March's new dish: Mustard-roasted chicken & thyme potatoes

It's spring time already, and I don't know about you, but I definitely started picking the healthy food over the unquestionably delicious one. But healthy doesn't necessarily mean flavorless. I was browsing one of my favorite recipe blogs today when I came across two simple recipes for roasted chicken with potatoes. I wanted to cook chicken but since I got bored with the traditional recipes lately I decided to try Ginger Cookies' suggestions.


RECIPE for Mustard-roasted chicken:
Products:
    1 whole chicken (I used 1/2)
    100g butter
    white pepper
    mustard
    salt
    thyme, dried
    freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Wash and dry the chicken well.
2. The author says she cut the chicken breasts, because that way when baking the skin burns very well. When serving you can always get back and look a whole, if you wish. I cut my half chicken into portion pieces so that they are ready to serve after roasting.   
3. After that, rub the chicken with salt. Sprinkle it with white pepper inside and out, then squeeze fresh lemon juice to the chicken and let stand for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
4. Heat the oven to 190 degrees. 
5. Prepare a baking pan and put chicken in it.
6. Next, rub it well with mustard, sprinkle with dried thyme and put pieces of butter on top of the meat.
7. Bake chicken in the preheated oven without being covered with foil.
8. While roasting, take a spoon and pour the chicken with the juice it extracted in the pan at least 3-4 times.
9. Bake until ready. In my oven that took about 1.5h.

The taste of this chicken is unforgettable I promise! It melts in the mouth and makes for a perfect healthy dinner.
 Source: Ginger Cookies (рецепта на български език)

RECIPE for Thyme potatoes:

Products:

    about 800 grams small fresh potatoes 
    2 full tbsp honey
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
    3 tablespoons dark balsamic vinegar
    about 4 tablespoons thick soy sauce (lightly sweetened) - I used Maggi's uni-sauce
    black pepper
    salt


Preparation:

1. Clean the fresh potatoes, but do not peel them. Put them in a tray.
2. Mix all other products (except butter) and pour the mixture onto them. Stir well to distribute evenly.
3. Melt half a packet of butter and pour over the potatoes just before you send them in the oven.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Occasionally, spread potatoes with the juice in the tray.
5. Serve the potatoes on the side of the Mustard chicken and voila! Simple as that! :))))))
 Source: Ginger Cookies (рецепта на български език)

I hope you are having many happy spring moments and delicious healthy food as often as possible!
March down, 9 more to go :D


Nikon D60, 18-55mm.

February's new dish: Carrot cookies with coconut

This month I decided to experiment with carrots. I also made a carrot cake but I think the recipe still could be improved, so I am going to find another variety, before I make a blog post about it.
Ta-daam! I found this super easy recipe for carrot cookies. You probably have all you need already, and if not, all the ingredients could be found at any supermarket around. These cookies turned out really delicious, and what is great about them is that carrots are actually good for you! (just don't overeat) ;)))))


RECIPE for Carrot cookies with coconut:

Products:
    4 big carrots
    100g melted butter
    3 t.sp. oil
    1 cup of sugar
    1 egg
    1 vanilla
    salt
    1 sp. mix of spices - cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg
    1/2 cup coconut flakes
    2 cups flour
    1 sp. baking powder

For the glaze:
    juice from 1 small mandarin
    2-3 t.sp. powder sugar

Preparation:

1. We clean and wash the carrots and then we cut them into rings. We cook them in hot water until they feel tender enough to be mashed. We cool them down with cold water, and then mash them finely with a fork or potato press.
2. After that, we take a bowl and mix the egg with sugar. Pour butter and oil and add the carrot puree. Season the mixture with the spice mix, vanilla and salt.
3. Pour the coconut and mix. Finally, add the flour previously sifted with the baking powder. In order to prepare the whole recipe you don't need to use a mixer. Domestic stirrer or spoon would do great.
4. Finally, we cover the tray with baking paper, and we use a spoon to make small piles of the mixture on it, having in mind we need to leave enough space between them so they don't touch each other. 
5. The recipe instructed to bake the cookies in preheated 170 * oven for 10-15 minutes or until nicely golden, but in my oven it actually took a little longer, so I guess you have to just look for the golden crown.
6. To prepare the glaze, you need to mix the mandarin juice with the powdered sugar. You need to determine the density by your own taste, so you could add juice or sugar as you please. The glaze should be good spill, but still remained on the surface. Mine actually went down the cookie, but still did its magic.
7. It would be best if you pour the glaze while the cookies are still warm so it dries much faster.
You can garnish with fresh shavings of fresh carrots and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. 
 Source: Yoli (рецепта на български език)

