Healthy Spring Summer Rolls

Have you ever realised that you just go with the flow and you desperately need to stop and stare? This has been my condition for couple of weeks recently until I just couldn't neither sleep well, nor relax. And then I decided it was time to change. Maybe not fully change everything but at least my attitude. Because in the end work is just work and "life is what you miss when you are busy making your own plans", right?

Nowadays, we are victims of a speedy life when time is precious and everything is done on our ways. But the thing is, when we are trying to recall even what we ate yesterday we can hardly remember the menu... Hm... Of course! If a person eats, watches a movie, talks to a friend and checks an extremely interesting Instagram account she has bumped into by chance and all of it simultaneously, the brain does not really concentrate on a particular activity. Which means that our body is actually not really expecting the food we are consuming at such moments and we do not even notice how we eat our daily portion in a bite. 

And therefore another trend gets even more popular. SLOW FOOD. Slow living, slow time, slow food... Whatever you call it. We have to just go back to the basics. Eating and enjoying each bite. Because that is what brings us the most benefit. Add a good company to this, cook your food together and then enjoy it at the big table. That is what a slow life should be like... 

My input in the slow living today is a wonderful recipe of spring rolls. Made in the summer but that does not matter because they taste perfect during any season. Done very quickly. And suitable even for parties.

Ingredients:

yields 8 rolls

8 rice paper sheets (*easy to find in the Asian stores)

200 g fresh salmon

1/2 avocado

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 cucumber

10 cherry tomatoes (*my choice San Marzano)

2 cups salad leaves

1 cup precooked black rice

1 cup precooked quinoa

Philadelphia cheese 

fresh herbs

soy sauce

1 tsp Wasabi

The trick with the rice paper is that you need to soak it in a cold water in order to make it flexible and sticky. So prepare a bowl with cold water and set it aside. Wash the veggies and cut them into pieces (medium size, not turning into mush). Wash salmon loin and cut it into long pieces about 1 cm wide and 0.5 cm thick. Put the first sheet of rice paper into the water and keep an eye on it. The water should just cover it. Wait until it gets flexible and take it out. Put it on a plate and start filling. So just put a salmon string into the middle, Then some rice beside it, add veggies alongside, Philadelphia and herbs. Then fold as shown below.

   

Do the same with the second sheet and continue until you wrap all of them. As you've already understood you can use any vegetables you like and be creative.The original recipe would contain sushi rice but using black rice or red rice, quinoa will be much healthier and more beneficial for you so the choice is up to you :)

Serve the rolls with say sauce mixed with wasabi. Just dip the roll into the sauce and enjoy the taste...

Fro home-made to gourmet. 

XoXo

Anastasiya

Rosemary baked fish: special recipe with the best tips of fish scaling from Croatia

Hello September! I do not stop wondering how quickly flies the time. It strolls down like a mountain river leaving only memories behind... And then you stop in the rush of the day, wake up at one point, and understand how quickly is everything happening... How come that it has been already two weeks since autumn came?! (yes, I know here they count the start of the season later, but not in Ukraine:) I am still with my thoughts back there, in our dream vacation, warm Croatia and on the seaside... where you can be an idle person, lying the whole day and doing only things you have mood for. While discovering Croatia we were lucky not only to be lazy but also to get some special culinary tips and tricks, which I appreciate very much. One of those was concerning the way to scale the fish. The trick is that you do it in the sea. YES, IN THE SEA! Same actions, but just in the sea. So we took all the needed equipment (sharp knife) and fresh fish from the local market and went to enhance our skills. I have to admit in our family my husband is a professional in these tasks, so I was taking pictures ;)

That morning we decided to buy something different than dorado or sea bass... Sarpa salpa, known commonly as the salema, salema porgy, cow bream or goldline, is a species of sea bream, recognisable by the golden stripes that run down the length of its body, and which might cause hallucinations when eaten. In fact, these curious figures were unknown to us up to the time I made a research for the post. When scaling the fish in the sea, you "kill two rabbits at once" - the outcome is scaled fish and already salted (from natural source, what could be more natural?!). 

Pay attention to the fact that the knife has to be sharp in order to make everything quickly and accurately.

My main concern was - where will we throw out the rests? It is not the most pleasant thing afterwards to swim among fish entrails. But no worries! The nature has foreseen already everything and sea-gull was right there and veeeery hungry.

And here is the recipe:

Ingredients: (for 2 portions)

2 fishes (we chose sarpa)

pepper, rosemary

salted sea and sweet heart :)

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or if available prepare the grill (as we did here). Sprinkle the fish in and outside with rosemary and pepper. Bake 20 minutes under foil and another 15-20 uncovered (depending on the size of the fish).

I leave the side dish up to you. My choice was pumpkin puree as I really missed it. For my husband the only way to get full is to get some carbs as a side dish, so whole wheat pasta was his choice.

Here are some nutrition facts about fish:

• For individuals who do not consume dairy products fish and seafood can be a significant source of calcium
• Fish including salmon and sardines canned in oil as well as sea vegetables such as kombu, nori, and dulse are good sources of calcium
• Fish and seafood are good sources of healthy fats such as omega 3s which are an essential part of a balanced fat intake

Bon Appétit!

