natstravellingcocina

[natstravellingcocina]

JACK 🎃the Pumpkin King — Day 29

Here we are a couple years later and I’m still going at it with my love for all things pumpkin. The love that never dies 🖤

I’m still as equally obsessed and won’t ever back down celebrating the beat seasonal flavor out there!

Ingredients:

-Spiced cake mix or gingerbread mix (450 g)

-1 Can Pumpkin Purée

-120 ml neutral oil

-400 ml of evaporated milk

- 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spices

-1 Tablespoon of white sugar

-1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

-1 teaspoon of cinnamon

-Splash of vanilla

-(optional for topping) condensed milk, cinnamon sugar and slivered almonds

-Halloween sprinkles you totally forget to use post baking

Instructions:

Preheat that oven to 180 C.

Get all your wet ingredients mixed well! Add the box mix last and mix until well incorporated. It should look like a thick milkshake when you finish

Like this:

Line your muffin tin with paper cups! And add your batter 3/4 of the way as they will rise.

I made two different batches! One topped with condensed milk and a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. The second batch has a heavy dose of cinnamon sugar with and without slivered almonds! I bet walnuts or pecans would be just as delicious!

Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven and how brown you like your muffins.

Let cool and voila folks! Autumn and Halloween in one delicious little package 🎃

Buen provecho!

Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #baking #culture #delicious #pumpkin #gingerbread #fall vibes #home cooking #recipe

[natstravellingcocina]

SUGAR SPICE AND EVERY--- CHEMICAL X (aka pumpkin spice) Day 28

Pumpkin. Give it to me. In any way shape or form.

Coffee, soup, mash, pie, spice, bread, you name it and if its pumpkin I'll eat it.

So heres my take on a Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie!

Ingredients:

4 packages cream cheese (160 g per package), softened

Half cup white sugar

Splash of vanilla

2 large eggs (or 3 tiny ones like mine)

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

1 can of pumpkin puree

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch cardamom

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 170° C

In a bowl mix together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla

Once its nicely incorporated pour ⅔ of the mix into your pie shell!

With the left over chezzzz mix youre gonna add in your spices, and about ¾ of the pumpkin puree

Once that's nicely mixed, add in your eggs one at a time. Mix well and then pour that carefully on top of the cheesecake mixture!

Resulting in:

Now pop that bad boy into the oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!

And voila! Perfect beautiful fall spicy baby pie 😍 I personally judge those who eat pumpkin pie with cool whip or some form of whipped topping... but if it tickles your pickle add a dollop on top!

Buen Provecho

-Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #yum #baking #delicious #baked goods #pumpkin #cheesecake #pie #a #halloween

[natstravellingcocina]

Eat your veggies but make it yummy Day 27

2 for 1 in this post! We have stuffed roasted peppers and garlic parm broc-sprouts!

Ingredients for Garlic Parm Broc-Sprouts:

- 5 garlic cloves or more (no vampires here)

- chopped broccoli

-halved brussel sprouts

-Oil

-Spices (smoked paprika, salt, pepper)

-Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

Make sure to wash and prep your greens! Halve the brussel sprouts to ensure they soak up all the flavour.

Combine into a bowl with the oil, garlic and spices. Lay in an even layer on a baking sheet and ensure all are nicely coated with spices and garlic.

Next sprinkle that parm all over the greens and pop into your oven!

After 10 minutes you're gonna take it out and give them a toss (this is the re-parm step mentioned in the stuffed peppers below)

Sprinkle some extra parm on top! And pop back in for another 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients for Stuffed Peppers:

As many peppers per person as your heart desires.

