AZUKIS WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Hello to you, it seems like the winter is going to stay for March too this year, but I'm using the days to cook some conforting winter recipes, soon enough it will be gaspacho and salad time. And like a google friend wrote the other day, we have 8 months of sun and pretty high temperatures, so why not  enjoy the cold and rainy weather. Time will come for the air con.

My doggie is not really agreeing to that, Rey has a problem in his spine, and I know how cold weather can make the bones hurt, we do small walks, and his vet is taking good care of him. Manolito comes along on these walks, it's really fun to see how they enjoy the walks together.,  When it's raining a little harder Manolito puts his nose out the door, backs inside, and go for a nap in the doggies bed.

The azukis is not a very known legume, it's origen is China and Himalaya and very apreciated in Japan, and again this is included in the good food in my chineese therapy diet. And it's the "Mercedes" of the legumes, as warming or yang food.

The healthy benefits :

Keeps digestive system smooth.

Stabilize sugar and cholestherol levels.

Treat bladder infections and urinary disfunctions.

High amount of protein, quite essential for the human body, it aids in building and reparing worn out body tissues, hormons and cells.

Helps to loose weight.

No fat.

Contains calcium, phosphourus, magnesium, zinc and b vitamins.

Kills canserous cells, like in breast and colon cancer.

Give it a try!!!

The shoppinglist for 4 persons:

3 cups of azukis

6 cups of water

1 teaspoon curcuma 

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

2 tablespoons of extra virgen olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, grated

Salt

The night before cover the azukis with water and let soak for 8 hours.

Rinse and transfer to a skillet with the water, the olive oil and the spices. Let simmer for 50-60 min. Taste for salt.

1 small butternut squash

1 tablespoon ogf extra virgen olive oil

1 teaspoon of cummin

Salt and pepper
The green part of scallions

Peel and cut the butternut squash in small cubes, mix the oil, the cummin, salt and pepper in a bowl, add the cubes and mix to be coated with oil and spices, put in an ovenproof platter, cover with foil. Roast in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 min, it should be soft, but at the same time firm.

Cut the dark green tops ( the white part we use for other recipes)of the scallions and chop fine rings.

Serve the cooked azukis topped with the butternut squash and decorate with the scallions.

If you want to buy the azukis you must visit a Healt food shop, not many supermarkets have this,  I really hope you wll enjoy it.

Contnue havng a good week-

Love 

Hilde

VEGAN GINGER COOKIES FOR X-MAS

Oh my god!

Last week with friends and this afternoon with Berit, ginger cookie men and x-mas trees are flying over my head now. I realy admire the art work people do with cup cakes and cookies, it's really hard work, but in the end it's nice to have it done, and now it's a year till next time. 

We have nice afternoons, the beeing together , doing somthing different, and  we made the ordinary ones, of course with Norwegian recipe, this is CHRISTMAS. But Susana dropped in later, after closing her healt food shop, and asked me what kind of flour I used  for the dough, and then I got the idea of trying to do a vegan  variant, and it turned out very nice today.

The Ginger Family.

All of us working.

The shopping list

200 gr harina de espelta integral.              ( wholegrain spelt flour)

150 gr harina de soja.                                ( soy flour)

100 gr harina de almendras.                      ( almond flour)

150 ml. azucar .                                         ( sugar)

100 gr AOVE.                                           ( extra virgen olive oil)

100 ml. miel de caña.                                (molasses)

1/2 cucharilla jengibre.                              ( teaspoon ginger)

1/2 cucharilla de clavo molido.                  ( teaspoon clove spice)

1/2 cucharilla de pimienta blanca.             ( teaspoon white pepper)

2 cuharillas de canela.                                ( teaspoons cinnamon)

1 cucharilla de levadura.                            ( teaspoon bakingpowder)

Icing  o cobertura de azucar glass

1 clara de huevo.                                        ( egg white)

300ml azucar glaas.                                   (icing sugar)

1 cucharilla de zumo de limon.                  ( teaspoon lemon juice)

Colorante alimenticio rojo y verde.          ( food colouring red and green)

The olive oil, sugar and the molasses mixed together in a skillet, and heated over medium fire until the sugar disolves, and then add the spices, cinnamon, clove, pepper and ginger, and let boil for a min.  or two, take off the heat and let it chill.

