Railfest 2012 - A Day Out This Half Term Holiday?

If your at a loose end over the coming half term holiday why not have a day out at Railfest 2012. This years event runs for 9 days from 2nd June at The National Railway Museum (NRM) in York. It will see Britain's biggest ever gathering of rail record breakers. You will be able to see over 50 trains including 30 record breaking speed legends such as Flying Scotsman, Class 395, East Coast 91110, Tornado and many more. It is an event train fans everywhere won't want to miss out on. 

The action-packed event invites visitors to get-up close to the exhibits and locomotives by climbing into the driver’s cab, taking a ride behind working engines of all sizes and speaking to inspiring railway characters. There will be lots of stalls, refreshment areas and live music which will add to the bustling and exciting atmosphere.

For little train fans there is also a Chuggington area where they can take part in fun filled activities, so there is plenty of things to keep train fans of all ages entertained.

Here is a list of ticket prices, advance booking is recommended due to the popularity of the event (but you can just pay on arrival at the NRM) Also make sure you check which days the trains you want to see are at the event as not all trains will be at Railfest 2012 for every day of the event and it would be a shame if you were to miss them because of this.

Your day ticket gives you unlimited access to the daily programme: 9.30am to 5.30pm daily, with rides 10am to 5pm. (Non-Railfest visitors: the rest of the museum will be free admission as usual.)

It is also advised that you travel to Railfest by public transport. As there will be no public parking during Railfest except for a limited number of level access spaces for blue badge holders. You must ring to book a blue parking space. However this isn't a problem as York has great public transport links with a really good park and ride scheme. The NRM is located next to the train station too and is only a short walk from the city centre.

* We have not been compensated for this post *

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Beetroot borani recipe (borani chogondar)

Any regular reader of Nami-Nami has noticed the respectable number of beetroot recipes on this blog. My friend Alanna of A Veggie Venture blog even calls me "Beet Princess" (she reserved the title of Beet Queen to herself, and indeed, her list of beetroot recipes is pretty impressive, too :)

Here's my latest discovery among beetroot recipes. I was browsing Sam and Sam Clark's latest book, MORO EAST, and this Persian dish caught my eye. Borani is a general term for yogurt-based vegetable "salads" and dips in Persian cuisine. We really enjoyed this, eating it with simple oven-baked potato wedges on our sunny patio. It'd work well on a meze/mezze board with some toasted flatbread, or alongside some grilled or fried fish, oven-roasted lamb or even grilled chicken. It's extremely versatile, as you can imagine.

I will surely be making this borani chogondar again over the summer (I loved the colour!!!), perhaps alongside the spinach version (borani esfanaaj) and the aubergine/eggplant version (borani bademjan).

Make it at least a few hours in advance, so the flavours can develop.

If you're a fellow beet lover, you may want to check out the Beautiful Beet Recipes Pinterest board, where you'll find 100+ great pins leading you to some wonderful foodbloggers' recipes. If you'd love to contribute to that board, then just leave your Pinterest handle in the comments and I'll send you an invite!

Beet Borani
(Peedi-borani)
Serves 6 to 8 
Based on Sam & Sam Clark's recipe, with some modifications



500 g young beets
400 g thick/strained Greek/Turkish/Persian yoghurt
1 large garlic clove (crush to a paste with a generous pinch of salt)
a pinch of sugar
a small bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a splash of wine vinegar or lemon juice, to taste

To garnish:
100 g feta cheese, crumbled
a small handful of walnuts, chopped
a sprinkling of nigella seeds (also known as black Kalonji onion seeds)
a few dill fronds

Scrub the beets, but don't peel them. Place into a boiling water and simmer for 1-1,5 hours, until cooked. Drain and cool and peel, then cut into chunks and place into a food processor.
(Note that you can also roast the beets, or, in a hurry, use boiled un-vinegared beets).
Process the beets, then add the yogurt, crushed garlic and a pinch of sugar, process again until smooth.
Add  the chopped dill, then season to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar/lemon juice.
Transfer onto a serving bowl, cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge for a few hours so the flavours can mingle.
When ready to serve, garnish with crumbled feta, chopped walnuts and some dill fronds. Sprinkle black nigella seeds on top.

