Watermelon Cheese Salad / Салат из Арбуза и Сыра

A very easy and refreshing late summer salad, when watermelons are everywhere in abundance:) Especially here in Turkey.

Use sweet and preferably seedless type of watermelon, fresh young cheese and herbs to get a light and healthy snack.

Recipe adapted from Macro magazine
for 6 portions

1 kg watermelon
250g white young cheese or your favourite
small bunch of mint (or use dry mint leaves)
small bunch of parsley
45ml balsamic vinegar
10ml runny honey
60ml olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Scoop watermelon with melon scoop. Cut cheese into cubes. Place watermelon balls and cheese cubes onto plates, add fresh leaves and sprinkle with oil, vinegar and honey. Season to taste. Very quickly!:)

Chicken, Grapes and Blue Cheese Salad / Салат с Курицей, Виноградом и Голубым Сыром

This is just a well known great combination of tasted and textures. Sweet fruit and sharp cheese dressing, juicy pieces of chicken meat, crunchy walnuts. I love these fruity salads so much! Hope I've inspired you to make it. Give yourself a treat!:)

200g roasted chicken meat, sliced
1 medium red apple
2 handfuls red grapes, cut in half
handful toasted walnuts
rucola (enough for 3-4 people)
some parsley leaves

2 egg yolks*
1 large garlic clove
about 100ml olive oil
about 80g blue cheese
1-2 t.s. lemon juice

Place rucola leaves into a salad bowl. Add chopped grapes, sliced apple and toasted walnuts.

Beat egg yolks, adding gradually olive oil into the mixture. Add lemon juice and crushed garlic. In the end add blue cheese and continue beating.

Divide mixed salad between dishes, place sliced chicken on top of every dish and sprinkle with blue cheese dressing.

* If children are going to eat it, I would not add egg yolks. The dressing will be just as delicious without them.

Enjoy!

Eastern Carrot Coconut Soup with Grilled Chicken/ Восточный Морковно-Кокосовый Суп с Курицей

Delicious and so easy to make soup! My family loves soups, but to tell the truth, I often don't want to make them just because they go down so fast and everyone is hungry soon again:) Yeah, I know, it's bad. But if I do make a soup it at least would not take a lot of time to prepare.

This eastern carrot coconut soup is in that category. Takes less than half an hour and it is filling as well. It has mild taste, little spicy and not dull at all. Try it and you'll like it!:)

Serves 4 (adapted from Dutch cooking magazine)

750ml water
400ml coconut milk
500g carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablets of chicken stock
2 chicken breasts, cuts lengthwise into stripes
olive oil
salt, black pepper
some chili pepper to taste (for chicken and soup)
2t.s. cumin powder (one for chicken one for soup)
1t.s. dried mint
flat bread to serve

Into a large pan place carrots, coconut milk and water. Add crushed chicken stock tablets and bring to boil. Cook on medium low for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper to taste. Blend with hand blender and return to fire to cook for 10 more minutes.
In the meantime, grill or fry chicken seasoned with pepper, salt and cumin powder.
Pour soup into plates, sprinkle some dry mint on top and add chicken. Enjoy !

Spicy Carrot Dip / Пряный Морковный Дип

I love hummus, but I rarely can eat it, because beans are too heavy for my stomach. But I found a really tasty alternative! Carrots, garlic, chili pepper, tomato... creamy and aromatic. Very healthy as well! And easy to digest!:)

Makes one medium sized bowl.

200g carrots
salt to taste
2 garlic cloves
1/3 t.s. cinnamon powder
1/2 t.s. dry mint powder
1 t.s. chili pepper flakes
1 tb.s. tomato paste
2 tb.s. olive oil

Boil peeled carrots until soft. Pour the remaining water out. Add to the pan with carrots mashed garlic, mint, pepper, cinnamon, salt, tomato paste and olive oil and blend with hand blender until creamy. Add more oil if you like. But 2 table spoons were enough.

Try it with any bread, raw vegetables, or chips even!
Enjoy!!

