What have you cooked recently? Any recommendations for cold winter days?
Kitchen Inspirations. Winter edition.
Tag: cooking
Kiss the Cook
This week we had no school in Portland, you can guess that for me it means a lot of cooking and baking. It’s my passion and obsession, sorry, I’m getting older especially when I add knitting to the mix, ha-ha… Books, tea and lots of yarn.
Cooking makes me feel at home, it’s like a meditation that takes you right back where it all began. My stepfather taught me how to cook, he was an excellent chef in our home and also my best friend. I miss him sometimes, I wish we could cook together again.
The crazy weather this week made me think of all the homeless people who had to weather the situation somehow, I’m so grateful I have a home realizing that usually I take it for granted. I still like where I live but I tend to forget how crucial it is to have a nice little nook to keep you warm and cozy. A place where you can cook all day long.
What do you do to make yourself feel at home? I feel like everyone has their own coping techniques so it’s probably good to know all of them. Some folks enjoy cleaning the place, I’m not one of those, sorry to admit. I will definitely do it but not necessarily enjoy it. There is a crowd who loves all the cute knick-knacks and candles in every single corner of every single room. Those things stress me out to say the least. I wish I was a bit more at home with those things.
Anyway, coming back to the kitchen I like minimalism in my cooking space, it looks and sounds really strange to many people and I understand it. I like to think of myself as a primitive tribal kind of cook, savage of sorts.
What do you want your kitchen be like? I enjoy it when it’s well organized and still simple. It has to have lots of light and a window. Sometimes I think of becoming a kitchen designer, what do you think, it’s probably too late, haha… No, never too late. I met a couple who designed their own home kitchen included. It’s a pretty cool space with lots of character, yet they talk about how they would redesign it to make it even better.
What do you want your place feel like? For me it’s supposed to be warm and smell like food, that’s all I want in life, primitive in it’s core. Super simple.
Old New Year Celebration
#cooking #newyear #traditions
The Old New Year is a traditional holiday observed informally in some countries. It is the first day of the new year in the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the universally adopted Gregorian calendar. Therefore, the Old New Year is celebrated on January 14.
Although the Gregorian calendar was officially adopted in all European countries, the Eastern Orthodox Church, some Oriental Orthodox denominations, and Berbers in North Africa still follow the old Julian calendar. Due to this, some countries celebrate the arrival of the new year twice by both calendars. January 1 is usually a public holiday, whereas January 14 is an unofficial celebration.
In the liturgical calendar, the Old New Year corresponds to the feast day of Saint Basil the Great. In some countries, it is reflected in the holiday’s name or traditions. For example, the Old New Year in Macedonia is also known as Vasilica. And Serbians celebrate the day by baking vasilica, round cornmeal loaves that are served for the Old New Year dinner.
In the former Soviet republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan), the Old New Year is celebrated by non-religious people as the final day of the holiday season. For devout Christians, the holiday season concludes with Epiphany, which is observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 19.
The Old New Year in ex-Soviet states combines secular traditions associated with New Year’s Day and Christmastide customs that stem from pre-Christian rites and rituals. One of such customs is kolyada. Kolyada is basically a hybrid of mummers’ plays and carol singing. It involves young people and children in costumes going from house to house and signing carols. In return, they expect to be given money and sweets.
Although the custom isn’t as widespread as it used to be, it still persists. In cities, it’s mostly children expecting to get some sweets from their relatives and neighbors, much like Halloween trick-or-treaters in the West but without scary costumes. For most people, it’s a nostalgic family holiday that involves a large meal and celebratory drinking. (Taken from Anydayguide.com)
The winter is here, believe it or not. We are at home baking all things imaginable, since it’s a snow day one needs to keep warm and cozy while staying in. The highlight of this gastronomic celebration is baked apples, what are you cooking/baking today? What are your go to activities on a snow day? Are you experiencing inclement weather conditions as well?
Baking and Cooking
I decided to start this year right, I cooked and cooked, and cooked some more, and baked a little. And you know what, I found a new recipe for a lentil lemon salad and made it my way, it turned out amazing. I used this recipe for inspiration: https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252087/lemony-lentil-salad-with-feta/ adding salad greens and subtracting onions. You can tell I was teaching Math yesterday, I actually did, it was so much fun, we mostly focused on geometry, and geometry is my favorite.
What else? I made poppy seed muffins today, and once again played with the recipe to make it even better, i added walnuts and cacao. My guys are brown and nutty this time, so proud of them. It’s a great recipe, easy to follow and quick to make. I used this recipe: https://dinnerthendessert.com/poppy-seed-muffins/, sour cream instead of milk and no vanilla or almond extract. I also added 2 cups of flour to make them more like bread.
For the first time I made steak, it turned out pretty good. I am not a big steak person yet I was curious to try something new, not that new at the end of the day. For me it’s unusual so I decided to conquer my fears once again. Best part was making carrot salad with garlic and walnuts, salt, black pepper, mayo for the dressing, it’s the oldest recipe in the world and I love it to the moon and back. I have to make it again since it’s winter. Carrot salad with mayo is a new year recipe, without it new year would never come.
In the breakfast section of my book i made bacon jalapenos omelet, it turned out great with a bit of salt and black pepper. I forgot to mention potatoes, everything is better with potatoes, don’t you think? I had this hearty breakfast for lunch and it was just what the doctor ordered. Highly recommend if you have never tried making it at home. Jalapenos are marinated so the dish is not too spicy.
Let me tell you about a brave move I made, a culinary adventure late at night craving greasy bar food. So this is what I did instead of going out to eat: I had fried chicken with bacon, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. It was super good after i added cumin to the recipe. It’s like night and day, try it once, it reminds me of fajita filling but better because it’s home made. So good and so greasy!
All these dishes are super easy to make and take 20 to 30 minutes. What I like the most about cooking at home is that it’s always better than going out to eat, at least in my experience, I still eat out sometimes to get inspiration and try something new.
Kitchen Inspirations. December edition.
I’ve been cooking and baking stuff recently, for some reason I have not been taking pictures as much as I usually do. Yet I want to share those that I have since it makes me happy.
Have you cooked something recently? What was it? Did you take pictures of your creations?
Bread with jalapenos and honey, good and spicy
Broccoli and tofu with gomasio (sesame seeds)
Cranberry sauce with oranges and cognac
Chinese cabbage, corn and sweet peppers.
In my latest version of borsht i had mushrooms, beans, polish kielbasa, mustard, celery, Chinese cabbage and horseradish. It turned out very tasty. It was served with jalapeno honey bread and sour cream. Now I am thinking of what to make for a Christmas meal? I would like something savory.
What are your favorite Christmas dishes?
Why I quit my job 