Perfect Breakfast: Muesli, Strawberries, Lavender & Rose Water

Sunday morning  & (another) (rushed) perfect breakfast.

muesli

yoghurt 

clear acacia honey

chopped dark chocolate

a handful of hazelnuts

sliced strawberries

edible lavender

~~~

sipping coffee

&

listening to Luis Miguel

xx

Sweet Laban with Orange Blossom Water, Crushed Hazelnuts & Strawberries

Yesterday I bought fresh strawberries for the first time this season. Contrary to everything I believe in & stand up to, the strawberries have been...imported, not locally produced. They are big, shiny and what's worse, they must have been sprayed with chemicals and pesticides! I could resist anything but temptation! I was in the shop and I suddenly a boxful of bright red fruit eyed me. I had visions of French toasts early in the morning. I would fry them up in a sweet omelette, cover in snowy sugar & top with fresh strawberries. Once back home, I chickened out and the idea of a heavy dessert didn't sound so great afterall.

This is my own version of Strawberry French Toast Recipe that sheds drastically most of the calories and reminds you of the delicate taste of Middle Eastern desserts. xoxo

Sweet Laban w Orange Blossom Water, Hazelnuts & Fresh Strawberries

(my version of decadent French Toast with Strawberries)

Type of cusine: Middle Eastern/Fusion/Low Fat

I'll start by clarifying that laban means yoghurt in Arabic. :) When I lived in Saudi I would always buy dairy products from Almarai. I have always loved the grassy taste of fresh milk and yoghurt and it is such a pity I can't find this brand in Romania :(

I find that yoghurt inspires me to create beautiful sweet and savoury dishes and I always manage to put it to good use.

Ingredients

4 big tbs of full fat yoghurt

2 tsp of clear honey

1 tsp of preserved orange rind

2 tsp of orange blossom water

a handful of crushed hazelnuts (almonds or pistachios)

a handful of fresh strawberries

85% dark chocolate

Mix the yoghurt with the honey, hazelnuts, orange rind and orange blossom water. Top with slices of stawberries and freshly shredded chocolate.

That's it! Have you ever had such a quick and uber delicious/guilt-free dessert before?

This was the first time I have ever made it and decided that yes, it's worth blogging about it!

To make the toast however, fry a slice of brown bread or ciabatta in low-fat butter (less than 80% fat) and put the sweet laban mixture, fruit and chocolate on the bread. Pair with black coffee or green tea with mint. That's another a perfect breakfast. :))

Perfect Breakfast: Sweet Bulgur with Grapefruit Pulp Frosting & Orange Blossom Water

There is no denying that my favourite time of the day is morning and my favourite meal of the day is...guess what? - dinner! Well, I do my best not to skip breakfast and when I have more than ten minutes to spare in the kitchen, I experiment with something new. This is how my "Perfect Breakfast" series started on Lemon Love Notes.

This morning I revamped half a cup of bulgur,  I sweetened it and gave it a truly Middle Eastern treatment. I simply love bulgur and surely, there must be more than one way of cooking it, apart from using it in tabouleh or Bulgur Salad with Mint & Pomegranates *delicious*

Sweet Bulgur w Honey, Grapefruit Pulp Frosting & Pistachios

Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern/Fusion

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

half a cup of bulgur

2 tbs of clear honey

orange blossom water

the pulp of a freshly squeezed grapefruit

a handful of hydrated pistachios

orange rind preserve

la vie en rose

Method

Steam the bulgur until it becomes fluffy. 

Squeeze the grapefruit (drink the juice, keep the pulp) ;)

Hydrate the pistachios in warm water and shell them.

Once the bulgur soaks in all the water and becomes fluffy, pour a generous measure of orange blossom water and clear acacia honey, mix, cover and let the flavours mix for 10 minutes. Place the fluffy bulgur in a bowl, add 2 spoonfuls of grapefruit pulp frosting & sprinkle some pistachios. Finally, put the orange rind preserve on top for a bit of drama. 

