Courgette and Aubergine Chutney

 Recently my local store had sale on courgettes. They were pretty cheap, so my greedy inner voice told me it would be good idea to buy whole lot of them. And I listened.  So there they were, sitting in the fridge and waited for their fate. I have to say I had no idea what to do with them and because of that I kid of regretted that I bought so many. Lesson learned – do not buy large quantity of food unless you know what you are going to do with them.

Farmers Cheese Breakfast Fritters {Sirniki}

If you ask me to name one dish that comes in mind from my childhood memories, without a doubt it would be sirniki (seer-nee-kee). They were usually made on weekends or mornings when there was nowhere to rush, and enjoyed leisurely over the breakfast table. Ok, who am I kidding; they were gone as soon as they hit the table as they were one of our favourite breakfasts :) 

Easy weekday meal: {Sausage and Broccoli Egg Noodles}

 My life just got a lot busier. My almost 5 year old daughter started her first year at school (a squeal of excitement!), and I am the one who is doing majority of school runs and after school activities, with a toddler in  tow. And let me tell you, it is not always an easy task. In those moments I wish I could drive, which by the way is on my mile long to do/achieve list. But I am getting there, slowly but surely : )

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

 I only ‘discovered’ almond milk sometime last year.  Don’t get me wrong, I knew that there is alternative to dairy milk, but, thankfully, having no allergies in my family, I was not interested in non-dairy milk.

 But seeing so many of lovely bloggers raving about almond milk, my curiosity took over and I decided to try it as well. I am not going to lie, at first I wanted to buy it. But when I looked at the price at my local store, all my desire disappeared. It costs almost €3 for one liter of almond milk, which in my opinion is a pure robbery  :)

Spicy Beef and Kidney Bean Lettuce Cups

Lunches nowadays are almost nonexistent for me. With one toddler and one four year old, there seems never time just to sit down and have a lunch.  And by the time I finally have a free minute to eat I am always starving and ready to wolf down anything. And I have to admit that not always it’s a healthy or wise choice. 

Glimpse of our holiday in Torrevieja and prawns in garlic, olive oil and lemon marinade

It’s certainly become a tradition for us.

 Every spring, for the past five years we go to Torrevieja.

Quinoa, Courgette and Micro green salad

Lately I can’t get enough of quinoa. I use it everywhere I can. Soups, salads, desserts. Everywhere.

 

This salad is my latest obsession. It is easy to make but still is very nutritional. Made of quinoa, courgette, micro greens, lemon and olive oil. Easy peasy!

Quinoa salad definitely is going to be must-have in my picnic basket as soon as weather in Ireland gets better. Fingers crossed it’s going to be soon...

Prep time : 10 min

Cooking time : 15 min

Serves 2

Ingredients:

80 g quinoa

1 large courgette, peeled into strips with a potato peeler

Handful of micro greens

3 tbs olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

Salt, pepper to taste

Method:

Cook the quinoa following the pack instructions then drain and rinse under cold water; drain again.

In a bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine quinoa, courgette, micro greens, then pour over the dressing. Toss all ingredients together.

Crunchy Coconut Granola

 
I have to admit I am not a breakfast person, although I try to have one every day. It seems there is no time for me to actually to sit down and enjoy first meal of a day. By the time A. is fed, dressed and entertained, it’s almost noon.

Curried Carrot Soup

 

The weather in Ireland is so unpredictable. Like yesterday we had sunny and bright afternoon and I really thought the spring is just round the corner. Yet today the picture is completely different. There are no sign of the sun that had filled my living room the day before, just the cold wind and occasional drizzle. And who knows maybe tomorrow it will snow again... 

Greetings in the 2011!

Photo courtesy of Alona Froluskina

Ah, a new year... A new and fresh start. And it’s naturally that with the start of the new year our thoughts turn to New Year’s resolutions. My resolutions are to eat as healthy as possible, be more active, be good mommy to my daughter and spend more time with my loved ones. Do you have any goals for this year?

The Power of Buckwheat

 

Lately I see more and more recipes where buckwheat flour is used. I am not a stranger to the buckwheat and I enjoy it regularly but as a groats. I usually would have it with a simple sauce or just with a bit of butter. 

But seeing so many delicious looking recipes I was really tempted to try out a few.

So yesterday I spent quite some time in my kitchen cooking, baking and trying out and I ended up with 3 recipes I would like to share with you.

But before I will share them with you, let me tell you a word about the buckwheat.

Beet Hummus

Colourful and healthy beet dip, great alternative to regular hummus. Enjoy!

Prep time : 10 min

Cooking time : 0 min

(Serves 2-4)

Ingredients:

4 medium cooked beets, cubed

2 tablespoon tahini paste

1 garlic clove, minced

4 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon red paprika

4 tablespoon olive oil plus extra for drizzling

Salt, pepper to taste

Method:

Place all ingredients into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning if required. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with bread.

Radish and Cucumber Open Sandwich

This is perfect snack when you are on the run. Easy to prepare yet very delicious and very refreshing. Enjoy!

Prep time : 10 min

Total time : 10 min

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

5-7 radishes, thinly sliced

1 small cucumber, thinly sliced

250 gram cream cheese

2 Kaiser Rolls or any bread of your choice

Salt, pepper to taste

 

Method:

Cut each roll in half, toast lightly. 

Spread cream cheese on toasted rolls and assembly slices of cucumber and radishes. Season with salt and pepper.

Summer Salad

Make this delicious and healthy summer salad – great and easy way to have your daily vegetables! Enjoy!

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

150 gram Lamb's lettuce

2 tomatoes, sliced

½ red onion, thinly sliced

Parmigiano reggiano shavings

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt, pepper to taste

Method:

Put lettuce to a salad bowl. Add sliced tomatoes and onion.

In a small bowl put olive oil, lemon juice and mustard and mix until well combined.

Toss dressing over the salad, arrange cheese shavings and serve.