German Apple Tart

The beauty of this recipe is – you can make a crust of your choice, or the one provided below, sprinkle it with lemon zest and any chopped nuts mixture (there are walnuts in this recipe) and the amount of spices (cinnamon, cloves) is totally up to you.

Ingredients:

For the dough

All purpose flour – 2 cups (275 gr)
Room temperature butter – 1 and 1/4 sticks (150 gr)
Confectioner’s sugar – 3/4 cup (100 gr)
1 egg

For the filling:

Walnuts – 2-3 tbsp (50 gr)
Lemon – 1
Cinnamon – tsp
Ground clove 1/4 tsp
Granny smith apples – 2-3
Apricot or any fruit/berry preserve

Directions:

In a small bowl make a mixture of chopped walnuts, lemon zest, cinnamon, clove
Slice the apples thinly (2-3 mm) and sprinkle with lemon juice
Combine all the dough ingredients in a big bowl and kneed the dough with your hands. It will take 2-3 minutes.
Roll it into a ball, cover with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour
Roll the chilled dough 1/5 of an inch (about 5 mm) thick with the rolling pin
Place the dough into a foil form (8 inch diameter)
Using your fingers cover the walls of the form
Make some holes in the dough with a fork
Sprinkle walnut mixture over the dough
Arrange apple slices on top
Place the tart into preheated to 375°F oven and bake for about 45 min
In a small saucepan warm up your apricot or strawberry preserve and glaze the tart
Also optional – sprinkle some cognac over the tart

Sourdough Bread with Seeds

At least 12 hours prior to kneading the dough mix:

For the leaven:

10 gr (1 tbsp) of cold starter
70 ml (1/3 cup) room temperature water
70 gr ( 0.5 cup) flour

Makes about 120 gr of leaven

Seeds mixture (you can use any combination if you don’t have these particular seeds):

300 ml room temperature water
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp flaxseeds
1 tbsp chia seeds

For the dough:

Water with seeds mixture
White bread flour – 400 gr
Wholewheat flour – 100 gr
Salt – 10 gr
Cold water – 25 ml

Directions:

If your starter lives in the fridge you will need about 12 hours to activate it by combining 10 grams of the cold starter, 70 ml room temperature water and 70 gr of flour in a glass container, just so you can mark the level and watch it rise. Cover your container and leave it on the counter (temperature should be about 70 °F)
After 12 hours (could be up to 16 hours) it should at least double in size.
Pour your water with the seeds into a big bowl (you can use stand mixer bowl)
Add your activate starter (leaven) to the water, it should flow. If it doesn’t – don’t proceed!
Add white bread flour and wholewheat flour and mix to combine. If you use stand mixer use the low (2 out of 10) speed, mix till all the ingredients combined (about a min and a half on a low speed), or 2 min using your hands.
Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let it sit for almost an hour.
After an hour add salt + 25 ml of cold water and knead for about 8-10 minutes by hand or 5 min using stand mixer on speed 4 out of 10.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let to rest and proof for 40 min, the temperature should be above 72°F or 22 °C.
After 40 minutes start folding the dough. You can use coil folding or envelope folding.

Repeat folding 4 times, maybe 5, leaving the dough to proof for 40 minutes in between. Each time it will feel more stringy and pleasant to touch.
After 4 or 5 foldings, load the dough on the floured working surface and shape the bread, it can be done with the same folding and rolling it. Place into a container or bowl flat side down covered with the kitchen towel dusted with flour (rice flour is a good option). Put the container into the fridge for 12-16 hours for the cold fermentation.
Place cast iron pan (or dutch oven) into your oven, preheat your oven with the pan inside for 30 minutes to 450°F.
Take your bread out of the fridge, place onto a parchment paper. Cut your formed bread on an angle so that it has room to rise. I sprinkle the bread with some bread deep spice mixture (it’s salt with red pepper flakes and herbs).
When your oven is preheated – using gloves!!! take the pan out and place the parchment paper with the bread on it inside, cover the lid and quickly place the pan into the oven. Let it bake for 20-25 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for another 20-25 minutes.
Using gloves!!!! take the pan out of the oven, transfer the bread onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy the view!

