Tomato rye bread with rosemary and garlic

Once on the weekend my husband took me out for lunch. The place was beautiful so was the food. For the appetizer while we were waiting for our order a lovely waitress brought a bread basket with some butter. The bread looked unusual but was sooo good that I had to ask them what kind it was.
I was told it was tomato bread. Since then I was determined to made more at home.
After that I got another reason to make bread like that as I got beautiful fresh local tomatoes.

I as well had some cravings for rye bread so I was looking for a recipes that would include both of these ingredients. Although there is a huge variety of breads available, rye bread is not common in the area where I live now. For me it is a memory of my childhood. Rye bread was something we would eat with soups or some other hearty dish with, make a sandwich or just spread some butter and have a bite. And ohh it was so good to have a fresh crispy crust rubbed with some garlic. I love raw garlic and onion, oh yeah they are also good for you. (the only problem all this smell, but I make sure I don't go out or meet someone right after I eat it.)

After quite an extensive and thorough search I found the recipe that suited all my requirements. Tomato-rye bread with rosemary and garlic from allrecipes.com.

It may sound quite unusual (knowing the way I usually cook by recipes it does sound unusual to me) I followed the recipe exactly as it is without any changes. Well.... I did use a different kind of yeast which I added right into the flour mix and oh yeah, I used whey instead of water. Well I guess I did make some changes. But anyway I followed the process exactly as it is written there and the bread was amazing.
I loved it, my husband did to, even my little daughter chewed it with pleasure.

Another thing that I really liked it stays fresh for a couple of days after you actually make it. We couldn't eat the whole loaf at once and I kept it in a bag, so next morning and even the morning after when we were finishing it, the bread was still soft and so aromatic. I sliced the loaf and warmed it slightly to make it even yummier.

So you can go to the original recipe or here are the ingredients that I used:

1/2 cup crushed and strained tomatoes ( or just tomato juice)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp whey (you can use water)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (I took out some of it later as I had whole leaves, or just crush it finely and leave it)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5 g instant yeast (add directly to the flour)
2/3 cup (80 g) rye flour
2 cups (280 g) strong bread flour (if not available use all-purpose flour)
1/3 cup (30 g) finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I took in oil but squeezed the oil slightly)

Preparation:

• Put first six ingredients in a small pot and bring to simmer. You can try the mixture (be careful it is hot) for the taste and if you feel rosemary is too overpowering discard some of it. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let it cool down.
• In the meanwhile mix both kinds of flour and yeast together. Gradually add the flour mixture to the tomato mixture and knead until dough comes together and is workable. It will be a bit sticky but quite thick. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and mix well for about a minute or so. I used my lovely food processor to do all this work. ahem. Leave for some time and then knead again for about 5 minutes.
• Lightly cover a big bowl with some olive oil and place your dough in turning once to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel, put it in a warm place and let it rest and rise for an hour or until double in volume. It actually took my dough about 45 minutes to rise.
• Punch the dough down. (That's a great opportunity to let your negative emotions out in case you are angry or frustrated with something). You know there is a saying in Russia that dough is the only thing that benefits from punching. Lightly coat a 1 lb loaf pan (the size is about 23 cm x 11 cm) with oil. Place the dough in a tin pressing it to the corners, cover and leave for another hour or until doubled in volume. It should rise a bit above the top of the pan. I lightly covered the top of the bread with oil somewhere i the middle of its rising process, but be careful not to punch it down again.
• Preheat the oven to 190C. Bake until the loaf sounds hollow or for about 40 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool down. And here you are you own delicious fresh, crunchy on the outside and soft inside tomato rye bread. I won't say it is fluffy as rye flour is not that light, it has distinct flavor and taste but I love it.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

TIP:

To quickly freshen your breath after eating some smelly food like garlic or onions, try chewing a spring of fresh parsley. Apart from eliminating bad breath parsley is high in vitamin A, beta-carotene and vitamin C. 

To remove the scent of garlic from your hands, try rubbing them on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds. If you don't have this kind of sink, you can actually buy a stainless steel bar of soap. Its purpose is to remove not only garlic smell but fish odors as well. And you know what? Somehow it does work. 

Veggie soup with spicy meatballs

Once I was talking to my friend and she started mentioning some spicy dishes which made me want to cook something a little more on a hot side.
I found this recipe here but it didn't have any spiciness, so I modified it to my liking.
The soup itself is seasoned with salt and black pepper only and has a warm hearty vegetable flavor. Meatballs are the ones that give this dish a kick. Really yummy.

