Our Recipes: Boiled Artichoke

Ingredients:
- 1 large artichoke
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 allspice berry
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch of black pepper or 1 pepper corn
- 2 tbsp salted butter for dipping

Preparation:
- In a large pan combine all spices and add enough water to cover the whole artichoke. Bring it to boil.
- In the meantime, rinse the artichoke well.
- Add artichoke to boiling water.
- Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. (When you pull out a leaf, the end of it should be tender and ready to eat.)
- Drain.
- Melt the butter in a small dish.
- Serve the warm artichoke with melted butter as a dip.

1 big artichoke is good for 2 people to share during a dinner. It's a great snack or addition to a meal.

World Cuisines: Pickles (Poland)

Polish people love pickles. There are many slightly different recipes for picked cucumbers. Two major ways of pickling are: fermenting and vinegar pickling. Both make delicious but unique pickles. The easier of the two (at least for me) is fermenting, so that's the recipe I'll give you today. For pickling you need to use gherkins. The best are small ones, freshly picked. Don't buy them if they are already pliable, out of season or not naturally grown. They are usually pickled in glass jars or in ceramic barrels. Now to the recipe.

Ingredients:
6-10 gherkins (depends on size)
1-2 medium garlic clove
1 tbsp salt
1 dill crown (from a mature dill plant)
1 horseradish leaf or 1 inch peeled horseradish root
2-3 cups boiling water
1 1-liter glass jar with top

Preparation:
- Put the salt and garlic on the bottom of the jar.
- Put the dill and horseradish leaf to the side inside the jar.
- Put the gherkins standing straight up in the jar. Usually there will be a lower layer and an upper layer. They can be tightly packed but not cracked, smashed or broken.
- Carefully fill up the jar with boiling water.
- Using a kitchen cloth, close the jar tightly. Remember the jar will be very hot.
- Check if the top is not leaking by turning the jar upside down a few times. This also will help to distribute and dissolve the salt.

- Put the prepared jar on a tray in a warm or sunny and warm place. It can be on a balcony or patio, inside by the windowsill or by the stove. The water will start changing from clear into blurred. This is normal.
- Turn upside down once a day (just the first few days) to mix the ingredients.
- They will be ready to eat after 2-3 days but if you wait longer, the flavor will be different. Find your favorite. They should survive the whole winter in a cool, dark place and will be delicious even next spring.
Just a note: During the fermenting, gas will be created. You might see bubbles or hear gas coming out of the jar (even with some water which might stain). The pickles will change color from bright green into dull/yellowish green. All of this is normal.

Smacznego!

World Cuisines: Oponki (Poland)

This is one of my favorite Polish deserts. It's a kind of donut. The secret ingredient is farmer cheese - dairy product.

Ingredients:
- 1 kg farmer cheese
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 full eggs
- 4 (just the) yolks
- 1/2 kg all-purpose flour
- 125 grams margarine (room temperature)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- oil for deep frying (around 1 liter)
- 1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:
- Sift the flour and baking powder onto the board/counter/working area into a pyramid. Make a well in the middle of it.
- Put the white sugar, eggs, yolks and margarine in the middle.
- Press the farmer cheese through a potato ricer and add it as well.
- Knead until well mixed and not clumpy, but they should be still a little bit sticky. Too much flour will make them tough and not fluffy.

- Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is 3/4" thick. (Use extra flour so it doesn't stick to the counter/rolling pin - not in the dough.) You can roll all of the dough straight away if you have enough space or you can divide it into 3 parts and work with each separately.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a pot on medium heat (around 375°F)
- Use a glass to cut circles out of the dough. Use a smaller glass (e.g. a shot glass) to cut the middles out of your circles to make a donut shape as in picture. If the dough sticks to the glass, dip the rim of the glass in tiny bit of flour.

                

- Carefully put the oponki and the remaining holes into the hot oil and cook on both sides until golden brown. Make sure they have enough space in the pan so they don't stick together. It will take a few rounds to fry them all.
Remember to flip quickly the tiny ones, otherwise they might not flip easily in the oil or at all.

- When ready, remove them carefully and let them cool on a paper towel.
- Serve with powdered sugar for extra flavor and as decoration.

This recipe provides quite a big amount of treats, probably enough for 10+ people or a smaller group for a couple of days.

Smacznego!

