The eccentric Cook

Zucchini Parmesan Fritters

2012-02-29T05:18:00.001-08:00

I have a thing for fried foods. Fried chicken is one of my most favorite foods of all time! I love it so much that when I was a devoted vegetarian I happily sinned in the sake for a bite of fried chicken :)

So when I see a recipe that involves something frying in oil I can't help but get excited! I know it's ridiculously unhealthy and bad for your heart, as well as for your body but once in a while it can't be that bad...

So these fritters are not really considered as fried zucchini but still they are kinda fried. It has zucchini, such an amazing vegetable, and a massive amount of parmesan. You really can't go wrong with this match. It's 100% vegetarian and with a hint of lime juice on top it tastes fresh, cheesy and fried. I got the inspiration for this recipe from Nigella Lawson's cook book. She uses feta cheese in it but since I didn't have any I just substituted it to parmesan and it's as lovely as it should be! Hope you'll find it as delicious as I did!

Zucchini Parmesan Fritters

adapted from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer

3 zucchinis

3 spring onions

130 grams grated (or ground) parmesan cheese

chopped parsley

chopped mint leaves

1 teaspoon ground red paprika

10 grams flour - I used whole wheat rye flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

olive oil

1 lime

Grate the zucchinis and let them sit for 10 minutes so they would let the excess water out.

Chop the spring onions and mix them with the parmesan. Add in the parsley, mint and red paprika. Add in the flour and season it with salt and pepper. Gradually add the whisked eggs.

Take one handful of grated zucchini and squeeze it above the sink so you get rid of the water. When you're done then add the zucchini to the parmesan mixture. Mix them well with your hands.

Heat olive oil in a pan and then add small balls to it. Cook each side for 2 minutes on low heat.

When they're done place them on paper towels. Squeeze just a tiny bit of lime juice on top of the fritters. Enjoy :)

Spinach Farfalle

2012-02-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Today I was in need of a quick and delicious lunch. You see, Thursday is the day I picked as my "study day". Because basically, this is the only day I actually sit down and start working on my thesis. I have to finish it by middle of April and I'm nowhere I'd like to be at by now. So I didn't want to spend all my time on cooking so I figured a nice pasta dish will do! And oh it did!

It is very filling and tastes so creamy and summer-y. And I do love these aspects on my plate :) I was ready with this lunch in 30 minutes!

Spinach Farfalle

serves 6 people (or even more)

500 gram Farfalle (bow pasta)

12 balls of frozen spinach

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup ham, diced

1 small container (200 ml) heavy cream, I used Hulala (non-deary cream)

1 cup vegetable broth or water

salt, pepper

basil

shredded cheese

Bring water to a boil in a big pot. After that, add the pasta and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook it until al dente, about 8 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bigger skillet. Add the ham and cook it for 4 minutes. Add in the frozen spinach, peas and vegetable broth or if you don't have any, use the pasta's water. Season with salt and pepper. When the vegetables are soft, add in the cream and bring to a boil. Tear the basil leaves or use dried basil and season the sauce. Add the cooked pasta in it and cook it for another 3 minutes. Serve it with shredded cheese on top. Enjoy :)

Easy Tarte Tatin

2012-02-16T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today I set a goal for myself. Write my thesis. I had this goal in my mind all night long...Then I woke up and I was so tired because I didn't sleep but plan my day. So now that I should be reading and writing about serious topics, like economy, politics and international relations... I feel like diving myself into blogs! Of course... But to make this time just a bit more effective, I thought I might as well post about this amazingly heavenly apple tarte. It is so much better than apple pie! And I do love apple pie :P

So...This dessert is so easy and quick to make it's ridiculous! I've kept this recipe under my sleeve as a go-to dessert that will please and even impress anyone. Now, I don't usually work with pre-made stuffs like flour, cookie, brownie mixes but I do like the pre-made puff-pastry. Making puff-pastry is just kind of a pain-in-the-butt so when it's not about making something that the pastry is prominent in like croissants then I tend to use the pre-made kind. For instance, in this Tarte Tatin. I've read several recipes of this Tarte but I am so satisfied with my own that I don't even bother trying them out. A few years ago my Mom introduced me to this lovely, flaky, caramell-y apple dish and we've been making it ever since!

Easy Tarte Tatin

using a 25cm pan (9.8 inches)

100 gram butter (almost 1/2 cup)

4 medium apples

130 gram brown sugar (1 cup)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cinnamon

250 gram pre-made puff-pastry (8-9 oz)

1 slightly beaten egg

Peel and core the apples and then slice them (I like to thinly slice them but some like it bigger, so you choose the size).

Preheat your oven to 180C (356F).

Take a pan and melt the butter in it. Add in the sugar and vanilla. Stir it until the sugar is melted and then add in the apple slices. Cook for 10 minutes. When the apples are tender sprinkle it with cinnamon.

Turn the heat off and roll the pre-made puff-pastry out. Cover the pan with the pastry.

Just like this. Then cut the extra part of the pastry with a knife and place it evenly on the pan.

Well, I tried to place it evenly... Spread the beaten egg on top of the pastry. Now it's baking time! Put it in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes.

Choose a plate or a tray, whichever you'd like to put the tarte on and place it on the pan facing the pastry.

And this is when the trick comes. It's better if you have a helper but you can do it alone, too. Grab both sides, so I grabbed this wooden board here and the glass plate and quickly flipped it, so the glass plate was standing on the table and the pan was up.

And now lift the pan so the tarte can come out :) And you're done!

Chicken Tikka Masala with Buttered Naan

2012-02-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

I was in India this past summer. It was only a few days but it was as intense as if I spent 2 weeks there. Spending a month in Nepal prior to my travel to India might have had to do something with why I felt I got a bit bigger glimpse of India than I actually did. I can't say I had only good experiences there ( I was alone. I am a European young girl with blonde hair. You can imagine...) but I did gain several amazing memories. I made some new friends so after all I wasn't all that alone. :) Indian people are extremely nice, I can only speak of one other nationality that is nicer than Indians. Nepalese people. They are incredible, so genuine... But back to my point.

What I loved most about India? Fooooooooood, of course! I am in love with the Indian cuisine. I'm not exaggerating when I say I could eat Indian food every single day :) I really would! Even though it's not hard to create an Indian meal but I just don't have the motivation to actually cook something special every day. I don't even feel like cooking every day! There are just those lazy, tired days when a grilled cheese sounds delicious and easy enough to make. I'm sure I am not alone with this, or am I???

So yesterday I had the most amazing idea ever! Why not dedicate saturday to Indian food day? So I did! I did my research how to make the most delicious chicken tikka masala and naan bread. I watched some youtube videos, read several recipes and I ended up doing my own thing while cooking! I used a recipe to make the marinade and then I just followed my tastebuds while making the sauce.

It is so delicious!! Seriously. I haven't eaten anything so heavenly like this tikka masala was! So if you're into Indian cuisine or would like to try it then here you go :) It's quite easy! The only difficulty comes with getting all the spices. Other than that...No cons at all! :) Oh, and it's better if you leave the chicken in the marinade for a night.

About the naan. I got the recipe from eCurry. I've made naan before but this recipe beat them all! Fluffy, soft yet a bit (just a slightly bit) crunchy on the outside. I will most definitely recreate it again, soon!

If you decided to try chicken tikka masala, then I hope you'll have at least as much fun as I had!

Chicken Tikka Masala

adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

for the marinade

2 cups plain yogurt

1 lime's juice

2 teaspoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced ginger

3-4 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 chicken thighs

for the sauce

3 tablespoons of oil

2 cans of chopped tomatoes

1 chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2-3 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1/2 cup water

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup heavy cream - I used Hulala, a non-deary cream

First, bone the chicken thighs. Remove the skin and cut them into little pieces.

To make the marinade, measure the yogurt into a bigger bowl. Add in all the ingredients and mix it well. Place the chicken pieces in the marinade. Cover it and let it sit overnight or at least 4 hours.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a bigger cooking pan and add in the onion and ginger. Add the salt and cook it for about 4 minutes until it starts looking translucent. Add the spices and water. Cook it for a minute or 2 and add the tomato cans. Cook it for about 10 minutes and then add the butter and cream. Cook it for another 5 minutes. Taste it and add more spices or salt if needed or if it's too spicy, add a little water. Now it's blender time! Blend the whole sauce and you're ready with it!

Look how beautiful its color is!

You can cook the chicken on the grill or in the oven. But I cooked mine in a pan. Because of the heavy yogurt-y marinade it took me about 15-20 minutes to get them done. The main point is to cook your chicken until the juice is cooked up. Then add the chicken to the sauce and you have chicken tikka masala!

Butter Naan

makes 8 naan

recipe is from eCurry

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup warm water

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

5 tablespoons oil or ghee

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup yogurt - I used sour cream because I ran out of yogurt...

Dissolve sugar in the water and then add in the dry yeast. Stir it with your fingers and then cover it for 10 minutes.

Mix flour, salt and baking soda in a big bowl. Add in the yogurt, oil and the yeast. Mix it with your fingers until you get a soft dough. Knead it for about 5 minutes. Take the dough out, grease the bowl and put the dough back and cover it. Let it rise for 4 hours or as I did overnight.

When the dough has doubled, punch in the middle and knead it for a few minutes. Divide the dough into 8 parts and let it rise another 40 minutes.

Take one part and roll it out on a floured surface. Brush one side of the dough with water. Cook it for a few minutes on a very hot griddle or pan (without using oil). When the dough is bubbling, flip it to the other side and cook it for another few minutes.

Repeat the same technique with the other dough parts. Spread butter on the naan while it's still hot.

Hope you'll enjoy them!

Cinnamon-Walnut Rolls with Mascarpone Frosting

2012-02-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

I have some extremely happy news! Today my number of views hit over a 100 000!! This is crazy for me. It makes me exuberant and inspired and gives me a feeling that yessssss I should keep doing this! I don't blog in the sake of getting popular. I am doing it because I LOVE it. I love baking, cooking, sharing my successful recipes and taking pictures of them :) I am doing it for sheer joy. But getting positive feedback definitely gives me a boost of happiness and confidence at the same time. I mean, what's the point of sharing if nobody gets their share, right? So, I want to say thank you for reading my thoughts on cooking and baking. It means a lot to me, I still shriek in excitement if I get a comment :) Let alone how super happy it makes me when someone tries my recipe... I will be trying to post unique recipes, recipes I create because these are always so interesting! Right now, there are some recipes that were copycats (I tell you when I do that) but I also have many that were popped out of my head. So in the future, there will be more and more my own recipes. Hope you'll like it :)

But let's talk about these cinnamon rolls. I had this recipe since I was 15, I've used it several times so I thought why not celebrate my 100000th view with cinnamon rolls? So I dig for the recipe and found it in my old recipe notebook. Look how used it looks!

I didn't quite remember if I had any adjustments to the recipe, all I knew was that it was quick, easy and delicious! That sounds perfect, right? I thought so...

So I went ahead and realized oh-oh something's not right. The dough was way too sticky. But I was hesitant on adding more flour because I didn't remember if it was supposed to be this sticky or I just added more without noting it. So I pretty much tried to make it work without more flour until I got so frustrated that I almost gave up!

Fortunately, my mom came to rescue me and added some more flour. I will give you the already corrected recipe. Other than that, it was really quick, easy and delicious! You don't need to wait hours to let the dough rise because of the yeast, this recipe uses baking powder and soda! Okay, here you go!

Cinnamon-Walnut Rolls with Mascarpone Frosting

For the filling

1/3 cup or 80 grams butter, softened

1 cup or 205 grams brown sugar

3 and a half teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup toasted walnuts

For the rolls

2 and 3/4 cups cake flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1,5 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup or 115 grams butter

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

+1 egg

For the frosting

250 grams Mascarpone or Philadelphia cream cheese

60 grams powdered sugar

35 grams butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling, cream butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together and set it aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter and mix it until crumbly. Whisk the egg and milk together and add it to the dry ingredients. Whirl to combine. Knead if necessary. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll it out.

