Caramel Icing: A Piece of Cake

Când ceva este a piece of cake sau easy as pie este un lucru uşor de făcut, nimic mai uşor, treabă uşoară.

În acest context vă prezint orecetă a unei prăjituri:

Caramel Icing

Ingredients/Ingridiente:

* 6 tablespoons of margarine/lingurițe de margarină
* 1 cup of brown sugar/ceașcă de zahăr brun
* 4 tablespoons of milk/lingurițe de lapte
* 1/2 cup of icing sugar/ceașcă de zahăr pudră

Directions/Mod de preparare:

1. Bring margarine, milk, and brown sugar to a boil (on the stove, in a pot)
Margarină, lapte și zahăr brun se aduce la fierbere (pe aragaz, în cratiță)
2. Stir constantly on low heat
Se amestecă tot timpul pe foc slab
3. Allow to boil for two minutes
Se lasă să fiarbă două minute
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the pot for 10 minutes
Se scoate de pe foc și se lasă să se racească în cratiță 10 minute
5. Beat in icing sugar
Se tăvălesc în zahăr pudra

Alte expresii idiomatice având același sens:

* easy breezy
* easy peezy
* a cinch
* a breeze
* a snap
* no biggie
* easy as 1,2,3

Polish herrings

Ingredients

* 500gr herring fillets (fileu de scrumbie)
* 200ml milk (lapte)
* 300gr apples (mere)
* 2 tablespoons oil (linguriţe de ulei)
* A little dried marjoram (nişte măgheran uscat)
* Some sugar (puţin zahăr)
* The juice of one lemon (suc de lămâie)
* The peel of one lemon (coajă de lămâie)
* Paprika (paprica)
* 2 tablespoons tomato puree (linguriţe de pireu de tomate)

Instructions

1. Soak the fillets in milk for two hours.
2. Peel and slice the apples.
3. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple slices (this stops them turning brown).
4. Put the oil (two tablespoons) in a frying pan. Fry the sliced apples with the marjoram, lemon peel and lemon juice.
5. Add a pinch of salt, pepper and paprika.
6. Mix all together and stew the apples for some minutes, then add two tablespoons of tomato puree and a little sugar.
7. Let the apple mixture cool down.
8. Cut each fillet in two, layer up these pieces in a dish. Cover them with fried apple mixture.
9. Put the dish into the fridge for twenty-four hours. Before serving, garnish the dish with parsley, lemon and olives.

Bon appetite! / Poftă bună!

Zetinyagli Yaprak Dolmasi

Ingredients
* 500g vine or cabbage leaves (frunze de poamă sau varză): as thin as possible (cât mai subţiri posibil)
* 1 kilo of onions (capă)
* 1.5 cups of rice (căni de orez)
* 1 glass of olive oil (ulei de măsline)
* 3 cups of boiling water (căni de apă fierbinte)
* 1 tablespoon of pimento (lingură de cuişoare)
* 2-3 lumps of sugar (cuburi de zahăr)
* 1 lemon (lămâie)
* A pinch of salt (un vârf de sare)
* Chopped mint leaves (frunze de mintă fărămiţate)
* A pinch of black pepper (un vârf de piper negru)

Instructions
1. Peel the onions and cut them thinly. Sauté without oil and at a low heat.
2. When the onions’ colour is getting darker, add the oil.
3. Then add the rice and continue to sauté.
4. Next, add 1.5 cups of boiling water and put in the sugar and spices (pimento, black pepper, salt, mint).
5. Lower the heat and simmer until the rice absorbs all the water.
6. Now wrap a spoonful of the mixture in each vine leaf.
7. Lay all of them in the saucepan and squeeze a lemon over them.
8. Then put a plate on top of the parcels (to stop the vine leaves from opening) and add 1.5 cups of boiling water and bring back to the boil. When the water is boiling, lower the heat and cook until the water has all gone.

