I'm so glad for all the comments on your juice habits! I wish I had way more juicers to giveaway instead of just one, but I promise I'll try to hold a lot more giveaways on the blog later on. This time, the winner is Anna - or really her daughter Alva. Congratulations Alva, and I hope this means many cool juice creations for your family!
We're having a lazy Saturday today - me and my little ice cream monsters. Happy weekend everyone!
I'm in the midst of creating 101 recipes for a new cookbook (it was announced March 3rd). As a result, I haven't been cooking anything other than recipes for the book. But Passover is coming up and I've been asked to bring appetizers to the seder dinner. Appetizers for Passover are a bit tricky. If the meal is meat, which is typical, then you can't use any dairy. In addition you can't use legumes, seeds and most grains. So that means things like hummus and baba ghahoush are out so are cheeses and dairy based dips. What's left? Vegetables and nuts. Also eggs and meat (chopped liver is typical).
Recently I received some samples of Melissa's Organic Baby Beets, peeled and steamed and ready to eat. These cooked beets are great for salads but I decided to try use them to make a dip. Instead of tahini, I used blanched almonds. Beets and almonds are really nice together. But they are both sweet, so I added ginger and lemon to cut the sweetness. It also needs plenty of salt.
You can serve this dip with chips or fresh vegetables. It's creamy and smooth and even though I felt like I was cheating on my Vitamix, I did test it in my ancient Cuisinart food processor and got great results. I am thinking about making another dip using roasted carrots and almonds. What do you think?
Beet Almond Dip
Ingredients
1/4 cup blanched almonds
2 Tablespoons water
1 cup sliced cooked beets
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt
Instructions
Process the almonds and water in the food processor for a minute or so, until white and creamy but not completely smooth. Add the beets and process, scraping down the sides from time to time. Finally add the lemon juice and olive oil and ginger. Season to taste with salt.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: My thanks to Melissa's for providing me with the beets
Juicing is really trendy in Sweden, and the juicer was declared christmas gift of the year, a few months ago. I've owned several juicers, and have honesty ended up giving them away - they're pretty bulky and I never got into the habit. I like juice, but mostly have it for weekend breakfasts.
My favorite is made by Brämhults, and it's a blend of oranges and strawberries. Tart, sweet and delicious! They also make one with strawberries and lime, that makes a very good base for a smoothie! And my husband, preferring citrus, loves their seasonal orange/clementine juice. They make veggie juices too, but frankly it's not so much my cup of tea. (I'm possibly biased by having beet juice severely stain a beloved dress.)
So, while I'll probably stick to bottled juices (or the occasional fresh orange juice of course, when citrus is in season), I've been given the opportunity by Brämhults to give a juicer to one of my readers. (Sweden only - sorry about that!) For a chance to win, just tell me what your favorite juice is, and on what occasion you usually drink juice. The giveaway is open until Friday, April 11.
This post is sponsored by Brämhults, in the sense that they offer the juicer. I'm not being paid any money for this, though. I liked Brämhults long before they approached me about this - I prefer to work with brands that I already like and gladly will recommend.
I love avocado, and since I disovered Picard's frozen mango slices, I love mango, too. Well, I love mango in general, but it's hard to come by perfectly ripe fresh mango here in Sweden and I find them a pain to peel and dice. Picard's mango is perfect - it's obviously frozen at it's peak and is super flavorful.
This little salsa is just great - great on it's own, or with a larger meal.
Mango Avocado Salsa
1 ripe mango, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Stir together lime juice, sugar, oil and coriander, and toss with the rest of the ingredients.
I've blogged about spicy pork wraps many years ago - happy to report they're still something we make regularly. Good stuff.
My sister visited today and we had lunch at Joe & the Juice, a Danish chain that's recently (well, -ish...) opened in my local mall. I had what I always have - an avocado sandwich, with thinly sliced mozzarella & tomatoes. Yum. The juice was pretty awesome too! It had apples, strawberries & ginger. Every time I go there, I consider getting a juicer myself.. Again. I have done so several times, but always end up giving them away due to lack of use. Maybe I'll just stick with store-bought juices. But heads up - I might have the opportunity to host a juicer giveaway soon! More details as soon as I have them - promise!
