Spanish Corn Bread

Today is 25-th day of spring, and it's already 35*C in my town. Looks like long hot season has started.

This recipe is for those who are living on Northern Hemisphere and are stepping into Autumn. Enjoy the colours of that beautiful season!

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup  SR flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp honey, or sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes, optional
120 g (1 cup) crumbled sheep cheese
1/2 cup olives, preferably stuffed
Spanish salami, optional
Method:
Preheat oven to 180*C, prepare a small loaf tin (or muffin moulds), brush with softened butter.
Beat eggs, oil and butter milk. Add all other ingredients. Mix well. Transfer half of this mixture to baking pan, place olives on it, spoon the rest of corn bread mixture, smooth the surface with spoon and decorate the top with some herbs, olives and/or salami. Bake for 40-45 minutes (less for muffins). When done let it cool on a rack.


Španski Kukuruzni hljeb

Danas je 25-i dan proljeca, a vani je vec 35* C. Izgleda kao da je duga vruca sezona otpocela!
Recept je namijenjen vama gore, na sjevernoj polulopti, koji zakoracujete u jesen. Uzivajte u bojama ove divne sezone!

Potrebno:
2 veca jaja
1 solja tecnog jogurta
1/4 solje maslinovog ulja
3/4 solje kukuruznog brasna, sitnog
1 solja samodizajuceg brasna
2 k meda ili secera
1 k soli
1/4 k chili ljuspica, po zelji
120 gr mrvljene fete
1/2 solje maslina, punjenih po mogucnosti
Spanska salama, po zelji
Nacin:
Ukljucite rernu na 180*C, pripremite manji kalup za hljeb (ili za mafine); namazite ga sa maslacem.
Umutite jaja, ulje i jogurt; dodajte ostale sastojke. Izmijesajte dobro.
Sravite pola ovemjesavine u kalup, poredajtemasline, zatim pokrijte sa preostalim tijestom. Ukrasite povrsinu sa zacinskim biljem, maslinama i/ili kobasicom. Pecite 40-45 minuta (manje za muffine). Prohladite malo prije rezanja.

Visit to the City

It was my birthday on Friday, but instead of posting another birthday cake recipe, this time I want to show you what did I do that day. My company was my younger son (Vigor), who loves same things as I do - art, architecture, design, literature, history, ...

U petak je bio moj rodjendan, ali umjesto jos jednog recepta za rodjendansku tortu, ovoga puta zelim vam pokazati sta sam radila tog' dana. Moj druzbenik je bio moj mladji sin (Vigor), koji voli iste stvari kao ja - umjetnost, arhitekturu, dizajn, knjizevnost, istoriju,...



    Hyde Park / St. Mary's Cathedral                          Hajd park / Katedrala Svete Marije


    Art Gallery of NSW                                                          Umjetnicka galerija Novog Juznog Velsa

    Exhibition of Asian arts                                                                             Postavka Azijske umjetnosti

A few Famous-ones        /           Nekoliko Poznatih

 Rembrandt

 Monet

 Picaso

Kokoschka 

A couple of  Contemporary displays   /     Par postavki  Moderne umjetnosti

 After this, Vigor took me to the 'Sushi train' for lunch, then we caught a  real train back to home.

Poslije svega ovoga, Vigor me je odveo na ' Sushi voz / vlak' za rucak, zatim smo sjeli na jedan pravi i odvezli se kuci.

Presents          /           Pokloni

 From Vedar 

(MY FAVOURITE Australian flowers , 'Birds of Paradise')

 From Vigor (Painted by Vigor)... 'Refugee'   

(I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!)

 From M.

 Hm, I wonder if the laptop was really bought for me?  

  

 Hm, pitam se dali je laptop zaista namjenjen meni? ;-)

Dinner with a couple of surprising visitors  /   Iznenadjujuca posjeta par prijatelja

Falafel

I've tried many recipes for falafel with precooked chick peas- none of them were good enough. Some of them were mushy, others wouldn't shape well... This-one I tried out of curiosity - it called for presoaked beans. It's perfect; just need to remember 24 hours in advance to soak your chick peas.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 medium onion, minced
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup fresh coriander or parsley, chopped finely
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp freshly ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp ( kosher) salt
½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
Vegetable oil for frying
 
Method:
Soak the chick peas for 24 hours.  Drain and place into food processor.Pulse the chickpeas until they finely chopped . Add all other ingredients; Process until the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is a pale green ( should still be a  grainy texture). Take spoon fulls (ice cream scoop) of mixture, squeeze gently and roll between your palms. (If difficult to shape, place mixture in the fridge for 20-30 minutes)
Heat an electric fryer or a large saucepan with oil.  The oil should be about 3cm deep and  medium hot.Gently drop the falafels  (few at a time) into the hot oil and fry for about 3-5 minutes, until they're  golden brown.  Remove and place on a paper towel. Serve falafel with yogurt / sour cream / humus and flat bread.  

