Recent Posts: Page 31 of 59
Yeast Pancakes (Russian Oladi)
September 22nd, 2012 in Main Dishes, No-meat by Julia Volhina
Using yeast in batter is pretty common in Russian cuisine. They not only make batter fluffy but gives it a distinctive taste.
Yeast are very picky about temperature: if it is too cold yeast will not start fermenting and if it is too hot yeast will die. Temperature of mixture should be warm and stable.
That is why I usually set my plastic mixing bowl in a cooking pot filled with hot water and I make sure bowl doesn’t touch water so it isn’t too hot to ensure comfortable conditions for yeast to ferment.
Consistency of the oladi batter should be a bit more stiff than kefir. If you fry pancakes and they don’t rise upon frying that may mean the batter is too liquid, to fix it mix in a bit more flour and let batter rise for 10-15 mins before trying again.
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Basil Sauce
September 15th, 2012 in Main Dishes, No-meat, Sides by Julia Volhina
Cooking spaghetti squash was yet another food-related discovery for me since we arrived to US.
What makes it interesting is spaghetti-like strands of pulp which can be scooped out with a fork after squash is cooked.
That gives so much room for creativity 🙂 . My first attempt was an easy choice: roast spaghetti squash and mix its pulp with simple tomato and basil sauce.
I hope you will like it.
Minced Fish Cutlets with Rice
September 8th, 2012 in Fish, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
Tender fish cutlets can be prepared of many kinds of fish to your choice (I used tilapia fillets for example).
If fish you are planning on using has bones, they will need to removed before mincing, skin can be kept intact (presuming scales and fins removed as well).
Fish cutlets can be served warm or cooled down, boiled whole potatoes or mash potatoes are good side dish for these, a dash of mayo is a nice addition.
Steaks Marinated in Onion Juice
September 1st, 2012 in Beef, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
A simple recipe to marinate steaks for a cookout: onion juice tenderizes meat without draining its own juices and no need to clean onions themselves as if you would need to do when marinating meat with chopped onions.
I used only salt and ground black pepper as seasonings this time, but other spices can be used to your taste: bay leaf, allspice, paprika, whole peppercorns, whatever you like.
Any meat cut will work here, more lean meats may require more time for marinating.
Parmesan Chicken with Tomato Basil Sauce
August 25th, 2012 in Chicken, Main Dishes by Julia Volhina
Chicken fried in breadcrumbs and parmesan breading, baked with tomato basil sauce is a perfect dish for the romantic dinner with mediterranean hints in taste.
You can use canned tomatoes instead of fresh to save some time and possible money, but I believe sauce prepared with fresh tomatoes tastes a way better.
Breadcrumbs are also easy to make at home by drying and then crumbling in blender couple of slices of italian bread.
Cauliflower and Chicken Soup
August 18th, 2012 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Unusual soup (at least for me): cauliflower florets and with tender chicken boiled in chicken broth and milk thickened with semolina flour.
It requires much less work to prepare that usual soup do: boil chicken and cauliflower and wait until they all become soft to taste. Not much peeling, blanching, slicing, dicing, etc.
You can adjust thickness of the soup by varying amount of water, milk and semolina flour. Add mozzarella directly to a serving bowl if you like taste of melted cheese, or skip it all together if you want to make soup skinnier.
Fresh Broccoli Salad with Raisins and Sunflower Seeds
August 11th, 2012 in Salads by Julia Volhina
Broccoli is one of vegetables I never tried before we came to US. Amongst other foods prepared of broccoli, fresh broccoli salads are pretty popular here.
And I think variation with fresh broccoli, onions, raisins, sunflower seeds and bacon crumbles is the most popular one.
If you wish to make salad lighter skip the bacon (obvious decision) and use lighter mayo.