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Coconut Almond Granola

May 13, 2014 by Zizi

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Since Adam was born we have been eating oatmeal or ricemeal (from rolled rice) for breakfast with different kind of toppings (almond butter, fruits, seeds and nuts) but no sugar, honey or any kind of sweetener is added to it. We really love it, Adam also, so we can’t stop eating it!

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A few days ago I had the crave for granola… I don’t know about you but I get some serious granola cravings at times. So I headed to the kitchen and made this coconut almond granola which is absolutely the best granola I have ever tasted! It’s so yummy and healthy, I even ate it as a snack with my 70% dark chocolate pieces in the evenings. 🙂

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It’s very easy to make and you can bake it in 15-20 minutes. I added a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten but you can make it with honey, rice syrup or without any sweetener.

Coconut Almond Granola

Ingredients

– 2 cups rolled oats
– 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
– 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
– 1 cup almond, roughly chopped
– 1/2 cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
– 1/3 cup maple syrup
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 4 tablespoons coconut oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 175C (347F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients: rolled oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, desiccated coconut and salt. Add maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix all the ingredients together and spread the mixture evenly on to the baking tray. Bake for 6-8 minutes, then turn everything around with a wooden spoon. Bake again for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Store in an air-tight jar!

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Filed Under: vegan Tagged With: almond, breakfast, coconut flakes, granola, homemade, oat, superfood breakfast

Homemade Cashew Butter

October 7, 2013 by Zizi

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It started with a jar of cashew butter I had got from a friend of mine from the USA. I tasted it and I fell in love with it instantly. All this happened after Adam was born and I needed natural foods that increase breast milk production. And cashew is one of them that boosts lactation. I think it is important that if you have a low milk supply it’s always best to try first to increase milk production naturally through herbs, drinks or your daily food intake.

Raw almonds, cashews, walnuts, macadamia nuts are the best ones to snack on during breastfeeding. Choose raw nuts instead of salted or roasted ones!

Make sure that you are eating (leafy green vegetables; carrots; beets; whole wheat pasta; grains like oats, barley; garlic; ginger, etc.) enough calories through your day. This will help increase breastmilk quantity and quality in general.

And the most important advice from me is to drink enough water (at least 3 liters a day). Your body will need extra water to keep up with milk production and keeping you hydrated.

So after the whole jar of cashew butter was gone I was heart-broken. Cashew butter is not available at stores in Hungary. It’s not common to use nut butters in my country but thanks for the open minded people (like me! 🙂 ) who are willing to eat more healthier, nut butters are getting popular. The most common is peanut butter of course… it is availabe at few stores. I had to do something to have cashew butter in my pantry. I decided to make it on my own… I was so happy with the result. Since than I didn’t stop making it!

My favourite way to eat it: whole wheat bread slices are toasted, spreaded with cashew butter and I spoon my  mom’s homemade sugar free plum jam on top. Oh My!

Here are a few phase photos of the making from the beginning until it turns into creamy cashew butter…

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After 1 minute it will turn from whole cashews into cashew pieces. Spin 3-4 minutes more and it’ll turn almost flour.

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Another 3 minutes and you’ll see oiliness of the cashews. Keep the food processor spining and it’ll slowly stick together into a paste.

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Another 3-5 minutes and it really becomes a thick paste. It starts to look like a “dough ball”. Keep going, you are almost there! 🙂 In the meantime give your food processor a few breaks otherwise it’ll be ruined from the too much work!!!

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When the butter looks like a ball, stop the processor and push your finger into it. The consistency should be very soft. Turn the processor on and keep it spining. The ball will slowly fall into creamy butter after 3-4 minutes.

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And voila! Your cashew butter is made! Now give your food processor a rest!

Homemade Cashew Butter

Ingredients (makes about 250-300 ml = 1 cup)

– 400 g raw cashew

Method

Add cashew to the bowl of your food processor and process for a very long time, until creamy and smooth. Giving your processor a few breaks it’ll be ready in about 25 minutes.

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Filed Under: vegan Tagged With: breakfast, cashew, homemade, raw

Orange Marmalade And Bocuse d’Or 2013

January 30, 2013 by Zizi

About three weeks ago I ordered 12 kg organic blood oranges through a Hungarian delicate webshop. The oranges came from Sicily, Italy. You can see on the photos how beautiful they were and whatever I made from them (juice, cake, marmalade) the flat smelt amazing. They were tasty, juicy, tangy but sweet enough to enjoy.

Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel (I used the whole orange) of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. It can be produced from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots and other citrus fruits, or any combination thereof. I was looking for an easy-to-make recipe and one that doesn’t contain much sugar. This marmalade I cooked is a bit sweet, a bit tangy and a bit bitter, the perfect combination I think.


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I don’t know if you have ever heard of the Bocuse d’Or but it is the prestigious event of the World Chef Championship and it takes place every two years in Lyon, France. The competition is named after Paul Bocuse, an 87 year-old French chef based in Lyon who is famous for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. He is one of the most prominent chefs associated with the nouvelle cuisine, which is less opulent and calorific than the traditional cuisine classique, and stresses the importance of fresh ingredients of the highest quality. Bocuse’s main restaurant is the luxury restaurant l’Auberge du Pont de Collonges, near Lyon, which has been serving a traditional menu for decades. It is one of a small number of restaurants in France to receive the coveted three-star rating by the Michelin Guide.