Grilled sea bass

Summer.... Vacation period, when you're travelling around exotic places, exploring different cultures and tasing local for someone, but new for you, food. I think being on the seaside and not eating fish is a biiig-biiig mistake, that I would never forgvie myself :)

Therefore today is the FISH-day! 

Wherever you go, if it is close to the sea, go to the market or fish-market. There you can find local specialities of the best quality. 7 a.m and we are there to buy fish :) Sea bass this time. Nothing new for us, good fresh local fish. But!!! The way we will cook it is perfect in the summer: Grilled! Master class was given by a Croatian with big life experience and warm hospitality.

Ingredients:

2 sea basses of middle size

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon 

As you might see from ingredients, the recipe is very simple and easy. No special secret ingredients, just a cup of love and a tablespoon of patience:)

Prepare charcoal fire. The heat should be medium-high. Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. 

Tip!

While baking in the oven or on the grill, you usually end up with the fact, that fish sticked to the surface? Now this won't be a problem anymore. When you prepare the fish, dry it well with paper towels and use little bit of oil to prevent stickiness.

Sprinkle the fish in and outside with salt and pepper. 

Lightly grease grill rack; place fish on hot rack. 

This is how nice our fish looked like on the grill: golden-brown stripes were charming

Grill about 10-12 minutes from each side, then carefully flip it over. Let the grill pattern cover the skin. It is so beautiful!!!

Squeeze lemon on the fish and enjoy perfect summer taste.

I wish you a wonderful vacation and full recharge for new challenges!

Sorry for being short. Sea is waiting :)

Enjoy every moment: eat well, train hard and smile!

Baked dorado with rosemary

When living in a city like Hamburg you get used to eat more fish than in some little town far from sea... And you somehow get addicted to fish presence in your nutrition plan. As a big lover of sea food my husband learned how to cook it very well. So, I have to admit, I've learned some things from him. 

Premiere today - first recipe direct from my husband: baked dorado with rosemary.

Ingredients:
2 middle-sized dorados
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
lemon slices

As you might have already understood the recipe is quick and easy. These are the priority factors for all men, I guess. Therefore if you have no time to stand in the kitchen for hours, buy couple of doradoes on your way home.

Preheat the oven at 180° C. Put a sheet of foil onto the oven-tray and oil it evenly. Wash the fish thoroughly with cold water. Dry it with paper towel and oil a bit. Grease from all sides with a mixture of pepper, salt and rosemary. Especially inside. Peel onion and slice it. Put the slices inside the fish. From the upper side make three incisions and place thin lemon slices in them.






Tip!
Onion will take away slight bitterness if one occurs. And lemon slices make the taste absolutely fresh and complete. Do not hesitate to use this tip when cooking other fish types as well. Simple and clever ones.

Bake the fish for 30 minutes until golden crust. Last 5 minutes turn on the hot air mode for crispy result.

I use mainly salad as a side dish. A good example would be the one like here.

Quick, as promised.
Healthy, as usually.
Easy, as you love it.

Provencal salmon with fresh salad

As we all know fish is a very important part of our healthy nutrition. As a major source of healthy omega-3 fats fish and other seafood is also rich in vitamin D and selenium, high in protein and low in saturated fat. Its well-known that consuming fish is good for the heart and blood vessels. I've also read that eating approximately one to two 100 g servings of fatty fish a week—salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, or sardines—reduces the risk of dying from heart disease by 36 percent. Women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children should also eat fish except of shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish (sometimes called golden bass or golden snapper) because they contain high levels of mercury.

That is why I decided to present you my favorite variation of fish recipe. I've chosen a piece of salmon fillet without bones. If you have children I would strongly recommend you to cook this part of salmon because it contains no bones and therefore is not dangerous for them. This portion of fish is enough for 2. That means, that one serving consists of 150g of salmon.

So grab the ingredients and lets get fished ;)

Ingredients:

300 g salmon fillet
salt and pepper
1 tsp butter
3 leaves romaine
2 tomatos
1 champignon
1/4 green pepper
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp honey
2 tsp herbs la provence

Tip! 
A lot of cooks recommend that fish should be cooked at high temperatures for a short period of time. As the time depends on how thick the fish is you can use the following rule: for every 2 cm of the fish add 10 minutes.

Cooking fish doesn't need a lot of preparations or time. Wash the fillet under cold water. Soak it with a paper towel, add some pepper and salt. And of course 1 tsp of herbs la provence. Put it away for about 10 minutes. If you want to make all preparations in advance you can do this step earlier and just keep the fillet in the fridge until you decide to cook it.

Preheat the oven at about 200-220°C. Meanwhile lets make a perfect crust. Put butter into a frying pan and preheat it. Bake the fish 1-2 minutes from each side until it has a tasty crispy crust. Than put the fillet into the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes (check the baking time using my Tipp! above).

While the fish is in the oven chop vegetables and prepare a salad dressing.
Wash vegetables. Chop the romaine leaves, tomatos, pepper, champignon. Yes, I use a fresh champignon. It tastes very good in a salad;)

For a dressing mix thoroughly white wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, honey and herbs la provence. Add some salt and pepper as well. And the salad is ready;)

Take the salmon out of the oven and serve with a fresh salad.
Enjoy a main dish full of healthy vitamins, omega-3 fats and protein.

Such a dinner will make your day!
Bon appetit ;)