Now spread the filling over. I used a little cocoa filling as well ( 1 tablespoon melted butter with 3 tablespoons sweetened cocoa).

If you'd like some chocolate rolls as I wanted, then spread it like above the picture.

When you spread the cinnamon-sugar on the dough, place the walnuts on top.

Roll it up and cut into 15-18 slices.

Glaze one whisked egg on top of the rolls.

Bake them for 15 minutes on 180C.

While you're waiting for the rolls to bake, let's make the frosting.

Cream the butter and the cream cheese together. Add in gradually the powdered sugar and vanilla.

When the rolls are ready and cooled down, frost them with the cream cheese frosting!

Grocery Store Haul! (Special Items)

2012-02-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

I know, this post might seem silly and even weird... I've been super into youtube videos lately and one of my favorite ones include hauls. Beauty hauls but then I thought, why can't I make my own grocery store style of haul?

So when I bought my share of "special items" yesterday on our spontaneous mini trip to Austria I thought I'd let you know what exciting things I got! Of course, I will not go into details of buying the regular items such as bread and veggies. Oh, and not everything is from Austria, some of the chocolates are from Switzerland ( the BEST chocolate provider) and some of the stuffs were bought in Hungary.

Lindt baking chocolate. 150 gram. Cacao: 51% min.

Now, this is probably my favorite chocolate ever. Not only perfect for baking, but its taste is sooo delicious raw, as well. When I get a serious chocolate craving, and I have some of this on my hand, I like to munch on a square. Highly recommend it!

Lindt Wafer chocolate bar. It is filled with hazelnut cream. All I can say is YUM. I save it for a special occasion. I bought this in Austria for less than a euro.

When I saw this, I thought it was so cool! White chocolate decor cream! How amazing is this? It came with a small pipe so all I have to do is put the bottle in warm/hot water and then use it! It'll make beautiful decoration on cakes! It was 2,50 euros.

This thing is huge!! 2,5 kg of pure chocolate disks! My mom got this amazing sack in Switzerland. They are dark chocolate disks in there and can be used for baking, mostly. So it's not for snacking :P Well, I guess it could be for snacking, as well :) I'm not sure of the price but I know it was a lot cheaper than if we bought 25 bars of chocolate.

This picture speaks for itself. Marshmallows!! I have never ever bought marshmallows in my life... So I am crazy excited to create something that involves S'mores :))

My favorite peanut butter ever! Would you have thought that I can't buy this in Hungary? There are like 2 or 3 types of pretty nasty peanut butters here but they're expensive and as I mentioned, gross. I am so happy I found this mini bottle of yumminess! It cost 3 euros.

President Butter with sea salt. This stuff is so good!! Every time I go to Germany or Austria, I buy one. Unfortunately there is none in Hungary. If you can get access to it and haven't tried it yet, then do it!! This butter makes me addicted to toasts with butter...

Apple-Strawberry puree. Such a great snack! Healthy, tastes sooo good and only 63 calories.

As I might have mentioned in one of my previous posts, I can't drink milk. This is what I found the perfect substitute to it! Rice Milk! I've tried soy milk, oat milk, almond milk and I like the taste of rice milk the most! Besides, it's a lot cheaper than oat and almond milk...

Okay, that's it for my grocery store haul. Let me know if you liked it and if I should more in the future. I thought it's a pretty good idea, this way I can recommend certain products so others can enjoy them, too! Have a great Wednesday!

Oatmeal/Pancakes -> Oatmeal-Banana Cake

2012-01-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

I had an idea. What if I take oatmeal to the next level? What if I make the healthiest, the best for your body pancakes? What happens when you combine these two aspects? You most definitely get a delicious, over-the-top breakfast! I wouldn't have thought it'd turn out so GOOOOOOD! With a trillion O's :) Because when I took my first bite I was like, no way... This is the best of both worlds! You can taste the chewy, creamy oatmeal as well as enjoy it as a real, fluffy pancake! Oh, and there is absolutely no added sugar in it. None. The best healthy breakfast ever, I swear :) Okay, I am just so excited to share this recipe I can't help but praise these lovely oatmeal-banana cakes, as I call them.

I admit, making these is a bit more time-consuming but do you seriously care when you get to eat pancakes with no guilt? I certainly don't! :P Also, if you eat oatmeal every morning as I do, then mixing it up is so refreshing! I tend to get bored with eating and doing the same things every day...

Okay, I'll just go ahead and share it with you!

Oatmeal-Banana Cake

makes for 6 medium sized pancakes

for the oatmeal

1/2 cup whole grain oats

1/2 cup water

1/2 rice milk - or any type of milk

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon butter

for the pancakes

2 heaped tablespoons oat flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/4 cup rice milk - or any type of milk

1/2 mashed banana

1 teaspoon oil

First, let's prepare the oatmeal. Measure the oats, water, milk and salt into a cooking pan. Start cooking it together, occasionally stirring. Cook it for about 8 minutes, then add the vanilla and the butter. Turn the heat off, place a lid on the pan and let it sit for 5-6 minutes.

In a bowl, mix the oat flour and baking soda together. Add it to the oatmeal. Beat the egg and milk together with a fork and pour it on the oatmeal-flour mixture. Stir it well. Add in the oil and mashed banana and mix it together.

Using a big spoon, pour it onto a hot griddle and cook until it bubbles on the top side. Flip it and cook it for about a minute. Serve it with maple syrup.

The creamiest Oatmeal ever!

2012-01-19T01:43:00.000-08:00

When someone mentioned oatmeal I was always the first and loudest to protest.

Oatmeal = eww. That is how I always thought of it, I even called it "the snot". Okay, I still call it that way :) Pretty appetizing, right? But I tried to like it. I knew it was so good for my health and body so I kept forcing down a few spoons each and every day to follow it a "normal" breakfast. I did that until 2012 when I made a resolution or more like a determination to finally lose that 10 pounds I've been playing around with as a yo-yo. So I stuck to "the snot", trying all kinds of versions of it until I found this Coconut Oatmeal recipe I posted a few weeks ago. That became my favorite but you just can't eat the same thing every day. So I kept on experimenting. And that is how I finally found the creamiest, most yummy tasting oatmeal ever! Oh and have I mentioned how healthy it is? I don't add any sugar because it's just sweet enough for me but of course, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of brown cane sugar. Or maple syrup. It's up to you. But what makes it so amazing? Rice milk. And a tiny teaspoon of real butter. These 2 ingredients make all the magic happen. You can substitute rice milk to any types of milk but I found rice milk the most tasty. I am intolerant to cow milk so I can't drink it. I hate how soy and oat milk tastes and almond milk is way too expensive around here. I hope you'll fall in love with this recipe as much as I did!

The creamiest Oatmeal ever

makes for 1 person

1/2 cup whole grain oats

2 tablespoons wheat bran

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon water

1/2 cup rice milk - or any type of milk

1/2 - 1 teaspoon butter

pinch of salt

optional: 1 teaspoon cane sugar or maple syrup

Add oats and wheat bran into a cooking bowl. Pour the water and milk on it and start cooking it. Add a pinch of salt. Cook it for about 7 minutes, stirring it frequently. When it thickened, turn the heat off and add the butter and cover it for 3 minutes. Serve it with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a few apple slices or half a banana.

Cheesy Spinach Omelet

2012-01-16T02:08:00.000-08:00

I ran out of my favorite oatmeal mix which consists of oat, rye, wheat and barley flakes. They are so healthy and taste okay too ;) So now I got a new one, it is oatmeal + wheat bran. I made it as I would have made it my normal oatmeal and it tasted disgusting. So nasty I had to throw it out. But this action left me still hungry. My temptation to eat eggs won me over so I headed to the fridge to get some eggs and then a super duper genius idea hit me. Why not throw some spinach and cheese in my omelet? That was probably my best idea this week (since it's Monday morning)... It was so delicious I couldn't praise it enough while eating. I was like ooooh-aahhh it is soooo good! It is nothing really special but its simplicity is the one that makes it awesome!

Cheesy Spinach Omelet

makes for 1 person

2 eggs

3 leaves spinach- I used frozen spinach: 2 small balls

1/2 cup cheese - I used Gruyére

Herbs de Provence

salt

Whisk the eggs and add a pinch of salt to them while you heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan. Add the spinach leaves, if you're working with frozen one then sprinkle it lightly with salt and cover it with a lid. If it absorbed all the oil, add a spoon of water and cover it until it is completely cooked. Then add the whisked eggs. Sprinkle it with Herbs de Provence. Wait a few seconds (don't stir) and then add your cheese. When the top looks semi cooked, about a minute later, push one edge of the omelet to the center. I flipped it one more time and when it looks cooked on both sides, slide your eggs into a plate. Bon appetite!

Can you see my cat in the background? :)

European Apple Pie

2012-01-15T01:34:00.000-08:00

My oven is getting fixed. It's been gone for more than 2 weeks. Almost 3. I am trying to understand how people can live and even live happily without an oven. I have to admit, I'm having a hard time comprehending why anyone would choose to live a life without an oven. If it's not connected to some money issues, of course... I can understand that being a constantly broke college student myself.

But anyways... My point was to explain myself why I haven't posted any REAL exciting recipes lately. I am filled with so many ideas how to create some phenomenal desserts. And still try to manage to lose weight because it's January and I've got a resolution to keep! By the way, if anyone is interested I am finishing my 2nd week of the Insanity workout and this week pretty much kicked my butt! I was soo tired, the workouts seemed more exhausting than in the 1st week. But I see some improvements. I am definitely stronger, my endurance is higher, my waist line is narrower. So after all, it seems to work ;)

And now I have some real good news!! I was honored to receive the Liebster Award from Samantha at Little Painted Canvas!! This award is given to those bloggers who have less than 200 followers in order to increase their visits and chances to become friends with some amazing fellow bloggers! It was such a lovely surprise, it made my entire day so happy! Thank you Samantha! :)

On that note, what kind of a food blogger would I be if I didn't share a finger-lickin good recipe now? Yes, I'd be a bad one, so I will give you a European version of the classic Apple Pie! For me, it is a Hungarian pie but I know that many neighbor countries have similar recipes so that's why it is European, not Hungarian. It is very easy and really really good.

European Apple Pie

300 grams cake flour

150 grams powdered sugar

150 grams butter

2 egg yolks + 2 slightly beaten egg whites

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1-2 tablespoons sour cream

1,5 kg apple

cinnamon

4 tablespoons grits

Grease a rectangle shaped pan and preheat your oven to 185C.

Peel and then shred the apples. Add 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon and a few tablespoons of brown sugar if your apples are not too sweet. Add the grits in and mix it well.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and butter. You will get crumbs. Now add the egg yolks and sour cream. Knead it until the dough becomes soft. Divide it into two parts. Roll the dough out into a rectangle shape and place it in a baking pan.

It's okay if the dough breaks while your attempt to get it in the pan. The dough is supposed to be this soft and it is real hard to transfer without breaking it. But just adjust it with your fingers in the pan.

Sprinkle the dough lightly with grits. Spread the cinnamon apple on top of the dough.

Roll the other half of the dough out and place it on top of the apple. Glaze the dough with the egg whites. Poke the dough with a fork in several places. Bake it for 35-40 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

2012-01-10T01:05:00.000-08:00

I am happily announcing that I have completed one week from the Insanity workout program!! Yay!! :) Sooo.... Since I was able to lose a couple of cms from all over my body in just ONE week, I decided to keep with it! It means, no sugar for me. Still. Actually, I don't even crave it. That much. :) But I can't abandon my blog so I will post a few older recipes that just never made it up here. But now!

About these cookies. I am not a big fan of snickerdoodles. When it comes to choosing what type of cookies to make. My first and possibly only choice would be choc. chip cookies. DUH. Then all variations to choc. chip cookies. Then... that's all because I do not wanna eat any other kinds of cookies. But when I had some leftover cinnamon-sugar from this doughnut recipe I decided to give snickerdoodles a try. It would be mere exaggerating to say I came to find a new favorite but I did really like them! Especially warm. I was mesmerized that this cookie is not that snickerdoodle cookie I've tried before! These ones are a little spiced up with chinese five spice powder which were the perfect addition to the cookies! All I can say is yum!

