Vegetarian risotto

We planned to boil rice to serve with vegetables on Maria's housewarming party, among many other dishes.  As I said previously, I was the Chef... you know...And of course, as  I cannot concentrate on one thing at a time, I was multi-tasking...you know cooking, baking, drinking beer, and cutting vegetables...all at once... multi-tasking keeps me full of energy and creates some kind of "drive"...you might think I am crazy...but I love it...anyway...to get back to our risotto...So both of us, nicely forgot about our rice that was boiling in vegetable broth...and so rice, which had less water than it required, was starting to fry raw :) ...if we were late for 5 more minutes, it would have ended up in trash...in our case it ended up on the table and was really tasty.

Trust my "not really a rice person" taste, it was delicious, yummy, tasty, or any other synonym you could find to describe good food.

Roasted leg of pork

Healthy snack from curd

This is one of the best salad-snacks I have ever tried. It is traditional and very common in Armenia. Some people prepare it in a form of a salad, some make balls from the mixture, some stuff green peppers with it. I make a smooth paste out of it and serve as a snack to be eaten with toasts or chips, or without anything...

Lemonade AKA dzzFood

The sun is away today...but the weather is great, in a different way, but still great...it is raining from time to time and the air is so-so fresh. Maybe because I had a lot for dinner, or because I am somewhat tired, I feel like drinking something fresh now. I just drank a glass of water and a cup of tea: none satisfied my thirst. So, I decided to use some "psychological methods" to deal with my thirst... I decided to write about a nice and refreshing lemonade. It is made of fresh lemons, some sugar, and water.

Bruschetta

After the long winter full of dry and "pale" food, my soul constantly wants bright colors and freshness not only behind the window but also in food! This is why I asked my friend to include bruschettas in our menu  for her housewarming party (for which I was the Chef :) btw)! Look at those pieces of bread with tomatoes and some fresh herbs... what can be better...

This light starter is dedicated to all those who either fast or want to have a quick, tasty, and yet light snack.

Bruschetta reminds me of  Napoli restaurant in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria... It was a great place, they had really nice garlic bread, bruschetta, and the greatest cheese-cake. This is where I have tried bruschetta the first time, more than 10 years ago. Many of my friends might still remember that place..I wonder if it still exists...

Anyway,  bruschetta is a very common Italian starter and there are many variations to it. Here is what I offer you to do...

Dot cake and spring!

On a sunny day as this one, I always feel like sitting in an open-air cafe, reading a book or a magazine, and enjoying a cup of American coffee. Well, would the day be perfect without a piece of a cake...to sweeten the flavor of fresh air and still chilly wind. Of course not. Nevertheless, it is only March, and open-air cafes are still closed, so I have to take care of my own cake and coffee.

Hope you too see the sun today! If the weather forecast promises you a sunny day tomorrow as well, you could sacrifice some 30 minutes of today's sun, to prepare something sweet and to meet tomorrow with a joyful piece of a cake. Does it worth trying?

Christmas cookies in spring

...This cookies are perfect for children. They do not contain ginger or eggs. They are simple and safe food even for babies  from 7 mo on (of course without frosting). Make them in forms of flowers, and you will have spring cookies!

Chicken breasts stuffed with mushrooms

Most people generally enjoy food that is common to their culture and region. Oh, but most importantly, we all enjoy food prepared by our moms! Then we get married  and your halves have their vision of mommy's food...and here is where new recipes are usually born...as a result of compromises, join efforts, and different tastes...The driver of innovation, creation, and adaptation....family...what else...and it is not only about food, my friends...I got too far from my topic already...I have this nice a juicy chicken breast waiting to be written about, while I am philosophically discussing the institute of marriage and food.

So the chicken...

Doesn't it look nice with vegetables+rice, seasoned with onions? Try for yourself.

Rice+vegetables

Did I say I love improvising? 

Well, here is another improvisation of mine. It is called rice with whatever you have at home. It can be pure vegan or if combined with small fried chicken cubes, become a satisfactory meal for dinner. It is really easy to prepare, and tastes so delightful and light! Trust me it will be gone in 15 minutes, at least that is the case in my family!

