Mila's Salad

Ingredients 

1 large bulb of fennel

1  large beet

1 avocado, diced

1 tomato, diced

1 or 2 cucumbers, peeled and diced

5 -6 radishes

Goar, sheep or feta cheese (or other white cheese)

Balsamic vinegar (I used fig vinegar) to taste

Olive oil to taste

Salt to taste

Feel free to include other vegetables as you wish – peppers, shredded cabbage,

Cut fennel bulb down the center and cut again to have quarters of bulb. Remove the core and thinly slice quarter bulbs. Add to salad bowl.

Scrub the beet, trim it and cut in quarters. Thinly slice quarters and add to salad bowl.

Trim and cut radishes into wedges.

Add all cut vegetables and cheese to salad bowl; add vinegar, oil, salt and toss gently. Serve cold or at room temperature. You can refrigerate leftovers.

Prijatno!

Baked Acorn Squash (2)

Ingredients

§  1 Acorn Squash cut

§  Salt, pepper

§  Olive or grape seed oil

Method

• Cut squash in large pieces

• Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper
• Preheat oven (450 F)
• Bake till squash is slightly brown

Prijatno!

Cabbage With Apples

Ingredients

§  1 cabbage – shredded

§  1 medium onion

§  1 large apple

§  3 tbs Balsamic Vinegar

§  Salt, pepper to taste

§  Olive or grape seed oil

Method

• Chop the onions and brown them in the oil on the medium heat.
• Shred cabbage and washed it than add the shredded cabbage and stir until slightly wilted, about 10 min. Add salt and pepper.

• Add Balsamic Vinegar (I used Fig balsamic vinegar).

• Cut apples and add to cabbage.

• Add more salt, pepper if needed and let it cook gently for a five more minutes. If the pot is covered cabbage will not get dry but if it does gets to dry add a glass of water.

     Serve hot!

Prijatno!

Squash - Golden Hubbard

Ingredients:        

·         One Golden Hubbard squash

·         1 medium onion

·         2 tbls butter

·         1 cup sour cream

·         ¼ tsp dill seed (optional)

·         Salt and pepper to taste

 Cut squash into big pieces

Boil salted water, add squash and boil squash for 15 min.

Make a cream of onion, sour cream, butter, salt, dill seed and pour over squash.

Serves 4-6

Prijatno!

Roasted Fennel and Red Onion Salmon

Ingredients

 

·         2 small fennel bulbs, cut into ½ - inch wedges 

·         1large red onion cut into ½ - inch wedges   

·          6 cloves garlic minced

·         1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (optional)

·         ½ bunch fresh thyme

·         1 teaspoon kosher salt

·         1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

·         2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

·         4 6- ounce salmon fillets, shinned

·         1lemon halved

 

Directions

 

1.      Heat oven to 400° F. In a roasting pan, toss the fennel, onion, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the oil. Roast for 20 minutes.

2.      Move the vegetables to the sides of the pan; place the salmon in the center. Squeeze the lemon halves over the salmon. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.

3.      Return the salmon to oven and roast until it is the same color throughout and flakes easily, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with the rice, if desired.

Serves 4

Hands-On Time: 15m; Total Time: 40m

Greens with Pasta and Ricotta

Greens with Pasta and Ricotta

Ingredients

·         1 pound greens, such as chard, kale or broccoli rabe, stemmed and washed well, or half of a 1-pound bag prepared greens

·         Salt

·         2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

·         1 to 2 garlic cloves, to taste, minced

·         3/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese

·         1/2 to 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, or a mixture of Parmesan and Romano Pecorino (to taste)

·         3/4 pound pasta

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 greens. After the water returns to a boil, boil two to four minutes until the greens are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer greens to the ice water. Do not drain the hot water in the pot, as you’ll use it to cook the pasta. Drain the greens, squeeze dry and chop.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute just until fragrant, and stir in the greens. Toss in the hot pan for about a minute, just until the greens are lightly coated with oil and fragrant with garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

3. Place the ricotta in a large pasta bowl. Bring the water for the pasta back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente. Ladle 1/2 cup of the cooking water from the pasta into the ricotta and stir together. Drain the pasta, and toss with the ricotta, greens and cheeses. Serve at once.

