Our Recipes: Butternut Squash Soup with Brandy

Ingredients:

- 1 ½ cup sour cream

- ½ cup maple syrup

- 2 tsp salt

- 1 big butternut squash or 2 small – sliced in half length side, deseeded  & roasted

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil + 1 tbsp for battering a baking dish

- 2 medium onions – chopped

- 4 celery stalks - sliced

- 4 medium carrots – chopped

- ¼ dark brown sugar

- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

- ¼ tsp ground cloves

- ¼ tsp nutmeg

- ½ tsp – 1 tsp cayenne pepper (careful very hot)

- 4 Macoun apples – chopped (These are late autumn apples with very firm flesh. They are juicy and snow white, tasting sweet with a hint of berry.) You are welcome to use any apples you can get in the store.

- 2/3 cup brandy

- ¼ cup honey

- Ground pepper to taste and more salt if needed.

Directions:

- Roast the butternut squash. (You can roasted the same day or the night before).

- Heat the oven to 350°F (around 175°C). 

- Butter baking dish.

- Place squash in the baking dish cut side down and add 1/2 cup of water.

- Bake til tender - around 1 hour.

- Let cool aside for 30-45 minutes.

- Peel the skin. Set aside.

- In a small bowl mix sour cream and maple syrup with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of water.

- Cover and set it aside.

- In a large stockpot melt butter (or add olive oil instead).

- Add onion, celery, carrots.

- Stirring, cook until onion is transparent (around 10 minutes).

- Add brown sugar, spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, 2 tsp salt), stirring, cook around 5 minutes.

- Add apples and brandy. Keep stirring – 5 minutes.

- Add roasted squash and 4 cups of water.

- Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

- Add more water if desired or if the soup is too thick.

- Let cool for 30 to 45 minutes.

- Puree till smooth.

- Pour in honey and add salt and pepper to taste. Puree to stir honey in. 

- To serve, garnish with a dollop of maple-cream mixture.

It's great in the fall season! 

Makes around 6 servings. 

Sometimes if I cook too much, I freeze it. Still tastes great. 

Have fun cooking! 

World Cuisines: Pancakes (USA)

Ingerdients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups milk (room temperature or slightly warmer)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled down
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract - optional
- additional butter or vegetable oil/frying spray

Preparation:
- Sift the flour with baking powder once or twice into a large bowl for better fluffiness.
- Add sugar and salt to the flour.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg, add the butter and vanilla and mix together.
- Slowly add the milk and gently beat in.
 - Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the wet mixture slowly, stirring constantly and gently.
- Mix until smooth. Do not overmix because you will end up with flat/heavy pancakes.
- It is ok if there are few lumps. 
- Heat a large skillet or your favorite pancake-size skillet on a medium high heat.
- Add some butter/lightly grease the skillet and pour some pancake batter on it. (1/4 of a cup or how much you want for desired size).
- Fry until golden brown.

Today, I made 4 pancakes (5 1/4 inch) for 2 people. 

Top with your favorite fresh fruit, butter, maple syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Our Recipes: Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

- 1/4 tsp. olive oil

- 1 cup chopped yellow onions

- 1 cup chopped peeled carrots

- 1 cup chopped celery

- 1 tsp. minced garlic

- 2 cups washed lentils (I usually use the big, green ones)

- 1 20 oz. can washed tomatoes in juice

- 8 cups veggie stock or chicken stock (you can make your own from chicken wings)

- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 

- 1/2 tsp. cumin

- 1/4 tsp. chili powder

- 1 tsp. paprika

- 1 tsp. dried basil

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. pepper

- 1 bay leaf

(If you want your soup to be spicier, add some more chili and/or cayenne pepper)

Directions: 

- Heat a large stock pot over medium heat.

- Add the olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. 

- Add the onion, carrot, celery & garlic.

- Cook until onion is soft (2-4 minutes).

 - Stir in lentils, tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, basil, salt & pepper. 

- Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer until lentils are soft about 20-30 minutes. 

- Remove bay leaf before serving.

World Cuisines: Vietnamese Chicken (Vietnam)

Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch (around 2-3 cm) fresh ginger root peeled and finely grated
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice (if you can't get it, just skip it)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
- Set the chicken aside.
- Mix remaining ingredients together.
- Marinate the chicken(best a few hours before cooking or overnight)
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake 30 minutes.

