RICE NOODLES, CHICKEN, COCONUT MILK AND VEGGIES

Hello again, had a nice easter holiday? I'm sure you had, this year almost everywhere there where some sunny days, how can the sun, the blue sky and a nice temperature change it all.

We always have to agree with Andrea, our yongest daughter about week ends and holidays, my poor poodle Rey, has a spine problem, and the changes are not good for him, and can't be in a Kennel, he has special treatment, special food, acupuncture, but even with all this he sometimes has a crisis, his back legs gets blocked, so hee needs special care.

 Andrea went to Sheffield, why not, to see more horses, the first part of the holiday, and when she returned, we went to our "paradise" in Almuñecar, just some lazy days, without planning, only long walks, nice food and some easter celebrations, and prosessions in the evening/night.

We have a blogger friend who just started her new buissness in Almuñecar, a great kind of Take Away, El Puchero de Helena, Avda de Europa , 4 , Almuñecar. Tel 639 176 565

Every day she cooks a different dish, realy well tasting home made food, at very resonable prices, have a look at her web site    HERE

As you may have read before, I always go to see Pedro and his fruit and vegetable establishment, and there is always something interesting to buy, this time bell peppers in 3 colours, so I decided to do a chicken, coconut milk and veggie dish with rice noodles on saturday .

This is my shoppinglist for 4 persons

800 gr de pechuga de pollo.                ( chicken breast)

3 pimientos, verde,amarillo y rojo.        (bell peppers, yellow, green and red)

1 cebolla.                                            ( onion)

1 cuchara sopera de sesamo.              ( spoon of sesam seeds)

1 diente de ajo.                                   (harlic clove)

2 cucharas soperas de AOVE.            ( extra virgen olive oil)

125 ml de leche de coco.                     ( coconut milk)

Sal rosa del Himalaya.                         ( pink Himalaya salt)

1 paquete de pasta fina de arroz.         ( rice noodles)

I begin cutting the shicken breast into small cubes, add some salt, heat the olive oil in a skilet and fry the chicken until light golden, then transfer to a plate. We are going to use the oil again to fry the veggies, first chop the onion and garlic finely, and add to the skillet, let simmer, and continue chopping the bell peppers , and add them to the skillet together with the onion, let simmer until tender.

I now use a dry frying pan to toast the sesam seeds, they get more tasty in this prosess.

Then add the fried chicken and the coconut milk to the veggies and stir for a moment, cook the rice noodles as the instructions on the packet, strain well.

Add the sesam seeds, taste for salt, and serve on individual plates, making a nest with the noodles and the chicke/veggies in the middle.

Bon apetit !!!!

Have a look at my blog n Spanish
HERE
You van translate to any language by clicking on Google Translate 

Sesame seeds, linen or flax seeds, black sesam seeds, and in the front  chia seeds.

What you see here are several seeds, Sesam, Black Sesam, Linnen an Chia, I put 2 tablespoons of each in the food processor, and get a flour wich can be addes to many dishes, and I take 2 tablespoons every day. I make it every 4 days.

Chia Seeds , contains calcium, manganese, phosphorus , and is a great source of healthy omega-3 fats. Helps combat diabetes, give you fibre, stronger teeth and bones, packed of protein ( good for veganos), improve heart-helth, and combined with water or in a smootie they fill you up, and tasteless so you can add to sweet and salt dishes.

Black Sesam Seeds has anti aging effect, reduce blood cholestherol, can reduce blood sugar, can lubricate the intestines, relieve constipation. In the ancient Chineese medicin used to tonifying liver and kidneys, can boost essence and nourish blood.

 Linen Seeds or Flax Seeds, rich in omega-3, important for overall brain health, preventing memory loss.

Milled Chia+linnen or flax+black sesam seeds, use it in any soup, salad, veggie or pasta dishes, good for your body and mind.  2 spoons a day keep the medicine away.

Have a nice Sunday and a good week too.

Love

Hilde

LOMO EN MANTECA

Hi friends, lomo en manteca is a bit difficult to translate, you may have tasted it, in the south of Spain in a restaurant, specially those situated on the old mountain roads, we have so many of in Andalucia, specally around Malaga and Granada.
This dish is an ancient way to conserve the meat, when the Matanza (slaughter) was celebrated, the hams salted and hung for drying, the chorizos and morcillas manufactured, some was for drying and some was fried in oil or in manteca as well , stored in ceramic containers called orzas (daggerboard is the translation I can find, but as I never heard it before,  don´t know if it´s right), as well the name can be Lomo en Orza.
The "orzas" has a wide bottom but with a narrower  throat, keeps cool and was the best container to conserve, and the manteca made it airthight inside.

