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Christmas party – menu

January 5, 2013 by potatoface

I said recipes were coming soon, but who truly can define ‘soon’.

In other words I was just being lazy, doing what you should over Christmas – do nothing, eat, drink, and be merry…

But here it comes, christmas party menu:

Beetroot soup with mushroom parcels

For the beetroot soup you need:

2-3 beetroots (fresh)

1 carrot

1 parsnip

1 onion

3 pints of water

salt

pepper

dried marjoram

oregano

lemon juice from 1 lemon

1 spoon of olive oil

1. Boil water in a pan. Add olive oil.

2. Peel all the vegetables , cut them into big chunks (onion in half) and add to boiling water.

3. Add salt and pepper.

4. After few minutes add lemon juice. Boil for 15-20 minutes, taste and add more seasoning or lemon juice if you need to.

5. You can take all the vegetables out of your pot (we need clear beetroot soup) and add herbs and a dash of an olive oil.

I’m not going to lie, you can make yourself mushroom parcels (like tortellinis with porchini mushrooms). My sister does. But I bought them frozen from a Polish shop (one can only do a few things at a time).

mushroom parcels

beetroot soup with mushroom parcels

Next thing on the menu were Beet and Goat Cheese Terrine with Rocket and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

beetroot and goat cheese terrine

beetroot and goat cheese terrine

You can find the recipe in ‘Fresh’ by Anna Olson

I served it with Rocket and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad, Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa’s recipe:

You can find it in her book ‘Back to Basics’

or on the Food Network website here.

For the main we had Spanakopita (Spinach and Feta in Filo Pastry). I tried different variations of this Greek dish but my favourite recipe which I used over and over again is Jamie Oliver’s from his ’30 Minute Meals’ book

There were two deserts. One of them was mince pies in filo pastry, dead easy. You need to cut filo pastry into squares, brush with melted butter and arrange in a muffin tin. If you feel artistic and have time arrange them with corners making a star. Fill them with vegetarian good mince meat, zest of lemon and fresh cranberries, bake till golden and sprinkle with icing sugar and maybe little sugar snowflakes…?

mince pies in filo pastry

And there were also Gingerbread Cupcakes.

Christmas gingerbread cupcakes

Christmas gingerbread cupcakes

And the recipe you can also find on the Food Network website here.

Category dessert, dinner, Party, soup, starter | Tags: baking powder,butter,butternut squash,cheese,christmas,cinnamon,cupcakes,eggs,feta cheese,flour,garlic,herbs,lemon,mince pies,mushrooms,nutmeg,olive oil,pepper,pine nuts,rocket,salad,salt,spinach,wine | No Comments
Christmas party

December 23, 2012 by potatoface

Have I mentioned I love Christmas? It’s the best pagan tradition adapted by Christianity…

This year, for the first time in 5 years, I got Christmas off from work, so me and Boyfriend flew to Poland (yay!)

Before we did, we invited a few friends over for ‘Christmas Dinner’ to celebrate with them.

The Menu

Beetroot soup with mushroom parcels

Beet and Goat Cheese Terrine with Rocket and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Spanakopita (Spinach and Feta in Filo Pastry)

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Mince pies in filo pastry

And lots and lots of red wine.

Recipes coming soon…

Category dessert, dinner, Party | Tags: butter,christmas party,cinnamon,cream,eggs,feta cheese,maple syrup,sugar,wine,yummy | No Comments
Spiced apple and goji berry healthy muffins

September 12, 2012 by potatoface

spiced apple and goji berry healthy muffins

I have been indulging myself recently in lots of butter and sugar (icing on cupcakes, etc.) because I felt sorry for myself (don’t we all).

But enough is enough! I’ve decided it’s time to go back to healthy baking.

Will power or what?!

I really wanted to use goji berries as they have been used in Chinese medicine for the last 2000 years and apparently they can even slow the ageing process (among other amazing health improving tricks).

