Tag Archive for: vegan

Vegan Roasted Pumpkin Curry

This vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.

s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.

Guys, I’m sharing one of my favorite autumn comfort foods – a pumpkin curry. And guess who also loves pumpkin curry? My friend Tereza from Tereza’s Choice. We created this recipe together and oh fun this was. Okay, it was also a bit stressful, since I accidentally erased ALL the images from the card on my camera!! We almost finished shooting and this happened. So I almost couldn’t share this recipe with you this week or at least not with photos. Luckily my dear brother found a way to get those files back.

And drrrrumroll! Me and Tereza have another recipe for you and we’ll share it soon 🙂

s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.
s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.

Are you drowning in pumpkins? We are here, but I don’t mind that. I love pumpkins and I never get tired of eating them. They are so versatile. You can use them in savory or sweet dishes. They are super healthy and soooo easy to prepare and really quick too. Who doesn’t love that?

My preferred way to cook pumpkins is to roast them. I roast them, when I make pumpkin soup, I roast them when I make pumpkin cupcakes, I roast them when I make pumpkin risotto… You get the picture! I love how roasting brings extra sweetness and depth from the pumpkins.

Curries are such a great comfort food because they are quick and easy to make and because of all the spices and flavors. I usually make my own curry spice blend, but you can use your own or a bought one. I find using the curry blend that’s available in stores here in Slovenia is very strong and makes each dish taste the same. So I try to avoid it and usually make my own in a coffee grinder.

s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.
s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.
s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.

Okay, I’m not going to bore you with the details. The recipe is pretty easy and straightforward. Basically foolproof 😉

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.
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Vegan Roasted Pumpkin Curry

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Anja Burgar & Tereza Poljanič

Ingredients

Curry

  • 2 TBSP coconut oil  (or grape seed oil)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 TBSP fresh ginger minced
  • 2 TBSP garlic minced
  • 2 TBSP curry spice blend (link to recipe in notes)
  • 1 pumpkin or butternut squash peeled and cubed
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 TBSP lemon juice
  • 200 g firm tofu

Serve

  • coconut yogurt
  • 2/3 cup roasted cashews
  • chopped parsley
  • flatbread (link to recipe in notes)

Instructions

  1. First set your oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

  2. Peel and cube the pumpkin, transfer to a baking tray and lightly oil. Put in the oven for at least 20 minutes until soft.

  3. Meanwhile, heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add coconut oil, onion, and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

  4. Add the curry spice blend and fry for another 2 minutes.

  5. Next up add the garlic and sauté for another minute.

  6. Then add the coconut milk, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, slightly reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  7. At this time, check on your pumpkin, if it’s soft, transfer it to a blender and blend with a bit of water until smooth. Add to your pan and coconut milk and adjust the flavor with salt and lemon juice. Don't be shy with seasonings – this curry should be very flavorful.

  8. Leave aside and fry your cubed tofu on 3 Tbsp coconut oil until it gets a beautiful brown crust.

  9. Serve as is or with flatbread, over rice, quinoa, or buckwheat. This dish gets elevated with the addition of some coconut yogurt, cashews, and parsley for serving.

  10. Best when fresh, though leftovers will keep in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days. Enjoy!

Notes

Recpe for Hot Curry Spice Blend here.

Recipe for Herbed Buckwheat Flatbread here.

s vegan roasted pumpkin curry recipe is super comforting and is a proper late autumn dish. Nothing beats mixing pumpkin with coconut milk and fragrant spices.

Hibiscus Poached Pears with Vanilla and Pink Peppercorns

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

Hey you! Do you know what’s today?

It’s our anniversary! YEP, Me and my blog celebrate our 4th anniversary 🎉 Even though we spend a year and a half apart we got together last year and now we’re besties again!

I’ve got some cool stuff to share for this special occasion. First, we have this amazing fancy-schmancy recipe, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

And now to the news, I couldn’t wait to share it with you!!! I’ve been asked so many times lately if I teach 1-on-1? So no I officially opened 1-on-1 online coaching sessions for everyone who wants to learn food photography and food styling with me. Besides online coaching, I also offer in-person workshops for everyone close to Slovenia or willing to travel. So if you’re interested in any of these topics hop on to my workshops page.

Okay, now that we’ve got this out of the way let’s focus on these hibiscus poached pears. Who’s with me? 🙋

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!
An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!
An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!
An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

You know me, I love simple desserts. Okay, I love the complicated ones too, but I’m over the moon when a dessert (or any dish for that matter) is AMAZING but it takes like no effort at all. Well, this is this dessert. Sounds real posh, but trust me no skills are needed at all!

Lots of poached pears recipes require poaching in wine and that’s delicious too, but hey, nothing wrong with choosing a different path every once in a while. Especially if you’ve got kids!

What you’ll need for these hibiscus poached pears is:

  • firm pears
  • dried hibiscus (loose or in a teabag)
  • a vanilla pod
  • some pink peppercorns, and
  • honey

I served them on vanilla yogurt (you can have vegan too), but if you feel like making some homemade vanilla custard, that’s awesome too.

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!
An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

I’m not going to keep you from the recipes much longer, just a few quick tips and we’re on.

Tips to cook amazing poached pears

If possible use pears that are firm and not too ripe. If they are too ripe, they might fall apart and not look as pretty. They’ll still be good, though.

Turn the pear halves around every once in a while so they have an even color and they cook more evenly.

That’s it! So so simple!

Let’s cook!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!
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Hibiscus Poached Pears with Vanilla and Pink Peppercorns

Course Dessert
Keyword poached pears
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • 4 firm pears
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 hibiscus teabags (equals 4 teaspoons loose hibiscus flowers)
  • 2 TBSP honey
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 8 pink peppercorns
  • 4 cups vanilla yogurt
  • chopped nuts for topping

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients but pears in a pot large enough to fit 8 pear halves and bring it to a boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes, while you prepare the pears.

