BRUSCHETTA

When summer is here, I want to eat only light food. I dream about travelling and these amazing dishes which include local and seasonal ingredients.

I have been crazy about tomatoes lately and I decided to make Italian entree dish.

BRUSCHETTA / Makes about 14 depending on the size


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 baguette
• 8 medium size vine tomatoes (plum tomatoes are the best as they have thick skin and less juice)
• 8 basil leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic
• pinch of sea salt
• about 4 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 TBS balsamic vinegar

METHOD:

Parboil tomatoes first with boiling water. Remove their skin and cut in quarters. Remove seeds and flesh (you can use them in salad), and cut in medium size pieces. Transfer to medium bowl, add salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Cut basil and mix with the tomato mixture. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 230 C and line baking tray with parchment paper. Cut baguette in 1 cm thick slices. Brush one side of each slice with olive oil and place on the tray (olive oil side down). Once the oven reached right temperature, place the tray in the oven and toast for about 5-6 minutes or until the bread is lightly golden brown.

When the bread is ready remove from the oven. Transfer onto a platter (olive oil side up) and top each piece with tomato mixture. 

Serve straight away!

SWEET POTATO FRIES with AVOCADO DIP

Nearly perfect!

Few days ago I saw Sarah's recipe and I really wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I did not have cornmeal so I used ground flax seeds instead. I really loved how great effect I got at the end :)

SWEET POTATO FRIES

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 4 TBS ground flax seeds
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 200C. Line large baking tray with parchment paper. 

Cut potatoes in the same size long pieces (not too thick). Rinse and dry them well. Pour extra virgin olive oil to a bowl and coat all pieces of sweet potato. Transfer them to another bowl with ground flax seeds and coat them well. Then place them individually on baking tray about 1&1/2 cm away from each other. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Put into the oven and bake until lightly brown and crispy, about 30 minutes.  

* You can also add your favourite herbs.

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AVOCADO DIP

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 avocado
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• spring onion
• pink salt

METHOD:

Scoop out the avocado flesh and mash it with a fork. Cut spring onion and add with the rest of ingredients to avocado and mix well.  

SCRAMBLED TOFU

I think I cannot say that every meal I post on my blog is my favourite. I will simply generalise that I eat what I like the most. All photos show my ideal choice of foods. 

Scrambled tofu is great breakfast as well as dinner option!

SCRAMBLED TOFU

INGREDIENTS:

• 125 g organic natural tofu (GMO free)
• 1 sliced portobello mushroom
• enoki mushrooms
• spring onion, white parts cut in medium size pieces
• handful of spinach
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• tamari sauce

METHOD:

Melt coconut oil or mild olive oil on a pan. Add mushrooms, garlic and spring onion. Cook on medium heat until soft. Crumble the tofu into the pan using fingers and stir fry until it is warm. Then add nutritional yeast, tamari sauce and mix well. At the end add spinach and cover the pan for a minute so spinach will be ready. Serve by itself or with nice slice of homemade toasted bread.  

* You can also use carrots, bell peppers (I like red ones), red onion and other spices like turmeric. 

SUPER NUT BITES

I had some ground almonds left after making almond milk so decision has been made. Today it is time for a treat. It is so easy to make and it tastes amazing. I do not have to even mention how healthy it is. The best thing about these super-mini-nut-balls is that there is no need to use the same ingredients every time you make them. There are many recipes, but you can use your imagination and ingredients you like the most. Dates and nut butter make the mixture sticky, so that is the base of the recipe. 

And that is how I made mine :)

SUPER NUT BITES / Makes about 14


INGREDIENTS:

• 4 TBS ground almonds
• 2 TBS raw almond butter
• 16 − 20 finely chopped dates (you can use food processor)
• 16 finely chopped pecans (again you can use food processor)
• 1 tsp raw cacao powder
• cinnamon (I love cinnamon so I use a lot)
• pinch of sea salt

METHOD:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well using your hand. The mixture should be sticky so then you tear some of it and shape small balls. Try to be gentle and do not press too hard when making shape. They will become more solid after placing them in the fridge for minimum one hour. 

* I sprinkled mine with more cinnamon.

MINI APPLE CRUMBLE

Today I wanted something light, warm with my favourite spices. I chose delicious apple crumble. Of course, I am not able to survive without dessert!

MINI APPLE CRUMBLE / Makes 2-3

// Recipe adapted from smitten kitchen //

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium apples
• 1/2 TBS cornstarch
• 4 crushed cloves
• 1/2 cup oats
• 2 TBS ground almonds
• 2 TBS palm sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 TBS unsalted butter
• 2 TBS mild olive oil

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 175 C. 

Peel and core apples, cut them in small chunks. 

Place them in a small bowl, add cornstarch and sprinkle crushed cloves and mix well. Then transfer to two or three ramekins. 

Place all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix. Melt butter and the stir in olive oil. 