I did 2! Yellow and red are sweeter so it's a nice contrast

- enough meltable shredded cheese to cover the pepper

-500 g of cooked ground meat (cooked with taco spice, paprika, red onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper, turmeric)

- cooked rice (I cooked mine with onion, bell pepper, a jalapeño, oil, salt and a dash of cumin)

Instructions:

Carefully cut the tops off your pepper and take out the seeds and extra skin inside for optimal stuff space

Then stuff with your rice and meat mixture leaving just a tiny space up top for the cheese

Top with cheese and pop into the over once you take out the broc-sprouts to toss and re-parm

Pop in the oven until the cheese is melted and oozy which is about the last 15 minutes of the Broc-Sprouts

Once done, plate up and you have a nutrient rich and delicious dinner! YUM

-Buen provecho

Nat

#comida #food #natstravellingcocina #kitchen #nom #yum #delicious #dinner #veggies

[natstravellingcocina]

Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch CHERRY BOOOOMB Day 26

Okay I won't ever do songs as titles again, I promise. (Jokes jokes I love music too much)

Were back on lockdown and working from home here in CZ.

So naturally were back to your regularly scheduled baking and cooking shenanigans that no one asked for!

Today I was feeling pie. And I wanted something easy as ....ba da tsssss

So quick easy cherry bombs!

Ingredients:

-2 pre made pie crusts or pastry dough

-1 can of premade pie filling (cherry)

- Proper British custard to drizzle over it (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 200° C

Now these are called bombs for a reason... they may look a mess at the end but luckily they turned out alright!

Set up your pastry in the shape or style you'd like. I was going for a tart mini pie look and this is what I got

Scoop out about a tablespoon of filling into your molds

I then brushed the pastry with a little sugar water to add some shine once they finish baking!

I also had some leftover pastry so I tried putting it over the pies. I wasn't a fan though so I only did a few

Now pop them into the oven for about 8 minutes, and then increase the heat to 210° C for 2 more minute to get that golden finish.

10 essy minutes later....

I drizzled some custard over mine and all done!

Buen provecho

-Nat

#food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #comida #baking #yum #nom #delicious #baked goods #veganfriendly #vegetarian

[natstravellingcocina]

Na na na na na na na na BATMAN - Day 25

I had 6 brown bananas that I got on sale for 2 bucks since they were half off. Naturally I forgot about them (I have a habit of putting bananas in the fridge even if they're not ripe. Dont ask me why so they were still fine) and they got worse SO once they started smelling I knew it was time for nana bread.

Ingredients:

-6 almost brown or brown bananas

-1 box pound cake mix

-2 eggs

- ⅓ cup coconut oil

- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla

- roughly half cup of unsweetened almond milk

- powdered sugar and Biscoff spread optional

Instructions

Get that oven preheated to 190° C

Grab your cake pan (I used a mold that pops open for easier removal) and line it with baking paper. I cut mine out so the shape stayed cute

Then put a little dab of margarine on it, like this

I then put a tiny teaspoon of the pound cake mix into it to make sure it doesnt stick and just shook it around so it would stick to the margarine

- Grab ya bowl. Peel and put 5 of your bananas in there. Save your most non ripe banana for the decorating part BUT if you dont want to then just use all 6.

MASH like your life depends on it. I personally love little pockets of real banana when I'm eating the bread so I mash but leave some clumps like this

Now add the rest of your ingredients to the mashed banana and mix well to incorporate everything.

Once your batter looks like a thick thick pancake batter. You're gonna go ahead and pour half the mix into the cake mold.

(If you're skipping the Biscoff you can just pour the whole batter in)

Once half the batter is in, I added small dollops of Biscoff spread throughout

Then add the rest of the batter on top nice and evenly.

This is when I added my last banana on top for aesthetic purposes. But it also tasted so nice to have that big bite of real banana!

You're gonna pop this bad boy into the oven for 40 minutes.

After those 40 minutes then you're gonna crank up the heat to 205° C and leave it an extra 10 minutes so it gets nice and golden brown.

Once those ten minutes are done, turn your oven off but leave your cake in the residual heat for another 5 minutes.

Take it out and let it cool a bit before you attempt to remove the mold. Too soon and itll fall apart. Too late and you'll rip the edges off. I'd say 10 minutes is enough resting time.