Mafaldine with Mushrooms and Aubergine/ Паста с Грибами и Баклажаном

It was quite a while ago that I tried new pasta recipe at home. But this one touched my soul so much!:) All those flavours are just exactly what I like. So I have to share the recipe here!

Earthy flavours of mushrooms, aubergine and walnuts combine so well in this easy to prepare pasta. Recipe is adapted from Dutch cooking magazine.

app.250g mafaldine or other type of pasta
app.200g mixed mushrooms
1 aubergine
1 clove garlic
salt, black pepper
t/s/ balsamic vinegar
dried oregano, 1t.s.
handful chopped walnuts
olive oil
Pecorino or other sharp cheep cheese

Heat water to cook pasta.
Thinly slice aubergine and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
Coarsely chop mushrooms.
Pour olive oil into frying pan and add aubergine stripes. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add mushrooms and garlic.
Add pasta into boiling water and cook for about 9 minutes, until al dente.
Sprinkle mushrooms and aubergine with oregano and season to taste. Add balsamico.
Divide pasta between plates and add hot mushrooms. Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts.

Pasta with Tomato, Spinach and Pesto/ Паста с Томатами, Шпинатом и Песто

Satisfying and delicious pasta. It won't take a lot of time to prepare, and you are going to enjoy every component of it, because they combine great here. It's healthy too!

For two or three:

250g dried pasta (better flat and large)
2 large tomatoes, cubed
1 tb.s. tomato paste + 0,5 cup water
bunch of spinach, about 200g
2 garlic cloves
half an onion
salt
sugar
black pepper
olive oil
some ricotta

For pesto:

2tb.s.olive oil
salt, pepper to taste
1,5 tb.s. pine nuts
small bunch of basil, about 20g
1tb.s. grated parmesan


On olive oil cook garlic and onion for about 2-3 minutes, until just golden, add tomatoes and cook 4-5 minutes. The pour water with tomato paste in it, season to taste and cook, covered, for approximately 15 minutes. In the end add torn spinach.

For pesto blend chopped garlic, nuts, then add basil and slowly pour olive oil into it, season to taste.

Cook pasta. Drain, mix it with tomato-spinach sauce and divide between plates. Add pesto to each plate and some ricotta. Enjoy!

Healthy Pumpkin Coconut Pudding/ Полезный Тыквенно-Кокосовый Пудинг

Really healthy, sugar free, without any butter or eggs, light, but creamy and fragrant pumpkin and coconut dessert. I enjoyed every spoon of it and wanted for more!:) This pudding brightened up my day with it's bright yellow colour and silky texture. I hope you'll also enjoy it as much!

1l pumpkin purée (cooked pumpkin with some water)
sugar substitute to taste
400ml full fat coconut milk
vanilla
cinnamon
5 almost full tb.s. flour or corn starch

Take coconut milk from the fridge and carefully separate hardened part (we need approximatelly 200ml), put it aside. Add another 200ml of coconut milk, cinnamon and vanilla into hot pumpkin purée and heat it.
Mix starch with some water (use 4-5 table spoons, depending on consistency of pumpkin purée  pudding shouldn't be too thick) and pour this mixture into pumpkin purée  whisking all the time until you see it begins to bubble and thicken. Take away from the heat and chill a little.
Divide between glasses, refrigerate.
Whip hardened coconut milk that we set aside. Place into piping bag and decorate pumpkin pudding.

Salmon in Soy-Honey Glaze/ Лосось в Соево-Медовом Соусе

This is a super easy and very tasty recipe, taken from Dutch cooking magazine with minor changes. It's healthy and very quick, so it's perfect for me:) Salmon tastes great in a company of carrots and fragrant sesame seeds.

