Strawberry Lemonade

It's mid June already and the British summer is still difficult to spot. It's breezy, quite cool, rainy and sunshine is scarce and sporadic. And so the piles of suncream tubes and bottles in the stores look a bit out of proportion.

But the summer is somewhere out there - you can sense it by the people wearing sleeveless tops, cropped pants and shorts, flip flops and sandals, picnic rugs and of course by the smell of British strawberries which are finally in season.

It's finally that time of the year when the strawberries have conquered the stores piled in their neat little punnets and bursting with fragrance, colour and flavour. It's even more astonishing when compared to the rest of the *seasonal* fruit which, let's face it, are like made of plastic - no taste, no fragrance.

But strawberries are different - they are real and at their best at the moment - they just have to be enjoyed.
And why not try a all natural summery refreshing drink with a hope to attract the summer? I am talking about strawberry lemonade.



It can be served over ice and sweetened with brown sugar or honey to taste with a slice of lime for its exotic warming aroma which always reminds me of a hint of cinnamon.

Do give it a go!

Strawberry Lemonade

Products:

(serves 6-8)

300 g fresh strawberries

the freshly squeezed juice of 6 medium lemons (or 4 large) 

1/2 cup light golden sugar

1.250 l water

fresh mint leaves 

1-2 limes to garnish 

Method:

Squeeze the lemons and blend the strawberries in a blender. Dissolve the sugar in the water.

Combine the lemon juice, water and strawberries in a bowl and stir until homogeneous.

Decorate with the mint leaves and limes.

Serve over ice or with pieces of fresh strawberries. 

Enjoy!

Cauliflower and Broccoli Gratin

I got the idea of this dish one day when I needed to prepare something yummy and with vegetables very fast and I was amazed by the results! It was so good (and so quick and unpretentious to make) I have been cooking it ever since. The best bit - my difficult to please toddler loved it too and still does!
It can be served on its own or as accompaniment to roasted meats or as we found out today - with wholegrain pasta.
The cumin and ground coriander (seeds) bring out more flavour and you'll never have the impression of blandness.

The recipe is much faster and healthier than cauliflower cheese although somewhat similar.  It needs a 3 minute preparation and 30 -40 minutes baking and you can do some varieties to it - like cauliflower and broccoli gratin, or you can add blue cheese to the cream - delicious! But still quite heavy.
The good news - it's great for someone on he LCHF (low carb high fat) diet or food combining. Cauliflower is low carb and high in fibre and vitamin C among others and broccoli is one of the so called *super foods*.

So next time when wondering what to eat don't pick up the phone for a take away or pizza but indulge in something better, faster and at a fraction of the price!
Bargain huh?!

Cauliflower and broccoli gratin

Products:

600 g cauliflower

(or 400 g cauliflower + 200 g broccoli)

400  ml double cream

*extra optional - 50 g blue cheese or even better 4-5 tsp Creme de St Augur

1/2 tsp cornflour for dusting

2 garlic clove

1/2 tsp cumin seeds crushed

salt, pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

100 g cheddar cheese

*some dill for sprinkling - optional

Method:

Wash cauliflower and divide into florets.

Wash broccoli, divide into florets and blanch in hot water for 4-5 minutes. If using broccoli leave them on the bottom of the dish and cover with the cauliflower as broccoli tend to burn out faster.

Dust the florets lightly with the cornflour and arrange in an oven dish (makes enough for 20 cm diameter dish). Add the spices and garlic. Mix and cover with the double cream. *Add the blue cheese (creme de St Agur).

Bake in a preheated oven for 30-40 minutes at 170 C until the florets are soft enough. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and return to the oven for another 5-6 minutes.

Serve warm.

Some historic photos of previous attempts:

Vegan Mini Falafels

On Christmas Eve there is a tradition in Bulgaria that only odd number vegetarian dishes are allowed on the table, including grains, pulse, vegetables, fruit and nuts. The day is the last one of the fast before Christmas and on the next day 25 December, meat is widely and abundantly available.