As I said, the ingredients in this dish are dictated by the content of the refrigerator, rather than a strict recipe to be followed. The most important here is the technique. Fry vegetables a bit, cook rice separately in microwave, mix them, season, and add soy sauce. But if you need a recipe, continue reading.

Trout fish with balsamic vinegar sauce

This post is for those who are tired of eating simply boiled or fried trout. If you live in a country like mine, trout is most common fish you get. Eh, how I wish I could leave on a sea-side and enjoy seafood 24/7. But I live in a landlocked country and trout is my destiny! So, let us improvise with what we have on hand, and that is...yes you guessed...trout!


To prepare trout for 2, you need one medium-sized trout, motivation, love for fish, and 30 minutes of spare time to cook dinner! Please note, the recipe for the side dish is at the bottom of the post.

Banana meringue cake

People are divided to those who love sweets, those who are neutral to sweets, and those who do not like sweets. I belong to group 1: those who cannot live without sweets. There was a time, I had to eat third of a chocolate bar every morning to realize that I am awake. Finally, I am over that habit, but still, I continue to consume sweets constantly. So to control my weight, I try not to bake, because when I know that there is something sweet in the house - I eat it! On the other hand, that is selfish, don't you think? So sweets are occasion and demand driven in our house, you ask you get it!

Recently, my husband asked for something sweet, and here is what he got...dough-less Meringue cake.

Broccoli soup

A friend of mine, Iza, once posted a link to a simple broccoli soup on Facebook. It was just a cream-soup out of boiled broccolis, water, and salt! It was served with goat cheese and olive oil.

I adjusted the recipe, to make it more tasteful and here is what I got. And trust me, its yummy!

Chicken cheese pasta

Oh, I love pasta and Italian food in general! Though pastas and pizzas are meant to "improve your sizes"...they excite my appetite and my body cannot resist the temptation! I will be sharing many recipes of pastas and macaronis, because they are easy to prepare, easy to improvise with and always taste good. Even if you eat it just with some yogurt and cheese it is still ...a masterpiece!

But opinions vary. Once, I wanted to cook pasta for my parents. They looked at me very suspiciously and said "we do not like macaronis." In USSR, there was a special per capita macaronis consumption norm. In other words, there was not much of an alternative to macaronis, which according to my parents were disgusting and were the cause of negative associations with the word "macaroni". Still, I asked them to trust my "cooking skills" and wait for the dinner.

Chicken and mushroom salad

I love improvising with salads. To me, there are no salad recipes, there are just some rules and some common salad ingredients. Other than that, salad  is piece of art and person making it is the artist. So my dear artists, improvise and enjoy what you create!

Buffalo wings AKA dzzFood

If you are planning to spend the day watching your beloved one's favorite program, which in case of 80% of men is on sports channel, you might also consider making a snack type dinner to go with the game. Buffalo wings with cheese sauce are a great substitute for dinner, when  your man cannot handle both using a fork and watching a game. You can make French fries to go with this dish and enjoy the evening next to TV. 

You might ask, what if you are not watching a sports game in the even. Well, you can serve buffalo wings with a nice salad and vegetables, and it becomes a really decant dinner! 

Rice with vegetables

This dish is perfect for all seasons, as nowadays you can find most of vegetables at any season. It is really easy to prepare. It suits perfectly vegans. Vegetables are also my favorite side-dish to spicy chicken or just a steak. 

I make various variations of it, depending on the season and availability of vegetables. Sometimes I make it with rice, sometimes pure vegetables. Vegetables taste delicious both hot and cold. In other words, this is my favorite side-dish! And one of the fastest and easiest to prepare...10 minutes and is ready! Enjoy!

Christmas food in spring...

The air has spring-ish flavor in it, the wind blows sweetly, as it always does in march, and the sun is shining differently today… It is spring for sure!

Then why am I thinking of Christmas? Huh? It might seem crazy to think of winter when spring has just finally arrived. But people are different… and though I love-love-love spring more than any other season, today is one of the very few days when I miss winter…more specifically New Year and Christmas season. Maybe because I was going through folders on my husband’s computer and came across some Christmas photos of my daughter, Christmas tree, cookies and sweet rice…who knows. But as it happened, I decided to write a bit about my spontaneous Christmas mood and share a recipe!