Cauliflower soup

When it comes to healthy food, sometimes it lacks flavour. Even this morning while watching Martha Stewart special programme about Body and Soul magazine, Martha was given a healthy food tray that it's ok to have before sleep with banana, almond, and spinach, milk. She wasn't very pleased with that. But another tray had salami sandwich with potato fries, chocolate bar and diet soda. I thought, come on!!! Who eats such food before the bed?! I would have nightmares!!! Yes, salami tases great and pizza with salami is even better. However, I don't know anyone who eats pizza or drinks coke every day. Or am I surrounded by healthy food freaks? I'm lucky that I would choose that banana with spinach and take the salami from the unhealthy tray... Well, everything in moderation...
But the soup I cooked for yesterday's dinner was definitely very healthy and very tasty so I'm waiting for the evening to have another serving!!!

What we need:

1 head of a small cauliflower
1 big potato
1 carrot
1 onion
1 tbsp of olive oil
100 ml of milk
salt and pepper to taste
500 ml of water or vegetable or chicken stock
a pinch of dried oregano
some chilli pepper for a kick

What we have to do:

1. Cut potatoes and onion. Put then in a pot with some olive oil. Let is fry for 2-3 minutes, then add cauliflower, salt and pepper, milk and vegetable stock. Bring it to boil and simmer for 15 min.
2. Blend cooked vegetables with a hand-held blender and season with dried oregano and chilli pepper.
3. Garnish with parsley and serve!!! Enjoy!

Juice addiction

It's autumn and one of my favourite fruit ( apples!!!) are at their best. So to enjoy them at fullest, my hubby bought us a juice machine. Is it a step to 'HEALTHY NEW ME'? OK, I told it on my blog so hopefully it will help me to stick to my plan. In a photo above our breakfast delight - green apple and carrot juice. When you mix it, you're in heaven!!!

Sauteed fish and spinach salad

This weekend we've spent at home just dozing off in front of TV, catching up with our interests. Last month was pretty busy so it was great to do almost nothing. I had an opportunity to read more about healthy living. Every day I'm telling myself, this is the day to start. But then 'bad ME' appears and makes me eat something that I shouldn't. But we've already bought juice machine, that is why every morning I'm enjoying a huge glass of fresh fruit juice ( I love green apple and carrot juice mix!) And this evening we had a really healthy dinner - sauteed fish and spinach garnished with roasted pine nuts, parsley and tomatoes. I've even made a healthy cauliflower soup, but about it tomorrow.

What we need:

1-2 pieces of your favourite fish fillet ( I used Turkish mezgit - a fish from cod family)
for spice mix:
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of all spice
chilli pepper
2 cloves of garlic
coconut flakes
a piece of celery root
lemon zest
cumin

a big bag of spinach
50 gr of pine nut
2 cloves of garlic
tomatoes
1 lemon juice
some olive oil
parsley

What we have to do:

1. Clean the fish.
2. Mix all the spices and blend in a blender, add some oil. Brush the fish with spices and put in a pre-heated pan with some oil. Cover the pan with a lid and let the fish sautee in its own juice. It takes about 5-6 minutes.
3. Slice the garlic and fry it in a pan with some oil, then add pinenuts and 2/3 of spinach. Let it sautee by mixing. Season with salt and pepper.
4. In a serving plate put some fresh spinach leaves, add some fresh parsley, then place sauteed spinach and fish. Garnish with some tomatoes and sprinkle with some lemon juice. Enjoy!!!

Stuffed potatoes

I was just looking for another way of serving poultry and had a bag of potatoes which desperately needed to be used. So a very easy and fast dish which reminded me of traditional Lithuanian potato dumplings - Cepelinai. I'm just not into making real Cepelinai as it's so time consuming and the taste is quite bland. Well, I prefer flavourful food rather than it's sentimental value.

