Poppy Seed Cake

This is a very simple recipe of poppy seed cake. It's moist and sweet.

Recipe:

250gr flour

125ml milk

150gr sugar

125gr oil

100gr poppy seeds

1 teaspoon of vanila extract, or 1 tablespoon vanila sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a mixing bowl mix the milk with the sugar, untill the sugar is disolved. Add the oil and the vanila. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add it into the wet ingredients. Mix well and add the poppy seeds. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture in greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes (until it's brownish at the sides and a toothpick comes clear from the center). Don't over bake it, or the cake will dry out.

You can glaze it with molten chocolate, jam or sift some powder sugar on top.

If you don't like milk, or if you're fasting (Great Lent - Orthodox) for Easter you can substitute it with water, just again don't over bake it, cause it tends to dry out little more when it's with water.

Winter Gjuvech

Gjuvech (or Guvech, Guvec, macedonian: Ѓувеч) actually is popular Balkan recipe, and the name refers on cooked meal and also pickled vegetables (eggplant, red and green pepper...). Also there's winter and summer gjuvech. The difference is that in the recipes are used seasonal vegetables. Now I'll show the cooked version, which also can contain meat.

Recipe:

500 gr meat (pork, chicken, beef...) cut in small cubes. (I didn't use meat this time)

500gr potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes

300gr carrots cut in cubes

200gr green peas

200gr green beans

1 large onion chopped in cubes

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 tablespoon paprika

water

parsley

oil

salt and pepper

First in a preheated large pan drizzle some oil and fry the meat (if you use some) and fry it until it's cooked (brownish). If you skip the meat, start with sauteing the onion. After 2 minutes add the potatoes and the carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add the green peas, the green beans and the garlic and pour some water until it reaches the half of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and cook on medium low for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes take another small pan and add some oil (around 50-80 grams), and fry the flour until it's golden (light roux). Add the paprika into the flour mixture and stir, then add it into the pot with the vegetables and stir. Pour the vegetables into baking dish and bake them for 20 minutes in 250 degrees Celsius (until most of the liquid evaporates). Garnish with parsley.

This dish is extremely versatile. You can use any kind of vegetables (mushrooms, okra...), or for summer gjuvech we use potatoes, bell pepper, eggplant, tomatoes...

Enjoy this rich and healthy vegetable dish:-)

Homemade Mushroom Soup

This is anothe tasty soup for the cold winter days:

Recipe:

500gr mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)

1 large onion chopped

700ml vegetable or chicken broth (or water + 1-2 cubes bullion)

1 clove garlic minced

2 tablespons of flour

100gr double cream (sour cream or yougurt)

oil or butter

salt, pepper

In a medium pan add oil (or melt the butter) and fry the onion until golden (translucent), add the mushrooms and cook them until they become soft, brownish and let the liquid out of them. Mushrooms tend to soak the oil so add more oil if needed. Add the garlic and the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth or water with bullion and simmer for 10-15 minutes. After that blend the soup with blender (or hand blender or food processor, whatever you have). Add the soup in the same pot, season with salt and pepper and add the cream.

You can serve the soup with more cream, croutons or whatever you like.

Enjoy this simple and delicious soup:-)

Vegetable Cream Soup With Noodles

Nice hot soup, great for the winter.

Recipe:

1 large onion sliced

200gr carrots cut in chunks

200gr potatoes cut in chunks

2 cubes bullion (vegetable or chicken)

400gr water (you can use vegetable or chicken broth, and then you won't need the bullions)

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 handful of noodles (50-100 gr)

1 tablespoon vegeta

salt, pepper

In a pot, add the water and when it's hot, dissolve the bullions in it. Add the vegetables (if there's not enough liquid, add more water until submerged). Cook the onion, carrots and potatoes until tender. Transfer the vegetables in blender, and divide the soup in half. With one half blend the vegetables. Rinse and dry the pot. In the pot add the butter and when it's melted add the flour. Cook until golden. Then add the other half of the soup until everything is dissolved. Add the blended vegetables, and stir. Add the garlic. Season with the vegeta, salt and pepper. Crush and add the noodles, and cook until the noodles are done. Garnish with your choice. Enjoy:-)

French Toast

This is the Macedonian version of the popular French toast. The main different thing is that we make the toast salty and we eat it with white cheese and cup of yogurt. It's great for breakfast.

Recipe:

10-12 pieces of white bread (we make it with 1 day old bread because it soaks the eggs better, and because we like to eat the fresh bread with some other dishes:-))

4 eggs

200gr milk

1 teaspoon salt

oil

In a bowl beat the eggs with the salt and the milk. Heat a pan or skillet or griddle with a little oil on a medium heat. Soak the pieces of bread in the egg mixture one side at a time, then fry them until golden brown.

After that we just eat them warm with a piece of white cheese for breakfast.Yum!

Tarator

Tarator is a cold salad (it looks like cold creamy soup), and it's eaten mainly in summertime because it's light and refreshing. But you can eat it anytime through the year. It's very simple to make, and many Balkan kitchens have their own version of this salad. This is the Macedonian recipe:

1 large cucumber
500gr sour milk
1 clove of garlic (or spring garlic)minced or finely chopped
salt, pepper
dill or parsley
optional 1 tablespoon oil

Wash and peel the cucumber, then chop it into very small cubes. Add the sour milk and stir it well until there's no lumps of the sour milk. Add the minced garlic (or chopped spring garlic), finely chopped dill or parsley, salt, pepper and the oil. Mix everything until well combined.
That's it! And eat:-))

Zucchinis/Courgettes With Bechamel Sauce

Zucchinis/Courgettes with bechamel sauce

A great meal for every season. Also you can constitute the zucchinis with mushrooms for a delicious mushroom creme.

Recipe:

2-3 zucchinis/courgettes

water

For the Bechamel:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

2-3 cloves minced garlic

little bit of nutmeg (or you can skip it)

salt and pepper.

Cut the zucchinis/courgettes in 1 cm circles than in half. Cook the in water until they're almost cooked. Strain them from the water and put them aside. You can keep some of the water so that you'll adjust the sauce.

Warm the milk in one saucepan, but do not bring it to boil. In another saucepan on low heat, melt the butter until it starts to foam. Add the flour and with constant stircook it for 3-4 minutes or until the flour is lightly yellow. Than add the warm milk and whisk it with wire whisk so that

the sauce remain smooth and not with lumps. Cook it stirring for 10 minutes on low than add the zucchinis, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cook it for another 5 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the water in which the zucchinis have cooked.

Delicious:-)!