Who doesn’t love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos? I sure do!
Hey, it’s been a LOOOOOONG time. Way to long.
I’ve missed posting here so much. I’ve kicked myself in the rear end this week and made a plan for a few future recipes. Hopefully, I can see them through! Baby Jernej is not so little anymore. He’s standing on his own now, crawling all around the place, exploring the world and filling our hearts with all kinds of joy. If you wanna see what’s going on in our personal life head on to my personal Instagram account.
And now to the recipe. Today is National Margarita Day and I made a non-alcoholic mango margarita smoothie.
I’d say cheers, but it’s long gone.
There’s something about mangos in smoothies. Puréed mangos give such a nice smooth texture to drinks. They are one of my favorite fruits to put in smoothies, besides avocados. All due to the texture. Okay, and flavor too 😀 What are yours?
Since becoming a mom, maintaining a healthy diet has been so hard. The biggest problem for me is forgetting to eat, which I find super weird and annoying. And that’s why recipes like this are super important… Simple, easy and done in no time. I’m planning on sharing a few other recipes suitable for mom’s with little time to prep and also for little kids to enjoy. Btw, baby J tried the mango margarita smoothie and he approves 😀
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The most delicious chocolate buckwheat cookies with wholegrain spelt and buckwheat flour and a tropical twist.
Hi guys!
I’ve been away for a month occupied by he hardest but the most rewarding job. On April 5th a little baby boy Jernej came to this world and turned our lives upside down. I never knew I could ever love someone as much as I love my baby. Kissing his forehead, massaging his super tiny feet, loving every unconscious smile when he’s sleeping and caressing his soft cheeks…
Although I’m loving every moment spent with him, I never imagined how exhausing and rewarding caring for a newborn is. After a month, I can easily say it was the toughest month of my life, although full of tears of happines and love, it was also filled with frustrations and self-distrust. Total respect to all the moms that have survived this introduction period keeping a clear mind! Saying that, my baby is sleeping well and is not fussy at all, I can’t imagine that being different…
When I came home from the hospital I was missing moving and doing whatever around the house. Lying in bed all day is totally not my MO, so I baked some cookies while Jernej was sleeping and took some photos. I named them Welcome baby chocolate buckwheat cookies 🙂 To welcome the cutest baby boy to this world <3
I love having a batch of cookies ready for the sweettooth moments of mine and my husband’s. We LOVE cookies! I’m surprised I don’t have more cookie recipes on the blog. I’ll have to change that, right?
What I love about butter cookies is, that they are super simple and you can make them in a food processor. They take no time whatsoever, but they taste sooo good! And if you make them with wholegrain flours you add so much nutritional value. In this recipe I used wholegrain spelt and wholegrain buckwheat flour, but you can easily use plain flours.
Lately I became a huge fan of unrefined cane sugar. It’s not a sugar we usually use in baking, so when I first tried it I became obsessed immediately. If you want caramelly taste without making caramel, cane sugar is the solution. I’m telling you, it makes a big difference.
Although plain buckwheat cookies are incredible, they are even tastier with some chocolate and coconut. Plus they look so pretty, don’t they?
Having a lot of work and being exhausted by the continuous feeding and diaper chaninging, I can’t promise I’ll be posting as often as I did before the baby, so bare with me. I’ll get the hang of it and will start posting weekly as soon as I can.
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Add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until they form a ball.
Divide the dough in half, half it again and so on, until you get 32 identical pieces. Form bals with your palms.
Place on a baking paper lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Move them to a wire rack and leave to cool down for at least 10 minutes.
Melt chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water. Dip the bottom half of the cookies in the chocolate and coconut and place on a pre-cooled tray lined with baking paper. Leave in the fridge to set.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/chocolate-buckwheat-cookies-12.jpg1050700Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2017-05-04 07:24:372018-12-13 07:38:58Welcome Baby Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies
This chicken spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) is the best comfort food I can imagine for spring. Hearty and rich, flavored with cheeses, leeks and chicken, but also loaded with fresh spinach. And to top it all, it make s a perfect early picnic dish, since it is pull-apart. I don’t think anything could make me more excited right now.
You all know by now, how excited I get when I see spring starting to blossom. If I’d have to choose I’d say winter is my favorite season, but there’s something magical about early spring. The thing I love the most is to go out in the forest and pick fresh new wild foods. By now I’ve already picked the earlies small fragrant leaves of wild garlic and I’m waiting for more spring goodies to start growing.
I didn’t use wild garlic in the recipe, although it would fit in just perfectly.
