#recipe: 3 recipes for fall

For me fall and winter are the most inspiring time for cooking/baking. It's cold and dark outside, so there's nothing better than warm kitchen and all that delicious smell :)

So, I decided to put here 3 recipes that are in my opinion very perfect for fall time!

CHICKPEA + LENTILS SOUP

1 chopped onion

1 chopped carrot

1 garlic clove

salt, pepper

400 g canned chopped tomatoes

dash of sugar

400 g canned chickpeas

1 dl lentils

2 dl vegetable broth

Heat oil in the pot. Add chopped onion, carrot and garlic. Season with salt andpepper. Add chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and vegetable broth. Let it boil until chickpeas are soft. Add lentils and boil till they are ready. Season with salt, pepper and sugar if needed (I didn't add any of those to this dish because onion and garlic gave so much flavor themselves!)

PUMPKIN COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

Oh yes! Finally I got pumpkin puree and got to bake something out of it! I made basically the first pumpkin cookie recipe I found. The cookies turned out so good!

100 g unsalted butter

100 g brown sugar

6 tbls (90 g) pumpkin puree

1,5 cups whole wheat flour

0,25 ts salt

0,25 ts baking powder

0,25 ts baking soda

1,5 ts ground cinnamon

0,25 ts nutmeg

0,5 cup (90 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180 C degrees. Mix butter and sugar. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Add pumpkin puree and sugar-butter mix. Mix is nicely. Add chocolate chips. 

Roll the dough into balls (about tablespoon of dough for one ball) and place them on to a baking sheet on a baking pan. Flatten the balls a bit. Bake the cookies about 8-10 minutes. If the cookies didn't spread much at all, flatten them when you them them out of the oven. Let them coold down and enjoy :) (they are just as good when they are warm as well!)

I took the original recipe from HERE, but I changed it a bit..made it healthier :)

BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES 

I am such a big sweet potato lover! I used to not like sweet potatoes at all, but now I truly love them!

I had been craving for sweet potato fries for quite a while and I finally made them today. Oh they tasted so delicious! I think the sweetness of sweet potatoes is just so perfect for this season! 

The recipe is of course very simple:

1 big sweet potato (mine was 700 g)

0,5 ts salt

0,25 ts pepper

a bit of potato seasoning (optional)

about 2 tbsp olive oil 

Preheat the oven to 235 C degrees (450 F). Cut your sweet potato in half. Cut slices out of both of the halves. Slices cut into strips (try to cut them as same size as possible). Put the potato stips to a baking sheet. Add olive oil, salt, pepper and any other seasoning you want. Mix them all together (use your hand). Now comes an inportant part: line your potato strips all nicely, so they don't touch each other. That way the strips will be crisp :)

Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes, then turn them over (yes, one at a time) and bake 10 more minutes. If you don't want them to be so very crisp, reduce the baking time a couple of minutes both sides.

Fun times :)

Last weekend was so great because Jay didn't have to go to work on Saturday. So, on Friday he went out with his friend and when he came home early morning I woke up too. Neither of us were tired, so we just chatted and laughed and just had so much fun :) I enjoyed that early morning with my hubbies company a lot! Finally we fell asleep. In the morning I made banana bread and went to the food shop.When I got back Jay woke up as well. We had agreed that he'll make a dinner. He went to the easiest way and bought frozen pizza and baked it in the oven. It was very good! And I just liked the fact that I didn't have to cook :) The same evening we went to the cinema to see Dracula. It was such a good movie! When we walked back from the movies we laughed again so much and had such a nice time together! I think it was one of the best days together in a while. He's been working so much and he has weekends off very seldom. Luckily upcoming Saturday he's off again and we are planning on going to the cinema again :)

On Sunday my sister Anni-Brit came to visit us. So, in the morning I made banana cake. I asked dad over too so there would be more people to eat that cake :D Anni and I went to the shops, watched a movie (A Single Moms Club) and just caught up on each others lives. She's going back to Estonia on Thursday morning.

The weather has been pretty changing. Saturday was super sunny but cold. Sunday was not cold but so rainy. And Monday and Tuesday were cold, but cloudy. Today actually even snowed a bit. Because the weather has mostly been cold I have been eager to bake :D Halloween is coming closer and at work we are preparing for our Halloween party (doing decorations, planning activities ect). My friend from work found canned pumpkin puree (we were all looking for it everywhere, but couldn't find). But she found it and I asked her to buy me two cans. I had never had any pumpkin sweets (pumpkin pie or pumpkin cookies..). Yesterday when I got the puree I knew that when I got home I would make something. I made pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips. They were sooooo delicious! Recipe will be up soon as well :) I never thought they could taste SO good! I am definitely addicted and I have a new favorite thing to bake now!

