strawberry

Babka understands…

/ lolitabopaa / Leave a comment

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

When things go wrong, just stop and make a babka. She understands. She makes all the bad things go away. And even if it won’t turn out like the prettiest babka in the world, it will still be the best one you had in a million years.

Just go for it!

Dough

  • 100 g wholegrain spelt flour
  • 200 g wheat flour T400 + for dusting
  • 1 egg and 2 egg yolks
  • 15 g fresh yeast
  • 15 ml milk
  • 70 g softened butter
  • 40 g agave syrup or honey
  • ⅓ tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp rum
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg for brushing

Filling

  • 4 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 100 g fresh blueberries
  • 100 g fresh raspberries
  • 150 g blueberry or strawberry jam (I used ISIS sugar free jams)*

* avaliable at Vita Care

Preparation:

  1. Prepare the yeast: mix 15 ml warm milk, tablespoon of agave or honey and fresh yeast. Let double in size.
  2. In a big bowl mix both flours and salt.
  3. In a seperate bowl mix softened butter using a hand mixer. Gradually add egg and yolks, agave syrup, vanilla and rum.
  4. Add the yeast and the egg mixture to flours and mix with wooden spatula. When the ingredients start to combine, dust te work surface, transfer the dough and start kneading. Knead for 10 – 15 mins. Starch needs some time to soak up. It will be a bit messy at the begining, but when it strats to come together, you should form a compact silky dough ball.
  5. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume (be careful not to overdo it).
  6. In the meantime mix chia, fresh berries and jam.
  7. Transfer the dough to work surface and roll to 0.5 com thick.
  8. Spread over the fruit mixture.
  9. Roll and cut lenghtwise. Twist the strands to form a plait.Transfer to a baking tin and let rise.
  10. Brush with egg wash and bake in preheated oven at 210 °C for 10 mins. Turn the tin around and bake for another 10 mins. After that, lower at 180°C and bake for 10 more minutes.
  11. Let cool. Or don’t let cool. Eat.

Strawberry galette

/ lolitabopaa / Leave a comment

jagodna pita-9

It’s been three years since I’ve started my balcony garden. It had its ups and downs. Tomatoes, cucumbers, paprikas, herbs and spinach all worked well, but there were some serious fails with pumpkins and artichokes. And strawberries weren’t any success either so far. I wasn’t even planing to plant them this year but something was telling me I should…

jagodna pita

And it turned out to be a good decision, because this year I indeed have strawberries growing at my balcony! They are absolutely delicious, and to be honest, they went straight to my yoghurt in the morning. I would not dare to cook them. But they did inspire me to make this strawberry galette.

jagodna pita-5
jagodna pita-3
jagodna pita-2

jagodna pita-8

jagodna pita-11
jagodna pita-10

Ingredients

crust:

  • 60 g rolled oats
  • 50 g wholegrain spelt flour
  • 80 g shredded coconut
  • 45 g cold butter
  • 1 Tbsp agave syrup or honey
  • 1 egg yolk
  • pinch of salt
  • 30 ml cold water (or more if needed)

filling:

  • 300 – 350 g strawberries
  • 3 Tbsp chia
  • 1 big Tbsp strawberry jam (I used 100% fruit content jam)
  • 1/2 of vanilla pod
  • 1 – 2 Tbsp stevia or sucralose

Preparation:

  1. Grind rolled oats and coconut in coffee grinder to obtain flour consistency.
  2. Mix all the flours and salt, than add cold butter and mix evenly. Add agave syrup or honey and egg yolk. Mix and add water as needed. Form a ball, wrap it in plastic foil and let sit in the fridge for 30 mins.
  3. Cut strawberries in half. Mix all the ingredients for filling.
  4. Take the dough out of the fridge. Roll it out in between two sheets of baking paper. Put all the filling in the middle and fold the ends inwards.
  5. Bake for 25 – 35 mins at 180ºc.
  6. Sprinkle with mint leaves. And yes… vanilla ice cream is always a good idea!

jagodna pita-12

Red DETOX smoothie

/ lolitabopaa / 1 Comment

IMG_2862

After a busy end of the year and all that feasting and festivity the time has come to start a new chapter. New year – new beginnings, they say. And to start well, mind, soul and body need to be free. And clean. So, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to detoxify my body, do more sports and just breathe that fresh winter air. I left out a party or two and switched from wine to smoothies. Since I’ve got this diabetes thing I learned how important it is to listen to my body. Once you do that, you start acting differently and you feel great.

This smoothie has been replacing some of my breakfast lately. It’s really boosting and nourishing. In the morning I sometimes mixed it up with oats and hemp seeds and it was definitely my favorite 5 o’clock thing.

Beet is a great source of folic acid and potassium. It also contains high level of antioxidants and supports detoxification. It has a slightly higher level of carbs than other vegetables (5g carbs/75g), but that’s not much of a problem since it is also a good source of fiber. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Also, and that is something I did not know, leaves were highly appreciated in ancient times. That’s no surprise since they contain up to 25% magnesium. They can be prepared the same way as spinach. Superfood.

Carrot A, B, C, E, K. Nuff said.

Orange is the best winter fruit. I’ve got an orange tree in my apartment and it just started blooming (don’t know how that’s possible), but the smell…it’s amazing. Of course, a super source of vitamin C that will boost your immune system in those harsh winter months and hydrate your body. Just make sure it’s heavy when buying. That means it will be really juicy.

Strawberries are a good source of antioxidants, folic acid and vitamins B and C. They have a high water content and are beneficial for digestion. They also have low glycemic index, so go for it!

Green tea is said to have more health benefits than the black tea which is most widely used. This is due to un-oxidation process which retains more antioxidants and vitamins.

Chia seed has high fiber and slows down digestion. It’s also rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, minerals like potassium, calcium and iron. It has high protein content so it is perfect for balancing fruit or vegetable smoothies.

Ginger is a good source of vitamins and minerals. It is considered a medicinal plant in alternative medicine. It’s said to have beneficial effects on digestion, respiratory system and nausea, but its recommended daily amount is between 3 and 10 g. It has a nice lemony, but very sharp taste. When grated and used with fiber it will gradually become even sharper. If you want milder taste, use squeezed (grated) ginger juice only.

IMG_2857_2

Ingredients:

  • 1 carrot
  • 1 beet (raw or cooked)
  • 100 g strawberries
  • 1 orange
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 Tbsp chia seed
  • 1 cup green tea

Preparation:

  1. Make 1 cup of green tea and let cool.
  2. Wash and peel all the fruits and vegetables and cut into bigger pieces.
  3. Put all the ingredients into smoothie maker and blend on the highest speed.