Snickerdoodles

170 grams brown sugar

112 grams butter

1 egg

170 grams flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons 5 spice powder

40 grams sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Beat the sugar with the butter until creamy. Add in the egg and keep mixing. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients and add it to the sugary butter cream. Shape dough into medium sized balls. Mix the 40 grams of sugar with the cinnamon and roll the cookie dough balls into it. Bake them for 8-10 minutes on 200C.

Pasta with Homemade Super Quick Marinara Sauce with Zucchini and Ham

2012-01-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

I know, I know that was a mouthful. But how else would I call this real super quick pasta dish to give every detail that is needed to know? Exactly. You need to know that I made this marinara sauce with fresh ingredients (except for the tomato paste) and I added one zucchini and cubed ham for a seriously unexpected joy explosion in the mouth! You need to know that I am having my exams so frankly, I couldn't care less to cook something über delicious lunch. Besides, my family is in and about so they don't have the time, either. But I started Insanity (the workout) and it is sooo exhausting that after I finish I can't wait to replace the calories I just burned! That is when I started searching for something in the fridge.

I found a zucchini... Hmmm...What to do with a zucchini that is quick and more or less healthy? Pasta? Didn't have whole wheat at home but found some fusili pasta made of durum wheat so it's not that bad, either. Found a whole bottle of organic tomato paste so it basically gave me the recipe :)

I was ready with lunch in less than 30 minutes! Including setting the table! Pretty nice, isn't it? You can make a bowl of fresh salad and it is a very nutritious yet delicious lunch! Or dinner...Whatever :)

Pasta with Homemade Marinara Sauce with Zucchini and Ham

for 4 people

1 package of pasta

350 gram bottled tomato paste - organic preferred

4 thick slices of ham - cubed

1 zucchini - shredded

1 onion - diced

1 garlic

italian seasoning - preferably one that doesn't have any salt

salt

pepper

fresh basil - if you have on your hand

parmesan or grana paddano

Bring water to the boil and add the paste in. Cook it according to the instructions on the pasta's box.

Measure 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a bigger sauce pan. Don't heat it just yet just add in the diced onion. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and then turn on the heat. My mom and I are very sensitive to onions so we need to cook it this way. Cook it for about 8 minutes and then add the cubed ham to the onion. Cook it for another 5-7 minutes and then comes the shredded zucchini. Season with pepper and the italian seasoning and garlic powder. Cook for 5 minutes and pour the tomato paste in the pan. Add some salt if needed and cook it for 10-15 minutes.

When serving, sprinkle some parmesan on top of the marinara and then mix it together with the pasta. Enjoy :)

Coconut Oatmeal

2012-01-02T02:02:00.000-08:00

First of all, helllloooo 2012!! I hope everyone had a blast this holiday season! :) And I wish everyone a very very wonderful new year!

I have a very good feeling about 2012. At least, I can tell it will bring many many changes.

Whether these changes will be good or bad, I do not know. But I welcome changes. Change always bears a meaning that something new is coming. Of course, something ends as well but this is how life works. In my mind, I connect change with good. I guess, I am just a sucker for changes :)

For me changes have already started. I had to move out from my apartment, say goodbye to my roommate as a roommate. Say hello to my family in a daily basis again...

Since I am home now, at least for a short while, we decided to rearrange the whole house. Now it looks like as if we all moved to a new house :) Love it!

I also decided that I need to get back to the healthy lifestyle I used to have. Meaning I need to cut out refined sugar. Not all together. But the holiday season certainly did not do any good to my hips... So I am not eating sugar for one week. I know it's not much but for someone who ate something sweet each day it's not that easy. Besides, I just gotta start somewhere ;) Also, minimize my sodium intake. Just to lose some excess water in my system. It's not real weight I'll be losing but still, it'll make me happy to be a few pounds lighter...

Having our oven in the service is a much help, too :) Anytime I feel like I just need to bake something I realize I can't! Yay! Good diet :)

This is why I created this coconut oatmeal recipe. It's probably the easiest thing ever to make but it has such a refreshing taste to the same ol' oatmeal. In fact, I have to seriously force myself to eat that small bowl of oatmeal in the morning. I pretty much despise it, but not this coconut one!!! AND it had no sugar in it at all. NONE. Of course, you can add some if you like but it's not necessary. Or add half a banana in. Actually, I was supposed to have a banana oatmeal but apparently my family ate it (even though they "hate bananas") so in my desperation I started looking for something in the pantry to add to the oatmeal.

Coconut Oatmeal

for 1 person

1/2 cup oatmeal - I used an oatmeal mix that had 4 kinds of grain flakes like oat, rye, buckwheat and barley

1 cup water

1/4 unsweetened shredded coconut

a pinch of coconut chips if you have

vanilla

optional: 1 teaspoon cane sugar or 1/2 mashed banana

Add the water in a small cooking bowl. Stir in the oatmeal and cook it for 6-8 minutes. You can add some salt but I did not. Add in the vanilla. When it's almost ready, add in the coconut and place a lid on top of the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. If you sweeten it then add the sugar or mashed banana at the same time as the coconut. If you want it creamier then add 1/4 cup almond milk in.

Super Chocolatey Hazelnut Bars

2011-12-17T03:40:00.000-08:00

This recipe turned out something way different that it was intended to. But boy, this is waaaay better than the original hazelnut bar was supposed to be. It is a brownie-like delicious chocolate mess with a huge amount of hazelnut. The ideal dessert because let me tell ya, it is better than brownies. So, need I say more?

I'll just go ahead and give you the recipe and dare you to make it today, I mean NOW :) You will so not regret it!

Super Chocolatey Hazelnut Bars

for a 20x30 cm pan

for the dough

250 gram flour

1 tablespoon Dutch cocoa powder - unsweetened

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

200 gram dark chocolate

140 gram hazelnut + 30 gram ground hazelnut

250 gram soft butter

150 gram brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

for the chocolate cream

150 gram dark chocolate

30 gram butter

1 tablespoon oil

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Beat the butter with the sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla and mix well. Add in the dry ingredients in 3 parts.

Chop the nuts and chocolate into very small bits and mix into the dough with a wooden spoon.

Place the dough into the pan and bake it for 30 minutes on 160C.

When you take it out of the oven it won't be fully baked but don't worry, let it chill for 20 minutes.

Now it's time for the cream. Melt the chocolate,butter and oil over boiling water and when the bar is cool, spread it on top. Chill it for another 15 minutes and cover it with ground hazelnuts.

Sajtos Pogácsa - Hungarian Cheese Puffs

2011-12-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

We have different traditions in Hungary in the holiday season. Santa, I mean St Nicholas, comes on 6th December here and on Christmas Eve we are waiting for the little Jesus to bring our presents! Of course, as an almost 22-year-old I don't expect any gifts on Nicholas day...That is why I was so surprised when I got absolutely the coolest thing ever! A plastic bread-board! I had a huge wooden one that was very heavy, very hard to clean and needed such a big space. Look at this beauty :)

It has everything I might need. Measurements, unit converter, it can be rolled up, I don't need to use flour for kneading...I know exactly how big I need to knead the dough, it is perfect!

So, of course I just had to try it out! :)

I've been waiting for these cheese puffs' recipe for years now. It is a traditional, old school Hungarian pastry. It is made with yeast and it tastes amazing! These mini puffs are crunchy on the outside and super duper soft inside! This recipe is the ultimate crowd-pleaser at social gatherings. Now, that the holiday season is on full gear, I recommend making these cute puffs ahead. They can be stored in a box for up to a week or even 2! Just put them in the microwave for a couple seconds and voila, taste as if they were made fresh :) Or you can put them in the freezer and melt them a few hours before serving. Do you need anything better?

Sajtos Pogácsa - Hungarian Cheese Puffs

makes 1 kg mini puffs

500 gram flour - I used all-purpose

1 package dry yeast - mine was 7gram

1 teaspoon sugar

1,5 dl warm water

200 gram butter

1 tablespoon salt

2 eggs - divided to yolks and egg whites

1/2 cup plain yogurt

250 gram shredded cheese - I used smoked cheese and cheddar

Mix the flour, salt and butter together. In another small bowl, add the sugar to the warm water and then mix the dry yeast in it with your fingers. Don't use metal spoon because the yeast might not work. Set it aside for a few minutes until the top is foamy. Mix the egg yolks with the yogurt and add it to the flour mixture. Work it together, then add in the yeast. Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes. First, the dough will be very sticky and wet but do not worry, just knead. When you see the dough has come together, place a cloth on top of the bowl and set it aside. Preferably somewhere warm for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the first folding comes.

Roll the dough out.

Bring the right and left side of the dough into the center. Then bring the bottom part to the center, too.

Fold the upper part of the dough so it will look like this.

Put the dough back to the bowl and cover it with the cloth. Leave it for another 30 minutes.

Do the same folding technique and set it aside for another 30 minutes. Fold the dough again and let it sit for another 30 minutes. I know, it's kinda annoying but you can clean the kitchen, shred the cheese while waiting :)

After the 30 minutes has passed, roll the dough out to about 2 cm thickness. Get a roll or biscuit cutter and start cutting.

Place the little puffs on a baking sheet. Beat the egg whites slightly and spread it on the puffs lightly. Sprinkle some salt and add the cheese generously on top.

Bake them for 15 minutes on 190C. Let them cool before serving.

Walnut Brownies

2011-11-26T02:42:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves brownies! This is no question, I know so I am sure everyone has a go-to recipe for brownies, as well. The situation is similar to cookies. Each and everyone has different tastes so I am going to describe how mine compares.

The recipe is from a le Cordon Bleu book and I've made it for hundreds of times. It is a huge favorite in my family, I like to under bake it for a few minutes so the middle is a bit wet. It is ah-maaazing! This time I let it bake as it is supposed to be but only because I made it for next day for our small Thanksgiving friendly get-together. It is dense, yet light. Chewy, not cakey with a decadent chocolate flavor. The appearance is not the best but who cares when it tastes like pure heaven? My family calls it ugly but lovely :)

Oh and before I forget to add, there is a light chocolate ganache on top that I spread before the brownies cool down so it would absorb most of it. I noticed that this way it is more delicious!

ps: using whole wheat flour makes it even more gooey. This time I used simple all-purpose but I usually work with whole wheat spelt flour, so I can only recommend it.

Walnut Brownies

for a 20 cm pan

200 grams soft butter

vanilla

200 grams sugar

80 grams chocolate - the darker the better (I like 60-70%)

2 slightly beaten eggs

100 grams flour - whole wheat spelt works best

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

200 grams chopped walnuts

for the ganache

1 dl créme double (heavy cream is fine)

100 grams dark chocolate

40 grams soft butter

Grease the pan and set it aside. Mix the butter with the vanilla and sugar until fluffy. Pre-heat the oven to 170C.

Melt the chocolate over boiling water. When the chocolate is melted put it aside.

Add the beaten eggs to the butter mixture gradually. Work it together and add in the melted chocolate, as well.

Mix together the dry ingredients and add it to the wet mixture. Add in the walnuts and pour the batter into the pan.

Bake for 25 minutes if you want a slightly wet inside or 29 minutes to fully bake.

For the ganache bring the creme to a boil. Take it off the heat and add in the chocolate. Mix it until dissolved and add the butter to it. Put it in the fridge for a while and then spread it on the brownies.

Candy Stuffed Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

2011-11-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

I know it's been way too long since I last posted... Shame on me but I had some technical issues (no computer). But my baking fever hasn't ceased. It is still on high gear so I have some pretty delicious recipes that are waiting to be posted :)

But first thing first, I wanted to share this allegedly heavenly cookies. Let me tell you. These cookies are filled with snickers. Some of 'em are filled with caramel. Some of 'em are just simply with reeses. Can you honestly say that you'd resist these? Oh and they are with oatmeal and peanut butter. There is some serious richness going on here. You don't like overly sweet things? Don't worry, I don't either. That's why there is an awful lot of salt on top... AND this is how these cookies go to the next level.

