When trees are blooming

Pickled mushrooms

Somehow I prefer pickled mushrooms for salads to fresh ones. And I especially like to make pickles myself. It's easy and quick, and always tastes great.

What we need:

500gr of mushrooms

1 l of water

2 tbsp of lemon salt

1 tbsp of salt

2 tbsp of sugar

4-5 black peppers

2 dried bay leaves

What we have to do:

1. Wash the mushrooms. Put them into a pot, pour over the water and boil for 10 min.

2. Add salt, sugar, lemon salt, pepper and bay leaves and boil for 5 more minutes. 

3. Put into a jar or a bowl and let it cool. If you have plans to keep the pickles longer, then close the jar while it's still boiling hot. 

Great stuff for any salad! Today I'^m planning to make maccaroni salad with mushrooms and chicken... If my mood gets right... :)

Aubergine curry with tomatoes and coriander

I found this recipe in an Estonian  food lover's blog Nami-nami. It's always great to find out what the neighbours are doing.. cooking in this case... :) I really liked simple yet interesting recipes and her lovely baby photos.  Yesterday I tried Indian dish as I absolutely love aubegine and Indian flavours are always a hit for me!

What we need:

1 onion

oil for frying

2 medium aubergines / eggplants

1 teaspoon turmeric

1teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

4-5 tomatoes

a handful of coriander leaves/cilantro ( I used parsley - couldn't find this time in my neighbourhood supermarket!)

naan bread and plain yogurt to serve

What we have to do:

1. Fry the chopped onion in some oil ( In India they would rather use vegetable oil). When almost done, place it into a pot.

2. Add a little more oil to the frying pan. Add aubergine/eggplant slices and fry until they are browned on each side. Then dry them up on a kitchen paper towel.

3. Add the spices to the onions in the pot and fry for about 30 seconds to release the aromas.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and cook on a moderate heat for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften.

5. Now add the browned aubergine/eggplant slices and heat through.

6. Scatter coriander/cilantro/ parsley leaves on top and serve. Enjoy!

My sandwich winners!!!

For the last few weeks I've been reading all over blogs many sandwich, panini recipes. That's why this morning I decided to share my favourite sandwiches... Very simple but always winners for me!!!

The first sandwich is the EGGY : cut hard boiled egg into cubes, take the same amount of your favourite cheese cut in cubes, a few chives or garlic, mayonaise. Put that mix between two pieces of bread and enjoy!!! It's also very delicious to add some smoked fish or crab sticks. :)

The second sandwich is the FRESH one: Take a slice of bread, spread some cream cheese, top with sliced crab sticks and cucumbers. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Enjoy!!!

And the last but not the least is the STRONG one: Take a slice of bread. Spread some mayonaise or butter over the slice of bread. Add sliced avocado, squeeze some lemon juice over the top, add some salt. On the top put pickled chili or pepperoni. It's also tasty with a tomato on top, but then it's not that strong! :) 

Not chicken Kiev at all...

The first intention was to make Chicken Kiev, but as the bad waves were splashing last week, I couldn't find any proper utensil to beat the chicken breast properly... I swear I saw it somewhere but it's gone... So I made what you can see... chicken rolls with cheese. Originally cheese is not added to Kiev but as it's not Kiev at all, I added, together with butter.

In this photo it looks that this a la Kiev is showing its tongue... ironic...

What we need:

1-2 chicken breasts sliced thinly and beaten even thinner... :)

butter ( herbal butter is even better)

cheese

salt and pepper

eggs

flour 

bread crumbs

oil for frying

What we have to do:

1. Make perfect thin pieces of chicken breast. Add a small slice of butter and cheese and carefully roll the meat. Closing the sides.

