Peach and Cherry Streuselkuchen

I was thinking about cakes lately but since I’m into “diet” and “i-will-not-eat-too-much-sweets” state of mind, I pushed away the idea of making chocolate or cheese cake and the likes. I want something with fresh fruits inside.

I asked the help of the ever reliable internet for any light and unsweetened cakes but unfortunately, the “logic” says that cakes are supposed to be sweet. (well, there are unsweetened cakes, right?) Anyways, since I cannot find anything in youtube and google, I settled for the cookbook which came with the box of my Kenwood Mixer. There are a lot of good recipes in this booklet and most of them are very easy to make.

kenwood recipe book

I found the Peach and Cherry “i can’t read” Streuselkuchen and decided to make it. First of all, it has fresh fruits. Second, the rest of the ingredients can be found inside my cupboard. And of course, the sugar content is fair enough for my preference.

Now, Streuselkuchen means crumb cake or any cake topped with a mixture of sugar, butter and flour called streusel. It sounds German but I’m not really sure if it is. 

So here’s the recipe. It’s a no fuss cake, easy to make and so yummy. It goes well with coffee or tea. 

250      g. self-raising flour

5ml      ground cinnamon

175g    butter, softened and cubed

175g    sugar

75g      ground almonds

1          egg

4          fresh peaches, halved, stoned and slice

175g    fresh cherries, stoned, or fresh raspberries

10 ml   cornflour

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease a 23cm (9 inch) spring-form cake tin. Place the flour, cinnamon and butter in the mixer bowl. On minimum speed, mix together until the mixture starts to stick together.
• Add the sugar and ground almonds and mix to a coarse, crumbly texture. Do not over-mix.
• Weigh 175g of the mixture and set aside. Add the egg to the remainder and mix to a dough.
• Transfer to the prepared tin and press over the base and about 2.5cm up the sides of the tin. (More like a pie base)
• Mix the peaches, cherries and the corn flour then place in the tin.
• Sprinkle over the reserved crumble mixture and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden. Leave to cool for 30 minutes then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Have a slice 🙂

Breaded Chicken Breast (The Israeli Way)

When I came to Israel to work as a caregiver, my first employer asked me what kind of food I can cook (yes, we’re the one cooking for our patients). I didn’t know what to answer because if I’ll say adobo, pinirito, sinigang, lechon paksiw and sinangag na left over rice, she will probably go berserk and throw me out before I could lay my hands on her.

I said “Anything. Just give me the recipe.” Fair ’nuff. Then she said, “First of all, you have to learn how to make Schnitzel“. And I was like, What the hell is that?? 


Schnitzel can be anything breaded and fried. It’s an Austrian dish but Israel is somehow trademarked with its own version typically made of chicken or turkey breast since pork is not allowed to be used. I think every restaurant here in Israel offers varieties of Schnitzel and you can really find it anywhere. It’s usually served with mashed potatoes, french fries or rice with hummus or ketchup dips and green salad.

For almost 5 years of living here in Tel-Aviv and for 5 long years of making Schnitzel once or twice every week, I found lots of ways to make it. Then I came up with my own version of the dish which my employer will never get tired of eating. I’m sharing it with you today. It’s so easy to make and very delicious.

With these things, you can make the best schnitzel ever

you also need this MALLET to pound the meat to make it as thin as possible

1. 4 medium-sized boneless chicken or turkey breasts.
2. 2 eggs
3. 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
4. 3 tbsp. milk
5. 1-2 cups of Panko bread crumbs (usually they use crumbs from Matzot but I prefer Panko. You can find it in any local supermarket or japanese/chinese stores).
6. salt and pepper.

• Pound the meat using the mallet to make it thinner. Season with generous amount of salt and pepper.
• Beat eggs together with flour and milk.
• Soak your meat into the egg mixture, cover it and let it sit for 2-3 hours inside the fridge. (Some let it sit overnight but for me 2 hours is enough).
• Prepare your Panko bread crumbs. Put a bit of salt and pepper in it and mix. (you can put sesame seeds if you want).
• Heat your oil in medium heat.
• Coat your soaked chicken breast with panko bread crumbs. Make sure it’s coated well and every part is covered with crumbs.
• Now the trick here is not to let your oil boil or too hot. It will burn your crumbs in no time and you will end up with burned schnitzel on the outside but raw inside. Heat the oil to be just enough to simmer. 
• Fry your coated meat at least 2 minutes on both sides and let it dry on a paper towel before serving.

I normally like my crumbs to be a bit brown and burned. I love it a bit more crispy so I let it cook a little more than usual. Serve it with buttered mashed potato and you will never go wrong with it.

Enjoy!

Pasta Primavera

 ..from Fridge Leftovers!


