Family Recipes

Last week when I was researching ways to preserve fresh figs, I stumbled across a lovely blog food for thought and let me tell you, I'm glad I did, because not only are Jelena's recipes beautifully presented but they are also delicious! I think once the lemons from the garden are ripe, I'll finally attempt to make a lemon meringue pie.How about these walnut and honey triangles? YUM!

Hollands corn rolls with ricotta, ham and cheese
I joked with hubby that I was finally going to learn how to prepare some of his Mom's favorite recipes. I just love this eggplant recipe, it's like a piece of artwork except it's edible!

1 aubergine (eggplant) 800g

3 large tomatoes cut in half then sliced thin

300gm of feta crumbled

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

cup of parsley

olive oil

basil (fresh or dry)

salt

It's a shame hubby is now following the P90x program because he will be missing out on many delicious recipes. You can click here for more of Jelena's yummy recipes.

Crepes with lemon zest

Last night we prepared crepes for our guests who were visiting us from London. Since Hubby is an excellent crepe maker, he doesn't follow a recipe. But don't worry, I took meticulous notes.

"What ingredients do we need to make Croatian crepes?" Good question! Here is the recipe. You will need: 2 eggs, 1 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoonful of baking soda, 1 teaspoonful sugar, 1 cup of milk and one lemon zest. (this makes about 8-12 depending on the size of pan)

How to Prepare Crepes:

1. Mix milk and eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients. Feel free to improvise: you can add more milk or flour if your batter is too runny or too thick.

2. Pour a little vegetable oil on a folded paper towel, and wipe the pan evenly.

3. Pour in 2 - 3 tbsp. of batter and quickly move pan around, so that batter spreads evenly, covering the whole surface with a thin layer.

4. Let cook for about 1 minute. Then, flip with a metal spatula, and cook other side for about 30 seconds.

5. Repeat the steps until you run out of batter.

Beli was a great assistant.
We normally use orange zest but since we were out of oranges we used lemon zest. In my opinion, they turned out excellent!
Crepes can have any sort of filling (jam, chocolate, fruit, even peanut butter) but in our household, we use the chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella. You can eat them rolled up like a burrito (my preferred way) or fold them in quarters (fold in half then fold again.) Yum, yum!

What is your favorite topping for crepes?

Roaring Fork Ratatouille

Weather forecast once again: pada kisa, lluvia, and more rain! This calls for a hearty stew!

I promised you I was going to prepare that spicy couscous a few days ago . But I have something even better!

My hubby found a recipe with polenta and spinach but I thought I would give it a twist. I read the ingredient list and I didn't have all the items but I didn't let this small detail discourage me from cooking. Did I mention it is raining?.. ..AND I am not feeling adventurous enough to run outside and jump in the puddles of water! Therefore I improvised and used what I had in the pantry.

Plus I have a great helper in the kitchen.


She is also improvising and thinking of adding kiwis into the recipe.

So this is what I prepared: couscous with spinach, roaring fork ratatouille. Sounds intriguing right? I found the recipe in The Best of Simply Colorado Cookbook I purchased several years ago.





Original recipe:

cooking spray

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 small eggplant, peeled and cubed

2 medium green bell peppers, sliced into strips

1 C. tomato juice

3T. dry red wine

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil, 1 tsp. dried marjoram, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano,1 tsp. salt

1 medium zucchini, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 C. water (if needed)

Lightly coat large pot with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic and saute until tender (about 5 minutes). Add eggplant, peppers, tomato juice, wine and seasonings; mix well. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes). Add zucchini and tomatoes, cover and simmer 10 more minutes or until all vegetables are tender. (Add water as needed.) Serve on a bed of rice. ( I used couscous!)

My version didn't include red wine, bell peppers, nor tomatoes instead I used mushrooms and tomato paste with extra tomato juice.
The couscous, I prepared according to the directions on the box. I also added frozen spinach (I know, you are probably thinking weird! but remember, I am improvising).

In addition I prepared grilled red bell peppers topped with olive oil and garlic.



Despite the alterations I made with the recipe the stew turned out yummy.
We enjoyed our delicious, healthy and warm meal as we watched the rain fall outside our balcony window.




And what a beautiful view of the roaring waves crashing against the rocks!