2. Roll the roll in the flour, then beaten egg, repeat flour and egg bath, then roll in bread crumbs. Deep fry in oil for 6-8 min. Or until done! :)

3. I served with sauteed zucchini, carrots, onion, lots of chopped garlic and tomato sauce with parsley. Enjoy!!!

And my hubby followed good Turkish tradition and rolled the chicken roll into lavaş with load of parsley and red cabbage... Not Chicken Kiev at all... :)

I made sushi!

I always have sentiments for sushi as it always tastes better in a restaurant, but I won't give up until I make perfect ones. This time they were close to great but the soya sauce that I had bought was  far too salty and it kicked too much!!! I'll have to get Amoy sauce again. Also, I didn't have fresh fish either, so I used what I had: canned tuna and crab sticks... Another thing that has to be improved is the size... the first two rolls were proper size but the other two - far two big... What's it all about BİG!!!

What we need:

nori sheets ( dried seaweed)

rice

salt

sugar

rice vinegar

soya sauce

vasabi

pickled ginger ( optional)

cucumber

avocado

a can of tuna ( though fresh is always better!)

a pack of crab sticks

spring onion

What we have to do:

1. Wash rice 3-4 times in cold water. Then put in a bowl, pour water and boil for ten minutes, then cover with kitchen towel and a lid and leave for ten minutes again. ( 1 part of rice - 1,2 part of water)

2. Take rice vinegar put on the stove. Add salt and sugar. Let it melt, but don't boil. Let it cool. ( for 500gr of rice 5 tbsp of rice vinegar and 2 tbsp of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt).

3. Put the boiled rice into a bowl and mix carefully until it cools by slowly adding vinegar. When it cools start making the sushi rolls.

4. Take nori sheet, add a thin layer of rice ( half of the nori), add a stripe of avocado, a stick of crab stick, a stripe of cucumber and roll with the halt of bamboo pad. When rolled cut into 5-6 pieces. I made this way two sticks and onother two were with cucumber, tuna fish flakes, spring onion, avocado. 

Have a look how to make California roll uramaki. How to roll simple sushi. Enjoy!!!

Tagliatelle with chicken meatballs and three cheeses

A simple dish when fridge is loaded with cheese...

What we need:

300gr Tagliatelle boiled into salted water

For meatballs:

200 gr of ground chicken breast

1 egg

2 tbsp of bread crumbs

salt and pepper

rosemary or sage

oil for frying

For sauce:

1 tbsp of butter

1 tbsp of flour

some cheeses ( used Gorgonzola, Gruyere and simple Gauda... very strong flavours!!!)

salt and pepper

thyme

What we have to do:

1. Make the meatballs. Mix the ground chicken with egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, rosemary. Make little balls. 

2. Put all the meatballs into a preheated pan with some oil. Fry for 5-6 min. Don't forget to shake the pan or to roll the meatballs to get the brownish colour.

3. Preheat another pan, melt butter and add flour. Mix it carefully and add sweet cream or milk. Mix until it's thick enough. Then add crumbled or grated cheese. Mix until melts, then add meatballs and simmer for 4-5 min. 

4. Boil tagliatelle for 9 min, then drain and add into a pan with the sauce. Turn around and serve. Sprinkle some herbs if there's a wish! Enjoy!!!

Pancakes with shrimps... :/

As I told you I had no inspiration last week but wanted to use up shrimp leftovers, so I made a very simple snack. Pancakes with shrimp... can't be easier!!!

What we need:

some shrimps

1 big egg

1 glass of flour

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

some lemon juice

pepper

0,5 glass of milk

salt

oil for frying

What we have to do:

1. Make the batter: Mix flour, egg, milk, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper. Leave for ten minutes.

2. Preheat a pan with olive oil. 

3. Mix in shrimps into a batter. Then with a spoon take one shrimp and place into a pan. Fry until golden brown. Turn once or twice.

4. Serve with your favourite sauce or just lemon. Enjoy!

Again Italian Bread - Focaccia

I was away from my blog for almost two weeks. Bad weather, bad days and all in one when there is nothing to say... Nevertheless... I was cooking, not much, but still... My imagination and inspirations were gone too...