Okay, I think I owe you an explanation how I came up with this pretty bizarre creation.

I wanted peanut butter like crazy. I'd been craving it for a veeery long time but would you think that it is so difficult to get some GOOD peanut butter in hungary? Well, it is a pretty tricky deal, indeed. So after browsing through amazon, e-bay and all kinds of other sites I ended up making my own. I thought I did a quite good job until I tasted it.

It looked really yum and I made it with maple syrup and I made it the way I like it: crunchy. But something just went wrong...I added too much peanut oil. It got too sweet. I forgot to add salt. So everything that could have gone wrong, it had. I was bummed. So what to do with it when it is impossible to eat raw?

Make some peanut butter cookies, of course! Only, had I known that it will mess up the cookies, as well!

The first bite to the cookies was a huge disappointment. I could taste the nasty homemade peanut butter of mine. So what to do? I won't just throw the entire batch out...in such days when wasting anything seems so reckless. So.... I thought stuffing some candy inside would make it a little better. Add some salt on top, just in case...And voila! :) Enjoy!

Candy Stuffed Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

113 grams butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

160 grams flour

1 cup oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chocolate chips or 2 chocolate bars, diced

small pieces of candy - snickers, caramel, reese's PB cups, mars or any kind

salt

Cream butter and sugar together. Add peanut butter and the egg. Mix it until fluffy. Add vanilla. In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, oats and a pinch of salt. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet mixture. Add in the chocolate. Form little balls and put a piece of candy on them.

Place another cookie ball on the candy and make it into one big cookie ball. Sprinkle salt on top generously.

Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes on 170C.

Pasta Salad with Salmon and Beans

2011-11-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

This time of autumn is definitely my favorite. I look outside my window and the colors mesmerize me...The shades of yellow, orange, red and green are just something that makes me feel so contentedly happy. I put in my favorite jazz CD so I am absolutely in my happy place now. But what is missing from this picture? Food, indeed!

Today I happened to find a recipe that caught my eye instantly. It was on the Self magazine website. Of course, it was just an idea for my recipe since I used fusilli pasta with salmon and added more veggies.

Since this pasta salad has salmon, it is yet again not a vegan recipe. But I was just craving some fish so badly! It's not that bad, I hope... Oh well, the salad was just perfect, I don't care it wasn't vegan!

It is so fresh due to the lemon-olive oil dressing and all the vegetables! I advise you to make it ahead so the flavors would come together after a few hours. I ate it as a post-workout meal and it was the ultimate lunch for me :) I always wonder what I should eat after working out. When I still ate animal protein, I would just grab a greek yogurt, or made some eggs or cheese or something like that. But ever since I don't eat those things, what is the ideal nutrition I should be putting in my body? I've read numerous articles, almost all of them say different things so I usually just listen to my body what it craves and that is what I give it. :) Today a salmon-bean pasta salad. Hope you'll like :)

Pasta Salad with Salmon and Beans

1 package Fusilli pasta

1 can salmon packed in oil

1 lemon - zest and juice

1 can white beans - rinsed and drained

1 can red beans

1 red bell pepper - sliced thinly

1 can corn

10 whole green olives - sliced thinly, I used olives filled with almonds

10 tablespoons virgin olive oil

salt, pepper, garlic powder

parsley - chopped

Cook pasta as directed on package. When it's cooked, drain it.

Measure the olive oil in a medium bowl, add the lemon zest and juice. Add salt and pepper generously. Add a tablespoon garlic powder ( you can use fresh garlic also, but I am sensitive to garlic). Mix it together and set it aside while you add the vegetables to the pasta.

Flake the salmon to the pasta, add in the beans, bell pepper slices, corn and olives. Pour the lemon-olive oil dressing on it. Mix it well and add the parsley on top. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Put it in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Marble Bundt Cake

2011-10-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, when I made these lovely Doughnuts I talked about how I was supposed to make a bundt cake. I mean, how I imagined baking one. But I was in a sad - so sad- situation of not owning a bundt cake pan. I accepted that I have to postpone my desire of making and actually tasting it. Because, yes I admit, I have never in my life had bundt cake. So when I came home this Friday I was completely blown away by my wonderful family who got me a cake pan! They are the best! The best of the best! :)

No wonder, I didn't hesitate but made one hell of a marble bundt cake! It is dense, chocolatey, packed with chocolate chips and smells like vanilla. Love, love, love it!!

I had some trouble with the baking part because the recipe says bake for about an hour. Since my oven usually bakes faster I thought 50 minutes will be plenty! So when the 50 minutes have passed I did the toothpick try and it seemed perfect. I took it out to realize that oh no, it is not perfect. It was still runny inside so I got a bit panicked that noooo! But my mom was on top of the situation and put it back inside the pan and baked it for 11 more minutes. This time we got it right :) Serve it with coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Hmm...Yum.

Marble Bundt Cake

adapted from the Los Angeles Times recipe

2 1/2 cups sugar - divided

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup light corn syrup - I used homemade sugar syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter - 226 grams
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together one-half cup of the sugar, the cocoa powder and corn syrup with one-half cup hot water. Bring just to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add a half-teaspoon of vanilla off the heat and set aside.

2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), cream the butter with the remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then whisk in the remaining vanilla.

3. Whisk about a third of the flour mixture into the batter, then a third of the milk. Continue whisking in the flour mixture and milk, alternately and a little at a time, until everything is added and the batter is light and smooth.

4. Gently fold in the chocolate chips, then divide the batter into thirds. Pour a third of the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

5. Whisk the chocolate syrup with another third of batter, then pour this into the prepared bundt pan. Pour the remaining third of batter over this, lightly swirl the batters with a wooden skewer or knife to give a "marble" effect and place the pan in the oven.

6. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back lightly when touched, about 1 hour. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. Invert the cooled cake onto a serving platter and dust lightly with powdered sugar.

Tabbouleh

2011-10-29T02:02:00.000-07:00

Being a vegan means you've gotta introduce all kinds of meals into your diet if you want to stick to being a vegan. It can be really very discouraging to be one if you are not on the constant seek of something new to try. I am a true foodie and love to eat everyday something different but to be honest, veganism is not at all that popular yet. Yes, there are many of us who chose this lifestyle but the majority of people do not understand why one wouldn't eat dairy products since they are healthy. So eating out can be a little challenging, mainly in Hungary. What's more challenging is to come home to my family in which the men don't consider a meal without a massive amount of meat. Okay, I can always skip the meat part but I need something nutritious to eat, too! And no, I can't eat simple mixed salad all the time as a a main meal. So I was more than happy when my Mom came home with boxes of bulgur and couscous! Yay, something different!

Having bulgur at home means tabbouleh, of course! Honestly, I haven't eaten it before and it is so good! It is fresh, loaded with vegetables and complements basically anything perfectly. Let it be fish, meat or grilled vegetables. It is seriously amazing and will be a guest on our plates often. Oh and have I mentioned how easy it is to make?

Tabbouleh

2 cups bulgur

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped fresh mint

2 smaller purple onions

5-6 tomatoes

3 cucumbers

1-2 lemons' juice

1,5 dl olive oil

1 chili

salt, pepper, cilantro seeds

Bring water to a boil and pour about 3 or 4 times as much water on the bulgur. Let it soak up for 15-20 minutes.

Chop up the parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers into very small pieces.

Mix the lemon juice with the olive oil and spices. Mix it well.

Strain the now soft bulgur and place it in a big salad bowl. Add the onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes and cucumbers to it. Stir it together. Add the sauce and mix it well. If desired, add more salt.

Cinnamon Sugar Coated Baked Doughnuts

2011-10-23T02:16:00.000-07:00

I am sick. I am weak and definitely aren't craving any sweets. But it's the weekend. And I was dying to make a bundt cake. I know...Bundt cake is not relative to doughnuts. Not even slightly. Let me explain. I WANTED to make a bundt cake but as it turned out, we do not own such a cake pan. Bummer, right?

But my mom was being her awesome self and found the doughnut pans which were missing for about 6 years. I got them 6 years ago, tried them once, didn't succeed so "someone" removed from eyesight ever since...

But now that we have them and no bundt cake pan so let's make doughnuts! I was searching for a recipe that didn't have a glaze on it, we are out of powdered sugar... And this recipe kept coming up. And oooh...it is good. Really good. Even though I am talking about doughnuts, these are not super unhealthy due to them baked not fried. My stomach was light afterwards unlike with its fried version.

So if you're in super need of a doughnut, give this a try! Worth it! :)

Cinnamon Sugar coated Doughnuts

makes for about 15 doughnuts

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon dry yeast - for me it was a 7gram package

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups flour - I needed more than 3 cups

1 stick butter

for the cinnamon sugar

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

cinnamon

With a paddle attachment beat the egg with the sugar. Add in the milk, yeast, salt and vanilla. Add 2 cups of flour and then the butter and beat until smooth. Add in the rest of the flour. It should be soft and moist but not sticky.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise for an hour.

Roll the dough out and with biscuit cutters cut holes out. I didn't have a biscuit cutter so i just formed the dough with my hands. Place the dough in the doughnut pan and let it rise for 20 minutes in a warm environment. I put it on the heater. When they rise to their double size bake them for 10-12 minutes on 200C.

Melt the butter. Combine sugar with the cinnamon. Dip the baked doughnut in the melted butter and coat it with the cinnamon sugar. Enjoy :)

Pumpkin Pie

2011-10-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Autumn is all about pies, right? At least, about apple and pumpkin pies! So yep, I made a pumpkin pie. A very unpopular one, in fact. I tried to impress everyone with my oh-so fantastic skill of cutting out leaves from the crust dough. But nope, it didn't help, either.

I guess, no one is up for pumpkins here! Not my family, not friends. No one. Not even me. Seriously, how sad is this?

But hold up...it gets even sadder. I made this pie from scratch with fresh pumpkin. Just imagine, I dealt with the whole fuss of a fresh pumpkin! And no one got like ooooh-aaaah this is just soooo gooood like I imagined someone at least would. Nope, the best review I got was: yeah, it tastes like pumpkin. It's good. But it tastes like pumpkin.

Gosh!

Now, I will share the recipe and if you still like pumpkins I will encourage you to try this recipe out because it really is a good one! I made one last year (yes, from fresh pumpkin) but it was not nearly as good as this one and last year's was not bad at all. Working with fresh pumpkin is pretty easy too! And oh so much healthier! The unpopularity of mine was probably due to the fact that pumpkin desserts are not very known or beloved in Hungary. But looking at other blogs, I can tell that it is a huge it. Now being October, too...

Pumpkin Pie

for the crust

1 1/4 cup flour

3 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup butter - cold and diced

1/4 cup teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold water

for the filling

2 cups pumpkin puree - about half kg with its peel on

2/3 cup cane sugar

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 ts ginger

1 ts nutmeg

3 beaten eggs

2/3 cup condensed milk

First off, let's take the pumpkin slice and put it in a big bowl. Add water so the pumpkin would sit in it and place it in the microwave and heat it for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, take it out and carve the pumpkin out of its peel. Puree it and set it aside.

Now for the crust. Combine flour, sugar, salt together. Add the diced butter and pulse to mix. It will be very crumbly, then add the cold water, 1 spoon at a time. Pulse it again until the dough comes together. Knead the dough for a few seconds then wrap it in plastic and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

For the filling, combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, spices together. Add the eggs and then the condensed milk and mix it together. If your new to baking a pie, the batter will be liquid but do not worry, it should be like this.

Now, roll the pie crust out and place it in the pie pan. Shape the crust with a fork and then pour the pumpkin batter into it. Cover with a foil and bake for 30 minutes on 190C. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Caramel Apple Pie

2011-10-15T02:51:00.000-07:00

Baking with apples always make me feel so happy. I'm not sure what it is but it just comforts me. The smell, the peeling, the whole procedure... It makes me think that all is well. And after tasting this pie...everything really is more than fine! :) haha!