  2. Halve pears and remove skins and pits.

  3. Add pears to the pot cover and cook for 20-25 minutes turning them around every 5 minutes so they get cooked evenly.

  4. Remove the pears from the pan and cook the liquid for another 10-15 minutes, to reduce it to a desired consistency.

  5. Serve with vanilla yogurt, reduced sauce (or vegan vanilla yogurt) and some chopped nuts.

An easy but really fancy dessert like this hibiscus poached pears with vanilla and pink peppercorns is guaranteed to amaze at any party!

Iced Beetroot Chai Latte (+ Warm Verison)

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte – a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!

Even though it’s getting quite cold here, I still love me some cold drinks. Let me tell you a little secret. This drink is actually delicious warm as well as cold. I can’t decide which one is better but I decided to go with the iced version for this post since I just love seeing some ice cubes in a drink. They are so photogenic 🙂

So what is it?

This iced beetroot chai latte is a perfect mixture of earthiness from beetroot juice, herbal flavor from rooibos tea, spiciness from chai spices, sweetness from honey, and creaminess from milk. I don’t drink a lot of milk, it doesn’t do me well, but I make exceptions once in a while. Or I use any nut milk, which works beautifully in this recipe.

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!

I realized I don’t drink enough beetroot juice, although I love it. So I was messing around a while ago, mixing it with some spices and teas that I love in this cold cold weather and this came out. I’m a huge fan of rooibos tea. I didn’t know it went so well with beetroot, but it’s truly a brilliant combination.

I love using beetroot in both savory and sweet dishes in the cold months. I love it grated and fried with onions as a side dish and I also love the chocolate beetroot cupcakes. I can’t get enough of them! I wanna know what you love to make with beetroot? Let me know in the comments!

On a different note, I realized that it’s been a month since I posted a recipe. I have something special coming up and hopefully, I can reveal it to all ya in a week or two! If you don’t wanna miss the big new regarding food photography be sure to subscribe to my photography mailing list and you’ll get the info right in your mailbox.

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!
5 from 1 vote
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Iced Beetroot Chai Latte

Warm version in the notes.

Course Drinks
Keyword beet iced latte, cold drink, iced latte
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • 3 cups beetroot juice
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 rooibos tea bags
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 5 cloves
  • 5 peppercorns
  • 5 ginger slices
  • 2-3 TBSP honey
  • 1 cup milk (or nut milk for vegan version)

Instructions

  1. Boil the water. Remove from the heat and place two rooibos tea bags, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns and ginger slices in the boiling water. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid, add honey and let cool.

  2. Once the infusion is cooled, add it to the beetroot juice and mix well.

  3. Pour into 4 glasses and add milk and ice cubes.

Notes

If you want to make a warm beetroot chai latte, cook the infusion as in the instructions above. Once you’ve strained the liquid add it to beetroot juice and cook just until it starts to simmer. Add honey, pour into cups and add milk.

Treat yourself with an iced beetroot chai latte - a perfectly refreshing and fragrant autumn drink!

Vegan Cherry Almond Ice Cream Sandwiches

Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.

Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.

Can you imagine Summer without ice cream? Hmmm… I can’t, even though I wasn’t always a huge fan of ice cream. I think I talked about it in one of my old posts. 

Now,  I can’t imagine how I’d survive the Summer heat without ice cream at least once a week. 

Since I don’t have an ice cream machine I always make a no-churn version and I even have a little trick to make a no-churn ice cream creamy with no lumps of ice. 

How do I make my no-churn ice cream smooth?

I’ve come to the conclusion that the best way is to blend the mixture again after it has frozen halfway through. I mix with a spoon once after an hour. Then,  after another hour I take the ice cream out and mix it again in my blender. This mixed the ice crystals that form at the edge of the container and make it nice and smooth again. Then I return it back to the freezer and leave to freeze until done. Honestly, I think the consistency is super similar to the machine made ice cream. I’m all about gadgets, but who’s got the place?! 

Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.

I created this recipe in collaboration with Tereza from Teresamisu. If you missed the last recipe we created together,  here is our delicious Vegan Pea And Asparagus Pie. 

We decided to use sweet cherries as the base for the recipe and start from there. Tereza is known for creating healthy dishes and a lot of them are vegan. So I was totally on board with trying to make vegan ice cream but my first thought was NO COCONUT. I love coconut,  don’t get me wrong,  but I hate to see sooooo many vegan ice cream recipes based on coconut milk. I was thinking there’s a way to make delicious ice cream without it,  for sure. So cherries got me thinking. Almonds are the first thing that came to mind and man I’m glad I went that way! 

Oh and btw, I have a coconut ice cream recipe in store for one of the next posts 😉 but that one is meant to have a coconut flavor!

Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.

This is basically a marzipan ice cream. I like marzipan and if you love it too,  you are going to love this cherry almond ice cream sandwiches!

Tereza created the recipe for the cookies and guess what? She also used almond butter without us even discussing the recipe. Talk about soul sisters 🤣

You know what,  I’m not gonna blab for much longer. Let’s just get to the recipe. Happy beginning of the Summer,  everyone! 

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.
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Vegan Cherry Almond Ice Cream Sandwiches

Course Dessert
Keyword ice cream
Servings 5 ice cream sandwiches
Author Anja Burgar & Tereza Poljanič

Ingredients

Cherry Almond Ice Cream

  • 1 cup medjool dates (about 10 medjool dates), pitted
  • 2 cups almond milk (500ml)
  • 1 cup almond butter (250ml)
  • 2 cups cherries (350g), pitted
  • 2 1/2 TBSP cane sugar

Almond Cookie

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey for non-vegan version
  • 1/4 cup almond butter, peanut butter or tahini (90ml)
  • 3/4 cup walnuts (or any other nuts), blended into a flour (90g)
  • 1 1/2 cup cup buckwheat flour (150g)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3 TBSP cocoa powder

Instructions

Almond Cookie

  1. In a bowl, mix up maple syrup and almond butter until fully combined. Mix in ground walnuts until fully combined. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda and raw cacao. Add it to the almond mixture. The mixture will be thick and sticky so it’s best to use your hands.

  2. Roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to get the desired shape. Make small dents on the surface of the formed cookies for decoration if you wish.

