FloorCookies

These are not your usual chocolate chip cookies.  These are more like truffles, rich and moist inside with a delicate crust outside.  You will need a lot of chocolate but you won’t regret it.  I first saw the recipe just the other day on my friend Kathleen’s wonderful blog Nurturing Life, and because I was in the mood of baking that afternoon, gave it a try.  I was very much pleased with the result and anyone to whom I gave these cookies – to a few co-workers at my and my husband’s workplaces – agreed that they are the most […]

Did you know that latkes have a Middle Eastern origin?  They are an Ashkenazic Hanukkah specialty, but of course could be eaten at any time of the year.  They are “truly marvelous and a good way to start any meal, or to accompany roasted beef” says Yotam Ottolenghi in his cookbook Jerusalem written with his friend Sami Tamimi.

When does anyone who works full time have the time to make a sweet breakfast – like baking scones – from scratch?  On a Sunday morning, for example.  And even though making scones is an easy baking skill, the luxury of not feeling rushed is very beneficial to your well-being.

No doubt about it – this is my signature pastry.  I baked it sooooo… many times both for festive and everyday occasions, so by now I am quite fast when forming the little crescents.  It is a traditional sweet pastry in many European nations made with a light yeasted dough and ground walnuts or ground poppy seeds as rich filling.  I like how they are not uniform in size – at least not in the way how I make them – and also how some might have a little bit more filling than the others.  It is a little bit […]

For a simple soufflé-like pancake that could be served with cinnamon or vanilla sugar, yogurt, fresh fruit or compote of your choice, both for breakfast or as dessert, this recipe is simple, easy to make, and quite versatile.

You can say good bye to boring oatmeal, if you cook it with a little twist.  I got the recipe from Megan Gordon’s Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons.  She writes a beautiful blog, A Sweet Spoonful, and this lovely cookbook is her first one, published in the end of December 2013.  Megan designed the recipe for slow Sundays in winter; I made the oats on a slow wintry Saturday morning, right after I purchased my copy of the cookbook.

Saffron is not the cheapest spice, but you need only a few threads, and it will give a beautiful yellow color to the cooked rice; so it’s worth it to give it a try.

When it comes to baking, my first thought is to usually use walnuts, because I love them so much.  For me, I think they rank even higher than chocolate.

One of the quite often neglected root vegetables are white parsnips.  A lot of people don’t know them or don’t use them in their cooking.  For me, they are as essential as carrots – they are closely related to carrots and parsley roots – especially for vegetable or meat soups.

For this puréed soup use fresh shelled English peas when in season, otherwise frozen peas work well (you don’t need to thaw them).

When our bi-weekly fruit box full of pluots (a cross between a plum and apricot) arrived in the end of August, it was a perfect time to make a fruit dessert without too much trouble.

Quinoa is one of those whole grains with high protein content that cooks very quickly.  It’s actually a seed and has a nutty taste; its origins are in South America.  To make a tasty quinoa salad is just a matter of 25-30 minutes.  There are endless variations to this salad depending on what you like or what is available in your refrigerator.