World Cuisines: Eton Mess (England)

Eton mess is a traditional English dessert made up of strawberries, meringue and cream. This dessert can be made with any of your favorite fruits. Richard and Keith, thank you for introducing this to us. A funny aside, I though it was called Eatin' Mess:)

Makes 2 portions.

Ingredients:
2 bananas peeled
8 strawberries, hull removed
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 blueberries 
1 meringue nest, crushed
200 ml double cream
pinch of brown sugar (optional) 

Preparation:
- Whip cream until stiff. 
- Add meringue into the cream and gently mix.
- Cut the strawberries and bananas into slices. 
- Put all the fruit into bowls or any desert cups.
- Stir cream into fruit gently or layer fruit and cream.
- Sprinkle the top with brown sugar.
- Decorate as you wish, e.g. mint leaves.

     

World Cuisines: Onion Bhaji II (India)

This is another recipe for bhaji with different spices. Experiment with both and find what you like. 

Makes 10 pieces.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gram flour (also called besan or chickpea/garbanzo flour)
1/4 cup rice flour
1 yellow or red onion - medium sized, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter melted
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, well minced
1/2 hot green chili chopped well
good pinch of fresh coriander leaves - around 1/8 cup
pinch of salt and black pepper
a bit of water
vegetable oil for deep frying (I use canola/rapeseed oil)

Preparation:
- Sift the flour into a bowl.
- Add salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin and mix together.
- Add butter, lemon juice and water. Mix well until smooth and like the consistency of thick yogurt.
- Stir in remaining ingredients. (Except vegetable oil). Coat the onion well.
- Heat the oil in a skillet. I pour 1 inch of oil.
- With a soup spoon, form small balls and put them carefully in the hot oil. Fry until golden. Flip to fry other side. Make sure you give them space in the skillet.
- Remove and put on a paper towel to drain.
- Serve with lime wedges for extra flavor.

World Cuisines: Onion Bhaji (India)

A simple, delicious snack to munch on. Easy and fast to make (around 30 minutes). There are much more complicated recipes with different ingredients but this one is good to try out first. If you like it, look for other ones. 

Makes 10 pieces. 

Ingredients:
5 tbsp gram flour (also called besan, chickpea or garbanzo flour)
1 medium large yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, well minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp lemon juice
good pinch of fresh coriander leaves - around 1/8 cup
pinch of salt and black pepper 
a bit of water
vegetable oil for deep frying (I use rapeseed oil)

Preparation:

- Slice the onion thinly. Place in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands to separate the pieces. 
- Add curry powder, turmeric and garlic. Mix well.
- Add gram flour and lemon juice. 
- Add water a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms but is not liquidy (dripping).
- Heat the oil in a skillet. I pour 1 inch of oil. 
- With a tbsp, form small balls and gently put them carefully in the hot oil. Fry until golden. Flip to fry other side. Make sure you give them space in the skillet. 
- Remove and put on a paper towel to drain. 
- Serve with lemon or lime wedges. 

                        

World Cuisines: Our Ratatouille (France)

This is our take on the traditional dish. We admit that we got the inspiration from the cutest movie rat you'll ever see with a passion for cooking. This is a bit different than traditional ratatouille, but we've made this several times and tweaked it to our liking. It's amazing.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup basic tomato sauce (make you own or use jarred sauce if you want)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium size eggplants
- 4 bell peppers (can be multicolored)
- 3 zucchinis
-  6 medium tomatoes
- 4 white onions (red/yellow is ok too)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- pinch of dried or fresh thyme
- pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
Please note: All vegetable amounts are approximate. You need enough of each to eventually fill the pan tightly, so err on the side of more rather than less.

Preparation:
- When purchasing vegetables, try to match the sizes of each different vegetable as much as possible (e.g. thin eggplant, average zucchini, small onions and tomatoes, etc.)
- Prepare a baking dish 8 by 10 inches or similar size.
- Begin by spreading tomato sauce evenly on the baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. 
- Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, cut all the vegetables thinly. 
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- On the top of sauce arrange vegetables in a pattern, alternating eggplant, tomato, onion, bell pepper, zucchini as regularly as possible.
- When one row is finished, start a new row (as in photograph ) or curve at the corner. 

- When arrange, sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and thyme. For extra heat, use cayenne pepper as well.
- Cover with foil for about 45-50 minutes until tender/soft. Remove foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- Remove any French Disney rats which may have accumulated and serve. Haha :)
- Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8 people (or 50-60 rodents - haha).

