Corn chowder

In Minnesota we still have cold days and looking forward for warm weather and comfort food. This time I decided to make a corn chowder. This recipe is simple, delicious and healthy.

Corn chowder

Serves 6.

1 & 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 & 1/2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (optional, who likes it)
2 cups corn fresh or frozen kernels
1 large potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper


In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onions, and saute for 4 minutes. Add celery, red pepper, garlic and cumin and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable stock, thyme and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add corn and potatoes, return to a simmer and cook until all vegetables are tender, 10 minutes. Place cornstarch in a small bowl, slowly add evaporated milk, stirring until smooth. Stir into thesoup and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes, until thickened. Serve immediately.

Recipe came from "The Eating Well recipe rescue cookbook."

Mozzarella Lox sandwiches

Mozzarella Lox sandwiches.

Make 4 big sandwiches

4 big pieces crusty bread
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon honey
1 glove garlic, minced
7 oz soft mozzarella cheese
4 oz lox, thinly sliced

green spring onions for sprinkling

Mix together butter, soy sauce, honey and garlic. Apply butter mixture on the bread slices. Place the 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese and top with lox. Sprinkle with spring onions.

Бутерброды с моцареллой и соленым лососем

4 больших куска хлеба
2 столовых лозки сливочного масла
2 чайные ложки соевого соуса
2 чайные ложки меда
1 зубец чеснока, очень мелко нарезанного
200 грамм мягкого сыра моцарелла
120 грамм соленого лосося.

Зеленый лук для посыпки

Перемешать масло, соевый соус, мед и чеснок. Помазать этой смесью хлеб. Положить по 2-3 куцочка моцареллы и накрыть соленым лососем. Посыпать зеленым луком.

Apple-Cinnamon crumb cake

I decided to try at least a couple recipes from famous book "Rose's heavenly cakes", which I recently bought. Of course, first one is an apple cake. It's quite refreshing to have an apple cake in February. So, I made it.


Apple-Cinnamon crumb cake

Serves 8 to 10 people.

Cinnamon Crumb Topping

1 cup walnut halves
1/3 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspooon vanilla extract

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon until the walnuts are coarsely chopped. Remove and set aside 1/2 cup to use for the filling. To the remainder, all flour, butter and vanilla. Pilse briefly to form a corse, crumbly mixture. Scrape it into a medium bowl and refrigirate it for about 20 minutes to firm up the butter and make it easier to crumble.

Apple filling
1 tart apple (I took 2 apples), 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Just before mixing the batter, peel, core and slice the apple 1/4 inch thick. Sprikle with lemon juice and set asinde.

Batter for the cake

2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream, divided
1 & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 3/4 cup all-pirpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 350F 20 minutes before baking.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 3 tablespoons of the sour cream, and vanilla just until lightly combined.

Make the batter. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, mix the flour. sugar, balong powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Add butter and the remaining sour cream and mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and neat for 90 second. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in two parts. Using a silicone spatula, scrape about 2/3 of the batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle lightly with reserved 1/2 cup crumb topping(do not press into batter) and top with apple slices. Drop remaining batter in large blobs over apples and spread evenly.

Rose recommends to use one 9-inch springform to bake sich delicate cake. I used rectangle form with similar dimensions, just because I like  rectangle pieces of cake.


Bake the cake 35 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven. Evenly strew the surface with the crumb topping. Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the corner comes out clean and the cake springs back when presses lightly in the center.

Recipe came from "Rose's heavenly cakes" by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Mama's potato salad.

I found the recipe in "Eating Well Recipe Rescue" book. In most cases we have all ingredients at home and can make wonderful salad in a minutes. It's quite delicious and nutritious, especially in a winter.


Mama's potato salad.

Serves 6

1 + 1/2 lbs. new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
salt to taste
1/4 cup low-far buttermilk
2 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tsp American style yellow mustard
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped green or red bell peppers
2 Tbsp finely chopped celery
2 Tbsp finely chopped onions
1-2 finely chopped pickles
fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a medium-sized saucepan, cover potatoes with 5 cups water, season with salt and bring to boil. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.

