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 Jam

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.

Breakfast

Forest Bilberries

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!

Raspberries

 

Fresh raspberries straight from the forest!

Potatoes

The Alps

Victoria Sponge with Whipped Sour Cream

Another Curd Pie

'The night is young, and so are we..'

Elvis Presley - Blue Hawaii

Farfalle Bolognese

 

There's a new picture of the recipe that has already been posted on this blog.

I guess, now I'm more interested in photography than cooking:)

Home-made Mini Chicken Burgers

Sooooo delicious!

Try them, that's all I can say :)

Home-made Mini Chicken Burgers

Ingredients:

Burger buns(makes 12):

5 1/2 cups wheaten flour

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons soften butter

1 1/2 cups warm water

22g leaven

1 egg(small)

sasame seeds

Burger chicken(makes about 12-13, but of course, the quantity depends on the size):

3/4 chicken breast(without skin)

2 onions(small)

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons potato strach

pinch curry

pinch salt

pinch black pepper

pinch dill
olive oil

Mini chicken burgers:

12 burger buns

mayonnaise
ice-berg salad
12 pieces of burger chicken

12 slices of semi-hard fermented cheese(optional)

tomatoes

Instructions:

1.Burger buns making process: Take a bowl, mix flour, salt and soften butter. In a glass, melt the leaven in some warm water. Pour this mixture into the bowl and mix thoroughly. Then, pour remained water and flour(spoon by spoon) and mix. When it becomes too hard to mix, start kneading. Add some more flour, if necessary, that not to be sticky. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with small cotton towel and place in the warm place for 2 hours. Then, knead the dough again(for a few minutes) and divide it into 12 even pieces. Form small rolls(by using your palms) and place them on the baking pan covered with a sheet of baking paper. Cover the buns with the cotton towel once again and leave it like that for 30 minutes. While waiting, whisk an egg. Later, spread the whisked egg all over the buns and sprinkle some sesame seeds. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees(Celsius) and bake about 20 minutes until the top of each bun gets a golden colour. Then, take them out of the oven and leave to cool.

2.Burger chicken making process: Chop chicken breast and onions into small pieces, add mayonnaise, potato strach and all the spices and mix. Leave this mixture in the fridge for about 3 hours(or even longer). Take the frying-pan, heat the olive oil and  form flat circles  by using a spoon. Fry them for about 3-4 minutes on each side.

3.Cut the buns in two pieces, cover them with mayonnaise. On the bottom piece, place the ice-berg salad leave, put the burger chicken on it, then cheese(optional), a slice of tomato and the top piece of the burger bun. Preheat oven to 200 degrees(Celsius) once again, and bake the burgers for 5-10 minutes.

Growing of basil!

It smells and tastes really good, so instead of using dried one, I recommend you to try fresh basil!

Oven-baked Potatoes

Recipe's source: Zoom Yummy