Asian Pesto~ Pesto Asiatico

I finally made the pesto! I really hope you will like it as much as I did. The fresh mint makes it refreshing, while the basil adds aroma and cilantro a citrus flavor.

photo via

But if you are not a fan of cilantro (you can read more about the food politics behind cilantro here) you can substitute it for parsley, that's what I did when I prepared it for my brother-in-law who has an allergy to cilantro.  The pesto makes a great condiment or spread on sandwiches. I refrigerated the  left-overs and I still tasted the  freshness after one week!

I used the pesto to marinade the chicken  I prepared for my parents.

While my parents enjoyed grilled chicken, I had a veggie burger. YUM!

photo via

• 1 cup of fresh basil
• 1 cup of fresh cilantro
• 1 cup of fresh mint
• 1/4 cup of olive oil ( I added the oil while blending and added until I had the desired consistency, and I'm sure it was more than 1/4 cup)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 teaspoonful fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

I don't have a food processor, so I threw all the ingredients in the blender and added olive oil until I was satisfied with its consistency.

It's an easy recipe right? I'm curious to know, are you a  fan of cilantro or parsley?

 When I was dating hubby I always made Mexican rice (which has cilantro) and fresh salsa (which also has cilantro) it was until we married that Hubby told me he really didn't care for that particular herb! And when we lived in Croatia, it was rare to find cilantro/coriander so I prepared the rice with parsley (it doesn't have the same flavor). Funny thing, now that I'm back in the States I find myself leaning towards the parsley.

Cheesecake in a bowl

 Sniffles no more! I'm feeling better so it's time to bake. Thinking about what to bake for hubby's birthday earlier this week, I looked through my recipe book and found the notecard my friend had written for me a few years ago and I thought, "hmmm cheesecake, why not?"

This is the original recipe:

crust: (break crackers until you get crumbs then mix ingredients and press into cheesecake pan and refrigerate for 45 min)
10 graham crackers
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Filling:
2 large boxes (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 eggs (one at a time)
Mix at medium speed with electric mixer then pour into crust and bake 25 minutes at 375F. cool for 1 hour
Topping:
1 large package of sour cream
4 TBSP white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Pour mixture on cheesecake and bake for 7 minutes at 375F then cool and refrigerate overnight.

Now for my version of the recipe. 

I will call it Croatian Lemon Cheesecake in a bowl.

Crust:
10 of these petit butter cookies crumbled with my mortal and pestle, add 100gm of melted butter, then 2 Tablespoonful sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

Mix and press into 4 oven safe bowls and put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.



Filling: 


600grams (3 containers of abc krem sir) cream cheese

10 tablespoonful of white sugar  (**reduce to about ~5 Tablespoonful of sugar, because it turned out too sweet**)

 add one egg, mix, then add second egg.

Bake at 180 Celsius for 30 minutes.



( I don't have an electric mixer, so I used a whisk)

cool for 1 hour

Topping:
400gm of kiselo vrhnje (sour cream)
2 tablespoonful of white sugar
2 teaspoonful vanilla
zest of one small lemon

mix and add to cheesecake.bake for 7 minutes at 180Celsius.

Cool and refrigerate overnight.

I know the recipe says to cool overnight but both hubby and I couldn't resist our curiosity of how it turned out so we shared one bowl. I think I added too much sugar because it was too sweet. It did taste like 'real' cheesecake although the consistency was crumbly. Adding lemon zest was a good choice. It may look a bit plain, but I guess it can be garnished with fresh fruit. I 'm thinking blueberries, strawberries or even blackberries?

Scenes from the weekend: cakes, lasagna, vino and more cake

                           Baking, creating new recipes and spending time with friends were all necessary ingredients for a fun filled weekend.

 My friend's daughter celebrating her 3rd birthday party. The kids loved all 3 cakes that my friend baked. Isn't she talented?

 I tried all three of them, but you only see two pictures, that's because I ate the third slice so fast (it was chocolate) then realized it was all gone and I didn't take a photo. It was that good!

At home

I made French lemon cake with only 9 ingredients, you can find my recipe here.

