Honey Granola Recipe - simple, but delicious

I've been making my own granola for years now, using different recipes so we wouldn't get tired of this specific breakfast staple. I've made malted granola, chocolate granola, rye granola, honey granola - to name just a few. However, I've just realised that I've only shared one of the recipes with you - malted granola - back in January 2009.

Here's another recipe - slightly simpler than the malted granola one, using honey as a sweetener. I like this one with just raisins, but feel free to add your choice of chopped dried fruits to the granola at the end.

Honey Granola Recipe
(Lihtne mesine granola)

250 g old-fashioned oats (about 3 cups)
100 g almond slices
8 Tbsp runny honey
4 Tbsp neutral oil
4 Tbsp water
raisins or currants (optional)

Mix oats and almonds on a large baking sheet. Mix honey and oil in a small bowl, then add water and stir again. Pour the liquid mixture over the oats and mix until everything is well combined.
Roast in a pre-heated 150 C / 300 F oven for about 30 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then, until the oats are golden and slightly crispy (they crisp up even more when cooling down).
Remove from the oven and cool. Fold in the raisins.
Keep in an airtight container.

Almost a full English breakfast

Trying to think what to make for breakfast this Sunday? Here's what we had last weekend.. No tomatoes and mushrooms, and ciabatta instead of white sliced toast, but otherwise pretty close and rather nice..

Russian syrniki aka curd cheese patties

A little something from the Russian kitchen - fried thick curd cheese patties that are best enjoyed while still hot with a generous dollop of soured cream or a jam of your choice. You'll find curd cheese or quark cheese (tvorog, read more here) in Russian or Polish or German shops. Remember, the higher the fat content, the tastier the end result - or try farmer's cheese instead. Ricotta is too smooth and lean to work, in my opinion.

We love them for breakfast, but syrniki also make an excellent mid-day or mid-afternoon snack.

Syrniki
(Sõrnikud)
Serves 4

500 g curd cheese
2 egg yolks (or 1 egg, if you wish)
60 g plain flour (100 ml), or slightly more, if necessary
a generous pinch of salt
1 Tbsp sugar (for sweet syrniki)

flour for breading
oil for frying

Combine curd cheese, egg yolks, salt and sugar, if using.
Sprinkle some flour on the work surface and on your hands. Form small patties from the curd cheese mixture (add a spoonful or two of flour, if the mixture is too loose), flatten them slightly. The curd cheese patties should be about 1 cm thick.
(You could put them into the fridge for about and hour - it helps them to stay in shape).
Heat some oil on a frying pan over moderate heat. Fry the syrniki on both sides for 3-5 minutes, until they're golden brown.

Serve when still warm.

Simple scones

I had no intentions to blog about scones today. Actually, I had a spinach and filo bake lined up. But then Peter G's lemon and date scones popped up on my blog reader and I got an urge to finally put up my scone post. I love a good scone with an afternoon tea - one of the few habits I picked up during my seven years in Scotland :) Although I love a spiced-up scone every now and then (will be so making those lemon and date scones, and also Johanna's raspberry scones soon), I actually prefer a good old-fashioned plain one. This gives me a chance to let one of our home-made jams shine, you see :)

Here's a recipe I love using for plain scones. If you've got a good plain or seasoned scone recipe, then please share the recipe or a link to it in the comments. That'd be much appreciated!

(The photos are from 2008)

Simple scones
(Scones-kakukesed)
Makes eight



225 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
50 unsalted butter
2 Tbsp caster sugar
100 ml milk
1 large egg

To serve:
whipped double cream or clotted cream (if available)
thick raspberry or strawberry jam

Dip flour, baking powder, salt and cubed butter into a bowl. Stir to cover butter with flour, then pinch between your fingertips until you've got a crumbly mixture. Stir in the sugar.
Pour half of the milk into a measuring jug, whisk in the egg. Pour into the crumb mixture and give it a stir.
Now add the rest of the milk, a spoonful at the time and stirring very gently, until you've got a soft dough that's not sticky (it's possible that just 1 Tbsp is enough). Do not overwork!
Now dip the dough onto a floured surface and press and form into a circle. Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 2 cm (4/5 inch) thickness (that's about the width of your thumb :)).



