C’mon Inner Peace, I Don’t Have All Day…

Happy Easter to all Cristian  Orthodox and less Orthodox! It is a time for forgiveness and peace in our hearts and minds. They go together always. Otherwise, the mind will drive you insane, and will make you unhappy. Trust your heart and go with it. I asked my heart what shall I do? It answered back to return to the state I was some years ago and it felt happy suddenly. But then my mind turns me around and gives me trouble. If I can’t find peace for a while then I must go through this. I accept and pray for peace in my heart and mind. Where are you, peace? Please, please, come back to me! Talking to myself sometimes helps and I even manage to make myself laugh. ;)) Just imagine me talking aloud or in my mind makes me smile. I remember a pic I found on the internet some time ago. It describes perfectly the state I am in: C’mon inner peace, I don’t have all day… God, I am so restless… In fact I have all day as this is a unique process for every person. 🙂

It helps if I do something I enjoy so I thought of writing on my blog and whinge a bit. I am soo good… I kiss myself… I make myself smile and laugh even. Thanks myself. xxxxxxxxx

And now back to writing a delicious recipe for hot days. I can not say summer days as hot days start in April now or even March. This weather!  If you don’t want to stay in the kitchen but still want to eat something good why not try this Mediterranean Chicken Parcels recipe? The source is “Cookshelf Chicken” by Tom Bridge, 2000. I recommend it for your kitchen, and you can find it zucchinihere,  too. And of course I made it once upon a time…and eat it too.

Mediterranean Chicken Parcels

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 skinless chicken breast fillets
• 250 g (9 oz/ 2 cups) Mozzarella cheese
• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz/ 3 1/2 cups) courgettes (zucchini), sliced
• 6 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 small bunch fresh basil or oregano
• pepper
• rice or pasta to serve

Method:

• Cut 6 pieces of foil each about 25 cm (10 inches) square. Brush the foil square lightly with oil and set aside until required.
• With a sharp knife, slash each chicken breast at intervals, then slice the Mozzarella cheese and place between the cuts in the chicken.
• Divide the courgettes and tomatoes between the pieces of foil and sprinkle with black pepper. Tear or roughly chop the basil or oregano and scatter over the vegetables in each parcel.
• Place the chicken on top of each pile of vegetables then wrap in the foil to enclose the chicken and vegetables, tucking in the ends. To aid cooking, place everything on the shiny side of the foil so that once the parcel is wrapped up, the dull surface of the foil is facing outwards. This ensures that the heat is absorbed into the parcel and not reflected away from it.
• Place on a baking tray (cookie sheet) and bake in a preheated oven, 200 °C/ 400˚F, Gas Mark 6, for about 30 minutes.
• To serve, unwrap each foil parcel and serve with rice or pasta.

Bon appetite!

Hristos a Inviat!

Multa lumina in suflet, pace si iubire pentru tine si aproapele tau, o masa cu oua rosii, o vorba buna, o haina curata si inima deschisa  sa ai azi, de Paste!

 

Cheese D’Artois

En Garde!

Cheese D’Artois

2 fingers

Crist aras! It is the second day of Easter and after the break of yesterday, I have returned with something easy and special: cheese D’Artois. They are perfect during the festive season, like Easter or Christmas. What is so special about it? I will make it with a home-made puff pastry. This kind of pastry is vert tasty and good-looking, I can say it is my favorite pastry. But the way of doing it is not simple at all. I wanted to make it quick. So I searched Google for easy puff pastry and I found one that I liked very much. Here is the link, if you want to try.

Cheese D’ Artois

Makes 30-40

Ingredients:

• 150 (5 oz) Gruyère, grated (you can use cheddar or parmesan instead)
• 25 g (1 oz) walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 370 (13 oz) packet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Method:

• In a bowl, mix together the cheese, nuts and pepper to taste. Bind with the egg, reserving a little egg to glaze the pastry.
• Roll out the pastry to a rectangle 40,5 x 38 cm (16 x 15 inches).
• Cut the pastry into 10 strips, each measuring 20,5 x 7,5 cm (8 x 3 inches), using a pastry wheel for an attractive edge.
• Lay 5 strips on an ungreased baking sheet, divide the filling equally between them and spread it out evenly, almost t the edges.
• Cover with the remaining 5 strips and lightly press the edge to seal. Cover with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Mark each strips into 6-8 fingers and brush with the reserved egg. Bake in the oven at 200 grades C (400 grades F) mark 6 for about 15 minutes until risen and golden brown. Cut the pastry through into fingers and serve immediately.

Bon appetite!

Tip: You can make this pastry with sweet filling like pastry cream (crème pâtissière). Enjoy!

Roast Lamb With a Redcurrant Jelly Glaze

As you have been accustomed already, the recipes I have gathered here come into 2 languages: Romanian and English.  This one is an English recipe for Easter, you already know that and in my opinion it is very tasty, especially the gravy. I simply adore gravy. I would eat anytime with almost anything. To be sure I have it in Romania I even bought a pack of gravy powder from London, though I know I can make it at home, a much healthier and better solution. But sometimes I won’t bother.

Here is this traditional but marvelous recipe to make for a traditional Easter day, taken from Tesco Magazine.

Roast Lamb With a Redcurrant Jelly Glaze

Serves: 6  Takes: 2h 15 mins

Ingredients:

For the roast

• 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• 2 tsp dry English mustard (if you don’t have it, you can replace it with any mustard you have )
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 approximately  2,3 kg (5 lb) leg of lamb
• 2 garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
• 2 whole rosemary sprigs, torn
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the gravy:

• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp dry English mustard
• 450 ml (3/4 pt) lamb or beef stock (well, boiled water will do, or the water boiled with lamb or beef in it)
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly

Method:

• Preheat oven to Gas 4, 180°C, 350°F. Combine jelly, mustard and olive oil, and rub all over the lamb. Make small 2,5 cm (1 in) deep incisions all over the lamb and stud with the garlic slivers and rosemary. Season well with salt and black pepper.
• Transfer the lamb to a roasting tin and cook for 40 minutes per 900 g (2 lb). If the lamb begins to brown too much before the end of cooking, cover it with foil or baking paper (aluminium foil is toxic so try replacing it) and continue cooking. Once cooked, transfer to a serving platter and cover loosely with foil (baking paper and a kitchen towel to keep it in place). Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
• As the lamb rests, make the gravy. Tip excess fat out of the roasting tin, add flour and mustard to the tin, and stir over a low heat for 1 minute. Pour in stock  a little at a time, stirring as you go to remove lumps. Bring to the boil then simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in redcurrant jelly and season to taste. Serve with the lamb.

Cook’s tip: Stud the lamb with chopped, dried apricots and bacon, or sun-dried tomatoes and black olives. In case you don’t have redcurrant jelly go with any wild fruit jelly.

Bon appetite!