Once you're done being SUPER patient. You'll have this bad boy!

Dont forget to add the powdered sugar if you so desire!

NANA BREAD. Make yourself a nice cup of coffee or grab a cold glass of milk and BOOM

-Buen provecho

Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #yum #nom #baking #delicious #vegetarian #baked goods #banana #bread recipe

[natstravellingcocina]

'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse ' - in a heavy Don Corleone accent Day 24

Did I just watch the Godfather and wake up in a mood to channel my italian roots and make some pasta?

Si.

Did I do my best impersonations while cooking of Don Corleone? (Hand gestures across the chin too)

Si.

Andiamo, let's get to it.

Ingredients (serves 4)

-2 yellow squash

-2 big white onions

-roughly 20 orange cherry tomatoes

-1 package of turkey mince

-A box of Penne (mine was half full. 250 g)

-100 g Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-spices used: oregano, salt, chilli flakes, paprika, and garlic powder

Instructions

Get a sauce pan going with some water and salt to cook your pasta in. While that comes to a boil, go ahead and choppity chop all the veggies were using in this dish

Also chop the onions!

Next in a big pan on medium high heat, add your olive oil and finely diced onions. With yous spices as well.

Once they have sauteed a bit go ahead and add your turkey meat!

Make sure to stir your pasta while its cooking.

Once your meat is browning and smelling delicious lower your heat to medium and you'll know it's time to add all your chopped veggies!

Just look at those colors!

This is where the fun begins. Let it simmer just like the photo for a few minutes, almost like you're steaming the veggies. Take about half a cup of the pasta water your penne is in and add it to the meat/veggies.

This is also where you add about 60 g of your Parmigiano Reggiano. And my pinch of chilli flakes!

Give it a good mix and it should end up looking like this

This should cook after the cheese is added for about 10 more minutes. Making sure the veggies get soft to your liking.

While waiting your pasta should be ready and you can go ahead and drain it and give it a quick cold rinse so the penne doesnt stick together.

The last step is to plate up your beautiful pasta with meat and veggies and sprinkle a last dusting of Parm.

I mean...

Perfection.

-Buen provecho

Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #yum #delicious #savoury #pastaitaliana #pastaaddict

[natstravellingcocina]

ALEXA play *Santo Cachon' by Los Embajadores Vallenatos - Day 23

If you don't know the song and plan to cook this meal, please listen to it while you do. And add 'Sopa de Caracol' to your cook list by Banda Blanca too.

Shrimp all the way from my people in Honduras...which only means its gonna be damn good! All in all this was made in under 10 minutes!

I've been waiting to make something special with them and finally decided on some Tostadas/Tacos de camarón. Call me sentimental but any hispanic food especially part of my nationality, makes me so excited to not only cook it but also eat it and think of all the yummy meals I've had with my family.

VAMOS AL PEDO

Ingredients: makes 3 tostadas with leftover slaw

-1 lime

-handful of Honduran shrimp (I used 9 in total, 3 per tostada)

- achote paste

- half a cucumber

- half a white onion

-3 corn tortillas

-1 kohlrabi (similar to jicama)

-1 habanero (decorative)

-spices (cumin, salt, mojo powder)

-Half teaspoon garlic puree

-1 heaped teaspoon vegan Mayo

-small dash of olive oil to cook tortillas on and for shrimp

Instructions:

Step 2: toss a majority of the onion into your smaller pan, along with spices, garlic, oil and achote paste. Add a splash of water to be able to dissolve the achote into it

SLAW time

Now add your cucumber, kohlrabi and diced onion into a bowl to make our easy peasy slaw!

For the dressing you'll need the mayo, lime juice and a tiny bit of achote paste. Combine well in a small bowl before you add it to the slaw to make sure the mayo breaks up. I notice vegan mayo still doesnt mix well with lime no matter how much I whisk. Feel free to substitute with real mayonnaise!

