These might not look like your regular lemon bars because we didn’t use white flour and white sugar but despite the colour being different they still taste delicious. Here’s how you make them.
In a bowl mix 260g of flour, 150g of butter and 30g of sugar until the dough looks crumbly. Press it down in an ungreased dish and bake for 20min at 180°C. In the meantime mix 60g of flour, 90g of sugar, 4 eggs, a tsp. of vanilla essence, the zest of two lemons and the juice of one. When your dough is done, pour the mixture over it and place back in the oven four 15min.
And they’re you have it, lemon bars full of flavour. If you want the lemon to be less prominent you can always use the zest of just one lemon. Or just add two drops of lemon essential oil.
Those bars you can also make with other citrus zest as orange or lime 🍊🍋
Have you ever been to Greece?
My first thought about Greece is those lovely sun dried black olives. I know you can find them in shops all over the world and they’re a good thing to make a summer lunch from in a minute. If you want a Greek touch, then start with a glass of Ouzo, make a huge Greek salad with Feta cheese and olives and finish it with a slice of water melon, well chilled.
My favorite are Thassos olives, sun dried and cured with salt and vinegar. This way their skin almost looks shriveled like a raisin does from the sun. There are a few very simple methods to make those black dried olives yourself, but honestly I haven’t tried any of them.
I’m sure that if you love olives you already use them in many different way, starting from cocktails, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, casseroles etc.
But did you know that olives are a fruit, not a vegetable? So no matter if you choose green, purple, and brown or black – you are eating fruits – tell it to your mum :-). The only difference between green and black olives is ripeness. But unlike other fruits, olives are not edible ripe, they must be treated before edible.
Except they’re delicious, salty and fun to eat, they are great for your health. Consider them one of the best antioxidant food you can find. They are extremely rich in vitamin E.
Eating olives help improve your memory and even more helps skin stay soft and beautiful. Olives are not fattening, it’s interesting that they have a negative calorie load. Eating a few olives before a meal can take the edge off your appetite.
So start eating olives if you haven’t already and you will do a great thing for your body. Just the fact that olive tree is evergreen and can live up to 2000 years might make you think about it.
Easy to make and delicious aunty Nena’s chicken breasts. I love recipes named after dear people who made them. Every time I make it I recall memories of this brave and great women.
This time I left the recipe to my daughter to make, and she did it perfectly.
All you need are chicken or turkey breast escalopes, thinly sliced prosciutto or smoked ham, four eggs, sour cream or cooking cream and grated cheese of your choice.
Take a casserole dish, slightly oil and lay down escalopes . Cover them with prosciutto. Beat cooking cream and eggs and pour it over. Sprinkle with grated cheese on top. Bake in a preheated oven on 200°C or until golden brown.
It can be eaten hot, warm or cold. Serve it with any kind of veggies as a side dish (remember what mum said – three colours on a plate). When cold, you can easily cut in small cubes and arrange over a salad. It’s great to put in a sandwich as well.
I am sure you will find the way you like them most.
Just one important thing – do NOT SEASON them, no needed salt or anything.
Bon appétit à tous.🍽
My granny has been making us plum dumplings using a traditional Hungarian recipe since I was little. It was quite common to eat potato soup and those dumplings for lunch. The used recipe was switched multiple times and here is the most recent one we’ve settled for, the best one yet in our opinion.
- 1kg of potatoes
- 300g of flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 100g of butter
- Tsp. of salt
- Tbsps. of semolina
- 10 plums
- Cinnamon and powdered sugar mixture
- 200g of bread crumbs
Peel the potatoes and boil them until soft. Mash them and leave them to cool (it’s important for them to be completely cold so that the butter won’t melt and make the dough sticky). Mix in the flour, butter, egg yolk, salt and semolina with your hands until you’ve got a ball of dough. Roll it out on a working surface and cut them into 5cmx5cm squares. Put aside the remaining dough for later use. Cut the plums in half and remove the seeds. Put a tsp. of the cinnamon and powdered sugar mixture in the remaining holes and place the plum half face down on the dough squares. Fold them, make nice balls and place on the floured surface. Let the water boil and cook the dumplings until they swim out to the surface. Fry the bread crumbs on butter and place the dumplings in the pan, roll them to be completely covered.
Take the remaining dough and roll it into a sausage. Cut pieces about 1,5 cm wide and roll them out to form a fat worm shape. Boil them and cover them in bread crumbs just as you would with the dumplings. And there you have it, lovely plum dumplings without wasting any dough. Those little worms we used to eat with sour cream as a savoury dish, and then continue with fruit dumplings.
Those dumplings you can make with other fruits as well. The best ones are with apricots or sour cherries. The leftovers kids love to eat the next morning with a glass of milk for a breakfast.
