Salmon with macaroni and green squash

 I found some old photos of my healthy lunch from the summer while my home organic chili was fresh and spicy :). Hope you think this is a quite healthy way to cook a quick lunch.

Get the ingredients ready :). One piece of salmon, a small red onion, one small green squash and one fresh chili from my kitchen garden.

Slice the red onion and fried it in olive oil on a heated pan.(middle temperature!) 

Then add the squash. You can cut it into any size you want. I prefer triangle that day

I low down the heat, put in a little of hot water, and then cover the pan. This will give a kind of steaming effect to the vegetables.

I always like my squash look green and not overcooked when it comes to this type of serving. When it was done, I put some black pepper to the vegetable.

Then get to the salmon. As you can see I did not put any oil to pan fried (use a Teflon pan) the salmon - middle heat again.

Don't forget the salmon has its fish oil..so don't worry that you will burn it. 

I sprinkled some pepper and sea salt onto the salmon.

then put my chili into the pan and let the chili gave some kick to my fish.

when both sides of the salmon get the brownish golden color,  it is done,while the inside is still soft and juice.

While I was pan frying the salmon I cooked the macaroni. When the fish was done, and so was the macaroni. I added extra virgin olive oil, and some salt to the macaroni and the vegetable, and mixed them well when they were hot

Put them all together - A very light lunch!

Actually you can see that the proportion was not right. right? I have cooked extra macaroni actually. 

This is the portion I had that afternoon..

and then had the leftover macaroni and squash the next day with some chicken nuggets I found in the freezer :) not that healthy another..but it was another quick lunch :P

Apple Pie

I wanted to eat apple pie so badly last night!  I guess it must be the side effect from the middle aged hormone.

Most of the people who know how to make apple pie will know how to bake one of this. The most common and simple one. The most basic pie dough, slice a few apples, sprinkle some cinnamon and pearl sugar, then put it into the oven with 175c for about 20 to 30 minutes. It turned out pretty good and I have it with a big scoop of vanilla ice/cream -  One of my favorite ways to enjoy my apple pie in the middle of the night in front of the TV. 

Apple with oat and cinnamon

I was really craving for apple with crispy crumbs today. 

Since I have started training again (being so lazy in the summers) I better watch out what I put into my mouth :D. The problem is I always have this weak point - I cannot not resist dessert :(. I know I should skip sweet, sugar, cakes, etc..all the food that have to do with sugar, but I would kind of feeling sorry for myself if I don't get to eat one. 

Instead of torturing myself, I released my food lust by baking something I thought its healthy and less sugar today for the first time. Maybe I was just fooling myself, but who cares, at lease my hubby was happy I didn't put my frustration or anger on him when I didn't have one dessert to eat :)

So, I put all the following together in less than half hour and bake it for about 35 minutes. Before I went to training, I took it out from the oven. When I got home, I had my dessert ready.

I guess this is enough for 4 to 6 persons if  you want to invite friends for evening tea.

The filling

4 big apples 

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 - 11/2 teaspoon cinnamon (depend how much you like cinnamon)

The crumbs

1 dl flour

21/2 dl oat

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

100g butter

Put the oven at 180c

I tbsp butter

Put the  1 tbsp butter and sugar plus the cinnamon into a sauce pan (with low heat) and let them melt together. The put them aside.

Put all the dried ingredients - flour, oat and sugar together to make the crumbs.

Then I mixed them together with a chopstick. 

I cut the butter into small cubes

Put the butter cubes into the mixed dried ingredients. Add in the brown sugar.

The I cut the apples and put them into a rectangle form.
As you can see here I have more than 4 apples because I want it more sour in taste.
You don't have to put that much.
( I wanted to use up the apples which I got from my friend, have to many left)

Pour the melted butter, sugar and cinnamon onto the apples.

Then mix them well. I want every single piece of the apples are covered with cinnamon :)

Finally spread the mixture of oat, flour and sugar on top the apples. Then put it in the middle of oven.

 I took it out from the oven after 30 minutes because I was in the hurry to the gym. That's why the color of the crumbs didn't really look brownish enough as I wanted but the sweetness is just nice to the taste though.

Well, what do you think?

I didn't have  any vanilla ice-cream nor vanilla sauce at home.
So I was happy to just enjoy it as it is!
It will taste even better if you serve it with vanilla ice-cream, trust me!

Well, do you think this is quite healthy enough?
It might not look good, but it tastes good, very important! :)
I will improve its look next time :)

Rhubarb cake / Rhubarb muffins

Rhubarb is commonly used in pies and cakes in Sweden. Normally a lot of sugar will be used (Especially the Swedish recipes) for making them because the plant's leaf stalks are too sour. To me, I still prefer the Swedes' best and most commonly used phrase - "Lagom är bäst!" in my baking. (Something like: "Just nice is the best!" In Chinese would be something like "刚刚好/恰到好处"!)