2tb.s. sesame seeds
about 300g young carrots
olive oil, about 4tb.s.
2tb.s. runny honey
6tb.s. soy sauce
1tb.s. white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
black pepper to taste
2 portions of salmon

First on a dry and hot frying pan cook sesame seeds approximately 2 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Set aside.
Peel and cut carrots in half lengthwise.
Heat about half of olive oil on frying pan, add carrots and cook them for 2 minutes. Pour 1 tb.s. honey, 3 tb.s. soy sauce, vinegar and press 1 clove garlic into the pan, stir and cover with a lid. Cook 7-10 minutes. Set aside.
Pat dry salmon pieces. Pour olive oil,  1 tb.s. honey and another 3 tb.s. soy sauce into a pan and add salmon. Fry on medium high during 3 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of salmon).
Serve with carrots and sprinkle sesame seeds over the fish. Great with some rice.

Pizza Pancakes / Пицца Блины

Savoury pancake for breakfast...or with soup at lunch! Use your regular pancake recipe and just add some new ingredients to it to have something new. Kids friendly!

I used here pancake recipe that I usually make, but it's not very essential. Even pancake mix from the box will do. Mix it as usually you would do, adding tomato paste and Italian herbs. Some more salt and just a touch of sugar into the batter. When flipping a pancake onto the other side quickly add vegetables and cheese and bake until ready.

500ml milk (or 50/50 with water)
2 eggs
salt to taste
pinch of sugar
1tb.s. tomato paste
1t.s. dried oregano
0,5 t.s. red pepper powder
pinch of garlic powder
1 cup AP flour
some olive oil
1 tomato
1 bell pepper or charlestone pepper (which I love)
scallion chopped
shredded cheddar cheese/cheep cheese/or mozzarella

Mix milk, tomato paste and eggs together and add herbs. Carefully mix flour into the batter, make sure there are no lumps.
Heat pancake pan and pour some olive oil onto it. Bake pancakes as usual, just after flipping it place vegetables and sprinkle with desired cheese over them. Bake until done, 1 more minute, probably. Enjoy your new version of pancakes:)
Idea taken from Dutch cooking magazine

Cezerye/Turkish Carrot Candy / Джезерье

I am not a big fan of super sweet eastern desserts, but it happens from time to time I do try out some new to me stuff just for the taste experience. First time I had this lovely set of stuffed dried fruit with nuts I noticed one that was the prettiest to me...I tried it and did not guess at first what was it made of. First thought was super tasty luscious apple jelly? I love apples! Well, it actually is spiced with cinnamon and vanilla carrot candy with coconut and rolled in tasty pistachio nuts. I LOVED it! Since then I eat it more often:)

1 kg carrots (about 6 medium to large sized)
2 cups sugar
cinnamon and vanilla to taste
1 t.s. lemon juice and 0,5 t.s. lemon zest
200g shredded coconut
around 250g pistachio nuts for coating

Boil whole peeled carrots in water until they are tender. Drain and blend to create purée.
Transfer this into a non sticking pan adding 2 cups sugar and cook on medium heat until there is almost no moist any more (that is after the first bubble approximately 22-25 minutes). Add lemon juice, zest, vanilla and cinnamon somewhere at the end and then stir in coconut. Mix well and take away from the heat. Let it cool until it is possible to hold the mixture in your hands. Take small scoops of carrot candy and roll them in pistachios. Refrigerate for several hours. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Home made version is slightly softer, but the taste is the same. Some people like to add to the carrot mixture crushed petit beurre cookies, but I find them more tasty with coconut. And I like them rolled in whole pistachios, actually, but found it a bit difficult to repeat at home, so I crushed the nuts and there was no problem at all.

Turkish Aubergine Cream Soup/Турецкий Крем-Суп из Баклажана

And yet another cream soup here....if I ever eat/make a soup that would be usually cream soup. Apart from being more delicious...to my taste...it's also more satisfying...and it's kind of important for me...to spend some time in the kitchen and serve a nice and light dish to my family...to have them asking for more food in an hour...that's just too much!:) So cream soup will keep them full for longer:)

This aubergine and paprika soup is really pleasant, creamy but still quite low calorie.

