Zucchini and saffron fettuccini

This recipe is as good as original. Because I don't know about you, but I'm more used to taste saffron on rice than on pasta... but that doesn't mean is less good! Au contraire!

Start preparing the ingredients. Cut tops and bottoms of a couple (cleaned) zucchinis and cut them into strips.
Oh, and mince an onion too, I forgot to document my mincing but I think you guys know how it's done ;)

Melt 2 tablespoons of rich and delicious butter in a large skillet and when it's melted, add the onion. You got to be patient here because the heat is soooo low that the onion won't be ready in a while, stir every now and then and that's all. I assure you tho, that your kitchen will smell heavenly.

When the onion is nice golden brown, add the zucchini strips. Rise heat to medium-high and cook till zucchini is tender.

Meanwhile, mince a bit of saffron with salt in a mortar. We do it with the salt so it's easier to get powder.

But wait a sec, have you seen that? It's gold!

So, when zucchini is tender pour cream and spices, pepper and saffron/salt powder.

Oh yeah, bright yellow should be the color of your salsa. THAT much of yellow, yes.

Then, add pasta and some grated Parmesan. Stir till it's all well combined.

Now, tell me you’re not hungry. Because... 

I was!

ZUCCHINI & SAFFRON FETTUCCINE

Serves 3-4

• 400g fettuccine
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 onion
• 2 zucchinis
• 200 ml cream
• 1/4 tsp saffron aproximately
• salt & pepper
• grated Parmesan

1. Cut tops and bottoms of zucchinis and onion. Take outer skin of the onion off.
2. Cut zucchinis in strips, mince onion.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet. When melted, fry onion in low heat till it's golden brown. Then, add zucchini stripes and rise heat to medium-high.
4. When zucchini is tender, add cream. In a mortar make salt and saffron powder and add it to the skillet. Add some pepper too. Stir.
5. Add the fettuccine (already boiled).
6.Grate some Parmesan and add it too. Stir till well combined.
7. Serve and enjoy!


xo,
Adela*

Winter and chestnuts

 mmmh... cold night

xo,
Adela*

Vegan Bechamel

Happy Tots Sants/Día de los Muertos/Halloween, everybody!!

Today's recipe is probably the easiest recipe ever. And it's vegan. And yummy. And enriches any vegetable.

Actually this recipe calls for regular onion but I didn't have any so I used green onions. It came pretty well but I tell you, if you got onions in hand, use one. Start cutting the bottoms and the tops of the green onions and taking the outer skin of. Chop them well.

.

 In a pan melt margarine. When margarine is totally melted add chopped green onions, stir regularly and in low heat let them cook; 5 minutes or so. Add flour when it starts bubbling.

Add gradually already heated soy milk and stir. Add some salt and voilà! that's all. You got the bechamel ready.

Pour bechamel on your vegetables, in this case, boiled broccoli.

In order to add a bit extra flavor, I grated some cheese. Of course, if you're vegan, skip this step. Put in the oven in "au gratin" mode for about 5 minutes till the cheese is completely melted. If you like it more roasted let it more minutes till you like it. Remember that you rule.

Bon appétit!




VEGAN BECHAMEL

• 1 onion (or 3 green onions)
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup warm soy milk

1. Chop onion nicely.
2. Melt margarine in a pan. Add chopped onion. Cook til the onion is golden and it bubbles.
3. Then, add flour and stir.
4. Gradually add warm soy milk while stirring. Taste (how not to?) and add salt if necessary.
5. Enjoy!


xo,
Adela*

Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

It’s Halloween week here in Easy as Pie, and mostly everywhere else. Great party out there, even if we, Barcelonians (?),  don’t celebrate it as the English do. But still. Halloween calls for orange things, right? Orange things like pumpkins! If you tell me Halloween doesn’t scream for pumpkin probably you are from Mars.

So, pumpkin! I baked this cake instead of the typical pumpkin pie just because. Don’t ask me for complicated reasons behind my cooking behavior.

Besides, I made my own pumpkin puree so yeah, I’m cool like that.

That’s not cheating, right? Buying a peeled and non-seeds pumpkin, I mean. It’s still homemade! :)

Whatever. Put the prepared pumpkin in a baking sheet and bake for about fifteen minutes depending how big the slices are.

The slices will be soft and fork-tender.