In a bowl we mix the different flours and the baking powder  and add the molasses, sugar, oil and spices little by little, mixing all the time, you can use an electric mixer, but it's easy to mix with a wooden spoon too.

Make a dough ball, cover with plastic film and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour, I left it for at least 4 hours and that was too much, it was so hard to use the roller pin, and it must be about 3 mm thick before  you can stick out the figueres with the moulds. We had to knead a lot to get it softer, if you do your dough in advance, remember to take out of the fridge a couple of hours before use.

Use silicon sheets or baking paper ,and put in preheated oven, on air, at 180 degrees for 11-12 min., I put two  baking plates in the oven at the time.

Transfer to a rack, they are a little soft, but will get cookie consistence when chilling, we got 5 baking     platesput of this dough, and let cool completly.. before decorating.

To make the icing, whisk the egg white and the lemon juice to fluffy, and add the icing sugar litlle by little, until uou get a smooth white paste, divide into 3 containers, and use green and red food colouring to get the colour you like, and keep one white. Be careful not to take too much colouring, you need only a pinch to get the colour.

There are so many tools on the market now, it depends on how many of theese you are going to make during the year, I must confess that it will not be my case, so you figure out how much money you want to spend on this. We used chineese chop sticks, toothpicks, and small bottles with very thin 

mouth and normal fine paintbrushes Ask in the shop where you buy the food colouring, they can 

always help, at least in the shop I buy it they are wery helpful. I even bought a small container of gold dust, but I can't remeber how I had to use it, and since it's holiday today, I will call tomorrow and ask.
Will tell you how, later.

Any shape is good.

The "hard" work is the icing, and decorating.

The ginger family wishes you a good night.

Sleep well.

BAKING VEGAN FLATBREAD

Today Granada was cloudy and it was raining several times, it was wet on the golf course, so we stayed home doing some cooking, always nice to work together in the kitchen, my man made tasty chicken fajitas for our lunch, and myself some pickled pumpkin and flatbread.

I think from old times, in Norway all was covered with snow in the winter, and no fruit and veggies was awailable for many months, so every house wife had to work out ways to conservate the food. In our modern life, we have so little time, and the supermarket is always full of every kind of foodies. But I can remember my grandmothers collecting from a great garden, apples, plums and pears, to conservate and make jellies and jams, the smell in the kitchen was wery sweet, and to have a slice of white bread with almost warm jelly on was heaven. The taste of the home made is always different, and much better, no quimical colour and conserving stuff, that means much healthier.

The veggies was also made pickles, like cucumbers, onions, coliflower, carrots, punmpkin and beetroots, I will come back next week about that, but  today I want to give you a recipe of one kind of  " knekkebrød"  ( flatbread) so apreciated and eaten every day by almost every Norwegian.
I think the autumn invites to bake, try this, you are not going to regret.

Norwegian flatbread

Shopping list
2 dl copos de avena.              ( whole oat )
2 dl harina integral.                 (wholemeal rye)
2 dl pipas de calabaza.          ( pumpkin seeds)
2 dl salvado de avena.            (oat brand )
2 dl sésamo                            (sesame seeds)
1 dl semillas de lino.                ( linen seeds)
2 cucharitas de sal.                 ( salt)
7 dl agua.                                (water)

Dl. = deciliter

Cucharita= teaspoon

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, I used black sesame this time, but any sesame seed is good, let the dough rest for 10 min.

Put the oven on 150 degrees ( air fan )
Divide the doug in 3 parts, line 3 oven trays with baking paper, and use a spatula to  repart  the dough, it must be thin.

Put the 3 trys in the oven at the same time for 10 min.
Then take the trys out, and divide with a pizza roll , in small rectangles, then put back in the oven for another 15 min.,  then open the oven door to let the humidity out, and let it run for another 5 min.

Every oven does not work exactly the same, yours may need some more time, the flatbread must be hard and crunchy.