Zucchini Bread, so simple, so good!

I didn’t create this recipe, it is from my coworker Dale Krupla, the great cook and the gardener. He brought this bread to work, I tried a small bite, loved it, asked for the recipe and it became one of my family’s favorite. Of course I cut 1/3 of the sugar from the amount in the original recipe as I always do with desserts, the sugar amount in the recipe here i already cut down, but it’s still sweet.

It’s quite easy to make, and the beauty is – all done in one big bowl, no whipping, no blending – just your hand and a whisker. And the zucchinis.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups shredded zucchini (packed)
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Stir together all wet ingredients. Gradually fold in the dry ingredients till just everything is incorporated.
Gently stir in 1 cup of nuts. Batter should be pretty thick.
Spoon into greased bread pans
Bake at 350 for 50-55 min or check when knife comes out clean

Easy Latest Recipies

Zucchini Season

August 5, 2021October 26, 20214 min read AlwaysTasty

It’s been a really good season for zucchini this year. Try this when you are tired of grilling and frying them. Pickled Cut zucchini and

Fish covered with carrots sofrito

Very easy way to transform somewhat plain boring white fish like cod or haddock into delicious colorful dish with a spice level adjustable to your taste. Served cold or room temperature, you can take it to work for lunch, serve at brunch buffet or as a dinner appetizer

Ingredients:

White fish (cod, haddock, flounder) – 2 lbs
Shallot (or small onion) – 1
Carrots – 1-1.5 lbs
Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp (you can use fresh a couple of tomatoes, ketchup, some spicy sauce you have or like, and or tomato paste)

Directions:

Place your fish into a casserole dish, sprinkle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper ( you can also sprinkle some lemon juice)
Bake in 375 °F oven for about 30 min till fully cooked.
Finely chop shallot (or onion), grind carrots (with manual grinder or in a food processor)
Add 3 tbsp light olive oil or some other neutral oil into a heavy pan
Start roasting shallot on a medium heat till it is translucent, then add shredded carrots. You might need to add some oil
Roast your vegetables till golden color, the add your tomatoes or tomato sauce/paste, season with salt, pepper, add some red pepper flakes if you want to make it spicy.
Reduce the heat to low, add 1 or 2 bay leaves, cover your pan with a lid and simmer till your sofrito is fully cooked and soft.
Split cooked fish into small pieces with a fork.
Load the sofrito on top of the fish, better to do it while it’s still hot or at least warm so that the taste of vegetables penetrates the fish
Sprinkle with good olive oil.
Let it cool down on counter top and put in the fridge for several hours. Sofrito will “marinate” the fish, adding it a color and spice
Serve cold.

Rosette cookies

I remember I tried these cookies over 25 years ago in Moscow, but they were shaped as little pillows, my college friend grandma was making them. Then I tried them in my friend’s house here, she called them rosettes.

The dough is very light because it’s based on farmer cheese. The result is – super airy pastry. Friendship brand works, but I usually make farmer cheese or tvorog (творог) of my own, and that’s the one on the picture.

Ingredients:

Farmer cheese – 1/2 lbs
1.5-2 sticks of soften margarine or butter (I usually use 1 stick of butter and the 1/2+ margarine).
Sour cream – 3-4 tbsp
Eggs – 3 (room temperature)
Sugar – 1/2 cup + 1 cup
Flour – 3-31/2 cups

Directions:

Separate egg whites from yolks
In a bowl start mixing yolks and 1/2 sugar with a whisk
Add softened butter/margarine, farmer cheese, sour cream and soda and mix it well (with the whisk or a spoon)
Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time. Use a spoon till possible, then kneed with your hands. The dough should be soft, even a little sticky. But you will add some more flour when rolling.
In a separate bowl beat egg whites + 1 cup of sugar
Preheat your oven to 375 °F, cover baking sheet with the parchment paper
Divide the dough into 3 pieces (just so it’s easier to roll)
Dust you board with flour
Roll the dough to the “rectangular” or oval shape (about 15″x 8″), 1/8″ (3mm) thick
Spread the dough with 1/3 of a beaten whites leaving some borders (for the whites not to ooze out too much)
Make a roll, make it even width with your hands, also trying to spread the whites inside evenly.
Cut the roll into 1 inch thick pieces, pressing with the knife and lifting each piece so that the whites don’t come out, placing it to the baking sheet right away.
Repeat with the rest of the dough and the whites
Bake for about 20 minutes, but start checking after 15 minutes. The cookies (and the whites) should be just golden and remain a little soft.

