Chocolate chip cookies

Mmmmm cookies. Can I haz a tower of cookies?

Sure, just follow the instructions. This recipe will yield something depending on the size of your hand.

Unless you use some kind of measure, then it should be pretty accurate from that moment on provided you stick with it.

Whisk all of this together:
125 g Brown sugar
100 ml Oil
1 tsp Vanilla extract
4 Tbsp Water

Then mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:
250 g Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt

And pour the previously whisked contents in. Mix well.
And for the not so secret ingredients add chocolate chips to taste.  That can be anything from a lot to really a lot.

Bake at 180ºC (356ºF) untill the cookies are looking fine. (Shouldn't be more than 10/15 minutes depending on overall size and thickness)

Since store bough chocolate chips are so expensive where I live. I usually either cut them up from a chocolate bar manually with a knife. Or I break the chocolate into pieces and grind it in one of those pulse grinders. The pulse grinder option will result in more chocolate dust than the hand cutting version but I like it all the same. Plus that extra chocolate dust gives the cookies even more flavour.

When I use the pulse grinder I also do more chocolate than I really need. I just save what's left on the fridge as mise en place for the next time I need it.

Also, I use the recipe as a ratio for ingredients. I sometimes do 2x, 3x or even more the recipe depending on my needs.

Kiwi chutney

This kiwi chutney is really tastylicious, you can eat it on normal crackers but it's really good on top of some freshly cooked naan.

5 Kiwis
1 Tbsp White wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Curry
1/2 cup Water

1. Peel the kiwi and cut it into small cubes.
2. Open the mustard seeds in the oil. Just put them in the pan, cover with the lid and it should take about a minute. It's kind of like making popcorn.
3. Add the kiwi, let it cook for a couple of minutes. Bring the heat to a maximum, use a Tbsp of white wine vinegar to make a soft deglazing.
4. Add the water, sugar and curry. Bring this to a boil, it should take about 20 minutes to cook.

Ribollita Soup

I'm not a big fan of hot soup, although I have some favourites:

Leek soup
White asparaguas soup - thank you Ana!!
Tomato soup
Garbanzo soup
Bean soup
Pasta and tomatoes soup

This Ribollita soup is typical of Tuscany in Italy.

1 Onion, diced
1 Zuchini, diced
1 Carrot, diced
4 Garlic cloves, diced
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt

1. Using a large pan, sautée the vegetables in the olive oil, and season with salt. Cook it at minimum heat for 15 minutes.

400g Tomatoes, concasse

2. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.

280g Red beans (Canned is fine)
280g Kidney beans (Canned is fine)
300g Cabbage, roughly diced (In Tuscany they use Cavolo Nero but I just use normal cabbage)

3. After adding the beans and cabbage, allow to cook for 10 more minutes.
4. Then add 2L of water or Vegetable stock, and allow to simmer for 30 more minutes.
5. If using water, don't forget to season with more salt.

Ciambotta

Ciambotta is an italian Stew. I really enjoy it as a main dish. Just follow the instructions and you should be omomom soon!

2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 medium Onions, diced
2 Celery sticks, diced
2 Carrots, rougly diced
4 Cloves of garlic, finely diced

1. Sautée the onions, garlic and celery in the olive oil.
2. Add the carrots, and cook it in medium heat for 10 minutes.

1 small Eggplant, diced in cubes
0,1L Water

3. Add and cook it for 10 more minutes.

800g tomatoes, concassee
2 red bell peppers, roughly diced

4. Add these ingredients, and cook it for 15 more minutes.

300g Green beans, a bit undercooked, roughly diced
1 Zuchini, a bit undercooked, roughly diced
2 medium Potatoes, a bit undercooked, chopped in chunks

5. Add these ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and leave it there for 15 more minutes.

This Ciambotta is definitely more delicious than it looks like. Give it a try!

Mango mousse dessert

This mango mousse dessert is some of the easiest you'll ever make. It consists of the time proven methodology of opening cans and blending the content together. I used this ratio:

330g Soy condensed milk (11,6 ounces)
860g Mango pulp (1,9 pounds)
500g Soy natural yogurt (1,1 pound)

Blend everything and voilá, instant dessert. omomomomom. If where you live, these products come in different sizes of packaging, just choose the ones closest to these measures. This is one of those cases where a few more grams of this and a few less grams of that are sure to *not* make much of a difference.

Garlic Naan

When I registered at blogger I registered from Germany,so I assumed it would take in the German time zone. But all of my posts had this really weird time stamp on them. Now I finally fixed it, after a month of being a total n00b. Anyway this post is long enough as it is. Let's get this naan on the road.

2 tsp dry Yeast (or just use a 5g standard bag)
1 tsp Brown sugar
4 Tbsp lukewarm Water (water over 60ºC will kill the yeast, but if it's too cold it won't activate)

Add all three on a cup and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.

