Potato wedges

With young guests coming and going I am always looking for a crowd pleaser, but I try to avoid overdoing the preps.
With kids I had the most trouble, obviously, as many of them are unfortunately picky, and even if they eat home made food or veggies, they like the taste of home..

I have another reason to publish these very simple recipes. My only daughter won't enjoy my prepared meal, so I'll post some she can reproduce on her own :). Maybe I won't miss her so much by doing so :).

These potato wedges are soo simple, that in 50 minutes they were baked, eaten, and this blogpost was born :) (well, almost :)),  obviously not so artistic pictures, but you can't feed pre and teenagers with pics :D.

Ingredients
Gold potatoes or baking potatoes, about 2 large, or 3 smaller / person
oil for brushing
pink pepper (if you don't have at home I recommend buying some!, but you can use rosemary as well if you prefer or you can;t get pink pepper)
salt 

Serving
Greek or Strauss' European yogurt
sour cream, about 1/3 of the amount of the yogurt
1 larger green onion chopped into small pieces
1/2 tsp mustard
salt, pepper
1 small cucumber, optional
shredded hard cheese, optional

Preheat the oven for 425-450 F, 225-250 C.
When it comes to potatoes, for this purpose I prefer Costco's Premium Gold Potatoes, those that are beautifully yellow when peeled. Unfortunately they don't sell consistent quality, but this batch I bought last was among the best ones!
Peal the potatoes, and depending on their size, and your preference, cut them into 4-6-8 slices. They don't have to be perfectly same. The smaller the crunchier, and a bit dryer, too.
Place them in a tray covered with parchment paper, brush them with oil, sprinkle salt to taste, and grind some pink peppers as well.

Bake on the higher rack in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, depends on the type of tomatoes you use and your oven.

Enjoy!

Šaltibarščiai - aka "cold soup" - from beetroot

 

As the name might suggest to my fellow Hungarians, this is everything but Hungarian dish :), however, it is summer, and hot, and the last thing I felt like eating was a warm soup.

Not to mention how I miss our travels through Europe, which feel so far away as it is hard not to get homesick.

One of my favorite soups was the cold beetroot soup. OK, all cold or hot beetroot soups were one of my favorites, and I even posted already one here, but it was time for the next one.

This is I think my absolute favorite Baltic beetroot soup, and we are still in season for making it.
The difference between the one posted earlier and this? For this you'll need the WHOLE vegetable, including the leaves and the stem.
It also requires one healthy godness: buttermilk.

If you are not yet convinced you should prepare it, let me tell you that is ready in 20-30 minutes, depending what tools you have at hand and how effective you are, of course :). For me it takes 30 minutes, 'cause I'll be searching for various cooking tools for at least 10 minutes.. *sigh*

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 bunch of young beetroot, with leaves
1 medium/small cucumber
1 bunch of chives
1 small bunch of dill
1 liter (quart) buttermilk
salt, pepper
radishes - optional

Serving
hot boiled potatoes, 1-1.5 / person
boiled eggs
dill, chives 

In a small pot put couple of potatoes to boil in their skin.

Cut and clean the beetroot heads, cut the in 4 and put them to boil for about 5 minutes in ~ 1 liter of water.
Meanwhile cut the stem, and the leaves in small pieces and stripes.
Remove the beetroot from the water with a skimmer. DO NOT discard the hot water!
Add the chopped stem to the water and boil for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile in a food processor crush the beetroot heads.
When the stems were boiling for 5 minutes, add the beetroot leaves and boil for additional 5 minutes.
At the end add the crushed beetroot and boil the together for additional 2 minutes.
Chop the chives in very small pieces, ad well as the dill.
Peel and grate the cucumber.

Drain the boiled beetroot, but again, DO NOT discard the water!
Place 1/2 - 1 egg / person to boil. I like it with the yolk still orange and soft, so I add them to boiling water and boil them only for 4 minutes.

Place the beetroot in a glass serving bowl (any bowl), let it cool slightly. Add the buttermilk, salt (I added about 1/2 tsp), pinch of black pepper, mix, and slowly add the wonderfully dark red water in which the beetroot boiled.
Last, mix in the chopped chives, dill (save some of both for serving!), and the grated cucumber.
If you chose to add radish, do not forget to either chop or grate those too and mix it in the soup.
Drain the potatoes, skin and cut in half or four.

Serve with hot boiled potatoes on the side, with some extra Greek yogurt if preferred more sour, the boiled eggs and some chives and dill for garnish!

Bon appétit!

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!


 

Tofu Kimchi medalions

Visits to our "local" Asian shops always end up with loads and loads of ingredients one doesn't really know what to do with, but this time I went there with a plan.
I am replacing some of our meaty meals with vegetarian meals, and will try to reduce our meat consumption, at least when it comes to the youngest and myself.
Now that's all thanks to our... backyard chicken. We just LOVE them :).

Tofu seemed to be a natural meat replacement for our breakfast, and I couldn't 'till morning to prepare these patties.


Ingredients
2 cups tofu
1 cup well fermented kimchi
3 green onions¼ cup flour (2 tbsp)
2 eggs
1-2 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt to taste
4-5 tbsp sunflower oil for frying
1 tsp hot red pepper if you prefer it more chilly, for us the kimchi was enough for start (Ming's artisan chilly sauce would probably be a perfect match, but be aware, it is shit hot :D)


Finely chop the kimchi and place it in a strainer to get rid of the excess liquid.
Shop the green onions in small pieces and chop or press them through a garlic press.

In a medium sized (2 l - 2 qart) bowl mix the eggs with the flower. Crumble the tofu in the egg-flower mix into small crumbs, add the chopped onions and garlic, and salt to taste.
Mix them well.

