Quero experimentar isto!!

http://leitedaterra.blogspot.com/2010/01/hamburguer-de-nozes.html?spref=fb

Lazy lazy lazy days

Hello everyone...ok, I know, I've been extremely lazy in the past weeks and although I have a few recipes I want to post I haven't done it yet, and I do apologize for that, and i promise I'll try to come back to action a.s.a.p.!!! But for now, I'm still lazy ( yeahp) so I leave you with a little teaser of my next posts... :)

P.S.: sorry for the real bad photos quality, but my phone's camera is a disaster... and unfortunately that was the only camera I had around :(


"VER DE PERTO" REVIEW

http://www.contemporanea.com.pt/verdeperto_01.html





SODA BREAD WITH OATS





ULTRA HEALTHY DATE AND PLUM MUFFINS





COURGETTE AND GOATS CHEESE PASTA (no photo... actually, photos at boyfriend's camera that luckily was around when I made the pasta but it's not around right now!)

Spinach and ricotta layered potatoes

An alternative to the usual spinach and ricotta lasagna.

Ingredients

5 medium potatoes
400g frozen spinach
1 ricotta pack (or "requeijao" cheese)
half medium onion
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
salt, pepper and nutmeg to season

Preparation

Defrost the spinach and drain it as much as you can. It is important to have little water. Dice the onion and the garlic and stir fry for a few minutes in a drizzle of olive oil. Add the spinach and let it cook in low heat for about 10 min.Season with salt and pepper at your taste. Stir once in a while so the spinach doesn't burn, add some water if needed, but once again, be careful to keep the spinach quite dry.
Meanwhile, wash well the potatoes and slice them thinly, with peel (although you can take it off if you wish). Reserve.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.
Add the ricotta to the spinach, stir well, and add the ground nutmeg to taste. Bring it to a quite boil and turn off the heat.

Arrange the potatoes in baking tray until you cover the bottom, and alternate with the spinach and ricotta layers (add some salt on top of the potatoes before the spinach layer!) as if you where doing a lasagna. It will make about 3 layers of potatoe and 2 layers of spinach (finish with potatoes).

Bake for about 40min to an hour, or until the bottom layer is soft. You can add some grated cheese on top when the dish is nearly done, and let it melt.

This dish takes a while to make, but it freezes perfectly, so it is well worth, and you can save it for another day!

Grilled Mushroom and Cherry Tomato Salad

Ultra quick and easy to make, a great option for a light tasty meal.

Ingredients

portobello mushrooms
cherry tomatoes
dried oregano
black pepper
sea salt
olive oil

To serve

rocket
avocado
rye bread



Pre- Heat the oven to 180 degrees (although we'll use the grill, if the oven is already hot the vegetables will cook better).
Cut the mushrooms into chunks and the tomatoes in halves. Place them in a foil square. Season with some grated black pepper, oregano, salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Turn the oven heat off and turn the grill on. Let the veggies cook until soft. And that's it! Let it cool down and serve with avocado chunks, rocket salad and some toasted rye bread.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake...THE BOMB!!!

So this time this is NOT a healthy recipe, not even close to that, but it is the most amazing chocolate cake you can get!


Ingredients

300g chocolate (75% chocolate bar)
300g sugar
200g margarine
8 eggs
2 tbl spoons all purpose flour
1 small glass of milk

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and flour a baking tray.

Melt the chocolate with the butter. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar and mix it with the chocolate until you get and even consistency. Add flour and milk and stir in. Beat the egg white until stiff and add to the chocolate mix, with slow movements from bottom to top.

Set aside on a bowl 1/3 of the dough and let it cool down. When cold, reserve in the fridge.
Pour the remaining batter on the baking tray and bake for about 30 min. Check regularly so you make sure the cake don't get too dry. It will be done when you stick a in the center and it comes out with some bits of cake still. This is a really moist cake, so it doesn't need much cooking.

Let it cool down and pour the batter you reserved in the fridge on top. You can do this on the all cake, or individually in each slice!

