First Weekend Specials 2018 and Happy New Year!

On January 7, 2018 By felisrecipesIn Breakfast, Brunch, Cakes, Pork, Uncategorized13 Comments

Happy New Year everyone! I had so many plans to cook and to post many delicious meals and recipes for the first weekend of 2018, but unexpected bronchitis got my plans ruined. 😦

Anyway, I tried to satisfy some of our preferences for the first day of the year and to indulge a bit from breakfast through dinner 😉

Me and my daughter, we started the day with a chocolate chia pudding that I prepared the day before and let it in the fridge overnight. For that, I mixed three tablespoons of chia seeds with one tablespoon of each cocoa and brown sugar and 2 cups of unsweetened cashew milk. Give it a good stir or shake to mix all the ingredients in a jar and let it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Now, you can imagine I had to let mine warm up for a while as eating right from the refrigerator was not an option at this point 😉

While the two of us continued with some delicious Ricotta Chocolate Overloaded Pancakes:

my hubby decided to move to the savoury side and enjoyed an Italian Sausages Omelette with Sauer kraut and homemade pickled beets. While the Sauer kraut was store bought I like to make the pickled beets at home. I just boil the beet with skin on. Let them cool down, peel them and cut them into cubes or chunks depending on your desire. I just drizzle the beet pieces with lemon juice ( I use the juice from a small lemon ) and half teaspoon balsamic and a pinch of salt.

With such an indulgence for breakfast, you can imagine that our lunch was quite late, or we could call it an early supper. But this gave me a chance to take care of the cake. I made the same cake for my daughter’s birthday, early December 2017. The cake was quite a hit after a try like ” mom, really I am not little anymore. You don’t have to make a cake every year …yadda, yadda, yadda. ” And because we all loved it I decided to make it again as the first dessert of 2018.

While the lunch was cooking, I prepared the ingredients for the cake. As a Romanian tradition, we would serve cabbage rolls for New Year. However, I did not go for the original recipe, but I made something to remind us of cabbage rolls. I had left two Italian sausages, and I made some pan-fried turkey meatballs from extra lean ground turkey. I cooked the sausages in a large pot. After they turned quite brownish, I added the sliced cabbage. I seasoned all with salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, dried dill and oregano. I give it a stir and let it cooked until the cabbage softened a bit. I added some more hot water and the turkey meatballs on top and let them simmer on low heat for another hour or so. If you are wondering why did I add boiling water instead of just water, is because the sausages and cabbage were already cooking and by adding the hot water you won’t stop the cooking process. I had to admit the combination of pork, turkey and cabbage was just delicious.

And we end our first day if 2018 with a decadent Chocolate Tiramisu:

You could check the original recipe, my inspiration for this delicious cake here.

Here is what I used. I changed a few ingredients, but the final result is very close.

500 g ladyfingers
500 ml coffee, sweetened with 1 tbsp of brown sugar ( I made it again, and I skipped the sugar and was just okay as well )
1/4 cup of brown sugar
500 gr smooth ricotta
300 gr semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon instant coffee ( optional)
1 teaspoon rum extract
a few amaretto biscotti for decor, optional.

Here is the result. I think that the pictures talk a thousand words :

You could add a beautiful festive ribbon around. I just couldn’t find mine, and I had no energy to look for it. Like my daughter says ” mom, don’t put it away too well, you know that you never remember after that” LOL

I have only one more comment to make about the cake: with every day that passes it becomes more delicious, the ladyfingers will be so moist and soaked with the coffee, and the cream cheese just melts into your mouth. Now it depends on how long you can resist it but in my opinion, the third day was the best, so maybe if you have guests, it’s better to prepare this one day ahead. 🙂

Weekend Specials

On December 3, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Brunch, Salads, Soups, Uncategorized12 Comments

I don’t know about you, my dear reader, but when I go groceries shopping I pretty much have in mind what I want to cook throughout the week, and I also go for what’s in season. Sometimes I do the groceries shopping by myself and hubby just picks me up when I am ready. Sometimes he likes to come to explore the shelves. We both love to explore the International aisle for new spices and other goodies.

Anyway, Saturday was one of those times when he decided to come along. We had just reached the pasta section when he asked: “do we have pasta? ”

Me: ” actually we do, but I bought cabbage to make ” Pasta with cabbage” ( a dish we both liked as kids, back home in Romania). So I need a special kind of pasta.”

Hubby: ” I like this funny shape” train wheel pasta ” and he puts the bag in the buggy ”

Me, quite sceptical: “No way that will go with the cabbage dish.”