I know there are millions of apple pie recipes and frankly, I've tried so many of them but neither of them convinced me to make it again. Until I came to my senses and realized, I can make my own pie! I mean, the filling... :) I used a real existing recipe (from a cookbook) for the crust. Oh my...Okay, I promised myself not to use exaggerating words like the best, perfect anymore. But my oh my, this crust was just fabulous, might I say! Not dry at all, not sticky and blends completely with the filling! First, it frightened me that it requires yeast. I was puzzled, why do I need yeast in a crust?? But it really worked! No idea, what exactly it did to the dough but tasted awesome. So I don't even bother figuring out why. :)

This recipe is easy, family-friendly (kids can join and help out) and will please everyone's taste buds! Just think about the apple-caramel-walnuts and crust combo...Hmmm...Unbeatable! :)

Oh and it is quite impressive that me being a vegan can eat this cutie pie, as well!!

Caramel Apple Pie

for the filling

3 cups apple - cut finely

1 lemon's juice

salt

1 cup sugar

cinnamon

nutmeg

50 gram butter

1/2 package vanilla pudding powder

1/2 cup toasted and peeled walnuts

for the caramel

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter

vanilla

for the crust

3/4 cup sour cream

11 gram dry yeast

370 gram flour

165 gram butter

43 gram powder sugar

1 egg

a pinch of salt

First, let's prepare the filling because it is ought to cool down. Mix the lemon juice with the finely cut apple so it wouldn't brown. Heat a pan and pour in the sugar. When it starts melting, add the apple, the cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Cook it for 6 minutes. Stir the pudding powder in 1/2 deciliter cold water and add it to the apple. Stir it together and bring it to a boil. When it's done, let it cool down.

For the crust put the sour cream in the microwave and heat it just so it would be lukewarm. Mix in the dry yeast and the egg. In another bowl add the diced butter to the flour, add the powder sugar and the yeast-sour cream mixture. Knead it together. Divide the dough into a smaller and a bigger ball.

Grease a pie pan. Roll the bigger ball into thin and put it in the pan. Poke the dough with a fork. Now add the toasted walnuts, after that add the apple.

Roll the smaller ball into the same shape and cut thin lines that will fit on your pan.

Now it's time to make the caramel. Add the brown sugar to a saucepan and when it starts melting add the vanilla and heavy cream. When there is no hard sugar in it anymore take it off the heat and add the butter.

Pour the caramel on top of the apple and layer the dough lines on top. Plaster a beaten egg yolk on the dough and bake it for 50 minutes on 180C.

The Cookie Project

2011-10-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

I had a previous post about a certain chocolate chip cookie recipe. I thought that was the best I could get. Boy, was I wrong!

So first of all, after a while not having cookies I started doubting the recipe that it is the best...I mean, it tastes amazing and for some who is all for the crispy, chewy, flat cookies, that is your recipe. But I saw pictures on several blogs that something way better exists. The pictures looked so good that I just wanted to make those mine!!

So 2 weeks ago I decided that I'd jump into a cookie project and find the absolute recipe for chocolate chip cookies!

Sounds pretty fun, right? Well, let me tell ya...Baking 5 different types of CCC (choc. chip cookies) and not really liking any of them can be a little bit disappointing. I started doubting my baking skills (which are far from anything perfect but you know...). I was SO frustrated that I baked a different batch each day. I tried them all, the cookie dough was always good. I mean, how wrong can you go with just the dough? The dough is always delish! So after licking of it I always got so hopeful that maybe THIS time it will be the ONE. But no...

I tried the brown butter version. I must have seriously messed it up. The texture was just horrible, it completely fell apart. I'm sure the recipe was fine but something with my method was the problem. So next day I tried a new one. One that used an enormous amount of butter with not so much flour. I thought how can I go wrong with lots of butter...Butter rocks! I must have been french in my previous life... But anyways, the recipe sucked! I can't demonstrate it in pictures but believe me :) It was very cakey, the taste was alright but nothing special. Not real cookies.

So this led to the next day when I tried one that used a lot less butter and I froze the dough for 3 hours before baking it. It was really good! It had the same taste and texture as my go-to cookies. It was chewy and flat. Good-good but not what I wanted.

To make my story short(er) I'll tell you. The one that is really the ONE and ONLY chocolate chip cookie which will stay forever and ever on my number one cookie recipe is not other than the Jacques Torres kind of recipe. I am swooned.

I am so extremely happy, I can't even put it into words! I almost gave up that I will never get it right. The easiest recipe ever! And I just can't?? No way!

And that is right, no way I can't because I definitely can! And did! The cookie dilemma that was weighing on me suddenly vanished! No more troubles, no more recipe searches...I finally found it! I know, I sound like a possessed girl. A cookie possessed girl. But I take it. And what is the lesson I learned? Never give up!

Why are these cookies so amazing? Why is everyone talking about these? Because it has a consistency that only those cookies have that you buy in very expensive and exclusive bakeries. These can be considered as a delicacy. They are so good. They are not flat, they are fatties and crispy and soft at the same time. They have a lot of chocolate and when I say a lot I mean a LOT. I used less than the recipe indicated because I like it this way but the recipe was created to have chocolate in each bite. This makes it special. The salt on top just makes even more amazing. So do not hesitate, try it!

My observations with the recipe: the all time question is do we really need to let the dough chill in the fridge for 24 or even 36 hours?

I prepared it yesterday at 10pm and since I am leaving for my apartment I couldn't wait 24 hours. I let it sit for 15 hours and it tasted amazing. I baked another batch after 20 hours and it tasted exactly the same as it did chilling for 15 hours. I am not sure what the difference is after 24 or 36 hours but I was utterly satisfied with the results. If I had the opportunity, I would have let it chill for 36 hours even, but I didn't. Next time :)

Other than that, I followed the recipe completely. Which is a huge thing for me since I always change recipes. Okay, being me, I reduced the chocolate amount. Also I didn't have chocolate disks, I used 1,5 bars of dark chocolate.

Here is the recipe. I halved the original measurements so I had 14 big cookies.

Enjoy :)

Banana-Apple Bread

2011-10-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Weekend = Baking. That is a statement. This action cannot be changed, left out, postponed. Except if I travel somewhere. Travel is number one. Then comes baking. So as I already mentioned I changed lifestyle to vegan. I am a very happy vegan who is even happier when I get to cheat from time to time and eat some crepes, like I did yesterday. I know real vegans don't cheat, they are perfect...But I didn't go vegan because of philosophy, I don't eat meat and dairy because my body doesn't tolerate it. That is a slight difference.

But today is Saturday and I am home with my family. No guests are coming so it is entirely up to me what I choose to make as a dessert today! And to stick to a healthy diet I chose banana bread! I have been dying to make it for years. But no one ever said yes to my proposal to make banana bread so I simply acknowledged that it has to wait. Until today! Because I found 2 ripe bananas in the kitchen and that just called for a banana bread! :)

It is not entirely vegan. It has 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of honey. Oh and butter. But as a totally weird vegan, I don't consider butter as cheating. Since it's fat, it's not protein, right?

The result was utterly surprising! I didn't really think that it will be so delicious...But it is! It is moist, it smells and tastes like banana with a hint of apple. The shredded apples give it such a nice texture. It is sweet, yet not overly sweet. Cinnamon butter will go so well with it. I recommend you highly to make this bread TODAY :) It is so simple and easy and healthy!

Banana- Apple Bread

2 ripe bananas

2 smaller apples - peeled and shredded

2 eggs

110 grams butter

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons cane sugar

vanilla

1 cup cake flour

2/3 cup whole wheat spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup nuts - I used peanuts

cinnamon

nutmeg

Toast the nuts in a pan then let them cool. Mash the bananas together. Beat the eggs and add them to the melted butter. Add the butter mixture to the mashed bananas and mash them again. Add the shredded apples to the mix and sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg generously on it. Add the honey and sugar. Mix it together. In another bowl mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients. Add the nuts. Grease a bread pan and pour the bread mixture in it. Bake it for 55 minutes on 170C.

Rákóczi Túrós - Hungarian Ricotta Cake

2011-10-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

Before I start now, let me state that this is NOT the traditional Hungarian Rákóczi Túrós recipe. As usual, I altered the recipe, used different measurements, different ingredients so basically it is a Ricotta cake inspired by the Hungarian Rákóczi túrós. This "rákóczi túrós" is not a cake, it is a farmers cheese bar with a short pastry base and whipped egg white on top with peach preserve drops.

I modified the whole thing because I found this Hungarian dessert too dry. I never liked it. Which is surprising because I am a huuuuge fan of farmers cheese or ricotta (the 2 things are almost the same). But I just don't like it baked. I like it fresh.

The short pastry was another problem, I really don't think short pastry is likable. It is dry, it puts extra calories on any dessert with it...It's just something I don't fancy. So what to do? I found 2 packages of some dry oat cookies...Hmm...Ricotta is like cheese...I am making ricotta cake which is like almost cheesecake. So why not make a cheesecake crust? And that is exactly what I did. This was the best idea ever! The crust now has a deep flavor which seriously gives a very nice contrast to the ricotta cream. Oh and before I forget to mention, I also added a layer of peach preserve on the cookie crust. Ah.... heavenly!!

Now, this dessert is not mess-free. It has several steps to it and it will consume your time. So if you are looking for a quick remedy for a serious sweet craving, this is not your recipe. But if you need something for a Sunday, for guests, for a holiday that is different, a little fancy but not crazy difficult to make, here ya go! It will impress everyone (who doesn't despise ricotta cheese), I guarantee :)

Rákóczi Túrós - Hungarian Ricotta Cake

for a 25x40 cm square pan, if you want smaller just use half of the measurements

for the crust

500 grams oat or any type of cookies

250 grams butter

for the cream

1 kg ricotta cheese or farmers cheese

180 grams powdered sugar

6 egg yolks

vanilla

1 lemon's zest

4 egg whites

raisins - as much as desired

for the top

6 egg whites

200 grams powdered sugar

peach preserve

First, put the raisins in rum so it would soak it up.

Now, process the cookies in a food processor until you get a cookie powder.

oh and don't forget to sip on a glass of wine. Just for fun :P

Add the melted butter to it and put it evenly in a square pan. Bake it for 6 minutes and then let it cool.

While the crust is cooling, mash the ricotta, just like you would with potatoes.

Now, mix the 6 egg yolks with the powdered sugar until it's creamy. Add the cheese to it gradually. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and mix it until the mixture comes together as a cream. Add the raisins (but not the rum). Beat the 4 egg (not 6) whites and fold it to the cheese mix.

Add a layer of peach preserve on the crust. After that add the ricotta cheese mixture on top of it and bake it for 20 minutes on 165C.

While it is baking, beat the 6 egg whites. When it is almost fully beaten, add the 200 grams sugar and beat it until it is shiny and you can see the peaks of the whites.

When the 20 minutes is gone, take out the cake from the oven. Pour the egg whites into a sack, cut off the corner and draw diagonal lines with the whipped egg whites.

When you have the lines, drop peach preserve in between the lines. The cake should look like as above in the picture.

Now, let's place the cake back in the oven for 20 more minutes on 120C.

Bon appetit :)

This is how the inside looks like. Yummy.

Broccoli Lasagna and Thoughts on Veganism

2011-09-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

Before I'm sharing the recipe for this modified, yet amazing lasagna, I will confess that this will be the last recipe (at least for a while) that contains dairy or meat. I just found out that I am really VERY intolerant to any dairy products, as well as, to meat. Great, huh?

So veganism, here I come. To tell the truth, it wasn't a shocking news to me, I already knew that. I even was a vegan for almost a year back in 2005. But since I was eating according to what my body wanted and liked I felt great! I felt amazing and thought that why should I restrain myself from my favorite foods like cheese and yogurt and milk? They are healthy, anyways. So I went back to a diet where I ate everything. It was a healthy diet, but not for me. So first of all, I gained weight and accepted being bloated as a normal thing. When I saw the signs that I just had too much protein in me ( skin rash), I would always stop eating dairies and it would all go away. But I always went back to eating everything because I'm such a foodie...

