This pasta is probably my favorite pasta dish at the moment. Well maybe except angel hair with tomato sauce, which always is unbeatable. First of all salmon is not very frequent addition to pasta and I have no clue why because those two things together are a perfect match. Also Sambuca used instead of white wine adds fantastic, new and intriguing flavor. Sambuca, if you’re not aware, is an anisette flavored Italian liquor. It’s sweet and has a strong anisette taste but when cooked with butter, salmon and tomatoes becomes …

In many European countries, September is known as a mushroom month. Usually by the end of August, it gets slightly colder and rain falls much more often. That’s the time when forest becomes a charming place full of wild mushrooms. My parent’s house is in close proximity to the forest so sometimes I would wake up early in the morning and go into the woods to pick wild mushrooms and believe me, nothing can compare to the taste of fresh wild mushrooms. We would constantly be finding porcini, chanterelle and …

Few weeks ago I went to this amazing Taqueria in Miami where they serve lovely tacos. The place is called Mercadito, it’s tiny and menu is very small but the food is scrumptious. They serve one of the best Guacamole I have ever had a chance to try and the tastiest veggie tacos. Veggie tacos are prepared with poblano peppers, onions and cream. Poblano peppers are first roasted, then peeled and sauted  together with onions and creama Mexicana. Both peppers and onions are cut into strips hence the name rajas …

I saw this dish for the first time in some random cookbook I was browsing. It was named “Eggs Flamenco” and indeed, one might think that it’s a Spanish dish because it resembles Basque dish Piperade. However almost the same dish, known as Chakchouka is very popular in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Marroco and Middle East. The difference is that Piperade may or may not be prepared with an egg, while Chakchouka is always prepared with an egg. According to wikipedia, the dish is now also popular in Israel where …

Roasted peppers have been one of my favorite things to eat ever since I remember. I think it’s absolutely amazing how the flavor of peppers changes from raw state to roasted. It becomes completely different vegetable. I was never fond of raw peppers but sauteing and even more roasting, changes their flavor and texture into a tender, heavenly deliciousness that melts in your mouth. In my home we never used to buy these popular roasted peppers in a jar. My parents always used to make their own, with a garlic …

I have to admit, that even though I don’t eat meat, I don’t really eat much of vegetarian protein such as tempeh. I prefer eggs, beans and my favorite lentils. Today however I wanted to do an exception and make an Indian curry dish with tempeh. Tempeh fits perfectly to that type of dishes because it absorbs all the flavors and masala is a very flavorful dish with slightly sweet undertone and creamy sauce. The addition of potatoes is a perfect match because they don’t overpower the taste and the …

Swiss chard is such a marvelous vegetable. Not only it looks beautiful with its colorful stalks but it also is extraordinarily healthy. Just one cup of raw, uncooked chard gives you 4 g of fiber, over 700% of daily requirement for vitamin K, 100% for vitamin A, 50% for vitamin C, almost 40% for magnesium, 27% for potassium and 23% for Iron. It really is exceptionally lot for just 1 cup. It also gives you a decent 15% of Calcium but since it contains oxalic acid, the nutrient is not …

Isn’t this funny that people often think that just because you’re vegetarian, you can’t have a “normal” meal? They assume that all you eat is lettuce, fruits and beans. Well not exactly, there’s much more to that especially today when every supermarket offers a wide array of vegetarian products such as textured meat and soy burgers. I never was a big fan of textured, fake meat and the only products of that type I buy, are veggie burgers and soy sausages. I rather buy plain, firm tofu and add to …

I am not going to lie, broccoli is not my favorite food. For the most part of my life I have been avoiding it as it was poisonous. I consider myself being far from picky but broccoli somehow never made it to the top of my most loved foods. On the contrary, it used to be at the very bottom. It wasn’t until few months ago that I finally decided to face my demon. I made a stir fry with broccoli. I took a first bite, then second and realized …

Whenever I go back in my mind to the times before I left my country, I see my family on Sunday afternoon, gathered by the table and eating a traditional three course meal. The soup and the main course were often different so we wouldn’t get bored with the same thing over and over but the dessert was usually the same each week, szarlotka. Szarlotka which is a Polish name for the apple pie, is a cake that originated in France but nowadays is mostly eaten in Austria and Poland. …