EFL kitchen: Rice bomb

Ingredients

* 700g long-grained rice (orez lung)
* 75ml (6 tbsp) oil [preferably olive oil] (ulei, de preferinţă de măslin)
* 50g butter (unt)
* 1 medium-size onion, finely chopped (ceapă medie, tăiată mărunt)
* 700g meat (carne): 500g veal meat for stew (carne de viţel pentru bulion) and 2 big sausages (crenvurşte), cut into pieces (tăiate bucăţi)
[otherwise choose your favourite meat: pork meat for stew (carne de porc pentru bulion), chicken or pigeon (carne de pui sau hulub) - deboned (a separa carne de oase) after cooking in the sauce and their giblets (măruntaie de pasăre) also if you like them]
* 250ml tomato puree (piureu de roşii)
* 2 eggs (ouă)
* 150g cheese, grated [preferably Parmesan cheese] (caşcaval razuit, de dorit Parmesan)
* 220ml milk (lapte)
* 220ml water (apă)
* Breadcrumbs (faramituri de pane)
* Cubes of butter
* Salt and pepper (sare şi piper)
* Optional:1 handful dried porcini mushrooms (o mână de ciuperci, hribi uscaţi), soaked in a cup of tepid water (lăsate într-o cană cu apă caldă) for 30 minutes, well drained (bine uscate), minced a little (mărunţite puţin), to put in the saucepan (cratiţă) at the same time that you add the meat.
Instructions

1. First make the sauce. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and the butter, add the onion and cook until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown, then sauté the meat and the sausages on all sides for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the tomato puree and water, salt and pepper. Let this come to the boil, cover and simmer until the meat is cooked, then take out the meat and put it on one side.
3. Meanwhile in salted water partially boil the rice (7 minutes), drain and when it’s cold add the sauce described above, the milk, the eggs, the Parmesan cheese. Blend all the ingredients and add salt and pepper to your taste.
4. Oil well a non stick mould, then sprinkle breadcrumbs on the bottom and sides.
5. Pour into the mould one-half of the rice mixture, then add the pieces of meat and sausages (which have been removed from the sauce.)
6. Cover with the other half of the rice and flatten the surface with a spatula so that the two layers of rice come together
7. Sprinkle more breadcrumbs on the surface and put on the cubes of butter
8. Bake on the middle shelf of a moderately hot oven at 180° C for about 50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Take the mould out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
9. Turn out on a platter and serve the BOMB cutting it into big slices (one per person).

This serves 8 people.
E o porţie pentru 8 persoane.

Khitchuri

This is a very popular Bangaldeshi recipe.

Ingredients
* 3 cups fine rice (orez fin)
* 1 cup of split yellow lentils (dry-fried)
* ¾ cup oil (ulei)
* 8 cups boiling water (apa la fierbere, clocotinda)
* 1 tablespoon melted butter (unt topit)
* ½ teaspoon crushed turmeric (măcinată)
* 1 teaspoon crushed ginger (ghimbir)
* ¼ teaspoon crushed garlic (usturoi)
* 2 onions peeled and sliced (cepe cojite şi tăiate felii)
* 4 pods of cardamom (păstăi de nucsoara)
* 2 Cloves (căţei de usturoi)
* 2 bay leaves (frunze de dafin)
* 5 whole green chili, chopped (ardei american chili întreg, fărămiţat)
* 3 pieces of cinnamon (scorţişoară)
* Salt: as required (sare după gust)

Instructions

1. Pour some water into the rice and let it soften for 20 minutes. Then mix the rice with the lentils and next with crushed ginger, garlic and turmeric.
2. Pour oil into a saucepan. When it is hot, add the onion followed by cardamom, clove, bay leaves, cinnamon and salt. Keep the heat low.
3. When the onions turn a little brownish, add the mixture of rice, lentils and spices and stir them as much as possible.
4. When it is fried enough add boiling water; stir well and cover it with a lid. Raise the heat. Keep stirring now and then, opening the lid. When it starts to simmer and the water and the solid mixture are leveled on the surface, add the chilies. Keep the heat low and keep it like that for to 20 minutes. Open the lid and stir in the melted butter . Keep it covered for 5 more minutes and you are ready to serve.