I’m happy to annouance that Tamas Szell (plus Team Hungary) is the first Hungarian Gourmet Chef ever who competed with the best chefs of the world at Bocuse d’Or 2013 last week. Tamas is 30 year-old and works as a sous chef at Onyx Restaurant in Budapest (a restaurant that was the second in Hungary to get its first Michelin-star but the first where only Hungarian chefs cook).

Tamas and his team finished the competition at the amazing 10th place (see the whole final result and courses here)! What an achievement! We, Hungarians are so proud of him! The other unbelievable thing is that Hungary won the Best Poster Award at the event (you can see all the posters here). Congratulations to Tamas Szell and the Hungarian Team!

And here comes the orange marmalade…

Orange Marmalade

Ingredients (makes 2*440 ml and 2*230 ml jars)

– 2000 g organic oranges
– 400 g cane sugar
– 250 ml (1 cup) water
– 1 vanilla bean, cut into small pieces

Method

Wash the oranges thoroughly and let them dry. With a knife or a peeler remove only the colored part of the peel (very thinly, without the white part) and set it aside. This outer portion of the peel is what give marmalade its bitter taste. Place the skin in a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside for two hours.

Meanwhile using your fingers, peel off the remaining white portion of the rind and discard this part. Slice the oranges into thin slices (the tough white part in the center must be cut out and discarded + remove the seeds if you find any). Place the orange slices into a large pan, add sugar and set aside.

After two hours rinse the skin, chop it finely and add it to the pan. Also add 250 ml water, cover the pan and over low heat let it simmer for 2,5-3 hours, stirring occasionally. The marmalade was getting thicker after 2 hours. Test the readiness of the marmalade by placing a teaspoon of the mixture onto a chilled plate or spoon, allowing it to sit for 30 seconds. Tilt the plate. The mixture should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs easily, it is not ready.

While the fruit is cooking, fill a large pot full with water, place the jars and tops into the water (make sure the water covers everything). Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave everything in the pot until the marmalade is ready.

Remove jars from the water and drain on a clean towel. Start spooning the marmalade into the jars, place a piece of vanilla on top and close them with the lids. Place the warm jars into a basket or a box lined with blankets, kitchen towels, cover them with the blankets and let them cool in a dry place for a day. Once open, store in the refrigerator.

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Filed Under: vegan Tagged With: cooking, homemade, jam, marmalade, orange, sweet

Homemade Lavender Coconut Body Butter

January 12, 2013 by Zizi

100% linen kitchen cloth – KĂłsagabi Textiles

Yes, you read the title right… it’s lavender coconut body butter. No, I’m not planning to change my food blog to a lifestyle blog but as I care what to nourish my body (inside) with I care about what to use to moisturize  it outside. It is a rich, creamy lotion that you can use to feed your hungry skin. When you use it a light, fresh lavender scent fills the air around you. It leaves your skin feeling hydrated and soft. I mostly use it to moisturize my very dry hands. I gave this as a gift to all my family members for Christmas but it’s perfect for any occasion.

How coconut oil is good for your skin? A great explanation from Organic Facts:
“Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin. It is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.“

Lavender is used extensively with herbs and aromatherapy. Infusions are believed to soothe insect bites, burns, and headaches. Lavender oil is used to treat acne, it also treats skin burns and inflammatory conditions. Lavender has soothing, cell regeneration and fungicidal effect.

Thanks for the inspiration and the recipe for Sheena!

Homemade Lavender Coconut Body Butter

Ingredients (makes about 1 cup)

– 1 cup buttery coconut oil (not solid and not liquid)
– 6-8 drops of lavender essential oil (you can use any kind of scent)

Method

Add coconut oil to a bowl. Use hand or stand mixer on high speed and whip the oil for about 8-10 minutes. Drop the lavender essential oil in it, mix it and add your fluffy whipped coconut body butter to a small jar. Keep it at room temperature and it really stays soft!

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Filed Under: vegan Tagged With: Christmas, diy, homemade

Spicy Walnut Mustard

December 28, 2012 by Zizi

Although this mustard was an edible gift for Christmas, it can be made without any occasion at all because it’s spicy and tangy and it goes very well with roasted meat, tofu or a nutritious grain salad. In Hungary eating mustard is popular at New Year’s Eve too.

New Year’s Eve (as we call it – Szilveszter) in Hungary is celebrated with home parties and street parties too. Fireworks and firecrackers are getting very popular. Champagne and wine are part of the celebration and traditional Hungarian New Year’s Eve dishes are frankfurter sausages (from soy too! luck for vegetarians! :)) with lots of mustard or horseradish, roasted pork and cabbage rolls. On New Year’s Day lentil soup is served because lentil is considered to bring luck and lots of money in the New Year.

Recipe inspiration from my friend, Giulia.

Spicy Walnut Mustard

Ingredients (makes about 1 cup)

– 50 g mustard powder
– 50 g walnut, chopped
– water
– 1 tablespoons of runny honey
– 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
– 5 pinches of salt
– small jar

Method

Place the mustard powder in a bowl and stir in the water (about 6-10 tablespoons) little by little until it gets its the desired consistency. Add chopped walnut, season with salt, honey and vinegar.

Pour into a sterilized glass jar and keep it in the fridge. Wait 12 hours before tasting it.

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Filed Under: vegan Tagged With: Christmas, dip, edible gift, homemade, mustard, walnut

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