Breakfast Pizza

(Before cooking...just love the colors!)

I am SO excited to share about this new dish I recently discovered!!! Definitely NOT a nutritarian one, but definitely one to enjoy on occasion on those "not vegan" days for the "almost vegans" out there-or those "trying" to be, like us! hehe...We have not been doing a great job lately. The foodie in me keeps taking over. ;) Yikes! 

Anyway, unless you're a true vegan, you're in for a big treat with this one! ;) 

Last Sunday I was invited to my friend's baby daughter dedication, which was followed by a brunch at her home. I arrived a little earlier than most guests, so I went straight to the kitchen to try and help with whatever I could. When I saw her making this "breakfast pizza" I went totally nuts over it! Bummed that I didn't have my camera with me, my phone just had to do it!  

It's one of those great and simple ideas that makes you wonder, "why didn't I think of that before?"

Wondering what's in this beautiful dish??? I didn't get an exact recipe,  but here's what you'll find:

• Chili Pepper oil (she used the Archer Farms one you get at Target)
• Garlic (minced)
• Cream Cheese
• Scrambled eggs
• Shredded cheese
• Smoked salmon
• Fresh dill and scallion
• Pizza crust (she used one that you buy ready, but you're free to use whichever you want!)
• Endless goodness!!! :)

It's very simple to do, 

• First you spread the pepper oil w/ some minced garlic (I guess you can omit garlic if you want!) onto the pizza crust,
• Then spread cream cheese
• Add scrambled eggs (my friend just said to omit salt since smoked salmon is pretty salty! But you can add black pepper to it if you like).
• Add shredded cheese
• Add smoked salmon
• Fresh dill & scallions on top!
• I didn't get this part from her, but I'm guessing you can add to a 400 F preheated oven until cheese melts. Just as you would do with any pizza.

She served it cut in squares. It turned out totally AWESOME!!!!

Sweet Valentines Treats (vegan & flourless)

These are a great (and for the most part healthy) treat to enjoy with your loved one this valentine day or any other day! ;) They are very tasty, easy to make and you would never know there are chickpeas in them!  :)


Here is what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained and rinsed)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• heaping 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1/4 cup peanut butter 
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (Ghirardelli semi-sweet are vegan!)

What you'll do:

• Preheat oven 350F. 
• Blend all ingredients, except chips. 
• Mix chips in and place on a greased 8x8 pan.
• Bake for about 40min or until toothpick comes out clean!

Original recipe found here!

I used a heart shape cookie cutter once they were already baked! These are so good you can't stop eating them. What I like most about this recipe is that it tastes very light, so you don't feel that heaviness after eating a sweet treat, but the down side is that you end up eating a lot more of it as consequence!


These were my sweet valentine treats to my lovely husband! 

And these were my husband's sweet valentine gifts to me! :) I think flowers and chocolate will NEVER get old to me. I totally love receiving flowers or any thoughtful gift from my husband! He actually surprised me a few days before valentines with these, which were completely unexpected, since he's not "naturally" the flower/chocolate-giving type of guy! Totally loved it :)

 Happy Valentines everyone!!!

FREE COOKING: "Frango Caipira" (Brazilian Country Style Chicken)

 

This dish is the perfect example of free cooking at its core! I happened to have these organic chicken drumsticks in my fridge (cost only $4 bucks!) from the day I bought them at the store, and sort of forgot about them for a couple of days. So I HAD to make something with them! This particular day I had pizza in mind all day, especially since I still had some shredded mozzarella cheese in the fridge, which is a rare commodity these days! So I looked up at the Brazilian recipe website (tudogostoso) for a pizza crust I remembered once seeing. 

As I'm looking that up, I decided to go ahead and be efficient by putting these drumsticks in the pan so they could start cooking, and I could just shred them and use as a topping for my delish pizza!!! "Way to go G.!"

As I start browning them to then proceed to cooking them, I get completely swept away by the thought of a Frango Caipira! 