I went for sweet bulgur this morning as I realized that I had forgotten to hydrate the wheat berries the night before. Bulgur is amazing in this combination; the grapefruit pulp boosts the flavours magically while the orange blossom water, orange rind preserve and pistachios pair so well. I will definitely repeat this experiment some time very, very soon! Maybe next time I'll follow Joumana's Sweet Bulgur with Grape Molasses or I'll spice it up with ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg. The sky is the limit :))

Perfect Breakfast: Pink Buckwheat w Rosewater

This morning I woke up at 6 and in the stillness of the house I started planning my day over a cup of black honeyed coffee. Yes, I take honey in my coffee. :) I started working for a while till I got distracted by Pintrest. It was a constructive distraction though- it inspired me to create my own beautiful space around me. There are always tiny things that can easily go unnoticed in the whirlpool of life -a  quick snapshot of the sunrise, a dried rose resting at the bottom of the jar, loose green tea, the spritz of perfume on freshly showered skin, the chill out tunes of lounge.fm.

What has inspired me today (so far)

good morning, sunshine

Roses (detail) by Tarasov

frozen in a pink universe

pretty in pink

Last week I bought buckwheat. You may hum a long: "whaaat?" :)  Don't worry, I had held back before buying a bag of buckwheat, as I had no idea how to eat it. The woman in the shop said it was good in soups, but they always tell you that. Throw anything in hot water and you'll get soup ://

But after google-ing it, I was amazed to find out how packed with all the good stuff buckwheat is!

                                                 Nutrients in  Buckwheat

1.00 cup (168.00 grams)

Nutrient%Daily Value

manganese34%

tryptophan25%

magnesium21.4%

fiber18.1%

copper12.5%

Calories (154)8%

source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=1

While many people think that buckwheat is a cereal grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel making it a suitable substitute for grains for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains that contain protein glutens. Buckwheat flowers are very fragrant and are attractive to bees that use them to produce a special, strongly flavored, dark honey.  

(same source as above)

To cut the story short, I must say buckwheat is absolutely delicious, both in savory and delicately sweet dishes. 

A couple of nights ago I made a buckwheat salad with mushrooms and herbs and this morning....

Pink Buckwheat with flavoured yoghurt and rosewater

type of cuisine: fusion, healthy, low fat

What you have to know about buckwheat is that, immersed in warm water, it softens quite quickly. 

Ingredients

half a cup of buckwheat 

rose tea (to flavour the water)

2 tbs of rosewater (to flavour the yoghurt)

2 tbs of yoghurt

a handful of raspberries

2 tsp of honey

Preparation & Method

Pour warm water over the buckwheat, add 2-3 rose buds and let the buckwheat soften for at least 30 minutes. 

In the meantime puree the raspberries, mix them with clear honey, rosewater and yoghurt. 

Drain the buckwheat and pour the flavoured yoghurt over it. 

It is a great combination and rosewater + raspberries pair so well. I make my own flavoured yoghurt at home all the time. I wouldn't even dream of buying it from the supermarket. 

If you recall, last year I posted Gourmet Yoghurt for Foodies which will give you an idea how easy and drop dead gorgeous flavoured-yoghurt making is :)

#inlove

snapshot on Twitter @NiTuairisc

PS. This is my 100th post. 

Perfect Breakfast: Lemon Curd & Some Beautiful Snapshots of Sunny Ireland

I discovered lemon curd last spring in Ireland. It was almost like a revelation. How could I have lived so far without spreading the velvety tangy cream on brown bread early each morning?  Lemon curd makes life more beautiful, early mornings shine and keeps a big smile on your face. Food wise, there are many things last year's trip opened my eyes to:

* Irish beef - the most tender in the world

* Irish Guinness Stew

* Irish soda bread

* Irish dairy in general: the real taste of Irish butter

* (probably) the greatest potato mash in the world :)

* rhubarb jam/pies/salad/sauce etc - such a rare ingredient in Romania, where organic rhubarb is plentiful in areas like Transylvania, but it's only a staple in pigs' diet (!). I know, it's sad they aren't aware of it.

