Lunch – Page 2 – Love… to cooking !

Healthy Cold Summer Soup with Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Garlic and Feta !

Многоточие – это следы на цыпочках ушедших слов
Vladimir Nabokov

Ingredients (3-4 portions):
– 3 cucumbers (270g)
– 1 small red bell pepper (200g)
– 1 small yellow bell pepper (120g)
– 700ml tomato juice unsalted
– 2 garlic cloves (10g)
– 100g wholegrain rye bread pulp
– 20ml virgin olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 100g Feta for serving

Method:
1 Wash and chop cucumbers and bell peppers
2 Peel, wash and grate garlic
3 Mash with a blender 2/3 chopped cucumbers and bell peppers+bread pulp+olive oil+tomato juice+grated garlic cloves+salt until smooth
4 Serve the soup with the remaining chopped cucumbers & bell peppers and with crushed Feta cheese
5 Enjoy – it’s a perfect soup for a hot summer day !

Summer Strawberry Biscuit Roll !

Donwell was famous for its strawberry-beds, which seemed a plea for the invitation: but no plea was necessary; cabbage-beds would have been enough to tempt the lady, who only wanted to be going somewhere. She promised him again and again to come – much oftener than he doubted – and was extremely gratified by such a proof of intimacy, such a distinguishing compliment as she chose to consider it.
“Emma” by Jane Austen

Dough ingredients:
– 60g flour
– 60g sugar
– 4 eggs
– 3 egg yolks

Filling ingredients:
– 250g 33% whipping cream
– 250g fresh strawberries
– 8g Vanilla sugar
– 1 tsp sugar

Method:
1 Dough
1.1 Preheat the oven to 200C
1.2 Mix sugar with eggs and egg yolks and whisk them for 5 minutes
1.3 Add flour and whisk for another minute until smooth
1.4 Pour the dough on the baking paper in the 30x35cm baking form
1.5 Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden: remove from the oven
1.6 Carefully remove the baking paper (place on “new” baking paper sheet and remove the “old” one from top): roll the cake with the new baking paper sheet and let it cool down for 10 minutes
2 Filling
2.1 Wash and dry fresh strawberries
2.2 Mash 70g strawberries with sugar and vanilla sugar
2.3 Chop the rest 180g strawberries into 0.5cm pieces
2.4 Whip the cream until firm and carefully mix with mashed and chopped strawberries – beautiful filling ready!
3 Cake
3.1 Unroll the cake and put the strawberry filling on 3/4 of the cake
3.2 Roll the cake with the filling
3.3 Put the strawberry roll for 2 hours in the fridge
3.4 Enjoy 😉

Simple Quiche with Salmon and Spinach !

There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it
Gustav Flaubert

Dough ingredients:
– 220g flour
– 100g butter
– 1/2 cup water
– 1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 200g fresh salmon
– 250g spinach
– 250-280g 10% sour cream
– 2 eggs
– 50g cheese
– black pepper

Method:
1 Filling
1.1 Wash spinach and pre-cook it for 15 minutes, then drain extra water
1.2 Chop salmon and pre-cook it for 5-10 minutes in water, drain extra water
1.3 Whisk sour cream and eggs together in a separate bowl
1.4 Grate cheese in a separate bowl
2 Dough
2.1 Mix flour, grater butter, salt and water: knead the dough
2.2 Pre-heat the oven to 200C
2.3 Roll out dough to 32cm round
2.4 Put rolled out dough into 32cm buttered baking form
2.5 Make in the dough small holes for airing
2.6 Pre-bake for 10 minutes at 200C
3 Quiche
3.1 Spread the pre-cooked salmon & spinach onto the pre-baked dough base
3.2 Pour sour-cream-eggs mixture over the salmon & spinach
3.3 Sprinkle uniformly the grated cheese and black pepper over the filling
3.4 Bake the quiche for 25-30 minutes at 200C until golden
3.5 Enjoy and have a great Sunday!

