Leftover chicken salad with pickles and tabasco mayo dressing

 

 So, what is the part with leftovers, you may ask. Well, as a student you don't really afford to throw food away, especially when is still perfect for consuming. And to be honest, you shouldn't do that anyway, even if you are a student or not. Therefore, with this recipe not only I am trying to support consumption of leftovers in order to avoid wasting food, but I am also showing that you can use them to create a super delicious dish. This idea made me think of Antoine Lavoisier's quote "nothing is lost, everything changes". 

One day me and my flatmates cooked some really tasty chicken wings glazed with some sweet chili sauce but we didn't really end up eating all of them. So the next day I was wondering what to do with what is left, considering that I wasn't really up for eating cold/reheated plain chicken, so I threw it into a bowl with veggies and a good dressing and turned it into a proper healthy and tasty meal.

Side note: The quantities for the ingredients bellow are predictive for one portion but you don't usually make a salad after a rigorous recipe, so just use your imagination and your taste to adjust the quantities and to make the dressing as sour and spicy as you want. ;)

Ingredients:

•  half a lettuce
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 pickles 
• leftover chicken
• 40-50 g croutons
• 2-3 Tsp mayonnaise
• Tabasco
• lemon juice
• salt
• pepper 

What I did for this salad is that I kept my chicken cold, I sliced my fresh tomatoes and my pickles, chopped the lettuce and added croutons that I got from the supermarket (from the same reason mentioned in my first "15 minutes project" recipe). I also added some cubes of Mozzarella cheese in this particular salad because I wanted to use all ingredients I had in the fridge at that time. (I guess that's a student habit haha)

For the dressing I mixed mayonnaise with a lot of lemon juice (because I find supermarket mayonnaise to greasy and heavy so I am making it as sour as possible), then sprinkled a little Tabasco, spicy enough to pinch my tongue. Mixed everything together, added some salt and pepper, and voila, yesterday's chicken in today's salad.

Enjoy!

 

Beef salad with garlic, sweet chili and lime dressing

    It's time for the first salad from this project. I inspired myself from a Gordon Ramsay's recipe I once found online and it seemed really interesting, but as I did not have all the fancy ingredients around I gave it a try in my own way, and it turned out to be delicious. To make all the cooking process fast, in general, I buy already made croutons (which is a lazy move from me since I could do myself some really good ones), but it  helps me save some time. I also keep most of the time a stack of meet in the freezer, nicely portioned, and in the morning when I go to school I take one portion out and let it defrost, so when I come back in the evening is waiting for me, ready to be cooked. The rest is just cutting some veggies and mixing the dressing, nothing too complicated or that requires too much time. So let's get started!

Ingredients (for 1 portion):

• 40-50 g croutons ( approx 1 hand )
• 1 hand of cherry tomatoes
• 1 medium cucumber 
• half of an iceberg salad
• 200-250 g beef
• juice from a lime
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2-3 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
• olive oil
• butter
• salt
• pepper

    First I started with the beef, and to make thing even quicker that they already were, I got some

already sliced beef, like it can be seen in the picture (because that is a thing in the Netherlands, you can find everything already sliced, from fruits and vegetables to meat, but that's a story for another time). I cooked the beef in a little bit of butter, with some salt and pepper, until it was done, but not dry, and I set it aside.

    Then I sliced my cherry tomatoes, I peeled thin cucumber strips  and finely chopped the Iceberg salad. I added everything to a huge bowl, added the beef, which cooled down a little bit in the meantime, and the croutons and preceded with the dressing. 

    For this I mashed the garlic cloves, added the lime juice and the sweet chili, and in order to find a balance between tastes and to soften the dressing a little bit I also added about 1 and 1/2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

   What is left is to pour the dressing over the other ingredients in the bowl, give it a good shake, so everything nicely mixes and the crunchy croutons soften up a little bit, add salt and pepper as you wish, and voila, you dinner is ready!

Enjoy!

15 minutes project

    Approximately one year ago my life changed completely, as I moved to another country, 2000 km away from home, to go to university. Translated, all my habits, all the things I was familiar with and everything that I used to grow up with literally went away over night. I found myself forced to suddenly be an adult, and, in the confusion and stress that occurred in the beginning ( and in the months after, if I am to be honest) I was going a little crazy as there were too many things to do and too little time, basically my time management and approach to every-day activities was screaming for help. Some of the things that considerably changed were, of course, cooking and eating.

