sauce (use some melted butter instead).
Bonn appetite!

Broiled duck

Now, who would've thought I like duck meet prepared by myself?
Well, I did not..
Luckily my friend buys and broils duck regularly, brought two over for Thanksgiving, and they were delicious! Even my non-poultry eating hubby liked the duck meat, and agreed to purchase more.
So I did..
With friends coming over for Xmas dinner, I headed for 99 Ranch and came home as a proud owner of two large ducks..
Don't let the size betray you! There is sooo much fat in these ducks that one will be barely enough for 4 people.
My first thought was to search for a recipe.. which I did, and it asked for spices that I knew I'd need, but I forgot to purchase, like the fresh rosemary.
Never mind, such a small hiccup won't stop me from adding some herbs to my duck in addition to the must have salt and black pepper.
Here is what I came up with..

Ingredients
1 duck (about 2.5 kg, 5 pounds), fresh or frozen (thawed)
1-2 apples
2 oranges
2-3 branches of fresh lemon basil
10-15 pieces of pink pepper
salt
freshly grind black pepper
4-5 garlic cloves 

Serving
potatoes with parsley and duck juice
orange to garnish

Preheat the oven to 350F, 175-180 Celsius.
Prepare the duck. The one I bought had its head, neck, feat and stuff on it, so I had to chop it apart. I removed the wings (for soup), feat, neck and head, and I cleaned it from the leftover feather cases. They are just disgusting to have them in your meal..

Next, I rinsed the duck well, inside and out. I mixed 2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper, and generously sprinkled the insides of the duck. Next I threw the pink peppers, and 2 crushed garlic cloves, inside my duck.
I put one apple (next I'll definitely put two!!) and the lemon basil branches, and I placed the duck breast up in a tray that had 1 inch tall sides, while rubbed the skin of the duck well with some of the leftover salt and pepper mix.
Cut the oranges in half, and place 4 orange halves around the duck, and throw in the leftover garlic clover. Crush the garlic a bit, again, it will let the flavor better mix with the juice.
Covered with aluminum foil, and baked for 1 hour.
I removed the duck, poured the fat with some yammi brownish juice in a small bowl, turned the duck with breast down, and placed it back to bake for an additional hour under foil.
Do not discard the juice!!! We will use it to flavor the potatoes, and the fat is just nom, nom, nom with toast..

After an hour I removed the foil and broiled the duck just a bit, 5 minutes each side, and poured the fat again in a bowl.
You can discharge the orange halves, but do not discharge the apples from the inside!! They are some heavenly addition to your duck and potato garnish..
You will actually not believe how easy this dish is to prepare, and how many compliments you'll get as it taste like some gourmet restaurant dinner..
Serve with potatoes and a side salad of your choice.
Bonn appetite!

Easy grilled trout

Just one, before last, main dish "recipe" before the year ends..
Very easy, ready in about 40 minutes including preparation, budget friendly, too, still a festive enough dish, at least for us, for Xmas eve.

Let's start with the fact that is from Costco. :) They sell the most fresh trout I can find near and far, not to mention the cleanness, and as bonus a smell free fish section.
That's not the only reason while these are one of my favorite food on the party food list.. The main reason is the simpleness...
The fish is reasonable clean as is, but I recommend to open each one and rinse well as they sometimes have clogged blood stuck along their spine.
In addition, I like to lightly scrape the skin under running water to scale them, even though there isn't much to clean.
It will take 30 seconds each side, so totally worth it.
Wrap them in aluminum foil, fold back the top and bottom (the juice will be dripping) and place them on a pre-heated table grill (griddle).

I recommend 1 fish/person for a hungry bunch.
We serve it with Jasmin or Basmati rice and salad, and some drips of soy sauce on the rice..
If you are not superstitious to believe that eating fish is bad omen for the new year as it will swim away with your fortune, this is a very easy entertainer for the New Year Eve ahead.
Bon appétit!

PS. I serve it with the wrap on, they keep warm until people are ready to eat. And in our family... well, you never know when that moment comes.

Orange - coconut cake

Smelly problem arose in the house. I picked the oranges from one of our trees to let the new harvest enjoy the nutrients, but I had too many.

One full bag, and not so many enthusiasts to eat it. Luckily I stumbled upon this recipe on one of the Finnish blogs I check every now and then, and it looked like it should become a family favorite as hubby likes coconut and everybody likes a savory orange kick.