For the soup you'll need:

1/8 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp coriander seeds
1 big garlic clove
6-7 black pepper corns
1 tbsp oil
1 medium carrot, cut into small cubes or julienned, whatever you like more
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 small potato (1/2 a big one), chopped
1/2 cup red lentil, washed (I soaked mine for a couple of hours, it just made it easy and faster for lentil to cook)


For the meatballs you'll need:

1 small onion, cut into quarters
1 garlic clove, cut in halves
2 green chilies (small ones), cut lengthwise and seeds removed. This level of heat of quite enough for soup, but if you want to add even more heat, leave chilies with seeds and membranes
350 g mince meat
1 small egg, lightly beaten
almost full 1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1 tsp salt

Preparation:
soup:
Take first four ingredients, put in the mortar and make paste.
Heat the oil in a big pot (I think mine is about 4 liter), add the spice paste you've just made and fry for a couple of minutes but make sure to stir so that it doesn't burn. Add tomato and onion, and fry on medium heat until onion softens.
When the onion is soft, add about 1/8 salt and carrot, cook for 3 minutes. If you soak lentil, drain it and put in the pot at this point, covering the whole mixture with 4 cups of water. Bring to boil and leave it to simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime prepare meatballs.
meatballs:
in the food processor or blender chop onion, garlic and chilies very very finely almost into paste. I prefer grinder as the mixture is closed from you. I tried to chop some chilies before using a handheld blender and while giving a stir a piece of chili flew right into my eye. OUCH! So choose wisely.
Add the chili mixture into the mince meat along with an egg and salt, mix until the egg is absorbed. Put in breadcrumbs and mix very well again.

I use gloves during the process as this way I make sure my hands don't have any chili on them.

Divide the mince meat mixture into 4 equal parts and then each prat into quarters again. This way you make sure that all your meatballs have equal size. I get 16 pieces, they are quite big - about 3cm in diameter.

Put meatballs one by one into soup, bring to boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, then add potatoes and boil till they latter are cooked and soft.

And here you go your veggie soup with spicy meatballs is ready.
Oh and one more thing, the soup will become a bit spicier after some time. But oh it is soo good.
Enjoy!!! And leave me a comment of what you think of this recipe.

TIP:
Don't have bread crumbs? no worries Take a couple of pieces of normal bread, toast it a bit to make crunchy, let it cool and process into crumbs in a blender or grinder.

chicken liver with tomatoes

Here is the recipes for chicken liver which is easy and quite fast to make.

You can make it spicy or no heat as you like, add some water almost in the end to make the sauce thinner and dip some pita or naan bread (any flat bread you like).

For this recipe you will need:
2-3 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, cut into quarters
1/2 tsp ginger powder (or about 5 mm of fresh ginger, cut into small pieces)
1/2 tsp sea salt (table salt will do as well)
1 big tomato
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder (optional, you can make it even spicier by adding more chili, but be careful with this spice, remember we are making liver with spices, not chili with some other ingredients)
250 g chicken liver, well washed and cut into halves or quarters
a few stems of fresh coriander (optional)

Preparation:
In a medium size pot (I used a 2 liter one) heat the oil over medium heat, add onions and fry till the onions are soft and somewhat golden brown in color. Watch carefully as they tend to burn quickly, stir frequently and do not raise the heat to fasten the process.

Meanwhile put garlic and salt in mortar and make paste, add ginger powder half way through. if using fresh ginger just add at once along with garlic and salt. I like using freshly made garlic and ginger paste as it has great flavor unlike store-bought, however, if you are in a hurry or don't want to make paste you can use ready made from the shop (about 1 - 1.5 tsp I guess).
Here is how my garlic-ginger-salt paste looked:

When onion turn golden brown add the garlic mix, stir for a couple of minutes. Add tomato and cook until the tomato begins to soften. Add turmeric and chili and continue cooking till everything is well mixed and turns into paste.
You basically want to get from this

to this

and finally to this

Once this paste is done, add chicken liver and stir on high heat to seal it. Lower the heat back to medium and cook till the liver is cooked through but still soft. Do not overcook as it will become hard and chewy. Add more salt to taste if you like.

Basically that's it. Transfer to a serving bowl, chop the coriander and sprinkle on top. Serve with freshly cut vegetables and flat bread like naan or pita.

Enjoy!!!

Let me know if you made it and how it was.

That's all...

till the next post byeeeee.

your shoe choice and their care

here I am,
it's amazing how much I want to write and how little time sometimes I have and all these ideas get jammed in the head. After some time you don't remember what exactly goes with what and what was it that you really wanted to post.
Anyways, I was going through some old magazines I still had and found some really nice articles and tips on various topics.
I hopefully will share them here soon.... ish ;)
today it will be about shooooes.
Every lady has some passion towards certain shoes. You can have tens of pairs or this favorite one which you feel so comfortable and cozy in that you will never change them for anything.
The article I read talks about how much your shoe choice can actually say about you.
I don't really care about this as it usually depends on the occasion.
But I really liked is the tips on how to wear and take care of your shoes.