    Back home I had time to lock myself in the kitchen for hours, to experiment fancy dishes, to cook for my family, to clean everything after that and to still have plenty of time and energy. After I moved to The Netherlands, this situation changed to 180 degrees. There were, of course,  occasions where I was gathering with my friends and we were cooking together, or I was cooking for them, but there were also plenty of days, especially around midterms and finals, when I was coming from the University at 9 or 10 in the night, desperately hungry, with no energy or willingness to cook anything.  The good news were that I could order any time, or eat frozen food for the supermarket. The bad news were than after couple of weeks you just get sick of eating fast food, you realize how much money you spend on that and it all stops for good when you notice you re not fitting in your favorite jeans anymore. ( happened more than once :( )

    Considering all the above, I came up with the idea of a healthy, quick and tasty solution, so here I am introducing my "15 minutes project". I am going to share my cooking experience by posting a series of salads (and not only) which take no more than 15 minutes, have some super tasty ingredients and dressings and which are also versatile enough, not only in terms of taste, but also in terms of ingredients. There's veggies, meat, some carbs, all meant not only to look good in the plate, but also to properly fill you up.

* I would like to show me greatest appreciation to my best friend and flatmate, Angela Negru, who provided this beautiful bowl that made all of these photos possible. Also, she is the one that is always by my side in the kitchen, we often cook together, share ideas and taste each other's dishes. So Angie, thanks for being a part of this project and part of my inspiration.

Sour cherry and peach pie

Romana ( English below): 

    Inceputul lui septembrie ne da in sfarsit frau liber la a porni cuptoarele, si desi Romania inca se joaca de-a canicula, in Olanda lucrurile nu stau la fel. Asadar, imi permit sa vorbesc acum despre o alternativa a placintelor pe care le fac bunicile mele. Plecam de la traditionalul dovleac, mar, sau branza, spre ceva cu influente vestice si arome reinterpretate. Iar versatilitatea acestui desert nu se opreste doar aici, ci continua si cand vine vorba de compozitie sau design.

Ingrediente:

Pentru aluat:

• 350 g faina
• 1/4 lg sare
• 3 Lg zahar tos
• 230 g unt rece
• 75 ml apa rece
• 1 lg pasta vanilie
• coaja de la o lamaie

Pentru umplutura:

• 400 g visine
• 2-3 piersici medii
• 2 Lg amindon
• 3 Lg suc de lamaie
• 1lg esenta de vanilie
• 30 g unt

Extra:

• 1 ou
• zahar tos

     Am inceput, evident, cu pregatirea aluatului. Intr-un bol am adaugat toate ingredientele uscate (faina, zaharul, sarea) impreuna cu pasta de vanilie si coaja de lamaie. Am adaugat apoi untul rece taiat in cubulete si am framantat cu varfurile degetelor pana cand aluatul avea aspectul unor firimituri. Am incheiat prin a adauga treptat apa pana cand aluatul a fost inchegat, apoi l-am impartit in 2 bile (3/4 si 1/4) si l-am tinut la frigider pentru o ora. 

    Esentiala in aceasta etapa este viteza. Aluatul trebuie sa fie unul usor crocant, sfaramicios, de aceea untul nu are voie sa se topeasca, asa ca trebuie sa ne miscam cat mai repede posbil. Totul se poate face, dupa preferinte, si cu ajutorul unui robot de bucatarie. 

    Cat aluatul era la frigider m-am ocupat de pregatirea umpluturii. Intr-un bol am adaugat visinele fara samburi, piersicile curatate de coaja taiate bucati si le-am amestecat cu amidonul, vanilia, sucul de lamaie si untul usor moale.

    Am uns apoi o tava rotunda cu fund detasabil (cca. 24 cm) cu unt in care apoi am asezat bila mare de aluat intinsa la un diametru cu 4-5 cm mai mare decat tava, la o grosime de cca. 2,5-3 mm. Dupa ce a am asezat bine baza de aluat in tava am adaugat umplutura. Cu bila mica de aluat puteti fi inventivi, pentru ca reprezinta "capacul" si in acelasi timp decorul placintei. Eu am ales sa folosesc fasii de aluat care se intrepatrund si inimioare. Am taiat apoi marginile de aluat si le-am intors in interior pentru a "sigila" compozitia. La final am uns placinta cu un ou batut si apoi am presarat zahar tos.

