Coolest finds in the fridge

Few weeks ago, holding tightly on the fence at the tip off of the boat and resisting fierce wind with a huge smile on my face, I realised the thing I adore with summer is actually cold. This is the only time when the cold feels good. My cold feet vata dosha constantly demands warmth, and cold food outside summer feels like eating rocks. But in extreme heat of summer – oh, the soothing feeling of a cold bite sliding down the throat.

Bet you are searching for some recipes to be prepared straight from the fridge in the hot summer. Here is one tipsy adult popsicle recipe, featured in the latest edition of Mrvica magazine. These are best stocked up in the fridge for spontaneous drop by. Forget gin on rocks with slice of cucumber, lick it off the stick and you won’t even notice you got yourself drunk.

Click here to download the free online magazine and see more icy fresh recipes: http://www.mrvica.hr/download.php?br=20

White currant & Cucumber Gin popsicles

• 350g fresh white currants
• ½ cup sugar
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 cup gin
• ½l  water
• 1 sliced lemon
• 1 sliced cucumber

The number of popsicles depends on your molds. I didn’t have any so I used plastic champagne glasses which worked great, and resulted in 8 popsicles. Simmer the the white currants and sugar with about ½ a cup of water for 8-10 mins. Leave to cool. Strain, and push pulp through sieve to remove seeds. Add the lemon juice, gin and water. Pour in popsicle model, insert cucumber and lemon slices and freeze for at least 5 hours.

Prawn skewers & black mint pesto

My cooking lately is quite minimal as it has been inspired by recent island life. Every island I’ve ever been to has a certain attitude of serene coolness. No fuss, easygoing, cool but without the ego behind it. And this is how being on an island profoundly influences your mind flow. Already the sea voyage feels cathartic, draining land dust away and when the wast empty horizon opens in front of you, you sort of really feel the edge of the earth, the bend of it. The wast waters around the islands make you feel distant and disconnected. Funny thing is that it feels so safe. For example, if zombie apocalypse would happen. Or there is a full inbox pending.

Island people don’t complicate. They make use of everything around them and the sheer simplicity of it is beautiful. Their attitude is calm, courageous, but without force. They carry a belief with them that everything will be ok. No matter what shit hits the fan, they will somehow fix the fan. If it still won’t spin, we’ll have a cool drink instead. Islands make you realize you don’t need all that much to live. And most importantly what you really need. No it’s not the wi-fi. No, not the bra eighter. Always pack them, never wear them. It’s good for the mind, to get the grasp of the true priorities. Doesn’t last long on land, but then later again comes the time to let go of the land. So, while this island spirit lasts these spicy prawn skewers with chilli rub are best when matched with refreshing mint pesto for balance. No plates, no forks, you don’t need that really.

Mint pesto:

• 1 cup loosely packed black mint leaves
• 1 chopper garlic clove
• 1/3 cup
• juice from 1/4 lime
• pepper, salt

Chop mint leaves finely, mix it with all ingredients. Serve with prawn skewers straight of the grill.

 

Honey and goat yogurt Ice cream

Here it is for a perfect season opening – minimal creamy ice cream with kind of savory quality. Yes,  rosemary was considered, but I wanted it as minimal as possible. If you feel like experimenting, you can add rosemary, thyme, tarragon to the milk when heating it with the honey.

 

2 cups goat yogurt

1 cup whole milk (cow or sheep milk)

1/2 cup honey

3/4 cup soft goat cheese

1/2 tbsp salt

Heat the milk and disolve honey in it. Cool down completely. Whizz up all of the ingredients, until soft cheese fully incorporates. Transfer to the ice cream container and freeze it according to manufacturer’s manuals. Serve with a drizzle of honey.

Saffron cauliflower soup

Lately my cooking is all about colours. The gray dullness outside makes me crave vibrant foods and what better way then to use blooms to spice things up. As saffron is strong enough to tint the textiles, it is also used to clear away the blues as it is an antidepressant. So, here is a soup to warm and energize.