Over all these past few days have been so much fun and I have been enjoying my time with Johannes and my sister!

Weekend in Estonia, ViPR workout, book reading and more

Last weekend I went to Estonia to visit my grandparents. It was nice to see them!!! I also spent time with my mom and my friend Laura. Laura and I had so much fun! We had real girls night in! We cooked, chatted, did online shopping and ended our night with a facial mud mask :) 

In the morning we had delicious breakfast (porridge with almonds and fresh strawberry jam + chai tea). I also did some shopping while I was in Estonia. I managed to buy two pairs on jeans and boots. I also bought some food stuff that we don't have in Finland.

Last week at work was pretty busy. But I still had time and energy to go to ViPR class with my workmate Ashley. I totally loved it. It was definitely the most hardest and intense workout I have ever done in my life. But I felt so great after it was done! Of course the next day all my muscles were sore and to be honest the seconds day was even worse. At nights I couldn't even turn.. everything hurts..still! But I definitely want to continue. I am thinking of buying a monthly card for that gym. It's pretty expensive so I want to be sure that I am ready to commit and that I have energy and will to go to some workout classes after work.. Lets see how it goes and what I decide :P
Besides that one workout I have been reading books. I read through the newest Bridget Jones book called "Mad About the Boy" and a book "The Beginning of Everything". I loved them both so much! Currently I am reading "The Book Thief". I just started with it so I don't have an opinion of that book yet. But I mostly end up loving all the books I read. 

It's weekend today so I feel relaxed! When I came home from work yesterday I cleaned our apartment and made apple jam. I know it's so random. But my mom gave me some apples and I can't really eat them :/ For some reason apples make my stomach hurt and give me huge digestion problems :S That's why I decided to use these apples to make apple jam. I love apple jam and it was my first time to make my own. It came out sooo good and I am looking for tomorrow's breakfast porridge that I will top with that homemade apple jam! I also got a jar of apple jam from my workmate whose grandmother in law had made pretty much, more than she could eat. It was so nice of her to share some of the jam with us at work :)

I made a delicious and healthy banana bread today. I love baking on the weekends. But I try not to do that every weekend because otherwise I would be eating only cakes, pies and muffins (they always last for so long since my husband doesn't eat them). I also made a next week's dinners menu and went to the foodshop to buy all the ingredients that I need. I find that method so good. Firstly, it's much cheaper to really think through what I need for the week and buy them all at once, it's also so good to come home from work and to know what I am going to make for dinner and also to have all the ingredients in the fridge. I got that menu idea from my workmate Ashley and I have been doing that for a month already. It works so well! :)

#recipe: Banana Bread

I got this awesome banana bread recipe from my friend (she took it from the Internet). I am so glad she shared that recipe with me because this banana bread is so delicious and healthy (that's the best part!).

So, if you want to make a moist and delicious banana bread without sugar and butter, this recipe is meant for you! ;)

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup mashed banana

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or coconut, rice, oat milk)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C degrees (350 F). Cover your loaf pan with baking paper (or spray it with nonstick cooking spray). 

2. In large bowl combine mashed banana, applesauce, honey/maple syrup, egg, almond milk and vanilla until well combined and creamy. In separate medium bowl whisk together whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda (I didn't have it and I just left it out), salt and cinnamon. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined (don't overmix!).

3. Pour into prepared load pan, sprinkle oats over top (if desired) and bake for 60-70 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Enjoy this delicious and moist banana bread! Keep the bread tightly wrapped to maintain its moisture. 

Original recipe taken from HERE.

Hello October!

October has arrived and I am so pumped about it! The weather is getting colder, I can wear scarves, bake a lot, eat lots of tea ect. I decided to write down some of the things that I want to do and things I am looking forward to this October:

• Drink a lot of Chai Tea (I'll buy a Tiger Spice Chai Tea from Estonia)
• Bake a banana bread
• Bake a pumpkin pie (my very first one ever!)
• Attend to an Halloween party (also my very first one ever!)
• Wear an Halloween costume (at the party obviously!)
• Burn lots of good smelling candles
• Have long walks and pick up some colorful leaves
• Do more and more fun fall arts and crafts with my kids in kindergarten! 
• Continue with the weekly dinners' menu (more about this later!)
• Ride my bicycle as much as possible (before it starts snowing..)
• Enjoy every little moment because life is good :)