Pentru copt am preincalzit cuptorul la 200 °C/ treapta 5 pentru gaz unde am tinut placinta pentru 15 minute, apoi am redus temperatura la 180 °C/ treapta 4 pentru gaz unde am tinut-o inca 35-40 de minute, pana a capatat un aspect auriu.

Am scos placinta din tava abia dupa ce s-a racit si am servit-o asa cum imi place cel mai mult, cu o cupa de inghetata de vanilie. (Merge la fel de bine cu inghetata de lamaie sau de cocos) .

                                               
                                                         Pofta buna! :D

 English: 

    The beginning of September finally gives us the freedom to turn on the ovens, and although Romania is still playing the heatwave game, in The Netherlands things look a little bit different. Therefore, let me talk about an alternative to the pies my grandmothers do. We move from the traditional pumpkin, apple or cheese to something with western influences and reinterpreted flavors. And the versatility of this dessert doesn't only stop here, but also when it comes to filling and design.

Ingredients:

For dough:

• 350 g flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar 
• 230 g cold butter
• 75 ml cold water
• 1 tsp. vanilla paste
• zest from 1 lemon 

For filling:

• 400 g sour cherries
• 2-3 medium peaches
• 2 Tbsp. starch
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 30 g butter

Extra:

• 1 egg
•  granulated sugar

    I started, obviously, with the preparation of the dough. In a bowl I added all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt) along with the vanilla paste and the lemon zest. Then I added the cold butter cut intro small cubes and kneaded with the tip of my fingers until the dough had the appearance of bread crumbs. I ended up gradually adding the water until the dough was done, then split it intro two balls ( 3/4 and 1/4) and kept it in the refrigerator for an hour.

Essential in this stage is the speed. The dough must be crunchy, therefore the butter is not allowed to melt, so we have to be as fast as possible. Everything can be done, according to your preferences, with the help of a kitchen robot.

As the dough was in the refrigerator, I was busy preparing the filling. In a bowl I added the sour cherries with their pips removed and the peeled peaches cut into peaces and mixed them with the starch, vanilla, lemon juice and soft butter.

Then I greased a round tray with a removable bottom  (approx. 24 cm) with some butter and I placed the big ball of dough with a diameter of 4-5 cm greater that the tray and a thickness of approx. 2,5-3 mm. After I placds well the base dough in the tray I added the filling. With the small ball of dough you can be inventive because it is both the cover and the ornament of the pie. I have chosen to use dough strips that intertwine and small hearts. Then I cut the edges of the dough, I flipped them to the inside of the pie to "seal" the filling. In the end, I greased the pie with some egg wash and sprinkled some granulated sugar.

For the baking part I preheated the oven to 200° C/ gas 5 where I kept the pie for 15 minutes, then I lowered the temperature to 180 °C/ gas 5 andI kept it for another 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

I took the pie out of its tray only after it cooled down and served it the way I like the most, with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. ( It works just as well with lemon or coconut ice-cream).

                                                            Enjoy!

Spicy prawn soup

Romana:

    Da, stiu, e vara, soare, cald, iar toata lumea incearca sa se racoreasca. Insa acum cateva saptamani cand am gatit acesta supa un val de vreme rece a venit peste Tilburg, Olanda, unde locuiesc in prezent. Si m-am trezit undeva pe la mijlocul lunii iunie cu 12 grade Celsius in termometru, cautand disperata in fundul dulapului un pulover mai gros. Trecand la partea gastronomica, afara e frig, dar parca nu merge sa gatesti orice, o parte din tine stie ca e totusi vara. Asa ca de la o supa sau ciorba clasica am sarit la ceva un pic mai exotic, picant, cald, dar in acelasi timp fresh si sper sa retata asta sa inspire lumea sa experimenteze mai mult si sa incerce combinatii interesante in materie de supe. 

Ingrediente (4 portii):

• ulei de masiline extra virgin
• 400 g amesteg de legume stir-fry la alegere
• 150 g ciuperci shiitake
• 3 lg pasta verde de curry
• 400 ml lapte de cocos
• 1 L supa de legume
• 250 g creveti 
• 150 taietei pentru wok
• sare
• piper
• fulgi de chili

    Desi o preparare ca la carte necesita un wok, studentia nu-ti perminte luxul unei bucatarii complet utilate, asa ca ne vom folosi de o simpla tigaie. In aceasta tigaie am incins 1 lg de ulei in care am calit ciupercile taiete felii impreuna cu amestecul de legume sitr-fry, iar cand au fost gata le-am dat deoparte. Intr-o oala separata am calit pasta de curry pentru cateva secunde, apoi am adaugat laptele de cocos si supa. Cand amestecul a dat in clocot am adaugat crevetii si taieteii si am lasat la foc mic pana acestia s-au gatit uniform. Am adaugat peste supa amestecul de legume si ciuperci, am asezonat cu sare, piper si fulgi de chili dupa gust, si am fost gata de servire.