  3. Place the tray in the fridge for 30 min while you pre-heat the oven to 175°C.

  4. Bake for 10-12 mins. Remove the biscuits from the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely before assembling the sandwiches.

Cherry Almond Ice Cream

  1. First, make the cherry jam. Place pitted cherries and cane sugar to a blender and mix until smooth. Pass the mixture through a sieve and discard the solids that remain on the sieve. Place the cherry juice in a small pot and bring to a simmer, then let simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool at room temperature.

  2. Then prepare the ice cream base. Add dates and half of the almond milk to a blender and mix until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth.

  3. Transfer the ice cream mixture to a loaf pan or small baking tray with high sides. Freeze for two hours, mixing once after an hour. After two hours scoop out the half-frozen mixture to a blender and mix until smooth. This way you get rid of big lumps of ice.

  4. Transfer half of the mixture back to the same pan, then add half of the cherry jam and use the
    backside of a spoon to make some swirls. Place the rest of the ice cream mixture on top and add the rest of the cherry jam. Repeat the swirling and freeze until scoopable.

Assembling The Sandwiches

  1. When the ice cream is frozen enough to form scoops make large scoops and place them over cookies. Cover with another cookie. Place ice cream sandwiches on a tray and save in the freezer.

  2. Leave them at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Wrap your hands around something wonderful with this vegan cherry almond ice cream between two delicious almond chocolate cookies.

Vegan Pea And Asparagus Quiche

This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests! 

This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!

I can’t believe it’s already the middle of the year! I feel like the Winter has been way too long this year (although, I love it so much). Not even a month ago I was still wearing a winter coat and this past weekend I’ve been swimming in the sea. Crazy!

I’m so glad it’s summer already. Okay, late Spring, but it feels like Summer 🙂

If there’s one ingredient I love about this time of year it’s asparagus. I love it raw because it tastes kinda like peas and I love eating peas raw just as well. But both of those are also incredibly delicious cooked. So, today I’m sharing a recipe for a vegan pea and asparagus quiche that I created together with the lovely Tereza Poljanič from Teresamisu.

We were secretly admiring each other’s work for a long time, so we met a while ago and came up with the idea of creating a couple of recipes together. If you don’t know her yet, go check her out! Tereza is a multi-talented lady. She runs her blog, a TV cooking show, writes cookbooks and so much more. Such an inspiring lady!

This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!

Back to the recipe!

This was my first time trying out tofu filling. I don’t cook with tofu very often so I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful the filling came out. It’s a very simple filling. All you need is some onions, garlic and some herbs like basil and mint. We used pumpkin seed tofu, but you can use any firm tofu. The almond milk makes it all very creamy and ties everything together.

Place some fresh asparagus and peas on top, bake and that’s it.

This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!

Oh yeah, and we included a delicious crust recipe. Here are some tips on how to make the crust flaky and how to prevent it from shrinking during baking.

How to make a flaky pie crust:

  • Use cold ingredients and use your hands as little as possible so you’re not warming up that dough.
  • Little chunks of butter (or coconut butter) should still be visible in the dough. The size of the chunks shouldn’t be larger than a pea.

How to prevent pie crust from shrinking?

  • Resting the pie crust is crucial. It should rest after making the dough and after you’ve rolled out the dough and placed it in the pie tin
  • Don’t overwork the dough. This way it gets too firm and shrinks.
  • Don’t stretch the dough when placing it in the tin.
  • Poke holes in the bottom.
  • Use pie weights or dry beans to weight down the crust while pre-baking.
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!
5 from 1 vote
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Vegan Pea And Asparagus Quiche

Course Main Course, Side Dish
Keyword vegan quiche
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Author Anja Burgar & Tereza Poljanič

Ingredients

Dough

  • 280 g all-purpose flour (1 1/3 cup)
  • 140 g coconut butter (or regular butter for a non-vegan quiche) chilled and cubed, (1 1/4 stick)
  • 4-5 TBSP ice cold water
  • 2 tsp salt

Filling

  • 400 g Tereza’s Choice pumpkin tofu or any other firm tofu
  • 100 ml almond milk (1/3 cup + 1 TBSP)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • bunch of basil and mint chopped
  • handful of peas
  • handful asparagus

Instructions

Dough

  1. Combine flour and salt, in a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse a few times. You should still be able to see some small chunks of butter no bigger than peas.

  2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water over flour mixture at a time. Pulse a couple of times. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If not, keep adding water one
    tablespoon at a time.

  3. After the dough has chilled in the refrigerator for an hour, you can roll it out. If it is too stiff, let it sit for 5-10 minutes at room temperature before rolling.

  4. Sprinkle a little flour on a flat, clean work surface and on top of the dough. 

  5. Using a rolling pin, roll it out from the center of the dough. Every once in a while you may need to gently lift under the dough and add a sprinkle of flour.

  6. Using a rolling pin, roll it out from the center of the dough. Every once in a while you may need to gently lift under the dough and add a sprinkle of flour.

  7. When the dough has reached the right size, gently roll it around the rolling pin and place it over the pie tin. Do not stretch the dough.

  8. Use your hands to gently press the dough into the tin.

  9. Use a rolling pin to roll over the edges to trim them.

  10. Place the prepared crust into the refrigerator for another 30 minutes, then take it out and use a fork to create small holes on the bottom. Don't worry, once the dough is baked the wholes will disappear.

  11. Place a piece of aluminum foil onto the crust and add dried beans or pie weights onto the crust and bake it for 15 minutes at 200 °C.

  12. Take the baked pie out of the oven and leave to cool slightly.

Fillling

  1. Meanwhile prepare the tofu filling. Caramelize the onion and add garlic at the end. Then blend the tofu in a food processor with 100 ml of almond milk and the caramelized onion and garlic, blend until smooth consistency. 

Finishing the Quiche

  1. Add the filling on top of the pie crust, lastly add peas and asparagus on top. Brush with a little olive oil and bake another 20-30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

This simple vegan pea and asparagus quiche recipe is so easy to make and a great way to treat your guests!

