PEACH MELON SMOOTHIE

First a thank you is in order: It is already a week since Zen @RAWk Me! honored me with an award! Official thanks are on my MY AWARDS page! Second, I would like you all to check Angela's blog @This is what I eat. Angela is amazing for reaching all the goals she set for herself. Please do read her latest post Resolution Round Up February; maybe you will be inspired, I surly was!!!

This is a one step glass of simple deliciousness that can be served as a dessert, or breakfast too!
We all love smoothies! This one is a very cold smoothie for those long hot summer days! As far as smoothies go, the possibilities are endless. I usually freeze my fruits, fresh strawberries, bananas, peaches, melons, blueberries, ........, but this time I went with half&half for we are still in the winter! Even those who are not so keen of fruits, will gladly have one of this rolling down into their tummies! And the smoothies are so easy to make, all one needs is a blender and some fruit and some juice.

Peach Melon Smoothie

BUSY WEEK and COLORFUL RICE

Yesterday has been a week since I was on the net! This was one hecktic looooooooooong week! Yesterday, I first checked FoodBuzz and buzzed off all the yummy creations I missed through the week and boy, was there some pretty tasty, wonderful food to admire! Just to mention few that really intrigued my taste buds: Warm and Cheesy Gnochi Salad @Welcome to Sandra's Easy Cooking , Chocolate Panna Cotta @The Cultural Dish , Ceviche @Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves , Skirt Steak with Stout Pan Sauce @The Cultural Dish , and my personal winner KEY LIME PIE @Cherry Tea Cakes ! Love it!!!

Now about the recipe. We cook rise pretty often (I always choose rice over potatoes), although potato is the most loved starch as far as my family is concerned! They could eat "any way" potato three times a day! Rice as rice, all white on the plate is not that inviting, so I always try to add some color to it: sometimes just by adding a dash of turmeric that will turned it light yellow, or some browned vermicelli pasta to give it some movement, but mostly I add colorful veggies that really bring the rice to life. And as far as the flavor busting, well: "Spices to the rescue!"

Colorful Rice

FRIDAY DATE NIGHT at HOME

My book “Table for Two” by Warren Caterson arrived yesterday. I was so excited while opening the envelope to finally lay my eyes on the recipes. The book is signed by the author which makes it even more special!

So what is “Table for Two” about? As Warren says in the Preface of the book, the idea for the book came from a simple but frequent lament he came across over and over again: “I’d love to cook more, but I don’t know how to cook for only two people.” The recipes are simple to follow and the selection is amazing: from soups to salads, seafood, meat, vegetarian recipes to my two favorite meals: dessert and breakfast. And if you have leftovers in your fridge, no worry, there is a whole chapter dedicated to transforming them into a yummy meal for two! But before the recipes starts, Warren introduces us to cooking terms, ingredients, and a measuring chart.

Yea, for me reading a cookbook equals reading a romance novel!

The idea was born as soon as I saw the cover of the book Table for Two. On the cover there is a couple engaged in a conversation and as it was Friday, date night was making a complete undeniable sense! And so the sinister plan of removing the kids (not so kids anymore, 13 and 17) from the house was born: “Ohh you both look so tired! It was along week and you both worked so hard; studying,   doing homework, bla, bla, bla! I think you deserved a break, would you like to go to movie theater?” And the rest is history! While daddy drove them to the cinema and made sure they bought tickets, snacks, and were safe inside the building, I whipped together a nice dinner for two: white rice, BROCCOLI AU GRATIN (from the book), spicy orange cordials, and for dessert cookies “Mint Toppar” that I baked a day before with a cup of Turkish coffee! Yep, you got to keep romance going on to keep it interesting in a relationship!

Broccoli au Gratin came out super delicious (recipe a total keeper), the side of rice complemented it nicely, and sipping the cordial between bites added a refreshing sense to the atmosphere.

