Throwing away watermelon rinds? You can make jam from them. Sweet tooths will be delighted! Leave a little pulp on the rind; this will give the jam a beautiful, appetizing color.
Watermelon Rind Jam
Ingredients
- 1 kg watermelon rind
- 1 litre boiling water
- 500 ml water
- 1 kg sugar
Instructions
- Wash the watermelon and cut it into wedges. Remove the rind, leaving some red flesh.
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove the green skin from the rind.
- Cut into small pieces.
- Pour boiling water over the rinds. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Drain the water and let the rinds cool.
- Place the sugar in a small saucepan, add 1/2 liter of water and, while stirring, bring to a boil.
- Pour this syrup over the crusts and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 to 3 hours.
- Return to the heat and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.
- Return it to the heat a third time and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Let it cool.
- Check that the jam is ready. The pieces of watermelon rind should become almost transparent, a reddish-amber in color. A drop of jam should retain its shape and not spill onto the plate. If necessary, reboil the jam until it reaches the desired consistency.
Fresh Vegetable Salsa
Fresh Vegetable Salsa is great for a Mexican style party, as well as for spicy dish lovers. This traditional Mexican sauce can be served with corn chips and tortillas. But also very good with meat, fish or simply as a summer salad.
Fresh Vegetable Salsa
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes diced
- 1 english cucumber diced
- 1 sweet pepper (any color) cored and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper diced
- cilantro chopped
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, then serve.
Bread Kvass
A traditional Russian bread kvass is a fermented and carbonated beverage in which the main components are Rye bread, yeast, sugar, water and raisins. In Russia kvass is used in some cold recipes such as okroshka.
Bread Kvass
Ingredients
- 3 l boiled water room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 10 slices Rye bread
- 3 Tbsp raisins optional
Instructions
- Slice Rye bread.
- Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat the broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Broil the slices until dark brown, turning them over only once, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- In a large bowl, mix together active dry yeast, sugar and water. Place bread and raisins in 3 Mason jars and fill the jars with water.
- Cover the jars with lid or plastic wrap and let it stand on the countertop for 6-8 hours at room temperature, stir the mixture occasionally.
- Carefully remove the toasted bread and raisins and discard them. Using a strainer pour the kvass into empty jars or plastic containers and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Serve chilled and ENJOY!
Chunky Guacamole
The secret to perfect guacamole is ripe avocados. If you prefer a smoother guacamole, use a blender. Personally, I prefer avocados crushed with a fork with finely cut tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
Chunky Guacamole
Ingredients
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1/2 lemon (or lime)
- 2 small tomatoes
- 1/2 oignon
- 2 cloves clove garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper (or chili powder)
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Slice the avocados in half along its length and dispose of the seed and skin. Crush the flesh of the avocado using a fork. Drizzle with the lemon juice.
- Chop the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. Crush the garlic.
- Mix all the vegetables and avocados together. Salt, pepper, and add the cayenne pepper.
- Put the guacamole in a bowl and serve along with tortilla chips or sliced vegetables.
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
This spinach salad with strawberries is seasoned with a delicious homemade sauce, made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a little jam. A perfect summer salad!
Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Ingredients
Salad
- 200 g baby spinach
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 100 g strawberries
Dressing
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp jam (strawberry, raspberry, apricot)
- 1-2 pinches paprika (optional)
- Some sliced almonds or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl, combine the spinach, red onion and strawberries.
- In the jar, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, jam and paprika, to make a smooth sauce.
- Drizzle the salad with dressing and serve immediately.
- If you want, you can add some almonds or other roasted nuts.
Okroshka (Cold Slavic Soup)
Okroshka is a soup, mostly served in summer and always served cold. The ingredients are diced and then mixed with kvass. The ratio of chopped vegetables to kvass is similar to that of cereal to milk. There are tons of different okroshka recipes, but every okroshka must contain green onion, radishes, cucumber, potatoes, boiled eggs and dill.