I don't like sweetness overpower the acidity. I like to taste the original acidity of the rhubarb. Recently I have found the touch in making by far the best rhubarb cake and muffins with the right balance between these two elements! Yes! :). With this simple and quick recipe you will save some time and use it for cooking your main course if you have guests over for dinner. 

I have used the same recipe for making cake and muffins. If you are In a rush time or lazy mood - bake them into cake :)...If you have time and like to play with bolls  - make muffins! ( Have to separate the dough into bolls in order to get the equal size for each muffin, right? :) )

Fresh and organic rhubarb stalks from my friend's garden. I can make many many muffins out of them. 

Temperature: 175c

300g rhubarb - you can use more/ less of them depends on your choice of acidity
100g butter
2,5 dl flour ( I use 1,5dl flour and 1dl rye flour, or you can use only rye flour, even more healthier :)
1,5 dl sugar
4  teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking power
1 egg

Nib sugar (also knows as pearl sugar or hail sugar) 

****Prepare two middle-size bowls. One for the butter + vanilla sugar. One for the dry ingredients.
**** Get ready a pie form. Any form will do, I normally use the rectangle form for the cake one. Or get really your muffin papers in the muffin tray.

By the way, no need to bring out your big blender or beater....USE YOUR HANDS!

Let's start!

1. Use the first bowl. Melt the butter and put the vanilla sugar into it. Whip them together until the sugar melt with the butter.

2. Mix flour, sugar and baking power into the second bowl. Mix them well with a chop sticker or stick. (By doing this the sugar and the baking power will be equaled mixed with the flour).

3. Now put the egg into no.1 and whip them together.

4. Then pour No.2 (mixture of the dry ingredients) into the mixture of butter and egg. Pour them in in three times. Mix them gently while pouring in the flour (go by the clockwise direction). 

5. Then spread out the dough into the form or muffin paper. 

6. Now you can cut the rhubarb into 2 - 2,5 c.m. per piece. Don't measure them all, please. Not sure about how big 2 c.m. is, measure the first piece, then you can cut the rest of them with feeling by looking at the first one :)

7. Then cover the dough with the rhubarb! You really have to press them into the dough, not on top of the dough. You can see here I have cut some of them into some small pieces too in order to press them into the corner. 

8. Sprinkle the pearl sugar on top. Again up to your taste. If you want sweeter, pour in more. Otherwise, as I say "lagom" will be good :).

9. After that put them into the oven for 30 min.

It's done! 

10.Now makan lah! (Eat in Malay :)) You can enjoy it with just a cup of coffee/tea, or serve with an extra kick - vanilla ice-cream! 

The muffins taste even better with tea in my favorite mug.

I forgot to take this one out in time the other day!
I was busy chatting with a friend on FB and didn't hear the timer rang.
You see, distraction is harmful to your baking. :) Don't follow my mistake!
Well,  I took away the burning part (only the top part) while it was hot.
The cake, thank goodness was still edible and tasted as good as the muffins!  :)

Almond Cake with Lemon

Oven temperature / Hot air: 175c

250g almond paste

100g butter

3 eggs

1 dl flour

1 tsp baking powder

Grated skin from 1 lemon (or two if you want very lemony)

Raisins (your choice, to have or not to have is up to to you :).

Icing sugar

1. Grease a round shape form (approx. 20 cm in diameter) and sprinkle it with bread crumbs. (I forgot to take a pic :)

2. Grate the almond paste (not too fine). Add the butter in and whip them together until it is porous.

3. Separate the eggs. Mix the yolks, one at a time into the mixture of almond paste and butter, and whip them together.

4. Then add in the flour, baking powder and lemon skin.

5. Whip the egg whites until it become stiff peaks (Like my mentor Jenny says, when you hold it up high upside down, and it will not drop onto your face :). 

Egg white

white stiff peak

I took this shot under the light on the ceiling. Luckily  it really didn't drop down on me face.

6. Then fold it into no.4 and mix them well together (Don't use the beater anymore, use hand and gently fold them together).

7. You can add raisins if you want, otherwise it tastes good too without them. 

8. Spread the final mixture into the form which you have prepared.

9. Bake it at the lower part of the oven for approx.30 minutes

(While waiting, you can Facebooking, play games on your smartphone or perhaps cleaning up first.

It's done now!!

10. Sprinkle some inching sugar over the cake when it cools down.

10. Don’t eat it when its warm! It tastes better when it cools down., the next day for example. But I bet you will not wait until next day! J

11. Now what? Enjoy! J