ALTERNATIVE
You can also bake the all batter, it will only make a bigger cake!
In this case it is nice to serve it with some fresh mango, vanilla ice cream or flambe strawberries!

Savory oat cakes

Perfect with humous, cheese or any dip, or just on it's own as a light and healthy snack.

Ingredients

1+½ cup of oats
2/3 cup of oat flour
1 tspn of sugar
1 tspn of salt
1 tspn of baking soda
4 tbl spoon of olive oil
2/3 cup of lukewarm water

In a large bowl, stir in the flour, oats, salt, sugar and baking soda. Add the olive oil. Start rolling the dough with a wooden spoon, adding water slowly until you get a consistent but slightly sticky dough. Use your hands to mix all ingredients together for a better feel of how the dough is behaving to water. You might not need to use all the water (if you use too much by mistake just add a little more flour!) Let it sit for a few minutes while you pre-heat the oven at about 180 degrees.



Roll the dough into small balls and flatten them into biscuit. Place them in a non-sticky baking tray or line a normal one with foil. Cook until they're crispy and golden.




Suggestion:
You can add seeds and nuts to the cookies for a crunchier version!

Chickpea, red pepper and goat's cheese salad

This is a quite heavy salad but the seasoning with oregano and lemon help giving it a summery taste.

If you're doing it only for you, a good measure is a cereal bowl to mix all the ingredients together.

Ingredients:

half bowl of chickpeas
1 small red pepper, roasted or chargrilled (you can by the jar ones)
1 small fresh goat's cheese (it has to be a bit hard so you can cut it in cubes) or feta cheese
oregano
lemon juice (about 1 tbl spoon)
olive oil (1 to 2 tbl spoons)
garlic (small clove)
black pepper
salt

Rinse the chickpeas, slice the peppers into thin stripes and then in halves, cut the goat's cheese in small cubes, finely dice the garlic. Mix all together. Add the lemon juice salt and pepper and mix. Serve cold with wild rocket salad for extra freshness!

Vegetable Kebabs

Simple and tasty. It takes a while to grill, but it is worth waiting a little. You can make them with any vegetable combinations,but here is my suggestion:

Ingredients

cherry tomatoes
courgette
mushrooms (choose your favorite. Portobello mushrooms cut in quarters or closed up chestnut mushrooms work very well)
red onion

oregano
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
pepper

Preparation

mix the olive oil, oregano salt and pepper in a small glass. Set aside.

Slice the courgettes and cut the slices in half. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the portobello mushrooms and onions in quarters(or smaller). make the kebabs altering between the different ingredients. Season with the olive oil sauce while you cook.

Serve with rice and salad. Enjoy... perfect for a summer evening!

Broccoli and leek pie

A healthier version of the classic pie with oat flour dough and a veggie filling.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 cup of oat flour (you can use any flour, but that will make more dough. The oat flour doesn't grow much)
1 egg
2 tea spoons of baking soda
small glass of milk
a pinch of salt
3 tbl spoons of olive oil

Filling:

1 small broccoli head (about 400g) cut into tiny pieces
½ leek in thin slices
1 small carrot, greated
½ red onion
1 natural soya yogurt
Olive oil
ground nutmeg
salt and pepper


Preparation:

Dough

Mix the flour, baking soda, slat and egg. Add the olive oil and mix it trough until you get some consistency. Add the milk slowly until you get a nice dough (you don't need the all milk) soft and slightly sticky to your hands. (The amount of milk varies cause it depends on the size of your cup of flour and of your egg too).
Flat the dough and put it onto a non sticking baking tray (you can line the baking tray with foil or baking paper if you don't have a non-sticky one).
Pinch the bottom with a fork so it doesn't bloat.


Filing

Pre-heat the oven while you cook the filing.
Dice the onion and fry it slightly with some olive oil and water. Add the broccoli and let it cook slowly for about 5min, adding water when needed, just enough for it to don't burn and cook evenly. Add the leek and carrot and let all ingredients cook until very soft, almost dissolved. Season with nutmeg salt and pepper. Add the natural yogurt and stir trough.


