Filled zucchini boats

Today at a lack of time I want to share with you a simple recipe that can suit very good for lunch- or dinner-time when you don't want to do something sophisticated. It is low in calories, high in protein and therefore makes you fit and full.

So we're going to cook zucchini-boats filled with minced meat and baked under Parmesan crust. I was lucky to find this recipe in one of the food magazines when visiting my lovely sister in Prague. I've changed it a bit:) An by the way, the amount of ingredients here is taken for two.

Ingredients:

2 middle-sized zucchinis
250g minced meat of your choice
125g white yogurt
25g grated Parmesan
1 dried tomato
1 garlic clove
8 black olives (pitted)
salt, pepper

The preparations are quite easy. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash the zucchinis and cut them into halves lengthwise. With the help of a spoon take out the inner seeds and make some place for your filling. (not fEEling ;)
So now you have 4 boats, unfortunately empty :( Put them aside and give a rest. They need some staff :) Grab the meat.

Tip!
Once more: you can choose any time of minced meat. Keep in mind, that if you want the dish to be healthy, the meat should be low fat and fresh. Whether chicken or turkey, or even beef... Up to you.

Add sprinkle of salt and pepper, chopped dried tomato and pressed garlic clove. Mix well. If you have some dried herbs they will be a good addition here. The next step - filling the boats. Take your cute boats and fill them with the meat. To add crusty topping and some snowy effect mix yogurt and grated cheese and top the boats with it. But wait! Your boats need lifebuoy. Chop black olives and add a couple into every boat. Now perfect - ready to sail ;)

Bake them in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until golden-brown crust. And here you are: light and nourishing lunch-dinner-variation. A combination of veggie and meat, all-in-one and one for all. Because good food is always a good idea ;)

Have a nice start of the week! Bon appetit!

Healthy "Nutella"-variation and breakfast idea

Nutella? Healthy? Why not?!

To tell the truth, I can barely name a person who hates "Nutella". Toast with it for breakfast, pancakes, of course, cookies and so on and so forth. But if you check the nutrition facts you will definitely get scared (if you can compare the facts and are aware of some simple nutrition basics) because of the following statements:
- 55% of it is simply sugar;
- 2 tbsp of "Nutella" = 200 calories;
- a half of the calories from this tasty spread comes from fats;
- I think I can continue and make a long list but I won't.

The thing is that we love something sweet with chocolate nutty taste. And the more - the better, the happier we seem to be. BUT! A clever person can find a good substitute and be even happier afterwards:)

I love avocados. They are flavorful, able to decrease bad cholesterol level and increase the good one. Once I had some time and good mood to create something special I decided to find out my "Nutella" substitute. After a couple of experiments I was satisfied: a creamy chocolate butter came into my world. And the recipe is easier than ever.

Ingredients:
2 avocados
8-10 pitted dates
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp lemon/lime juice (optional)

An avocado has to be ripe. If you gently press on it and squeeze it in your palm it will yield the pressure.Once we have ripe avocados let's get started.

Tip!
By the way, the flesh turns brown very quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, I suggest as an option to add a tbsp of lime or lemon juice.

Simply mix all the ingredients and mix them until smooth and creamy. Here you are;) Take a slice of some whole wheat bread, add 1-2 tbsp of your hand-made "Nutella"-variation and get all the benefits like essential vitamins and minerals, omega 3 fatty acids and pleasure with every bite.

Pumpkin sugarfree three-layer-cheesecake

Of course autumn is about pumpkin. As a main symbol of Halloween it makes a definite mood and brings us good autumn memories. So I strongly believe that if we have a chance to buy a good pumpkin it's worth to do because I have a special recipe for you. A cheesecake. Not just a simple one but pumpkin cheesecake. According to statistics my first recipe had a big success. But sometimes you are fed up with the taste of the cheese and want something really special. Then just try!!! That makes a difference.

Even my strict critic scored this cheesecake as the best of all I've recently baked. Just imagine...Smooth, tender taste of cheese with added orange notes and a pleasant pumpkin layer...a perfect combination for cold autumn evenings with a big warm blanket;)

The amount of the ingredients is perfect for a round form 18-20 cm in diameter.