So here's what I made someday last week. Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients.

Focaccia is related to pizza as the dough is the same, though it's not considered to be the same. Focaccia is quite popular in Italy and is usually seasoned with olive oil and sometimes herbs, and may be topped with onion, cheese and meat, or flavored with a number of vegetables. However, by far the most typical focaccia is simply baked dough topped with olive oil and a simple herb like rosemary or sage, and salted with salt. It is very popular as a snack in Italy and school children will often purchase a slice from a baker on the way to school, to eat at break time.

What we need:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

some black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

1 glass ( 220ml) water

1 tbsp of yoghurt

2 glasses of flour

one tomato, some olives for topping

What we have to do:

1. Mix yeast, salt and sugar and 1 glass od warm water and leave for 15 min or until the yeast activates.

2. Pour flour into a bowl. Make a hole in the middle, add yoghurt, 2 tbsp of olive oil, dried oregano, thyme and basil, and yeast. Knead the dough for 10 min. Then cover and leave for 40 min to rest.

3. When the dough doubles in size, flaten it with your hands. Make a round shape. Brush with olive oil, top with tomatoes and olives. Again sprinkle some herbs on the top. Leave for 15 min again and then bake in the oven for 20 min or until it is light brown. 

Instead of tomatoes and olives I sometimes like just rosemary leaves... But it's up to you...

My Favourite Salad with Chicken

During my stay in Hagen, Germany, I was really enjoying the food that was offered by one of the restaurants in there. It was called 'Puten Salat', in other world it was a fresh vegetable salad with grilled turkey. Yesterday I wasn't in a mood to spend much time in the kitchen, so my late afternoon snack was the salad I made from what I found in the fridge.

What we need:

some chicken or turkey meat ( breast or any other part) 

salt and pepper

some dried rosemary or oregano

some

green lettuce ( I used iceberg, but it tastes better with roman lettuce, and it's healthier too)

1 big tomato

2 cucumbers

1 red or yellow pepper

some grated permesan

parsley or dill

some spring onions or 1 simple onion

some toasted white bread cubes

For the dressing: your favourite dressing, either lemon and olive oil or yoghurt dressing, homemade or ready made!

What we have to do:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, rosemary. Grill or fry it until done.

2. Chop lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, pepper, onion. Grate cheese, add toasted bread. Mix everything. Add parsley, salt and pepper. 

3. Cut the chicken into stripes and put on the top of the salad. Pour the dressing before serving.

 4. Enjoy!!!

Chicken and Chickpeas Pilaf ( Tavuk Nohutlu Pilav)

I like Turkish cuisine for its simplicity and really pure flavour. Traditional Turkish food doesn't include much spices. After spending Sunday out, in the evening I decided to make something traditionally Turkish, easy and really tasty!!!

What we need:

1 chicken

thyme

salt

pepper

cumin

red pepper flakes

1 lemon zest

2 glasses of cooked chickpeas

2 big onions

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of butter

2 glasses of washed and drained rice

2,5 glasses of water

parsley

What we have to do:

1. Clean the chicken, season with salt, black pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, thyme and lemon zest. Leave for an hour. Then bake in the oven ( 180C) for about 1,5 hours.

2. Wash and drain rice. Preheat the pot with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter. Add 2 glasses ofrice and fry for 2-3 min. Mix from time to time. Then add salt and 2,5 glasses of water. Mix and cover the pot. Let it boil for 7-8 min, then turn off the heat and leave with a lid on for 10 more min.

3. Dice the onions and place in a preheated pan with some olive oil. Stir the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Let the onions caramelize in a low heat. When onions are ready add chickpeas until they are warm.

4. Put the pilaf in layers: rice, onion with chickpeas, chicken ( originally bones are taken out). Garnish with some chopped parsley. Serve with fresh vegetable salad. 

Afiyet Olsun!!! - Bon appetit!

