I barely managed to make a jar of strawberry preserves! However, I got some magical preserves from the strawberries purchased when we returned from the Delta!

Well, using my Mom’s recipe, I needed:

180g small strawberries

180g sugar

45ml spring water

juice from half an organic lemon

After Marcel cleaned and washed them, I let the strawberries sit with the sugar for one hour. Then, I added the lemon juice and the water. I let everything boil, then simmer for half an hour.

Then, I poured the preserves into the jar.

We still have a small amount of preserves left in the jar. We don’t want it to end; it was that tasty! ♥

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 2 tbsp of 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

May you live long, Ciuchi! ♥

P.S.

You can fill the above tartlets with chocolate and decorate them with raspberries; they are delicious!

🥄 Filling 2

140g vegan chocolate

50g Cajoont

10g Svmântână

100g raspberries

15g almond flakes

It is easy: melt the chocolate (bain-marie); then, mix in the cashew butter and sour cream from NoMoMoo. Fill the tartlet shells. Decorate with raspberries; the almond flakes are such a nice addition.

It was, in fact, my birthday cake. I hope you like it! (I tried it in summer when the tiny Cancerians turned 1 – and I used berries to decorate it.)

(for the) CRUST

1 tbsp of psyllium seeds

2 tbsp of (hot) water

125g gluten-free oatmeal

25g tapioca flour

60g (melted and cooled) butter

1 tbsp of apple vinegar

a pinch of sea salt

(for the) FILLING

140g condensed milk

70g whipping cream

210ml milk

2 tbsp of tapioca flour

+1 large pear

3-4 strawberries

2-3 tamarind pods

Make the crust using the recipe here.

Let the crust cool.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Add all the ingredients to the pan and let the mixture boil.

Pour the filling into the crust; decorate with pear and strawberry slices and tamarind paste.

 Let it sit in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. Then, savour it! ♥

I haven’t published the two promised recipes yet, but I haven’t forgotten about them. 😊

Today: strawberries

What terrifies me the most when working with strawberries? That their season would be over and I wouldn’t have anything to bake with!

Where do I get strawberries from? As a child, I became fascinated with the strawberries in my grandaparents’ garden. Where else did I love strawberries? In Albania and Iran (the famous strawberries from Kurdistan and Golestan)!

Why do I love them? We are lucky to have fall strawberries (I only discovered them a few years ago)! My friend from Pakistan, where they get strawberries only once a year, at least 1 month and a half before us, in Romania, keeps reminding me that.

The strawberry season hasn’t yet ended and... I had only baked myself a small cake on my name day, so I told myself... ’Why not?’.

You will need the following ingredients, in addition to the tartlet moulds, for the 

CRUST

150g flour

70g (melted and cooled) butter /oil also goes – I used flaxseed oil/

1 egg yolk

10g vanilla sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp water

a pinch of salt

CREAM

1 egg

165ml milk

60g sugar

25g flour

a dash of vanilla extract

+butter/oil and flour -> baking moulds

+at least 15-16 large strawberries

All these make 8 tartlets. J

I made the dough based on this recipe and I split it into 8. I used flaxseed oil instead of butter. Bake the mini crusts for 20 minutes, in the preheated oven, at 160⁰C. To keep the crusts thin, I used baking beans.

To make the cream, beat the egg and the sugar. Add the flour and mix very well. Pour the mix into the milk boiling with the vanilla extract. Continue to mix until you see bubbles forming. Pour the cream into the mini crusts (I took them out of the moulds first).  

Let them cool a bit and place them in the fridge.

Marcel’s suggestion was to place the strawberries (cleaned and cut into slices) onto the tartlets right before serving. They were fresher this way.

There is so much versatility offered by the various crust and cream recipes, combined with nature’s gifts to us!

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! ♥

Makes 9

40g butter

200g sour cream

a pinch of salt

35g sugar

½ sachet of baking powder

210g flour

110g strawberries

Fall strawberries are here. And they’re so flavourful! I had some sour cream left, so I thought of baking some scones that I had on my mind for a long time.

Melt the butter and the sour cream in a pan, on low heat. After the butter melts, add the salt, the sugar, and the baking powder, stirring slowly.

Next, add the flour. The dough will be compact and non-gooey, but slightly oily.

The strawberries that were washed and cleaned were cut into 4 or 8, depending on their size, and then mixed and added to the dough by kneading – don’t worry, they will not be too juicy.

Spread the dough by hand (thickness: 5mm) and cut the scones using a 7cm round cutter.

Place the scones on a baking parchment, in a large baking pan, and bake them for 15 minutes in the preheated oven at 200⁰C.

100g buckwheat flour

30g tapioca flour

150ml water

2 tbsp flaxseeds

20ml olive oil

50g agave syrup

35g cocoa

5-6 large strawberries

…because even we, vegans, sometimes crave yum desserts, here’s a tasty version of a plant-based brownie. J

How to make it? In a bowl, mix the buckwheat flour, the tapioca flour, the water, and the flaxseeds (if you let the flaxseeds sit in water for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the mix, that’s great). Add the olive oil, the agave syrup, and the cocoa.

Place the batter into a baking mould (I used a round silicone one). Cut 5-6 strawberries into slices and place them on top; then, bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, at 160°C.

Let’s enjoy strawberries while they’re still in season! ♥

The crust

100g buckwheat flour

50g tapioca flour

a pinch of salt

3 tbsp of water

1 tbsp of flax seeds

1 tbsp of vinegar

30g coconut oil

30ml almond milk

20g agave syrup

The filling

3 rhubarb stalks (+3 tbsp agave syrup)

5 big strawberries

400ml almond milk

vanilla extract

20g agave syrup

25g cornstarch

+coconut oil and tapioca flour -> your baking pan

When May arrives, it’s all about rhubarb and strawberries to me.

So, I decided to bake this vegan tart using them as ingredients.

You can use this recipe for the tart crust.

Bake it separately, in the preheated oven, at 170°C, for 15 minutes.

While the tart crust is cooling, clean the rhubarb and the strawberries and cut them into pieces, then make the filling.

Pour agave syrup over the rhubarb pieces and let them sit for 10 minutes.

Mix the almond milk, vanilla extract, agave syrup, and cornstarch in a pan and place it on medium heat. Let it boil. After it cools, fill the tart crust and place the rhubarb and strawberry pieces on top.

…a dessert with a long tradition in our home, perfect for breakfast, especially during hectic weeks. You can make it easily using—

2 bananas

15g coconut flakes

2 tbsp coconut milk

6 (big) strawberries

(makes 2)

Blend the bananas, coconut, and coconut milk. Serve this paste in two bowls, with strawberries on top.

Here’s to beginnings full of ☼!