Mango Margarita Smoothie

Who doesn’t love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos? I sure do!

Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do!

Hey, it’s been a LOOOOOONG time. Way to long. 

I’ve missed posting here so much. I’ve kicked myself in the rear end this week and made a plan for a few future recipes. Hopefully, I can see them through! Baby Jernej is not so little anymore. He’s standing on his own now, crawling all around the place, exploring the world and filling our hearts with all kinds of joy. If you wanna see what’s going on in our personal life head on to my personal Instagram account. 

Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do! Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do!

And now to the recipe. Today is National Margarita Day and I made a non-alcoholic mango margarita smoothie.

I’d say cheers, but it’s long gone.

There’s something about mangos in smoothies. Puréed mangos give such a nice smooth texture to drinks. They are one of my favorite fruits to put in smoothies, besides avocados. All due to the texture. Okay, and flavor too 😀 What are yours?

Since becoming a mom, maintaining a healthy diet has been so hard. The biggest problem for me is forgetting to eat, which I find super weird and annoying. And that’s why recipes like this are super important… Simple, easy and done in no time. I’m planning on sharing a few other recipes suitable for mom’s with little time to prep and also for little kids to enjoy. Btw, baby J tried the mango margarita smoothie and he approves 😀

Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do! Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do!
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Mango Margarita Smoothie

Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 servings
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

  • 1/2 mango (chilled)
  • 3 oranges (chilled)
  • 2 limes (chilled)
  • salt for garnish

Instructions

  1. Peel mango and juice oranges and limes and blend all until smooth.

  2. Run a lime wedge around the outside of a glass and dip the rim in some salt for garnish and taste. Pour in the smoothie.

Who doesn't love a simple refreshing margarita smoothie with mangos. I sure do!

Refreshing Vanilla Strawberry Iced Tea

A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea – perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!

 A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days! 

I’ve made this delicious drink last week while baking the strawberry cake for my birthday. My birthday is on March 22nd and it just happens that that’s also World Water Day. I love that! I love water! Water is also my absolute favorite drink in the entire world, besides tea. I don’t actually know anyone who would drink as much tea as I do.

I’m gonna be honest with you – tea can get boring at times. Adding fruits and some ice will do the trick though. Makes it refreshing and adds a bunch of vitamins to your drink. Since I was already making the strawberry cake last week I figured why not make a strawberry iced tea. I had a ton of strawberries anyway.

Lately, I’ve been obsessing over rooibos tea, which I find so nice and sweet with a slight vanilla flavor. Besides my daily three cups of raspberry leaf tea this is the one tea I drink the most. Since it’s getting quite warm over here, I’m drinking it cold. And GUESS WHAT it’s a perfect match for strawberries. It really is! And since I’m loving the mild vanilla flavor in the rooibos, I added more vanilla, ‘cuz WHY NOT?

Yay, my favorite refreshing iced tea was born 😀

Let me know if you try it and think the same!

A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!

Regarding the prego belly. It’s still here and the baby is still very and I mean VERY lively. Doesn’t seem to want to come out any time soon, but we never know. I’m hoping for April 1st!

Seems like the last month my sweet cravings have gone over the roof. I’m eating more junk than ever and feeling so so regretful about that. I should probably stop feeling like that, because it doesn’t really do much good. I still eat junk if I feel like it. Okay, I’ve kindda managed to keep myself away from nutella. Kindda… I make pancakes for breakfast just to have an excuse to eat Nutella. Otherwise I have like five slices of bread with butter and honey for breakfast. Okay, honey is now bad, but the amount of honey is. Trust me five slices full of dripping honey is too much. But I guess the cravings will go aways eventually 🙂

Did I mention there’s honey in the strawberry iced tea? Of course there is, duh 😛

I’ve also managed to do some gardening. I’ve tranfered my little tomato seedlings to bigger pots, so they’ll have enough room to grow. The truth is, we have to buy tomatoes by the middle of July, sometimes even more. It’s seems so unfair. I’m looking at the growing plants for months before the tomatoes go red. It always seems like the wait is way too long, although totally worth it. Okay, I’m babbling. I’ll stop now.

A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!

That’s all for now! By the time I post another recipe I might be writing with one hand full of baby cuteness. If you don’t hear from me for a while, you know what happened 😉

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!
5 from 1 vote
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Refreshing Vanilla Strawberry Iced Tea

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 250 g strawberries
  • 600 ml water
  • 4 tsp red rooibos tea
  • 2 TBSP honey
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla seeds (from one vanilla pod)

Instructions

  1. In a big saucepan boil water and add red rooibos tea and steep covered for 10 minutes. After the tea has finnished steeping strain it into a big jug.

  2. Uncover and leave to cool.

  3. Meanwhile, remove strawberry stems and discard. Place the strawberries in a blender and make a smooth purée. If you prefer your purée to be without the tiny pits, strain it through a fine strainer.

  4. When the tea has cooled down to almost room temperature add honey and mix well. Add strawberry purée and vanilla, mix well and pour into glasses filled with ice.

A refreshing spring vanilla strawberry iced tea - perfect combination of rooiboss tea, vanilla and strawberries. Keeps you cool and hydrated during sunny spring days!

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie

This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It’s a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good!

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu

I’m getting so excited about spring and can’t wait for everything to go green. We’re already able to waste our time outside in nothing else but a sweater. Remember my love of balcony life. Well, here it is! I can almost smell spring 😀 Winter this year sucked, almost no snow… I mean it was cold, which is okay by me, but no snow. Come on, that’s just unfair!

Yeah, yeah, I’ll stop complaining 😉

This spring will bring a new little cuddling creature to our life, so there’s really nothing to complain about. Only one more month to go, but I’m hoping sooner 🙂 Can’t wait to meet you little baby! These past 8 months went by really fast, I got very attached to my big belly and the very intesnse baby kicks. I’m begining to think this baby will be a kickboxer or something. I remember reading about having to count kicks if the baby is not moving enough and then I think is there also something like kicking too much?! Probably not 🙂

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.euAntioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu

Back to the recipe!