This time I made the mistake to use the silicone sheets for the oven instead of bakingpapaer, no good result, I had to take them away and use the baking paper and let it cook a little longer.
Use a metal spatula to take off the baking paper and let cool on a rack , when completly cooled, put in an air thight box, can be saved for weeks, but I don't think you will let it last.

This is so nice with all kinds of cheese, put some marmelades and fresh fruit too on the cheese platter, and enjoy.

Have a nice sunday, and don't forget that at 3 pm you have to put your clocks back to 2 pm, we have an extra hour .

NEW SEASON, NEW LIFE, VEGAN FOOD CHINEESE NOODLES AND TOFU ROSSO

Hi friends, this weekend we are goining to have one more hour of morning light,don't forget to take your clocks 1 hour back,  and go to a party, you con sleep 1 hour more on sunday!!!!!, some candles and the last, I think, flowers from the garden, for a nice friday.


And this is really not going to be a new life, but sort of going back to my "old life" ,before the summer, several times I told about my  "over weight" and I just found some old photos in a folder on my laptop and I think I want to share, sort of  before and now photos.

Three years ago.

From this summer.

The more healthy  life made me loose 22 kilos, and this summer, I put on 2 of them again, but I think my diet will fix that in a month more or less. I do the diet with a nutritionist, all followed by analitics etc, and today I made the desision to go to the Farmacia, and get my right weight, there I can print it out and save the ticket so I don't forget, in 1 week I will tell you how much I lost, I try to wear similar clothes and shoes, what matters isn't the what I weigh, but the difference of every weeks weight.

First rule, no alcohol, and 5 meals a day, shew every mothful 25 times, to salivate the food, drink 2 liters of water, or any liquid without calories every day, but outside the meals, not to thin the gastric juices, and at least 1 hour of  exersise  every day..

Basicly the best suggestions I can give you. If you want to follow a serious diet, you can send me an e-mail and I will give it over to my dietist, and she will contact you. Several of my friends here in Granada has followed her diets, and we have not only lost weight, our  analitics are much better, and I stopped taking medicine for the cholestherol 1 year ago. Now I use aliments containing Omega 3-6-9.

Here I will share the first vegan meal, the recipe is from my friend Susana, she owns a health food shop here in town,and sometimes she runs a cooking school, we have such a nice time, first cooking, and then we have the lunch together with all our nice dishes.

ecobiokarbebi@gmail.com

CHINEESE NOODLES WITH TOFU ROSSO

The ingredients.

Shoppinglist

2 brecol                               ( broccoli)
1 paquete de fideos chinos. ( 1 packet of chineese noodles)
200 gr of tofu rosso.           (red tofu)
2-3 cucharads de AOVE.   ( spoons of ectra virgen olive oil)
1 diente de ajo.                   ( garlic clove)
Sal                                     (salt)
1cucharada de salsa soja.    ( spoon of soy sauce)

Start boiling the water with salt, then boil the brocoli for a couple of min. drain, and put under the cold water tab for a moment, then leave apart to dry.
Boil water for the noodles, when it's boiling take apart, soak the noodles for 4-5 min. drain and save.

Frying the garlic, and the other ingredients ready.

In a skillet heat the olive oil, and fry the tofu, cut into small cubes, not to small, as you must make sure they are fried on every side. I use a lot of tofu, and prefere the smoked one, it has a little more taste, and I make it "rosso" myself, having smoked paprika into a bowl and turning the tofu bites in it a couple of hours before I cook it .The tofu is like a spounge, it picks up the flavour of any marinating Just as well you can buy it prepared, but I buy a kilo piece, it runs out much more economic than the small packets.
This time I mixed sweet, smoked and hot paprika, and a little Himalayan pink salt, and the taste was super.

In a wok fry the garlic clove, sliced, in the AOVE until golden, and then incorporate the rest of the ingredients, taste for salt after adding the soy sauce, as it's salty.

If you don't have a wook, use a frying pan.

If you dont like the tofu, you can change it for shrimps or chicken breast cut in small cubes.
If you don't have broccoli,use zucchini.