Yield: Serves four

Kale with Pasta and Garlic

Kale with Pasta and Garlic

Ingredients

1/2 lb spaghetti, or other shape of pasta
1/4 cup olive oil, more if necessary
1 head garlic, chopped finely
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 bunch of kale
1/3 cup bread crumbs (optional)

Parmesan cheese or feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1.      In a large pot, put water on to boil. While the water is coming to a boil, finely chop a head of garlic. In a small skillet, slowly cook the garlic with some red pepper flakes in enough oil for the garlic to move around freely, stirring occasionally until it is pale golden. Add the kale and cook it for few minutes until is cooked but still crispy, then remove it from the heat.

2.      Add spaghetti (1/2 lb) in the boiling water and cook it. When the pasta is ready, scoop it with tongs into a serving bowl, then top it with the crispy golden garlic, oil and kale adding more fresh oil if needed. Mix in some bread crumbs, if using. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.      Top with shaved Parmesan.

Potato and Collard Green Hash 

The greens are blanched, and then cooked with onion and garlic. After a while, cooked potatoes are added and crushed into the greens.. Serve it as a side dish with meat, fish or chicken.

Ingredients:
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, sliced
2 - 4 garlic cloves sliced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 pound potatoes, you can use sweet potatoes also

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil add the collard greens. Blanch for few minutes, and transfer to the ice water with a slotted spoon or skimmer. 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 Dutch oven, and add the 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 garlic is tender. 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 – 60 minutes, stirring occasionally; add 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, washed the potatoes, cut them into large chunks and add to the small pot with the cooking water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the cooking water.

4. Uncover the greens, and add the potatoes. Using the 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 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.

Mila's Eggplant casserole

Eggplant casserole

Ingredients:
2 eggplants (1 lb size)
salt and black pepper -- to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 red bell pepper -- cored, seeded, and quartered
2 pounds ground beef (or turkey)
2 onions -- coarsely chopped
1 cup whole canned tomatoes -- crushed
1 1/2 cup water -- or more as needed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Layer them in a colander, sprinkling the layers with salt. Set on a plate and let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes.

Turn on the broiler. Rinse the eggplant and pat the cubes dry with paper towels. On a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle the eggplant with half the oil and toss with your hands to coat all over.

Rub the skin side of the bell pepper with the oil remaining on your hands. Tuck the pepper, skin side up, on the baking sheet. Broil the eggplant and pepper about 6 inches from the element, turning the eggplant often, for 10 minutes or until the eggplant and peppers are charred. (The eggplant may not be cooked through.)

Meanwhile, in a large casserole add a little bit of oil and over medium-high heat, brown the onions stirring often, until the onions soften; add the meat and brown it turning it often, until it is crumbled. Add the salt, and pepper.

Remove the skin from the bell pepper. Coarsely chop the flesh. Add the bell pepper, eggplant, tomatoes, and water to the onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture bubbles at the edges. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the eggplant is cooked through. Add more to the pan if it seems dry. Sprinkle with parsley (optional) and serve at once.

Ready in: 1-2 hrs 

Serves/Makes:   6

Eggplant – Indian style

Prep Time: 15 Min; Cook Time: 30 + 20 Min

Ingredients

• 1-2 eggplants (you can use Asian or small Indian eggplants)
• 2 tablespoons olive grape seed oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
• 1 large tomato - peeled, seeded and diced
• 2-3 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (or 1-2 fresh turmeric minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ground black pepper to taste 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven's broiler. Rub oil on the outside of the egg plant, or coat with cooking spray. Place under the broiler and cook until the flesh is soft and the skin is blistering off, about 30 minutes. Turn as needed for even cooking. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and scoop the flesh out of the skin. Chop up the flesh, and set aside. Discard the skin
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds, and let them crackle for a few seconds and turn golden brown. Be careful not to burn them. Add the onion, ginger and garlic; cook and stir until tender, don't let the onions get very brown. Stir in the tomato, and season with turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook and stir for a few minutes.
3. Place the eggplant pieces in the skillet, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes so some of the moisture evaporates. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired. Serve with meat and bread.