Those dumplings on the photo were made by my dad and my daughter – my dream team ♥♥
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, is the tenth book in the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I love these books, I rarely read something written with such warmth.
I recommend you start reading from the first book, but I chose the tenth because the title remind that sometimes a good cup of red bush tea might be the best solution of all. Madame Ramotswe never starts the day without it.
The main character is Precious Ramotswe, a traditionally built lady who really enjoys her food. She says that men wanted women whose shape reminds them of good things on the table.
You will naturally come to empathize with her, following her believes in the traditional Botswana moral and human values. She runs a small detective agency, cooks traditional Botswana meals for her husband and two adopted kids. Special moments in her life are late afternoon chats with her best friend who makes the best fruit cake ever.
Despite this irresistible fruit cake, you will discover sweets as banana cake and ginger loaf bread.
For Botswana people beef plays an important part in alimentation. She often reminds us how Botswana beef is fine, grass-fed beef, and taste so much better than the meat of those poor cattle which were kept cooped up or fed with food that they shouldn’t eat.
The main vegetable is pumpkin. On a daily base she prepares beef stews, pumpkin soups and pumpkin chilly, or just boiled flesh of a pumpkin softened with a lump of butter and served with a slice of beef, dripping in a gravy.
I believe you will enjoy these little novels, that their good humor will bring a smile on your face and that the food will bring the sunshine of Botswana in your kitchen.
And don’t forget an occasional cup of tea ☕
Let me share with you this recipe for zucchini and mini meatballs pasta that you can easily make in 20 minutes time.
First season the minced meat the way you like. Then start making mini meatballs with wet hands throwing them directly onto the hot slightly oiled frying pan. Fry them for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan. When the meatballs are nice and brown, put them aside, but do not let them cool. I like to wrap them in the alum-foil, that way all the juices won’t evaporate.
In the same pan put zucchinis cut in little cube shapes, but not too small to avoid falling apart during frying. Add some oil or butter, season and fry about 10 minutes or until they start getting golden brown. At the same time cook the pasta of your choice.
When the zucchinis are ready, transfer the meatballs back in to the pan. Add boiled pasta and season to taste. There are a few different ways you can finish this zucchini and mini meatballs pasta dish. You can either leave it as it is, just sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top, or you can add some cooking cream – which what we did here. You can even add some tomato sauce and season with Mediterranean herbs.
The one on the photo was made by my teenage daughter, while I was at work.
I feel proud ♥♥ Wouldn’t you as well?
The first thing I would like to tell you about Orange essential oil is that just when you smell it instantly lifts the spirit. This oil has a strong calming influence, it brings peace and happiness to the mind. Orange essential oil detoxifies and balances the whole body.
There are so many ways you can benefit from using this oil, but here I will mention some tips related to food and cooking.
- The simplest – add few a drop to your lemonade, orangeade or any other juice, best if you have freshly squeezed
- Add to your smoothie , no matter if you making it only with fruits and veggies only, or adding some almond milk – 1 drop of orange oil will lift up the whole taste
- Put 2-3 drops in Greek yogurt, add some vanilla for extra taste
- When you make homemade ice cream, especially lolly ice creams for kids
- Hot chocolate – let it cool for a few minutes and add a drop , you will get a marvellous Choco-orange taste
- Make fabulous pumpkin spice by mixing 3 drops of each of following oils: orange, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger.
- Add it to cranberry sauce, never mind you make it or you bought it.
- Finally, whatever you bake and want to add to it an orange flavour , feel free to put few drops and you will be astonished with the taste
You can use this wonderful oil with consuming or diffusing both, but I would highly recommend adding some to your cosmetic products, bath foam or body milk and you will fell as the Queen of Sheba.
Recipe for salmon trout burgers was inspired by one of Jamie Oliver’s. I have changed a few things to adjust it to the likings of my family.
I used salmon trout which can be a good and more cost-effective replacement for salmon. Also if you aren’t able to buy wild salmon, it’s much better to buy some local fresh fish.
Chop the fish into small chunks (pea-sized) and season well with salt and pepper. Add grated ginger, a finely cut red onion, spring onions and plenty of lemon zest. Make sure you have kept the lemon in cold water for some time before using it. Mix well and make 2cm thick patties. Fry them on medium-high heat for 2 minutes each side, or until nicely golden.
They match fantastically with chilly jam. You can serve it separately, or add to the pan just when you’re almost done with frying. As a side dish, I made boiled potatoes, gilded a little bit on butter, and boiled chard (boil it for only 3 minutes in salted water and drain well).
Kids love those salmon trout burgers. Ginger and lemon zest give that refreshing note if you use the kind of fatty fish. You can make them in 5 minutes. You can boil the potatoes a few hours before and then just give them a butter glaze for a few minutes.
If you like chard try to make my chard and quinoa moussaka as well 🙂