The ingredients you need :
2 kg of  lomo de cerdo.               (pork loin)
800 gr. of manteca de cerdo.      (lard)
Sal.                                             ( salt)
Agua.                                        (water)

Clean the meat so there is no grease left, cut as you see on the photos, aboat 4 cm thick slices, toss all with salt, and put in a big wide skillet, together with the lard and fill with water until you cover the meat,. Bring to boil, and let boil until the water has evaporated, you can se the bubbles are getting tinier and it start frying. Take the meat out of the skillet, and strain the liquid, clean the skillet and put both manteca and meat back, and let fry until light golden.

When it´s ready it  looks like this.

This recipe is from a blogger friend Lidia de la O, who write the blog, Atrapada en mi cocina,  you can see here, all of her delicious recipes and wonderful photos.

 I have done it myself a lot of times before, but always frying the meat, not letting it boil with water.
This process makes the meat more tender, and from now on I'm going to use this recipe.
You can do as I, put it in a container, be careful to cover all the meat wth the lard and keep in the fridge, or put in sterilized glass containers as Lidia do, and it rests for many weeks.

Lomo en Manteca con Salaillas, small breads.

If you don't feel like making it yourself, but would like to try, in the Malaga aerea, you order a "plato del monte" , some places it can be called "lomo en orza" in Antequera it's called " pelona", but normally it  is       " lomo en manteca".On the bottom of the skillet there will be some tiny meat bits and together with a litlle lard this is called  zurrapa, and used on toast for breakfast.

In well assorted supermarkets  as El Corte Ingles, Hipercor and Carrefour you can also find it tinned and ready to enjoy.
You can use it as a full meal with chips,( lots of calories) or a salad, I love the roasted pepper salat, "Ensalada de Pimentos Asados" or like you see on the photo as a tapa.

Tomorrow I will do the roasted pepper salad, as well as the salallias, small breads, typical from Granada, with a little Olive oil and sea salt on. Before the week-end I promise both recipes, and you can do a nice Spanish meal ahead, and just relax with a glass of wine on Saturday. (Spansh of course)
Have a good week, and please come back

.Have a look at my Spanish blog here

Love
Hilde

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE PAELLA

Spain's national dish, known all over the world, born in Valencia, the rice district of Spain, recipes are known from the 18 th century, the most used sunday come together and family lunch.

The original Paella Valenciana, is made from chicken , rabbit and vegetables, you have mixed paella, made with meat and fish/seafood, you have black paella, made with the ink of the calamari, luxury paellas made of lobster, blind paella, wich means you don't have too look, everything is peeled and parted , arroz a banda, just the rice is served, yoy have the fish apart, and I can go on and on, there are so many paella recipes as there are regions and families in Spain.

As you know I don't eat much meat, but my family yes does, so we make a compromise, chicken and vegetables, and the veggies depends on what time of the year, now it was fine brussels sprouts and harricots vertes, as it could be artichocks and fava beans, or cowliflower or aspargus.

The shoppinglist for 4 persons + plus a doggie tretas:

1 pechuga de pollo.            ( chicken breast)

2 tazas de arroz.                 ( cups of rice)

4 tazas de caldo.                 ( cups of stock, can be of chicken or vegetables)

1 taza de tomate frito.         ( cup of tomato sauce)

1 cebolla.                             ( onion)

2 dientes de ajo.                  ( garlic cloves)

250 gr coles de bruselas.     ( brussel sprouts)

250 judias verdes.                ( harricots)

Azafran.                               ( saffron)

Sal.                                       ( salt)

AOVE.                                 ( ExtraVirgen olive oil)

Start cutting the chicken breast into small cubes sort of 1,5x1,5, put a little olive oil in the paella pan, and add the chicken with a little salt, fry until golden, and reserve. Cut the harricots in 2 cm long pices, and the brussel sprouts in two, I like to put the harricots in the stock and boil for 2-3 min. While frying the chicken, peal and chop the onion and the garlic cloves finely. Add to the paella  pan, and fry until golden, then add the fried tomato sauce, mix and let all fry for 3-4min, then add the saffron and the chicken , and let simmer for 4-5 min.

