Last 7 Days of Cooking #2

Welcome to the second episode of the Last 7 Days of Cooking series! The main idea is very simple: what happened in my kitchen in the last week. If you are curious about the “philosophy” behind it, you can read the first post of the series. But let’s go to the meals!

Egg drop soup with chicken stock and vegetables

This egg drop soup is easy and quick to make. I used homemade chicken stock from some leftovers. I usually buy a whole chicken instead of individual pieces, and I prefer to make the stock myself since it is tastier and more flavorful than commercial products.

Baked trout with sautéed fresh peas and sweet potatoes

I was lucky enough to find trout on sale at the local grocery store, and I decided to try a new way to cut and stuff the fish different. I usually bake the the whole fish or a fillet cut with lemon juice, onion and celery. This time, instead, I used a steak cut with dill, garlic, and sliced shallot.

Pita bread

I love Middle Eastern food – such as hummus, baklava, and pita bread – but I cannot find it around me easily in Finland, so I decided to make them myself. Here is one of the results: my third attempt of pita bread. I picked random recipes from the Internet, and now I’m developing my own recipe! I had pita with a lentil stew, a very nice combination.

White bean salad with tuna, fresh dill, red onion and Korean chili powder

This is one of the quickest dishes to prepare! I do not use many canned products in my cooking. However, sometimes laziness holds me back, so I am not really in a cooking mood 😉 Fresh dill made the lunch refreshing still.

Rack of lamb with potato, carrot, and sautéed shiitake mushrooms

Do you like lamb? If not, probably that’s because of the strong smell, isn’t it? I did not use to eat lamb but, since I’m obsessed with Italian food, I could not afford being that picky. So I tried it, now I’m getting in to it! This rack of lamb turned out pretty good. I have a feeling that it will go into my favorite recipe section 🙂

Different Korean side dishes

I usually have Korean meal at least once a week. A typical Korean meal consists of steamed rice and various side dishes or banchan (반찬). In the picture there are: steamed eggplant with soy sauce (left); seaweed (wakame) salad with cucumber (top); fresh radish salad and radish greens kimchi (right); and stir fried dried anchovies with caramelized red onion (bottom).

Peach puff pastry with pistachios

Peach is definitely a symbol of summer. It has fantastic aroma and flavor, and can also be prepared as dessert, salad, or just eaten as fruit. I baked peaches with pistachios in puff pastry.

I realized that I had more meat and fish than usual this week. So, my meal plan for the next week is to go vegetarian. Let’s see!

Buon appetito!