In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, egg, bell peppers, celery, onions and pickles. Add potatoes and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Картофельный салат

На 6 порций

750 грамм молодого картофеля, почищенного и нарезанного на большие куски
соль по вкусу
1/4 чашки кефира
2 столовых ложки майонеза
2 чайные ложки американской горчицы
1 круто сваренное яйцо, очищенное и мелко порезанное
1/2 чашки мелко нарезанного зеленого или красно перца
2 столовых ложки мелко нарезанного сельдерея
2 столовые ложки мелко нарезанного лука
1-2 небольших соленых огурца, мелко нарезанного
перец по вкусу

В небольшую кастрюлю выложить картофель и залить 5 чашками воды. Посолить и довести до кипения. Варить 10 минут. Снать с огня и отведить воду. Дать картофель остыть.

В большой посуде смешать кефир, майонез, горчицу, яйцо, перец, сельдерей, лук и соленые огурцы. Добавить картофель и все перемешать. Попробывать на соль. Если нужно досолить и поперчить. Поставить в холодильник хотя бы на 1 час.

Puff snails with chicken filling

Puff snails with chicken filling

Makes 16 medium snails

1 package puff pastry dough (2 sheets)
sea salt for sprinkling

Chicken filling:

8 drumsticks with skin on
400 gramm fresh chicken liver
3 medium onions divided, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
salt, pepper to taste

Cleaned and wash chicken liver very well. Put chicken liver into boiling water and simmer for 20-25 minutes until it's ready. Drain water and cool off the liver. In another pot, boil chicken drumsticks for 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat a saute pan with the olive oil. Add slices from 2 onions to olve oil and saute until onion is soft, but not browned. Add a little bit of salt.

Prepare food processor. Add chicken liver, meat from drumsticks and soft onion. Finally add slices from 3-rd onion and process until smooth. Add egg. Taste for salt and pepper. If you need, add it. Divide filling into 16 equal parts.

Defrost puff pastry shells at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cut each sheet of the dough into 8 stripes 3cm x 35cm each one. Roll out each stripe to make wider, about 6 cm. Place one portion of the filling. Pinch the long sides and fold like snail. Place on baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt. Chill in refrigerator for 30-40 mintues.

Preheat oven to 400F. Bake pastries for 15-17 minutes or until pastries turn lightly golden brown.  Do not open the oven for the first 15 minutes of baking, pastries will not rise to full potential.

Majestic and moist Honey Cake from Marcy Goldman

I'm a proud owner of Marcy's book "Jewish Holiday baking". This time I decided to bake the absolutely unvbelievable delicious honey cake. I think, winter is a right season for honey cakes, which go well with coffee, tea or even milk.

Majestic and moist Honey Cake from Marcy Goldman

Makes 8 to 10 servings

3 1/2 cups all-purspose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoonс cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups white sugar ( I took 1 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm cofee or strong tea
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup whisky
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Prepare 9-inch angel food cake pan.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease the pan.  In a large bowl, whish together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Make a well in the center and add the oil, honey, sugars, eggs, vanilla, cofee, orange juice, and whisky.

Using a strong wire whisk or an electric mixer on slow speed, combine the ingridients well to make a thick batter, making sure that no ingridients are stuck to the bottom of the bowl.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the cake evenly with the almonds. Bake 60 to 70 minutes. Cake should spring back when gently pressed.

