An absolutely delicious vegetarian moussaka

Moussaka may well be one of the most delicious dishes ever! It´s perfect to make when you have potatoes that must be used. I'm not so fond off the traditional bechamel sauce so I chose to make a feta cheese sauce instead. The result was incredibly, incredibly yummie!

Ingredients:
(Approx. 4-5 port.)
300 g potatoes
700 g eggplants
Olive oil
Herb salt
Cheese for topping
Tomato sauce:
1 yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
500 g diced tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
1 dl dry red lentils
1 dl water
1,5 tsp oregano
1,5 tsp basil
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp herb salt
1 dash of chiliflakes
Feta cheese sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain flour
5 dl milk
150-200 g feta cheese
1,5 tsp oregano
1,5 tsp basil
1 tsp lemon pepper

Directions:

• Chop the onion and the garlic.
• Fry in oil until softened.
• Add the diced tomatoes, the stock cube, the lentils, the water and the seasoning and stir. Leave on the stove at low heat while preparing the other things.
• Turn the oven to 200 degrees.
• Slice the eggplants and spread them in an oven pan. Brush with olive oil, season with salt and put them in the oven for ten minutes.

• Heat the oil for the feta cheese sauce in a saucepan.
• Add the flour while stirring and move the saucepan from the heat.
• Add half the milk while stirring.

• Return the saucepan onto the heat and add the remaining milk while stirring. Let it boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the feta cheese while stirring.
• Season with oregano, basil and lemon pepper.
• Peel the potatoes and cut it into paper-thin slices.
• Layer the potatoes, the eggplant, the tomato sauce and the feta cheese sauce in an oven dish.

• Spread the sauce over the last layer to cover the eggplant and the potatoes and then put it in the oven.
• Bake for 35 minutes, then sprinkle with grated cheese and let bake another five minutes until the cheese has melted and received a slightly brown surface.
• Ready to be served! Preferably along with a Greek salad.

Exquisite homemade Granola with a taste of ginger bread

To convince you all of the greatness of this granola I must tell you that it has had a permanent place on my breakfast table nearly every day since I first tasted it (Approx. 5 years ago).
A bowl of granola with soured milk and a whole wheat toast sandwich with butter, cheese and ketchup is you need to get a good start of the day!

We usually make a double batch and then it´s still gone by the end of the week.

Ingredients:
(Double batch)
12 dl oatmeal (fiber)
1 dl pumpkin seeds
1 dl sunflower seeds
2 dl sesame seeds (peeled)
2 tbsp cinnamon powder
Approx. 1.5 tbsp ground ginger
Approx. 1.5 tbsp ground cloves
6 tbsp raw cane sugar
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp food oil
2 dl water

Directions:

• Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly in a bowl (or a large pot).
• Add oil and water while stirring so that it doesn´t become lumpy.
• Pour the mixture into an oven pan.
• Roast in the oven for approx. 45 minutes (I usually turn the oven off  after 45 minutes and leave the granola inside until the oven is cold).
• Stir occasionally to prevent the granola from getting burned.

After the granola has cooled; store it dry in a jar with a lid.

Tips: Raisins and soured milk along with this is like icing on the cake!

Spinach Pancakes with feta cheese/goat cheese and cream cheese

1 liter of milk (which had past the expiration date) stood in the fridge. I didn´t want it to go to waste and the only milk based dish I could think of at the moment was pancakes. But instead of the traditional ones I wanted to create something more satiating and luxurious, and this became the result!

Ingredients:
(Approx. 6 pancakes)
4 dl milk
4 eggs
1.5 dl flour (I used one half plain white flour, one half whole wheat flour)
160 g fresh spinach (frozen chopped spinach works probably just as well)
2 tsp salt (I used herb salt)
2-3 tbsp butter
Feta cheese or goat cheese, I would say at least 100 g
(½ -1 package of cream cheese)

Directions:

• Chop the spinach thoroughly and fry in some butter. Season with salt.

• Mix the flour, the remaining salt and half the milk into a lump-free mixture.
• Add the eggs, the remaining milk and stir.
• Add the spinach.
• Heat a frying pan and add some butter.
• Wait until the butter has finished bubbling and then pour an optional amount of the mixture in the pan, depending on desired size.
• Let the bottom harden and then crumble some feta or goat cheese on at will.

• Flip the pancake and bake the other side.
• Ready to be served! For best result; add some cream cheese to the pancake.

I tried both with feta and goatcheese and even though I usually prefer goat cheese I must say that the feta version won my vote this tim e, but it's a matter of taste, both tasted delicious! Next time I'll make theese I´ll add some savory cheese (grated) to the mixture and sprinkle the pancake with sunflower seeds. It will probably taste even better!