 

See other beetroot borani recipes: 
Smoke and Umami
Café Leilee
The Salty Pear
Liz Z  (Liz uses mint to flavour her borani)
Chef Yusuf

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Reading Chest Review

We were recently asked to sign up to a 3 month trial for Reading Chest. Reading Chest is "The book rental service specialising in reading scheme books for children aged 4 to 9 years".

The diagram below illustrates the process of how Reading Chest works. It really is simple. Signing up takes only a few minutes, there is no minimum time that you can sign up for either.

I have signed up and have used both Callum and Nathan's details. There are three packages to choose from but we decided on the unlimited package so that the boys could get the most out of the trial. Below you can see the packages available and the prices of them.

The best bit about Reading Chest is that there are no due dates, no late fees and no hassle. You can choose the types of book that your child is sent, they are "from top reading schemes used in UK schools such as Oxford Reading Tree, Project X, Collins Big Cat, Rigby Star, Alphakids, Treetops, Pocket Reads and Yellow Door, including both fiction and non-fiction".

Our next part of this review will show you the books that we received in the post.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Crispy rye bread canapés with cream cheese and smoked salmon

I did a bit of catering on Saturday for a group of friends*, and this smoked salmon and cream cheese paté/spread on crispy rye bread buttons was one of the dishes I brought along. It disappeared very quickly and I wish I had made a double batch - it's an excellent nibble indeed - savoury (smoked salmon), creamy (cream  cheese), crispy (rye bread buttons), fresh (cucumber slices). I also think the contrasting colours look very pretty.

Although I love this spread on crispy rye bread buttons, it works also beautifully with sliced (and toasted) ciabatta or baguette, of course. Here's a photo from last June:


Cream cheese and smoked salmon paté
(Toorjuustu-suitsulõhepasteet)
Makes about a cup

100 g good-quality cold smoked salmon
150 g cream cheese, at room temperature
a small bunch of dill
lemon juice, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To garnish:
cucumber or lemon slices
fresh dill or chives
finely grated lemon zest

Chop the smoked salmon into small chunks, place into the food processor together with the cream cheese. Add some lemon juice for seasoning and the dill. Process until smooth.
Taste for seasoning - add more lemon juice and season with pepper.

If you're serving this with crispy rye bread buttons, then you need some sliced rye bread (I like a very dark bread here and used "Fazeri must leib"). Cut out small squares or circles and toast them in a preheated 200 C/400 F oven for about 6-7 minutes, until crispy. Cool, then spoon the cream cheese and smoked salmon paté on top and garnish before serving.

You can make the paté up to a day in advance, but don't spread it on toasted rye bread until up to an hour before serving, or you lose the crispiness.

* The other two dishes were tiny spicy chorizo profiteroles and an Estonian crumb cake, cut into tiny slices.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Easy entertaining: whole hot-smoked trout or salmon with caviar dressing

Want something super-delicious, rather elegant and extremely simple for your next festive spread? Here's an excellent idea I got from my friend Annika. Annika is Estonian, but she works and lives in Sweden. She introduced me to this very popular Swedish and Finnish "sauce" that's traditionally served alongside smoked or grilled trout or salmon at a party she hosted at her Tallinn holiday flat at the end of last year.

Since then I've served this on several occasions and always to a great success. You need a good-quality smoked trout or salmon to start with - I've used a whole hot-smoked trout*, that we "carve" at the table, but you can also serve it alongside portion-sized pieces of smoked fish. Although salted trout or salmon roe is nowhere as prohibitively expensive as "proper" caviar, it's still very festive and elegant and makes people feel that they're really being pampered :)

If you're based in Tallinn or nearby, then I whole-heartedly recommend the whole hot-smoked trout from Pepe Kala OÜ. You'll find their stall at Tammsaare tee 89 during the week, or come and meet them at Viimsi Taluturg (Viimsi farmers' market) on Saturday mornings from 10 am till 2 pm. They also have excellent lightly salted trout roe.  




Creamy caviar dressing
(Kalamarjakaste)
Serves 6

200-250 g thick sour cream or creme fraiche
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion (shallot is fine)
150 g lightly salted trout or salmon roe (or slightly less, depending on your budget and taste)
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, spoon into a nice bowl and serve alongside the whole smoked fish. 
Ok, how easy and effortless was that? :)

Here's another excellent Swedish dressing recipe that goes well with smoked salmon: Dill and Mustard Sauce

What's your super-easy and quick entertainment dish? Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Schleich Dinosaurs Review

We were recently asked to review some Schleich dinosaur toys. The boys were sent 3 dinosaurs to review. They were sent a Triceratops, an Allosaurus and a Parasaurolophus.