Take a round cookie cutter (6 cm in diameter) and dip it first into the flour, then cut out 8 circles (you need to gather and re-roll the dough to make enough scones).



Place the scones onto a baking sheet that's either floured or covered with a baking parchment. If you like your scones shiny, then brush with a little milk. If you like your scones matte, then dust lightly with flour.



Bake in a preheated 220 C oven for 13-15 minutes, until the scones have risen and are golden brown (you can also test for doneness by tapping the base of a scone - it should sound hollow).

Transfer the scones to a metal rack to cool. If you prefer your scones slightly crispy, then leave them as they are. If you love yours softer, then cover the hot scones with a clean kitchen towel.



Serve warm with a spoonful or two of jam and whipped cream. A good scone can be split into two halves with a fork alone (and you can see that the recipe gives you exactly this type of scones :))

Coconut French Toast with Berries

Something for the forthcoming weekend :) We usually have pancakes or crepes on Saturday mornings, and try to go for a coffee in a nice café on Sunday mornings. I cannot make pancakes, so K. is our Saturday morning chef :) However, sometimes we stay in on Sunday mornings as well, and then I have to come up with a special breakfast. Last Sunday we had these lovely coconut french toast with berries on our sunny balcony. I make French toast quite often, but always with the traditional egg-and-milk mixture. These are made without eggs, making them a somewhat lighter option.

Coconut French Toast with Berries
(Vaesed rüütlid kookospiimaga)
Serves 4

8 slices of white bread (f.ex. bloomer)
200 ml creamy coconut milk
1 tsp cinnamon

butter, for frying

To serve:
250 g plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla sugar
a heaped cup of raspberries and blueberries/bilberries

First, make the toast. Mix cinnamon and coconut milk in a deep plate. Dip both sides of the bread slices into the coconut milk.
Heat some butter on a non-stick frying pan and fry the bread slices on both sides until golden brown. Place onto a plate.
For the sauce, season the yogurt with vanilla, then gently stir in the berries. Spoon the sauce of the coconut french toast slices.

Wild strawberries, 2010

Bircher-muesli (fresh muesli)

Our little family spent a week in Davos, Switzerland at the end of March. I wish I could show you gorgeous photos of the impressive slopes, hillside restaurants and skiing chalets. The truth is, that K. spent a week enjoying the slopes, whereas I and our little daughter spent most of the time trying to recover from the rather annoying cold that had hit us out of the blue :( At least by the time we were back in Zürich we were recovered enough to have enough energy to check out the Ladurée shop and Café Péclard in town, so it wasn't all wasted on us. During our vacation we had breakfast at three different hotels in Switzerland, and true to their local traditions, they all served Bircher-müsli ;)

If you haven't heard of Bircher-müesli before, then it's cold cereal or "fresh müsli" that was first served to its patients by a Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner over a century ago. Since then müsli has become popular all over the world, although the original müsli has changed quite a bit when travelling across time and space. The Bircher-müeslis we tried in Switzerland were quite different, and some versions were better than others, but it truly was a breakfast staple and found everywhere. (And not just for breakfast - we saw it on the menu at a riverside café in Zürich, where it came topped with a huge pile of whipped cream!!! I'm not convinced that the doctor would have approved that ;))

Here's a version I've been making for a few years now.

Bircher-muesli
(Bircher-müsli)
Serves 2

Night before:
250 ml/1 cup rolled/old-fashioned oats
125 ml/half a cup (boiled) water
half a lemon, juiced

In the morning:
150 ml (10 Tbsp) plain yogurt
one large green apple, grated (Granny Smith is excellent)
2 Tbsp honey

To serve:
fresh fruit or berries or soft raisins
toasted nuts
a little honey

Place oats on a bowl, pour over the water and lemon juice. Leave to soften overnight in a cool place.
In the morning stir in the yogurt, honey and grated apple.
Top with sliced fruit or berries and a drizzle of honey.
Serve and enjoy.