Serve with your favorite green salad or steamed vegetables.Makes 2 servings. Bon Appetit!

Our Recipes: Fried Okra

Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound of fresh okra
- 2 eggs
- 1/2  cup flour
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste

Direction: 
- Chop okra into 1/2 inch pieces
- Whisk the eggs with salt, black peeper and cayenne pepper together in  a bowl
- Heat the oil in a deep skillet or wok
- Dip the okra pieces in the egg mixture and put it on a plate
- Sprinkle okra with the flour (I used a sifter  so it is easier to spread the flour evenly)
- Fry okra util golden brown, flipping it occasionally

Makes 2 srevings

Our Recipes: Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket Joint

Ingredients:
- 2lbs/1kg beef brisket joint
-1/2 garlic head (each clove peeled and cut in a half)
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 allspice berries
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper 
- 1/4 tsp red crushed pepper
- 1/8 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 small or medium-sized baking sleeve

Preparation:
- The night before cooking put beef in a bowl/baking pan and line with aluminum foil. 
- Pour canola oil over the beef and smear it all over. 
- Sprinkle all the spices evenly on the whole meat piece. 
- Put garlic all around the meat. 
- Wrap the brisket with aluminum foil and put away into the fridge until baking time. 
- On the baking day, preheat the oven to 160C.
- Unwrap the beef and move it into the baking sleeve. 
- Add 1/2 cup of water and close the bag with the clip for the baking sleeve. 
- Move the beef in the sleeve into a clean baking pan and put in the oven. 
- Bake 2.5 hours.
- The sleeve will behave like a big bubble after several minutes of baking. You can use a skewer or a pointy knife to poke a hole in the sleeve.  
- When the beef is done, carefully cut the bag open. Be careful - the steam which will come out of the bag is very hot. Move the beef with a large fork onto a serving dish. Cut into slices.
- Bon apetit!

Makes 6 servings.

Our Recipes: Yogurt-Tahini Dressing

Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1/8 cup boiling water
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup natural yogurt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
- Whisk the tahini and water together until smooth.
- Add remain ingredients and mix well.
- Pour over a salad of your choice.

:)

World Cuisines: Moroccan Salad (Morocco)

Ingredients: 
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1/3 cup raisins

Dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: 
- Sprinkle a skillet with olive oil (around 1/2 tbsp) and toast almonds over medium heat until golden brown (around 4 min), stirring often.
- In a food processor/blender blend all the dressing ingredients plus half the amount of almonds.
- Add carrots, chickpeas, quinoa, raisins and remain almonds to a large bowl. Pour over dressing and mix well. 

Makes 2 servings as a dish or 4 servings as a side dish. 

Enjoy!

Our Recipes: Lemon Loaf

After exploring Starbucks lemon cake I felt the need to make my own. I searched the internet for a good recipe and I finally found out that my friend Dorota bakes it. I tried it once and it was fast and easy to make. It tasted delicious so I stayed with the recipe. Thank you Dorota!

Ingredients:
- 225g butter 
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/4 cup flour 
- 1/3 cup ground almonds
- 4 eggs
- 3 lemons
- 1tsp baking powder

Preparation:
- Wash the lemons well under warm water. 
- Zest the lemons.
- Cut the lemons in a half and juice them into a bowl.

- Melt the butter in a saucepan but don't let it boil. Put to the side.
- Separate the eggs and put whites into a large mixing bowl. Keep yolks for later in a cup.
- Beat the whites well with a mixer.

- Gradually add sugar through a sieve and keep beating.
- Add the yolks and mix.
- Gradually add flour and baking powder through a sieve and keep mixing gently with a large spoon.
- Gradually add butter and keep mixing gently.

- Gradually add ground almonds and keep mixing.
- Add lemon juice and lemon zest and stir in. 
- Pour the batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan lined with aluminum foil. 
- Bake on 350°F (160°C) until golden brown (around 40min). A toothpick should come out cleanly.

                                                            Bon appétit and smacznego!

