All that you can do with rice

I always liked the rice, but not cooked it with great frequency, here. When I prepare something  with rice   normally, I use Thasmine, by far  my favorite I love the aroma released when cooking.
The other day I cooked rice to accompany  some meal, and left some, as I do not like reheated rice, and I do not like waste, thought to make some changes,so we can use it. My first thought was to make  rice cakes that you can use as side dish. Super simple to make and  for sure  kids and grow ups will be love it.

                                                              Rice cakes

Ingredients: Serve: 6 cakes (medium size) Time: 30 minuts 1 cup boiled rice 1 large egg, 4 tablespoons flour 4 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon baking powder   Parsley or thyme, chopped   Salt and pepper to taste

Method : Put the rice in a bowl and mix with other ingrdientes. Grease a skillet with butter and place a spoonful of the mixture on the hot butter. Leave and turn until golden brown . Serve immediately

Thasmine rice with tomato and  sweet peas

 As a second option I thought on  rice with tomato sauce and sweet peas. As I saw some wonderful, very fresh in the market, I thought that would be fine with my rice.Well, it really looks great and if you like fresh peas as much as I like I let you here more one suggestion  fast and  easy  with great flavour , that you can use as main dish if you like.

                                              Rice with tomato and sweet fresh peas 

Ingredients Serve: 4 Time: 40 minutos 1 cup rice 1small onion 1 clove garlic 1 grated carrot 1 / 2 red bell pepper 2 tomatoes 250g fresh peas 1 spoon of sunflower oil Chopped rosemary 2 1 / 2 cups warm chicken broth. Thyme 1 crushed bay leaf   Salt and pepper to taste

Method : Cut the onion, garlic and pepper into squares Liquefy tomatoes in the blender with a pinch of sugar.   In a saucepan heat the oil, and bring to simmer the ingredients above, for three minutes. Add the carrots and rice and peas and stir fry for two minutes. Add the tomatoes and herbs, cook for another minute Add the chicken broth and put salt and pepper. bring to boil, when boiling cover pot and continue cooking over low heat until the broth has evaporated.

        Of course we could not miss the dessert, very sweet and creamy. My mother's favorite dessert: rice pudding. It's like I'm in Argentina, could not fail to have dulce de leche, of course. I put sugary dulce de leche to give a little more contrasting textures. The ideal would have given a layer of dulce de leche in the middle and another at the end, I advise that they do so.
As can be seen, with rice can be done from one entry to the dessert.         

                                            Rice pudding with sugary dulce de leche

                                           Rice pudding with sugary dulce de leche

Ingredients Serve: 4 Time: 30 minuts 300g Thasmine rice 900 ml milk 200g sugar 1 vanilla bean  Sugary dulce de leche

Method : Put the rice in a pot and boil with the milk and vanilla, stirring until a creamy consistency, add more milk if necessary, place the sugar at the end. Let cool in the same pan in which it cooked. Serve in cups alternating with the sugary dulce de leche, finely chopped

Courgettes and chicken crumble

I think this is the hottest summer I've ever had here, I don´t know, perhaps it is because we´ll stay in town this summer, but the fact is that I never got so heated.





The good thing is that we can have breakfast outside, in the patio, which we love. It would be rational to stay away from the oven, but for me oven meals are always easy and fast. This recipe combines the two things with an extra bonus, it is super healthy.
 Because of the heat we're going through so I wanted something light for our dinner, and get away from the traditional green salads.
I had some zucchini in the fridge and some oatmeal that my dad forgot, in the cupboard, and also had some frozen chicken in the refrigerator. So I thought about doing a version of the traditional sweet crumble using grated parmesan instead of sugar and the oats makes it so healthy.



 Hope you enjoy it as us.


Chicken and corgettes crumble

For the crumble: 50g grated parmesan 50g butter dced and chill 50g all purpose  flour 50g oatmeal salt and ground pepper For the cougette and chicken layer Olive oil 3 medium to large courgettes 400g chicken boneless  breast 1 garlic clove 6 leaves of sage handful of ciboulette salt and pepper to season

Method For the crumble Put the oatmeal, flour, butter and cheese in a medium bowl.  Blend this all together using the tips of your fingers, until it resembles coarse sand.  Season with salt and  pepper. Cut the courgettes and steam them for five minutes to soften them just a little Chop the  garlic and fry for a minute or two in a little olive oil. Pour the chicken dices and cook until  golden brown. Add ciboulette and sage. Add the courgetts and mix togheter.Reserve. Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Set out six ramequins, preferably the wide and shallow ones In each one spred the mix of courgettes and  chicken dices. Distribute the rumble mixture evenly on top,  Put in the oven to bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crumble is golden. Serve immediately.

Red wine blueberry sauce

As I noted earlier'm busy this week and was also with guest to dine. I did not have much time to prepare anything, because it was a last minute means. As usual my pantry and fridge were my salvation. A pudding bought some vanilla ice cream and wine blueberry sauce on top.
Is super easy to make and you can freeze for up three month. 