Saffron Cauliflower Soup

1 head cauliflower florets, broken into pieces
1 small peice of celeriac, diced
1 medium diced onion
2 peices of garlic
2 Tbsp ghee
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
1 Tbsp sliced almonds for garnish
1 tsp saffron
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

In a heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the melted ghee until fragrant.  Add the celeriac and cauliflower.  Pour in the stock and bring the mixture to a boil.  In a small saucepan, warm a bit of ghee and heat the saffron, releasing its flavor and color.  Add to the soup mixture.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.  Use a stick blender to puree the soup until smooth.  Taste and add salt, if needed, garnish with parsley and almonds.

Lust in cake form

When the winter is ending I crave intense colors. And flavors, extra salty feels right so does spicy. And chocolate. This is definitely the lustiest cake, despite the fact that it’s moistness and rich color come from beets.

Red velvet chocolate beet cake

1 cup plain flour/GF flour

1/3 cup carob powder*

1 satchet baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup beet and soaked dates puree

1/4C sugar

2tbsp coconut oil + more for greasing

1 tsp vanilla extract

 *I prefer carob powder but you can substitute it with cocoa powder. (edit: Using Carob gives the cake amazing red colour, with cocoa the cake gets much darker)

Glaze:

2 ripe bananas

1 ripe avocado

1/4 cup carob powder

1 tbsp coconut oil

vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F. Grease and line a small cake tin.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, carob, baking powder and salt.

In a separate medium mixing bowl combine beet&date puree, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla and pour into dry ingredients. If you feel your mix is not wet enough, add in some milk or water until it reaches a thick cake batter consistency. Use your best judgement. Mix until just combined and pour into cake tin.

Bake for 20 – 23 minutes or until cooked through and a skewer inserted removes clean. Cool down and in the mean time prepare the glaze: blend all of the ingredients together and pour over cake.

Crunch glory

Here is the latest contribution made for Mrvica magazine. Textures were the main subject of this issue, and I went for the loudest one – crunchy. The morning of the making of the food photos below, was covered in frost, so I decided to make diptichs, as walking on dewy grass and leaves gives similar crunchy textured feeling.

All of the recipes for the crunchy nibbles can be found in Mrvica’s digital edition here (free download).

Finger food

There are days when you don’t want a meal, but feel like eating forever with no forks or table. Couch and a good book/mag are perfect layout for nibbling finger food. Plus edible cups mean no dishwashing.

You can make these cups like this by using cracker recipe from here. Fill them up with whatever you like. Beet puree topped with chickpeas and goat cheese was my choice of preference.

Red grape jello

The first and most obvious thing people think about when they look at grapes is wine.  I come from a land where almost every house makes it’s own wine and well, sometimes the grape juice is better than the wine. But the best thing with the grapes is taking a bite and experiencing the juice explosion in your mouth. The bitter seeds spoil the micro pleasure, which could be solved by the seedless grapes, but I prefer local GMO free grapes. Jello from grape juice was the perfect solution – the same juicy texture avoiding the bitterness of the seeds.

Autopilot juggling

Back on track, with schedules and deadlines. Adjusting to the discipline again and feeling the motivation engines humming in the background.  Productive. Important word. The way to productivity is to consciously think about your working habits, observe when, how and why the productive peaks happen. Read this book. The  pace of our lives is forcing us to be on autopilot most of the time. Automated reacting instead of proactive thinking. There are certain theories about the question whose  interest is it to have autopiloted citizens, but that is a discussing for another place and time.

But yes, my point is there is no need to be a slave of automated world bombarding you from all directions and demanding your attention, time and energy. Emails can wait, you know. That is their purpose, phone is ment for emergency answers.  Matters of life and death, broken heart or irreplaceable things. You know the famous juggling balls theory from Coca Cola CEO? This is a successful person with many obligations and responsibilities, saying to you, that work should not be your first priority. Think about it and set your standards, hold the steering wheel and drive. No automatics. Including the food at work…I’m still juggling this one.

If is has to be a sandwich, make it a good one.

Sea bass in salt crust

I’m covered in salt, my hair is curled up with crystals and pine needles. Quite appropriate for salt baking post. Sure grilling is great, but when salt baking you get to play with salt like beach sand, break the salt crust at the end and taste the rich juicy meat infused with lemon and rosemary. Time to be outside, so forgive me on this short post, but the sun and sea are calling.