600g aubergines, cut into small pieces
250g red paprika
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
2tb.s. flour
olive oil (about 50ml)
500ml chicken broth
500ml milk
small bunch of oregano (or 1t.s. of dry)
basil
basil pesto for serving
salt to taste, black pepper

Place onion and garlic into large frying pan, covered with olive oil. Steam for a couple of minutes, add aubergine and paprika. Cover with lid and cook on low for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add pepper and oregano.
Transfer vegetables into another large soup pan, add 500ml chicken broth and cook on low for 8 minutes or so. Add basil. Pour milk, mixed with flour and wait until the soup starts boiling. Switch the gas of. Blend.
Serve with some basil pesto or extra olive oil on top. Enjoy!

You might also be interested in these:
Broccoli cream soup
Leek and bacon cream soup
Carrot cream soup
Cauliflower cream soup

Strawberry Basil Ricotta Salad/Салат с Клубникой, Базиликом и Рикоттой

This is just my favourite simple, yet so luscious and tasty salad!

1 bunch rocket salad
several basil leaves
app.150g strawberries
80-100g ricotta
1t.s. lemon zest
1-2tb.s. lemon juice
olive oil

Mix oil and juice, add salt if you wish. Put all ingredients into a salad bowl, pour dressing over and sprinkle with lemon zest.
If I have this salad I don't need a dessert!

Feta Stuffed Baked Peppers/Печеный Перец с Фетой

Light and tasty starter or side dish. Mediterranean style vegetables, full of fresh flavours. So great to eat it in the open air finally...summer is near!

8 small green bell peppers
200g feta cheese (or white cheese)
dried mint
dried paprika flakes
1 tomato, chopped
handful black olives (pitted and halved)
some olive oil

Preheat oven to 200C. Mix all ingredients and stuff peppers. Oil baking dish and place stuffed peppers into it, drizzle with some oil over peppers.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Great with rocket salad.

Green Smoothie / Зеленый Смузи

I used spinach in this one to replenish some antioxidants and vitamins, especially needed during spring time. This winter was awful for me, actually, in terms of vitamins intake...I did not eat enough fruit/vegetables, as I usually do, and I can feel all the consequences right now. Fortunately, there are plenty of sources in the internet to look up for good and fresh ideas on how to come back to life again.

This my version is milky mild, where banana and apple dominate. I guess I'll experiment with it more these coming days.

To pump in some vitamins you'll need:

a bunch of spinach (2 handfuls)
half an apple
1 large or 3 mini bananas (frozen)
1/3 peeled avocado
app.100ml milk (any kind)

Blend all ingredients until really smooth (I was in a hurry, could have blended even longer). Make sure all your fruit/vegetables are ripe and fresh. Drink and feel the energy coming back!

Grilled Chicken Avocado Salad/Салат с Курицей Гриль и Авокадо

Such rich salads keep you satisfied and energized for hours. Just lovely combination.

1 bunch rocket salad
1 avocado
5-6 dried tomato halves
1 garlic clove
1 small or half grilled chicken breast
sharp sheep cheese
olive oil
lemon juice

Peel and cut avocados lengthwise. Cut chicken meat into thin slices. Mix salad leaves, avocado, chicken and tomatoes in a bowl. Combine together pressed garlic, oil and lemon juice. Pour over the salad. Grate some sheep cheese on top (or through some small cubes of cheese) and serve.

Rocket, Ricotta and Olives Salad/ Салат с Руколой, Рикоттой и Оливками

Simple, yet delicious light salad. You could use salty cottage cheese instead of ricotta too, making it even lighter. Great source of vitamins and protein in a tasty form:)

mixture of rocket and red leaf lettuce
100g ricotta cheese, crumbled
1 large fresh tomato or roasted
handful pitted black olives
olive oil
lemon juice

Well, there is not much description, actually, just combine everything together and enjoy! Makes great brunch and it's quite filling too.

Lighter Chicken Parmigiano/Курица Пармиджанo (облегченная)

Tasty chicken with cheese and tomato sauce, contains a little less calories.