Since we’re talking about wild food, I’d love to know your spring wild food favorites? 😀
Chicken Spanakopita
I love anything wrapped in phyllo dough or even making my own phyllo dough. Okay, I cheated with this one, I bought it 😉 But whenever I have time I make my own. It makes a huge difference. If you have the chance to find freshly made phyllo dough in your local food market, buy it. Your dishes will go from great to awesome.
I mean it!
Spanakopita is originally made without meat and in layers of phyllo dough. I added chicken for some extra flavor and to make my hubby happy 😀 I figured why not make it easier to serve and make it more like individual böreks. Imagine if börek and pie would have a baby, it would look like that! Wrapped in mini rolls and served without cutting.
The ingredients are pretty basic but delicious each on it’s own. For sure, spinach is the hero of the dish. And you can get amazing fresh baby spinach in spring in any food market. I like combining it with leeks, since it makes the food so incredibly sweet and fragrant. The combo with feta, chicken and nutmeg is so good.
To hold it all together, I made a ricotta, egg and cream mixture and poured it over the rolls. This also makes the pie dense and creamy in the bottom, but the top stays crunchy. So make sure you dont pour the mixture all the way to the top.
It might no be a traditional spanakopita, but it is just as delicious and the main ingredients remain feta and spinach.
With some extra foodies 😉
These would be awesome at a picnic party or any party for that matter. They take a little time to assemble, but the cooking process is sooo simple. Since it is quite rich, you can actually feed up to about 8 people with it, if they are not huge hungry men 😉 or me!
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300gchicken breast1cm cubes (or use leftover chicken)
1small leakcut into quarter lenghtwise and thinly sliced
3clovesgarlicfinely chopped
500gfresh spinach(or frozen and drained of excess water)
200gfeta cheesecrumbled
1/4tspgrated nutmeg
1/4tspground black pepper
1/2cupolive oil
Egg Mixture
2eggs
60gricotta cheese
60mlwhipping cream
a generous pinch of salt
Instructions
Egg mixture
Mix all ingredients for egg mixture together with a fork or a whisk, to get a smooth creamy texture.
Filling
In a preheated skillet roast chicken breast cubes with a tablespoon of olive oil for a minute or two until they get golden.
Add leaks, garlic and spinach and cook uncovered for about a minute or until the spinach cooks down. I you're using baby spinach this will take a minute, older spinach takes two to three minutes. If there is any excess water in the skillet drain it before filling the pie otherwise it will get soggy.
Remove from heat and add feta, nutmeg and black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Assembly
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line a 23 cm (9 inch) cake mold with baking paper.
Lightly coat one pyhloo sheet with olive oil, cover with another phyllo sheet and coat with olive oil again. Over the long edge of the dough spread one eight of the filling about 4 cm wide. Roll the dough to get a long roll. Now roll this into a snail shape and place it in the cake mold. Repeat until you've used all the sheets. I like to start placing the rolls on the sides first and add the last one in the middles, since the last one usually has less or more filling than the others. This makes the pie look more even.
Coat the tops with more olive oil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and pour the egg mixture over the baked rolls.
Return to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Remove form the oven and wait for 5 minutes before removing the rim. Be careful, it's still hot!
These quick and easy roasted broccoli and cauliflower mole tacos are such a nice healthy fresh lunch or dinner. With the addition of a 5-minute pickled radish and avocado yogurt sauce they make a perfect meal.
What have you been up to lately?
I’m all about mexican food these days and I’m enjoying spicy food while I still can. Apparently when you have a baby, you’re stuck with bland and boring unseasoned food for a month or so. I’m dreading that!
If there’s anything I love about cooking is that there’s always a way to make super fast lunch or dinner and still make it incredibly delicious. Most of the time I’m enjoying spending hours and hours in the kitchen. It’s my absolute favorite spot in the house. But sometimes it happens I have to whip up something in five minutes or so, but still want it to be super delicious and healthy if possible. I love how tacos make this possible every time. You can use whatever’s in your fridge and add some nice spices, some yogurt or nut sauce and you’ve got a five minute meal right there.
One of the simplest versions I make is, I just quickly sauté some red peppers, add some fresh avocado and a glug of yogurt in a tortilla and I’m good to go. Other times I have a couple more minutes to spare and I play around with food.
That’s kindda how these mole tacos with broccoli and califlower came to be. I love broccoli, it’s probably one of my favorite green veggies and I could eat it every single day. Cauliflower is great too, so I added it to make it a more fun recipe. In this recipe you can actually use either one of these or both.
Mole Tacos
Moles are actually a variety of sauces and dishes that include these sauces. We’re not making a mole sauce today, though. This recipe is an interpretation of a mole sauce, my style. Some hot chillies, cocoa powder and lots of other spices. It’s basically a rub or a spice mix for the broccoli and cauliflower that we’re gonna roast. And it’s a spice mix that you can make in advance and keep in your pantry.
