Recent Posts: Page 40 of 59
Avocado Salad Dressing
July 9th, 2011 in Sauces & Dips & Spreads by Julia Volhina
This creamy avocado salad dressing somewhat resembles guacamole dip, after all it consists of almost the same ingredients, just in different proportion.
However it is much more spicy and more liquid which obviously makes it easier to dress salads with it: lettuce salad with tomatoes, avocados and shrimps is my personal choice for this dressing.
Ready spicy avocado dressing can be stored in the airtight container in fridge for several days.
How to Skin Avocado
July 2nd, 2011 in Tips, Advices & How-to by Julia Volhina
Ripe avocado pulp is very soft and their skin is dense and resembles a shell. And it is very easy to scoop pulp from the skin with a spoon if you are going to prepare avocado guacamole-like dip, salad dressing or milk shakes (yep, I was surprised too!), where avocados are mashed and it doesn’t really matter how you extracted pulp.
However if you need avocado in whole pieces for salad or sandwich, you will need remove pulp from the skin without damaging it.
So here are instructions how to do this easily.
Pork Roast with Garlic, Mayo and Spices
June 25th, 2011 in Main Dishes, Pork by Julia Volhina
Yet another pork roast – and it is spicy one. Slow cooking turns meat in this roast tender and juicy and it makes great dinner.
To save some time on preparation you can marinate meat in advance and then just put it to the oven 2-3 hours before it needs to hit the table.
Juices produced while meat was cooking make great addition when poured over the meat or its side dish of potatoes served with it.
Sorrel and Pork Soup (Green Borscht)
June 18th, 2011 in Hot Soups, Soups by Julia Volhina
Sorrel and pork soup, or as it is called also green borscht (obviously because of the color), is one of these dishes you can rarely eat in US, unless you are ukrainian, poland, russian family or visiting one of those :).
I was a bit unlucky in buying sorrel this time. Sorrel is very seasonal (meaning available only on spring), and for some reason WholeFoods (the only place where I was able to find it) carries it in herbs section – read this as 2-3 branches per a pack.
I ended up getting last 3 packs they had in their stock, but even that was less then needed for this soup (I am actually still wondering, who buys sorrel in WholeFoods in such packs and for what?).
Anyway, if you are more lucky than me and either know where to buy enough of sorrel or growing it by yourself, you can safely use more, and by more I mean much more: 3-4 cups is good. If you want to make it’s sour taste a bit less intense – fry it before adding to the cooking pot or/and use more water when cooking broth.
Sweet Braided Bread
June 11th, 2011 in Desserts by Julia Volhina
I am used to call this kind of braid sweet bread Hala (Хала in russian), however when I was preparing to write this recipe and did a bit of research to make sure I get name right in english, I discovered that real Challah (Hala) doesn’t contain dairy.
Considering this recipe have butter and milk and eggs in it, I didn’t risk to call in challah. After all it is a sweet braid yeast based sourdough bread.
It tastes good by itself and even better with a cup of yogurt or cultured milk (kefir or buttermilk).
String Beans Fried with Eggs
June 4th, 2011 in Main Dishes, No-meat, Sides by Julia Volhina
Yet another recipe for fried green string beans, now accompanied by scrambled eggs.
Any kind of string beans will work good for this one: green or yellow, thin or thick, whole or cut – just adjust boiling time so they are cooked enough but not too soft when done.
I don’t think there can be too much eggs used when cooking string beans. Even though there are only 2 on the picture and I ended up using 3, but actually think 4 would be even better, so just cook to your taste!
Crab Sticks Salad with Napa and Cucumber
May 28th, 2011 in Salads by Julia Volhina
It is time for summer cookouts yet? I bet it is! Who said cookouts should be all meat and bread – add a bit of vegetables and crab sticks 🙂
Napa gives this salad tender filling; however you can substitute white cabbage for napa – it will work fine, just remember to tenderize shredded cabbage with your hands.
If you use frozen crab sticks, make sure they unfreeze completely and all extra liquid is removed before adding them to the salad.