Have a nice week end!

Ingredients 250g blueberry 100g  white sugar 1 cup red wine 1/2 cup water Pinch of salt 1 tsp butter

Method In a saucepan pour wine. water sugar and 200g blueberries (reserve 50g) Simer until reduces. With a hand mixer process it. Pour the butter and remind blueberries and simmer for five minutes more

Friday’s quick ideas for the week end #8 - Farfalle with sun dried tomatoes and basil

Today I give you a very simple and quick pasta dish that is quite easy to make. My husband is a kind of guy, that when we came out for dinner or lunch, is always craving for pesto pasta and at home is the same thing But I am tired to make all the same So, I prepare more the same, but a little bit different. I love it!! It was very Italian with Italian flag colors, healthy and fresh. A nice idea for when time is tight and you can still serve a nutritious, homemade dinner.

Ingredients 1 package farfalle pasta (bow ties) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons minced garlic 30g sun dried tomatoes 20g walnuts coarsely chopped 1 bunch fresh basil

Soak the tomatoes in hot water; I add a pinch of sugar, until it moist and tender, toss in olive oil. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the farfalle pasta, and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cut the garlic cloves, and then fry on low heat. When the pasta is ready, add to the skillet mix well and serve very hot. If using whole garlic cloves, remove them before serving. Add the tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. (The fresh leaves served at moment, makes flavor and aromas don’t be loosed.) Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, you can add parmesan cheese flakes too at the end f you like it.

Friday’s quick ideas for the week end #7 - Rustle up a dessert

Even pink are not my favorite color I like it, is a comfort color. But rose hip is my favorite marmalade flavor for sure. Mainly the organic made in south Argentina. On Wednesday I baked a batch of brownies with white chocolate chips. But I had leftovers of them so, I decide to do a makeover on it and transform it in a dessert. Opening my fridge I watch a half storage jar of whipping cream just beside rose hip marmalade and a nice idea shine in my mind at this moment. I whip the cream and divided it into equal portions. In one part I mixed with melted white chocolate and in the other part I add rose hip marmalade mixing well. So, I pour in glass layers of my one day old brownie, white chocolate cream, and marmalade cream. For finish I topped with these rounds chocolate figures. That I promise to explain how I did soon The dessert looks like this, I hope you enjoy it.

Friday’s quick ideas for the week end # 6 Fudge

I always love Fridays. Friday means the last effort of the week. No matter what you do or how harder was your week you always know that looking forward is always comforting know that at last you can rest. No matter if your week end is busy, the important is that in these days with can spent time with your family, had fun with your children. When I had 14 or 15 years old my mom and my dad invariably on wee ends leave home at 9:00 am to shop some food, they loved to stop in a kind of Sao Paulo’s little Italy and take some hot Italian style bread. Obviously, as a single I lived with my parents in a two floor house, from my room window I can herd when my father started the car. My room had a balcony and I pull out the bed and shouted to my dad. _ Hey Dad!! Wait for me; I want to go with you. No, no, my mom asked – You late. If you really want to go with us, you must wake up earlier. What did you want? - Oh! I don’t know something sweet. At these times my favorite phrase was I don’t know. Because, I actually ever know nothing Thanks God today I know exactly what I want Sometimes they brought me sfogliatella, sometime juicy fruits, and sometime a very special treat. A kind milk fudge, harden outside and creamy on the inside. Delicious! So, I am getting homesick and for this week end I craving for fudge, I usually made with the traditional way. With sugar, butter, water and cocoa, but before I discover that exist many easier ways to prepare it. I change for the most practical. Sometimes the simplest recipes yield the richest results There’s nothing quite as delectable as a slab of creamy, rich chocolate fudge. Can you resist to these chocolate squares? Me neither Ingredients

• 1 can sweet condensed milk
• 120 g milk chocolate
• 120g semi sweet dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• Dash of salt
• 50g almonds coarsely chopped

Method Spray an pan lightly with oil. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Press it down gently so it sticks. Set the pan aside. Start an improvised double boiler. Put water in a pan on the stove over high heat to get it boiling Chop up the chocolate into small pieces and .add the dash of salt Pour in the condensed milk., and toss in the almond extract Drop the heat to low. Set your mixing bowl on top of the pot of water. Stir constantly the mixture When the chocolate has just melted and the mixture is fairly smooth, remove the bowl from the heat. Stir a little more The mixture will be really thick and creamy Toss in the chopped nuts. Pour the fudge out into your prepared pan. Set it in the fridge for a few hours until it firms up.

