On Ciuchi’s second anniversary in our home, we disregarded the part of the detox connected to all types of nuts (yes, the detox was difficult!) and baked her a fine dessert (there were still strawberries available; we had strawberries until December anyway!). She runs the entire house, so she deserves everything! ♥

Use and shape as follows—

🥄 The shells

1 & ½ tbsp of psyllium seeds -> 5’ in hot water

60g gluten-free oatmeal

30g tapioca flour

a pinch of sea salt

30g Cajoont

1 tbsp of apple vinegar

Knead • Divide into 6 tartlet moulds • Cover with baking parchment • Place baking beads above • Bake for 25’ at 170°C

🥄 The filling

1 x Caju Fresh from NoMoMoo (the star ingredient)

4 tbsp of maple syrup

an organic lemon’s zest

🍓 Decorate with strawberry slices

I believe that each family has a recipe of delicious plain cookies that moms and grandmas would bake. My recipe’s in my Mom’s handwriting but has been adapted from my Godmother Maria.  

So, I baked these cookies last night. They turned out great and reminded me of the tranquil moments of my childhood!

Do you want to bake them?

For 18 cookies, you’ll need—

250g flour

100g sugar

4g baking powder

lemon zest from 1 organic lemon

2 tbsp milk

1 egg

50g butter

Mix all the ingredients in the above-specified order. Knead well. You’ll feel like you can’t incorporate all the flour, but you will.

The dough will be balanced, so you won’t need flour when you roll it out (its thickness should be 4-5mm).

Use the cutters of your liking and place the cookies in a baking pan lined with baking parchment.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180⁰C for 15 minutes.

So, how are they? J

2 rhubarb stalks

300g strawberries

4 large eggs

250g sugar

a pinch of salt

lemon zest from 1 lemon

a drop of vanilla extract

100g (melted) butter

200ml milk

350g flour

4g baking powder

a drop of rum essence

+4 tbsp of breadcrumbs

This recipe (I adapted it in the meantime) was given to me by an ex-girlfriend. I am grateful to her because I love rhubarb and strawberries; it is their season!

Clean the rhubarb and the strawberries and cut them into pieces. Sprinkle 5 tablespoons of sugar on top of the rhubarb pieces. Let them sit while you make the batter (they will lose juice and won’t be that sour anymore).

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with 100g of sugar. Add the salt, the (organic) lemon zest, the vanilla extract, and the melted and cooled butter. Then, add the milk, the flour, and the baking powder. Mix everything well with a spoon.

Beat the egg whites stiff with the remaining sugar and the rum essence.

Mix the foam into the batter, with light upward movements, until the mixture becomes homogenous.

Transfer the batter onto the large oven baking pan (44x37 cm) lined with baking parchment and level it. Sprinkle two tablespoons of breadcrumbs into each fruit piece bowl. Place these fruit pieces on the batter (the breadcrumbs will not let them sink into the batter).  

Bake the cake in the preheated oven, at 170⁰C, for 30 minutes.

P.S. From one-fourth of the ingredients, I baked the same cake as a name day cake for my Dad in a smaller baking pan.

I dedicate it to you, dear children, on our day! Happy Children’s Day! ♥

32 cookies

550g sweet soft cheese

230g sugar

lemon zest from 2 organic lemons

2 eggs

1 drop of vanilla extract

½ sachet of baking powder

350g flour

+ flour for rolling the dough

I had lots of urdă (=Romanian sweet soft cheese that I love) /the closest equivalent is ricotta, but you can use any sweet soft cheese). And I also had my mother’s cookie recipe – which listed, however, butter.

So, I replaced butter with sweet soft cheese.

First, mix the sweet soft cheese with the sugar and the lemon zest and let the bowl sit in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Then, add the eggs, the vanilla extract, the baking powder, and the flour.

Knead until the dough absorbs all the flour and it isn’t soggy anymore. Then, transfer it from the bowl onto the baking mat.

Divide it into 4 pieces and shape a 15-16cm-long roll from each piece of dough. Cut 2cm-thick slices from this roll of dough. Round the slices a bit and place them into 2 large baking pans.

Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes in the preheated oven, at 200°C.

When your week is really hard (and you’re like me), you will crave some comfort food.

I made fried bananas, for 2, as follows:

50g flour

2 teaspoons sugar

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tbsp cornstarch

zest from half a lemon

60ml milk

2 medium-large bananas

6 tbsp honey

+oil for frying

Mix the flour, the sugar, the salt, the cinnamon, the cornstarch, and the lemon zest. Add the milk.

Cut the bananas into larger pieces and roll them through the batter.

Fry them until brown when the oil is hot.

We ate them with honey... yum!

…hoping for a better week ahead! ☼