My Conscious Eating

How to Make Nutritious Food Exciting: Breakfast Millet Casserole

2010-12-08T00:31:00.005+03:00

Russian power breakfast is hard to imagine without a hearty serving of hot cereal (kasha) traditionally cooked with fat milk and relished piping hot with a piece of melting butter. Even those of us who can get away with a cup of green tea or a bowl of fruit salad in the morning tend to come back to the kasha fare in winter. Yet as a favorite resort for grandmas, mothers and kindergarten chefs hot cereals are seen just as sexy as your old fluffy sleepers and baggy pajamas. Isn't it time for putting on red manicure and exciting pungent scent?

There is an easy explanation for the popularity of hot cereals in Russia. Vast arable lands in the harsh continental climate of Russia are suitable to cultivate a whole bunch of cereals, such as millet, buckwheat, barley, wheat, rye and oats. These cereals have been the staples of the Russian diet coming to the tables as breads, pies, kissels and definitely kashas (hot cereals). There is a lot of wisdom in a hot cereal versus packaged flakes. Nutritionally speaking, the key component of any cereal is starch and it gets much easier to digest when cooked. Russians seem to have to know this for centuries - no wonder that kasha was a key dish in many meals for both peasants working in the fields and noble families caring for the balanced nutrition. The idea that kasha gives you energy to carry out your daily routines is still strong in Russia and when someone appears not fit for a physical endeavor we ask, "Have not you eaten enough kasha?"

In the old times there was no occasion when kasha was not appropriate: it was served as a major treat for the festive meals during the weddings, victory feasts, funerals and such. Weddings dinners were even called "kasha". After the battles to celebrate the concluded truce the used-to-be-enemies sat down at the common table and shared kasha. We still say, "You can't share kasha with them" about someone who is difficult to cooperate with.

While you can make kasha of any cereal millet has been among the most common. Millet is a fantastic source of nutrition as it contains proteins, slow digesting carbohydrates, a bit of vegetable fat, vitamins B and a range of micro-elements. Yet millet has fallen into the common "nutritious food trap": Russian grandmas, mothers and kindergarten chefs have been so keen on feeding us with the millet kasha that in fact you should not mention it in the presence of most grown-ups. Unless you intentionally want to hurt someone with rather uncomfortable childhood memories of being subjected to the millet kasha with no variation and no option to dodge.

During my recent visit to my parents my mom cooked it a few times: on the first instance, I felt very happy and nostalgic; the next time I thought it was wise to have got some fruits in the fridge too. After the third day of the millet kasha I realized it was time for me to act. To empower that millet, to give it a chance go beyond the standard perceptions, to add some spice to its feel, to brighten its image with additional colors. So I've added red hot chili pepper for spice and fresh parsley for pungency, stirred in dices of suluguni cheese (Georgian cheese similar to mozzarella) and crashed dried tomatoes for the interesting discoveries, then put the whole thing into a cast-iron skillet and topped with the beaten egg whites to produce a wonderful savory casserole. Here is your red polish and pungent scent! Anything missing? A glass of champagne or any sparkling wine. Definitely!

Breakfast Casserole with Millet Recipe

Nutritious and exciting millet casserole with the touches of red chili, fresh parsley, dried tomatoes, slightly melted cheese and golden brown crust of the egg white

Inspired by Bread*Salt Dec 2010

Preparation time: 40 min

Time in the oven: 40 min

Ingredients (serves 4):

200 g dry millet
2 glasses water
1 tsp salt
1 glass crème fraiche (or Greek yogurt for low fat version)
2 eggs (whites and yolks separated), room temperature
150 g mozzarella (originally used Georgian suluguni; halloumi or other cheese with high melting point will work), diced
1/2 red hot chili pepper, thinly sliced
5 large dried tomato halves, crashed with the chef's knife
2 tbsp fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 tsp butter for greasing the iron-cast skillet
crème fraiche or Greek yogurt for serving

Method:

1. Cook the millet: Wash the millet until the water becomes transparent: go through the grits to remove any little stones. Pre-soak the washed millet for a few hours in lukewarm water. Then add salt, put on the high heat, bring to boil, reduce the heat to low and let cook covered for 5-7 minutes until the water evaporates. Remove from the heat, wrap the cooking pot with a few towels tightly and let sit at a warm place for at least 20 minutes while you are busy with the rest of the ingredients. Here I feel obliged to tell you that traditional Russian way to cook cereals would be exactly that - first, cook them in a clay pot over the heat (in the oven) and then wrap it in the fur coat (we usually take fancy ones such as sable - just kidding!) and let them sit by the oven to get perfectly done. You should try it on a cold winter day and you will never ask again how Russians survive their harsh winters.

2. Make the casserole: Back to the cooking though. Preheat the oven to 160 C (320 F). Whisk the egg yolks with a pinch of salt and stir in the crème fraiche. Prepare the parsley, red hot chili pepper and the cheese. Grease the iron-cast skillet with the butter. Add all the prepared ingredients to the millet, mix well and transfer to the skillet. Now beat the remaining egg whites into a stiff foam: take a clean dry bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes at medium speed, then add a drop of lemon juice and beat for 2 more minutes on the high speed. Once done spread this foam with a clean spatula over the millet casserole. Sent to the over and bake for about 40 minutes until the golden brown crust forms on top of your casserole. Serve hot with crème fraiche or Greek yogurt. And a glass of champagne!

Never Say No to a Real Man and an Upside Down Cake

2010-11-28T21:58:00.003+03:00

International Tiger Forum in St.Petersburg this week devoted to saving the worlds' tigers was inaugurated by Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister, and graced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Hollywood star with the Russian roots. In his speech Putin recognized the determination of DiCaprio who made it to the forum despite the two airplane accidents on the way, "He has virtually crossed the battle line. As we say in Russia, DiCaprio is a real man (настоящий мужик). If people like himself are in charge of saving tigers we are doomed to succeed!" The words of the Prime Minister made me reflect on the notion of a real man for the rest of the week.

Many thoughts and memories later I have come up with my definition of a real man: a real man is someone to whom you can't (and mostly likely you should not) say no. Whatever deliciousness he proposes and however dangerous this deliciousness may turn for you at the end of the day. An innocent dinner invitation that makes you think "It's only a dinner. I am not going to sleep with him" as you are dressing to kill, a bungee jump that you take to share his adventure despite your severe fear of height, a piece of an upside down cake he treats you to making you forget that right at spot you are done with your calorie intake for this month and ah!. what now, what not.. But let me go into the detail about the upside down cake.

A piece of upside down cake. There were three of them. The real men, I mean. The ones that made me eat a piece of upside down cake each. Three male chefs I am fascinated with.

Saša Obućina of Karuzo Restaurant, Sarajevo

"We are going to make a new dessert tonight,"- said Saša, the owner and the chef of the first vegetarian restaurant in Sarajevo where I did my improvised fast-track apprenticeship this summer. "Do you have some secret cravings? Something that you would really like to make?"

With a dreamy face I said, "Figs! This is the first time I see them fresh and in season and I want to make something with them". I got too excited explaining how nice they would be baked on top of a cake.

His look radiated disappointment as he probably thought I was not that sane as I seemed,"Figs on a cake? The best way to enjoy figs is to eat them fresh," he said with the tone that did not a debate.

What could I say? He was a chef afterwards and I was only an aspiring gourmet who thought she knew best about the right combinations of flavors and ingredients.

In the afternoon he brought plums. It was my turn to radiate disappointment. I have never took plums for a sexy fruit: in season we always had plenty of them in the grandma's garden and we never quite knew what to do with them as all the jams and compotes we made would be eaten only after all the other jams and compotes got finished.

"So what's it about the plums?" I asked.

"A cake, we are going to go an upside down cake with the plums," he announced.

"Ah, right!" I muttered knowing the figs will be for me to figure out on my own then.

An hour later I sensed the smell coming from the oven that got me entranced. As the plums were simmering in the caramel they were exhaling the thick smell of the late summer.

We served a piece of the upside down plum cake for each other. I was eating mine in silence realizing how wise Saša was to use plums: their deep taste and color make that upside down cake the perfect indulgence.

He was observing me with a smile. "Is it eatable?" he asked eventually.

I gave him a content and grateful look. Because if you say yes to a real man and do something you would not normally do because of him you are going to learn many things about yourself.. and your taste.

Suki Maman of Upside Down Cake Company and Correa's Restaurants, Moscow

When I came to Moscow in November I started asking around for new exciting places to eat at. To my surprise I found Moscow experiencing a sort of gastronomic revolution: known to be gastronomically deprived Moscovites all of sudden got interested in eating well and new interesting places featuring decent food started mushrooming. Among the rest my friend Olesya happily reported about a bombastic new cafe which has already become the talk of the town, Upside Down Cake Company: the guys have introduced the Russian capital to cupcakes, a wonder largely unknown in this land until recently. So one of the breakfasts with the friends was destined to take place there.

Let me report back: it not only the funky cupcakes and other delicious pastry that make the fans rave on the UDC Facebook page. It is also the impressive pastry chef that does. In Moscow we are not very used to see chefs running around. The chef is at the kitchen, you are at the dining table and the waiters are the interface between the two. Not in the Upside Down Cake Company where Suki enters through the main door and examines the early morning guests checking what they are up to; during the day he shares his time between supervising the kitchen and popping up on the floor to recommend something to the guest and find out whether they were happy with their choice at the end.

As I already had a blueberry shake and rice pudding so I needed only a cup of coffee latte to wash down my breakfast. As I approached the counter I saw sample cake bites and Suki running around.

"What is it? And what makes the sponge cake so moist?" I inquired.

"It is an upside down cake. The caramel soaks into the cake and makes it so syrupy. We have just made fresh ones," he announced. "They are straight from the oven!"

From his facial expression I concluded he was talking about something ravishing. Every time I see a chef that radiates excitement I automatically imagine how delicious his food must be if he puts that much of dedication and positive energy into that.

"Come here!' he waived. I came to the counter from where I could get a glimpse of the kitchen. He asked his assistant, "Show, show her the cakes".

From the distance I saw the round portion-sized beauties - classic upside down cakes with pineapple and maraschino cherries.

"I will have one," I shot as if worrying he would change his mind and offer them to someone else. There is a lot of competition out there. For a piece of an upside down cake. For saying yes to a real man.

I brought the cake to the table and sat down lovingly observing it. I could not follow the rest of the conversation at the table any more. Because the tender spongy biscuit coated in the caramelized crust was the center of the world for me. Because if you decide to sin and say yes to a real man you must enjoy it with your whole heart and.. palate.

David Lebovitz, Former Pastry Chef and Renown Cook Book Author, Paris

I have never been very keen on baking. First, with all my respect to the cakes and any goodies baked often times they are rich in butter and sugar, two things I rather not have in my diet (bu-bu, I am that boring!). Second, baking oven for me is like a black box - once the pie is sent there there is no way I can influence the outcome any more. And like any control freak I get frustrated about this big time! And third, why to fuss with baking if there are quicker and healthier ways to turn some deliciousness?!

I started reading David's blog for the sheer pleasure: the very way he writes is so tasty that you forget to care about food or recipes. But in time I have developed courage to try some of his recipes and to my surprise things turned very nice. David, he is a master of precision when it comes to the recipes. There is no way for you to fail if you just follow the recipe. Even you are such a frustrated baker as myself.

With the accumulated courage I ventured to try his recipe of ... an upside cake. I nearly fainted as I read the recipe though: it required 150 g butter and 300 g sugar! Its is very challenging to even see that much of both as that makes almost my annual intake of the two (and beware, I have already sinned recently). I signed. I recalled that I really did not like the recent photos of me which clearly indicated the presence of the plump cheeks. I recalled the bikini shots of the Brazilian girls I came across in the yet another hilarious post by Tim Ferris the other day. Ah, David! Your upside down cake sounds so nice! I went through the recipe again - there was no slightest sign of doubt on his side about this 150 g butter and 300 g sugar. Come on, this is about the time for me to become more critical about all this baking craziness. Only after I make this cake. There is gotta be a success upside down cake story in my cooking repertoire! Because if you say yes to a real man and follow the way he shows does mean that on that way you can't find you own path and... recipe.

Irresistible Upside Down Cake with Persimmon, Sea Buckthorn and Star Aniseed Recipe

Irresistible winter indulgence is so easily produced with the rich batter and caramelized heavenly persimmon, drops of sourness in the sea buckthorn and pungent aroma of the star aniseed.

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Preparation time: 30 min

Time in the oven: 40 min

Ingredients (for a 20 sm skillet, serves 8):

For the upside down part:
30 g (2 tbsp) butter, softened
60 g (2.5 tbsp) brown sugar

3 medium size persimmons (pick up non astringent fruits of deep brown color)

handful of sea buckthorn berries (may be replaced with cranberries), fresh or frozen

For the dough:

80 g (5.5 tbsp) butter, softened
100 g (4 tbsp) brown sugar

1 tsp vanila sugar

2 small eggs

140 g flour, sieved

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

65 ml milk (room temperature)

1 small star aniseed

Method:

1. Prepare the upside down layer: In a cast iron skillet melt the butter and then add sugar. Simmer continuously stirring for the sugar to melt and start bubbling. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Wash the persimmon, cut off the top with the dry leaves, halve and then slice into the wedges (about 3-5 mm thin) removing the seeds as you go. Arrange the persimmon wedges on the cast iron skillet with the caramel following a pinwheel pattern: put the wedges rather densely making a few concentric circles. Then sprinkle the sea buckthorn over the persimmon.

2. Prepare the dough: Preheat the oven to 190 C. In a medium bowl mix the softened butter, brown sugar and vanilla sugar with a wooden spatula until smooth. Add two eggs one by one. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients - sieved flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in half of the dry ingredients to the batter, then milk and then the rest of the dry ingredients. Do not overmix or the cake will be heavier and more dense. Poor the batter over the persimmon and spread evenly with a spatula. Place 1 small star aniseed in the center for the wonderful aroma.

3. Bake the cake and eat it to: Bake for about 40 minutes checking on the cake. Once done (check with a tooth stick) take out and cook for 5 minutes. Place a large plate over the skillet and shake slightly a few times - you will hear how the cake jumps inside pulling away from the skillet. Now turn it upside down on the plate and marvel the beauty you have just made. The cake is best enjoyed warm with ice-cream or kaymak, clotted cream.

Four Fantastic Winter Soups from Turkey and Morocco

2010-11-21T23:51:00.005+03:00

As I was testing the recipes for my Turkish and Moroccan cooking classes in Moscow I played with different soups to be served as warming and fulling starters. Both Turkish and Moroccan cuisines have delicious and hearty takes on vegetarian soups with grains and legumes so perfect in winter. Yet some require up to two hours to make. I did not have two hours to fiddle with a soup so I needed to come up with the shortcuts without altering the customary flavor.

I have chosen two popular Turkish soups and two Moroccan ones for the testing: for each country one soup was legume and vegetable based and the other one had diary products and grains in it.

Let me start with the hearty legume and vegetable fair. Turkish lentil soup (mercimek çorbası) and Moroccan chickpea soup (harira) are the backbone of the Turkish and Moroccan diet respectively. Not only they can be savored as breakfast, lunch or dinner but also come on the tables as a starter of choice during the Ramadan when people break the day fasting. The popularity of these soups makes them incredibly versatile as different chefs and home cooks have their own favorites among the classic ingredients - you can hardly except to eat a bowl of exactly the same red lentil soup you had somewhere in Turkey if you head out to another restaurant or home.

Now to the lighter diary and grains soups - Turkish yogurt soup (yayla çorbası) and Moroccan barley soup (hhsoua belboula). Both are much lighter than their legume-basesd brothers yet both are satisfying and giving you energy. No wonder that yogurt soup is cooked in Turkey for the family members that fall sick and barley soup in Morocco is often made for breast-feeding young mothers. I have picked these two soups for testing as both are unusual takes on the ingredients that we use in Russia: sour milk products (such as yogurt) are hardly served warm and no one would really think of adding cumin and olive oil to the barley milk porridge.

Everything looked appealing about those soups besides the cooking time: traditional harira takes two good hours to make and I remember that it also took ages at the Turkish kitchens to make lentil soup even with a pressure cooker. As I did not have such luxury as a couple of extra hours at my evening cooking classes I need to come up with shortcuts.

1. First, I have figured that overnight soaking works well to reduce the cooking time not only for legumes but also for grains. And the fact that soaked grains require less time for cooking means that they will be thermally treated for a shorter time keeping more nutritional value to themselves and to those luckies who will be eating them eventually. Nice, no? Your rice (and Turkish yogurt soup for that matter) will make it quicker to your table and will turn more nutritional too.

2. Second, I have realized the wisdom of chefs who keep stocks of pre-cooked foods used for their dishes. Think of chickpeas and all the deliciousness that can be produced of them but then their overnight soaking and 2-hour cooking does not seem too much fun to do it very often. So why not to cook a batch of those and store in the freezer? Making harira, Moroccan chickpea soup will take only 30 minutes instead of two hours then. Not to mention that much more often you will want to cook other delicious soups, hummus, falafel (if you freeze the soaked yet uncooked ones) and what not based on the chickpeas.

3. And finally third, making soups may be a great a way to utilize the leftovers of grains and legumes you had from any previous meals: yogurt soup with rice becomes a matter of minutes and so is the lentil soup. Turning foods from one substance to another is so much fun and also a kind gesture of yours: what did not succeed to be eaten fully as a garnish can get a second chance when becoming a soup.

Based on these considerations I have modified the recipes of the four soups and as a result cut the cooking time by half in all the cases. I hope you will enjoy the soups and more time for yourself!

Turkish Red Lentil Soup Recipe,

Mercimek Çorbası

Perfectly smooth texture of this Turkish classic is so soothing that it helps me get over any misery in life.

Adapted from Zeliha Irez of Zeliş Çiftliği

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 20-30 min (depending on the lentils)

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter):

1 glass red lentils

boiling water: 2 glasses for lentils + 2 glasses to be added later

vegetable oil: 2 tbsp for vegetables + 4 tbsp for flour

1 medium size onion, peeled and diced

1 medium size potato, peeled and grated

1 medium size carrot, peeled and grated

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp cumin

salt to taste

2 tbsp butter for serving

1 tsp red pepper flakes for serving

Method:

1. Cook lentils: In a medium size casserole bring water to boil. In the meantime wash the red lentils and put in the boiling water. Cook according to the instructions on the package (usually 10-20 minutes).

2. Prepare vegetables: Meanwhile, put a frying pan over high heat; pour olive oil and immediately add onion, carrots and potatoes. Simmer uncovered until soft and make sure to stir now and then to prevent burning.

3. Make the soup: Once the vegetables are cooked add to the lentils and puree well with the blender until smooth. Add 2 glasses of the boiling water and blend again.

4. Thicken the soup: Now you need to add a bit of the fried flour that makes the soup texture simply perfect. Here is how you go about it: put the olive oil on a hot frying pen and add the four. Keep stirring until the flour browns a bit – as you will smell the boiling butter remove the frying pen from the heat, you don’t want to burn it. Stir the mixture into the soup; add cumin, salt to taste and blend. Put the soup back over medium heat to warm up – make sure to stir the soup continuously so it does not burn on the bottom.

5. Serve: For serving melt the butter on a small frying pen and add the red pepper flakes. Sauté for a 30 seconds and drizzle over the soup served in the individual bowls.

Turkish Yogurt Soup Recipe, Yayla Çorbası

Flavors of yogurt and mint evoke warm summer memories and make the winter seem shorter.

Adapted from Binnur’s Turkish Cookbook

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 20 min (with pre-soaked rice)

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter):

100 g white medium grain rice

5 glasses water

250 g plain yogurt

50 ml milk

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

salt to taste

2 tbsp butter for serving

1 tbsp dry mint for serving

Method:

1. Soak the rice (the night before): Wash the rice and put in a bowl with 3 glasses of hot water to soak overnight.

2. Cook the rice: In a medium size casserole bring water to boil. Drain and wash the soaked rice and place in the casserole with the boiling water. Cook tightly covered with the lid for 5 minutes; turn off the heat and without opening it leave covered for 5 more minutes.

3. Make the soup: Meanwhile in a small bowl mix the yogurt, milk, egg yolk and flour until smooth. Add a few spoons of the liquid from the casserole with the rice (once cooked) and stir well. Now slowly pour out the mixture into the casserole while stirring very slowly. Cook for 5 more minutes over low heat; make sure to stir the soup continuously so it does not burn on the bottom.

4. Serve: For serving melt the butter on a small frying pen and add the dry mint. Sauté for 30 seconds and drizzle over the soup served in the individual bowls.

Vegetarian Moroccan Chickpea Soup (Harira) Recipe

Harira and Circuses! - chanting the hungry crowds that gather everyday for both on the legendary square Djemma El Fna in Marrakesh.

Adapted from La Cuisine Marocaine

Preparation time: 10 min (with pre-cooked legumes)

Cooking time: 30 min

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter):

1½ large onion, grated

½ glass lentils, pre-cooked*

200 g chickpeas, pre-cooked**

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tsp tomato paste

2 tbsp flour

3 tbsp vermicelli

2 tbsp fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 liter boiling water

½ tsp ground pepper

1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 tsp ground ginger

pinch of ground turmeric

pinch of rasa el hanut

2 threads of Moroccan saffron

2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Cook the soup: Put a large soup casserole over medium heat to warm up. Add oil and then onion, celery, chopped parsley, half of the chopped coriander and spices; let simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and let simmer uncovered for 5 more minutes stirring now and then. Add tomato paste, pre-cooked lentils and chickpeas and stir well – let simmer for 5 more minutes. Add water and bring to boil, then let cook for 5 minutes longer.

2. Thicken the soup: In a cup dissolve the flour in a small quantity of water and carefully mix into the soup constantly stirring. Let cook for 5 more minutes stirring now and then for the flour to expand. Put the vermicelli and let cook for 5 more minutes.