Turkey with Apricots, Tomatoes and Cinnamon in Moldovan Style !

O, soare balcanic, revărsat peste văile şi dealurile moldave, o, acele iubiriscurte, scînteietoare, istovitoare, cît de mult aduceţi voi în scurta noastră trecere pe acest pămînt, şi cît de mult luaţi cu voi pentru a nu le mai întoarce niciodată…
Ion Druță, Frunze de dor

Turkey with Apricots, Tomato and Cinnamon in Moldovan Style

Ingredients (4 servings):
– 750g turkey breast
– 12 apricots
– 6 tomatoes
– 2 red onions
– 1 tsp paprika
– 0.5 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp sugar
– 1 tsp vinegar
– 0.5 cup water
– 2 tbsp water
– 250g golden millet

Method:
1 Cut turkey in 1-2cm cubes
2 Peel and chop onion
3 Wash and slice tomatoes and apricots
3 Preheat two skillets and melt 1 tbsp butter in each: put turkey cubes on one skillet and chopped onion on another, cook for 5 minutes
4 Add to onion: chopped tomatoes, sugar, paprika and cinnamon – stew for 5 minutes at medium heat slightly stirring
5 Add to turkey: onion-tomatoes-spices mixture – stew for 10 minutes at medium heat
6 Add to turkey & Co: apricot slices, vinegar, water and salt: stew for 10 minutes at medium heat – done!
7 Serve turkey with cooked golden millet and enjoy!

Spanish Potatoes Omelette with Red-Bell-Pepper-Tomatoes Sauce!

One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways.
Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Spanish potatoes omelette with paprika sauce

Omelette ingredients (2 large servings):
– 4 eggs
– 1 onion
– 500g new potatoes
– 30-40g butter for frying
– salt and back pepper
– fresh chopped chives for serving

Red-Bell-Pepper-Tomatoes Sauce (4 servings – also for morning toasts ;)):
– 250g cherry tomatoes
– 2 red bell peppers
– 60g cashew nuts
– 50g bread crumbs
– 3 garlic cloves
– salt and paprika
– 1tbsp olive oil

Method:
1 Sauce
1.1 Halve cherries tomatoes, cut red bell peppers and put them in the baking form
1.2 Sprinkle the vegetables with olive oil and salt: bake for 10 minutes at 190C
1.3 Combine baked vegetables, peeled garlic cloves, cashew nuts, paprika, bread crumbs: mash in the blender until smooth and put it in the fridge for 30 min
2 Omelette
2.1 Peel 1 onion and slice into pieces
2.2 Melt butter in the skillet and then fry onion until caramelized, set aside
2.3 Wash, peel and boil new potatoes for 10-15 min
2.4 Omelette batter: whisk 4 eggs with salt and pepper, add cut boiled potatoes & caramelised onion
2.5 Melt butter in the skillet and pour the omelette batter into it: fry at medium heat for 8 minutes
2.6 Flip the omelette with the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes
3 Serve omelette with cold red-bell-pepper-tomato sauce and chopped chives!

Homemade Flatbread with Potatoes and Feta !

It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.
Gabriel García Márquez

Dough ingredients:
– 300g all-purpose flour
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 20g fresh yeast
– 150ml warm water
– 1 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 400g new potatoes (weight unpeeled)
– 150g Feta cheese
– 1/2 tsp black pepper

Serving/baking ingredients:
– 1 tbsp olive oil for brushing the flatbreads before baking
– chopped tomatoes for serving

Method:
1 Dough
1.1 Crush yeast into warm (30-35C) water, add 1 tbsp sugar: mix well until sugar an yeast are dissolved and leave the mixture for 15 minutes
1.2 Add flour and salt: knead the dough and leave it under cloth for 30 minutes (make the filling meanwhile)
2 Filling
2.1 Peel potatoes and boil until ready: drain extra water
2.2 Combine potatoes with feta and black pepper: mash until smooth
3 Flatbread
3.1 Preheat the oven to 200C
3.2 Separate the dough into 4 equal parts: roll out each part into 16-20cm round
3.3 Put 1-2tbsp filling in the middle of each round
3.4 Lift up ends of each round to the centre and seal them tight with the fingers. Then gently flatten into 15cm round.
3.5 Brush each flatbread both sides with olive oil and put on the baking paper
3.6 Bake for 15-20 minutes at 200C until golden and serve warm!
4 Enjoy with a cup of coffee and a good company 😉

Spring Salad with Chicken, Prunes, Walnuts and Cucumbers !