Add to slaw and give it a stir. Add salt if you want!

Now that our slaw is ready we can work on the main bit!

To your onions and garlic pan, add your shrimp and lower the temperature so it doesnt over cook!

Then add your tortillas to the other hot oiled pan and cook until golden on both sides. If you want to be able to fold them like a taco then use less oil and make sure to only warm them up versus frying them.

Like so

Step 1 is to get both pans nice and warm, then coppity chop all your veggies.

By the time your tortillas are done in 3 minutes your shrimp should also be finished. Looking a little something like:

Cue golden tortillas ready to be plated and filled with deliciousness

Now plate them up to your liking and add that decorative habanero!

Buen provecho

-Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #yum #nom #delicious #vegetarian #pescitarian #tostadas #t #tacotuesday #shrimp

[natstravellingcocina]

Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me - Day 22

Did I have a Pieates of the Caribbean marathon this week?

Yes

Did watching rum soaked wobbly legged pirates inspire me to make a boozy (debatable) dessert/snack?

Yes

Will I ever stop loving those films and Mr. J Depp?

No.

Fun fact. I know the first 3 POC films word for word. I'm pretty sure I've seen each film at least 100 times. That what happens when you grow up hard core loving on all things pirates. I even named my doggo and fishy after 2 of the characters!

Now...let's get to it! Savvy?

Ingredients: makes 12 muffins

-2 tablespoons Spiced Rum (Captain Jack Sparrow would be disappointed that there isn't more in here) CUE this scene

If you can't hear that gif in your head, I'm judging you

-2 tablespoons fresh lavender

-2 eggs

-1 box pound Cake Mix

-1 teaspoon vanilla

- 330 ml of almond milk

-1 tablespoon coconut oil

-pinch of cinnamon

-Rum Sugar

- 6 almonds (cut in half, decorative purposes only)

-2 heaped tablespoons of Biscoff Spread (melt in microwave for 30 seconds)

Instructions

-Preheat that oven to 185 C

-Get a bowl and pour in your cake mix, vanilla, cinnamon and give it a whisk

-add in your eggs, coconut oil, almond milk and rum and give it a good mix until its smooth like this

PLOT TWIST : Add lavender for an extra fancy feeling (also to soothe those nervous anxious thoughts)

Now grab that muffin tray and rub some vegan butter into it so they pop out easier

And you're going to do a layering motion for the next part.

You want to fill your muffin tray ⅓ of the way with batter, then take that melted Biscoff and drizzle a decent amount on top of the batter.

Like so like that (Thanks Tabitha Brown)

Then top it off with some more batter!

Use the remaining Biscoff to drizzle some more sweetness on top!

I then added half an almond and a sprinkle of the rum sugar!

Once all of them are ready, pop into your warm oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes crank the heat to 200 C and leave for another 6-8 minutes or until golden brown on the top!

Let cool before you try to take it out or the tops WILL break off like mushrooms. Learn from my mistake people.

Patience. And ta daaaaa

That little painting just went with the theme perfectly. Thanks to my sweet student Lada!

Now..bring me that horizon. Ta da da da da da and really bad eggs..... Drink up me hearties yo ho!

Cue Hans Zimmer

Buen provecho

-Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #yum #baking #delicious #vegetarian #baked goods #muffins

[natstravellingcocina]

PICANTE. Day 21

I love spicy like theres no tomorrow. I mean spicy like burn your mouth off and makes you sweat and possibly even want to vomit spicy. Now my mom always said I cant taste my food that way and shes totally right but man I just love it.

Theres also something else I can't say no to and that's the combination of sweet and spicy! And this jam hits the spot perfectly! You can make it as mild or spicy as you like! It's super versatile.