Lemon potatoes / Cartofi cu lămâie

Ingredients
* 1 large potato or 2 medium (un cartof mare sau doi medii)
* 1 lemon (lămâie)
* 3 cloves of garlic or spring onions if you prefer) (căţei de usturoi sau cepe de primăvară după preferinţe)
* ½ a red chilli (chili roşu)
* oil (ulei)
* salt (sare)
* sugar (zahăr)

Instructions
1. Peel, wash, slice the potato. Then shred the slices as finely and delicately as possible.
2. Put the potato in to a colander and rinse in cold water.
3. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice into a bowl.
4. Mix the lemon juice with some salt and sugar, to your taste.
5. Chop the red chilli into small slices.
6. Chop the garlic (or spring onions) into fine pieces.
7. Heat the frying pan and put in some cooking oil to heat for 1 minute till it gets very hot
8. Add the chilli and garlic to stir for 10 seconds.
9. Add the potato and stir for 2 minutes
10. Add the lemon juice already mixed with salt and sugar and stir for 5 seconds.
11. The dish is ready.

Serve hot or cold.
(Serviţi-o fierbinte sau rece)

Spring rolls

Ingredients
* 8 spring roll skins (foi pentru pacheţele de primăvară)
* 2 oz (uncie; 28.3 gr.) thinly sliced pork (carne de porc feliată subţire), cut into thin strips (carne tăiata făşii subţiri)
(if you prefer vegetarian, you do not need to include the meat!)
(dacă preferi varianta vegetariană, puteţi să nu adăugaţi carnea)

Sauce mixture:
* 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (1 linguriţă oţet de orez chinezesc)
* 1 teaspoon soy sauce and cornstarch (1 linguriţă sos de soia şi amidon de porumb)
* A few grains of pepper (câteve boabe de piper)
* 2 large dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water, drained and cut into strips
(2 mari ciuperci chinezeşti uscate, lăsate în apă, uscate şi tăiate fâşii)
* 2.5 oz boiled bamboo shoots, cut into strips (2.5 uncii de muguri de bambus, tăiate făşii)
* 2 cabbage leaves, cut into strips (foi de varză, tăiate fâşii)
* Half a teaspoon salt (o jumatate de lingurita de sare)
* Flour-and-water paste
(mix a little flour and water to make a paste: this will be used to “glue” the spring roll together)
(se amestecă făină şi apă pentru a face pastă:aceasta se va folosi pentru a lipi pacheţele împreună)
* Oil for deep frying plus 4 tablespoons more of oil
(ulei pentru prăjire plus 4 linguriţe de ulei)

Instructions

1. Combine the pork with the sauce mixture. Let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wok, and stir-fry the pork briefly. Remove.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the salt. Stir fry the vegetables, then mix in the pork. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool thoroughly.
4. Place some of the filling a little above the centre of each spring roll skin. Fold the upper edge over the filling, turn in the 2 sides, and roll it down. Brush the bottom edge with the flour-and-water paste to seal it thoroughly.
5. Heat the deep-frying oil over moderate heat. Deep-fry the spring rolls. Turn them frequently.
6. Serve immediately with table seasonings.

Spaghetti with tuna fish

This recipe was sent in by Susanna Meucci from Italy

“This is very easy and quick to be made. It is fresh and colourful. The ingredients are low in calories and rich in omega3. It seems an ordinary recipe but the secret is to put a lot of oregano and basil and the taste will be excellent!! It serves 4 people. “

Ingredients

* 300g tuna fish in olive oil
* 300g spaghetti
* 250g fresh tomatoes
* 10 basil leaves
* 2 spoonfuls of oregano

Vocabulary
to cut – a tăia;
a pan – tigae, cratiţă;
to cook – a prepara;
a piece – o bucată;
boiling water – apă la fierbere, coloctindă
ready – pregătit;
drain – a scurge;
mix – amestec;
stir – a amesteca, a agita

Instructions

1. Cut the tomatoes and put them in the large pan with olive oil, salt and a lot of oregano
2. Cook them for about 15 min
3. Add the tuna fish, cut in small pieces and let it cook for 2 min
4. Put spaghetti in a pan of boiling water and cook until ready (al dente)
5. Drain the pasta and add to the tuna and tomato mix, stirring constantly, and serve immediately with a lot of basil.