Healthy Homemade Granola

Breakfast is an essential part of our day. "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch as a prince and dinner like a pauper," someone smart said. As much as I try to follow those guidelines, I think that a king's meal should be not only fulfilling but healthy and nutritious as well. When I was little, my mom cooked hot meal every morning and she always said, "Our body is like an engine. Whatever we put in the engine every morning, that way our body will work." Back in the day, I did not care about it much. All I wanted in the morning was my sweet sleep. Things have not changed much since then. I still love to sleep and to have my "9-hour-queen-sleep":-) However, I became more alert to what I like to have on my plate for breakfast.

Today I started the morning with homemade granola. I used to get it in the store and became a little upset when I ran out of it. I find granola nutritiously delicious. It combines all the ingredients I love: baked crunchy oatmeal, a variety of my favorite nuts, colorful fruits and aromatic honey. Besides, as I found out, it was very easy to make on my own at home. So, here is the recipe of my happy healthy granola:)

Ingredients

3 cups of oats (I like to have a big pack of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. That way you will never run out of them:-)
1/2 cup of sliced almonds (any other nuts will work as well)
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
1/2 cup of dried cranberries (or any fruit you like)
1/4 cup of sesame seeds
3 Tbs of orange zest
1/3 cup of olive oil (Extra virgin)
1/2 cup of honey
1Tbs ground cinnamon
1 tsp of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300F and prepare a sheet pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: oats, sesame seeds, nuts, fruits, zest, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, mix honey and oil.

3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread the mixture on the sheet pan and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Stir the mixture every 10 minutes so that granola cooks evenly.

4. Take the sheet pan out and cool.

* Granola can be stored in a plastic container or a jar for up to 3 weeks.

Bon Appetit!

Spinach Crust Mediterranean Pizza

What a beautiful Saturday morning in Florida. As soon as I thought that autumn was not coming to the southern side of North America, the reminder of home arrived to us. In November, Moscow streets are usually cloudy and grey. The early September sun travels far away to the south, somewhere to Sochi. As much as it sounds depressing, it is actually lovely weather. Maybe because I grew up with that weather, there is calming, romantic and slow-paced atmosphere. Slow pace is the opposite of what one might think of Moscow. However, cool and cloudy days are what brings people together in one place.

Returning to my life in Florida, it has been almost six months since I moved here. In retrospective, I feel like this was one of the biggest changes of the year 2013. My move to Florida allowed me to pursue my dream - going to culinary school. Every day at school is different. Sometimes I feel like I learn a lot, sometimes the water seems calm and stagnant. At times, days are emotionally and physically challenging. Truly, the doubting thoughts visit my mind. After a while, I come only to one conclusion -I would not wish any other path for me right now. From my observation, often people are consumed by daily activities and details that they do not see the bigger picture. When we do look at the bigger picture: how amazing our life actually is and what incredible things happen to us every single moment.
Also I agree with my favorite writer Paulo Coelho that when we choose to follow our path, the rise of emotions such as fears, happiness, worries, show that we follow the path that truly matters to us.

Because my culinary life brings so much joy and happiness, I decided to stop being lazy and finally use the computer to put in words what I make from day to day:-) Lately, I worked very often with dough: pastry, yeast bread, quick bread and so on. I learned there are couple ways to prepare yeast dough. One of them is straight dough method - the liquid ingredients are placed on the bottom then the dry ingredients are added to mix all the parts together. At school, we use mixers only. However, my grandmas, aunts and my mother have been making dough by hand ever since I remember. So, comparing two methods, I go 200% for the mixers!! It saves so much time and energy!!! I feel especially lucky to live in the time of progress and Kitchen Aid:-) So, here is a super easy and quick recipe of Spinach crust pizza with fetta, olives and preserved basil.