On a scale from 0 to burn your butthole off tomorrow (10) this recipe falls at about a 4. But most people dont trust my spice judgment so if you want to be safe do less habanero and most definitely no seeds

Ingredients:

-3 medium/large habaneros

-half a lime juice

- big pinch sugar

- 1 Jar of Apricot or peach Jam (600 g) ****

- 1 tablespoon water

-pinch of chilli flakes

**** I know I basically cheated by using a jar of jam but listen time is of the essence. If you want to make it from scratch or at least from canned apricots/peaches simply dice it up and simmer with enough water to cover it and an extra inch. (I'd used the juices from the can for extra flavour) Add in a decent amount of sugar, wait until it boils and reduces by half and then voila jam jam!

Instructions:

Start off by getting your frying pan nice and warm over medium high heat.

Choppity chop that habanero into small pieces and set the seeds aside as seen below!

I only add about half the seeds to the mix later because I also add chilli flakes for aesthetic purposes only. By all means stick to only using the habanero seeds!

Add in your habanero and let it warm up a little to release the flavour. Once your nose feels the heat add that jam in along with water, lime juice and sugar.

Looking something like this:

Once it starts to simmer, crank the heat and bring it to a boil. Then add your chilli flakes or habanero seeds!

As soon as it boils turn the heat off and work with the remaining heat!

Once it stops boiling, walk away and let it cool down for about 30 minutes.

After 30 mins I like to fill a big bowl with cold water.

Pop your spicy jimmy jam into a glass jar, pop the lid on and then sit it in the cold water so it sets!

You'll have a beautiful spicy tangy spread that resembles this:

After it cools in the cold bowl of water, pop it into the fridge for at least an hour or two so it gets that jam texture. I love eating this as a salsa with salted tortilla chips, a topper on scrambled eggs, with some toast and cream cheese, but really the world is your oyster!

Buen provecho

-Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #yum #delicious #habanero #spicyfood #veganrecipes #fruit jams

[natstravellingcocina]

Carne Aaaaaaaaasada- Day 20

Carne asada is a staple meal for all Central Americans. It's the meal you have to celebrate birthdays, graduations, Sunday Funday dinner etc.

Its flavourful, usually served with Casamiento-Gallo Pinto- Congri....a rice known by many names! And then a side of queso frito, ensalada y plátano.

Living in the Czech Republic it's difficult to come by really good Latin food.

Most of it is commercialized over salted whackness so I decided to give it a go at making my go to weekend meal when I was back home.

This recipe is only for the meat, but you know the rice recipe will come soon!

Ingredients:

-2 kg cut of beef (I used flank )

-1 big orange

-2 limes

-pinch of the following spices: salt, pepper, cumin, oregano

-1 bell pepper

-1 white onion

-1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

This requires 24 hours marinating of the meat so keep that in mind!

In a big bowl go ahead and add the juice of the limes and orange. Also add the spices and oil to the mix and give it a good whisk.

Next you want to chop your pepper and onion into medium pieces and add it to the mix!

Now set that aside and it's time to get that meat and make it into the famous carne asada strips!

My cut was extremely fatty so I tried to trim off as much as I could. Unfortunately I also have really awful knives so it was a decent arm workout to say the least!

So you want to go from A......

To B!

Turn all of your meat into step B and submerge the meat into the marinade once you're ready.

Cover and place in the fridge for 24 hours at least! This is crucial for the meat to soak up all the flavours in our bowl .

*Insert Spongebob meme... 24 hours later*

Hear up your electric grill to the beef setting (normally medium high heat) and grill away!

Now I know theres some people who enjoy a rare...gags...medium rare...gags again... pink ...GAG... cut of meat...PERO NO EN ESTA CASA. All Carne asada I've ever had at home, in resturants, in El Salavador and Honduras...it has ALWAYS been well done. This is why I could never ever stomach pink meat of any kind. So I cook mine well done. If you want something else you do you booboo but keep an eye open!

I grilled mine for about 15-20 minutes. And I threw in some zucchini and pepper in there too for my sides.

Once it's done it should look something like this!

Now grab a warm tortilla, your premade encurtido and enjoy this delicious Carne asada!