Oven

Cook the dough by it self for about 10min at 180 degrees. Add the filling and cook until the dough edges get crispy and the filling is a bit more consistent.

You can eat it hot or cold. Serve with a nice mixed leaf salad!

Pizza East Review

It's been a while since I want to publish this review, but as you all might have noticed I have been quite (ok, extremely) lazy and didn't do it yet. So today is the day.

Pizza East, a great pizza place that I strongly recommend!!
Great food, fresh ingredients in unusual combinations and yet with a very delicate but strong taste. The menu is not extended but if you fall in love for a couple of dishes you won't even look at the others! The pizzas have a proper thin crispy dough and the filling is just enough. The starters are simple and straight forward. The deserts are more sophisticated looking.
The space is equally amazing. Quite noisy I must say, but it has a "club" atmosphere, so fair enough. It has a bar for while you wait and a "club" downstairs too. Located in the heart of Shoreditch, in the former Tea Bar space, this restaurant offers a great option for a different dine out. It's not cheap, but it's acceptable and it is definitely worth it.

My favourites:

Starters - green olives with salted amonds and a portion of prosciutto

Mains - Parma ham pizza with ricotta cheese, raisins and pine-nuts
Beef lasagna (and I am not a meat fan, but it was gorgeous!)

Deserts - Salted dark chocolate and caramel tart...JUST DELICIOUS! don't be scared of the "salted chocolate", it's just a very delicate touch, and goes extremely well with the sweetness of the caramel.


Booking is essential!!

http://www.pizzaeast.com/

Ups!

Ok, so I have made my pumpkin breads again, but this time it didn't work... therefore I got to one big conclusion: don't use soya flour that doesn't look like flour!!!!!!!
The first times I made the recipe I've used soya flour bought in Portugal, and it did look like "normal" flour. This time I bought it at Holand&Barrets in London and it did look a bit weird, not "fluffy" as flour is supposed to be, and NO, it didn't work at all!!! So be careful with the flour you buy, maybe just use rye flour or a whole wheat flour if you wanna be healthier!

Let's go pumpkins!!! (pumpkin bread recipe below)

So, after all, pumpkins are incredibly good for our health! They are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals! Check this out:

"Not only is pumpkin loaded with vitamin A and antioxidant carotenoids, particularly alpha and beta-carotenes, it’s a good source of vitamins C, K, and E, and lots of minerals, including magnesium, potassium, and iron.

The seeds are also worth latching on to. Pumpkin seeds, also called pepitas, are loaded with minerals, seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect, and may even help protect against prostate cancer and osteoporosis. A quarter cup has about 5 grams of effective carb and 1.5 grams of fiber."

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/pumpkin.htm

"The alpha-carotene and beta-carotene are potent antioxidants found in pumpkin and are pro-vitamin A carotenoids, meaning the body converts them to vitamin A. Vitamin A promotes healthy vision and ensures proper immune function. The beta-carotene in pumpkin may also reverse skin damage caused by the sun and act as an anti-inflammatory. Alpha-carotene is thought to slow the aging process and also reduce the risk of developing cataracts and prevent tumor growth. Carotenoids also boost immunity and lessen the risk of heart disease.
Pumpkin is an excellent source of fiber; one-half cup serving contains 5 grams of fiber. Fiber helps reduce bad cholesterol levels, protect the body against heart disease, control blood sugar levels, promote healthy digestion, and plays a role in weight loss.
The vitamin C in pumpkin boosts immunity, reduces the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, and regulates cholesterol levels. Pumpkin is also a good source of vitamin E which promotes healthy skin by protecting the body from sun damage and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and certain cancers."

http://food-facts.suite101.com/article.cfm/health_benefits_of_pumpkin

It seems to me good enough reasons to eat pumpkin from now on! So, here is my recipe for PUMPKIN BREAD

Ingredients:

300g pumpkin (preferentially butternutsquash)
2 tea spoons of baking powder
2 tea spoons of honey
500g soya flour
4 tbl spoons linseeds
4 tbl spoons oats
60 ml of cooking water


Take off the peel and dice the pumpkin / squash and boil it until soft. Drain it and reserve 60ml of the cooking water. Melt the honey in the water, add it to the pumpkin and mash it all.

