-USA, bitch?
-Damn right!
Happy Birthday!
Two girls embrace and hold each other as tightly as they can. Cold and salty tears start rolling down their cheeks. Even though, a few hours ago, she said she won't cry, she can't help seeing her friend's teary eyes. So here they are, two crying best friends like two little girls who won't let each other go. She can't let her girl go and not see her for an entire year. It's too soon and it's not fair. But it's worth waiting until she sees and hugs her again.
These are both sad and happy tears. It's so sad to say that last good-bay, but it's so good to know that I have a soul sister somewhere in the other side of the world. My girl is my soul sister and she's always with me, no matter how many thousands of kilometers away we are.
She's that person who inspires and teaches me, who sometimes is a mother and always a sister of mine. She's the one and only who knows what I'm going to say just by looking at my face.
With out G., 'Cookbook&ohternotes' wouldn't exist. She's the one, who encouraged me to cook and write, who made me be interested in photography and who still has a faith in me. Thank you for this and much more so much!
P.s. I guess it's not the post you write on the day of your blog's first birthday and definitely not the happy post that readers wish for. Sorry about this and hopefully the next post will be related with happiness or something funnier than today's thoughts:)
The recipe:(it's almost the same one like the first recipe that I published in this blog:))
Lemon Birthday Cupcakes (12 pieces)
Ingredients:
Paste:
1/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup white sugar
a pinch of vanilla
grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs
1,1/2 tablespoons baking-powder(or baking soda)
1,1/2 cups wheaten flour
a handful of fresh bilberries
Frosting:
150g cream-cheese
1,1/2 tablespoons butter(at room temperature)
1,1/2 cups confectioner's sugar(it was a bit too sweet, so I added a few drops of fresh lemon juice)
a pinch of vanilla
Instructions:
1.Take a bowl, combine
the butter and the sugar and blend on medium speed for a few minutes. Add the vanilla and the grated
lemon zest. Pour in three egg yolks and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
2.Put the mixture of the flour and the baking-powder into the paste and beat for a while. Then froth egg whites and add them in the bowl, where other blended ingredients are. Whisk everything for the last time, but be very careful, as we need the cupcakes to be fluffy.
3.Heat the oven to 180 degrees(Celsius) and while waiting for the right temperature, put one and a half teaspoons of the paste in each of lined muffin cups.
2.Put the mixture of the flour and the baking-powder into the paste and beat for a while. Then froth egg whites and add them in the bowl, where other blended ingredients are. Whisk everything for the last time, but be very careful, as we need the cupcakes to be fluffy.
3.Heat the oven to 180 degrees(Celsius) and while waiting for the right temperature, put one and a half teaspoons of the paste in each of lined muffin cups.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top of the
cupcakes becomes golden and a toothpick inserted in the cupcake comes
out clean.
5.Take another bowl and beat the cream-cheese, the butter and the vanilla. Then, add confectioner's sugar, one tablespoon at a time and flavour with the fresh lemon juice. Put the frosting in the fridge for a few hours and then cover the cupcakes with it. You may sprinkle some fresh bilberries on the top of each cupcake:)
5.Take another bowl and beat the cream-cheese, the butter and the vanilla. Then, add confectioner's sugar, one tablespoon at a time and flavour with the fresh lemon juice. Put the frosting in the fridge for a few hours and then cover the cupcakes with it. You may sprinkle some fresh bilberries on the top of each cupcake:)
Happy birthday, Cookbook&othernotes!
No-Bake Bilberry Cheesecake
No-Bake Bilberry Cheesecake(8 servings)
Ingredients:
200g Lady's Fingers biscuits(2 packs)
a bit less than 1/2 cup of butter(90g), melted
4 1/2 teaspoons of jelly crystals
1/4 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 lemon zest
1/2 lemon juice
3/4 cup of natural yoghurt
600g cream cheese(or simple curd)
a few handfuls of fresh bilberries
Instructions:
1.Submerge the jelly crystals in the cold(!) water and leave for 30 minutes(or more).
