Cauliflower Cake with Flax Seeds

Cauliflower Cake is a very fresh idea for serving your vegetables for dinner. This dish looks impressive on a plate and goes well with any seafood combination or roasted chicken. I really liked it the next day, we had it for breakfast with some avocado slices. If you decide to make it I promise you'll enjoy this rustic cake.

Country Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Here, chicken thighs and drumsticks are slowly cooked in a flavorful garlic sauce with a white wine, thyme and spices to create a comforting meal. To make a one-dish meal before putting the chicken in a oven add some mushrooms, potatoes or butternut squash. Delicious!!

Gingery Pumpkin-Apple Soup with Roasted Carrots (Dairy-Free, Vegan)

With its sweet, earthy taste, butternut squash soup with apples and ginger is my favorite for the month of October. I like to play with spices when I am cooking pumpkin soup, but you can use your favorite seasonings and herbs. The roasted carrot chips are a perfect addition to this soup.

Roasted Spicy Orange Chicken Thighs

This is a real show-off chicken dish with a citrus flavor. Serve it on a hot rice with avocado salad. A company meal, "but it couldn't be easier!"

Farro with Mushrooms, Carrots & Perfectly Poached Egg

Farro is described as "the mother of all wheat" since it was the oldest grain domesticated by humans. In ancient Rome it was a staple food that provided the main source of nourishment for the Roman legions. Farro almost disappeared during the last centuries because of the lower yielding compared with the modern wheats.

Farro can be used as substitute for rice and pasta in many dishes. Use it in salads, soups and pilafs, or at "farrotto", an alternative to traditional risotto. Farro with mushrooms and poached egg is simple, tasty and healthy dish.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Butter & Sage

Gnocchi are delicious poached dumpling-like preparations. They are typically North Italian, although Roman gnocchi (made with potatoes) are a regional specialty rarely found in Northern home kitchens. A light hand is the watchword for these delicacies, otherwise they will be soggy and leaden.

Roasted Cauliflower Bites with Spices, Garlic & Lemon

Roasted Cauliflower Bites are so simple to make, yet your quests will always be impressed by them. They have a wonderful flavor and can be given quite a "kick" too by including the cayenne. The spicy bites are great snack at any time of the day, so don't just make them for parties.

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Almonds

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Almonds is a fragrant, creamy and delicately flavored soup. I hope you will enjoy this soup as well as we are.

Russian Monday: "Solyanka" - Rustic Potato Soup with Smoked Meat & Olives

Solyanka (pronounced “so-lyan-ka”), a Russian word which can be translated as “grab-bag” or “hodgepodge” is the name of the dish symbolic in Russian cuisine known far beyond Russia. As a matter of fact, knowing the name of this dish is enough never to go hungry if you are a foreigner visiting Russia. For the first time “solyanka” is mentioned in the Russian literature of the 15th century and by the 18th century it is widespread and referred by two names – “solyanka” and “pohmelka” (“pokh-mel-ka”), which meant a greasy and very hearty soup served as snack with vodka or served as an entrée. Nobility, however, did not accept this dish at all, considering it a sign of bad taste and only commoners and poor people loved it, since it was very filling and warming while being a good source to replenish energy after a whole day of hard labor. Solyanka also helped common people to drink without actually getting drunk.

Rustic Beef Tomato & Carrots Chili - NO Beans

This is certainly a simple and interesting dish, it looks like a chili, though a bit unusual. This sort of chili is normally not made with beans. Basically what you have is a bowl of meat, carrots and spices in tomato sauce. But you can serve it different ways.

When you serve it "two way", the sauce comes on a pile of spaghetti. When you serve it "three way", you add some grated cheese. A "four way" adds chopped yellow onions and a "five way" adds some sour cream. You can have great fun with this and I am sure that your children will think up some additional "ways" of serving this delicious dish.

Rosemary New York Strip Steak & Pickled Onions

This is one of the most delicious steaks I have ever eaten. It was cooked together with butter, rosemary and garlic. Try it this way!