What you need:

3 big potatoes
300 gr of ground chicken or turkey
salt and pepper to taste
fresh rosemary
2 tbsp of ketchup
1 onion
1 egg
some chopped parsley
some olive oil

What you have to do:

1. Peel potatoes, cut in half and scrub the inside, leaving the shell to be stuffed.
2. Mix ground meat with ketchup, salt, pepper, chopped onion, rosemary and parsley, egg. Mix it well and stuff the potatoes.
3. Take a casserole dish, brush with olive oil and place stuffed potatoes. Pour about 100 ml of water or chicken stock to reduce potato cooking time. However, it's optional. Add some extra rosemary and put in a pre-heated oven 175C for about 30 min.
4. Serve with your favourite vegetable salad. Enjoy!

2 in 1 - cheesecake tart

This tart/cake was baked more than a week ago when my husband and I were hosting Ramadan evening dinner ( iftar) for our friends. Making iftar dinner is a bit stressful first of all, that it must be served just on time ( you can't be late any minute as some people might be fasting, so they are very thirsty and hungry) and another thing, the whole menu with all appetizers, soup, main dish, salad and dessert must be prepared. As I am not Turkish, I tried not to make completely Turkish menu - I didn't want to be judged by the real Turkish housewives. That is why, I chose this cheesecake / tart. I baked cheesecake a day ago, and just made pastry cream a few hours before the dinner and decorated with seasonal fruit - grapes and figs. Easy dessert but it makes people think that you spent numerous hours in the kitchen.

What we need:

for crust:

400 gr of flour
200 gr of butter
2 tbsp of cold milk
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
a pinch of salt

for cheese filling:

400 gr of mascapone cheese or cream cheese
4 eggs
2 tbsp of corn or wheat starch
1 glass of rasins ( washed in hot water)
1 teaspoon of cinammon
2 tbsp of milk
1 glass of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

for pastry cream look here!

What we have to do:

1. Put flour and frozen butter in a food processor and blend it until crumbled. Add salt, sugar, and milk, mix it well, make a ball of dough and put in a fridge for 30 min. Then roll out according to the shape of baking dish and bake for 15 min in 180 C oven. ( Don't forget to put a piece of baking paper and some rice or beans to hold the shape.
2. Mix eggs with sugar, milk, cinamon, nutmeg, raisins, mascapone cheese, add strach and milk, vanilla extract. Mix it well and pour into the tart. Bake again for 30-40 min. Then take it out and cool.
3. Make pastry cream and pour over cool cheesecake and decorate with fruit. Enjoy!!!

Spicy Fish with warm bulgur salad

What we need:

2 fish
0,5 teaspoon of all spice
0,5 teaspoon of chilli powder
a pinch of ginger powder
a pinch of garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
lemon to serve
olive oil for frying

for bulgur salad:

1 glass of bulgur
1 onion
1 zucchini
1 tomato
salt and pepper
olive oil
lemon juice
parsley
dried oregano

What we have to do:

1. Mix all the spices and rub into the fish. Leave for 10-15 min then add salt and fry in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil.
2. Pour boiling water over bulgur. Leave it for 10 min. Meanwhile, slice onion and fry with some olive oil, then add zucchini. When it softens, add oregano, and sliced tomatoes. Then pour over the bulgur. Season with salt and pepper. Mix it well and add lemon juice. Garnish with parsley and serve with fish. Enjoy!!!

İmambayıildı ( Stuffed eggplants: vegetarian version)

Today it is the last day of Ramadan fasting month and tomorrow Islamic world is celebrating Şeker Bayram or Sweet Festival. That's why to prepare stomachs for loads of baklava, gülaş and böreks, I made a vegetarian version of traditional Turkish dish ( originally eggplants are stuffed with fried ground beef or lamb). However, in Istanbul region a vegetable stuffing is also common. As I am a huge eggplant/ aubergine lover, I enjoyed it with all my heart...

What we need:

1-2 eggplants per serving ( I took 6 medium sized eggplants)
3-4 tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
0,5 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
some chopped parsley and fresh mint
5-6 tomatoes
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 glass of water or vegetable stock
2 big onions
fresh or dried thyme

yogurt for serving

What we have to do:

1. Clean the eggplants. Peel some stripes of the skin off. Cut out a small stripe where you are planning to put the stuffing. Sprinkle some salt and leave for 15 min. Then fry whole eggplants on a pan with some olive oil until light brown and almost soft.
2. Slice the onions and fry with some oil. Season with salt and pepper, thyme, red pepper flakes, parsley and mint, add 2-3 peeled and chopped tomatoes. Add water and simmer for 10 min.
3. Take eggplants and stuff with 1-2 cloves of peeled and crushed garlic and onion stuffing. Put one or two slices of tomato, pour over the remaining sauce from onion and tomatoes.
4. Pre-heat the oven 175C and roast for 20-30min. Serve warm with yogurt and parsley! Enjoy!!!