With the spring knocking on the door, the season of some new green leaf veggies is starting and I’m able to add them to my green smoothies. I got hold of some really nice fresh spinach last week and I couldn’t resist to make a delicious smoothie for breakfast. There are still some frozen wild blueberries in the freezer, which I love for breakfast. In the winter I heat them up and pour over the pancakes with some yogurt. Yum!

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.euAntioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu

Ok, ok, back to the smoothie. So I named this drink matcha smoothie, because I added a little for some nice morning tea feeling. Mmm, cozy 🙂 I don’t know why exactly, but for me drinking matcha – in any form – is like a warm hug. Even if I drink it cold.

I couldn’t resist but adding some lime juice to this almost-spring-celebrating smoothie. Delicious! 🙂 It’s sweetened with honey, which you probably already know is my favorite sweetener 🙂

Now I’m anxiously waiting for strawberries, especially wild strawberries to make strawberry layer cakes and elderflower to make some cookies. With a little bit of luck, the baby and I will be well enough by the time those two are in season and we’ll be strolling through forests searching for these beauties 🙂

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu

And now here’s the recipe, finally. This matcha smoothie is packed with antioxidants and contains a bunch of cashews and an avocado so it will leave you fed for a while. Cheers!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu
5 from 1 vote
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Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie

Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cashews soaked overnight
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 50 g spinach (or a big handful)
  • 4 tsp matcha powder
  • juice of 1 1/2 limes
  • 2 TBSP sunflower seeds
  • 3 TBSP honey (or other sweetener for vegan version)
  • 1 cup blueberries

Instructions

  1. Mix everything except blueberries in a blender until smooth. If the smoothie is to thick add more water.

  2. Place blueberries in two glasses and mash them gently with a spoon or a mortar.

  3. Pour the green smoothie over mashed blueberries and enjoy!

Antioxidant Packed Blueberry Matcha Smoothie. This blueberry matcha smoothie is full of antioxidants and a perfect energy boost for the morning. It's a delicious healthy vegan, dairy free and gluten free green smoothie with blueberry mash. So good! | www.useyournoodles.eu

Sparkling Pomelo Ginger Shandy (Virgin And Not So Virgin)

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.

What do you do when you can’t have booze? Make something out of beer.

Yeah, yeah, I know many of you will say beer without alcohol is not beer at all and you might be right. Some of them taste…hmmm. How should I put it? Miserable.

But when you’re pregnant and can’t have alcohol, trust me, it’s much easier to like non-alcoholic beer. Some brands make very good ones, but I’ve also had one that tasted like a chewing gum. Uhm, not so good!

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days. This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.

Well, it was about time to make another drink recipe, since it’s been a while now. I’m all about citruses during this winter. I don’t think I’ve eaten so many oranges and mandarins at any point in my life and a big squeeze of lemon in a glass of water is a total must. I haven’t had any pomelo, so I thought I’d put it in a sparkling beer drink with some spicy ginger and have a pomelo ginger shandy.

Pomelo is such an awesome fruit, it’s sweet like a grapefruit, but doesn’ have the bitterness, which is great for a beer drink, since beer is already bitter. 

On top of all the pomelo juice, the ginger gives the drink a little heat and warms you up 🙂 That’s why I love ginger!

And pretty much everything about this drink 😀

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days. This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.

This pomelo ginger shandy is such a nice refreshing drink for the lazy days leading to spring, sitting in the sun on a balcony wrapped in a warm blanket. Listening to bird singing starting again, such a lovely time. I’m getting sentimental.

Our balcony life (yeah, this should totally be a title of a movie) is gone during the winter, but when the sun starts to become warmer and the days get longer, we start hanging out on the balcony again. During the spring and summer it’s where we eat, play board games, read and do pretty much everything. Like, who needs the indoors, anyway?!

So, I’m very happy with the longer not so freezing cold days 🙂

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.

And I’m happy to have this non-alcoholic drink, which can also be alcoholic, whatever you prefer. It’s a great way to pimp up your favorite beer and add some fruitiness 🙂

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.
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Sparkling Pomelo Ginger Shandy

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 people
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Simple ginger syrup

  • 4 TBSP cane sugar
  • 3 TBSP grated fresh ginger
  • 1 TBSP pomelo zest
  • 2 TBSP lemon juice

Pomelo Ginger Shandy

  • 500 ml pomelo juice (juicing described in the instructions)
  • 500 ml lager beer (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)

Instructions

Simple ginger syrup:

  1. Add all ingredients to a mortar and make a smooth paste.

Juicing pomelo:

  1. Pomelo is a big fruit and it's hard to juice it on a regular juicer. I peel the pomelo and remove the thin white skins, then blend it in a blender for a minute or two and use a nut milk bag or a tea towel to squeeze out the juice.

Pomelo ginger shandy:

  1. Mix together pomelo juice and simple ginger syrup, pour into glasses and add beer.

 This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days.

This sparkling pomelo ginger shandy is a nice refreshing drink with a little kick of spice, perfect for lazy sunny late winter days. Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

Black Sesame Covered Chewy Turmeric Bagels

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

Hey, guys!

Guess what, it’s the first time we’re making bread together. A shocker!! Ok, we’ve made some flatbread, but not bread like this.

Bread making is definitely one of my biggest cooking/baking passion. Digging in the dough and getting your hands all sticky and messy is the best part of making bread at home. And if you think it’s hard, it’s actually not. Sometimes it requires a little time, but it’s mostly just waiting and admiring your beautiful work. How’s that for a change of perspective.

If you’re kneading the dough by hand it’s also a great exercise. Win-win 😀

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

I’ve just recently discovered the art of cooking the bread before it goes to the oven and that’s so lame, right? How could I be ignorant for so long! Cooking the dough before putting it in the oven makes for a nicely browned crust and a chewy middle. Like all bread, I like bagels best when they’re hot. I was always told that eating warm bread would hurt my stomach, but I’ve been doing that for all my life and my stomach is just fine. For now 😀 What can I do, it simply tastes better and its so soft. Who’s with me?