Then add the rice and mix until the rice turns yellow, you can add 1 teaspoon of turmic if the saffron is't enough, the add the brussel sprouts and the stock with the harricots, and mix all well.

From now the rice must cook on slow fire, but not too slow, all the liquid must evaporate, cook for 15 min, then finish 5 min in preheated oven at 200 degrees.

If you don't want to heat up the oven, take off the fire and cover the paella pan
with  bakingpaper and a teatowel for 5 min.

The kind of rice is much discussed, but the one that absorbs the flawours most is the one called Arroz Bomba,  a new kind is Sabroz, from the Diamante Fabric, and here it's important to have the rice at the minute, to little is no good, but to much is even worse.

Try my recipe and tell me, if you don`t have a paella pan , use a wide fryng pan.

Have a good week.

Love

Hilde

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

GRILLED VEGETABLES

Hello there, today I had the first Pilates training of this year, it was good to strech out, but I guess tomorrow I will have shoelace ( is this the right way to write when a lot of muscles ache ?). But a couple of hours a week is good, I have a shoulder that often hurts in the cold season, and the Pilates  makes the pain go away , hope this time too. And with the help of my nettle infusion, I buy it dry in the health food shop, 2 table spoons og dry nettle leaves in 1/2 liter of water, boil the water and let the nettle infkuse for 5-6 min., strain, and drink a couple of glasses of this evrey day, it' very good for the cartilage.

I often tell you, we love to cook the vegetables of each season, and try to buy the veggies forme the local farmers, if possible directly from them. The winter offers more "heavy stuff" , like all kinds of root veggies, cabbage, couliflower, brussels sprouts, pumpkins, squash, leeks and spinach.

In the everyday kitchen, we do soups, stirfry in the wok, in tempura, on the BBQ .And why not, in the owen?

We do it a lot, specially when we are a crowd for lunch or dinner, all can be prepared in advance, and just go in the oven for 20-30 min, depending on how big the slices or pieces are.

You can choose a lot of spices as well, try your own preference, we use it for main dish, to accompany some chicken, some fish or a simple fried egg. And so comforting in the winter, wich turns out to be quite cold in Granada this year, but the spring is around the corner, and we have a little longer afternoons now.

I love veggies, and think they look delisious, but my man want something more consistent, so for him I top with some fried bacon or serrano ham.

You can start lining a baking plate with a baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

In a quite big bowl, mix the extra virgen olive oil, the grated ginger, the cummin,the soy sauce, the agave sypup, salt and pepper, mix and save. 

Then cut the pumpkin in small cubes, divide the cauwliflower in posies, and peel and cut the brussel sprous in two, add the beggies to the olive/spice mix , I do it one kind at the time, it looks nicer, they must be coated all over with this mix. Then line up on the baking paper, and put in the oven until they are " al dente" and slightly golden brown.

Then transfer to a serving plate and decorate with finly chopped chives.

I have a funny pair of scissors that does this work wery quick, see the photo, it was a gift from my daughter Andrea, as I always messed so much cutting dill, we Norwegians can't live without our dill, but it's fine for basil, mint , any fresh herbs.

You must give me the chance to tell you again, that English is not my native language, so please forgive me if I write something wrong.

Do you speak Spanish? Then have a look at:

My Spanish Blog

They smell so nice now.

Have a peaceful sleep, and a good rest of the week.

                                                                 Love

                                                                 Hilde

FISHERMAN STEW

Hi again, today I want to present one of my man's dishes, he is a very good cook, he likes to be in the kitchen, and best of all, he cleans up while he is cooking. And he makes really tasty dishes, he is a fish lover, and has a big repertoare, here comes the first recipe-

This silverspoon from 1910, belonged to my grandmother Inga, who gave it to my daughter Berit when she was born.

The history of this recipe comes from the middle size fisherboats, the fishing is one of Spain's  most important industry,  864 000 tons are fished every year, from about 11 000 boats, employs more than 60 000 fishermen and 160 000 people involved with the fishing industry. Every spanyard  consume 42 kg of fish products per year.( in the EU 25,7 kilos per person/year).
They may go out for several days and the crew must have their food every day, so this is one of the typical fisher mens recipe, men working hard for lots of hours need food to keep them strong.
In the winter the sea is cold, so they also need calories and carbohydrates apart from the protein the fish can contribute. I think this dish has got it all.
Ahhh, and they rest on sundays, so if you want to buy fresh fish in Spain, never do it on a Monday, and this is why the fish stalls on the marketplaces are closed too.