Buen provecho

-Nat

#comida #food #natstravellingcocina #kitchen #nom #yum #delicious #latina #comer #carneasada

[natstravellingcocina]

'Pan con café. No se necesita nada mas' - Day 19

This here is a tribute to Betty's.

Hands down the cutest yummiest little British tea room I have ever been to.

They make an awesome baked good called a 'Fat Rascal' and man oh man did my bread come out NEARLY identical. I'd say the only thing missing was the sliver of almond and candied cherry on top.

Man oh man am I going to make this regularly.

Now....I'm supposed to be dairy free but something about 'here's how to curdle your almond milk for faux buttermilk' just didnt do it for me. So I went with real buttermilk and it was worth it.

And the BEST PART of this recipe is theres NO yeast or any kneading! Easiest bread ever.

Ingredients:

-650 g flour

- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda

- 200 ml buttermilk

- zest of 2 lemons and 1 orange

- half cup golden raisins

- quarter cup dried cranberries

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 1 tablespoon salt

- 1 teaspoon cardamom

-1 teaspoon vanilla paste

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 heaping tablespoon Flora (vegetarian butter)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200 C

In a big bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients.

Once its thoroughly mixed, make a little hole in the middle and pour in your buttermilk.

Incorporate all of that together very well using a wooden spoon.

Once it looks like a nice thick dough, fold in the zest, vanilla paste, spices and dried fruit! Try not to over mix the dough!

After that's done it should look something like this!

Next you're gonna grab that baking tray that's been pre lined with parchment paper and lay that dough into the shape you want. I tried to go for a squ-oval shape!

Now for the CRUCIAL part. Score that bread using a knife. Be sure to cut it into even pieces so it gets baked evenly and comes out looking AWESOME.

Pop that baby in the oven for 35 minutes. During the last 5 minutes crank the heat up to 210 C for that golden crunchy outside!

After 35 mins just look....

I mean COME ON

Now I sliced a small piece out and added butter while it was still warm and amazing!

Look out Betty...comin for you!

Buen provecho!

-Nat

#comida #food #natstravellingcocina #kitchen #nom #baking #yum #delicious #bettys #british #baked goods #york #fat rascal

[natstravellingcocina]

*Insert baby Yoda and his gimmie nugs here* Day 18

Sriracha Cauliflower Bites

These came out so damn good and crunchy! So I've been trying to stick to a raw based diet where possible to see how it effects my skin/hormones. YA GIRLS been struggling a lot lately with stress etc you know the whole shaBANG so I wanted something that felt like a cheat meal but was still healthy and most importantly easy to make!

Ingredients:

-1 small cauliflower

- 250 g Buckwheat flour

- 1 teaspoon of each : black pepper, Himalayan salt, smoked paprika

-3 tablespoons of water

-Sriracha Hot Sauce

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 210 C

Grab your baking tray and line it with crumpled parchment paper. Set aside ready to place your cauliflower pieces.

Separate the florets from your cauliflower into nice bite sized pieces and set aside.

Next grab that bowl with your dry ingredients and give it a whisk to make sure they're all mixed.

Now slowly add the water and keep adding until you get a thick pancake batter mix consistency. It needs to be thick enough to coat and not runny so itll get all over the place.

Like so:

Sort your work station out! And grab that cauliflower!

Now you're gonna get ya hands dirty in this next step. And what's more.....you're gonna love it.

*cue Marvin Gaye 'Let's get it on' *

Dip that cauliflower into the batter and put on your baking sheet.

Should look like this:

Now pop these bad boys into the oven for 20 minutes.

Once the 20 minutes are over, take them out and theyll look like this:

Now you're gonna grab that Sriracha and brush it onto the cauliflower. I am not fancy enough to have a brush so I simply used a piece of paper towel bunched up and dab dab dab away!

Once you've got them nice and coated, crank the oven heat up to 225 C and put the cauliflower back in for an extra 12 minutes!

Theyll come out looking like this drool worthy beautifulness.

