Shrimp- avocado verrine

Here is a good appetizer for a party or for a dinner or lunch:
You ll need
1pound fresh shrimp
2 avocados
2 tbs goat cheese(or any other soft cheese,cream cheese will do it)
1jalapeno pepper
juice of half lemon
cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber

Bring to a boil the shrimp,peel them and place them in glasses,in a food processor put the flesh of avocado,cheese,jalapeno,lemon juice,salt,turn it into a creamy paste and pour it over shrimp.Cut  cherry tomatoes and cucumber and place it over the creamy avocado paste ,garnish with any greens

Sardines in tomato sauce(not canned-homemade)

Sardines, a tiny, sleek and silvery canned fish, are one of the few foods that contain Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a nutrient found the body's cells. In a nutshell, it's believed to have antioxidant properties and is
said to enhance physical energy. Studies have also found that CoQ10 benefits those with cardiovascular diseases, particularly hypertension and congestive heart failure. In addition to CoQ10, these little nutritional powerhouses are also ample sources of vitamin B12, selenium, omega-3 oils, protein, phosphorus and vitamin D
As i saw fresh sardines in a fish store near our house i decided to give it a try and make it at home and must tell you ,i was impressed how easy and delicious it was!
So you ll need a pressure cooker as cooking sardines in it helps the flavour of the sauce to penetrate into fish and makes bones soft,just as it is in a canned version

Ingredients
2 lb fresh sardines(cut head and tail off)
2-3 bay leaves
1carrot
1 white onion
2 cans tomato sauce
1tbs sugar
10 peppercorns
1tbs olive oil
black pepper
1tsp cayenne pepper

After you remove heads and tails rinse the fish,pat it dry season with salt ,black pepper and add some bay leaves and put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 min

Then in the pressure cooker sautee the onion and carrots add the fish ,sauce,sugar,cayenne pepper

Close the lid of the pressure cooker, and place it on a burner over high heat. When the pressure cooker starts hissing, turn the heat to low, and cook the sardines for 20 minutes.

Remove the pressure cooker from the heat, and let it cool for about 15 minutes or until it stops hissing and steaming. At that point, the pressure cooker will be safe to open

Enjoy!!!

Garlic and chard flatbreat(roti)

I love flatbread as no yeast is used,so i 've got inspired by ecurry.com and made this flatbread and very pleased with the results
Ingredients:

1. 3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2. 3 cups finely chopped chard
3. 2 cups whole wheat flour + more for rolling and dusting
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. salt
6. 1 teaspoon turmeric
7. 1 tablespoon red chili powder/or cayenne/or red chili flakes (or as per taste)
8. water (about 1/2 cup)
9. oil, for frying

Combine all the above ingredients in a big bowl . Combine while pressing gently. The chard and the garlic will release some water and the dough will get sticky. Add water to it in little quantities till you can gather everything together to form a bread like dough
Using your hands make a dough, which would be soft but not sticky. Adjust the amount of water if it gets too dry and crumbly (add more) and add more flour if it tends to get too sticky. You will need to knead the dough for about 5 minutes
Dust each portion with some wheat flour and roll them out into circles with a rolling pin. If they stick, dust the flattened rotis with more flour. You might have some trouble as the dough contains the greens and the spices. 
Heat an iron skillet/tawa. If you do not have an iron skillet make the best use of your non stick pan. Gently pick up the rolled bread and place it on the hot skillet. Cook for a minute and flip it over with a spatula. Each side should have tiny brown spots .
Spray /drizzle one teaspoon of oil on each side and cook the bread while gently pressing down on them. They will get slightly crisp and dark with more brown spots on them.
Wrap the cooked rotis in a towel and store them in air tight containers.
They are the best when served immediately, but if you need to reheat them, you can wrap them tightly with a foil and warm them in the oven, or place them in ziploc bags, let the air out of the bag, seal it and heat them for about 30 seconds to a minute (depending on the microwave). Serve immediately  and do not expose all of them to the air – which means serve them one at a time and keep the rest zipped in the bag till ready to use.
Enjoy!

Butternut squash soup

I like the butternut squash sine i gave it a try at Melt restaurant so decided to make it at home too,a little bit inspired by Martha Stewart recipe and with a dash of creativity it came out very good

Whole wheat bread with dried prunes(for bread making machines)

We love our bread making machine!!!and love baking bread,as soon as we got it we forgot about store bought bread.Here is a recipe for those who love the smoky smell of prunes,if you don't just skip the prunes and you ll have a delicious whole wheat bread!

For a 2 lb loaf you ll need:
2 cups warm water
2 and a half tsp Rapide rise yeast for bread making machines
2 tbs butter
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tsp sea salt
dried prunes(as many as you like,it depends on your taste)
1 cup and a half all purpose white flour
and 3 cups whole wheat flour


Here is how me make it:
pour the warm water in the container in the machine add sugar,yeast,butter,let it stay for about 15 min ,add the flour and salt and bake it on the whole wheat setting,dark crust (ours takes 2hours 50 min)

Tomato and cheese appetizer

So here is a appetizer that is a hit at every party i make it!
You ll need:
Small or medium tomatoes(the medium ones you can cut in half)
soft cheese(ricotta,or any you like)
2tb mayo
2-3 garlic cloves
salt
parsley to garnish

With a tea spoon scoop out tomato flesh,in a bawl mix ricotta,salt,mayo,minced garli,fill the tomatoes up,garnish and enjoy!

Raspberry chocolate cake

So here is a easy cake,as i bought the cake layers at a russian store(to save time)and used some heavy cream,chocolate and raspberries to decorate it.It came out delicious!!!