German Potato Salad

When I went to college in Germany I was working part-time at a nursing home . I met some very nice old folks there . One day a lady and I started to talk about cooking and she shared with me her potato salad recipe. I wish I remembered her name but I don't. She was from Kiel, the capital of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.  
Some of you may say it's not authentic anymore since I slightly changed a few things but I don't think they are significant. The changes are: I don't put the egg-whites because I dislike them, but if you don't mind them you can add them to the salad. I also don't use canned Dill Pickles, I prefer fermented dill pickles and their juice which I make myself and it's rich in probiotics.  I make my mayonnaise too which slightly differs from the store-bought. I put a can of anchovies which is approx. 2 oz but you can add more. Other than that I didn't change anything and I still consider it to be an authentic German potato salad. 

Ingredients :

3 medium russet potatoes 
3 eggs
1 celery stalk
1/4 cup dill/fermented  pickles, chopped finely  
1/4 cup leeks chopped finely
1/2 onion chopped finely
2 oz flat anchovies
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 
1-2 Tbsp. parsley chopped finely
Some pickle juice 
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes in small cubes and either boil or steam. Boil eggs. When they are done, remove yolks and here you can either chop up the whites and put them in the salad or opt out. You will need the yolks later for the dressing. Cut celery and anchovies into small pieces.  In a bowl combine steamed/boiled potatoes with celery, pickles, leeks, onions and anchovies and mix well. 
In a separate bowl mash egg yolks. Add mustard and approx. 1/4 cup of  pickle juice. Mix well and pour over salad. Add mayonnaise, parsley and black pepper. Stir well. Add more pickle juice if necessary.  Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
 


   

Liutenitsa - Bulgarian traditional vegetable spread (vegan)

I wasn't going to post this recipe here because it's a specialty for one particular country. A few people asked me to post it in this blog though, and who knows, maybe one of you will find it interesting . It is a vegetable spread very common in Bulgaria. It is served for breakfast on a slice of bread and if desired it can be sprinkled with some crumbled feta cheese. It is also used as a condiment for Bulgarian meatballs. I ate it with crackers too and it tasted great.
Here in Denver we have a store for Bulgarian specialties and I can get me a jar of Liutenitsa. All brands use mostly tomatoes and wheat flower or modified corn starch as a thickener though, not to mention the preservatives . Besides, the original recipe is pepper based not tomato based and I just love this chunky consistency.
Bulgarians use  Sunflower oil in general, but I made it with Olive oil and I didn't detect any difference in the flavor, so you can choose whichever oil you like.
I went to the farmer's market to buy pickles for canning but I saw these long red peppers which were called ancient red bell peppers. I thought I could give it a try and see if they would work for Liutenitsa. And surprise !!! It worked.
This spread can be canned. Thats what Bulgarians actually do. To can, just fill jars with Liutenitsa. Tighten the lid and boil the jars for 15 min. Start the timer after there is an active rolling of the water . For high altitude you need to increase the time by 10 min because water starts to boil at a lower temperature.

Ingredients :

6 lbs (3 kg) red ancient bell peppers
2 lbs (1kg ) tomatoes
2 lbs (1 kg) carrots
1 cup Olive oil
2 Tsp. Ground all spice
2 Tsp. Garlic powder
Sea salt to taste


Roast peppers. Peel skin and remove stems and seeds. Chop up finely in such a way that it looks almost like a puree. Set aside . Boil carrots until soft like for mashed carrots. While boiling carrots in a bowl, grate tomatoes. Set aside. When carrots are done, mash them with a potato masher.
In a big pot combine oil with peppers, tomato puree and mashed carrots. Start to cook on medium and later change to low heat. Stir every 5 minutes until liquid evaporates and the constancy is paste like . Add seasoning .  

Injera I

I recently discovered this awesome Ethiopian grain called Teff. Teff comes in two varieties: ivory and dark. The dark teff is better if you like this hearty taste. Teff is gluten free and is great for gluten free baking of any kind. 
Injera is an Ethiopian flat bread made out of sour dough with a slightly spongy texture. In Ethiopia , Injera is served with stews and salads. Small pieces of Injera are torn and used to grasp the stew and salads for eating.
The recipe I will share is for the instant version and courtesy of Vegan Richa. I am working on the sour dough version and when done, I'll post a second recipe.  The authentic bread is made with naturally fermented dough and the fermentation process takes several days. Though sometimes we don't think of this stuff and that's why here we have a recipe which would allows us to prepare this great flat bread whenever we want to.
I really like to combine Injera with my Grabanzo-Lentil soup. The only thing I change about the soup is, I make it thicker more like stew . I also like my salads and veggie wraps with Injera.  It's great for any kind of spicy food and I can't wait to try it with my Tacos.


Ingredients:

1 cup teff flour
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tsp. organic yeast
2 Tsp.organic raw sugar
1 Tsp. sea salt
1/2 Tsp. baking powder

Whisk  teff flour with 1 cup of water , yeast and sugar. Cover and let sit for 45 min to an hour . Add 1/2 cup water , salt and baking powder. Whisk and start making the Injera.
In a non-stick skillet put some coconut oil and heat on medium-high. Pour some of the batter. Notice it should be a little more than what you put for crepes but less than what you use for pancakes . In other words it should be like a thick crepe.
Once spread wait for bubbles to appear and cover with lid to steam the injera. Steam for about a minute. Remove lid and keep cooking until the center is set and not wet. Remove and let cool . The flavor and texture show off best when served cold .