Although non traditional to the region, from a dietary point of view chickpeas in the form of hummus and falafel meet most of the requirements to be on the Christmas Eve table.

I don't really remember to have come across any dish cooked with boiled chickpeas, but my grandparents have been growing some. It was mainly roasted, dried and salted (no in this particular order) and was a very popular snack.

I would now add it to stews or curries or make hummus dip or falafel.

To break the traditional dried bean soup we make for Christmas Eve I though we should go with the little chickpea balls instead, ie falafels.

My recipe is in fact vegan as it does not include any animal product.

However, the balls were quit soft and quite easy to break but the taste was very intense as I did not add any flour.

I used cooked chickpeas.

Products:

2 cans chickpeas (2x400g)

1 medium sized onion - chopped

2 cloves garlic - crushed and chopped

leaves from 5-6 springs lemon thyme

1 cup fresh parsley leaves -chopped

cracked black pepper

salt

vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Wash, drain and dry the chickpeas.

Process them in a food processor until coarsely blended.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and sautee the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the parsley and lemon thyme and sautee for more 1 minute. Remove from heat and combine with the chickpeas. Process in a food processor until well blended.

Pressing with fingers make small balls. Heat the oil in a pan and fry on both sides until crunchy. Be careful they don't' break.

Serve with lemon/lime wedges.

Rutabaga and Sweet potato Gratin in Lemon-Thyme Infused Cream

As this year with friends we decided to go for a Scandinavian inspired food, I was thinking of some vegetarian side dish. The best I found out was the Finnish rutabaga gratin. Apparently rutabaga is another name for swede, so commonly available in the UK and I so much having not even a clue what to do with it besides obviously boil it.

I actually tried it over a year ago when I was introducing solids to my toddler. It was OK to taste but nothing special and it never occur to me I could make something really delicious with it.

So my interpretation of the rutabaga gratin (which proved to be a traditional dish on the Scandinavian Christmas table too) includes also sweet potato and lemon-thyme infused double cream. The only other condiment I used was cracked black peppercorns.

The dish doesn't really need salt because it tastes quite sweet.

As swede is much more hard than sweet potatoes, I needed to parboil it for 15 minutes before assembling the gratin.

I later did another version of it, but as I ran out of swede, I used potatoes and sweet potatoes with double cream and Danish blue cheese. Oh, it was delicious!

But now let's go back to the recipe for this simple yet flavoursome dish!

Products:

(serves 6-8)

1 medium sized swede (rutabaga/Swedish turnip) (around 1 kg)

3 large sweet potatoes

4-5 fresh sprigs lemon thyme

400 ml double cream

100 gr hard cheese (I used cheddar)

cracked black peppercorns

Method:

Heat the double cream in a pan and add the lemon thyme leaves.

Soak for 20-30 minutes.

Peel and cut the swede in preferred shapes and boil them lightly in water (optionally salted) for 15 minutes.

In the meantime peel the sweet potatoes and cut them too.

Drain the swede and mix with the sweet potatoes well.

In a deep baking dish cover the bottom with a little bit of the cream do not remove the leaves. Line with 1/3 of the vegetables. Sprinkle black pepper and grated cheese and cover with double cream. Proceed until everything ends with some cheese and cream on top.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 40-50 minutes.

Let to stand for 2-3 hours or more before serving.

And enjoy!

#90 Roasted Carrots and Coriander soup (Vegan)

A family favourite and very easy to make, I recently tried to roast the carrots for this soup before blending and the result was just great!

It is a very delicious vegetarian soup. Sometimes I use chicken stock, but this vegan version it was replaced with vegetable stock.

Don't hesitate to try this very humble, fast and easy to make, but rich in taste soup!

Products:

(Serves 5-6 )

for roasting:

700 gr carrots - peeled and coped in 3 cm pieces

1 medium onion - peeled, quartered and cut in half

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

for the soup:

1.4 l vegetable stock

salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

1tsp ground coriander

ground pepper

a handful of fresh coriander leaves

Method:

Line a roasting pan with foil and place the vegetables. Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some salt.

