Sweet bars for lazy ones

When summer is outside and the temperature is above +30C, it would be crazy to turn the oven on, so if you are longing for a sweet delight, no-bake bars are what you need.

What we need:

150 ml of sweet condenced milk
200gr of white chocolate
30 gr of dried fruit ( sour cherries or cranberries work so well in here!)
13 double chocolate biscuits

What we have to do:

1. Break the chocolate into smaller pieces and pour over the condenced milk. Put the bowl in a pot with water and melt the chocolate above a hot water steam.
2. Break the biscuits and mix with dried fruit.
3. Pour melted chocolate over the biscuits and fruit, mix it.
4. Put cling film onto a tray, pour all the biscuit mix. Flatten it all and cover with a cling film. Put into a fridge for 3-4 hours until the chocolate hardens again. Cut into bars and serve! Enjoy!

Chanterelle with new potatoes

When Lithuanian markets got loaded with chanterelles, I pre-heated my pan for Lithuanian classic - mushrooms with bacon, new potatıes and cream sauce. Absolutely amazing!!!

What we need:

1 litre of fresh chanterelles
1 tbsp of butter
salt and pepper
40-30gr of smoked bacon
8-10 small new potatoes
spring onions
dill
200ml cream
1 teaspoon of flour

What we have to do:

1. Pre-heat a pan and add butter and small pieces of bacon. Let it fry for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add washed and peeled new potatoes. If they are bigger, cut in halves or quarters. Fry for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
3. Wash changerelles and put them into a pan. Stir and let it fry for 3 more minutes. Add chopped spring onions.
4. Then add a teaspoon of flour, stir carefully and pour over the cream. Stir it until the cream and mushroom juice thickens. Add chopped dill and simmer for 3-5 minutes until potatoes and mushrooms are done.
5. When serving, garnish with some more spring onions and dill. Add salad if you want. Enjoy!!! This dish is especially tasty if prepared on open fire.

Oven chicken and rice

There are days that cannot be planned but you still have to eat something. One one of those days I always look for easy ways to prepare dinner. This dish can be called one-pot dish baked in an oven. So I just put all the ingredients into an oven-proof dish and 45 minutes later dinner was ready.

What we need:

1 chicken cut into pieces
2 glasses of rice
1 (200gr) can of peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
parsley and dill
1 glass of cooked chickpeas or beans
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
olive oil
a pinch of oregano
1 lemon

What we have to do:

1. Mix paprika, black pepper, salt and lemon juice and rub into chicken pieces.
2. Wash the rice and put into an oven proof dish.
3. Chop onion, parsley, dill, garlic, mix with canned tomatoes and chickpeas and pour over rice and stir a bit. Add some olive oil and 3 glasses of water.
4. Put chicken pieces on top of the rice, cover the dish with a lid or aliuminium foil. Put it into an oven ( 180C) for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.
5. Serve hot with your favourite vegetable salad. Enjoy!

Smoked haddock spread on rye bread

If you've ever tasted smoked haddock, you will definitely remember the flavour and want for more. So Lithuania is a heaven for smoked food and smoked haddock is available in every supermarket. This evening I'm offering you an easy and absolutely tasty spread which is great on a toast, but my favourite way to enjoy it is rye bread!

What we need:

1 smoked haddock ( bones and skin removed)
2 boiled and peeled potatoes
2 boiled eggs
2 branches of spring onions
dill
a pinch of black pepper
3 tbsp of light mayonaise
4-6 slices of rye bread or any other toasted bread


What we have to do:

1. Brake the haddock into small flakes.
2. Grate the boiled potatoes.
3. Chop the onion and boiled eggs, and dill
4. Put fish, potatoes, onion, eggs, and dill into a bowl, add some pepper. You can also add some salt, but smoked haddock is generally salty enough, so I prefer not using any extra salt. Mix it all and add mayonaise. Mix it all again.
5. Take a slice of bread, add haddock spread and garnish with some more spring onions and dill. Enjoy!!!

Easy rasberry cake - a treat from Lithuania

I've just returned from Lithuania where I had a few weeks break from Istanbul heat. The best thing about June and July in Lithuania is loads of fresh fruit in every garden or every forest ( market in my case!). So when I had some visitors, I was more than ready to make a great summer berries delight...

What we need:

for the cake pad:

4 egg whites
4 table spoons of sugar powder
4 tbsp of flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder

for the upper layer:

500ml of heavy cream
300gr of butter biscuits
1 banana
1 glass or a good handful of rasberries ( you can use any other berries if you like)
3 tbsp of sugar powder
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of vanilla sugar

for the top:

berries ( rasberries, blueberries, black currant)

What we have to do:

1. To make the pad, whisk the egg whites and then slowly add your dry ingredients ( mixed sugar powder, flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar). Brush the baking tray with some butter or oil, add parchment paper and pour in the dough. Put into a pre-heated oven ( 180C) and bake for 15 minutes and then let the pad cool.

2. For the upper layer, break your butter biscuits into smaller pieces. Then in a seperate bowl whisk the cream, then add sugar powder, vanilla, lemon juice. When it's fluffy, pour in the biscuits, sliced banana and berries. Mix it. Then pour onto the baked cool pad ( still in a tray with removable sides). Even the top and decorate with fresh berries.
3. Put the cake in a fridge for 5 hours or overnight. Enjoy!!!