...and I eventually made booza. What is booza? Lebanese ice cream.

This recipe inspired me.

I adapted it; anyway, I still had mastic bought in Lebanon and salep powder from Albania.

In the end, the ingredients used were:

1l goat’s milk

200g sugar

3 pieces of mastic (powdered)

1/2 teaspoon of salep powder

+pistachios (optional)

After powdering the mastic, mix all the ingredients in a pan. 

Continue stirring for 40 minutes on low heat (the texture changes every 10 minutes).  

In the end, pour the contents into a bowl. Cool it in the fridge. Stir again before placing it into the freezer. Repeat three times, every 10 minutes.

You should feel a gummier dessert; let it rest in the freezer for a few hours.

Serve with crushed pistachios; enjoy the booza taste, as it is traditionally made from goat’s milk, similar to (Turkish) dondurma.

We travelled to Naples and its surroundings in March, for Marcel’s birthday. On Procida, an island I had wanted to explore for a long time, we were gifted many lemons. So, when we returned home, Marcel made limoncello.

What did he use?

8-10 organic lemons

1 litre of 96% alcohol

750g sugar

1 and a half litres of water

Carefully peel 10 medium organic lemons (as the Procida kind is large, we peeled 8), not to add the white part (which turns the drink bitter and cloudy). In a three-litre jar, pour the alcohol. Leave to set for at least 2 weeks (preferably 3) in a cool spot (but not the fridge); stir every 2-3 days.

After 2 or 3 weeks, melt the sugar in the water. Let it cool. Then, pour it over the mix in the jar (strained from the lemon skins). Leave another week to set fully.

Yesterday (December 17th) was St Barbara, a very important celebration in Georgia. Lobiani is the staple dish.

What is lobiani? It is a pie filled with beans. (I loved it when I tried it in Tbilisi.)
Marcel had the idea to make our version at home, so here's the recipe—

For the dough (makes 2):

80ml water

2g fresh yeast

1 teaspoon of sugar

125g flour

2g salt

Let the yeast and the sugar sit in the water for 5 minutes. Add the flour and the salt. Knead. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

For the filling (makes 2):

250g boiled beans

4 garlic cloves

salt

Mash the beans and garlic cloves. Add the salt.

Method:

Split the dough in two equal parts. Roll each half out. Spread the beans and garlic mixture over each of them. Make a crescent moon by sticking the ends of the dough. Bake in a pan on low heat until brown. Munch.

It was delicious and filling!

Upon our first trip to Scotland, our host in Edinburgh served us these treats at breakfast. When he saw how much we liked them, he gave us a bagful.

We munched them at the airport; we didn’t want to let them fall into the wrong hands.

Marcel made them once; it was my turn. I adapted the recipe considering my tastes and heart. In Scotland, they use golden syrup to make flapjacks; I preferred maple syrup.

Baking pan—

24 x 34 cm

Ingredients—

225g butter

100g coconut sugar

50g maple syrup

450g gluten-free oats

salt

Method—

Melt the butter; add the coconut sugar, the maple syrup, the gluten-free oats, and the salt.

Pour the batter into the baking pan lined with baking parchment.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven at 190°C.

Cut them immediately after removing the baking pan from the oven; then, let them cool entirely. Otherwise, they would crack.

Marcel and I got hooked on them.

I hope you like them, too!

Shells

170g flour

2 tbsp of sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 tbsp of cocoa powder

1 tbsp of butter

1 small egg

3 tbsp of Port (if you don’t have Marsala)

Filling

325g ricotta

130g sugar

for 8 cannoli

I don’t like the scent of burnt oil in the house; on the other hand, I was craving cannoli. I’m thinking, ’Could I bake them?’.

I had prepared the filling the previous night, draining ricotta and mixing it with the sugar.

To make the cannoli shells, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, butter, and egg. To give them their typical flavour, add 3 tablespoons of Port if you lack the classical Marsala.

Knead until you have a compact dough (insist until all the ingredients are fully incorporated!). Let it sit in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 balls. Then, crush them and roll them out. Draw circles using a 12cm-diametre bowl. Cut them out. Wrap them around the cannoli tubes. Use a few drops of water to stick the ends.

Place the cannoli tubes into a baking pan. Then, bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes.

By using a piping bag, fill the shells with the ricotta and sugar mixture.

Tip: I prefer filling the shells every time we have cannoli, keeping the piping bag in a mug in the fridge.

I remember the torrid July in southern Bulgaria. It wasn’t one of my best days, but when the gentleman whose family restaurant we were having lunch at brought me the cup of fig ice cream, telling me it was their recipe for generations, I fell in love.

About a year and a half ago, on a hot day in Brasov this time around, I tried to recreate the dessert. And it worked!

Here’s the recipe.

You’ll need—

350ml whipping cream

20g sugar

100ml condensed milk

10 medium figs (200-215g)

Mix the sugar and the whipping cream.

Slowly add the condensed milk. Then, add the pieces of fresh figs.

Transfer the ’result’ into a large dish; freeze it overnight.

I fell in love with this cake in Lebanon (I have a special relationship with ’ashta’, the cream used everywhere in Phoenicia, anyway). I baked it for the first time on my birthday in 2023, adapting it (it’s not easy to bake with semolina!); I kept preparing it. This is what happens when a result is tasty!

For the cream:

In a large baking pan, mix and boil (low heat)

530ml whipping cream

420ml milk

67g flour

5 tbsp of sugar + 135g sugar

Before removing it from the heat, add a drop of

orange blossom water

rose water

You’ve made ashta.