Roast in 200 C oven for 15 minutes and make sure they don't burn (very much). Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a while.

In the meantime heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add the ground coriander and leave to fry for 10-20 seconds very carefully it doesn't burn. Add the roasted vegetables and cover with the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes, stop the heat, then blend. I used a hand blender with metal stem so it can work with hot liquids.

When smooth enough, sprinkle some black pepper and adjust salt to taste.

Add the finely chopped coriander leaves, mix well, cover with lid and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Then serve.

#16 Bulgarian Dry Tarator Salad

Every single country on the Balkan peninsula has this salad on their menus and Bulgaria is not exception. It is popular under the names of Сух таратор, (dry tarator), yogurt salad, Snezhanka salad, tzatziki in Greece, cacik in Turkey. The main ingredients are drained yogurt and fresh cucumbers and the rest of the ingredients varies a bit but usually include fresh dill and walnuts among others.

During my childhood

#15 Balancing Cauliflower and Walnuts Salad (Raw)

Life is about balance and when life gives you a week of sweets and cakes and baked goods and added sugar, it is time to turn to a more natural diet to balance things and at least try to minimise the unhealthy impact on your body.
And what else could be the perfect opposite of sweetened cakes if not raw vegetables full of life? Add some nuts for  and you've got the perfect brunch - simple and filling and full of goodness for your body and mind.

MediterrAsian Aubergines with Soybean paste

If there is a vegetable that I just adore it would be aubergine. Especially if it's pan fried and skin on. My story with aubergines is a love from first bite and started so long ago I can barely remember.

#13 Beetroot and Strained Yogurt Salad with Pomegranate molasses

The food we got used to as kids remains among the all time favourite foods, no matter how old we grow. What else would explain the British inclination for their sausages, which I think are not the best available example of sausages. This is of course a joke. I remember French people looking really disgusted after trying some traditional favourite Bulgarian (and Balkan in general) foods as boza and ayran.
The truth is, we cherish the favourite tastes from childhood and we'll always be attracted to them.

The region where I come from is a crossroad of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean tastes, customs and habits and that's why exploring these cuisines will always be attractive to me I guess.

I've recently added to my bookshelf Claudia Roden's Arabesque book,

Simple Lunch - Fried Courgettes with Garlicy Yogurt-Dill Sauce

Still on the summer topic, here's a classic Bulgarian dish, which can also be served as a salad as well. It is also a light vegetarian option for lunch or dinner.
To make the courgettes nice and round, fry them individually and wrapped in a little bit of flour on high heat until crispy.
Best served immediately.



Products:
serves two:

3 medium-sized white courgettes cut into rounds 1 cm thick

2 tbsp wheat flour
2 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp salt

plenty of frying oil - I use olive oil


for the sauce:

500 gr plain yogurt
1/3 cup dill - washed and finely cut
3-4 cloves of garlic
salt

Method:

It is very important to make the courgettes the right way, otherwise they will be bland and will look unpleasant. The best thing to do is to cut them in thick rounds - about 1 cm thick, so that they don't squash and lose their form after frying.

In a flat plate mix the flours with the salt. Pat the courgettes on both sides so that they are lightly floured. The salt will make them lose water and this the flour will hold to the courgette better.
Set aside.

In a frying pan heat the oil until bubbles appear. Place the courgettes immediately and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden-brown.

For the sauce:

In a bowl mix the yogurt with the dill. Add the pressed garlic cloves and salt.

Arrange the courgettes in plates and garnish with the yogurt sauce.

Enjoy!

#04 Grilled Courgette and Goats Cheese Salad in French Dressing

Well, it's more like sauteed courgette instead of grilled one, as I had an accident with the grill, but hopefully next time I'll do it grilled.
So if you can't get access to a grill, you can just sautee the courgette in a flat or even a ribbed pan.