Probala sam mnoge recepte za falafel sa kuhanim slanutkom - niti jedan mi nije bio po volji. Neki su bili previse sipljivi, drugi se nisu dali formirati... Ovaj sam zapazila i bas me zanimalo kako bi uspjeli sa nekuhanim (samo namocemin) slanutkom. Ispali su jako dobri; samo se treba sjetiti 24 sata prije kuhanja da se slanutak natopi.

Potrebno:

2 solje suhog slanutka / leblebije
1 srednji crveni luk, sitno sjeckan
5 cena bijelog luka, protisnutog
1 solja svjezeg korijandera (ili persuna), sjeckanog sitno
1 k praska za pecivo
2 k korijandera u prahu
2 k kima u prahu
1/2 k 'ljuspica' suhe paprike / cilija
1 K soli
1/2 k  crnog bibera, svjeze mljevenog
Ulje za przenje
Nacin:
Namocite slanutak na 24 sata prije. Ocijedite i stavite u elektricnu sjeckalicu. 
Pulsirajte / meljite slanutak, dodajte i ostale sastojke i izblendirajte sve do zrnaste mase svjetlo zelene boje. Uzimajte smjesu napravom za vadjenbje sladoleda, blago stisnite i formirajte loptice. (Ako ih je tesko formirati stavite smjesu u frizider na 20-30 minuta).
Zagrijte ulje (treba da bude 3 cm i srednje vrelo) 
Pazljivo spustite nekoliko falafela u ulje i przite 3-5 minuta, ili dok ne postanu zlatno-zuti. Ocijedite na upijajucem papiru. Servirajte sa yogurtom / pavlakom/ humusom i nekim tankim (Turskim, Lebaneskim) hljebom. 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Icing

I'm not a big fan of cupcakes...Mostly because they contain a lot of sugar, butter and artificial flavourings and colour. Maybe I just didn't have luck to try one that is delightful to me. What about you - do you have a  recipe for a cupcake that is divine?

The other day I made these; the cake batter is not too bad and mint icing I had to change (as original called for 250 g butter and 850 g icing sugar + colour + flavouring). My boys liked them...

Ingredients:

Cake batter-

2/3 cup strong coffee

1/3 cup Dutch cocoa 

30 g dark chocolate

1/3 cup milk

3 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 sugar (white)

vanilla essence

150 g butter, soft

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt 

Icing-

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs flour

green food colour (optional)

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp mint oil or essence

180g butter, soft

Method:

Dissolve cocoa in hot coffee, add pieces of chocolate and let it melt. Stir, then add milk. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 170*C; prepare cupcake moulds and line them with paper cases.

Beat eggs with sugar until light and fluffy, add soft butter and beat well. Mix in coffee mixture. 

Mix well flour, baking soda and salt. Sift it over the beaten mixture and fold in. Spoon batter into paper cases 2/3 full. Bake 13-15 minutes, or until done.

Icing-

Mix flour, sugar and a bit of milk into a smooth paste. Put the rest milk (in a heavy bottomed pan) to boil. Mix in the paste and cook until thick. (I do this in a microwave - mix everything then put on high for 3-5 minutes; stir twice during the thickening). Cover with cling film and let it cool completely. Beat butter, then add cooled mixture and beat again.

Use piping bag to decorate the cupcakes.

Čokoladni 'Cupcakes' sa Mentol Kremom

Nisam ljubitelj 'kap kolaca'...Uglavnom zato sto sadrze mnogo secera, maslaca, te umjetne boje i arome. Mozda nisam imala srece do sada da probam neke koje bi me odusevili. A vi - imate li neki recept za 'cupcakes' koji su bozanstveni?

Neki dan sam napravila ove na slici; biskvit nije tako los, ali sam krem morala izmijeniti, jer je originalni recept trazio citav maslac, 850 gr secera u prahu + boja + umjetna aroma. Djecacima se svidio...