2 chicken breasts (cut horizontally in halves)
olive oil
black pepper
salt

4 thin slices of light mozzarella
grated parmigiano

half of onion
2 tomatoes
2garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper
tomato paste
1t.s.rosemary
1t.s.oregano
1t.s. paprika flakes
1t.s. sugar
some water or stock
salt
olive oil
pitted black olives

Prepare simple tomato sauce using ingredients from the third table or use your favourite tomato sauce. Cook until it gets thicker, about 40 minutes.
Pound pieces of chicken to make them thinner. Heat olive oil, season chicken and fry from both sides until golden, about 4-5 minutes from both sides.
Preheat oven to 250C. Pour some of the sauce into baking dish, place chicken pieces on top and put small pieces of mozzarella on each. Sprinkle with parmesan and pour the rest of the sauce over.
Bake in the over uncovered until bubbly, around 15 minutes.
Serve.

Pasta Salad with Lemon zest and Pistachio /Салат с Пастой, Лимонной цедрой и Фисташками

Fresh and light spring salad. Bright colours, simple, yet very tasty and fragrant. I am using whole wheat pasta.

cooked pasta (here fusilli) (could be good way to dispose leftover pasta)
rucola
zest of 1/3 lemon
thinly sliced red pepper (half)
handful toasted pistachios
grated sharp sheep cheese
olive oil
lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl, sprinkle with nuts and cheese and pour dressing over, made from olive oil and lemon juice.

Grilled Champignons with Olives/Шампиньоны Гриль с Оливками

Tasty, very easy, healthy and quickly. We enjoyed these mushrooms simply with rucola and some olive oil with black pepper. Full of flavours starter!

large champignons (I had about 400g)
olive oil
black pepper
1 medium sized onion
2 gloves garlic
2t.s. dry thyme
splash of balsamic vinegar
7-8 black olives
some grated sharp sheep cheese
parsley

Preheat oven to 200C. Remove stems from mushrooms, cut them. Slice onion and garlic and fry on olive oil, add mushroom stems, thyme and black pepper. Cook about 7-10 minutes until a bit browned, add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

In the meantime place mushroom caps on oiled baking form and brush with some olive oil on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Take them out, pour some of the juice out, if there is too much, spread stuffing over the mushroom caps, sprinkle with a bit of cheese and chopped olives. Place under grill for about 5 minutes.

Rye Buns and Red Bean Burger/Ржаные Булочки и Бургеры из Красной Фасоли

We had really lovely brunch and everyone enjoyed the buns as well as bean burgers from here, just I used red beans, replaced cilantro with parsley, used fresh garlic and tabasco and made 5 patties from that amount. My husband, actually, did not notice, that these burgers where meatless...and even after he was told, he took one more:)

Rye rolls are soft, fragrant, airy, not even mentioning that they are healthy and freeze OK as well.
Adapted from www.butterybooks.com with slight changes. And I did kneading by hand.

50ml warm water
1t.s. sugar
10g dry yeast

2 tb.s. sugar
3 full tb.s. carob molasses
2.5 cups warm water
3t.s. espresso powder
2.5tb.s. cocoa powder
2 cups rye flour
2t.s. salt
1 cup AP flour
2 cups WW flour

1 egg white
some flax seed for on top

Start with mixing first 3 ingredients and let it stand for several minutes to foam.

Add the rest of water, coffee powder, cocoa and molasses. Add rye flour and stir until there are no lumps.

Now add salt and 1AP and 1WW flour. Start kneading and adding some more WW flour, as much as is needed to make slightly sticky dough. Place the dough in a big bowl, cover with plastic and let it rise for 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and press with your hands to create square disk. Cut it into smaller squares (I made 19 actually), transfer these buns onto lined with paper baking sheet and let them rise again, 45 minutes approximately.

Preheat oven to 190C. Coat each with egg white wash and sprinkle with flax seeds.
Bake for 20 minutes and let them cool on a wire rack.