Shopping list ( for 4 pers.)
4 calamares medianos.                 ( medium size squids)
4 patatas grande.                          ( big potatoes)
3 tomates maduros.                      ( ripe tomatoes)
1 cebolla.                                     ( onion)
2 dientes de ajo.                           ( garlic cloves)
100 gr. de almendras sin piel.      ( skinless almonds)
1 pizca de azafran en hebra.        ( saffron)
AOVE.                                         ( Extra Vigen olive oil)
750 ml. Caldo de pescado.           ( fish broth)
250 ml.. Vino blanco.                   ( white vine)




The best is to have your squids cleaned at the fish stand, but if it's not possible, clean them and cut into rings of one cm. If you don't dare you can always buy the squid rings clean and ready cut.
Start  boiling some water, an put the tomatoes in for 1 min., then they are easier to peel, when peeled you can cut in small cubes or grate them.
Then peel and chop the onion and the garlic cloves, in a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of extra virgen olive oil, then add the onion and garlic. Chop the almonds a little, and add to the skillet, fry for 3-4 min. An then add the tomatoes, let all fry for 10 min, if you don't like the acid of the tomatoes add a teaspoon of sugar.  Now you peel the potatoes and part them into large pieces.
Add the squid and continue cooking for 3-4 min. , then add the wine , the saffron and the fish broth.
When it start to boil, add the potatoes, and try for salt,
Put the heat to low speed and let simmer for 20 min. until  the potatoes are done.
The result should be a thick soup, if needed add a little more fish stock.

Serve with white bread accompanied with a little ali oli.

                                 We do this as a main dish, and serve a green salad as a side dish.

This recipe has the benefit that any firm fish, for example cod, can replace the squids if  you can`t find or don`t like them.

A comforting dish on cold days.

I will post a recipe for Valentine`s Day tomorrow on my Spanish blog, you are welcome to have a look.

www.rcetasdehilde.blogspot.com

Love

Hilde

GRILLED POLENTA CAKES

Hello to all of you, I have been quite buisy this week, because I'm participating in a cooking contest, of the comunity of Cocineros del Mundo, more than 12000 members, and all members are very creative, you can find such a lot of recipes about any foodies.
Do yoy want to wote for my dish, here s the link, just  +1  in google +
http://recetasdehilde.blogspot.com/2014/01/bacalao-a-lo-pobre.html
Thank's so very much.

Well, half of this is not a Spanish recipe, today we go to the north of  Italy where the polenta is very much used, as I mentioned before, I don't eat much meat and must look for alternatives apart from the veggies. The polenta used today is made from corn, and rich in B vitamins, potassium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium.. The magnesium is very important for the growing of bones and muscles, thats why porridge for the babies and toddlers are made all over the world from polenta. It's also good , even if it has calories about 85 per 100 grams, for dieting because it sates a lot.
I even went away from my daily thinking of using " short travelled food", and bought green aspargus from Peru ( that is quite a long travel), but it's so long time until our aspargues is grown, here in Granada we have the village Huetor Tajar wich is almost entirely dedicated to growing green aspargues. In the springtime we make a dish of aspargues not quite every day, but mmmmmmmmmmm, very often.

The shopping list;
For the polenta
2 cups of whole milk
2 cups of water
1 cup polenta
1 teaspon pink Himalaya salt
2 tablespoons of extra Virgen olive oil
A pinch of smoked paprika
A pinch of white pepper

3 bunches of green aspargus
Some Extra Virgen olive oil
Maldon salt
Tomate frito ( see basics or macarones con chorizo, on the list in my blog)
Some dried chile ( optional)

Start mixing the water, the milk and the salt in a skillet, and heat until boiling, then put the temperature down to medium, and while you whisk add the polente slowly, whisking all the time. now it must cook while you continue whisking, for 5 min.  Transfer to a tray the and make a layer of 1 and 1/2 cm. let cool for an hour .