      I found some asparagus, leeks and zucchinis inside the fridge this morning and I spent half an hour figuring out what to do with them before they go to waste. Then I remember the Pasta Primavera video that I found in youtube about a year ago. It was from Chef John, my favorite internet chef ( www.foodwishes.com ) and I decided to make my own version of this healthy spring vegetable pasta. Though I didn’t find the other peas at home, I think what I had was enough to make it yummy. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 large leek chopped, (discarding the green part); washed thoroughly 
2 jalapeno, diced
1 bunch basil
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
2 green zucchini, diced
1 bunch asparagus, stalks diced, tips left whole
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, or as needed
1 pound fettuccine/or any pasta
1/2 cup green peas
salt and pepper


1.  wash all your vegetables thoroughly and cut them in cubes.
2.  boil a pot of water for your pasta.
3.  hold the bunch of basil by the stem and soak it in boiling water in 2-3 seconds then wash it with cold water.
4.  tear off the leaves and put it in the blender or food processor with the cloves of garlic, olive oil and  chicken broth. Blend it until smooth or puree.
5.  On medium heat, fry your leeks and green onions in 2 tbsp of olive oil for about five minutes.
6.  Add the jalapeno; add salt and cook for another 5 minutes.
7.  Add your zucchini and peas; Add a quarter cup of chicken broth; turned the heat to medium high.
8.  After 5 minutes, throw in your asparagus for another 3 minutes.
9.  Add half of your basil puree and cook for 1 minute.
10.Turn off heat.
11. Drain your cooked pasta and put it in a large bowl (Don’t rinse with cold water)
12. Throw in your vegetable mixture into the pasta and toss it around.
13. Pour in the rest of the basil mixture; Toss and dump in your grated Parmesan; Toss again
14. Cover it with aluminum foil or plate and let it sit for about 5 minutes for the pasta to absorb the water.
15. Toss it and serve with Parmesan on top.


Enjoy!

Carrot-Apple Juice Craze

When I stumbled upon a replay video of Kris TV (a local morning show in the Philippines), one live caller asked Kris Aquino about her secrets to maintain her healthy skin and she answered carrot-apple juice. That was the beginning of my uncanny craze about drinking fresh juices. I normally buy bottled juice but I am aware of the sugar or sugar substitutes and preservatives that lurks inside these bottles. There’s nothing healthier than fresh fruits and vegetables.

According to studies, if you include fruits and vegetables to your diet, you decrease the risk of having chronic diseases. Apple and carrot has phytochemicals that reduced the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Carrots has antioxidant called beta-carotene which helps fight diseases by getting rid of free radical formation. Apples has antioxidants too that helps lower cholesterol level and prevent production of cancer cells. These two are rich in vitamins such as Vitamin A, C and B6.

When I started to hit the gym three weeks ago, I was thinking about fresh juices and vegetables that I could eat after every workout. For several days, I’ve been a constant customer of fresh juice store near my place spending 14 shekels for a glass of fresh carrot apple juice. Today, Fany (my employer) decided to buy a juicer for us to make fresh juices at home. We were both expecting that it will cost a lot of money but we were surprised that it was only half of our expected price. Yey!

499 shekels (approx. $120 USD) in Hamashbir inside Dizengoff Center

I was not a health buff until lately when I realized I have the potential to have serious health problems because I have a wide family history of chronic diseases. I didn’t expect that I will love going to the gym. Though I’m not so strict with my diet, I lost about 3 kilos for 3 weeks. These are my life’s simple pleasures. Trying to be happy and grateful even for a glass of carrot-apple juice. =)

My First Photoshoot

I am well aware of the fact that I am 30 years old, single, not attached to anyone, not looking either and yes, most of my friends are married or getting married. Though I quite detest the idea of marriage at this point in time, I didn’t say no to a dear friend when she asked me to be the official photographer for their prenuptial photoshoot. I was quite hesitant at the beginning since I am just a hobbyist and not a professional photographer and not to mention, I don’t have those gears to pull off the entire pictorial. But then, “there’s always a first time” they say. And since I cannot be there for the wedding, I told her that I will take the job, print the pictures and that will be my wedding gift for them. Sounds good (and fair because I was not so sure if I can produce good pictures).

I was so disappointed when we do the photo shoot at Hayarkon Park because my battery was acting up and I realized, there were a lot of good takes that my memory card didn’t save. Bummer! But then we found time to have another shoot at the beach and this time, my camera and battery cooperated well. Got some good shots and nice angles and I did my best to compile everything though I really don’t know how to use the Photoshop. So, I just edit the pictures using the reliable Picasa and managed to produce about 36 pictures.

Here are the samples and the others you can view in Flickr.

The pictures turned out to be “fine” and the couple told me that they love it. (Not quite sure if they really do, hihi) but some friends asked if they can hire me for their prenup too. I am just happy with the results and for a starter like me, I somehow did a good job.