Continue with the dough. 

In a bowl, mix

330g semolina

100g coconut or date sugar

3g baking powder

a pinch of salt

4 tbsp of sour cream

150g (melted and slightly cooled) butter

Divide the (sticky) dough into two equal parts; place the first part on the baking parchment by pressing fragments of the dough into the 34x24cm baking pan. (Don’t worry; it will all get homogenous through baking.) 

Sprinkle as many crushed pistachios as you like. 

Pour the ashta. 

Add another layer of crushed pistachios. 

Then, spread pieces of the remaining layer on top of the cake.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven at 180°C.

Cool in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Savour it. It is a creamy and delicious cake, one of my favourite desserts ever! ♥

● Ingredients

4 medium pink potatoes

a pinch of sea salt

a dash of pepper

140g TzaTziki from NoMoMoo

● How to bake them?

Grate the potatoes using a regular grater.

Mix in as much sea salt and pepper as you like.

Add the TzaTziki from NoMoMoo and mix using your hand.

Shape the tocinei into semispheres and place them in a baking pan lined with baking parchment. 

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven at 230°C.

I got 7 large tocinei. We ate them with spring onions, which would probably work for you, too!

● Notes

I got this recipe from a lady cook from Stejărişu in 2020. The original recipe included telemea [a type of Romanian cheese] and Romanian potatoes. Its time had come to be prepared and slightly adapted. Marcel was of real help!

 

While in mythical Byblos at the end of last year, a yellow cake looked very appealing to me at breakfast. It included turmeric, but I loved it! When I returned home, I tried to bake it; it was a success.

This NoMoMoo challenge, which is very dear to me and started last week, made me push the limits of this cake, searching for and finding gluten-free vegan substitute ingredients.

The star? The cashew sour cream from NoMoMoo!

You will need a 20x20 cm baking pan and—

100g cornstarch

a pinch of sea salt

110g brown sugar

100g gluten-free oatmeal

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

4g baking powder

140g cashew sour cream

orange blossom water

90ml spring water

35ml flaxseed oil

1 tbsp of tahini

9 pistachio beans

I like authenticity, so I choose my ingredients as much as possible from the countries whose recipes I prepare or from nearby countries. I love local producers!

If we talk about basic ingredients, I used Romanian cornstarch. I bought the sea salt from Lebanon in a convent from Anfeh village. I also bought the orange blossom water from Lebanon – and you may add more than just a drop. The tahini is from Turkey; the pistachio is Iranian but processed in Romania. The flaxseed oil is Romanian. The best ingredients can transform a regular meal into a terrific one, especially if we prepare it with love and support!

Returning to the NoMoMoo sour cream, it is special: fluffy, versatile, and great! Panda feels the same way.

To make this cake, which is perfect as such or as a tea cake, mix the cornstarch, the sea salt, the brown sugar, the oatmeal, the turmeric powder, and the baking powder.

Add the wet ingredients: the cashew sour cream, the orange blossom water, the spring water, and the flaxseed oil.

Stir with a wooden spoon until homogenised.

Grease the baking pan with tahini, pour the mixture, and add the pistachio beans in 9 (imagined) centres of slices.

Bake at 180°C in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Let it cool and enjoy it!

What flavours do you feel? 😊

Here’s a recipe right before Christmas, if you’ve not already baked everything. My dear Cristina gave it to me – and I thank her!

I only adapted it a bit; I can say that it was successful. I’ll also prepare it for Christmas Eve.

This is what you’ll need J for 28-30 sărăţele (or a large baking pan)—

125g sour cream

75g (melted and cooled) butter

6g salt

4g yeast

200g flour

+ 1 egg

+ shredded cheese

+ caraway seeds

How to make them?

Mix the sour cream, the butter, and the salt; then, add the yeast and the flour, being careful not to deactivate the yeast by placing it into contact with the salt.

Knead until you get a compact dough. Cover it and let it sit for one hour. It won’t rise much, but it will get more tender.

Split the dough into four equal pieces to make your job easier. Using a cutting roll, cut the sărăţele and place them into a large baking pan, on baking parchment.

After brushing the egg onto the sărăţele, you can leave them as such (plain) or sprinkle shredded cheese and/or caraway seeds onto them.

How to bake them?

Place the baking pan for 10-13 minutes in the preheated oven at 200⁰C, depending on how crunchy you want them to turn out. I like them fluffier.

They won’t last long, but they will bring smiles along!

Merry Christmas, with joy! ♥

P.S. I’ve lately been using only sour cream (200g) for a portion of sărăţele. The result is fluffier.

For a vegan version of the sărăţele, use the following ingredients for half of a portion (14-15 sărăţele):

80ml Yaygurt

3g salt

2g yeast

120g flour

Make them as shown above. Serve them warm!

…a fall dessert, received as an idea from our friend Edin, a very talented pastry chef. It turned out delicious and we thank him!

We used—

30g butter

24 prunes

10-15 walnuts

3 tbsp of brown sugar

1 orange (and some orange zest)

+

150g whipping cream

15g sugar

It was easy to make.

In a 20x20cm baking pan, place 15g of butter and melt in the oven.

Pit the prunes and husk the walnuts.  

Fill the prunes with the walnut halves and place them in the baking pan.

Add small amounts of butter to each prune.

Juice the orange and add some orange zest.

Bake them in the oven for 40 minutes at 160⁰C.

We worked as a team (Marcel and I) and savoured every bite with whipped cream.