He, stubborn: ” I want this one. They are so funny … ”

I took both pasta packages as I was really concerned the one he chose will not turn out right for his lunch.

Now you might ask what’s the reason I told you this pasta story? Well because it turned out pretty gosh darned delicious with the Cabbage and I also ended up stealing some of my Tuna and Veggies Salad, and I just loved it so much as I made twice already 😉

Train wheel pasta with cabbage:

1 green cabbage, chopped.
1/2 a red onion, chopped
salt and black pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
1 teaspoon dried basil ( optional )
grapeseed oil, about 5 tablespoons
3 cups of pasta, boiled as per package instructions ( 2 cups were enough, so I end up stealing some 😉 )

In a big pot heat the oil and add the chopped onion, When translucent, add the shredded cabbage and mix well. Sauteed the cabbage stirring frequently for about 40 minutes.

While you cook the cabbage, boil the pasta as per the package instructions.

Drain the pasta and wash it in cold water. Add it to the cabbage. Season with salt, smoked paprika and black pepper. Black pepper is a must in this dish.

Tuna Pasta Salad with Veggies:

2 zucchini halved and sliced
a handful of grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley
1 small tuna can drain
lemon juice
1 teaspoon of olive oil
salt

In a large non-stick, skillet heat the oil. Add the zucchini and sautee them until light brown. Add the tomatoes. Season with salt and lemon juice. Add the parsley.

Add the veggies to a large salad bowl. Add drained pasta and tuna and stir gently.

Enjoy it.

Becuase it was pretty chilly and wet here in Toronto this weekend I decided to warm up with a Mushroom soup – Vegan, Creamy, Mushroom Soup. Not as creamy as I wanted because I added a bit too much broth 😉 )

And there can be no weekend without a dessert. The winner was:

Raisins Cinnamon Sticky Buns.

Weekend Specials

On October 22, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Muffins and other sweets, Uncategorized16 Comments

Saturday morning I woke up way too early for a weekend morning, but I decided to get some things done instead of going back to sleep, so I choose all the ingredients to make some muffins: Carrot Raisin Muffins that my husband said they were one of the most delicious I’ve ever done 😉

Here are the ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of apple cider ( I use it to soak the raisins )
2/3 cup of raisins
2 cups of grated carrots
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 stick butter, melted
1 2/3 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
juice from half a lemon ( to activate the baking powder )

Directions:

Beat the eggs with sugar until creamy. I didn’t use the electric mixer as it was too early but you could do so to save your energy and time ;). Add the melted butter and whisk a bit more. With a wooden spoon mix in the apple cider and raisins followed by the grated carrots. Add the sifted flour mixed with cinnamon and the baking powder on top. Activate the baking powder by adding the lemon juice. Fold in the flour careful not to over mix the batter.

Carrot muffins

If you believe it or not all 12 muffins disappeared on Saturday as we had them for breakfast, dessert and some of us, the luckiest ones, for dinner. For the Butternut squash Muffins, I used exactly the same ingredients and directions, but I substituted the carrots with the squash. And because I started with the butternut squash I decided to continue on the same note for lunch and snacks for the day.

Butternut Squash Muffins

Sunday’s lunch: Spaghetti Squash with Oven-roasted Butternut Squash:

And the weekend’s snacks: Backed oven Acorn Squash and Butternut squash …

Well, I think it enough squash for this week, don’t you? Lol

Apple Compote

On August 23, 2017 By felisrecipesIn 30 minutes meals, Brunch, Uncategorized12 Comments

Last week I made a so called childhood desert. Some of you might know is also as “Compot de mere”. I think we all have those moments when we crave a childhood dessert. I will share the recipe, and the way my mother used to make it for us, although I noticed that French compote is more like a stew, I love the extra juice from mine. As a kid, I always thought the more juice, the better 😉 I still like it this way.

Ingredients:

7-8 apples (I used green apples)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp cinnamon powder
5-6 cloves
1/4 cup sugar
juice from two lemons
about 2.5-3-litre water

Directions:

Bring a large pot with water to boil on medium high heat. When the water starts to boil add the sugar, the cinnamon sticks and the cloves.

Wash the apples thoroughly. Peel and core the apples. Cut them in pieces. I love mine a bit bigger. While I cut the apples, I put them in a large bowl, and I squeeze the lemon juice over the apple pieces so they won’t oxidize.