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.
The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

The awesomest chewy turmeric bagels

Okay, enough of my babbling…

We’re making bagels today. Not the typical New York style bagels, but similar – chewy turmeric bagels with some amazing black sesame seeds on top. I’ve added a bunch of turmeric in the dough, which gives it such a beautiful vivid golden color and a nice aroma along with a hint of bitterness. And the black sesame is just awesome. It has a stronger taste than the lightly colored sesame and it contains a whole bunch of necessary minerals.

I was eager to try it for a while, but it’s not that easy get in Slovenia. And if you do get it it’s very expensive. Finnaly I got my hand on a big bag of it and tried it in this recipe. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Besides the obvious, that they look great, they are now even tastier and healthier 🙂

One thing that makes bagels different from normal bread is that we’re using less yeast, which gives it some extra flavor and dense texure inside. We don’t want the bagels to be bready, but rather chewy and moist. Cooking them in water infused with baking soda will make the crust seal and prevent it from rising more in the oven, which will also help create the dense middle and will give the crust a nice darker color. Actually in this case, because we’ve added turmeric to the dough it will become sort of orange or red in some places, so don’t get scared, nothing’s wrong 😛 It’s just more fun!

I like to serve bagels with cream cheese or some creamy beet dip with smoked salmon and some leafy greens like spinach or arugula.

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

Yum, yum…let’s go bake!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.
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BLACK SESAME COVERED CHEWY TURMERIC BAGELS

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish
Keyword bagels, bread
Total Time 4 hours
Servings 14 bagels

Ingredients

CHEWY TURMERIC BAGELS

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour (900g)
  • 1 TBSP active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1 TBSP turmeric
  • 1 TBSP salt

COOKING

  • 1/2 TBSP baking soda per 2 litres of water

TOPPINGS

  • black sesame seeds
  • cornmeal Optional. I like to use it, because it prevents the dough to stick on the paper and it gives the bagel a nice crunch

Instructions

  1. In a bowl of your stand mixer combine 3 cups of flour, all the water and yeast using a whisk. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 30 minutes.
  2. After 30 minutes you will see bubbles on the surface of the dough mixture. Add the remaining flour, turmeric and salt and using a kneading attachment start kneading the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes, then cover the dough with plastic foil and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
  3. Punch the dough and give it a couple of kneads. Divide the dough into 90-110 g chunks. Flatten each piece with hands fold in the sides and roll so you get a cylinder (like a spring roll). Using the palms of your hands roll out the cylinder to about 20 cm long, then overlap one end over the other, pinch hard and use your palm to roll these two ends together.
  4. Let rise covered with a cloth for an hour.
  5. Bring water with baking soda to a boil in a wide skillet. Let it gently simmer while you cook the bagels 60-90 seconds each side. Drain and dip one side of the bagel while still a little wet in black sesame seeds and the other in cornmeal.

  6. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 20-25 minutes at 220°C until you get a nice golden and red color.

Notes

NOTES
Don’t overcrowd the bagels in water, because they will rise a bit and they may change the shape if they touch other bagels.

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.
The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich. Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

Popped Beans and Steamed Broccoli Salad

Whoever says comfort food can’t be healthy, has obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?

Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?

Hey, hey! We’re having broccoli today. 

Hmmm, the rhyme was unitntentional, I guess I’m feeling poetic 😛

I have a habit of steaming broccoli instead of roasting them. I dunno, I think it’s because of the vivid green color it keeps. Plus, it’s quicker 🙂 I was thinking what would go well in a steamed broccoli salad and then I remembered a Jamie Oliver show from a while ago. Can’t even remember the recipe, but I know he roasted the beans on a pan until they started popping. I tried those before and they were great. So, it sounded like an awesome idea to add them to the broccoli. Turnes out it was the right decision and with some added chopped parsey, pomegranate seeds and spicy nuts this makes a perfect winter salad.

The best thing about this salad is, it can be both a warm or a cold salad. For a warm salad, you dress it while everything is hot, for a cold salad, you rinse the broccoli with cold water after steaming and then decide if you want the beans and nuts to be warm or not. It’s up to you!

Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?
Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?
Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?

I’m seriously obsessed with mustard dressing. Although I’m normally not a fan of mustard as a condiment, it’s so amazing if you use it as seasoning.

This dressing is probably the one I use most on daily basis, because it’s super simple and mustard gives it an extra depth and richness. It works really well with bitter winter salads like radicchio.

Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?

So, some updates on what’s been going on in my life lately. We’re starting to prep more seriously for the baby. Yep, barely starting. I mean we have bought some things, made some and we’re getting lots of second hand stuff from friends, but we still have sooo many chores until I can really say, now we’re ready. We still have 10 weeks, but you never now, when the baby might surprise us. Oh, I have to tell you about the cutest little pants I’ve sewn. They are the cutest, but I’m affraid the fabric is not strechy enough and they’ll probably be to small to fit even a newborn. Luckily, I’m stacked with fabric and I’m making new ones 🙂

Ok, enough baby talk!

Besides all the baby preparations, we’re also starting to prep for the new dance show that we moved from Spring to Autumn, because of… well, baby. Yesterday, I started making my part of the coreography. You can imagine a big belly and a fast dance + some floorwork. It was fun, but also very chalenging!

Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?
Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?

Great, your all updated now, so let’s start cookin’!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, has obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?
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POPPED BEANS AND STEAMED BROCCOLI SALAD

Course Salad
Keyword bean salad, broccoli salad, healthy, quick
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

STEAMED BROCCOLI SALAD

  • 1 big broccoli
  • 1 cup cooked red beans if you’re using canned, rinse well before cooking
  • 3 TBSP mixed seeds sunflower seeds, sesame, black sesame…
  • 1 tsp crushed chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp ground garlic
  • 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
  • a bunch of parsley chopped

LEMONY MUSTARD DRESSING

  • 5 TBSP olive oil
  • 3 TBSP lemon juice
  • 1 TBSP mustard
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of pepper

Instructions

Steamed Broccoli Salad

  1. Cut the florets away from stems and cut them into bite size chunks. Cut the thinner stems into 1 cm chunks. Peel the thick main stem and cut it into 1 cm cubes.

