Dates – the fruit the most deserving of the title “the fruit of paradise”.
I remember having dates in the fridge since I was a kid. At that time we use to buy them in a packet of 16pcs on a small plastic stick. We collected those sticks and played with them. At that time we only ate dates as sweets, but now I use them in a variety of recipes, mostly as a substitute for sugar.
Dates are also delicious when added to smoothies and/or salads. They can be stuffed with walnuts, coconut, and ginger. They are almost irreplaceable in homemade energy bars and desserts.
They can provide a wonderful energy boost and help revitalize the body at any time of the day. Dates can be eaten out of hand as a quick snack. I always have a few dates with me, a great solution for emergency cases. Although they are sweet, it is great to eat one date two hours before bedtime for better sleep.
There are so many benefits you can gain from by consuming dates:
- Improved energy and brain function
- Helps to build bone and muscle strength
- Good source of vitamin A and B-complex
- Rich in minerals, such as iron, calcium, manganese, copper
- Contains anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties
- Helps to control heart rate and blood pressure
- Could be irreplaceable in the fight against colds and infections
- Regular use of dates helps the body recover faster after a disease or surgery
- Dates contribute to the removal of excess fluid that causes swelling from the body.
Some interesting historical facts: Date palm is probably the most ancient cultivated tree in the world. The earliest record comes from Mesopotamia 3000BC. The Ancient Egyptians used the dates to make date wine. And there is a legend that the date palm was the tree of knowledge of good and evil and that the date was the fruit Eve so generously offered to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
However, I invite you to include dates in your diet and soon you will feel all the blessings of this paradise fruit.
At this time of the year you can find all kinds of zucchini on the market, so let’s make some stuffed yellow zucchini today.
Comparing to other kinds of zucchini the yellow ones are so much easier to stuff and they look very decorative. As you can see in the picture, my son eats them with tzatziki salad and lots of turmeric powder 😀
Start by pan-frying finely chopped onion on olive oil. Add salt and smoked sweet paprika. After a few minutes, add minced meat, squashed garlic and keep frying, stirring from time to time. In the meantime cut off the top of the zucchini and scoop out the centre. Chop the centres and add them to the meat mixture in the pan. Put some tomato paste or one roughly chopped tomato. Make sure the meat has started getting a nice colour before you add zucchinis. You do not want your meat to be cooked, It should be fried (believe me, it makes such a difference in taste). Add more spices according to your preferences (pepper, turmeric, chilly…) and chopped parsley. Optionally you can also add a cup of half-boiled rice in the mixture.
Stuff the zucchini and place them in a baking dish. Don’t worry if you have some filling left. You can always pour it in a small dish and bake it on the side.
Cook them in the preheated oven at 200°C for an hour, or until the zucchinis get soft (you can always check with a fork).
There is something magical about yellow food. It brings joy and warmth on the table. The same goes for yellow flowers. So, enjoy your stuffed yellow zucchini.
I read this years ago but somehow it remained in my mind. I’d love to share with you what a great writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez said about yellow flowers:
“Nothing awful can happen to me if there are yellow flowers around. To be absolutely safe, I need yellow flowers, preferably yellow roses, and to be surrounded by women”.
What is the first thing you think of when mentioning egg whites – I guess meringues 🙂
But there are so many other ways you can use egg whites except for baking.
One of the first things about egg whites I remember from my childhood is that my mum taught me that if I ever get burned to put it on the burn. At the time I had started to prepare simple things in the kitchen. Even these days when I have plenty of other medicines at home, I still consider egg whites as one of the best, fast-acting remedies. If followed with lavender essential oil, you can be sure that you did the best for your skin at the moment. And that is really something most of us have always in the fridge.
Another thing I have tried is using egg whites as a substitute for band-aids, but only for smaller wounds and scratches. If you cut your finger while cooking, go for real band-aids, or you wouldn’t be able to continue kitchen work.
Did you know that egg whites are perfectly healthy pet food? Egg whites will provide your pets considerable amounts of protein, vitamins and mineral. They also have antibacterial enzymes. Just make sure to heat-treat the whites before giving them to animals.
Use egg whites to make your houseplants shine. Simply mix the egg whites with lukewarm water and coat thick leaves with this mixture. This way, you will create a protective layer for the leaves.
