traveling

Superfood Breakfast: Vegan Sugar-Free Almond Cashew Walnut Coconut Porridge

February 11, 2013 by Zizi

Sunday was all about snow. The whole city was white and pretty so we decided to walk around in the City Park and take winter photos.

City Park (Városliget) is a public park in Budapest, close to the city centre. It is located in the 14th district of Budapest. Its main entrance is Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary’s World Heritage sites. The first trees and planified walkways were established in 1751 and after the public park was created in the first decades of the 19th century the present-day name, Városliget was accepted and it became the first public park in the world.

City Park was the main venue of the 1896 millennium celebrations of Hungary, by which time Andrássy Avenue, Millennium Underground and the Grand Boulevard were built. City Park has the largest artificial ice surface in Europe; and it is also the home of the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Gundel Restaurant, the zoo and grand circus and the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath.

The park was calm and quiet. We could only hear the snow crackling under our feet. I don’t know why but I love this sound.

Our mission was (in addition to take photos) to visit the city park lake and feed the ducks. The lake has warm thermal water so during winter it is the home for these cute birds. I knew that feeding the ducks with bread, chips, crackers or popcorn can lead to excessive weight and malnutrition for the birds as well as many other problems. To avoid this you can buy proper duck food from a machine next to the lake.

It was so much fun to feed the birds who were brave enough to come out of the lake and get closer to me.

Back to the superfood breakfast… This is a ‘must try’ porridge. I have to tell you… you can’t live without trying to make and eat it. It’s so healthy, nutritious, delicious and a good source of antioxidants. And something else… it is not only sugar-free and vegan, it’s gluten free and paleo too.

Don’t miss it! I promise, you will love me for this recipe! 🙂

Vegan Sugar-Free Almond Cashew Walnut Coconut Porridge
(Recipe inspiration: Against All Grain)

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1/3 cup walnut
– 1/3 cup almond
– 1/3 cup cashew
– 1 ripe banana, peeled, cut into slices
– 1 cup coconut milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
– 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon salt + pinch of salt

Method

Place the nuts in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon salt. Fill the bowl with water until the nuts are completely covered and soak overnight on the kitchen counter.

The next morning drain the nuts and rinse them a couple of times until the water is clear.

Place the drained nuts into a food processor, add sliced banana, coconut milk, desiccated coconut, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Blend all together until it is smooth (about 8-10 minutes). If you find it very thick, you can dilute with a bit more coconut milk. You can serve as it is or put the porridge in a pot and heat over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped almond, cashew and coconut chips.

Butternut Squash And Black Beans Taco & Quesadilla

February 8, 2013 by Zizi

Taco

I love traveling. Who doesn’t? I have so many places on my bucket list, places that I would love to visit one day… sooner is better than later. 🙂

I have a notebook where I collect the addresses of all the interesting places, cute shops, cafes, markets, restaurants (especially with the options of vegetarian meals) I want to see, experience and try. I need to jot the names down otherwise I will forget about them. Before we travel somewhere I just open my notebook and check my notes if there is any place we must visit on the journey. As a result I usually make a long-long list (mostly with food related topics) about the restaurants and markets with the sign: “This one shouldn’t be missed!”. Thank God, my boyfriend doesn’t mind doing special food tours on our travels. 🙂

Quesadilla

One of my bucket list places is the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, USA; a powerful and inspiring landscape that overwhelms our senses through its immense size. And if we are there we surely won’t miss the one and only entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas in Nevada. The resort city is known primarily for gambling, shopping and fine dining. It is famous for its consolidated casino-hotels (here is a tip where to stay for the first time) and associated entertainment.

I found a few good restaurants in Vegas with vegetarian (Mexican menu) and vegan options too. If we are there we’ll definitely try these places. Both of them look really good and I’m always amazed if a restaurant has delicious vegetarian and vegan meals to offer.

Which places are on your bucket list?

Anyway, back to my yum Mexican taco and quesadilla. Here you go, two easy to make weekdays dinner recipes!

Butternut Squash And Black Beans Taco & Quesadilla

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

For the taco
– 250-300 g butternut squash, peeled, diced
– 240 g (1 jar) black beans, drained and rinsed
– 1 onion, chopped
– 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
– salt, pepper
– corn tortillas
– cooked rice
– guacamole
– 150 ml sour cream (you can use soy yoghurt to make it vegan) + 2 teaspoon chili sauce, mixed
– fresh coriander
– lime
– olive oil

For the quesadilla (same as for the taco)
– 150 g grated cheese

For the quacamole
– 2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
– 1 small onion, chopped
– 1 clove garlic, chopped
– juice of 1/2 lime
– salt, pepper
– fresh coriander, chopped

Method

To make the butternut squash mix: heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add chopped onion and saute for a 2-3 minutes. Next stir in the diced squash and cook for 8-10 minutes. At the end add black beans, season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Cook for 4-5 minutes then set aside.

To make the tacos: toast tortillas (both sides for about 2 minutes) over an open flame or in a non-stick pan. Fill the tortillas with the butternut squash mixture, top with cooked rice, guacamole, chili sour cream, sprinkle with chopped coriander. Serve with lime wedges. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

To make the quesadillas: heat a non-stick pan and place one tortilla in the pan to warm. Sprinkle with grated cheese, spread some butternut squash mixture and rice over the cheese, sprinkle with cheese again and top with a second tortilla. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip it over and cook until the bottom is browned and the cheese is melted, another 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Slice and serve with quacamole, chili sour cream and fresh coriander.

To make the guacamole: scoop out the inside of the avocados. Mash it with a fork. Add chopped onion, garlic, lime juice, season with salt, pepper and chopped coriander.

