Healthy Food - Better Mood!

  Have you ever considered that a fast food can be healthy? Many would say NO, no way! But our answer is YES - if such fast food is cooked in a proper way and from organic fresh products. You will be surprised how delicious homemade chips, chicken nuggets, or chicken wings can be. And, at the same time, they will not add a lot of calories to your weight! So, what are the main tips? Let's take as an example chicken wings. First, roast them in the oven, do not fry them in a pan. Try not to over cooked and not to over dry the chicken. Half an hour is usually enough (180C). Second, it is better to use only fresh organic products. Frozen meat sold in supermarkets has completely different taste. And this influences the quality of a final meal. Next, give preference to olive oil instead of butter, milk, or eggs. Make breadcrumbs at home. And, as a sauce, use the one from tomato pasta or natural yogurt instead of ketchup or mayonnaise.  And last but not the least! Even being homemade,...

  Today we will travel to the north of Europe. England, Finland, Russia, - what do these countries have in common? Yes, correct, - a long and cold (in comparison with Southern Europe) winter. So, obviously, the traditional homemade food is different there. For every day cooking at home, especially when it is cold outside, a soup is very popular. Meat soups, fish soups, accompanied by vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beetroot are considered not as a starter like in Mediterranean countries, but as the main course. These soups are thick, nutritious, and usually served very hot with bread and cheese. In this case a small salad can be offered as a starter. For the full family lunch or dinner also meat dishes can be served after a soup, and then a dessert - tea or coffee with bans or cookies. This is really nice to warm yourself like this and enjoy looking through the windows when snow is falling down and snowflakes are dancing in the air! Welcome to the North!

  Easter lunch cannot be without a lamb! Lamb is a centuries' old tradition that is deeply rooted in Mediterranean climate and Christian faith. I prefer to cook a lamb roasted in the oven to keep it soft and juicy and add potatoes as side dish.  The most important is to buy a fresh meat, not frozen. A leg suits better than a shoulder or back. And it should be room temperature before cooking to warm it faster in the oven. I would recommend to cut meat first and to put into a marinade for 20-30 minutes. Rosemarie, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil, and garlic make a great combination. Besides, I like to mix onions and potatoes with salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil before adding them to the meat. Lamb requires high temperature to roast it in the oven - for the first hour at about 220C, and then at about 200C for the second hour. And it is important to put a half of glass of hot water inside a cooking tray to prevent meat from becoming dry. When ready, serve a lamb...

  Today let's jump from Greece to Malta! Do you know what Maltese cuisine is mostly famous for? Maltese rabbit! Many centuries ago Phoenicians brought rabbits to Malta to have a source of fresh meat in this tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea. Since then other domestic animals have been taken to Malta too: sheep, chicken, goats. But the most favorite recipes are still about various ways to cook rabbit.  What are the most popular dishes? Rabbit stew in a pan, spaghetti with rabbit sauce, rabbit roasted in the oven, fried rabbit liver. And the necessary part of all these recipes is wine! Malta has a plenty of nice and relatively cheap wines, red and white. And Maltese people love to add wine while cooking meat, including rabbit. I prefer to use red wine to marinate rabbit before to roast it in the oven. As a sauce I use cream sauce made from cream milk for cooking, grated cheese, garlic, and seasoning. The rabbit roasted in this sauce is very soft and delicious. Alternativ...