In a separate container, put the flour, baking powder and seeds. Make a hole in the middle and pour the pumpkin puree. Mix until you obtain a consistent dough. Add the oats while you mix it to enhance the consistence.

Let it "yeast" for about 2 hours. Punch the dough to let the air out and let it "yeast" again for 10 min. In a baking tray with some flour, divide in 10 buns, let them grow again. Turn the oven on at 180 degrees and put the little breads in. Cook for 40/45 min.

Orange Cake

Healthy and gorgeous!! mmmmm

This is a dairy, gluten and flour free orange cake, extremely moist and tasty, great to serve with your afternoon tea or as desert. And the best: it's so easy to make!!


Ingredients:

2 oranges (the thiner the peel the best)
4 eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
2 + ½ cups ground almond
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda


Wash the oranges and boil them whole (peel and all) for 1 ½ hours, or until soft.
Place whole oranges (peel and all) in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Add eggs, sugar, almond, salt and baking soda and blend until smooth.
Pour batter into a greased cake pan
Bake in pre-heated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center
comes out clean.

SOUP SOUP SOUP

I have been trough a soup period, so here are two of them... Sorry, this time no pics. But I promise that the next ones will have some mouth watering ones!

Leek, potato and carrot soup


ingredients:

2 medium potatoes
2 medium leeks
2 or 3 carrots
1 tblsp olive oil
1/2 vegetable stock cub (or jelly)
salt and pepper to taste


Cut the leeks in half and then in slices. Fry with the olive oil and a little water for a couple of minutes. Dice the carrots and add. Leave to cook with a half cup of boiling water while you dice the potatoes. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock cube/jelly. Stir until the stock is melted. Add a bit more water so the veggies don't stick to the pan and let it cook for a few minutes, covered. When the vegetables start getting sweaty, add boiling water enough to cover them. Cook until soft. Blend all in, add salt and pepper to taste. Give it a quick boil, turn the heat of and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
Serve with toasted bread.



Carrot, Butternut-squash and Potato soup


Ingredients:

1/2 onion
1 small butternut-squash
2 medium potatoes
3 carrots
1/2 tblspn olive oil
1/2 chicken stock (cube or jelly)
1 tblsp of dried parsley
1 tea spoon of dried dill
(both the parsley and dill can be adapted to your taste! Use fresh herbs if you can)
salt and pepper to taste

Dice the onion and fry while you peel and dice the carrots. Add to onions with half cup of boiling water. Meanwhile dice the potatoes and squash. Add to the carrots and stir. Let it cook until start getting soft. Add the chicken stock and stir in until melted. Add boiling water enough to cover the vegetables and cook until soft. Blend in. Add the herbs, salt and pepper to taste, stir and give ti a quick boil. Turn the heat off and cover, let it sit for a couple of minutes.


Quick, easy, and warming for the days that insist in being cold still!!

Chicken Avocado Wrap with Spinach Dip

Easy to make, this wrap is a balanced healthy option for a light meal. Ok, the photo is not so great, but I can assure it tasted much better!

Chicken Avocado Wrap

Ingredients

2 flour tortilla wrap
1 chicken breast (season to taste. I tried lemon juice, crushed chili and salt)
1 avocado
salad/mixed leaves
cashew nuts

Cook the all chicken breast on a non-stick frying pan just with a drizzle of olive oil. Flake the chicken only after cooked so it keeps juicy and tasty.
Mash avocado with a fork (half avocado in each wrap) and crack the cashews.
Place the wrap on a plate, layer the avocado, chicken and salad leaves, and sprinkle with cashew nuts, and if you want, some seeds.
Serve with spinach dip.


Spinach Dip

Ingredients ( aprox. measurements. Adjust to taste!)

