Hummus

1 can of chickpeas (850 ml, 530 gr) (sometimes called garbanzo beans).
50-100 ml of lemon juice (one glass or 1/2 cup) or two lemons
100 ml of olive oil (one glass of 1/2 cup)
4 big garlic cloves


1. Put the peas in blender/food processor, and add lemon juice.
2. Let it turn for while until become "creamy".
3. Add oil and continue mixing till cream is really creamy.
4. After crunching the garlic add it on the top of humus and let it stand for 2--3minutes; mix the humus again.
5. Serve it cold.

Torta od jabuka

5 + 4 supenih kasika secera
4 supene kasike brasna
4 jaja
1 prasak za pecivo (1 teaspoon of baking powder)
1 slag (whipped cream)

1. Ogulity jabuke i isdubiti is; poredjati ih u pouljenu i pobrasnjenu okruglu serpu/Dutch oven. Poseceriti jabuke (5 kasika secera) i peci na 350 F dok jabuke ne omeksaju i digne se pjena.
2. Dok se jabuke peku, umutiti jaja, 4 supene kasike secera, brasno i prasak za pecivo.
3. Kad su jabuke pecene, izvaditi ih iz pekare i posuti umucenim jajima.
4. Vratiti da se pece.
5. Ispecno izvrnuti na veliki tanjir, ohladiti i preliti umucenim slagom.

Cranberry sauce with apricot

16 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons finely gratedginger
1 tablespoon usalted butter
1/3 - 2/3 cup sugar


1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add gingerand cook stirring for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the cranberries, sugar, orange juice and preserves.
3. Cook stirring occasionally until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, 15-20 minutes.
4. Serve warm.

 Serves 6 to 8

Sweet potatoes wedges

4 lbs small sweet potatoes, I like Korean/Japanese sweet potatoes
1/4 ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt and pepper
6-8 springs thyme


1. Clean and cut sweet potatoes into wedges and seasoned them. Coat them with oil, sugar, nutmeg, salt.
2. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil and put wedges in a single layer on the foil. Scatter the thyme over potatoes.
3. Bake at 400 F for 45-60 minutes turning once, until the edges are dark brown and the wedges are crisp.



Serves 6-8

Cranberry sauce

1 12-ounce bag fresh whole cranberries
2 tablespoons wather
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup orange marmalade (you can use peach jam instead of orange marmalade).


1. In the medium saucepan pour water, add cranberries and cinnamon sticks. Heat to boiling, and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes until cranberries pop, still to prevent burning.
2. Remove from heat and stir in marmalade and cool.
3. If the sauce is too tart add a little bit of sugar. Cover and refrigerate.
4. This is served at room temperature.

Sweet potatoes with vanila

10 small sweet potatoes, I like Korean/Japanese sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 6" vanilla bean
1 teaspoon wole cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


1. Scrub the sweet potatoes, pierce with fork and place in oven; use aluminum foil on the backing sheet to help with cleaning. Bake it on 350 F for 45-60 minutes.
2. Combine the maple syrup, vanilla bean and cloves in a small saucepan and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
3. Remove potatoes from the oven and cut each lengthwise into 4 wedges. arrange on a serving dish, sprinkle with the salt and pour the syrup over them (do not pour cloves and vanilla bean).

Sauteed kale

1 bunch of kale
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4  teaspoon salt


1. Remove the tough ribs and coarsely chop the kale. Wash it allowing some water to cling to the leaves, this will helps steam the kale during the first stage of cooking.
2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add garlic and light golden brown it.
3. Add kale and cook it on medium-low covered stirring occasionally until the kale is tender, 12-15 minutes.

Sauteed kale served with black grouper

Spicy roasted eggplant

2 medium eggplants
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minceed
1 piece of ginger, peeled and minced (or use ginger grinder)
Salt/pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masal (optional)
Pinch of whole cumin (optional)
2-3 tablespoon olive oil

1. Place oiled eggplants the baking sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes on 400 F. Turn eggplants several times to bake completely (eggplants will collapsed and slightly "burnt"). Take out from oven and let them cool down. When they are cool remove the outer skin and mash the eggplants well with a fork. Keep all the juices.

