Carrot cake

You won't need any other cake recipe. Cake for breakfast. Especially if you have a garden and especially, especially if you have toddles that hang on your skirt or pants every time they see you eating something (nevermind the fact that they already ate almost enough to not to be able to sit up for one hour... I guess I know who An inherited that from!).

I used yellow carrots which are sweeter than average but all the other times I used orange ones which also made it wonderful. For some reason this has a very subtle hint of orange taste, but only the one with yellow carrots...

I didn't come up with the recipe but I always use overnight soaked raisins in place of canned pineapples and I never ever frost my cakes because they are too pretty to be covered by anything else.

Here is the recipe:

Carrot cake

Fried chickpea with crispy buckwheat shell

As a semi-permanent traveler I used to long intensively for a way to travel with beans that didn't involve cans or hours of cooking, to have always a relatively big stash in my bag. Little did I know you could fry chickpeas.

Fried chickpeas??? was one of the first things I thought when I entered my first general Asian food shop ever. I was 20 (yes, I know, but they just don't have these things where I come from, except for Japanese). I was wild. Fried chickpeas, fried peas, fried chickpea dough strips, and fried mix. Everything piping hot, making me sweat like a popping popcorn, steaming (try making popcorn with a glass lid and you will see what I mean). And it made me pop too.

Well, the thing is, I know what I will make before my next trip. If I'm too lazy I will just take canned hummus but it is very likely I will get my hands on the dough. I always do. Next time with something other than a freshly cooked meal, since it goes partly spoiled, since we like to try new flavours we find on the way and end up eating it for breakfast and not wanting to repeat it for lunch (we already ate the same thing before leaving too).

Fried chickpea with crispy buckwheat shell

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked/canned chickpeas (can be firm)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp spaghetti spices
• 1 tbsp salt (if chickpeas aren't salted yet)
• 5 tbsp buckwheat flour
• Coconut oil, for deep frying

Cooking Directions

1. Drain chickpeas, making sure they are still a bit wet.
2. Let the chickpeas marinate with spices and salt for 12 hours (1 is fine too but 12 is nicer).
3. Add the flour, mix well, making sure the flour is well distributed.
4. Heat the frying oil (my stove has 6 marks, I use the 5).
5. Throw a little piece of bread or a piece of onion peel in the oil, and if it fries immediately, the temperature is good. Take off the bead/peel (so it won't burn) and add the chickpeas carefully (so you won't burn :-) ).
6. Fry until it becomes a bit golden, about 3-5 minutes.

Veggie nasi goreng - big batch for freezing

Nham :-)

I have always been crazy about fried rice. Having eaten about a truckload of it, I never imagined how much this version would spin me around like we were dancing for a competition.

I actually got to know this one when sleeping over at a friends who lives on gluten (and I barely eat any), and to my surprise he wasn't going to let me live on eggs this time. And that was the start of a passionate love affair (with the nasi goreng I mean :-) ). I had the leftovers the next morning, sizzled in the butter from frying the omelette, and my dear breakfeast was born. By the way, if you want to make a failproof omelette, check this out.

This batch will yield loads of food, so make it for a party or freeze it (or both,depending on the size of the party or the freezer); you can also make 1/4 of it for a regular amount, then use only 1 bell pepper of your choice). Please don't hurt yourself converting everything to perfection; if making 1/4 us 1 clove of garlic on the bigger side and so on.

Veggie nasi goreng

Ingredients

• 2kg (4lb) rice
• 9 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 yellow bell peppers, chopped
• 5-15 seeded chilis
• 2 thin leeks, or one regular, sliced (as thick as the flesh of the bell pepper, I wish I had done that)
• 5-9 carrots, chopped in thin strips or coarsely grated
• 1kg (2lb) frozen peas
• 250g (9 oz) soy sprouts (tauge)
• 1/2 cup kecap manis (I didn't have it, used soy sauce)
• 3 tbsp turmeric

Cooking Directions

1. Cook the rice in a giant pot, as instructed here - it will tak longer because of the great volume
2. Let it cool until at least body temperature (you might want to transfer it to a giant bowl/fridge drawer if you have one). In the meanwhile chop the rest. You might want to ask help :-)
3. Add the coconut oil to the giant pot, adding the onions and garlic, fry them a bit and then add all the peppers, the leek and the carrots.
4. Keep stirring and frying until the leek greens look brighter.
5. Add peas and keep frying.
6. After 1-2 minutes, add the soy sprouts and the rice (if it is too much for the pot, keep only half or a quarter of the veggies in there, repeating with the rest later.
7. Fry everything adding the kecap manis (or half or a quarter depending on how much veggies).
8. Repeat if needed.
9. Not all the rice needs to be fried, but certainly half and the best is at least two thirds. Stir everything very well with the remaining rice.
10. Let it cool completely and then freeze in freezer bags.