Potrebno:

2/3 solje jake kafe

1/3 solje kakaa (Holandski ili najbolji koji mozete naci)

30 gr tamne cokolade

1/3 solje mlijeka

3 jaja

1 solja braon secera

1/2 solje obicnog secera

vanila 

150 gr maslaca, omeksalog

1 1/3 solje brasna

1 k sode bb

malo soli

Krem-

1 solja mlijeka

1/2 solje secera

2 K brasna

zelena boja za hranu (po zelji)

1/2 - 1 k mentol ulja ili esencije

180 gr maslaca, omeksalog

Nacin:

Otopite kakao u kafi, ubacite cokoladu i ostavite da se otopi. Promijesajte i ubacite mlijeko.

Ukljucite rernu na 170*C, pripremite kalupe i papirne obloge.

Umutite jaja sa secerom, dodajte maslac i jos mutite, zatim uspite mjesavinu s mlijekom.

Pomijesajte brasno, so i sodu bb, pa ovo prosijte preko prethodne mjesavine. Rukom lagano sjedinite masu. Sipajte biskvitno tijesto u papirnate obloge (koji su smjesteni u kalupe) oko 2/3 visine. Pecite oko 13-15 minuta.

Krem-

Pomijesajte secer, brasno i malo mlijeka u jednoliku masu. Ostatak mlijeka stavite kuhati (u serpicu sa teskim dnom); kada prokuha uspite masu sa brasno i skuhajte u gustu smjesu (Ja ovo radim u mikrovalnoj- sve pomijesam , stavim u dublju posudu i na visokoj moci kuham 3-5 minuta, mijesajuci u 2 pauze. ) Pokrijte sa prozirnom folijom i ostavite ohladiti. Umutite maslac, pa u njega uspite ohladjenu masu i sjedinite mikserom. Ukrasite 'kap kolace' sa poslasticaskom spricom.

Breakfast in my Garden (Bread Pudding)

 It's early morning... I was awoken by birds'  sounding and drawn outside to my garden...Spring has sprang and already  doing it's magic in all living beings. I quickly prepared breakfast and took it out to enjoy orange blossom smell  and birds' songs...It looks like an awesome beginning to a beautiful day!

Bread Pudding
Great way to use old bread and anything from your fridge that has to be used!

Ingredients:
6-7 slices grain (or other) bread, cubed
1 cup milk, warm
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 red capsicum, diced
200 g button mushrooms, diced
100 g rocket salad, chopped
100 g ham, diced
4 eggs
2 egg whites
salt and pepper, to taste
120 g tasty cheese, grated
Method:
Combine bread and milk, let it stand for 10-15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180*C; coat a square pan with cooking oil spray.
Heat oil in a pan, saute onion, garlic, mushrooms and capsicum for a couple of minutes.
Combine vegetables with salad leaves, half the cheese, ham and bread; spoon into the prepared pan. Beat egg whites and eggs, season and pour over the bread mixture. Sprinkle with other half of cheese. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until cooked.

Rano je jutro...Probudili  su me zvukovi ptica i privukli da izadjem u bastu. Proljece je pristiglo i vec razbacuje svoje magicne cari na sva ziva stvorenja. Na brzinu sam pripremila dorucak i iznijela ga vani da uzivam u mirisu procvjetale narandze i pjesmama ptica...Izgleda kao divan pocetak jednog proljetnog dana!


'Popara' - Puding od  hljeba

Odlicno za iskoristiti stari hljeb i sve ono sto vam dugo stoji u frizideru

Potrebno:
6-7 kriski kruha / hljeba, rezanih na kockice
1 solja mlijeka, toplog
1 manji crveni luk, sjeckan
1 k ulja
1 ceno bijelog luka, protisnuto
1/2 crvene paprike, sjeckane na kocke
200 gr sampinjona (ili drugih gljiva), sjeckane
100 gr rukole, sjeckane
100 gr sunke (ili slicno), sjecakne na kockice
4 jaja
2 bjelanca
so i biber, prema ukusu
120 gr tvrdog sira, rendanog
Nacin:
Prelijte mlijeko preko komada hljeba; ostavite 10-15 minuta po strani.
Ukljucite rernu na 180*C, pripremite cetvrtastu posudu za pecenje.
Zagrijte ulje, proprzite luk, papriku i gljive par minuta.
Pomijesajte ovo sa hljebom, polovinom sira, salatom i sunkom. Umutite jaja, zacinite i prelijte preko svega. Pospite preostalim sirom i pecite 25-35 minuta. 