No one’s serious at seventeen
When lindens line the promenade.
Arthur Rimbaud

Chicken Salad with Prunes, Walnuts and Cucumbers

Ingredients (4 servings):
– 300g chicken breasts
– 2 eggs
– 3 cucumbers
– 70g walnuts
– 14 prunes
– 2 tbsp mayonnaise
– 1/2 tsp salt

Method:
1 Boil chicken breasts until ready and chop
2 Boil eggs until ready and chop
3 Wash and chop cucumbers, prunes and walnuts
4 Combine chicken, eggs, cucumbers, prunes, walnuts and season with salt & mayonnaise: serve !

Simple and Healthy Lunch: Asparagus, Salmon and Mustard Sauce !

Blossom by blossom the spring begins.
Algernon Charles Swinburne

Ingredients (2 servings):
– 500g white asparagus
– 200g salmon

Mustard sauce ingredients:
– 1 tsp Dijon mustard
– 2 boiled eggs (or 2 boiled eggs)
– 3 tsp mayonnaise
– 2 tbsp lemon juice
– 2 tsp olive oil

Serving ingredients:
– fresh parsley

Method:
1 Mustard sauce: combine sauce ingredients and mix
2 Asparagus with salmon
2.1 Wash and peel white asparagus
2.2 Boil asparagus in the pan with salmon for 14 minutes in salted water
3 Serve boiled asparagus and salmon with mustard sauce and chopped fresh parsley !

Warm rice salad with mushrooms and green peas: quick and healthy lunch!

If it rubs off, it means I’m in love
Ray Bradbury

Ingredients (2 servings):
– 120g boiled basmati rice
– 400-600g unpeeled green peas
– 10-12 medium button mushrooms
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
– salt and pepper
– dill for serving

Method:
1 Boil basmati rice until ready and drain water
2 Peel and wash green peas
3 Peel and wash (remove dirt with a paper towel) button mushrooms , then slice them
4 Wash and chop dill
5 Preheat the skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil and add sliced mushrooms and green peas: cook for 10 minutes, constantly stirring
6 Add to vegetables: boiled rice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper: cook for another 5 minutes
7 Serve with chopped dill and enjoy!

Cabbage Rolls with Minced Beef: tasty and healthy lunch

…nothing could be more pleasant than to live in solitude, enjoy the spectacle of nature, and occasionally read some book…
Nikolai Gogol

Ingredients (for 12 cabbage rolls):
– 1 pointed head cabbage (it is more tender for this recipe than white cabbage)
– 4oog minced beef
– 120g rice
– 1 red onion
– 250g mashed tomatoes (tomato passata) 🍅
– 1.5 tsp salt
– 0.5 tsp black pepper
– 200g sour cream for serving

Directions:
1 Boil rice until ready
2 Carefully separate cabbage leaves and boil them for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a plate to cool down
3 Chop onion
4 Mix minced beef with boiled rice, chopped onion, salt and black pepper
5 Put 1-2 tbsp beef mixture on one cabbage leave and pack into a roll 🙂
6 Put cabbage rolls side to side in the saucepan and cover with water 1-2 cm above, then add mashed tomatoes: I cooked in 2 saucepans with 125g mashed tomatoes in each
7 Boil cabbage rolls for 30-35 minutes covered with a lid
8 Serve cabbage rolls with cooking broth, sour cream and chopped parsley!

Potato Zrazy with Minced Beef !