Spanakopita, Greek spinach pie

New camera :-) Thanks Els!

I have always been crazy about phyllo dough, which I first had as a sweet (I think it was a banana pie). I never got over it. It is visible on how often I make spanakopita.

Can you imagine someone baking spinach pie 3 times in a week?

That's me, when I like something I have to make it for days in a row until the juice runs out, and then I forget about it for a month or a year. It costs my husband's enthusiasm with certain dishes sometimes (buckwheat soup again???) but I can't help it, it takes over me. One thing I know it will stay in in my kitchen repertoire is buckwheat, but it will certainly be easy to tell each buckie recipe apart. When I make spinach pie it is always mostly the same.

Anyway, I made this a lot whn I was pregnant (my husband got enthousiast for longer than usual, because, well, it is spinach and crumbly feta wrapped around with a soft-in-the-middle-crunchy-in-the-top layer of phyllo dough. Loads of spinach. Tastes nely cheesy. It's a pie. What else could you ask?

Eggs. The eggs hold the spinach together so it doesn't jump in all directions when you bite. It's a clean pie, of the kind you can eat with your hand sitting on a park and not thinking very much about the fact that your pants are white. You can never forget that your pants are white, just admit it. Whatever you eat or drink will rmind you even more. Except for this pie, when you get used to it and trust it like your best friend.

I have no idea where I got this recipe from, I'm sure it was on the internet though; it was a year and a half ago so it's pretty hard to remember; whoever posted it, thanks!

I've added fenugreek and halved the amount of phyllo (I find it just as nice with three layes but the traditional recipe says six, see what you prefer).

I just ate half the pie. Be warned.

Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 3 onions
• 750g (25 oz) spinach, blanched, or frozen and thawed
• 225g (8 oz) feta cheese
• 3 eggs
• 5 tbsp butter
• 3 phyllo dough sheets, fresh or frozen and thawed

Cooking Directions

1. Squeeze all the water you can from the spinach (and drink it, it's healthy). This is very important to avoid a soggy bottom; if it is your thing thn squeeze almost all the water, otherwise it becomes soupy.
2. Fry the onions and the fenugreek until the onions are transparent, stirring constantly.
3. Add nutmeg and spinach and keep stirring. Don't add salt, the feta will take care of that.
4. Let it cool and meanwhile prepare the dough.
5. Phyllo is very delicate, separate them carefully. Nobody is going to care about a couple of rips though (I ripped mine big time on this batch, it is still awesome).
6. Melt the butter and brush it with a culinary brush into one of the phyllo sheets, or with your fingers, very gently. Make sure it is well spread.
7. Put another layer of phyllo on top.
8. Repeat.
9. Transfer the three layers of phyllo to a round baking pan, open, with thcenter of the phyllo in the center of the pan with 22 cm (9 in) diameter (can be square too but round looks better; I've made both).
10. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
11. Add the feta to the spinach, mashing everything with your hands (the next time you make it I'm sure this step will drive you crazy, thinking of what is about to come)
12. When the mixture is cold, add the eggs, mixing it with everything (for that I use a fork).
13. Add that to the center of the phyllo dough, spreading it evenly.
14. Wrap the tips of the phyllo around the top of the filling. it doesn't need to cover everything.
15. Bake it for 50 minutes (check at 45)
16. Serve and enjoy!

How to make the perfect omelette, every time

There is nothing better than nasi goreng leftovers and an omelette for breakfeast.

Yes, breakfeast. Started as a typo but i just realized that maybe whoever wrote the word first, this one, had a serious typo. It's just the best meal of the day (alright, dinner too...). I can't grasp that I grew up eating white bread with margarine for breakfast. These things you just don't do to yourself. Do yourself justice.

Anyway, eggs will keep you full and load you with protein so you can have a great active day without craving food after two hours, and a nasi goreng loaded with veggies will help you in the kick. The rice is just yummy :-) I fry the omelette, put it in my plate, and follow with addind the nasi goreng to the hot, buttery pan and let it sizzle for a bit while stirring, and smelling all the warm spicyness in the air.

I had a lot of unintentional scrambled eggs before I saw Kris, a friend of our best friend making an omelette; I based my method on his (it's almost the same). Thanks :-)

The perfect omelete recipe (amount per person)

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 bit salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• A bit of filling (optional)
• A spatula
• A skillet, plain, inclined sides, flat bottom. Very important!

