Large, Thin, Very Gingerly Oat Cookies

I know I'm posting too much sweet food lately, but if not at this festive time, when to publish recipes for cookies? It is difficult however to find meaning in posting a recipe for oatmeal cookies, since it is so easy to find any kind of oat cookie recipes. As a fan of oatmeal, I make them sweet and salty, with chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, or just plain. Playing with various ingredients I came across this combination this summer and made them many time since then. The reason is mainly the healthy ingredients and nutritional value that makes them very convenient breakfast on the go. They do not contain flour, but only oatmeal. Another reason is that they are very large and thin and are therefore slightly different from other cookies I make and for that reason my children are very fond of them. If you have not yet prepared such thin cookies I believe you will find interesting this simple technique of making them. Although these are everyday biscuits, you can add them as a little healthier addition to your holiday cookies collection.

Princess Donuts Muffins

These donuts are not Princess Donuts, but one of my kitchen experiments, which turned out quite interesting. This is a combination of Yorkshire Puddings and light vanilla egg cream made with rice flour. They are very tasty and easy to make.

Dates Stuffed with Ginger & Almonds

“As a healthy dessert, snack, or hors d'ouvres, stuffed dates are a multifaceted treat. Better make a double batch!” Is said about stuffed dates on ayurvedic website Joyful Belly where I got the idea for this recipe. Instead of crystallized ginger from the original recipe I made something like ginger jam so that the filling is firmer and stuffed dates can last for days. Here is more explanation from the original recipe: “Fall is the time of year to sweeten the blood. Dates and almonds nourish the blood plasma carrying sugars, fats, and proteins to nourish all cells, essential for helping the body prepare for colder days ahead. Dates and almonds, like most nourishing foods, are heavier to digest and should be paired with spices like ginger to stimulate the stomach and circulation.”
If you like healthy and healing foods, make a note of this recipe as a healthier alternative to Christmas cookies.

Witches Mushroom Brew with Skulls

This Halloween soup is so easy to make and is an ideal Halloween's menu starter. It is a light and healthy soup made with button mushrooms and sweet potato and to make mushroom skulls you won't need any fancy tools – just a knife and a straw and of course a pair of little helping hands. Children would enjoy this fun project.

Tahini cookies with black sesame seeds

These cookies are eggs and dairy free. They are tender as if they were made of the finest flour while I used regular unbleached flour. Because of their unusual texture they taste like cross between cookies and halva. With only a few ingredients, these tiny cookies are so easy to make in last minute, though interesting enough to impress the queasiest guests.

Recipe:


1 cup tahini
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 – 3 tablespoon black sesame seeds


Prepare dough mixing all the ingredients except sesame seeds, in bowl. Cover the bowl and let it cool in a freezer for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Shape the dough into 32 balls and roll each ball, top side only into a black sesame seeds. Bake them on cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Cool thoroughly and keep refrigerated for up to a week.
Makes 32 cookies.

Sesame Seed

Granola with Ginger and Almonds

Recipe:

3 cups oats
1 cup almonds, chopped
2 tablespoon finely grated ginger
½ tsp salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup honey


In a large bowl mix all ingredients with wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture onto a large greased baking sheet. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes. Stir once after 15 minutes. Cool on tray. When completely cool store in an airtight container. Serve with yogurt and/or fresh fruits.

Ginger Beer

This is Jamie Oliver style Ginger Beer or what he calls “Easy Peasy Ginger Beer”. I just measured the amounts a little bit different, as you can do too, because as Jamie says “these amounts are always a little variable so just follow your own taste”. I became addicted to this drink ever since the first time I have tried it. Jamie Oliver says he “can’t think of anything more sexy than having a big pitcher of iced ginger beer on the table with a barbecue on a hot day".

Sopa de Frijoles Negros (Cuban Black Bean Soup)

Recipe:

1 lb black beans, dried (2 ½ cups)
¼ cup olive oil
1 big onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 big carrot, chopped
1 big green pepper, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 OZ or 411 g
8 cups of water (2 l)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh Oregano, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry oregano)
¼ teaspoon crushed dry red chile pepper
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 slices of lime

Garnishes:
Fresh cilantro, parsley, lemon thyme or basil
Avocado slices
Cherry tomatoes halves
Lime slices
Sour cream
Grated cheese
Boiled eggs

Wash the beans well and soak them overnight, than drain the beans. In a large pot sauté onions, add garlic and carrot and sauté for a minute. Add diced pepper and tomatoes, water and all seasonings except fresh herbs. Bring the soup to boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered for 2 hours. At the end of a cooking time, the soup will start to thicken so make sure you scrape the bottom of the pot occasionally.