Sunday in Istanbul

When we woke up today, the weather was just great so without a dout we grabbed our coats and bags and went out for brunch. Here are some snaps of Istanbul, i.e. Taksim and Bakirköy in particular...

As we used public transport, the first thing we saw in Taksim was the same flower market with beautiful flowers... However, no one seemed to be interested in them today. Not even my hubby... :/

That's why we quickly turned to Istiklar square where we were greeted by a cowd of pigeons. 

Unfortunately for pigeons, we were hungry enough and couldn't spend much time with them so quickly found Simit Saray ( Simit Palace). Simit is a kind of Turkish bun with sesame seed and usually eaten for breakfast. Though Turkish eat it whenever they feel like!!!

After a nice brunch, I really wanted to have a look at Balık Pazar or Fish Market... I just wish I knew all the names of these creatures they have...

As the weather was still lifting my spirits, we decided to go to Bakirköy to look around ... well, I don't even remember when I went there last time... So we looked around pickles' heaven, found one more flower market ( with lovely tulips and daffodils... it's really spring in here), tasted wonderful baklava ( sorry, my diet!), waved to Sponge Squarepants cake, found some strange looking fruit ( and bought!) which the seller called pepino or something like that! I'll still have to google more about it... By the way, what made me laugh a lot was a label in one shopping centre 'Banana Republic'!!! Come on!!! Lithuanians say, Lithuania is BANANA REPUBLIC even if we don't grow them... :)))

Anyway, the best Sunday this spring...

Pagach - Slovak Cabbage Bread

Today it was time to look around my fridge and use up the vegetable leftovers. So it was time for Mr. Cabbage. I googled some cabbage bread recipes and found Pagach - Slovak Cabbage Bread. Well it was the first time I heard about this bread, I but do know some recipes of cabbage cookies or pancakes that are popular in Baltic region. So why not to try!!! Anyway, I remember spending a few day in Slovakia and in its beautiful mountains. A really beautiful country and really tasty Pagach!!! :) I made a vegetarian version, but I believe it would taste really good if you sauteed cabbage with ham... or mushrooms... 

What we need:

for the dough:

2,5 glasses of flour (1 glass - 220ml)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons of dry yeast

100 ml warm water

1 tea spoon of sugar

2 tbsp of oil or melted butter

1 tbsp of yoghurt

1 egg ( optional -  I decided not to use it)

1 teaspoon of ground dried rosemary ( optional)

for the filling:

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp of oil or butter

1 small shreded cabbage

salt and pepper

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

What we have to do:

1. Mix yeast with salt and sugar and warm water. Leave it for 30 min until activates. Take flour, add oil and yoghurt, rosemary, and yeast. Mix it and knead for 10 min. Leave it to rest for 1 hour.

2. Chop the cabbage, preheat the pan, put oil and garlic. When garlic turns light brown, add cabbage and 10 min later add vinegar. Fry for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Take a piece of dough, make a round shape and add the filling, bend the dough. Brush with oil and leave for 10-15 min in a warm place. ( I also sprinkles some fresh rosemary on the top)

4. Preheat the oven until 200C and bake the Pagach until brown for about 20 min. Enjoy!!!

Smoked Salmon Mousse

If you surf the net, you'll definitely find a number of salmon mousse recipes which differ in one or two ingredients. So how to chose the one you'd like to make! The answer for me - the one which looks best in photo! This time the winner was - Martha Stewart party food recipe. One more thing I like about this website - great photos, easy to follow instructions, lovely classification, slides and so many other things... or we call it gadgets (?) now... 

What we need:

1 tea spoon of gelatin

100 gr smoked salmon

220 ml sour cream

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt

white pepper

fresh dill

bread or crackers, or cucumber for serving

What we have to do:

1. Put gelatin into 3 tbsp of room temperature water and leave for 10 min. Then heat over low flame until gelatim melts. Let it cool a bit.