3. Serve: Garnished with the rest of the chopped cilantro when serving.

* Tip for cooking lentils: Cook lentils in the slightly salted water: make sure the volume of water you use is double the volume of the lentils. Cook for about 30-40 minutes for green and brown lentils and 10-20 minutes for the red ones.

** Tip for cooking chickpeas: Soak the chickpeas overnight and discard the water. Add new water to fully cover the chickpeas, bring to boil and cook for about 2 hours over low heat. Now and then check in the chickpeas to make sure there is enough water. Drain the cooked chickpeas. You can cook larger quantity ahead and keep them in a freezer for a few months .

Moroccan Barley Soup (Hssoua Belboula) Recipe

It is a miracle how a simple soup like this makes grow-ups and kids endlessly happy (and full) - but it does!

Adapted from Christine Benlafquih

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 20 min (with pre-soaked barley)

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter):

100 g barley grits

2 glasses water

4 glasses milk

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp butter

½ tsp salt

Method:

1. Prepare the barley grits (the night before): Wash the barley in the cold water changing the water a few times until the water becomes clear. Put in a bowl with 3 glasses of hot water to soak overnight.

2. Make the soup: In a small soup bowl bring water and milk to boil. Drain and wash the soaked barley grits and add into the boiling water and milk, add olive oil and cumin and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes until the grains become tender. Add salt to taste and stir in butter.

Cream of Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Herb Bread

2010-11-14T21:38:00.003+03:00

Cooking is like music making: after a few centuries of fiddling with a definite number of ingredients it starts getting more difficult to come up with a totally novel combination. How excited can you get with yet another pumpkin soup recipe if every autumn those pop up on the food blogs like the mushrooms in the autumn forest? Not that this fact makes me give up.

For a while I've been playing in my mind with a range of ingredients to brighten up the pumpkin flavor and went reading around for inspiration. What about putting in your pumpkin soup some red lentils to make it even a heartier fare? Or adding coconut milk and ginger to bring in some tropical sun and taste to a gloomy autumn day? Or maybe throwing in a bunch of Indian spices to steam the kitchen and yourself before the cold kicks in? Or yet better - pouring in a few drops of Amaretto to get merry and carefree Italian-style? I have nearly got lost in all the flavors that my imagination composed as I read through all those exciting recipes. Eventually I have settled on adding ... nothing but olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper and a bit of cream. Not that I gave up. My plan was to play with the flavor of the pumpkin itself by roasting it in a special way. And the long list of the ingredients that I thought would complement the pumpkin well went into .. the herb bread that I made to serve with the soup. The combination was fantastic - thick and smooth solo of the pumpkin to the accompaniment of the notes that bring one flavor after another - and all of them culminating in the perfect harmony of the sound, taste and feel of the autumn pumpkin symphony on my kitchen.

Cream of Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe

This easy to make and delicious pumpkin soup with the battery texture will warm, comfort and cheer you up on a cold gloomy day.

Preparation time: 20 min

Cooking time: 35 min

Ingredients (serves 4 when served with the bread):

1 kg pumpkin

4 tbsp olive oil + olive oil for greasing

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper mix

3 tbsp cream (10% fat)

1 glass boiling water

salt to taste, if needed

Method:

1. Roast the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 180C (360 F). Wash the pumpkin. With a large sharp knife half it and with a table spoon remove the seeds from the middle. Cut the pumpkin into wedges (thumb-wide in their widest part) and peel each wedge. Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray and grease it with the olive oil. In a small bowl combine olive oil, salt and pepper: rub a bit of this mixture in all the sides of each pumpkin wedge. Yes, rub the oil not just sprinkle over pumpkin - it really is the key to the most delicious roasted pumpkin you can get without fussing about additional ingredients. I prefer rubbing the oil in with my fingers so it does soak in the pumpkin. Place the oiled pumpkins on the tray and send to the oven. Bake until soft (about 30 min).
2. Make the soup: If there are any burned edges on the pumpkin, remove them. Then puree the roasted pumpkin in the blender until smooth. Add cream and mix in well. Add as much boiling water as you like to arrive to the texture you want. I prefer my pumpkin soup on the creamy side hence I've added a bit less than a glass. Add salt to taste, if needed. Blend more to the perfectly smooth and creamy texture. Put the soup back on fire to warm it up but do not boil. There is just a bit of cream added yet it may curdle from boiling and your perfect texture will be gone. We don't want tears, we want a good pumpkin soup - so keep an eye on it and remove from the heat just when you spot the first bubble on the surface.
3. Serve: Serve hot with the herb bread.

Herb Bread Recipe

Aroma of the herbs coming from the oven will keep your near and dear glued to the kitchen counter until then can get hold of the yummy bread and eat it to the last crumble.

Recipe is adapted from Zeliha Irez of Zeliş Çiftliği

Preparation time: 15 min

Time in the oven: 40 min

Ingredients (serves 4):

100 g cottage cheese (15% fat)

1 egg

125 g Greek yogurt

50 ml milk

50 ml olive oil

130 g all-purpose flour, sifted

2 tbsp finely grated carrot

finely grated skin of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsbp chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 tbsp fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1.5 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried mint

1 tsp red chilli flakes

1/4 tsp salt

1 bag of baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (360 F).
2. Make the batter: In a large bowl mix in the cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, egg and olive oil and mix well. Then add in the all the other besides the flour and baking powder and mix to ensure they spread out evenly. Add baking powder and gradually start adding the sifted flour to arrive to the texture of thick muffin batter. You don't need to fuss a lot about this batter - it will stay crumbly - and it's the beauty of this bread.
3. Bake: Grease a round metal baking pan (about 20 sm in diameter), transfer the batter there and bake for 35-40 min.
4. Serve: Remove the bread from the baking pan, place on a towel / wooden board and let it cool down. It is best served cold and consumed on the day of making.

Sweet and Sour Home: Winter Fruit Salad with Sea Buckthorn

2010-11-08T12:04:00.009+03:00

I got busy paging through the November issues of Russian food magazines: how to draw a wild duck, roast a leg of goat and make sense of Norwegian salmon.. Russian winter diet can easily starve a vegetarian. There are good news though: November frosts are just right time to harvest sea buckthorn, sour orange in color berries that are a fantastic source of vitamins so needed in winter. So we went picking wild sea buckthorn..

Every time when I come back to Russia I complain about food: I miss the diet I had at a place I used to stay before, I can't understand why supermarkets sell and people buy pears and tomatoes with no smell or taste, and I hate Moscow dining for the ridiculous prices, lack of service and complete refusal of the most chefs to use ingredients of decent quality. In my home town (a little place in Central Russia with the population of 700k) I invariably find out I urgently need ruccola or ginger root and then for days I am trying to catch a sight of them with no luck. I know I am difficult when it comes to food. Ok, I am just difficult.

Yet interestingly enough ..with all my skepticism.. each time back to Russia I find something good to eat and get reasonably happy. During this visit to my home town I discovered a jar of sea buckthorn syrup in the fridge of my parents. The guys have been on a winter-preparation spree and were stocking up with dry plants, frozen vegetables and preserved berries. Apparently, my dad adopted raw eating almost a year ago and now has a great interest to anything that wildly grows in the woods. They told me how they discovered an area close to the Volga river where the wild sea buckthorn grows (as the tree likes sandy soils) and made a trip there to pick up some berries. I knew we are going to make another sally there very soon.

I love sea buckthorn! It really is a gift of nature to the people living in the cold climates. The very color of the berries - bright orange - is like a glimpse of sun that cheers you up on a gloomy day. They have distinctive sour taste yet the sourness can be easily neutralized with sugar or honey if you really want to take advantage of the vitamins the berries have. Sea buckthorn is a great source of vitamin C: with 200-600 mg of vitamin C in 100 g fresh berries it is rivaling rosehip (600 mg in 100 g) - just a few spoons of the berries will cover the recommended daily intake of this vitamin (45-95 mg/day). Besides that sea buckthorn is rich in vitamin E and organic acids. The seeds are used to make oil that has a bunch of healing effects too. I remember how at the age of 9 I was trying to be a good girl who helps mom with ironing and at some point I ironed myself a bit. I still remember a huge bubble of the skin on my hand and the smell of sea buckthorn oil that my mom immediately applied on the burn saying, "It will heal before your wedding" (usual thing to say in Russia). The burn is long healed and the wedding got lost somewhere on the way. Even the all-healing sea buckthorn oil is helpless when it comes to my stubbornness.

No wonder that such a treasure as sea buckthorn is hard to get: the berries grow very densely on a branch, they are strongly attached and the branches have little thorns making it more difficult to access the berries without being pricked. Ideally you need to plan harvesting right after the frosts so you can shake the tree and the berries will fall off on a cloth spread on the ground. Yet the most common way is to cut branches and then pick up the berries from them. This is what we did: armed with gloves, large pruning scissors and a cotton sack we collected some little branches covered with berries. We were careful to pick up only a few short branches from a single tree as removing the entire branch reduces the future crops. What was waiting for us at home was sitting down with the harvested branches and removing the berries with the manicure scissors: no need to say that while my dad lead the harvesting it was my mom who took over removing the berries. Men, and their great plans..that always take a backup of a woman to get accomplished fully.

As the sea-buckthorn harvesting was done we drove to the Volga shore to walk on the sandy beach and marvel the vastness of the magnificent Russian river. With time I got to understand why I felt so happy living by a Norwegian fjord or taking a ferry across the Bosphorus in Istanbul. I grew up in a town located on the two banks of the Volga (look it up, it is the longest river in Europe, by the way) so from the childhood I got the idea that any living space...however urban... should be dominated by the vastness of a large water basin. It gives you a whole new dimension, a getaway from the man-created geometry and craziness of the organized existence. Probably this is why I was never completely happy when living in Moscow or Copenhagen as the rivers and channels there are rather decorative and could not give you the sanity of a large river. Every time I am back to my home town..even if only for a few days..I take a walk along the Volga shore with my parents to chat, to play with waves, to examine the sand, to take photos, to contemplate, and to feel ultimate belonging.

And I actually prefer the Volga by winter when beach is wide, sand is wet yet firm to walk on, colors are pale, people are few and the whole feel is stern.

Volga, sea buckthorn - and, have I mentioned there are no bears walking on the streets as they all got to the hibernation? Winter is just the right time to come to Russia. Pack warm clothes and this winter fruit salad recipe.

Winter Fruit Salad with Sea Buckthorn Recipe

Winter in Russia (and elsewhere) becomes more cheerful with this fruit salad of common fruits available in winter garnished with the fresh sea buckthorn and seasoned with the sea buckthorn sauce.

Ingredients (4 servings):

4 large clementines

4 apples (or easily pears)

4 bananas

4 tbsp fresh sea buckthorn

4 tbsp walnuts

4 tbsp fresh sea buckthorn juice

1 tbsp fresh ginger root juice

4 tbsp honey (buckwheat or chestnut recommended)

ground cinnamon to taste

Method:

1. Prepare the fruits: Peel the clementines, break into segments and remove the white pith and seeds; cut the applies into thin segments, slice the bananas, and quarter the whole walnuts. Tip: you may want to have your clementines and applies chilled and bananas at room temperature - this would give a nice play of textures on your tongue - crunchy and soft, warm and cold.

2. Make the sauce: Squeeze juice of the sea buckthorn by placing them in a sieve and pressing them with a wooden spoon so the juice comes in a bowl you will place under the sieve. Grate the ginger root and squeeze juice out of it with your hand. Mix in the the two juices, add honey and cinnamon and mix well. Tip: if the honey is not liquid enough you can still mix it in with more patience and effort - the acid in the juices will eventually dissolve honey.

3. Make the salad to serve: Mix the fruits with the sauce, cover, shake well for a few seconds - and enjoy! A glass of rose or Soviet sparkling wine to go with this salad would not be a sin: the summer is over only according to the calendar.

Moroccan Food Beyond Couscous: Sweet But Not a Dessert

2010-10-29T12:44:00.003+04:00

When Mehdi announced that his mother and a friend of hers are visiting from Morocco my first thought was - woohoo, I am going to cook with the ladies! After my trip to Morocco earlier this year I can't stop thinking of the delicate flavors I've religiously indulged and elaborate cooking I've witnessed in the country. A chance to experience both this time coming to me was not to be missed.

My first trip to Morocco was conceived as an outcome of a beautiful dinner at a Moroccan restaurant in Moscow that could not be spoiled even by the lousy date. I can hardly remember the guy and all the nonsense he was pouring on me but I will never forget the tender aubergines married with spices in such a delicate way that the flavor unleashed onto my palate slowly, revealing its facets one by one. Before that dinner I thought of oriental spices in the Indian terms of reference - hot and sharp they jump on you and with the first bite you know the taste that will stay with you throughout the meal. However the use of spices in the Moroccan cuisine is different: they are subtle, luring, sometimes even deceiving. Your first bite may offer a savory hint of turmeric but your next one will bring the sweetness of cinnamon and will leave you wondering and wanting more to find out what exactly you are eating. But you should not try very hard to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's when it comes to Moroccan cuisine - leave some room for a puzzle and then you can get to appreciate that, for instance, Moroccan sweet dishes can be served as a main course or that cinnamon is not a strictly dessert spice.

I believe there is more to the flavors of the Moroccan dishes than just marring the ingredients and spices though. The action in a Moroccan kitchen is truly elaborate and it is the attention, care and even a sacrifice involved in the cooking that produce the ultimate taste. Think of the energy that people pass with the food they make: there must be a remarkable difference between an adventurous take on the instant couscous we do in the West and the couscous that has been nursed for a good few hours at a Moroccan kitchen. Mehdi is recalling the times when he was a kid and their mothers used to get together to cook and turn one tasty dish after another. I think this tradition is rather impressive. In the age of useless spending and consuming it should be very useful to remind ourselves that, on the contrary to what the glossies and TV commercials tell us, women can derive pleasure not only from pouring money on something that will be thrown away next season but also from producing something.. something as delicious and eternal as those aromas and tastes. I found cooking side by side with Moroccan women very important to get the feel of the real Moroccan cuisine and food culture. Moreover, as they hardly use any measures in their cooking and rather rely on textures, looks and smells of the food you need to be there to observe, comprehend and well ... record some recipes if you aspire to reproduce those culinary miracles on your own later on.

Seffa Recipe

This modest sweet vermicelli dish combines the merits of a satiating main dish, exciting dessert and a festive treat.

Ingredients (6 servings):
500 g vermicelli
2 tbsp olive oil
200 g almonds, peeled and fried
cinnamon, as needed
sugar powder, as needed

Method:

Prepare the almonds. Put the almonds into the boiling water for a few minutes, drain and then keep under the cold running water to cool. Remove the skin by holding an almond between thumb and forefinger - as you will squeeze the almond the skin will slide off. Once they are peeled fry almonds without oil for a few minutes and then ground to powder in a food processor.
Steam the vermicelli: Prepare the couscoussier; as an alternative you may use a cooking pot and a metal colander that will be placed on top of it and covered with a lid. Seal the joint between the two parts of the couscoussier (or a cooking pot and colander) with a piece of aluminum foil or a cotton cloth dipped into the mixture of flour and water. Put water in the lower bowl and put vermicelli in the upper part; cover with the lid and steam for 10-15 minutes. Take the couscoussier off the heat: transfer the vermicelli into the lower bowl and immediately drain - this trick speeds up the steaming. Transfer the vermicelli into a large bowl, add a glass of lukewarm water and use your hands to gently go through the vermicelli to separate them - continue for a few minutes till the vermicelli are crumbly. Change the water in the bottom part of the couscousier and steam the vermicelli for another 20-25 minutes.

Prepare to serve: Put the vermicelli in a large bowl and flatten on the top. Make the cinnamon net: drizzle the cinnamon in such a way to make parallel lines 4-5 sm apart, then make another set of parallel lines crossing the first ones. Put some sugar powder in the middle of the resulting diamonds and then put a generous serving of ground almonds over the sugar powder. Traditionally seffa is served with a glass of milk and eaten with a fork from a common dish.

Briouats with Rice and Sesame Recipe

Deep-dried pastries with rice and sesame seeds are a wonderful tea-time snack and a side dish to your meal.

Ingredients (6 servings):

500 g rice
3 tbsp butter

7 tbsp sugar
salt to taste
2 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp flour
water

150 g sesame seeds

philo dough (check out here how to make it from the scratch)
vegetable oil for deep frying
cinnamon and sugar powder for serving

Method:

Boil the rice: Put rice in the boiling water and let it intensely boil uncovered for 15 minutes. Drain the rice and put it back on fire. Add butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt and keep stirring until the butter melts and all the ingredients mix in well. Cover and set aside.
Prepare the sesame seeds: Fry sesame seeds for 5-7 minutes without oil continuously stirring until 1/3 of the seeds gets brown. Pour them out on a tray, spread out and ground to powder in a food processor. Mix into the rice mixture.

Make the little parcels: Mix flour with water until the drinking yogurt-like texture. This will be the sealing liquid for the pastries. Cut the filo dough into the 5x25 sm stripes. Take one stripe and put 1 tbsp of rice mixture to the end closer to you. Fold in about 1 sm of the dough from the both long sides. Now start wrapping by pulling the right corner of the dough stripe over the rice - you will get your first triangle. Now with the fingers of your right hand slightly press the the upper side of your triangle. With the pointing finger of your left hand slightly press the apex of the triangle and using your thumbs bend the dough so that the base of your triangle gets exactly over the right side of the dough stripe. Continue in this fashion to the top of the dough stripe and seal the last bend with the mixture of the flour and water.
Fry the pastries: Deep fry in vegetable oil; place the fried pastries on a plate with a paper towel to remove the excess grease.

Final touch: Serve hot drizzled with a mix of cinnamon and sugar powder.

Turkish Food as a Competitive Advantage of the Nation

2010-10-15T18:47:00.000+04:00

As I have started working on the sales pitch to the gourmets interested in exploring gastronomic delights of Istanbul I have naturally stumbled upon a question, "What makes Istanbul or well... the whole Turkey such a prime place to come for food?" It is akin to questioning why Germany is a car making nation, or why Italy is a world champion in the tile production, or why Denmark is an international leader in the wind powered mechanisms. My strategy consulting background has kicked in and I immediately thought of the perfect theory (framework, please) to explain the matter.

It may be ironic that so soon I am resorting to the trade I have just left. I reckon this not only an outcome of my previous job training but also a natural disposition: anecdotal evidences (i.e. stories by my parents) confirm that by the age of 5 I started leveraging frameworks to explain to my dolls why snow falls in winter and making 3-point arguments to tell my parents why I prefer living with a grandma instead of joining them in the moving out. Ever since I have tended to think that such things as frameworks and 3-point arguments can be applied to any situation in life.

So here is the situation, or the case: how come that Turkey has such a huge food and dining industry that makes the country a bombastic place to come and eat at? Believe me not but the answer is easy to find by using a framework developed by Michael Porter (one of the greatest strategy thinkers of our time and a founder of the firm I used to work for). The framework is casually called 'the diamond' as it has four key elements; altogether they explain why some nations are better than the others in developing certain industries. According to the framework, this happens when a country has unique specialized resources, demanding customers, fierce competition and a range of the supporting industries that altogether boost the quality of the provided products and services in the industry in question and hence its overall competitiveness. If I have not ruined your digestion let't go back to food.

Here is the short answer: Turkey has such great food and dining because (1) Turkey has unique combination of history, geographic position, climate and resources that food and catering are thriving on; (2) Turkish customers (=eaters) are extremely demanding as their sensitive tastebuds have been nourished by the loving mothers; (3) Keen competition in the food and dining business in Turkey leaves no room for anyone producing anything less that delicious; (4) Turkey has a bunch of related industries ranging from growing vegetables to making fine copper cookware that help get the best produce and flavors to the Turkish tables. Sounds like a straight A, no? Now let's look over the yummy ingredients of the long answer.

(1) Turkey has unique combination of history, geographic position, climate and resources that food and catering are thriving on

One of the facets of the diamond framework is endowment of the country with such factor conditions that are critical to drive the development of the industry in question. First, think of the Turkish history: the country once was the heart of the mighty Ottoman empire stretching over the current Balkans, Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa. What a variety of cooking traditions and ingredients ingenious to those regions to capitalize on! And so the Ottoman cuisine and then the Turkish cuisine as its successor did effectively turning all those influences into one of the first 'fusion' cuisines known to the world. Political and economic dominance fostered the culinary developments in many ways indeed: the very fact that the Ottomans once held control of the ancient spice trade route did not only allow them charge hefty taxes on the trade but also gave the Ottoman chefs access to the world's finest spices to cook with.

Second, look at the geographic position and climate of Turkey. Taking advantage of the location between the three seas - the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean - Turkish cuisine features an exciting variety of sea food and different takes on cooking it - about 20 ways to prepare anchovy alone are known on the Black Sea coast. Climate-wise Turkey is a mixed bag of conditions ranging from mild marine on the Mediterranean coast to harsh continental in the South-Eastern Anatolia. No wonder that virtually anything grows in the country: as the Turkish government reports, Turkey is estimated to be cultivating about 11,000 plant species which almost equals to the total number of species cultivated in the whole Europe. This does give a mind-blowing variety of cooking ingredients for the chefs to work with at any given season and creates good conditions for the culinary creativity to flourish.

Third, consider specialized resources such as labour and technology. Food and catering in Turkey is by and large considered a career and not a "temporary thing" as in many other countries: most of the people you see making and serving food in Turkey have been doing it for a considerable amount of time. The other day I was watching a man in a spotless white gown with a tie-bow at the legendary Istanbul baklava shop Güllüoğlu in Karaköy: he picked up pieces of the perfect baklava with such as a perfect deftness and arranged them so perfectly in the box that his excellence made me endlessly happy. Turkish food and catering does thrive on such specialists. While Turkish cooking remains a largely labour intensive there is some specialized technology developed to enhance it too: saç, inverted pan for cooking stuffed pancakes (gözleme) or oklava, thin rolling pins to make philo dough (yufka) for borek and balkava. Not to mention such revolutionary Turkish inventions as double tea pot (caydanlik) or coffee pot (jezve) that have been instrumental in maintaing the tea- and coffee drinking culture in Turkey.