In a food processor puree 2 cups of solids from the soup. Return the puree to the soup, mix and boil for another couple of minutes. Add fresh herbs.
Serve the soup hot in bowls, garnished.
Serves 8 (or more)

Sage Ice Cream with Brown Sugar

This ice cream is a real hit in our household and definitely one of my favorites. It is not only the flavor of sage but bits of leaves that you can feel under your tongue, that are giving this ice cream its distinctive feature.

Cornmeal Cookies – Zalleti the Venetian Cookie

Venetian Cookies are made of corn meal and currants. Currants can be soaked in rum, and lemon zest can be added. You can really experiment with these cookies: try to add lemon or orange zest, instead of currants try finely chopped prunes or dry apricots or cranberries, and soak them in rum, cherry brandy or your favorite liquor. My Zalleties are made with orange blossom water and orange zest.
Adopted slightly from The Italian Baker by Carol Field via David Lebovitz.

Cantaloupe Granita with Lime

Recipe:

1 small or ½ big cantaloupe (3 cups purred cantaloupe)
1/4 cup light honey
3 tbls freshly squeezed lime juice
Zest of 1 lime


Slice melon and discard skin, cut into large chunks. In your food processor puree melon, honey, lime juice and lime zest until smooth. Transfer to a freezing bowl, place in freezer, uncovered and freeze, whisking every half an hour to keep it from becoming too solid. Serve with slices of lime.

Banana Muffins with Lemon and Honey

These healthy muffins contain no eggs, milk or butter. They are super easy to make and they are ideal for breakfast.

Strawberry Yogurt Ice-Cream

This ice-cream is so easy to make, sour cream is giving it lovely, real ice-cream texture.

Walnut Bread with Dry Apricots and Rosemary

Recipe:

4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbls dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbls brown sugar
1 tbls rosemary chopped
2 tbls olive oil
2 cups water
½ cup dry apricots, chopped
½ cup walnuts, chopped


In a large bowl combine all ingredients except apricots and walnuts. Mix with a wooden spoon, adding water gradually. Mix in chopped apricots and walnuts. Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest at warm place for an hour.
Preheat the oven at 350 F. Roll the dough to a floured surface until covered in flour from each side. Put the dough into a greased and floured loaf pan. Cover with kitchen cloth and let it rise for 15 more minutes at warm place.
Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.
It’s delicious served warm with butter. You can also slice it, freeze it and toast it for your breakfast.

Beet Sorbet

Did you ever hear about detox ice-cream? If you are crazy about beet like me, you will try to put it in just about everything…that is how I got the idea for making an ice-cream with beet, or more precisely sorbet. I added some other fruits and some honey to sweeten it, so my children always ask for more. I hope you will like it too.
Recipe:
1 beet medium size
2 bananas medium size
1 apple medium size
1 orange
2 tbls honey (optional)

Peel and cube all fruits and smooth them with honey in a food processor. Freeze. Enjoy without guilt.

Green Beans with Almonds and Thyme

Recipe:
1 lb green beans, (fresh or frozen)
2 tbls butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard
½ tsp salt
1 tbls chopped fresh thyme
A handful of almonds, coarsely chopped

Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and transfer them to a large bowl of iced water until they get nice green color. Drain them well.

In the same pot (still hot but dry) melt the butter and mix in garlic, mustard and salt. Add the green beans and toss well adding thyme at the very end. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Serve lukewarm. Cooled leftovers make delicious addition to sandwiches.

Detox Ginger-Lemonade

This is a great way to enjoy ginger and its healing properties as often and as simple as possible. You will need several roots of ginger peeled and cut in smaller pieces. Juice the ginger in your juicer and pour the juice in an ice tray. Freeze it. When you wish your ginger drink, melt a cube of iced ginger in water, add some freshly squeezed lemon (or lime) juice and sweeten it with honey to your taste.