2. Put chopped salmon into blender or food processor, add sour cream and lemon juice. Puree until smooth for 2-3 min. Season with salt and pepper. Add slightly cooled gelatin and continue blending for 1-2 min.

3. Pour into bowls or ramekins or silicon shapes ( for creative serving) and refrigerate for 2 hours. Garnish with dill and lemon. Serve with crackers or white bread. Enjoy!!!

Turkey Fajita with mushrooms

When you have minimum time but want maximum flavour, I think it's time for Fajita! 

What we need:

3 tbsp canola  or vegetable oil

1 onion,  sliced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced

1 yellow or green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

200 gr fresh mushroom

1 celery stem

about 400gr turkey  or chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp coriander seeds

1/2tbsp chili powder

salt and pepper

several slices of cayenne pepper

3 tbsp of lemon or lime juice

2 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley leaves

tortillas and fresh vegetables ( optional) for serving

What we have to do:

1. Marinate turkey with cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, coriander seeds and chili powder.

2. Preheat a big skillet or grill with oil and add garlic, onion and mushrooms. Fry for several minutes, add red and yellow bell peppers, chopped celery stem. Later add cilantro. Fry until ready but still crispy.

3. Grill turkey for 6-7 min and mix in with vegetables. Serve wrapped into tortillas with extra fresh vegetables and parsley! Enjoy!!!

It could be a lemon muffin

I'm really not very keen on baking because after all the mixing, whisking and so on there's so much to clean and the dish-washer gets full in a blink of an eye!!! But I still have passion for experiments, so what I came up with today was little lemon muffins... Very light and lemony...

What we need:

2 eggs

5 tbsp of brown sugar

5 tbsp of flour

1 tbsp of baking powder

0,5 lemon juice and lemon zest

1 tbsp of butter ( melted)

a drop of vanilla extract

What we have to do:

1. Seperate egg yoks and whites. Mix egg yoks with sugar, add lemon juice and zest, baking powder. Wisk carefully. Add vanilla extract, then flour and melted butter.

2. Wisk egg whites until they are flyffy and keep the shape. Mix it carefully in the batter. Put into muffin tray. Sprinkle some brown sugar on the top.

3. Bake for 15 min in 180C oven.

I think until the evening I'll think up some icing... or maybe not... 

'Balandeliai' - cabbage wraps

'Balandeliai' is one of my favourite dishes that reminds me of Lithuania. Though originally it's not completely a Lithuanian dish, anyway, every Lithuanian grew up eating 'zepelinai' or 'balandeliai'. Zepelinai is an absolutely different story... Hope to find some time in the future.... But as today I had a Lithuanian guest in my house, I made balandeliai. My guest even said that it smelled like from her mother's kitchen... I guess it means they were good! :) 

There are several ways of preparing this dish. The first, wrap ground meat and rice into cabbage leave and boil into meat stock or water. Another way is to fry them in a pan and only then finish cooking in the pot with stock. Ans the third way of preparing is pouring stock and tomato and sour cream on the wraps and baking them in the oven. All ways are really delicious and really worth trying! Today I made balandeliai the first way as I'm trying to eat leaner food... you know... summer's coming...

What we need:

1 average cabbage

300gr of ground meat ( I used turkey)

2/3 of glass of uncooked rice

1 onion

a bunch of dill and parsley

salt and pepper

some spinach ( optional)

1 egg

1 carrot

2 tbsp tomatoe paste

bay leave

1 l of water or meat stock

1 clove of garlic

some sour cream or ketchup for serving ( optional)

What we have to do:

1. Put cabbage into a big pot and pour some water and salt. Let it boil until the leaves become a bit tender and it's easy to take them off. Don't overcook them!!!

2. Mix ground meat with rice ( you can use boiled rice too), onion, dill and parsley, salt and pepper, boiled spinach and egg. 