Oatmeal with peanut butter, and on breakfast cereal compromises

First I complain that I don't post nearly as many breakfast recipes as I should and then I post two in a row!!! Again, this is one of several Alanna's oatmeal recipes, and this particular one has been praised by Kalyn as well. I did adapt the recipe for using the stovetop-method. Although we do have a microwave in our kitchen, we don't use it for cooking, just reheating food occasionally. Somehow the stovetop method seems more wholesome to me, plus it only takes few minutes longer. If you are in a real rush in the mornings then refer to Alanna's original post for microwave instructions.

What about the breakfast cereal compromises mentioned in the post title? Well, K. likes his breakfast porridge/oatmeal with milk, I'm happy with half-and-half (that's half milk, half water, not half milk, half cream, mind you). So depending on who's making the oatmeal for breakfast, one of us always gets the less preferred version. That's relationships to you, eh :) The curious thing is that Alanna's peanut-butter-oatmeal is made with just water, and neither one of us - not even the only-milk-no-water-type K - complained about the lack of milk in the oatmeal ;)

Oatmeal with peanut butter
(Kaerahelbepuder maapähklivõiga)
Serves 2 to 3

1 cup of old-fashioned/rolled oats
2 cups of water
0.5 tsp salt
2 Tbsp peanut butter (I used sugar-free organic brand)

Mix oats, water and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and simmer for a 5-7 minutes, stirring every now with a wooden spoon, until the oats are ready. Stir in the peanut butter and serve at once.

Oatmeal with banana and maple syrup

I don't post nearly as many breakfast recipes as I should. You see, although Nora is eating solids now and is a very happy eater, then there's still only two proper eaters in our house. Despite of that we bake lots of cakes and quiches and tarts and pies (all for the good of the users of my Estonian site). On most days, we have something for dinner and then eat the rest of the cake or tart for breakfast the following morning, so I rarely make special breakfast dishes (Sunday morning pancakes is an exception, of course). I know I should eat oatmeal or other hot cereal for breakfast much more often, but a slice of yesterday's cake is a lazy, but quick alternative.

However, I may have just stumbled upon a hot cereal recipe that I might bother to make even if there's some cake in the house. My dear blog friend Alanna has posted several healthy oatmeal recipes (one of which - Alanna's famous oatmeal with peanut butter - she served me when I visited her in St Louis in Summer 2008). I added a generous drizzle of maple syrup to her Stovetop Oatmeal with Whipped Banana, and LOVED IT!

What's your favourite breakfast? And how do you like your oatmeal?

Oatmeal with banana and maple syrup
(Kaerahelbepuder banaaniga)
Serves 2 to 3

1 cup of old-fashioned/rolled oats
1 cup of milk
1 cup of water
0.5 tsp salt
1 large ripe banana, peeled and thinly sliced
maple syrup, to serve

Mix oats, milk, water and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and stir for a few minutes.
Add the sliced banana and continue simmering the porridge for about 7 minutes, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, until the oats are ready.
Serve at once with a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Pain perdu - French toast - Poor knights - Vaesed rüütlid

I've been going through last year's food photo images and came across this. I love this picture - the plate of white bread slices, dipped into sweetened egg and milk mixture and gently browned in butter, looks appealing and appetizing.

It'll be cold here today - some say the temperatures will drop to minus 26 Celsius this weekend. It's been snowing almost daily since Christmas, and everything is covered with gorgeous, thick, white snow blanket. We're really enjoying this beautiful winter - it's truly like the winters of our childhood, and obviously that brings back lots of nice memories. Like memories of French toast for breakfast, made by my mum. I think I'll have some for breakfast today :)

Wish you all a lovely weekend!

