Polish Christmas: Kutia (Wheat berries with poppy seeds)

#healthyeating #easyfoodcreation #PolishChristmas

Kutia is pretty much the same dish as pasta with poppy seeds except that it is popular during Christmas Eve primarily in the Eastern regions of Poland. It is healthier option but I still favour the taste of the pasta with poppy seeds I grew up with.

Ingredients:

1c poppy seeds

0.5c honey

0.25c Dried fruits: apricots, dates, figs, prunes

0.5c nuts and almonds

2tbsp whipping cream (optional)

0.5 (can be more) lemon or orange - juice and peel 

1c wheat berries

spices (optional): 3 cloves, 1 pot cardamom, 0.25 tsp nutmeg - grind into powder

1. Run boiling water through poppy seeds 3-4 times. Then pour 1c of  boiling water into a bowl, add poppy seeds and let it sit overnight.

2. Remove excess water. Place poppy seeds in a blender, add honey and lemon juice. Process for a few minutes; you should see milky liquid. 

3. Chop dried fruits and nuts into small pieces.

4. Cook wheat berries like all grains - 1:3 grain to water proportions, for about 40 minutes on a lower heat. Drain.

5. Mix all ingredients together.

6. Serve warm or at room temperature. If it becomes dry after a couple of days you can stir in more cream, honey, and/or orange or lemon juice. It keeps well in the fridge for a week.

7. Enjoy!

Zurek (fermented rye soup) - traditional Polish Easter soup

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #eastertraditions

Over the last two years I had been making zurek, a traditional Polish Easter soup. It has been one of my favourite soups when I was growing up and I have to admit I missed it tremendously.  For the longest time I though this soup requires a lot of work so I stayed away from it, but in fact it is super simple. 

The base of the soup is a rye starter, which is rye flour, water, whole garlic cloves, whole allspice and a bay leaf that are fermented over 3-5 days. The starter stays in the room temperature, covered with a cloth. There is absolutely nothing that you have to do with it during the fermentation process. 
To make the starter, mix flour with water, then add garlic and spices. Flour to water ratio is about 1:5; the consistency of the starter should be similar to a crepe dough.

Ingredients:

1.5 litres of stock ( you can use a mix of stock and water, I often do that)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp fried shallots (optional, I find they add a lot of flavour)

4 slices of prosciutto (you can use bacon, pork fat, or any other fatty meat you want)

3 garlic cloves

2 white sausages (they should be plain if possible so they do not overpower the soup)

1-2c rye starter, it depends how sour it got during the fermentation process.

2 tbsp dried majoram

3 tsp horseradish 

5 tbsp cream (35%)

1. Fry on a medium low heat shallots, onion, and finely chopped prosciutto for about 5-7 minutes. You can add a little butter if the meat you are using foes not contain enough fat.

2. Heat the stock and water and add fried onions, whole (or chopped) white sausage, and pressed garlic cloves.

3. Cook it for about 30-40 minutes on a medium low heat (gas mark 2.8).

4. Add rye starter by adding about half and then adjusting as required. It should be a little sour but not too sour in taste.

5. Add majoram and horseradish. Mix well and taste if it has the right balance.

6. Finally add cream, start by mixing part of the soup with the cream to warm it up. 

7. Serve with cut into pieces hard boiled egg(s).

8. Enjoy!

Oat bran orange and black cherry muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

Today my son was calling for muffins and he picked the ingredients - orange and cherries. I picked oatbran and vanilla powder. So we whipped up some incredibly good muffins.

Makes 10 muffins.

Ingredients:

1 c oat bran

0.5 c buckwheat

0.5 c all purpose flour

4 tbsp flax, milled

1 tsp vanilla powder

10 frozen cherries 

1 orange, peel and 1 cup orange juice

0.25 c honey

50 g butter, melted 

1 tbsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda 

1. Mix all ingredients, starting with dry ingredients.

2. Bake at 177c for about 30 minutes.

3. Enjoy.

Vegetarian Moussaka

#healthyeating #easyfoodcreationg #vegetarian #moussaka

One of my favourite dishes is moussaka. However, with meat prices, especially lamb, are going through the roof lately. I decided to find an alternative cheaper and healthier option.
I successfully replaced lamb with beans, mushrooms, yellow pepper and tempeh mix.