2. In large skillet/Duch oven heat the oil and add cloves and after 20-30 seconds add onions. Stir onions until soft and golden brown on medium heat, 5-10 minutes.



3. Add the garlic, ginger and all spices.

 

 4. After 5 minutes add tomatoes and stir often to prevent burning

5. Add mashed eggplants and juices to the skillet containing spice onions and tomato mixture. Mix well and serve with brown rice.

 6 servings

Roasted salmon with fennel and onions

2 fennel bulbs cut into 1/4 " wedges
1-2 onions cut into 1/4 wedges
6-8 cloves of garlic cut/smashed
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 freshly ground black pepper
4  salmon fillets, 6-8 ounce each
1 lemon


1. Toss the fennel, oil, onions, 1/2 of salt and pepper, garlic in the roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes on 400 F.
2. Add salmon in the middle of the roasting pan, squeeze lemon over salmon, add remaining salt/pepper on salmon.
3. Cover salmon with roasted fennel/onion/garlic. Return to oven and roast 10-20 more minutes until salmon is done (salmon is same color throughout and flakes easily).

Serve with brown rice or sweet potatoes 

4 servings

Green beans with garlic

Green beans


2 lbs green beans trimmed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3-4 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
Minced fresh parsley (optional)

1. In large pot of water boil water
2. Add green beans to te boiling water and cook until tender/crisp - 4-5 minutes. Transfer beans to large pot with ice water with slotted spoon (this will stop cooking and cool the beans).
3. Transfer beans to baking sheet and blot them dry with paper towel.
4. Few minutes before serving, heat the oil, in baking pot/large skillet. Add garlic and cook on medium heat, stirring to prevent burning, for 25-35 seconds.
5. Add the green beans, salt, pepper, parsley; stir until cooked for about 3-4 minutes.

About 8 servings

Picture coming when I make them next time

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

The brussels sprouts are roasted at a high heat to bring out the natural sugars and caramelize the edges, then tossed with a kick of maple syrup.

1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon (or 10 grinds) black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. To prepare the brussels sprouts, remove any yellow or brown outer leaves, cut off the stems and cut in half.
3. In a large bowl, toss the brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper together. Once all of the brussels sprouts are coated in oil, spread them into a 9-by-13-inch (or larger) baking dish or sheet tray to roast. Note: You may want to line your sheet tray with foil for easy cleanup because the caramelizing process leaves a sticky residue.
4. After 15 minutes, stir the brussels sprouts with a spatula or large spoon to even out the browning. After 30 minutes, stir in the maple syrup. (Steps 1 through 4 can be done a day in advance; store covered in the refrigerator. Continue with Steps 5 and 6 right before serving.)
5. Continue to roast the brussels sprouts for about 15 more minutes, or until they are fork tender (about 45 minutes total roasting time).

Brussels served with baked mahi

Yield: Serves 6.

Kuglof sa makom, makovnjaca, poppy seed rolls

Kuglof sa makom

Serves 8 to 10

3/4 C milk
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 3/4 C flour [ I increased to about 3 C ]
1/3 C sugar
1/2 t salt
4 oz (1 stick) butter
3 eggs @ room temperature

1T vanila

Gently warm the 3/4 C milk. Place 1/4 C of the milk in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it along with a pinch of sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir in about 2 – 3 T of the measured flour to make a sticky dough, then cover and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Gently re-warm the remaining 1/2 C milk with the 4 oz butter until melted. Cool to lukewarm.

Beat the eggs together with the vanilla.

Whisk together the remaining flour, sugar and salt in a large wide bowl and make a well in the center. Place the lukewarm milk/butter mixture, beaten eggs/vanilla and the bit of risen yeast dough to the center of the bowl in the well. Work all of it together with your hand, first mixing the ingredients in the center and then working in the flour around the edges bit by bit. The dough should take just a couple of minutes of mixing to form a smooth dough. If it’s too sticky, keep adding flour a tablespoon at a time until it forms a soft and pliable dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface or piece of parchment and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a large wide bowl that has been generously oiled, turning the dough over so the top surface is oiled. Cover the top of the bowl with a light cloth or piece of plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 30-40 minutes.

