Cook with me: Bruschetta

“Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need.” - Julia Child

Hello everyone,

have you ever been in a situation when you were home alone and hungry? When you didn't want to eat junk food or any kind of food out of the tin, but actually prepare yourself something delicious and healthy? That happened to me a few days ago. The fact is I like to eat clean (as much as possible) because this makes me feel better and look better (besides regular exercise). That's why I like to cook by myself - I know exactly which ingredient was used.
Now onto the dish I decided to share with you. It is called bruschetta, an Italian dish. But this is not the original recipe, it is modified a little bit. It is easy to make and no skills are required except you should know how to use an oven!

Ingredients (which I used):

cherry tomatoes

paprika/peppers

parsley

grilled chicken

olive oil

salt and pepper

slices of bread

cheese

(There are no numbers because the amount is not fixed.)

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. 

2) Chop veggies and grilled chicken into small pieces, put them into a bowl, add a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything together.

3) Bake the slices of bread in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then take them out of the oven and cover them with the mixture and cheese. Put them back into the oven and bake for 5 minutes or more.

The other time, I added prosciutto instead of grilled chicken (picture here). Yum!

Keep in mind that you can add whatever ingredients you prefer! This versatile dish is perfect for experimenting with unknown flavors.

Good luck,

Vanja

Cook with me: Healthy banana pancakes

"I want pancakes! God, do you people understand every language except English? Yo quiero pancakes! Donnez-moi pancakes! Click click bloody click pancakes!" - Stewie Griffin

Hello everyone,

I don't know about you, but I love eating pancakes. Especially if they are healthy. I found the following recipe two months ago but didn't have time to try it out. The best thing about it is that there are only two ingredients required to make these healthy pancakes! And they taste very good. So why not share it?

Ingredients:

- 1 banana

- 1 egg

Method:

1) Mash the banana in a bowl, then add the egg and mix until you get a homogeneous consistency.

2) With a ladle, put a small amount of the mixture on a preheated pan (I didn't add any oil, butter or cooking spray) and bake on each side until it turns golden or even dark brown.

And why are these pancakes so healthy? Bananas contain fiber, minerals (potassium, manganese, magnesium), vitamins (B6 and C), and are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Eggs are a great source of protein, minerals, vitamin B12 and healthy fats. Just the best for you.

Bon appétit!

Vanja

Cook with me: Summer smoothie

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." - Mark Twain

Hello everyone,

it is getting hotter day by day here in Slovenia. Perfect weather for going to the seaside. But, there is one problem - when the temperature rises, my appetite falls. It is hard to eat the same kind of food that we consume during wintertime, right? 

From my experience, the best thing to keep my stomach full for a while is a freshly prepared smoothie. It contains a lot of vitamins (which is super good for the body) and its taste is also delicious. This is why I decided to share with you my favorite smoothie recipe which I named the Summer smoothie - I bet you don't know why I named it like this!

Ingredients (for 2 smoothies):

5 to 8 ice cubes

2 cups of milk (regular, soy, coconut, almond, rice etc.)

1 banana

1 cup of raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1 tablespoon of oatmeal

Method:

Just mix all ingredients listed above in a blender for a minute or two and it is done! Serve in a glass jar and enjoy your creation.

(Donkey likes this smoothie too as you can see.)

What do you like to eat/drink during hot summer days?

Best wishes,

Vanja