If you like hot food, add a little bit of Sambal Oelek or Tabasco, but be careful, it can be too hot.

 Use the weekend to do something nice, if it's raining, a nice cup of tea, a good book, and a blanket. I think this is the autumn life, lots of candles, and some good foodie enjoyed with family and friends.
Have a good time.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE MUSSE, AND SOME OF GRANADAS CHARMING SPOTS

Hope you all had a good weekend, and enjoyed the unusual good wheater we have at this time of the year, fall is coming slowly, wonderful sunny days, but nights are getting slowly colder, and  the leaves on the trees along my preferent walking track along the Rio Dilar are yellowing. This weekend we have stayed home, but with the nice visit of my uncle and aunt( my motehers youngest sister ) from Norway.
It's always so nice to have the family around, with some nice meals, glasses of  wine, a walk in the coutry side , in the old town of Granada, and for me to chat in Norwegian,wich I don't have many occations to do.

I had some dishes prepared when they arrived on friday, and they where so amused aboat the Vegan chocolate musse, so I share the recipe with all of you.

Shopping list

1 calabaza mediana.                      ( medium size  butternut squash)
6 cucharadas de cacao en polvo.    ( cocoa)
1 taza de almendras.                      ( almonds)
6 cucharadas de sirope de agave.    ( agave surup)
3 cucharadas de leche de coco.        ( coconut milk)
3-4 cucharadas de almendra laminada ( laminated almonds)

Start peeling the almonds, I use to put some water into yhe cup and let it micro wave for 2 min. Then it's so easy to peel, put on a kitchen towel or paper to dry.
Then peel and cut the butternut in big slices as I show on the photo, then wrap in   Aluminio. , and cook in the owen for 45 min. ( pinch with a knife to see if its soft all through.. Then leave to cool a little, I have done this for a couple of times before, but this last time it was quite humid, so I had to press the liquid out pressing it in a strainer  with a wooden  spoon.

Put the almonds in the food processor, start on medium , and slowly go up yo fast speed, it should be like flour, then add the butternut sqash, the agave sypup,the cocoa, and the coconut milk, and let the food processor run for a couple of min. , until its really smooth. Taste if you want it sweeter or more chocolate taste then add more cocoa or syrup.

Put into small serving glasses, and leave in the fridge for 3-4 hours, can just as well be prepeared the day before, and take out of the fridge 30 min. before serving, toss some laminated almondas to decorate, I buy it ready laminated in the super.

Raday to enjoy, hope it tastes.


Photos of some of the most charming spots of Granada.

New urban lightning in Gran Via.

Paseo de Los Tristes.

The Monastry of La Concepcion has a museum you can visit in the mornings.

Plaza Nueva, Justice Palace.

Santa Ana Church at Plaza Nueva.

Roof tops seen from Albayzin

Narrow street in the Albayzin.

EASY SALAD

This morning I picked these beautiful flowers from a huge flower pot I have in the garden, I planted a lot of bulbs this spring, and a lot of leavs has grown all the summer, but no flowes, until last week. I love these surprises from the nature.

One of the salads we love at this time of the year is the following, so tasty, and so easy.

Shopping list
1 col mediana.        ( medium size cabbage)
1 granada.               ( pommegranate)
4 dientes de ajo.      ( garlic cloves)
3 cucharas de AOVE ( virgen extra olive oil)
1 qcucharadas de sirope de agave ( agave syrup)
Sal y pimienta blanca ( salt and white pepper)

Start to peel and cut the garlic in thin slices,and save.
Then part the cabbage in two, and use a mandoline or a cheese cutter to cut it very thin, sabe in a bowl you can use for the table . then peel the pommegranate and put the fruit into the same bowl.

In a small frying pan, heat the AOVE, and fry the sliced garlic until light brown, take the pan apart for a moment, and toss over the salad ( while it's hot still), add the agave syrup, salt and pepper for your taste, and mix.

Reday to enjoy, together with any kind of grilled meat or chicken, We had it tonight with some cheese toasts.

The oranges in my garden starts to get colour now.       