Cooking Directions

1. Add butter to the skillet, enough to cover the pan bottom with minimal swirling.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl with a tiny bit of salt. Make it 3 at a time if you are making for more people to ensure equally sized omelettes.
3. When the butter is very hot (after it has been crackling for a while, careful to not to burn too much (a bit is fine), pour the beaten eggs in and wait until it's almost completely solidified.
4. Add then the fillings of your choice if any. If you want to fold the omelette, add fillings only to half of it. You can even make an omelette pizza with tomato sauce, cheese and whatever :-)
5. If you want to fold, this is the time. If you want flip, throwing it in the air, do it at your own risk - better train with pancakes first until you get the hang of it, they don't break as easy.
6. Let it fry a few seconds more (if with cheese, make sure it's melted)
7. Slide a spatula underneath to make sure it's all loose and slide into your plate.

Enjoy! What is your favorite omelette filling?

Grilled meal

The picture says it all :-)

Is there anything better to do with a grill?

The sweet mild onionness lends itself very wll for this recipe that bathes in crafty pastured pork sausage juices, with it's herbiness pulsing from the inside, and the zucchini that feels soft and fresh, the bell pepper that always has a marking presence and the eggplant that embraces the garlic like her own child, not minding all the oily sweat from playing outside.

I recently got a grill + waffle iron + croque monsieur maker and I've been enjoying every moment. It is tiny so I need to use it three times for a plate like this but it is very tasteworthy!

Needless to say I went to make a second batch.

Here is what I've made for two:

Grilled meal

Ingredients

• 3 medium onions, sliced, 1 cm (0.4 in)
• 2 chipolata sausages
• 1 bellpepper, in strips
• 1 zucchini, in 1 cm (0.4 in) slices
• 2 eggplants, sliced, 1 cm (0.4 in)
• 3 finely chopped cloves of garlic
• 1 bit of olive oil (you can mix the garlic with olive oil on forehand to release the taste better)
•  Himalaya salt

           

1. Top the eggplants with the garlic and olive oil.

2. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant and the zucchini.

3. Grill it all until done; the veggies will be ready around the same time as the meat. I didn't need to add oil because it is a non-stick grill. Make sure the onions are cooked through and the sausage doesn't release any liquid anymore. The zucchini doesn't need the grill marks to be ready.

If you want some carby side, clean the grill with fresh bread or sprinkle the juicy deliciousness over freshly made rice (or us it along with a bit of oil to fry yesterday's), otherws drizzle the juice over the veggies.

P.S.: It is a great cutlery-free picnic food!

Making the perfect buttery popcorn

I have grown up on popcorn. Plain, with salt, at 3 in the afternoon, almost every day. I just loved it!

I still do. As a matter of fact, it is one of my standard midnight snack (the other is kuttu ki puri). That is the snack for lazy people, easier than the 5 minutes walk to the shop to get chips and much healthier, besides filling you with not much density so it is easily digestible and it won't hurt your waistline.

I have a little secret here.

If you tried to make popcorn with butter before you know how disappointing it can be to burn your last corn and having all the shops closed or far away. Making popcorn with vegetable oil and making it soggy with butter is not really fun.

My secret ingredient is ghee.  That is clarified butter, or butter fat. The butter is simmereed until the solids separate. I will post a recipe in the future, but I need to make it again (I only post tried and tested recipes and for me it was so long ago that I don't even remember anymore). In the Indian or Asian shops you can find it sometimes cheaper than butter itself, in cans, and since it can be stored at room temperature (as far as the tradition goes, and that is how I do) like olive oil and the like, since it has no water it lasts longer. Make sure you read well the package and that you are buying butter ghee, as they sell shortening as vegetable ghee.

Butter popcorn

Yield: 1 quart/1 liter
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• 3 tbsp ghee
• Salt to taste
• Pot with fitting lid
• Bowl (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the ghee almost on maximum (wait 2 minutes)
2. Add 3 popcorn kernels
3. Put on lid
4. Wait for them to start popping
5. If they don't after 2 minutes and burn add other 3 kernels, they will pop
6. When they do add the other kernels, spreading them around so that they are in an even layer
7. Let them start to pop
8. If you want to keep them on the pot to save you dishes fill the sink or a heat resistant bowl half as deep as your pot with cold water
9. If not just sit and enjoy the show
10. Shake them every two minutes
11. When there are several (ten to fifteen) seconds between pops add the popcorn to a bowl or pot the pan into the bowl with water.
12. If you put it in a bowl, enjoy
13. If you keep it in the pan, wait five to ten minutes and enjoy!
14. It also works with coconut oil

It's quite easy, and you will probably notice that the ghee will yeld you bigger, airier popcorn. I have tried several oils  (coconut, butter, olive, peanut, sunflower, soya, grapeseed - be careful with refined oils because they carry hexane residues but that is a talk for another post) and ghee deserves by far the first place, and secondly coconut.

I usually make the double for me alone because it is just so good, and it's also great for a picnic in a sunny day (just let it cool down a bit before putting the lid on the container or use a big paper bag after making a couple of small holes in it for thee crunchiest results).

Have fun,

Beet