Hummus

Hummus is almost an everyday snack food for many many people. I have no idea why, but it is so damn addictive, I've never even thought that (apparently) I can be in deep love with beans. There are so many ways  to make the huge variety of spreads and dips, with different kind of beans, not chickpeas only,  even though at the end it's not exactly hummus, but still delicious.

I'm trying to keep it on a healthy side, but I am OK with store-bought hummus. However my preference goes to one brand among others: "Sabra hummus". If you read its label, it won't question you as many other competitor brands with lots of 0_o?? ingredients. There is also a nice mediterranean store at 39th and 9th ave, where you can buy a simple hummus in a can, and then mix it with olive oil and lemon juice at home before serving.
Here is my attempt to make hummus.
I followed an easy path and made it with canned chickpeas (yes. being lazy).
Unfortunately, using the wrong source of information and having no practice I got a very bland and runny hummus.
However! I was quite persistent aka  pissed that I didn't manage to cook such a simple thing as a hummus and fixed my mistakes and got REALLY GOOD hummus at the end.

Here are few mistakes I made:
1. Not enough garlic. Hummus is not a hummus without a garlic in it (don't add too much though..)
2. Too much liquid.
3. Lack of spices.
If you already added too much liquid, try to thicken it with the chia and flax seeds.

Homemade Hummus:
1 can of chickpeas
2 tbsp reserved liquid (from the can)
2 tbsp tahini
2 medium garlic cloves
3 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
pinch sea salt
1 tsp cumin
fresh parsley for decorations
Method:
Dry the chickpeas and reserve their liquid. Pulse the chickpeas in a blender, slowly adding garlic, tahini, lemon juice, reserved liquid and olive oil. Blend until you have the desired texture: you can regulate it from more coarse to the silky smooth. And that's basically it. Spread it on toasted pita, dip mini carrots and celery in it (fingers will work too).

No need to stick to my ingredients list, as it varies to your liking. Mix in whatever you want to, and make a very exclusive and your very own bowl of unique hummus. Go on and add bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, basil, paprika, dill,zaatar, mushrooms, turmeric, pine nuts, olives,and many many other favorites of yours. Pick the consistency you prefer: skip half of the liquid if you like more stiff hummus or add more olive oil with lemon juice to thin it out.

The idea is to keep those basic ingredients together (along with proportions): chickpeas, liquid from it, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. And then only the sky is a limit :-) Play around with it!

Snack choice: Granola

Granola was on my to do list for a pretty long time. Everyone cooks it. Everyone raves about it. Everyone says it's very easy to make. OF COURSE I kept it in mind and was dying to try to make my own.

And finally I made my first batch of granola! Yay!
Now I can't stop eating it. Aside of the fact that it is homemade and obviously healthy, it is also crunchy, sweet, salty, chewy, yummy....in one word: addicting.

There are tons of homemade granola recipes. You can adjust them to your liking.
Here is how it works:
oats, nuts, dry fruits, shredded coconut (dry ingredients)  + oil, sweetener like honey or agave, almond butter or PB and water (wet ingredients) -> bake -> do not touch and let it cool completely =  nom nom nom!
I like my granola chewy and refrigerated.

 I keep experimenting so I can find my perfect granola formula.
You can add fig jam for sweetness, or substitute honey with maple syrup if you like it really sweet.

Homemade Granola:
Dry ingredients:
1/2 cup oat flour (blend oats in the blender until you get flour consistency)
1 1/2  cup oats
1 1/2 cup nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, you pick) sliced or crushed
2 cups dry fruits (apricots, cranberries, raisins, apples, pineapple, etc)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chia seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond butter
4 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a big bowl mix all dry ingredients.
In a small saucepan melt coconut oil, butter, honey and vanilla together. Make sure it is all well combined and melted. You don't need to boil it.
Pour wet ingredients over the bowl with dry mixture. Mix it all together.
Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and spread your future granola on it.
Bake 25-30 minutes, until nice golden color.
Let it cool completely before cutting into bars.
You can refrigerate them, or just keep it in your snack jar, it wont last long anyway :-)

Baked berries with banana

You might have already noticed that I am a fan of different sorts of "healthy" or at least "not that bad for you" desserts. Which is kind of ridiculous because we all know that to make a really good cake, cookies, or desserts, most of the time, you have to use real ingredients: sugar, white flour, full fat cream, good butter and so on.
No substitutions, precise measuring, attention and patience.

