Have you got Eggs? Then, BlOg yOur Omelet!!!

Eggs in the pantry? A roar in the stomach?
¡Si tienes huevos, envíame tu tortilla y participa en el concurso! ;D

How do you want it?
Which one would you grab first? The Zucchini and Mint one or the Mushrooms, Asparagus and sweet Garlic one?

No matter which one you choose, they will dissapear in no time! Get some bread cut and serve at room temperature.

Now that you have the omelets, you need to get a party started!


I'm giving you no recipes today, just the promise of the most delicious ones on May the 18th. You still have time to participate in the contest!

Send your Omelet, Frittata, even Quiches are welcome and get the best prize ever: 150 grs. of the best Iberian Acorn Ham!!!

Click the left image and get the instructions to participate. Please follow the steps and send me your recipe :D.

Thanks to all the participants whom have already sent their creations :D :D :D

Piquillos Stuffed with Cod Brandade over Parsley sauce

Colours are so important to me. Green gives me freshness, Red gives me energy and White gives me peace of mind. Perfection on a plate ;D.
Did you know that depending on the colours you use to decorate your home you can drive your emotions one way or the other?

My living room for example has light orange/salmon walls, a green sofa, red curtains, brown furniture and beige floor... nearly the same combo of the dish ;D... and it's the best place of the world for my family and me! Pimientos del Piquillo are these little red roasted peppers that are sold in cans and are extremely flavourful and tasty. A knowed Spanish tapa is Stuffed Pimientos del piquillo with cod brandade. The brandade I made for this recipe is not the real one but is also good. This version uses potatoes and shrimps and it might be a bit easier to perform.
So, I'm sending the dish over to the Leftover Queen Royal Foodie Joust because this month the "ingredients" are: Red, Green and White. Red for Piquillos, Green for the Parsley sauce and White for the Brandade :D. Come join us... it's so much fun!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

Brandade: 320 grs of desalted cod, 500 grs of potatoes, 3 garlic cloves, 8 fresh shrimps, salt, black ground pepper and olive oil.

• In a big sauce pan drop some olive oil (8 table spoons aprox) and when hot, cook the shrimps (previously cleaned) slightly. 30 seconds each side should be enough. Reserve the shrimps on a plate and strain the oil and reserve too.
• Clean the potaotes under tap water and boil in a pot until they are completely cooked. Peel and blend them. Reserve.
• Take the reserved oil and pour in a clean sauce pan, when hot cook the choped garlics until fragant and add the desalted cod. It's important that you dry the cod first. Use some clean kitchen clothes for example.
• Stir at medium heat until the cod breaks into little pieces. Add 1/2 a liter of water and let it boil for 10 minutes. Add the potates and use a food processor to blend it all.
• Get a big recipient ready with cold water and icecubs and cool the cod and potatoes brandade in a Bain Marie. Add the shrimps bodies cut in dices. Taste it and only if necessary add some salt and black ground pepper. When cold, place in the fridge until you use it.

Parsley sauce: 50 grs of garlic, 50 grs of fresh parsley, 20 grs of pine nuts, olive oil, salt.

• Pour two table spoons of olive oil in a frying pan, when hot add the chopped garlic and parsley. Fry with medium heat until garlic gets a bit golden. Add the pine nuts. Stir and add 200 ml of water.
• Cook for 5 minutes.
• Blend, strain, taste and add salt if necessary. Reserve.

Assemble the dish: 1 can of Piquillo Peppers, parsley sauce and cod brandade.

Take the piquillos and stuff them with the brandade. Pour some parsley sauce over the plates and place the piquillos on top. Serve cold.

You can also have them as a tapa and serve over a slice of bread.
¡ Buen provecho!

If you don't find Pimientos del Piquillo where you live you can try to buy them online here.

Still in the mood for some coloured dishes? Why don't you try these then?:
Veal's tongue in vinagreitte sauce... an explosion of colours!
Black Rice... an elegant choice!
Empanada de chorizo... You have to open it to see the colours! ;D

Avocado Gazpacho - Greens for Spring

What makes a food picture Spring full? Sure the light should be natural and maybe with some shadows, there should be greens involved in the food; pink colour makes me think about flowers and good energy... The food itself should be refreshing and light... this is what I thought to get my picture and post sent to Click! Guess what the subject of the month is: Spring. Visit Jugalbandi and participate in their event or simply enjoy good photography and recipes.
You don't need to cook to get it done!!! Just throw the ingredients in, blend, place in the fridge and let your guests love you more than ever ;D. This has been such a long and cold Winter that I'm longing for fresh and new dishes like this one.
Handy, healthy and cheap ingredients!
It serves 4: 3 avocados, 4 natural non sugar yogurts (125 grs each), 1/2 a cucumber, 1/2 a green pepper, 1 tomatoe for a salad, 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 table spoons of white vinegar, 1/2 a garlic clove, salt and black ground pepper.

