Leda's Tzatziki

Serves a party

Ingredients:

* 1 Kg Greek Yogurt (10% fat)

* 1 cucumber, grated

* 4 Garlic cloves (or to taste)

* 20g Dill

* Vinegar to taste

* Olive oil to taste
* Salt to taste

Preparation:

Cut the cucumber however you like, and press the water out of them using a sieve.
Finely cut the dill and press the garlic in a garlic press and add everything to the yogurt. Now add the salt, vinegar and olive oil to taste and mix. For the best taste, leave alone for one hour so the flavours can blend.

Use it as a sauce and/or side for a lot of dishes.

I hope you like it.

Regards,

Mike & Leda

Chili con carne

serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

* 4 cans of kidney beans

* 2 cans of tomato cubes

* 1 can of corn

* 4 sweet pointy paprika's

* 3 middle sized onion

* 4 garlic cloves

* 350g minced meat (I used half and half)

* 1 beef stock cube

* 2 Spanish peppers or red jalapeño

* 1 spoon of brown castor sugar

* 1 package of passata (optional)

* Chili seasoning

* Cumin powder (optional)
* Chili powder (optional)

Preparation:

Cut the onion and paprika in cubes and mince the garlic with a rasp. If you use whole peppers, cut them in slices.

Heat up a casserole and stir fry the minced meat until it falls apart. Now add the paprika, onion, garlic and the chili seasoning. and stir fry until the meat is browned. Now add the tomato cubes and keep stirring. Add the stock cube and the sugar. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally.

Now add the kidney beans, along with the juice of 2 of the 4 cans and stir to blend. Add the corn and stir again.  If your sauce is watery you can add passata until the sauce has your preferable thickness.

At this point you can serve it, or adjust the flavour to your liking by using cumin powder and/or chili powder.

Serve with rice, nacho's or a salad as a side.

Enjoy your meal!

Regards,

Mike & Leda

Pasta funghi e pomodori secchi

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

* 750g mushrooms

* 3 cloves of garlic

* 3 spoons of fresh basil

* 200 to 250 g sun dried tomatoes

* 150 g stock (I used chicken, but mushroom stock tastes better).

* 250g creme fraiche

* 100g grated Parmesan

* Pepper and salt to taste

Preparations:

Cut the mushroom and tomatoes in slices. Finely chop the garlic and the basil and boil the water for the stock. When the water is boiling, add the stock cube and let it dissolve under occasional stirring. Set aside.

Cook the pasta according to the package.

Heat up a saute pan and add some olive oil. Stir fry the mushrooms on medium heat for 1 minute and add the garlic. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes more and add the tomatoes. Put the heat on low.

Now add the stock to the mushrooms and stir to blend. Let it cook slowly until the stock dissolves a little. Now add the creme fraiche and bring to boil, but immediately put the heat on low when it boils.

Add the Parmesan and stir until dissolved.
Now it is time to add the basil. Stir to blend and taste. Add salt and/or pepper if you prefer.

The pasta should be done by now. Rinse with cold water to cool it down a bit and add it to the saucemix.

Stir to blend and serve.

We hope you like this recipe, we definitely enjoyed this dish.
See you soon!

Mike & Leda

Chicken Teriyaki

serves 4

Ingredients:

Chicken:

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 600g chicken breast
* 500g broccoli
* 2 garlic cloves
* 3 large carrots
* Chili flakes, to taste
* 500g rice or noodles.

Teriyaki Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
* ⅓ cup soy sauce
* ⅓ cup water
* 4 tablespoons corn starch
* ¼ cup honey

Preparation:

Peel the ginger and mince it, then combine in a sauce pan with the rest of the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce. Heat the sauce up on medium heat, Stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Set aside.

Meanwhile cut the chicken in cubes, the carrot in slices and the broccoli in florets. Peel the garlic and mince, or finely cut it. Cook or steam the broccoli until they soften a bit, they still need to be crunchy! Set aside. Start boiling the noodles or rice.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the olive oil, then add the chicken in a single layer. Fry it undisturbed, for about 3 minutes or until brown, then flip and fry the other side until browned.
Add the garlic, carrots and teriyaki sauce, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Now add the steamed/boiled broccoli to the cooked chicken and sauce. Sprinkle with chili flakes if you like it spicy and mix.
Lower the heat and wait until the rice or noodles are done, if they aren't already.
Serve with rice or noodles.