I used a food mill to make the puree but you can either use a food processor or a potato masher.

In a large bowl mix light brown sugar, regular granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time. And when you get a creamy sweet batter add pumpkin puree. 

 In another bowl mix flour and spices; I used cinnamon and nutmeg, you can add a bit of ginger if you want to. Then, add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter/pumpkin mixture.

Note: I used soy milk and the result came perfectly fine, if you don't want to use soy milk use whole milk instead.

Once you got a smooth orange-y batter, pour it into a greased baking pan or covered by baking paper, like I did.

Bake for 45 minutes approximately.

 I used a relatively small baking pan usually used for Plum Cakes, so some batter left over. With that I made some pumpkin cupcakes with my new silicone baking molds, which are perfection because any kind of grease is needed. Aren't they also so autumn-like?

Bake them for 15 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Now let's make the glaze. Very easy. Just mix confectioners' sugar, cinnamon and milk in a bowl and pour over the cake. Yum yum!

I did enough glaze for the cupcakes also so...

There are two options: pouring some glaze over the cupcake, which is okay, and dunk the cupcake in the glaze, which I highly recommend... you'll know what you're doing.

This cake was really good, the pumpkin taste it's not very obvious but it leaves a nice sweet aftertaste. I highly recommend covering all the cake in glaze even if it falls through the sides and the cake seems it's swimming in glaze. Trust me in this one, BETTER if this happens.

PUMPKIN CAKE WITH CINNAMON GLAZE

Serves a large cake or a small one with 6-7 cupcakes :)

• 1  (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 3  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
•  6 tablespoons milk (soy milk works as well)

 Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2  tablespoons milk

Once you got the pumpkin puree ready...

1. Preheat oven at 200ºC
2. In a large bowl mix light brown sugar, regular granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time. And when you get a creamy sweet batter add pumpkin puree. 
3. In another bowl mix flour and spices; I used cinnamon and nutmeg, you can add a bit of ginger if you want to. Then, add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter/pumpkin mixture.
4. Pour batter into a greased baking pan or covered by baking paper.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a pick comes out clean.
6. While the cake is baking make the glaze. Mix all glaze ingredients together.
7. Once the cake has cooled pour the glaze over it.
8. Let the glaze cook and get its typical consistency and enjoy!!

xo,

Adela*

Recipe sneak peek!

Can you guess? It involves some kind of orange thing...

I'll post the recipe later today. See you soon!

xo,
Adela*

Mocha Whoopie Pies

There is the common believe that chemistry is like baking. I confirm that. Chemistry and baking are like sisters, the first one is tough and hard-worker, the other one sweet and innocent. But sisters, which implies some kind of relationship and resemblance.

Chemistry involves some kind of mathematics that prevent blowing up the lab, like, literally. Chemistry is that bad-ass. Baking is fun and imaginative, but also involves mathematics in its recipes, knowing each ingredient and experimenting with them, just as chemistry involves imagination and thinking outside the box (natural qualities of its younger sister).

With all that blah I want to say that not following the rules, and by rules I mean recipes, to the letter is goooood, really good. Without all that imagination and self-confidence baking gives me, I wouldn't eva' eva' came with these delicious, drooling and adults only little things. You read well. Adults only. Because of the coffee, nasty-minded...

I got to say, even not coffee lovers love this. If you are... then you are gonna love me. hahahah
You are warned.

Start making the one to blame: an espresso or concentrated coffee. And by concentrated I mean 3 tablespoons of coffee crystals and 2 of water.

Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix unsalted butter and brown sugar (packed). Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.

 Add the butter mixture into the large bowl. Add the coffee, the milk and mix well till combined. 

Spoon the mixture and put in a cookie pan. Bake for ten minutes and you will have these delish little things, buuuut nothing compared with these little things with an amazing coffee filling. I mouth-water just thinking about it... 

While the whoopie pies are in the oven make the filling. This filling is more like an icing but whatever, it tastes amazingly well. 


Mix powdered sugar, butter and instant coffee crystals and voilà! You got it.