Ingredients 

1 Tbsp of active dry east
2 fl oz of warm water
14 oz of bread flour (sifted)
6 fl oz of cool water
1 tsp of salt
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp of honey
4 oz of spinach leaves
1 cup of feta cheese (crumbled)
1 onion (sliced)
1/2 cup of boneless olives (I like to buy big olives with bones from Costco and remove bones myself)
1/2 cup of basil and olive oil preserve ( the recipe is found here:  http://yayaskitchentoday.blogspot.com/2013/07/frozen-basil-preserve.html)

Instructions 

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water with yeast and add some flour. Let the yeast mixture rise.

2. Meanwhile, process spinach in cool water (the amount of cool water in the recipe).

3. Caramelize onion slices in olive oil on a pan.

4. Stir the remaining ingredients in the large bowl with the yeast mixture: spinach water, salt, olive oil, honey and flour.

5. Knead the dough until it becomes elastic and smooth.

6. Place the dough ball on the slightly floured surface and cover with material. Let it rise for 30 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 400F.

8. Punch the dough and roll it to the desired thickness (or 0.5 of inch). Brush generously with basil preserve, add caramelized onions, sprinkle feta cheese and olives on top.

9. Bake pizza in the oven until crisp and brown (10 to 14 minutes).

* Instead of the basil preserve, you can brush the crust with olive oil and sprinkle fresh basil leaves.

* The dough can be divided in parts and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

* On the bottom picture, the pizza is with regular dough, grilled chicken and salsa. To make regular dough, use water without spinach.

Bon Appetit!

Swiss Bread "Zopf"

My ideal rainy day includes a wooly blanket, a cup of aromatic hot tea and a warm piece of pastry. When autumn knocks on the door, it brings crispy golden leaves, cool fresh air and gloomy rainy days. The place I am from has one of the most magnificent autumn looks. In September, in Moscow, when trees loose their summer greenness, all the roads are layered with yellow, brown, golden, purple and red leaves. The days get suddenly shorter giving space to the dark early evenings. At the end of September, finally, the rain and gloominess chase away summer warmth. Somewhere I heard that in spring life wakes up, in summer everything is full of life, in autumn everything grows old and in winter it dies to reborn again in spring:-) To bear with melancholy of autumn, there are some nice things:-) Yes, I am talking about freshly baked goodies:-) Not only they are delightful but they also give another reason to gather close people together.

In Switzerland, on Saturday mornings, we had a fresh Zopf Brot, some jam, orange juice and coffee for breakfast. This cute little tradition gathered the whole family together. I still remember the feeling of sitting inside on a rainy day with a loaf of bread and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The bread which we usually ate was Zopf. Zopf literally means braid. I also learned that there was another name for this bread - Hallah. The main ingredients are yeast, milk, butter and white flour. When all the ingredients are combined in yeast dough, I let it sit for some time to raise. Yeast dough is one of my favorite types of dough. It is quick, easy and tastes delicious at the end:-) The base recipe for my bread was taken from the On Cooking book we use in culinary class. However, I slightly modified ingredients and steps. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients for 1 medium loaf

For the fermenting mixture
1/2 oz of instant dry east
1 t of sugar
1 T of flour
1/4 cup of very warm water (90F)

For the dough 
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 t of Kosher salt
14 oz of white flour (sifted)
3/4 cup of warm milk
2 large eggs
2 oz of unsalted butter (melted)
1 small egg for egg wash
Sesame or poppy seeds

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix warm water, dry east, sugar and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the mixture has bubbles.

2. To the mixture, add honey, salt, warm milk and half of the flour. Add eggs and mix well.

3. Add another half of flour and butter. Mix and knead smooth elastic dough. Add some flour if needed.

4. Place the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough is doubled (1 hour approximately).

5. Divide the dough in 3 equal portions. Roll each portion in a long strip. Lay strips side by side so that you to can braid them. Pinch the ends of the braid on each side.

6. Place the braid on a baking sheet (greased or covered with a baking paper). Let it raise for 30 minutes.

7. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350F.

8. When the braid has raisen, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame or poppy seeds.
Bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.

* Did you know that in order to check if a bread is ready, you can pierce it with a toothpick?! If the toothpick is clean and dry, the bread is ready.