I hope one day I'll get to that point: I will eat very little, but very real and buttery desserts.
Meanwhile, I am proposing for you to enjoy this warm and crispy fall dessert (no sugar, etc, etc).  It is sour-sweet with crunchy notes and very comforting.
The best way to enjoy this dessert is sitting on the deck (even if it is an imaginary one) covering in your favourite blanket (it is cold and might be even rainy outside) and drinking hot tea. That's my scenario, of course yours might be completely different (but let's just say that hot Miami beach won't be the best option here, as the dessert is actually warm).

Original source HERE. I made few little adjustments though.
Baked berries with banana:
1 cup any fresh of frozen berries (you will get more syrupy result if using frozen berries)
3 ripe bananas, sliced to rounds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp honey (use the raw honey, its the healthiest one)
1 cup shredded no sugar added coconut (I used 1/2 coconut flakes and 1/2 regular shredded coconut)
1 1/2 cup any nuts and seeds you'd like (walnuts, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, etc)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place berries and bananas in a baking dish.Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
In a saucepan on a very low heat melt the coconut oil. Add honey. Do not let it boil. Add nuts and seeds, shredded coconut, vanilla (if using). Stir for approx. 3-4 minutes.
Place the honey and nuts mixture on top of the bananas. Bake for 25-30 minutes until nicely golden color.

The author of the original recipe suggests to serve it with whipped coconut cream on top, which you also can find on her website. I didn't add anything to this dessert, as it felt completed by itself.  

Rich Dark and Nutty Brownies

If you are a fan of a dark chocolate you  will probably adore these  brownies.
I am more on the milk chocolate side though, but I felt like dark chocolate one day (you know...there are some days when you know particularly what you want. Precisely.  Like: Celery and Hummus today! Or a Brie day!).
So few days ago was a dark bitter chocolate day.

I found the ingredients pretty cool: no white flour, sugar, 5 eggs though...(but you can substitute some with egg whites, as it says in the comments), and no chocolate (good quality unsweetened cacao powder instead)

The texture and consistency of this brownies was rich, like a cake, moisturized enough,  not wet as the original source claims. Very-very-very dark chocolate  flavour with the  little walnut bits.

I used the honey as a sweetener instead of maple syrup. I also tend to add half less than it says in the recipe. So I ended up with really not sweet, but bitter chocolate taste.  And it wasn't bad at all!
Unlike my husband's statement, which is: "All desserts should be sweet".  I think my lovely husband just can't accept the fact that his wife is a genius in the kitchen (hahaha) and creates something genuinely new (or dumb).
So to make sure I am right, I brought my brownies to work, to ask for my boss's opinion and (not surprisingly at all) he fully agreed with me regarding the nice and rich taste of this dessert.

For the topping I used chilled nonfat Greek yogurt, which I gently mixed with vanilla. And fresh berries on top.
After you refrigerate brownies,  the whole thing becomes even better!

This is the gluten-free, sugar-free recipe click here. I didn't make a lot of changes (just added crushed walnuts), so please reference to the recipe in the original source.

I REALLY hope you enjoy these brownies! But make sure that you make them on you Dark Chocolate Day! :-) 

Vacation and Salmon

We just returned from a week long vacation from Aruba.
It was wonderful! It was exactly what I wanted: white sand and clear turquoise water. Here is the picture of me sitting on the deck and (probably) thinking about something very important:

The only downside of the vacation was the food. I am used to eating good food. I made my husband love good food. And resort where we stayed, unfortunately wasn't able to provide us with a healthy, tasty food.
For a really unknown reason the one thing I missed the most was a Caprese salad.
Why? Why caprese?? Its not even my favourite dish. I don't know the answer, to tell you the truth. And once we got home, back to NYC, the first thing I eat was a fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil :-)

Ironically, I missed salmon as well (on a beach vacation, yeah).
So to cook a nice salmon dish back at home, isn't a bad idea at all. I managed to find a well priced wild salmon in Trader's Joe. I also got a new cast iron dutch oven which I wanted to try. But you can use any pot for this recipe.
This recipe is adapted and slightly changed from Giada De Laurentiis HERE.

Ok, it REALLY tastes better than it looks!

Wild Rice citrus salad with salmon:

Fish:
2 lbs of salmon fillet, trimmed ( no skin needed) and diced
3 tbsp of soy sauce
Lime juice from one lime (approx. 2 tbsp), you can substitute with lemon juice
3 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Rice Salad:
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups black wild rice, rinsed
3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lime, zested
1 lemon, zested
1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

Fish:
Whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, olive oil and black pepper in a bowl, and pour over the salmon Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Vinaigrette:
In a blender, combine the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Now, there are two ways of cooking this dish: frying and baking. I tried both of them and prefer the frying one more.

