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Rose Baklava

As you may have already noticed, I'm a bit obsessed with Oriental desserts. When I was in Paris, of course I enjoyed a rich variety of French food, but I was also daily visiting the Turkish delights shop in the Latin Quarter. I was fascinated with interesting taste and appearance of their tiny colorful delights. Few years later my friend from Syria brought me a box of beautiful baklava. The box was meticulously decorated, and baklava was prepared with pistachio and cadaif. It was so delicious that no words can describe it. But it was not until recently that I started to prepare such treats at home.

Growing up in Croatia, Baklava was quite popular because of Bosnian neighborhood. Therefore Baklava was the only one among this kind of sweets that I was preparing for years, or better said “trying to prepare”. Of course I made baklava with store bought fillo dough - that’s easy. But the problem is how to make home-made dough baklava or some healthier version of this tasty treat. My idea was to make it with whole wheat flour and with less sugar. While the baklava without much sugar is an impossible task, often sugar can be cut in half and also be replaced with healthier choice of natural sweeteners like honey or agave syrup. However, the dough of whole meal flour is usually difficult to roll out very thin, so baklava becomes hard and it should be soaked in syrup for days to become edible. I experimented with all kinds of nuts, including pistachios. I came to my version of syrup made with honey, which is excellent. Recently I was at a Turkish dinner, for dessert, of course, was the baklava...and then I tried to make it again but didn’t get much further again. Around the same time my daughter came across and interesting cookbook in the library. It was the Persian children's cookbook titled "Happy Nowruz" Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year, from Najmieh Batmanglij. Cookbook is full of wonderful sweets served for this holiday, many of which we tried.

Among other delights, there was a recipe for baklava. The baklava was made up of only two layers of dough with almond filing in the middle, which I immediately recognized as a potential for my idea of baklava from whole meal flour. It was full of spices, and the idea with rose petals immediately won me visually. But still I had to change the flour, reduce the sugar, I added honey, flax seeds, mint, and changed the amount and selection of few spices. That’s how this fragrant baklava recipe was accomplished and it has become our favorite family recipe and the secret that I am unveiling to you to celebrate spring. If you cannot get rose petals, remember this recipe soon, when first roses start to bloom.

Fragrant Vegan Cookies from a Buddhist monastery Tassajara

I used a recipe from the Tassajara as an inspiration for my first cookies that I have made with Stevia. Good news for those who avoid sugar in food – they turned out very tasty, and stevia in cookies is even better than in drinks.

"Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is a Buddhist temple located near San Francisco. Among other things, it is known for its healthy gourmet cuisine. Recently published cookbook "Tassajara Cookbook" by Carla Oliveira is about with the part of Tassajara’s kitchen which is the most popular - recipes for snacks, picnics & appetizers.

These cookies are like the usual vegan oat cookies, but in addition to not containing eggs or dairy products, they are made with many spices, pepper among others. These cookies are packed with energy, so they make excellent breakfast or dessert for packed lunch. I tried several recipes for cookies in which the eggs and butter are replaced by a banana, but this is by far my favorites. I think they differ from other healthy cookies by a large amount of spices and the addition of dark chocolate, though only ½ cup of this otherwise rather large amount of cookies. They are very simple to prepare.

These cookies are becoming my favorite routine - when the kids fall asleep and after my evening yoga session, I relax with one of the cookies and a cup of Ayurvedic tea. I convinced myself that great amount of these healthy spices will scare away all the viruses from me and so far it works for me. Maybe it can do a miracle to you too!

Let me finish this introduction with a quote from Tassajara Cookbook: "When you cook, you are not just working on food, you are working on yourself, you are working on others." Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Iced Oranges

Lovely idea for this healthy and attractive desert I found in a Spanish cookbook, or better said the manual for cooking "Best of Spain". The original recipe sought for much more oranges and large amounts of sugar cooked in syrup along with fruits, so I decided to simplify it, to avoid added sugar, and vitamin destruction by cooking fruits. I made a simple orange sorbet with fresh cranberries, added honey and decorated it with fragrant bay leaves. The dessert is so simple that it hardly can be called a recipe - this is more an idea.

Although most of us love to eat dessert after meals, it is often more about ritual than the actual need. Even more common is the fact that sweet and fatty desserts are totally unnecessary and can only lead to feelings of guilt and weight in our stomach. The beautiful presentation of this fresh dessert will satisfy even the most finicky gourmand. At the same time, unlike most fruit, which is not good to eat after a meal because it can interfere with digestion, citrus fruits are allowed, even desirable, as vitamin C from oranges will enable the absorption of iron that you probably eat in the main meal.

If you can, use organic oranges. Otherwise, soak oranges in solution of water, salt and lemon juice or vinegar for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Although you will not eat the peel, most oranges have been treated with pesticides that do not want to have on your plate.

Carrot Orange Bundt Cake with Candied Carrot Curls

I became fond of Carrot Cake while I lived in London. Ever since the first time I made it at home, it was a hit on a variety of parties including children’s birthday parties. It was adorn even by children who didn’t liked cakes at all. Only after several years of continuous making of carrot cake I cooled down a bit from it and last time, after a long time, I prepared it for the last New Year's Eve.

Somehow, the decision was made that for Christmas I will make Carrot Cake in a mold for Bundt Cake. I decorate it with candied carrots curls, recipe from Gourmet Magazine, December 2007. I have always used cheese icing on Carrot Cake so this was the first time I used plain sugar icing because I thought that it emphasizes the beautiful shape of Bundt Cake better. It was also more suitable base for these pretty carrot decorations. Instead of walnuts, I used almonds, substituted part of flour with whole wheat flour and I have also added a bit of orange zest and ginger.

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.