RSS

Whole wheat bread with seeds

This bread is my pure invention. How I arrived to it... simple. I had some flour pre-measured for a specific type of bread for the bread machine. As I do not use the bread machine anymore, I measured and combined the flour to be easy to use for my guests in case they were running out of bread. But this didn't happen and my measured flour was sitting there in my pantry. It was there, screaming to be used in a recipe and I was just ignoring it. But this time, it got my attention and I decided to use it. It was too difficult to find a recipe with sourdough exactly matching the proportions I had for my combined flour so I just went on, trusting only my feeling and experience.
This was the result and it was not at all disappointing. My husband, who is not easy to impress when it comes to bread, has noticed it, so it was clear to me then that there is something special about this bread.

Also, thanks Rick for all encouragements you made me, to try to make my own bread recipes. You were right, you cannot fail and in this way you may discover amazing recipes. And get a lot of experience.

Chicken with cashew and bell pepper

This spring I have planted in my greenhouse a lot of spring onions and now they're ready to be eaten. They are so fresh that when taken into your hands you are hearing the sound of crushing them. Their color is so green, their taste is so intense, they look so home raised. How could you not desire to eat them? 

I made this recipe couple of times before.  Always with remarkable result. Couple of  months ago I bought a wok after a lot of researches. This was one of my first recipe to try how my new wok was working. Although I do not have how to compare with other woks, the result was satisfactory. Cooking Asian dishes is very healthy. This is because cooking Asian style, you only cook the food for couple minutes this, preserving vitamins in vegetables. It is also very quick if you don't count the time to cut all the ingredients into small pieces. This is not a spicy dish nor a sweat one. It is a savory dish with a nutty taste that I like very much. It is served with the rice and flavor it with a delicate aroma.

Pain d'Aix

Here you have a bread that takes its name from its shape. Do you remember an old bread I made called La tabatière ? This one is not that far from that one. It requires the same way to do it. When it's about shaping it, make a boule, take a rolling pin and flatten half of it. Stretch it enough so you can cover the other part of the bread with it. Flour well the dough and pack the half of the boule with the stretched part. Now you have a loaf that looks like a half sphere, with one side straight and the rest is round. Put this loaf on a baking sheet, take your dough cutter and on the round side almost cut the loaf in 2. Actually, do not cut completely but let a portion uncut on the straight side of the bread. With your hands, take the extremities and try to distance the cut. What you get is a loaf that looks like a bow. Cover the loaves with a towel and let them rise again. Finally, before baking them, score them with a nice pattern.
After the final rise, I realised that the part that I packed over the bread was totally merged with the rest of the bread and normally this shouldn't have happened. Maybe the bread was not enough floured or the dough was not firm enough but in the end, it was just a matter of aspect. However, the bread kept its bow shape and raised nicely in the oven.
As a conclusion, it is a shape that you can use with any firm dough, no matter the recipe. It makes your bread look fancy and nice. If you are a home bread maker you should try to do it at least once in your life.

Mediterranean chicken soup



When I have seen this recipe in a cookbook, my mind flew back to a spring cold evening that I spent in Greece some years ago. A good friend of mine took me to a traditional restaurant. It was my first contact with a real Greek cuisine and I had no idea what to take. My friend recommended me something and I have followed his advice. To be honest, I do not remember what was my choice then but I know it was the moment I fall in love with their traditional cooking. When I have seen this recipe, my mind was bringing me back of that evening. Thank you very much my dear friend for that beautiful holiday when you have introduced me your amazing country. I keep very nice memories since then, even if it was more than 10 years ago. I dedicate this post to you ...

Zucchini muffins

Salty muffins with vegetables ... I had this in mind to try for a long time. And, I was also hopping to try them with my daughter, as I know how much she generally likes muffins.

Zucchini and green herbs like parsley, chive,  spring onions... mmm sounds very healthy. So, I get myself to work out the recipe and reached my "Does she likes them or not?" question. On the process of creating and baking them I've got the eyes of my daughter on them. She was also watching them in the oven to see how they raise. I took them out, let them cool and I called my daughter for the moment of truth. She took a bite, and neah ... is not sweet... she didn't like them. Well, you cannot trick children, can you? Doesn't matter, more muffins for me and my husband for breakfast! By the way, have I mentioned that they are delicious? If not, then I confirm now ..