So I made really really healthy muffins. They are so freaking healthy, they should be prescribed by a doctor or something…

spiced apple and goji berry healthy muffins

For the muffins:

2 cups of wholemeal flour

1 cup of plain flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 cup of agave syrup

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of all spice

3 apples, diced

1 cup of dried goji berries

300 ml of buttermilk

1/2 cup of grape seed oil

3 eggs

For the topping:

2 tablespoons of grape seed oil

3 tablespoons of plain flour

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

100 grams of sunflower seeds

100 grams of pumpkin seeds

spiced apple and goji berry muffins

1. Preheat oven to 180 C

2. Mix flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and all spice in a big bowl.

3. In a separate bowl mix oil, eggs, agave syrup and buttermilk.

4. Add wet ingredients to the dry ones, mix carefully and gently until combined.

5. Peel and dice apples and add them to the mixture with goji berries. Mix gently.

6. Line muffin tray with muffin cases. Scoop batter into them.

7. Mix all the ingredients for the topping and crumble on top of muffins.

8. Bake till skewer comes out clean and muffins are golden on top.

9. Stuff your face without guilt – your are extending your life eating them (see: goji berries).

spiced apple and goji berry muffins

Category breakfast, dessert, muffins | Tags: agave syrup,all spice,baking powder,buttermilk,cinnamon,eggs,grape seed oil,plain flour,pumpkin seed,sunflower seeds,wholemeal flour | No Comments
deep fried stuffed crepes

July 22, 2012 by potatoface

deep fried crepes

This is my ‘pick me up and turn me round’ type of food..

Deep fried stuffed crepes

Ingredients

for the pancakes:

1 cup of milk

2-3 eggs

1 1/2 – 2 cups of flour

2-3 spoons of olive oil or melted butter

pinch of salt

1/2 cup of oil for frying

For the filling

220grams quark or ricotta

2 mashed bananas

1/3 cup of honey

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 cup of raisins or any dry fruit (cranberries, chopped apricots,etc)

deep fried crepes

1. Mix all the ingredients for pancakes. Leave it for 10 minutes. If it’s too thick after 10 minutes, add some water.

2. In the meantime warm up a non stick frying pan on the medium heat. When the pan is really hot, pour your mixture using a ladle and tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

3. Cook the crepes and flip when it starts to loosen. Use a spatula.

4. Cook on the other side for a minute, transfer it onto the plate.

5. Repeat till you use all the batter.

6. After you have all crepes prepared, mix all the ingredients for the filling.

7. Put about a tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the crepes, fold it like a tortilla, then fold it again to make them rectangular.

8. Heat oil in a pan. Wait until it’s really hot, fry your stuffed crepes on medium heat till they are crispy and golden brown on both sides.

9. Serve with a spoon of sour cream and sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon.

Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb – born with a weak heart
(So I) guess I must be having fun …

Category brunch, dinner, lunch | Tags: bananas,butter,cinnamon,dried fruit,eggs,flour,honey,milk,oil,quark,ricotta,salt | No Comments
Muffins

April 3, 2012 by potatoface

muffins

Do you know what I like about muffins? That they always come right. You don’t need to measure the ingredients (as long as you know what consistency you are looking for), throw anything in it and voila! Muffins are done. I wish life was more like muffins…

I recently started taking driving lessons. I had never driven in my life before. I couldn’t afford driving lessons before as well. But now I’ve got this job most of the time I really like (is it weird to like your job if it’s not creative?) and in the job I really need to drive.

I even found my driving instructor through work. He’s really nice and patient. He even gives me discount on my lessons. And because I really appreciate it, I try to bake something for him every time. And as I have to consider his health, most of the time I’m making him healthy muffins.

His name is Kevin. Sometimes when Boyfriend is seeing me baking muffins again, he’s saying: ‘we need to talk about Kevin’. Not that Kevin is anything like the one in the book, hahaha….I hope.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about there is a tip – the book was made into a film. Watch it.