• Take the avocado pulp and discard the skin and seed. Place the pulp in a bowl, add a teaspoon of salt, the yogurts, the garlic, the oil and the vinegar. Blend until you get an homogeneous texture. Place in the fridge to cool down.
• Wash the cucumber under tap water. Dry and cut 4 thin slices. Cut the rest in small dices leaving the seeds away and reserve.
• Wash the tomatoe under tap water, cut in half and discard the heart and seeds. Cut the rest in small dices and reserve.
• Wash the green pepper under tap water, cut and discard the seeds and whites. Cut the rest in dices and reserve.
• Place all veggies in a bowl and sprinkle some salt and black ground pepper.
• When the Avocado gazpacho is cold, pour in 4 glasses, decorate with the slice and dices and enjoy it!
• Maybe you can add a bit more of extra virgin olive oil or a bit of water to get a finer texture and not so creamy... but we loved it this way :D.
• Don't let the gazpacho stay in the fridge for more than 3 hours, it could turn brown (avocado oxidizes).

Since I used Danone yogurts for the recipe, I thought you might be interested in this: Danone opens the first Shop and Restaurant in Barcelona City with Yogurt as main Star!

From now on you can enjoy a healthy breakfast, snack or meal from a menu of 26 dishes. The space, named Barcelona Danone, is a multi-shop and restaurant of 300 square meters which is the largest showcase in the Catalan capital. A pioneer space that offers consumers the chance to taste yogurt in so many different formats, also shows the latest news from the brand and the menus are based on a healthy Mediterranean diet. A fantastic experience!

If you want to know more about it, please follow this link to La Vanguardia. Or if you want to see the promotional video, just click here.


Want to see other recipes with Spring breeze? What about these?

Chocolaty or lemony Muffins... a delicious breakfast!
Love potion number 10... Spring is the time to be in love!
Figs and Ham... Soon, really soon we will have the first figs of the season, yum yum!

La Mona de Pascua - A Catalan traditional Cake

This is the story of a Mona that wasn't convinced enough to become a Mona. And it's also the story of a woman (me) who was patient and stubborn enough to finally achieve good results!
My first try was kind of chewy and hard to swallow, the second improved a bit but it was not fully baked in the middle... and the third... oh boy... the third was impresionante!!!!! To my English readers: impresionante means impressive... tell my palate about it :D. I know, I shouldn't say that... but you can ask the rest of the family and they'll tell you I'm not lying!

La Mona is this traditional cake, which originally was made out of a kind of marzipan and it had boiled eggs to eat with... tradition has improved and evolved into these wonderful cakes and chocolate that are sold at bakery shops and are a sign of the end of the Lent period.Approximately 600.000 Monas have left the bakers' shelves and ended up in our tummies this last Monday :D.
As you can see in the pictures I made a Sara Pie (or cake... I always get mixed up!), added some little preserved cherries and decorated with Chocolate eggs. Now, it's a Mona.

Honestly, I wanted to post this 3 days ago, but when I'm on vacation... I take the word literally! But, don't hate me ;D, here is the recipe for the Sara Pie... the eggs, feathers and chicks are up to you.

Ingredients for 6 - 8 servings:
For the bread biscuit
3 egg yolks, 1 egg, 50 grs of sugar, 1 lemon zest.
80 grs of flour, 20 grs of cornstarch, 30 grs of ground almond.
3 egg whites and 80 grs of sugar.

* Take your electric mixer and beat the egg yolks, the egg, sugar and lemon zest (first 4 ingredients) They should achieve 3 times their volume and a whiter aspect. Reserve.
* Clean the electric mixer tools and in a clean space beat now the whites until they get high and spongy. Reserve.
* Now take the egg yolks mixture and add gradually and slowly into the egg whites. Use a tongue tool from underneath to the top.
* Preheat oven at 180ºC.
* Take the different flours (cornstarch, normal and ground almond) sift using a thick colander over the eggs mixture. Little by little and keep on using the tongue from underneath to the top.
* Pour into the mold and place in rack number two using both oven's up and down heat. Bake for 20 minutes aprox. Check with the wooden stick to see if it's done. Don't open the oven more than necessary! It's perfect to bake this in the morning and the rest in the afternoon. This way we let the base cool down :D

For the syrup: 100 grs of sugar, 100 ml of water, some drops of lemon juice and a dash of liquor (optional).
* Boil the water, sugar and lemon juice for aprox. 3 to 5 minutes.
* Once outside the heat, add the liquor if you wish. Reserve.

For the cream butter: 200 grs of sugar, 50 grs of water, 4 egg yolks, 250 grs of butter (at room temperature. Soft enough to work with it) Never use the microwave to get the texture! And a dash of liquor (also optional). If you added some to the syrup then it won't be necessary here.
* Start a syrup with the water and sugar. Boil at medium heat for 3 minutes aprox.
* Meanwhile get the yolks into the electric mixer and beat them. When they start to grow add the syrup little by little and keep on beating until the mixture gets 3 times its initial volume. Only when it's cold add the butter little by little with the mixer on until you get a thick mixture. Reserve.