When I first looked at the dinosaurs I was extremely impressed with their quality. They are solid and definitely wont break easily. On closer inspection you can see every bit of detail on the toys. From their scales and teeth to their eyes and claws. I believe this adds to the quality of play that a child receives from a toy too. If a toy looks realistic then they are more likely to play with them more. Because the detail is so great on the toys they would make a lovely collection to be put on display in a child's bedroom once they've stopped playing with them.

The dinosaurs are aimed at children aged 3+ but James loves them and has been playing with them more than his brothers - this is because he wont let them play with them and not that they don't want to play with them. He is a little obsessed at the minute with monsters and dinosaurs so all he says is "ROAR" and these 3 have made lots of noise over the last week or so in our house, courtesy of James and his imagination whilst playing with them. 

You can buy these dinosaurs and other ones online or from most good toy stores. They range in price from £3.99 to £12.00 depending on the size of the toy. Schleich also sell other role play toys such as people and farm animals. We will certainly buy Scleich toys in the future.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Rhubarb and sour cream tart

Rhubarb season, which seems to have last for a few weeks now in England and in parts of the US, has just began in Estonia (remember, my homeland is at about 58.5 latitude, so quite far up north). During the last week or two, I've already baked two batches of my very favourite rhubarb muffins, cooked a batch of rhubarb kissel (kind of fruit soup), and devoured this spiced rhubarb sheet cake with my family. You'll find all Nami-Nami's rhubarb recipes in this post. Next up? Probably this rhubarb curd from my friend Alanna, and then perhaps Rachel's rhubarb and plum crisp from David's blog? We'll see.

If you do have a good rhubarb recipe suggestion, please share it in the comments!

Today's cake recipe has been another rhubarb favourite for years, and it's also much loved by the readers of my Estonian Nami-Nami site - about 48 people have commented the cake recipe, most of them saying how much they love it :)

Remember - as long as you're using nice and young rhubarb stalks (preferably red-skinned!), there's no need to peel the rhubarb first.  

The idea is from a Finnish Ruokala site (Antin raparperipiiras), but over the years I've modified it considerably to suit my taste, so am happily claiming this as Nami-Nami's rhubarb cake recipe :)

Delicious rhubarb cake with sour cream topping 
(Hõrk rabarbrikook hapukoorega)
Serves eight

Pastry:
100 g butter, at room temperature
85 g caster sugar (100 ml)
50 g sour cream
1 egg
180 g all-purpose flour (300 ml)
1 tsp baking powder

Filling:
250 g sour cream (20% dairy fat)
4 Tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla sugar or extract

Topping:
4 to 5 rhubarb stalks, cut into 5-8 mm slices
demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F. 

Cream the butter with sugar. Stir in the sour cream and egg, then fold in the flour that's been mixed with baking powder. Stir until combined - the pastry should be soft, but not watery. Using your hands, spread the pastry onto the base and sides of a 24 cm (9-to-10-inch) loose-bottomed springform tin.
For the filling, combine all the ingredients. Pour onto the pastry base.
Scatter rhubarb on top, sprinkle with some demerara sugar.
Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is set.Cool in the tin, then carefully remove the tin and transfer the cake onto a serving plate. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Beer, mustard and cheese bread recipe, inspired by Welsh Rarebit

Are you familiar with the British pub classic, Welsh Rarebit? It's a slice of toasted bread topped with a melted cheese, mustard and beer concoction. Excellent, if rich, comfort food. Those three flavourings are all present in this soft yeast bread that's been a favourite for years - I even included a recipe in my first cookbook. It's soft and tender, with plenty of gutsy flavours going on. It's obviously not a bread that you'd toast and slather with jam, but with some extra cheese or a slice of good country ham - oh yes!

See also Felicity Cloake's post How to cook perfect Welsh rarebit in the Guardian to give you some insights into the dish that inspired this bread. 