If you like it sweeter, you could add some more sugar. If you are not fond of cinnamon, you can use only the cinnamon sticks or the powder. Simmer all together for about 15-20 minutes. You can serve it hot or cold. I like it mostly cold, from the fridge.

You can serve it hot or cold. In the Summer I will definitely have it cold ], right from the refrigerator.

You can keep it the compote in the fridge up to two weeks if such a thing is possible. Mine will probably vanish in a few days 😉

Enjoy !

Weekend specials

On July 18, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Bread and Pizza, Breakfast, Brunch, Muffins and other sweets, Uncategorized3 Comments

As much as I wanted these days to stay away from the kitchen, and mostly for the oven, we still had to eat something. The idea to stay away from the oven it’s not as easy as it seems.

Like almost every Saturday, we indulged a frittata for breakfast. Usually, when I make the weekend frittatas, I just check the fridge and decide pretty quick what should I throw into the pan. This time the winners were: green olives; red pepper and tuna. The greens you can see in the picture is fresh dill. In my opinion, there is no frittata without fresh herbs. They make such huge difference in frittatas. I have to admit though, that I don’t have them always handy so I will use dry herbs instead. The herbs I used the most are dill, parsley, oregano or basil.

Saturday’s lunch followed with a homemade (from scratch) pizza: Artichoke, Tuna, and Feta Cheese Pizza. Some of you might think tuna again? Well, the tuna can in olive oil I like to buy is pretty big, so I try to use it throughout the day. When it’s not possible, I would store the rest in an airtight glass container and use it in the next days. Most of the time the other half of the can will end up in a Greek Pasta Salad or Potato Tuna Salad.

What I like about making pizza is that you have just enough for lunch and dinner and you have time to focus on other projects.

And, of course, there’s no such thing as not indulging our sweet tooth during the weekend 😉

I checked what we had in the fridge and pantry, and the winner was chosen: Cinnamon – chocolate chips buns! You might ask: why chocolate chips in a cinnamon bun but it was my daughter’s request to try them this way, and I have to say I will most definitely make them again. They were yummy!

And because is Summer and it’s so hot, and it’s very humid here in Toronto, one way I ensure that we all stay hydrated is making citrus infused water that the whole family can enjoy.

Stay chilled!

Thank you and a homemade pizza

On May 28, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Bread and Pizza, Brunch, Uncategorized10 Comments

Thank you so much to all of you, my over 200 followers, for taking the time to stop by and following my blog.

Thank you for your comments but also for all your posts that inspire me daily.

This week, I had a couple of days off, so called a short vacation that I needed it so much. My mind and body were crying for some time off. When I was asked what my plans were, I said that I just wanted to relax. Now I believe we are all different and we relax in our own way. Usually, when I relax means, I want to be equally productive and physically active and just at the end of the day, lazy. 🙂 I really like exuberance and happiness I feel after a good and thoroughly house cleaning or after a five-kilometer ( or more ) walk.

I just wanted to share with you what a day off means to me. I woke up at 06:00 AM instead of 05:00 AM. I started as usual with coffee and getting the breakfast ready. Becuase there was no rush I decided to make a frittata with feta cheese and fresh dill.

Around 06:50 hubby and daughter left for work and college, so there were only my babies left in the house and me. After a few coffee sips, I put my furry boys in the crate on the balcony so they can enjoy the warm morning, so I started to clean the house. By 08:30 I finished two laundry loads and by 09:30 the cleaning was done. The cleaning included the windows as well. 😉

After a quick shower, I could finally enjoy the fresh scent of a clean house and my second cup of coffee while browsing the internet for lunch ideas. Homemade pizza was the winner. I decided for a Three Cheese Tuna- Crab Meat Pizza. I have to admit it turned out delicious. My daughter said: “I have no idea what you do or put on your pizza that makes it always the best pizza comparing with the takeout ones ;)”

Ingredients for the dough:

2 1/4 cups of whole-wheat flour ( I used 1/4 cup when kneading the dough )
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional)
1 1/2 cups of warm water
the juice of one lemon

For the pizza topping:

sweet basil tomato sauce
100 gr mozzarella
100 gr feta cheese
50 gr of Parmigiano petals
1 large tuna in water ( no drain one )
1 can of crab meat ( well drained )
1/2 of a large organic white onion
green olives

Combine the flour, salt, turmeric and chia seeds if using.

Put the yeast in a cup of warm water. When it start to bubble, pour the mixture over the flour. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and mix all together. Once combined, knead by hand for about 5 to 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it feels soft, springy and elastic. Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl, cover it and set it in a warm place.

