CHEESE STRUDEL

I really wanted to eat strudel. It was a such a long time ago that I ate it.

So I went to the web to look for a good cheese strudel recipe. I ended up here http://catalinakolker.blogspot.com/2009/09/cheese-strudel.html.

It`s so easy to make it and it`s so delicious….just like my mum`s cheese strudel.

I used only 6 phyllo sheets because I made it in a very big baking pan. So my strudel looked like a pizza but I didn`t mind as I love the cheesy filling! I will definitely make this delicious sweet again!!

Go ahead and try it. This recipe won`t let you down.

Ingredients:

6 phyllo pastry sheets

4 TBSPOONS butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla +1 teaspoon almond extract) NEXT TIME I WILL USE SOME RAISINS TOO

pinch of salt

1 egg beaten

4 TABLESPOONS or taste it!! I put 6 TABLESPOONS sugar (I guess it depends on the sweetness of the cheese)

15 oz (426g ) ricotta cheese (I used a bit more)

1/2 teaspoon orange or lemon zest

1 toothpick to poke holes to let the pastry vent when it`s in the oven

I don`t copy the recipe from Catalina`s blog as I did everything as she did and I was very happy with it.

The only thing what I changed is that I used double sheets ( buttered) for each phyllo layer because my sheets were very thin.

SUPER SOFT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Outside is very cold so I need to drink something hot! I cannot imagine better than chewing delicious cookies with a cup of tea or coffee! I have a large bottle of peanut butter in my cupboard which I usually use to make cream for sponge cakes or sauce for my and my boyfriend`s favourite Thai chicken rice dish. (Recipes are coming soon!) I have never tried to use peanut butter to make cookies, but yesterday I was so excited and started to search a great recipe what I finally found on Izbolygo `s website.

Ingredients:

150 gr flour (a little more than 1 cup)

90 gr soft unsulted butter (6.4 tablespoon)

110 g crunchy peanut butter (0.43 cup)

75 g demerara sugar or brown sugar (0.46 cup)

1 egg

half teaspoon of baking powder

13 g baking soda (bit less than 1 tablespoon)

1 pinch of salt

1)Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a handmixer or if you don`t have it use a wooden spoon or your hands. 2) Make small balls of cookie dough, flatten them with a fork lengthwise and crosswise as well, so you will get nice stripes on the top of your cookies. 3) Grease the baking tray or cover it with baking paper and place the cookies on it.
4) Bake them in 180 C degrees (350 F) preheated oven for 15 -20 minutes until they get a nice golden brown colour.

LOUSIANA HOT BEANS

I found this simple recipe in Recipes from Around the World recipe book. Fast and non-expensive. The ingredients can be varied according to taste.


Cooking: approx. 20-25 minutes (canned beans) 1 hour 40 minutes (dried beans).




Ingredients: (for 2 persons)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small or medium onion
• 1 box (235g) beans (I used white beans , but any kind of beans may be used)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (28-30%)
• 250 ml from a stock cube or bouillon dissolved in hot water
• Sausage (5 pcs.) May replace 4 slices bacon
• a little sunflower oil
• ground black pepper, chili powder or Tabasco sauce, parsley
• Some pieces of spring onion - you can skip





1) If you are using dried beans, soak in cold water for the previous night.Drain the beans the next day. Get a medium sized sauce pan, pour enough water that covers the beans. The water source basis cook for 10 minutes, then cover and let it cook for 1 hour. (If you use canned beans drain them well).
2) Peel and dice the onion (and garlic if you use it). Dice the bacon or cooked sausage and fry them in oil. Fry the onions until soft but not brown.(Here I added Hunagarian paprika. Then add (garlic) and sausage or bacon, fry for 2 minutes.
3) Mix the chilli pepper in the tomato puree, then stir in the onion. Then add the drained beans. Stir a little, then pour the broth. Season with pepper and parsley. When it boils, cover and cook it over medium heat approx. 20-30 minutes (canned beans) or 40 minutes (dried beans) cook. (Here comes the spring onion cut in small peices.4)Serve it immediately when it`s ready.You have to get a denser but still saucy mixture. Serve with toasted or grilled bread, rolls, buns or cheesy scones,but it`s also delicious without them.