2.Put the biscuits in the bowl and crush them by using a rolling pin. In another bowl or pot, melt the butter, then, pour it on the biscuit crumbs and mix everything thoroughly until well combined. Grease the baking pan bottom with the oil. Cut the circle from the baking paper, place it on the bottom of the pan and grease once again. Press the crumbs into the pan(use a spoon or a fork). Place the crust in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
3.Grate the lemon zest and juice a lemon.
4.Boil the milk, add the vanilla, the swollen jelly crystals, the sugar, the lemon zest and the juice and cook until the sugar and jelly crystals are dissolved. Take the pot from the heat and wait 3-4 minutes until the mixture cools a bit. Then, add the natural yoghurt and the cream cheese(or the simple curd) and mix everything or beat it by using a blender.
5.Take the baking pan from the freezer, pour the cream cheese mixture on the crust and freeze the cheesecake for another 10 or 15 minutes. Then, place it in the refrigerator and keep the cheesecake there for at least 2-3 hours or even overnight(I recommend it, as it becomes more delicious overnight!). You may also sprinkle some fresh bilberries on the top.
6. Keep the cheesecake in the room temperature for half an hour before serving.
Enjoy!
Cucumber, Basil & Lemon Water
She jumps out of bed, puts the shorts and her new sneakers on and dashes down the stairs. She takes her bicycle from the cellar. It hasn't been moved from the last summer, so, she needs to check the tires and do everything else what her grandfather taught her. A bit later she smiles, everything seems to be in the right order.
She decides(spontaneously, as always) where she wants to go this early, but still extremely beautiful morning. The lake. That magic place where she used to go every evening several years ago. It's a 25 kilometers distance, forth and back. It shouldn't be too hard, she decides. But she's wrong. She's forgotten that one and only hill that requires so much strength.
She takes a deep breath and starts riding. After a few minutes of fighting with herself, she makes it. She stands on the top of the hill and can't believe how amazing the lake looks. The fog and the sunrise makes it more special. She rides down the hill and looks around. Except the narrow wooden broken bridge, everything looks the same.
She lies on the grass, stretches her arms and legs out. She feels the dew with every single piece of her body. After a few seconds, she rapidly stands up and takes her clothes off. She looks around once again to make sure nobody is nearby and runs into the water. It's cold, but she likes it for the first time in her life. She swims several hundred meters away from the shore. Then, she breaths deeply for a minute and dives down to the bottom. She spends too much time under the water trying to do tumbles, so, when she reaches the surface she's gasping for air. She overturns and floats on her back watching three birds playing in the sky. What could be a better way to relax, she ask herself a rhetorical question.
She swims back to the shore and puts her clothes on. The sun's gone now and it's about time it starts to rain. But she doesn't care about that. The cold water cleared her mind. She hasn't felt that happy for a long time. She smiles. She knows how she's going to start all the mornings until it's time for her to leave.
The recipe:
Cucumber, Basil & Lemon Water(makes 1-2 glasses)
Ingredients:
a few slices of cucumber
a few slices of lemon(or you can use lemon juice)
a few leaves of basil
1-2 glasses of water
some ice cubes
Instructions:
1. Wash and slice both the cucumber and the lemon. Rip a few leaves of basil. Put everything in the jug, add ice cubes and, finally, pour the water in.(You may also flavour the drink with some brown sugar.) Place the jug in the fridge and keep it there for a few hours.
Enjoy!
(The source of the recipe: this blog :))
Bilberry Triangles & Peach Squares
There's nothing smart about the recipes of those two delicious things: both the dough and the can of peach halves were bought in the grocery's store a while ago, while the fresh bilberries were brought to me straight from the forest(thank you, Mum and Dad, once again!).