Chokeberry aka Black Aronia and Kephir Smoothie Recipe

It's official. Black aronia berries aka black chokeberries are the newest superfood. These beautiful black berries apparently have the highest concentration of useful flavonoids and antioxidants of any known natural food product. They're also rich in vitamins B2, B6, E, C and folic acid. I see articles praising Aronia melanocarpa e v e r y w h e r e!!

The berries have been grown in hedgerows in Estonia for decades. The most common use for the berries is in cordial, but I've made apple and black aronia jam couple of times as well. While most people find raw aronia berries a wee bit too astringent and tart, then I like nibbling on them. Luckily, there are lots of black aronia hedgerows bordering the streets in the suburb where I live. I get a healthy dose of these on my daily walks with the baby, as I pick a berry from here, and another one from there :)

We've just planted couple of chokeberry bushes into our new garden, and the berries I used for this super-healthy smoothie were from these bushes.

Chokeberry and Kephir Smoothie
(Aroonia-keefirikokteil)
Serves 1

1 ripe banana, peeled
handful of chokeberries/black aronia berries
250 g (1 cup) kephir
honey or agave nectar, to taste
a squeeze or two of lemon juice

Place banana chunks, berries and kephir into a blender and blend until smooth and frothy. Sweeten with honey or agave nectar, and season with lemon juice.
Serve at once.

Other recipes using chokeberries/black aronia berries:
Black aronia muffins

David Leite's Chocolate Chip Cookies, slightly modified

Here's what I had for breakfast today - a large cup of coffee, and two gigantic chocolate chip cookies. Following the famous recipe David Leite's Chocolate Chip Cookies pretty closely, I made up a batch of cookie dough on Monday night, and baked 6 large cookies this morning. They weren't bad - I especially liked the slightly chewy inside and crispy edges, and the sprinkling of Maldon sea salt flakes on top of a chocolate cookie is genious. But if I ever make these again, I drastically reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. I made the mistake of having two of these with my coffee this morning, and that is not something I recommend. I was very close to opening a can of tinned sprats to reduce the effects of all that sugar.

Other than that, I was pretty pleased with the way these spread out and baked. Some foodbloggers mentioned that the cookies were flat - not in my kitchen - they were about 1 cm /just under half an inch/ in the center. I baked large cookies, ca 75 grams each (that's just under 3 oz), which is way larger than what's considered a socially acceptable cookie size outside the US, I'm afraid. I'll share the metric recipe here - if you're cooking and baking in cups and ounces, then please refer to any of the good foodbloggers below.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Ameerika šokolaadiküpsised)
Makes a lot, recipe can be halved and the formed unbaked cookies can be frozen



480 g all-purpose flour
1.25 tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
275 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200 g soft brown sugar (I used 'fariinsuhkur')
300 g caster sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
500 g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (at least 60% cacao content)
Maldon sea salt flakes for sprinkling

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a measuring jug. Put aside.
Using the paddle attachment of a food processor, cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes, until it's creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract, and beat until well combined.
Add the flour mixture, and stir just to combine. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
Using your hands, press the dough into a large ball and place in a bowl. Cover with a clingfilm and refridgerate for 36 hours (or up to 72 hours).
Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper. Using a large ice cream scoop or a similar utensil, scoop out balls of cookie dough, each weighing about 75 grams. Place the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet, leaving plenty of space for spreading (I placed 6 cookie dough balls on my large baking sheet). (Return the remaining dough into the fridge!)
Sprinkle lightly with Maldon sea salt flakes.
Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 175°C oven for 16-18 minutes, until the cookie looks golden on the edges, but is still just pale tanned in the middle.
Remove from the oven, gently transfer onto a metal rack to cool slightly and firm up.
Repeat with the remaining dough.

Some other foodbloggers have tried and tested the recipe:
Molly @ Orangette
Deb @ SmittenKitchen
Stephanie @ Bay Area Bites
Clotilde @ Chocolate & Zucchini (who was smart enough to halve the recipe)
Kristin @ Kitchen Sink Recipes
Pim @ Chez Pim

Saturday morning pancakes

Small buttermilk pancakes, made using eggs from these free-roaming chicken and served with the last of wild strawberry jam and a cup of milky coffee. All made by my dear K.