Beer, mustard and cheese bread
(Õlle-juustuleib)
Makes 2 loaves



500 ml dark beer (ale, porter, stout - all work; 2 cups)
50 g fresh yeast or 2 envelopes fast-action instant yeast
3-4 Tbsp light syrup (golden syrup or corn syrup is fine; about 80 g)
2 tsp fine salt
150 g hard cheese, coarsely grated (Cheddar's good, or any Estonian cheese :))
600-650 g all-purpose flour*
1-2 tsp English mustard powder (I use Colmans)
100 ml vegetable oil or 75 g butter, melted and cooled

Use a large mixing bowl.  If using fresh yeast, then crumble it into lukewarm (37C) beer and stir until dissolved. Add the syrup, then fold in the grated cheese and about half of the flour. Add the salt, mustard powder and knead in the rest of the flour. Finally add the oil/melted butter. 
(If you're using the fast-action instant yeast, then simply mix all the dry ingredients, then add the beer, syrup, cheese and mix, finally adding the oil/butter). 

* A note on the amount of flour. I've successfully made this with 600 g flour, which is about 1 litres or about 4 heaped cups.  You may need a little more - you're aiming for a soft, dropping consistency.

Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel, place the mixing bowl into a warm and draught-free location and let the dough raise until doubled in size. This will take about an hour.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured worktop. Lightly knead the dough and divide into two equal parts. Form into oblong loaves and transfer into buttered or lined baking tins. (I've used 22 cm/2 litre bread tins to make high loaves and 30 cm/3 litre bread tins to make smaller loaves).
Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 175 C/350 F oven for about 45 minutes, until well risen and golden brown on top.



Alternatively, you can free-form the loaves and bake them on a baking sheet, as above.

More unusual takes on Welsh Rarebit:
Welsh rarebit lamb nachos @ Endless Simmer
Cheddar, beer and mustard pull-apart bread @ Smitten Kitchen (an idea not so dissimilar to this)
Welsh rarebit souffle @ Amuse Bouche

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom: Elf Games DVD

Today we received a copy of Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, Elf Games DVD in the post, it was released 14th May and is available to buy online for £8.99 from www.littlekingdomstore.co.uk.


The DVD has been released to coincide with the London 2012 Olympics (something I personally can't wait for), this will hopefully get younger children interested in the Olympics too. 


My boys love Ben and Holly and are always watching it on TV. For those of you who have never seen or heard about Ben and Holly you should check out their website to see just what goes on within the Little Kingdom - http://www.littlekingdom.co.uk/, here you can see videos, read stories, play games, enter competitions and lots more.


The DVD includes 10 other episodes from the Little Kingdom, these are:

• Nanny’s Lesson
• The Elf Factory
• Mrs Witch
• Elf Joke Day
• King Thistle’s New Clothes
• Elf School
• The Royal Golf Course
• Morning Noon and Night
• Gaston’s Visit
• Trip to the Seaside

Nathan and James both sat glued to the TV the whole time whilst the DVD was on, this is a rarity in our house so I was glad of the peace and quiet that it brought, it allowed me to get on with a few chores I had been putting off.

Nathan said his favourite episodes were the Elf Games and Elf Joke Day. He said he liked these as they were funny. When I asked him what they were about he said that The Elf Games was about sports day like they have at school and that Holly wanted to use her magic to win but Ben said she couldn't as it wasn't allowed.  He said Elf Joke Day was funny as the Elves were playing tricks on each other, Nanny Plum turned The Wise Old Elf into a snail as he played a trick on her and he didn't like it.

We give the Elf Games DVD a rating of 5/5, it is a firm favourite of ours.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Thomas and Friends 4 Large Shaped Jigsaw Puzzles

The boys were recently sent their fourth puzzle from Ravensburger to review. This month they were sent the Thomas and Friends Four Large Shaped Jigsaw Puzzles.  There are four individual puzzles in the box and are of the characters, Percy, James, Charlie and Thomas. Both James and Nathan are huge Thomas fans so were really happy when they saw what we had been sent.

This month James asked to do the puzzle, it is the first time he has really shown an interest in doing a puzzle properly and as he is only a month off being three years old I thought that it would be good to see how he did. I wasn't really expecting him to be able to do the puzzles but he managed them really well with a little help from me (making sure they were the right way round mainly or making sure they belonged to the correct character). 

 The puzzles are cut into 10, 12, 14 and 16 pieces and are colour co-ordinated, this makes it easier for a child to differentiate between the puzzles and the pieces within each of them. Nathan could easily pick out which pieces belonged in which puzzle, whereas James couldn't. But with a little help from myself and Nathan he did just fine.