Ingredients

1 cup, (2 ½ dl) pastry or all purpose flour (NOT bread flower)
1 cup (2 ½ dl) grits
1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil (any oil that is tasteless, and light)

1 cup orange juice

10 gr, 2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
orange zest, from 2 oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
coconut for decoration

Juice for moisturizing 
1 cup apple juice 

1 tbsp lemon juice 
130 gr sugar (1/2 cup). I tried. If you ask me CUT the sugar at least in half, and I might not add any sugar if it is served without the unsweetened whipped cream. If you plan to serve it with the whipped cream, try with the full amount of sugar. You decide. There will be a second try, trust me :).

Serving

unsweetened whipped cream (optional), decorated with few mint or basil leaves

Line the bread pans with baking sheets. In my case the old fashioned brean pan worked better than the silicon, the cake came out higher and less burned on the surface.

Preheat the oven to 350 F, 180 C.

Mix eggs with the sugar, and add the oil, orange zest, orange juice, until well combined. Add the tsp of vanilla, and pinch of salt (optional, but whenever I add vanilla to a batter, especially with grits, salt comes automatically).

Mix in the dry ingredients lightly, aiming for an even batter. No need to overmix.

Place the batter in two bread forms,  and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. I turned the heat a bit higher at the beginning, hence the little bit burned top, and in my oven 40 minutes would have been enough, so keep an eye on it.

While the cake is baking, bring the orange juice with the sugar to boiling point, and boil it for couple of minutes until sugar is properly dissolved. Let it cool slightly.

When the cake is ready pour the juice on top of the cake as it comes out of the oven.

Let it cool slightly, then cool for at least 2 hour in the fridge before serving.

Enjoy by itself or with whipped cream if desired.

Bon appétit!

Tomato-basil salmon

The not so good side of the Costco fish is the LAAAAARGE amount, but only when you can't eat it at once.
Which was the case of the creamy salmon prepped Finnish style..
It is a food that you can eat once, maybe have some of the leftovers next if you have a lazy wife like myself to cook something new again, but honestly, no matter how good it tastes it's kinda enough once, and half a package of the Costco salmon is more than enough.
Soo, I had another 1.5 pound of salmon piece left in my fridge, and was looking for some new way to prep it. A way that was VERY different in taste to avoid complaints..
My little gray cells were heavily working and suddenly I remembered eating tomato/basil topped salmon at a friend's house..

Ingredients (serving 4)
1.5 pounds salmon
2-4 garlic cloves
3-5 tbsp oil
salt, black pepper
10-15 basil leaves, chopped (have some extra to garnish)
1 package of Italian penne, from Costco, obviously (I swear they don't pay me :D)
1 can of organic tomato paste or crushed tomatoes (from Costco, yeeah :) ). Better if you prepare the tomato sauce from scratch, but... honestly... for a school lunch do I want to prepare the tomato sauce myself????

Start boiling the pasta according to the directions from the package.
Meanwhile hop the garlic very finely.
In a deeper frying pen add the oil and fry the garlic, until light golden brown. Add the salmon and fry each side for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish, sprinkling some salt on each side . When it whitened on the outside, you can brake it into smaller pieces to speed up the frying. Don't over-fry, it will be too dry.
Now get that pasta off the stove and drain it! :) By now it is probably ready.

Sprinkle some pepper on the salmon, add the tomato sauce and boil it together for 3 minutes. Add the basil leaves, chopped into smaller pieces (the kids won't try to fish them out).

When the pasta is ready discard the water, and pour the salmon-tomato sauce on top, mixing lightly.
Serve while hot, garnish with extra basil leaves if preferred.
The good part is that due to the sourness of the tomato paste, this dish can be served cold as well..

I wasn't sure if the salmon or the view was better at my friend's place, nor how the salmon would taste without the view from my friend's place :), plus, she baked the salmon and topped it with the tomato-basil sauce, everything being made from scratch, but well, you cook with what you've got.. One thing for sure, I haven't got that view..
Yeah, you bet that picture is NOT of my salmon/tomato penne, it is the view I was staring at while eating..
My current view is more like piles of dirt, and more piles of dirt, and some more piles of dirt.. *Sigh*
Luckily there are some chicken coops and poops to brake the monotony :D.

Nah, anyway, I hope I kept you entertained while your partner prepared this easy dish..
Bon appétit!

Kirjolohipasta - Salmon pasta

Om nom nom.. would one of my Finnish friends say :), but she is not here..
The boys however were, including my husband, and for some reason I am considered the sole provider of cooked food in the house in 90% of the cases..
Tell me about teaching own and future husbands how a modern household functions.. the right way.. *Sigh*...