Have a gorgeous weekend!

Watermelon Salad with Radish and Sage

Watermelons in great variety are one of the most refreshing of fruits. Serve them well chilled, in combination with other fruits and vegetables, for example - radishes. And why not? Use other herbs if you like - fresh dill, cilantro. Everyone seems to have different tastes about the proper seasoning.

Orange Herb Oven-Baked Rutabaga Fries

Oven-baked fries are always good, but potatoes are not in my diet now, so I’m trying to cut back a bit. However, these oven fries made with rutabaga are a surprisingly delicious and healthy alternative. Rutabaga is a root vegetable. It has got less than a third of carbs and half the calories as well as more vitamins and minerals comparing to your regular potatoes. Just look at them - can you find the difference with regular fries?

Rustic Winter Cod Soup with Vegetables

I picked this recipe up on holiday in Main and was inspired to make my own version of it. I hope you enjoy making it for family and friends - it's superb for Sunday lunch.

Spicy, Peppery Shrimp with Lemon-Soy Garlic Dip

While it may sensible to plan your main course first, especially when entertaining, it is still important to give plenty of thought to the appetizer. Divinely crisp and naughty, those spicy and peppery shrimp are great on their own or served with a lemon-soy garlic dip on the side.


Spicy Cream of Pumpkin (Red Hubbard) Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

"September is like no other
It's days change color and weather
No other month can say quite the same
For every day, I can feel the change

It's cool breezes start out warm, 
Changing to cold throughout every storm
The leaves change and fall 
As the Summer leaves and Autumn kisses us all

September maidens feel the change
Like the blue of the sky
Yet the color so deep
Unbelievable beauty..."

by Jessica Millsaps



Red Hubbard, Orange Hokkaido or Uchiki Kuri. A great sized mini Hubbard weighing 4-5 pounds. Deep orange colored skin and sweet, smooth, dry flesh. Originally from Japan.  Last year I posted Blue Hubbard Jam with Raisins and Vanilla Bean recipe, take a look. This year I have cream of pumpkin soup with crispy prosciutto from Hubbard family. I hope you will enjoy my photos and the recipe!



Ingredients:

• 6-8 slices of prosciutto
• 1/2 medium Red Hubbard pumpkin, about 2 lb ( Big thank's to Styer Orchard Farm)
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 4-5 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
• 1 tsp curry
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp orange zest or valencia orange peel
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• fat free Greek yogurt for serving (optional)
• dry dill for garnish

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Arrange the prosciutto slices in a single layer on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the prosciutto cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat add the Red Hubbard, carrots, onions and the broth. Add the spices. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 -20 minutes.

Using a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and add more broth if needed to reach the desired consistency, adjust the seasonings. Ladle the soup into bowls. Serve with Greek yogurt and the prosciutto. Garnish with dry dill and spices.

Sizzling Smashed Potatoes with Garlic, Dill, Curry and Smoked Paprika - Great Appetizer!

Inspired by White on Rice Couple

Note: To preserve the nutritional value of potatoes, they should be cooked in their skins, or scrubbed rather than peeled. When choosing potatoes, make sure they are firm and well-shaped with smooth tight skin, preferably organic.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. small white potatoes (Baby Yukons or other fingerling potatoes), washed and scrubbed 
• 1 tsp salt for boiling potatoes 
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp curry powder 
• 2-3 shallots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 tsp dry dill or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup yogurt or sour cream, for serving
• fresh mint for garnish

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine together curry powder, dill, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Put the potatoes and salt in a medium pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 3 inches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, 15 minutes. Drain well and let it cool.

After potatoes have cooled enough to handle, smash them with the flat side of a chef knife. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté about 3 minutes. Gently arrange potatoes in hot pan, season well with curry-dill mixture and sear each side of the smashed potatoes for about 2-3 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy. 

Serve immediately with fresh mint leaves and sour cream or yogurt.