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.