Tips: Measures (EU to US)

So this post will be non recipe, but I'll explain something that is tied to cooking.

I'll try to post some cooking tips like this in the future.

I recieved many e-mails in which people are asking me to do conversion from EU measures to US (grams to cups), and I think that measures are very important, ecpecially when tou make desserts.

So roughly this is the list:

There's different measures for different ingredients, it's because of their volume.

Granulated sugar: 200 grams = 1 cup

Brown sugar: 220 grams = 1 cup, packed

Sifted white flour: 125 grams = 1 cup

White rice, uncooked: 185 grams = 1 cup

White rice, cooked: 175 grams = 1 cup

Butter: 227 grams = 1 cup

Almonds, slivered: 108 grams = 1 cup

Oil: 224 grams = 1 cup

Maple syrup: 322 grams = 1 cup

Milk, non-fat: 245 grams = 1 cup

Milk, sweetened condensed: 306 grams = 1 cup

Broccoli, flowerets: 71 grams = 1 cup

Raisins: 165 grams = 1 cup

Milk, dry: 68 grams = 1 cup

Yogurt: 245 grams = 1 cup

Water: 236 grams = 1 cup

Confectioners sugar: 110 g = 1 cup

Cocoa: 125 g = 1 cup

And about ounce well this is roughly calculated: 1 Ounce = 28.5 Grams.

Actually I've tried some recipes which are in cups, and I calculated the ingredients in grams by this table and it worked fine.

Also there are many web sites which have converters so you can get more accurate measures.

Hope this helps:-)

Homemade Chicken Meat Pate

This is great if you like pate and you want to make it yourself to make sure what's in it, or make it low fat, or just use leftover chicken meat.

Recipe:

300 gr chicken cooked meat (boiled, steamed, baked... doesn't matter just it has to be only meat without skin)

1 tablespoon of butter (if it's chicken breast meat you can add 1 tbs more)

1-2 tablespoon tomato puree (or ketchup will do)

2 cloves garlic

if you like you can add 1 tablespoon of brandy for aroma

salt, pepper

First melt the butter. In a blender or food processor add the meat, butter, garlic, tomato puree and blend until smooth. If it's too thick add more tomato puree or just little water or chicken stock or olive oil.

Blend it until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper by your liking. Add some herbs by your taste like dried thyme, parsley etc. You can put it in airtight container and it will last couple of days in the fridge.

And there you have it, easy homemade pate:-)

Creamy Green Pea Soup

An excellent comfort food for those rainy spring days.

Recipe:

300 gr green peas

500 gr water + 2 cubes boullion (or chicken, or vegetable stock)

1 large onion finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

parsley finely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

100 gr heavy cream

salt, pepper

In a medium pot melt the butter and saute the onions until translucent.

Add the garlic and the green peas and cook for 5 minutes.(If the peas are frozen, cook them for 3 minutes longer). After everything is softened a little bit, add the water and when the water is hot dissolve the bouillon cubes (or just add the stock).

Cook everything for 10-15 minutes until the peas are soft, but not mushy. Now this part is optional: you can roughly smash the peas with a mush potatoes tool for more textured soup, blend the half with blender for soup with whole peas, or like me blend everything until very smooth. After blending for your liking, add the heavy cream and the parsley (you can use other spices also like thyme, mint...). Garnish with croutons, parsley or whatever you like.

Enjoy:-)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Happy Easter!!!

04.04.2010

Honey Cookies

Honey cookies are popular sweet in the Balkan, they are sold in many varietes, but I'll show you how to make homemade honey cookies, which are very tasty.

Recipe:

1 egg

50 gr grounded wallnuts

300 gr flour

100 gr oil

100 gr sugar

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon baking powder (or baking soda)

1 teaspoon vanila exctract (or vanila sugar)

1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius.

With a mixer beat the egg and the sugar until the sugar is disolved and the mixture is light yellow and double the size.

Add the oil and the honey and mix until combined. And the wallnuts, vanila, cinnamon and mix with a spoon until combined.

Mix the baking powder with the flour and add it to the egg mixture and mix. Take out the dough and knead it. You should have soft dough.

If the dough is too sticky add little more flour, if it's too hard, little bit water. Flour the working surface and roll out the dough in 1/2 to 1 cm thickness.

With a cookie shape or a cup take out circles (or other shapes). Place them on a greased baking sheet (or lined with baking paper) but leave some space between them because they tend to rise.

Bake them 15-20 minutes until they're brownish and the edges are also brown.

Cool the cookies and then you can eat them as they are, sprinkle them with powder sugar or dip them in melted chocolate.

Great with coffee or tea. Yum :-)

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:-)