Pumpkin (or Sweet Potato) Muffins

You can make these muffins with fresh pumpkin or sweet potato. Use any orange kind of pumpkin or Butternut squash.
Recipe:
1 cup whole wheat four
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup almond meal (or finely ground almonds)
1 ¾ cup grated fresh pumpkin (or sweet potato)
½ cup olive oil
2 eggs
¼ cup milk (soy or cow’s)
For icing:
1 ½ tbls carob molasses
1 ½ tbls tahini (sesame paste)


Preheat oven to 375 F. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients including pumpkin. In a measuring jar mix all wet ingredients. Pour liquid into the flour mixture and mix with wooden spoon or whisk. Do not mix too much. Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen. Prepare icing by combining molasses and tahini in a small bowl. Fill a cut-open pastry bag (or ziplock bag) or a squeeze bottle to decorate muffins while they are still warm. Do not decorate them while they are hot.
Makes 12 muffins

You can grate pumpkin or sweet potato in a food processor.
If you are trying to reduce sugars you can lessen the amount of sugar in this recipe (up to ½ cup).
For vegetarian muffins substitute eggs with two small ripe purred bananas.

Carrot Pudding - Gajar Ki Kheer

Recipe:
4 cups milk (soy or cow’s)
2 tbls rice
2 cups finely grated carrots, firmly packed
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbls almond meal (or finely grated almonds)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (or ground cinnamon)
1 tsp rose water (optional)
2 tbls ghee (or butter)
15 almonds, chopped and roasted


Combine milk, rice, carrot and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered for 35 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cinnamon and butter, mix well and remove from heat. Mix in rose water and pour the pudding into a molds or serving glasses. I used a flexible silicone molds. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Sprinkle with chopped, roasted almonds before serving.
Serves 4 to 6

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

Recipe:
1 cup quick oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 cup soy or cow’s milk
½ cup olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375 F. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
Put all dry ingredients into a bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Do not mix too much. Spoon into muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen.
Makes 12 muffins
For vegetarian muffins, instead of egg use one small ripe purred banana.

Scrambled Tofu with “Kacamak”

Kačamak or kachamak is a traditional Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian dish.
The dish is made of cornmeal, potato and, sometimes, feta cheese or skorup. Similar to the Italian polenta and Romanian mămăligă, it is prepared by boiling the mixture until it is thick or runny, depending on taste, and then mashing while the pot is still on the fire. It is usually served with milk, plain yogurt, sour cream or sometimes with bacon. Although it was once regarded as a poor man's food, it has grown into the everyday cuisine and is often found in restaurants (from wikipedia). I discovered a combination of Kacamak and tofu from Serbian food blogger: http://sandrinmlin.blogspot.com/.
Recipe:
Scrambled tofu:
2 tbls olive oil
500 g firm tofu
2 tbls soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
Kacamak:
2 cups yellow cornmeal
8 cups water
2 tbls white miso (or 1 – 2 tsp salt)
1 tbls olive oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
For garnishing:Black pepper
½ cup fresh green peas
Peas leaves and flowers and from your garden


To prepare Kacamak combine water in which you dissolved miso and cornmeal in a saucepan. Bring to boil and continue cooking at low temperature for 15 minutes. Mix in turmeric powder and olive oil, cover and set aside.


To prepare scrambled tofu, drain the tofu and crumble it, using hands. Prepare marinade combining soy sauce, lemon juice and honey in a small bowl. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add tofu. Cook the tofu for 10 minutes mixing occasionally with wooden spoon until it becomes golden. Remove from fire and spoon the marinade over. Mix well.


To serve, divide Kacamak between 4 plates. Put tofu over it and sprinkle with fresh green peas and garnish with its leaves and flowers. Make sure the flowers are edible. You can serve tofu with Kacamak with other vegetables and salads.
Serves 4

Cold Beet Cream Soup

Recipe:
1 medium size beet, peeled and cubed
1 small apple, peeled and cubed
Slice of ginger, peeled and chopped
½ avocado, peeled
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground coriander
1 ¾ cup cold water
For 4 cups of soup, serves 4


Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until smooth. Pour into serving bowls, sprinkle with freshly grated black pepper and garnish with fresh herbs or/and soy cream. For a nutritious lunch serve it with coarsely grated smoked tofu and bread croutons.

If your blender is not strong enough, grate all vegetables in food processor transfer it to blender, add water and mix until smooth.

Tofu Risotto

Recipe:
10 oz or ½ lb firm tofu, cubed
3 tbls olive oil
2 carrots, medium size (or 1 ½ cup chopped carrot)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 slice of fresh ginger
½ tsp salt
½ cup green peas (frozen in fine)
2 cups water
2 tbls white miso
1 cup basmati rice
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp finely chopped fresh lemon thyme


In a large pan, sauté garlic and ginger on olive oil for a few seconds, add carrot sauté for a minute, then add tofu, salt and green peas. Mix miso in water and add it to the mixture. Add all seasonings except fresh herb and cook covered for 15 minutes or until rice becomes tender and liquid is absorbed. Mix in fresh herbs. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve warm.

