Greek Salad

This is my version of the famous Greek salad. It's quite basic - the only unusual ingredient is balsamic vinegar. You could omit this if you want but I think it goes well with everything. I also added some dried basil and oregano, but if you have fresh basil - I highly recommend using it instead. 

Greek Salad

Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 head (450g) your favourite lettuce (I used Iceberg), chopped
4 plum tomatoes, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 can (110g drained) black pitted olives, sliced
100-150g feta cheese, crumbled

1) Throw everything in a bowl and mix to combine. Serve immediately.

Recipe by collecting memories

Yeast Raisin Pancakes

Puffy, soft, fluffy and sweet pancakes. Just like the ones your grandma used to make. I craved them so much that I ate all of them. Yes. I know, I ate sixteen pancakes.
And yes, there's a Christmas tree in the background of the photos. I really don't know why I am keeping it. 

Yeast Pancakes

200g flour

4g dry yeast (1/2 packet)

2 tbsp sugar (20g)

Pinch salt

100g raisins

250ml milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

Butter, for frying

Sour cream or greek yogurt, for serving (optional)

1) In a large bowl, combine together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.

2) In a small saucepan, heat milk to lukewarm. Mix in the egg.

3) Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir just until combined. Mix in the raisins. Place in a warm place and let rise for an hour.

4) Heat some butter in a large saucepan. Drop 1-2 tablespoons of batter and fry on both sides until lightly browned. Serve with some sour cream or greek yogurt.

Serves 16 medium size pancakes.

Recipe by collecting memories

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (low-fat)

I'm always super excited when it comes to creating something healthy. It is always a challenge to make a dessert guilt-free and delicious. I like omitting oil and butter when I make something healthy so another challenge is to make a dessert moist. That's why pumpkin puree and honey are my favourite ingredients, they always create perfectly chewy and moist texture and you could never guess there is no butter or oil in it. 
And now about this chocolate pumpkin pie: the result was unexpected. It didn't rise much and had a dense, chewy, fudge-like texture. You almost can't taste pumpkin in it, I added some lemon zest so the pumpkin layer is more like a lemon layer which matches perfectly with the cocoa layer. This recipe is definitely a keeper. It's quite unusual, but that's why I like experimenting!

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (low-fat)

125g quick oats, ground
125g all purpose flour
65g light brown sugar
100g white granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder

400g pumpkin puree
2 eggs, lightly beaten
65g honey, melted
20g sour cream
Zest from 1 lemon

20g dark unsweetened cocoa powder
30g white granulated sugar
50ml + 50ml boiling water (separated)

1) In a large bowl, combine together ground oats, all purpose flour, light brown sugar, white sugar and baking powder. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine together pumpkin puree, eggs, honey, sour cream and lemon zest. Set aside.

3) Add pumpkin puree mixture into the flour mixture and mix just until smooth.

4) In a medium bowl, combine together cocoa powder and white sugar. Mix in 50ml of boiling water and stir. Let sit for 2 minutes.

5) Add half of the pumpkin puree/flour mixture into the cocoa/water mixture, spoon by spoon. Mix until you get a smooth batter. Set aside.

6) Add another 50ml of boiling water into the remaining pumpkin puree/flour mixture and stir until you get a smooth batter.

7) Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Ligtly grease a 23cm round springform pan.

8) Spread 1/2 of pumpkin batter into the pan. Top with 1/2 of cocoa batter. Spread the remaining pumpkin batter on top and top with the remaining cocoa batter.

9) Bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely (preferably leave it overnight) and slice.

Recipe by collecting memories

Vanilla Cupcakes

 

Basic recipe for sky-high frosted vanilla cupcakes. Light, soft and spongy cupcakes topped with a sweet, creamy buttercream! The recipe makes a lot of frosting so if you are worried about your waistline feel free to make less (I still haven't learned to frost cupcakes properly. I do need to practise more)

Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
113g/1/2 cup butter, room temperature
225g/1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
190g/1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
150ml buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

2) With a mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk, with the mixer still on high. 

3) In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

4) Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low until combined. Add ½ of the buttermilk. Continue to alternate the flour and buttermilk, ending with the flour.

5) Divide the batter among the cupcake cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
113g/1/2 cup butter, softened

220g/1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Pinch salt

1) Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

2) Add milk and vanilla and beat until you get desired consistency.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

A very simple recipe for classic chocolate chip muffins. What I like about them, is that you only need a couple of bowls and no more than 10 minutes to prepare them. These have chocolate chips in every bite and my favourite part is a slightly crunchy exterior. They are both good warm when the chocolate is still melted and cold. They really keep well for almost a week. 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

250g/2 cups all purpose flour
150g/⅔ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
113g/½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
160ml/⅔ cup milk
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
200g milk chocolate chips

1) Preheat the oven to 190C/375 F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. 

2) In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) In medium bowl, mix together melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.

4) Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix everything together just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5) Divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from here.