Add on the mixing bowl:
250g Bread flour + some for dusting surfaces and working the dough
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Salt

Allow to mix on the minimum speed so the flour doesn't blow everywhere. (This is also possible to knead by hand, it just takes a while longer)

Mix well 1 Tbsp of Oil with 1 Soy yogurt (the brand I used produces 100g cups of yogurt but you can use a 125g one)

Add the yogurt+oil to the flour while mixing. Then add the yeast mixture. Then add extra 2 Tbsp of water.

Remove the dough and finish working it on a slightly flour dusted surface. Be sure to roll a nice ball of bread with a single seam on the bottom.

With the aid of some oil, rub a container and use it to hold the dough untill it rises. When Summer is in bloom it's all fine and dandy getting home made bread to rise but as the weather gets colder, you need to get creative. If cooking anything just leave the container near by the stove or the oven. If not, you can use a heater and place the bread nearby.
I work with a radiant oil heater, not because I prefer it, but because it's the one I have. I place the bread in a chair, and cover both the heater and bread with a towel. Please follow the instructions on your heater if you are going to try this as there is a certain part of the equipment that cannot be covered.

This recipe will yield about 430g more or less. It will depend on how much more flour gets incorporated in your ball of dough as you finish working on it. However much it weighs, divide the weight by 6 and weigh 6 small balls or just break it off into 6 they look almost the same size pieces.

When you are done with the chopping, roll them again into balls with a single seam at the bottom. Cover them and allow to rest for about 15minutes before you start working on them. Be sure to let them rest in a flour dusted surface.

As you work on them, as always on a flour dusted surface basically use the same motions you would for pizza dough. I just flatten it out, then I hold it by the end always rolling it in my hand in continuing motion so as not to exhert more pressure in one specific part of the dough.

Then finish it off with your rolling pin.

To cook them I use a special crepe pan. But any old pan would do. I turn the heat on, let it heat up, and then I just plop the rolled naan in.

The one on the picture didn't turn out all that round, but you get the idea. Be careful as you grab the bread to roll it over, if you accidently grab it by one of those bubbles and it bursts it will be mui caliente on your hand. Be sure to remove excess flour from the pan before bringing in the new naan.

I keep on hand prepared, a mixture of olive oil and finely diced garlic to spread on the bread as it comes out hot plate hot plate from the pan.

I use a pizza cutter to cut them in quarters, and then I just stack them up. I wish I had one of those nice bread thingies like they have in the indian restaurants where they are all propped up against each other vertically and not horizontally like in my display.

Mushroom Curry

Mmmmmm I love curry, especially mushroom curry. Although I enjoy curry with coconut milk, this is my favourite recipe ever. For curry that is. This is enough quantity for 3 to 4 people, though it really depends on how hungry you are, or on how much rice you're planning on stuffing your face with.

First, sauté and set aside:
2 Tbsp Olive oil
300g Parisian mushrooms, I removed the skin and broke it in pieces by hand.
1 tsp Garam masala
pinch of Salt

Then, prepare this curry sauce:

Fry in 3 Tbsp Olive oil:
1 Bay leaf
1 large Onion, diced - about 4 to 5 min.
3 Garlic cloves - allow for more 2 min.
4 Tomatoes, peeled and diced - allow for more 5 min.
1+1/2 tsp Curry powder
- get rid of the bay leaf - kthxbai
1 cup of Tomato pulp - allow for more 5min.

Blend everything! Then add the mushroom mixture with respective olivey garam masala juices. The reason why this curry sauce isn't so spicy meatball is because the mushrooms themselves are quite spicey. Just add more spice to taste if you're not pleased.

My aunt gave me this dish, it's so pretty!

Berry juice and Indian dinner

I've been having a special request for some Naan bread for quite a while and finally I lived up to the promise. Making bread always require some extra time on hand. You have the kneading, then the rising of the dough, then maybe you get to put it in the oven or maybe you have to do some extra work on it, which if you do leads to more resting time.

I went all out and decided to have garlic naan, mushroom curry with basmati rice, a tasty mango mousse like dessert, and some fresh berry juice.

The ratios for the berry juice are as follow:

100g frozen Berries mix
3 tbsp Brown sugar
700 ml water (almost 3 cups)

I plan to type and upload the rest of the recipes in the following posts. Stay tuned!

Strawberry juice and Sojasun burger dinner

I went to the supermarket and bought a pack of sojasun tomato basil burgers. I haven't eaten any in a long time. Maybe because they are so expensive, like 3,5€ for 2 burgers, u mad? Still, I was able to squeeze in 2 meals out of one burger, hehehehe. I also made a nice strawberry juice to go along. I usually resort to frozen strawberries for milkshake mostly but decided to try out some ratios for natural juice.

Strawberry juice:
100g frozen Strawberries
2 tbsp Brown sugar
700 ml water (almost 3 cups)

Just put everything in a blender, and bzzz bzzzz.