Not necessarily related to food and cooking, here a few more ways to use egg whites:
- For cleaning leather. Simply dip a piece of cotton wool in the egg whites and wipe your shoes or bags to make them shine again. Then wipe it off with a clean cloth.
- Egg whites are very sticky and you can use them as a natural glue. Great replacement for a paper glue when you run out of it. Simply dip the brush into the egg whites and spread over the paper to be glued.
So let’s turn to nature when seeking for remedies.
Has it ever happened to you that as soon as you open your eyes in the morning you know what you want for breakfast? Well, this morning the idea of using few raspberries left from yesterday and mix them with avocado was my first thought.
I just put the avocado, 1 small onion, raspberries, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a blender and in 30 second I got this lovely raspberry guacamole.
Couldn’t be easier and quicker. You can add some extra spices to your taste as cilantro and cumin.
The combination is fantastic and the colour as well. Goes perfectly with whole grain bread, boiled egg and green salad. But that was just my creation, I am sure you will combine something even better to suits your morning.
And, I had to make it again that evening for the whole family as a dip. Even my daughter who doesn’t like avocado ate it with appetite.
Go ahead, treat yourself with this fantastic raspberry guacamole and surprise your family 🙂
Cseresznyés rétes
Strudels made with filo pastry and any kind of fruits are my dad’s speciality. His strudels are so crispy, tasty and luscious that there is rarely a piece left for tomorrow.
Today – Hungarian Cherry Strudel – in my kids’ opinion maybe the best one.
Depending on the country you live in, you should be able to buy the filo pastry in any bigger super market. So, you will need
500gr of filo pastry
300gr of pitted sour cherries
3tbs of brown sugar
1tbs of semolina
200gr of butter – melted
2 eggs
4dl of flour
2dl of brown sugar
2dl of yogurt
1dl of cold pressed oil
1sashet of baking powder (12gr)
Drain sour cherries and give the juice diluted with some water to your kids to drink it. Mix the cherries with 3tbs of sugar and 1tbs of semolina.
In a medium bowl mix the eggs, flour, sugar, yogurt, oil and baking powder.
Line the baking tray with baking paper, slightly brushed with oil. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
My advice is to count how many sheets of filo pastry you have and divide them into 4, just to get the idea how many strudels you will get. You will need 4 sheets for each strudel.
Place the first layer, grease it with butter, and then spread a very thin layer of an egg mixture. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 sheets. Now spoon the cherry filling in the middle leaving about a 5cm boarder of filo around. Fold the pastry over and roll towards the other end. Place it one the baking sheet.
When you’re done with rolling the strudels, brush them with remaining butter and bake them in the preheated oven for about 30minutes until the filo turns golden brown.
Let them cool for a while before you cut and serve. Dust them with icing sugar or you can serve them hot or cold with custard cream.
Enjoy your freshly baked Hungarian cherry strudel with your loved ones and I wish you no worries for the rest of the day 🙂
„The Food of Love “-this wonderful warm book by Anthony Capella will put you in the atmosphere of Rome instantly. While reading it you could almost smell the espresso, see ice cream melting and hear the murmur of Rome.
Well, what’s it all about? Laura, a twenty-something American, is on her first trip to Italy. She’s completely enamoured of the art, beauty, and, of course, food that Rome has to offer. This romantic comedy starts when she meets a handsome and charming Tommaso, who tells her he is a chef, while he is actually a waiter. You can only imagine in which direction this magical story goes 😀
„The Food of Love“ is the right book for you if you’re going to stay at home this summer, to enjoy the Italian sense of life and plan your future trip to Rome. If you are romantic or just a fan of Italian food, this fantastic story will win your heart – it’s even full of recipes for you to try.
Some of my friends told me that they can reread this book every summer, and I agree as being happy never goes out of style 🙂
Chilled cucumber soup is one of most refreshing cold soups for hot summer days. It is incredibly easy to make, and you can even make it the day before.
Melt some butter in a pot. Add roughly chopped spring onion and salt. After a few minutes add 1-2 cloves of garlic and roughly chopped cucumbers (3-4 pieces). Then stir in a tbs of flour. Gradually add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 10minutes, season to taste with salt (if needed), pepper, and garlic powder for a more aromatic flavour. Cool quickly and purée it in a blender. When smooth, put it in the fridge to chill.
Just before serving stir in the fresh cream or oat cream, check the seasoning. Garnish your chilled cucumber soup with fresh or dry dill.