Street Food: The Monthly Mingle Roundup

September 5, 2012 by Zizi

Thank you for participating in the Street Food Monthly Mingle and thank you, Meeta for letting me host this event. I got to know more and more beautiful food blogs & bloggers around the world. All the attendees sent delicious food recipes or intersting, new-to-me stories I didn’t know about. I learnt a lot and hopefully you will too.Note: this is the only time when meat appears on my vegetarian food blog! 🙂

And now… let me introduce you all the participants of this Street Food Monthly Mingle… Come travel with us around the world!

Simone at Junglefrog Cooking – Prawn coconut spring rolls

Sayantani at A Homemaker’s Diary – Char kway teow (Malaysian stir fried flat rice noodles with shrimp)

Richa at Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice – Chicken kathi roll

Eva at Food Vegetarisch – Mücver (Turkish zucchini fritters with yoghurt)

Mairi at Toast – Spicy grilled salmon and salsa two bite salad

Ren at Fabulicious Food! – Watermelon and feta salad with Za’atar crumble

Tandy at Lavender and Lime – Pap and wors with tomato and onion relish

Katy at Happy Baking Days – Papas rellenas

Hannah at Bright Palate – Royal milk tea

Robin at What About the Food? – Spicy Tunisian chicken kebabs

Elise at Homemade – Dondurma Maraş (chewy Turkish ice cream)

Shivani at Yellow Butterfly – Jhal-Muri

Jehanne at The Cooking Doctor – Simit (Turkish sesame bread ring)

Karin at Yum and More – Porchetta sandwich

Sonali at Mellow n Spicy – Samosa chaat

Meeta at What’s For Lunch, Honey? – Currywurst

Me, myself & Zita at Zizi’s Adventures – Lángos (Hungarian fried flat bread)

Zucchini Cherry Tomato Ricotta Toast

August 20, 2012 by Zizi

This zucchini ricotta toast is really an easy to make summer dinner we ate one night at Lake Balaton. Lighting candles in the terrace, “listening the silence”, breathing in the fresh air and drinking a glass of white wine made the evening perfect.

We spent a relaxing-reading a lot of books-life without Internet-laying in the sun-swimming a lot in th lake week at the “Hungarian sea”. Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe. The mountainous region of the northern shore is known both for its historic character and as a major wine region, while the flat southern shore is known for its resort towns. If you’re in Hungary, don’t miss the Balaton experience!

I adapted the recipe from Sprouted Kitchen but I also added cherry tomatoes to the toast. Sara’s wonderful new book The Sprouted Kitchen – a tastier take on whole foods has been published. Watching her cookbook trailer makes me want to hold her book in my hands.

Hope my boyfriend, I. is reading this and getting the idea which cookbook(s) he should surprise me with for my birthday in October. 🙂

Zucchini Cherry Tomato Ricotta Toast

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1 medium size zucchini, cubed
– 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
– 250 g ricotta
– 1 small red onion, chopped
– 2 teaspoon Dijon mustart
– 1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
– 10 leaves fresh basil, chopped
– couple of slices whole wheat bread
– salt, pepper
– extra virgin olive oil

Method

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180C (356F).

In a bowl mix together zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with two tablespoons of olive oil. Spread this mixture onto the parchment paper and roast until golden brown for about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile in another bowl mix together ricotta with chopped red onion, Dijon mustard and a bit of salt and pepper. Toast the bread slices, spread two tablespoons of ricotta mixture, pile roasted zucchini and cherry tomatoes on top and sprinkle with the fresh herbs (parsley and basil).

Enjoy!

Roasted Corn Salsa And A Picnic on Margaret Island In Budapest

July 7, 2012 by Zizi

Margaret Island (Margit-sziget) is a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long island in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recreational area for bikers, runners and swimmers (in the Alfréd Hajós sports pool the European Aquatics Championships 1958, 2006 and 2010 took place). It’s also a favorite place for couples to have a romantic night out in Budapest or have a perfect picnic. Its medieval ruins are reminders of its importance in the Middle Ages as a religious centre.

The island spans the area between the Margaret Bridge (south) and the Árpád Bridge (north). Its landmarks are a small Japanese garden, a rose garden, a tiny zoo, an open-air theatre, a music well and a music fountain and an octagonal water tower (the music fountain and the water tower are protected UNESCO sites). Two hotels provide accommodations with thermal spas and various medical services.

All in all, Margaret Island is the Hungarians’ Central Park. 🙂

Sweet crispy corn kernels lightly roasted are heavenly. I adapted the recipe from Nicole. I also made tomato salsa (tomato, red onion, coriander, salt, pepper, lime juice and chili) and corn tortillas. I cooked brown rice and we added avocado slices and a touch of sour cream to fill up our tacos. You can make it a handful of different ways using cheese, beef, chicken, seafood or other vegetables. Get creative and enjoy your Mexican picnic!

Roasted Corn Salsa

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 4 corn cobs
– 1 small bunch of coriander, chopped
– 1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
– juice of 2 limes
– sea salt, black pepper
– extra virgin olive oil

Method

Remove the husks from the corns. Heat a non-stick pan over high heat and roast the corns for about 8 minutes (continuously turn the corns to char). Turn off the heat to medium, add 100-200 ml water, cover the pan with a lid and cook the corns for 10-15 minutes. Let them cool. Stand each cob upright on its base and use a sharp knife to shave off the kernels (here is a video on how to take corn kernels off the cob easily).

In a bowl mix together the corn, coriander, red onion, juice of limes, add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve and enjoy!

¡Voilá!