Okra Stew

Finally Turkish supermarkets are loaded with okra and since it's already reasonably priced, I couldn't resist and had a lovely vegetarian dinner - okra stew and rice and orzo pilaf.

What we need:

400 gr of okra
2 peeled tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
parsley and thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
some water or stock

What we have to do:

1. Remove okra stems and cut it in a bit to save cooking time.
2. Chop onions and garlic and fry them in a pan with some olive oil. Then add chopped tomatoes and okra. Stir carefully.
3. Cook for 5-7 min then add water, salt and pepper, thyme, some parsley and simmer for 10 min. Serve with pilaf garnished with parsley. Easy!!!

Rosemary Chicken

I beliece this is the easiest chicken recipe but a very delicious one!!! Sometimes it's just good to stick to the basics.

What we need:

1 chicken
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
2 branches of rosemary leaves
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 lemon zest

What we have to do:

1. Clean the chicken.
2. Chop rosemary, mix it with lemon zest, oil, salt and pepper. Rub it in the chicken.
3. Preheat the oven 190 C and roast the chicken for an hour and a half.
4. Let it rest for 15 min before slicing.
5. Serve with your favourite side dish! Enjoy!!!

Roasted eggplant salad with yogurt

I've been pretty busy lately and have abandoned the blog. Firstly thanks for comments that I found under my last fig tart! I still have one more sweet delight for the nearest future to blog. And thank you for any suggestions and advice that I'm recieving on my facebook or twitter. So not to beat about the bush, here is one more Turkish appetizer or meze that I enjoy so much. Well, I have some kind of addiction to roasted eggplant and red pepper so that I can eat them everyday with almost anything. They taste so delicious. But yes, roasting eggplants takes time, that is why I leave roasting vegetables for Saturdays and then I freeze some of them for the following week. So...

What you need:

1 kg of eggplant / aubergine
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp of lemon juice
some chopped parsley
Turkish bread - pide for serving

What you have to do:

1. Make some holes in each eggplant and roast them on the grill or in an oven for 30-40 min until the skin is almost burned and soft inside. Let it cool afterwords and then peel the eggplants.
2. Put the soft eggplant into a bowl and use a fork and oil to make a puree, then add garlic, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, some lemon juice and yogurt. Mix it well, cool for 10-15 min, garnish with parsley and some olive oil and serve with bread.

Fruit Tart

This tart I decided to make just to enjoy the last days of summer. Although I made it a week ago, I'm posting it just now. Quite a week I had!!! So simple but a very tasty tart with figs, blackberries and cherries.

What we need:

for tart crust:

400 gr flour
200 gr brown sugar
200gr butter
1 teaspoon cinammon
a pinch of salt
a pinch of baking powder
3 tbsp of water

for pastry cream:

1 l of milk
250 gr sugar
50 gr of corn starch
50 gr of flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp of vanilla extract or 1 vanilla stick
1 tbsp of butter
fruit for decoration

What we have to do:

1. Mix dry crust ingredients in a food processor and add water. Put the crust into a ball and place in a fridge for 30 min. Then roll it out to fit baking dish. Fork the tart. Then cover with baking paper and pour over some dry peas or beans. Bake for 30 min in 180C oven, then remove the beans and paper and leave for 10 more minutes.

2. Prepare pastry cream. Boil milk and sugar. Then in a seperate bowl mix eggs, vanilla, flour and starch, add a drizzle of milk. Mix it and slowly pour into boiling milk. Whisk carefully and boil until cream starts thickening. Then add 1 tbsp of butter and remove from the heat. Mix it well again. Then pour into the tart. Let it cool a bit and then decorate with fruit. I also added some tart jelly on the top. Leave it to cool completely and serve!