Ingredients :
80g old-fashioned oat flakes
80g pitted dates
4 eggs
350g low-fat creamy cottage cheese
350g pumpkin puree (baked)
2 tbsp vanilla pudding powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp orange zest
250 ml orange juice
2 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves...)

Tip!
To get a smooth creamy pumpkin puree wash a pumpkin, cut it into two halves, take out the seeds using a spoon and put the halves onto a baking sheet (cut edges faced down). Then bake the pumpkin in the oven for about 40 minutes at 180°C. A spoon will help you to get a ready-to-use puree out of the pumpkin's halves.

Heat the oven to 180°C.
For a crust blend oat flakes into dust, add pitted dates and one egg. Blend again. Put the mass into a form and using your fingertips mold the first layer. Put aside.

The middle layer will be cheesy with a bit of pumpkin smoothness and orange taste. Mix cream cheese, 2 eggs, 50g of pumpkin puree, cinnamon, vanilla pudding powder and 50 ml of orange juice. Make sure the texture is smooth. Pour it all into the form and make the middle layer. Put into the oven for 40 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the upper layer using the rest of the pumpkin (about 300g), 200 ml of orange juice, corn flour, 1 egg and pumpkin pie spices.

When your two-layer cheesecake is ready to be taken out of the oven pour the upper layer into the form and flatten it nicely. The next baking step including the upper layer will last another 20 minutes.

Tip!
Let the cheesecake cool down until it reaches room temperature. Only after that remove it out of the form to minimize damaging risks.

To add some extra flavor I served this tasty colorful beauty with orange zest and some chopped pistachios. Enjoy every piece ;)

King prawns with mango-avocado salsa on a carrot pillow

Once upon a time we were looking for a special occasion restaurant. Of course, when you have a really special occasion you would prefer to find a place with a perfect combination of atmosphere, food, interior and service. Once you love the interior and feel yourself free, two things like food and service still have to be tested and tasted. On one of those testing-tasting evenings I was lucky to try a dish I couldn't wait to cook at home. A little bit changed...My own interpretation :) Imagine: sweet-creamy mango-avocado salsa on a juicy pillow from fresh carrots with spicy prawns on top. I think you shouldn't be a crazy seafood-lover to have a try. Such an attractive offer comes very rarely. So don't miss it.

Tip!
If you want to reach the best taste of this dish make sure the prawns are fresh. It's better when they are with heads, perfectly when fresh cooled. Mango and avocado should be very ripe as well. The ripeness of avocado can be checked by pressing a little bit. A ripe fruit is firm, yet a bit soft when pressing on it. When we're talking about mango try to smell it first. You will understand at once. Then use your experience with avocados, mangoes also become softer as they ripen.

Ingredients:
500g king prawns
2 carrots
3/4 avocado
1/2 mango
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1tsp lemon juice
salt, pepper, herbs

First of all, prepare salsa. Wash mango and avocado, peel them and cut into little cute-form pieces. Mix the needed amounts together and add a sprinkle of salt, lemon juice, some pepper and dried herbs. Put aside, allow the flavors become friends.

Wash the prawns, de-shell them when needed. Heat the pan with some vegetable oil of your choice. Fry the prawns for 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce and let them soak it. Spice them with some pepper and dried herbs. Take them out of the hot pan to prevent rubber-texture.

Now let us put it all together. Wash the carrots, peel them and grate. Place them as the bottom layer. Put avocado-mango salsa as a middle layer. And finally add the prawns. A tiny sprinkle of dried herbs can be a finishing touch.

Enjoy! A taste of summer is here. Even though it's getting far-far-far away...

Chocolate souffle

I've recently watched a lot of movies and series about restaurants and cooking. All those fresh cooked dishes with a delicious crisp, perfect presentation and satisfied tasters... All in all a powerful inspiration that strongly pushed me to a recipe I want to introduce today. The most favorite recipe of my husband. Chocolate souffle.

Tip! 
The secret I want to share is a rule of substitution. The original secret is rich in fat and sugar. If you use banana instead of butter you will get 2 in 1 result: firstly, high calories part of butter is excluded by mashed banana; secondly, the sweetness you would normally add in a form of sugar is already added by banana.