Pour to the dry mixture and mix well until crumbly. 

Divide crumble mixture over apples. Sprinkle with a little water. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown and you can see apples bubbling around them. Leave them to cool for few minutes and serve warm with oat cream or natural yoghurt. 

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in Polish

Dzisiaj miałam ochotę na coś lekkiego i ciepłego z moimi ulubionymi przyprawami. Wybrałam jabłka pod kruszonką. Nie umiem przeżyć bez deserów!

MINI JABŁKA POD OWSIANĄ KRUSZONKĄ / 2 porcje

SKŁADNIKI:

• 2 średniej wielkości jabłka
• 1/2 łyżki skrobi kukurydzianej
• 4 zmiażdżone goździki
• pół szklanki płatków owsianych
• 2 łyżki mielonych migdałów
• 2 łyżki cukru palmowego (albo innego "zdrowego słodzika")
• 1/4 łyżeczki cynamonu
• szczypta soli morskiej
• 1/4 łyżeczki proszku do pieczenia
• 1 łyżka masła bez soli
• 2 łyżki oliwy z oliwek

WYKONANIE:

Piekarnik nagrzać do 175 st. C. Obrać jabłka i pokroić na małe kawałki. W małej misce wymieszać je z mąką kukurydzianą i goździkami, a następnie przełożyć do przygotowanych 2 albo 3 kokilek. Suche składniki wymieszać w misce. Masło rozpuścić, dodać oliwę i wymieszać. Następnie wlać do suchych składników mieszając do uzyskania konsystencji kruszonki. Podzielić między kokilki i spryskać lekko wodą. Piec przez 30-40 minut albo aż kruszonka będzie złoto-brązowa i sok z jabłek będzie lekko bulgotał. Pozostawić chwilę do ostudzenia. Serwować ciepłe z kremem owsianym lub jogurtem naturalnym. 

WHOLEGRAIN SPELT RICOTTA SCONES

One of the easiest English teatime treats. For me, no raisins please!

WHOLEGRAIN SPELT RICOTTA SCONES / Makes 8 scones
// Recipe lightly adapted from SPROUTED KITCHEN //


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup white spelt flour
• 1 cup wholegrain spelt flour
• 1 TBSP aluminium free baking powder
• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 TBSP unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. 

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and the spices. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers (just be quick to not warm the butter), or use a food processor (that makes it easy). At the end add the ricotta to the butter mixture and stir them in to a form a dough using a flexible spatula, or pulse a few times in the processor.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and working quickly, use your hands to knead the dough gently into an even mass.

Then flour the top of dough, and pat into a 18 cm square, 2.5 cm high. With a large sharp knife divide the dough into eight scones. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking tray. Bake the scones for about 18-20 minutes until they are lightly golden at the edges. Cool them on a wire rack.

Enjoy with good jam or clotted cream, or both!

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in Polish

ORKISZOWE "BUŁECZKI" Z RICOTTĄ / 8 sztuk

Jeden z najprostszych do wykonania dodatków angielskiej 'afternoon tea' znalazł upodobanie wśród moich smakołyków. Jednak tylko w wersji bez rodzynek i najlepiej z ulubionej mąki orkiszowej.

SKŁADNIKI:

• 1 szklanka białej mąki orkiszowej
• 1 szklanka mąki orkiszowej
• 1 łyżka stołowa proszku do pieczenia bez aluminium
• 1/4 szklanki brązowego cukru
• 1/2 łyżeczki soli morskiej
• 1/4 łyżeczki cynamonu
• 1/4 łyżeczki kardamonu
• 1 łyżeczka waniliowego ekstraktu
• 6 stołowych łyżek schłodzonego niesolonego masła
• 1 szklanka (ok. 250g) sera ricotta

WYKONANIE:

Nagrzać piekarnik do temperatury 210-220 stopni C. Blachę wyłożyć papierem do pieczenia.

W misce wymieszać mąkę, proszek do pieczenia, sól i przyprawy. Następnie dołożyć masło pokrojone na małe kawałki i połączyć składniki rozcierając masło palcami albo używając robota kuchennego (tak jest łatwiej). Na koniec dodać ricottę i delikatnie wymieszać za pomocą silikonowej szpatułki, albo kilka razy włączyć i wyłączyć robot aby składniki lekko się połączyły.

Przenieść ciasto na posypany mąką blat i szybko oraz delikatnie je zagnieść w miarę jednolitą masę.

Następnie posypać wierzch ciasta mąką i rozklepać je na długość 18 cm i wysokość 2,5 cm. Podzielić ciasto na osiem równych części za pomocą dużego i ostrego noża. Przenieść kawałki ciasta na przygotowaną blachę do pieczenia. Piec około 18-20 minut, aż krawędzie będą lekko przybrązowione. Upieczone bułeczki wyjąć i pozostawić na chwilę do wystygnięcia.

• Podawać z dżemem albo ubitą śmietaną!