Spicy Orange Coridals For Two

LIFE IS GOOD and Elbow Macaroni with Toasted Breadcrumbs

It is a wonder how ones mood changes with the weather. And today is sunny and warm and beautiful. Even the brownish grass in the lawn looks somewhat brighter! Lawn- that just remained me of an old quarrel between Marie and Frank (Everybody Loves Raymond): "Who invented the lawn?" LOL So, my mood is on its highest, just put into oven some cabbage loafs, made some salad with leftover steamed cabbage leaves (with tons of garlic!), and stirred my "sourdough mother"! The procedure started yesterday after I bookmarked and printed out the recipe @Stumptown Savoury. There are many many wonderful recipes on this site, please do check them out! You can find the recipe here. Can hardly wait until my "sourdough mother" is ready and I can start baking with it!!!

Another good thing elated me today: I got a Stylish Blogger Award from  Elyse @The Cultural Dish! Thank you Elyse! If you follow this blog you  are probably familiar with super elegant Valentine Profiteroles and Cake Balls. If not, what are you waiting for, click that links and indulge yourself in yumminess! Official thank is on My Awards page.

Yesterday I mentioned my little computer helper, my youngest son. I wanted to glue his photo to the post but as he wasn't into it, I just let go. Anyhow, after he read all the flattering comment, he kind of said: "Oh well you can just put me on if you like!"  So here he is. I took the pic this morning before his concert. He is playing cielo.

2,400- page new cookbook and my special Valentine

I just read an article on Personal Finance Yahoo page with a title: The Game- Changing Cookbook written by Katy McLaughlin that I simply had to share with all of you. As I already mentioned, the book is 2,400 pages long, it has six volumes which weigh 47 pounds, the collections costs $625, and it requires four pounds of ink to print. The book is going on sale next month.

Quote from the article: "Nathan Myhrvold's 2,400-page 'Modernist Cuisine' upends everything you thought you knew about cooking"

Quote from the article: "Among the book's revelations: Expensive pots and pans are a waste of money. Organic food is no healthier than non-organic. Black coffee cools off faster than coffee with cream."

There is a lot more about the book and few very interesting cooking problems with solutions in this article, too. So click the red link above and read some more! And no, I wasn't compensated in any way for blogging about the article, it was just so interesting that I wanted to share it with you.

And I had A very special Valentine yesterday- my 13-year old son. He is my computer helper: all the HTML's and setting the page is his work. Luv ya my boychek! I bake him three very special cookies and we enjoyed them together after he came home from school.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S and SNODDAS CAKE

The love holiday is almost over, but that doesn't mean that we'll forget to share this lovely feeling in the days to come. In Nashville, we had a day filled with warm sunshine, which gave me a special boost after all the snow and cold we had last week. Yes, it was a wonderful day :) I baked this cake yesterday beacuse my daughter wanted to share a special treat with her friends and teachers. I hid two pieces for my husband and me and we enjoyed them with our coffee this morning.

Snoddas

DELICIOUS GINGERBREAD CAKE with ORANGE GLAZE

First, I'm very excited to tell you that I won Table for Two - The Cookbook for Couples: "Hello Mateja, As part of our goal to reach 525 followers, you were randomly chosen to receive a copy of Table for Two - The Cookbook for Couples. Please send me your address and I will send you an autographed copy right away. Thanks for following! Bon Appetit! Warren Caterson" Can hardly wait until the book arrives and I can immerse myself in reading of yumminess! Please do visit Warren's site @Table for Two Cookbooks. The introduction to his blog is spot on : "Table for Two Cookbooks: Presenting a temptingly delicious platter piled high with recipes for two, time-saving kitchen tips, helpful cooking hints, and winsome commentary - all served with a side of garlic-infused humor and a steaming bowl of buffoonery."
My husband is very simple and plain when cakes are in question, so I had to split this cake in half. The plain half is all his to enjoy, while me and the kids are enjoying the glazed half. Originally, the glaze covers only the top of the cake, but as I had plenty of glaze on hand, I just opened the cake and filled it with some glaze too.