3. Take some meat mix and wrap it into a cabbage leave.

4. Put the wraps into a pot. Add some chopped carrots and garlic clove, bay leave and meat stock. When it boils for 10 min, add tomato paste. Let it simmer for about 30 min. Add some salt and pepper if you feel like...

5. Serve with boiled potatoes and sour cream or ketchup. 

Tuna fish and potato 'fingers'

Trust me, but I can't remember where I got the idea for this dish, though I read the recipe yesterday. I must have some memory problems!!! But the dish is very simple and can be eaten with fingers. 

What we need:

about 200gr canned tuna

3 medium potatoes ( boiled and mashed)

1 egg + 1 beaten egg for crumbling

salt and pepper

some fresh dill

chili

3 tbsp of flour or starch

3-4 tbsp of bread crumbs

oil for deep frying

What we have to do:

1. Boil potatoes and mash it. When it cools, add tuna, chopped onion, dill, salt and pepper, 1 egg. You can also add some starch, but it's optional. Mix it.

2. Shape the 'fingers' or try another shape. Roll in the flour or starch, then in egg and in bread crumbs.

3. Deep fry the 'fingers' for 2-3 min. 

4. Serve. I served with fresh vegetable salad and sauce out of mayonaise, yoghurt, ketchup, salt and pepper and crushed onion.

5. Enjoy!!!

Seabass with leek in the oven

What we need:

1 seabass or any other white fish

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 lemon juice and zest

1 white pepper and salt

1 leek

some celery leaves or stems

2 tbsp vegetable oil

What we have to do:

1. Clean the fish and season with salt, pepper, ginger and lemon juice and zest.

2. Cut leek and celery leaves and put on aliuminium folio, drizzle some oil and salt, place the fish and cover again with leek. Fold the foil.

3. Cook in the 200C oven for 30 min.

4. Serve with leek and lemon. Enjoy!!!

Mushroom and cream cheese in phyllo

I was planning to make this snack for quite a while but there was no proper occasion as I really think it's a great party food!!! However, no parties ahead ( at least this month), that's why I made it for our PARTY FOR TWO ( you know, kind of date night with a husband... :) ) This dish is perfect for crunchy food lovers, too...

What we need:

leftovers of phyllo or wonton leaves

some butter ( for brushing muffin tray)

200 gr cream cheese

salt and pepper

all spice mix ( optional - I was just experimenting, but it added great flavour)

dried or fresh thyme and rosemary

4 mushrooms ( of your choice)

1 egg

some graded gauda or any melting cheese

What we have to do:

1. Brush muffin tray with butter.

2. Cutt phyllo into little squares and place 2-3 layers in each muffin hole.

3. Cut mushrooms and mix with cream cheese and egg. Add salt and pepper, all spice, thyme and rosemary. Put a spoon of this filling into phyllo cups. ( You can add other herbs or onion)

4. Sprinkle some grated cheese on the top and bake for 25 min in 180C oven.

5. Enjoy!!!

Baked Apples with Almond and Honey

My mother used to bake apples every winter... it's such a sentimental thing to me. Yesterday my we bought some lovely apples and today I thought that I hadn't baked apples for more than two winters!!! Well, it's spring now, but this morning we had to listen to thunder and pouring rain... So to warm up I decided to turn the oven on...put the apples in and enjoy a really healthy delight!!!

What we need:

5 apples

3 tbsp honey

30 gr of almond flakes

2 cinnamon sticks

3 cloves

1 tbsp of butter

What we have to do:

1. Remove the core from each apple without cutting all the way through. Place the apples in a baking dish.

2. Fill the cavities / holes with the honey and almond mix and top each one off with a small lump of butter.

3. Bake on the lowest oven rack for about 45 minutes in 200C, until the apples are tender.

4. Serve hot or warm, topping each apple with a teaspoon or more ofice cream or cream, if desired.

5. Enjoy!

Women's day!!!

It's just great that we are!!!! Real WOMEN!!! :) Happy Women's day!!! Have a look at flower market in Taksim, Istanbul, TR.