* lemon curd: so delicately sweet and citrusy, it becomes an addiction. No matter how much I may have, I feel like I need some more. 

I loved it so much that I stacked up on it, bought some extra jars for family, friends and myself & Mike. No worries, we drove from Romania to Ireland, hence we left with a boot-ful of Romanian wine and came back with lemon curd,  rhubarb jam, Irish cured beef, HP sauce (can't find it in Romanian supermarkets anymore), organic Miso paste, soba noodles, teas, organic coffee, and and the list can go on. (I love shopping in Ireland) because the focus falls on quality rather than on quantity.

 

My first Lemon Curd

adapted from BBC Food recipes

As I was kinda nervous, I used half of all the listed ingredients from the BBC recipe. Next time I will experiment with pomegranate and/or with a bunch of oranges and will definitely start making curd for family and friends.

2 and a half lemons, zest, and juice

100 gr of caster sugar

50 gr of butter (a thick slice of Danish butter) - can't find Irish butter in Romania 

:(

2 free-range eggs

1 free-range egg yolk

 Method

(source: BBC Food Recipes)

Follow faithfully the instructions given below, it works and it does make a mind-blowing, creamy lemon curd.

Preparation method

1. Put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter into a heatproof bowl. Sit the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture every now and again until all of the butter has melted.
2. Lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolk and stir them into the lemon mixture. Whisk until all of the ingredients are well combined, then leave to cook for 10-13 minutes, stirring every now and again, until the mixture is creamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
3. Remove the lemon curd from the heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally as it cools. Once cooled, spoon the lemon curd into sterilised jars and seal. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
   
   
   
   

   It will give 2 small Ikea spice jars of smooth lemon curd that will complement your scones, rice pudding or tart. 
   
   
   A couple of days ago, tasting this creamy delight reminded me of the beautiful (working) holiday we had in Ireland, where the weather was amazing and strangely enough, sunny and warm. Not a cloud in sight (that day, I should add)! :) I love you, baby. 

Co. Mayo, near Delphi

Labneh Inspiration

This is not my first post on labneh, as you know. The beauty of labneh is that it suits both savoury and sweet dishes and that can be combined with herbs, veggies, fruit or seeds. It can be served as comfort food or as party food and it's also ideal for breakfast paired with brown bread and black coffee. I have been mulling over some dessert ideas lately to include this wonderful delicate cheese and hopefully one of these days I will post an original recipe.

I took these pictures earlier at breakfast. We had mini & maxi labneh sandwiches, coffee and Darjeeling, and a delicious vitamin booster with ginger, tangerine, banana & kiwi .

Savoury yoghurt cheese balls with chopped mint, zataar, extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice


When I lived in Saudi Arabia, I used to buy similar labneh  balls from Tamimi, a supermaket in Riyadh. They were sold in a jar, preserved in olive oil and their texture was slightly harder. Probably the balls were not made by hand. Maybe they had a special press to shape the balls and so, squeeze all the excess water out of them. 
However, now that I am back home I do everything by hand. I buy full fat yoghurt, I strain it and I shape the balls using my palms. 

When we have guests, I always prepare labneh for starter with different salads and Middle Eastern dips. 

Today I was playing around with ideas  and I came up with this delicious mini-sandwich . This way when you take a bite you really feel the creamy taste. 

Cut out small pieces of brown bread and place a yoghurt cheese ball on top. Sprinkle with extra zataar & mint.

You could also go a long way with a bigger slice of brown bread, just place a cheese ball in the middle, drip extra virgin olive oil carefully around it and sprinkle zataar and mint on top.
Spread the cheese on the bread with a butter knife and, if you want, sprinkle extra zataar  &mint for a more intense taste. 

I hope I have inspired you and if you haven't tried labneh before, tonight if you strain some yoghurt, tomorrow morning I promise, you will have an unforgettable breakfast . 