When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.
Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Dough ingredients (3-4 servings):
– 1kg (weight unpeeled) potatoes
– 2 eggs
– 6-8tbsp flour
– 1 bunch scallion
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1 tbsp olive oil for frying

Filling ingredients:
– 300g minced beef
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp black pepper

Sauce ingredients:
– 200g sour cream
– a few sprigs chopped scallion

Method:
1 Beef filling
1.1 Cook minced beef for 40 minutes in salted water
1.2 Drain the broth in another pan
1.3 Mix boil beef with black pepper and salt
2 Potato dough
2.1 Wash and peel potatoes
2.2 Cut potatoes into 2cm cubes
2.3 Boil potato cubes for 20-25 minutes in salted water
2.4 Drain water and mash potatoes
2.5 Combine mashed potatoes+2eggs+6-8tbsp flour+1/2tsp salt+chopped scallion: mix until smooth
3 Zrazy (Potato Cutlets)
3.1 Preheat the non-sticking skillet with some olive oil
3.2 Shape a flat round out of potato dough and put beef filling in the middle: enclose with a second potato round 🙂
3.3 Fry each potato dumpling 3-4 minutes each side
3.4 Absorb extra oil with paper towels
4 Serve Zrazy (Potato Cutlets) with sour cream mixed with chopped scallion
5 Enjoy !

Simple Broccoli Cream Soup with Beef Meatballs !

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
Confucius

Soup ingredients:
– 1 head broccoli (400g)
– 200g carrots
– 250g new potatoes
– 400ml broth from the meatballs
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 50ml 33% cream

Meatballs ingredients:
– 200-300g minced beef
– 1 bunch dill
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/3 tsp black pepper

Method:
1 Meatballs
1.1 Mix minced beef with chopped dill, salt & black pepper
1.2 Form with hands meatballs and boil them in 400 ml water for 40 minutes
1.3 Transfer the meatballs on the plate (cover with a lid to keep them warm) and keep the broth for the soup
2 Soup
2.1 Wash and peel carrots and potatoes
2.2 Wash broccoli; cut 1cm off the bottom of the broccoli stalk and peel the broccoli stalk
2.3 Cut carrots and potatoes into 1cm cubes
2.4 Cut broccoli into small pieces (both stalk and florets!)
2.5 Boil the vegetables in 400ml beef broth (add 1/2 tsp salt) for 12 minutes
2.6 Mash the soup with an immersive blender until smooth
2.7 Add 33% cream to the soup and mix well
3 Serve the soup with meatballs, sprinkle with chopped dill and enjoy ! 🙂

Broccoli-Carrot-Potato Cream Soup: perfect with Cheddar !

Not knowing when the dawn will come
I open every door.
Emily Dickinson

Broccoli Cream Soup: perfect with Cheddar Recipe

Ingredients:
– 1 head broccoli (400g)
– 200g carrots
– 250g new potatoes
– 400ml water
– 1tsp salt
– 50ml 33% cream

Serving ingredients:
– 100g grated Cheddar

Method:
1 Wash and peel carrots and potatoes
2 Wash broccoli; cut about an inch off the bottom of the broccoli stalk and peel the broccoli stalk
3 Cut carrots and potatoes into 1cm cubes
4 Cut broccoli into small pieces (both stalk and florets!)
5 Boil the vegetables in 400ml salted (1tsp) water for 12 minutes
6 Mash the soup with an immersive blender until smooth
7 Add 33% cream to the soup and mix well
8 Serve the soup with grated cheddar and have a great day ! 🙂

Simple Pilaf with Chicken cooked in oven !