(2) Turkish customers (=eaters) are extremely demanding as their sensitive tastebuds have been nourished by the loving mothers

According to the diamond framework if the country has demanding native customers this naturally drives the quality of the product or service: the customers are so picky about every aspect of this product or service that they accept no less than the ultimate excellence - producers and suppliers are left with nothing but producing and supplying it. You will know what I am taking about if you ever cooked for a Turk. While this whole subject deserves a separate post for the purposes of this one I will stick to the relevant facts. Turks do fuss about their food irrespective to the location, occasion and price of the meal. The fuss is mostly about getting the food that tastes exactly how it should and yes, if you ask a local on how a certain dish should be done, you will get a answer that is best digested over a meal. As a Turkish friend of mine mildly put it, "Turks have rather sensitive taste buds". They do which does not necessarily mean that they are looking for most refined, exquisite or even exotic tastes. In the contrary, Turks are rather conservative about their culinary habits (best of luck if you are looking for good international dining in Turkey). What that means is they are looking for the tastes familiar from the childhood - it is the loving Turkish mothers who should be held responsible for raising some of the most demanding kids to feed. But God bless this culinary conservatism of the Turks because this is what keeps their kebabs and baklava tasting heavenly for centuries.

(3) Keen competition in the food and dining business in Turkey leaves no room for anyone producing anything less that delicious

Another element that contributes to the competitiveness of an industry of the country is actually competition within the industry: the more rivalry is out there the higher the pressure for the producers and vendors is to provide the customers with the best in class. It does not take solid expensive market intelligence to figure out how fierce the competition in the Turkish food and catering is: just walk through any commercial district of any Turkish city to find the lanes packed with a mix of providers. Here are street vendors competing for your attention and a few lira you would pay for a quick snack being it a bagel with sesame seeds (simit), a portion of pickled vegetables with bread, grilled corn, peeled cucumbers, fish sandwich or a portion of meat balls (köfte). A more solid deal is offered by the small family-run eateries priding themselves on the dishes verified by the time and the incoming hungry crowds; or local taverns (meyhane) that along with a range of starters (meze) over a few glasses of raki (aniseed alcoholic drink) would offer an spectacular musical performance (fasıl) by a band and the guests themselves. Then there are specialty shops: decades of traditional recipes and generations of loyal clientele have made them shrines where people come to meditate over a kebab or perform a ritual of indulging a chicken pudding. All this still leaves space for finest restaurants featuring fusion influences and the resulting contemporary Turkish cuisine spiced up with a roof-top view, DJ-performace and high heeled guests. How does one compete in such an environment where all the spots are taken? Well, I would open a non-Turkish food restaurant if point (2) did not hold. Therefore the players in the Turkish food and catering business are bound to turn some deliciousness on your plate because if they don't you know they definitely will next door.

(4) Turkey has a bunch of related industries ranging from growing vegetables to making fine copper cookware that help get the best produce and flavors to the Turkish tables

Finally, the diamond framework says that if the country has other industries producing products or services that can become inputs for the industry in question this will help boost innovation and competitiveness of the industry in question. A no-brainer related industry for food and catering is agriculture and agriculture is big in Turkey employing about one forth of the population and contributing about 8% to the country's domestic product (GDP). In the more practical terms, you can witness the roots and shoots of the richness of the Turkish cuisine as every season you will find local markets bursting with the local produce of the sun-nursed-n-caressed fruits and vegetables, ripe cheeses, dry and fresh fruits and nuts. The local stuff I buy in Turkey is clearly different from the Turkish imports I find in Russia - I am not sure whether the warm of the sun and the rich aroma vanish during the transportation or they have never been there for the food stuffs that Turkey imports. Here in Turkey the story is different: I laugh when I hear organic because many farmers here have never thought that their crops could be anything else. With this kind of supply you would create some of the world's yummiest dishes too, would not you?

Another interesting example of a related industry for food and catering is ... coppersmithing. Availability of the copper and its excellent head conducting properties make it a great material for a wide range of cooking utensils that have bee traditionally used in the Turkish cooking. You will surely see those beautiful hand-made bowls, plates, cups, trays, cooking pots and serving dishes in the shops and markets that have been used from the Ottoman times until the present day. Now think how coppersmithing has been helping Turkish cooking over the centuries: how a chef would come to purchase an item from a coppersmith and then come back with the suggestions on how to improve that item to make it more "user-friendly", as we call it this day. Or that coppersmith sharing his knowledge of the material with the chef to help the chef use and maintain that item in a better way. This is exactly what we call innovation nowadays and exactly what has resulted in the superior taste and texture of the Turkish pilav traditionally cooked in a copper pot.

Now, tell me you are not sold and have not booked your flight to Istanbul yet? Or tell me I have missed something and I will make sure to include the reasoning to convince you better?

Turkish Cooking Challenge: Backstage of the Weekend Brunch Scene

2010-09-19T16:13:00.005+04:00

Like any urbanite I have developed a taste for weekend brunches. There is something incredibly decadent yet utterly pleasant in lazily getting out of bed, pulling on jeans, favorite t-shirt, cardigan and a scarf for the ultimate casual chic look seasoned with uggi / rubber boots / converses / ballerina flats (to the liking and the actual season) and finding out that after the night our your red nail polish still goes and the hair get easily arranged into an artistic bun. All set for a brunch with friends.

In Moscow my favorite is Correa's - their fresh bread and pastry are among the best in town, fruit salad is out of this world and the whole fare is very honest which attracts crowds of the like-minded Moscovites and expatriates that come as couples (my British friend Kate - hey, darling! - have said once that brunches are for people who have sex), small groups of friends (here Kate's logic fails actually) and families with kids (well, she was right).

I must say that the segmentation of the brunch crowd travels across the borders as the same mix could be observed on the terrace of Zeliha Çiftliği (farmhouse), an hour drive away from Istanbul en route to Ankara. Today though I got to experience the backstage of the weekend brunch scene. I kept the converses but the rest of the casual chic had to go and were replaced with an apron (which I was told looked quite chic on me but well..) - we were turning the largest brunch buffet I have seen in my life to about 50 guests. If you get to see (and taste) this greatness you'll understand what makes the Istanbullus to sacrifice the weekend morning sleep and head out to the hills of Sapanca or come the night before for a yummy dinner and to be first in line for the breakfast.

Let me start: the buffet table gets filled with the bowls of dry fruits and nuts: pistachio, walnut, hazelnut, almonds, peanut, different types of raisins, dry apricots, figs, caramelized pumpkin. Then an army of homemade jams in the little vases is arriving: kiwi, lime, wild strawberries, raspberries, quinces, figs - and are joined with the tahini paste and grape sauce (which make a great mix) as well as honeys. Then comes a tray with the jars of cheese and olives marinaded in the olive oil and herbs. Now the forces are strengthened with the plates of halved boiled potatoes and eggs seasoned with the olive oil and paprika flakes and herbs, sliced fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, deep fried wrinkled peppers and slices of aubergines served with the sauce of fresh grated tomatoes, cheese platter featuring a dozen of varieties. Ah, I should not forget fresh fruits: triangles of fresh watermelon and a bowl of fresh apples, grapes, figs just picked from the garden. The pastry menu offers immortal white bread Turkey would not survive a day without, sesam bread rings, small bread pocket-looking cookies with shining tops, toasted cheese börek with the luring crunchy layers, kurabiye shortbread and a chocolate cake with almond flakes and chocolate sauce served on side - all is freshly baked in the morning. Now kaymak, homemade yogurt and pieces of butter served on the ice. This would not be complete without a bowl of menemen, Turkish take on the scrambled eggs with green chillies and grated tomatoes that is eaten with bread. All this will be washed down with endless glasses of black tea or Turkish coffee if you wish.

I would definitely come here as a visitor later on - just to sit on that terrace with that unbeatable view, share the endless breakfast and contemplate. But for now I have been busy getting my hands messy with cutting, mixing and passing when asked, juggling the dishes (even when not asked) and getting some insights into the life of a restaurant employee. The truth is that you actually get to work when people eat: well, it is great they do and if you work in a restaurant you must rather appreciate the fact. The sad consequence of that truth is that you end up missing your normal meal times. Like today the kitchen action started at 7 am while we got to sit down for a quick breakfast around 11 am once ensured the guests have enough food and plates and everything and have not started asking for more yet. Because I have what one smart lady helped word as "body that can't sustain long without food" I need to snack pretty often. A piece of cake and a fruit and a glass of tea here and there just do not help. By 4 pm as I did the last round of dishes I realized I did not have a proper lunch nor that I could care for one with such a heavy feel in the stomach. When I worked with a vegetarian chef in Sarajevo I did not have this problem as food was prepared as per order (not in bulks) and was mostly cooked uncovered to fasten the process: the outcome was that the kitchen was permanently fool of really exquisite smells which I find so filling that I don't actually need to eat. Here the smells are short-lived as they quickly get lead-covered, canned, packed into the containers or fridge-stored so I am surviving on the tea and the mercy of my colleagues that bring assorted impromptu bites and encourage me to try them "Ye, ye! Eat, eat!"

By the late afternoon the place got quiet and serene at its best: I took a liberty along with my camera and tripod to explore the hidden corners of the large house, the unfenced autumn garden with fruit trees of an indefinite area. I have picked up a few apples, pears and figs from the ground - they were perfect in their ripeness as they just fell down and have not started rotten yet. These were the best best fruits I have had for a long time. Plain yet very rich flavor of the fruits and the view over the hills across the lake just a step away from the kitchen made me immediately forget the hundreds of dishes and cutlery items I've handled today - God save the brunching crowds and make them come back for more! İnşallah!

Vegetarian Travels to Sarajevo: Groping Your Green Way Through the Cevapi Smoke

2010-09-12T21:45:00.007+04:00

Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is known to most of the world because of the war or the film festival and was hardly ever spotted among the key European destinations where you travel for food. Or well...among the places you travel to at all?

The city right now is living interesting times: as the presence of the international aid organizations helping the country address a range of the post-war issues has been decreasing a whole generation of young Bosnians who have been developing professionally with those international organizations has emerged. Besides that Bosnians who left during the war have come back or their children are coming back now to rediscover their roots: as they return they bring the bits of the traditions and cultures from the countries that once were home for them. All this makes Sarajevo, a city otherwise shielded from the outside world by the surrounding hills, an interesting place to be and not at least in terms of the gastronomy. I believe it is just a matter of time and one day the Bosnians will learn to do justice to their wonderful grapes and market their excellent white wine Zhilyavka, to introduce visiting vegetarian gourmet to the delicious cheeses produced in Central Bosnia and translate the glorious selection of fruits and vegetables into the delicious vegetarian treats served in the restaurants. But then you will be competing with the other hungry traveling vegetarians for a table at a small buregdzinica, a pie shop, or reservation at a trendy restaurant with a hip take on the grandma's food, the prices will go up and Sarajevo will become yet another trendy European destination to travel to and eat at. Those who are not happy with the leftovers should come and discover Sarajevo first-hand really soon.

Restaurants

It will put it upfront as I don't want to create any illusions: traditional Bosnian cuisine is not particularly vegetarian friendly. Often times vegetable soups are still seasoned with some meat, vegetables are stuffed with meat and the local chefs are not jumping off their aprons to deliver to your table the vegetarian dishes their grandma cooked. Yet you should not get intimidated by the smoke of chevapi, grilled meat sausages, as you walk along Baščaršija, the historical centre of the craft and commerce of this old Ottoman town. There are a lot of interesting and delicious finds around to please the tastebuds of a traveling vegetarian gourmet. As some of the best places are well hidden be prepared to ask for directions from the owners of the nearby businesses: people of Sarajevo are so helpful that they would often walk you down to a spot where you could easily see the place if not already smell it.

ASDŽ, Mali Curciluk 3, tel. +387 33 238 500. Ašcinica is a traditional soup kitchen serving "spoon food" that a Bosnian grandma would cook. Confess, before you thought that all the Bosnians were born and grew up with a mouthful of chevapi? Not exactly so. The vegetarian counter here features a couple of vegetable pies, rice and vegetables, bean stew, a few fresh salads and traditional sweets - any dish seem to get served with sour cream (pavlaka) for the extra heartiness. For the price and presentation the food is surprisingly eatable which explains the crowds of the hungry locals and tourists stopping by.
Bosanska Kuća, Bravadžiluk 3, tel. +387 33 237 320. Just as the Lord works in mysterious ways you never know where you find your vegetarian happiness. If your hunger has attacked you on the way through streets of Baščaršija lined up with chevapi shops look out for a place with the proud sign "Steakhouse". Bizarrely enough the place with such a name features one of the largest in town vegetarian fares with a good dozen of simple dishes to choose from: soups, salads and stuffed peppers or aubergines are served with delicious somun bread.
Delikatesna Radnja, Obala Kulina Bana 10, tel. +387 33 20 55 51. Urban trendy hangout with a cafe/bar and a restaurant side by side. As the format demands the menue is a combination of Italian and Asian wok dishes with only a few vegetarian options. The ideas of the recipes are great and the ingredients are at their freshest but something is lacking in the execution - maybe the small plates (I mean it, the plates, not the portions) or maybe some of the ingredient combinations. The food is still good but the chefs could have gone little more wild - the bill sort of assumes that. The wines are excellent and so is the service.
Dveri, Prote Bacovica 12, tel. +387 33 53 70 20. Coming to Dveri is like visiting your grandma: the food is yummy but there is always too much of it. The place is a summer house full of discoveries and countryside feel: bunches of garlic and dry red paprika hanging on the wooden washed down furniture, rustic clay and wooden tableware. Food is yummy, homemade and hearty yet the vegetarian options are only a few: cheese plate, vegetarian soup with poached egg, tomato soup and stuffed eggplant served with fresh vegetables or grilled summer vegetables. Selection of homemade lemonades is wonderful and the puffy buttery bread is famous. Just one things leaves you wondering - how can anyone charge such a premium for a fairly straightforward deal.
Karuzo, Dženetića Cimka bb, tel. +387 33 444 647. Heavenly corner of gastronomic revelations that come out as delicious vegan, vegetarian and sea food dishes. Some of the most creative starters, salads, pastas and deserts in town are found here and they happen to be vegetarian and vegan - you gotta kneel down to the mere fact if you are touring the Balkans. The menu is a mix of Mediterranean and Asian cuisines: think salad of pears and goat cheese, cream of orange and carrot soup, tagliatelle with fresh beans in the cream sauce, pancakes stuffed with spicy chickpea paste and seasoned with tahini sauce, or olive oil ice-cream for God sake. Portions are huge yet you can always ask a doggy back. Great wines and warm welcome complement the worthwhile meal and make you come back.
Moja Mala Kuhinja, Josipa Stadlera 6, tel. +387 61 144 741. It is exactly what the name suggests: a small kitchen of a Bosnian celebrity chef Muamer Kurtagić that seats about 15 people who come to eat great food and watch the cooking live. There is no menu: the day specials depend on what was fresh on the market plus you could ask for a "Surprise me" dish which makes it perfect for the vegetarian travelers tired of grilled vegetables. The preparation techniques and flavors are geared towards the Asian cuisine and result in the truly enjoyable dishes. No alcohol served.
Maroko, Vladislava Skarica 3, tel. +387 33 232 855. Recently opened cool place where locals head out for a special occasion. Interiors styled with mosaics, tiles, draped curtains, cushions on the sofas along the walls, numerous lamps with subtle light, a fountain and flamenco-inspired arabesque tunes - all suggests a relaxing dive into the Middle Eastern delights. Morocco-purists may get disappointed that the menu is a mix bag of the Middle Eastern specialties and the authenticity of the flavors is arguable. Vegetarians still will get their soup, salads, hummus, muttabel, salads and Lebanese bread that the local chefs have found to make a good base for pizza which they prepare too. Yet the food is still good and it provides a little break from the traditional Bosnian fare in Sarajevo. The service is excellent and the waiters are anxious to meet all your requests.
To be or not to be, Cizmedziluk 5, +387 33 233 265. This tiny place is recommended by the only Bosnia-dedicated guidebook in English which makes it really popular with foreigners. A vegetarian eater will hardly get excited by the variety on the menu that features veggies in soup, on grill or as a sauce for pasta and risotto - yet the food is excellent and is worth the wait! Homemade cake or chestnut puree are wonderful deserts not to be missed either. Unfortunately as the little place tends to get packed you can't expect much attention. Well, then just be.. and eat!
Vegehana, Kemal-begova 4, tel. +387 33 215 699. Cosy little place makes a popular lunch spot for the Sarajevo young and vegetarians of all kinds. The core of the menu is a day offering with a soup, main dish, two side dishes and a salad for a bargain price of 10 BM; they also do vegetable burger, sandwich, quiche and cakes as good takeaway options. The menu is inspired by global vegetarian cuisine with a good balance of veggies, nuts, beans, tofu and seitan and food is a no-fuss honest deal. No alcohol served and it is a smoke-free oasis in Sarajevo - after a few days in the city you will get to appreciate this fact alone.

Specialty Eateries

Some of the vegetarian treats in Sarajevo take such a special place in the Bosnian stomachs that the shops selling them have become institutions. Pay a visit to one of them, get a yummy bite and don't get discouraged by the seemingly hostile looks of the owners and staff at those shops - after all they are on guard of the national food security by keeping the old gastronomic traditions alive.

Pita: Unlike in the neighboring Croatia where burek stands for the whole class of phyllo dough pastry burek in Bosnia refers only to the meat pies while the rest of the pies are called pita. Traditional pitas in Bosnia are conveniently called by the "staring" ingredient in the filling: hence sirnica comes stuffed with cottage cheese (mladi sir), zeljanica combines spinach and cheese, krompiruša features potatoes and tikvenica is stuffed with zucchini. Bosnian pitas are shaped as huge snails fitting into a round tray or as smaller ovals with a few coils.

Where to taste? Bosna, Bravadžiluk bb, is the most reputed buregdzinica in old Sarajevo and the word about it is passed from a visitor to visitor. A plate of the steaming hot, moist and deliciously greasy pastry coated in the sour cream (pavlaka) works as a filling breakfast, quick lunch, casual dinner or takeaway at any time of the day.

Somun: Bosnians have their own take on pita called somun, traditional yeast flat bread. The top of somun has a characteristic "grill net" print as right before sending the bread into an oven the bakers work with a thin metal rod wrapped into a cotton cloth to beat the bread backward and forward and thin it. As somun gets baked in a very hot oven it puffs up during the baking which makes it very convenient to stuff with chevapi and serve with a variety of foods. In fact once you get a fresh piping hot somun it may never make it to the table at all as you'll be munching it all the way through.

Where to taste? Look our for a sign "pekara", or bakery, or even better - follow your nose. There is a pekara in every neighborhood and as you head off the old town up to the hills you'll increase your chances to get a really good somun the locals indulge.

Boza: The origins of this refreshing drink made of fermented millet go back in time to the Seljuqs, the ancient Turko-Persian dynasty, that popularized the drink across the vast territories they once ruled. In old Sarajevo bozadzijas, or shops that made and served boza, had a critical role to play in maintaining social equality, no more no less: young and old, aristocrats and common folk, rich and poor would all be served equally at a bozadzija where they all would come for the refreshing drink.

Where to taste? Tip Top, Safvet-beg Bašagić 6. You are lucky as a century ago you'd be running after a guy with the brass containers of boza attached to his waist and now you can find the treat at the fixed address where brothers Begtesi are continuing the family tradition and serving boza along with the sweet offering of halva, kadaif, hurmasica, tahini halva and much more.

Sweets and Desserts

A trip to a sweet shop in Saraevo is an important routine: to have a sweet or not to have a sweet is not a kind of question you should be puzzled with in Sarajevo. The questions would be what, when and where - and here are a few tips.

As elsewhere in the Balkans in Sarajevo you will find the best of two sweet worlds - the European cake heritage and the abundance of the Oriental sweet delights. The cakes are usually heavy on chocolate and sugar - lighter fruitier cakes only start making it to the Sarajevo cake scene; kremšnite is a must to try Balkan vanilla and custard cream cake. As for the oriental desserts (many of which are actually vegan) you should look out for rahat lokum (jellied candies that come with flavors of many fruits and nuts), Bosnian baklava (sheets of phyllo dough with grounded walnuts baked in syrup), tulumba (fried batter soaked in syrup, tends to be much larger than its Turkish counterpart), tufahija (walnut-stuffed apple stewed in water with sugar), chestnut (kisten) puree served with whipped cream and something in between a dessert and a power snack - zito sa slagom (wheat with whipped cream), or boiled and ground wheat with sugar, walnut, nutmeg, and whipped cream as a topping.

Badem Butik, Abadziluk 12 and Titova 34. Sweet Alladdin's cave of Sarajevo selling dry fruits, nuts, seeds, exotic corns, sweets, bonbons, herbs and spices. Check out their superb lokum flavored with hazelnut, sesame, pistachio, fruits, rose and vanilla; they also have excellent power bars with dry fruits and nuts. In such a shop you'd expect very sweet service yet this is exactly there the problem is: Badem has the rudest staff in the whole Bosnia - maybe the owner should consider sweet-therapy to the ladies.
Becka Kafana (Viennese Cafe), Vladislava Skarića 5. If you are looking for the cake perfection in Sarajevo head off to Becka. This Viennese cafe with the Old Europe feel, dark furniture, noble textiles and gorgeous chandeliers serves a variety of coffee drinks with a range of liqueurs and syrups, fresh juices, ice-cream and a selection of wonderful chocolate cakes.
Egipat, Ferhadija 29. This iconic confectionery shop with tiled walls and metal plates features cakes with cream toppings rising up as the high hair of your grandma on an old photograph. They also do the oriental fare of baklava, tulumba, kadaif. Egipat ice-cream is legendary - you will hardly find anything close to that complex flavor and creamy texture miles around.
Vatra, Ferhadija, 4. The place will knock you down with the elaborate menu of cakes with a small description for each. Everything you can wish for and many more things you had no clue about can be found right here - what about Top Cake EU Mix or Reform Walnut Cake? In summer they spray water over the plats that fence the summer terrace which virtually creates a cool oasis in Sarajevo on a hot day.
Sweet Corner. Here I mean not the coffee shop called Slatko Ćoše but virtually a corner of Sarači and Gazi Husrev-begova streets that host two traditional sweet shops - Demirovic and Ramis and Dallas just a lane down. Great people watching, traditional sweets and cakes and old town feel in either of the places.