Anyway, I really enjoy driving around (or trying) in a mini. Yes, in a mini….I look so pretty in it.

banana muffins

Muffins

basic ingredients:

240 grams of wholemeal flour

100 grams of oats

1 teaspoon of baking powder

pinch of salt

half a glass of agave syrup (or half a glass of demerara sugar, nut agave syrup is so much better)

3 eggs

half a glass of milk

half a glass of sunflower or grape seed oil (or 60 grams of melted butter if you are decadent and don’t have to worry about your cholesterol)

1 spoon of cinnamon

1 spoon of vanilla extract

These are your basic ingredients. Now, it depends where the mood (or season) is taking you. You can add any fruit you desire:

1. one banana and 200 grams of raspberries

2. three ripe bananas and handful of chopped walnuts

3. 200 grams of blueberries, zest and juice of one lemon

4. three chopped apples

5. zest and juice of 2 oranges and handful of chopped pecans

6. two pears and 7 plums chopped

Etc, etc, you get the picture.

raspberry muffins

1. So basically what you do is mix in a bowl flour, oats, salt and baking powder. Whisk eggs, and add it to the mixture.

2. Add oil, milk, agave syrup, cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix it, not to vigorously.

3. In the meantime heat the oven (170 C)

4. Chop your choice of fruit or nuts. Add them to the mixture and fold it gently especially if you are adding raspberries.

5. Line a muffin tray with paper muffin cases. Fill each case with the mixture to just below the top.

6. Bake in the preheated oven till they’re nice and golden on top. Use the skewer to check if they’re baked inside (has to come out clean).

See, why is everything in life not this easy?

Category dessert, muffins | Tags: agave syrup,baking powder,banana,blueberries,cinnamon,demerara sugar,eggs,flour,milk,oats,oil,oranges,pears,pecans,plums,raspberries,vanila extract,walnuts | No Comments
blueberry cake

September 29, 2011 by potatoface

I love autumn. The smell of decay, changing colours, crispness in the air in the morning, beautiful sunrise in the morning…aaahh. Always get really excited about this lovely season. And that’s the time of the year when I bake a lot. You have to get some love handles for the winter to keep you warm, and there is all this fantastic fruit and veg around. Brilliant! Recently I bought blueberries from Poland (ha! local to me) and I made a cake using what I found in my cupboards and fridge. Improvisation is the key to creation. So there it is. Enjoy.

Blueberry cake

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 glass of spelt flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

125 ml of natural yoghurt

1/4 glass of sugar

1/2 pack of unsalted butter (room temperature) or margarine.

2 eggs

3-4 spoons of vanilla essence

6 spoons of cinnamon

250 grams of blueberries

1. Mix flour, baking soda and powder together.

2. If butter is not room temperature, melt it. Wait until it cools down a bit. If it is room temperature, mix with sugar till it’s white and fluffy.

3. Add all the ingredients apart from blueberries to flour, mix well together. Leave it for 20 minutes on the side.

4. Coat blueberries with a bit of flour, add to the batter, mix gently. Butter the cake tin, pour the mixture into the tin, bake in 160 C for about 30-40 minutes. You can check if the cake is baked if you insert a toothpick (or simply wooden chopstick) in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.

5. Leave it to cool, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Category cakes, dessert | Tags: blueberries,cinnamon,eggs,flour,sugar,vanilla essence,yoghurt | No Comments
blueberry pancakes – much healthier than the american version

September 12, 2011 by potatoface

blueberry pancakes

I’m blessed to have a few but dear friends I can always count on. One of them, the best one, recently visited me. She’s like a sister to me and I love her very much. She has lived for the last 12 years in California, so the last time I saw her was about 6-7 years ago. We always pick up where we left, I never felt like there was a break at all. It feels almost like having a twin – we always know without talking and with the ocean between us when something happens in our life, when we are sad, or we are going through something dramatic.