That Chocolate Cake

This recipe is from the book “The Essence of Chocolate, Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate” (Hyperion, 2006). The introductory notes say, “If you could only have one recipe for chocolate cake, this would be the one.” I couldn’t agree more with it and I will not say anything else - You just HAVE TO try it.
Recipe:
For the Cake:
Unsalted butter and flour for pans
2 cups granulated sugar
1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup canola oil
1 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water
For the Frosting:
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
5 ounces dark chocolate (72% cacao), finely chopped
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the parchment and the sides of the pans.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, mixing on low speed. Min in the eggs, oil, and milk. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the water. The batter will be soupy. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turn the layers out onto the rack and cool completely. When the cakes have cooled, check the frosting. It should have the consistency of mayonnaise. If it is still too thin, allow it to cool longer.


In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and cream and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 minutes. Add the chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Pour into a bowl and stir in the vanilla.


Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread the frosting with a hot palette knife or icing spatula to give the frosting a beautiful shine. Run the knife under hot tap water and dry with a towel. Spread about ¾ cup of the frosting over the top of the first layer. Top with the second layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, heating the knife again as necessary.


Serves 8 to 10

Berries Shortcake Meringue Cake

This recipe is from “Joyofbaking.com” (Meringue Cake) , I changed a few details, such as substituted white with brown sugar and omitting cream of tartar from meringue. I also added lemon grind to the batter and added blueberries. Combination of lemon zest and berries works really well with sweetness of meringue. We were invited to a summer picnic party and I wanted to make something to please both children and adults. First idea was Pavlova with berries but because Pavlova needs to be eaten right after topping with cream it was not an option. So when I found this recipe it seems like a perfect combination of Pavlova and Strawberry Shortcake. It is also a perfect cake for little girl’s Birthday party.
Recipe:
Cake Batter:
4 large egg yolks
1 cup (100 grams) sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) (114 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Meringue Layer:
4 large egg whites
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 - 2 tablespoons (14 - 28 grams) granulated white sugar
1 pound (454 grams) fresh strawberries and blueberries, cut into bite sized pieces
Confectioners Sugar (powdered or icing) for dusting top of cake
Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease and flour two - 8 x 1 1/2 inches (20 x 3.75 cm) round cake pans. Set aside.
Separate the eggs while they are still cold, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl. Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes).
In a mixing bowl sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, smoothing the tops with an offset spatula. Set aside while you make the meringue layer.
Meringue: In a clean bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Divide the meringue between the two cake pans, gently smoothing the tops with an offset spatula. Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The meringue layers will have turned a light brown and will be crisp to the touch but soft inside. Place the pans on a wire rack to cool. When completely cooled, remove from pans.


Shortly before serving whip the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Cut the strawberries into bite sized pieces and, if necessary, add a little sugar to sweeten them. Place one of the cake layers, meringue side up, on a serving platter. Spread the whipping cream onto the cake and top with the strawberries and blueberries.

Gently place the second cake layer, cake side down so the meringue layer is facing up, onto the first layer. Decorate with some cream, a strawberry and few nice blueberries. Dust with confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar. If not eating immediately, cover and place in the refrigerator until serving time. The assembled cake will hold in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Serves 8 - 10.

Spinach Soufflés

This is a great way to enjoy spinach especially for children. Soufflé is very easy to make if you have two things on your mind: first is to fold in the egg whites gently, by hand (not by electric mixer). Second is not to open the oven while it is baking, no matter how curious you are. My recipe is not a real soufflé but rather a dish that is inspired by soufflé – not requiring béchamel sauce, using oats instead of flour, fresh spinach rather than cooked in the béchamel.
Recipe:
3 eggs, separated
2 cups chopped spinach
2 tbls butter melted
½ cup milk
½ tsp salt
½ cup grated cheese such as cheddar
½ cup quick oats


Grease a soufflé cups or flexible muffin tray. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy. Mix all other ingredients in a separate bowl. Fold in the egg whites but do not over mix because egg whites foam is what is giving light and airy texture to the soufflé. Transfer the mixture to the cups or muffin tray and bake at 375 F for 20 - 25 minutes. Cool for just a little bit just so that you can transfer soufflés at a serving plate and garnish with fresh arugula flowers or other edible vegetable flowers.