Frying method:
While the fish is marinating cook the rice. Black wild rice takes much longer to prepare, but it is so worth it!
In your pot or saucepan (I used enamel cast iron dutch oven), bring water, salt and oil to a boil over medium-high heat Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 50 minutes.

Once the salmon is done marinating, fry it in a skillet with a little bit of olive or coconut oil for 10-15 minutes total. Or you can broil salmon in the oven  (6-8 minutes). To save some time, you do the fish while the rice is cooking. Well, really, this recipe is much simpler than it looks..I don't know how to make it look easier..seems like too many words,but its really not that long and hard to prepare.ok, back to the cooking.

Remove the pan with rice  from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Using a fork, fluff the rice and place in a large serving bowl. Add the cooked salmon, parsley, lime zest, half of the lemon zest, green onions, and 1/4 cup of the almonds. Toss well.
Pour the vinaigrette over the rice mixture and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with the remaining lemon zest and almonds.

Baking method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Marinate the fish, as described above.
Make the vinaigrette and set aside (no changes here).

Cook the rice approximately for 20-25 minutes. We need the rice not to be fully cooked (there will probably be some water left in the dish). Add the marinated fish to the pot with the rice (please use oven safe pot or casserole dish). Cover with a lid.
Bake for  30-35 minutes.
Once it is baked and fish is fully cooked and flaky, pour the vinaigrette and almonds over the rice. Mix in the parsley, lime and lemon zested and green onions
Enjoy!

Cottage cheese cookies

These cookies are a healthy option for a snack or even a dessert. They are not too sweet (however you can adjust the sweetness to your taste), thus it would be a perfect company to your afternoon tea.
These lovely cookies won't leave the "heavy" aftertaste in your stomach, which is pretty common after you had a piece of cake, for example.

Cottage cheese cookies
makes approx. 35 cookies

3.5 cups of non watery cottage cheese ( I used 3 blocks of farmer's cheese)
2 ripe bananas (add more if you like your dessert sweet)
1 tsp of vanilla
lemon zest from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup any nuts you have. I had walnuts, pecans and almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots,coarsely chopped (add more if you want it sweet)
4 tbsp of flax/chia seeds
1/2 cup of quick oats, blended into a flour consistency
1 cup shredded coconut (no sugar added)

Optional: 3 tbsp of honey for sweet desserts lovers

Gently mix the cottage cheese with  bananas, vanilla, lemon zest and honey (if using it).

In a different bowl mix all the dry ingredients: oat flour, 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, nuts, flax/chia seeds and apricots.

Combine two mixtures together. Refrigerate for an hour.

Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a parchment paper on your baking sheet.

Using an ice cream spoon, scoop the cottage cheese mixture and form  cute little balls, dip each of them in the rest of the shredded coconut, and bake for 10 minutes.

Let it cool and refrigerate before serving.

Mascarpone & Ricotta Cake

On Mother's day I decided to bring something sweet, while visiting my parents in law.
This cake recipe was chosen at the last minute (strike one!). If you decide to make it, make sure you have at least half the day, or ideally a day in advance, for the cake to become its best shape and taste.

Here is the source I originally saw the recipe Click here Seems pretty easy, right?
However with my intention to make simple things super complicated, I wasn't even sure If I should bring it to the guests at the end.
My strike two was that being in rush or distracted I didn't pay enough attention to the ingredient list. I'm not sure if that would make any difference, but I add a regular heavy cream (light version) instead of heavy whipping cream, which I suppose was meant to be in this recipe. Anyway, I added the regular cream (which wasn't whipped at all, it looked like a milk).

Also, knowing the cake may melt, I added a gelatin to keep it in a shape. As has happened a few times, I brought a cake which looked like a melted ice cream with fruits (long story).

So, if you decide to make this cake after all,  here is the recipe. It's actually very easy to make and it has this silky creamy texture, which is really good!

Mascarpone & Ricotta Cake
-4 cups of ricotta cheese (I used part skim)
-2,5 cups mascarpone
-4 tbsp raw honey
-1 package gelatin/ or stripe
-1 cup crushed toasted nuts
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1,5-2 cups dried fruits (I had prunes, apricots and nectarines)
-dark/shredded chocolate for decoration
-1 tbs orange extract (you can omit it if you don't have it)
-6 tbsp of heavy whipped cream (as I mentioned before I used a regular heavy cream, which wasn't whipped)
-sugar added shredded coconut for decoration
-cheesecloth

First of all take a damp cheesecloth and put in on the cake pan so you can cover the whole cake once its ready.