Yield 4 servings

Palacinke - crepes

Ingredients
5 eggs (jaja)
1 cup milk (1 solja mlijeka)
1/4 ts sugar and salt (malo secera I soli) 
1 cup hot water (solja tople vode)
A little bit of Oil (ulje)

1.5 cups of flour to start and add more flour as needed to o have right consistency of mix.   (Brašno) 

In the large mixing bowl whisk eggs, add 1/4 c water and 1/4 c milk and mix. Start adding flower and while continue mixing add milk and water to have nice crepe batter. Make sure is nice crepe consistency (no too liquid). Add a little bit of sugar, salt and oil in the mix.

(Umutiti jaja, dodati 1/4 solje tople vode I mlijeka. Poceti dodavati brasno uz stalno mijesanje I dodavanje ostatka mlijeka i vode dok se ne dobije smijesa koja nije puno tecna a ne smije da bude ni gusta. Dodati malo secera, soli I ulja u smijesu).

Use non-stick pan; put on the medium to high and worm the pan. Add just a little bit of oil to coat the pan, just for the first palacinka.
(Zagrijati tavu I dodati samo malo ulja za prvu palacinku.)

Add one ladle of the crepe batter in the hot pan (into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly).

(Staviti jednu kutljacu smijese u toplu tavu; staviti u sredinu tave, provrtiti tavu da bude ista debljina palacinke u tavi).

Fry/cook  till top of palacinka is almost dry. Loosen palacinka with spatula, turn over and fry/cook other side till palacinka has nice light color.

Peci palacinke dok gornja strana bude skoro suha, prevrnuti I peci drugu stranu dok se ne ispece, ne da zagori).



You can get around 15-20 palacinka.

(Od ove smijese se moze napraviti oko 15-20 palacinki.)

Use eurocream (Nutella), fruit jam, grounded nuts to fill palacinke.
(Mazati palacinke eurokremom, dzemom, mljevenim orasima.)

Prijatno!

.

RATATOUILLE

Ratatouille is vegetable dish with succulent Mediterranean vegetables. Large chunks of tender vegetables full of flavors of the summer sun. Cook ratatouille only when you have time to allow garlic, onions and bell peppers to caramelize making them sweet and allow thick cut vegetables to soften and absorb essence from each other.

4-6 servings

Prep time: 10 min

Cook: 50 + min

Ingredients:

5 - 6 large cloves of garlic cut roughly

2 large onions sliced

 2 medium red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced

6 medium tomatoes, cored and cut into big pieces

3 medium Asian eggplants, cut into ½ inch thick rounds

3 medium zucchini, cut into ½ inch thick rounds

Basil, thyme, parsley 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Steps

Add the olive oil and garlic to a large heavy bottomed pot and sauté over medium heat until the garlic starts to brown and becomes very fragrant. (5 - 10 min)

Turn down the heat to low and then add the onions and bell peppers. Cover the pot with a lid and let the onions wilt, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Remove the lid and sauté the vegetables until all the water released has evaporated and the onions start to brown. (5 - 10 min)

 Add the tomatoes, cover the pot with the lid, and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and have released a lot of liquid. (5 - 10 min)

Add the eggplants, zucchini, parsley, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and then cover with a lid and allow the vegetables to cook until tender (30-40 minutes), stirring occasionally. 

When the vegetables are soft, remove the lid and let the ratatouille continue to simmer until the excess liquid has evaporated and the stew is nice and thick  (10-20 minutes). Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. 

Bon Appetite!

Prijatno!