Here we go!

Flats

When and how to wear them:

• with turned-up jeans, cords and trousers.
• think classicchanel pump. Ideal for rushing to last-minute business meetings, and for weekend getaways or family get-togethers.
• have a pair of sandals in gold, silver and pastel shade.
• if you have a high instep, avoid flats. Get arch support insteps to help you when pounding the pavement on shopping sprees.

How to take care of them:

• if shoes are dirty, clean them first with saddle soap or leather cleaner. Use a shoe conditioner (available at most shoe shops) on frequently worn leather shoes to replace oils and help the leather retain its suppleness. Wait for the conditioner to dry before you polish.

Kitten heels

When and how to wear them:

• with cropped trousers and office suits
• never with short skirts or shorts (as well as the latter two)
• for casual occasions
• if you need to be on your feet for many hours

How to take care of them:

• when it comes to polish, was is most effective at covering scuffs, but cream or paste polish is better at keeping leather moist and flexible. Avoid liquid polish because it can dry and crack the leather

High heels

When and how to wear them:

• with party dresses; they match almost all hemlines
• if you have heave legs, go for tall wedges or sandals with heels: they help balance the weight of the legs
• shop for heels at the end of the day when the foot is slightly swollen. It will ensure you choose the best fit
• if you have short legs, avoid ankle straps as they break the leg line

How to take care of them:

• high heels wear down faster than flats. If the thickness of the sole has worn down by half, it's time to resole or replace.The heel also wears down quickly, so as soon as your start to see the nail poke through, get the shoe reheeled.

Patterns

When and how to wear them:

• with patterned clothes, for the truly daring
• with muted block colored or natural-toned dresses to let the shoes do the talking
• with denims, for the vintage look
• with girly patterned dresses or flowery prints
• there is such a thing as too much animal print, so keep it subtle

How to take care of them:

• with patterned shoes (snakeskin, faux animal skin, fabric, or other material), it is absolutely important not to go near anything that could cause damage, like water, heat and grime as the pattern can be affected. Also, as a general rule with fancy shoes, remember, kicking them off is never a good idea. Always ease them off your feet gently.

Bright colors

When and how to wear them:

• with your black dress
• choose colors in different materials: velvet, canvas, faux fur and the like
• pick purples, yellows and oranges. these colors make your feet look "happy"
• with crisp white pure summer chic
• to match your accessories or contrast with monochrome dresses

How to take care of them:

• box them up. Store shoes you don't wear often in their original box or another container to keep them from getting crushed and collecting dust
• travel with care. Put shoes in a flannel shoe bag and use shoe trees to keep them from getting crushed and scuffled in your suitcase. (when I travel, I usually put some small things like rolled socks in shoes. This way you use some more space and it will keep your shoes from getting into trouble).

Cork sole shoes

Cork shoes are comfortable to wear and quite durable. Cork sole is light weight, flexible, liquid-resistant; it softens the impact to feet and the rest of the body. Not only this but cork is considered to be an environmentally friendly renewable resource.

When and how to wear them:

• remember it is light material and is most suitable for spring or summer shoes.
• they are quite versatile and can be worn for a day out in the park, shopping, just for a casual look, or even for work.
• when choosing cork sole shoes, look at the style of your shoes and go with it. However, if your footwear is made completely out of cork, do not use it for a professional atmosphere. The style might look professional but the material does not.
• the cork itself is eye capturing, there is no need for any graphics, rime stones or heart on it.

How to take care of them:

• make sure your cork isn't breaking or falling apart. If so happens it is time to get some new pair of shoes.
• avoid sharp surfaces, nails, pins, and alike. If repeatedly damaged cork might get weaker and fall apart.
• here is a good article with step-by-step instructions on how to clean your cork shoes

Here are some tips :

• rotate your shoes and wear different pair every day or week. It will ensure your shoes will last longer.

• love bananas? don't be in a hurry to throw a peel, use it to polish your shoes (what??? a banana to polish my shoes??? yes that's right) here is how

• try vinegar, lemon and cream of tartar to remove nasty stains from your shoes (it really work well)

• don't have shoe trees? no worries. Stuff your shoes with some old newspapers to keep their shape and save them from getting crushed
• here is a great post how to give a new look to your favorite pair of shoes. Change the color of the soles. ta-da (read the comments, they might answer your questions)

Ufff I guess That's all for now. Let me know what you think, if you have some tricks and tips of your own.

Bye for now...

P.S. I just realized that basically it is only about summer shoes and not applicable to many countries right now. However, if you change your winter shoes for something like these let's say at work or indoors it will definitely be helpful or just wait for some warm days to come. ;)