It's a beautiful summer morning with no need to rush anywhere. No people around her. Coincidence or not, but she desperately needs some time for herself. No, not to lie in the hot almond smelling tub for an hour. She needs to think. She has to - her life's going to change entirely from the end of the summer. She's turning twenty, starting studying in the new city of her homeland(not abroad like she planned) after a one year break and her best friend, G., is leaving. She's used to seeing her girl once in the two or three months time, but this time she'll be thousands of kilometers away for the whole year. This thought saddens her a lot and that's the reason why she's listening to the G.'s and her summer playlist. They usually listened to it whenever they drove somewhere spontaneously. Now, there's a different reason, so, she adds some sad Johnny Cash songs. Oddly enough, but they cheer her mood up. She starts moving her hips to the beat of the music and singing along.
She rolls her pajama shirt's sleeves up, puts a white apron which still smells the fresh air of the Atlantic ocean and reminds the two memorable weeks in the paradise. She starts preparing to cook: covers the baking pans with the baking paper, makes the pudding, washes and mashes the bilberries. Adds some sugar. Then she dips her finger into the plum-coloured jam, licks it and closes her eyes. The taste takes her back to the childhood, when she was just a small girl and spent each summer living in the village with her grandparents. When it was always her job to taste the jam to make sure that grandma used enough sugar. She was a happy child. She still is.
The teapot starts whistling and brings her back to the reality. She opens her eyes and smiles. She knows that everything is going to be okay, just like then, fifteen years ago. May be not the way she expected in the beginning of the year, but it's still going be a great year. It has to. She's going to enjoy every minute of her brand new life, doesn't matter that she'll be alone in the unknown city.
She feels the tension in the muscles of her cheeks, but she can't help smiling. She rolls the dough, forms triangles and squares and fills them with the pudding. Finally, she makes herself a huge pot of coffee and waits until the mini-pies become golden. Life's good and that proves the first bite of the heavenly bilberry triangle.
She rolls her pajama shirt's sleeves up, puts a white apron which still smells the fresh air of the Atlantic ocean and reminds the two memorable weeks in the paradise. She starts preparing to cook: covers the baking pans with the baking paper, makes the pudding, washes and mashes the bilberries. Adds some sugar. Then she dips her finger into the plum-coloured jam, licks it and closes her eyes. The taste takes her back to the childhood, when she was just a small girl and spent each summer living in the village with her grandparents. When it was always her job to taste the jam to make sure that grandma used enough sugar. She was a happy child. She still is.
The teapot starts whistling and brings her back to the reality. She opens her eyes and smiles. She knows that everything is going to be okay, just like then, fifteen years ago. May be not the way she expected in the beginning of the year, but it's still going be a great year. It has to. She's going to enjoy every minute of her brand new life, doesn't matter that she'll be alone in the unknown city.
She feels the tension in the muscles of her cheeks, but she can't help smiling. She rolls the dough, forms triangles and squares and fills them with the pudding. Finally, she makes herself a huge pot of coffee and waits until the mini-pies become golden. Life's good and that proves the first bite of the heavenly bilberry triangle.
Chanterelles and Potatoes
One of the most both easiest and tastiest dishes I have ever made!
Chanterelles and Potatoes(2 servings)
Ingredients:
10 small potatoes
a few handfuls of chanterelles
1 tablespoon of butter
two glasses of milk
2-3 tablespoons of wheaten flour
2-3 green onions
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of dill
fresh thyme
Instructions:
1. Wash and peel the potatoes, then submerge them in the water. Add a pinch of salt and cook for about 15 minutes. Then strain the potatoes off.
2. Wash and chop(if necessary) the chanterelles, place them in another pot, pour some water in and sprinkle some salt. Cook for 20 minutes. Strain the chanterelles off. Put a tablespoon of butter on the top of the mushrooms and wait until it melts. Then add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until the flour absorbs the melted butter(mix all the time). Pour the milk in(one glass at the time) still mixing all the time(about 5-10minutes). Flavour with chopped green onions, salt, pepper, dill and fresh thyme. Place the chanterelles sauce in the deep place and put the potatoes on the top.
Enjoy!
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