In about an hour the dough should triple the size and be ready for the pizza. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Oil a work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle shape. Rol the dough in half and place it on the baking tray and start topping it.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Using a ladle add the sauce and using the back of the spoon swirl it all over the top of the dough. Top it with tuna, crab meat, thin slices of onion and green olives. Crumble the feta cheese and sprinkle shredded mozzarella and Parmigiano petals.

Cook in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

It feels like I’ve been making pizza since I was young. I started by using the ready made dough, but once I learned to make the dough, it became so natural to have a homemade pizza a few times a month.

Some people might think that is time-consuming, but I like it because while the dough is getting ready, I have the time to prepare the topping. While the pizza is in the oven, I got ready and left to wait for my daughter so we could enjoy 3 kilometers walk back home. We kept hydrated with lemon infused water. It was a good exercise that made us hungry, so when we reached home, we were so eager to enjoy that pizza and watch our favorite show: The Bridge.

In the evening I didn’t do much but watched some videos on Youtube, planning my new knitting – crochet projects 🙂 when I did not play with my furry babies 😉

Long Weekend Specials

On May 23, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Breakfast, Brunch, Chicken, Uncategorized11 Comments

We celebrated Victoria Day this Monday, so we had a long and relaxing weekend. The weather was not friendly, and I had in mind a weekend with smoothies and salads, but it did not turn as I wanted.

The strawberries that I bought for the smoothies ended up in a melt-in-the-mouth goodness: Strawberry Clafoutis. I know I have another post about Clafoutis, which you can read here. This time I used strawberries ( abut 250 grams) but they were giant in size, so I cut them into pieces.

Ingredients :

250 g strawberries
4 eggs
400 ml cashew milk (warmed up)
juice from half of lemon
1/4 cup of grape seeds oil
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of all purpose flour

Preheat the oven at 350. Oil a baking dish. Wash, drain and cut the strawberries. Place the strawberries on the baking tray.

Lightly beat the eggs; add the sugar and whisk together until smooth. Stir in the flour.

Add the milk ( warmed up ) and the lemon juice. Pour into the baking dish over the fruits.

Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown.

I have to admit this delicious French pudding became mine and my daughter’s favorite dessert. So versatile and easy to make: 15-20 min prep time and 45 minutes baking time and you can have it warm or cold. When I say versatile, I was referring to the variety of fruits that you can use: cherries, grapes, berries and I saw very interesting versions with figs and persimmons on Alison’s Trials blog that I will have to try one day.

Another thing that I love about this delicious dessert is that you don’t have to wait for it to cool down before you can dig in.

There is only one problem with this pudding: it disappears the same day 😉 😉

Additionally, Sunday morning I woke up with a thought to make

Turmeric Onion Flakes Buns.

They turned out yummy, fluffy on the inside but with a crunchy crust on the outside.

Alongside the bunsI also prepared an omelet…

Baked chicken breast and potato ended our long weekend on Monday.

In a deep glass baking dish, I put together the potatoes, yellow onion, and fennel all cuts in thick pieces and the chicken breast cut into chunks.

I seasoned everything with grapeseed oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and paprika.

I really hope that the next weekend there will be a good weather so I could share some smoothies with you.

Sunday’s Specials

On May 7, 2017 By felisrecipesIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This Sunday I was very busy, and because of that, I had to think of a really easy and fast meal. There was no time for my Sunday pancakes, so I made a fresh batch of muffins. I know what you might think, but I did it again. This time I decided for a Peanut butter coffee flavor.

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup old fashion oats
5 teaspoons of chocolate peanut butter powder
1 teaspoon French vanilla instant coffee
1 tsp baking soda
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup grape seeds oil
2 cups cashew milk
1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar
a few almond flakes for topping

They were moist and delicious, and they had to keep us going until 3 PM when we returned home for a late lunch.

First, I was thinking of ordering out for lunch today, but before I left the house I browsed the internet for a few minutes, and I found a recipe that inspired me. My inspiration was Sabrina from Dinner and then dessert: Easy Greek Pasta Salad. I adapted the recipe with my ingredients and here is the result: Easy Tuna Pasta Salad.

Ingredients:

Makes: 4 servings; Prep time: 15 min; Cooking time: 20 min

for the salad:

225 gr rice and quinoa fusilli pasta
1/2 of an English cucumber, chopped
1 cup sweet grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 cup green olives
3 small tuna cans in olive oil
50 gr feta cheese

for the dressing:

I saved the olive oil from the tuna cans, but I did not use all of it. ( approx 3-4 tbsps )
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Boil the pasta as per the instruction from the package.