'Hazelnut Rhapsody' Torte

Divine combination of hazelnuts, creme patisserie and chocolate; gluten free!

Ingredients:
-Meringue layers (3), for each needed:
3 egg whites
160 g sugar
1/2 tsp vinegar
(2 layers are coloured by 1  tbs cocoa- each; optional)
Cream-
9 egg yolks
750 ml  milk
6 tbs sugar
4 tbs  (corn) flour
250 g hazelnuts , roasted, processed
1 butter (250 g), softened 
Chocolate shavings for decoration

Method:
Meringue layers- Beat egg whites (3) with  sugar and vinegar, until thick and fluffy. Spoon meringue onto al-foil; form a circle. Repeat the same with other 6 egg whites (add cocoa if you want); that means you'll have 3 layers of meringue. Bake at 150-160 *C for 1 hour. Take out and let it cool.
Cream-
Mix egg yolks and cornflour with a little milk. Place the rest of milk and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan; bring to boil. Pour prepared mixture into it and return to heat. Stir until thickened; Remove from heat and cover with glad wrap. Let it cool.
Beat butter, add cooled cream and hazelnuts; beat until fluffy.
Spread 1/3 of this cream onto each meringue layer. Stack them together and decorate with chocolate shavings. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.

Torta 'Lješnikova rapsodija'

Meni najdraza kombinacija: ljesnici, vanila krem i cokolada. Bez glutena je!

Potrebno:
- 'Puslica' kore (3), za svaku potrebno:
3 bjelanca
160 gr secera
1/2 k sirceta
(2 sloja su obojena sa po jednom kasikom kakaa, ako zelite)
Krem-
9 zumanaca
750 ml mlijeka
6 K secera
4 K (kukuruznog ili obicnog) brasna
250 gr ljesnika, propecenih i samljevenih
1 maslac (250 gr), omeksao
Strugana cokolada za ukrasavanje
  
Nacin:
Kore-Umutite bjelanca sa secerom i sircetom u cvrst snijeg. Rasporedite tu masu na al-foliju i pecite 1 sat na 150-160*C. (Ovo uradite 3 puta, da dobijete 3 kore. 2 mozete obojiti sa kakaom)
Krem- Miksajte zumanca i brasno sa malo mlijeka. Ostatak mlijeka  i secer stavite u posudu sa teskim dnom da prokuha. Uspite masu sa zumancima i kuhajte dok se ne zgusne. Pokrijte sa celofan folijom i ostavite hladiti.
Umutite maslac, dodajte krem i ljesnike, pa jos mutite.
Podijelite krem na 3 dijela i premazite svaku koru, zatim ih naslazite. Ukrasite sa struganom cokoladom. Ostavite u frizider na 1-2 sata prije sluzenja.

Spicy Sesame Sticks

They're very quick to make, and...very addictive!

Ingredients:
300 g flour
150 g butter, cold in small cubes
175 g cottage (or other fresh cheese)
100 g liver pate
1/2 tsp salt
white pepper (or chilly powder), to taste
beaten egg white, for brushing
black and white sesame seeds for sprinkling
Method:
Rub flour and butter together (use food processor or tips of your fingers), add other ingredients. Knead into soft dough. Flour working surface and roll the dough out to a rectangle, 5-7 mm thick. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and roll over it slightly. Cut into sticks and bake (over baking paper) for 8-10 minutes at 170*C.

Pikantni Prutići sa Sezamom

Lako i brzo za napraviti, ali...mozete postati ovisni o njima!

Potrebno:

300 gr brasna
150 gr maslaca, hladan i rezan na kockice
175 gr svjezeg sira
100 gr pasteta (jetrena po mogucnosti)
1/2 k soli
bijeli biber (ili cili prah), prema ukusu
bjelance za premazivanje
bijelo i crno sezamovo sjeme, za posuti
Nacin:
Utrljajte maslac u brasno (prstima ili sjeckalicom), dodajte ostale sastojke, pa umijesite mekano tijesto. Pobrasnite povrsinu za rad, razvucite tijesto u pravougaonik oko 5-7 mm debljine. Premazite tijesto bjelancetom, pospite sezamom, zatim jos malo oklagijom utljajte sjemenke. Izrezite na prutice i pecite (preko papira) 8-10 minuta na 170*C.