Ingredients:
2 larger potatoes
1 large eggplant
4 tbsp olive oil
250 g tempeh, cut into smaller chunks
250 g mushrooms
0.5 yellow pepper
150 g mixed beans (I used leftover beans I had on hand - chickpeas, cannelloni, kidney), cooked or canned
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
4 tbsp tomato paste
1tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp allspice
Cheese sauce:
1 egg
0.75 c milk
0.5 c cheese (I used smoked cheddar)


1. Thinly slice potatoes, spread some olive oil and a little bit of salt. Bake at 175c for 12-15 minutes.
2. Slice eggplant into thicker slices, spread some olive oil. Bale at 175c for 10-15 minutes.
3. Boil water; add tempeh. Boil for 2-4 minutes; drain and set aside.
4. In a meantime, chop mushrooms, pepper, onion, garlic.
5. Heat the pan and fry on a medium heat onion and garlic, then add mushroom, pepper. When mushrooms are getting soft add tempeh.
6. In a cup mix tomato paste with 0.5 water and herbs and spices. Add to the pan with vegetables and tempeh; mix well.
7. Arrange baked sliced of potato at the bottom of the baking dish; then add a layer of baked eggplant slices, then add about half of the vegetable mix. Follow by another layer of potatoes and eggplant, and remainder of the vegetable mix. On the to place any left over potatoes and eggplant.
8. Prepare the cheese sauce by blending milk with egg, then mix in the cheese. Pour on the top of the baking dish.
9. Bake at 175c for 40-45 minutes.
10. Serve hot.
11. Enjoy!

Simplicity at its best: Homestyle Cheesecake

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #cheesecake

Here is my favourite cheesecake. It is so simple yet demonstrates beautifully the whole essence of a good cheesecake - cheese!

Ingredients:

500g pressed cottage cheese or quark (look for a very low sodium variety)

7 eggs

0.75c sugar

80g butter

0.5tsp vanilla powder

1tsp baking powder

0.25c flour

A little bit of butter and a mix of 4 biscuits and 2tbspoatbran for the baking pan preparation

1.  Prepare the form by spreading the butter in the baking pan.

Blend biscuits and oatbran, spread evenly in the baking pan.

2. Place all remaining ingredients in a high speed blender and blend for 10 minutes until it is smooth. 

You may need to mix with a spoon occasionally.

3. Baking in preheated oven at 175c for 40 minutes.

Please note that cheesecake collapses after baking, it is normal.

4. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

5. Enjoy!

Artichoke Tart

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

I managed to grab some of the archicokes we bought on the weekend, finally! They vanish super fast in my household. I had the artichoke tart on my mind for quite sometime but usually I waited too long to make it and no artichokes were left to make it.

Ingredients:

Crust

0.75c all purpose flour

0.75c spelt flour (or whole wheat) 

50-100g of butter, depending how buttery you want it. I like it quite buttery.

1 tsp salt

0.5c water

Filling

About 12 Artichoke hearts

0.5 larger onion, thinly sliced

1c Mix of grated cheeses (I used smoked cheddar and Danish blue, about 50-50)

0.5c milk

1 egg

1 tsp rosmary 

Salt, pepper

1. Mix all crust ingredients in the processor its dough mixing bit. It takes about 5-7 minutes. You can melt the butter to s up the process.

2. Roll the dough and place in the baking form. Place in the fridge for about 30 min. 

3. In a meantime sauté onion with a little bit of butter for about 5 min or until it is soft and lightly brown. Add artichokes and cook for further 3 minutes.

4. Bake the tart at 200c for about 5-7 minutes.

5. Mix milk with egg, rosmary, salt and pepper. Then mix in cheeses and add artichokes with onions.

6. Place artichoke mix in the tart pan. 

7. Bake for about 30 min at 200
8. Enjoy!

Colorfull world: Red slaw / bean cakes

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #healthyeyes #vegan

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

Many of us struggle with adding more cabbage to our diet even though we know its health benefits. In Poland, red cabbage is very popular however, usually it is cooked and I feel it does not have the colour, taste or texture that appeals to me in that form. I found that I really enjoy its bright colour, crunchiness, and sweetness in the raw form much more.

Here are two recipes in one - bean cakes and red slaw.

Red slaw Ingredients:

0.5 head of small red cabbage, grated

1 Apple, grated

4 tbsp pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp dried cranberries

Dressing:

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper

2 tbsp dried thyme

Bean cakes ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and washed

1 c broccoli, blanched 

1.5 c Scottish oats

6 tbsp ground flax

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of fresh herbs (basil, mint, dill, parsley, cilantro)

Salt and pepper

1. Prepare red slaw by mixing all ingredients.
2. Blend beans, broccoli, olive oil and herbs and spices, with flax mixed with 6 tbsp of water. Add oats and mix well.
3. Fry bean cakes on a medium heat for a few minutes on each side.
4. Enjoy!