"Uhhhmmmmm....sooooo good I thought!!!" I kept looking at those sizzling, beautiful brown chicken legs, and kept thinking they were just too beautiful to simply get shredded and turned into a pizza topping! They deserved being a dish of their own! They deserved to be the most tender, soft, and tasty Brazilian country style chicken...or as Brazilians would say, "Frango Caipira"! "Aha! Perfeito! I thought" :)

So off I went trying to figure out what I had in my kitchen that would make this task possible.

When I think of "frango caipira", I think of two things: my childhood years in my grandparent's farm and my grandma! 

My maternal grandma is a very interesting woman. In her, fragility and strength are so intertwined that you can't tell where one begins and the other ends. She used to tell me in a jokingly yet resentful manner, that she was meant to be born in a "golden cradle" (a Brazilian way of saying you were meant to be born rich) but instead, she ended up being born into a "cradle of rags" with her rough life. 

And rough it was! Her skin was so sensitive and thin, that she would be filled with bruises from simply bumping into a tree, or the chickens pricking her as she looked for eggs or fed them. Her skin so pale, and her eyes such a light blue that the bright and hot Brazilian sun made her beautiful round face quickly wrinkle away. But as fragile as she often looked, her arms were stronger than my washing machine! With all the cooking, cleaning, tending the animals, the orchard and washing by hand clothes for her family of seven, she developed a strength that I doubt I ever will! 

That woman never stopped! As a child I would convince her after much arguing (also thanks to my persuasive skills), to go sit under the mango tree to relax a bit and say her prayers, while I would go do the dishes for her stepping onto a stepping stool to reach the sink. It made me feel so good to see her rest!

Grandma & Grandpa in their golden days!

Grandma & Grandpa now (2010)

The greatest memories of my life were created in that farm with her and my grandfather. I would milk the cows with my grandpa in the early morning ( I can milk a cow if you never knew that about me ;), then make bread and cheese with my grandma in the afternoon, and finally go to the village and sell the milk, cheese and eggs with my grandpa in the evening or the next day! Best of all, he would let me drive his old FIAT on the dirt road of the farm, all by myself, until we reached the fence to exit the farm! He actually taught me how to drive on that dirt road, first on his lap, than as I was old enough to reach the pedals, he would let me drive by myself! I thought this was the coolest thing ever! Still do ;)

But the memory that came to mind when I was making this dish, wasn't the milk, the cheese or the bread, but of course, the chickens! One of the memories I will never forget is my grandma killing a chicken by the hand to prepare for dinner! She would grab that chicken like there was no tomorrow (which for the chicken there really wasn't!), and would twist its neck so rapidly and effortlessly, that I barely had time to process the event! I remember just hearing the chicken scream and try to get away, and all of sudden it was dead! It freaked me out every time, and I could never understand how my grandma could get herself to do that! I think I would be a vegetarian if I had to kill my own meat. I remember when I first cooked a chicken in my life and the process of having to perforate the chicken's skin with a knife completely freaked me out! 

But being exposed to life on a farm you also learn to appreciate the cycle of life, and all that God provides us through nature! Although, I used to say that I wanted to send my Pitucha (my pet cow...more on that some other day) to India so she would never be eaten and would get treated like a god! hehehe...But luckily I found Christ before I went to such lengths...hehe.

Anyhow... so this is actually me as a kid (probably my daughter's age ~14 months) in my grandpa's farm in central Sao Paulo, Brazil (holding some corn to feed the chickens!):

Now enough chatting, and let's get down to some chicken business!!!

 

First, let the drumsticks brown in some oil. Keep switching sides as it browns-it takes a while for it to get this golden brown! Be patient :)

Then I added smoked paprika! If you've never tried smoked paprika, PLEASE do yourself this favor and buy some. It's revolutionary in the kitchen!!! :) At least for me! It gives that "bacon" flavor, without bacon ;)

Added minced garlic (lots of it!)

Reduced heat and placed sliced onions on top of chicken.

Added sliced baby potatoes, finely sliced leeks, pitted kalamata olives and seasoning-salt & black pepper. Just laid them on top of the chicken.

Covered skillet, left it under low heat to let the chicken cook slowly! That's the big secret here, for it to cook slowly under low heat.