One cannot ask for more...

Home-made granola recipe

I'm not sure why it took me so long to make my own granola to sprinkle on yogurt for breakfast, considering how incredibly easy it is! The recipe below is a mixture of various ideas, and it's pretty simple. I'm especially fond of the addition of malt extract* that I got from Moosewood granola recipe included in the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics - it adds a lovely, well, malted flavour to the end product. I've used a mixture of chopped apricots, seedless raisins and dried cranberries to 'buff up' my granola, but the choice of dried fruit is obviously yours.

What do you do? Make your own granola/müsli or buy from a shop? If you buy, then what's your favourite brand/type? Just curious :)

Home-Made Granola
(Kodune krõbe müsli)
Makes enough for 2 persons for a week



100 g old-fashioned rolled oats (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp dark muscovado sugar
5 Tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
1 Tbsp flax seeds/linseeds
1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp neutral-flavoured oil
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp malt extract

To 'top up':
half a cup or so chopped dried apricots or prunes or dried cranberries or seedless raisins

Mix the oats, sugar, coconut flakes, linseed and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in molasses extract, oil and water, stir to combine.
Line a small baking tray with a parchment paper and spread the granola mixture on top.
Bake in a pre-heated 200 C/400 F oven for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice while baking, until the granola is golden and very aromatic (it will crispen up after you take it out of the oven).
Take out of the oven and cool completely, then stir in the chopped dried fruit.

Keep in a closed jar and serve with your breakfast yogurt or milk.

* Moosewood recipe uses "barley malt syrup or unsulphured molasses", explaining that "Barley malt is a liquid made from fermented barley and often used in baking bread. We use it here for sweetness and moisture. If unavailable, any unsulphured molasses except blackstrap will work fine". I used a local product which is meant for brewing your own beer at home, but is also widely used for baking bread at home. 

Sunday morning pancakes

I've mentioned before that every weekend we have pancakes for breakfast. I'm no good in making them, so I stay in bed until K. calls me to table. Here's a lovely photo of last weekend's pancakes - small and chubby farmers' cheese pancakes that we enjoyed with home-made lingonberry and pear jam (lingonberries were picked by K's mum, pears are from my parents' backyard and the jam was made by me). That's family cooperation, isn't it :)

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

Another Quick Brunch Recipe: Swiss Toast with Egg and Cheese

I seem to get excited about brunch recipes recently. First there was this utterly simple, yet genius idea of cracking an egg into a tomato 'shell' and baking it in the oven (Baked Eggy Brunch Tomatoes). Then I saw a recipe for 'Swiss Toasts' in Oma Maitse, an Estonian food magazine. The recipe was simple enough - slice of buttered bread, boiled halved eggs smeared with mayonnaise and topped with cheese. But I wanted something even simpler, so I omitted the butter and 're-located' the mayonnaise.

It's brilliant, should you happen to find some boiled eggs in your fridge in the morning. We've made it twice during last week alone, so I definitely recommend it. Use a cheese that melts nicely - and although I've made it with white bread, brown or rye bread would work well, too.

Grilled Swiss Toast with Egg and Cheese
(Šveitsi võileivad)
Serves 2, can be easily doubled

4 slices of bread
4 tsp of mayonnaise
2 boiled eggs
4 slices of cheese (f. ex. Havarti)

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F.
Smear the mayonnaise onto bread slices.
Peel the eggs and cut into two halves lenghtwise. Place one egg half on each slice of bread, cut side down.
Balance a slice of cheese on top.
Put into a hot oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is starting to melt and the egg and bread are warm.

Garnish with a sprig of thyme from your windowsill and serve with some sliced tomatoes.