* Did you know that the yeast dough raises better in a warm temperature?!

* I always mix my dough by hands. It helps me to feel how much flour to add.

Bon Appetit!

Swiss Banana cake

Back in 2003 when I was an exchange student in Switzerland, I lived in a small charming town, 30 minutes away from Zurich, called Wolfhausen. Wolfhausen is a beautiful place, surrounded by green hills, where modern life meets old traditions of Alpes, where two to three story houses prevail, where local people know and greet each other. I was a very lucky student. My new Swiss family greeted me with open arms and taught me German with patience and dedication. It was not the German language I had been learning at home; it was Swiss German!!! So, I thought when greeting a local villager, I should say "Hoi Zamme". Later, in a couple of months, after practicing my Swiss German knowledge with locals every day, I discovered that this phrase was only used when meeting a group of people:-) What a surprise!

Switzerland is an amazing country when it comes to variety of delicious food. Going back to its history, the country was formed by four distinct groups which later contributed to four languages spoken in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Romansch. Thinking of that, can you imagine how diverse Swiss cuisine is?! During my stay, I enjoyed not only well - known traditional Swiss dishes such as Fondue, Raclette and Rosti but great Italian, French and German cuisines as well.

Knowing my passion for cooking, my host mother Monika presented me a baking book which I often use today. The book has great cakes and quick bread recipes. To my pleasure, widely used ingredients in Swiss goodies are butter and nuts:-) As I say there is never too much butter, the same rule applies to nuts:-) Banana cake recipe is simple to make and is utterly tasty! I translated the original recipe from Betty Bossis' book. However, I substituted some ingredients. So, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

3.5 oz of butter (unsalted and room temperature)
5 oz of sugar ( I used brown sugar)
1/4 t of salt
2 eggs
Zest of one lemon
3.5 oz of raisins
1 T of Rum
14 oz of peeled and mashed bananas
1 t of lemon juice
5 oz of minced walnuts
1 1/2 t of baking powder
10 oz of flour (I used whole wheat)
4 T of milk
1 t of vanilla extract (if you'd like)

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F and coat muffin pans with oil.

2. In a bowl, whisk well butter with sugar and salt.

3. Add eggs and continue whisking until the mixture becomes light and pale.

4. Mix in raisins and lemon zest. Add lemon juice and mashed bananas.

5. Fold in walnuts, flour and baking powder. Finally pour milk and mix until smooth.

6. Scoop the mixture into muffin pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

* Did you know that if you mix baking powder with lemon juice, you eliminate baking powder taste in the finished product?!

* Did you know if you pour some lemon juice on peeled bananas or other cut fruits, you can protect them from browning?!

* Did you know that in order to enhance sweetness in baking products, you can simply add a little bit of salt?!

I hope you will like the recipe:-)

Bon Appetit!

Leek Cheddar Tartelletes

It's has been a while since I have posted any recipe here. Ever since I have started going to culinary school, all my delicious activities happened within the school's doors:) Only now I take seriously the words of my friend; she said once that she knew a talented chef who ate only sausages at home. I do not think that I will settle for sausages only. So this weekend I reminded myself of who I was and why I went to culinary school. I hope that it will not be just a profession for me but the style of life. That is why I gave myself a promise that this weekend I was going to make something delicious for my close ones:) In my mind there were two things: quiche which I loooove and black bean vegan muffins - complete newbies for me. Oh yeah they do really exist:) A girl from my school shared an idea with me. Since then my mind was wondering about black bean muffins:)
Returning to the quiche theme, every quiche is gooood! My favorite one is with leek and cheese. Leek is an amazing product! Even though it is a part of onion family, its flavor is mild. The edible part of leek is a white stem. Leek is often used for pie fillings, stocks and garnishes. I really enjoy leek in omeletes. When cooked properly, its texture is wonderfully tender. So, knowing my warm relationship with leek, I could not resist to prepare a mini version of a quiche:) Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

for the dough (taken from On Cooking Forth Edition) 

13 oz of white all purpose flour
1 stick of cold butter (flaked or cut in small pieces)
1 large egg (cold temperature)
1 pinch of salt

for the filling

2 medium leeks (washed and dried)
1 T of butter
1 T of olive oil
1 T of flour
1 cup of warm milk
1 cup of shredded cheddar
Salt and black pepper according to your taste

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and cold butter flakes. Add an egg and mix gently to form a ball. Refrigerate the ball for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Heat the pan over a medium heat.