Quick pickling
Loving the pickles!
They usually take time to make, but there’s a quicker cheaty way to make them. And it takes literally 5 minutes or less. The main ingredients in pickling are vinegar and salt, sometimes water. Besides the veggies of course 🙂
What we’re going to do is cut the veggies real thinnly, which will make them pickle faster. Then add some salt, which will bring out the water from the radishes. And of course add some vinegar to make it sour. And that’s it. So simple!
Making your own tortillas
You can also try making your own tortillas and find the recipe here. But double it if you’re making this whole recipe.
I’m making my own tortillas all the time and I make the dough in the morning. I divide it into balls and cover in plastic foil and leave it on the counter or in the fridge until I’m ready to make them. Sometimes I even make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days and have a taco marathon week 🙂
A new awesome flavor combo each day. Yay! Try that, if you haven’t already 🙂
So, have a good day and hopefully get some sun!
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16small tortillas(find recipe in my Turmeric Falafel Wrap post and make it double)
pickled radishes
avocado sauce
peanuts
cilantro
chopped chillies
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Mole Spice Mix:
In a bowl mix all ingredients to get a uniform seasoning mix.
Mole Broccoli And Cauliflower:
Chop broccoli and cauliflower into small florets and cut the harder stems into 1 cm sized chunks.
Add them to a big bowl and sprinkle with mole spice mix and olive oil. Toss around to coat them evenly with seasoning.
Move them to a lined baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes or until tender.
Pickled Radishes:
Slice radishes thinly. Add them to a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Massage them vigorously for a minute or two, so they start releasing water. Leave them to rest for another minute, then pour away the excess water. Add vinegar to the radishes and set aside.
Avocado Sauce:
Mix all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add more water if necessary.
Serving;
Fill the tortillas with broccoli and cauliflower, add pickled radishes, avocado sauce, peanuts, cilantro and chopped chillies.
This creamy mocha frozen yogurt with mocha puffs and date caramel combines a perfect cup of coffee with some cocoa and dates in a form of frozen dessert. Breakfast or dessert, it’s up to you! A little extra thing is the recipe for mocha cocoa puffs, which you can add to your morning cereal bowl.
Welcome to breakfast heaven!
If you thought a cup of coffee was necessary in the morning, wait until you try this. It’s freakin’ mocha frozen yogurt with some extra mocha puffs and date caramel on top.
It’s so decadent and indulgent, but not unhealthy, which is what I love in a good breakfast. Don’t we all?
So, the whole thing started because I needed a refreshing cereal breakfast, that wasn’t the boring milk and cereals. I though icecream. That’s indulgent, but using yogurt is probably a smart decision. I thought mocha flavor would be an awesome addition to frozen yogurt, so I made these lovely coffee bean shaped mocha puffs. Yay, you can eat them with good old milk too, isn’t that a nice touch? Keep them in a dry place in your pantry and have them at hand for whenever you feel a coffee rush.
It totally became my personal morning coffee. You probably already know I don’t drink coffee and when I do it’s decaffeinated. So are these mocha puffs, but you can make them with caffeine, no problem!
I love serving the mocha frozen yogurt in these crazy cool mugs by Polonapolona. They are the cutest and they love their morning coffee served with a a bang 😀
Oh, did you notice the caramel drippings? This is the date caramel, the easiest thing to make in the entire world and so so delicious.
Like like lick-the-sides-of-the-cup awesome 😀
And absolutely necessary on a heaped cup of this goodness.
So, baby update.
I’ve been doing some last shopping for the baby, which is very tiring, since I’m not much of a shopper. What I do is, write a paper with all the stores and what to buy where and then head out. I compare prices online to save time spent in the actual shop. Don’t get me wrong, I love market shopping, but fluorescent lit stores are horrible. If it’s a special foods, fabric or furniture store, then it’s fine, I get distracted. Everthying else is just a big pain in the you know what!
Okay, enough complaining. The good thing is, I think I’m actually well prepared for the arrival of the little one. Some minor thing are missing (like the crib – not minor :P), otherwise we’re good if the baby accidentally surprises us.
Okay, back to food…
What would I do to eat this every single day for the rest of my life. Um… I should totally do that!
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Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a food processor mix all dry ingredients: almond flour, al-purpose flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, baking soda and salt. Add honey and butter and pulse until a ball forms.
Make little balls with palms of your hands using three quarters of the dough. The remaining quarter of the dough and flatten it on the baking paper to about 5mm thick. Add the balls to the baking paper and use a spoon handle to make little dents in the middle of the balls and make them look like a coffee bean. You can leave them round as well.
Bake for 6-7 minutes, keeping a close eye to what’s happening in the oven. The puffs burn very easily. Take them out when they are still a little soft but firm. They will harden as they cool down.
