Summer-autumn season is rich not only in fruit but also vegetables. Hence, today I offer you to try this really incredible vegetable tart (or quiche) that includes all the summer vegetables: courgettes, aubergine, bell pepper and onion. It combines soft baked vegetables balanced by creamy cheese-egg mixture and wraps them in a crunchy cottage cheese basis, mmm…! And seasoned with fragrant basil the pie becomes exquisite indeed! Upgrade your dinner!
Hamantaschen
These Jewish biscuits were my variant of celebrating of the Transfiguration of Our Lord when traditionally we’re supposed to eat lots of poppy seeds and fruit. They have it all: crunchy shortcrust base, creamy apple, and fragrant poppy fillings, and funny shape. They taste like August: still summer, but with a hint of autumn in the air; and sprinkled with honey… mmm. These biscuits very easy to make, probably the easiest I’ve ever cooked, – and to eat (bet that
you’ll lose control of how many you ate)! So, give them a try!
Apricot cheesecake
The season of apricots is coming to the end, so I hope you’re already ready to try apricots in something more interesting than just eating them fresh. This sunny apricot-cheese pie is exactly what you need: with lots of fragrant juicy sweet-sour apricots and soft cottage cheese it tastes like Indian summer in the village: so cozy, warm, and nostalgic. It’s so tender and succulent that it’s almost pudding; and it’s perfectly dietetic. It’s very easy to bake, so you can make it even after a busy day, and be sure that its heavenly aroma will revive and renew you and make you forget all your troubles and worries!
Broad beans salad
For my whole life, I fairly disliked broad beans because of their slight bitterness – until I met this recipe, where the bitterness of tender beans is dissolved in and aptly combined with crunchy cucumbers, spicy onion and salty cheese, seasoned with truly invigorating dill! This salad is so refreshing and dietetic as to make it a perfect summer thirst-quenching salad that can replace light dinner, and it’s really fast and easy to make. Give it a try!
Chocolate-cherry brownie
Have you ever tried cooking restaurant-like dishes at home? Usually it’s really difficult to get the necessary ingredients or to reach the proper consistency; and even then, something is clearly missing. This pie, however, is made of simple enough ingredients, but the taste is so exquisite that you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from taking your best cups and plates out and arranging a ‘restaurant table’ at home! Its slightly wet and intensely chocolate base is perfectly complemented with the sourness of aromatic cherries and bits of melted chocolate… mmm! Can you already sense its smell?
Vanilla-peach pie
Have you ever tried baked peaches? What about peaches with vanilla? This weekend is a perfect occasion just for that! Such an incredibly juicy and aromatic pie is an ideal choice for these hot midsummer days that is both delectable, moist and dietetic (as far as the pies go, of course :), and may be eaten with tea/coffee, lemonade or even alone. And even if you’re not really a peach lover (as am I), I’m sure you’ll like this refreshing pie! Just give it a try!
Strawberry cheesecake
With the season of strawberry gradually coming to the end, I offer you one more summer-ly light, tender, and amazingly delicious strawberry cake. Although ‘cheesecake’ may sound a bit rustic, believe me, it’s nothing close to it, and you’ll never ever forget this dietetic cheese-yogurt mixture with fresh strawberries resting on a crunchy aromatic biscuit-almond base! What’s more, in these hot summer days, it doesn’t require any long baking; and when eaten directly from the fridge it’s so refreshing that it tastes almost like a strawberry ice-cream! So, what are you waiting for?
Strawberry-vanilla cake
The season of strawberry has finally come! And if you think that you’ve already sated your strawberry appetite, try this vanilla pie and you’ll understand that it’s not the end yet? Since I tried it last year, I couldn’t wait to finally cook it once more this summer, and I’m sure it’ll become your favourite pie too! Especially, when complemented with incredibly tender vanilla cream! So, what are you waiting for?
Rhubarb-mint cake
Rhubarb is unjustly considered to be a rural, primitive and sort of outdated fruit, and this cake will definitely give you a fresh look at it. Just imagine: baked rhubarb with orange notes on a pillow of white chocolate-mint cream in a shortcrust pastry wrapping… Believe me, the taste is really exquisite, refreshing and summer-like! So, have a look in your yard – maybe it’s a bunch of rhubarb over there?
Almond-blackcurrant cake
Real summer has finally come, and it’s time for fresh, light, and low-calory desserts! This sweet-sour mousse cake is like first flowers of lilac: perfectly refreshing, tender and thirst-quenching. Delicious, slightly tart blackcurrant mousse on a base of fragrant soft sponge cake and covered with luscious white chocolate cream will definitely make you lose control and your mouth water! But don’t worry – as I already said, this cake is completely dietetic, so just let yourself sink into this orgy and eat it all!