One kind word can warm three winter months
Japanese proverb

Ingredients (4 servings):
– 250g rice
– 400g chicken breast
– 5 (~390g unpeeled) medium carrots
– 2 small red onions
– 3 tbsp sunflower oil
– 1.5 tsp salt
– 0.5 tsp black pepper
– a few parsley sprigs for serving

Method:
1 Wash rice and soak in water for 30 minutes
2 Grate carrots and chop onions
3 Wash chicken breasts and absorb extra water with paper towels
4 Cut chicken breast into 0.5-1 cm pieces and fry
5 Fry chicken pieces with sunflower oil for 10 minutes at medium heat
6 Add carrots, onion, salt, pepper to the chicken: stew for another 15 minutes
7 Preheat the oven to 200C
8 Drain water from the rice
9 Boil 1.5l water in the teapot
10 Put in the four ceramic pots (I have 0.5l pots):
10.1 Chicken with vegetables
10.2 Rice ~2-3 tbsp per pot
10.3 Pour boiled water in each ceramic pot to cover the rice ~1cm
11 Cook the Pilaf in the oven for 40 minutes with covered lids
12 Serve with chopped parsley and enjoy ! 🙂

Sweet Potato Puree with Champignons !

But shouldn’t all of us on earth give the best we have to others and offer whatever is in our power?
Hans Christian Anderson, The Complete Fairy Tales

Puree ingredients (2-3 servings):
– 3 sweet potatoes (~1200g in total)
– 100 ml 33% cream
– 1/2 large onion (~75g)
– 1 tsp salt

Fried champignons ingredients:
– 7 champignons (~300g in total)
– 1/2 large onion (~75g)
– 1 tbsp olive oil

Method:
1 Start cooking sweet potato puree (2) and champignons (3) simultaneously, then you will have a delicious lunch just in 30 minutes
2 Sweet potato puree
2.1 Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into 1cm cubes.
2.2 Chop onion
2.3 Put sweet potatoes cubes and onion into a pan: add 300-350ml water
2.4 Boil at medium heat for 15 minutes, add salt 2 minutes before ready
2.5 Remove the pan from the heat (do not drain water!) and pour in 33% cream
2.6 Mash vegetables with cream with an immersive blender until smooth
3 Fried champignons
3.1 Wash champignons and remove remaining dirt with a paper towel and cut out a small slice from their bottoms
3.2 Chop champignons and onion
3.3 Pre-heat a non-sticking skillet with some olive oil
3.4 Stew champignons and onion at medium heat for 10-15 minutes until golden
4 Serve sweet potato puree with champignons on top: decorate with a few leaves of miner lettuce
5 Enjoy the healthy lunch and have a great sunny Sunday !

Ossetian pie Tsakharadzhin with beet greens !

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.
Pablo Neruda

Dough ingredients (for 4 pies 20cm diameter):
– 500g wheat flour
– 400ml Kefir
– 10g dry yeast
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 100g beet greens
– 150g Feta cheese
– 150g fresh cream cheese
– 1 pinch black pepper

Directions:
1 Filling: combine chopped beet greens with Feta & cream cheese & black pepper
2 Dough
2.1 Combine dough ingredients and knead the dough.
2.2 Let the dough stay in a warm place for 1 hour
3 Pies
3.1 Pre-heat the oven to 220C
3.2 Separate the dough into 4 equal parts with a knife
3.3 Roll out with hands a ~20 cm diameter disk out of one of dough pieces
3.4 Put 1/4 of the filling in the middle of the disk
3.5 Gather the sides up sealing the edges tight with the fingers in the center altogether
3.6 Turn over the dough with a filling and gently! flatten into a ~20 cm diameter disk
3.7 Cut out with a knife a small (~0.5-1cm diameter) circle in the middle of the pie to let the air go through while baking
3.8 Put the pie on the baking paper: bake for 20 minutes at 220C until golden
3.9 Repeat 3.3-3.8 for the left pieces of dough
4 Serve hot with a cup black coffee and enjoy with friends ! Without friends the pleasure will be totally lost.

Spinach Pancakes with Salmon and Honey !