Chicken gets VERY soft & juicy!

So good that it was approved even by our toddler!!! And this was her very first introduction to chicken :) Her face was TOTALLY priceless when she took her first bite. She loved it! She ate a little bit of everything in this dish and kept asking for more!

We ate it the Brazilian way with some rice! Only difference is that most Brazilians will eat white rice and we do brown ;)

ENJOY!!!

BOM APETITE!!!

HOME REMEDY: Garlic Tea

The other day I woke up feeling like I could be coming down with something. My chest felt a little heavy and I started coughing. It's rare that I'm actually sick, and I believe part of it is due to the fact that as soon as I begin feeling intruders are trying to invade, I start bombarding myself with nutrient-rich foods and home remedies!

This one I'm sharing was a great discovery I made after marrying my sweet husband! During our early months of marriage, he got a nasty cold and would NOT stop coughing. He tried to sleep, but couldn't with the constant coughing. I remembered he had told me once that his mother used to always make a garlic tea that really helped him feel better when he was sick. Against his will, we called his mother to ask for the recipe. After we made the tea and he drank it, he slept the entire night like a baby (a good sleeping baby, not our daughter-type of baby! haha)-simply NO coughs! I could not believe it!

I was so puzzled by this experience, that I started researching about garlic. And surely, it seems that garlic is the superfood responsible for the amazing results! Apparently garlic has antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial properties, and it's a highly anti-inflammatory food! No wonder I'm rarely sick...hahaha...I eat LOTS of garlic in most my meals. Although my cousin who is a functional nutritionist in Brazil says you should never eat too much of anything daily! That our bodies need "variety", so that we don't build intolerance towards a certain food. I'm definitely not good at keeping this advice!

So I made this tea and drank it first thing in the morning! I normally would top that by drinking those immunity booster packs, but I had none left, so the tea was going to have to do it! And indeed it did! I felt great all day, and whatever was coming my way did not get a chance to progress into anything. 

I normally will modify the original recipe a bit just to make it a little more immune-boosting than it already is! But feel free to use the original recipe, if you prefer.

Following goes the recipe:

First you add a little oil/butter (I used earth balance vegan margarine for the taste)

Then you add LOTS of minced garlic, I used about 5 medium-large cloves. Mince the garlic onto the pan, since you want all the garlic juices in it!

Add a Tbsp of sugar.  I guess Mary Poppins was right, a spoon full of sugar does help the medicine go down!

I use turbinado raw sugar or brown sugar.I've also done with raw honey, but once heated, raw honey loses its good, medicinal properties, so you're better off just eating the raw honey later. The sugar here I believe is mostly for the taste! Or maybe to help soothe you with its sweetness :) I've also used less sugar, and then added molasses once tea was done. You can try different ways and see what works best for you!

Then you add a glass of milk. The original recipe calls for cow's milk. I use almond's milk or hazelnut milk that is even better! Hazelnut milk is highly anti-inflammatory. But, I still think anything with cow's milk tastes better. So if you're going for taste, go for cow's milk!

Bring to a boil.

Turn heat off, and let it cool down a little.

Filter out the garlic from tea.

And enjoy!!! You'll be quite surprised at how tasty this actually is. My husband does not like drinking tea at all, and he always jokes that this is the only tea he likes!

This is NOT a "cure-all" medicine, and not supposed to replace your Doctor's instructions. But in conjunction to a healthy, immune-boosting diet, this tea can be VERY effective in helping your body boost its immunity to kick the butt off of whatever is coming your way!!!

And it seems to be great at soothing coughs. My mother got really sick last year with an awful cough that would not go away, and I gave her this recipe and she said it really helped! 

So try it yourself and lemme know if it works ;)

Vegan Fruit & Nut Bread (sugar-free)

This homemade bread is so easy, so good and so healthy that there is really no reason not to make it! I was so curious when I first came across this recipe, because it has no eggs, no oil, no "substitutes" and not even sugar! And best of all, it tastes GREAT! Approved by me and my little one as well (who officially outgrew her wheat intolerance...Woohooo!!!)

