Cottage cheese pancakes

This was the first thing they taught us how to make at school. 

While the boys were building bird houses, the girls were learning how to cook. It was a grade school in the USSR after all. A woman had to know how to cook and sow for her family and a man had to know how to nail stuff. Nevertheless, these are low fat, melt in your mouth cottage cheese pancakes, called Syrniki. 

You will need : 

1 package of 1% cottage cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour 

Pinch of salt

4 tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

Just mix everything in a big bowl. Heat up the frying pan, add some olive oil and pour the pancake mixture with a spoon, making little pancakes. Be careful when you flip them, they are very fragile. 

Serve with syrop or honey or jam or sour cream. 

Enjoy! :-) 

Chocolate cream pie

Suddenly I felt like chocolate pie, don't know where it came from. Kinda blame it on watching The Help again...lol 

So here is my variation of the Chocolate pie! 

9 inch pie crust, baked

3 cups skim milk

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

Pinch of salt

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 tbs butter

1 tbs vanilla extract 

3 tbs corn starch

In a big bowl beat egg yolks with salt and sugar, add corn starch, vanilla, milk and cocoa powder. 

Pour the mixture in a pot and put it on the stove on medium high, stirring constantly until it boils. 

Pour it right away in a clean bown and add the butter, mix it till it melts. 

Leave it aside for 15-20 mins to cool. 

Pour everything in the cooked crust and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

Meatball Orzo soup

Here is my variation of italian soup. Tasty and cozy for the fall weather.

You will need- 

Holy trinity - 1 carrot, 1/2 onion, 2 stalks of celery.

2 tbs olive oil

Meatballs (I used premade)

1 can of tomatoes 

Uncooked Orzo 1/2 cup

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

Salt, pepper

Spices to your taste

Parmesan 

In a big pot heat up the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes. Tyrn the heat to medium low and add the meatballs (the quantity is up to you).

Mix it all and add the chicken stock. Cover with the lid and cook for 15 min or until the meatballs are cooked. Add orzo and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper and spices. Cook for 10-15 min. 

Serve with Parmesan.

French macarons

It took me a couple of tries to make them look like this. I know they don't look perfect but I'm pretty proud of the result. And by the way, they taste like heaven... Lol!

For the shells- 

3 egg whites 

1/4 white granulated sugar

1 2/3 cups frosting sugar

1 cup almond meal (finely ground  almonds - in a blender)

Food colouring (any colors you like)

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 275 F

Now the serious part - 

Beat egg whites in the bowl with a mixer until whites are foamy; beat in white sugar and continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks. 

Add frosting sugar and ground almonds to the bowl and quickly fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, about 30 strokes. Somewhere on the 15-17th stroke add the food colouring.

When batter is mixed, spoon into a pastry bag or a plastic bag. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let the piped cookies stand out at room about 1 hour.

Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 10 minutes; let cookies cool completely before filling.

Filling - 

Yellow - Lemon lime curd

1 lemon
1 lime
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 eggs
100g butter, diced, room temperature

Wash and dry the lemon and lime, grate the zests into a small bowl and juice them, straining the juice well.

Mix the zest, juice and corn starch in a small saucepan then add the sugar. Heat over a low flame.

Beat the eggs then add to the saucepan. Increase the heat to medium-low and stir continuously until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat, transfer the mixture to a bowl and beat in the butter.

Allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pipe or spoon a generous blob of filling onto the flat side of half the shells, top with the remaining shells and press gently until the filling reaches the edges.

Brown - Chocolate ganache 

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl; set aside.
• Place cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Pour over chocolate and let stand until chocolate has softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add butter and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly before using.

Pink - Strawberry cream cheese 

4 tbs cream cheese

1 tbs strawberry jam

1 tbs butter (room temperature)

Mix all the ingredients and let it cool in the fridge before using. 

Peach pie

This one is not too healthy but it's 14 degrees outside and I have a craving for some kind of comfort food. So, here it is...

2 - 9 inch pie crusts 

1 lbs fresh peaches, pitted and cut in slices

1 cup sugar

1/2 flour 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs lemon juice

5 tsp butter

1 egg beaten

Preheat the oven to 450 F. 

Place first pie crust in a pie baking dish, brush it with the egg. 

In a bowl combine peaches, flour, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice. Mix gently. 

Pour the peach mixture in the pie crust. Place little pieces of butter on top. 

Cover with another crust and pinch the crusts together.

Brush with the egg, sprinkle a little bit of sugar and using kitchen scissors, make little cuts all over the top crust. 

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 30-35 min.

Let it rest for 20 min before serving. 

Zucchini fries

Okay, these are super delicious and so easy to make! 

What you need - 

2-3 zucchinis

1/2 cup egg whites (I had Blue menu free run) 

1 cup italian bread crumbs

2 tbs grated Parmesan 

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

So, cut the zucchinis in the shape of fries, spread the "fries" on the paper towel, to get rid of extra moisture. 

Meanwhile, pour the egg whites in a bowl. In another bowl mix breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

Preheat the oven to 425F. 

Put a parchment paper on a big baking sheet. Spray it with olive oil. 

Dip your zucchini fries in egg whites first, then the breadcrumb mixture. 

Layer the fries so they don't touch and bake for 20-25 min until golden brown. 

Enjoy! ❤️

Summer cabbage salad with shrimp

Awesome for lunch in a summer hot day. 

1/2 cabbage, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, cut in stripes

1 Roma tomato, cut in circles 

1 pack of medium cooked and peeled shrimp, defrosted

For the dressing: 

2 tsp sunflower oil

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp paprika 

1 tsp honey

Pinch of salt and pepper

Mix all the vegetables in a big bowl, mix the dressing separately, pour it over the veggies. Top the salad with shrimps and serve! 

Yummy, crunchy and light salad. 

Blue cheese and smoked salmon salad

Romaine lettuce

Smoked salmon

Blue cheese

Red onion

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil 

Salt, pepper

Smoked salmon salad with Grapefruit

Today I wanted something light for dinner and I came up with this. Honestly, this salad tastes great and it's so bright. 

1 cup of chopped romaine lettuce

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 pink graipfruit, cut

1/4 red onion, cut

Smoked salmon (whatever amount works for you) 

Dressing - 

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1tsp olive oil 

Salt, pepper 

Just put everything together and pour dressing on top. Enjoy! 

Healthy yummy carrot cake

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup coconut milk 

1 cup cooked carrots, puréed 

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbs vanilla extract 

1 tbs baking soda 

1 tsp baking powder 

 

Frosting: 

1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbs honey

Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl. 

Line a deep baking dish with parchment paper. 

Pour the cake mix in the dish and bake 25-30 min, check the doneness with a toothpick. 

Take the cake out of the dish and let it cool. 

Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the frosting. Set aside. 

Cut the cake into layers and assemble on a big plate, covering each layer with frosting. Serve! 

Morning smoothie

1cup of Kale

1banana

1 cup of frozen mango chunks

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Blend everything together and enjoy your healthy start of the day!