Friday’s quick ideas for the week end #4

A friend of mine recently had a baby girl and a group of friends got together to bring the new mom meals and treats in these first few weeks. Of course I volunteered to bring something good! My first idea was bake a fruit and custard tart or a cheese roll. At the same moment that I started to catch some pans and ingredients, I heard my Skype ringing. Would be my mom and I worried to attend. In fact was she. She usually said that the worst punishment for her would be dumbfounded. So, you can imagine. When she speaks, she really speaks Almost an hour later she said bye and I definitely late to start to bake something more complicated with several steps. Maybe I will not bring to my friend a custard tart or roll, but I had enough time to bake some cupcakes. Cupcakes was a wonderful idea to offer, lovely to see and delicious to eat. The best part of it is that I had fun decorating. Lemons scented, chocolate chips Strawberry jam filling cupcakes Ingredients: 8 ounces butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces 2 cup granulated sugar 4 large eggs 1 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lime and lemon zest 3 cups all purpose flour, stir before measuring 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugarless yogurt Strawberry jam 100g chocolate chips Method: Pre heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, line with muffin papers, In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on low speed to soften. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth. Add sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs; scrape bowl then beat until smooth. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; sift once. Add the dry ingredients to the first mixture a little at a time, alternating with the yogurt. Continue beating on medium speed until smooth and well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add, lemon and lime zest and chocolate chips Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. With a small spoon fill the center with strawberry jam and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until a wooden pick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted of one. Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus 1 tea spoon Vanilla Sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon milk Method In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, salt, and sugar vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Add milk and continue mixing until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary. With the mixer running, slowly add remaining 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, mix until well combined. Use the frosting in room temperature I tinted the frosting pink and yellow and sprinkle a little golden tint powered. Do not mix just sprinkle over the frosting. It’s a really nice effect!

Friday’s quick ideas for the week end # 3

Are you married? Are you dating? Or do you have a special person in your life that you want a little bit more than a simple friendship? Well, for this Friday my quick idea is romance. Our week was heavy and we came back home tired. Wee arrived everyday late and all that we want was have a shower, eat something quick and go to bed, to start over next morning. And as you know love must be feed too. Is easy to say, Well I ‘m tired, maybe tomorrow I’ll plan something special for us, and the days gone and tomorrow became a year. And one day, provably (I hope no) you wake up and will say- I am boring my marriage is the same all So, how about, make something romantic this week end? Candles, drinks or a good wine and good music as well, It sounds perfect to me. But would I have time to prepare the perfect scenery for this special week end evening? I quickly check my pantry and fridge and found a bottle of champagne. A Christmas’s extra bottle for sure, a few oat meal bread slices, and red caviar. Looks fancy, right? Wrong! I bought it the free shop last January a small glass to decorate some appetizers for my husband’s birthday, now on latest March., and who cares if I open now. And the others ingredients… are just leftovers I saw this drink on my El gourmet..com magazine issue 49 and love it.

Funny Valentine . In a glass of champagne pour a dash of rose water and complete with chilled champagne. The recipe asks for pressed granulated sugar hearts, I improvise using fondant sugar hearts. The sugar slowly melts into the drink, is delicious. This finger food is very easy to prepare. I cute the bread slices into a heart shape. I topped it whit a slice of smoked salmon and a small dice of Brie cheese that I tied with chives. And for finish the evening nothing better than chocolate dessert. Strawberries and chocolate fondue is a perfect ending for a special night I melt about 100g dark chocolate and mix with a tablespoon of heavy cream and a tea spoon cognac or sherry But remember this is just a suggestion, the main idea is romance. So, let free your imagination, check your fridge and make it happen

Friday’s quick ideas for the week end # 2

This week end seems will be a little relaxing, lucky me! Just a couple of friends came to visit us to drink something and chat. So I started to search for any inspiration in my fridge, as usually. I don’t know about you, but I open the fridge and the most of the times I had a good inspiration. But, this time I didn’t waste money and save at the same time. You know, we are living kind a turning point, where the future can be uncertain, and we didn’t know how difficult can be the future ahead. Is a challenge, at least for me, cooked something and no run to the grocery if I had a missing ingredient. That invariably is not just the missing ingredient, are one ore more things that I didn’t really need. So I focused only in available ingredients in my fridge and pantry. And only not in the main ingredient as I usually do I had three rounds red peppers, onion, garlic, almonds, olive oil, fresh rosemary and chives from my garden and potatoes So, I resolve make a sort of Tapas and boiled tinny potatoes season with olive oil salt and fresh chives.

Roasted red round pepper with roasted almonds You have two ways to roasted peppers. One is: pour the peepers directly over the flame and turn it until skin blisters and turns black, and the inside turns tender. Peel away skins and remove the seeds and the membranes. Or Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F Cut the peppers into quarters. Remove the seeds and the membranes. Roast the peppers until the skin blisters and turns black. Remove from oven and cover with plastic, or a tea towel, or place in a paper bag until cool. With this step, the steam makes the pepper turn tender. The skins should peel away off of the peppers easily when cooled. It's even quicker if you use the grill. Cut in dices, lightly sauté in olive oil and 2 garlic glove minced, add a honey tablespoon, and mix. Pour red or orange pepper flakes, if desired. At last add roasted almond flakes and fresh rosemary leaves. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve roasted peppers with warm bread or in antipasto.