Chinese fried rice

This is one of my favorite dishes and it`s very easy to made.

Ingredients: 

- one big cup of long grain rice (i prefer basmati);

- 2 onions;

- 1-2 garlic cloves;

- frozen mix of peas and carrots;

 - 3 eggs;

 - soy sauce;

 - pepper, salt

The rice must be boiled with at least a couple of hours before making the recipe. Even with 24 hours before. So, boil the rice with a bit of salt and olive oil. When it`s done it must be drained and put in the fridge a few hours.

After a few hours the rest of the recipe can be done. So, start by beating the eggs, add a bit of salt  and cook an omelette. When the omelette cools it must be cut in little cubes.
Mince the onions and garlic and fry them in some olive oil. When are almost done add the mix of peas and carrots. Fry all of them maximum 10 minutes, add the minced omelette, fry them all another 1 minute and then set aside.

Get the rice from the fridge and fry it a couple of minutes in some olive oil. Stir all the time! Add soy sauce and stir again for another couple of minutes. Be careful at the soy sauce.....don`t add too much without tasting first.....it`s salty.......i`m speaking from personal experience :)

Add the vegetables and omelette and  fry all togheter for another 2 minutes. When it`s done add some pepper.

                                                                       Yummy!!!

grape leaf rolls (Romanian Sarmale)

Ingredients:
- 40 pickled grape leafs;
- 1/2 kg hashed  pork meat;
- 6 onions;
- one big cup of rice (i use basmati);
- salt, thyme, sweet paprika, pepper;
- tomatoes sauce (3 - 5 spoons);
- one dried dill stick;
- one litre of bortsch - probably it`s hard to find this out of East Europe or Russia, so you can try to use one lemon juice mixed with water.

First, the  onion will me minced and fried in a bit of olive or sunflower oil. When the onion is almost done you  must add salt, thyme (i like it with a lot of thyme), one tea spoon of sweet paprika and a bit of water. Let it to fry another 5 minutes. Then add the cup of rice, mix it well with the fried onion. At the end add the tomatoes sauce, simmer all  another 2 minutes and it`s done.

Meanwhile the grape leafs must be prepared, so let them a couple of minutes in cold water.

After the onion and rice mix gets colder it must be put over the hashed pork meat and all must be mix very well together.

Get a grape leaf, put some of the composition in the middle of it and roll it.

After the rolls are done they must be put in a pot. On the bottom of the pot put a couple of grape leafs, then the dried dill stick and after that the rolls. Mix the bortsch (or the lemon juice and water) with 2 spoons of tomatoes sauce and a bit of salt and pour it on the rolls just to cover them. Leave it to simmer 1 and a half hour.

Brownie

I found this recipe on another blog, it was for slow cooker but i used the oven and it was just yummy.

Ingredients:
- 4 eggs;
- one cup sugar;
- half cup cocoa;
- half cup melted butter;
- one package chocolate pudding;
- one cup flour;
- half cup of milk;
- 200 gr greek yoghurt or sour cream;

       We need a mixer. The mixer will be on at the medium speed all the time, while we`ll add gradually all the ingredients in the mixer`s bowl.
        So, first we will put the eggs, mix them 5 minutes, then gradually we add the cup of sugar. We mix the sugar 5 to 10 minutes until the sugar will be dissolved. Then we add the cocoa, the chocolate pudding, the yoghurt (or sour cream), the melted butter, the milk and in the end, after all those ingredients will be well mixed, we`ll add, gradually, the flour.
        We let the mixer on another 5 to 10 minutes so the flour will be well incorporated.
         After it`s done we  pour it in a crock pot and bake it in the oven around 30 minutes - 45 minutes (depending what kind of oven do you have).

Beouf salad

Another of my favorites.....

Ingredients:
- 6-7 big potatoes;
- 6 carrots;
- 1 big parsnip;
- 1 big celery  - the root (or even two);- one big chicken brest or one big piece of beef;
- one onion;
- 10 pickled little cucumbers.
For the mayo:
- 2 eggs - one boiled and one not.
- sweet mustard;
- salt, oil.