Mix mascarpone and ricotta cheese with blender, add honey. Make sure the cheese has a smooth texture, we do not need any lumps.
In a meantime, in the separate bowl prepare the gelatin according to the instructions on the package. Set aside.

And here it is: Whip the cream! If you are lucky enough and your cream is whipped (to tell you the truth I'm not even sure if it should be whipped..) add vanilla, orange extract, nuts and dried fruits to it.

Mix cheese with the rest of ingredients. Gently put it in a cake pan. Decorate with chocolate and shredded coconut. Cover with cheesecloth.Let it refrigerate at least 5 hours or more.

The moral of the story: learn how to whip the cream, pay more attention to the ingredients.

Poached Eggs with Smoked Lox

Here I am with my eggs again.
My first attempt to make poached eggs ended up with sloppy boiled eggs, which needless to say were still good.
Today I  decided to give myself a second chance with poached eggs, as its so easy to make, that I felt kind of lame that I wasn't able to make it.

For those of you who don't know how to make it:
Pour egg into a bowl. Heat 1 cup (per one egg) of water in a sauce pan. Add 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice. The water should be hot, but not boiling. it should be sort of simmering, you would to see those little bubbles before the boiling begins, that's the condition of water you need. If it is already boiling turn the heat lower, do not let it boil.
Pour the egg into the sauce pan (one at a time), turn the heat off. Let the egg cook in the hot water until your liking. I let it cook for about 6-8 minutes. Using the spotted spoon gently place the egg on the plate.

Poached egg with the smoked lox 
-1 poached egg
-2 slices smoked lox
-1 cup of arugula
-1/2 avocado
-1/8 cup chopped chives
-grated Parmesan for decorating
-fresh ground black pepper
Sauce:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp white wine vinegar
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Place 2 slices of smoked lox on a bed of arugula. Add sliced avocado.

Mix all sauce ingredients in a little bowl. Pour the mixture over the lox and arugula.
Place your poached egg on a top of the lox.Season with ground pepper, Parmesan and chives.

I served it with whole wheat baked bread rubbed with with olive oil and herbs.
Bon Appetit!

Healthy cookies

Quick, easy, healthy and yummy!

Here is the trick: I didn't add sugar, because bananas and dry fruits are sweet enough. Instead of flour we have oats here.

Oatmeal cookies:
-2 ripe bananas

-1 cup uncooked oats

-1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

-1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts and almonds (or any other nuts you have)

-1/4 cup chopped dry apricots

- 1/3 cup dry cranberries (no sugar added)

-1tbsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mash bananas with a fork. Add oats and other ingredients (well...I should have written: combine all ingredients in a bowl, to make it simple).

Place a parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Make little balls from the "dough", you can use an icecream spoon.

Bake your cookies for about 15-18 minutes. Let it cool before serving.

Enjoy with a morning coffee for breakfast and snacks during the day!

Pancetta Turkey Meatloaf

Originally this is the Giada’s De Laurentiis recipe. It caught my eye with its bright colors. Usually I am not a fan of meatloaf, but this one seemed much healthier, than tons of the other meatloaf recipes loaded with ketchup (which I do not eat).

Pancetta Turkey Meatloaf:

 -½ cup blended into a flour old fashioned oats

-1/2 cup chopped parsley

-2 large eggs, slightly beaten

-2 tbsp. milk

-1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

-1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes

-1.5 lbs. ground lean turkey

-about 10 to 15 slices of pancetta

-3 cups spinach, chopped

-1 big red bell pepper, chopped

-ground black pepper for seasoning

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 375°F.

 In a large bowl stir oats, eggs, parsley, milk, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red bell pepper, spinach and seasonings. Add turkey. Gently mix all together. Do not overmix.

Place parchment paper on the baking sheet. Lay out pancetta on the parchment paper, making a kind of a rectangle. In the middle of the “pancetta rectangle” place the turkey mixture. Shape it into a loaf, wrap the turkey loaf with pancetta, holding the parchment paper and covering the loaf from all sides.

Bake the turkey for approx.45 minutes.

 I served it with couscous.

Утреннее

Раннее утро мое самое любимое время дня.
Все еще спят, а ты уже на ногах, готов к бою! На улицах тихо, свободно, аж легче дышать.
И ведь согласитесь,что чем раньше встанешь, тем больше успеешь.
Единственный минус,который омрачает всю эту прекрасную картину- надо топать на работу. Ну не будем об этом. Я хочу поделиться здесь очень простыми завтраками. А так как для меня завтрак без яиц не завтрак, то вот несколько яичных вкусняшек.

Пита из цельной пшеницы (Whole wheat) с яичницей:

Ингредиенты (для одного):
-цельнозерновая пита с кармашком (можно и без кармашка)
-1 авокадо
-1 яйцо
-1 ст.ложка лимонного сока
-черный молотый перец
-кулачок свежих листьев шпината
-стружка острого красного перца

Разрезаем авокадо, разминаем вилкой в миске, добавляем лимонный сок и хорошо перемешиваем до состояния пюре.
Нагреваем питу в микроволновке, секунд 20-30. Она должна быть теплая и мягкая, но не хрустящая и ни в коем случае твердая! 
Готовим яичницу в сковороде до того состояния, которое вам нравится.
На тарелку кладем питу, в ее кармашек засовываем свежий шпинат. Выкладываем смесь авокадо с лимонным соком на питу, потом готовую яичницу, и присыпаем все это острым красным и черным перцем. 10 минут и завтрак готов! 
P.S. вместо питы можно использовать любую лепешку.

Фриттата.
Про фритттату я могу петь поэмы! Настолько я ее люблю. Это, как обычный омлет, но обычно туда добавляют много всякой всячины (ок, Я добавляю много всякой всячины): овощи, мясо, сыры  или морепродукты, в общем все,что найду в холодильнике.
Здесь я покажу два вида, для примера. Но с фриттатой можно придумать миллион разных   
рецептов.

Фриттата с итальянскими сосисками с моцареллой и базиликом.

-4 яйца
-4 ст.ложки молока ( у меня его не было и я взяла 2 ложки обезжиренного греческого йогурта)
-горсть свежего шпината
-укроп\петрушка
-итальянские колбаски(у меня уже были начиненные моцареллой и базиликом)
-2 небольших томата
-1 маленький или 1\2 часть большого красного сладкого перца
-3 столовых ложки козьего сыра 
-черный молотый перец

Нагреваем духовку 175° C. 
Режем  кусочками колбаски, красный перец, томаты, козий сыр. Режем также зелень: петрушку, укроп, шпинат.
Взбиваем венчиком  яйца с молоком.

Добавляем специи. Вливаем яичную микстуру к нарезанным овощам,колбаске и зелени и распределяем всю эту красоту в форме для выпечки ( я использовала фарфоровую), которую вам нужно будет заблаговременно сбрызнуть оливковым маслом,чтоб фриттата не пригорела.

Ставим в духовку запекаться минут на 20-30. А пока фриттата готовится, можно сварить свежий кофе.

Фриттата с  шампиньонами и овощами.

-4 яйца
-4 ст.ложки молока
-горсть свежего шпината
-петрушка
-штук 14 небольших шампиньонов 
-2 ст.ложки порезанного лука
-2 небольших томата
-1 большой красный сладкий перец
-100 грамм копченой гауды.
-1 стебель сельдерея.
-черный молотый перец

-немного запеченный миндаль для украшения

Процедура практически та же, что и выше. Нагреваем духовку до 175° C.

Обжариваем порезанные шампиньоны с луком на сковороде,чтоб грибы выпустили сок. Но не пережариваем, нам не нужны черные угольки.

Режем шпинат, томаты, красный сладкий перец, сельдерей, гауду, петрушку. 

Взбиваем венчиком  яйца с молоком.Добавляем это к остальным порезанным ингредиентам. Выливаем в форму для запекания. 

Выпекаем 20 минут. Украшаем миндалем.

Приятного аппетита!

Идеальный и быстрый дессерт для себя любимой

Как я уже упоминала раньше, в нашей семье не едят сахар так же, как и  белую муку и сливочное масло. Есть очень много полезных заменителей этих продуктов.

Но если по чесноку, то я должна признаться, что миллиардное колличество моих искренних попыток сделать "полезную" замену неполезным ингредиентам увенчались большим провалом  (например мои первые almond cookies получились красивыми только на вид, так как в них небыло сахара ни а каком виде).
И вообще я считаю, что настоящий добротный дессерт или выпечка от, например французских, кондитеров  не может быть без хорошего жирного масла или обычной муки, как не изощряйся. Поэтому я нашла временный выход- не есть дессерты :-)

А пока я не ем дессерты (или по крайней мере делаю вид), я нашла идеальный для себя вариант дессерта- фруктовый салат. Как оригинильно!- подумаете вы. Мой ответ- зато полезно. Хотя так как  я ем его почти что ведрами,то врятли.
Рецепт очень прост: режете все свежие фрукты,которые есть в наличие в бооооольшой тазик. Лично я не люблю очень сладкое, поэтому смешиваю сладкие фрукты с кислыми,чтоб присутствовал  некий быланс. Обязательно добавляю семена чиа и льна(много), 1-2 столовых ложки обезжиренного греческого йогутра без всяких добавок (самый обычный), немного орешек,которые можно заблаговременно припечь в духовке и готово!
Замечательный полезный перекус во время просмотра любимых теле-передач.

The way of life

Some time ago, don't even remember when exactly, I have decided that my small (so far) family is going to eat healthily  Step by step, I have learned about new cooking techniques, ingredients and surprisingly I opened a whole new world of food and culinary to myself.
Recently I've discovered that the way I'm trying to cook and eat is called Clean Eating. I personally prefer to call it Healthy Eating though. Here are few examples of what I eat and what I try to avoid in my daily menu:

-no white flour. Only whole wheat everything. I still use and absolutely love almond, coconut, oats flour, which I use for baking;
-no sugar. My substitutions are fruits, honey, agave syrup;
-no white rice. Not even a brown Rice. Black wild rice only.
-no canned soups, meals.
-no butter. My substitution is avocado, no sugar added apple sauce, coconut butter.
-no mayo (of course:-))
-nothing deep fried.
- a LOT of fruits and Vegies.
-flex/chia seeds should be added to as many dishes as possible.

Basically I just look into the ingredient list when I buy something. The less ingredients you see, the better it is for your health. I have recently found this cute Pomme (I think it is Pomme..) tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes which consists of tomatoes only! Cool huh? 
Well, to tell you the truth I think homemade everything is much healthier and tastier than store-bought products. However, the lack of time and of course the laziness doesn't let me to cook my own, very real tomato sauce for hours.

I know there are much more healthy substitutions which were made by professional nutritionists, and I am still learning a lot of things.
My only problem is that occasionally its really hard to get a nice, yummy result with all those substitutions. 

And of course there are no possible substitutions to a fresh baked, still warm and crispy French baguette with a dollop of good butter on it!..mmm..

Spicy Shakshuka

I love eggs! Every Saturday and Sunday morning is a blessing for me: I am looking forward to it, not only because it’s the weekend but also because I can have my favorite egg dishes!

Even though people say it’s not healthy, I can eat eggs all day long.

Last weekend I decided to make Shakshuka. I and my husband always have it in the Israeli restaurant close to where we live, and its sooo delicious. Not to mention, they say it’s also very simple to make.




I have used David Lebovitz's recipe as a base, but of course made a few changes of my own. I have the cast iron skillet, which I love to use when I prepare eggs. But if you don’t have it, it’s not a big deal, use a regular skillet.

So, here it is:

1 medium onion.

5 cloves garlic.

1 poblano pepper or any other spicy pepper.

½ red bell pepper.

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

1 teaspoon paprika.

1 teaspoon cumin.

1 teaspoon turmeric.

½ of 28-ounce cans of diced or crushed tomatoes/or 3 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes.

A handful of spinach.

½ cup of Feta or goat cheese.

5 eggs (for two people).

2tbsp of coconut oil (for frying).

3 tablespoon of tomato paste.

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil in the skillet. Add the chopped onions, in 3 minutes add garlic. In 1 minute add chopped spicy poblano and red bell pepper. Stir, make sure it is soft, and add spices.

Stir in spinach, tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Reduce the heat. Cook for about 7 more minutes.

Now, here is the problem I have faced: my canned tomatoes had too much juice in it. That’s not what I wanted. I had to add a sauce thickener to make sure I won’t end up with a tomato soup instead of Shakshuka. I personally think fresh tomatoes would work much better here. David Lebovitz recommends to cook the tomato sauce longer, to make sure, the sauce had thickened, it didn’t work in my case, I still had very watery skillet.

You are almost done with making this yummy dish! There are two ways of finishing the Shakshuka: in the stovetop or in the oven.

I prefer oven. So I pour eggs on the top of the tomato mixture (no, I didn’t make holes in my skillet for eggs, I failed in that), crushed goat cheese on the top of eggs, add a little extra black pepper and put it in the oven for 15-17 minutes (350ºF).

Enjoy!