Tuna Salad with Kidney Beans

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This colorful summer salad is the perfect side dish for a grill out, to serve in taco shells or with fresh bread and pan-fried cheese. It’s fresh, juicy and crisp and once you try it you are hooked.

Loaded with protein, fiber and vitamins this salad is super healthy and a pescatarian’s dream.

Ingredients for 4 servings

500g Tomatoes

1 green or red bell pepper

1 yellow chili pepper

1 can (250g) kidney beans

juice of 2 limes

3-4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper to taste

1 medium onion

1 clove of garlic

2 cans of tuna in its own juice

How to prepare the salad

  • Start by draining your tuna and drain and rinse your kidney beans.
  • Mince your onion and garlic. I like to use a garlic press to mince the garlic but you can also cut it into very small pieces with a knife.
  • Make a vinaigrette with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I start with 1/2 tsp of salt but might add a little more before serving the salad.
  • Add the minced onion and garlic to the vinaigrette and set aside.
  • With a knife, score a small “x” into the bottom of each tomato. Give the tomatoes to a large bowl and cover with boiling water, set aside. This will help to peel your tomatoes.
  • Slice the bell pepper into thin strips and mince the hot chili pepper.
  • You should now be able to easily peel the skin off the tomatoes. Remove the seeds and cut the tomatoes into small pieces. This part always gets a little messy.
  • After all the cutting, slicing and peeling you can now give the tuna, kidney beans, tomatoes, chili peppers and sliced bell peppers into a large bowl.
  • Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat.
  • Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving. Season to taste.

How to store the salad

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Sunshine on my mind

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Rhubarb Dessert

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This tart and slightly sweet vegetable has a short growing season and is available in early spring.

You can enjoy it in so many wonderful ways from dessert to cakes and pies, jams, juice, crumble, compotes, in salads and many more.

Rhubarb is low in calories and a good source of fiber, Vitamin K and C and antioxidants.

Cooking a rhubarb dessert is very simple and doesn’t take up much time.

Raw Rhubarb

Ingredients for 4-6 servings

1 kg Rhubarb

200g Sugar

How to cook the Rhubarb

  • wash the rhubarb stalks under cool water and peel off the stringy fibers with a small knife
  • trim the top and bottom of the stalks and cut the rhubarb into 2-3 cm thin slices
  • give the vegetable to a large pot and add water, just enough to cover the bottom of your pot
  • add sugar and bring to a boil
  • reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. If you like the rhubarb a little more firm, reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes

Rhubarb with vanilla sauce

How to serve the Rhubarb

Serve warm or cold with vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream or on pudding.

How to store in the fridge

If you have raw rhubarb that you are not ready to cook yet, wrap it in a damp towel and store in the fridge for up to three days.

Store your cooked rhubarb in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

How to freeze

You can freeze the raw or cooked rhubarb in a freezer safe container for up to a year.

I would recommend to freeze the raw rhubarb clean, dry, peeled and cut into pieces.

Cooking with love provides food for the soul.

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I also have this recipe on my YouTube channel Here

White Asparagus

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A traditional German meal

It’s (almost) asparagus season in Germany. The season goes from mid April to June 24th. During this time asparagus is served in soups, salads, as a side dish or the traditional German meal of Asparagus with potatoes and cured ham, served with melted butter or Hollandaise sauce.

The “white gold” makes the German heart beat faster. Asparagus is tasty and nutritious.

How much asparagus to serve per person?

It always depends on the dish you want to cook or how much everyone likes asparagus . If we eat asparagus with potatoes and cured ham, I always buy 1.5 kg fresh asparagus for the four of us (2 adults, 2 teenager).

