Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Cocoa, Chocolate, Walnut Cookies

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Note: I was so happy to find out that my blog was nominated as the Best Healthy Cooking Blog category for this year’s The Kitchn Homie Awards. If you agree the nomination, a vote or two would be great & much appreciated (voting ends March 2nd, 2012 at 11:59pm EST). Thank you so much! 


So my blog is nominated as healthy cooking blog and I’m posting a cookie recipe. 🙂 But! There is only 1/2 cup cane sugar in 32 yummie cookies. This is sweet enough for me. I think we can call them healty cocoa, chocolate, walnut cookies. 
There’s peanut butter and 70% cocoa content chocolate chunks in the batter. Yum and gulp. It’s best to eat them when they are lukewarm. We shouldn’t be ashamed to have two or three at once.
Or four.
If noone sees us, maybe five.
  
Cocoa, Chocolate, Walnut Cookies
(Recipe inspired by Bakerella)
Ingredients (makes about 32 cookies)

– 1 cup white spelt flour, sifted
– 1/2 cup whole wheat spelt flour, sifted
– 1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetend), sifted
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup butter, softened
– 1/2 cup cane sugar
– 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 2 organic eggs
– 100 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa content), roughly chopped
– walnut, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C (350F). Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flours, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl cream butter with cane sugar, then stir in peanut butter and mix until fluffy and light (you can also taste it, it’s so yummie :)).  Add vanilla, eggs and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate and the walnut.

Take two teaspoons of the dough, form a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the ball slightly, then repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 170C (350F).

Shakshuka

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I was inspired by Nicole’s recipe, she calls this baked eggs. I rarely eat eggs but the moment I saw Nicole’s photos I knew I was going to make it. A fellow Hungarian food blogger told me that this meal is called shakshuka. 
Shakshuka is believed to have Algerian and Tunisian origins. It is a staple of Tunisian, Egyptian, Libyan, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisines, and is also popular in Israel. The eggs are poached in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices. You can add vegetables, cheese to it like I did. Be brave and add anything to the meal you would like. It’s great for a lazy weekend breakfast or for a light lunch during the week. We ate it with garlic toast but you can serve it with cooked rice, millet, bulgur wheat or quinoa.

Shakshuka

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1 can tomato
– 2 organic eggs
– 1 mozzarella (ball)
– 1 small zucchini, cubed
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– fresh thyme
– 1 teaspoon chili flakes
– salt, pepper
– olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C (350F). Tear mozzarella into small strips.

In a baking dish add the can of tomatoes, mashed the tomatoes with a fork, then season with salt and pepper. Add the cubed zucchini, garlic and mozzarella. Crack the eggs on top of the sauce and season with the thyme and chili flakes. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons olive oil on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 170C (350F) until the eggs are cooked and the mozzarella melted.

Vegetarian Christmas – Pumpkin Pie

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I was going to write a series about vegetarian Christmas but because I was very busy I didn’t have time to translate all my Hungarian blog posts into English. I’ve got tasty ideas for a vegetarian Christmas with festive vegetarian/vegan recipes like a delicious nut roast, different side dishes and yum desserts. So next year if you look for ideas for a sensational spread on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and throughout the festive season, remember to come back and visit my blog for these recipes.

The filling recipe is from Shauna. This is a pumpkin pie made and baked from scratch with love. From a real pumpkin. In Hungary you can’t buy canned pumpkin puree, we don’t have it. If you want to make something from pumpkin puree you have to make it. If you haven’t tried it, it’s the time you should. This pie is very filling and nutritious.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

For the crust
– 200 g white spelt flour
– 50 g oat flour
– 170 g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small (2-3 cm / 1-inch) cubes
– 4 tablespoons cold water
– 2 teaspoons cane powder sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling
– 2 cups roasted, pureed pumpkin
– 1 cup ricotta
– 1/2 cup cream
– 2 organic or free range eggs
– 1/3 cup cane sugar
– 2 tablespoons maply syrup
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground ginger

Method

To make the crust, in a bowl mix together the flours, powder sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter and mix until the butter pieces are broken up and about the size of small peas. Add cold water and mix until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in a clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). After resting the dough, roll out  the pastry on a floured surface to cover your pie dish (diameter: 29-30 cm) and prick holes with a fork all over the pastry (this helps the steam escape and prevents the crust from bubbling up). Line the pie crust with parchment paper, then fill with dried peas, lentils, beans or other pulses, or with ceramic or metal “baking beans” (also called pastry weights or pie weights) so that it will keep its shape when baking. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 15 minutes until it gets golden brown. Set aside.
Roast pumpkin halves at 180-200C for 45-60 minutes. Let cool and scoop out 2 cups flesh.
To make the filling, in a bowl beat the eggs until fluffy, then add cane sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, ricotta and cream. Continue blending until the mixture is smooth. Spoon the filling into the crust. Bake at 180C (350F) for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 170C (338F) and bake for another 30-40 minutes (until you can insert a toothpick into the center of the filling and have it come out clean). If the crust starts growing too brown, put some foil around the edges of the pie and continue baking. Set aside and allow the pie to cool before serving.

