Strawberry Ricotta Cream

I woke up early this morning. To start my studying session early. Well, as you can tell I am not studying! I just finished eating this delicious yet nutritious bowl of ricotta cream!

So, as I mentioned earlier I started eating like crazy healthily. It lasted for about a week. I mean the part where I didn't eat bread and sugar and all that stuff. 

Because, really. Who am I kidding? I'm a carb girl! I love bread with salted butter! So denying it from myself is not doing any good because portion control is key. If I don't stuff my face with the whole white bread then I'll be fine with that one (maybe two) slice of whole wheat bread. 

Oh and because I started eating really, really less it resulted me starving! Not at the time when I was in that crazy mode of IMGONNALOSEWEIGHT no matter what. No, it came after the first pounds went down and I got a bit calm that oh I can do it. 

So now, this weekend I also drank on that empty stomach... Not good, my friends, not good. Didn't take much to get a horrible hangover the day after. 

And a hangover is anything but good for a diet! Okay, I tried. I really tried restraining myself from my usual hangover foods like pizza, grilled cheese, well basically anything that has a ton of grease and calories! :D I ate salad. SALAD! Huh.. Such a weirdo. But wait, it gets weirder...

I went RUNNING! Crazy, crazy girl. I also did a 4mile run. Okay, more like walking half of the distance but still. I tried! So yeah, the next 2 days I gave in and didn't exercise at all.

I ate tiramisu, grilled cheese, mug cookie, cheesy omlette, white bread....ahhh. 

But yesterday, everything went back to normal. I studied like a mad person (entrance exam tomorrow! yikes!), ate less, ran and slept. Exciting life, huh? But oh well.

My main point is that if you are bored with oatmeal or eggs in the morning, try this ricotta cream! It's sooo healthy and packed with lots of protein! I added a ton of strawberries, sweetened it with a bit of maple syrup and voila! Diet-friendly dessert for breakfast!

Strawberry Ricotta Cream

makes for one

1 cup ricotta

2 heaped tsp greek yogurt

2 tsp maple syrup

splash of vanilla

a handful of strawberries - cut into small bits

Mash the ricotta with the yogurt, syrup and vanilla with a fork. You should be done in 5 minutes and then stir in the strawberry bits. Add a bit more syrup if you like it sweeter.

Strawberry-Banana Protein Shake

I am pretty sure I'm not the only one who is trying to slim down for the summer in the LAST MINUTE. Because nothing is more motivating me than the last minute. Even though, I know perfectly well in March and April that I should start getting ready for the bikini season, I just always think ehh I still have time. 

And then May is here, as well as the pounds on my hips. So what do I do? I jump right into the super duper healthy lifestyle I should be having all year long. Okay, I more or less lead a healthy life but I also let myself indulge in all kinds of sugary, buttery goodnesses from time to time. And lately, they became pretty frequent guests in my diet. Therefore, no matter how hard I worked out, the pounds never melted away.

But now!!! :) I work out 5 days a week and eat no sugar, no dairy, no flour... All the good stuffs are now... GONE. :) Actually, I'm trying out the Paleo but I don't think I can stick to it, like I love my oatmeal and it's crazy healthy too! So why eliminate it from my diet? 

But about this protein shake. I've started drinking protein shakes a couple months ago and I got hooked. I just love, LOVE how it helps me recover from an intense workout. I use whey protein powder and only after a workout. You should have it within 20 minutes after you finish with your training. I used to exhaust myself sooo much that after I was done with my workout, I got crazy hungry that would never go away! So I started eating sooo much that led to me gaining weight instead of losing it. That was the moment when I found out about whey and gave it a try. I'm lactose intolerant and I have no problem digesting it! In fact, I just feel great after I drink it! Oh and the best part, it makes me full. Mainly, if I add some delicious fresh fruits to it, making it super healthy! :) It tastes like a milk shake without all the guilt! 

Strawberry-Banana Protein Shake

1 or 2 servings

1 cup rice milk - or any kind you like

1 cup cold water

1 scoop vanilla protein powder - I use Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein, love it!

6 smaller-medium strawberries - cut into pieces

1/2 small banana

Add all ingredients to the blender ( make sure to add the protein powder last because it tends to stick to the bottom) and blend until smooth. Enjoy :)

Samoa Cookies

Can you believe that I have never ever had samoa cookies in my whole life? I seriously can't even imagine that I've lived 23 years without these lovelies that will make anyone's thighs go biiiiig :) But big thighs are in now, aren't they? Well, maybe not but you can always munch on only 1 or 2 or 3 of these and then hope for the best that today is not the day that your body decides to pack on pounds! 

I didn't rely on my good luck and after trying the homemade salted caramel a bit way too many times, I decided that I will have to work it off. No excuses. So I did an almost 7 mile run (and walk)!! I am really starting to like this whole running thing. I can't run for a very long time or really fast yet but I am moving my butt and that's what counts! :) And because of that, I allow myself eat things that are loaded with caramel. 

Homemade caramel. This recipe is the bomb. Seriously. Try it. Even if you don't wanna spend hours assembling these cookies. But the caramel... Actually the whole cookie is to die for.