World Cuisines: Guacamole (Mexico)

We love Mexican food so we want to share how we make guacamole. 
(Also for special request. Here it is! For you Emily:))

Ingredients:
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 of you favorite hot pepper, minced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- red crushed pepper - sometimes I add it  
to make it more spicy

Preparation:
- Using a tablespoon, take the flesh out of the avocados and put it into a bowl. Mash it with a fork. You can leave some chunks if you want. 
- Add remaining ingredients, stir and eat. :) 

Makes 2-3 servings.

Guacamole is great with tortilla chips. My favorite are Hint of Lime Tostitos. But today I bought a delicious baguette from a French bakery, and I spread some guacamole on it. Yummmmm!

Our Recipes: Panko – Crusted Salmon

I found this recipe in Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten several years ago. I think that it is an interesting and fast recipe. Fish is crunchy and delicious. It's also great the next days as leftovers. 

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)

- 2 tbs minced fresh parsley                                                  

- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 4 salmon fillets

- 2 tbs dijon mustard

- 2 tbs vegetable oil

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp pepper

- lemon wedges for serving

Preparation:

- Mix together bread flakes, parsley and lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add oil olive and stir.

- Place the salmon skin side down. Generously brush the top with mustard and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

- Press bread flakes mixture thickly on top of the mustard

- Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot, add the salmon skin side down. Sear for 3-4 minutes to brown the skin without turning.

- Transfer the pan to the hot oven for 6-10 (200°C) minutes until salmon is t cooked and the panko browned.

- Serve with lemon wedges. 

Reviews: Sugar Junction - vintage tea-room (Manchester)

I am a very picky customer. I am always looking for good quality food, clean places to eat/drink and professional service. After trying many hot drinks around the world, I pretty well know what I want from a coffes shop otherwise I won't come back. I have finally found a place in Manchester where I can always get a nice chai latte. The place attracted my attention because it's cute, neat and comfortable. We have been there twice already to get my chai and both times was really nice. The cup was pretty large so you had more than just a few sips of your favorite drink. Besides that I like my hot beverages sweet and this chai has perfect sweetness for me but it might be a bit too sweet for other people (I will leave you the judgement). The other thing was that my drinks were hot - ready to drink but still hot. Do you have sometimes this disappointment when you try your drink and it's just a bit too cold? I do. :)
So if you are in the Northern Quarter on Tib Street, you can try it for yourself.

Reviews: Cafe Prego (Manchester)

Today we tried very yummy street food at Cafe Prego. The food is prepared in a beautiful and immaculate food truck and it is served by our friends Dorota and Tomek. They serve sweet and savory crepes, sandwiches, desserts and coffees. So if you are in Manchester we hope you're lucky and come across them!

                                                                                                         I really enjoy that they recycle everything and even they use wooden utensils which is a huge plus for the environment!                                                                                                                                                 

World Cuisines: Sushi Restaurant Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing (Japan)

Salad

Ingredients:
- 1 iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped into larger pieces
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 2/3 cup Carrot-Ginger Dressing
- 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
- 6 radishes, sliced (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Put all the vegetables into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper a bit. Dress the salad.

Makes 4 servings

Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Ingredients:
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper

Preparation:
Put everything into a blender and puree until smooth. It makes 2 1/2 cups. You can keep the rest in a fridge for several days and use it for more salads or cut the recipe in a half and make less.

Whenever we go to a Japanese restaurant, we always order the salad as an appetizer. We always wondered what is that delicious dressing but we couldn't find the answer for a while.

We found the general idea in "It's All Good"  by Gwyneth Paltrow & Julia Tursheen. We have modified it a bit and we like it.

Our Recipes: Sweet Crepes (Naleśniki)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp sugar (optional and only for sweet crepes)
- pinch of salt
- around 4 - 6 tsp vegetable oil
- favorite jam

Preparation:
- Pour the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. 
- Add eggs and start whisking them into flour. 
- Gradually add milk, then water, stirring to combine. 
- The crepe batter should be clumps free if you mixed everything gradually into the flour. If the clumps occur, you will need to use a food processor to smooth it out. The batter has to be pretty watery. 
- Heat lightly-oiled large skillet (around 1/2 tsp vegetable oil per crepe). 
- Pour 1/2 cup of batter and spread it evenly in circles from the middle towards the edges with a ladle. 
- Fry until golden brown and flip over with a spatula to cook the other side. 
- Move onto a large plate.
- Spread some jam all over, roll it and cut in half. 