Nami-nami turns three and makes a great brunch dish

On Sunday this little food blog of mine, NAMI-NAMI, turned three. On June 15, 2005 (while still living in Edinburgh), I wrote my first post, which has led to three more years of food-related posts. Starting this food blog was one of the best decisions I made that year, as it has led to making and meeting many good friends both in 'real life' and on the Internet. Lots of other things have changed during that time. I've moved back home to Estonia. I've started a new life with K. I've started a new job. More importantly, during that time I've become a better cook. I've learned a lot from reading your food blogs, dear readers. I've read zillion cookbooks, taken two professional cookery courses here in Tallinn, done an 10-day internship in a top gourmet restaurant, relaunched my Estonian site. I've got a new camera, and even took a short photography course last year. Life is good..

Thank you all for being such generous readers and a special thank you to K. for putting up with this somewhat obsessive blogging of mine..

Here's what we ate on the morning of Nami-nami's third blogday:

Baked Eggy Brunch Tomatoes
(Küpsetatud tomatid munaga)
Serves 4, can be easily halved, doubled, trebled
Adapted from BBC Good Food (June 2006)



4 large tomatoes
4 medium free-range eggs
butter
salt
freshly ground black pepepr
4 slices of thick rye bread
8 slices of smoked bacon

Heat the oven to 200 Celsius.
Cut a lid off tomatoes and scoop out the seeds, using a small spoon.
Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, season the insides with salt and pepper.
Break an egg into each tomato and top with a small piece of butter. Season again and replace the lid.
Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes, until the eggs are set to a suitable degree (20 minutes, if you prefer your egg runny).
Place the bacon slices ionto the baking sheet for the last 10 minutes, so they could crispen up.
Toast the bread, and smear with butter.
Place two slices of bacon onto each slice of bread and top with a tomato.
Garnish with some fresh herbs and serve. (Note that baked tomato is very hot in the beginning!)

Other relevant posts:
Nami-nami turns ONE
Nami-nami turns TWO
Moving back home

Cottage Cheese Muffins

Great minds really think alike.

You see, four weeks ago I made these lovely cottage cheese muffins for breakfast. Ideally, of course, I would have wanted to blog about these muffins earlier, but then I was in Budapest, spent a day on the seaside, took part in the Daring Bakers and WTISIM blog events, plus I've been spending time trying to learn how to cook from the real masters. Somehow the whole of November came and passed without blogging about these muffins..

Although I do follow Heidi's blog, it was only after making my cottage cheese muffins that I came across the recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins over at Heidi's blog. Last night I decided that today is the day for my cottage cheese muffin post. Imagine my delight then when I spotted Kalyn's version of Heidi's muffins first thing this morning: Cottage Cheese and Egg Breakfast Muffins with Ham and Cheddar. You see what I'm telling about great minds thinking alike??

My version is simpler - just cottage cheese and herbs. If you fancy a more substantial version with ham or sun-dried tomatoes, check out Kalyn's and Heidi's posts, respectively.

The recipe is adapted from "Kohupiima- ja kodujuusturaamat" (100 Rooga). I've added fresh herbs that make the muffins so much more interesting, and also adjusted the quantities to fit the size of most commonly available cottage cheese tubs.

Cottage Cheese Muffins
(Kodujuustumuffinid)
Makes 12 muffins



350 g cottage cheese
2 eggs, lightly whisked
125 g butter, melted
3 Tbsp sour cream
50 g cheese, grated
a handful of chopped fresh parsley
100 g plain/all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Mix cottage cheese, grated cheese, eggs, melted butter, sour cream and chopped parsley.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, stir into the cheese and egg mixture.
Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tins* and bake in the middle of 200 C oven for about 25 minutres, until the muffins have puffed up and golden.
Cool a little and serve. The muffins are even better on the following day, so they'd make an ideal picnic item (or breakfast item, of course).

* I suggest using silicone muffin pan (12 hole capacity) to make these cottage cheese muffins (I've also began using silicone muffin pan for making Molly's beautiful Bouchons au Thon, as these slip out of a pan very easily). Alternatively, use paper muffin cups, or butter your regular metal muffin tin thoroughly.