Lately I've been having a rash on my face, neck, chest and an almost always upset stomach so I went to the doctor to assure me that yes, I am not allowed to eat those things. So I'm going back to being a vegan. I know veganism really divides people, some swear by it, some hate it and say it's not healthy, you need dairy products and meat in order to function. Well, I agree with both sides. I believe that we all are individuals and as such, we all have different bodies with different body systems. So what works for one, doesn't mean it will work for another person.

I was 15 when I went vegan and I was blinded by how this is the way to live. I thought that everyone should eat vegan. I was trying to tell everyone how to live! Actually, back then I was on a macrobiotic diet. I read all books about it and believed everything. I still think it is a very great way but only for those who is willing to do change a whole lifestyle. It is one of the hardest things to do. Especially, if you are alone in a household to do it. Actually, this is why I couldn't maintain it anymore. It is very expensive and complicated to cook 2 different sets of meal all the time. It takes a lot of will-power to stick to the vegan diet anyways, let alone if you eat with people who gets to enjoy all kinds of yummy food! Now that I live in the city, I have my own household so it is a lot easier to go vegan. I come home to my family on the weekends and then I try to cook meals that please everyone. Tastes delicious, yet I will be able to eat it too.

I will share vegan recipes that will blow anyone's mind. :) Of course, desserts will make some exceptions...A little this and that won't hurt, right? Especially when it's dessert....

But okay, I stop myself and give you the broccoli lasagna recipe. It is super easy and super tasty!

Broccoli Lasagna

makes for 6 people

half package of lasagna noodles

2 cups ham - diced

2 cups broccoli - cooked and separated into smaller flowers

2 cups grated cheese - I used gouda

for the Beschamel Sauce

1/4 cup butter

4-5 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk - add some more if needed

salt

white pepper

nutmeg

First of all, cook the lasagna noodles only for a few minutes. I know the package says it's precooked and it doesn't need any cooking, I say this out of experience, it does need a few minutes in boiling water. They shouldn't cook completely, and after taking the noodles out of water, make sure you put oil on top of each noodle. This way, they won't stick to each other.

Now, it's time to make the beschamel sause. Melt the butter and add the flour and stir it together. I like to make it have a little darker color and then add milk in small portions. Make sure, you don't add the whole milk, otherwise it will have bumps. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook it until it's thickened.

Grease a pan and put one layer of noodles in it. Add broccoli flowers and ham. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Add a layer of beschamel sauce. Repeat this until you run out of ingredients. I had 3 layers of noodles and on the 3rd I added only beschamel sauce and a thick layer of grated cheese. Cover it with a foil, so the cheese wouldn't get burnt before it's time and cook for 30-35 minutes on 180C. 10 minutes before it's time to get it out, remove the foil so the cheese can melt.

Enjoy :)

Italian Rice Cake

2011-09-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

I've been eyeing this lovely Tuscan Rice Cake recipe for a while now. I put it on my want-to-make list and when we were discussing what dessert is ought to be made this weekend, we all decided that something with rice. Either a rice pudding or this cake. Since this cake is like a special occasion dessert, I chose to make it. Also, I just found out that September is #ricelove month so I was more than eager to take part of it for the very first time in my blogging life. I found out about the Rice Blog Hop on Mis Pensamientos page.

This cake really is very delicate. I put less sugar than the recipe indicated and some of us missed that sugar. I didn't but I did miss something. I still haven't figured it out what but some dominant flavor. Like peach preserve in the middle or a caramel filling or more vanilla. I'm not sure. But every time I have a bite I keep searching for more flavor. It's not that I discourage you from making this cake but I'm warning that it is lacking of something. But it's maybe only me...The original recipe called for a powdered sugar coat on top but I thought that the peach preserve would go so much better. Man, could I be more right! Okay, it was my Mom's idea. Her peach preserve with whiskey was the perfect addition to the cake. Actually, I could sing praises to that preserve for hours... It is seriously the best preserve I've ever eaten. Too bad I'm not sharing that recipe, right? But sadly, I was not present at the making of it :(

But anyways, back to the rice cake :) As for the texture...This is the best part of the whole cake. The texture is just perfect! It has a shortcrust pastry which is simply ah-mazing and as you go further inside of the cake the softer and creamier it gets. So it has creamy and crispy all together with the freshness of the preserve on top. It couldn't get any better from here :)

Really, our only observation and possible suggestion is that next time I'm making it, I will place a preserve layer between 2 layers of rice pudding.

It is a must try for rice pudding lovers!

Italian Rice Cake

adapted from Lucullian delights

for a 26 cm cake pan

for the shortcrust pastry

300 gram flour - I used cake flour

150 gram sugar

150 gram softened butter - diced

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

zest of 1 orange

1 pinch salt

for the rice pudding

300 gram rice - use risotto rice

1 liter milk - I needed 2 more deciliter

1 tablespoon liquor - I kinda forgot about this step

zest of 1 lemon

2 eggs

6 tablespoons sugar - I added only 4 tsp.

To make the crust measure the flour. Make a well in the middle and add sugar, salt, baking powder, orange zest and the diced butter. Rub all the ingredients together, it will be a crumble. Beat the egg separately and then add it to the crumble. Rub it until it becomes a dough. Wrap it in plastic and let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Now here comes the rice pudding part. Pour 1 liter milk in a big pot and bring to a simmer with the lemon zest. When the milk is simmering, add rice and cook it until it is the consistency of a rice pudding. Around 30-40 minutes. Depending on the rice. Remove from the heat and add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let the pudding cool down completely.

When the rice is cold, add 2 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar and a spoon of liquor. Beat the egg whites and fold it to the rice gently.

Roll the pastry out and line the bottom and sides of the cake pan. Pour in the rice mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes on 170C. When it cooled down, add either a powdered sugar coat or add some preserve, as I did.

After taking out of the oven

After adding the peach preserve

Yum!

Brown Butter Walnut Cake with Chocolate-Mocha Ganache

2011-09-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

This post is yet again an example of how I procrastinate when it comes to studying or making a presentation. Whichever. This is going to be a lovely tale about a "magnifique" cake.

I got my inspiration to make that brown butter walnut sensation from Procrastobaker. It is seriously one of the best things I've ever baked. I do not think the photos do justice when I tried to catch how breath-taking the cake is once a bite lands in your mouth... It is crispy on the outside and so juicy in the inside and the chocolate-mocha ganache goes just perfectly well with it. I changed the original recipe a bit, as I worked with walnuts and I added a layer of chocolate cream inside the cake, as well. Also, it is important to add that it is best one day after it was made. While it chilled in the fridge. Oh my... It was such a hit! Definitely going to make it again...and again... :) But I won't keep you on your toes and fill you in with this lovely recipe!

Brown Butter Walnut Cake with Chocolate-Mocha Ganache

adapted from Smitten Kitchen 's recipe

for a 25 cm round cake pan

for the cake

1-1,5 cup walnuts - I used 1,5 cups

225 grams butter

1 vanilla bean

260 grams powdered sugar - I used raw cane sugar

43 grams flour - I used whole wheat spelt flour

6 egg whites - I had an oops moment and used 7, it was more fluffy (which is good in my book)

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

for the ganache

220 grams chocolate

2/4 heavy cream

1 tablespoon instant coffee

Preheat oven to 175C. Toast the walnuts for about 10 minutes or until they start to smell and lose their skin. Let them cool and when they are cooled, wear some cooking gloves and rub the nuts' skin off.

Put parchment paper on the cake pan and butter the bottom a bit.

Here comes the fun part. Put the butter in a saucepan. Add the inside of the vanilla bean to the butter and start melting it.

Cook it until the butter is brown and smells very delicious.

Set it aside to cool.

While the brown butter is cooling, grind the nuts with the powdered sugar (or as I did, with the cane sugar) until it is finely ground.

Put it in a bowl and add the flour in it.

Whisk the egg whites with the 3 tablespoons of sugar until they are fully whisked and form peaks.

Now, carefully fold the dry ingredients and the brown butter to the egg whites, a third of a time.

Pour the batter to the cake pan and bake it for about 40 or 50 minutes.

When the cake is ready, let it cool for about half an hour.

While the cake is baking in the oven, let's do the ganache.

Put the heavy cream into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the chocolate and the coffee and stir it until it forms a cream. Let it cool.

When the cake cooled down, cut it in half and add half of the ganache to it. Put the top back and spread the other half of the chocolate cream.

Put the cake in the fridge and be patient till the next day because I promise, it is WAY better the next day :)

“Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Scharffen Berger.”

Sourdough (lacking) Walnut Bread

2011-09-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

I was dying to bake something, but to stick to my resolution in which I promised that baking is restricted to the weekends, I did not. So since my plans got canceled on a Friday night (ouch) I was left with a huge motivation to create something that will be edible. So how to do that? Bake and yet not bake? The idea just came to me as a lightening bolt. BREAD!!! I have never made a bread before...I mean, if I don't count focaccia, pizza and biscuits as bread products. I wanted also a walnut healthy style bread. So I started searching for recipes when my Mom showed me a flour mix that we had forever but never used it. Bread flour mix with sourdough so all I have to add is some warm water. Ehhh....Too easy to be true, right? Well, as it turned out, yes. I should have made my own dough with yeast because the mix either lacked of the sourdough or it just dyed in it... Therefore, the dough never rose up. And I did wait for a night... But after baking it, it tastes good, it tastes like those very healthy, yeast-free, whole wheat breads you buy for special diets :) We used to eat those...

It was very crunchy from the outside and pretty soft and sticky-ish from the inside. :) Sounds amazing, huh? But really, served warm it was a delicious breakfast with some butter and plum jam...

But there is a new resolution of mine; make bread from scratch.

As for how I made this sturdy little thing...I used this flour mix :

It is German and said I should only add 3,3 dl lukewarm water to half a kg flour mix. Nothing else. I added around a half cup chopped walnuts. I kneaded the flour mix with the water until it was a dough and then added the walnuts and let it sit on my counter for the whole night. As I already mentioned, it didn't rise so it was very sturdy but a yummy sturdy bread :)

I baked it for about 35-40 minutes on 200C.

I will post very soon a new bread recipe that is actually from scratch!

Sausage-Bell pepper Baked Eggs with Gouda Cheese

2011-09-15T02:45:00.000-07:00

I've been on a very unhealthy-irregular diet in the past two weeks. I let in to my cravings, I ate snickers, M&Ms, drank a coke, ate way too much bread...Well, you can imagine. I knew I shouldn't have had those forbidden fruits (for me they are) but I just wanted them so I thought why not! Yesterday I got to my better sense and said no to that very weak part of me. Ah how grateful I am for that good sense of mine! :)

It's official; lazy period is over!!!

So when my family started to feel hungry this morning I took charge that today I am making breakfast! They craved grilled cheese sandwich but I thought that why not make it healthier and bake some eggs? I've been wanting to make some for ages, mainly with spinach but since we don't have any at home so I just used some red bell peppers. And to please the men section as well, I cubed some sausages...The gouda cheese was the top of the cake, it went so incredibly well with everything that we all were extremely satisfied after our spontaneous brunch! I must add that this small cup is VERY satiating. I am still so full, I can't really think of eating again anytime soon :P

A huge recommendation for baked eggs!

Sausage-Bell pepper Baked Eggs with Gouda Cheese

makes for 4

4 bigger eggs

1 cup Gouda cheese

1-2 cups cubed sausage

1 red bell pepper - very thinly cut

salt, pepper

Place the cut bell peppers evenly in 4 fire-resisting cups. Add the sausages and then the cheese on top.

Crack one egg in one cup and sprinkle salt and pepper on it. Put the cups in the pre-heated oven and bake them for about 10-13 minutes on 200C (390F).