Coffee Shops

Sarajevo is next to only Zagreb and Belgrade in the keen consumption of coffee and cigarettes. You will have no hassle to find a coffee shop that serves Turkish coffee that comes on a tray with the djezva, glass of water, sugar cubes and a piece of rahat lokum or the regular coffee fare. The million-dollar question in Sarajevo though is where to get some good tea?

Sevdah Kavana, Halaci 5. There is perfection in the world and its evidences could be found in this little serene tea garden with the best selection of organic herbal teas in Sarajevo including thyme, clove, rosehip, elder, linden and more - for the ultimate pampering the tea is served with honey. Besides they offer traditional homemade Bosnian sherbet and homemade sweets. In case you come hungry you should try a small serving of buckwheat fritters served with kajmak, cheese and divine plum jam that will make up for the breakfast or lunch you have missed. All this will be indulged to the sounds of vintage recordings of beautiful sevdah, traditional Bosnian love songs, as the cafe is located in the inner yard of the House of Sevdah, or Sevdah music heritage museum.

Self-Catering

Fresh and picked vegetables and fruits, fresh bread and a great selection of cheeses and dairy products should not be missed by any vegetarian foodie traveling to Sarajevo: whether you are getting your breakfast or a quick bite snack or you are doing a long-list grocery shopping you'll find yourself in the heaven of the freshest foods and organic produces. The most glorious place for self-catering in the center of Sarajevo is around the Markale Market. The market itself has vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs (look out for the herbal teas) and honey. Conveniently enough right next to is there is a supermarket: you can hang the bags with your purchases as you enter and fetch the remaining items from the shop. Don't rush though: across the street you'll find Pekara Nina with decent fresh bread and as you'll continue along Mula Mustafe Bašeskije street leaving Markale to the left you'll see a yellow building which is Sarajevo shrine to the dairy products: go sample all the numerous varieties of mlady sir (young cheese), kaymak (clotted cream) and Travnicki sir until you find the very flavor you like. Compose your cheese plate, place a warm comfy somun next to it and bite in the ripe buffalo-heart tomato that is, not without a reason, is called paradajz in Bosnian.

Cooking Vegetarian Iftar for Ramadan

2010-09-03T18:36:00.005+04:00

The day of glory has come: after a month and a half of kitchen hopping in Croatia and Bosnia I have got one at my complete disposal for a day to create a vegetarian dinner for a friend. The trick was that the dinner was to be an iftar, an evening meal breaking the day fasting during the Holy month of the Ramadan.

Spiritual Origins

Since the beginning of Ramadan which found me in Sarajevo I had been fascinated by the variety of festive dishes of all nationalities served throughout the Holy month for iftar. So I have convinced Mehdi, a (or shall I say, THE?) Moroccan foodie in Istanbul to risk it with me when I come and get a proof that a vegetarian fare can fill a hunger after a day of fasting. The deal was that I would cook a vegetarian iftar and do the fasting for that day too.

To get started on my research I had pout together a round-up with a mind-blowing collection of mouth-watering photos and recipes with the vegetarian Ramadan specials from around the world. I had also read in the Ramadan and fasting to understand the rationale, routines and customs. What still remained a mystery to me was how women do their shopping and cook the meals during the fast: it seemed that with no opportunity to taste the food you are making and severe hunger you must be a very skilled cook with quite a stamina to spend hours for food shopping and preparing the evening meal.

On the day of the presumable glory and celebration of the human spirit rising high above the physical needs I woke up feeling miserable. My day was born to the sound of rain and voices of the people and vehicles occasionally passing by the backstreet: I felt home-sick, discouraged and hungry. I was late for my morning yoga practice too. It felt like not getting up at all - I was embracing that illusion that if I didn't take an effort to start the day the rest of the world would not either and the day would not start at all. I wished!..

So this was my regular relocation sickness that invariably kicks in after a first few days at a new place and knocks me down to bed, to my most coward thoughts and to the previously hidden corners of my conscious. It was not easy to leave Sarajevo as after the three weeks there I got to feel rooted into the place: I got to briefly work with a very talented vegetarian chef and hone a range of skills from parsley chopping to wine glass polishing, I got to know people who would invite me to their houses and home towns, I even had got my vendors for cheese, figs and vegetables - my Bosnian staples. Life was not bad at all if not economically viable. But then the time had come to get headed for Istanbul - my most favorite city in the world for which I had been saving so many plans and cravings.

Once I have arrived with all the experience and ideas gathered throughout my Balkan travels I found an initial alienation or even awkwardness that happens between the long-distance lovers when they eventually meet up. The warmest welcome from Mehdi, my friend and a wonderful host at Ahmet Efendi Evi, made me feel a looked-after guest and I have assumed the comfort of a familiar role. Yet I have not come to be a guest this time and the thoughts have started a wild dance: Have I come to the right place? Have I gathered the courage good enough to accomplish the planned? Maybe better stay in bed today..and tomorrow.. But hey, I have created all this buzz on the facebook when announced my plans to make a vegetarian iftar. Plus I have been planning a blog post about the experience. But also... well, I appreciate when Mehdi introduces me to his guests and friends as a food blogger and photographer but it was high time to give him a bullet-proof evidence that I actually cook well too. These thoughts have quite sobered me and got me going: a yoga practice, a brave no to the breakfast and I am off into the rain and the grocery shopping.

Hungry Cook

Large supermarkets are definitely alive and kicking in Turkey as people have less time for shopping. However unlike in some other countries they hardly affect business of the specialty shops as the Turks are too smart about their food not to appreciate the places that sell the best in class produce. Every time I visit Turkey I make sure to embrace the experience of visiting a range of the specialty shops instead of loading your car trunk with the finds from Carefour or Migros. In each neighborhood you find a bustling market with the specialty shops clustering around: as I stay in Sultanahmet I head out to the market near the Yeni Camia just outside of the Spice Bazaar. This time I have got a block of pungent goat cheese from one vendor and a pack of marinaded black olives from another one, I have bought huge moist dates from a shop selling dry fruits and nuts, then I headed out for the freshly ground clove and ginger and a bottle of rose water from a spice specialist; I have spotted a guy with a small stall featuring plump purple figs and I have got a kilo of those. Finally I invaded a greengrocer and have stocked up with tomatoes, small cucumbers, red bell peppers and bunches of aromatic parsley, dill and mint. Wow, I felt so good about knowing where to go for best ingredients, throwing in a few Turkish words in the conversations and getting the best ingredients for my vegetarian iftar.

Meanwhile I was thinking how easy it was to keep fast on a rainy day: abstaining from food till the dawn is really not a big deal but coping with the thirst may become a real struggle on a hot summer day. Couple of times I've noted an unpleasant sensation of the dry throat but as I was really pre-occupied with my shopping mission the feeling had gone away quickly. Once again I've figured that our body is self-regulating system: as you get hungry you get some saliva that moistens your month and curbs your thirst. You just need to properly hydrate yourself during the iftar and suhoor (pre-dawn meal) to carry on throughout the fasting day.

Ok, shopping was easy. As I got back to the kitchen I reviewed the menu to prepare the ingredients and organize my working space. The meal would include the dates to break the fast, soup, salad, main course, a bought desert and a non-alcoholic drink to enjoy throughout the evening - the idea is to have a rather longer meal and be kind to your body that has been starving the whole day and can easily freak out if you feed everything it has been craving for at once.

Vegetarian Iftar Menu

Succulent Medjool Dates
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup with Dill
Fattoush Salad with Sesam Bread (Simit)
Couscous with Caramelized Onions and Figs
Milk Desert with Rose Water and Nuts
Moroccan Mint Tea

I have been adventurous enough to include the recipes that I have not tried before as a part of the challenge. The red bell pepper soup was a pure improvisation: I love the taste of the roasted red bell peppers so I pureed them, added lemon juice, olive oil, sprinkled with fresh dill and sent to a refrigerator to cool down. I played around fattoush by adding sesam bread instead of pita and parsley dressing instead of pomegranate. For the couscous I've used the recipe from a cooking class I did in Marrakech and I cooked in a couscoussier, a proper vessel of two pots what come on top of each other and the upper one has holes in its bottom to steam the couscous; what I twisted though was the the regular caramelized onion and raisin garnish and I played with onions and figs instead. I have figured I would never beat the Turkish dessert makers with the centuries of family traditions so the rose-water pudding called gullac was bought rather than home made. Also as I got a large bunch of mint but not too many lemons to make a lemonade the resort was to make Moroccan mint tea to accompany the meal: the key trick for making such tea is to press the fresh mint leaves down in the kettle so that they are covered by the the boiling water: that way they don't burn, become brown, or unpleasant in taste.

As you cook without tasting food you attach more importance to the other aspects beyond taste - such as aroma and texture: I knew the couscous would not get wrong as long as the broth I was steaming it over was aromatic and the couscous was wet and crumbly. I have also realized that cooking without tasting makes you more organized in the kitchen - you can't lick your fingers after you clean a dish or fix something liquid and you gotta have a towel hanging out of the pocket to whip your hands. Interestingly enough, you get better with chopping as you cant just eat out the unfortunately cut parts of a carrot - they are better be cut finely or trashed. It also occurred to me that it may be easier for a woman than to a man to fast in the traditional settings when she spends most of her day fussing around food: that way you don't feel deprived and sort of in control of the eating time even though you basically organize yourself to get food on the table by the dawn.

Savoring

As the calls for prayer from different mosques fill in all the frequencies we are all set and ready to start the dinner by eating dates, drinking a glass of water and offering a prayer. -Where is the soup? - Mehdi asked
-Here it is! - I pointed at the tiny glasses filled with a scarlet paste inside.
-Ah! - Before I knew he headed out to the kitchen cupboard and came back with salt, pepper, walnuts - he seasoned the soup with all that and fetched a piece of bread from the fattoush salad, tiered it into smaller ones and threw in the soup too. I was left speechless with the realization that the soup was rather a "miss" and I still have got a long way to go to learn combining ingredients and textures. As I got to try mine - tasty but too plain indeed. The fattoush salad was wonderful though and the amount of parsley and olive oil seasoning was just right. Well, in the spirit of constructive criticism Mehdi suggested olives and walnuts could have been a nice addition too.
- If I don't add salt and pepper to my food it is good, - he still complemented. Few cups of Moroccan mint tea later we got to couscous: placing on the plate some couscous then carrot, squash and parsley from the broth, caramelized onions and a grilled fig on top. Well, the grilled figs may have been a cool idea yet the presentation did not work as they wrinkled soon after I took them out of the oven. Plus despite my stubborn determination to grill figs I figured the raw ones could have given the dish a richer texture and flavor. As we were eating I realized that there were no more comments from Mehdi. Eventually he announced (yes, it was for the record, Mehdi) that impressively enough I had managed to get the taste just right. I was happily tucking away a bowl of güllaç. So as the Lent comes I would be expecting no less than a proper Lenten borsch to be cooked for me, huh?

Sneaking into a Bosnian Kitchen: Bosnian Sirnica Pie Recipe and Making Perfect Phyllo Dough

2010-08-27T20:41:00.009+04:00

Burek, or a phyllo dough pastry, has got such a vital importance for the national diet in Bosnia and Herzegovina that its making and eating is institutionalized through the specialty joints called buregdzinica. Buregdzinicas are the shrines that keep the traditions of making the treat according to the recipes dating back in years and make them available to the hungry crowds.

Unlike in the neighboring Croatia where burek stands for the whole class of phyllo dough pastry burek in Bosnia refers only to the meat pies while the rest of the pies are called pita. Traditional pitas in Bosnia are conveniently called by the "staring" ingredient in the filling: hence sirnica comes stuffed with cottage cheese (mladi sir), zeljanica combines spinach and cheese, krompiruša features potatoes and tikvenica is stuffed with zucchini. Bosnian pitas are shaped as huge snails fitting into a round tray or as smaller ovals with a few coils. Either way making these pitas call for Olympic dough rolling skills as the phyllo dough sheets are over two meters in diameter. From the moment I have seen the pitas in Bosnia I have been dreaming about sneaking into a kitchen where the pitas are made to watch the miraculous phyllo dough rolling.

Having followed my nose I found myself at the kitchen of a family-run motel in Smajkici in Herzegovina. Smajkici is a little village in Podvelezje, a platou between the towering peaks of the Velez mountains, some 30 minute drive from Mostar in Herzegovina. The village was totally destroyed during the war, rebuilt anew and makes an attractive mountain getaway from the oven-like Mostar in summer. Sunce (translated as "sun") is a guest house by the main road in Smajkici that has been luring in the travelers with farm holiday experience, mountain walking, herb picking and homemade meals featuring simple tasty countryside treats and house wine. Mevlida, the wife of Ismet the man behind the guest house, is the woman behind the kitchen. As she is cooking the evening meal for the guests I am watching her and making a small talk using the mix of Bosnian, Ukrainian and Russian. Through the conversation I am learning about her son studying in Mostar to become a veterinarian and she finds out that I do have parents back home who are comfortable with me traveling on my own. I am excited by how we can actually could have a conversation using a mixed bag of Slavic words and once we start talking about cooking it becomes even easier to understand each other. At first Mevlida is puzzled as she finds out my vegetarian preferences but relaxes when I say that her soup and sirnica, the cheese pie, would make just a perfect dinner for me.

As she is working I am observing her no-fuss kitchen pantry: a large table for making pies stands right in the centre of the kitchen, stalls with bowls and baking trays with each one of them having its specific role and purpose - no sign of extravaganza, gas stove, an old oven, sink and refrigerator; large paper bags of flour, bottles of sunflower oil, cassette of eggs are the essentials I spot around as Mevlida uses them for the home made bread and pitas that she makes every day. Food items are not stored if they can easily be picked up - for instance, we walk together to the kitchen garden just to pick up a few leaves of fresh parsley for the soup that Mevlida is making for dinner. She also has a few jars with spices and as earlier we went for herb picking with Ismet I am intrigued to find out whether she uses any mountain herbs for her cooking. Yet as many women in Bosnia and Croatia Mevlida swears by Vegeta, a mixture of spices used to season virtually any dish, which gives Bosnian dishes such a familiar flavor of the homemade food. Interestingly, there is no Vegeta in sirnica, Bosnian cheese pie, but the unbeatable flavour of the homemade food is there - miracle, no?!

Sirnica, Balkan Cheese Pie, Recipe

Ingredients (6 servings):

For the phyllo dough:

1 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

4-5 tbsp sunflower oil

350 g flour

For the filling:

500 g cottage cheese

3 eggs

salt to taste

cornmeal

Method:

1. Make the dough: In a medium size bowl with high sides pour in water, add salt, sunflower oil and some flour. Stir energetically with a wooden spatula into a pancake dough. Continue adding flour and stirring until you get soft dough. You may need to add more water or flour as you go. Now put the spatula aside, put some flour on your palms and start kneading the dough with your hands rather energetically - you are going to make a very well-knead dough. The phyllo dough has to be very elastic to be rolled into paper-thin sheets: the longer and more energetically you knead the more elastic dough y ou will get. For better kneading try to knead pressing the dough with your right palm against the left palm, occasionally throw the dough against the kneading surface with an effort and shake the bowl with the dough so the dough hits the sides of the bowl now and then. Grease a stainless container with sunflower oil, oil the dough ball and place in the container. Close the container, shake horizontally for the dough to take shape of the container. Put in the refrigerator for a few hours - best overnight - this will make the dough more elastic.

2. Prepare the filling: whisk the eggs, add salt and cottage cheese and whisk together - the filling will naturally be crumbly. Set aside.

3. Roll the dough: Preheat the oven to 200 C. Since the sheets of dough are traditionally made huge - about 2 meter in diameter - you need some creativity to get it done at a regular kitchen. Originally Bosnian women use a large table covered by clean cotton towels or sheets and a meter long wooden rolling pin. You may try your dining table or... I heard that some women in Bosnia spread a tablecloth on the floor. You may still divide the dough into smaller parts and go one by one if there is no way for you to go bigger - that way you will come up with smaller portion pies instead of a large one. This is how to go about the rolling. Sprinkle some flour on a tablecloth, place the dough from the fridge in the middle of the table cloth, flatten it with your palm slightly and start rolling into a very thin sheet.

Once you get about 3-5 mm thick sheet place the rolling pin on the edge of the phyllo dough closer to you, hold it in the middle and start coiling the dough rotating the stick outwards. The idea is to hold the rolling pin in the middle, coil one layer of the dough and then then smoothen the dough on the rolling pin by gliding your fingers apart, place them back in the middle and repeat until the whole sheet of the phyllo dough is coiled on the rolling pin. Now roll the pin with an effort, unroll the dough and repeat the procedure a few times. Sprinkle the flour now and then on the working surface so the dough does not stick. Another trick to master will be to coil half of the dough on the rolling pin, lift the pin holding it by one of the edges and while keeping it horizontal wave it as a flag for the dough to get even thinner under the own weight. The ultimate step is to spread the paper-thin dough on the towels and gently pull the edges to make them as thin as the rest of the dough sheet. It is not a major problem if the dough tears at the edges as it is so elastic and stretchable that during the pie-making you'll be able to "mend" it.

4. Make sirnica: Now we start making the pie. Drizzle the phyllo dough sheets with some oil and grounded corn. Plan your sirnica in such a way that the roll for one pie will be about 60 sm long. Sprinkle about 3-4 tbsp of the filling along one of the edges leaving about 5-6 sm on the outer side. Now fold the dough to cover the sprinkled filling with the remaining 5-6 sm of the dough; then slightly lift the edges of the tablecloth from the side of the dough sheet closer to you - the move will push your roll forward: let it make make 2-2.5 complete circles, cut it from the sheet and form a mega-sized oval snail. Place on a greased tray and continue with the rest of the dough. Bake at 200 C for about 30-40 minutes - use a toothpick to check if your sirnica is ready.

5. Let it Cool Down and Serve: Incline the tray to remove the excessive amount of grease, sprinkle some water over the sirnitca, use a brush to oil the top with the sunflower oil, cover with a towel and leave to rest and cool down for some time. Be patient: I remember my grandma doing the same with her yeast-based pies and we tried to sneak in, secretly uncover them to admire the mouth-watering toasted beauties and would get scolded for this as we were interrupting a really important process of the pie resting. So, don't be a kid and find a better thing to do while waiting for a pie to settle, cool down and come together - technically the cooking process is not over until the steam is inside the pastry. Once the pie is cooled you are good to go - traditionally sirnica is served with sour cream on top or a glass of yogurt.

Vegetarian Iftar: Ramadan Recipes from Around the World

2010-08-20T20:54:00.008+04:00

Sarajevo these days is very much in the Ramadan fasting mode. The busy streets with čevap joints and coffee shops in Baščaršija have become quieter and are mostly frequented by the tourists; people start queuing to the bakeries after 6 pm to get somun, special Ramadan flat bread, for their iftar (evening meal that breaks the fasting).

All the shops feature boxes of imported dry dates on the most visible spots as the dates have a special place in the Ramadan diet and are eaten to break the fast as well as finish the iftar; in the late afternoon families could be spotted heading to the houses of their other family members to cook and share the evening meal - they are carrying bags of small gifts and vegetables for cooking and women are covered from head to toe in the nice fabrics and colors of their festive dresses; every evening the Ramadan cannon fires off about 8 pm signaling the time for the evening prayer and iftar. From my observations as opposed to the Orthodox Lent the Ramadan fasting is a very communal matter. During the Ramadan after abstaining from food and drink for the whole day you get together with your family members and friends to eat and celebrate the holy month while for those observing the Lent it always appears more of an ascetic personal struggle. I would like to try fasting for Ramadan once but this year I have just used it as an excuse to remind myself and the others about the wealth of the light vegetarian dishes served during the holy month and sourced from a wide range of countries where Islam is practiced. I am making this post to celebrate the gastronomic multiculturalism and emphasize the fact that the many vegetarian treats we know from our travels also have an important festive and religious meaning to the people living around the world. I have browsed through a wealth of the food blogs for an inspiration and happy to share the amazing finds - do check the links for the recipes and interesting reading. And Ramadan Mubarak!

Vegetarian Iftar Recipes from Around the World


Turkish pide bread is baked only during the Ramadan: it looks like the summer sun and has beautiful dimples. Hungarian Gyor has traded this recipe for the recipe of Hungarian goulash and as far as I am concerned she has got the real deal.	Naan is yeasted flat bread popular in Pakistan and Afghanistan and no Ramadan meal in these countries is complete without a few loaves. We are lucky to get hold of the naan making insights right from Kabul on Afghan Cooking Unveiled.

In Tunisia you would break fasting with leblebi, a chickpea soup. It is such a vegetarian treat as featured by The Well Seasoned cook and well... it is well seasoned: rich in flavor and nutrition it will be a definite reward after a day of fasting.	Moroccans have their take on a cheek-pea soup called harira: besides the chickpeas they use green lentils and vermicelli for this hearty vegetarian dish. It is brought to us right from the food stalls of Djemaa-El-Fna in Marrakech by Chef in You who has also photographed the cooking process step-by-step.

Recipe of the immortal Turkish red lentil soup along with insights into the world of professional chefs' tricks are shared by the Canadian ladies who have attended my most favorite cooking class in Istanbul.	Iranians break their fast with Ash reshteh, a noodle soup with herbs. Its seems intuitive that the best recipe can come only from My Persian Kitchen staffed with the knowledgeable cooks and consultants.