Let the cake stand for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then invert in onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Медовик от Марси Голдман

На 8-10 порций

3 1/2 чашек муки
1 столовая ложка разрыхлителя
1 чайная ложка соды
1/2 чайной ложки соли
4 чайные ложки молотой корицы
1/2 чайной ложки молотой гвоздики
1/2 чайной ложки душистого перца
1 чашка растительного масла
1 чашка меда
1 1/2 чашки сахара ( я взяла 1 чашку)
1/2 чашки коричневого сахара
3 яйца
1 чайная ложка экстракта ванили
1 чашка теплого кофе или чая
1/2 чашки апельсинового сока
1/3 чашки коньяка
1/2 чашки тонко нарезанных миндальных орех. ( по желанию)

Приготовить глубокую форму для выпечку бисквита. Нагреть духовку до 350Ф (180Ц)

В большой миске смешать муку, разрыхлитель, соду, соль, корицу, гвоздику и душистый перец.
Посередине смеси сделать углубление. Добавить все остальные ингридиенты и хорошо перемешать. Вылить в форму и поставить в духовку на 60-70 минут.

Готовый торт вынуть из духовки и дать 15 минут остывать в форме. Потом вынуть из формы и дать полностью остыть.

Sweet Potato Pancakes Made With Leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Hanukkah, winter, cold weather and very tender latkes from one of the healthiest vegetables such as sweet potato. You have to try, they are simply delicious!

Sweet Potato Pancakes Made With Leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2

1 1/4 cups leftover mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving
4 tablespoon butter, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch cinnamon

1. Combine sweet potatoes, sour cream, milk, egg, and maple syrup in a medium bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan and add to mixture. Whisk until homogenous.

2 Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry and whisk until just combined (do not overmix).

3 Melt 1 tablespoon remaining butter in a large skillet over medium heat and swirl to coat pan. Add four 1/4-cup batches of batter, using the back of a ladel to smooth them out into 4-inch disks. Cook, swirling gently on occasion, until the first side is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until browned un second side and pancakes are puffed, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate set in a warm oven and repeat until all pancakes are cooked. Serve immediately with extra maple syrup.

Оладьи из пюре сладкoгo картофеля

На 2 порции

1 1/4 чашки пюре сладкого картофеля
1/2 чашки сметаны
3/4 чашки молока
1 яйцо
1 1/2 столовых ложки кленового сиропа
4 столовых ложки сливочного масла
1 чашка муки
3/4 чайной ложки разрыхлителя
1/4 чайной ложки соды
1/2 чайной ложки соли
щепотка корицы и мускатного ореха

Смешать пюре картофеля, сметану, молоко, яйцо, кленовый сироп и 2 столовых ложки растопленного сливочного масла в небольшой миске.

В другой миске смешать сухие ингридиенты: мука, разрыхлитель, сода, соль, корица и мускатный орех.  Добавить картофельную смесь к сухим ингридиентам и перемешать копаткой.

Растопить на сковороде 2 столовые ложки сливочного масла и начать печь оладьи. На каждой стороне по 2 минуты на среднем огне. Подавать остывшие оладьи с кленовым сиропом.

Recipe came from Serious Eats

Deviled eggs with Smoked Salmon

Deviled eggs with Smoked Salmon

Makes 8 servings

8 hard-boled eggs, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 tablespoons mayonaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
4 packed tablespoons finely minced smoked salmon
salt and pepper

Remove yolks from eggs and mash with mayonaise, sour cream, mustard and lemon juice. Stиr in dill and smoked salmon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon mixture into the egg whites shells. Garnish each deviled egg with a fresh dill sprig. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Фаршированные яйца с соленым лососем.
На 8 порций

8 сваренных в крутую яиц, почищенных анд порезанных пополам
3 столовых ложки майонеза
1 столовая ложка сметаны
2 чайные ложки американской горичицы
1/2 чайной ложки лимонного сока
 2 чайные ложки мелко порезанного укропа
4 столовые ложки мелко нарезнного соленого лосося.
соль и перец по вкусу.

Удалить желтки из яиц и вилкой перетереть со сметаной, майонезом, горчицей и лимонным соком. Добавить укроп и лосось. Одбавить соль и перец по вкусу.

Чайной ложкой выложить массу в белковые чашечки. Украсить по желанию укропом и поставить в холодильник как минимум на 1 час. Подавать к столу.

The recipe came from Favorite recipe using Costco products