I had some salmon in the fridge for sushi, but last thing I felt like doing was sushi, especially that the boys like the nigiri sushi, hubby wants the sushi rolls (California roll being one of the favorites), one and I'm not very effective in making any of them, so just didn't feel like making any.

Sooo... What else to make?
The fact that I bought two 3 pound (1.35 kg khhmm) sour creams kinda pushed me to cook a version of the salmon cream pasta I ate loooong time ago while visiting Muumimaailma, or Moomin world. Nice times :). 2004, just turned 30, broken knee, visiting parents, Finnish summer in Naantaali with the bright see and islands. Yayy..

Ingredients (besides the Finnish summer)
penne pasta for 4
1.5 pound fresh salmon (from Costco, again), grilled
0.5 pound ~250 gr cream
80 ml milk, 1/3 cup
1 tsp mustard
pinch salt
pinch black pepper
1-2 tbsp oil 

It has surely nothing to do with the original version as it was 11 years ago and I was lazy to look for a recipe, nor was it so thrilling as the one in Naantaali. But.. California is not a bad place to be as a compensation :), and the taste wasn't any worse than the original.
When I think if salmon three spices pop in my mind: black pepper, mustard and dill.
Not sure why I didn't want to try dill, but I immediately reached for the stone ground mustard that replaced the Dijon mustard's place in my heart. And fridge, for that matter :).

The best pasta to go with would be Costco's penne, however, this time I had a special one in my pantry: German tagliatelle egg pasta. what was so special? There wasn't anything else :D.

I used a table grill, sprinkled the salmon with little salt, wrapped it in foil, and grilled until cooked. The time will depend on how thick your fish is, but mine took about 15 minutes, turning half way.

So I went ahead and cooked 3/4 of the tagliatelle pasta bag (probably the whole bag if your family has a better appetite for pasta), al dente. I always add a tsp of oil when ready, to prevent them from sticking together.

Meanwhile mixed the sour cream with a pinch of salt, the tsp of mustard and lightened it up with the milk.

When the salmon was grilled, I sprinkled it lightly with the pinch pf coarsely ground black pepper.
Serve while the pasta is hot, and let the kids experiment with the proportions of pasta, salmon and dressing.
My older son LOVED the dressing, the youngest skipped the salmon altogether because he claimed he found some fishbone in it :(.
Pity, but he ate his pasta with spoonfuls of sour cream :), so he worked his way around.

Bone appetite!
Apologies for the boring pics but today I was kinda uninspired and tired in mids of planting my new veggie garden. Much more excited tho about my plants! Yay!!

Rázott, alias "shaken" or nyers lecsó

Ok.. This is cheating, 'cause it isn't really baked or cooked. But it's season, and summer, and I just love it.
Just couple of years ago, khhhmmm..  I reached teenage age and appearance started to matter. And me, the picky kid who ate only the meat sauce with bread, rarely the meat itself, and tho' loved veggies I wasn't choosing it over some comfort food, moved from the block of flats to my grandparent's village with a HUGE garden full of seasonal veggies.
Every evening I went to water the tomatoes, peppers and at the same time pick a handful for dinner.
My favorite was the beef tomato, so I picked a large one, with a medium sized pepper, a yellow, sweetish pepper, and a green onion with a large head.
Night, after night, after night...
I guess, besides the veggies, I loved the ritual as well: first doing my duties, that picking the tasty, fresh reward right away.
Those summers changed my life forever.. Having experienced this, I'm so happy that in addition to our little home garden, the schools around, including our elementary school, started to "grow" some green thumbs as well :).

I prepared this salad for middle one for dinner tonight and I thought I'll take the opportunity to snap a pic and share the story with you.
Our garden offers an amazing variety of tomatoes, thanks to the organic plants I purchased from Costco months ago.
In the picture you can see some of them: green zebra, sweet 100, super sweet 100, better bush and plum tomato. One is more delicious that the other, and they all taste DIFFERENT! What a feast!

Well, the story behind is longer than the ingredient list, plus I described it already, but here it is.

Ingredients for 1 person
1 large tomato
1 medium sized pepper
2 green onions (you can add half or quarter of a sweet onion as well)
1-2 tbsp oil, I like avocado oil for this purpose
salt
pepper (optional) 

In a small bowl, a cereal size bowl, cut the peppers in small finger size, sprinkle with salt. Cut the tomatoes in your favorite shapes, add to the pepper, as well as the onions, cut into small slices.
Sprinkle the oil on top, add more salt if wanted, SHAKE them together, and enjoy!
I suggest serving it with a freshly baked baguette or a slice or two of home made bread.
Or just as is..
Don't forget to dip the bread in the sauce left to clean the bowl completely :D.