Preparation:
Put into a pressure cooker: the meat (chicken or beef), the carrots, the potatoes, the parsnip, the celery (s), the onion. Nothing cut just peeled and washed. I know someone who didn`t peel them so please do :))
Also, add some salt too.

From the moment it starts boiling let it to simmer another 30-45 minutes ( if you use chicken) or 60 - 75 minutes (if you use beef).

After it`s done set the vegetables and the meat aside to cool a little and throw out the onion.
When all are cool start cut them in small pieces. Also cut in small pieces the pickled cucumbers too (drain the cucumbers juice!!!)

After all are chopped blend them all, add salt, the ground pepper and the mayo, blend it again and voila...the salad is done.


The mayo: In a mixer bowl put the boiled yolk, the raw yolk, salt and a teaspoon of mustard. Mix them all together and add oil (slowly) until you obtain the right quantity of mayo that you need.

I like to eat the salad with some black olives.....You can try it....


יאָר!

Chicken and oat soup

I didn`t belive that i would like this kind of soup but i was surprised how good it is. So try it with all the confidence.
Ingrediente:- 2 chicken thighs;
- 2 medium carrots;
- one small onion;
- a little piece of celery ;
- one bay leaf;
- 6-8 pepper grains;
- a half cup of oat
- a half of a tea spoon of white ground pepper
- one spoon chopped parsley;
- 2 spoons butter.

Preparation:
First you must soak the oat in 2 cups of water for at least one hour.

The carrots and the celery must be cut into 1 cm pieces. The onion must be cut in 4 pieces.

Put 7 cups of water into a pot. Put to boil with the bay leaf, pepper, the carrots, the onion, the celery and the chicken thighs. Simmer for half an hour, than filter the soup.

The chicken thighs`s bones will be removed, the same for the skin. After that you must cut the meat in small bits.

After you are done with the chicken you must drain the oat. Than  put the butter (2 spoons) into a pan and fry the oat for 3-4 minutes.  After that put the soup over the fried oat and simmer it another 30 minutes.

 In the end, after those 30 minutes, add salt, the white pepper and the bits of meat and simmer another 3   

minutes. After it`s done add the chopped parsley and cover the pot for a few minutes.

Buen apetito!

Rigatoni al forno

I made the decision to create two blogs about cooking - one in romanian which is http://madampuffy.blogspot.com/ and one in english for my friends from different countries in the world. So if you will see some spelling or grammar mistakes please have patience with me. I try to improve my english every day.....


So, the first recipe is `Rigatoni al forno`, one of my favorite dishes.


Ingredients:
- a bag of rigatoni;
- one small carrot finely grated;
- an onion finely minced;
- 250 - 300 gr. mincemeat - beef or pork;
- 8 - 10 slices ham;
- 10 mushrooms - i always use champignon;
- spices (thyme, basil, pepper, chilli) according to taste;
- grated cheese  and a bit of parmesan;
- tomatoes sauce;
- butter/olive oil;
- a little cup of breadcrumbs.

Preparation:

You must boil the rigatoni first with some salt and olive oil added in the boiling water.

While the rigatoni are boiling you must fry the carrot and the onion until they soften. After they soften add the mushrooms (finely chopped). Let them all fry until all the juices from the mushrooms decrease. Then add the mincemeat and the ham (chopped). Keep frying.
When the mince meat is done add the tomatoes sauce, salt and spices, all according to taste.
After another 5 minutes the sauce is done.

Blend the sauce with the rigatoni.

After that you must take an oven trey, grease it with some butter or olive oil, add some breadcrumbs just to cover the butter/oil. Put the rigatoni (blended with the sauce earlier) in the tray, add the grated cheese and the parmesan and put it in the oven. Might take from 20 to 40 minutes, depending of the oven so keep checking the trey to see when it`s done.

Bon appetit!