Tahini salad dressing Our dinner on the terrace in warm summer evenings would often be a salad: fresh and/or cooked vegetables served on a bed of lettuce and enriched with some cheese or tofu or fried chicked. The ingredients vary, and they are always dressed with vinaigrette. Sometimes I would add a minced garlic clove or mustard. However, it started getting boring. I was looking for a creamy nutty salad dressing, and found this: http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-tahini-salad-dressing-428628. Baiba View high resolution

Tahini salad dressing

Our dinner on the terrace in warm summer evenings would often be a salad: fresh and/or cooked vegetables served on a bed of lettuce and enriched with some cheese or tofu or fried chicked. The ingredients vary, and they are always dressed with vinaigrette. Sometimes I would add a minced garlic clove or mustard. However, it started getting boring. I was looking for a creamy nutty salad dressing, and found this: http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-tahini-salad-dressing-428628.

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Spätzle I ordered these traditional home-made soft noodles from my organic food delivery company hoping I would finally please the kids. The soft structure goes well with sauces: in the picture, you see turkey in coconut sauce. No success with the boys, though:( The sauce:Fry the turkey pieces, set aside. Fry chopped bell pepper and broccoli, set aside. (I finally managed not to overcook broccoli.) Add some oil, fry curry paste, add tahini paste, add the turkey and vegetables, pour over the coconut milk and bring to boiling. Simmer a few minutes and serve, sprinkled with roasted sesame. Baiba View high resolution

Spätzle

I ordered these traditional home-made soft noodles from my organic food delivery company hoping I would finally please the kids. The soft structure goes well with sauces: in the picture, you see turkey in coconut sauce. No success with the boys, though:(

The sauce:
Fry the turkey pieces, set aside. Fry chopped bell pepper and broccoli, set aside. (I finally managed not to overcook broccoli.) Add some oil, fry curry paste, add tahini paste, add the turkey and vegetables, pour over the coconut milk and bring to boiling. Simmer a few minutes and serve, sprinkled with roasted sesame.

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Pork steaks Since organic meat is rather expensive, and there are so many other things to eat, I`ve been neglecting red meat for some time. Time to catch up. These pork steaks are soared on a skillet, then placed in a shallow oven dish, in one layer. Pour over some white wine and vegetable stock and bake until cooked through. Serve with tomato/mango salad (dressing: aceto balsamico de modena) and mustard.  Baiba View high resolution

Pork steaks

Since organic meat is rather expensive, and there are so many other things to eat, I`ve been neglecting red meat for some time. Time to catch up.

These pork steaks are soared on a skillet, then placed in a shallow oven dish, in one layer. Pour over some white wine and vegetable stock and bake until cooked through. Serve with tomato/mango salad (dressing: aceto balsamico de modena) and mustard. 

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Thai rice noodles Globalization: two Latvians eat German vegetables with Thai rice noodles while watching Italy win Denmark in Sweden:) (ice hockey again). The sauce is from http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/post/22244556077/ginger-vegetable-stir-fry-with-rice-noodles. Baiba View high resolution

Thai rice noodles

Globalization: two Latvians eat German vegetables with Thai rice noodles while watching Italy win Denmark in Sweden:) (ice hockey again).
The sauce is from http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/post/22244556077/ginger-vegetable-stir-fry-with-rice-noodles.

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Another quinoa salad The ice hockey championship has started. And that means a bunch of beer-drinking TV-absorbed men to feed:)Inspired by http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/post/22428129962/holiday-recipe-club-soy-chorizo-quinoa-salad, I experimented with beans in quinoa-tofu salad. Since the only can I had was black beans in chili sauce, it gave a pleasant touch of spiciness. 200 g quinoa4 medium tomatoesa can of black beans in chili saucehalf a can of sweet corn3 green onions1 red bell peppera package of smoked tofuDressing: olive oil, lemon juice, half a teaspoon of cumin, saltCook quinoa according to package instructions. Slightly rinse and drain the beans, so that there are still some remainings of the sauce. Chop the fresh vegetables and tofu, combine all the ingredients, add the dressing and serve. Baiba View high resolution

Another quinoa salad

The ice hockey championship has started. And that means a bunch of beer-drinking TV-absorbed men to feed:)
Inspired by http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/post/22428129962/holiday-recipe-club-soy-chorizo-quinoa-salad, I experimented with beans in quinoa-tofu salad. Since the only can I had was black beans in chili sauce, it gave a pleasant touch of spiciness. 
200 g quinoa
4 medium tomatoes
a can of black beans in chili sauce
half a can of sweet corn
3 green onions
1 red bell pepper
a package of smoked tofu
Dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, half a teaspoon of cumin, salt
Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Slightly rinse and drain the beans, so that there are still some remainings of the sauce. Chop the fresh vegetables and tofu, combine all the ingredients, add the dressing and serve.

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Still asparagus…

Since the asparagus is in full season, and strawberries will soon take over the main role on the table, the menu for our Thursday visitors was based on asparagus. (Sorry for having posted this almost a week late).
1. Asparagus cream. Boil white asparagus. Use only the upper milder parts, as any fiber will spoil the cream. Blend with Frischkäse (the proportion I used was something like 2 parts asparagus: 1 part Frischkäse). Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve with caviar and/or nachos (or salmon, or whatever you have).
2. Asparagus salad with smoked salmon. Boil asparagus (with some salt and sugar for the green ones, and with a sprinkle of lemon juice for the whites). On a bed of salad greens and some fresh vegetables, place hot asparagus, dress with vinaigrette, then comes the smoked salmon and roasted pine nuts.
3. Chicken legs with fried vegetables. For the salad: chop bell pepper, asparagus, and an onion. Caramelize the onion with brown sugar in a teaspoon of butter, add the asparagus and bell pepper, season with salt and fry until tender.