Makes 6 crepes.

Tips:
If you add more milk than water or only milk, the crepes will be less flexible and easy to crack while flipping over/rolling. Keep trying to find your favorite milk-water proportions. Believe me, you will figure it out sooner or later :)
You can use Nutella and sliced bananas instead of jam.

My mom has made them since I was a child. She still does whenever we visit, but we also make them often by ourselves. :)

Smacznego!

World Cuisines: Chana Masala (India)

Ingredients: 
- 1 cup of dried chickpeas - soak in the water for at least 1 hour before cooking (best overnight)
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato puree
- 3-4 garlic cloves peeled and grated
- 1 onion, chopped
- fresh ginger root - around 2 cm, grated
- 1-2 small green chilis, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
- 1/2 tsp chana masala powder
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 fresh cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
- Heat oil in large skillet on medium.
- Add the cumin and ajwain seeds and fry for 10 seconds.
- Add the onion and cook until transparent.
- Add garlic, ginger and chilis and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
- Add turmeric powder, tomatoes and salt. Cook for 5-10 minutes until tomatoes are soft and pasty.
- Add tomato puree and stir well for 2 minutes.
- Move everything to a large saucepan on a medium heat.
- Add drained chickpeas, water and chana masala powder. If 1 cup of water isn't enough, add more. 
- Cook for about 20 - 30 minutes or until chickpeas are soft. Serve with basmati rice and sprinkle with cilantro.

Makes 3 servings. 
Enjoy!

Our Recipes: Feta Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. fusilli/penne pasta, cooked (It's best if you use spelt or whole wheat. We've learned this since we took the photo, oops!)
- 4 large tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped chives
- 200g feta cheese, cubed 
- salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
- After the pasta is cool, add it to a large salad bowl.
- Add the tomatoes, chives and feta and stir gently so the feta doesn't crumble too much.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember, the feta is already salty so you won't need much salt.

Makes 4 servings.

This is a very simple salad with no dressing, but that doesn't mean it's not amazing. The pasta choice is important, because a flavorless type will not do much for the salad. It's refreshing, but also filling.

Our Recipes: Kale Chips

Ingredients:
- kale (We usually use a bag of pre-washed and cut kale, because it's easy.)
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- crushed red pepper, optional
- cumin, optional

Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Put half of your kale in a large salad bowl.
- Sprinkle with olive oil and the spices. It's up to you, how oily, salty, spicy, you want it. Try out different combinations each time and find what suits you best. We like it spicy and not very oily. The important things is that there is at least a very light coating of oil in the kale.
- Mix together well with hands so that everything is evenly distributed.
- Spread the kale out on a large cookie sheet.
- Bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes. The kale should be crispy, not dripping and not burnt (the color should turn a bit, but not to brown/black).
- Remove from oven and serve immediately in a popcorn bowl. If you don't eat it right away, it can be soggy, though this is also pretty tasty!
- Repeat the whole process with the remaining half of your kale while snacking on your fresh kale chips.

Makes around 4 servings.

The main idea of this recipe came from our friend Geoff in New Jersey. We have only altered the spices a bit. Thanks Geoff!

Our Recipes: Susan's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
- 2 ripe medium bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar (the original calls for 1 1/2)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (sometimes we put crushed hazelnuts in instead)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have it, you can use yogurt)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla, optional
- 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
- Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. (Today, we used aluminum foil instead.)
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar, salt and baking soda.
- Beat eggs with a fork and slowly add them to the bowl while stirring at the surface to avoid clumping.
- In the same fashion, add the buttermilk.
- Continuing like this, add the vegetable oil and then the vanilla.
- Add the mashed banana and stir everything together well.
- Finally, add the walnuts and stir.
- Transfer to the pan.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, split slightly, and a knife (or skewer) comes out cleanly. This is probably about 60-80 minutes.
- Let sit a few minutes before cutting, but serve warm!  

Makes 1 loaf.

This recipe is from John's mom. She made it all the time when he was growing up. I tried it for first time in Arizona at Thanksgiving and have been making it ever since. People in many countries have tried it and love it.