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.

World Cuisines: Red Split Lentils (India)

Ingredients:
1 cup dry red split lentils, rinsed
4-5 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
ginger root, peeled and grated, a small piece of around 2cm
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small spicy pepper of your choice
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 cups water
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation:
Makes sure all your ingredients are ready to go when you start. 
Heat oil in large skillet on medium.
Add the cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds.
Add the onion and cook until transparent.
Add the ginger, spicy pepper and garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
Add the tomato, salt and pepper and cook until the tomatoes fall apart.
Add the turmeric and stir for 15 seconds.
Turn off heat and pour what you've cooked into a large saucepan. 
Add the water and lentils. 
Cook everything until lentils are soft, stirring occasionally; this should be about 30 minutes.
If it's too think, feel free to add water.
Serve by topping with cilantro. 
Goes great with basmati rice.

Makes 2-3 servings.

The recipe comes from Agnieszka's friend Sarita from Central NJ. So glad she taught her to make it! If you want more great Indian recipes, check out Sanjeev Kapoor's website and another about his tv program Khana Khazana.

Our Recipes: Lemon-Yogurt Dressing

Ingredients:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1/8 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation:
Whisk all the ingredients together.

Makes enough for several salads. If for one or two people, you may want to halve the measurements.

This is a great dressing for any fresh salad. For example, for two people, you can use greens (whatever you think is right, we use around 60 grams), 1/2 of a carrot shaved, 1/2 of an avocado chopped, 1 chopped tomato, 1/4 of a cucumber chopped and 1/4 of a medium onion chopped. Sprinkle the salad with salt and then add the dressing. I make this regularly for John. It's delicious and refreshing.

World Cuisines: Delicious Salsa (Mexico)

Ingredients:
- 6-8 large Roma tomatoes (Do not put your tomatoes in the fridge after purchase. Let them sit out, in the sun if possible so they'll ripen and become more flavorful.)
- 1 medium onion, diced 
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
some hot pepper, minced (The amount will differ. I try different peppers each time. Make sure you don't start too spicy. You can always increase it later.)
- 1/2-1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- ground pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil juice of one lemon or lime, optional

Preparation:
- Add ½ inch of water to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Core and halve tomatoes and set them, cut side up, in the skillet. 
- Simmer tomatoes until water evaporates and tomatoes start to soften. 
- In the meantime dice the onions.
- Once the tomatoes are ready, peel and discard the skin. Caution, they're hot!
- Put tomatoes, hot pepper and cilantro into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic in hot oil for about 15 seconds; just a flash in the pan.
- Add blended tomato mixture to the skillet with the onions and garlic and stir it.
- Season with salt and ground pepper to taste. 
- Simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes, or until salsa has reduced and thickened. You may need to increase cook time if tomatoes are very juicy.
- If you are using citrus, stir it in at the end.


Makes 3 cups or about 6 servings

Our Recipes: Quinoa Salad with Vegetables in a Citrus Dressing

Salad dressing

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons clementine juice

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Preparation:

For the dressing, whisk together oil, lemon and clementine juices, honey and mustard.

Salad

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup white quinoa

1 ½ cup vegetable stock (Optionally I make my own chicken-vegetable stock by cooking for

20 minutes a chicken wing with a carrot and any other vegetable I have at home like a slice of celery root, leeks leaf, slice of onion, bit of parsley. So be creative, use what you like and suit you.)

1 ¼ cup water

¼ chopped clementines

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

1 chopped avocado

⅓ cup sliced radishes

Bunch of watercress – around 2 cups but if you want to use more it’s up to you how much you want to use in the salad. I use it a lot. I also use a bag of baby leaves salad mix instead of watercress. Try what you like best.

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ cup finely chopped parsley leaves 

salt & pepper for taste

Preparation:

Put the quinoa in a large pot with the vegetable stock and water over medium-high heat. Bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir it and cover again. After 10 minutes remove the lid and let it to sit aside to cool.  

Mix greens, clementines, avocado, radishes, pomegranate, pine nuts and parsley together in a large bowl. Add quinoa. 

Dress the salad.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Sometimes I make a bed of greens and quinoa on a plate and then I put remain mixed ingredients on the top. Be creative!  

Original recipe from Super Grains and Seeds by Amy Ruth Finegold