I hope you like this recipe and hopefully until soon.

Mike & Leda

Balik Ekmek

serves 4

* 2 smoked mackerels
* Olive oil
* Salt and ground black pepper to taste
* 4 ciabatta's or other bread to preference
* Lettuce
* 2-3 spoons of yogonaise
* 2 spoons of capers
* 0,5 red onion
* 3 medium tomatoes
* A handful of flat leaf (Italian) parsley
* Juice of 1 lemon
* 1 teaspoon ground sumac


Balik Ekmek is a Turkish dish. It means Fish Sandwich.
I first saw this on a cooking program where a guy visits all kinds of street food stalls all over the world. This time he went to Istanbul and ate the Balik Ekmek. Of course this caught my interest and I had to try it for myself. I browsed the net and this recipe is the closest I can find which suited my tastes. That's a little history here; now on to the recipe!

Cut out the filets of the mackerel and heat up a  grill pan lightly greased in olive oil.
Grill the fish carefully for 5 - 10 minutes. Check every now and then so it doesn't burn. Turn halfway.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the herb yogonaise with capers.
Chop the parsly and rinse the capers. In a small bowl, combine the yogonaise, chopped parsley and the capers. Drizzle with a little olive oil to taste.

For the sumac salad; mix some salt to taste and sumac into the onion slices with your hands really well in a bowl. This will soften the onions, make them more palatable and let the sumac really penetrate to the onions. Add the chopped tomatoes, some parsley, juice of lemon and olive oil to taste into the bowl and combine well. Season with ground black pepper. Set aside.

Once the fish is grilled, slice the bread open and toast it in the grill pan a little, if you prefer. Spread a thin layer of the herb mayonnaise over the bread and place a fish filet on it. Then place a spoonful of the sumac salad over the bread. Now add the lettuce place the top of the bread.
Wrap in foil so the contents don't fall out of the sandwich.

I hope you like this recipe and enjoy your meal!

Mike & Leda

Hawaii Chicken

serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

* 500g chicken breast

* 2 garlic cloves

* 1 can pineapple cubes

* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup soy sauce

* 0,5 cup Brown sugar

* 1,5 cup Cornstarch

* 1 Red paprika

* Salt and pepper to taste

* Pineapple juice from the can

* Rice

* Spring onion for decoration

* Cornstarch

* Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 160 °C. 

Cut chicken breasts into cubes and season with salt and pepper.

In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch first then coat in egg mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned, after that put the chicken in a  greased baking dish.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and cornstarch. Add the red paprika and pineapple bits. Pour over chicken and bake for 30 minutes.

Stir the chicken every 15 minutes so that it coated them in the sauce. 

Meanwhile you can prepare the rice.

Once done, serve the chicken with the rice and some spring onions for decoration.

I hope you like this recipe, and enjoy your meal!

Mike & Leda

Honey BBQ Chicken with vegetable noodles

serves 2

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

* 8 chicken wings
* 2 spoons barbecue sauce
* 1 spoon honey
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon (smoked) paprika powder
* 1 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup of flour
* Lettuce for decoration

For the noodles:

* 250g noodles
* ½ red paprika
* ½ green paprika
* 125g broccoli
* 50g beansprouts
* 1 carrot
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon laos (Thai ginger powder)
* ½ teaspoon djahe (gingerpowder)
* ½ teaspoon chilipowder
* ½ teaspoon ketoembar (coriander powder)
* ½ teaspoon sereh (lemon grass)
* ½ teaspoon koenjit/kurkuma (turmeric powder)
* ½ teaspoon djintan (cumin powder)
* ¼ teaspoon cinamon
* 2 teaspoons salt
* A dash of sweet soy sauce

Preparation:

Preheat the oven on 220 °C.
Mix the flour with the herbs and coat the chicken wings with the flourmix. Place chicken in the oven on a tray with a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, turning the chicken when the timer is halfway.
Now prepare a mix of the barbecue sauce and the honey in a bowl big enough for the chicken. Set to the side.