If you have a friend you truly love and don’t need words to communicate with, you know you are lucky.

First morning after she arrived I made pancakes – my interpratation of an American favourite. It will always remind me of her.

Pancakes but much healthier than the American version

Ingredients

1cup of wholemeal flour

1/2 cup of spelt flour

1/2 cup of ready oats

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 spoon of cinnamon

2 eggs

blueberries

maple syrup or agave nectar

1 or 2/3 glass of soya milk

knob of butter

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix eggs, milk and melted batter. Add those to the dry ingredients and leave the mixture for at least half an hour on the side.

2. Warm heavy frying pan. Wait until it’s really hot. Add blueberries to your batter, fold gently. Using a ladle pour some batter, wait till the top of the pancake begins to bubble, turn over, and fry until golden brown.

3. Repeat till you use all the batter, if you are making a lot of pancakes for many people, keep the ones you made in a warm oven until they’re all ready.

pancakes

If you just want simple pancakes, instead of wholemeal flour and ready oats use normal flour and ordinary milk instead of soya – and voila!

Category breakfast, brunch | Tags: agave nectar,baking powderready oats,baking soda,blueberries,cinnamon,eggs,flour,maple syrup,milk,soya milk,spelt flour,wholemeal flour | No Comments
Apple pie

September 6, 2011 by potatoface

apple pie

My sister always makes apple pie the same way. When I made it a few times here in England, people were commenting that it’s quite unusual. Well, it’s the traditional way to make apple pie in my house so maybe it’s just a family thing or maybe a Polish thing, I don’t know.

I know that I love it and Boyfriend totally digs it.

In fact I made it yesterday and it went so well, there’s nothing left.

My ex flatmate loved it as well, so this recipe is especially for him. For Kamil that is.

Apple pie

Ingredients

1-2 kg of apples (granny smith or golden delicious)

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

3-4 cloves

1/4 glass of brown sugar

half a cup (or half a pack) of butter

1 cup of sifted flour

2 eggs

few spoons of cold water

few spoons of vanilla sugar

1. First make shortbread crust. I never make sweet crust, but if you want to get high on an insulin rush, knock yourself out. Mix butter with flour, 2 egg yolks (sugar optional) and cold water. Use your hands to work the dough and form into a ball. Chill in the fridge.

2. Peel apples and grate them. Add sugar, cinnamon and cloves and cook until excess liquid evaporates. You can remove cloves after (highly recommended, you want a bit of spice but not to choke on it). Leave to cool.

3. Take your dough out of the fridge, divide into two parts(1/3 and 2/3). roll the bigger part on a slightly floured surface. Fit into a buttered tart dish, stab with a fork, prebake for about 15 minutes at 200 C.

4. Fill the crust with apples. Whisk the egg whites, add some vanilla sugar and whisk again till they are stiffer then some people’s upper lip. Spread on top of the apples. Use the remaining dough to sprinkle on top of the egg whites (like crumble, you can also use a grater and grate it like cheese. That’s what I do anyway).

5. Bake it at 200 C until meringue is baked and the crust on top is golden.

6. You can serve it hot or cold, with ice cream and on its own.

Category dessert | Tags: apples,butter,cinnamon,eggs,flour,sugar,vanilla sugar,yummy | No Comments
Healthy crepes

June 8, 2011 by potatoface

healthy crepes

When you have a day off (for some people it is usually the weekend, for myself and Boyfriend it is a random day) you could make something different for breakfast. I quite often make crepes. They are a healthy version with oats and wholemeal flour and they are yummy. They are also good for brunch or lunch. When we’ve got friends staying over it’s always a winner.

(more…)

Category breakfast, brunch, lunch | Tags: bananas,blueberries,breakfast,brunch,cinnamon,crepes,eggs,flour,healthy,lemon,lunch,maple syrup,milk,oats,pancakes,strawberries,yummy | No Comments