  2. Boil a little water (about a finger’s width) in a steaming pan and add the steming basket. Place the stem parts of broccoli into the steaming basket and the florets on top. If there are any leaves from broccoli place them right at the top. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes or until you can easily pierce the broccoli with a fork, but it’s still vibrant green. Be careful, because broccoli can go from vibrant to brownish color quickly.
  3. If you prefer your broccoli to be cold, rinse immediately under cold water to stop it from further cooking. If you’re serving it warm, just remove from steamer and let it drain.
  4. In a bowl mix together garlic and chilly flakes.
  5. Heat a big skillet over medium-high heat and add beand and half of the garlic and chlli mixture. Cook them for about 4-5 minutes, tossing every now and then. Once you see most of the beans open, add the nuts and toss every now and then for a minute. Remove from heat and add the remaining garlic and chilli mixture.

Lemony Mustard Dressing

  1. Beat all ingredients together with a fork.

Steamed Broccoli Salad

  1. In a salad bowl, mix together broccoli, parsley, 2/3 of beans and seed mixture, 2/3 of pomegranate seeds and dressing. Top wih the remaining 1/3 of beeans and seeds and the rest of pomegranate seeds.

Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, had obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Hungry anyone?
Whoever says comfort food can't be healthy, has obviously never tried popped beans and steamed broccoli salad with toasted spicy nuts and lemony mustard dressing. Such a perfect winter salad. Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

Sober Festive Sangria

I love non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and Christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.

I love a non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.

Anyone up for a festive drink?

I know, I know, it’s not Christmas yet, but we’re slowly getting in the mood. I’m already making plans for Christmas baking and seeing some lovely Christmas market. Oh, I love those! I’m not a fan of crowded places, but Christmas markets are an exception. They don’t really make sense if you’re there all alone. The great thing about them is the smell. The smell of spices and sugar accompanied by Christmas lights and friends. 

I love a non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.

I don’t know if you guys remember, but I’ve been angry about Christmas stuff being in the stores and on the streets way too early in one of the last years post. I’m over it this year… can’t really wait for December to come with all its perks. 

So super excited about the almost festive time I made this very simple festive sangria with pear juice. If you prefer apple juice, that’s fine, use it. Or make it half-half. It’s not really a stick-to-it-100% type of recipe, you can totally make it your own. I’m using pear juice because I love it and I don’t drink it that often. It’s kindda hard to get in the stores, so juicing fresh pears is often the only way to go. I cheated this time 😉

Alcohol lovers, there’s none in the recipe, but if you’re up for a boozy version, you can try adding wine or some fruit liqueur.

I love a non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.

Now, obviously there are winter spices in here! OBVIOUSLY. You can’t go without 🙂

I added some cinnamon sticks, star anises and cloves for that Christmasy feel and some ginger and peppercorns for a nice spicy kick. I just realised there probably aren’t many thing I don’t put peppercorn in, some baked goods and some cocktails, otherwise it’s there. All the time. It’s getting worse with the pregnancy, I simply can’t eat anything witout it. And apparently, I can’t drink it either. Remember the Mulled Mandarin Juice. You can find those there, too 🙂

You might think I’m crazy, but they actually make a big difference, so please please don’t leave them out. Or at least don’t tell me 😛

I love a non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.
I love a non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.

The fun thing about this recipe is, you make it a day ahead and when you’re ready to party, take it out of the fridge, add some sparkling water and you’re on 😀

I love simple and quick recipes!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

I love non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.
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SOBER FESTIVE SANGRIA

Course Cocktail
Keyword cocktail, mocktail
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 3 cups pear juice
  • 2 cups sparkling water
  • 2 pears
  • 2 apples
  • 2 oranges
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 star anises
  • 6 slices of ginger
  • 1 tsp peppercorns
  • 5 cloves

Instructions

  1. Slice pears, apples, and oranges into 3mm slices or chunks as big as you like.
  2. Remove seeds from the pomegranate.
  3. Place all fruit, cinnamon sticks, star anises, ginger, peppercorns, and cloves in a big bowl or a jar and pour over pear juice.
  4. Keep in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight.
  5. Before serving to add cold sparkling water.

I love a non-alcoholic festive sangria, especially when it tastes like winter with all its beautiful mixed fruits and christmas spices. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and you can prepare it ahead of time.

Mulled Mandarin Juice

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

I really hope y’all love mandarins as much as I do. They’ve been my main food these days. A nasty cold decided to haunt me, but I was prepared…

With tons of mandarins. I mean I probably ate a few kilos of them. And I’m not exaggerating at all! I’m feeling much better now and ready to bring you another awesome recipe.

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

Inspired by mulled wine and apple cider, I decided to give warm drinks a little twist. I’ve added mandarins to those two drinks before, but never tried cooking mandarin juice on its own. And man, I’m sorry I didn’t!!

Don’t get me wrong, I love mulled apple cider, but it needs lots of lemon to reduce the sweetness. Well, not mandarins. Especially the sour ones. Which are my favorites, btw 🙂 There’s just a little honey or any other sweetness necessary in this recipe, or if you prefer sour drinks like me, you can omit that.

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

Now that we got this straight, let’s talk spices.

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, peppercorn and star anis. That’s what I used. It’s basically what I usually used in mulled drinks, sometimes I play with flavors and add someting new, but being ill and all, I wished for something very homey and familiar. Something to make me feel like a little baby 😀

And it made me so happy I just had to share this recipe with you. I have a feeling mulled mandarin juice is gonna be my everyday drink now. Since being pregnant means, I have to be careful with what kinds of teas I drink, I was also out of warm drink options. This will be perfect to spice things up.

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

A little secret. I have a feeling rum would go awesomely with mulled mandarin juice, so if you can drink alcohol, try adding it after cooking. And let me know how it was 😛

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

I want to hear everything about your other favorite winter drinks in the comments below.

And if you want to boost your immunity, so you don’t get a cold like I did, try some Immune-Boosting Elderflower Turmeric Tea.