Stick out the cakes with a cookie sticker, use any shape,  sprinkle with a little white pepper and smoked paprika, have some drops of olive oil in a frying pan, and fry until golde. Be careful when you turn, so they not fall apart. If you dont use all, stick them out and save in an airthight box, in the fridge for 3-4 days.

In anoher fryingpan, just cover the bottom with the extra virgen olive oil, on medium heat put the asparagus in,after braking away the bottom with your hands, it`s much easier than with a knife, and you can "feel" where the edible part starts. In Spanish all you cook only with a film of oil is "a la plancha", and this is the way we do the asparagus  today, depending on the caliber, but in 8 -10 min. they are done.

Arrange the Polenta cakes and the asparagus as shown on the photo, and the Tomata Frito over the asparagus, toss a little Extra Virgen olive oil and some Maldon Salt on top, and serve hot,hot,hot.

And have a look at my blog in Spanisah    www.recetasdehilde.blogspot.com

We have great news from Sierra Nevaa, lots of powder snow, 1,2 m., see for yourself, here are the photos;

Don´t hesitate to give Berit a call on 958.480 242 if you need accommodation. www.skiservice@msn.com

                                                                      Have a good week.

                                                                                Love

                                                                                Hilde

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER WITH CARAMELISED ONION

This morning we went for a more than 2 hours walk in the Natural Park of Sierra Nevada,

the edge of the park is quite near our house,  and we have a lot of posibilities for walking around here.
The countryside is very dry at the moment, we need some rain,  the rosemary already has flowers, I think even mother nature is a bit confused, the seasons are changing so much, nothing , even the weather is like it used to be.

Anyway, my lavender has nice flowers, so I picked some for the kitchen, my favorite place to be, specially in the spring and summer when the doors always are open to the garden.

We have been eating veggies the whole week, and my man deserves ome meat,  my butcher minced some veal, for theese fantastic hamburgers, wich  we love, all of us.

Shopping list
600 gr carne de ternera picada.         ( minced meat of veal)
1 huevo.                                            ( egg)
3 cucharadas de pan integral rallado   ( breadcrumbs of whole grain bread)
1 cucharada de salsa soja.                  ( tablespoon soy sauce)
1 cucharada de perejil.                        ( tablespoon parsley)
Pizca de sal de ajo, sal de Himalaya y pimienta.  ( pinch og garlic salt, pepper and Himalaya Salt)
AOVE.                                                ( extra virgen olive oil)
4 pan de hamburguesa.                        ( hamburger bread)

4 cebollas.                                            ( onions)
8 granos de pimienta negra.                  ( whole black peppers)
AOVE.                                                 (Extra virgen olive oil)
1 cucharada de azucar morena.              ( tablespoon of brown sugar)
Pizca de sal del Himalaya.                      (Pinch of Himalaya salt)

Start dividing the onions in two, and chopping them in thin slices, put 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet, heat and put the onion slices in with a little salt and the black pepper corns, let fry on medium/high temperature until the onions are transparent.

 While the onions are frying mix the egg, breadcrumbs,garlic salt, soy sauce, parsley( fresh or dry, both ok ) salt and pepper into the minced meat, and mix wery well, and save

.Then  add enough water to cover the half of the onions, mix, add the sugar and mix again. In a couple of min. the water has evaporated, and the onions start to have a brown colour, it's important now to stir all the time, it must caramelise but not burn. When it's dark brown, strain the oil away, and save in a serving bowl.

Prepare the skillet just covering the bottom with olive oil, prepare 4 high burgers, with wet hands it's easier, and cook on middle fire, they should be done but a little raw inside, toast the burger breads just slightly, and translate the bread and hamburger to a plate. I also use to put individual glass bowls of ketchup and mustard, dijon type is great, and the carameliced onions and some pickled cucumbers in small bowls beside, everyone can make their own personalized burger. 

I will make a post of vegan burger in my new, Spanish written blog in a cpuple of days,link here;

www.recetasdehilde.blogspot.com

My Best Burger

.

Here everybody likes the burgers with a beer, I seldom drink beer, but somtimes I make myself a gift, water from Voss in Norway, you can find it in the Gourmet section at El Corte Ingles, the taste  of water water.

The rosemary from the countryside smells so different from the one we have in the garden.

I hope theese will be your favorite burgers now,  when I make tapas for a crowd of people, I make a mini version,  and the try is always emptied.

Love
Hilde