Enjoy :)

Hungarian Kakaós Csiga (Chocolate Rolls)

2011-09-11T02:11:00.000-07:00

Frankly, I missed baking so much! Even though I needed one baking-free month to lose all the weight I gained due to the excessive baking mania I got over this summer I just cannot stop it! So I decided that I don't have to give up this love of mine but I do have to figure out something that will not leave me end up gaining weight again. What to do, what to do...Bake only in the weekends! And probably I should get a grip and not stuff my face until I can't move...Which didn't really happen today. I ate like 6 of these lovely chocolate rolls...I guess, no dinner for Csilla tonight :P

These rolls are from a traditional Hungarian pastry recipe. I called my Grandma to ask for the recipe and as it always happens with Grandma recipes she did not know the measurements...I don't know if it's only with my grandmas but they always work with their eyes so they usually have no idea how much grams I need from this or that... So I turned to an ancient Hungarian cookbook and that is where I got the recipe from. For those who know how the real Kakaós csiga should taste like then here you go, this is the recipe. These csigák reminded me of my childhood when I got to eat the real soft, very chocolatey rolls...Hmm....

Actually, these pastries are almost the same like cinnamon rolls. I adore cinnamon so for me cinnamon rolls are the best BUT if you are a chocolate fan, you most certainly will love these small cuties! Oh, and I tried to make them healthier, so they are made with whole wheat spelt flour and raw cane sugar. That doesn't mean that this recipe can considered as guilt-free. Nah-ah. But they are yummy and chocolatey and if you want it a little more softer then use all-purpose flour. Enjoy :)

Kakaós csiga (Chocolate rolls)

for the dough

600 grams flour

1 package of dry yeast or 30 grams fresh yeast

2 dl milk for the yeast

milk - as much as your flour needs in order to get a mildly firm dough

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons oil

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar

for the filling

100 grams butter

5-6 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder (unsweetened)

11-12 tablespoons sugar

2 dl sweetened milk

First, I have to state that my vague measurements are not a joke, they are from my cookbook that is like a 100 years old so I apologize for that. I was pretty unsure myself about the milk part...How much exactly I would need for the dough but it really is true that there are so many types of flours that work differently. Each of them need different amount of wet ingredients to come together, so I trust in your eyes and hands when you knead. :)

Heat 2 dl milk with a little sugar to lukewarm and dissolve the package of yeast in it with your hands (yeast does not like metal). While the yeast is working place the flour in a big bowl, add the egg yolks, the salt, the sugar. Make a hole in the middle and add gradually the yeast in the milk. Start kneading and add more lukewarm milk when needed ( I added around 2 more dl into my whole wheat flour mixture so to all-purpose I believe, it will be less). Add the oil and knead it in. The dough should be mildly firm (not too firm, not too wet). Sprinkle flour on it and under it, cover the bowl and leave it for an hour when it should grow to double its size.

The risen state of the dough

When the dough is ready, divide it into two, otherwise you'll have extra huge rolls.

Mill the dough into a rectangular, I like it thin but it's up to you. When it is a rectangular, butter the dough and mix the cocoa powder with the sugar and add generously of it. The cocoa-sugar mix should cover the whole rectangular. The more you add the more chocolatey it will be - obviously.

This was my 1st roll and the cocoa-sugar mixture was not enough so put more than this, then you'll be fine :)

Roll up the dough, just like a cinnamon roll and cut them into small rolls. Place them in a baking dish and grease the tops with melted butter.

Put them in the still cold oven (they are still rising while the oven is getting warm) and bake them for about 20-25 minutes on 170C. BUT 10 minutes before they are ready sprinkle them with the sweetened milk. This will make them even softer.

It is better if we take them out before they are fully ready, I learned.

When the first roll is ready, do the same with the second one. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top if desired.

Nepalese Coconut Rice Pudding

2011-09-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

I am back home. I am back to school. I am back to "normal". Although I have gained so much memories and knowledge about the world and myself that I can barely consider my new normal to the old normal. I look at everything with a new perception and has everything a new meaning. This one month was not long but it definitely had a huge impact on my life. I loved being in Nepal!!! I love Nepal and I cannot wait to go back :) India is awaiting for me, as well...although it is SO not the place to travel to alone. I was alone in my adventure only for 3 days in India and it wasn't the best idea!! Even though I did meet with new friends along the way... :) But if you are wondering to have a trip to India alone, I would not recommend it. Except for going on a retreat. That is different. And maybe it was only Delhi. So my not recommendation goes to only Delhi :) Could I be more confusing?? hahaaaha

So about the rice pudding. I am such a rice pudding junkie! I have always loved it, it was in fact, my favorite food ever for a veeery long time when I was little :) I still love it but I know I should not eat it very often due to the sugar, milk and rice combination. It is not for the dieters :) But every so often, who cares, right? It is the ideal comfort food! For me, at least :) So when I learned that Nepal has its own rice pudding, I was eager to try it out! Would you guess that someone put black pepper in the rice pudding?? Yep, that is right, this recipe calls for black pepper!! Whole or grind, doesn't matter...Also, this kind has lots of coconut and nuts and raisins in it! I wasn't totally sure it's gonna turn out to be any good but surprise surprise...this rice pudding is even MORE delicious than my beloved original one! So I can recommend this yummylisciousness to everyone who has a thing for milky desserts! Yes, and I even make up words for describing it! :)

Nepalese Coconut Rice Pudding

for a big family

3 tablespoons butter

2,5 cups rice

3 liters milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

100 grams unsweetened shredded coconut

raisins - as desired

nuts - cashew and peanuts, as desired

This is the diced coconut mix that anyone could buy in Nepal, although I highly doubt anyone out of Nepal can easily get access to it. This mix has the diced coconut, some peanuts, some cashew, raisins and a type of dried fruit that I have no idea about. I tried to ask what it was but nobody could translate it to me to English so that is a secret ingredient :)

Melt the butter in a big saucepan. Add the rice and fry it for 5 minutes.

After frying the rice, add the diced coconut-nuts mixture and fry for 5 more minutes.

Now it's time to add the milk but do it gradually. Add only 1 liter at first, cook it for 10 minutes. Add the shredded coconut and then add 1 more liter and cook for half an hour. Add sugar and pepper.

Now it should be thick and creamy and it's time to add the 3rd liter of milk. Cook for 10-15 minutes more or until the rice is cooked and it is very thick.

This is the consistency you need. It will be oh-my-god-its-so-good! :)

A post from Nepal

2011-08-10T01:16:00.000-07:00

It is time for me to write a few words about my adventure here, in Nepal.

Okay, frankly I am just procrastinating because I should be finishing my article I am working on for the magazine I am interning at.

But really, I have not posted anything on here for so long, I feel so negligent. Although, it is not going to be a recipe post. Well, duh.

So here I go. I love Nepal. Nepal is beautiful! I am staying in Kathmandu with a family so I am experiencing how Nepali people live and love life. It is an amazing opportunity and experience, even though it gets me out of my comfort zone at times but I honestly needed it. I was so cozy in my little bubble, I needed to get uncomfortable. Like I did on Saturday when I happened to do a 7-hour-long trekking in the mountains. It definitely was a major point in my life when I realized and decided something that will have a serious effect on my life: I am so NOT going on a hike ever again!!! :P

There were times when we had to go through the jungle, sometimes we just simply walked on the edge of the mountain and my favorite part was when we had to climb up on a 75% steep hill that was covered by a deep layer of mud.

Well, it was a challenge for everyone else in the group but I am sure it was only me who took it as badly as I did. Because it is important to know about me that I am definitely not the hiker, nature-freak type. I like nature...for a while when I get out of the car and then I get back to it. So you can imagine my reaction wasn't quite the best when I started getting tired which happened exactly 10 minutes after we started our little trip :D But I did it and my reward was a mild 2nd degree sunburn on the top of my head! Sounds exciting, huh? :)

My face was swelling for 2 days after...It is recovering, though :)

The view, that I didn't appreciate at the time. I do now :)

But other than this not so lucky adventure, I am having a wonderful time here! The Nepali people are famous for their hospitality and I am very lucky to have the nicest host family ever! :)

Kathmandu is a very busy and hectic city. But I am so happy I get to stay here, I've always loved cities, well what can i say, I am a city girl :) Even though I am from a small town hahaha

Kathmandu is packed with numerous Hindu temples...their beauty is beyond words. At least, for me :) I've seen so many of them already and they still fascinate me!

Patan Durbar Square - it is a UNESCO world heritage monument

Before I came, I tried to learn as much as I could about Nepal, so I would be prepared. Well...after reading all the sites, I was prepared to come to an extremely poor country that has barely anything so I should bring everything I might need here. What an underestimation! I can practically buy everything here! They have a bigger selection of peanut butters than we do in Hungary! AND so much cheaper!

Although, as I heard, India is even more cheaper...India, I'm coming ;)

Thamel, the tourist area of Kathmandu is my favorite part. Not only because this is basically the only place I can find white people (which is a little comforting at times to be honest) but they have all kinds of foods!

It's not that I don't like the Nepali cuisine. No, I am fine with it. Not my favorite, but it's not bad, either. But they do not have many variations. They eat every day the same things. That is for such a foodie as myself is pretty challenging, I must admit. So I just love the trips to Thamel where I can eat whatever my little heart desired :)

But to talk about the Nepali food. Rice plays the biggest role, for sure. They eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also eat a vegetable dish that has potatoes, pumpkin leaves, green beans, bell peppers, tomatoes and sometimes carrots. This dish is seasoned with a mix of spices. They eat flat breads as a substitution for rice sometimes.

Vegetable curry with flatbreads

The most popular food here, besides rice, is a lentil soup that is called Daal. They put it on rice and eat it with the vegetables. Sausages are a big hit also that are fried in oil.

My favorite Nepali dish is the Momo. It is a dumpling filled with either vegetables or meat. They can be steamed or fried and they eat it with a spicy tomato sauce. It is very yummy, indeed :)

Vegetable steamed Momo

Tea has a major role, as well. They drink it with milk and sugar and it reminds me of coffee with milk a little. Because they put more milk than water in the tea so it will make it very creamy. I like it without sugar because the milk itself is pretty sweet already.

Hmm...that's for an update now because I really got to get back to my article :)

Raspberry-Chocolate Roll Cake

2011-07-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

As a newbie to blogging, I was mesmerized, okay I still am, as how the numbers of viewers went up so quickly! It will be 2 months that I started talking about food, sharing recipes, pictures of my attempts...So when I saw my number was at 5000 I was completely, utterly blown away. So that was when I decided that whenever I reach 10 000 then I will make a giveaway! Because for someone who just started blogging seeing that I am not the only one who reads my site is an enormously huge deal. It makes me happy and gives me such a positive feedback that yes! i should keep doing it because it is not only me who I'm doing it for anymore :)

So here I am, in my proud moment, announcing that I will be holding a giveaway soon! Why not now? Because I am going to Nepal in 3 days and I would like to give something very special away and I thought what more special could it be than something from Nepal? Right? :) But I am just so excited about it that I wanted to share that a giveaway is coming soon... :)

And a recipe for now. It is such a lovely summery dessert. It is very decorative, indeed. And for the taste? Need I say more than it is with chocolate? And raspberries? I think these two components speak for themselves...The cake itself reminded me of a spongecake, maybe because it is. Well, I am not very familiar with spongecakes so I am not 100% sure. Next time I will use more cocoa for sure because my cake had just a slight brown color which was not exactly what I went for..But it tasted pretty delicious so if you are not a big fan of intense chocolate flavor then stick to the original recipe. The frosting was absolutely perfect. First, when I was looking through the recipe it seemed strange to me it required so much butter and sugar and so little cream but it turned out to be the good measurements. Enjoy :)

Raspberry-Chocolate Roll Cake

for the Cake

6 eggs

6 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons flour

half package baking powder (8 grams)

2 tablespoons dutch cocoa powder - use more if you like it darker

for the frosting

1,25 dl double cream

250 grams sugar

100 grams dutch cocoa powder

300 grams butter

300 grams raspberry

Divide the eggs into whites and yolks. Beat the whites with 3 tablespoons of sugar, as well as the yolks with the other 3 tablespoons of sugar then fold it into the beaten whites. Add the cocoa powder, the flour with the baking powder and put the mixture into a pan and bake it for 10-15 minutes on 180C. Don't over bake it, otherwise you won't be able to roll it.