Heat a frying pan with 1-2 tbsp oil, and scoop tablespoon sized amounts of mixture in the pan. Press down gently to make flat, about 1 cm, 1/4", thick patties.

Fry on medium heat 2-3 minutes each side.
Slide them in a plate and let them cool until just lukewarm. They tend to fall apart easier when they are too hot, but their consistency becomes very easy to handle ones they are colder.
Mine are a bit nubbly as I added more kimchi than the recipe asks for.

It is an easy snack to take to the beach or pack for school lunch.
Bon apetite! 

Creamy squash - or - zucchini soup

I am rarely raging about something when it comes to food 'cause I've been spoiled with fresh, home made food.
Squash is however the best ever vegetable I can think of (zucchini will do as well), and the fresh zucchini season just started at our local food store.

We had this soup on a regular bases as soon as the squash was rape in our garden, and it is a pleasure to have on hot summer days as it can be consumed both cold or warm.
The way grandma made was lighter, but when my hubby found this recipe we all fell in love with it, and adopted it to fit our ways of cooking.

Ingredients
3 pounds of squash or zicchini
2-3 carrots
2-3 parsley roots (if you can't find any use parsnip, though not quite the same)
1 middle sized onion
vinegar to taste(start with 1-2 tbsp, we usually add at least 4-5 tbsp)
salt
pepper
     powder paprika (optional!!)
2 small bunches of fresh dill
fresh savory or small pinch of crumbled dry savory (borsikafu avagy csombord)
1-3 tbsp olive (preferably non tasty one, I use sunflower oil)
2 dl sour cream
3 egg yolks

Before you start the next step, you have to decide how you like your soup. I you like it very smooth, and creamy, start grating your ingredients on the larger side of the grater. (you can use a food processor as well, but don't overdo it).
If you like your soup more chunky, cut the carrots and parsley root into thin slices, as well as the squash/zucchini.
Cut the dill as well into tiny pieces, leave some for garnish.
1. In a large pot (I'd choose a minimum 3 quart pot) heat the oil, and stir in the onion.
2. When they are getting "glassy" add the carrot and parsley slices. Saute together shortly, 1-2 minutes, than add 2 liters (2.2 quarts) of water.
3. Add the savory, salt and pepper (2 generous pinches) to taste, and  boil them together for 5 minutes.
4. Now add the squash/zucchini and the fresh dill cut into small pieces. Adjust saltiness, add and boil for additional 15 minutes.
5. Mix the egg yolks with the sour cream and the vinegar in a 1-2 quart bowl. Add one ladle of the hot soup, lightly stir, add one more ladle of hot soup, stir again, and now add the mixture back to the boiling soup. Wait for 1-2 minutes until you see the first VERY SMALL bubbles as a sign of boiling, and remove immediately from heat.
Do NOT boil it again, or the egg will make your soup look like a too liquid omelet...
It is delicious both warm and cold, and it is a veggie in season, so enjoy! 


Garnish with additional dill, and enjoy!

Bon appétit!

Beetroot muffins

First of all... NO, the kids didn't like the beetroot muffins... Not at all...

Long time no see my little blog, but I wasn't lazy as it might look, I just wasn't baking too many new things, and even when I did I was short of time to post it.
But now... I baked something I must share..
It is perfect timing for Easter, as it is ready rather fast, is delicious, healthy, plus it has beetroot, which is a mandatory Easter food in our house..

We eat pickled beet with the ham, but this time we will have it as... muffin..
Now, this. is. pure. goodness.almost. adultery.good.

I made the recipe in form of brownies and they immediately won my heart, but I had one issue with it.. It was soo fluffy and moist that it was hard to cut and eat without making it all crumbles on your plate.

I had something almost perfect, but it needed just a little work because you wanna make goodies for the kids but you don't want to make a mess in the house while eating..
It wasn't very difficult to come up with an idea, not in the country of cupcakes..
Cupcakes' frosting is just too sweet for my liking, so.. thanks but no thanks, however I LOVE a good muffin.
How about a"make kids eat even more beet muffin"?? Perfection! :)

According to my Miina from Ripaus ja hyppysellinen the recipe is from Hugh's book, maybe I should get it and try some other recipes as well.. hmm...
But right now, just back to my little chocolaty beetroot muffin..

Ingredients
250 g butter (I used 2 sticks, 230 g)
250 g 70% chocolate (I used Ikea's 60% chocolate as that's what I had in the pantry), 2.5 pc
3 eggs
250 g sugar (I could use only 200g,it was a bit sweeter than needed..)
pinch salt (for extra kick use Himalayan pink salt)
150 g all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
250 g beetroot finely grated (two small, or 1.5 larger beet), I used the food processor.. khhmmm.. laziness, but it worked fine.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) Place the butter and chocolate pieces into a heat resistant pan and place the pan in the oven, mixing occasionally until the butter and chocolate are melted and combined in a smooth cream.
Place about 24 medium muffin paper cups in a tray, or in your muffin tray.
2. Meanwhile measure and mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking soda).
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar,  no need to separate the egg yolks from the whites, just beat them together.
4. Grate the beet.
5. Fold the lightly cooled chocolate-butter mix into the eggs, gradually, not to make scrambled eggs..
6. Fold in the dry ingredients, mixing as little as possible.
7. Last fold in the beets.

Scoop about 2 tbsp (flat) batter into each muffin paper, filling roughly a bit over half of muffin paper cups.

Bake for 15 minutes on the middle rack, until toothpick comes out clean. I like it a bit more on the moist side, so I bake them somewhere between 10-15 minutes, depending on the muffin paper's size.

Let in cool on a rack, and there is nothing left but to ENJOY!
Happy Easter!