Ingredients

1.5 kg fresh white asparagus

2 liters water (to boil)

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp oil (I use olive oil)

How to cook fresh asparagus

  • peel the fresh asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler by placing it on a flat surface (this will keep the stalks from snapping) and run the peeler from just below the heads to the bottom
  • cut off the cut ends
  • in a large pot bring 2 liters of water, salt, sugar and oil to boil
  • add the fresh asparagus and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until soft
  • when the asparagus is soft take it carefully out of the water using a strainer spoon or tongs, be careful to not damage the delicate heads and serve with your favorite sides

While the asparagus is cooking on the stove, I prepare the side dishes. For the traditional meal I cook my potatoes, melt the butter to serve as a sauce and slice the cured ham in thick slices.

How to store the asparagus

If the asparagus is cooked, store in a airtight container in the fridge up to three days.

Store the fresh asparagus wrapped in a moist towel in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator for up to 4 days.

The most indispensible ingredient of all good home cooking: love for those you are cooking for.

Sophia Loren

If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram Here

I also have this recipe on my YouTube channel Here

Mayonnaise Free Potato Salad

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Potato Salad is a wonderful old-fashioned dish traditionally made with mayonnaise.

It’s the perfect side dish for cookouts or lunches/dinners. It’s also a good way to use leftover potatoes (I always cook to many potatoes for lunch) and make a quick little salad.

Since not everyone likes mayonnaise here is an alternative made with sour cream.

Ingredients

500 g potatoes, cooked

150 g sour cream

25 ml sweet cream

1 small onion

2 pickles

fresh parsley

salt, pepper, sugar and pickle juice to taste

optional radishes and/or a cooked egg

How to prepare potato salad

  • cook your potatoes with the skin on until they are easily pierced with a fork. Set aside and let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients
  • in a large bowel whisk together the sour cream and the sweet cream until evenly combined
  • dice the onion and pickles into small pieces, add to the cream mix and season with pickle juice, sugar, salt and pepper
  • cut your potatoes into chunks or slices (feel free to peel the potatoes) and give to the sauce. Toss gently until evenly combined
  • garnish with fresh parsley
  • optional: add a hard boiled egg cut into pieces or sliced radishes
  • chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving

How to store the salad

You can store the salad in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

HAPPINESS is HOMEMADE

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Marzipan Potatoes

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You can find this tender marzipan candy all over Germany this time of the year.

The cocoa powder dusted marzipan potatoes are not called potatoes because they are made out of it, it’s because they look like little baby potatoes. These chewy little treats are mouthwatering!

They are fast and easy to make with only 3 ingredients and also make a cute gift wrapped up in little bags or small glasses.

Ingredients for 25 Marzipan balls

200 g Marzipan

75 g icing sugar

1/2 tsp cocoa powder

How to make the Marzipan balls

  • Give the marzipan to a bowl.
  • Sift in the icing sugar and knead until you have a smooth dough. This may take a while!
  • Form your dough into a roll and cut into 25 small pieces.
  • Roll each piece into a little ball.
  • Give the cocoa powder into a bowl with your marzipan balls and move them around until dusted with the powder.

How to store

Keep in an airtight container, store in a cool and dry place.

Merry everything and happy always.

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Marzipan Cookies

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Marzipan cookies are a delicious Christmas treat with their firm exterior, crunchy almond on top and dreamily chewy interior. A scrumptious surprise not only for Marzipan lovers!

No christmas is complete without them.

Ingredients for 36 cookies

250 g Marzipan

1 egg

80 g icing sugar

60 g almonds

70 g ground almonds

40 g all-purpose flour

3 drops rose water

36 pieces round edible paper for baking

How to bake the cookies

  • Cut the marzipan into chunks, that makes it easier to work with.
  • Add the marzipan chunks and the egg white to a bowl.
  • Sift in the flour and icing sugar.
  • Add the ground almonds and a few drops rose water.
  • Knead the dough until smooth.
  • Cover the dough and let chill in the fridge for an hour.
  • After an hour preheat your oven to 150C/300F.
  • Cut the chilled dough into 36 pieces.
  • Roll the dough pieces into little balls.
  • Place the dough balls on the edible paper and press them down a little.
  • Add an almond on top of each cookie.
  • Brush the cookies with a mix of the egg yolk and a tbsp. of water.
  • Bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

How to store the cookies

Store your cookies in an airtight container with a lid and they will last up to 2 weeks.