Sticky chicken wings

Woooowww!
This was just THE BEST chicken wings I have ever eaten in my life!
I ate home made by me and others, store bought, American BBQ and Asian style, I even made some Hungarian style, but none ever compared to this one.

There are two magazines I truly enjoyed reading, one was Food and Wine, and this recipe is my treasured finding. As I am baking it during the night and my phone is broken, I decided to borrow their image until I can snap a picture of my own.

I always make some changes to the recipes and this is not an exception, sometimes due to lack of ingredients, or just because me or the family doesn't like them. One for sure I won't add cilantro :), but I added the link to try the original version for yourself. I might try a version with ginger and fish sauce.
Next, I wonder if this can be made on an grill, outdoors, but it is to be seen only when I finally get a grill..

Ingredients
12 wing cut in half, end discarded, 
I actually used 20 pieces of organic chicken drumettes from two trays
2 tbsp of sunflower or grape seed (call me mad but I NEVER by canola oil)
1 tsp salt
black pepper
4 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup light yellow miso (shiro miso)
a large pinch of smoked chilly pepper powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 - 2 flat tbsp light brown sugar (3 for me is VERY sweet, edible, but less enjoyable..)
(I added a flat tsp of organic mustard, not because it is asked in te recipe, but because I don't like to throw away things, and my youngest had a tsp mustard left from his dinner on a plate :) )

Preheat the oven to 400F, 200C. Prepare a rack set over a baking sheet., you'll need a large one you can buy.
In a bowl toss the wings in the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and arrange them on the rack.
Bake the wing for 40 minutes, turning them half way.
Meanwhile in a small pan mix 3 tbsp of water, heat it slowly, add the sugar and mix until dissolved. Mix in the other ingredients: miso, lemon juice, soy sauce, chilly pepper until makes a smooth, tooth-paste like glaze. (I also added the mustard when I took it off the heat).

After 40 minutes brush both sides of the wings and bake it for 10 more minutes. I actually chose to turn the wings after 10 minutes and bake them 10 more minutes, it gave the glaze a nice caramel color on both sides.

Serve with lime wedges and cilantro if you wish.
Bo appetite!


 

Matcha-white chocolate rice crispies

Leftovers today.. Making it double, matcha snack with green tee... Uhh, this cake just made me realize how much I miss matcha mochies, matcha ice cream, and anything matcha from my, too few, days in Osaka and Kyoto. Now that I have my treasured matcha powder in the pantry, I will have to make things with moooore matcha, and mooore matcha :D.

I have greatly over estimated the brick needs for my cake and ended up with ingredients for just another almost same size Minecraft cake.

I munched on the bits through the whole week, just to give opportunity to my handyman to ask "dieting again"? How kind..

Yesss.. I was "dieting", and I'm kinda happy these are the last bits, 'cause it will help to keep my sugar intake under control, but I had to take the opportunity to snap a picture. Last opportunity.

Simple snack, ready really quickly, and edible by adults and kids alike, not to mention lactose intolerant friends, too.

Ingredients (makes enough :D, ok, a 30x40 cm tray, about 2.5 cm thick or 12"x16"x1"), you might want to make half for the family only
350 g white chocolate

50 ml organic blue agave syrup (add more if you like it very sweet)
5 tbsp condensed milk
1 stick butter
1 tbsp matcha powder, flat or humpy, up to your matcha preferences. If you are unfamiliar with the taste of the green tea powder add less, it has a bittery taste.
300 g rice crispies

Cover the bottom of the tray with parchment paper, leaving the two shorter ends longer, so it would be sticking out from under the rice crisps to be easier to remove them.
Melt the chocolate over a water bath, stirring only occasionally. When melted cut the butter pieces and drop them into the chocolate, leave it to melt, and combine in. Add the agave syrup and stir lightly.

Mine looked like a disaster, the chocolate looked like it fall into pieces due to the syrup, I suppose, so no worries if it happens to you too.
Add the condensed milk and the matcha powder, mix well. It becomes kinda gooey, which is great!
Now add the rice crisps, and combine until the rice crisps are covered with the chocolate mixture.
Pour the mixture in the tray, and place it in the fridge for about 2 hours.

Remove, cut in squares, and enjoy.. There is really not too much to say anything else about it :).