Vinegrette – Russian salad

Not to be confused with a dressing. Vineigrette is a name of Russian salad based on boiled or baked vegetables.

The ingredients are all simple and very available with the exception of Russian style sauerkraut (you find in any Russian store), but it can be replaced with the regular or totally skip, just put more pickles. The unique taste is again a combination of sweet (beets, potato, carrots, peas) and salty or marinated pickles. The proportions are super flexible too – put more beets if you like it sweeter, add pickles if you want more crunch and brine.

Can be served as a side dish, appetizer, packed for picnic or lunch. Kept in a fridge for 2-3 days and gets even better. And it’s good for you!

Ingredients:

Boiled, better baked beets – 2-3 medium
Boiled Yukon gold or red potatoes – 3 medium
Boiled carrots – 3medium
Shallot – 1 small
Pickles – 3-4
Sweet peas – 1 can or 1 cup of frozen blanched
Sauerkraut (better be Russian) – 1 cup

Directions:

Finely chop (to a pea size) potatoes, beets, carrots, pickles and shallot. The best beets are baked, all the juices remain inside and pealing is easy. Just wrap each one in a foil and put in your oven when you use it. You can keep them baked in a fridge for several days before you use them. Pea size chopping may sound intimidating, but it’s super easy, everything is cooked and soft.
Blanch frozen sweet peas in a boiling water for about a minute so it keeps the bright color or add canned peas.
Slightly chop sauerkraut (if you have it).
Add salt and pepper, dress with olive oil.

Serve cold or room temperature.

Delicious cookies that melt in your mouth and they are good for you!

They are so easy and so delicious! And flexible – you can use any nuts or seeds you like or have, any dry fruits or berries.

The carb content can probably be reduced even further by substituting part of the flour with the whole wheat flour, maybe use more oats, but I didn’t try that. I like them the way they are too much.

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter – 1 stick (113gr), room temperature!
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Egg – 1
Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
Flour – 2 cups
Rolled oats – 1 cup
Vanilla extract – 1tsp
Walnuts or pecans – 1/2 cup
Dried berries (raisins, cranberries, tart cherries) – 1/2 cup

Directions:

Put all the ingredients except nuts and dried berries into a bowl and mix them with a spoon first.
When it’s too hard to use a spoon, use your hands.
Add nuts and berries, combine the batter using your hands into a ball.
The dough will be a little sticky.
Make a log, wrap with a plastic wrap and freeze it, just to make it easier to divide a dough into cookies.
Preheat your oven to 350 °F
Using sharp knife, slice frozen dough into 1/4 inch slices and put on a baking sheet covered with the parchment paper.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown (depends on your oven).

Buckwheat

Buy roasted, but not too dark, I usually buy 2 cups packages that are sold in a Russian store, but you can find it in every health store now.

Ingredients:

Roasted buckwheat – 2 cups
Olive oil – 1 tbsp (optional)
Boiling water – 3 cups
Salt – 1 tbsp

Instructions:

Rinse and drain the grains
Place the grain into a heavy pan on a medium high
Add salt and olive oil (if you choose it)
Roast (dry) the grain, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes
Add boiling water, reduce the heat to very low, cover with a lid and let it sit for about 20-25 minutes.
Turn the heat off and let it rest for 5 -10 minutes.

The grain will absorb all the water and will be fully cooked.

If you want to add roasted vegetables you can do it by starting with roasting the vegetables, then adding the grains, roasting it all together, then pouring boiling water.

Or you can have the kasha ready and mix it with your choice of vegetables, source or gravy.