Break apart the flattened baked dough when it has cooled down. You can leave some chunks. You’ll use that to mix in the frozen yogurt.
Keep the coffee shaped puffs in an airtight container.
Frozen Yogurt:
Mix yogurt and honey in a blender and transfer the mixture to an airtight container. Freeze for about 3-4 hours, mixing the yogurt with a fork every 30-45 minutes.
Add it back to the blender and mix well to get a smooth texture. At this point the mixture will get a bit runny again, but that is fine. At this point add the broken coffee puffs and fold in the frozen yogurt.
Transfer it back to the container and freeze until you like the consistancy, probably about 2 hours.
Date Caramel:
Soak dates in water for 10 minutes, then add a pinch of salt and mix them in a food processor. If you like your caramel more runny, add a little more water.
The caramel keeps in the fridge for at least 2 weeks.
Assembly:
Take frozen yogurt out of the freezer when it’s the right consistency or 30 minutes before serving if it’s fully frozen. Scoop up in serving bowls and top with mocha puffs and date caramel.
[This post was kindly supported by Polonapolona. I was provided some mugs for this post. No other compensation was received.]
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/mocha-frozen-yogurt-date-caramel-3.jpg1050700Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2017-02-23 06:46:252020-08-25 10:46:12Crunchy Mocha Frozen Yogurt with Date Caramel
This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.
What do you do when you can’t have booze? Make something out of beer.
Yeah, yeah, I know many of you will say beer without alcohol is not beer at all and you might be right. Some of them taste…hmmm. How should I put it? Miserable.
But when you’re pregnant and can’t have alcohol, trust me, it’s much easier to like non-alcoholic beer. Some brands make very good ones, but I’ve also had one that tasted like a chewing gum. Uhm, not so good!
Well, it was about time to make another drink recipe, since it’s been a while now. I’m all about citruses during this winter. I don’t think I’ve eaten so many oranges and mandarins at any point in my life and a big squeeze of lemon in a glass of water is a total must. I haven’t had any pomelo, so I thought I’d put it in a sparkling beer drink with some spicy ginger and have a pomelo ginger shandy.
Pomelo is such an awesome fruit, it’s sweet like a grapefruit, but doesn’ have the bitterness, which is great for a beer drink, since beer is already bitter.
On top of all the pomelo juice, the ginger gives the drink a little heat and warms you up 🙂 That’s why I love ginger!
And pretty much everything about this drink 😀
This pomelo ginger shandy is such a nice refreshing drink for the lazy days leading to spring, sitting in the sun on a balcony wrapped in a warm blanket. Listening to bird singing starting again, such a lovely time. I’m getting sentimental.
Our balcony life (yeah, this should totally be a title of a movie) is gone during the winter, but when the sun starts to become warmer and the days get longer, we start hanging out on the balcony again. During the spring and summer it’s where we eat, play board games, read and do pretty much everything. Like, who needs the indoors, anyway?!
So, I’m very happy with the longer not so freezing cold days 🙂
And I’m happy to have this non-alcoholic drink, which can also be alcoholic, whatever you prefer. It’s a great way to pimp up your favorite beer and add some fruitiness 🙂
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500mlpomelo juice(juicing described in the instructions)
500mllager beer(alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
Instructions
Simple ginger syrup:
Add all ingredients to a mortar and make a smooth paste.
Juicing pomelo:
Pomelo is a big fruit and it's hard to juice it on a regular juicer. I peel the pomelo and remove the thin white skins, then blend it in a blender for a minute or two and use a nut milk bag or a tea towel to squeeze out the juice.
Pomelo ginger shandy:
Mix together pomelo juice and simple ginger syrup, pour into glasses and add beer.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/pomelo-ginger-shandy-16.jpg1050700Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2017-02-16 10:16:382018-12-13 07:39:00Sparkling Pomelo Ginger Shandy (Virgin And Not So Virgin)
This apple and poppy seed strudel has four delicious mouth-watering layers – poppy seed, curd, walnut, and apple layer with sultanas. In many ways, it is reminiscent of one of the best Slovenian dessert Prekmurska gibanica.
Hi, guys!
It’s about time to make another kindda Slovenian recipe – another dessert inspired by our traditional Prekmurska gibanica. Remember the Spring Strawberry Layer Cake in a Glass, that is a very light and healthy version of the original recipe. Well, this time it’s also a little lighter, but just a little bit.
The original Prekmurska gibanica is very heavy on the fat, not that this apple and poppy seed strudel recipe is not, but much much less 😀
Okay, I’m making it sound like a dissaster of a dessert. It’s actually not and it really is one of my favorite Slovenian desserts. With four different delicious layers you can’t go wrong, right?