Meanwhile cut the broccoli in small pieces and the carrot and paprika in slices. Mix all the herbs together in a small bow.

Once the chicken is done, take them out of the oven and mix them in the barbecue sauce. Put the oven on 200 degrees and bake the chicken for 10 minutes more on the same tray. While the chicken is in the oven, start boiling the noodles and stir frying the vegetables. After 2 minutes, add the herbs to the wok and stir fry for one minute more. Now add the soy sauce and mix well. Lower the heat and wait for the noodles to be ready.

Pour all the water from the noodles and cool with cold water. Make sure the noodles are as dry as possible. Now put them in the wok with the vegetables and mix well.
The chicken should be done by now too. Serve the chicken on a tray decorated with lettuce if you want to be fancy, and serve alongside the stir fried noodles.

I absolutely enjoyed eating this delicious chicken, and I hope you will too.
Enjoy your meal, and thank you for trying!

Mike & Leda

Mojo Picón

Serves a party

Ingredients:

* 4-5 garlic cloves
* 2 spoons of cumin
* 1 spoon of paprika powder
* 2 cups of oil (olive or sunflower)
* 1 cup of vinegar
* 1-2 spoons of salt
* 1 paprika (colour to taste)
* 6 small dried chili's
* Bread to make thicker (to taste)
* water to make thinner (to taste)



Preparation:

Personally I like to use a red paprika because of the flavour, but in this recipe I used a yellow one. When using a green one, you should also add parsley to taste. The green variant is usually used in combination with fish.

Clean the garlic and the paprika, cut out the inside of the paprika and put in a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients. Use bread (or breadcrumbs) to make the sauce thicker, and water to make it thinner. Personally I prefer a thicker varient of the sauce.

You can use it along with boiled potatoes, vegetables and meat/fish.

I hope you like the recipe.

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Stuffed tomatoes

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

* 12 Tomatoes

* 2 Carrots

* 1 Bunch of parsley

* 1/2 Cup of fresh spearmint 

* 500g minced beef

* 1 Onion

* 3 Cups of white rice

* Olive oil

* 1 Cup of dry red wine

* Smoked paprika

* Salt & pepper

* 1 Tsp of tomato puree

Preparation:

1. Cut the top of the tomatoes, and with take out the filling with a spoon. 

2. Keep the filling in a separate bowl and put the empty tomatoes in an oven pan.

3. Finely chop the onion and saute it in a big pan with 4-5 Tbs of olive oil.

4. Add the minced meat in the pan and saute it until its juices are gone.

5. Finely chop the parsley and spearmint.

6. Put the tomato filling and the carrots in a blender and finely chop them.

7. Mix the tomato filling, carrots, smoked paprika, parsley, spearmint, salt & pepper and tomato puree in a bowl. 

8. Add the wine in the pan with the meat and onion and wait for the alcohol to evaporate. 

9. Add the ingredients from the bowl in the pan and mix them.

10. Add the rice in the pan and let the mix boil for about 20'. Add water if needed.

11. Fill the tomatoes with the stuffing from the pan.

12. Spill some extra olive oil on the top of the tomatoes  and put their "hats" back on. 

13. Cook in a preheated oven on 200 Celsius degrees for 45 minutes.

*Tip: The stuffing is most probably going to be more than what the tomatoes can take. Put the rest on the bottom of the pan between the tomatoes and serve some extra stuffing with your stuffed tomatoes.

Serve with a piece of quality feta cheese and enjoy!

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Mozzarella & hazelnut salad

Serves 3

Ingredients:

* Lettuce

* Rucola

* 1/2 cup Raisins 

* 6 Sun dried tomatoes

* 1 Carrot

* 1 Cup hazelnut

* 200g Mozzarella 

* Balsamic sauce

* Olive oil

* Salt

Preparation:

1. Wash all of your vegetables

2. Chop the lettuce and put it in a bowl

3. Add the rucola in the bowl

4. Clean off the skin of the carrot, slice it with a peeler and add in the bowl

5. Cut the sun dried tomatoes in half and add them in the bowl with the raisins 

6. Pure the olive oil on the salad and add the salt

7. Put the hazelnuts in the blender, crush them and add them in the bowl

8. Cut the mozzarella and add it in the bowl

9. Pure the balsamic sauce on the top

10. Mix and serve

*Tip: if you prefer to taste the hazelnuts in the salad, just crush them in the blender for a few seconds

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Chicken wraps

serves 2

Ingredients: 

* 2 Tortillas

* 2 Tsp Creme cheese 

* 2 Chicken fillet slices

* Lettuce

* Cucumber

* Sweet corn

* 1 Carrot

* Balsamic sauce 

Preparation:

1. Spread the creme cheese on  the tortilla and add the chicken fillet slices

2. Wash the lettuce and add as much as you prefer in the wrap 

3. Clean off the skin of the carrot and slice it with a peeler and add it in the wrap 

4. Add the sweet corn

5. Wash the cucumber and slice it.

6. Add the cucumber in the wrap 

7. Add a little balsamic sauce on the top

8. Wrap your tortilla with a piece of aluminum foil to keep everything in place

Enjoy!

Truly yours,

Mike & Leda

Tuna & Pasta salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

* 1 tuna can

* 1 tomato

* 1/4 cucumber 

* 250g penne rigate pasta

* 1/2 lettuce 

* 4 Tsp sweet corn from a can

* 1 carrot 

* 1 Tsp yogonnaise 

* lemon juice

* cumin 

* Salt & pepper 

Preparation:

1. Boil the pasta and let it cull down

2. Cut the lettuce, the tomato, the cucumber and put them in a bowl 

3. Add the pasta and the sweet corn in the bowl

4. Cut the carrot in thin slices with a peeler and add it in the bowl 

5. Using a fork "break" the tuna finely before adding it to the rest of the ingredients 

6. In a cup, mix the cumin, salt, pepper, yogonnaise and the lemon juice and pure it on the top of the salad 

7. Finely mix and serve it cold 

Enjoy!

Truly yours,

Mike & Leda 

Chicky's sandwich

Serves 2

Ingredients:

* 4 buns 

* 4 lettuce slices

* 1 tomato

* 4 Tsp grated parmesan cheese

* Fry mayonnaise

* 12 Chicken croquettes 

* 1 onion

* sweet chilly sauce

* sun flower oil

Preparation:

1. Deep fry the chicken croquettes in the sun flower oil and let them cool down for 5-10 minutes

2. Cut the buns in half and spread mayonnaise and sweet chilly sauce on both sides 

3. Add half of the parmesan cheese

4. Cut the tomato and the onion in thin slices

5. Add the rest of the recipes in the following order: 

• Onion
• Lettuce
• Chicken croquettes
• tomato
• the rest of the parmesan cheese

6. Serve with fries 

*Tip: Use aluminum foil to wrap the sandwiches if you want to keep everything from falling apart 

Enjoy! 

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Stir fry chicken with wine and mustard sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

* 2 chicken breasts

* 1 green pepper

* 1 Tsp Mustard 

* 1 cup white wine

* Olive oil

* Salt&Pepper

Preparation:

1. Wash the chicken and cut it in cubes

2. Chop the peppers

3. Mix the mustard with the wine 

4. Put the chicken, olive oil, green pepper and spices in a pan an stir fry them until the chicken is cooked on the outside

5. Pure the wine and the mustard in  the pan and lower the temperature on half

6. Let the food slowly boil until the wine and mustard are a thick sauce and the alcohol is evaporated

Serve with chips, rice or potato puree 

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Mike&Leda

Chocolate truffle balls

Makes 30-40 pieces

Ingredients:

* 250g butter

* 1 1/2 cup sugar powder 

* 5 Tsp cocoa

* 1 1/2 cup milk

* 1 shot of cognac 

* 400g tea biscuits 

* 300g walnuts or peanuts 

* chocolate flakes 

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter and mix it with the sugar, cocoa, milk and cognac.

2. Put the biscuits and the peanuts in the mixer, crash them and mix them with the rest. 

3. Leave the mix in the fridge for a couple of hours.

4. Pure the chocolate flakes in a plate.

5. Make small balls in the size of a walnut and then roll it in the chocolate flakes.

* Tip:

Try not to hold the chocolate balls in your hands for too long to prevent them for warming up again an making a mess in your hands

I hope you like this recipe and hopefully until soon.