So here is what you'll need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (original recipe uses Spelt, but I didn't have it)
• 1 cup of oat flour
• 1/4 cup of ground flax-seed 
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of cinnamon 
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (mix almonds, walnuts & pecans)
• 1 cup of chopped dried fruit (any you like-I used a mix of prunes, pears, apples & apricot)
• 1 large apple chopped and simmered for about 5 minutes, then smashed with a fork to resemble a chunky apple sauce
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of rolled oats to top

What you'll do:

• Preheat oven 375F
• Mix well all dry ingredients (flours, flax, salt, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon) except for nuts and fruits
• Add water to dry ingredient mixture and knead it until smooth.
• Once mixture turned into a dough, you can add nuts and fruits and then fold dough.
• I sprayed my bread pan with cooking spray and then covered the pan with rolled oats, and put the dough in. 
• Finally I topped it with some oats as well.
• Bake it for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

* I chopped the nuts I used for this bread in my food processor so my 14 month old daughter could eat with ease, but you can leave it whole or in larger chunks as shown in the original recipe I'll be placing bellow!

ENJOY!

This bread will definitely become a staple in my kitchen, and I can't wait to play around some more with this recipe, trying out different combinations of fruits!!! I got the original recipe at this awesome blog: Spoonful of Sugar Free. Hers look even more appetizing!!!

Hope you enjoy this bread as much as I did ;)

FREE COOKING: Spanish Frittata

Recently I watched yet another travel movie that made me go head of heels over this other destination: Spain!

It looks like a perfect package if you ask me. It seems like you get the best of all worlds, you have the beautiful old architecture that allows you to travel in time, you have new modern ones, and then you have amazing looking beaches! Check out more photos on the National Geographic site, they are mind blowing! I also remember a Spanish prof. I once had in college from Spain, telling me that their culinary is now at the top in Europe! Oh...and we can't forget about their Spanish guitar music, soooo enchanting!

This dish I'm sharing today did not come as a direct attempt to make a Spanish dish (perhaps subliminally after having watched the movie? hehe), but turned out that as I had the finished product at hand, I realized it was a lot similar to the Spanish Frittata dish. So that's what I'm calling it!

 

 
Pretty amazing, eh??? But now let's get started on that "Spanish Frittata!"

I started out with 6 eggs, garlic salt & black pepper to taste! Added to a bowl and beat a little by hand. Set it aside.

Chopped 1 onion, minced some garlic (go by your taste, as always, I like lots!), got some frozen red/green/orange/yellow bell pepper mix and chopped 1 tomato (large I should say!). Started stir-frying onions first, then added garlic, then frozen bell peppers and tomatoes. Let it cook until all water dried. Then added dried oregano, basil & thyme to taste! Used the Zesty Italian dipping oil for extra flavor [see here]. It's one of my favorite things in the kitchen now :)

Then added fresh chopped spinach, and let it cook a little. Cooks very fast!

Up to this point I was thinking about doing scrambled eggs, but this is where things changed a bit! 

Instead, I switched the veggies to a smaller skillet, added the lightly beaten eggs on top and some pieces of leftover chicken I had in the fridge (prepared with lime and smoked paprika), covered with lid and let it cook under medium heat.

Once eggs looked cooked, I decided to try something I've learned from watching Julia Child! [see here]

Transferred it to a baking dish, added some cheese on top and let it brown! Except I didn't add butter and oil to the cheese as she would tell you to "help" brown it...hehe.

Use a long spatula to first release eggs from bottom of skillet before transferring. In case it breaks, it doesn't matter, you can just fix it on top of the baking dish, and once cheese melt on top it will "glue" the parts back together!

I believe I placed under 400 F

While it's browning, how about some more of beautiful Spain???

Amazing, isn't it?! 

So here comes the final product:

It turned out awesome!!! My husband could not stop raving about this dish. I only wish I could eat it sitting in one of these Spanish alleys bellow :)

These photos of Spain are courtesy of TripAdvisor and National Geographic
Food ones are a courtesy of me :)

Apparently cheese will brown without adding extra butter or oil on top of it! 

Who would have thought, Julia Child?