basics
Whole egg mayonnaise
I have not bought mayonnaise for years. Why bother when the entire process takes minutes? And that’s including mise en place. Truly, it’s more of a hassle to go to a store than to line up 5 staple ingredients and whip them up into a beautiful emulsion. Obviously no store-bought mayonnaise with its array of preservatives and unnecessary additions will ever compare to the freshness and cleanliness of the homemade one. Of course, the simplicity of this method does rely on technology in the form of an immersion blender. If you do not yet own one, I strongly encourage you to reconsider, it’s an absolute must-have and will make your life incredibly easier. In this case, there is no need to be bringing ingredients to temperature, warming up the bowl where you intend to be whipping tiny droplets of oil into an egg fearing it might split and having to rescue it if it does. Instead, just combine all ingredients in a tall glass and push a button. So the biggest challenge here would be cracking an egg or juicing a lemon. In other words, making your own whole egg mayonnaise could not be simpler.
Whole wheat English muffins
There is undeniably something comforting about routine. After all, we are supposedly creatures of habit. The past couple of years have been rather testy around here. And, admittedly, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a morning person even at the best of times. Since becoming a mother, usually an internal autopilot gets me through almost an hour of being awake and attending to others’ needs. Unfortunately, I never trained myself to skip breakfast and therefore sustenance is needed quite quickly. In a sense, I’ve instinctively taken inspiration from the Italian/French where breakfast is typically cappuccino and pastry. Only my adapted version is a cappuccino with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a whole wheat English muffin topped with homemade mayonnaise and a dash of cayenne pepper. Whether you are after English muffins or just easy portioned bread items, this recipe has been tried and tested over and over again.
Whole wheat flaky pastry
While we live in an age where almost anything you desire can be bought at a grocery store, nothing beats homemade. And frankly, it’s not likely to change any time soon. Even if you go for the cleanest, freshest, the most organic and closest to “tasting like home”, it’s still going to cost you few times more than picking the building blocks and putting it together yourself. Because even the nicest producers still have to make a profit for themselves before ensuring others’ well-being. Not to mention that nothing gives you more certainty about your food than knowing (and seeing) exactly what went into making it. So next time you think of purchasing some frozen or chilled pastry, grab some butter and flour instead. This whole wheat flaky pastry is easy, quick and exceptionally satisfying.
Tvorog (quark) – soft white cheese
Typically when cheese making is mentioned, an average person pictures an intensive and lengthy process using specialty tools and ingredients. While this is certainly true for a lot of cheeses, there are some that come together fairly easy. I have already mentioned tvorog (also known as quark) before. One of my earlier childhood food memories involves tvorog mixed with sugar and sour cream for a quick, tasty and healthy snack. It’s high in calcium, low in fat and has a neutral taste. It is very popular all over ex-USSR and is sold in most food stores with varying fat content. Luckily for countries where it’s not readily available, tvorog is also one of the easiest cheeses to make at home. There are only 2 ingredients and the most extravagant tool you will need is some cheesecloth.Basic butter cookies
Have you ever been in a situation where you urgently needed some cookies? Perhaps solely for yourself because you simply crave something sweet and comforting. Or maybe to casually impress someone without having to spend too much time and energy. Or possibly because you are nearly off to a social gathering and require a small but personal host gift. I have just the thing. These butter cookies take less than 30 minutes to make, which in most cases is quicker than going to a store and buying ready-made ones. There is also no need to chill them prior to baking. These butter cookies are impossibly simple yet still rich and indulgent without being overly sweet. They are soft and crumbly at the same time; they make you want to have more yet they are quite filling.