The Perfect Butter Beans Stew

This dish goes straight to the first place in my favorite foods list! It is absolutely perfect! I like beans a lot and I have tried different recipes but this one has the ideal combination of flavors. I know, I know I'm bragging but still...you have to try it and you'll see that I'm right.

Use dry butter beans! Don't cheat and use canned ones because I don't guarantee that the taste and texture will be same.

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Leek and Black Olives Stew

This is one of my favorite dishes. I love onion and I love leeks even more, so for me it's the perfect combination. Be careful though when you prepare the leeks because they have to be rinsed very well. Dirt usually hides under their leaves and if you don't like the taste of sand in your food, be patient and clean them thoroughly.

I remember the first time I cooked this dish, it was delicious but unfortunately I didn't know that leeks have to be carefully rinsed and an unwanted extra-ingredient was added to my meal. Now, because I really lack of patience, I always ask my mom to help me and rinse the leeks.

This dish is perfect for those of you who are on a diet. It's low in calories and high in vitamins, very tasty and easy to make.

Enjoy!

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Vegan Beetroot Borscht

Today is a cold autumn day. The wind is howling and the leaves started to fall. I really wanted to make a hot, flavorful soup to warm me up from inside out and enjoy it while I watch a good, old movie. I decided to make this lovely, ruby-colored beetroot soup.

This recipe is similar to the Ukrainian borscht but it is vegan; it does not contain any beef broth.

Enjoy this wonderful beet borscht, perfect for a cold weather day.


P.S. Check out this Recipe Guessing Game on Knapkins.com !

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Grated Apple with Honey and Walnuts - Healthy and easy dessert for breakfast

Today I woke up so tired...I immediately realized that I needed a lovely, high in vitamins breakfast to cheer me up.  I saw some apples and I remembered about my childhood dessert: grated apples with honey and biscuits. I didn't have any biscuits so I chose a healthier ingredient: raw walnuts. It was just what I needed! Easy, quick, healthy, sweet, crunchy...yum! 

Try it! It's low in calories, high in vitamins and it's ready in less than 5 minutes!

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Pickled Cabbage Rolls with Mushroom and Brown Rice Stuffing

I absolutely love cabbage rolls and every time I eat this wonderful dish I think of Christmas. This is the vegan version of the Romanian traditional dish "sarmale" which usually contains ground pork/beef meat. 

Another thing that I love about this recipe is that it gets better with time! Yes! It gets better and tastier every time you re-heat it.

Try it and let me know if you like this vegan version rather than the original recipe. I do!

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Basil Tagliatelle with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Salad

Today I bought some delicious healthy pasta - whole wheat tagliatelle with basil. I was very curious to see how they taste but in the same time I really wanted to make a roasted red bell pepper salad, because I was craving for it for a very long time. I decided to combine them and make a main dish salad. It was a great decision! All flavors blend together perfectly!

You'll definitely like this light, colorful and savory salad. Enjoy!

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Brown Rice Mushroom Pilaf

This is one of my favorite dishes. I love everything about it, texture, flavors, you name it. It is so simple and yet so tasty. I usually eat this with a big bunch of chopped parsley on top because I’m such a parsley lover and this combination seems perfect to me.

Another great thing is that it doesn’t take much time to make; you just throw there some ingredients and let the fire to its job. Unfortunately I don’t have as much time as I’d like to spend in the kitchen and I know that most of you are in the same situation as I am, that’s why I want to show you simple, quick and healthy recipes.

Do you know other brown rice pilaf recipes? I only tried it with mushrooms or chicken (when I wasn’t vegetarian). Do you think that this will work with other veggies as well but still maintain its smooth texture?

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Traditional Romanian Polenta

This is such a simple recipe and yet it can be modified in so many ways to create new and even more delicious recipes. This is the basic polenta with just 3 ingredients: water, cornmeal and salt. I often eat polenta instead of bread because it is much healthier and also it contains a higher amount of fibers.

Studies have shown that by eating polenta we fight against diabetes, liver and even respiratory diseases. Eating polenta also helps us prevent obesity and thyroid diseases. Cornmeal has many great benefits but we should choose only the organic non-GMO version because this one does not contain additives and other bad substances .

Most times I use polenta as a side dish but it can also be a main dish if you add more ingredients like chopped onion, parsley, tofu etc. In future posts I will show you ways to incorporate polenta in different recipes and also how to make this dish more flavorful. Until then enjoy this traditional Romanian dish known worldwide!

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Vegetarian Mushroom Shepherd's Pie - with vegan version

This dish is an absolutely must-try for all of you vegans/vegetarians who sometimes miss the taste of meat. This recipe was made by my mom, who is eating less and less meat and she's trying to "vegetarianize" all recipes that she cooks. I'm am so happy that I succeeded in changing  my parents' eating habits even just a little.

Yes, this recipe takes a little longer to prepare but it is definitely worth it! Try it and let me know if you liked it as much as I did.

BIG DILEMMA! What is the most suitable name for this recipe? Some people told me that this is pastistio, others told me it is more like a vegetarian shepherd's pie and now I'm a bit confused because the Romanian moussaka recipe contains meat and no eggplants like the Greek one does and that is the reason why I called it a "moussaka". Any ideas? :)

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Raw Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcakes

Remember my Raspberry and Blueberry Raw Vegan Cupcakes ? Well, I thought about them yesterday.  I really craved for some delicious cupcakes but in the same time I wanted something refreshing and light.  That’s when the idea hit me and I made these ice cream chocolate cupcakes. I didn’t actually use cocoa or chocolate but instead I used something even healthier, carob powder! 

Try them! It takes less than 10 minutes to make these icy chocolate raw cupcakes.
Question: Do you use carob powder in desserts? How do you use it?

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Hungarian Plum Dumplings - with vegan/sugar free version

First of all let me begin by telling you that this is not my recipe, this wonderful dessert was made by my mom. I tried to make it a bit healthier by substituting some of the ingredients. For example instead of sugar I used honey and sucanat; also I lowered the amount of oil used in the original recipe.

This is a must try! Unfortunately it takes 2 hours to make about 25 dumplings; I don’t have that patience so that’s the main reason why I avoid making cooked desserts. Also I wanted to take a "group" photo with all the lovely dumplings but it was too late, these little sweets disappeared as soon as they were served!

You should definitely try this Hungarian dessert! You’ll love it!


Question: Do you know any healthy and preferably gluten-free dumpling recipes?

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