Smitten Kitchen

I found this wonderful blog and besides the mouthwatering photos and recipes, there are also some neat articles, like this one. Inspiring, eh? I must face it - I'm messy. I'm a messy crafter and a messy cook. I can definetly use some of these tips :)

breakfast and a gift

My bday present from sis just arrived! I love it! You can find it here. It's absolutely inspiring :)

You can check out Mav and Stephany's "A year of evenings" here.

Yummy and oh-so-easy oatmeal+coconut cookies

[recipe soon]

Eggplant lovelyness

Eggplant * tomato * onion * garlic * bread * olive oil * salt * black pepper * parsley * coriander

beringela * tomate * cebola * alho * pão * azeite * sal * pimenta preta * salsa * coentros

Save-your-veggies-before-they-rotten soup

All of these (except for the green beans) peeled and cut up into a pan of boiling, salty water plus 3 garlic cloves. Mash after cooked. Add dried coriander and parsley, some ground black pepper and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Necesity is indeed the mother of inventions and this is one of the loveliest soups I've had. Reminded me of Scotland a bit... :)

vanilla cupcakes+homemade jam

The recipe for the cupcakes is right here.

breakfast love

- bread with peanut butter+sliced banana+cinnamon+brown sugar

- natural yogurt+oatmeal

Breakfast in a jar

Besides being super healthy and filling it's so easy to do!

Make 3 layers:

- oatmeal with a few drops of fresh orange juice and some raisins

- greek-style yogurt

- homemade applesauce (cut some apples, take off the seeds but not the skin and let them boil in a bit of water, with a cinnamon stick or 2 for about 45 min. Bring to a pulp and keep in jars)

- a dash of raisins to finish

Além de ser super saudável e de satisfazer, é muito fácil de fazer!

Faz 3 camadas:

- aveia salpicada com um pouco de sumo de laranja natural e algumas passas

- iogurte grego

- puré de maçã caseiro (corta algumas maçãs, tira as sementes, mas não a casca, e deixa cozer num pouco de água com um ou 2 paus de canela, durante cerca de 45 minutos. Tritura e guarda em frascos.)

- algumas passas por cima

simple dinner

- cream-cheese+parsley+tomato sandwich

- peas with chopped onion and and olive oil

- yams

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- sandes de queijo philadelphia+salsa+tomate

- ervilhas em azeite e cebola picada

- inhame

great combinations 1 [PINEAPLE+MINT]

- 1 medium can of pineaple

- a handful of mint leaves

- juice from the can

- some water

- ice

mix all in the blender

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- 1 lata média de ananás

- uma mão cheia de folhas de hortelã

- sumo da lata

- água qb

- gelo

misturar tudo no liquidificador.

happy food :)

- a mix of vegetables, walnuts and paneer cheese cooked on the wok
- carrot and ginger puree
- sweet potato puree

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- uma mistura de vegetais, nozes e o queijo de ontem, tudo cozinhado no wok
- puré de cenoura e gengibre
- puré de batata doce

soup out of whei

With the whei from the cheese making I made some soup...

1 potato, 1 carrot, some chopped leaks, some mushrooms, 1/2 an onion (chopped), a handfull of spinach, tiny noodles, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tsp olive oil, salt, a few mint leaves.

It has a sort of citrus flavor :)

organic

[Obrigada, papá :)]

Homemade Paneer Cheese

After I read about paneer cheese (an indian cheese) on Barb's blog today I became more and more curious about making my own... I had seen something simillar on Country Living but it used greek yogurt instead of milk and had no cooking involved. So I decided to explore a bit before venturing...
And so I came upon some recipes and a video with easy-to-follow instructions. There are many versions and you can use it in a bunch of recipes.

So here it goes:

1. Bring 8 cups of milk to a boil (you're supposed to use whole-fat milk). I added a bit of fleur de sel.

2. Just before it boiled I added some chopped coriander.

3. When it starts to boil add 1/4 cup lemon juice (or vinegar). When it curdles, turn off the heat and let it stand, covered, for a few minutes.

4. Transfer to a thin wet cloth, adjusted over a colander on top of a bowl.

Do save the whey as it is said to be very healthy! Use it as a stock for soup or a gravy.

5. Tie the opposite ends of your colth and hold it over a jug with a spatula or spoon for about 45 minutes.

6. Untie the knots and fold the cloth gently over the cheese. Lay it on a colander and put some weight over it so it will flatten.

TADDA!!! Thanks for inspiring me Barb! :)

If you're a vegan, I suppose you could try with soy milk... I wonder if it will curdle though...

breakfast

melon jam

made it a couple weeks ago... can't remember the proportions exactely...
- 1kg cubed melon
- 500 g sugar
- spices (cinnamon, ginger, ground pepper...)
can't remember if I used lemond rind...

You can find some melon jam recipes around here, here or here.

[the illustration is by Cristina]

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Fi-lo há umas 2 semanas... não me recordo bem das proporções...

- 1 kg melão (que estava no frigorífico há uns dias por ser tão mau)

- 500g açúcar

- especiarias (canela, gengibre, pimenta...)

Não me lembro se usei casca de limão...

Layered dessert

- unflavoured natural yogurt (sweetened with a wee bit of honey)

- Digestiva cookies crums mixed with a bit of melted butter

- raspberry jam

- bananas, cut in slices

enjoy cool out of the fridge :D

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- iogurte natural (adoçado com um pouco de mel)

- bolachas digestivas esmigalhadas e misturadas com um pouco de manteiga deretida

- doce de framboesa

- bananas fatiadas

Comer saído do frigorífico :D

Beet Soup

1 large potato, 1 beet, 1/2 onion, 1 bay leaf, 2 or 3 basil leafs, ground pepper, green pepper, salt, olive oil, milk

1. Golden the onion and bay leaf in some olive oil.

2. Add chopped potato, beet and basil and mix it for a bit over medium heat.

3. Add enough water to cover the beat and potato. Leave it to simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Turn to a pulp, leaving the bay leaf out and adding a bit of milk after.

5. Season with salt and ground pepper.

6. Serve with a portion of chopped green pepper and crackers with cream cheese on the side. :D

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1 batata grande, 1 beterraba, 1/2 cebola, folha de louro, 2 ou 3 folhas de mangericão, pimenta moída, pimento verde, sal, azeite, leite

1. Aloura a cebola e o louro num pouco de azeite.

2. Junta a batata e a beterraba cortadas e o mangericão, mexendo um pouco sobre lume brando.

3. Acrescenta água suficiente para cobrir tudo. Deixa sobre o lume durante cerca de 20 minutos.

4. Usa a variha mágica para passar a sopa, tendo o cuidado de retirar primeiro o louro. Acrescenta um pouco de leite.

5. Tempera com sal e pimenta.

6. Serve com uma porção de pimentos cortados aos cubinhos e crackers com queijo de barrar. :D