250g frozen spinach
1 cup of oats
3 garlic cloves
1 table spoon olive oil
100ml milk/soya milk
salt and pepper to taste

Defrost the spinach and drain out the water. Dice the garlic and fry it slightly for a few seconds in the olive oil. Add spinach and oats. Add water slowly and keep on stirring until oats are totally cooked. Blend it all. This will create a quite thick paste. Add the milk for a creamy texture. The amount of oats and milk will vary depending on how compact or not you would like your dip to be!
Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook at low heat for a wile until you get an even texture.

This is great as a dip, side dish or as a healthier option to pesto on pasta recipes!! Try potato gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach dip... gorgeous!!! Quick, simple and healthy.

Snack Time!

Banana and Oat cookies - another healthy twist! No flour recipe, with olive oil.

Ingredients

350 to 400g rough oatmeal ( or fine oats. This will make the cookies more textured)
4 ripe bananas, the ripest the best!
2 table spoons of brown sugar
150g cashews or walnuts
4 tbls spoons olive oil
2 tbl spoons cinnamon

Preparation

Place some baking paper on the baking tray. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Mix the oatmeal with the olive oil and cinnamon. Blend the bananas into a puree and add to the previous mix. Crush the cashews into small pieces and add to the dough.

Take a spoon each time and place on the baking tray. Flatten the "scoop" onto a round cookie.

Lower the oven temperature to 180/200 degrees. Cook for until golden. It's up to you if you want the cookies more chewy or crispy.

Sushi

I could easily have eaten the all sushi roll my flatmate brought home last night by my self, but considering that after months of constant bingeing and a disastrous result of a fair amount of cm increase on my thighs, I have decided to stick to a healthier diet. Or try at least!!!
So I have picked only a few pieces of sushi and filled the rest o the plate with a nice mixed leaves salad, carrot salad and avocado chunks. Sprinkle with some linseeds and sunflower seeds and add a couple of oat cookies to aid digestion! Et Voilà!

Salmon and Pesto Pasta

Another meal, another recipe!

This time Salmon, Mushrooms and Pesto pasta.

Ingredients:

Fusilli pasta enough for two
Two tbl spoons of green pesto
1 salmon fillet
150g chestnut mushrooms
1 tbl spoon olive oil
2 small garlic cloves
lemon juice
salt and pepper

Preparation

Season the salmon with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Boil water and but the pasta to cook with a bit o salt.

In the mean time, wash the mushrooms and slice them finely. Dice the garlic and fry it slightly with the olive oil in a wok. Add the mushrooms (season them with salt and pepper) and the salmon fillet as soon as the mushrooms start getting watery. Stir every now and then. Flake the salmon fillet with a fork as it cooks. Cook until the mushrooms start getting soft. Be careful to don't overcook the mushrooms and to don't dry the salmon!!

Add the pasta to the mushrooms and salmon. Add the pesto and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Serve with mixed leaves salad and garnish with black olives.

Bon Apetit!

Banana and ALmond Cake - Healthy one!!!

I have tried this recipe a few weeks ago and it is AMAZING! It doesn't take any butter, oil or milk, and just two eggs and little sugar!! Very healthy and indulging. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tea spoon baking powder
3 bananas, very ripe
1/2 cup sliced almonds
250g ground almonds
juice 1/2 lemon
2 tea spoons vanilla extract
1 tbl spoon flour

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven. Line the base and sides of a baking tin with baking paper.

Beat eggs yolk and sugar for 10 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Stir ground almonds and baking powder. Puree the bananas with lemon juice then stir through almond mixture with the vanilla.

Beat the eggs white until solid. Add to the previous mix in slow and circular movements, adding the four at the same time.

Pour into your tin and sprinkle over sliced almonds to cover the top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with some bits of dough still. Allow this to cool in the tin.

Remove from tin and serve with lots of love!

Finally

After months saying that I really should make a blog about food I finally decided to create one. This a blog about my Love/Hate relationship with food.

I mainly LOVE food though, so this a place to post my favorite recipes and ideas, places to eat, drink and have fun!
I have been really lazy, so,so far, I don't have pics for my dishes, but I promise that I'll try my best to take them from now on!!

Any comments, suggestions and ideas are very very very welcome!!!