The puzzles are suitable for children aged 3+ and priced at £8.99, they can be purchased from all good toy shops and retailers. We highly recommend Ravensburger puzzles, they are made from good quality materials and the pieces fit well together even when played with over and over. These are definitely puzzles made to last.

We cant wait for our next puzzle to arrive.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Imitation Snow Crab Sandwich Recipe (Surimi)

In the ideal world, of course, I would use freshly picked and cleaned proper crab meat to make this open sandwich. However, good-quality crab meat (actually, any crab meat) is hard to come by here in Estonia. Instead I have to settle for imitation crab, or surimi.

Here's a quick and simple topping for a slice of toast or soft roll that I quite happen to like.

Imitation Snow Crab Sandwich
(Lumekrabist saiakate)
Makes four

120 g packet snow crab (surimi; make sure you use the best one around with highest surimi percentage)
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 soft rolls, halved or 4 slices of toast

Break up the snow crab sticks. Place into a bowl, fold in mayonnaise. Season with lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt.
Serve on a halved soft roll or on a slice of toast, garnish with fresh dill and season with black pepper (and perhaps some finely grated lemon zest).

More surimi recipes:
Open-faced surimi and egg salad sandwich @ What's Cookin, Chicago
Surimi Maki @ Inspired Bites
Imitation Crab Salad @ Karen Cooks
Russian Style Crab Salad @ Natasha's Kitchen

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

A Girl's Worst Nightmare...

Over the last few weeks it seems I have had the worst luck ever. They say bad luck comes in three's well I've had my three and I'm hoping that's it for a very long time, I will go into detail of two of these in another post as they are both similar and are both to do with Facebook - which is slowly but surely turning into a horrible place to be.

However the worst of the three happened only a few days ago. I lost my beloved engagement ring. It  wasn't very expensive compared to some rings but it was MY ring. It wasn't very old and I hadn't realised how loose it was. I can't recall hearing it drop. 

I have looked everywhere for it, the bedrooms, bathrooms, retraced my steps to the boys school and even the shop where I went for a loaf of bread. I've looked in the garden, in the kitchen under the sofas and even in the vacuum cleaner - I can't think of anywhere else it could be.

As you can imagine Matt isn't best pleased about it but what else can he say, it wasn't intentional, there's nothing I can do but keep looking for it. I'm hoping it will miraculously turn up but as my luck seems to have done a run and bunk I'm not holding my breath! For now the search continues - its either that or wait for a new one but as its taken 6 years to get the one I had I could be in for a long wait.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Canteen classics: Solyanka, Estonian style

 
(This recipe was originally posted in December 2006. Fully updated in May 2012).
 
Here's a recipe for a soup that must have frequently featured in one disguise or another in every single canteen and many households across the former Soviet empire: solyanka (see also this informative article about Russian soups). A hearty soup originally from Russia and Ukraine that can be just as humble or elegant as you want. If you're a flashy Slav, you use seven types of meat (incl. kidneys) and throw in a handful of black olives, a slice of lemon and a generous pinch of capers. If you're a more modest Estonian, you stick to sweating onions and a choice of sausages. You can add cabbage or other vegetables, make a vegetarian, fishy or meaty solyanka.

Whatever you do, you must use salted/brined cucumbers (aka pickles), which give the soup its characteristic salty-sour note.

Solyanka, Estonian style
(Seljanka eesti moodi)
Serves: 4

3 large onions (about 400 grams in total)
4 Tbsp oil
100 ml boiling water
100 grams of concentrated tomato puree
1 litre beef stock (use boiling water and 2 beef stock cubes, if necessary)
3 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
3 salted cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced
300-400 grams of cooked lean meat products (choose a mixture of Frankfurters, Polish kabanos or Krakow sausages, sliced cooked beef, mild chorizo sausages etc - 2-3 different types)

To serve:
sour cream or smetana or thick plain yogurt

Quarter the onions and slice thinly crosswise.
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan, add onions and fry gently for 5 minutes. Add peppercorns and bay leaves alongside 100 ml of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes, until onions have softened.
Add tomato puree and stir until combined.
Add the hot stockm sliced cucumbers, and chopped meat products.
Bring slowly to the boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer gently for about10 minutes, so the flavours can develop.
Taste for seasoning - you can add some lemon juice to sharpen the soup.Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some rye bread.