3. Meanwhile, trim leeks' ends to keep white parts only. Slice circles 0.2 inch thick.

4. On a pan, pour olive oil and add the leek. Saute them for 5 minutes stirring gently until they become soft. Set aside.

5. Melt 1 T of butter over a pan and add flour. Mix gently. Add warm milk and cheddar. Wait until cheese melts and the mixture thickens stirring occasionally. Add leeks and salt and pepper according to your taste.

6. Preheat an oven to 350F.

7. Prepare a rolling pin, butter a muffin sheet (or tartelletes' forms) and flour the working surface. Divide the dough into 10-12 small balls. Roll each ball to form a circle. Place each circle in a muffin form.

8. Divide the leek mixture evenly in tartelletes. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on the top of each tartellete.

9. Place tartalletes in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.


* You can make a quiche if you use a bigger form.

* Instead of cheddar cheese, I also like to use gorgonzolla or parmesan.

* Milk can be substituted with cream.

Bon Appetit!

Eggs Benedict by Julia Child

Once upon a time there was a wonderful woman. She was passionate about traveling around the world, loving her family and of course cooking. When her husband moved to France for work, of course she traveled with him. She enjoyed Paris as much as she could: visiting local markets with fresh and aromatic produce, dining out in marvelous restaurants and trying out various wines. One day, she thought why not to go to culinary school - the famous Le Grodon Bleu. School time was challenging yet entertaining and fulfilling. I guess now you all know that I am talking about legendary Julia Child.

The first time I have heard about Julia was when I watched a lovely movie Julie&Julia. I was fascinated by the real stories which were behind the movie - the famous Julia Child who introduced approachable French cuisine to America and a wonderful blogger Julie Powel who shared her culinary experiences with the whole world. Years have passed since I saw the movie. 2013, here I am in Florida, visiting one of my favorite places, Davie, strolling through a local thrift shop, touching items on shelves and imagining who they belonged to. Suddenly, I see the name Julia Child. I do not believe my eyes! Instantly, I go on my cell phone and google to find the name of her and her co-writers' first book - Mastering The Art of French Cooking. I look at the year and I see 1961! All I can do at the moment, cry of delight and rub my eyes in disbelief.

While examining the book, I found it very approachable and easy to comprehend. Each step in recipes makes sense and authors spend time on explaining why each step is necessary. Eggs Benedict was the first recipe to try from the book even though it is just the beginning:-) So here is the recipe:

Ingredients

for Hollandaise sauce 

3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of water
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
6 ounces of unsalted butter (melted)
1 teaspoon of cold butter
Salt and ground white pepper
Paprika (I thought it would be a good additive)

+ a dip pan or pot and a bowl

For poached eggs

3 large fresh eggs
2 tablespoons of white vinegar

+ a boiling pot

Instructions

Hollandaise 

1. Heat a pot with water over medium - low heat. In a bowl or sauce pan, combine egg yolks, water, lemon juice. Whisk for 1 minute until all the ingredients are well-combined.

2. Place the bowl in a pot with water (for a warm bath) and continue whisking slowly heating the egg mixture. The ready egg sauce will become frothy and smooth. When whisking, you can see the bottom of the bowl and eggs are thick, remove the sauce from the heat. To stop the cooking process, whisk in a teaspoon of cold butter.

3. Add melted butter spoon by spoon, whisking after each spoon added. This process is important because if butter is added all at once, the mixture will not thicken. Continue incorporating until the mixture has the right  thickness consistency for you!

