Who doesn't, right?Since I'm just waiting for dinner to be ready I decided I should share a few recipes for fast, easy and/or delicious food I enjoy around this time of the year.
You might know some of them, and others could come as a surprise, and I can only recommend you to try them out.
1. Zakuszka
Ok, so this one is not fast OR easy to make in the sense that you will probably have to spend a few days just preparing the stuff for it. And then you have to stir it till your hands fall off. But it's wort trying it out. You can store it in jars till the end of times... but I have to admit at our place it doesn't last till the winter is out.So here is the recipe for the zakuszka...
You need: peppers. Pimiento ones. As much as you can get your hands on (around 5 kg). Onions. Prepare to cry... (around 3 kg). Carrots... 1 kg should be enough. Eggplants, around 5 kg. One liter of tomato. The rest is up to you guys. some people use beans, or mushrooms or any other stuff you want in it and you like. You will also need vegetable oil, salt and pepper, and bay leaves. After you acquired everything, cut the peppers, the onions, and the carrots in so little pieces, they turn into mush. (Of course you could always use some grinders). Roast the eggplants, and than skin them. Turn them into a mush also. Mix all together and start cooking it. Be careful tho, you must stir almost non-stop so it won't burn.
You can serve this as a sauce or a dip. Most people around here just eat it with bread.
2. Ham and macaroni
I'm not sure what the actual name is for this, but it's fast and easy to make. Cook up some macaroni, and cut up some ham, and some pickles. Make some mayonnaise, and mix them together.I think everyone knows how to make mayonnaise, so I won't write this one down. Of course you can always add some other stuff you like to this one too. Corn, beans, anything.
3. Potatoes and macaroni
Ok, so one of my friends never heard of this before (ehhemEmoehhem), which took me by surprise, because it's quite filling...What you basically have to do, is to cook some potatoes with their jacket (!they are far too cold this time of the year) on. Once they are ready, peal them and grate them. In a pan put on a little bit of oil, and put some onion in it, that you cut up into tiny pieces before this. Once the onions are yellowish, put some condiments in it. You might want to use vegeta, which is basically a mix you might find in shops made of dried, ground up vegetables and salt. If you don't have this in your shop, just use salt. And you need to use paprika, no matter what. After this just put the potatoes into the pan and mix it till it gains an orange color from the paprika. After this just mix in the macaroni...
4. Egg-barley and sausages
For those out there who don't know what egg-barley is: it's an egg based pasta grain used in eastern Europe (We call it tarhonya). First thing you have to do is buy some egg-barley, sausages and some vegetables for a Mexican salad. Peal some onions, cut them in little pieces, and fry them in oil, just like in the 3. recipe. In another pot steam the vegetables. Once the onion is ready put the sausages in it, and fry it together for a few minutes. Turn the barley on top of this, and top it off with some left over vegetable soup or some water. Once it's almost ready mix in the vegetables. Of course don't forget the condiments! Use vegeta (again!) if you have some. Vegeta is always good.5. Tocanita
I know, there are so many recipes for this one out there... I'm not sure what the original should be like, and I don't even know if the way we do it is real Tocanita or just some family meal one of my ancestors came up with (LOL).Dad usually makes this like this. First off, fry up some onions (OMG, we love onions). Dad sometimes puts in it some bacon or any left-over meat we don't use on our sandwiches anymore. Cut up some carrots, parsnip, and celery. Mix this with the onions. Cook up some potatoes in their jacket, and once done mix it with the other vegetables. As condiments go, he uses savory. Top the vegetables off with a bit of water and cook them till the water mostly evaporates. The last step is to mix in some eggs in all of this. We find this quite a filling breakfast around here... Enjoy.