To assemble the Sara pie: 1 bread biscuit, a syrup, cream butter, apricot jam, laminated almonds.
* Cut the bread biscuit in half (only when it's cold or at room temperature).
* Paint the inside layers with the syrup and the apricot jam. Reassemble.
* Spread the cream butter on top and sides of the pie.
* Toast the laminated almonds in the oven. 200ºC on top rack and keep an eye on them until they golden up.
* Carefully, place the almonds over the butter cream. The ones that fall, won't be used.
* Decorate and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
* Devour with the family!!!!

I'm sending over my homemade Mona to A Slice of Cherry Pie and her event: Easter Cake Bake 2009. There's still time to send your creations until the 20th of April :D

Am I becoming a baker? Will this baking fever pass? Let me tell you that I'm loving it!!! And, if on top, results are good... :D

Baked Chicken-Little with Apples

Is the sky falling? Or is this just another easy recipe?

How do you call these lil' chickens? Here we call them Picantones and they are extremely tender and tasty. Try this recipe and let the oven do all the work ;D. If you want to add some colour and originality to the meal, make this side dish too: Parsley potatoes! Aren't they cute? If you prefer rosemary or dill or thyme... go ahead!

Ingredients for 4 servings: 2 Lil' chickens, 2 golden apples, 1 stick of Cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 2 small lemons, half a glass of brandy, 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 2 teaspoons of thyme, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.
For the parsley potatoes: 2 medium potatoes and some clean fresh parsley leaves. Peel the potatoes and use a mandolin to get the thinnest slices possible. Place a parsley leaf between two slices and fry in olive oil. Place over kitchen paper to let the excess of oil and sprinkle with thick sea salt.
To bake the chicken:

• Clean the lil' chickens and sprinkle inside and outside with salt and ground black pepper. Also sprinkle with the rosemary and thyme. Place half the cinnamon stick inside each of the chickens and half a lemon too.
• Preheat oven at 200ºC.
• Place the chickens inside a baking recipient and pour the olive oil over. Also spray with some water. Place the apples cut in half inside the recipient too. Pour some lemon juice over the apples, the ground cinnamon and a bit of ground pepper.
• Pour half the brandy over the chickens and place inside the oven for 30 minutes aprox.
• Open every 10 minutes and pour the juices over it.When the 30 minutes have gone, pour the brandy that's left and bake until they are tender. Aprox. another 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Are you a chicken maniac? Do you think that the sky will fall one of these days? Want to have the best chicken recipes before that happens? Then you should try these! ;D

Chicken done with Cider

Chicken Jerez Style

Chicken Croquettes

Lamb Skewers for Your Barbecue!

♫ It's raining men ♫ Alleluia!!!

But I don't see them; maybe they rain during the night... I only see water and more water. My terrace flooded and I have to get out there while it rains cats, dogs and elephants to arrange it. See? I'm "the handy woman" in charge. I'm the one who fixes the pipes, mows the lawn, paints the walls, gets the Ikea furniture assembled, hangs the pictures on the walls... I'm not complaining, I love to do all these things :D!
Maybe thanks to this curious spirit of mine, this year you will have the Best Mona posted soon!!! For those of you wondering what is a Mona you can check my last year's post, but I tell you, this years' will be spectacular!!!! I can't help it, I'm an optimist :D.
And now, let's talk about this super-easy dish: Lamb Skewers. Spring can be rainy and also can be sunny, so for those of you who are already polishing your barbecues for the season, see what I got! A tasty and spicy dish :D.
I'm sending it over to my friend Ivy from Kopiaste because she is hosting this week's WHB and I wouldn't miss that!!! Take a look at her fantastic Greek and Cypriot recipes :D
Weekend Herb Blogging was created by Kalyn, of Kalyn’s Kitchen and now conducted by Haalo, of Cook (almost) Anything at least once.

Ingredients for 4 servings: 600 grs of lamb cut in dices (ask your butcher for a tender piece), 2 garlic cloves, 1 cup of red wine, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of sweet red ground paprika, 1 teaspoon of hot red ground paprika, 1 teaspoon of dry oregano, 1 bay leave, 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds, salt and black ground pepper. One red pepper and one green pepper.

• Peel the garlic cloves and chop thinly. Place in a big bowl together with the wine, water, olive oil, the paprika, oregano, chopped bay leave, cumin and pepper. Mix well.
• Clean the lamb meat and take the fat away, cut in dices and place inside the bowl. Let marinate for at least 4 hours. I had mine in the fridge overnight and cooked the next day. Meat will be more tender the longer it marinates.
• If you use wooden sticks, have them soaking in water so that they don't burn when you cook the skewers.
• Insert lamb dices and red/green peppers with the stick.
• Cook in your barbecue or in the griddle or grill in your oven until they get golden. While cooking, pour some of the marinating liquid on top and turn so that they get all done.

Herbs and spices are guest stars in this dish and that's why I thought it would be a good one to send over to WHB. Hope you enjoy it!

If I had to choose a first dish to complete the menu, I would go for this Season Veggies with 3 sauces.
And the dessert would be a Tricolored one!