fried egg on everything!

Fried egg on everything?

Yes, well almost everything.

Why? Simply because everything tastes better. 

Every egg person will confirm this.

Eggs on toast, salad (savory), rice, pickles, sandwich, vegetables, greens, bacon.. even yogurt. Yes, with yogurt it creates genius recipe.

Those who love eggs will adore this creation. It's Juila Turshen's genius recipe, olive oil fried eggs with yogurt and lemon. Takes not more then ten minutes to dive into the creamy rich heaven. Yet, very fresh and light, because of fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs. Such a simple but very comforting and innovating way of eating fried eggs. 

Your egg routine just got upgraded!

 

Serves one

Olive Oil-Fried Eggs with Yogurt and Lemon

60ml plain yogurt (Greek or not, your choice) 

1/2 lemon 

salt 

Freshly ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

2 eggs 

1 tablespoon roughly chopped leafy fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, chervil, chives, and/or parsley

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and a big squeeze of juice from the lemon half (don’t discard the lemon half) and whisk together. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and adjust the lemon to taste, too. Scrape the mixture onto a plate and spread and swoop it so the yogurt covers most of the plate.
2. In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat, warm the olive oil. Crack the eggs into the pan and sprinkle each egg with a bit of salt and pepper. Sprinkle a few drops of water (less than a teaspoon) into the skillet, being sure to let the water hit the bottom of the pan and not the eggs, and immediately, carefully cover the pan with a lid or the bottom of another wide, lightweight pan.
3. Let the eggs cook until the whites are cooked through but the yolks are still a bit wobbly, just a minute or two. Transfer the eggs to the prepared plate, setting them on top of the yogurt, then pour the remaining olive oil from the pan over the top. Squeeze whatever juice remains in the lemon half and scatter over the herbs. Serve immediately.

granola bars

Making home made granola is a moment of pure joy and happiness plus it's cheaper and what is even more important you get to chose what goes in. With bars it's the same. More often I make granola but this time I have decided to do bars, milky granola bars to be precise. 

Back in time when I was in school there was just one manufacturer that produced granola bars in three or four flavors. Corn flakes, oats, puffed wheat, dried fruits and nuts in traces, everything glued up with honey. Sticky and sweet memories can be evoked easily, as even now after so many years this same manufacturer produces exactly the same granola bars plus few new flavors. I never liked the one with raisins, I like raisins in general but never with oats. There is one with dried apricots, a classic, and when in supermarket I usually reach out for this one. It's simple and modest. Also there is one covered with chocolate. This one was most wanted as a 'healthy' snack back in school days, which reminds me that I like bites of dark chocolate in granola. 

But to get back to milky granola bars.

I was left with some extra sweetened condensed milk and dulce de leche and used it as a substitute for sugar and oil. 

You get 16 bars, that feed two for a week. They can serve as a breakfast or snack. What I like is to deconstruct it and eat with milk or yogurt, sometimes I catch myself just stuffing it. Also, sometimes when I eat it with yogurt I add fresh berries or fruits. You see all these big chunks, I like that.

Granola Bars

280g sweetened condensed milk

100g dulce de leche
250g rolled oats (not instant)
100g coconut chips, gives extra cunch
100g dried cranberries
40g sesame seeds
80g natural unsalted peanuts
60g raw hazelnuts
good pinch of salt

Oats are a must and all other ingredients you can adjust as per taste. 

Place all dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix it. Add warmed condensed milk and dulce de leche. Put disposable vinyl glove on your hand and mix well everything before you spread the mixture and press down into a prepared tin (23x33cm, oil the tin or cover with parchment paper). You can use wooden spoon or spatula for this but try with gloves, so satisfying. Place in a preheated oven to 130°C and bake for one hour. 

Remove from the oven and, after about 20 minutes, cut into bars. Let cool completely before storing. 

(Recipe inspired by breakfast bars - Nigella Lawson)

no-churn ice cream

 

Once I had a dream. I was sitting in a chair, cinema chair, but with a seat belt on. I was in a space seeing Earth from above. And I can’t remember eating an ice cream. Was I eating an ice cream up there? I must have. And it has to be this one, outer space flavors.

At home, in my room, I sometimes eat ice cream scoops in cones.

They melt in my mouth fast and ‘when you swallow it, you start floating.‘

No-churn ice cream

Salted Caramel and Raspberry Swirl Creme Fraiche

(Recipe for salted caramel ice cream is adopted from Nigella Lawson‘s cookbook, At My Table)

 

Salted Caramel

390g dulce de leche

300ml double cream

1 teaspoons soft sea salt flakes 

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Place dulce de leche into a large bowl and add the cream and a teaspoon of salt and vanilla and whisk until it thickens (be patient, it takes some time). Decant into one liter tub, cover and place into the freezer overnight. 

Raspberry Swirl Creme Fraiche

350ml fresh raspberry juice, I used frozen raspberries which were heated up and passed through a sieve to remove the pips

60g sugar  

2tsp cornstarch

300ml double cream

200g creme fraiche, room temperature

200ml sweetened condensed milk

Place raspberry juice, sugar and cornstarch into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens, about 5 minutes and make sure to stir. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly before placing it to the fridge to cool completely. 

Place creme fraiche and sweetened condensed milk into a large bowl and mix to remove any lumps. Add cream and continue to whisk until it thickens. 

Place 1/3 of the cream mixture into a tub, then add half of chilled raspberry cream over the top. Repeat with another third of cream mixture and the rest of the raspberries ending with the cream mixture. Make swirls with a skewer through the ice cream. Cover and place into the freezer overnight. Remove from freezer 10-15 minutes prior to serving.

vatrushka

I was waiting for another snow storm, another wave of cold weather to post this recipe but it didn't happen, obviously. Last few days early Spring is blooming all over the social media and snowdrops are all over the woods for quite some time. I am not sure if I am also just impatient like Spring itself, but have decided to post this recipe anyways. 

Just to be clear, I like warm weather and I am not wishing for more cold days, but it simply made me wonder if June will be hot like hell!? In that case I will be staring at this picture.

And in case we get tricked same as last year and end up digging in the snow instead of picking flowers, then you might wanna consider staring at this one, or even better and more logical, baking vatrushka.

All in all, one way or another there will be times you will love this post and be gladly staring at it or simply baking from it!

Vatrushka/Russian Cakes with Fresh Cheese 
There are many versions of vatrushkas and most typical one is a sweet one, made from sweet yeast dough. Here is a savory one, I am using unsweetened dough without yeast, more basic tart like dough. 

Dough

300g all purpose flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
80g butter, cold and diced
one egg
125ml cream fresh

In a medium bowl combine salt, baking powder and flour. Add butter and rub in with fingers until mixture resembles sand like. Beat egg and cream in a cup with the fork and drizzle over butter mixture and mix gently until dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic (clingfilm) and refrigerate at least 1 hour. 

Filling
500g fresh nonfat cheese
one tablespoon cream fresh
2 eggs
one tablespoon sugar
1/2tsp salt
pinch of white pepper

Place cheese in a sieve to get rid of any extra liquid. You want dry fresh cheese. Mix it with other ingredients and and leave in a fridge.

Roll the dough about 3mm thick, cut circles 12cm and 9cm in diameter. In a center of a bigger circle place about two teaspoons of filling and cover with the smaller circle. With egg yolk brush the edges of bigger circle and fold (pinch edges) like in a picture. Brush each cake with egg wash (optional) and bake in a preheated oven on 200C for about 20 minutes.

These were never planned to be prepared. I had some extra cheese in the fridge and pictures looked nice and recipe was simple.