If you need to make filling start now, use direction for filling

Generously slather an 8” Kugelhopf mold or tube pan with soft butter and sprinkle with the flour.

When the dough is ready, divide it into two pieces and roll out one at a time on a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment to about 13” x 8”, the length depending on the circumference of the base of your pan. Spread half the fillimg/paste on the dough. Roll up the dough into a log starting at the longer side. Lift it gently and place into the buttered kugelhopf or tube pan and pinch the ends together to seal. Repeat with the second piece of dough and stack it on top of the other piece, forming two rings inside the mold. Overlap the ends of the log and tuck under. Set aside in a warm place until the dough has risen to about an inch from the top of the mold, about 30 to 45 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the mold on a baking sheet and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until it’s risen and browned. If the top browns too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking.

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then turn the Kuglof out on the rack to cool completely before slicing.

Filling

I used filling from the can

If you don’t have already mixed filling use this receipt

 Filling Ingredients:

250 gr of Ground Poppy Seed  1 ½ cup?

1/2 cup of Sugar

1 cup of Water

4 Tbsp of Melted Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Tbsp of Honey

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Spiced Rum

In a sauce pan, mix Sugar and Water for filling. Bring Sugar/Water mixture to a boil then reduce heat; Mix in Poppy Seed and other filling ingredients (except Rum). Stir on low heat for 5 minutes; Remove from heat, stir in Rum, and set aside.

Spinac

Spinac

4 sveze spinaca (4 bunches of spinac)
4 jaja
malo mlijeka (1/2 cup)
1/4 putera ili malo maslinovog ulja
1 supena kasika brasna
bijelog luka

Oprati i isjeckati spinac.
Provreti slanu vodu i dodati spinac, 3-4 minute. Izvaditi i procijediti.

U plitku serpu istopiti puter (ili zagrijati maslinovo ulje), dodati brasno i mijesati dok ne porumeni. Dodati mlijeko, promijesati i dodati spinac i jaja. Promijesati i kuhati 4-5 minuta.

Servirati kao prilog uz meso

Zeleni kupus i krompir (collard green)

Zeleni kupus i krompir (collard green)

The greens are blanched, and then cooked with onion and garlic. After a while, cooked potatoes are added and crushed into the greens. The dish isn’t like mashed potatoes, more like a hash. Serve it as a side dish with fish or chicken, or with other vegetable dishes.

1 large bunch collard greens, about 1 1/2 pounds, stemmed and washed in 2 changes of water

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

3/4 pound yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon gold, you can add some sweet potatoes

One tomato

 Chopped ginger

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the collard greens. Blanch for 4-5 minutes, and transfer to the ice water with a slotted spoon. Drain and squeeze out extra water. Chop coarsely. Set aside the cooking water.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat in a wide, lidded skillet or Dutch oven, and add the ginger and onion. Cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Stir in the collard greens. Mix together for a few minutes, and then add 1 cup of the cooking water and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover partially, and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often and adding more cooking water from time to time, so that the greens are always simmering in a small amount of liquid.

3. While the greens are cooking, scrub the potatoes and add to the pot with the cooking water. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the cooking water, and allow to cool slightly so that you can peel them if you wish. Cut them into large chunks.

4. Uncover the greens, and add the potatoes. Using a fork or the back of a wooden spoon, crush the potatoes and stir into the greens. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, and stir over low heat until the greens and potatoes are well combined. The potatoes should not be like mashed potatoes, just crushed and intermingled with the greens, like hash. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can make the recipe through step 3 up to three days ahead. Keep the greens and the potatoes in the refrigerator until you reheat, and then proceed with step 4. You can make the dish through step 4 a few hours ahead and reheat.