The flavor enhancer available has too much salt so I thought why not try to make my own homemade veggie seasoning. Ingredients for Homemade veggie seasoning carrot zucchini green beans green peppers hungarian peppers or red peppers tomato peel (when peeling tomatoes don’t throw the peel,dry it instead) parsley,lovage How to prepare Homemade veggie seasoning recipe Using a vegetable peeler,slice the zucchini and carrots and slice very thin the rest of the veggies. Put everything in an old metal baking tray and let dry in the sun. If overnight it’s too cold,bring indoors. Dry for a few days or until completely dry and use a food processor to ground.

Anything is good if it makes our kids eat their veggies. Was surprised to see that mine enjoyed the cauliflower even raw,as for this version…I can’t just say the little leftovers were great! Ingredients for Cauliflower Popcorn half head cauliflower 1 T onion powder 1 t garlic powder 1 t smoked paprika a little oil salt and freshly grounded black pepper How to make Cauliflower Popcorn Clean the cauliflower and cut into popcorn size pieces. Mix with the rest of the ingredients and place in a baking tray. Bake until cauliflower starts to brown,shaking the tray from time to time. Serve right away.

One of the best salads I’ve tried, it’s a great combination of pear and balsamic vinegar, plus the addition of feta and walnuts puts this salad at the top of the salads. It’s a trendy recipe, great as appetizer as well. Ingredients for Vertical pear salad with marinated feta and walnuts 1 pear 4 crushed walnuts 1 slice feta,cubed 1 T extra virgin olive oil 1/2 t balsamic vinegar fresh oregano leaves How to make Vertical pear recipe Combine the feta,olive oil,vinegar and chopped oregano. Roast the walnuts in a frying pan. Slice the pear and add from the mixture to each layer.

Today I’ve got two recipes in one.  I’ve recently discovered how good is tarragon in potato soups,I had to put some away for the winter. For the tarragon in vinegar, just put the washed and dried tarragon in jars, pressing it down and fill the jars with vinegar. For the vinegar, just add some tarragon to the vinegar and put the bottle in the pantry for at least two weeks.

Sun-dried tomatoes If sun shines up your alley take advantage of it. I have rays of sun the whole day long in my balcony,so it’s only normal that I make this myself . You need a few tomatoes,use the small and longer ones and quarter them. Place them on a metallic tray and leave in the sun to dry. They’re ready in about 3-4 days. Turn every now and then and remove when they’re gummy,not completely dry. Store in olive or vegetable oil or freeze and use in antipasto, pasta dishes, salads, pizza.

Empress Chicken Ingredients for the sauce: 1/2 cup chicken stock 50 gr sugar 2 T soy sauce 2 T white wine vinegar 1 t freshly grated ginger 1 garlic clove 2 T cornstarch Ingredients for Empress Chicken: 1 chicken breast cut up in 2 cm cubes 1 T soy sauce 1 egg 2 T cornstarch 3 scallions pinch of cayennePlace the ingredients for the sauce in a jar and shake well to blend the flavors. Place aside until ready to use. Meanwhile, mix the egg with the soy sauce, add the egg,cornstarch and pinch of cayenne. Heat a wok, add oil and fry the chicken cubes. Don’t add all of…

Saffron Ice Cream with Cardamon and Rose Water Who doesn’t love ice cream? And who doesn’t love trying new flavors? This one is an Iranian version, I made a mistake by adding the frozen cream pieces at the beggining, now I know that I was supposed to add them at the end. It’s my first custard based ice cream, interesting,can’t wait to try new flavors. Ingredients: 1 cup milk 4 T cornstarch 100 gr sugar 1/4 t saffron dissolved in 50 ml rose water 2 cardamon pods,cracked 100 ml cream One day ahead, pour the cream in a pan (a thin layer) and freeze. Boil the milk with the sugar…

Chinese Buns Found this recipe in the bread bible and since I really have to go to bed,I’ll just be very short. You need to make a dough out of 140 ml milk,1 t instant yeast and 1/2 t sugar. But you won’t be able to do it without adding 250 gr of flour,1/2 t salt and 1 T butter. Set aside and let double in size. Meanwhile,marinade 250 gr cubes of chicken breast with 2 T soy sauce,2 cm grated ginger,1 T oil,1 T honey for 30 minutes. Fry the chicken pieces in a wok with 1 T oil for 5 minutes and add 3 sliced scallions. Make 8…

Use frozen or freshly picked raspberry for this low sugar coffee cake. Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1/2 cup yogurt 2 tablespoons margarine, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup  raspberry (fresh or frozen, if using frozen do not thaw) How to prepare In a bowl, combine the flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the egg, yogurt, butter, and vanilla: add to dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into an 8-in round baking pan Sprinkle the raspberries over the batter.

This comes from a little book ,The Hawthorn Series: Muffins,Scones&Teacakes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup self raising flour 1/4 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg pinch mixed spice 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 cup raisins 1/3 cup sheredded coconut 3 eggs 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup oil 125 gr milk chocolate,melted 3 cups shredded carrot Sift flour, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice into a large bowl. Mix in walnuts, raisins and coconut. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar and oil until smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate. Fold in carrots. Fold into flour mixture. Pour into a greased and lined 23×32 cm tin.Bake in a moderately slow oven…

I was amazed by how my littles liked this russian potato casserole, so I had to write it down right away before I forget how to make it. We’ll repeat it soon! Ingredients for Russian potato casserole 5 big potatoes 3 eggs 200 gr feta cheese (I used a sheep cheese,but feta would work too) 200 gr sour cream salt to taste How to prepare Russsian Potato Casserole recipe Boil the potatoes in their skin.When boiled,place under cold water and when cooled peel. Chop in small cubes. In a bowl mix the eggs,crumbled cheeese and sour cream. Add the potatoes and mix. Add the mixture to the baking pan and bake for…