World Cuisines: Hoppin' John (Southern USA)

Ingredients:

- 1 pound boneless pork chops, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch of black pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion, chopped 
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup brown rice
- 200 g chopped kale leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar (we added 1 tbsp of white wine and 1 tbsp of lemon juice due to lack of vinegar in our kitchen today)
- 1 can of chicken broth - around 2 cups (or you can make your own)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 cups of black-eyed peas (follow the cooking instructions on the bag or use 1 can of beans). We used dried beans, soaked them for several hours in water and eventually boiled them for 45 minutes with 1/2 tsp of salt. Add additional water if the peas are not covered.
- a pinch of red crushed pepper (optional)
- tabasco sauce 

Preparation:

If you decide for dry black-eyed peas, prepare them in the morning or at least several hours before cooking. 
- Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pork, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of black pepper, stir until cooked through, around 6 minutes. Set aside. 
- Add 1/2 tbsp oil into a large pan, heat over medium heat. Add onion, tomato paste and rice, stir and fry for 4 minutes. 
- Add kale and garlic and cook until kale starts to wilt, for 2-4 minutes, stirring often. 
- Stir in broth, vinegar, paprika and 1/2 tsp salt. 
- Add the pork with remaining juices.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Cook for another 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked. Add extra water (1/2 - 1 cup) if necessary. 

Makes around 4-6 servings. 

We enjoyed it today with freshly-made cumin-lime vinaigrette coleslaw (posting next!). For extra heat and flavor, use tabasco sauce over your Hoppin' John. By the way, John used to eat a version of this when he was younger but didn't call it Hoppin' John. He had sauerkraut with sausage and black-eyed peas on the side every New Year's. He had to count his peas. Each one was a day of good luck for the New Year. 
Hoppin' John is a southern American dish, originally from South Carolina. 

Enjoy!

:)

Our Recipes: Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
- 1/2 cup cooked white basmati rice (optional)
- 2 cups shelled cooked edamame
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds (almond flakes-optional)
- 5 medium scallions thinly sliced (only the white and light green parts)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Cook the wild and white rice separately. Let it cool.
- Cook and shell edamame.
- On a medium heat warm up the vegetable oil in a frying pan and toast until golden brown for around 6 minutes. Stir often. Careful because it is easy to burn it.
- Once the rice is cooled down, transfer it to a large bowl.
- Add almonds, edamame, scallions, carrots, cranberries, pinch of salt and black pepper and mix.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar and honey together.
- Dress the salad and toss to combine.
- Chill in the fridge before serving.

World Cuisines: Leczo (Poland)

Ingredients:

- 4 bell peppers, chopped in big pieces

- 1 onion, chopped

- oil

- 4 tomatoes, chopped

- 3 cups of water

- 1/2 lb. bacon, cut in thin strips

- 1 zucchini, chopped

- 1/2 or 1 full polish sausage, chopped

- 2 tbsp. tomato paste

- 6-8 table mushrooms, sliced

- salt to taste

- pepper to taste

- 1 tsp paprika

- crushed red pepper - just a touch, leczo is not meant to be spicy

Preparation:

- Fry bacon

- Fry onion and sausage separately in oil

- Add everything except tomato paste to a large pot, bring to a boil and cook for an hour, until pepper is falling apart soft
- Add extra water if necessary (the soup is medium thick)

- Add tomato paste, stir and cook for 15 minutes

Makes 4-5 servings depending on appetite. This soup is easy to make and I got the recipe from my mom. I hope you will like it. Smacznego!

Our Receipes: Spinach Blackberry Salad w/ Manchego and Prosciutto

Ingredients:

• - 2 ounces (60 grams) thinly sliced prosciutto
• - 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• - 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• - 1 teaspoon coarse-grain mustard
• - Salt and freshly ground pepper
• - 6 ounces (170 grams) baby spinach leaves
• - 2 cups fresh blackberries
• - 2 ounces (60 grams) Manchego cheese

• Preparation:
• 1. Cut prosciutto crosswise into 1/2-inch strips. In a 6- to 8-inch pan over high heat, stir prosciutto until crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
• 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add spinach and blackberries and mix gently to coat.
• 3. Using a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer, shave thin slices of the cheese over salad. Add prosciutto. Mix gently.

We received this wonderful recipe from John's mom. It's delicious! We "tested"  it on many friends. Everyone loves it:)

Thank you Susan!