I encourage you to try these at home and share with friends and family. I hope you like it!
February down, ten more to go! :D

 
 Nikon D60, 18-55mm.

January's new dish: Kurkuda soup

There is a number 11 on my list of Resolutions 2012, and it is there to make me try and cook something new at least once a month. You know having the same food for long periods of time can only lead to not cooking them in the next 3-5 years, depending on the variety of meals you usually make. We don't want that, because we love that food, don't we? Here's the first new dish I did in January 2012...

Kurkuda soup is a typical Bulgarian soup, and it is exclusively made in the area of my hometown and the surrounding towns and villages, north Bulgaria. Our grandmothers are proud to pass their recipes forward to us so we keep traditions as they should be - eternal.

If you are a fan of sour cabbage and pork this is a must-try, definitely! Before I start with the recipe, I just want to note that this is my grandma's recipe and it may slightly differ form the recipes of other families, but this is the charm of it.

RECIPE for Kurkuda Soup

Products:

    500g pork meat

    4-5 leaves sour cabbage, pickled home-style

    1 onion

    1 carrot

    salt, pepper, savory

    2 s.f. canned tomato juice

    1l water /could be mixed with some sour juice from the cabbage if you wish for a more intense sour taste/

Preparation:

1. Fill a pot with water and put it on the hot-plate until it boils. Do not add oil, because the meat is going to extract some by itself later on.

2. While the water is heating up, chop the onion, the cabbage leaves, and the meat in small pieces.

3.  When the water boils, add the chopped products altogether and let them cook for a while.

4. Add the spices, and try the soup occasionally in the course, so you know if it needs more salt or sour cabbage juice and add it accordingly.

5. When the meat changes it's color, you can now add 2 spoon-fulls of tomato juice and the carrot. Let it cook.

6.  In the end you can thicken the soup by adding a beaten egg, flour etc., but this is not mandatory. I like it clear, so I missed the last step.

Tip: I added just a little bit of some really hot spice I have, and the soup got a chilli taste, but when it's hot and served with bread and black pepper powder it is the best cold-fighter, I promise!

The whole cooking process took me no longer than an hour, I guess, but it is really simple to make and so delicious to eat. I hope you like the recipe, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will do my best to help you.

Nikon D60, 18-55mm.

PS: January down, eleven more to go.

Day 174: Days of summer...Blueberry-Pistachio Cheesecake!

Say cheeeeese!

Now, say cheeeeeesecake! And say no more :)

I made my very own first trial on the making of a cheesecake a couple of weeks ago. And it was surprising even to myself when everyone who tried it said "whoa!" I started the preparation at about 10p.m. one night and finished it after midnight, because it was my gift for my grandma's birthday the next morning. I'm such a last-minute person sometimes, I know!

The recipe was borowed from Yoli 's fantastic cooking blog, and I adjusted it to my own taste and the available products at hand. I used blueberry jam for the top coat and I also added some dried blueberries I have from Detelina, that serve me in situations of sugar emergency and this time they really added up to the taste. I couldn't find Ricotta cheese at the local store so I substituted it with Philadephia cheese instead, and I also allowed myself to add some raw pistachio nuts for the biscuit bottom layer. It turns out it's not such a complicated thing making a cheesecake, I have no idea why I didn't try making it before, but anyone out there contemplating on that I would strongly encourage you - JUST TRY!

I am making some more once I get back with time in my watch and space in my fridge :))))))))

Nikon D60, 18-55mm.