4. Sprinkle salt and pepper according to your taste. Set the sauce aside.

Poached eggs 

1. Bring to boil a pot with water and vinegar. The pan should be filled with water to a depth of 3 to 4 inches.

2. Once water starts boiling, take a spoon and make a circular motion in water to create funnel. Quickly, crack each egg one by one and open them into boiling water, keeping shells close to the water surface. Cook the eggs for 4 minutes.

3. Fish each egg with a spoon and place it in a bowl with warm water to remove vinegar taste. Place the eggs on a dry paper to remove excess water and serve immediately.

* To assemble Eggs Benedict, toast English muffin or fresh baguette. Place an eggs on each piece and pour the sauce generously.

* You can add bacon or ham as well. For that, heat the skillet and fry them with butter.

* Even though it is written that eggs can be boiled in water at the same time, as a beginner, I would recommend to try making one egg first to get comfortable with the process.

Bon Appetit!

Chicken Kiev

Finally I got back to my lovely blog. My last days have been a little bit busy in a good way. They were weekends and they were filled with events:-) My friend's friend was visting Miami. So, we finally got together and had lots of fun. It always feels wonderful to meet someone from the same area, to chat about things in common and check if mother tongue is not forgotten completely:-) Moreover, we went to the same school in Russia. So, there were many things to talk and laugh about. We also discussed how some districts in America are occupied by people of a certain cultural origin. Sunny Isles is one of them - a district occupied by Russians. It has Russian restaurants, stores and other places. I always find it extremely interesting when people tend to gather closely. It gives the sense of companionship, support and closeness. Because Russia was the part of the Soviet Union, it shares a great deal of food products with its neighbors. Sometimes it is hard to track an origin of some dishes and people continue arguing about it :-)
Chicken Kiev is well - known in the Post Soviet area. Even though it came from Ukraine, the dish is so popular that you can find it in almost any restaurant or cafe in Moscow. I love Chicken Kiev for its tenderness and unforgettable rich herby aroma when cooked right. Pounded chicken fillet, wrapped around herby butter, rolled in bread crumbs, fried until golden brown and baked until the meat is just right - this is what an ideal Chicken Kiev is! So here is the recipe:

Ingredients
for two portions

2 chicken breast halves (skinless and boneless)
1/2 half of butter (close to room temperature)
1/4 of a bunch of fresh parsley (thouroughly washed and dried)
2 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1 large egg
1 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup of flour
Salt and black pepper (for seasoning chicken and butter mixture)
Vegetable oil or ghee for frying

+ an oven safe skillet/frying pan

Instructions

1. Chop pasrley and garlic nicely. In a small bowl, combine butter, parsley and garlic. Sprinkle salt and black pepper according to your taste. Set aside.

2. Place chicken breasts on a working surface. Cut each chicken breast across but not completely through so you can have wider pieces to roll butter in.

3. Cover each piece with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Carefully pound chicken into cutlets with a meat mallet 1/4 inch thick. Don't tear the meat! Salt and pepper each piece. Set aside.

4. In three different deep plates, place separately flour, bread crumbs and eggs. Beat eggs well. Place the plates so that you can coat in flour - first, in eggs - second and then in bread crumbs.

5. Take one piece of chicken, place a half of the butter mixture in the middle, roll the breast in a log and fold in the ends of it. Roll very tightly so that butter is completely enclosed.

6. Roll each chicken log in flour, dip completely in egg and roll well in bread crumbs. Freeze the chicken for at least 1 hour.

7. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.

8. Heat well a skillet with oil over medium heat. Place each chicken in oil gently. Cook on one side for 5 minutes, on the other side for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Place the skillet with chicken in the oven for 10 minutes.

* The classic Chicken Kiev has a bone stuck in so it looks like a chicken leg.

* You can add other herbs such as chives, tarragon or any you prefer.

* You can store chicken in a freezer for a while. Keep them in a plastic bag or a container.

* Usually Chicken Kiev is served with mashed potato.

Bon Appetit!