Musaka

Sastojci:

8- 9 krompira oguliti i isjeci na tanke kolutove
1 - 2 glavice crnog luka, sitno isjeci
1.5 - 2 lbs mljevenog mesa, ja sam koristila bison
4 jaja
2.5 - 3 cups mlijeka
1 tsp vegete ili soli po ukusu
malo bibera
3 - 4 tbsp maslinovog ulja
1 - 2 crvenog luka, sitno isjeckati
3 - 4 cesne bijelog luka, sitno isjeckati


1. Oguliti krompir, isjeci na tanke kolutove i jednu polovinu krompira poslagati u pomascenu tepsiju.

 

2. U dublju tavu staviti maslinovog ulja i proprziti isjeckani crveni i bijeli luk; dodati mljeveno meso, zaciniti ga (vegeta ili so i biber) i proprziti meso.

3. Preko prvog reda krompira preliti preprzeno mljeveno meso. 

 4. Preko mesa poslagati drugu polovinu isjeckanog krompira.

 

5. Umutiti jaja, dodati mlijeko i preliti preko krompira i mesa (otprilike do polovine visine krompira i mesa).

6. Zagrijati pekaru na 400 F; musaku mozete prekriti aluminijskom folijom i peci oko 45 - 50 min. Skinuti foliju i peci jos 10 -15 min da krompir na vrhu porumeni i postane hrskav (ja nisam koristila foliju).

7. Musaku mozete servirati sa jogurtom, pavlakom ili zelenom salatom.

Prijatno!

Brussels Sprouts with Lemon

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs Brussels sprouts
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• -54 teaspoons butter
• 2-3 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
• 2 Tbsp dry white wine
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Squeeze lemon juice in a large bowl. Cut bottoms off brussels sprouts; halve sprouts lengthwise. Cut out and discard the firm core of each sprout half (you can skip this step) and thinly slice the sprouts.

 

2. Transfer slices into bowl with lemon juice. When all sprouts are sliced toss them in juice and separate leaves.

 

 3. Heat oil and butter over high heat in a skillet large enough to hold all sprouts. When very hot (almost to smoking point) add sprouts, garlic and seeds; cook, stirring often, until sprouts are wilted and lightly cooked, but still green and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Some leaves might brown slightly.


Add wine and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Turn off heat, add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the lemon zest, reserving a little for top of dish.

 

Served with boiled lamb.


Enjoy!

Bouquet Garni

Bouquet garni is bunch of herbs usually tied together and added to soups or stews.
You can use:

• Parsley
• Thyme
• Sage
• Bay leaves
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Tarragon
• Celery (leaves or steam)
• Leak
• Onion
• Carrots

Hurmasice

250 gr putera (2.5 stick of butter)
2 jaja
2 supene kasike secera
1 cup bijelog vina
3 cups brasna, dodati vise ako treba da smjesa bude gusta da se moze oblikovati
1/2 cajne kasike praska za pecivo (baking powder) pomijesanog sa brasnom

3 cups secera (ja sam koristila smedji secer, moze se koristiti obicni bijeli secer)
2 cups vode
Malo limunovog soka


1. Pjenasto umutiti puter i dodati prethodno umucena jaja sa 2 supene kasike secera

 

2. Usimati smjesu i praviti komade 1" sa 2". Hurmasice praviti na rendi ili izbockati gornju povrsinu viljuskom.. Poslagati u tepsiju, tepsija se ne mora podmazati jer je tijesto masno.

 

3.  Zagrijati pekaru na 350 F i staviti hurmasice da se peku (40 min ili dok ne budu pecene i svijetlo smedje).

 

4. Umedjuvremenu napraviti zaljev (sirup) od secera.  Staviti 3 cups secera i 2 cups vode u serpu i staviti da provrije, smanjiti temperaturu i ostaviti da vrije dok se ne napravi sirup. Dodati malo limunovog soka u zaljev.

5. Zaliti vruce hurmasice vrucim zaljevom.

6. Ostaviti hurmasice da upiju zaljev, mogu se ostaviti u mlakoj iskljucenoj pekari. Treba nekoliko sati, mozda i dan da potpuno upiju sirup.

Prijatno!