Okroshka (Cold Slavic Soup)
Ingredients
- 4 hard boiled eggs diced
- 2 boiled potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 medium english cucumber peeled and cut into small cubes
- 8 slices (300g) bologna finely diced
- 6-7 radishes thinly diced
- 1/2 bunch dill finely diced
- 1/2 bunch green onion finely diced
- 2 l kvass
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- sour cream for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop all ingredients.
- Now is the time to turn the salad into a soup. Pour the kvass over the chopped vegetables and mix gently. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
- Let the veggies soak all the flavors for about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before serving. Serve cold with sour cream. Okroshka will taste even better the following day.
Kale Salad with Avocado and Mango
I am so excited that warmer weather is finally here. Now is the best time for healthy greens and fresh juicy mango. There is just not one single thing I don’t like about this salad. Trust me this is a salad you want to try.
Kale Salad with Avocado and Mango
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale finely chopped
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 large mango
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 5 tsp mandarin juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp honey
- 8 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Wash all the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, add the kale, 2 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage until the kale starts soften(it will darken in color). Set it aside.
- Meanwhile peel and dice mango into 1/2″ cubes.
- Cut onion into half-moon slices.
- Slice the avocado while it’s in its shell and gently scoop the slices with a spoon.
- Finely chop the cilantro.
- Squeeze juicy mandarin into a small bowl. Add honey, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk together.
- Mix everything together, top with grated parmesan cheese and drizzle with dressing.
Ponchiki (Russian Doughnuts)
Every kid of the Soviet Union should remember the taste of golden and crunchy on the outside and fluffy and tender on the inside tvoroznye ponchiki. It’s a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a small ball and covered with powdered sugar. They don’t just look delightful, they taste the same.
You don’t have to take a trip to Russia to get the real taste of ponchiki : I’ll be sharing my recipe with you today.
Ponchiki (Russian Doughnuts)
Ingredients
- 2 cups farmer cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- olive oil or vegetable oil to fry
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat two eggs with sugar and salt, add baking soda and vanilla. Continue beating for 30 more seconds. Add two cups of farmers cheese and beat for 20 more seconds. Add flour and stir with a spatula. Dough will be sticky.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, or wet hands form dough into a small balls.
- In a large iron skillet, heat the oil until hot (350 degrees F). Add ponchiki, one at a time, and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Normally ponchiki roll over on their own, and you don’t have to turn them over.
- Lift them with tongs, drain on paper towel. Toss ponchiki in powdered sugar while they are still hot. You can serve them right away.
Potato Pancakes (Draniki)
One of my husband’s favorite food is draniki. Russian style potato pancakes. Perfect for breakfast or branch. I’ve seen draniki recipes that use mashed potato also, but I personally prefer my potato to be coarsely grated, because then you have more crispy ends. Traditionally draniki are served with sour cream, but you can also serve them with ketchup or cottage cheese.
Potato Pancakes (Draniki)
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes washed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 50 ml buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 50 g all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup olive oil (plus extra)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
- fresh herbs (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and grate potatoes. Squeeze grated potatoes with hands, extracting as much liquid as possible.
- In a large bowl beet eggs, baking soda and buttermilk, add grated potatoes, salt, pepper and flour, mix well.
- In a large iron skillet heat the olive oil until hot. Place the tablespoons of batter in the pan and flatten with spoon.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until the bottom is golden brown.Turn over and cook on the other side.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and serve them hot with sour cream.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
This banana bread gets its amber color and caramelized taste from brown sugar and the taste is amplified by the almond flour. This is not gluten-free recipe, you need to add a little of all purpose flour too.
If you don’t have almond flour or brown sugar, you can try our famous Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread.
If you are looking for gluten-free recipe, try our Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 200 g brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 200 g almond flour
- 100 g unsalted butter melted
- 80 g all purpose flour
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 100 g chopped walnuts
- 60 g chocolate chips (60%)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180C). Grease a large bread pan and set aside.
- Mash bananas with a fork and mix them with brown sugar.
- Add eggs and mix well.
- Add melted butter,
- and almond flour.
- Then add all purpose flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well.
- Add walnuts
- and chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into bread pan and bake for about 55 minutes.
- Banana bread is ready when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