Awfully good with this mango salsa (recipe coming soon!), and some cous-cous or bulgur wheat. This is another recipe inspired by Samantha Larsen's cookbook about movie set food.
Sweet Chili Chicken Drumsticks
8 chicken drumsticks
4 tbsp sweet chili
4 tbsp chili sauce (Heinz-style)
3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp concentrated chicken stock
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sambal oelek (chili paste)
Mix all ingredients for the marinade. Reserve half, and add the chicken drumsticks to the rest. Marinade for at least an hour.
Place the drumsticks in a roasting tin and bake at 175°C for 20 minutes. Take them out, and brush with the reserved marinade. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Check to make sure they are cooked through.
Mango-Coriander Sauce
200 ml crème fraiche
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
3 tbsp mango chutney
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
salt, pepper
Mix everything, and season to taste.
Brassicas: Cooking the World's Healthiest Vegetables
Remember when people hated broccoli? And Brussels sprouts? And kale and collard greens were something only Southerners ate, but that was about it. Happily the brassicas which also include bok choy, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, mizuna and tatsoi are in vogue. But if you only know a few ways to cook those glorious cruciferous greens, you should check out this book. The recipes sound like dishes you’d find on a trendy menu— Kimchi Pancakes, Moroccan Turnip and Chickpea Braise, Smoky Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds and Eggs. While it's a shame this book didn't come out in the Fall, that is my only quibble with it.
The French Cook: Soufflés
I love soufflés. I just need the encouragement and reminder to make them more frequently. That is the role of Greg Patent aka The Baking Wizard, who offers up sound advice regarding the importance of separating whites and yolks, the freshness of eggs, the use of salt and sugar and the most crucial question of all, when are the whites beaten enough? As a chronic overbeater, this is something I desperately need to learn. From savory to sweet to frozen, there are recipes for 2, 4-6 and 8-10 so for just about any occasion. If you’ve only ever had a cheese or chocolate soufflé, try your hand at the Spinach and Mushroom Soufflé, Fresh Apricot and St. Germain Soufflé or Meyer Lemon Soufflé.
Okra: A Savor the South® Cookbook
A whole cookbook on okra? Yes! This book takes on a vegetable that some love and others don’t. But seasoned chef and all around charmer, Virginia Willis can do magic with okra, frying it crisp, turning it into gumbo and also shares African, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Indian recipes for this odd vegetable. This book is a must for okra lovers, but also those, like me who don’t have a clue how to prepare it. I bought some okra just the other day and plan on making the West African Chicken Stew with Okra and Peanuts as well as the Limpin’ Susan, with rice, okra and bacon. When tomatoes are in season I want to try the Old School Okra and Tomatoes.
Disclaimer: These book were provided to me as review copies. This post includes Amazon affiliate links.
I don't normally eat chocolate for breakfast but when I saw this at my hotel breakfast buffet, I had to have a slice. It's high quality toast-shaped chocolate, you put a slice on a piece of toast and let it melt. It was quite a treat! :-)
I'm in Brussels for a conference. As some of you know, I work in politics and I'm very excited about the European Parliament elections in May! I hope everyone who can do so will vote, and for parties that are prepared to work hard on solving the issues where we can't stand alone. in Sweden, that means Folkpartiet. Over and out. :-)
This was a super tasty meal. Never mind that it's horribly unhealthy with all that cheese and cream. Think of it as a special treat, and enjoy.
Pasta with pork tenderloin, mushrooms & blue cheese
serves 4
600 g pork tenderloin, cleaned and diced
1 yellow onion, or 2 shallots, finely diced
300 g mushrooms, finely diced
butter for frying
200 ml cream
200 ml creme fraiche
100 g St Agur blue cheese (substitute gorgonzola)
Heat the butter in a large frying pan. Fry the tenderloin until browned, and mostly cooked through. Remove from pan. No need to add more butter, just add the mushrooms and the onion, and fry until nicely softened and the mushrooms have shrunken. Add the pork back to the pan, as well as the cream, creme fraiche and blue cheese. Cook on low heat until the cheese has melted, stirring all the time. Season with black pepper, you probably won't need any salt.
Serve over pasta.
.png)