Coconut Almond Treats

This recipe is an absolute winner and I couldn't believe how much it resembles Raffaelo . The difference is that mine does not contain all the chemicals like Raffaelo does  and it's rolled in raw ground almonds instead of shredded coconut. It's very , very simple but tastes fantastic.
The measurements are sort of relative and you may end up adding more then what it is in the recipe.
I use Artisana Coconut butter but if you have time and desire you can make your own coconut butter. Here is a tutorial how to make your own. 
As a sweetener I used maple syrup this time. Make sure your food processor is working properly. Otherwise you'll have to use the regular mixer like I did. I think I damaged mine by trying to grind some grains to make flour . I know, stupid...:)


Ingredients :

1 cup coconut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup finely ground raw almonds


In a food processor add coconut butter and maple syrup . Pulse until smooth and homogenous. Start forming balls and roll them in the ground almonds . Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Best is to keep them refrigerated all the time. 

Shrimp Salad

Shrimp is something I don't eat very often cause' I prefer mussels and oysters. Once in a while though I like to have some shrimp. I bought those at King Soopers. What attracted me was the "wild caught" sign. So far , so good. Well after we ate and I started to clean the kitchen I looked at the ingredients just for fun . I didn't think I'll find anything else other than shrimp. Well I was surprised to find that the shrimp I already ate contains Sodium Thripolyphosphate and Sodium Bisulfite .
Well let me tell you something ... Sodium Thripolyphosphate is a chemical which is used to deceive you about the freshness of the seafood. Also it increases the weight  of the product to which is applied. It's considered a neurotoxin. Here you can read more about this preservative.
What about Sodium Bisulfite? ! Well according to Wikipedia it's a chemical compound with additive number E222. According to New Jersey's Department of health 
Sodium Bisulfite is on the Right to Know hazardous list.
Here is what I found about this chemical :
- can affect you when inhaled
- contact can severly irritate and burn the skin and eyes
- Inhaling Sodium Bisulfate . Sodium Bisulfate can affect you when inhaled.
- Contact can severly irritate and burn the skin and eyes
- It can irritate the nose, throat and lungs
-  it may cause a skin and an asthma-like allergy
- Sodium Bisulfite is CORROSIVE when in a liquid solution.

All this is in our food, the one that's supposed to be wild caught and free of chemicals. Needless to say that I was angry.

Next time I will read the label . Live and learn, they say.

I made this salad with garlic greens. I know they are not always available but you can check some Asian stores. They tend to carry this product. If you can't find garlic greens , you can skip it or substitute with some leeks. Be careful with salt because olives and capers are already quite salty and you don't want to over-salt the entire salad. You always can add more salt if not enough but you can't remove it.
I hope you all enjoy this salad as much my daughter and I did!   

Here is what you need

Ingredients:
1 pack of large shrimp
5-6 Green onions
2-3 Garlic greens
1/4 cup chopped green olives
2 Tbsp. capers
2-3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1/4 Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. coarse ground Dijon mustard 
The juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper (optional)



Cook shrimp according to instruction.  After done place in a bowl . Chop onions, garlic greens and cilantro. Add to shrimp. I another small bowl mix olive oil, mustard and lemon juice. Add chopped olive. Chop capers and add to dressing. Pour dressing over shrimps and greens add salt and pepper if desired. Mix well and serve.


 

Carrot soup (vegan)

This is another vegan recipe which my daughter and my husband like a lot. I made the non vegan version a few months ago.  I made bacon bits and garnished it with it. But since I am on vegetarian diet that's how I made it for dinner today.
This soup is best with white pepper but I just discovered that I am out of it, so I used black pepper. It's not bad at all but I somehow like it with white pepper better. You also can garnish it with croutons and chopped up green onions or even add bacon bits if you are not on a restricted diet like me.
For more flavor I just washed the carrots thoroughly cut them in big chunks and did not peel them.  
The soup has slightly sweet and earthy taste that way. 


Ingredients

4 large carrots cut in big chunks
2 cups coconut milk
2 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tsp. ground ginger
2 Tsp. ground white pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
salt to taste.

Put carrots in
pan and add water so that it covers carrots. Cook until they are soft but not mushy. Remove and poor everything in a blender. Puree until smooth. Put back in pan. Add coconut milk and onion powder. Bring to boil slowly and reduce heat to low . Simmer for 10 min on low heat. After 10 min remove from heat and add ginger, pepper, nutmeg and salt. Stir and serve!

Vegan Grain Free Tacos

I've been feeling like going on vegetarian diet for a while. I just don't feel like eating meat other than fish . I came up with this recipe recently.  It doesn't really have the taste of taco meat but it's close enough and it's yummy.
I usually make my own Taco seasoning because I don't like all additives they put in the one you can buy at the store. Of course you can use store bought taco seasoning if you would like. Also for the shells best is to use Romaine lettuce. For the tacos you see in the picture I didn't use romaine lettuce because currently I have lots of lettuce in my garden and it doesn't make much sens to me to buy any.
In my last post I mentioned that I am really bad with proportion. I'll give you the list with all necessary ingredients for taco seasoning and you need to adjust it on your own or if you prefer, use the one from the store.
That day my husband made an awesome Picco de Gallo and I topped my tacos with it and some sliced avocado. Of course you always can add cheese and refried beans if that's your wish. Hope you all like this dish.

Ingredients:

For Taco Seasoning:
Chili powder
Paprika powder
Gr. Cumin
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Oregano
Black pepper
Salt (optional)

For Tacos

1 large eggplant
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups water
2-3 Tbsp. taco seasoning 
2-3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
lettuce leaves
picco de gallo  (optional)
sliced avocado (optional)

Cut eggplant in cubes . In a large pot add oil and water. Add eggplant and seasoning and cook until done and just oil is  left on the bottom of the pot.
Put some of the taco "meat" in lettuce leave add picco de gallo and top with sliced avocado.