Serves 2:

1 courgette - sliced lengthwise and sateed in a little bit of olive oil (or grilled tossed with olive oil)
leafy salad with rocket, spinach and lettuce leaves
1 large tomato
50 gr French goat's cheese
7-8 marinated green olives

for the French dressing Makes 4-6:

Ingredients:

75 ml olive oil
25 ml cup lemon juice (the juice of 1/2 lemon)
1/2 tbsp dark sugar
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of paprika
a pinch of mustard
a pinch of black pepper
1/2 clove garlic - mashed
8 thyme leaves finely cut
4-5 parsley sprigs finely cut

Arrange the vegetables and cheese in plate and drizzle with the dressing. For the dressing combine all the ingredients and sake well.
The dressing can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days.

#01 Tomatoes, Feta, Parsley and Garlic Salad

A 30 salads challenge is starting today with the purpose to promote raw foods eating and hence good health. Ad delicious foods as well.
It would be too ambitious though for me at the moment to make it on everyday basis, so I will try to complete the challenge in the next two months.
But the summer is a perfect time to start experimenting with raw foods, because as the temperatures go higher the body needs more water to stay hydrated and naturally avoids cooked foods.
So let's start with a simple two-ingredient recipe, seasoned with parsley and garlic.
This recipe is low-salt, low-fat and low-calorie, suitable for dieting and for some special regimes as food combining. The salad however is rich in flavours, vitamins, minerals and water locked in the vegetables, thus packed with healthy stuff.


Products:
(serves 2)
2-3 medium-sized tomatoes
50 gr (fresh) feta cheese - crumbled
1 clove of garlic - sliced
a drizzle of olive oil
a bunch of parsley to taste

You can avoid adding salt because the cheese will be salty anyway.
Method:
Wash and slice the tomatoes and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle the feta cheese crumbles and the garlic slices. Drizzle a tiny bit if olive oil and sprinkle parsley to taste.
It's ready to serve.

Vegetarian Lunch for Two

When the weather is so nice and warm in the summer its's better to have a lighter lunch and opt out meat and eggs.
So today's lunch is fairly fast to make and packed with vitamins. In Bulgaria, when the weather is much much warmer in the summers we always had this dish for lunch with fresh peppers and tomatoes from the garden, and home-made cow's milk feta cheese.
Search for peppers that are thin-skinned, green, oblong and medium-sized. Avoid bell peppers.
I had mine from the Middle-Eastern grocery stores.
When fried peppers unlike aubergines for example don't retain the oil, so you can use less oil and don't be afraid for calorie count that much.



Serves 2:
Products:

4 medium-sized green oblong peppers.
200 gr feta cheese
20 fresh basil leaves finely cut
The cheese will be salted anyway, so you don't need to add more salt.

for the topping:

600 gr canned organic plum tomatoes peeled and chopped
2 sprigs parsley

2-3 tbsp sunflower oil

Method:

Wash and seed the peppers, set aside.
Mix the cheese with the basil leaves and stuff the peppers well with the mixture.
Fry in a pan under a lid well on all sides, so that brown crust forms.

Remove from the pan. Be aware that the peppers will release juices and water.
Return the chopped tomatoes to the pan and fry in the oil and pepper juices until thickens about 15 minutes, stirring continuously.

Serve!
And enjoy! :)

#82 Five Spice Black Bean Soup, Western Style

To serve 4

250g dried black beans
2 star anise
3 cm cinnamon stick
3 cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Szechuan pepper
2 tbsp oil
2 cm ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
4 tbsp light soy sauce
a few drops of sesame oil

Put the black beans in a deep pan, together with the five spices, cover with water and cook on medium heat until the beans have softened, about an hour. When ready, take the spices out and discard.
In a small pan, heat the oil and fry the ginger, garlic and chilli for 1 minute. Add to the soup.
Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and transfer the soup to a liquidizer. Blend until very smooth, adding more water if the soup looks too thick.
Reheat gently and serve.

#81 Tiered Tomato and Avocado Soup

I based this soup on a recipe I found on Sunset Magazine’s website.