First of all, I used palm oil instead of butter which made the shortbread so crispy. But the really good kind of crispy. Crispy but melts in your mouth at the same time. And because I was not very familiar with shortbread, I rolled out the dough way too thin. Thus my cookies broke into pieces when I tried to spread the caramel and then the caramelly coconut on top. But I didn't just give up, I used the caramel as glue and worked it out. And we ate the cookies with a fork. Well, big deal. Or is it? :)

Next, I left out the chocolate on the bottom part. I thought the cookies were already very sweet and they had some chocolate drizzle on top, they sure didn't need to have more sugar and chocolate. These cookies were perfect the way there were and didn't need extra chocolate. But of course, if you want, you can dip them in chocolate. 

All in all, I'm in love with these cookies. Love the texture that you have a nice crisp when you take a bite but you get some gooey part, as well. I was surprised that they're not overly sweet, either. With that amount of caramel, who would have guessed? :) But no, the sweetness of it is just perfect. I also love the combination of the toasted coconut and salted caramel. Oh my... I can't wait to try them tomorrow when the flavors fully develop. Okay, I stop myself now and just give you the recipe :)

Samoa Cookies

recipe adapted from The Little Epicurean

for the shortbread

1/2 cup palm oil - around 110 grams, you can use coconut oil or butter too

1/4 cup raw cane sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp milk

for the caramel

1 cup white granulated sugar

6 Tbsp butter - around 80 grams

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla - I use bourbon vanilla powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup chocolate chips

To make the shortbread, cream the palm oil and sugar together. Add in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, the baking powder and salt. Incorporate the dry ingredients with the palm oil mixture and add in the milk. Use an electric mixer and mix until the dough forms a ball. First, the dough will be very crumbly but just mix it anyway.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Toast the shredded coconut in an ungreased pan over low heat. Stir it frequently as it tends to burn very quickly. When they get a nice light brown color, place it in a bowl and let it cool. 

Preheat oven to 350F (175C).

To make the caramel, add the sugar and vanilla in a saucepan. Cook it over medium heat until it begins to melt. When it's melting, turn the heat to low and start whisking the sugar with a wooden spoon. Continue to melt the sugar until it's fully melted and has a nice brown color. Now it's time to add the butter. Keep whisking and stirring until the butter has melted. For me, the butter completely separated from the caramel so I was a bit worried but when I added the cream, it all worked out fine.

So when the butter is melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the cream. The caramel will bubble and you have to whisk it for a long time before you get a nice and creamy caramel texture. So just keep stirring it until it's lump-free. Add in the salt.

Leave 1/4 of the caramel in the pan and mix the rest with the coconut. 

Roll out the shortbread dough not too thin. Cut out circles with a glass. I used a shot glass to cut out the hole in the middle.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Then cool them for another 5-10 minutes before assembling them.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl above boiling water.

Spread caramel on top of the cookies so that the coconut will be "glued" on top. After spreading the caramel, add the caramelly coconut on the top. Drizzle the melted chocolate on the cookies with a fork. 

And you're done! Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

I've always been baffled how those sky-high muffins become so tall! I've come across a couple (more like hundreds) of muffin recipes and none of them turned out the way I always imagine my muffins. Like really tall, soft but a bit dense and marbled by some extra flavor. Like blueberries or chocolate chips or some jam or cream cheese, you get the idea... I've made some really yummy muffins, alright but I always wanted the kind I just described. The ones you buy at the bakery. Fancy bakeries, might I add. 

So when I almost gave up today to bake something, then I found this amazing recipe in Pierre Hermé's cook book. 

You know those moments when you think you're failing everything in life?

Then turn to Pierre Hermé. His recipes deliver. And anyways, baking just makes people happy, right? Mainly if you succeed and you get to take pictures of pretty blue and yellow muffins! :) This makes my bad day turn into a good day and I will hold onto it! :) Okay, I won't make you wait longer for the recipe so here it goes.

ps: I would add more sugar to it next time and I halve the original recipe because it was just way too much. 

Blueberry Muffins

makes about 12

recipe is from Pierre Hermé's Pastries

for the crumble topping

3 Tbsp (50 grams) cold butter

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (50 grams) ground almonds - I just coarsely chopped sliced almonds

7 Tbsp (50 grams) flour

for the muffin batter

3/4 or if you like it sweeter 1 cup (150-200 grams) sugar

1 tsp grated zest of a lime

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups (300 grams) flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

3/4 cup (140 grams) heavy cream

1 stick (125 grams) melted butter

1 cup (180 grams) blueberries

Preheat oven to 360F (180C).

To make the crumble, combine the ingredients with a food processor. Process until they can be formed into a ball. Set aside in the fridge.

To make the muffin batter, mix the eggs, cream and melted butter. In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Incorporate the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mix until combined then fold in the blueberries. 

Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop into each muffin holes (that you put paper in them before hand). Put the crumble on top of the batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. When they're ready, transfer them to a cooling rack. If you want an over the top dessert, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Amazing!