Wow, Granola!

Even to me it kind of seems incredible that I had never had granola before reading a posting on Mic dejun de Bucuresti, an adorable breakfast blog that captures the beauty of early mornings from Bucharest, on granola and morning coffee. It's a beautiful blog and I recommend it to you warmly if you like sunrise, black coffee, good photography and some great ideas of healthy and varied breakfasts.

Therefore, inspired by Mic Dejun de Bucuresti, I adapted Joy of Baking's recipe for granola, I mixed everything with great love, great expectations, great anticipation, and bang, for the first time in my life, I tasted granola: healthy, crunchy & boosting with vitamins that provide a wholesome breakfast.

My first home-made granola with orange blossom water labneh, dehydrated raspberries, vanilla & pistachios

 inspired by Mic Dejun de Bucuresti and adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients 

(for 2 persons)

a cup of rolled oats

a handful of chopped almonds

a handful of walnuts

1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup of sunflower seeds

1/4 dried fruit (golden jumbo raisins, cranberries, cherries etc)

a handful of pistachios

dehydrated raspberries

~ ~ ~

a small cube of melted butter

the juice of  1/2 a tangerine/orange

1 tbs of runny honey 

vanilla powder

Method

Preheat the oven at 160 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl melt the butter, add the honey, the freshly squeezed tangerine or orange juice and vanilla powder. 

Pour the thick liquid over the dry ingredients and mix well. 

As you can see,  I spread the granola mix on a baking sheet and baked it for 30 min at 120-150 degrees Celsius. 

During the roasting time, just make sure to stir the granola as it can brown so easily and regulate the temperature to roast the seeds and the oats evenly. The colour should be golden and the texture should be crunchy. 

So, so easy! Why haven't I tried it before??? While letting the granola cool, I prepared the labneh mix: 7% strained yoghurt cheese mixed with honey, orange blossom water and vanilla. 

I sprinkled some raw pistachios, dehydrated raspberries and extra vanilla powder and my first granola was ready to be sampled. Wow, it was delicious. 

How funny it is that, as I was planning & dreaming of my Saturday breakfast, I came across this beautiful passage from Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann.

"Leo recalls eating breakfast. They had gone to their favourite cafe near their hotel. They had eaten a fruit salad with granola and honey. 'Breakfast of the gods', he had called it; pineapple, maracuya, mango and passion fruit. As he recalls it he tastes it again. Eleni had scoffed down a banana pancake with melted chocolate, and could not prevent the hot sauce dribbling down her chin. They had lingered over coffee. Afterwards they had returned to their hotel and picked up their heavy backpacks and set off for the bus station. There it was at last, the bus station. They were later than they had planned by over an hour. Would Eleni be alive now if they hadn't taken so long over breakfast? His memory stops at the bus station; he still cannot see any aspect of the journey in his mind. Perhaps it is better not to know, but he cannot seem to stop his thoughts racing. The holes are slowly filling up, and despite itself the brain will work until the job is completed." 

Green Smoothie

Green Smoothie w kiwi, green tea & vanilla 

Fit for a busy morning. 

2 cups of milk

half a cup of yoghurt

1 tbs of matcha (finely ground loose green tea)

honey

2 kiwis

1 tsp of home made orange marmalade

1 tsp organic vanilla powder 

Blend and drink asap. It's deli. xx

Perfect Breakfast: Sunday Morning 9 AM

It's viciously cold and cloudy, maybe too cold for my liking :( and since breakfast is my favourite meal of the day,  here are some snapshots to warm you up. 

Good morning :)

Breakfast menu

wholemeal scone with sour cherries and golden rasins

cardamon coffee

fig and banana cereals with honey and toasted pumpkin seeds

#inlove xx

Perfect Breakfast: Millet with Banana Puree & Orange Blossom Water

I bought a bag of pearled millet some time ago even though I had no idea how to cook it. I asked the woman in the shop about some ideas on how to prepare it and she said it's used in soups and stews. Frankly, that didn't sound very encouraging ://

So I went online and started digging. Most Romanian sites offered some very bland and uninteresting options, but my hard research work was rewarded last night when I discovered Fran's House of Ayurveda, which is an adorable foodblog focused on healthy eating & living. Once I understood what millet is all about, I created my own porridge to reflect my personality. 