Chili roasted almonds

A very simple recipe, but a yet so tasty snack!

Ingredients:
200 g almonds
2 tsp salt
1 tsp raw sugar
1 dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees.
• Place the almonds in a strainer, rinse with water and let drain thoroughly.
• Place the almonds in a pile on an oven tray covered with baking paper (or an oven dish).
• Add the spices and mix everything with your hands.
• Roast the almonds in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. (Watch them carefully so that they don´t get burned!)

Easy as pie!

A delicious chocolate-cake, similar to brownies (The Swedish Kladdkaka, (smudge cake))

A traditional chocolate-cake recipe can be found almost anywhere, but the taste of it varies a lot! This cake is incredibly yummy, smudgy and also very easily made, need I say more?

Ingredients:
3 dl sugar
1,5 dl plain white flour
4 tbsp cocoa
1,5 tsp vanilla powder
1 dash of salt
2 eggs
1 dl melted butter (or margarine in a bottle)

Directions:

• Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Add the eggs and the butter.
• Pour the mixture in a springform pan (or something alike) and spread it out.

• Bake the cake in the oven for 30 minutes at 160 degrees.
• Serve as it is or along with whipped cream, vanilla cream or ice-cream and fresh berries!

Chickpea stew with coconut milk and spinach

This stew is very tasty hot as cold and also very easily prepared. I usually serve it along with whole wheat pasta, but it tastes just as good with rice, noodles, couscous, etc.

Ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk á la 400 ml
500 g crushed tomatoes
2 yellow onions
2 tbsp curry powder (I'm using a spicy one)
1 tbsp oil
2 pkg chickpeas á la 380 g (canned)
300 g frozen chopped spinach
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
3 cloves of garlic (more or less depending on the desired strength)
1 tbsp sambal oelek (more or less depending on the desired strength)

Directions:

• Chop the onion and the garlic and fry it in oil along with the curry.
• Add the coconut milk and the stock cubes.
• Boil for 5 minutes. 

• Add the crushed tomatoes, the frozen spinach, the chickpeas and the sambal oelek.
• Stir and let boil.

VOILÀ!

Berry-pie with crumb topping

Yet another heavenly dessert! It´s practically a plain pie recipe, but when you add the almond paste to the dough it makes a great difference!

Ingredients:
(Dough)
2 dl plain white flour
100 g butter
1 tbsp sugar
75 g almond paste
(Filling)
500 g berries/fruit (I used raspberries and blueberries, another tasty combination is raspberry/rhubarb)
1 dl sugar
1 tbsp potato flour

Directions:

• Pour the berries/fruit into a pie dish, sprinkle with sugar and potato flour and mix.
• Mix the ingredients for the dough.
• Crumble the dough over the berries in the pie dish.

• Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 220 degrees.
• Serve with vanilla cream, whipped cream or as it is!

The pie was well recieved!

Grilled eggplant with crumbled feta cheese

This combo is T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C! Eggplant and feta cheese, yummie! It can be cooked both on the grill and in the oven, which makes it a flexible veggie option!

Ingredients:
(two halves)
1 medium sized eggplant
50-100 g feta cheese
1 clove of garlic
Salt, pepper & oregano (approx. ½-1 tsp of each)
1 tbsp olive oil (optionally)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven (grill function) to 225 degrees.
• Split the eggplant in two halves and put them in the oven.
• Let them bake on both sides approx. 10 min each until they become soft and slightly wrinkled.

• Meanwhile: Mix feta cheese, pressed garlic, (oil), salt, pepper and oregano.

• Remove the eggplant from the oven, place it on a paper towel and squeeze it to remove the liquid.

             

• Place them in a greased baking tray (for oven) or in foil (for grill) and add the filling.

• Place the tray in the oven at 200 degrees (still grill function) or the foil on the grill and let bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Ready to be served, bon appétit!

Cashew and avocado sour cream

My personal favorite, always well-recieved! Cashew nuts and avocados, can it taste anything but good? The answer would be "No".

Ingredients:
2 dl cashew nuts
Just under ½ dl water
½-1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 pressed garlic cloves
1 tsp vegetable stock
1 avocado
Herbal salt

Directions:

• Mix the nuts into a fine powder in a food processor.
• Add the remaining ingredients and season with herbal salt.

Ready to be served, enjoy!

Whole grain baguettes (with a taste of swedish crisp bread)

Here comes the recipe for the bread I baked last saturday. It´s a match-up of ingredients I found at home. I was a bit worried about finding the right balance between the liquid and the dry ingredients, because I´ve never improvised a whole grain bread before, but it turned out to be very tasty! And packed with fiber too. Mom described the taste as soft version of the swedish bread, and I fully agree!