Samosa is a triangle-shaped stuffed pastry that would be an integral part of iftar in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Balgladesh. Eliza gives step-by-step instructions to stuff and wrap samosas so nicely that from a simple street food items they turn into quite elegant dudes.	Börek is a filo-dough stuffed pastry known from the Ottoman times. It comes is a part of the appetizer iftar platter in Turkey and on regular day it is a glorious vegetarian snack. A mouthwatering recipe is shared by the Sound Indian by origin Reshmi.

Festive, vegetarian, Middle Eastern - can a dish get any better? Ful medems is Egyptian treat of mashed brown fava beans with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Magda is sharing a video recipe too.	However stereotypical but true: Lebanese would not miss savoring delicious hummus during the iftar. Among many takes on this vegetarian favorite I have found the olive hummus that comes from...you've guessed it!..Dallas and the Cooking Weekends.

There is no summer iftar in Lebanon without a bowl of fattoush, vegetable salad with pieces of pita bread that was originally invented to make goof use of the bread leftovers and has become such a festive dish: light, colorful and delicious. There is even a melody in this one by Ali, a musician from the Kansas City.	Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern salad based on bulgar wheat. It’s filling and has a bright, fresh flavor from the mint, tomatoes and lime juice. Jen from the Kitchen Addiction re-thinks it and adds chickpeas and artichokes for the ultimate filling summer meal!

Mujaddara is a Middle Eastern rice and lentil pilaf. Learn to work wonders with humble ingredients and check out the recipe by Culturally Confused who serves mujaddara with tomato sauce for the ultimate summer touch on this vegetarian Ramadan dish.	Such a festive meal as iftar can't get more festive as with flavorful and colorful couscous from Morocco. The Kalyn's kitchen took a poetic license and created a masterpiece: whole wheat couscous salad with persimmon, grapes, green onion, mint, and pine nuts.

Qatayef Asafiri are sweet stuffed pancakes rather symbolic for the Ramadan time: to spare you a trip to Damascus (there are no many reasons to spare a trip to Damascus, though) find out the most authentic way to make them and check out the recipe by Anissa Helou.	Turkish deserts supremely high-on-sugar become more subtle during the Ramadan when you can eat güllaç, a milk desert with a delicate touch of rose water - Hulya is sharing all the intricacies of making this delight.

Basbousa is a Middle Eastern sweet widely served in Ramadan: it is a delicious almond semolina cake often cut into little diamonds. One piece by one and the whole tray is gone! No worries - Fun and Food teaches you how to make more.	Dates are not only eaten raw to break the fast but provide inspiration for a range of deserts and sweet bites. Anne from Simple Easy Recipes has got inspired and sharing the outcome in the recipe of the Easy Dates Squares, a nice sweet bite for Ramadan.

Divine and refreshing sharbat is a milk drink from India and Pakistan which is popular for family gatherings including the Ramadan ones. Exotic Aooh Afza Syrup, cardamom seeds, almonds, cashews and pistachios - are you still with me? Why? Immediately got to Pham Fatale for the recipe.	Another wonderful drink served for iftar on the Indian subcontinent is lassi. Made from yogurt, seasonal fruits and spices it is truly unforgettable - I would travel there again just for a glass of lassi! Meanwhile, the splash of flavours (and colors) is coming from the Purple Foodie.

Vegetarian Travels to Zagreb: Štrukli and a Piece of Cake

2010-08-15T22:34:00.011+04:00

Zagreb finds itself on the crossroads of the Eastern and Western, coastal and inland, traditional and international influences which are all felt in the city gastronomy as well: Austro-Hungarian passion for pasty and baking combined with an Eastern take on it results in both strudels and bureks receiving their following, Mediterranean-inspired fine dining goes side by side with the family-run konobas serving the hearty fare, local take on pasta called štrukli successfully competes with Italian fettuccine or Chinese rice noodles. Vegetarian travelers, get ready: you will be neither be starving nor surviving on the staples in Zagreb and here is how.

Restaurants

Prepare yourself for a simple yet delicious meal: most of the restaurants in Zagreb will try to take best of the available seasonal ingredients which definitely shows in the quality of their food. As a vegetarian you would often find satisfying to order a cheese plate that features best local cheeses, including the famous Pag cheese that is made on the island of Pag and owes its distinctive sharp flavour to the milk of the sheep pasturing on the salty grounds of the island exposed to the northern bora wind. Another vegetarian starter would be one of the seasonal salads - try Šopska salata made of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and white cheese. For the main dish you should sample štrukli, or baked sheets of pasta with cottage cheese and cream. Grilled vegetables and vegetable Italian fare including pasta, pizza and risotto - this is how far the attempts of the local eateries to cater to the vegetarians go. As a rule of thumb you should stay away from the touristy areas as good restaurants in Zagreb like in many other cities in Croatia tend to clutter off the key tourists landmarks. True gems should be searched for - and found!

Nova, Ilica 72/1. The only vegan restaurant in town and would probably be hard to market as such in the capital of the meat-eating Croatia. So the place comes under the concept of macrobiotic food which is a big buzz in Croatia right now. The menu is vegan with strong Asian influence and features a set of balanced nutritious dishes based on legumes, vegetables, rice noodles, tofu and seitan. They also have a selection of Yogi tea and refreshing house ice-tea with a slice of lemon. Organic beer and wine are served. The dining here is not really cheap but the ambiance is rather tranquil with 30-40 something health-conscious crowd enjoying their meals and conversations. To complete the package there is a macrobiotic food shop downstairs and a yoga studio nearby. Closed on Sunday.

Ivica i Marica (Hansel and Gretel Restaurant), Tkalčićeva 70. From the first sight it looks like a piece of Bavaria with dark wooden furniture in a wooden cottage house. This feel is only accentuated by the English version of the restaurant name. By don't get discouraged by the looks - they do very decent vegetarian salads, pasta and štrukli. Homemade raspberry juice is a highlight. The place proudly announces itself as the only restaurant with the certified organic food in Zagreb. Great deserts and excellent service.

Zinfandels, Mihanovićeva 1 (Regent Esplanade Hotel). This finest of the fine dining places in Zagreb has a limited vegetarian selection but you will never regret going for this gastronomic pampering. Expect a symphony of flavours, shapes and textures boldly combined and creatively served in the quantities that are right to appreciate the taste and get ready for the new one. The chef from Malta is doing wonders with the Mediterranean cuisine: buffalo heart tomatoes souffle, corn crisps with sesame, goat cheese panna cotta with peppered raspberries and olive oil ice-cream are just a few of the specialties. The wine list is excellent too. Topped by the outstanding service and experienced waiters this place becomes so heavenly that you'll forgive them for not being really a vegetarian sanctum.

La Bistro, Mihanovićeva 1 (Regent Esplanade Hotel). It's an elegant Parisian bistro with the Art Nouveau and Art Deco stylized interiors. It has much simpler dining than Zinfandels but you will still enjoy French classics as well as the regional and seasonal specialties. Le Bistro does arguably the best štrukli in the country and French desserts of mousse-au-chocolat and tarte-aux-pommes are just superb.

Self-catering

While Zagreb may boast some of the Croatia's finest eateries eating out is still not a common practice here: you will see lots of locals hanging out for a coffee outside but most of their meals will stills be cooked and eaten at home. Private accommodation is a popular choice among the travelers to Zagreb and the local offering is substantial which makes self-catering a rather viable option and vegetarian travelers specifically will have a blast with self-catering in Zagreb. When choosing a flat make sure it is strategically located next to a good farmer's market or a supermarket.

Dolac Market, North of Jelacic Trg. Even if you have intention to do self-catering when you find yourself in the middle of the food stalls in Dolac you'd embrace the idea totally. Join the local crowd of the fashionista women in summer dresses and hats and fathers of the families getting off a tram at the Jelacic Square in the early morning and marching with their trolleys to the legendary Dolac market. The fruit and vegetable stalls are over the steps from the flower section; here you will also see cheese vendors with a variety of home-made cheeses (sir) of various ripeness from cheep and goat milk as well as sour cream (kiselo vrhnje) and cottage cheese (svjezi sir). For more diary products as well as honey and herbs head down to the covered market underneath the stalls; there you will also find there a wealth of the bakeries which are located amidst the butchers' stalls - the market planners obviously had no vegetarian sentiments. While browsing through the stall you will get lots of encouraging smiles and "Izvolite?" ("yes, please", "what would you like to get?") from the vendors yet be sure to look around for prices and quality, touch and possibly sample before you start amassing brown paper bags with the day freshest produce. Open daly, 7 am - 3 pm.

Fruit and Vegetable Market at Britansky Trg is a mini-version of the Dolac market that turns into a busy flea market on Sundays. You will likely to get the same variety as in Dolac - just that you will have less choice in quality and prices. Open daly, 7 am - 3 pm.

Konzum Supermarkets (Some of the centrally located stores include Trg Kralja Tomislava 12; Petrinjska, 38; Trg A. Starčevića bb). The largest chain in Croatia where you find most of the packaged food you may fancy. I recommend exploring the diary section with abundance of sour milk products, dry nuts and fruits, as well as cheeses. When everything else is far away or closed their counter with salads and bakery and a fruit section will come to rescue and feed your vegetarian hunger.

Snacks

You should totally take advantage of the flourishing baking traditions and stop by a pekarna for a strudel that is much more hearty than its Austrian brother: stuffed with fruits, berries, cheese or poppy seeds (or sometimes all the listed!) they make a power snack. Beyond many recognizable items you may also spot gibanice, a pie that may feature up to nine (!) layers of assorted stuffing. Also check out paprenjaci - pepper bscuits made with honey, walnuts and black pepper - a Christmas treat that could be found throughout the year though. For a more substantial snack that comes in between the morning coffee and lunch in the afternoon the locals head out to a shop selling bureks, a layered filo dough pastry stuffed with meat or cheese, the dish found in the countries that had experienced the Ottoman rule at some point. (bakery) for a freshly baked bite. Zagorie region is famous for its baked goodies!

Dinara Bakery, Ilica 71; Dolac Market. There is a chance you will get stuck while choosing a baked goodie as the selection is mind-blowing. Some of the suggestions to help you navigate the variety: Zlevanka – a flat cake made from corn meal mixed with cream and fresh cheese, Bučnica – filo pastry with pumpkin, Saftkorn – a yeast-free rye bread with a sweet taste and a bio-yogurt bread.

Burek, Trznica Mala Terasa Dolac 2. If a short menu is a sign of a good eatery than this place is uber-good because its menu is ultimately short: burek with meat and burek with cheese. Ah, and you could have a glass of yogurt, that's it. The locals religiously stop by the place en route to Dolac and just passing by and by the happy faces of the leaving clients you could say that you have not gone wrong either.

Daily Fresh Gourmet Food & Coffee (Maksimirska 3, Frana Petrica 1, Massarukova 23). This food chain brings to Zagreb the concept of an easy-going international urban dining. It features many options for breakfast, snack and light lunch: honest pastry and cakes, salads, sandwiches and pies of all nationalities, fresh juices and coffee. They also have a wonderful ice-cream at the outside counter.

Sweets and Deserts

Slastičarna, or literally a sweets shop, has an important place in the Zagreb gastronomy scene: it's a place to pumper your kid or a friend, take a break from shopping, stop by before heading home after the day in town and pick up some sweets for the family and on any occasion or without any - treat yourself to a cone of ice-cream. The traditional ones tend to have an ice-cream counter front and marble decorum. Here you can eat cake and ice cream, drink coffee, soft drinks and sometimes alcohol; confectionary shops often tend to be non-smoking places. You can't go wrong with any cake or pastry here but make sure to try kremšnite, or "cream slice", a vanilla and custard cream cake. Don'r refuse the glass of water you will be offered with any order - sweet is really sweet here.

Vincek, Ilica 18. The city's favorite place for ice-cream features a plethora of flavors and has been catering to the happy customers for over twenty years. You can get takeway, eat by a stand or take a seat and enjoy the same offering in the cafe settings inside.

Centar, Jurišićeva 24. Some swear by its ice-cream - check out if you will be converted too.

Cafes

Kavana, or a coffee shop, will probably be the first type of a food-n-drink related institution you will get to see in Zagreb. You will soon find out though that these places have very little to do with food and drink and are much more about socializing, pastime and people watching. It is a place where you go in the morning to order a cup of black coffee with ice-cold water to have over a newspaper or in the late afternoon to chat with a friend. There is usually lots of smoking attached to the ritual so beware. Kavana will have a selection of coffee, bottled beverages, ice-cream and maybe a limited selection of cakes. Unfortunately, fresh juices and milk shakes are rare. There are so many coffee shops throughout the town that you may pick one just based on the color and style of the chairs which seem to be the most differentiating feature of theirs. The most happening streets packed with the coffee shops are Gajeva with classy cafes, respectable public and street musicians (what about the Pink Panter soundtrack played on a saw?) and Tkalčićeva with more eclectic easy-going places.

Vegetarian Staying Sane in Croatia: Soparnik, Croatian Swiss Chard Pie

2010-08-10T19:40:00.004+04:00

I was having yet another plate of grilled vegetables. Well, grilled vegetables in Croatia make a definite treat as the dish is invariably made from freshly picked wonderfully tasty vegetables. Only that I had nothing else to choose from the meat-n-fish loaded menus of the Croatian eateries. Well, pasta, pizza and risotto were also good but the fact that bugged me a bit was that I came to Croatia and not Italy.

I have this bold idea that every cuisine in the world has some vegetarian tradition and I am really keen to explore it while traveling to a given country. So for me it is not about surviving as a vegetarian traveler but about taking the best of what the local cuisine has got to offer for a vegetable-eater. The idea sounds very reasonable if you think of it: people have always cultivated plants anywhere from the above-the-clouds Himalayas with the modest crops of potatoes and wheat to the warm Mediterranean blessed with the vegetarian outburst in the gardens and fields. Also, vegetarian food is usually the cheapest to grow and make so while the festive meals of many regions tend to be meat-based there must be lots of vegetarian options for the daily fare. So thought I when coming to Croatia. I got even more excited when I visited a few local farmer's markets that looked like a merry celebration of anything that grows. And with all that I ended up miserably - eating my grilled vegetables at the restaurants as their greatest tribute to the Croatian vegetarian cooking. Their silent message was kind of "Go to India if you are so vegetarian, you know". I have surrendered and started practicing raw eating - given the ripe peaches, the heat and me being on the move all the time I have quite enjoyed it.

Eventually I have come across a person that gave me hope and brought into life vegetarian foundations of the traditional and contemporary Croatian cooking for me. As I was looking through the scarce hits as I googled for "cooking classes in Croatia" I found a website of family-run guesthouse Villa Pape in the vicinity of Trogir, a small Romanesque town protected by the UNESCO . The website was promising: they spoke of cooking traditions from the various regions of Croatia which they were happy to share through the regular meals, degustations and cooking classes. I called Ira, the host, and she said she cooks lots of vegetarian food and would be happy to host and teach me. This was the only reservation that I made during my no-plans-no-reservations trip: I was only happy to twist the dates in my initial itinerary just to get a free room at theirs. My "follow your nose not your itinerary" approach has proved serendipidic as I found out later on.

The reception of the villa is a spacious airy room housing the kitchen and the dining hall and Ira jokingly says that she is lucky to be meeting all those interesting people from around the world at her own kitchen. There is a magic to this place - maybe it is Ira's tasty food, maybe it is the yoga and reiki that she practices and that form the peaceful aura in the house, maybe it is a well-thought through planning of the house and its interiors by Boris, Ira's husband, maybe it is the incredible hospitality of them both. The combination of the reasons has made the place my safe gastronomic heaven in Croatia. As we spoke with Ira, I found out that generally healthy eating movement is rather strong in Croatia: there is a big fuss about the macrobiotic food; there is a vegetarian society and there is a big following of a a renown author George Mateljian, Croat by origin who has written a truly encyclopedic book on the world healthiest food. I ended up spending hours at Ira's kitchen: discussing a recipe of a new treat she made for breakfast that day (she makes it a point to include in the regular breakfast she serves to her guests every morning at least one homemade treat), watching her cook, getting messy with the dough-making myself, noting down recipes and ideas, drinking wonderful wine from the wine-producing areas around, eating what's been cooked, listening to the stories and narrating mine. I've observed this binding effect that cooking has on people last time we made Ukrainian dumplings with my colleagues at the office - it seems that cooking always creates enough space for a conversation, cooperation and sharing. Ira says, "Women are used to sharing recipes with their sisters, mothers, neighbors and friends. We have been doing it for ages". In this spirit of sharing I am happy to pass this recipe to my readers.

Soparnik Recipe

Traditional Croatian Swiss chard pie with a crunchy top is light, easy to make and a definite vegetarian treat craved for by many locals.
Recipe courtesy of Ira Degmecic-Rakic

Ingredients:

For the filo dough:
500 g unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
water of room temperature

For the filling:
1 kg Swiss chard (can be replaced with spinach)
2 large onions, chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
salt
white pepper

Method:

Make the dough: Put the flour into a large bowl and mix in the salt. Start adding water while continuously mixing the dough with a wooden spatula; add the oil. Once ingredients start sticking together start kneading with your hands. Knead this dough really well until you come up with into a smooth texture that does not stick.
Make the filo sheets: Divide the filo dough into two equal parts. Sprinkle some flour on the clean table surface and start rolling the first part: your target is a 2 mm thick sheet of somewhat round shape. There is a procedure to help the rolling: from time to time you can lift the dough with the tops of your two fists facing each other and gently rotate the dough by turning the thumb of the right fist apart and pulling the dough with the left fist - kind of a knitting motion. Alter this procedure with the rolling until you come up with the target thickness. Spread the cotton towels on the table and transfer the rolled dough on them. Stretch lightly to thin the edges that they tend to remain thicker. Repeat with the second part of the dough. Leave to dry for at least one hour.
Prepare the filling: Preheat the oven to 200 C. Wash the Swiss chard and chop. Cook in salty water for 2 minutes to remove the excess acidity, drain and leave to cool. When cooled completely drain as much of water as possible by squeezing the leaves with your hands and place. In a large bowl mix the cooked drained Swiss chard, chopped onion and garlic. Add little bot more salt and pepper than you would usually do - the filling needs to be rather spicy.

Make the pie: Oil a large baking tray with low sides. Cut about 1.5 sm of the thicker edges of the both sheets of the rolled dough and place one sheet of the rolled filo dough on the tray. Transfer the filling and evenly spread on the dough sheet leaving some 3-5 sm of the edges free. Now roll inside the remaining edges as if closing the pie. Cover the pie with the upper sheet and bend in its edges under the pie carefully. Now press the edges tightly to make sure the pie is well sealed - you end up with a round parcel.

6. Bake the pie: Bake for 30 minutes. Once done take soparnik out of the oven and spread some olive oil on it with a paper tissue. Serve warm or room temperature.

How to Prepare and Serve Turkish Coffee Bosnian Style

2010-08-07T02:10:00.014+04:00

Interestingly enough I am writing this not from Turkey but while visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina. Well, a short and sweet romance does not question the long-term commitment, right? After the first cup of coffee in Mostar and a stroll down the medieval quarters of once Ottoman-ruled town I fell in love with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mostar used to be just a tiny settlement with 19 houses before the Turks came in the 15th century. The Ottomans built the town to take advantage of the fertile valley separated from the Adriatic coast by the Dinaric Alps. Mostar soon became a strong commercial center trading with Dubrovnik and other coastal cities in the Dalmatia: fish, olive oil and linens would be carried inland while wool, meat, honey and oats would be shipped to the coast. The name of the town comes from word "mostari", a bridge keeper, since the 20 bridge the Ottomans built across the Neretva river played a key role in connecting various parts of the town and sustaining the trade. Once the Ottoman empire weakened the Austrians took over and later after the Second World War Mostar became a part of Yugoslavia. The town was heavily destroyed by the bombing during the recent war and the signs of the tragedy are still very visible throughout the city. Luckily for the tourist crowds hungry for impressions and discoveries what remained and was restored in the old city make for a very atmospheric medieval Ottoman quarters.

Here you can wonder along the bazaar lanes stuffed with goods (just for the sake of the atmosphere let's ignore the fact that the caravans these days come from China), humbly walk barefoot on the furry Oriental carpets of the small mosques, sit on a low bench at the old Turkish house and marvel the deep emerald waters of the Neretva river flowing under your windows, walk back and forth the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), listen to ezan, or call for the prayer, and endlessly sip Turkish coffee - black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love. The way they serve it here in Mostar is as authentic as the remaining bricks of the old Ottoman houses. I have had quite a few of cups of coffee before I found the place which does it perfectly and they were happy to share the Bosnian coffee making wisdom.

How to prepare Turkish coffee - Bosnian Style

This coffee is brewed in a džezva (or cezve in Turkish), a tiny copper narrow-necked pot with a long handle. Here in Bosnia and Herzegovina they use individual džezva which is different from Turkey where džezva comes in various sizes to cater to a number of guests. As for the coffee itself Turkish coffee does not refer to a particular kind of coffee beans but rather to the way to roast and ground them: very fine ground (finer then espresso) is used for Turkish coffee. Here is how they go about it in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Bowl fresh water in a kettle.
Put three table spoons of ground coffee in the džezva and pour in about 30 ml boiled water over it.
Put the džezva on the moderate heat and cook by continuously stirring the coffee the trick is to let a thick foam to form but not to let the coffee boil. Once done - put aside for half a minute.
Add more hot water to the džezva and serve.

How to drink Turkish coffee - Bosnian Style

While the preparation may be just a shortcut to the much more complex Turkish method the way they serve coffee in Bosnia and Herzegovina has nothing to do with shortcuts: it is a ceremony that can't be rushed and requires all the seriousness to accomplish.

