Walnut and Raw Cacao Cookies

I recently realized that, while I use walnuts in various recipes, I don’t use them as often when baking cookies. With this in mind, I was set to create cookies with walnuts as the main ingredient.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pancakes

Roasting sweet potatoes brings out their flavor to the fullest; the process concentrates their flavor, they caramelize at the edges and become a real treat.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and Pecans

The following tasty cookies are another version of my earlier all-oats gluten-free cookies (find the recipe HERE).
This time, I decided to rely even more on both oats flour and rolled oats, instead of using nut meal in the dough. I chose to add a lemony flavor to the cookies, which worked well with the other additions, of chopped pecans and dried apricots.

Shrimps, Flowering Chives and Rice Flour Fritters

When I saw a bunch of flowering chives at the store, it immediately drew my attention. Smelling the flowers, I was expecting, probably due to their lavender color, that they would have a sweet floral smell. However, to my surprise, they had fresh onion scent, similar to that of the chives. I later learned that the flowers are edible and can be used in the same way chives is used.

Chicken, Corn and Shishito peppers Patties

Fresh corn is one of my favorite vegetables, and now that the season has started, I once again use it on its’ own, or mixed with different ingredients, to create new dishes. The following chicken patties are one example of the later.

Coconut Milk Pudding with Fresh Fruits

When entertaining a large party, it’s always a good idea to serve a dessert buffet, with small portions of a few items, that the guests can help themselves to, according to their taste. On such a buffet, dairy-free, gluten-free, low sugar or vegan options are likely to please not only those who have dietary concerns, but rather, all the guests, especially after a fairly heavy dinner.

Rosemary and Parmesan Savory Freezer Cookies

I make my Blue cheese, Rosemary and Pecan crackers often. However, this time, I wanted to create a different version of it, of thicker savory cookies, that can also work as a base for canapés.

Banana and Dried Fruits Muffins

While these quick, “all in one bowl”, muffins look somewhat plain, they are loaded with healthy and tasty ingredients, such as banana, dried fruits, pumpkin seeds and spelt flour, – all that is needed to make them a perfect guilt-free snack.

Vanilla Scented Chouquettes

Chouquettes are the humble, no fuss, relatives of the more stylish Profiteroles, (or as they are known in the US, Cream Puffs); as they are made from the very same dough – Pâte à Choux. Éclair pastries are also made from this dough. Unlike both, Chouquettes are not filled with any cream and are meant to be eaten as a simple snack, soon after baking, or at least on the same day.

Pecan and Strawberry Jam Mini Bars

During strawberry season, I prepared a few batches of strawberry jam. As with any jam that is prepared with a fairly small amount of sugar, it doesn’t keep as well as the sugar loaded jams. So, instead of waiting for it to spoil, I’ve decided to use some of it to prepare the following tasty mini bars.

Marbled Vanilla and Quark Cheese Cake

Cheese cakes are on top of my favorite cakes, but as they take a while to bake and set, and as they are quite heavy and sweet, I end up rarely making them.
Yet, the crave for the wonderful tangy flavor of baked fresh cheese is always there, so I came up with a fairly quick “fix”, in the form of the following cake.