Old-fashioned Soups: Pumpkin Soup with Semolina

With Halloween just a fortnight behind us, there may still be an odd wedge of pumpkin in your fridge. I made a pumpkin risotto recently, and had had a lone half of a orange-fleshed pumpkin waiting in the fridge ever since then. I thought of re-making Johanna's roasted pumpkin and blue cheese quiche again. Or the simple pumpkin soup with vegetable stock. But eventually I decided to make something very unusual (to my international readers), yet typically Estonian. Milk soups - either with various grains (rice, semolina, pearl barley), pasta (macaroni or vermichelli noodles), or even vegetables (just like this beautiful summer soup by Deinin) are all common in Estonia. Granted, with the general increase of living standards and international influences, these humble soups do not enjoy the popularity they once did, but they're still very much part of the culinary heritage.

This milk soup with pumpkin and semolina can be eaten for breakfast, as a dessert or just as a light meal. It's best served warm, with a spoonful of jam, a dollop of butter or a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil (like I did), or even maple syrup (like K. did).

Ka Thredahlia tegi hiljuti kõrvitsa-mannasuppi - retsepti leiate siit. Ja ka Nami-nami blogisse võib kommentaare jätta eesti keeles:)

Milky Pumpkin Soup with Semolina
(Kõrvitsa-piimasupp mannaga)
Serves 4



500 ml milk (~ 2.5%)
300 ml water
350 g pumpkin flesh, coarsely grated
20 g or about 1.5 Tbsp wheat semolina (Cream of Wheat)
0.5 tsp salt
2 Tbsp demerara sugar

Bring milk and water to the boil in a heavy saucepan. Add pumpkin, reduce heat a little and simmer, stirring regularly, for about 15-20 minutes until pumpkin is softened.
Sprinkle in semolina, stirring to avoid lumps. Season with salt and sugar, reduce the heat further and cook for another 5 minutes, until semolina has expanded and softened.
Serve in small bowls.

In search of a perfect Fried Green Tomatoes recipe

The autumn is truly here. Whereas only few weeks ago the sun was still warm and kind, then now we've been told to prepare ourselves for slush this weekend. I hope the predictions are unfounded, as I still hope to make it to the forest for one more wild mushroom hunt, so do keep your fingers crossed for me:) In any case, cooler autumn days also means the appearance of green tomatoes at the market, as there's simply not enough sun to ripen the otherwise grown-up tomatoes. We spotted huge boxes of them at the market last month already, and had to buy some. When I did the week-long eGullet foodblog recently, then a eGulleteer Scottie suggested his easy way for frying green tomatoes (I watched the movie again just a week earlier, incidentally), and made a lovely Sunday brunch of them.

Now I know there are lots of different ways to prepare the famous fried green tomatoes. I'd appreciate if you'd share your favourite version or any other tips and advice for preparing green tomatoes - there's plenty left, you see!

Fried Green Tomatoes
(Praetud rohelised tomatid)



green tomatoes*
finely ground cornmeal**
salt & pepper
Cayenne pepper
butter for frying

Mix cornmeal/cornflour, salt, pepper and Cayenne pepper on a small plate.
Cut tomatoes into 5 mm slices, crosswise, then dip into the cornmeal/cornflour mixture.
Heat a heavy frying pan on a moderate heat, add butter and allow to melt.
Layer tomato slices onto the frying pan and fry gently from both sides for a few minutes, until cornmeal/cornflour has browned a little and the tomatoes have softened.
Serve at once with fried eggs and a spicy mayonnaise sauce or adjika (a Georgian red pepper condiment).

* They must be fully grown tomatoes that are simply not red yet. Do not use undergrown green tomatoes, which contain high levels of glycoalkaloid tomatine, which isn't good for you. The amount in grown-up green tomatoes is negligible.
** You want the yellowish flour here, not the white starchy Maizena cornflour (UK)/cornstarch (US)!