Your coffee will come on a tray with the džezva, fildžan, a tiny bell-shaped cup, a glass of cold water, two large sugar cubes and a peace of Turkish delight on a tooth stick.
Start with stirring the foam in the džezva until it turns caramel color, skim it and put into a cup. Gently lift the džezva and without much shaking pour out the coffee in your cup. Make sure to leave a rather solid layer of coffee in the džezva: the coffee grounds at the bottom may be good to tell fortune but no fun to drink.
To be ultimately authentic you should drink your coffee by dipping the sugar cubes in it and eating them; it is ok to let the sugar dissolve and sip sweet coffee rather than eating coffee-dipped sugar.
Allow the coffee grounds to settle to the bottom of the cup and sip gently. If fact, you should not hesitate to slurp as the coffee is hot plus slurping in a known technique used by professional tasters - the mixture of air and the coffee will let you feel the full aroma in your mouth with very small quantities of coffee.
Hold fildžan by the outer rim otherwise you may burn your fingers. Sometime the fildžan is served in a copper holder to keep your coffee hot - it should remains on the table when you sip our coffee.
A piece of Turkish delight, or rahatlokum, is a wonderful laconic addition to your coffee.

Happy coffee drinking and I am off for a cup of mine.

Secrets of Olive Oil and Istrian Farmers' Breakfast

2010-07-31T02:35:00.007+04:00

My next destination was Istria, a peninsular on the northern Adriatic coast of Croatia that used to be a under the altering rule of the Romans, Franks, Venetians, Austrians, French and Italians until 1945 when it was finally handed to Croatia. The ambitions of the assorted conquerors are easy to understand once you see the Istrian seaside with clear blue waters and pebble-stone beaches and its interiors with hazy rolling wooden hills.

Istrian Colors, Smells and Flavors

Here they call it green and blue Istria: green Istria comes with its fertile lands producing olives, grapes and other fruits while its lush woods hide truffles and wild asparagus; the waters of blue Istria are good not only for swimming but also make a habitat for fish of all sorts, oysters or spider crabs.

I came to Pula, the administrative center of Istria, in the early evening to find the ancient Roman town saturated with the heat and humidity.The Triumphal Arch of Sergius (27 BC) in the pre-sunset sun made for a luminescent dreamy scene as if setting up the stage for the movie festival held in the ancient amphitheater as the posters around the town were announcing. As I got off the bus I entered a scene from a movie featuring Provence or Tuscany with vintage-styled lighting, saturated yellow tones and a bit of haze. I was so taken aback by the feeling that I nearly slipped on a something that appeared to be a crashed fig. I looked up and saw a fig tree and I burst into a laugher - I adored the fact that something I could only buy in Zagreb was growing in such an abundance in this land. Then I saw gigantic purple burrs that looked like a multi-magnified version of the ones I saw at the Dovec market in Zagreb. But far more striking than all the visual impressions was the aroma of the place: the air was like a rich sauce where the smells of the sun-dried grass, warm green leaves, sweet plants and coniferous trees have been simmering in the thick salty humid sea air and getting stirred by the light breeze. It was Istria - green and blue coming together.

That night I went to a highly recommended restaurant Kantina set up in an old cellar of a 19-century Austrian-Hungarian villa: the food and wine did not disappoint indeed but the major gastronomic revelation was delivered to me in a glass jar with my cheese platter and a selection of breads. I was served an outstanding extra virgin olive oil with a delicate taste of green olive and a glimpse of freshly cut grass and mild bitterness making for a youthfully bold and seducing flavor. I have asked the waiter about the oil and he said that it comes from a local producer who supplies the restaurants. This sounded like an beginning of an interesting quest.

You Can Always Come Back to Your Mother and Your Olive Tree

The Istrian tradition of olive oil making dates back to the ancient times when it was brought to the area by the old Greek and Phoenicians and during the Roman times the best olive oil was actually produced in Istria. The production was supervised by the emperor himself and all Roman emperors owned an olive-grove in Istria. Interestingly enough, Istria is the most northern region in Europe where olives grow: just a few steps up north and you won’t be able to find any olive tree any more. Istrian soil is very appropriate for olive cultivation and there are two major olive oil producing areas in Istria - down south around Vodnjan and up north-west around Motovun and Umag. Most of the land in the inner Istria was abandoned by the Italians who left after the Second World War and then by the many Yugoslavs who left their country to avoid oppression and poverty. Only in the last 10-15 years Istria saw people coming back to live here and cultivate the land. Many olive groves were destroyed during the times of Mussolini who was keen on growing corns instead (sounds familiar as Khruschev was also keen on cultivating corn crops in the USSR). Yet the people who have came back are now growing the olive crops with their own efforts and some government support and taking particular care to cultivate the indigenous sorts of Istria such as bjelica, karbonera, buža and žižolera. No wonder that the olive trees in Istria have survived the wars, conquests and eccentric politicians: with the exception of low temperatures olive trees can tolerate pretty much any conditions: in fact the oldest tree in Istria aged at nearly 1700 years old is found on the Brioni Island near the Istrian peninsular and even today it bears fruit.

It is time for the first-hand experience of the beautiful olive oil produced in the region and with the help of Ozren, guru of Istrian gastronomy and tourism professional, we visit the showroom of Meloto brand produced by the Belci brothers. Matteo Belci narrates the story of his father and uncle who have started the olive oil production. Nowadays the family has 8 ha of the olive groves and produces about 1,800 kg extra virgin olive oil per year specializing on the indigenous sorts of the olives. Matteo gets to the explanation of the production process. First, the olives are hand-picked using a wooden ladder called shkalun that is leaned against the tree. Apparently, the skin of olives tends to absorb the substances it interacts with and if machines are used to first shake the trees and then gather the olives from the ground the olive oil gets pungent taste as the olives have absorbed substances from the soil. When hand-picking olives for the Meloto oils the family sticks to the ratio of three fourths of the green olives and one forth of the black olives: while larger share of the black olives increases the oil yield it is also detrimental to the taste as the black olives have started fermenting. Briefly after picking the olives go through the cold pressing: lead time in the olive oil production is very short - if the olives were picked in the morning you will have a a bottle of the freshly made olive oil by the lunchtime. Generally, the younger the oil the better: unlike with wines olive oil does not improve with age and it will never be better than it is in the year of its production. Matteo explains that good olive oil has to be carefully chosen to accompany food and there is a science here akin to wine pairing: for example, fresher lighter oils will go best with fish while more pungent ones should be selected for meat dishes. I have asked if the family of Matteo produces coupage, or mixture of different sorts of olive. Matteo replies that mixing different sorts of oil is a job of a chef who is striving to obtain particular taste while the job of the oil producer is to let the taste of each specific sort to pop up and come out at its best and purest.

Science and Art of Olive Oil Tasting

The comparison of olive oil with wine is not random: there is a whole industry behind olive oil standards, professional tasters and competitions. Two key qualities that the olive oil gets assessed on are taste and smell. Interestingly enough, the color of the olive oil tells nothing about its quality and the professional olive oil tasting is done with blue glasses so that the color of the oil does not influence the opinion of judges. Professionals assess key seven characteristics of the olive oil taste: sweetness, olive taste, grass, apple, fruit aroma (fruitiness), amount of bitterness, and intensity of the oil’s pungency. A spider-net chart is then drawn for each oil to reflect its grades on the various characteristics: the charts for better oils look more rounded indicating the balance of all the key features. So, we start the tasting. Matteo is pouring out a small quantity (about 1 tbsp) of the first oil into the cups. Each of us takes the cup in one hand and covers with the other while swirling the oil a bit - the oils needs to get some heating for the aroma to release. After a minute or so we uncover the glasses and inhale the aroma. Here comes the pleasant fresh green aroma of buža olives. Then we take a small sip from the cup: you should do it with some slurping to enrich the oil with air that helps spread the oil throughout your mouth. Now rest your mouth for a second and gently rob your tongue against the palate. After that inhale some air through the half-closed lips still not swallowing the oil and repeat the trick a few times. Eventually we swallow the oil and I note down its delicate taste of green olive with the glimpse of freshly cut grass and green apple. Then peppery sensations come from the back of my throat - this is what professionals call as "pungent taste". Eventually the flavor comes back to my upper throat with nice bitterness. What an oil! We wash our mouths with water, you can also have a bite of apple which is also good for palate cleansing during the olive oil tasting. I recommend this tasting exercise to anyone: try a regular version of a supermarket extra virgin olive oil and my bet is you will soon be looking for a specialty shop nearby to replace the product you have been using. At least in my case this tasting session has brought my standards of good extra virgin olive oil to the heights that will be definitely pleasing my tastebuds and hitting my wallet. I do envy Istrians as good extra virgin olive oil is among the staple foods in the region: you will get it served with freshly baked bread, cheese platter, fresh vegetable salads, over grilled or sautéed vegetables, ice-cream and what not! The question is whether there is a situation where extra virgin olive oil will not be appropriate. Well, I have learned that actually extra virgin oil oil is not good for cooking as if you hit extra virgin olive oil above 350 °F (177 °C), the unrefined particles within the oil get burned which leads to deteriorated taste and possible toxicity. In all the other cases you can hardly spoil a dish by adding some high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Here is one of those cases: let me share the recipe of a mind-blowing breakfast dish traditionally eaten by the Istrian farmers that Matteo has prepared for us after the tasting.

Traditional Istrian Farmer's Breakfast Recipe

This uber-simple recipe calls for the highest quality ingredients and provides a balanced nutritious start-of-the-day meal that has once kept the Istrian farmers fit for their day fieldwork. Even if you don't work in a field - a merry and productive day is guaranteed!

Ingredients (1 serving):

1 egg

2 tbsp high quality extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

fresh oven-baked bread of choice

100 ml red wine

Method:

Boil the egg for 1 minute. Peel the egg and release into a whiskey glass.
Add the extra virgin olive oil and mix with the egg: no need to whisk it, the substance will not get homogeneous and there is no need for it to - hey, it is simple farmer's food. Add salt.
Enjoy by dipping the pieces of bread into the egg and oil mix.
The fun part comes ones you finish the dish but there will be something left on the sides of the glass: pour in some red wine, swirl the glass, wash down your breakfast and have a glorious day ahead!

Eat to Beat the Heat While Traveling

2010-07-23T01:56:00.043+04:00

At this point I had planned to be sharing my juicy stories from Croatia where I have started my three month gastronomic journey. I have made a 'must-to-sample" list of the vegetarian Croatian dishes and have started looking out for the country's best regions and eateries to accomplish the mission. Ah, the plans we are so quick to make and the reality they can't withstand! I found myself in Zagreb mesmerized by the profound baking traditions and pasta-based dishes of the Zagorie region as I myself was getting baked under the 37C heat where eating pasty and pasta was the last thing any sane person would think of. Here came a million-dollar question: what to eat to beat the heat while traveling?

So your cookbooks and kitchen utensils are at home which is somewhat far away, most of the meals you eat are cooked for you, traditional local dishes at your destination are often hearty and you don't want to spend your vacation organizing healthy meals that keep you well during the heat. So what do you do? I am sharing some ideas here and I am inviting yours - lets join forces in eating well and beating the heat during the summer vacations.

Eat to Beat the Heat Tip #1: Pick up Breakfast from the Farmers' Market

How you start your day when traveling is important. You may be getting a power breakfast at the hotel which is either a generous buffet where you run a risk of overeating and feeling heavy for the rest of the day or carbohydrate-charged fare (bread and butter, pancakes of all sorts and nations, baked pastries, you name it) which maybe something you love back home but which does little to keep you well in the hot climates. I suggest a good alternative to this: get up early, visit a local farmer's market, buy the freshest supplies of the day and head out to a local park for an early morning breakfast al fresco. There is a tremendous wisdom to such a practice on a given hot summer day. First, you'll take advantage of the cool morning hour and can take a nap later during the afternoon heat to recharge. Second, you'll explore the area as you will be making your way to the farmer's market or any vegetable market. Third, you'll get to observe some local life, the way the locals do their shopping and interact with each other. Forth, you'll get to know the locals as well, practice the bit of the local language you have picked up or use this opportunity to pick up some. Fifth, you'll learn about the local seasonal ingredients - you are free to touch, smell, taste, inquire about the various known and odd-looking things on the stalls of the vendors. Sixth, you will pick up for your meal the freshest foods: look our for berries, watermelon, melon, peaches, pears, applies, sweet cherries, apricots, plums, grapes and if you are lucky to be in the tropics - mangos, pineapples, passion fruit and other exotic harvests. See what is on offer, mix and match: one day I had melon and fresh figs with sheep cheese and the other day it felt like tomatoes, cucumbers and white goat cheese with freshly backed whole-wheat bread. Have I also mentioned you'll get the meal that will keep you full and hydrated? This tip alone works wonders - do you still need any others?

Eat to Beat the Heat Tip #2: Carry on Drinking

The most obvious way to stay hydrated in the heat is to consume as much liquid as you can. However not all drinks and beverages are created equal for a hot day. A very sobering truth is that coffee, black tea, carbonated drinks and alcohol dehydrate your body: you are not doing any good to yourself when ordering that cappuccino (even if iced) or buying that soda (even if cold and cooling). Here are some suggested drinks that keep you hydrated and energetic when it is hot and meting outside:

Water, plenty of water: Check with your hosts whether the tap water is safe to drink and if not - stick to the bottled one. No need to wait till your throat becomes a dry desert - drink all the time: there is no crime in having 2-3 liters of water on a hot day.
Lemon water with salt and sugar: I picked this tip when surviving 45C heat in Delhi, India from my co-workers who were truly concerned with my well-being. The recipe is simple: glass of water, few drops of fresh lemon or lime juice, pinch of salt and half a tea spoon of sugar - stir well and drink it. The beauty of this drink is that you can ask to get it made at any eating place as they have all the ingredients or go for DIY with a lemon and tiny sachets of the salt and sugar kept handy.
Cucumber water: What about adding a few slices of cucumber to your glass of water? The cucumber adds a very light fresh flavor to water which results in a very satisfying and refreshing drink. Again, this is something you can ask for at most of the places.
Fresh juice: Fresh juices made at spot from berries, fruits and vegetables are a rich source of carbohydrates and vitamins that will keep you up an running on a hot day. Find out what is in season and make a good use of that knowledge: what about a glass of orange juice in Morocco, pomegranate juice in Turkey, sugarcane juice in India, coconut water in Thailand or celery and carrot juice in Ukraine? Another good news is that normally this luxury will be priced at a fraction of what you pay for a packaged version back home.
Buttermilk and other sour milk products: Why buttermilk, dahi, ayran, curd, kefir and other sour milk dishes are so common in the countries with hot climate? Well, they have a natural cooling effect on the body and also contain good bacteria which help digestion.

Eat to Beat the Heat Tip #3: Snack and Snack Smartly

During the heat you do yourself a big favor if eating small meals and eating more often. That way you will not overburden your body that is already struggling with the heat with yet another process to handle and digest that heavy meal. Taking light snacks in between the meals is definitely a good practice especially for beating the heat on the road. Usually it is greasy, oily and fried foods that are more easily available and luring but there is so much more that a bite of pizza, a bag of french fries or a pack of butter biscuits. I can recommend sticks of fresh cucumbers, carrots and celery are they are juicy, rich in vitamins and can keep well for a few hours in your bag. A small Victorinox Swiss army knife to carry in your luggage would be a good idea for this purpose in particular. You can also go for fresh beans such as chick peas. Another lighter source of protein that gives your energy for your explorations are nuts such as hazelnut, almonds, walnuts and more: make sure to pick up fresh nuts from this year crop that do not taste perished oil. We have discussed the goodies from the farmer's market above - whatever vegetables or fruits you find or save from your breakfast would make a perfect snack during a hot day. In addition, there are very easy-going sandwiches which you can always ''compose' mess-free from the ingredients from a local shop or market: get fresh pita, baguette or any over bread from a local bakery and pair with brie cheese and cherry tomatoes, or marinated olives and green salad leaves, or simply have it with hummus - and these are just a few combinations.

Eat to Beat the Heat Tip #4: Sample Local Dishes with Seasonal Ingredients

The wisdom that has withstood the centuries can't be wrong: there is a good sense about eating with the seasons. The national cuisines have been shaped for centuries to use the produce available in the region for a specific season. That way people have been taking advantage of the highest nutritional value of the seasonal harvest and getting the food synced with the seasonal body needs being it warming up in winter, energizing and getting vitamins in spring, cooling down in winter or preparing for colder days in autumn. Check out the cooling local summer dishes at your destination as they are based on the refreshing juicy fruits of the summer harvest and this is just what you need before heating the road on a hot day. Take advantage of the mango season in India by eating the fruit fresh and pickled, celebrate the vine-ripened tomato still warm from the summer in you gazpacho while in Spain, go with the light eggless pasta dishes with ruccola while in the Mediterranean countries, try summer soup of okroshka in Russia or seasonal vegetables in the shepherd salad in Turkey.

Eat to Beat the Heat Tip #5: Use Herbs to Boost Your Stamina

Herbs and their combinations are natural healing agents that can give you energy for the vacation adventures or relax you after a day packed with the new experiences and moving around. Get them in your teas and go far beyond what the regular green tea offers. Tea of ginger root is very energizing and stimulates the whole body, it also helps with morning and motion sickness. Rooibos rejuvenates body and mind and has stomach-settling and relaxing effects. Rose clears toxins and heat from the body and hence has a cooling effect. Mint is good for digestion and no wonder that it is customary in Morocco to wash down the elaborate meals with a glass of sweet mint tea. Camomile is a wonderful relaxing bed-time tea. Crushed coriander and dill seeds make a fine digestive tea. You can check out the herbal tea menu at your restaurant or hotel, or buy our favorite herbal selection from a local tea shop to have handy. Or even better - head out to a nearby five star hotel: its lobby bar most definitely has good herbal tea and the peace you need after a busy day. Have your caffeine-free herbal tea with ice and a slice of lemon - divine!

Eat to Beat the Heat Tip #6: Eat spicy! Eat spicy?

Let's benchmark people from the countries that have summer all year round and think nothing of the heat: it’s no accident that some of the warmest countries such as India or Thailand are known for the spiciest cuisines. Spices increase the body temperature that can make you feel cooler by diminishing the difference between you and the surrounding air and by causing sweating, which cools the body as the sweat evaporates. If spicy food is not something you can easily tolerate you can try to adjust by starting with the least spicy dishes of the local cuisine and then gradually progressing towards the spicier ones. Again, watch how the locals handle that - they use many of the cooling products mentioned earlier when eating spicy food: sour milk products in particular help relieve the burn. Even better when drinking liquids you can stick to absorbent food like bread or steamed rice to accompany your spicy meal.

And whatever you eat make sure you stick to the freshly prepared food what was not staying out there waiting for you for too long. Travel, eat, beat the heat, stay healthy - and do share your experiences and ideas on eating to beat the heat when traveling. Great summer travels to everybody!

Memories of the Norwegian Summer: Mixed Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

2010-07-10T02:21:00.006+04:00

In summers I always long for Norway. I strongly believe that unless you have experienced harsh long dark winters of Tromsø and rainy dull ones of Bergen you can't really appreciate the long sunny warm days that are so few in the year. There was nothing better on those days than to put on the sunglasses, a bright cotton summer dress and Greek sandals and mingle with the care-free folk promenading along the harbor, drinking champagne on the small yachts parked right here and toasting with wine and beer in the street cafes to the sounds of the live country music played by a street band.

Yet my Norwegian summers were also an exam time and remember very clearly the year when I was doing my first batch of exams for my masters there and writing my thesis for the degree I was completing back home. In the morning I'd pack up my books and lunch, put on bikini and a short skirt and march down to the school building which was conveniently overlooking a fjord (effectively, a part of the sea locked in by the surrounding mountains, a very typical element of the Norwegian landscape). I would find a quiet bench on the slope going down to the fjord, stretch my legs and open my books to study. The routine was great in all the regards: plenty of fresh air was good for my skin, solicitude ensured focused studies, meditative ambience released any pre-exam stress and early morning (or late afternoon) sun was perfect to get nicely tanned. It was also the time when I honed my salad-making skills: it felt like eating very light so I went wild with mixing and matching all sorts of ingredients that could make a salad. It was a special kind of pleasure after a few hours of studying to open my salad box and slowly indulge the crunchy mix to the chirr of the grasshoppers and whistles of the departing ferries from far way down.

I did really well on the exams what semester and soon got back to the thesis defence madness in Russia. I saw my classmates who looked as if they all have spent their time in a dark and humid cellar and came out exhausted and pale with dark eye-shadows. They saw me - suspiciously tanned and smiling for no obvious reasons and they would not believe that I did any studies let alone serious exams back in Norway. One week later I defended my thesis with distinction. I think it was the lightness of being which others found too unbearable and which I embraced full-heartedly: it lifted me as if I were a goose feather and carried me somewhere. I got to follow the flow and landed exactly where I needed to get.

Mixed Salad with Pomegranate Dressing Recipe

Juicy summer salad where the common folk vegetables get a refined Oriental edge.

Ingredients (2 large servings)

For the salad:

12 leaves of green and red leaf lettuce (may go for any other salad types)

2 mid-sized tomatoes

4 tbsp carrot, grated

4 tbsp raisins

2 tbsp hazelnuts, halved

For the dressing:

2 tbsp pomegranate juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp honey

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp lemon skin, finely grated

4 tbsp parsley, coarsely chopped

fresh ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste

Method

1. Make the dressing: mix well the ingredients in a small bowl by adding them one by one in the order they are listed and let the dressing cool for a bit in the fridge.

2. Make the salad: In a salad bowl mix the ingredients and season the salad with the dressing, cover the bowl with a flat plate and as you tightly hold the plate vigorously shake the salad so it gets slightly marinaded. Serve at once as a dish on its own right or on a side to your meal.

