Mini-Meatballs Sour Soup

This must be one of the all-favourite traditional dishes we had back home. My daughter is crazy about it and dances around whenever I tell her we have it on the menu.  It may take a little bit of time, but I guarantee it is definitely worth it!

This is what I used for starters:

 

- 1 large yellow onion, chopped

- 2 carrots, peeled and finely sliced

- 3 celery stalks, finely sliced

- 1 parsnip, peeled and finely sliced

Creamy Apricot Rice Pudding

• 3/4 cup uncooked short grain white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup dried apricots, diced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• Freshly grated nutmeg, for serving (optional)

Beef Stroganoff

After a week of being out and about, I can finally get back to my business. And what would be a more appropriate way to celebrate returning home than by cooking something?

- 1 lb stir-fry beef

- 1/4 lb finely chopped mushrooms
- 2 medium onions, cut julienne style

- 2/3 lbs sour cream
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and grated

- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

- 1 gherkin, finely diced

- 1 stick butter

- 1 tsp olive oil

- salt and pepper to taste

Pork Tenderloin with Apples

I love cooking pork tenderloin because it is so versatile, partners well with fruit, onion or mustard and cooks up so quickly. It is especially helpful for a mid-week meal, and the recipe I'll show you does not require more than 30 minutes from start to finish.

For 2 persons:

- 1 pork tenderloin (I cut mine in half)

- 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into slivers

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or canola oil

- 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth

-  1/2 cup white wine (can be substituted with apple brandy or apple cider)

- 1 medium size apple, peeled, cored and sliced - use a good cooking apple such as Jonagold or Fuji (not Red Delicious)

- salt and pepper to taste

Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC

I know I haven't posted in almost one week, but I've got a good excuse: my daughter's spring break, meaning that I also took a couple of days off from work and we headed to Washington DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Even though the weather was not friendly (except for the first day we were there), the trip was great! Here are some of the photos I took during our travel (yes, I know, there were more magnolias than cherry trees :)) :)

That's it for now, but I'll definitely post more photos as soon as they finish uploading :)

Snow White

This is a layered cake pretty well-known in my childhood under two different names: Snow White or Lemony Cake. I grew up with it, and I made it for my daughter several times as well, while she was a toddler. This time was the first time she fully appreciated it and asked me to make it again sometime soon.

For the layers:

- 3 large eggs

- 100 gr confectioners sugar

- 6 tbsp vegetable oil

- 3 tbsp milk

- 1 tsp baking powder

- one pinch of salt

- 450 gr all-purpose flour

Young Eggplants Stuffed with Italian Sausage

For this Turkish-inspired dish I used a recipe in which I substituted the beef meat for Italian sweet sausages. It was a very flavorful and interesting twist!

- 4 small eggplants (baby eggplants are just fine)

- 0.8 lb Italian sausage meat (casings removed)

- 1 medium yellow onion

- 1 bell pepper (I used a red one)

- 2 cloves of garlic

- 1 large tomato (can be replaced with canned tomatoes)

- 4 tbsp olive oil

- 1 small bunch of parsley, chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

- sweet or hot paprika (optional)