Baked vegetarian lasagna in a skillet

and while the lasagna baked here is a view of the sea (picture taken earlier in the week).

The lasagna turned out delicious.

 I was so surprised that Beli took a nap two days in a row this weekend. The last time she took an afternoon nap was about a month ago! And while she slept I enjoyed watching all the boats out at sea. Fishermen working on Sunday.
                                                    

How was your weekend? Have you started any Christmas shopping? Don't worry, you still have about a month before you can start panicking like me. I have no idea what to get all my 5 nephews.

First weeked in November: recipes and artwork

While Hubby has been away for the week picking olives at his Grandparents farm, Beli and I have been cooking, painting and hanging out with Grandma Nada.

My Mother-in-law gave me these gigantic apples and since I'm not a big fan of apples, I decided to turn them into a dessert. To see the recipe for the French Apple Crumble click here,  I made a few variations. ( I added a bit of rum flavoring and a dash of cinnamon and omitted the chocolate chips). It was really good, even without the ice cream!

 On Saturday I prepared scrambled eggs using spinach, bell peppers and potatoes. I could eat breakfast all day!  I should mention that sometimes I take for granted how many organic products I cook with. 

For example take this omelet, everything came from the farm (olive oil,eggs, potatoes, bell peppers, spinach and jalapenos).

papas fritas.

In the afternoon we walked to the shopping center and purchased some supplies so Beli could paint with Grandma.

We stopped for some coffee and  dessert.

We also went to the beach and made an attempt at sand castles. 

Off she goes to make some new friends. Hope you are enjoying your first week of November!

From my Kitchen: Mexican rice and Chicken Fajitas

Living in Croatia I don't prepare Mexican food as often as I would like to, mostly because I can't find all the ingredients needed and my belief that if I substitute the ingredients it won't have the same sabor 'taste'. Instead I have learned to prepare some of the local cuisine such as grilled fish and spinach with potatoes. So once in a while I will prepare one of my recipes and chicken fajitas is one of hubby's favorites.  I can find most of the ingredients at the grocery store. You can add as many veggies as you like. Beli had the same as hubby minus the jalapenos. For myself I prepared veggie fajitas with lots of jalapenos. 

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil on a large pan and cook chicken strips until you see a golden brown color then


2. Add 2 large onions (cut in thin slices) and 2 large peppers diced and 2 cloves of garlic (jalapenos optional).


3. Continue cooking and stirring until the vegetables are brown around the edges.  


4. Then you need a side dish so I made some Mexican rice. I'm sure there are many versions but this is how I learned to prepare it growing up.



Ingredients to make the rice:

3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

1 medium chopped onion

2 tomatoes chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-2 tomato bouillon cubes (Personally I prefer Knorr brand) but you can use any brand/flavor

1/2 cup of tomato sauce

2 cups of water (since I'm using the bouillon cubes I don't use vegetable broth)
some cilantro but I used parsley

Directions:

1.Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat and add the rice. Cook, stirring constantly until the grains turn light brown color.

2.Add onion, tomato and garlic and cook for a few minutes 

3.Add tomato sauce and water and bring to a boil, add the bouillon cubes but today I didn't have any so I used what had in my pantry,2 teaspoonful of vegeta ( the croatian version of Knorr in powder form)  and the parsley.

4.Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes. (Note: I usually  let the water evaporate completely but the picture below shows how it was when I opened the lid and grabbed some for Beli.) Then I turned the heat off and I tasted the rice for flavor (sometimes it's not 'salty' or flavorful enough so I add more vegeta and a dash of pepper then I place the cover and allow the rice to "fluff"  for about 10 minutes so the water is completely evaporated. 

If you like you can always add more cilantro /parsley at the end for garnish. You can also add 1/2 cup of peas or corn during the last ten minutes of cooking. 

• Enjoy with flour tortillas and guacamole or sour cream.

I know my recipes are not very specific because I learned to cook by watching my Mom. She never followed any recipes, instead she added a little of this, a pinch of that and her food was always delicious.  I always  wonder why my recipes are never as good as hers. Hmmm... I hope  Beli can say that about my food when she grows up. So what's your favorite side dish for fajitas?    For me it's guacamole. YUM

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