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!
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MULLED MANDARIN JUICE

Course Cocktail
Keyword non-alcoholic drink, warm drink
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 600 ml 3 cups freshly squeezed mandarin juice (from about 1 kg of mandarins)
  • 600 ml 3 cups water
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 10 cloves
  • 4 slices of ginger
  • 10 peppercorns
  • 2 star anises
  • 1-2 TBSP honey or another sweetener optional

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a pot and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to low heat. Cook for 20 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Easy to make from scratch warm autumn mulled mandarin juice!

Pumpkin Soup with Balsamic Glazed Onions + A Big Announcement

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

Omg, it’s been so long since my last post. 

So sorry for that, but I’ve had a perfectly good reason. Actually the best reason in the world. We’re having our first little baby in April! 🙂 ♥ How awesome is that! I still can’t believe it’s happening, but we’re happy and excited and can’t wait to meet our tiny bundle.

I haven’t had any major pregnancy discomforts, but one that affected my blogging: I wasn’t able to cook for a month or smell any strong smelling food. Or look at food photos. I’m still struggling with fresh veggies (which I would normally love so much!), but most of the troubles went away now that I’m in my second trimester.

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

I’ve been craving sweet food a lot. Not sweets, but sweet savoury food like root veggies and pumpkins. So they’re on the menu a lot these days. One of my all time autumn favorites is definitely pumpkin soup.

What makes pumpkin soup so amazing is its natural sweetness in combination with chillies. Remember how chillies go perfectly with chocolate… well, it’s the same with pumpkin. So don’t skip on it. Seriously! Add less if you’re not into spicy stuff, adding at least a little will make all the difference.

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

I don’t like adding much to my simple pumpkin soup recipe. No stock or herbs. Water, garlic, chilli flakes, salt and pepper are enough. I’m using pumpkin purée as my base. If you’d like to make your own check the notes in the Mini Pumpkin Pizzas recipe. A good variety of pumpkin or squash is crucial, so pick one that you absolutely love. 

For me that’s hokkaido or any other with simmilar sweetness. 

A very sweet pumpkin soup like this need a counterbalance, so I added balsamic glased onions with sage on top. I could eat these onions on their own, they are sooooooo good. 

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

I’m letting you in on a little secret. I’m dreaming about autumn all year round. I love all seasons, especially when they’re just starting. All the fresh new produce and the feel of change.

But autumn is my favourite. There’s nothing like the magical feel of cold and warmth at the same time. And all the sweet produce it comes with. Yup, best season ever! I’m one of those strange people who love cold and rain 🙂

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

Now I’m off to warm myself with a bowl of this delicious pumpkin soup!

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!
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Pumpkin Soup with Balsamic Glazed Onions

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Pumpkin soup:

  • 4 cups pumpkin purée
  • 3 cups water (depending on desired consistency)
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (add less if you prefer a less spicy version)
  • salt by taste
  • pepper by taste

Balsamic glased onions:

  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 6 sage leaves
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
  • salt by taste
  • pepper by taste

Other topping options:

  • crème fraîche
  • pumpkin seeds
  • pumpkin seed oil
  • chives

Instructions

Balsamic glased onions:

  1. Cut the onion in half and remove the skins. Slice it into 3-5 mm thin slices.

  2. Place a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add the onions and sage and stir to cover them with oil.
  3. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally, until the onions get translucent and a bit softer.
  4. Add water, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and cover the skillet. Continue cooking over low-medium heat for 20 minutes or until the onions get soft.
  5. Uncover and cook over medium-high heat for additional 5-10 minutes to lose the excess moiture and caramelise the onions. Stir occasionally to check they are not burning.

Pumpkin soup:

  1. Place a pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add garlic and cook until it gets golden.

  2. Add pumpkin puree, water, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and continue cooking until the soup boils.

Decorating:

  1. Pour hot soup into bowls and decorate with balsamic glased onions. You can add crème fraîche, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil and chives if you like.

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup will be your new favorite autumn comfort food!

Warm, sweet and spicy pumpkin soup with balsamic glased onions will be your new favorite autumn comfort food! Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

No-Churn Melon Sorbet with Basil

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

Super creamy and rich melon sorbet spiced with just a hint of basil.

I can’t believe something so good can come out of freezing a simple fruit like melon. Yup, that’s right, I just described the entire recipe.

But, really it is that simple.

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

I was never a big fruit person. I mean, I loved the taste, but somehow I wasn’t very fond of biting into them.

Still am a little picky when it comes to that. Much less, but still…

Blending fruit into awesome new foods was a great alternative. One of the first memories of blended fruit dessert is a strawberry and cream blended drink. Which was super delicious and creamy. You should totally try that sometimes, if you haven’t already 🙂

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

Freezing a blended fruit is the next stage of deliciousness 🙂

And most of all, you don’t really need all that much. Mostly just fruit, some water, if the fruit doesn’t have high water content, maybe some sweetener and that’s it.

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

Why I love this melon sorbet?

Because it’s made only with melon and basil. Melon is made mostly of water and you don’t need to add extra. If the melon is ripe enough it is so sweet, that it doesn’t require any extra sweetening.

And since I’m greatly obsessed with herbs, I just had to add some. Basil is the right way to go. Works so well and adds more summery flavors! 🙂

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

Oh, how cool does it look when you serve it in a melon shell. Awesome for a garden party 🙂 You can freeze it in a shell directly if you are serving it immediately or transfer in to the shell right before showing it to your guests.

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

I’m getting hungry! Are you?

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.
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NO-CHURN MELON SORBET WITH BASIL

Course Dessert
Keyword ice cream
Prep Time 10 minutes
Freezing time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe melon of any kind, spooned out into chunks, frozen for 1-2 hours
  • 20-30 fresh basil leaves

Instructions

  1. Place the frozen melon chunks and fresh basil into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Keep beating until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.
  2. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, for about 3-4 hours.

Notes

If you have an ice cream maker, prepare the mixture without pre-freezing the melon. Cool it in the fridge for an hour and make it as per instructions.

No icecream machine, no problem! This super easy two ingredient melon sorbet needs no icecream machine, but is creamy and delicious anyway.