Yumi Yumi

This was originally posted in November 2012. I'm reposting this as it seems like a perfect recipe to share to celebrate the Chinese New Year :) What do you usually do with a Peking cabbage/Chinese leaves/Chinese celery cabbage/Napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis )? In Estonia you'll most likely to encounter it chopped into small dice or thin ribbons and mixed with chopped peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, perhaps some feta cheese, and served as a side salad. Not particularly interesting, but cheap and filling. I hosted/instructed couple of Chinese cookery events earlier this year, and while preparing for the events, I spent hours browsing my favourite Chinese cookbooks, looking for recipes and inspiration. Fuchsia Dunlop and Ken Hom are my favourites for inspiration (currently in love with Dunlop's most recent book, Every Grain of Rice ,  the US version is due in February), but Yan-kit So's Classic Chinese Cookbook , as well as Sasha Gong and Scott Seligman...

Mulgi kapsad aka mulgikapsad is a traditional dish from Southern Estonia, consisting of pork, sauerkraut and barley (either pearl barley or barley groats). It doesn't sound much - but it's another one of those dishes that tastes much more and better that you'd imagine when looking at the (short and rather bland) list of ingredients. It's also cheap, filling and substantial, a perfect winter dish, which deserves attention outside Estonia as well. Hence this blog post. You'll need fresh sauerkraut for this dish. When I say "fresh sauerkraut", I mean the uncooked, fermented and unpasteurized sauerkraut. Look for "barrel cured" sauerkraut, not the "wine cured", and find it either in Eastern European stores or in your local health food store. Or ferment your own! :) * PS This dish is wheat-free . If you want a gluten-free version, then feel free to use porridge/pudding/risotto rice instead of barley.  Sauerkraut with pork and barley ( M...

First there were the 3-ingredient cookies , consisting of bananas, oats and raisins. Now we're making 2-ingredient pancakes, consisting of bananas and eggs :) I discovered the recipe in the summer, when it appeared on my friend Liina's blog, and since then we've made them quite a few times - mostly when we have over-ripe bananas on the counter, or simply want a sweet dessert that's ready in minutes. I've seen versions adding some coconut meal, ground almonds or oats, but as long as you make the pancakes small (mine are about 5 cm or 2 inches in diameter), they'll stay together with just two ingredients as well. These are not vegan, as they contain eggs, but they do suit most other popular diets out there. Plus the kids love them! Note that you need ripe bananas - the riper your bananas, the sweeter and nicer the pancakes! I've served them with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Banana and egg pancakes ( Banaanipannkoogid ) Serves 3 to 4 4...

I originally blogged about these baked cheese crackers back in early  December 2007.   Back then I was teaching at the university during day-time and working as an intern at a restaurant in the evenings. Didn't have much time - or need - to cook at home, so these delicious and exceptionally easy cheese crisps were perfect as a late-night nibble. Now, more than 6 years and 3 kids later, I still make these every now and then. Cheese is an ingredient I always have lurking in the fridge, as it's pretty versatile - and I love cheese. So whenever I bake something in the oven, I bake a batch of these as well. These are also suitable if you're on a low-carb and/or gluten-free diet. And if you go to sauna on Saturday evenings, like many Estonians do, then these go beautifully with beer. You can use any semi-hard cheese on hand. I tend to use  Eesti juust aka 'Estonian cheese' - a cheese similar to the Danish Havarti cheese which is available pretty much everywhere in the w...

Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the January 2014 issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine (I made the drink and modelled for the photo :)) Do you love mulled wine or glögg or vin chaud or Glühwein ? I do. However, once Christmas is behind us, I don't fancy red wine based mulled drinks - they simply feel too, well, Christmassy. However, this mulled apple drink is perfect for winter, and a great alternative to your regular mulled wine. And should you plan a winter walk and a small picnic, you can make a batch and put into your favourite thermos bottle! I use cinnamon and ginger, and sometimes add star anise - feel free to play with different spices. My version is non-alcoholic, but feel free to add some calvados or rum or cognac to it ;) Mulled apple glögg (non-alcholic) ( Alkoholivaba õunaglögi )  Serves 6 Photo by Pille Petersoo for Nami-Nami 1 litre of good apple juice, homemade or bought 1 cinnamon stick thumb-sized piece of ginger root 1-2 star anise (optional) soft brown sugar or honey (...

January 6th - or today - is the last day to wish happy new year here in Estonia , so I'm just in time - Happy New Year, dear readers of Nami-Nami near and far! Wish you all a peaceful and productive year, full of delicious and nourishing food, with occasional treats and decadent moments! We're in the middle of a very awkward winter here. While friends in the US and Canada are facing huge snowstorms, then we had a green and mild Christmas with temperatures hovering at around couple of degrees above zero (Celsius, that is). Most unusual and weird, though not unheard of. We're promised that the temperature drops towards the end of January and we'll get some snow as well, but I won't believe it until I see it. Still, hearty soups and stews are what we're cooking most at the moment - it is winter, after all - and this lamb with lentils was a great and promising start to the culinary year or 2014. Oh, and as you can see, I'm now a proud owner of a beautiful red ...