Si partea cea mai frumoasa este cand prietenii iti apreciaza mancarea! 

Pofta buna! 

English:

    Yes, I know, it's summer, extremely hot, and everybody is trying to cool down in one way or another. However, few weeks ago when I made this recipe few days of cold weather came over Tilburg, Netherlands, where I currently live. So I found myself somewhere in the middle of June with 12 Celsius, while desperately searching for a warm sweater in the back of my closet. Moving to the culinary aspect of the story, although it was chilly outside, I didn't feel like I can cook anything, some part of me still knew it was summer so I changed the classic soup or ciorba with something more exotic, spicy, warm but fresh in the same time and I hope that with this recipe I inspire more people to experiment more and to try interesting combinations when it comes to soups.

Ingredients (4 servings):

• extra virgin olive oil
• 400 g stir-fry vegetables ( your choice)
• 150 g shiitake mushrooms
• 3 tbsp green curry paste
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1 L vegetable stock
• 250 g prawns
• 150 g wok noodles
• salt
• pepper
• chili flakes 

    Although a proper approach to this recipe requires a wok, living as a student doesn't offer the luxury of a fully equipped kitchen, so we're only going a use an ordinary pan. I started with cooking the vegetable mix together with the sliced mushrooms in 1 tbsp of olive oil. When ready I set them aside and in another pot I fried the curry paste for couple of seconds, I added the coconut milk and the stock and brought to boil. When the mix was boiling I added the noodles and prawns and cooked on low heat until they were tender. In the end I mixed the soup with vegetables and mushrooms, I seasoned with salt, pepper and chili flakes and was ready to serve.

And the best part of this is when your friends love what you cook for them!

Enjoy! 

 *Special thanks to Ada, Angela and Madalina
 *Recipe inspired from www.bbcgoodfood.com 

Veggie Frittata

Romana:

    Mic dejun, brunch sau pranz? Exista un preparat potrivit pentru toate aceste mese, gustos, satios si usor de gatit. In esenta, Frittata este un preparat italian ce se aseamana cu o omleta, insa este mult mai complex prin varietatea ingredientelor folosite, de la legume, la carne si paste si prin modul de preparare, fie pe aragaz, fie la cuptor. Astazi prezint reteta mea proprie in care mi-am explorat creativitatea cu legumele pe care le aveam in frigider. De asemenea, am preferat sa gatesc preparatul doar pe aragaz, si desi ouale si pot amesteca cu lapte sau cu smantana lichida, am preferat sa raman in limitele unei retete light si clasice.

Ingrediente:

• 5 oua
• 2 Lg ulei de masline extra virgin
• 100 g spanac proaspat
• 1 ceapa mica
• 1/3 dintr-un dovlecel mediu
• 150 g ciuperci mix 
• 3-4 bucati rosii deshidratate
• branza de capra 
• fulgi de chili
• sare
• piper

    Intr-o tigaie am pus pus uleiul de masline la incins, apoi am calit la foc mediu ciupercile si dovlecelul taiate in bucati medii si am adaugat apoi spanacul si ceapa tocata marunt. Nu am uitat sa asezonez cu sare si piper dupa gust. Intr-un bol am batut cele 5 oua, am adaugat sare, piper si fulgii de chili. Cand legumele din tigaie au fost gata, am adaugat rosiile deshidratate tocate marunt si am presarat branza de capra, apoi am turnat imediat ouale batute si am dat focul la mic. Este important sa lasam legumele sa se gateasca bine inainte de a adauga ouale pentru ca sucul lor sa se evapore, astfel Frittata se va gati uniform. Dupa ce ouale au fost pe jumatate coagulate, am pus capacul tagaii si am lasat in continuare la foc mic pana cand ouale au fost complet coagulate si preparatul era auriu. La final, pentru extra gust, am presarat inca putina branza de capra.

Pofta buna!