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda  

Bueno shake

serves 1

Ingredients:

* 1 package of Kinder bueno
* 50ml vanilla syrup (Monin)
* 500ml Milk

Preparation:

Crush the Bueno until they fit through a straw and add them in a big glass. Add the syrup and mix. Now add the milk while stirring. You can also use a blender, or shaker if you'd like. Serve cold or warm.

Enjoy,

Mike & Leda

Oreo shake

serves 1

Ingredients:

* 2 oreo cookies
* 50ml vanilla syrup (Monin)
* 500ml Milk

Preparation:

Crush the oreo until they fit through a straw and add them in a big glass. Add the syrup and mix. Now add the milk while stirring. You can also use a blender, or shaker if you'd like. Serve cold or warm.

Enjoy,

Mike & Leda

Yakisoba Chicken Noodles

serves 5 - 6

Ingredients:

* 250g broccoli

* 1 red paprika
* 1 big onion
* 150g beansprouts
* Spring onion
* 400g chicken
* 250g mushrooms
* 500g (udon) noodles
* 4 spoons soy sauce
* 4 spoons mirin
* 4 garlic cloves
* 1 thumbsize ginger
* 4 spoons yakisoba sauce
* Salt
* Pepper

Preparation:

Cut the chicken in strips and mince the ginger and garlic. Mix the soy, mirin, and the yakisoba sauce with the ginger and garlic in a bowl.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and put in a seperate bowl. Now mix 1 spoon of the yakisoba mix with the chicken and blend well. Set aside.

Cut the vegetables in big pieces. Boil the broccoli for 5 minutes and set aside. Meanwhile cook the noodles and let it rinse after they are done. Now throw some boiled water on the beansprouts in a sieve so they cook for a short while and set aside.

Heat up a wok and stir fry the chicken until brown. Add the vegetables and mix well, stir frying for 3 - 5 minutes. Now add the noodles and mix well again. Finally we will add the rest of the sauce and mix well blending everything. Make sure everything is covered with the sauce.
Serve in a bowl and decorate with spring onion.

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Ranch Salad

serves 2 - 3

Ingredients:

Salad:

* 1 can of corn

* (iceberg) lettuce

* 1 pointy paprika

* cucumber

* carrots

Ranch Dressing:

* Mayonnaise
* 150g of sour cream
* Butter milk to taste
* Onion powder
* Garlic powder
* Black pepper
* Salt
* Dill
* Chives
* Parsley
* Vinegar

Preparation:

Mix the ingredients for the dressing. Use the mayonnaise and sour cream as your base, and add everything else to taste. Use the buttermilk to make the dressing more liquid if you need to.

Cut the lettuce in strips, the paprika and cucumber in cubes, and the carrot julienne. Add everything in a bow, and add the dressing to taste.

Serve as a side dish.

Enjoy!

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda

Mushroom Soup

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

* 500g white mushrooms

* 6 spring onions

* 1 lettuce

* 1 bunch of parsley

* 1 bunch of dill

* 1/2 cup of rice

* 3 lemons

* 2 eggs

* water
* salt

* black pepper

Preparation:

1. Clean the mushrooms with dry paper and cut them in 4 pieces.

2. Finely chop the parsley, dill and spring onions.

3. Chop the lettuce around 1cm thick strips.

4. Put the mushrooms, parsley, dill, spring onions, lettuce, rice and salt& black pepper in a big pan, fill with water and let it boil on high temperature.

5. When the rice is cooked turn off the stew and  take some of the soup's liquid in a bowl and let it cool down a bit.

6. Wisp the eggs with the juice of the lemons.

7. Slowly add the soup's liquid in the egg and lemon sauce while still steering.

8. Finally pure the egg and lemon sauce with the soup's juice in the rest of the soup and steer a bit more.

*Tip:

Don't rush in mixing the egg and lemon with the soup, you don't want the eggs to be cooked fast!

I hope you like this recipe and hopefully until soon.

Yours truly,

Mike & Leda