Spread the filling on the whoopies

Yum! These with the morning coffee and you are ready to roll all day long!


xo,
Adela*








MOCHA WHOOPIE PIE

• 3 tbsp instant coffee crystals
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk

FILLING

• 200g powdered sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2tbsp instant coffee crystals

1. Preheat oven at 375ºF/190ºC. Mix instant coffee and water in a cup or glass.
2. In a large bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3: In a different bowl mix butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Combine.
4. Add butter mixture in the large bowl and mix well together.
5. Add coffee and milk and mix till smooth.
6. Drop about one teaspoon of batter onto a baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cakes spring back when touched. Let them cool for about 5 minutes.
7. Mix all filling ingredients and spread filling on the cakes. Refrigerate the whoopie pies for 10 minutes before serving.
8. Enjoy!

Mushroom and onion chicken

I'm sorry, I've been a bad blogger. Shame on me. Buuuut, be aware this week I have some very interesting recipes prepared. Besides, this week is extra special because I just started the classes so the challenge becomes real.

But let's begin with a super easy, quick and healthy recipe, shall we? Mushroom and onion chicken. I'll tell you when this works, mushroom and onion chicken is perfect when you have (or want) no time to spent cooking but you know that another sandwich would be wrong.

Start preparing the mushrooms. Of course you can get mushrooms already sliced so you can jump into the next step, if you didn't just follow my lead :)

So, cut the bottoms and cut them in four. 

Clean them after.

Next, add chicken breast halves to a pan and sprinkle some salt and peppa'. By the way, I grease the pan with a bit of oil and with a towel paper I spread it, something I learned from Japanese cuisine. How do you do it?

While chicken cooks, grab an onion, peel it and cut it in half. Then slice each half like if you wanted to do onion rings.

Remove the chicken and add an olive oil spurt and the vegetables. Stir in parsley. When the vegetables are pretty much done, add the chicken so it can take the juices and the smell... yum!

After 3 minutes, serve and enjoy! Maybe some mashed potatoes or broccoli can complete the meal...

Note: not ketchup allowed please. Thank you.

MUSHROOMS AND ONION CHICKEN

Serves 2

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 mushroom tray
• 1 medium-large onion
• parsley
• olive oil
• salt&pepper

1. Cut mushroom bottoms. Cut mushrooms in 4. Clean them in running water.
2. Add chicken breast halves to a hot pan and cook til each side browned.
3. While chicken cooks, cut onion in thin slices. 
4. Remove chicken from pan, add a spurt of oil and add vegetables. Stir in parsley and add the chicken when mushrooms are tender.
5. Serve immediately and enjoy!


xo,
Adela*

Butter roasted potatoes

I am sure this recipe changes from one home to another, I share my particular version which is the easiest I found around, basically because it only needs 3 ingredients. Yep, three. Potatoes, butter and salt. That's it. So it's perfect for those who literally don't have anything in the fridge and still want something tasty for a casual dinner. 

Preheat the oven at 200 ºC

 

Begin by cleaning and drying the potatoes you'll use. Do not forget drying them so that the potatoes don't spend useless time in the oven... and so that the butter doesn't mix with the water.

Cut them in half. Then, tear them in "semi slices", just like in the photo. This step will make easy the baking.

Melt some butter. In the microwave in the lowest w. for just a minute will be more than enough.

Paint the potatoes with the melted butter. Bake in the oven for a quarter. Then, paint again and bake for another quarter. They should be done by then.

Now let's dedicate a few word to this wonderful salt over here. It's Camargue Salt and it's delicious!! It's able to save a dish from blandness or, which is the same, disaster. Add a bit of this magic powder in a simple plain dish and you will be surprised by its work. Whatever it is, salmon, steak or potatoes, Camargue salt makes its effect. If you can't find it in your area, no worries, use sea salt instead.

You can paint again the potatoes if you're feeling it, I know you are because I was.

After this pause, sprinkle some salt, some pepper if you want... I didn't, I wasn't feeling in the mood for pepper in this. I just though that it would decrease the creaminess of the potatoes... just a thought.

Serve warm and enjoy!

BUTTER ROASTED POTATOES

Serves 2

• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 tsp butter
• sea salt

1. Preheat oven at 200ºC. 

2. Clean and dry potatoes. Cut them in half. Tear every half simulating slices.

3. Melt butter. Paint generously the potatoes with butter. 

4. Bake for about 15 minutes. Paint again generously and bake for another 15 minutes.

5. Paint another time with more butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Hope you like it!

xo,

Adela*