Did you know that the citrus trees are the only ones that have mature, inmature fruit and blossoms at the same time, the blossoms from the oranges are called "Flor de Azahar" many squares especially in Valencia, Malaga,Cordoba and Seville, are decorated with orange trees and the smell when all are in blossom can be overwhelming.
It is also used as perfume or  cologne,  the flowers are macerated in alcohol, and from the acid  oranges, the ones you find in streets and squares , they are not  edible, but becomes the nice "Agua De Azahar".

Sleep well  and try to find it, it makes the best natural air freshner for your home.

QUINOA WITH APRICOT AND NUTS, VEGAN RECIPE

This morning I went with a friend to Las Gabias Golf Club to practice, I started 2 years ago, still I'm on handicap 36, and it's a difficult sport, but it's so nice, all the greens, the  lakes, when the countryside is so dry and yellow, it makes me feel a little like at home.  We had breakfast at the club house, runned by the ovner of a very nice restaurant  San Cayetano in Churriana , a village outside Granada. Everyday a 3 dishes menu for lunch, nice tapas, and from the terrace a wonderful view over the Golf Court and countryside, life can't be better.

www.granadaclubdegolf.com




After 3 hours practicing, I feel so good and I think I will participate in the "Liga de damas" this year, durig 10 months from September ,a championship once a month for the ladies at our Golf Club.

My husband Armando plays since 30 years ago, so I have to pick up a bit here, I started so many times, but the work in my shop, all the travel, my customers, so much to hang my fingers  on, I really  coudn't find the time to continue.

But now, no shop, no travel to fairs, I do some free-lance decotating, but have enough time to dedicate a morning or two every week to the golf, and I'm so happy I didn't give up this time.

We where in The Lofoten Icelands in Norway last year, and met some "girls" there, they travelled by boat for 1 hour, then by car from another hour to play golf , in the summer you can play 24 hous a day, by the midnight-sun, quite a lot of incovenienc to practice a sport, and they said " Don't give up", here we have the best Golf Courts, the best weather, so at that moment I promised myself, and the " girls", even if I'm never going to be a 0 hancicap player, I won't give up this time. Have a look at :


www.lofoten-golf.no

Manolito ended up like this.

We had such fun yesterday, Manolito was so interested in our fish lunch, and the quinoa recipe had to wait, but here it comes;

Shopping-list:

Quinoa.                              ( quinoa)
2 o 3 albaricoques.             ( apricots)
2 dientes de ajo.                 ( garlic cloves)
3 cucharas de piñones.       ( pine kernels)
3 cucharas de arandanos.   (Cranberries)
2 cucharas de AOVE.        ( virgen extra olive oil)
Sal                                      ( salt)
Comino.                             (Cummin)

Start rincing the quinoa, I use a lot of it, and do a couple of handfuls, and keep the rest in the fridge for salads or woks,. Cook for 12 min. , take away from the heat, but leave it for another 5 min. before you     &nbsp strain , and save.
In a dry frying-pan toast the pine kernel , 4-5 min. and save.
Then peel and chop the garlic cloves, the apricots and the cranberries finly, have  a little olive oil in a frying-pan, middle heat, fry the garlic first, carefully it must not be burnt, then add the apricots. In the time of fresh apricots you use the fresh ones, peeled, rest of the year use the dried ones, now it's a little late, so I used nectarina instead, peach will also do ( must not be soft).
Add the quinoa, the cummin and the cranberries, give it 2-3 min. to heat, and add the pine kernels.
Last week in Almuñecar, my friend Pedro, the owner of a vegetable and fruit shop, gave me a packet of mustard leaves, I didn't know very well what to use it for, but I chopped it and added it to the quinoa, and it worked out wonderfully.
This dish is best served temperate, but next day, if you have lefties, I find it good at room temperature, if not put in the micro wave for some seconds.

It was even a big box, so the next night I made an omelette adding the mustard leaves,  (chopped) I recomend you to try it, an easy and tasty dish, just with some tomato slices on top, and a nice piece of bread. E

The quinoa with mustard leaves.

From Pedro's Frutas y Verduras
Cariñena, 18
Almuñecar

By the pool-

Summer reading in the after.noon.