Fig Frangipane Tart

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The born of this frangipane tart has a short story. Let me tell you… I found this recipe on my friend’s, Emiko’s blog who I met in London at the Food Blogger Connect Conference. She is a great person, a true friend and a talented photographer.  When I saw the photo of this tart, I fell in love with it. I was dreaming to bake it but it’s difficult to get figs in Hungary… either you are lucky and you have a tree in your garden or you have friends, relatives, neighbours who have fig trees in their garden. 🙂 In my situation, option number two is the winner.

So a sunny Sunday morning in September the door bell rang… we got a basket of figs from the neighbours. Oh, yeah! We are lucky! I ran into the kitchen and started making this tart straight away. Instead of sugar I used honey to sweeten the filling.

I didn’t know what frangipane means so I searched on the internet for the information. Frangipane is a filling made from almond. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.

Fig Frangipane Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry

– 250 g white spelt flour
– 125 g cold butter
– 70 g cane powder sugar
– 1 egg
– 1-2 tablespoons of cold water

For the frangipane
– 100 g almond meal
– 50 g butter
– 50 g honey
– 1 egg
– zest of 1 lemon
– 20-25 fresh figs

Method

To make the pastry, in a bowl chop the cold butter into small cubes, add to the flour and cane sugar. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture. Add the beaten egg until and the water until the pastry comes together into a smooth, elastic ball. Wrap in a clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. After resting the dough, roll out  the pastry on a floured surface to cover your pie dish (diameter: 20-23 cm) and prick holes with a fork all over the pastry.

To make the frangipane, in a bowl mix together almond meal, butter, honey and the egg. Add lemon zest, then mix and stir until combine. Turn the mixture out onto the pastry. Add the fig halves, face up, to cover the entire tart. Push the figs down gently into the frangipane so that the surface is even. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

These quantities will give you enough to make a large tart plus some extra leftover. From the leftover dough I made fig biscuits! 🙂

Beet Green Quiche and the Organic Farmers Market in Budapest

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I’m honest with you guys… If I have to get up to go to work during the weekdays, I’m not very inspired so it’s really difficult for me to do it. But if I have to get up at 6:30 am to go to the organic farmers market on Saturday mornings, I don’t have any problem with that. 🙂

This market means a lot to me. I get so much inspiration just walking around, relaxing and enjoying the colours, the smells. Beauty is everywhere, isn’t it? I  always recharge my batteries at the market. I also love  talking to the farmers changing ideas about recipes. So if you ever come to Budapest, do not miss to visit this market. It’s only open on Saturday mornings from 6:30 am until 1:00 pm (address: 12nd district, 1124 Budapest, Csörsz utca 18.).

These market photos were taken with my iPhone but I’m planning to take photos with my camera too and post them later on the blog.

And the recipe… I started using beet greens recently. I usually made salad from it. The leaves taste a bit bitter for me so to discard the bitterness I always mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers or sprouts and poured it with olive oil lemon juice dressing. So next time if you buy a bunch of beets, sauté, boil or steam the leafy green tops for a low-calorie nutritious side dish. Beet greens are rich in potassium, calcium, vitamin A and other minerals and vitamins. They also contain high amounts of lutein and beta-carotene; both are antioxidants that help keep eyes and skin healthy.

I found a wonderful, yummie recipe on my friend, Sari’s blog… beet green quiche. I baked it and we loved it. It’s very easy, very quick and delicious for lunch or dinner with a bowl of salad.

See, Sari, someone used one of your recipes from your blog to make a wonderful dish! Thank you, my friend! 🙂

Beet Green Quiche

Ingredients

– 2 bunches of beet greens, stems removed, coarsely chopped
– 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
– 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
– 3 organic eggs
– 200 ml oat cream
– 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
– 100 g greated cheese
– salt, pepper
– 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
– coconut or olive oil

Method

Heat coconut oil in a pan and sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes until transparent and soft, then add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in beet greens and cook for 5-7 minutes until the greens get soft. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool.

Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, oat cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, chili flakes and cheese. Add the beet green mixture and stir to blend. Transfer it to a lightly buttered prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes on 175-180C (350F) until the top is golden brown and the eggs are set. Serve it with fresh salad.