Baked apples

I've been so tired all morning, despite getting up early and drinking a cup of tea. So I just stayed in bed, browsing a database of amazing print projects. I feel like a kid in a candy shop at moments like these. The fact that it's considerably colder than previous days (-16 C in the early morning) doesn't exactly encourage me getting a foot out the door just yet. So, it also seems like the perfect time for having baked apples for late breakfast. I usually prefer them with walnuts and honey, but the 1.5 kg walnuts I brought back from home vanished in less than a month. Ouch! The only walnuts I can find here come in packages of 150 g. and they look disappointingly unappetizing. Almonds are top quality though, so I think there's no discussion which ones should come home with me.

Ingredients

apples (the juicier and sweeter the apples are, the better)

marzipan 

raisin

almonds

cinnamon

I sometimes also add orange juice, covering 1-2 fingers of the apples, but they're equally delicious without the juice, I think.

Method

1. Clean the seeds of the apples, keeping them whole or cutting them in two. 

2. Fill the apples with small pieces of marzipan and raisin and bake them until the apples are soft.

3. Garnish with almonds and cinnamon.

I keep forgetting adding this outfit arrangement. I guess today is the day. I simply love the cardigan with its girly-romantic embellishment. It seems to me so cute to wear in the spring with shorts, heels and a clutch. 

Have a lovely weekend! :)

Orange coconut mini cakes

The post today is somewhat a continuation of yesterday's note on the use of vegetable oils. Yes, I'm seriously considering how to banish butter from my kitchen. In the meantime, I want to make sure that I don't end up using only olive oil... it tends to get boring after a while. Not to mention that its flavor doesn't necessarily work well with all sorts of baked goodies. Fortunately, a friend of mine is also very fond of healthy foods and we discuss this stuff often. Every once in a while, I'd see her spread thinly coconut oil (it's hard unless melted) and honey on a slice of bread and give it to her kids... I have no words to describe just how delicious it is. So, when yesterday I stumbled upon this Little lemon coconut cakes recipe, I thought I'd make it and share the results with the gang.

I made a few changes, cause I just can't follow recipes strictly. I also am not particularly interested in a wholly sweet cake. I favor very light sweetness with the occasional dried fruit which gives a little sweet and flavorful surprise to the cake. Thus, I used only half the sugar, added half a banana and a handful of raisin, and then replaced the lemon with orange. Finally, I skipped the glaze. I didn't have agave nectar and I wasn't planning on buying some anyway. Using sugar wasn't an option either. It just spoils the otherwise perfectly balanced flavors. This way, the cakes are better suited for kids too. Yey! Quite happy with the result, I tell ya. It looks more like mini fruit bread, I know... but that's what I love about them.

A note on coconut oil: "To clear things up, coconut oil does contain saturated fat, but lucky for us, it comes in the form of medium-chain triglycerides (or MCTs). This type of fat differs from the types of fat we normally consume from both plant and animal sources, which are long-chain triglycerides (or LCTs). Without getting too technical, MCTs are easily digested, absorbed, and utilized in the body because their molecules are smaller than those from LCTs. This means that unlike other fats, they require less energy and fewer enzymes to break them down for digestion. They are an excellent choice of fat for active people and athletes as MCTs digest immediately to produce energy and stimulate metabolism. They are also ideal for those who suffer from digestive disorders and are often given in hospitals to provide nourishment for critically ill people who have trouble digesting fat." (My New Roots). Do visit the site, if you want to be impressed! :)

Green beans with potatoes stew

Green beans make the list of my favorite winter food, so on yet another chilly day as today, here is what I've made for us:

Ingredients


1 onion
1 leek
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 red pepper
2 large potatoes
2 handfuls green beans
4 cups boiling water
1 tb. sp. olive oil
ground red pepper
ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic
basil
parsley
mint
salt


Method


1. Saute the onion and leek for a couple of minutes. Then add the red pepper and the tomatoes. Continue cooking for a couple of more minutes, while you peel and chop the potatoes in small cubes.
2. Add the potatoes, the green beans, the spices (except for the ground red pepper, which you should add 5 min before you remove the pot from the stove) and the hot water to the pot and continue cooking until the potatoes are ready. 

I love vegan dishes, so this was a very delicious meal in my book. However, dear meat lovers, you can add red meat to the stew and you'll be amazed. :)


I've been particularly interested in finding more information about cooking with vegetable oil. I know that it's unhealthy to have food cooked for too long with the vegetable oil in, since it floats to the surface, where the temperature much higher. So, when cooking, I just slightly coat the surface of the pan with olive oil and add however much extra is needed just before I remove the food from the stove. However, I'd really like to find out more about it, so if any of you dear readers have any thoughts on the subject, I'd love to hear from you. :)


A note on cooking with vegetable oils and olive oil in particular: Heating olive oil