To serve 3

To make the avocado layer:
1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
1 small clove of garlic, chopped
½ red chilli, chopped
1 tsp chopped onion
100 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp yoghurt
salt

To make the tomato layer:
1 big beef tomato, chopped
½ tsp cider vinegar
salt

To finish the soup:
4 tbsp finely chopped cucumber
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tbsp lime juice
salt

First, make the avocado layer. Put everything in a blender and process until smooth. Put in the fridge to cool for at least one hour.
Next, blend the tomatoes and seasonings until smooth. Allow to cool in the fridge.
In a small bowl, mix the cucumber and onion, season with salt and lime juice and put in the fridge.
When ready to serve, pour some of the avocado mixture in a clear bowl (or glass) and top with tomatoes. Add a tablespoon of the cucumber and onion mixture and serve immediately.

#76 Watercress Soup

To serve 4
3 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
300g potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 packet of watercress, washed
1.5l chicken stock
salt
black pepper
4 tbsp yoghurt (or sour cream, if you prefer)

Heat the oil in a deep pan, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes and chicken stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add the watercress and cook for another 5 minutes.
Take the soup off the heat and allow it to cool.
Transfer into a liquidizer and process until smooth.
Check the seasoning and thickness of the soup and add more salt and water if needed.
Reheat gently and serve with yoghurt.

#51 Green soup

When I served this for lunch today, my husband thought it was a good, honest soup. Now, in the spirit of honesty, I will have to admit that it is actually more of a clean-your-fridge-from-leftovers-kind-of-soup :) I used all the greenery I could find, added a good chicken stock and some vermicelli (which I found hidden deep in the cupboard). The result was pretty good - for the health of both your stomach and fridge ;)
Sneige had a soup based on the same idea recently, which also used green leftovers but tasted quite differently. This makes me think that we should probably start a new project - G & S on leftovers, as these soups only show how imaginative and creative one could be when it comes to using leftovers :)

To serve 2
2 tbsp sunflower oil
top, green parts of 3 small leeks – very well washed and finely chopped
bottom parts of 15 asparagus spears – peeled and sliced
3 x 1cm slices of marrow – peeled, cored and sliced
1 very small potato, peeled and finely chopped
2 good handfuls of frozen petit pois
500 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp fine vermicelli
1 spring onion, finely sliced

Heat the oil in a deep pan and sauté the leeks.
After 5 minutes, add the asparagus, marrow and potatoes. Top up with stock and simmer on gentle heat for 8 minutes.
Add the petit pois and once the soup comes to the boil again, add the vermicelli. Cook for 5-6 minutes.
Check the seasoning. Just before serving, sprinkle the sliced spring onion on top.

Vegetarian Moussaka-Style Bake

Moussaka is one of my all time favourites, almost in all of its forms, it's impossible to make it bad :)
However, this time I needed one that would be lighter that the traditional dish, so I ended up with the idea to change meat in moussaka with chargrilled vegetables instead.
The result turned out so perfect, that I'd share.
This time I also used different herbs and spices in my intention to remain true to the Italian cuisine. And pesto alla Genovese goes just great with the chargrilled vegetables.


Makes one large deep tin.

1 kg potatoes - chopped
1 cup of water
750 gr previously chargrilled vegetables - aubergines, courgettes, red, yellow, orange peppers (skins on), onions - chopped
5 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
3 tsp pesto alla Genovese
400 gr chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp basil leaves
1 tbsp parsley
salt, pepper


for the topping
400 ml yoghurt
3 large eggs
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
salt (very important)

Alternatively - grated mozzarella or other melting cheese

Heat the oil in a deep pan. Add the crushed garlic cloves, stir for a couple of seconds and add the chopped potatoes and braise for 10 minutes.
When the potatoes are a bit tender, add a cup of water, the pesto, tomatoes and the chargrilled vegetables, mix well, add the remaining spices and leave on low heat to braise until the potatoes are almost ready.

Place in a deep large tin and put in the oven at 190 degrees for more 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime make the topping.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, not forgetting to add the salt. Pour over the moussaka, and bake for more 10-15 minutes until golden.
If you're adding melting cheese, sprinkle it on top 3-4 minutes before the crust has started to go brown.