I left the layers as are, but added honey in two of them (the poppy seed and the walnut layer), because you know I’m addicted to honey 😉 My breakfast today… honey on bread and butter. You see! ADDICTED!
I hope you don’t get scared by the four layers, because these fillings are literally the easiest you-can’t-do-it-wrong fillings. And if you don’t like an ingredient, change it. For example, you could use different fruit, or change walnuts for some other nuts. So many choices.
This was actually one of those recipes, that I didn’t even plan to make. I was left with some phyllo dough that was about to go bad and was firstly thinking of making a simple, but yet delicious, apple strudel. But since that’s probably the most common type of strudel I make, I thought, I should do it differently this time and see if I can make a layered strudel like Prekmurska gibanica.
Guess what, yes! And it’s pretty freakin’ delish. At first I added too much poppy seeds and not enough apples, which made it a little dry, so I changed the recipe. Now it’s moist and sooo yummy.
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6medium-size applesaround 1kg, peeled and coarsely grated
2tspcinammon
120gsultanas
warm water
STRUDEL
500gphyllo pastry10 sheets of 35 x 45 cm
150gbuttermelted
Icing sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Poppy seed layer
Pour boiling milk over ground poppy seeds and mix well with a spoon. Once the mixture has cooled a little, add honey and mix again.
Curd layer
Split the eggs into egg whites and yolks. Mix curd, icing sugar, lemon zest and yolks with a spoon. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and fold it gently into the curd mixture.
Walnut layer
Pour boiling milk over ground walnuts and mix well with a spoon. Once the mixture has cooled a little, add honey and mix again. If there's excess liquid on bottom, drain the mixture through a fine sieve.
Apple layer
Put sultanas in a bowl and cover the with warm water. Leave them to soak for 15-20 minutes, then drain. Mix together grated apples, cinammon and sultanas.
Assembly and baking: Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Coat a big baking tray with melted butter. The trey should be big enough to hold five 35cm long rolls.
Spread a generous amount of butter over one sheet of phyllo pastry with a brush, cover it with another sheet and spread butter over this one too.
Visually divide the sheet into 5 parts (lenghtwise). Spread poppy seed mixture over the first, curd layer over the second, walnut layer over the third and apples over the fourth. The first will be a little thinner, the fourth a little thicker and the fifth will be empty. Start rolling from the poppy seed layer. Roll as wide or narrow as your baking tray allows. You are going to have 5 of these rolls.
Place the rolls into baking tray and cover the tops with some more butter.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust looks golden.
When you take it out the crust might look soggy, but it will get crisp once it cools.
Sprinkle with some icing sugar before serving.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/apple-poppy-seed-strudel-7.jpg1050700Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2017-02-02 09:38:422020-08-26 07:05:16Nutty Apple & Poppy Seed Strudel
Whoever says comfort food can’t be healthy, has obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?
Hey, hey! We’re having broccoli today.
Hmmm, the rhyme was unitntentional, I guess I’m feeling poetic 😛
I have a habit of steaming broccoli instead of roasting them. I dunno, I think it’s because of the vivid green color it keeps. Plus, it’s quicker 🙂 I was thinking what would go well in a steamed broccoli salad and then I remembered a Jamie Oliver show from a while ago. Can’t even remember the recipe, but I know he roasted the beans on a pan until they started popping. I tried those before and they were great. So, it sounded like an awesome idea to add them to the broccoli. Turnes out it was the right decision and with some added chopped parsey, pomegranate seeds and spicy nuts this makes a perfect winter salad.
The best thing about this salad is, it can be both a warm or a cold salad. For a warm salad, you dress it while everything is hot, for a cold salad, you rinse the broccoli with cold water after steaming and then decide if you want the beans and nuts to be warm or not. It’s up to you!
I’m seriously obsessed with mustard dressing. Although I’m normally not a fan of mustard as a condiment, it’s so amazing if you use it as seasoning.
This dressing is probably the one I use most on daily basis, because it’s super simple and mustard gives it an extra depth and richness. It works really well with bitter winter salads like radicchio.
So, some updates on what’s been going on in my life lately. We’re starting to prep more seriously for the baby. Yep, barely starting. I mean we have bought some things, made some and we’re getting lots of second hand stuff from friends, but we still have sooo many chores until I can really say, now we’re ready. We still have 10 weeks, but you never now, when the baby might surprise us. Oh, I have to tell you about the cutest little pants I’ve sewn. They are the cutest, but I’m affraid the fabric is not strechy enough and they’ll probably be to small to fit even a newborn. Luckily, I’m stacked with fabric and I’m making new ones 🙂
Ok, enough baby talk!