For the frosting, bring the double cream to a boil. Mix the sugar and the cocoa powder dry then add the sugar mixture to the cream gradually. Take it off the heat and add the butter in small pieces. Stir it until all the butter is melted. Put it in the fridge for a few hours. When it is cold enough mix it together again.

Spread the frosting on the cake (not the whole, leave some for the coating) and add most of the raspberries. Roll the cake up carefully, if it is needed, put it in a foil. This way it will hold its shape. Spread the rest of the frosting on it, use a fork for lines. Add some almonds or chopped nuts for decoration and place the remaining raspberries on top.

Hungarian Lecsó (Vegetable stew)

2011-07-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, before you expect a traditional Hungarian recipe then I have to admit this is anything but a traditional dish. It was inspired by the original Lecsó (pronounced like LEH-CHOW) but it is now a very summery vegetable dish that is not only so light on the stomach, fulfilling but tastes so fresh and very good. And I'm not only saying it because it is my and my family's creation. We don't let the vegetables go completely mushy so they lose all the vitamins, no, in this dish the vegetables remain a slight crisp to them. That is what makes it so good. And the fresh herbs that are inevitable in my kitchen.

As I already insinuated to it, it is one of my family's go-to recipes. If we get home after a long day and there is nothing to eat but the fridge is full of yellow paprika (or pepper), tomatoes, onions then the result is always Lecsó. It comes together pretty quickly and is very healthy. Well, these are the 2 words that characterize my cooking. It must be healthy and should be ready in an hour.

Except for baking. It doesn't matter that I will spend my day and night in the kitchen if it is for the sake of a delicious creation. I see art in baking. It is a form of expressing ourselves. At least, this is how I feel when I bake. I feel happy, excited, extremely curious and very inspired. And if the baby didn't turn out as I thought it would? Well...I get way too disappointed but I don't give up, it just gives me the determination that I WILL most certainly succeed the next time and I become the expert of this-or-that. :)

But back to the Lecsó...It is very similar to the French Ratatouille but doesn't consist of so many different vegetables. Although, I do add extra zucchini that would never be in a traditional Lecsó but I just love squashes :) Okay, I stop talking and give you the recipe.

Hungarian Lecsó

for 4 people

5 big yellow paprika (pepper) - cut into strips

5 big tomatoes

4-5 spring onions or 2 purple onions

1 zucchini

1,5-2 cups chopped bacon or pancetta

basil

thyme

oregano

Chop the onions, bacon and paprika while you heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a big pan. Add the bacon, stir for 2 minutes and add the onions. Sprinkle salt and pepper on them.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes and then add the paprika. Cook for 10 minutes. Add more salt if you desire.

Add zucchini and cut the tomatoes to bigger chunks. They don't have to be cut equally because they will lose their shapes anyway.

Add chopped basil leaves, oregano and thyme. Cook for another 10 minutes until there is enough vegetable juice under.The vegetables shouldn't be too soft, except for the tomatoes.

Serve it with bread or rice. We eat it with cooked buckwheat. Or you can put some sour cream on top if you like. Enjoy :)

Raspberry-Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

2011-07-12T01:30:00.000-07:00

I am having the time of my life these days. I am so happy I could float on my pink clouds that surround me right now :) It sounds silly but it is also true.

This is the rare occasion when the truth is sweet and refreshing. Just as the smoothie I am shortly sharing with you.

But first, I would like to ramble on and on what a good mood I am having! I believe that when we have such a spectacular period in life, we should cherish each and every second of it! Let alone, how much I want to share it with everyone! :) What more can this prove that I woke up at 6am today just for the sake of being awake. Because I wanted to enjoy the day as early as possible! I made spelt whole wheat blueberry pancakes...Then basil grilled cheese sandwich...:) And I am eager to start doing yoga! After that do my little errands and enjoy being home. I will not be home much after Friday so I want to spend as much time with my family and my doggies and cat as I can. Ah, life can be marvelous at times...

So why am I giving you a recipe of a smoothie now, you ask? Hmm, the answer is quite simple. I did not take a single picture of any of the foods I made today and I had this Super Smoothie in my pockets and been wanting to post it for a while now. So here I go...

Raspberry-Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

1 Banana, diced

1 cup Raspberries

1 cup Strawberries

1 plain Yogurt

1-2 cups Milk

Vanilla extract

Place the fruits in the smoothie maker and add the yogurt, milk and vanilla. Mix them together and enjoy :)

Homemade Nutella

2011-07-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

I was an exchange student (ah how many times I've said this sentence...) 5 years ago in the US. I'm not gonna talk about how it was (AMAZING) but then and there I gained sisters! Now I have one living in the States and one living in Germany. And next week we are gonna be reunited! I can't wait, I am so excited! So this week I am going to Germany and was thinking what I should bring. Because basically Germany has everything that Hungary has, if not more. So what to give what to give? I was thinking really hard when a completely random thing came to my mind. I should make some nutella. She loves nutella. Frankly, who doesn't, right? I love it, too although it's been years since I ate any. I can't really explain why because I always think that if I eat just one spoon, I will gain a 100 pounds immediately. But with this thought, I shouldn't be eating any brownies, cookies...etc.

BUT today I tried my homemade Nutella. OH MY GOD. I wouldn't have thought that it really will actually taste like the original Nutella. But it does! And to tell the truth, it tastes even better! But homemade is always better. Right? :) It is made with love and natural ingredients. And real chocolate...hmmm...Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?

If that hasn't convinced you to make some now, then I will tell you, it is SO easy to make! I am not saying it is mess-free. Nah, I made a huge mess in my kitchen but it's due to my very small food processor and my wish to make an enormous amount of lovely hazelnut-chocolate spread :)

Homemade Nutella

makes for 3 jars

200 g Hazelnuts

1 can Condensed Milk

255 g Chocolate - the darker the better

1/2 cup hot Milk

Roast the hazelnuts for about 10-15 minutes either in the oven or in a dry pan over the heat.

When the nuts are ready put them on a tray or a magazine and let them cool down a little.

Once they are not hot anymore, place them in the food processor and start processing them.

It will be quite a while, if you don't have a very professional machine, like me. The hazelnuts will become Hazelnut butter and will look like this.

When you're done with this, start bringing water to a boil. Place a big bowl over the water and melt the chocolate.

When the chocolate has melted, pour the condensed milk in.

Mix them together.

Love the chocolate swirls :) Then get ready to add the mixture to the hazelnut butter and process it some more. Add the hot milk if you find it too dense, I did. But if you like it thick, then you can leave the milk out.

When it is creamy enough, Nutella has been created! Congrats! Brace yourself for some battle with yourself, it will be VERY hard not to eat a lot :)

Raspberry Tiramisu

2011-07-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

I am not exaggarating if I say that anyone can make this dessert. Seriously, anyone. I made it in a state when I was so exhausted and having a throbbing head that I just had to sit down while I was preparing the mascarpone cream. So if I could do it, everyone can.

Besides it sounds kinda fancy, too. Not the same old tiramisu (which is delicious) but it has a twist with the raspberries. Let alone, in this hot who wants something overly sweet that will leave us sick to our stomach. This is the ideal summer treat! Fruity and creamy... How could it get any better? That's right, it can't!! :)

Raspberry Tiramisu

for 4 people

250 gramm Mascarpone Cheese

3-4 tablespoons Cane Sugar

3 Eggs

2 small containers of Raspberry

100 gramm Ladyfingers

4 tablespoons Raspberry syrup

Divide the eggs into yolks and egg whites. Beat the yolks with the sugar for 5-6 minutes. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix it until creamy. Add a few tablespoons of hot water to the raspberry syrup and dip the ladyfingers in it. Lay the dipped ladyfingers in a glass or a dish (whichever you feel like using), pour the cream over, add raspberries and add another layer of dipped ladyfingers, cream and raspberries. Chill it for a few hours before serving.

How to make Almond Butter?

2011-07-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yay!! I am finally getting back on track. I made up my mind to eat only healthy stuffs so I eat only healthy stuffs! I even worked out today, not as long as I usually do but considering my tiredness I still call it a success. And now I am making all kinds of super foods I have long prepared myself to. Like almond butter, hummus, whole wheat bread, extra nutritious smoothies...etc. I've made peanut butter many times before and I absolutely loved it. Although it really tastes different than the store-bought Skippy and Peter Pan peanut butters. And I love those, too. I am a true peanut butter junkie. I could eat it all the time but in Hungary there isn't much of a selection I could choose from. And it's not that great for my skin, either...So if I don't want to be left without some kind of nut butter, I've gotta make it for myself. Today I saw almonds in the store and the first thing that came to my mind was yaaaay I am SO making some almond butter today! :)

It is so healthy - if we're not going overboard - and because of the protein it fills me up so much and satisfies my sweet tooth, as well. It can be used for the morning smoothie or spread it on pancakes, waffles or just plain toast. There are so many variations how to use it.

Almond Butter

200 grams almonds

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon honey

Toast the almonds for about 10 minutes.

I used almonds with skin, you can use almonds without skin. Doesn't make much of a difference, only in the color of the butter. Mine is a little darker.

Put almonds in a food processor and start processing them. Add 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and process some more and add the honey.

The result should look like this.

Asian inspired sesame noodles with vegetables

2011-07-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

I am home again. I was literally everywhere last week, went back and forth in Hungary. Since I love traveling, whether it means traveling locally or abroad, I loved every second of it! But being on a vacation or on the go also means that my lifestyle is changing also. So no working out, very very minimal amount of vegetables and even a smaller amount of fruits. Sleeping time turned up side down - so eating and drinking during the night. Pretty much the worst one can do to their body! And well...being back I noticed all the consequences...A few pounds sticked to my middle and thighs and face is totally puffed up. Not to mention my lack of energy, therefore lack of motivation to workout, too! So what to do what to do...

I am trying really hard to get back to my usual schedule and being a little extra strict to myself :) So what to eat when it's not only me I am cooking for? I would have been happy (okay, semi happy) with just a salad but my family would have been not quite as satisfied with it so I thought I'd make some Asian noodles with vegetables. Can't go wrong with Asian food...It is filling, satisfyingly yummy and pretty healthy, too!

Asian inspired sesame noodles with vegetables

For 4 people

1 package of Asian noodles - whatever you have at home, my favorite is rice noodles

2 carrots

1 red bell pepper

1 onion

garlic

cilantro

bamboo shoot

lemongrass

sesame seeds

for the sauce:

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/3 cup light soy sauce

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Bring water to boil and cook the noodles for 4-5 minutes or until it is yield on the box. Add sesame oil to the noodles after they are ready. Chop the vegetables and heat peanut oil in a wok.

Add onions, carrots and bell pepper to the wok and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the lemongrass.

Stir the ingredients for the sauce together. Add a few spoons to the vegetables. Add the bamboo shoots and cook for 1 more minute and add the noodles and the remaining sauce. Stir together and sprinkle it with the sesame seeds and the cilantro.

Cookie Tower

2011-06-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Finally I'm done with my 2nd year of college!! No more finals, no more papers, nothing! It is officially summer so why not have a trip to the lake? And that is what I'm doing! Since I am the baker I am bringing the cookies :) I was contemplating which would be more convenient, muffins or cookies but cookies are definitely a bigger hit than muffins...
I have never in my life baked this many chocolate chip cookies. There are just so many!
More than it is shown in the photo...:P Who is coming over??

Recipe is here, only I doubled the measurements. DUH :)

And because these really are the best cookies ever, it was inevitable for me to eat 1 or 2 along the baking....So I am going for a run now before leaving. ;)

Have a happy weekend!!