Fruit Cake May 17, 2008

Even though me and hubby are planners at work, when it comes to planning the house hold we are not doing it at all. So, there’s no grocery day planned for us. We just go grocery shopping once or twice a week, whenever we “think” it’s time to do so. Last night we went grocery shopping for fruits, veggies, milk, eggs, meat ( I guess everybody knows what grocery shopping means, :).Silly me!) We go as a family, so our two kids are joining us and lately they started to fill the supermarket cart with whatever they feel like having. Junk, most of it, but healthy food, too. Just in front of the supermarket there are two bins with watermelon. It’s the second time my son, almost 2 and half years young, reminds me to buy watermelon. Right after the entrence there’s the fruit section. Because of a missunderstanding from last week’s grocery shopping when I thought hubby bought strawberries, but , in fact, he didn’t, he made sure to buy some this time. Next to the strawberries there are the sponge flan cakes which I never tried, but my son took one and said : “This is my birthday cake!” (he’s birthday is December 8th), so we bought it. And that’s how we kept going and adding to our cart things that we never knew we’d buy, because, now, my two kids are shopping for us.

When we got home the unpacking was done by the two of them also, and when my son saw the sponge flan cake he started singing: Bonne Fete, Luca, Bonne Fete, Luca… He begged me to make the cake right away, but in the end I promised him I would make it the next morning and he was happy with having a slice of watermelon. 

And here’s the “birthday cake”… Kids are so much fun, SOMETIMES!

 

 

White Kidney Beans Soup - Ciorba de fasole May 16, 2008

Here is what I made at the beginning of the week, the white kidney beans soup. My family loves it. And so do I. It’s very easy to make. I always use smoked pork ribs. I buy it from a polish grocery store. They are smoked naturally and taste great. The main idea is to boil them long enough, so the meat will become tender and fun to eat. The rest is veggies and tomato juice and a kind of vinegar with herbs in form of a powder. Us, romanians know it as Bors Magic with Leustean…

In the above picture there’s celery sticks and root, carrots, panais, onion and green pepper, along with the kidney beans.

Next step is to cut and grate the veggies.

Then, in a large pan, heat 2 tbsp of sunflower oil and cook the veggies.

      

Let them cook for over 1/2 an hour over low heat then mix it with the meat that’s been boiling for at least 2 hours. (It always takes me 2 days to finish this soup)

In the end it looks like this…

       

Bon apetit!

Sour Cherry May 12, 2008

It’s been a long, long, looong( you got it? ) time since I had sour cherry. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I couldn’t find it. Until one day last week. I stopped at our neighbourhood’s grocery store (it’s a small one, family business like) for pasta and f&v and next to the sesame what do I see? This :

Price was more than OK and the taste, I cannot tell you what memories brought back. I got home and opened it right away, the part missing is the light syrup I had in one shot.

My roots, from my father’s side, are hungarian (”bozgoroaica” , as only the romanians can say and understand ). This miracle has the same roots and that makes me even happier.

 

I am still looking for my moms pie recipe, in order to materialize these amazing and rare fruits into the best thing that’s alchool free.

Lamb and spinach May 7, 2008

This is one of my faves. Normally, we have the spinach with meatballs or eggs. The lamb was more than delicious because it was cooked with garlic and because the spinach contains the same ingredient they blended together like “there’s no tomorrow”.

Lamb recipe - for 4 persons :

4 slices of lamb shoulder

2 spoons of sunflower oil

garlic

water

salt

pepper

In a pan, pour the oil and brown lamb all over for about 6-8 minutes. Pour water so that the lamb is well covered and bring to a boil over low heat for 45 - 60 minutes. Just after starting to boil add the garlic, some salt and pepper.

Spinach recipe - for 4 persons

1 pound of fresh baby spinach

3 spoons of sunflower oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 spoons of flour

750 ml milk

2 spoons of cream

salt

pepper

Bring 3 litres of water to a rapid boil and bring the fresh spinach to it, continue boiling for 15-20 minutes. Drain spinach, chop it and have it handy.

In a skillet heat the oil over a medium-high heat, add garlic and saute, stirring often, add the flour and continue stirring. Don’t let the garlic or the flour get brown, in other words, don’t burn it. Add the chopped spinach and the milk and continue stirring. For a better taste add salt and pepper.

Bon apetit!

 

Orthodox Easter in Romania May 4, 2008

Hubby just got back from a week visit to Romania, the country we left with no regrets. We still have most of our family there, and hubby was somehow pushed to go back because of his father condition. I will not talk about this, the reason I started this post is because of the Orthodox Easter Romania celebrated last Sunday and the enormous, gigantic meals that are served with it.

Here is the roasted lamb that looks absolutely delicious.

And this is a modern look of the coloured eggs, which, at origin were red only. Times change

Happy Birthday, Mara! April 30, 2008

Poll April 29, 2008

How do you find the new design?

I Love Shrimp ! April 29, 2008

I could have shrimp no matter what / where / why . Great taste, anytime. And no calories!

 

 

Cold Cuts April 28, 2008

This is our Saturday and Sunday breakfast. Eggs, too. Missing in the picture…

 

Eggplant with onions and mayonaise April 27, 2008

Sweet Finishes April 25, 2008

 

Traditional Indian desserts like kulfi (an ice cream-like dish) or kheer (rice pudding) are the perfect combination to a menu. Here are some store-bought items Caludia Bianchi’s few tricks.

rice pudding This is a hearty dessert that’s super easy to make. Buy store-bought rice pudding and serve in teacup-size bowls. Sprinkle with cardamom and toasted slivered almonds.

rose-flavoured lassiA sweet drink is as good as any dessert. Mix two or three drops of rosewater into vanilla yogurt; add a splash of milk and pour over ce cubes.

mango kulfi This traditional dessert is the indian version of ice cream. Try making it with condensed milk. Stir mango purée with one can of condensed milk until easily poured. Freeze in ice cube trays; serve cubes in a glass.

spiced tea For a home version of chai tea, bring 4 to 6 cups milk, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods, 1 clove and a chai tea bag to a boil.Serve with sugar on the side and spiced shortbreads.

Take-out / Work-out April 22, 2008

Monday. Hubby suggested no cooking yesterday evening, after the first BBQ of the season that fed 14 people, Saturday afternoon.

Here’s the take-out, from neighbourhood’s chinese buffet. I can’t live without chinese food. Gotta have it at least once a week.

It’s been 3 weeks I started working-out and I feel so much better. My goal is 10 pounds, for now. I don’t want to say more because of my gotta-have-it character. I don’t want to start counting the calories I eat or deprive myself from fat or sweets when I feel like having some. I know I can do it my way.

Keep you posted.

Spiced Prawn Balls April 21, 2008

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb (750g) large raw prawns ( shells removed )

1 tablespoon oil ( I prefer sun-flower oil )

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 inch ( 1 cm ) fresh ginger, chopped finely

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cornflour

1/2 egg white

100 g sesame seeds

oil, for deep-frying

Put  the prawns in a food processor and process to a coarse purée. Transfer to a bowl and add the oil, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar and cornflour and mix well to combine.

Lightly whisk the egg white until it just stands in soft peaks, then add just enough of the egg white to the spiced prawn mixture to obtain a smooth, stiff but shapable mixture.

Divide the mixture into 24 evenly sized balls. Roll them in the sesame seeds to coat, set them on a baking tray and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Cook the balls in three batches, for about 4-5 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy on the outside and cooked through. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Arrange them on a serving tray and serve hot.