Moved to new domain

Dear friends

We moved permanently to a new home: Pinch of Cinnamon. From now on the updates are only posted there.

Thank you for moving with us
Love you
Maria

A very special red lentils soup

I would never think that a soup made of these simple ingredients can be that delicious. However once my mom threw it together and since then we are making it virtually every week. Everybody loves it including my little brother and when I eat it I think I do know why. It is just one of those dishes that are truly good for you. It always leaves you with a deep feeling of satisfaciton and comfort.
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Quince marmalade

That's the second autumn when my mom made quince marmalade. Last year the stocks lasted till late winter. It suddenly became so deeply imbedded in the family eating that we can't imagine our mornings without it any more. Sometimes we have it on toasted bread with fresh cheese, other times - on its own with tea. When I started inquiring it turned out that this marmalade comes from hispanic cooking and the particular recipe - from an amazing mama-fenix - Russian food blogger living in Barcelona.
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Florentine cookies

Last Monday was my mom's birthday. She went for a MacBook (yes, she does listen to me sometimes) but I still wanted to present something hand made. So on Sunday my little bro and I got together at the kitchen to make her favorite florentines. They are continuing the series on Christmas baking.
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Cooking buckwheat

Buckwheat is one of my favorite grains and something I closely associate with home and Russia. It has a lot of character. When cooked properly it is absolutely delicious on its own. No adds or toppings are necessary. In this sense it is similar to rice. The right way to cook it is nothing complicated, but it really makes a difference.
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Rice with green lentils (inspired by Kitchari)

I don't really have a name at hand for this dish, but the idea comes from Indian kitchari. Last weekend I tried kitchari for the first time at a vegetarian cooking class by beautiful Moscow food blogger Natasha at Sok cafe. Now if I think about feel-good-food kitchari comes to my head as the first idea. I just love the whole idea of combining rice with a legume in one dish. Vegetables add lightness and flavor to it and a touch of hot spices really makes it shine.
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