Besides all the baby preparations, we’re also starting to prep for the new dance show that we moved from Spring to Autumn, because of… well, baby. Yesterday, I started making my part of the coreography. You can imagine a big belly and a fast dance + some floorwork. It was fun, but also very chalenging!
Great, your all updated now, so let’s start cookin’!
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1cupcooked red beansif you’re using canned, rinse well before cooking
3TBSPmixed seedssunflower seeds, sesame, black sesame…
1tspcrushed chilli flakes
1tspground garlic
1/2cuppomegranate seeds
a bunch of parsleychopped
LEMONY MUSTARD DRESSING
5TBSPolive oil
3TBSPlemon juice
1TBSPmustard
pinchof salt
pinchof pepper
Instructions
Steamed Broccoli Salad
Cut the florets away from stems and cut them into bite size chunks. Cut the thinner stems into 1 cm chunks. Peel the thick main stem and cut it into 1 cm cubes.
Boil a little water (about a finger’s width) in a steaming pan and add the steming basket. Place the stem parts of broccoli into the steaming basket and the florets on top. If there are any leaves from broccoli place them right at the top. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes or until you can easily pierce the broccoli with a fork, but it’s still vibrant green. Be careful, because broccoli can go from vibrant to brownish color quickly.
If you prefer your broccoli to be cold, rinse immediately under cold water to stop it from further cooking. If you’re serving it warm, just remove from steamer and let it drain.
In a bowl mix together garlic and chilly flakes.
Heat a big skillet over medium-high heat and add beand and half of the garlic and chlli mixture. Cook them for about 4-5 minutes, tossing every now and then. Once you see most of the beans open, add the nuts and toss every now and then for a minute. Remove from heat and add the remaining garlic and chilli mixture.
Lemony Mustard Dressing
Beat all ingredients together with a fork.
Steamed Broccoli Salad
In a salad bowl, mix together broccoli, parsley, 2/3 of beans and seed mixture, 2/3 of pomegranate seeds and dressing. Top wih the remaining 1/3 of beeans and seeds and the rest of pomegranate seeds.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/popped-beans-steamed-broccoli-salad-6-1.jpg1050700Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2017-01-19 07:36:282020-08-26 07:10:39Popped Beans and Steamed Broccoli Salad
These humble but exciting pecorino ravioli with orange zest and brown butter flavored with rosemary will bring any dinner to a new level!
It’s so exciting making your own pasta. And it’s not even that difficult. Actually I’d say it’s one of the easiest doughs for a beginner. Some may not agree, but I’ve tried many different types of dough and pasta is the only one that was successful every time. Even if it wasn’t perfect, it was managable. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a whole science behind a perfect pasta dough, which I should probably cover in another post, but if you follow some basic rules, there shouldn’t be many problems.
Basic rules:
1 egg per 100 g flour. Works every time.
The dough should rest at least 30 minutes. This makes the gluten form and the dough becomes elastic and easier to handle. You will notice a huuuge difference in dough before and after resting just by touch.
Lightly flour the dough before rolling it out, especially if you are using a pasta machine, otherwise it will start sticking and tearing when you get to a thinner setting.
Oh, and one more thing! When you start bringing the dough together it might look a little dry but after a couple of kneads it will hold together much nicely and after 10 minutes of kneading it will start forming tiny bubbles under the surface, which means it’s done. Wrap it up and wait. You’ve got the best pasta dough in th world ready and waiting!
So, we’re making ravioli. It’s a type of filled pasta that comes in many shapes and sizes. The filling can be whatever you like it to be. But since it’s almost New Year’s Eve I’m all about fancy shmancy 😀 So I used pecorino as the main focus of the dish, mixing it with some fresh ricotta cheese and freshly grated orange zest. The zest will give it a kind of richness and freshness. And to make it even more psh we’re adding brown butter with rosemary on top.
The pecorino ravioli are perfectly savory and flavorful on their own, so they shouldn’t be drowned in a strong flavored sauce. Brown butter is just delicate enugh to enhance the flavores but not overpower them.
I’ve never made brown butter before, but once I tried it on these pecorino ravioli, I’m sure it’ll become a regular at our house. The nutty taste of the brown butter is so delicious and very different from plain old melted butter. Plus, you can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge for when the opportunity comes.
Great, so we’ve got everything covered. Let’s get preparing for the New Year’s Eve party and making some delicious orange pecorino ravioli. Have a great party, folks!
Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥
ORANGE & PECORINO RAVIOLI WITH ROSEMARY BROWN BUTTER
Course
Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine
Italian
Keyword
brown butter
Prep Time35minutes
Cook Time2minutes
Resting time30minutes
Total Time37minutes
Servings4
Ingredients
PASTA DOUGH
4eggs
400gall-purpose flour
FILLING
250gpecorinograted
250gricotta
1/4tspnutmeg
1/4tspblack pepper
zest of 1 orange
BROWN BUTTER SAUCE
120gbuttercubed
3stems of rosemary
GARNISH
grated pecorino
orange zest
rosemary
Instructions
Pasta
Sift flour into a bowl or onto the countertop, make a well in the middle and add in the eggs. start mixing the eggs adding in flour little by little, until the dough comes together. For this first step you can alternatively use a food processor. Knead the dough by hands for about 10 minutes, until you see tiny bubbles form under the surface. Wrap the dough in plastic foil and let it rest for at least half an hour. The dough will become much softer and strechier with resting, so don’t skip it!
Filling
Mix pecorino, ricotta, nutmeg, black pepper and orange zest in a bowl.
Brown butter sauce
Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add butter and rosemary. As the butter melts it will start bubbling and changing color from light yellow to golden and lastly brown. The mik solids will start to separate from the fat and will form a dark brown sediment. When this happens and the butter is brown with a nutty smell, pour the butter to a cold bowl. If you prefer to remove the sediment pour the butter in the bowl slowly, leaving the sediment in the sauce pan. Remove the rosemary.
You can prepare the brown butter sauce while waiting for pasta dough to rest and reheat it over low to medium heat before serving.
Rolling pasta
Cut pasta into 8 pieces and roll each one out as thinly as possible using a little flour to prevent sticking. You can use a rollin pin (the more labor intense method) or use a pasta machine (the easier method) and roll the dough starting at the thickest setting, continuing to the thinnest setting that the dough can still handle. If it starts tearing you should stop one setting thicker. I suggest running a test with a tiny portion of the dough before going full scale.
When the dough is rolled out spread it over a flat lightly flouered surface and cover with a tea towel.
Filling pasta
There are many shapes of raviol. The easiest is a simple square or rectangle. Spread a heap teaspoon of filling 4 cm apprart over the lenght of a rolled out pasta. Using a brush or a finger lightly wet one long edge of the dough and the part between the filling. Fold over one half of the dough lenghtwise and press around the filling to get all the air out. Using a pasta cutter or a sharp knife cut rigth in the middle between the filled parts and use a fork to press around each ravioli, so the dough really sticks together and doesn't open during cooking.
Cooking pasta
Boil water and add salt like for any other pasta, then add the ravioli and cook for about two minutes.
Meanwhile heat up the butter.
Drain and serve onto plates adding brown butter on top and garnishing with some more pecorino, orange zest and rosemary.
Serve immediately.
https://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/orange-pecorino-ravioli-7.jpg1050700Anja Burgarhttps://www.useyournoodles.eu/wp-content/uploads/logo_NEWW.pngAnja Burgar2016-12-29 07:18:142020-08-26 07:28:37Orange & Pecorino Ravioli with Rosemary Brown Butter
Indulgent finger food for the best party you’ll ever throw, but not without these crispy bacon wrapped prunes and a decadent herbed feta dip!
Yay, finally sharing this recipe with you!
I’ve been making it for a while now, but never got around photographing and posting it. But with the holiday season slowly arriving, I felt like, I owe you this recipe, because – yes, I’m gonna say it – it’s amazing. It’s dried fruit wrapped in bacon. Who wouldn’t love that?! 🙂
There’s a little story about how I got to this deliciousness. It happened on our honeymoon a little over two years ago. I know many people decide to go to some perfect tropical beach for their honeymoon, but we decided to make a road trip through Europe. We made over 2500 km in 16 days and saw soooo many things and sights. One of them was the lovely town of Kaunas in Lithuania. It gave out the vibe of still being stuck in the old time with all the old communist monuments and decaying facades, but that actually gave the town a really special character.
Anyway, convinced that the nightlife would be pretty much non existant we headed to the center of town. Well, we were dead wrong. It was vibrant and lively with all the people siting in the restaurants and pubs, drinking, eating and having a blast. Looked so fun that we had to join. For the first time ever we tried mulled beer. Delicious, btw! We also tried some finger food. Among other we had tiny packets of prunes wrapped in bacon that were filled with some kind of nuts. That was such a clever and incredibly delicious appetizer! Soft and chewy, but crispy on the outside and in the middle. Clever, I’m saying. I’ve been making my own version ever since.
I’m in love with this presentation, with the tree springs, holding together the bacon wrapped prunes. There’s another story behind that.
I usually spend New Year’s Eve with friends in a cabin somewhere in the wild (sometimes not so wild). One year we decided to throw a fancy dress-yo’self-very-pretty kind of New Year’s Eve party. These pretty bacon wrapped prunes were a must! Of course, we were not at home and we didn’t have toothpicks that would hold the whole thing together so we headed to the garden and cut some tree springs and solved the problem. Easy 😀 They looked so much better than with good old toothpicks. Don’t you think they look festive?