May this holiday season be filled with laughter, joy, and peace.

If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment below or tag me on instagram !

Homemade Apple Cider

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We recently picked our last apples for the season. It was just one tree left, a winter apple, and it was packed with apples. These apples are fantastic and store very well. We use them all winter long for Scrumptious Apple Cake and pies, apple sauce, homemade apple cider and Feeding Garden birds in fall and winter.

We shared many apples with our family and stored a good amount in our root cellar.

Winter Apples

For my apple cider I pick 7-8 large apples and make homemade apple juice with my juicer until I have about 1 liter of juice but store-bought juice is fine as well.

This homemade apple juice is so delicious that I could just drink it. But I wanted to do something else, so I’ll get all my ingredients.

Ingredients

1 liter apple juice

juice from one orange

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anis

1 piece of ginger (walnut size )

3 cloves

1 teaspoon homemade vanilla sugar

2 teaspoons honey (optional, to sweeten the cider when it has cooled down)

How to cook apple cider

I give all ingredients except the honey in a cooking pot and bring to a rapid boil. As soon as it boils I’ll take it off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes to let all the flavors from the herbs and spices infuse.

After 30 minutes, I pour the apple cider through a sieve to remove the herbs and spices. I add 1-2 teaspoons of honey if it’s not sweet enough.

The house smells incredible like fall and winter and it’s time to enjoy the delicious apple cider!

Storing and to reheat

If the apple cider no longer has the desired temperature, I reheat it on the stove. I’ll keep leftovers in the fridge for another day.

Stay cozy!

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Vegetarian Chili

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Vegetarian Chili

The temperature outside has dropped quite a bit the last few days and we had the first night frost.

The need for cosiness brings all the wonderful fall and winter dishes we love to my mind.

One of my favorites is a healthy and hearty vegetarian chili loaded with beans and spices that’ll warm you up. It’s an awesome dish for the weekend when we spend the whole day outside. We just warm up a bowl of chili and garnish with everyones favorite toppings. Heavenly!

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 small onion (diced)

1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 carrot (diced)

1 red or yellow bell pepper (diced)

2 cans (400g each) diced tomatoes

1 can (400g) kidney beans

1 can (400g) black beans

1 can (400g) cannellini beans

1 can (200g) black-eyed peas

1 small can ( size 1/2 cup) corn

1 1/2 cups veggie broth

1 bay leaf

Spice mix

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon smoked Salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 tablespoon sugar 

Toppings

Sour cream, cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, chives, avocado, tortilla chips, baguette

How to cook the vegetarian chili

Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and simmer the diced onions for 2-3 minutes. Add the diced carrot, minced garlic and diced bell pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, stir occasionally. 

Prepare the spice mix. Combine all the spices (chili powder, cilantro, oregano, salt, cumin, paprika, Pepper and sugar) into a small bowl and set aside.

Drain and rinse your beans.

When your veggies are tender add the spice mix and stir well to cover all your vegetables. Cook for a minute but be careful not to burn.

Add the diced tomatoes and stir. Now stir in the beans, corn and veggie broth and add the bay leaf.

Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. Stir occasionally.

To thicken the chili, remove 1-2 cups of the chili, transfer to a bowl and blend with an immersion blender. You can also use your blender or smoothie maker, but ensure the lid is closed.

Once your mixture is smooth, pour it back into the chili and stir to combine. 

Let simmer for another 2-3 minutes and season to taste.

Now you can garnish the chili with everyones favorite toppings.

Veggie Chili garnished with sour cream, cheddar cheese and fresh cilantro. Served with baguette.

Storing and to reheat

You can store the cool chili in a sealable container in the fridge for 4 days. To heat up leftover chili on the stove top, turn on the cooktop to medium heat and stir the chili constantly while reheating. If the chili is too thick, add a little bit of water.