This is so easy that there is nothing you can do wrong. Tell yourself “well done”, it took you 15 minutes only. Smile proudly while enjoying this lovely, creamy, chilled cucumber soup on a hot summer day.
The apricots are amazing food for rejuvenation.
The word that describes the apricots the best is warming. Apricots are warming food and an energy stabilizer. When you feel down, your reserves low, no energy to push yourself – turn to apricots – they are really life bringing-back food.
There are numbers and numbers of recipes where you can use apricots. Not only cakes and pies, but apricots are great to combine with meat, in sauces and casseroles too.
Apricots are incredibly high in minerals and rich in beta carotene and are one of the most healing fruits you can eat. Apricots are also wonderful for keeping the heart strong and healthy. They can improve the quality of your hair, skin, and nails.
Fresh apricots are the best. Be patient, do not eat them under ripe, the best are well ripened. But when fresh apricots aren’t available, you can use dry ones. Just make sure to buy sulfur-free dried apricots.
And of course there is very important role of our apricot-summer beauty – it is very important emotional supporter to our soul. Here is what Anthony William said about emotional support regarding apricots
“Apricots help us bring heart to life. They open us up, making us more kindhearted and helping those of us who have trouble with trust to tone down any nervousness or skittishness. Apricots calm us when we feel threatened and regulate a defensive nature, putting us in touch with our intuition so that we know when to keep our guards up and when to drop our defenses. When we become frustrated in any type of situation, apricots are excellent soothers.”
This apricot and marzipan pie is one of my family’s favourite pies. We can hardly wait apricots to appear on the market, so that we could bake a huge pie. As we are big family, baking the pie in a small round dish is never enough. So this time, here are the quantities for the tray 28x38cm – not that huge 🙂
300gr of flour
250gr of butter
200gr of brown sugar
4 eggs
1tsp of baking powder
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
100ml of milk
1kg of apricots
100ml of apricot jam
For the crumble:
160gr of marzipan
100gr of butter
100gr of brown sugar
1tsp of cinnamon
150gr of flour
Few drops of almond essence
50gr of almond flakes on the top
To make the pastry whisk the butter, sugar and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract. Add one egg at a time. Mix flour with baking powder and add it to the mixture. Stir in milk. Pour the mixture on the tray lined with baking paper.
Arrange the apricot halves on top and sprinkle with slightly warmed apricot jam.
Make the crumble by combining all the ingredients with hand, making crumbs with your fingers. Sprinkle the crumble over the apricots, and put the almond flakes on top all over the pie.
Bake in the preheated oven on 180°C for 45min or until is golden brown.
Now, one more thing, do not forget to share your apricot and marzipan pie with your loved ones.
Read more about apricots – how good they are 🙂
This nutty dried fruit tart is easy to make, with nearly no added sugar. This is something you can prepare any time, as dried fruits you can have in the fridge all over the year.
If you do not have your favourite tart pastry recipe here is mine:
300gr of flour
200gr of butter
100gr of sugar (or replace it with 4 dry dates)
1 egg
1tbs of yogurt or white wine
Vanilla extract
Collect all together with one hand and knead lightly for few seconds to give a smooth, firm dough. Put the dough into plastic bag or wrap in the cling film. Refrigerate for 15min, or up to 2 days. You can put in the freezer and keep it up to 6 months. Roll the dough with the rolling pin using two sheets of baking paper (to avoid flour all over the kitchen). Transfer it to the tart dish.
This recipe require to bake tart case “blind”- without a filling. Put one of those sheets you just used to roll the pastry on top of it. Fill it with uncooked dried beans (I use the same ones for years). Bake it for 15 minutes on 200°C, then remove the beans and paper and bake for extra 10 minutes.
For the filling you need:
500gr of dried fruits (this time I put 300gr of prunes and 200gr of apricots), roughly cut
Put the fruits in a saucepan with 800ml water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cinnamon and grated lemon/orange rind if you like. Blend 1 sachet of custard powder (or 45ml of corn flour) with 200ml of cold water. Stir into the simmering fruit mixture. Cook, stirring for two minutes and spoon the filling into the pastry. If you prefer you can add few drops of essential oil of your choice (lemon, orange, clove …)
To make it nutty sprinkle your nutty dried fruit tart with toasted grounded hazelnuts (or any other kind for nuts you like).
Serve with fresh cream, or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy 🙂