Coconut cups with strawberries & yogurt

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I freaking love live!With all its ups and downs.With all its perfect imperfections.I really do!(Even when it rains for days in the summer!).I believe that we have bad days so that we can appreciate the good ones,to get to know ourselves,to learn,and to grow.And so I celebrate every single moment-bigger and smaller,because I feel somewhere deep down I might not have a chance to experience it again.Celebration comes in all shapes and sizes.Sitting in pijamas on the patio with a cinnamon latte sounds like the best party ever to me just lately.(Is this what most almost-30-girls do?).Of course great food has to be involve too.OF COURSE!Sweet and not-so-guilty treats-even better 🙂 Just like these coconut cups(And here I would like to pay a tribute to the inventor of muffin tin!) They cups don’t need much attention,they are pretty easy and quick to make(Yuppie!More time on the patio!)  and taste insanely amazing!

So let’s just celebrate life!Eat great food!And make every moment count  xxx
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RECIPE:

for 8

INGREDIENTS:

for the base

100g wholegrain spelt flour
100g desiccated coconut
100g unsalted butter,melted
60g coconut sugar or 40g unrefined cane sugar

for the filling

100 strawberries,mashed with fork
310g natural yogurt
1 vanilla pod
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup

for decoration

strawberries,sliced
blueberries
pistachios,chopped

PREPARATION:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the ingredients for the base and line the bottom and sides of muffin moulds.The layer shouldn’t be too thick as it will ‘swell’ a little bit in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes.It you notice they ‘swell’ to much,take them out the oven after 10 minutes and press the sides with a teaspoon.(Tried & tested :))

Take them out the oven and let them cool down still in moulds for few minutes,then remove and cool on the rack.

In the meantime,remove vanilla beans from the pod,add them to natural yogurt and mix in the maple syrup.

It’s best to prepare them before serving,as the yogurt will soften the cups.To finish them off:fill the cup with 3/4 of yogurt mixture,mix in 1-2 teaspoons of mashed strawberries.Decorate with strawberry slices,blueberries and chopped pistachios.

Enjoy xxx

Asparagus SPRING tart

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Hey!I’ve made a tart!It’s almost as green as my garden in June and it tastes like Spring.Would you like a recipe?

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I’ve lost my common sense a little bit……ok maybe a little bit more……ok, A LOT!
I’ve been buying asparagus every time it’s near me.I can’t help it when it looks at me from a market stall.I swear.It stares at me and shouts “buy me”!How can I say no?I simply can’t 🙂

Somewhere at the back of my minds I know these green guys won’t be here forever so I hope I can eat as many as I can in advance so I don’t crave them later in the year(Yeah,I wish!). Asparagus is pretty cool and easy going so we hang out a lot together.I think you should too 😉 And when you get a fresh bunch of this amazing veg,don’t forget about pairing it up with some peas,onions,parma ham and feta cheese and making this tart.Trust me,you want to make it.It’s staring at you!

Enjoy  😉

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Recipe:

Ingredients:

for a baking tray of 30×20 cm in size

For the base:

125 g wholegrain flour
125g plain flour
150 g  salted cold butter
1 egg
3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

10 asparagus
5 slices of parma ham,cut in half along the length
couple of drops of your favourite oil(I use rapeseed oil)
2 medium red onions,sliced into thin wedges
2 shallots,sliced into thin wedges
160g peas
3 eggs
400g natural or greek style yogurt (room temperature)
4-5 tablespoons spelt flour
125g feta cheese
salt,pepper

Method:

1.To make the pastry:sift the flour into a medium bowl,add butter and egg.Rub the butter and egg into the flour with your fingertips.Add cold water and combine together using your hands.If the mixture feels too crumbly add some more water.Flatten the pastry into a disc(it will roll better),wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

2.Preheat the oven to 190C.

3.Take the pastry out the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a size of a baking tray(30 x 20 cm).Place the pastry over the tray and run a rolling pin on the rims of each one to get a perfectly lined tart.Prick it with a fork,cover with baking paper and baking(or dry) beans.Bake for 20 minutes.

4.In the meantime steam or boil the asparagus until tender but not too soft.Wrap each individual asparagus with half of parma ham slice.Make sure your asparagus isn’t too long for your tray,if so trim the ends.Fry the onions with a little bit of oil until golden.Leave them to cool down.

5.Mix the yogurt with eggs,add flour, onions,most of the peas,leaving a handful to sprinkle on the top.Season with salt and pepper,leave on the side.

6.Take the tart from the oven,remove the beans and paper,put back in the oven for extra 10-15  minutes until the pastry turns golden.Remove from the oven.

7.Pour the filling over the pastry,arrange the asparagus wrapped in parma ham on the top,sprinkle with peas and crumble feta cheese on the top.Season with some more salt and pepper.

8.Place back in the oven and bake for around 45 minutes.

Serve with fresh rocket.