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Pancakes ingredients (~8 pancakes):
– 200g fresh spinach
– 300ml Kefir
– 2 eggs
– 7 tbsp wheat flour
– 3 tbsp olive oil
– 2 tsp sugar
– 1/2 tsp salt

Serving ingredients:
– 30ml acacia honey
– 100g smoked salmon
– a few raspberries

Method:
1 Wash spinach and squeeze it in a colander to get rid of extra water
2 Mash spinach in a puree with an immersive blender or in a food processor
3 Combine spinach puree, flour, Kefir, eggs, olive oil, sugar & salt: mix well until smooth
4 Pre-heat a non-sticking skillet with a small amount of olive oil (we need extra oil only for the first pancake!)
5 Fry pancakes until golden at medium heat 1-2 minutes each side
6 Serve the pancakes with smoked salmon, acacia honey and raspberries
7 Enjoy and have a great sunny Saturday !

Side note: These beautiful guys might be capricious as many beautiful creates are… That is why it is important to choose the right heat level when cooking them, but after a couple of failures you will be on the right road to their hearts 🙂

Chicken baked with Quince !

Without you I wouldn’t have moved this way, to speak the language of flowers.
Vladimir Nabokov

Ingredients (2 servings):
– 2 chicken breasts
– 1 large quince
– salt and pepper

Serving ingredients:
– small bunch of fresh rucola
– 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 180C
2 Wash well and de-seed quince. Then cut into 0.3-0.5cm width slices
3 Wash chicken breasts and dry with paper towel
4 Put the chicken breasts in the baking form and make wide cross cuts to fit in the quince slices
5 Pepper and salt the chicken
6 Put the quince slices into the cuts
7 Bake for 30 minutes at 180C
8 Serve with fresh rucola and do not forget to sprinkle with balsamic vinegar 😉
9 Have a wonderful day !

Lazy Khachapuri for a quick yet delicious breakfast or lunch !

We had our breakfasts – whatever happens in a house, robbery or murder, it doesn’t matter, you must have your breakfast.
Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone.

Khachapuri batter ingredients (2 servings):
– 2 eggs
– 100g grated Ciacotta (or Suluguni or butter cheese)
– 100ml Kefir
– 100g wheat flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 bunch of chopped parsley

Cooking and serving ingredients:
– 20g butter for frying
– 20g miners lettuce

Directions:
1 Combine all Khachapuri batter ingredients in a bowl and mix well!
2 Preheat a non-sticking skillet at the medium heat: melt 20g butter
3 Pour the batter uniformly on the skillet, cook for around 4 minutes one side until golden, then flip (I flipped it with two spatulas), cook for another 2 minutes
4 Serve Khachapuri with fresh greens or tomatoes (miners lettuce on the photo) !

Vareniki with Plums or Colțunași !

Iar când te văd zâmbind copilăreşte,
Se stinge-atunci o viaţă de durere,
Privirea-mi arde, sufletul îmi creşte.
Mihai Eminescu

Dough ingredients (all ingredients for 4 servings = ~30 Vareniki):
– 260g wheat flour
– 130ml water
– 30ml olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt

Filling ingredients:
– 15 middle plums
– 2 tbsp sugar

Serving ingredients:
– 200ml sour cream

Method:
1 Prepare dough:
1.1 Add olive oil in the middle of flour heap and mix oil with flour
1.2 Stir in boiled water into the oily flour and knead the dough
1.3 Let the dough rest for 15 minutes
1.4 Separate the dough into 4 equal parts with a knife. Form ~1.5cm diameter “sausage” out of each part with your hands
1.5 Cut each “sausage” into 1cm width pieces and roll out each piece into a ~5cm diameter round
2 Prepare the filling:
2.1 Wash and de-seed the plums. Separate the plums into halves.
2.2 Cut each plum half into ~6 thin slices
2.3 Combine plum slices with 2 tbsp sugar and mix well
3 Make Vareniki:
3.1 Put 3-5 plum slices into each round, fold the round into a half-moon and pinch all the edges together strongly with fingers. Be careful: these plum slices are very naughty…
3.2 Put Vareniki into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes at medium heat
3.3 Serve warm with sour cream and enjoy !

P.S. inspired by Romanian friends! 🙂

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