For the burger, I sliced horizontally on the middle and grilled the skinnier burgers. Then I cut them in half and made a baguette sandwich with some lettuce, onion and a mix of ketchup and soy mayo. Along with a salad half a baguette each was enough.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I recently started working and it's really hard work albeit simple, you dehidrate alot. So when I have the time to before my boat home is due and I'm working a morning or afternoon shift I like to go by the Pingo Doce on the Cais do Sodré station and grab a bottle of natural apple juice, it's totally delicious. Then I save the bottles!

Coffee Lemonade

There are tons of different recipes for this coffee lemonade, and it is also referred to as Mazagran. The following recipe is my personal taste, it does taste quite a bit like lemon, so if you like a softer lemonade, use only the juice of 2 lemons. You might also consider adding another tbsp of brown sugar as this is also not very sweet.

2 Expressos
3 Lemons, juice
3 tbsp Brown sugar
1,4 L water

Mix the lemon juice with the expressos and the brown sugar. Pour it into a 1,5L bottle of water (a standard measure in Portugal). Shake it, leave it in the refrigerator, this is most delicious when it is super fresh. It will also keep for at least 3 to 4 days.

Baba Ghanoush

I'm not the biggest fan of eggplant, but this traditional dip makes it worthwhile.

2 Eggplants
1 head of Garlic
1 Lemon
1 Tbsp Olive oil, plus more for decorating

1. Cut the eggplants in half, and score them with some cuts, rub them with a little sea salt and bake them in the oven,  for half and hour or so at 180ºC (350ºF).
2. Cut off the tip of the head of garlic, wrap it in foil and bake it along with the eggplants.
3. When done, remove the flesh of the eggplant. Squeeze the roast garlic out of its skins. And blend them both together.
4. Add the lemon juice, and the olive oil, blend. Add some freshly grinded black pepper to taste.

I chose to decorate with some olives, because it semt like a natural fit. I did go overboard on the olive oil though. DAT caloric intake.

Potato Salad

Aside from reconnecting with old friends, this potato salad was the best thing that happened to me in Berlin.

Seasoning:

1 Tbsp Brown sugar
2 Tbsp Vinegar, I used white wine vinegar, but I much prefer the cider kind
4 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp Mustard
Salt, and Pepper to taste

Just whisk everything together in a large bowl where you will place the other ingredients as they become ready.

For the Salad:

3 Bell peppers, I used one red, one yellow, one orange
1 Onion, medium
1,3 Kg Potatoes (preferably new potatoes)

1. Boil the potatoes, it should take you 20 minutes, after the water started boiling.
2. I actually boiled the bell peppers for 5 minutes but you can use them raw if you prefer. Peel, remove all of the seeds and inner white membrane, then dice it up. Mix in with the seasoning.
3. Dice the onion, mix it in with the seasoning.
4. When the potatoes are ready, it's nice to be super fast. Try to cool them a bit so you can handle them, then peel and chop into pieces. Every few potatoes make sure to mix the salad because as they are still warm the potatoes will absorb the seasoning best.

I took this picture with a new camera I borrowed, I just need to figure out how to get rid of the time stamp, I don't much care for it.

Tofu & Broccoli Pasta

I like to make big portions of this dish, because it heats nicely. Not all food can be made in advance and still taste delicious when you heat it a few days later.

First, marinate for a couple of hours:

500g of Tofu, extract the maximum water possible and shred
3 Tbsp Soy sauce
1+1/2 Tbsp Garlic powder
1+1/2 Tbsp Saffron
1 tsp Salt

Mix everything well and cool it in the fridge.

Prepare your mise-en-place

2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, medium, diced
1 Bell pepper, diced
Random short pasta you like the best, I used about 400g of dry pasta for the 500g of tofu, but you can vary this wether you are on a low-carb, high-carb or random-carb diet. Cook it, cool it, put some olive oil in it so it doesn't get extra sticky icky before you use it.
750g Broccoli, boiled

Heat up that wok!
1. Sauté the onion in the olive oil.
2. Add the bell pepper, it's going to take a few minutes for it to soften down.
3. Add the marinated tofu, leave it for a few minutes. Check for salt, add a bit more if you need it.
4. Add in the pasta, mix everything well.
5. Add the broccoli, mix it in.
6. Enjoy!

O hai!

I started working last Thursday so the blog was inactive for a few days. I had to do some extra adapting this first week still learning the ropes with some training on the job. But now I will have a weekly work schedule, given to me each Sunday which will allow me to plan my time better.

I hope to create some tastylicious recipes this week and start working on the outline for a series of vegan ebooks I would like to write. What's your favourite dish? I would love to veganize it for you!

Meanwhile in Portugal, here is a picture of my daughter sleeping last night. Yes she's a cat. So Fluffy I'm gonna die!!