Ukrainian Cherry Dumplings

2010-07-04T02:49:00.010+04:00

I have received a complete farewell package at the Boryspol International Airport in Kyiv: getting stuck due to the indefinitely delayed flight, paying for 30 kilos of excess luggage, having my three carry-on bags rummaged thoroughly as apparently they were so stuffed with stuff that left the X-ray scanner blind. This was Ukraine not letting me go with peace after 21 months of my dedicated service to its regional development.

I am pleased to say though that it is not the impolite airport security that will make my memories of the country. It is in Ukraine I have rediscovered and learnt to celebrate my Slavic roots which got choked in the post-Soviet Russia but luckily continue thriving in the Western Ukraine where I got to spend two years. For me Ukraine will always be the land of vyshyvanka, a richly embroider shirt, and cheeky red boots, poetic language and Cossack ballades, syrnyk, or baked cheese cake, and deruny, potato fritters. And definitely the land of vareniki, or Ukrainian take on dumplings. I could not leave the county without having learnt how to make them. And as late June is the beginning of the cherry season here the cherry dumplings is a must specialty for any seasonal menu.

I would like to go briefly into the theory of the matter first. Dumplings, momos, manti, ravioli, khinkali, pelmeni, vareniki and alike come from the same family of food that essentially is about boiled or steamed dough stuffed with vegetables, cheese, berries or meat. This makes an easy to prepare and quick to eat earthy countryside meal that I enjoyed at the hole-in-the-wall eateries on the Himalayan foothills in Sikkim and Dharamsala, hosted family meals in Cappadocia region in Central Turkey, family-run restaurants throughout Italy, cafes of Krasnoyarsk in the Eastern Siberia, my grandma house in the Volga region in Russia, and anywhere Western Ukraine. What I like about the Ukrainian take is the use of berries for stuffing. And cherries is such a brilliant idea as it you end up with a dessert-like feel of the juicy cherries little marinated and only slightly cooked which still becomes a very filling meal. This sounds just perfect for summer when it you want less cooked food, skipping meals and rather eating desserts.

I can’t promise you will become a big fan of this cherry dumplings recipe unless you have some Eastern European roots or strong desire to feel like an Eastern European for once eat least. Because apart from finding the flavor somewhat novel you would have to deal with the authentic Eastern European way to remove the cherry pits so to get the dish taste as it really should. Well, I guess even in the Soviet Union we were not totally deprived of cherry pitters but apparently there were not enough of them. This fact created a very family-binding routine that I was looking forward to every summer when the cherries ripened in the grandma’s garden. The routine was to get together at place with tiled walls (usually the kitchen), strip down to your underwear or beachwear, get a metal safety pin and sit down around a big bucket of cherries. The whole family then would get messy tirelessly removing pits from the hundreds of cherries with the end of the pin. The boys of the family preferred the cherry pits throwing to this activity: you take a moist freshly removed cherry pit, place it between the pads of the thumb and index finger and release it using the index finger as a trigger. Ultimate fun for the everybody including the moms who had to clean everything and everybody after the pit removing and throwing. The pit-less cherries would then go for tasty jams and cherry dumplings.

Ukrainian Cherry Dumplings Recipe

Summer dessert and a complete meal with juicy cherries.

Ingredients (4 servings):

500 g cherries

4+2 tbsp sugar

1.5+1.5 tbsp potato starch

2 glasses whole-wheat flour

2/3 +1/3 egg

2/3+2/3 glass of water

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Prepare the cherries: Wash, discard the stems and remove the pits using either a cheery pitter or a metal safety pin. In the latter case hold the cherry with the three fingers of one hand and take a safety pin in the other one. Carefully but firmly drive the side of the pin with the loop (not there it closes) into the stem end of the cherry and get to the bottom of the pit. Now drive the pin up and in the opposite direction – voila, here is your cherry without a pit! Set aside the pits mixed with 2 tbsp of sugar. Mix in 4 tbsp of sugar into the pit-less cherries and also set aside.

2. Make the dough: Make the flour into a hillock on the table or a large round bowl. Make a hole in the middle to make your hillock into a volcano, add the 2/3 egg there and start mixing it with the flour working with your index finger that will be making circles larger and larger as the dough becomes thicker. Mix water and salt in a glass and start pouring it in the crater of your flour volcano - from making circles with your index finger you will progress towards using the whole palm to shape your dough into a neat ball. While you would need to arrive to a smooth substance you don’t want to overdo it or the dough will not be as soft. Once done set the dough aside for 20-30 minutes to rest.

3. Make the dumplings: Season the clean tabletop with some flour and put the dough ball on the seasoned surface. Flatten out the dough with pressing your palm in the middle of the ball and then roll out the dough by working with the rolling pin from the middle to the edges. Make the dough about 2-3 mm thin: the thinner dough will tear apart when you will be stuffing the dumplings and thicker one is not that nice to eat. Take a round biscuit cutter (or a glass) with the diameter of approximately 4 line-up cherries and cut the dough into the rounds. Now discard the juice from the cherries (but keep it) and mix in 1.5 tbsp potato starch to the cherries so they don’t get too juicy in the dumplings and make them a mess. Take one dough round, line up three cherries right in the middle of it and use the remaining egg to slightly moisten the inner edges of the dumpling-to-be. Now pull the opposite edges in the centre of the dough round towards each other and press to seal them. Take the dumpling with your both hands – with folded side down and edges up - and work from the middle using the pads of all your fingers to press on the edges from the both sides and ultimately seal them. Make sure you seal well so the dumplings do not open while boiling. Place the sealed dumpling on a plate or cutting board seasoned with flour so they do not stick. Continue to make as many dumplings as your dough and cherries allow.

4. Cook the dumplings: Pick up a large bowl and fill in with lots of water. I do mean lots of water. Add some salt to the water and bring to boil. Throw a batch of the dumplings in and as they surface indicating they are cooked take them out with a large perforated spoon, rinse with hot water and put on a large plate. Continue with another batch and so on.

5. Cook the kissel: Now we recall that we have some pits and cherry juice left and they make a wonderful material for kissel, a sweet drink resembling thin jelly, in this case used as a sauce for the dumplings. Combine the pits, the cherry juice, 2/3 glass of water and 1.5 tbsp potato starch in a small pen and bring to boil. Simmer on a low flame and keep stirring for about 5 minutes.

6. Serve: Cherry dumplings are best served cold with the warm kissel and a dollop of sour cream on top. They tend to go quickly and in no time an empty place and expecting eyes will make you start the process again. So consider making more from the beginning.

I am looking forward to hearing how it went with the cherry dumplings or to you sharing your favorite take of these boiled dough cuties.

Beetroot and Pomegranate Soup with Dill Pesto

2010-06-28T01:47:00.002+04:00

I don’t know what to think about this summer any more. The reports are mixed: I am still in the Western Ukraine with its rains and fogs and I am unpacking again the jackets and rubber boots whereas my parents are beating the heat of about +40C in the Central Russia. I hear about +30C and sun in Zagreb where I will be in two weeks and about heavy showers in Istanbul where I will make it in a month.

So you are supposed to celebrate the new crops of fresh herbs and berries and spend evenings outdoors and I end up craving for warm soups and sipping my teas over late night movies at home. With some thinking I came up with this wonderful beetroot and pomegranate soup that works so well for this summer as it combines winter comforts and fresh crops – and depending on the mood (and the weather) you can serve it warm or cold.

Beetroot and Pomegranate Soup with Dill Pesto Recipe

Sweet and pungent come together in this color-burst soup that you can serve warm or cold

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

For the soup:

1 kg beetroot

4 clove garlic, crashed

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

400 ml pomegranate juice

200 ml water

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp freshly ground pepper to taste

4 dried cloves

sea salt to taste

4-6 tbsp dill pesto for serving

For the dill pesto:

4 tbsp dill, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp roasted almonds

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp cream (20% fat)

freshly ground pepper to taste

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Prepare the beets: Preheat the oven to 220C. Wash the beets, remove the stems, wrap in the aluminum foil and bake for about 1.5 hours. Cool down and peel. You may boil the beets as well yet the baked beets keep more nutrition and flavor.

2. Make the pesto: In the blender mix the dill, almonds and garlic, then add oil and juice and continue blending. As the last step add cream, pepper and salt and blend into a pesto. Set aside. As this pesto contains cream you can’t really refrigerate for long and it is best consumed on the same day.

3. Make the soup: Blend the garlic and peeled beets into the puree, then add lime juice and oil and blend longer, eventually add pomegranate juice and water and make it into a smooth texture. Transfer to the soup bowl, add spices and salt bring to boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring now and then. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of the dill pesto.

To the Friendship of Russia and Georgia: White Bean Salad with Georgian Cilantro Sauce

2010-06-24T00:11:00.009+04:00

The other day I read about a breakthrough concept of a US takeout restaurant called "The Conflict Kitchen" serving food from the countries that have rather controversial relationship history with the US and include Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea (and the list goes on). The owners of the place have decided to create bridges between the people of the nations that have been aliened by the politics and went as far as holding simultaneous communal lunches in Pittsburgh and Tehran via a web-cam. This made me think that being Russian I would have to cook Georgian food till the end of time to restore once brotherly warm relationships between Russian and Georgia.

Here comes my exercise in the multiculturalism and friendship of nations: adopted from the NY Times recipe of Georgian cilantro sauce cooked with Ukrainian-grown ingredients by a Russian woman. Maybe I should also add that I took some cooking tips from a Moroccan man living in Turkey. Georgia, see how much international forces are here to make us brothers again! To your health and our friendship! And I could not resist a temptation to share a Georgian toast here as the Georgians being world champions in hospitality are famous for their endless meals accompanies by toasting to all the good things! Here you go:

In the old times a ship got wretched in the storm. Only one person could survive as he grabbed a floating wooden log and stayed afloat. In half an hour out of the blue another survivor surfaced and grabbed the other end of the floating log. The first one started crying and the second survivor asked, "Why are you crying?". The first one replied, "Wah! What a guest! And I don't have anything to treat you to!" So let's toast to the hosts who always know how to treat even the most unexpected guests!

I must say that with a bit of this Georgian cilantro sauce in your fridge you are always ready to make gourmet treats for your guests by coupling the sauce with very simple ingredients. To your health and hospitality!

White Bean Salad with Georgian Cilantro Sauce Recipe (adopted from NY Times)

Delicate taste of the white beans is well accentuated by the very fresh and sophisticated flavor of the sauce and pungent tang of feta cheese

Ingredients

For the salad (for 2 servings):

100 g (220 pounds) dry white beans (Great Northern, Navi or Cannellini)

1 small red onion

2 garlic cloves

100 g (220 pounds) feta cheese or cottage cheese, crumbled

Salt to taste

4 tbsp Georgian cilantro sauce

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

For Georgian cilantro sauce (yields about 200 ml; can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 week):

90 g (3 oz) dried apricots

2 garlic cloves

90 g (3 oz) shelled walnuts

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (or replace with orange juice)

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pinch of cayenne

6 tbsp cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

4 tbsp parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp dill, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp scallions, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp walnut oil (or more, to taste)

40 ml soaking water from the apricots, as needed

Method

1. Soak the beans: Here is the theory of the bean soaking. Although it takes some planning soaking helps significantly reduce the cooking time as the dry beans start rehydrating. Soaking is best done overnight and takes from 6 to 12 hours, make sure not to overdo it as if you soak the beans for over 12 hours they may lose their texture and flavor. Start with sorting the dry beans and remove any pieces of little rocks or dirt, beans with holes or cavities, hollow or wrinkled beans. Then transfer the beans to a deep bowl and add enough water as the beans will double in size while soaking – having about 3 sm (1 inch) of water over the beans would be a good rule of thumb to follow. The water should be room temperature: hot water may cause the beans to sour and cold water slows rehydration and the beans will take longer to cook. You may also consider adding just a pinch of baking soda to the soaking beans as it helps to avoid discomforts of the gas, or flatulence, sometimes caused by eating beans.

2. Cook the beans: Transfer the beans with the soaking water into a bowl, add some water, bring to boil and let simmer for 20 minute, skimming off any form. Then discard the bean water and add fresh cold water. Add onion and garlic in muslin or just halved – you need them for flavor but the chopped boiled onions and garlic are not great neither for presentation nor taste. Bring to boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes till the beans are tender. Drain and keep the liquid. As I have picked Great Northern beans they take 1-1.5 hours to cook and so do Cannellini; Navy beans take up from one and a half to two hours.

3. Make the sauce: I know it is not sexy but you need to start with the soaking again – the results are truly awarding though. Soak the dried apricots in the boiling water for at least an hour or ideally, overnight. Drain and retain the soaking water. In the food processor or blender mix the ingredients in the following order: garlic, then walnuts, then drained apricots, the lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne, then the cilantro and other chopped herbs. After mixing in each new bunch of ingredients stop the machine to scrape down the sides. Eventually, combine the walnut oil and soaking water from the apricots, and with the machine running, gradually add it to the puree. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and allow resting at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving. Taste and adjust salt. The cilantro sauce will keep for up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

4. Mix the salad: Toss the beans with the cilantro sauce and allow to cool to room temperature, if not done before. If you wish, moisten with some of the bean liquid. Add crumbled feta cheese or cottage cheese and sprinkle with cilantro. Well, after all our labors you've really deserved this treat to be enjoyed and shared!

Eggplant and Other Aphrodisiacs

2010-06-18T22:48:00.005+04:00

Jumping on a horse, tying myself with ropes to a thing called paraglide, milking a cow while standing in the cow dung up to my ankle, wearing playful miniskirts with rubber boots, accentuating my cleavage with womanly dresses, listening to all the stories he had to tell about the thousand and one things he did, talking myself without stopping about the thousand and one things I did , not challenging him with my concerns I had, confronting him with questions he feared most, complimenting him on everything, not even looking at him, writing passionate blog posts, taking planes way to often, disappearing for a while - nothing really worked to impress this superman enough. It think somewhere in the beginning I already got to understand that this was a clinical case but as many women do in the clinical cases – I had decided to take up the challenge.

One fine evening I was cooking for him. I had opted for eggplants. There is something terribly sensual about that vegetable. The deep purple color of its skin intrigues you, flash of a fried eggplant soaks in so much oil while cooking that its flavor becomes seductively rich and complex, leaving you content but at the same time dying for more. Pair it with some oil and garlic and the result will be a luxurious dish that would spoil even the most spoiled person. There is also some oriental Scheherazade feel to eggplant which I probably got from sampling various dishes created from eggplant when traveling in Turkey or Morocco: I think eggplant and I think narrating stories for one thousand and one nights, giving food and making the sultan loose his mind. Hm, lets see if this rough man could resist my mood of seduction, - I thought as I stood on my kitchen and pictured myself as a goddess-like Aishwarya Rai from the "Mistress of Spices". Too bad my hear was not that long and black, the waistline was not that delicate and I wore jeans on instead of a see-through silk and gold saree but I did not care much that very evening.

Speaking of spices though… on my recent trip to Morocco I did pay a very productive visit to a local spice shop. Interestingly enough, spice shops in Morocco are jokingly referred as Berber pharmacy. Well, "Berber" because everything is Berber in Morocco when sold to tourists as this immediately makes goods eligible for a premium. And as for "pharmacy"… the things is these shops offer remedies for almost any disease or sorrow: colorful powders useful against magic, fragrant rose perfumes for attracting love, flower mixtures and roots for beauty, argana oil for everything and spices for creating delicious meals that could easily make a man yours forever… A few hours in the spice shop resulted in my kitchen cupboards getting stocked up with the aromas of freshly ground cinnamon, cardamon, cumin, nutmeg, red chili, ginger, Ras el hanout (literally head of the shop, or special blend of most popular spices) and saffron threads. Back to my cooking though: I made an inventory of the ingredients I was about to throw in the sauté pan and realized that according to yogic and ayurveda diet traditions I was about to cause a volcano emission. Eggplants are reputed as most powerful aphrodisiac giving energy to a woman, garlic and onion are said to improve blood circulation and sexual performance of a man, cardamon appears to boosts appetite (all kinds of it), ginger is believed to boost life energy and fertility, while cinnamon enhances sensuality, saffron is said to boost stamina and sexual desire as well as create happy feelings, and coriander is responsible for providing overall vitality. A dangerous armory of aphrodisiacs!

I served the dinner in the living room with a low table and cushions thrown on the floor, to the melting candles, to the soothing sound of Arabic and Portuguese blend of the lounge music. The eggplants came on the large plates with flat bread to be eaten with hands .. eggplants have to eaten with hands when you feel a genuine unity with what you are eating and let the primal instincts in you thrive. I was watching the guy as he was trying to keep cool and not paying attention to the stage decorations I had set up and the performance about to envelop. We kept eating, talking, talking more, having strong and intoxicating coffee a la Turka, talking, kissing, not hearing the music any more and only sensing each other… Later on as he was sitting on the bed and contemplating the experience of the past hours he said, "It was unbelievably delicious!". Eggplant? Me? Portuguese whispers? Berber magic? Serendipitous position of the stars in the sky on that evening? I will never find out but I don't care as far as I keep the recipe...for the challenging cases to come.

Eggplant Curry Recipe

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

200 g eggplant

2 small garlic cloves, crashed with a handle of a chief's knife

1 red onion, sliced into half-circles

1 red paprika, cut into 2-3 sm long sticks

1 carrot, sliced

2 large tomatoes, sliced into half-circles

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (you may cut the oil a bit, but I prefer eggplants rather oily)

¼ tsp ground paprika

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cardamom

few threads of saffron

2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

sea salt to taste

Method

Soak eggplant: Cut eggplant into the cubes with a side of 1.5 sm and place the cubes in the salted water – this way they will turn out juicier without absorbing enormous amount of oil when cooked.
Get it cooking: Put 3 tbsp olive oil on a preheat sauté pan and add crashed garlic and chopped onion. Cook on the medium flame until golden brown shaking vigorously now and then. Add carrots, paprika, soaked eggplant and 3 tbsp olive oil to the sauté pan, stir and fry uncovered on the medium flame for 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes, the ground spices and salt and leave it simmering under the lid for 10 more minutes.
Final touch: Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with plain rice or flat bread. Consider yourself warned!

Kohlrabi Fritters with Herbs

2010-06-14T23:37:00.004+04:00

I was inspecting the vegetable section at the supermarket this weekend and spotted kohlrabi – an alien-looking a kind of cabbage with its green upright antenna-stems. It was totally …shall I say… outspaced on the shelf and asking to be taken home and turned into something wonderful and yummy. At least that is how I read the messages transmitted by the green antennas.

So I took it home, paired with herbs and came up with these fritters. Normally I am not a big fan of such fried stuff but when made of grated kohlrabi and fresh herbs they become a lovely fresh and summerly dish. This recipe if adapted from Eveline Zoutendijk of Cooking Alaturka: the original ones are done with courgettes.

Kohlrabi Fritters with Herbs Recipe

Ingredients ( 2-3 servings):

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 eggs

100 g cottage cheese, crumbled

1 medium kohlrabi (~150 g), peeled and grated

4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

4 tbsp fresh spring onions, chopped

½ tsp red paprika flakes

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

olive oil for frying

Greek yoghurt for serving

Method:

1. Prepare the batter. Whisk eggs and mix with four into a homogeneous substance. Add cottage cheese, grated kohlrabi (you may need to remove the excess of water from kohlrabi, if you kept it aside for a bit), herbs and paprika flakes. A note on chopping herbs: for the fritters you want to chop the herbs particularly fine; owners of mezzaluna, a curved knife with a handle on either side, would hit the spot here as you would need to zealously cut your herbs changing the angle a few times to get the desired results. Add some salt and freshly ground pepper to the batter. Set it aside (possibly to a warm place) for some 10-15 minutes to get smoother batter and more delicate texture of the final product.

2. Fry the fritters: Preheat a cast iron pan and oil it. Make sure the oil does not burn as so would your fritters. When a drop of water jumps and sizzles in the pan, you are ready. Take a spoonful of the batter, place on the frying pan and flatten it. Repeat to fit in as many fritters as the pan allows. Fry until golden brown on both sides shaking the pan now and then. Use two wooden spatulas to turn sides as these fritters are rather gentle. Place the cooked fritters on a paper towel to remove the excess of oil.

3. Final touch: These fritters are best served warm with Greek yoghurt.

Risotto with Spinach and Almond Pesto

2010-06-08T00:02:00.011+04:00

It has been raining cuts and dogs here – some places in Europe even got flooded. What do you do on a rainy but still warm and summerish day? Well, I keep sipping tea of mountain herbs with buckwheat honey, looking at the map with the summer holiday destinations (those not flooded yet) and craving for a well-cooked comfort dinner.

Well-cooked and comfort and dinner for me is a creamy risotto. Sometime ago inspired by 101 Cookbooks I was experimenting with spinach pesto: I found that spinach is fabulous in the combination with dry almonds and cream, but I though this pesto was little dull with pasta. It has proved though to marry happily to the risotto concept and here is the recipe I came up with. I love this risotto with spinach and almond pesto for it is a filling well-cooked dish that yet has the notes of summer flavor and lightness. So much for the comfort dinner for a raining summer evening – now, rain go away!

Risotto with Spinach and Almond Pesto Recipe

Ingridients (2 servings)

200 g Arborio rice (or Vialone Nano, or Carnaroli - they are perfect for risotto as it gets creamy while staying al dente; may be replaced with other short-grained round or semi-round rice)

750 ml vegetable stock (wonderful recipe for making vegetable stock from Café Fernando)

½ red onion, chopped into half-circles

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

150 g fresh spinach leaves, chopped

20 dry roasted or sun-dried almonds

200 ml cream (10% fat)

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground ginger

sea salt to taste

Parmesan cheese

bit of saffron (if you get the real saffron you virtually need 2-3 threads)

Method

1. Set rice for cooking: pre-heat a sauté pan and then oil it with 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the chopped onions and simmer on a low flame until golden. Add rice to the pan and mix it with onions so that al the grains are fully covered with oil. Simmer for a 2-3 minutes. Now add 1/3 glass vegetable stock, stir to distribute the liquid evenly and let simmer. As the liquid boils away add 1/3 glass of vegetable stock again. Continue in this fashion making sure you add enough liquid and the rice does not stick to the pan yet it is not fully covered with liquid either. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get the rice into a creamy yet al dente condition. Once done add a bit of saffron, Parmesan cheese and sprinkle some olive oil, cover with a lead and set aside for a bit.