Hopefully the weather holds, I`m craving for grilled steak with a strawberry sauce and fresh greens from my own garden.

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Polenta One of my favourite side dishes in the office canteen is a square of grilled polenta. When I saw a recipe of polenta pudding with pears in a Latvian food magazine, I knew I had try it. I quite enjoyed the mix of sweet and savory. It won`t stay among regulars in our house, though, since Sandis doesn`t like polenta. Here is the recipe. Cook polenta in milk the day before according to package instructions, add salt. When ready, mix in some grated parmesan and chopped fresh herbs. Peel and half pears. Combine pudding in an oven proof dish: first the pears, flat side down, then roasted pine nuts. Spread over the polenta, press in the form. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight. The next day, bake in the oven for some 20 minutes. Serve with marmalade and fried or fresh vegetables. Baiba View high resolution

Polenta

One of my favourite side dishes in the office canteen is a square of grilled polenta. When I saw a recipe of polenta pudding with pears in a Latvian food magazine, I knew I had try it. I quite enjoyed the mix of sweet and savory. It won`t stay among regulars in our house, though, since Sandis doesn`t like polenta.

Here is the recipe.
Cook polenta in milk the day before according to package instructions, add salt. When ready, mix in some grated parmesan and chopped fresh herbs. Peel and half pears. Combine pudding in an oven proof dish: first the pears, flat side down, then roasted pine nuts. Spread over the polenta, press in the form. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight. The next day, bake in the oven for some 20 minutes. Serve with marmalade and fried or fresh vegetables.
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Corn soup This is where I used the asparagus stock of the day before. Recipe for a quick dinner (the original idea belongs to Janis Kairis, published in a Latvian cooking magazine). Peel some potatoes and let them boil while preparing the soup. Chop an onion, 2 cloves of garlic and some chili. Fry in a pot in some butter. (I had to used butter, as my 6-year old had made some himself while on a trip to farm with his school). Add 750 ml [asparagus] stock and a can of corn, bring to boiling and simmer for some 5 minutes. Blend with 80 g Frischkaese. Serve with the boiled potatoes and fresh dill. Baiba View high resolution

Corn soup

This is where I used the asparagus stock of the day before. Recipe for a quick dinner (the original idea belongs to Janis Kairis, published in a Latvian cooking magazine).
Peel some potatoes and let them boil while preparing the soup. Chop an onion, 2 cloves of garlic and some chili. Fry in a pot in some butter. (I had to used butter, as my 6-year old had made some himself while on a trip to farm with his school). Add 750 ml [asparagus] stock and a can of corn, bring to boiling and simmer for some 5 minutes. Blend with 80 g Frischkaese. Serve with the boiled potatoes and fresh dill.
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Asparagus season In the region where we live, there is an “asparagus season”. In most restaurants you`d see special offers of the season, asparagus menu where even creme brulee contains the Special Vegetable. The season starts end of April and ends on 24 June. I couldn`t resist the temptation. My first asparagus dish of this year: Salad Peel and boil green asparagus. Boiling time is about 8-12 minutes. Add some salt and sugar in the water, and just cover the vegetables. Save the used water for a soup in the next meal, asparagus makes a nice basis for stock. Fry turkey filets and sautee them until cooked through. Assemble the salad: green leaves, rocket salad, turkey pieces, asparagus, and radish. For the dressing, there is blended kiwi and rucola pesto, but I`m not sure that was the best choice. Baiba View high resolution

Asparagus season

In the region where we live, there is an “asparagus season”. In most restaurants you`d see special offers of the season, asparagus menu where even creme brulee contains the Special Vegetable. The season starts end of April and ends on 24 June.
I couldn`t resist the temptation. My first asparagus dish of this year:
Salad
Peel and boil green asparagus. Boiling time is about 8-12 minutes. Add some salt and sugar in the water, and just cover the vegetables. Save the used water for a soup in the next meal, asparagus makes a nice basis for stock. Fry turkey filets and sautee them until cooked through. Assemble the salad: green leaves, rocket salad, turkey pieces, asparagus, and radish. For the dressing, there is blended kiwi and rucola pesto, but I`m not sure that was the best choice.
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Vacation

We spent Easter vacation in our countryside house in Latvia. I bought very little food in a supermarket, most of what we ate was self-grown: gifts from relatives or purchases from acquaintances.
In the pictures, you see
1. Rabbit. Compared to what I`ve seen in shops, this one was huge. More than enough for a week. Half of it, I braised in red wine. The rest was marinated in yogurt (with persil, garlic, and chili) and baked in the oven. Served with mashed potatoes and a salad: grated cabbage and carrots, dressed with lemon juice/salt. 
2. Pudding. Basically, a mixture of what I found in the fridge:) Whisk eggs (a lot, I used 5) with some sugar and vanilla. Mix in curd and some yogurt. Stirring, add baking powder and all purpose flour until dough resembles the one of muffins. Carefully mix in defrosted blueberries. Bake in the oven. Serve warm with yogurt as pudding or cooled as a cake.
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