If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment below. Tag me on Instagram @luckyloreleyy

Scrumptious Apple Cake

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Are you ready for fall? For all the fall fragrances and colors and delicious fall food? Are you ready for a scrumptious apple cake?

apple cake with raisins

Since I picked our apples a week ago I craved to bake a juicy apple cake. I wanted to make the sweet and slightly tart flavor of the apples combined with the warmth of cinnamon and vanilla pop. At the same time the cake had to be fluffy and juicy but not soggy.

I used the Holsteiner Cox apples (an old apple variety) from our tree for this cake. My husband and our oldest daughter are very allergic to apples and with choosing old varieties of apples (low-allergen apples) they will more likely be able to eat them. Also cooking the apples helps a lot since it may alter the protein that causes the reaction.

Holsteiner Cox apples

Can you imagine how delightful our house smelled when I baked the cake? It was mouth-watering!

What type of baking pan to use for this cake

There is nothing more irritating than baking a beautiful cake without being able to remove it from the pan in one piece. We have probably all made at least once the mistake of using the wrong baking pan. For this cake I prefer a springform cake pan! If you line the bottom of the pan with baking paper and let the cake completely cool in the pan you can easily remove the ring and transfer the cake to a platter.

Let me share this delicious recipe with you

Ingredients to cook the apples:

  • 2-3 apples
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. Vanilla Sugar
  • 1-2 Tbsp. Raisins
  • 3/4 cup water

for the dough:

  • 60 g butter (soft)
  • 100 g sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla sugar
  • 130 g spelt flour
  • 100 g creme fraiche/sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

optional:

powdered sugar to dust the cake

How to bake the cake

  1. Peel your apples and slices them in thick slices.

2. Cook your apples in a pan/pot on low heat with water, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and raisins for 5 minutes or until soft but not mushy.

3. Drain the apples in a sieve.

4. Preheat your oven to 175 C/350 F.

5. Line the bottom of your baking pan with baking paper.

6. Mix your butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs until creamy. Stir in the creme fraiche/sour cream. Slowly add the flour and baking powder.

7. Give the dough to your baking pan and even the top. Arrange the sliced apples and raisins on top of the cake.

8. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cake from the oven and let completely cool before removing it from the pan.

Toppings that will make your cake even more delicious

Now that your scrumptious apple cake is just waiting to be eaten you can sprinkle it with icing sugar or serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

apple cake with powdered sugar

“Apple cake counts as a serving of fruit.“

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If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @Luckyloreleyy.

Vegetarian Pasta Alfredo – One Skillet Pasta

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This one skillet vegetarian pasta dish is super yummy with its creamy sauce. It’s simple and fresh and for my pasta loving family just the perfect lunch or dinner. The sauce is holding to the pasta and the peas give a little bit of color to the dish.

This creamy Alfredo is a good meal when you don’t have much time to cook. It always depends on how long the pasta you use needs to cook but with this recipe you can have your dish on the table within 20 to 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Pasta Alfredo Ingredients

4 Servings

  • 230g pasta
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 tsp vegetable broth powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/3 cup whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

How to cook Vegetarian Pasta Alfredo

Heat a little bit of oil in your heavy pan and cook the minced garlic for a few seconds. Stir in the pasta, the water, your veggie broth powder, salt and pepper.

Bring to boiling and reduce the heat. Simmer your pasta until tender (but still firm) with the lid on to keep the liquid, since you’ll turn your broth into a delicious sauce in the next step.

When your pasta is cooked stir in the peas, whipping cream and parmesan cheese and cook until heated through for about 3 to 5 minutes, stir a few times.

Toppings or sides that go well with Vegetarian Alfredo

Serve with a crisp side salad and some tasty ciabatta bread!

If you are like my daughter a bacon lover, why not sprinkle with bacon bits. Or maybe you like an extra dash of parmesan cheese on top?

Storing and how to reheat

You can store your pasta in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Allow your dish to cool completely before storing.

Reheat your pasta slowly on the stove top and add a little milk.

If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment below.

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