More solyanka recipes:
Salmon and wild mushroom solyanka @ Nami-Nami
Frau T's solyanka  @ Urban Foodie
Solyanka @ Eastern Europan Food (About.com)
Russian meat solyanka  @ Food.com
Solyanka @ Pavel Chuchuva (in Melbourne)
Simple Solyanka @ Windows to Russia

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Wild Garlic Hummus Recipe

The wild garlic season has began here in Estonia. For almost a fortnight I see people foraging for the pungent wild leaves in a nearby forest, and I've been picking a small brown paper bag full of leaves twice myself. The other day I was browsing on Pinterest for lovely wild garlic ideas, and came across this lovely recipe for wild garlic hummus on Shaheen's blog Allotment2Kitchen.

I used my regular hummus recipe and simply added a generous handful of wild garlic leaves. The result was a vibrant green dip/spread, that had a wonderful garlicky element, but its Lebanese/Israeli heritage was still there.

Note that wild garlic is also known as ramson (Allium ursinum). It's closely related to wild leeks or ramps (Allium tricoccum). Very generally speaking, the first is common in Europe and the latter in North America. You can easily substitute one for the other in this (and other Nami-Nami's wild garlic recipes).

Wild Garlic Hummus 
(Karulauguhummus)
Serves four

400 g canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 handful fresh wild garlic leaves, rinsed
couple of spoonfuls of water
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain the chickpeas and place to the food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until you've got a smooth paste (or slightly coarse, if that's how you prefer your houmous). Taste for seasoning - if you wish, add some more lemon juice or salt.

Excellent with toasted pita bread, or on a slice of toast, or spread on crispy crostini or as a dipping sauce with some crudités. We enjoyed ours with some Georgian bread, pictured.

More Wild Garlic recipes:
Wild Garlic Pesto with Almonds @ Nami-Nami
Wild Garlic Pesto with Pinenuts @ Nami-Nami
Wild Garlic Tzatziki @ Nami-Nami
Mashed Potatoes with Wild Garlic @ Nami-Nami
Wild Garlic Butter @ Nami-Nami
Ramson-Almond-Pesto  @ Küchenlatein
Creamy Wild Garlic Soup @ Cinnamon and Thyme
Wild garlic, courgette and mint soup by Angela Hartnett

More hummus recipes:
Harissa-spiked hummus @ Nami-Nami
Beetroot Hummus @ Nami-Nami
Hommus with pomegranate syrup and tahini @ Anissa Helou
Basil hummus @ Simply Recipes
Hummus en fuego @ 101 Cookbooks
Roasted jalapeno and lime hummus  @ The Kitchn
Beet Hummus @ Chocolate & Zucchini

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

A wonderful coconut and rhubarb tart

I admit that this is basically a re-posting - recipe was already featured on Nami-Nami back in 2007 - but it's been a while and I've tweaked the recipe during those years. Hope you'll forgive me :) I liked the original version quite a bit, but think this modified one is even better. Curiously, I've halved the amount of coconut. If you let it cool completely before tucking in - preferably overnight - it's still immensely coconut-flavoured, yet delicately letting the rhubarb shine as well. Double the coconut - and it's all too sweet and just not right..

So here you go, Rhubarb and Coconut Tart, version 2012.
(Rabarbri-kookosekook)
Serves 8

Crust:
180 g all-purpose flour (300 ml)
2 Tbsp caster sugar
a pinch of salt
100 g cold butter, cubed
1 egg

Filling:
300 g rhubarb, chopped into 1-2 cm chunks

Topping:
75 g butter, softened
170 g caster sugar (200 ml)
1 tsp vanilla sugar or extract
250 g plain yogurt or sour cream
2 eggs
100 g unsweetened shredded coconut

Start with the crust. Sift flour, sugar and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and pinch until crumbly. Add the egg, combine the pastry quickly. Wrap into a clingfilm and place into the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Butter a 24 cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, making the circle about 34 cm in diametre, then line the bottom and the sides of the cake tin with the rolled-out pastry.
Blind bake at 200 C/400 F for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden.
Meanwhile,  cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until combined. Add the yoghurt/sour cream, eggs, and coconut.
Cut the rhubarb into chunks.
Take the pre-baked tart shell out of the oven, spread rhubarb on top.
Spoon the coconut topping over the rhubarb, smoothing out the top.
Return to the oven for about 30-35 minutes, until the tart is lovely golden brown.

Cool (a little or completely) and cut into slices to serve.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad