Green - or how to cleverly hide a broccoli in a delicious meal.

Summer is as its fullest, days are long and sunny, sky is blue, windows stay open until it's dark out, meals are simple and quick. My computer is not being as used as much as in the colder times - who wants to stay indoors when summer is calling?

But all blissfulness has to finish sooner or later, mine got slightly crushed by my doctor's news, which said 'too low levels of iron'. Well, I thought, not the worst thing in the universe, simply have to add more greens, dried apricots, seeds of all kinds and grains (no-meat eater). Quick sandwiches have to be replaced with more thought through options - spinach salads, beans, quinoa and broccoli....

Broccoli is one of those vegetables, similar to spinach, that even the sound of it makes some shiver. Thankfully not me, but my other half - yes indeed. And rarely, very rarely but still (here comes my dirty secret) - I try to smuggle it anyway. Hidden in sauce or a soup, mixed with other tastes and textures it gets eaten.

Today I'll show you one of my favorite smuggling successes, which is also one of my favorite green dishes.

Broccoli pesto quinoa
prep time 20min, serves 4ppl

1 cup quinoa
2 broccoli florets
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, lightly roasted on a dry frying pan
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
4 tbl spoons of olive oil
salt to taste

1. Prepare quinoa as instructed on the package.
2. Meantime steam cook broccoli. When soft and ready to consume set one aside and put the other one in a blender with garlic, sunflower seeds (leave a spoonful for decoration), cheese and olive oil. Mix until well blended.
3. Add pesto mix to cooked quinoa, cut the remaining broccoli florets and serve on the plate next to the quinoa/pesto (if your companions are not frightened by it. Otherwise blend both florets in the blender).
4. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining sunflower seeds.

I've discovered this recipe in one of my favorite blogs and the dish immediately stole my heart. The taste of broccoli (for those who can stand it) is very well hidden in the sunflower pesto, leaving a tangy and spicy buzz on the tip of your tongue.
Packed with iron and all kinds of other good stuff. Green and summery!

First real summer meal

The first days of July always bring back memories of the days of first days of summer vacations. School was out at the end of June and suddenly two full months of summer laziness would begin. Waking up in a summer cottage and having a full day of tranquility ahead of me. The only must was a trip to the bakery to get a couple of loaves of warm, crusty bread - of which one would disappear before we made it back to the cottage. Swims in the lake, sunbathing on an old wooden lounge chair, afternoons with a book, and definitely picking a few jars of fresh blueberries. That was called a real summer vacation!

(a long long time ago - blueberry picking)

 Berries are definitely my favorite type of fruit, that can serve as breakfast, lunch, quick snack or dinner. The dishes are usually not too complicated - simply add some berries to rice, cottage cheese, oatmeal and there you have it - full of valuable nutritious juicyness, that has summer written all over it.

So it's really no wonder that I also like blueberry pierogi, a very Polish dish, although a bit more time consuming, but definitely worth every minute. As a child, I usually just helped and watched, but this time, for the first time in my life I've decided to try to experiment with it myself.
Here are the results:

Blueberry Pierogi
prep time: 20min + 5min boiling, makes abt 40 pieces

3 cups flour
1 cup of warm water
1 egg
pinch of salt
tbl spoon of oil

+ 2 cups of fresh blueberries sprinkled with 2 spoons of sugar

sugar and/or sour cream for serving

1. Prepare dough: mix all ingredients (except blueberries) until soft and smooth (if too sticky add more flour).
2. Sprinkle flour on a pastry board to avoid the dough sticking to it. Roll up the dough on the table or pastry board, to a thickness of about 3 millimeters.
3. Cut circles in dough using glass rim. In the middle of each circle arrange a (table) spoon of blueberries, then fold the filled circles into half moons, sealing the edges and pressing shut with your finger.
4. Bring a large shallow saute pan of water to a boil, add a spoon of oil (to prevent them from sticking together) and gently boil the pierogi in batches for 5-6 minutes (a couple of mins after they rise to the top of the surface), then remove carefully using a wooden spoon.
Serve warm, sprinkle with some sugar and/or sour cream.

I haven't found too many variations of the actual dough recipe, but maybe next time I'll experiment a bit adding some vanilla sugar to make it a bit more dessert-like. The batch of pierogi disappeared very quickly, I enjoyed it for dinner, a friend at work had it as a snack and there are some left for tomorrow's lunch. Definitely summer like!

Summer on the plate - olive & ricotta chicken

So, we are back. The bags are unpacked and things are making their way back to their accustomed places. Summer dresses, high filter sun lotions, books read while lazying on the beach, cables for all kinds of electronic items, snorkeling mask, coins from places we passed through.... Some things are going back to their old places on the shelves, others are new, still need to find their new location. In the background sounds of newly acquired chillout album accompanied by the noises of the washing machine, patiently going through the n-th load of laundry.

Traveling is an enriching experience. Apart from new cities, new people, new customs, we bring back something else - a new, refreshed way of looking at life. Traveling allows to step back and observe, take pictures and mental notes - in order not to forget.... And relax, breathe....