Ingredients:
4 baguettes
5 dl graham flour (whole wheat flour)
5 dl rye flour + some extra for the baking (It´s supposed to be a different kind of flour, a mixture of plain white flour, rye flour, leaven, etc. but I don´t know if it excists outside of Sweden. It´s called "Lantbrödsmjöl" in Swedish. So you could either do your own mix or go completely with the rye flour)
1 dl wheat bran
½ dl sugar beet fibre (you can find information of what it is here: http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/gluten-free/gluten-free-ingredients/sugar-beet/ )
1 dl kibbled rye
½ dl linseed
½ dl sunflower seeds
½ dl pumkin seeds
½-1 tbsp salt
50 g fresh yeast
8 dl water

Directions:

• Boil 4 dl water.
• Mix sugar beet fiber, kibbled rye, linseed, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in a bowl.
• Pour the boiling water over the mixture, stir and let cool until it´s lukewarm.

• Heat another 4 dl water until it becomes 37 degrees.
• Crumble the yeast into another bowl. Mix it with a small amount of the hot water.
• Add the salt, the seed-mixture and the rest of the water.
• Mix wheat flour, rye flour and wheat bran and pour into the mixture while stirring.

• Flour your hands and knead the loose dough. Let it rise under canvas for an hour.
• Then pour the dough onto a well-floured surface.
• Flatten the dough into a rectangle and sprinkle with flour.
• Cut four lengths (in width), turn them into baguettes (without kneading) and place them 2 and 2 on an oven grid covered with baking paper.

• Let rise under canvas for another half an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
• Sprinkle some bran over the bread, cut some slits in the top and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Leave to cool on the grid (without canvas)

Coconut & saffron soup

Yesterday I improvised a soup based on potatoes, lentils, coconut milk and saffron. I had never tasted saffron in soup before so I was psyched to test it, and the result turned out great! As a side dish I baked some wholemeal baguettes containing various ingredients we had at home. I´ll upload the recipe for them in a couple of days.

Ingredients:
(3-4 port.)
Olive oil for frying
1 big union
2 medium sized potatoes
½ dl red lentils
400 ml coconut milk
1 vegetable bouillon cube
0,5 g Ground saffron
½-1 tsp herbal salt
1 tsp paprika powder
½-1 tsp french herbs
1 dash (1 ml) of cayenne pepper
1 dl milk (or more)
Water

Directions:

• Peel and chop the potatoes, the onion and the garlic.
• Fry in oil until the onion softens.
• Add the coconut milk, the lentils and the bouillon cube.
• Add the spices and the milk.
• Boil for 15 minutes.
• Mix the soup smooth with a hand blender.
• Dilute to desired consistency with either milk or water.
• Taste the soup and season more if needed.
• Ready to serve! I suggest serving it with a dab of Creme Fraiche (or sour cream) and some bread with garlic butter. Like I said I'll post the recipe for my bread in a few days. It tastes like a soft version of the swedish crisp bread.

Incredibly tasty ice cream cake (strawberry/white chocolate)

My native language is Swedish, so don´t be too hard on me if my English doesn´t always come out correctly! :)
I created this blog three months after I created the Swedish version of it, but as I translate it to English the posts will not end up in the same order.

First up, an extraordinarily tasty ice cream cake. Because even though the summer in Sweden, sadly, belongs to the past for this time, the English-speaking countries still have a lot of it ahead of them, and then this might come in handy! I guarantee that this cake will sell like hot cake!

Ingredients:
(Approx. 10 pers.)
6 dl whipping cream
200 g white chocolate
2 eggs
200 g frozen strawberries
1 dl powdered sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Garnish:
Grated white chocolate (about 100 g)
Lemon balm
Fresh strawberries

Directions:

• Whip the cream until it becomes firm.
• Melt the white chocolate in a water bath (or in the microwave).

• Add the eggs, one at a time, into the melted chocolate and stir thoroughly.
• Add one half of the whipped cream while stirring and pour the mixture into a springform pan (approx. 24 cm in diameter).

• Beat the strawberries in a food processor.
• Pour down the remaining cream.
• Add lemon juice and powdered sugar and stir.

• Spread the strawberry mixture into the springform pan gently so that it covers the chocolate bottom.
• Drag a fork through both layers a few times so that the filling is mixed a little.

• Put the cake in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
• Bring out the cake 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with grated white chocolate, lemon balm and serve with fresh strawberries.
• Eat and enjoy!