Mini Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake

Oh my...I've been on a bit of a vacation from my blog. Not literally, no. I've just had lots of things going on in my life that took all my motivation from cooking and baking. But hopefully now that I've moved back to my parents', and I have access to all the utensils and ingredients, this sad situation will change and I'll post many delicious recipes!

Yay for that! :)

Let's start with these mini cheesecakes... What can I say, cheesecake and chocolate combined. The recipe is ridiculously easy, I literally just threw it together. No skills are needed, you probably have all the ingredients at hand (maybe except for the cream cheese) and who doesn't wanna have cheesecake on the weekend?? Oh! And one has a lot less calories than a slice of cheesecake does! 

So what are you waiting for? Go, make some! :)

Mini Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake

makes 12 mini cakes

for the crust

6 graham crackers or cookies - I used sugar free cookies

3 Tbsp melted butter

for the cream cheese filling

1 pound (500 grams) Philadelphia cream cheese

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar

3 eggs

2.5 Tbsp double cream

4 Tbsp (25 grams) flour

1 tsp vanilla

for the chocolate ganache

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1.5 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp double cream

Preheat oven to 360F (180C).

To make the crust, pulse the crackers in a food processor until they're fine crumbles. Add the melted butter and mix it together.

Place muffin papers in the holes of your muffin pan. Put 1-2 tablespoons of the crumbs into the muffin papers. Use your fingers to flatten to the bottom. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Then let them cool.

Reduce oven to 210F (100C).

To make the filling, mix the cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, cream and vanilla. Mix, add in the flour and mix it together.

Pour the cream cheese fillings into the muffin papers using an ice cream scoop. 

Bake for 45 minutes then raise the temperature to 300F (150C). Bake for another 15 minutes.

Cool the cheesecakes while making the ganache. Heat the double cream in a small saucepan. Add the chocolate and the oil and simmer until all melted.

When the cheesecakes are cool enough, spread the ganache on top! Refrigerate them overnight or for a few hours and enjoy! :)

Spaghetti Carbonara

Attention! Two highly needed components to cooking have been missing! Has anyone seen them? They're called inspiration and motivation, appearance unknown. Their last whereabouts were in me a long time ago. The more I'm searching for them, the more lost they seem. So I thought I'd share this sad occurrence, maybe someone has seen them :)

Seriously, it's been quite a while since I felt that urge to make or bake something fantastic. I do have cravings and I do cook (sometimes) but they're just nothing special. Hopefully, as spring rolls in, inspiration will too! 

So when it came to Sunday lunch that is a sacred family thing for us, we had the dilemma of what to make... Soup was a given and I thought about making something Italian. That was the moment when I had the epiphany! Let's make carbonara! It's crazy easy and totally delicious :) I adapted the original recipe a bit as I added mushrooms and a squeeze of lemon juice. They totally make the difference! They are amazing for any weekday night when you feel like having some comfort food and like within 30 minutes! :)

Spaghetti Carbonara

yields 4 people

1/2 package spaghetti

5 slices bacon or pancetta

4 eggs

1 cup parmesan cheese

4 big mushrooms

1/2 lemon

parsley, salt, pepper

Cook the spaghetti according to the package's instructions. When draining the pasta, leave 1 cup of the cooking water.

Cut the bacon and mushrooms into pieces. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add the bacon to it. Cook it for about 6 minutes and then add in the mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes. 

While the bacon-mushrooms are cooking, whisk the eggs in a smaller bowl. Add the parmesan cheese and mix it well. Season it with salt and pepper.

When the mushrooms look cooked and ready, stir in the spaghetti. Pour the egg mixture on top and mix it well. Cook for about 5 minutes, add salt if needed and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with another sprinkle of parmesan and a squeeze of lemon juice! Enjoy :)

Nutella stuffed baked Doughnuts

My all-time problem with doughnuts was always that after eating only one my stomach felt uncomfortably full. Okay, my stomach is more sensitive than the normal but still... The oil, sugar and yeasty dough are not our bodies' best friends :) They make me feel heavy and sick. That's why I always tried to avoid eating them. But ever since I came upon the recipe which bakes the small puffs instead of frying, it changed my life :) Today I filled them with nutella and some strawberry jam. There are some I coated with cinnamon sugar (my favorite) and some I put sugar glaze on. 

I used exactly the same recipe I already posted on my blog. Check it out here! -> Cinnamon Coated Baked Doughnuts. 

For the Nutella stuffed Doughnuts

Bake doughnuts that don't have a hole in the middle. So when they are baked, poke them all the way to the other end. I used a chop stick to do that :) Fill a pastry bag with 3 Tbsp nutella and fill the center of the doughnuts. 

Do the same method to fill your doughnuts with jelly or jam. 

For the Sugar Glazed Doughnuts

1/8 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Heat the milk with the vanilla over low heat. Then mix the sugar in it. Stir it until it is incorporated and you have a white glaze. Coat the already cooled doughnuts in the glaze. Wait 5 minutes before serving. 

They taste exactly like Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Okay, a healthy version of them :) I love the fact that I can eat 3 small ones and don't get the feeling that I'm about to die while digesting :D

Hope you'll like them as much as we did!! :)