In case you are like me – always in need of some dip, here’s a recipe for a simple feta dip with fresh herbs. I used parsley and chives, because that’s what still growing in the garden, but you can add whatever you’ve got on hand.
Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥
a bunch of herbsI used parsley and chives, chopped
pinchof pepper
Instructions
BACON WRAPPED PRUNES
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Heat a pan over medium-high heat, then add chopped almonds. Roast for a minute, until they start smelling sweet. Remove from heat and add olive oil and ground sweet red pepper. Toss around to coat the nuts and set aside too cool a little.
Cut bacon in half.
Fill the prunes with nuts and wrap them in bacon, securing ends with toothpicks.
Place them onto a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bacon gets golden and crispy.
Best served hot.
HERBED FETA DIP
Combine all ingredients in a food processor, to get a smooth dip. Keep in the fridge before serving.
Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!
I really hope y’all love mandarins as much as I do. They’ve been my main food these days. A nasty cold decided to haunt me, but I was prepared…
With tons of mandarins. I mean I probably ate a few kilos of them. And I’m not exaggerating at all! I’m feeling much better now and ready to bring you another awesome recipe.
Inspired by mulled wine and apple cider, I decided to give warm drinks a little twist. I’ve added mandarins to those two drinks before, but never tried cooking mandarin juice on its own. And man, I’m sorry I didn’t!!
Don’t get me wrong, I love mulled apple cider, but it needs lots of lemon to reduce the sweetness. Well, not mandarins. Especially the sour ones. Which are my favorites, btw 🙂 There’s just a little honey or any other sweetness necessary in this recipe, or if you prefer sour drinks like me, you can omit that.
Now that we got this straight, let’s talk spices.
Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, peppercorn and star anis. That’s what I used. It’s basically what I usually used in mulled drinks, sometimes I play with flavors and add someting new, but being ill and all, I wished for something very homey and familiar. Something to make me feel like a little baby 😀
And it made me so happy I just had to share this recipe with you. I have a feeling mulled mandarin juice is gonna be my everyday drink now. Since being pregnant means, I have to be careful with what kinds of teas I drink, I was also out of warm drink options. This will be perfect to spice things up.
A little secret. I have a feeling rum would go awesomely with mulled mandarin juice, so if you can drink alcohol, try adding it after cooking. And let me know how it was 😛
Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥
I want to hear everything about your other favorite winter drinks in the comments below.
This is a perfect gift for Christmas! Homemade hot chocolate powder in a beautiful jar and a personal tag. Don’t you just love homemade gifts?
Let’s get warm with some homemade hot chocolate! It’s so cold outside, even I have the heaters turned on. And I’m that person who sits in a cold room in only a T-shirt, while others are trembling in their sweaters. My husband is turning the heaters on all the time and I go after him turning them off. Well, not today. My hands are freezing and I’m having trouble typing. I need a hot chocolate!
Plus, it’s time to make gifts, and I love homemade gifts. Have you ever felt nervous, because you just didn’t know what to give people for Christmas? Well I have and a few years ago me and my husband made it a tradition to give our loved ones homemade gifts. No more fuss about buying gifts at the last moment.
Last year I made homemade hot chocolate mix to give away as presents. I was experimenting with quite a few recipes. And dealing with all types of powders resulted in a dust cloud in my kitchen. I could hardly breathe and my lungs were burning for hours, but turns out it was worth it. I love it so much.
I’m not a huge fan of store bought hot chocolate mixes, because they are too sweet and too expensive. This recipe calls for way less sugar, then there is in the bought ones. But if you like it sweet, go for it. Add a little more sugar.
Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥
1/2cuphot chocolate mixif you like it very dense add 1-2 TBSP of the mix
Instructions
HOT CHOCOLATE MIX
Sift cocoa powder, powdered milk, corn starch, and icing sugar through a sieve into a big bowl and add vanilla, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Combine it thoroughly with a whisk or move it to a blender and mix until it is well combined. That’s it!
COOKING
Pour the milk into a small pot, add the hot chocolate mix and put it on medium heat.
Stir well with a whisk. You need to stir at all times, or it will burn, especially at the end.
Hot chocolate should be ready to serve in about 10 minutes.
Notes
If you are making a large batch, I suggest you use something to cover your nose and mouth. The dust can really get in your lungs. And you don’t want that
Stirring the hot chocolate while cooking is absolutely necessary. It might start sticking to the edges a little. Just don’t scrape that part off or your hot chocolate will get a burned flavor.
Try adding your favorite spices into the mix. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg are perfect for this season.