English:   

    Breakfast, brunch or lunch? There is a dish that suits all of these meals, tasty, nourishing and easy to cook. Essentially, Frittata is an italian dish that resembles omlette, but is more complex due to the variaty of ingredients used, from vegetables to meat and pasta, and due to its cooking procedure, either on the stove or in the oven. Today, I'm presenting my own recipe in which I explored my creativity with the vegetable I had in the fridge. Also, I preferred to cook the dish just on the stove, and although the eggs can be mixed with milk or cream, I prefered to stay in the range of a light and classic recipe.

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
• 100 g fresh spinach
• 1 small onion
• 1/3 medium zucchini
• 150 g mushroom mix
• 3-4 sundried tomatoes
• goat cheese
• chili flakes
• salt
• pepper

     In a pan I heated the olive oil on a medium heat and then I cooked the mushrooms and the zucchini medium chopped, then I added the spinach and the finely chopped onion. I didn't forget to add slat and pepper. In a bowl I whisked the eggs and I added salt, pepper, and chili flakes. When the vegetables in the pan were ready, I added chopped sundried tomatoes and goat cheese and I quickly poured the eggs and let them cook on low heat. It is essential to cook the vegetables well before adding the eggs, thus their juice will evaporate and the Frittata will cook properly. After the eggs were half coagulated I covered the pan and let them fully cook until golden brown. In the end, for an extra taste, I sprinkled more goat cheese.

Enjoy!

Tarta Tatin cu mere

    Desi tarta Tatin aduce cu o simpla placinta cu mere, aceasta are in spate o istorie interesanta, inceputa in anul 1880, in Franta, la Hotel Tatin, care ii da si numele. Este vorba despre surorile Stephanie si Caroline Tatin, proprietarele hotelului, care au copt desertul rasturnat din greseala, dand astfel nastere unui preparat inedit ce avea sa ajunga celebru. Deci cum e sa stii ca acesta tarta atat de populara si de indragita a inceput ca o neatentie gastronimica? 

    Lasand istoria la o parte, ceea ce imi place in mod special la acesta tarta este modul de preparare, care pe langa usurinta si rapiditate permite fructelor sa-si pastreze o textura umeda, suculenta si nu lasa sa se piarda nicio aroma.

Ingrediente:

• 100 g unt + 1 cub
  
• 180 g faina
• 20 g zahar pudra
• 4 Lg zahar tos
• 1 ou
• 2 Lg apa rece
• 6 mere
• 1 lg pasta de vanilie
• 1 lg scortisoara
• un strop de apa pentru caramel

     Am inceput prin a prepara blatul intr-un robot de bucatarie pentru eficienta, dar acesta poate fi facut la fel de usor si la mana. Am adaugat faina, zaharul pudra, oul, pasta de vanilie (desi sunt in continuare un fan al pastaii de vanilie, recomand pasta naturala de vanilie deoarece se incorporeaza mai usor in preparat iar aroma este mai intensa) si untul rece taiat cubulete, apoi am mixat treptat aluatul pana la omogenizare. La final, pentru a lega aluatul, am adaugat si cele doua linguri de apa si l-am dat la rece timp de o ora.

     Trecand la partea aromata, tava in care am copt tarta a trecut mai intai pe la aragaz, unde la foc mic am adaugat zaharul tos, scortisoara si cubul de unt pana ce am obtinut un sos de caramel pe care l-am diluat usor cu un strop de apa. Apoi am asezat uniform peste sosul de caramel merele curatate de cotor si coaja si taiate felii. 

    Am scos apoi aluatul de la rece, l-am intins intr-o foaie cu grosimea de 2-3 mm si l-am asezat deasupra merelor, avand grija sa sigilez bine continutul pentru ca fructele sa ramana moi. 

     Am dat apoi tarta la cuptor la temperatura de 180 grade Celsius/ treapta 3-4 pentru gaz cca. 25-30 de minute pana ce crusta a capatat o culoare aurie. 

    Dupa ce desertul a fost gata l-am lasat usor la racit, pana cand a devenit caldut, apoi l-am rasturnat pe un platou. Un pas important pentru ca preparatul sa fie complet este sa il rasturnati cat este caldut pentru a permite siropului din fructe sa se scurga in aluat si sa il insiropoze. Astfel, dintr-un blat sfaramicios de tarta avem un aluat moale si fin.

     Pentru ca tarta este foarte aromata, imi place sa o mananc simpla, fara nimic alaturi, poate doar cu un strop de scortisoara in plus care sa amplifice aroma catifelata a merelor.

 Pofta buna!