First of all - heat the over to 180°C. As a form I used a cooking ring. I put a sheet of baking paper under it. Of course, you can use a muffin form or any other you have. Make sure you fat it well with butter first.Then grab all the ingredients you need and lets start.

Ingredients:
90g chocolate (the best choice is the one that contains more than 70% cocoa)
50g or about 1/2 mashed banana
2 eggs
1 tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp almond flour

If you want to make the original version of the dessert here are the ingredients you need:
90g chocolate
50g butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsp flour

In a little saucepan heat the chocolate bar until it melts. Take it off the heat and add mashed banana and sugar mixing it thoroughly. Now is eggs' turn. Mix them as well. After that add almond flour. You will need from 2 to 3 tbsp of it. Make sure the mixture is smooth and has no ingredients apart. Pour it into a form and put into the oven for 7 minutes. Check it after 7 minutes. The top of the souffle should be mat but it stays fluid inside.

I use to serve this lovely treat with some strawberries and a ball of vanilla ice-cream.
So as you can see a couple of minutes and some fantasy... and Voila! Chocolate souffle!

Bon Appetit! 

Whole wheat persimmon pie with caramel topping

"Fruit of the gods" from Latin. Japan's national fruit. It's all about persimmon. A cute orange fruit that is rich in vitamins A, B, C, a good source of fiber, antioxidants; contains such minerals as sodium, magnesium, calcium and iron. Are you still hesitating? No way. Because I'm introducing a healthy pie recipe. Especially good fro those who are fed up with usual apple pies and think they can't be surprised anymore... NO! I can surprise you. Believe me. Get ready to bake a miracle ;)

Tip!
To turn bitterness into sweetness put the persimmon into freezer for about an hour and then let it thaw out at room temperature. You will get a sweet ripe soft fruit.

And here is the recipe itself.
Ingredients:
2 persimmons
4 eggs
250 g whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
10 tbsp ice cold water
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp whisky
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
7 toffees
sprinkle of salt

The main part of the pie has to be put into the oven immediately after preparing. That will ensure that your pie will come up. Therefore you have to prepare everything in advance so that you don't find yourself stuck in the middle because you can't find a measure cup to measure flour ;) So preheat the oven to 180°C. Take your baking form and  its bottom with melted butter. Wash 2 nice autumn-colored persimmons and cut them into pieces. Make a persimmon layer at the bottom of the form and leave it aside.

Now we are ready to make a pie itself. It is an old recipe from my mother who got it from her mother and the good thing is that its unique. It can be baked with a wide range of fruits and berries as well as a salty type with cheese of vegetables or even meat. So let's learn the basics.

Separate egg whites from egg yolks. Mix 4 yolks with 2 tbsp of brown sugar. Use a mixer for the best result. While mixing pour one by one 10 tbsp of ice cold water. Don't stop mixing it. Add sifted flour mixed with baking powder portion by portion. The original recipe comes along with white flour but I prefer whole wheat. You can also use white and whole wheat flours in proportion 50:50. Put this bowl aside.

Take egg whites, add a sprinkle of salt and beat egg whites until stiff. It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating egg whites. The texture of egg whites is right if you can turn the bowl upside down without a disaster ;)

The next step is to add egg whites into your yolk-flour mixture. Add at first half of the whites, carefully mix it all but try to keep the light air texture. Then add the rest and mix it all. Pour the mixture over the persimmons into your baking form and put the form into the oven. Now don't come closer to the oven for 20 minutes. It is a rule. Your pie is rising and don't even dare to intervene.
This is a perfect time to prepare the caramel. In a little saucepan warm chopped toffees with milk at low heat stirring all the time. Pour 1 tbsp of whisky to add some extra flavor. Cook the caramel at low heat for about 10 minutes.

After 20 minutes of baking time have passed you can check the pie with a wooden stick. If it's comes out wet leave the pie for another 5-15 minutes. When it is ready open the oven-door and let the pie rest for a while so that it can keep the form. Carefully turn the form upside down so that the persimmon pieces are on top. Pour caramel topping over it and enjoy the flavors, tastes, textures and lovely autumn. Serve warm - tastes unbelievable.

And remember - everything is good in moderation ;)
Bon appetit!