2. Prepare spinach and almond pesto (can start this in the breaks from attending the rice – perfect for improving your multi-tasking): Pre-heat a sauté pan and oil it. Put chopped spinach in and cook for 3-5 minutes on a low flame stirring now and then. Transfer the cooked spinach into a tall plastic bowl, add almonds and make into a paste with a blender, add cream and continue blending into a homogeneous creamy paste. Add spices and salt.

3. Get ready for serving: Add the creamy spinach and almond paste to the risotto and stir. Add Parmesan when serving.

To Lviv for a Cup of Coffee

2010-06-02T01:36:00.010+04:00

I heard about Lviv coffee culture before coming here and the locals immediately reaffirmed that Lviv is the coffee capital of Ukraine. We were quick to access the validity of these statements as our project office was very basic and before getting a coffee machine we needed to address the lack of the table lamps. The very first day we went searching for a morning caffeine dose in a cardboard glass and to the disappointment of the Moscow city snobs none of the local cafes appeared to offer coffee to go.

I ended up running around with my Starbucks thermal cup and to the horror of the folk from the local cafés asking them to transfer my cappuccinos tastefully served in fine china into my plastic beast. Eventually I found a place just a few steps away from the office which had small cardboard cups and did ok espressos. Kvitka (Flower) is a tiny bar with 4 small stand-up tables, wide-selection of cheap liquors, nostalgic Soviet toffees, coffee a la Orient made in jezve on scorching sand and a small espresso machine. Every time I came for 6 double-espressos it was a little disaster for the place as all the mid-aged deputies of the City Council craving for 50 gram of cognac or vodka had to wait for my order to be prepared. Once I even volunteered to bring my colleagues to Kvitka to show them wherefrom I fetch our coffees. Now picture four suited up consultants in all their expensive gear in this little place packed with the smells of cigarettes, cheap liquor and coffee. I think it was about the end of the Kvitka era for us.

Gradually we adopted a more locally acceptable way to drink coffee – we started going out for coffee. In the middle of a working day! Sometimes twice! What an unruly team we had become! We picked up the local tradition of having business meetings over coffee: for the capital dwellers as we were this was a very inefficient way to do meetings as they would ran a risk of becoming too relaxed and getting more like lyrical conversations instead of the business talks. It is over Lviv coffee that I honed my interview and listening skills, got to hear theories of the local-made philosophers of the city's past and future and learned to grasp important bits of information deliberately hidden in the layers of the Galician chitchat.

This coffee-going routine revealed quite a lot for me about my colleagues too. I found out that men are much more dedicated cake eaters than women when my colleagues acquired a routine of going to Svit Kavy (World of Coffee) at 10 am sharp as fresh apple cake was arriving there at that time and was religiously eaten over coffee. Another colleague of mine used "coffee and cake" weapon to address "no time for meeting" excuse of the female members in our local team. Well, no wonder - the cakes are a separate matter in Lviv: the locals do have a sweet-tooth and they have had their fingers in many pies too. As a border city in Ukraine Lviv has been a melting pot of Austrian, Polish, Ukrainian, Jewish and Armenian traditions – nowadays manifesting not at least in cakes and sweets of all sorts. For example, once a part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire Lviv made sure to inherit the secrets of apple strudel and chocolate cake Sacher. Western Ukrainian traditional cakes such as plyatsyk (home-made cakes) and syrnik (baked cheesecake made of cottage cheese) are very special treats that have won many hearts and stomachs: I've learnt that I can bribe people with syrnik. Moreover, the sweets making in Lviv goes far beyond the cakes and lands in baklava places and hand-made chocolate parlors. When to work?

As the project went on we moved our team meetings, debriefs after key interviews, serious talks and not very serious talks over coffee. It was fun to seat on a summer terrace when warm or in a cozy small cafe when cold. I owe most my remaining sanity to my little café sallies in the middle of the working days packed with meetings and document making. A cup of coffee (or later – tea) or a milk shake, dark wood furniture and a bit of good jazz at Svit Kavy or Cafe 1– I am eternally indebted to you. Weekends on which I did not fly back home I spent in reflections on the expatriate kind of living over syrnik at Veronika under the careful supervision of the waitresses who always know better.

Amazingly enough after two years in Lviv when I am about to be done with the project and leave the place I still find new places. While the city centre in Lviv is very compact and many cafes are very much seen as they set up summer terraces just as the last snow melts you still need to know where to go. It is an integral part of the Galician nature to reveal things one by one as if testing your capacity to absorb. Some good cafes places are hiding from a random visitor as if saving their grandeur for those in the know. Just like that through those in the know I got introduced to in a place where besides the laid-back coffee talks you can have relaxing tea conversations. They make your coffee in a vintage coffee machine and the tea gets into life from the magical mixtures stored in the boxes. I was sipping my masala tea on a trendy summer terrace with red woven chairs and wooden floors, watching tourists and locals promenading along and it occurred to me that I have long forgotten when I last saw my Starbucks thermal cup.

Turkish Quince Dessert

2010-05-28T01:14:00.008+04:00

This Turkish quince dessert, or ayva tatlısı, is a good illustration to the importance of picking a right cooking method to fully unleash the flavor. I find raw quinces rather unattractive for eating as they are hard to bite and astringent. A few hours in the sugar syrup in the oven though do wonders to quinces: they become syrupy as if their every tiny cell gets soaked with viscous honey – sheer indulgence!

I first tried this dessert prepared specially for me in a Turkish home. By that time I was sure I had reached the ultimate heaven through the excessive introduction to all the baklavas and lokums. But when I tried ayva tatlısı I did realize the new horizons in the Turkish desserts were yet aplenty. So, last time I was in Istanbul I got sure to pick up some quinces from a fruit vendor and imported them home to make this wonderful dessert. I found a recipe shared by Anna Colquhoun who acquired it on her culinary and anthropological explorations in Turkey.

Turkish Quince Dessert Recipe

Ingredients (4 servings)

2 large quinces

150 g light brown sugar

8 cloves

1 tsp cinnamon powder

clotted cream or fat vanilla ice-cream

Method

Prepare quinces: Wash and peel them, then halve to get two parts sitting firmly on their underside. Now carve in a a hollow that would keep about 2-3 tsp liquid in. Put a clove in each quince's hollow, mix cinnamon and sugar and add 3-4 tbsp mixture onto each quince.

Pick up a right pan: Pick up a pan that would be wide enough for the 4 quinces halves. Pour a glass of water into the pan – it would be rather critical that the water goes up to the cuts of the quinces' halves sitting next to each other. I've picked up a pan that was too wide and the edges of the quinces lot slightly burnt. Add some quince seeds and several peelings of quince skin to the water to deepen the color.

Send to oven and attend hourly: Cover the pan with a lid or foil and bake in the center of a very low oven (110C/230F) for six or more hours until quinces are deep red and the syrup is thick. Check them out every hour to make sure there is enough syrup and add water if necessary. There is no drama if you keep quinces baking for less than 6 hours: I kept mine for 3 hours and they still turned wonderful. 6 hours would produce a perfection, though.

Cool and serve: Let quinces cool in the syrup. Servethem with some syrup and topped with clotted cream or with fat vanilla ice-cream on the side. In Turkey they also serve it with ground nuts – walnuts go particularly well.

Eating Well in Moscow: Spring Pasta Salad with Chickpea Sprouts

2010-05-23T22:05:00.016+04:00

The weekend in Moscow was very warm. As I came to visit from the Western Ukraine I got immediately introduced to the latest spring fashions: fishtail shirts, hot pants, gladiator sandals and red pedicure. Within a couple of days I saw a lot of takes on all these trends - Moscow is such a people-watching place after all. Bizarrely enough just as big the city is in terms of fashion as much it is lacking in gastronomy. Seriously, what's the point in the red pedicure if you can't eat well?

I miss Turkey or Morocco or Italy or pretty much anywhere in the world where you can walk in any place and get a decent meal. Moscow is doomed in that sense: as a visitor I would never rely on a "walk-in" principle and would only go with good recommendations. The majorly of places for common folk serve really mediocre food and many upscale places do to. So I was spending my time sharing meals at Correa's, Moscow chain of US-born chef Isaac Correa, always full of gastronomic revelations, and Le Pain Quotidien, a Belgium chain of bakeries famous for their communal tables and delicious bread and pasty. And I cooked at home. I got really inspired by all these spring mouthwatering recipes of artichokes and asparagus but my sally to a nearby large supermarket proved very discouraging. Not a single sign of either! Instead, I spotted a premium spinach imported from Italy (I could never understand how Russia can import such stuff given its vast agriculture lands) and tomatoes without any smell. So, I've decided to go with a good old principle - see what's fresh today and cook it. Necessity is the mother of invention indeed: I've picked a few items and come up with this fresh delicious spring pasta salad. The slightly fried chickpea sprouts go really well with juicy vegetables and pasta – and the seasoning based on green Tabasco is a must to try. Enjoy!

Spring Pasta Salad with Chickpea Sprouts Recipe

Ingredients (2 servings)
For salad:
70 g chickpea sprouts
2 celery stalks, chopped
200 g garden reddish, chopped into fine half-circles
200 g dry whole-wheat bite-sized pasta (e.g. penne)
2 tbsp chopped coriander

For dressing:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10 drops green Tabasco
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

freshly ground pepper to taste

salt to taste

1 tsp organic buckwheat honey

Method

Cook pasta to al dente (9-11 minutes for penne). Use a pasta colander to drain the hot boiling water and set it aside.

In a small bowl make the dressing by combining olive oil, green Tabasco, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Do not add the honey yet. Preheat a frying pan and oil it with one table spoon on the dressing. Put the chickpea sprounts in the frying pay and vigorously shake every 30 seconds for 3-4 minutes till the sprouts start browning. Set the chickpeas aside to cool down.

In a salad bowl mix chopped celery stalks, garden reddish, pasta, coriander and the chickpeas. With a fork mix in honey to the dressing and add the dressing to the salad bowl. Cover the bowl with a flat plat and shake up and down for a few seconds. Juicy and springy the salad comes ready for serving!

Squash & Fusilli Pasta En Papillote

2010-05-21T01:13:00.018+04:00

I love fine dining places: they are the shrines preserving best and sometimes extinct methods of cooking and hence offer so many take-away ideas for your own kitchen explorations. The other day as I spoiled myself and a colleague of mine with a lunch at Darvin (Lviv, Ukraine) and I was mesmerized by the white mushrooms with herbs cooked en papillote, or in a folded pouch of parchment paper.

Usually before eating I perform a small test. I get my big nose closer to a plate with my food and take a very long inhale – if the food smell lasts as long as my inhale the food must be outstanding; if I can't feel the smell somewhere in the middle of my inhale the food must be passable. So, those mushrooms en papillote filled in my longest inhale with the aroma of the forest-grown mushrooms and fine herbs. Chalked up!

Despite being reputed as a ceremonial fine dining thing en papillote is incredibly easy to do as you don't need any special vessels for this and the method produces mind-boggling and nose-tickling results as all the juices and smells of your ingredients get imprisoned in the paper envelop and the food is cooked in its own juices and aromas swirling inside. I've replicated this method at home and since I am a big fan of pasta I've come up with this pasta en papillote recipe. Another good thing this cooking method is that you can pay farewells to the overcooked baked pasta as en papillote makes it perfectly al dente!

Squash & Fusilli Pasta En Papillote Recipe

Ingredients (2 servings)

200g dry whole wheat pasta bite-sized (e.g., fusilli or penne)
300 g squash
150 g red onion
150 g mushrooms
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp pumpkin oil

1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp fresh basil leaves
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Cook fusilli: Cook fusilli to al dente (6-7 minutes after boiling on a low flame). Cook 3-4 minutes longer if you prefer your pasta to be softer.

2. Prepare the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F). Slice squash and onions into fine half circles and slice whole mushrooms length-wise. Add fresh ground pepper, pinch of salt to encourage the juices come out, the oils, lemon juice and basil. Mix with pasta in a bowl and toss a bit.

3. Prepare your envelops: You need to make one envelop for each serving. Start with taking a double sheet of parchment paper, fold in the middle, open and place on a large cutting board. Now transfer the vegetable mix for one serving on the bottom part of your to-be envelop. Once done cover with the upper part and start working from the corners to close the envelop. The process is kind of like finishing an open pie: take a pinch of paper from the corner – fold it inside, take a pinch of paper 5 sm down from them corner – fold inside and continue in this fashion. You will end up with quite a cute paper object looking like a calcioni. Make sure the folds are rather tight – keeping the juices and smells locked in is the whole point of the venture. Now sent it to the oven – should be very easy to slightly push it from the cutting board into the very heat. Place the packages on a large baking sheet, and bake until parchment is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Hurrah!

4. Final touch: Transfer packages to plates and serve immediately, opening packages at table: make a cross cut on the top of the envelop with scissors to release the aromas and enjoy the flavours.

What Makes me Bake: Rhubarb Muffins

2010-05-16T22:01:00.013+04:00

My baking mood comes on the days when certainty and stability are easiest to obtain through knowing that mixing specific ingredients in the specific proportion will yield a very definite result. I have started anticipating my yet another house moving which makes me very baking prone these days.

In the last two years I have changed four flats and I guess it is a thing to do for a Muscovite. Moscow is one of those cities where the ingenious population is dramatically going down due to the invasion from the various regions of Russia and the ex-Soviet republics. Crowds hungry for meaningful jobs, big money and good lives rush into the capital. Arguably, many modern Muscovites are effectively migrant workers - maybe very skilled but still very migrant.

Well, I am one. Moscow for me is about making money and spending extravagantly on good restaurants, branded clothes, expensive watches, posh cars and ridiculously expensive real estate. I am still clueless as to how Muscovites have families or even live long in the aggressive environment of the outrageous traffic jams, notorious air pollution and millions of non-smiling people. And changes… ongoing and uninterrupted changes – changes in the circumstances of your own, people you share flats with and people who own and rent flats. In my case this meant moving fours houses in the last two years.

My first place was my sisters' dorm which did a brilliant job in getting me started in Moscow when I was back after my extravagant abroad travels. As my sister went to the parents' place in our home town for the summer break I took over her dorm room. I was a bit like that little girl in the Three Bears fairytale who ate with someone else' favorite spoon and slept on someone else's comfortable bed. But then I had the ongoing déjà vu as many of things around me were very familiar –interior decorations my sister got when visiting me in India or her IKEA kitchen supplies that resembled the ones I used when living in Norway. So somehow I felt at home.

Two months later with a dream job and a dream boyfriend at hand I moved into my second place. It was a sweet downtown flat in a five-storey house with the old-Moscow-feel creaky parquet and a balcony overlooking a quite courtyard. I've actually grabbed that place as the landlady would not want girl tenants. I insisted on a meeting where I went suited up which seemed to demonstrate enough of seriousness to convince the landlady. We shared the place with Masha from Novosibirsk whom I met through a website connecting people looking for a flatshare in Moscow. Ah, this were glorious times of getting to know the best of Moscow – long working hours, great bars and restaurants, weekend shopping and movies and business trips to Siberia. The landlady should have trusted her instincts though: in less than half a year Masha was buying a flat of her own and I moved in with my boyfriend.

The third place was little far off from the centre en route to Sheremetievo airport. The flat was wonderful: tastefully renovated by an architect who used to rent it and packed with all the conveniences for comfortable living. It was about the time when I developed a habit of taking cab to the gym in the mornings, using dishwasher, infallibly cooking at least one meat dish per day, online ordering my groceries, think nothing of listening to the regular complains about everything and hating my own life. After staring at that preview of a family life in Moscow I had to run. Quick.

In desperation I moved to my fourth flat, a shoebox in the downtown. When I brought all my stuff there the room was enough just to accommodate my suitcases and bags. Of course I thought of it as a temporary solution and of course it turned to be my longest occupied housing in Moscow to date. While living there I abandoned the shopping and restaurant habits, sustained the taxi habit, resumed the weird places travelling habit and acquired yoga and vegetarian eating habit. Andrey, my flatmate, was a born cook and it really was fun to cook together or share meals. I am particularly fond of the memories of the muffin making session we had once when after piloting a few recipes we've approved a recipe of muffins with cottage cheese and sour fruits of choice. As I am spending most of my time in Ukraine now (which I will soon leave too) I am left with baking tributes. So here is my seasonal tribute to the memories of my Moscow life. I know that they don't have rhubarb there this year yet but I have taken advantage of rhubarb available at the farmers market here to make muffins and delighted to share this rhubarb recipe here.

Rhubarb Muffins Recipe

Ingredients (12 servings)

For muffin batter:
300 g whole-wheat floor
100 g brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
250 g plain yogurt
100 ml milk
120 g chopped rhubarb (about 1 sm long)

For cottage cheese filling:

200 g cottage cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp brown sugar

For caramelized rhubarb topping:
140 g olive oil (because I don't use butter)
200 g brown sugar
600 g chopped rhubarb
110 g multigrain flakes

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C (375 degrees F). Grease the muffin cups / silicon baking pans with olive oil.

Prepare the caramelized rhubarb topping: put a sauté pan on a medium flame and when it is warned up add olive oil. Then put sugar in the pan and start stirring with wooden spoon to bring the sugar to caramelize– in 3-5 minutes sugar will dissolve and starts turning dark brown (or light brown if you use white sugar). Add chopped rhubarb and shake vigorously to coat the rhubarb into the caramelized sugar for 2 minutes. Add multigrain flakes, keep shaking for 1 minute and set aside.

Make the muffin batter: In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (whole-wheat floor, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and ground cinnamon). In a smaller bow mix the whisked egg, milk and olive oil. Now combine the dry and liquid ingredients: in the large bowl make a small well in the centre, place the liquid mixture there and start stirring from the centre. Mix the muffin batter just long enough to moisten all the dry ingredients but don't over mix. Mix in the chopped rhubarb.

Prepare the cottage cheese filling: In a small bowl beat cream cheese to remove the lumps. Add egg and brown sugar. Beat until smooth then set aside.

Place the muffin butter in the muffin cups to make them half-full. Then add one tablespoon of the cottage cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter in each cup – press the cottage cheese mixture into the batter slightly. And finally add the caramelized rhubarb on the muffins to fully cover the tops.

Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve cold – they are lovely with vanilla ice-cream!

Feels Summer, Feels Like a Milkshake

2010-05-12T18:47:00.027+04:00

Here in the Western Ukraine the sun has been generous. Feels fresh and light, feels sandals and a careless summer dress, dreams sun-kissed legs and a milkshake in a street cafe. Made of fresh fruits, spices, herbs and full cream milk.

Call me scandalous but with all my healthy food considerations I don't believe in low-fat milk. I think with the low-fat you end up with such chemically treated to death version of milk that you better resort to plain water. So, to the full cream milk, summer around the corner and dreams coming true. Cheers! Na zdorovje! Here are my three suggestions on the good use of full cream milk ... and no there is no White Russian recipe here but still plenty of inspiration.

Afternoon Zen: Cold Yogi Tea Recipe

Here is my twist to the hot and impossibly sweet Indian chai served in the small glasses or little clay pots – usually best in the street stalls that many visitors stay clear off - unfairly so. In this version I keep rich and spicy taste, but cut on sugar and serve it cold.

Ingredients (2 servings)

500 ml milk (3.5% fat)

4 cardamon seeds, crashed with the handle of a large knife

6 black pepper seeds

2 transparent slices of fresh ginger root

4 tsps of black large-leaved tea

Method:
Pour milk in a bowl and bring it to boil. Throw in spices and tea leaves and rapidly boil for 3 minutes. The longer you boil the stronger the tea would be and the more of cardamom and ginger flavor would be there. Pour out, cool and serve. I find it good enough just like that but you may add honey to make it sweet. One note about the honey: add it when your chai is cooled and not hot to preserve the healing qualities of the honey.

Lazy Pleasure: Avocado and Dates Smoothie Recipe

I love avocado for its fresh green color, smooth texture and rich buttery taste. This fruit is simply created for smoothies! Ice-cream makes it even richer while dates and honey give it sweetness but in a very healthy way.

Ingredients (2 servings):

1 avocado

8 dates

2 tbsps of plain of vanilla ice-cream

300 ml milk (3.5% fat)

1 tsp buckwheat honey

Method:
First you want to ground the dates in the blender as they will be the trickiest to ground. Then you need to open avocado and here is the easiest way to do that. Cut it in half lengthwise around the seed and twist the halves in opposite directions to separate. Here you get a half of avocado in each hand. If you are using just one half make sure to sprinkle some lemon juice on the other one to prevent it from blackening. Then take the avocado meat out of one half and put in the blender along with the other ingredients. Blend, pour out in a glass and take your favorite spoon to indulge this lazy pleasure.

Green Boldness: Pear Mint Milkshake Recipe

After trying tea of fresh mint in Le pain Quotidien I always keep a bunch of mint in my fridge. In most of the case I just make tea of it as it not very easy to combine mint with other ingredients. In this case I got a little more bold and found a wonderful alternative to a chocolate mint combination in a milkshake (since I don't eat chocolate). Pear and mint it is with a glimpse of lemon in it!

Ingredients (2 servings):

a large handful of mint leaves

150 ml milk (3.5% fat)

150 ml greek yogurt

1 pear

few drops of lemon juice

Method:

Wash the mint leaves and be sure to leave them to dry on a sheet of paper or a clean towel to remove the excess of water. Ground it in the blender, add pear, milk and yogurt (to prevent milk going curd after adding lemon) and blend further. Then squeeze a few drops of the lemon juice and be very quick to blend it again! These few drops of lemon juice are a good example of how a tiny little thing may make a big difference. Give it a try!