Place the cooked pasta in a large porcelain bowl. Add the chopped cucumber, halved tomatoes, red onion, green olives, and tuna.

In a small bowl whisk together: olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and black pepper.

Pour the vinaigrette over the pasta mixture and stir slowly. Add some extra black pepper if you wish.

We spoiled ourselves a bit today by having a Chocolate mousse topped with Pistachio Ice Cream ( Indian style. Both, the mousse and ice cream were storebought).

There is a frost advisory here in Toronto, but I would like to end my post with some beautiful yellow tulips and the hope that Spring will come soon 😉 ❤

The Versatile Blogger Award

On April 16, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Uncategorized15 Comments

I know my last post was about a nomination and here I am again posting about a new nomination. This time Jessica from DaringtoJess thought about me. I am very humble and accept her nomination. Please check out her blog. I promise you won’t regret it. She is a wonderful, talented and inspiring young person.

Here are the Rules

Display the award.
Thank the person who gave this award (and include a link to their blog.)
Share seven things about yourself.
Nominate bloggers.

The seven things about me

This is my favorite part of any nomination. Trying to say something new every time. LOL

I studying piano when I was younger for about 7 years and I performed in the City Concert Hall once 😉
My father thought me how to swim. I can make 30 lapse at once on my own speed LOL
I had to give up cheese. I haven’t had any in six months. Do I miss it ? A lot ! I cannot eat vegan cheese either. 😦
At work my colleagues are calling me : Miss Good 😉 I am wondering why ? LOL
I saved all the plants from one of my colleague from my office when she was on sick leave for about one year but I successfully kill all of mine. 😦
I love to walk. My record is 15 km a day. I made it only twice.
Recently I discovered I have gluten intolerance. 😦

The Nominees Are ( not in a particular order but these are blogs that I just love visiting almost daily 😉 )

Congratulation to all the nominees and I really hope you will enjoy this nomination.

I hope that all of you that celebrated Easter had a happy one and lots of delicious food and family and friends around the table 🙂

And I am going to end my post with a picture from my sister-in-law’s garden from back home: Romania, where spring has arrived and green is marked by colorful flowers

toporasi _ zoe 2

The Blog-aholic Award

On March 19, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Uncategorized11 Comments

This year, it seemed as though there would be no end in sight to this Winter season (just this past week we got another 10 cm of snow in Toronto) and it’s left me feeling drained, mentally. At first I thought I was stressed out because of my hat projects. But even after I finished the hats I couldn’t find my usual energy and happy-go-lucky attitude. Finally, I realized that my overall increase in stress had more to do with work rather than the long Canadian Winters, like I first thought. We’ve had a lot of changes throughout the department and that, for me, means a lot more work. And stress. It’s really a never-ending cycle; you know how it is, I’m sure.

Anyway, why am I saying this? I guess it’s because I wanted to explained my sudden (but short-lived) absence lately. However, simply because I’ve not had enough energy to post something new, that doesn’t mean I stopped conversing with YOU, the bloggers out there, followers or not. Your posts helped me get past this state and kept me sane. 😛

During my hiatus, I was nominated for the Blog-Aholic Award by Carol through the “Cooking from the time Challenged” You can find her wonderful blog here. I feel immensely honored that she took the time to think of me, and Carol, once again, thank you! 🙂

And just like this,though Carol I was able to find the founder of this award, Esme “The Recipe Hunter (Cook and Enjoy), who said it wonderfully:”blogging is creating. Connecting, Sharing and Inspiring other. So this is actually what this award is about: Share and Inspire others! 🙂

Here are the rules of the award:

Put the above award logo/image on your blog
List the rules
Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog (it can be to the post in which they nominated you or any other post or you can even link to their “About” page)
Mention the creator The Recipe Hunter (Cook & Enjoy) of this award and please provide a link or pinback
Write a post to show your award
Share a link to your best post(s)
Share 3 interesting and different facts about yourself
Nominate 5-10 fellow bloggers, or more if you wish. Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

Now I should share 3 interesting and different facts about yourself. I am not sure if they are interesting but they are true fact about me:

I love chocolate. No, this is not true. I am addicted to chocolate. LOL
Playing with my two cats is my new cardio 😉
I cannot go to sleep if there are still dishes in the sink to be done.

The most loved post is Frittata ❤

And here are the nominees:

I really hope all the nominees are willing to ” share and inspire others ” and participate in this award recognition. Good luck !