Yumi Yumi

Here's a posting I didn't think I'd be doing - after all, kodused kotletid are such a humble comfort food and they're not exactly the runner-up for the " Most Photogenic Food " title. Yet I've recently understood that there is something wee bit unique about the typical Estonian hakk-kotlet - namely, the main ingredient. Of course, that's minced meat, but majority of Estonians would use a mixture of beef and pork, 50:50 ratio. And while it's perfectly acceptable to go and buy a packet of one (say, beef) and a packet of another (pork), then more often than not we simply reach out and buy one of the mixes. I'm not talking about seasoned sausagemeat or some other minced meat mixes here, but about a 50:50 mix of pure minced beef and pure minced pork. Here's one by Atria   (you can choose between 300 g and 500 g), but all Estonian meat producers have this product in their portfolio: I hadn't really given this much thought, but at a recent ...

Trying to reduce the amount of carbohydrates, yet missing something sweet and luscious? Then try this low-carb, gluten-free, wheat-free mascarpone and raspberry pudding - either for breakfast, for dessert or just a quick treat between meals.  It's not dairy-free, however - there's some creamy mascarpone cheese and full-fat cottage cheese in there! I love the dairy products we get here in Estonia. You get excellent butter, kefir, buttermilk, yoghurt, curd cheese and cottage cheese over here - though the cottage cheese we ate daily in Israel back in 2012 (pictured on the left) was even better. The curds in the Israeli cottage cheese were larger, and much softer than here in Estonia - they really did melt in your mouth!  But apart from that, you cannot fault the Estonian dairy products. We use them a lot and in various delicious ways - just browse through the Estonian recipes on my blog to see all the cakes, desserts and pastries - and even savoury dishes - requiring curd chees...

Do you tend to prefer fresh vegetables over frozen ones? I guess most people would say "Yes". However, out of season - which depending on your location could be from October till May, like here in Estonia - fresh vegetables aren't always the best choice. That's a message Jamie Oliver is advocating in his latest TV series, Save with Jamie - out of season fresh vegetables are often way past their best, whereas frozen vegetables are harvested at their best and frozen within hours. They're often fresher than the fresh, so to say. They're definitely cheaper as well, helping you to save the pennies! So here I am, in the middle of Estonian winter, cooking with frozen-fresh green beans, inspired by Jamie. Jamie served these garlicky green beans alongside his secret steak and chips and creamy mushroom gravy ( here's the original recipe ), I serve these simply as a vegetarian main course or alongside some grilled meat. #glutenfree #Paleo #LCHF #lowcarb Green bean...

Recipe repost. This was originally posted in February 2010. I'm jumping on the Valentine's Day bandwagon here. I must admit it's not a holiday that we celebrate, really. Though Valentine's Day/Friends' Day has become increasingly popular amongst the younger generation here in Estonia, I was out of high school way before that trend began here. But it's a good excuse to bake some chocolate muffins and decorate them with heart-shaped sprinklers :) When I started looking for a good chocolate muffin recipe , I realised that the choice was endless. Instead I took my excellent rhubarb muffin recipe , replaced the rhubarb with chopped dark chocolate and added some cocoa powder for extra colour and deeper chocolate flavour. The muffins have a very low fat content, as most of the butter has been replaced with yogurt/sour cream - resulting in moist muffins with a nice crumb. I loved them! Chocolate Muffins ( Mõnusad šokolaadimuffinid ) Makes 12 smaller muffins 2 large free...

It took me a while to like chia seeds. I was well aware of all the benefits of enjoying some chia seeds every now and then (if you're not, then check out this article over at Huffington Post ), but they reminded me of frogspawn and I wasn't really interested. Yet somehow a packet of chia seeds did find a way into my kitchen cupboard recently and I've been adding a serving (2 Tbsp) here and there. And you know what - they still look like frogspawn when mixed with liquid and left to stand for a while - but they taste actually nice and I quite enjoy the texture now. Today's recipe is for a simple banana, chia and coconut pudding . Many bloggers use almond milk (see a list of similar recipes at the end of this post), but I never have that at home, so I use coconut milk instead. Enjoy this for breakfast, dessert or a quick snack. You'll need an immersion blender for making this pudding. Banana, chia and coconut pudding ( Banaani-chia-kookosepuding ) Serves 1 1 very rip...

Brussels sprouts, yes or no?  I say yes, especially now, mid-winter. Cheap, cheerful and seasonal! Here's a dish based on the lovely Nigel Slater ' s recipe that I found on BBC's website (see here ), though I first read about it on this Estonian blog and on this Estonian blog ). I still get a fresh batch of Brussels sprouts at my local farmers market  almost every weekend, and my family seems to love them. The kids, I must admit, seem to prefer them raw, so I always put a couple aside for them. Without further ado, here's the recipe. However, do check out this recipe on Nami-Nami, posted just a few months ago - sautéed Brussels sprouts with lemon  - that's lovely, too! Brussels sprouts with bacon and whole almonds ( Rooskapsad peekoni ja mandlitega ) Serves 4 to 6   1 kg Brussels sprouts about 300 g smoked ham or bacon 2 Tbsp butter 150 g whole almonds Trim the sprouts - cut the stem shorter, remove the ugly outer leaves. Halve the Brussels sprouts. Cut the ham/bac...

Originally posted in January 2013. Still immensely popular at our house! Have you eaten "cauliflower rice" before? Have you prepared it yourself? What's your favourite cauliflower "rice" recipe? Kalyn wrote back in 2010 that she realised she's late to the cauliflower rice party. Imagine being then three more years late to the "cauli rice" party!!! I had seen the blog posts here and there, but didn't get around to trying this way of cooking cauliflower until now. We all liked it, and our 2-year old son really-really liked it, so we'll be definitely making this again. I love cauliflower a lot (see the list of other cauliflower dishes here at Nami-Nami at the end of this post), but I admit this way of preparing cauliflower changes the flavour quite a lot. If I hadn't cooked it myself and someone had offered me a spoonful, I wouldn't have suggested cauliflower at first - texture-wise, it reminded me more of egg fried rice and not grat...