Cremini mushrooms stuffed with cheese

O, it’s hard to write something interesting about cremini mushrooms! Cremini mushrooms are the younger sisters of Portobello mushroom and similar to them they are a rich source of selenium, vitamin B12, and copper and are nearly calorie-free. These humble mushrooms do not have a very pronounced own taste but they are great when paired with lots of butter, cheese or cream. I do not eat cremini mushrooms quite often but at the beginning of summer I tried them in a small restaurant. They were prepared stuffed with blue and yellow cheese and since then I’ve prepared them at least five times at home. You can use whatever cheese you have on hand, but blue cheese is the best option according to me. 

Preparation of stuffed cremini mushrooms requires little time and the results is a delicious appetizer which is great for parties.

No bake cheesecake with sour cream and mascarpone

Cheesecake is Peter’s favorite dessert and he rates the restaurants we visit depending on the ability of the chef to prepare a really good cheesecake.

Until yesterday I’ve never prepared cheesecake – I usually tend to search for chocolate based desserts, but he had an important exam and I really wanted to please him with something tasty and relaxing. So, the search for the best cheesecake recipe started. 

I had some requirements towards the cheesecake – apart from the obligatory cream cheese my cheesecake has to include a lot of mascarpone and the specific taste of sour cream – no condensed milk, no heavy cream and no gelatin. 

The baked cheesecakes lack the fresh taste which is the most important requirement for a summer dessert – so it has to be a no bake cheesecake. The moment I saw this filling I already knew that this was the best recipe for the filling of my cheesecake.

And what about the topping? Nothing is better than some spoon of sour cherry jam which adds some sourness to all the creamy blend of ingredients.

What is the taste of this cheesecake? It is fresh, light and creamy. This recipe includes so many high-class ingredients which makes it pricey that you could never expect to receive it anywhere else than in somebody's home. Why not in your's?

You need less than 15 minutes to prepare this recipe and I bet, this will become also your favorite no bake cheesecake recipe. Because this is the best cheesecake ever, said Peter and I tend to believe him – he is the greatest cheesecake expert I know.

Parmesan Bread Sticks with Seeds

The crunchy breadsticks, called Grissini in Italian, are often served at the restaurant as an appetizer with a kind of dip - tsatsiki, kjopoolu, tirosalata or hummus.  You can also have them with some slices of prosciutto or bacon wrapped around them. I prepared them with grated parmesan cheese and sesame and poppy seeds and they turned out to be a great snack to nibble on. These parmesan breadsticks include butter, but you can not feel it while eating - if you prefer cheese breadsticks with more buttery and creamy taste, I would recommend you these ones. 

Birthday far from home

She fell in love with the desert the first time she saw it. And she decided to go back there. To live and study there, to be a part of a multi-colored community, where nations and borders do not matter. Today she turns 19, first birthday away of home, many more to follow.

Happy birthday, Violet, I love you, love you, love and I wish you all the happiness in the world!

Bulgarian green salad with radishes

March has come again and although the spring is going to start officially on the 22^nd of March, I feel spring everywhere around me. First of March was Baba Marta – Bulgarian holiday, when everybody presents to their relatives and colleagues small pieces of adornments made from white and red yarn – the so called Martenitsi. People wear them from the first of March until they see a stork, which is around the end of March.

Early spring is the time to enjoy the typical Bulgarian green salad – light, tasty and easy to prepare. We do not chop the green salad in Bulgaria, we slice it thinly and so it absorbs easier the vinegar and sunflowers oil. Boiled eggs are also often added to this salad.

Poached eggs with yogurt – one more recipe from the Balkans

It is very hard to define the origin of the dishes on the Balkans. The dish I am presenting you today has a name, which is hard to pronounce if you are not Bulgarian - ‘Jajca po panagjurski’, which means eggs prepared the way as in the Bulgarian town of Panagjurishte. And I was ready to swear that this is a typical Bulgarian recipe, before I checked Internet and found the Turkish dish called ‘Cilbir’, which is quite the same ultra-delicious blend of tastes – fresh yogurt, some garlic and poached eggs, drizzled with butter and red pepper flakes. No matter the origin of these poached eggs with yogurt – this dish is very light and is the perfect weekend brunch. 

Greetings from the Balkans!

Lentil Soup with Smoked Paprika

Some words about lentils. This is a high fiber food, which lowers holesterol, is high in proteins (third-highest level of protein among all legumes and nuts) and contains very few calories. So, it is worth it to have it on the table.

My sister Eve gave me this recipe for lentils soup, this is the way she prepares it ones a week. The soup is simple and easy to prepare and the addition of smoked paprika pairs very well with the earthy taste of the lentils.

Bulgarian Festive Bread Kneaded and Beaten by Hand

This is a Bulgarian recipe for old-school tear and share bread, kneaded and beaten by hand. No electric mixer is used at any step. Dough is enriched with milk and eggs. The exact method of kneading includes a step, commonly known as the ‘French method of kneading bread’, which requires some more efforts than the traditional kneading way. 

The bread produced this way is heavier, has a denser texture and a ticker crust.

Bulgarian Sarmi with Minced Meat and Sauerkraut

Bulgarian Sarmi are the small cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with delicious mixture of mince, rice and spices (for meat lovers) or just with rice and spices, for vegetarians. During summer when there are a lot of fresh vine leaves (Bulgaria is a famous wine producing country), the stuffed vine leaves are prepared widely. Here are the recipes for the meat-including and vegetarian version. If you visit Bulgaria in summer, I highly recommend you to try them. Every winter there are a lot of sauerkraut heads sold on every farmer’s market and this is the time for the sauerkraut sarmi (Sarmi s kisselo zele), which meat versions are with chopped meat (recipe here) or minced meat (today's recipe).

This dish is very traditional for the Christmas eve and for the New Year’s menu. 

Happy New Year!