Delicious Gingerbread Cake With Orange Glaze

DRY GREEN PEA SOUP

Each time I cook with beans or peas a certain saying comes to my mind: “Beans, peas, good for your heart, the more you eat the more you “fart”!” My youngest was in 5^th grade and they were discussing healthy eating habits in the classroom, so their teacher, Mr. B., recited this little humorous saying for them. And as you can imagine, we had full ears of it for quite some time! And still, it pops to my mind each time I see beans or peas!

Dry green pea soup turned out super delicious. My husband even made a remark that it should be in a competition. He is a man of few words when food is involved (except if my culinary attempts are a failure!?), so it had to be really good! Yay!!! The only mental note I made was: Patience is a virtue which I have in normal quantities and would rather use it on other matters than passing puréed green peas through the sieve. Like maybe not getting upset if shoes cannot find their way into the shoe closet upon arrival home! So next time I’m definitely buying split dry green peas!

Dry Green Pea Soup

THANK YOU

The generosity of my foodie friends is pouring on and on!

Yet another thank you is in order: Thank you Citra @Indonesian in Turkey for honoring me with Sunshine Award! Please, do check Citra's blog for there you can find some really yummy stuff accompanied with mouthwatering photos!

The award is proudly displayed on My Award page.

LIKE A SUNSHINE ON A RAINY DAY and RIBBON SALAD

I feel so good about myself! I just collected two more awards :D With all this bad weather and winter that seems to have no end this year, I welcome gestures of kindness form my foodie friends like I would welcome sunshine on a rainy day! My thanks go to Mina @Angellove's Cooking for giving me Sunshine Award and Angela @This is what I do.... for presenting me with Stylish Blogger Award. To see the awards, check out My Awards page. 

As for this salad. I saw it on Food Network Channel and it stayed on my mind, so I Googled the recipe, and made it my own with few simple alterations. This salad is colorful, fresh, and very tasty. My youngest had doubts about raw zucchini, but ended eating the biggest portion, and asking for more.

Ribbon Salad My Way

COOKIES and CULTURAL HOLIDAY

First I saw these cookies on FoodBuzz, they immediately caught my eye. I bookmarked the recipe and a few days later baked them, though in a little altered way.

Caramel Cookies My Way

The author of the recipe is Mama J @A Little Bit Crunchy A Little Bit Rock n’Roll. Mama J has some pretty interesting recipes posted on her blog, do check them out! And for the original recipe and yummy photos click here. 

I’m posting these cookies in honor of Slovenian Cultural Holiday. My home country, Slovenia, celebrates Cultural Holiday every 8^th of February. Why 8^th of February? Because on this day the most famous Slovenian poet, France Prešeren (1800 -1849) died.

BAKED NOT FRIED

Simple cakes that are not fried but baked in the oven. I usually fry zucchini cakes on the stove top in an inch of oil, but this time, being in a hurry I decided to just pop them into the oven, so they'll be all done at the same time. No frying, no oily mess, and with aluminum foil covering the baking sheet, no pan washing either!

And after the zucchini cakes were a success, I decided to try tomato-onion cakes the same way! This recipe is easy, quick, no mess, and the variations are endless!

Zucchini Cakes In Oven
Baked Tomato Onion Cakes

MY TIME TO GIVE BACK WITH "MOST DESERVED AWARD" :)

Yesterday I posted that i got meself three awards in 10 days, yet there were four! Thank you Elisabeth @Food and Thrift Finds XOXO  How could I missed it?

From Elisabeth

I think it is time for me to create my own appreciation award. And I was sitting and sweating, working hard on creating that perfect picture that would express exactly what I wanted to say, adding and removing, than adding some more. (ratatatata- drums) So here it is, "Most Deserved Award", the award for all my friends who make me feel like home, who spark the most beautiful memories from my childhood, inspire me, support me, introduce me to new foods, teach me new cooking/baking techniques, and challenge my imagination!