From this trip, apart from the sun-kissed tan, I brought my favorite items - cooking books and magazines. And that's what my Saturday was like - in the big white chair with a stack on the coffee table, a journey through different tastes and flavors. New ideas, new inspirations, many new posts.... 

Green olive and ricotta - stuffed chicken
prep time 20min, cooking 20min, serves 2

1 zucchini, finely chopped
1 tomato, seeded, finely chopped
2 crushed garlic cloves
2tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of ricotta
150grams of green olives, pitted and sliced
2tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 chicken breasts
salt, pepper, sweet paprika (to season)
4 toothpicks

1. Preheat oven to 230C. Combine zucchini, tomato, garlic and olive oil in a bowl. Put in fridge.
2. Combine ricotta, olives, Parmesan cheese and egg in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Make a small incision in each chicken breast, creating a pocket. Fill with ricotta mixture, season with sweet paprika and secure with a toothpick.
3. Cook chicken on a frying pan, toothpick side up, until lightly golden. Place in a oven proof dish and move to oven for 15min (until cooked)
5. Serve topped with tomato salsa.

The recipe comes from the Australian issue of Good Food magazine. Here served over quinoa and asparagus but it goes very good with just some green salad. It's definitely a summer recipe, or a nice reminder of our sunny vacation. And on the plate the tangy bitter olive taste is a prefect compliment to the sweeter notes of ricotta. Simply Good Food!
And what's for dessert?

Last day of January.

So it’s finally here, buried under a good 20cm of snow. Temperature is falling, each day a bit colder, each day a bit whiter. Suddenly the city got lighter, calmer, asleep. There’s something relaxing about watching the snow falling down, trees and roofs covered with cotton-like softness….

January is finishing. Just a few hours away from turning another page in the calendar. And that much closer to summer, to sun, longer days and more energy. 

...looking at the thermometer outside - temperature is still falling – an unpleasant reminder that winter is still here....

In the kitchen we have summer. Close your eyes, imagine that you’re somewhere warm, sitting at a cozy little beach restaurant and eating the very best:

Exotic and very tropical Curry w/tofu (or chicken)

serves 6ppl, prep time: 30min,

Tofu/2 Chicken Breasts

1 Onion

3cm piece of ginger

2 table spoons of curry

400grams of chopped tomatoes (canned, no seeds)

2 bananas (cut in rings)

1 mango (cut in pieces)

1. Chop onions and let sear in olive oil (medium heat) for 3-5min. Add crushed/finely chopped ginger and garlic, leave searing for another 3min. Add curry and mix.

2. * add tofu (cut in cubes) and let fry for another 3min

3. add tomatoes, coconut milk, chopped bananas and mango

4. bring to boil then leave cooking on low heat for 15min stirring from time to time.

5. add spices - in my case salt and cayenne for some extra hotness.

Serve over rice/ quinoa or potatoes.

*if you have time marinate the tofu in 2 table spoons of soy sauce mixed with 1 table spoon of water, finely chopped 1cm of ginger and 1 garlic clove. Leave in fridge for at least 30min before adding

Tofu can be replaced by chicken - same steps.

The recipe comes from January issue of French 'Elle à table', I just slightly adjusted the proportions. There's a lot of good inspirations so will definitely go back to it. In February that is.

Second New Year's resolution

- snow. Or rather taking advantage of what's around in winter time. Turns out that there's lots of snow just a couple of hours away. Why not?
Learning how to ski also sounded like fun, so there I was, in my new bright red jacket, big white gloves and even bigger smile on my face. All in all is was not so bad, and most important - not as cold as I feared. With a bit of luck, the slope gets full sun exposure, and I got a bit of it too. Nice and warm.
Two hours later I learned how to turn and stop - standing or sitting position. My legs were a bit tired, bruised here and there but I think I'll go skiing again.

At home there was a nice soup waiting for us. Green and very warming.

Asparagus & Pesto Soup
serves 2 hungry ppl/ prep time 30min


500 grams of fresh asparagus
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
1 cup of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup (abt 30 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbl spoons of olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts (slightly roasted)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
750 ml of veg bouillon


Cut asparagus into about 3 cm pieces - save the tip pieces for decoration
In a big pot, heat olive oil and add finely chopped onions. After a couple minutes add asparagus pieces and continue frying for a few more minutes.
Add bouillon and cook for about 15 min, until asparagus becomes soft.
In a separate frying pan, fry the asparagus tips for a couple minutes.
Prepare pesto - grind basil leaves, cheese, pine nuts, garlic and  olive oil in blender or food processor.
Add onions and apsparagus and continue grinding until pastelike (texture depends on individual likings)
Transfer the pesto/asparagus cream back to the pot with bouillon. Stir and serve!
Decorate the bowls with asparagus tips and pine nuts.

I discovered this soup recipe here, but decided to make it even more pesto like and enriched it accordingly.
And yes, I realize it's been a bit too green here, so promise to prepare something sweet and not so green next time.