Millet porridge with banana puree, toasted walnuts & orange blossom water

Ingredients

(for 2 persons)

half a cup of millet

approx 500 ml of low-fat milk

1 ripe banana (mashed)

1 tbs of preserved orange rind

a pinch of organic vanilla powder

1 tbs of orange blossom water

1 tsp of runny honey

a handful of  toasted walnuts

Method

Put the millet into the hot milk and add the banana puree, preserved orange rind and vanilla, mix constantly to avoid the millet sticking to the pan and let simmer. Add the orange blossom water towards the end of the cooking time. You know when the millet is properly cooked as the milk will have evaporated and the millet will have become tender.

Millet is a great discovery for me. It has the texture of couscous but the fresh taste of raw almonds/quinoa. It can replace the classic cereal breakfast with great success & now I am totally in love with it.

Finally, toast or caramelize the walnuts, sprinkle them over the millet and drizzle honey or light agave syrup on top. Pair with fresh fruit: figs, peaches, apricots, papaya etc.

What I loved about this breakfast is the healthy element. It fills you up but you feel light, full of energy & ready to start the day. It's low-fat and guilt-free and it's so versatile I can now think of a hundred + combinations.

xoxo

another great discovery: white tea w pomegranate 

Fig Scones with Labneh & Raspberry Jam

Scones are my favourite indulgences: ideal for breakfast or the proverbial 5 o'clock tea and so versatile that they go well with almost any flavour. Sweet (with chopped fresh fruits, nuts or golden raisins) or salty (with cheese, cumin and zataar) - the sky is the limit. 

I cannot help posting this recipe below because it is too delicious and cute not to give it a mention. I hope you will dash to your kitchen, try it and relish it up to the last crumb. :)

Scones with Yoghurt Cheese, Golden Raisins, Raspberry Jam & Caramelized Baked Figs

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Type of cuisine: Fusion (Middle Eastern/English cuisine) 

Ingredients

(for 6 medium-sized scones)

1 cup self-raising flour

1 sachet of baking powder

40 g of melted butter

1/4 cup of milk

a handful of  golden jumbo raisins

a pinch of vanilla powder (ground vanilla pods)

a tbs of sugar

pistachios (for decoration)

extra sugar to sprinkle on the figs

4 figs

Preparation 

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.

Cut a slice of butter and melt it in 1/2 cup of milk with a handful of golden raisins. Microwave it for 1 minute.

Chop 2 figs finely. Slice the remaining 2 figs and place them on a baking sheet.

Method

To make the batter place the flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla powder in a bowl and mix. 

Add the milk and chopped figs and knead lightly. 

Experience has taught me that the secret of baking great scones is not to over-mix the batter. I am sure there is an explanation (do you remember Kitchen Chemistry on Discovery Channel?). Every time I over mixed the dough, I ended up with a scone fiasco and yes, with great regret, I threw the lot in the bin :((

Anyway, I have also noticed that the stickier the dough, the better the scones. I deal with the sticky texture by rubbing my hands with extra virgin olive oil. This way I am able to shape the scones easily. 

Place the scones on a baking sheet among the slices of fig. 

Decorate the figs with chopped almonds and sprinkle vanilla powder on the scones and sugar on top of the figs. 

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes till the scones become golden.  When the scones cool, slice them in two and fill them with soft cheese and jam.

I used two spoons of labneh and a teaspoon of my mother's raspberry jam. Paired with a cup of tea, it's a cosy treat. Simply AMAZING. 

something so simple, something so delicious

Delicious fig scone,  white tea w raspberry & The Lost Diary of Don Juan 

in love