MUNCH right away for epic warm crunchy goodness!

And as usual...

Buen provecho!

-Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #yum #baking #delicious #veganfriendly #vegetarian #cauliflower

[natstravellingcocina]

Corona time.... but even better... Day 18

Encurtido time!

Nothing better than a fresh tortilla, slathered with hispanic cheese and that sweet sweet encurtido on top giving it that crunch, spicy edge 🤤

Lately I've been trying to repurpose all of my jars and making encurtido is the perfect use for some jars!

This encurtido is the easiest to make and requires minimal faffing about!

Ingredients:

-1 big red onion (or 2 small ones)

-1 empty 700 ml Mason jar

-1 small jar of pickled jalapeños in vinegar (if you love spicy like me you would even use habaneros)

-chilli flakes (I wasnt kidding. I love burn the roof of your mouth and can't eat for 2 days spicy)

- if you cant find pickled jalapeños then be sure to grab a bottle of white vinegar too as a replacement for the liquids!

Instructions:

Chop up those onions to a size you like! I personally love nice long slivers. Like so:

Then you're gonna start layering in your Mason jar. One layer onion, one layer jalapeños!

Dont worry if the jalapeño juices get into the jar, because were gonna be pouring ALL of it in there anyways.

Once you've done your layers, pour in all of the pickled jalapeño juice and top with chilli flakes! Mine didnt have enough liquid to cover everything so I added a splash of vinegar and 1 tablespoon cold water.

Whack a lid on it and give that bad boy a good shake! Store in the fridge at least 24 hours before trying it! Those onions need time to soak up the delicious spicy juices!

Now warm up your tortillas and...

Buen provecho

-Nat

[natstravellingcocina]

I think my soulmate might be carbs - Day 17

The amount of times I've attempted to make this and failed....ALAS TODAY WE HAVE FOUND THE PERFECT MIX! Like most...I HATE dry cake. I hate it so much that I hardly never eat cake or muffins now because #NotWorthTheRisk but when I tell you these babies ate moist and perfect....Ooooooooo

My aunt has this upside down pineapple cake that’s to die for. When I think of what sweets she used to make as a kid, this and flan (which I plan to do in the near future) is it.

The only thing missing from my pineapple upside down cupcakes are the Maraschino cherries which sadly isn't an easy thing to find in The Czech Republic. So if you have them please for the love of all things GOOD in this world....add it.

Right let's crack on

Ingredients:

- About half cup of chopped pineapple (I used fresh but tinned would work too

- 1 Boxed Vanilla Cake Mix

- Zest of 1 lemon

- 1 Teaspoon cardamom

-1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

-180 ml coconut oil

-350 ml water

- 2 Large Eggs

- 3/4 cup sugar for caramel

- Icing Sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions: Makes between 14-16 Cupcakes

Start out by preheating your oven to 200 C

Get that pineapple and chop it into small flat pieces to put at the bottom of your cupcake tins. Do it, go do it right now.

Grab a mixing bowl and mix together the eggs, coconut oil, cinnamon, cardamom, water and lemon zest

Once that's well mixed slowly add in the box of cake mix!

Ending up looking smoother than a babys bottom like this

Now time is of the essence with the next part.

Grab a non stick pan on set it on medium high heat. Once its warmed up add in your sugar.

At first itll be all white beautiful sugar, and then the golden goddess will start to show.

Be patient and stir nicely so it doesnt burn. After a few seconds your sugar should look like this!

Remember TIME ESSENCE OKAY?

Our pineapple is already in our tins (remember I told you to do it) and ready for the sugary goodness. Carefully add one tablespoon of the melted sugar onto the pineapple in each tin. If you notice your sugar cooling very quickly simply pop it back on to the stove.

Once they're all covered it'll look like this and it's ready to be battered!

Pour the batter on top like so

Then pop them in the over for about 15 minutes or until golden brown up top!

Once golden your cupcakes will look like that. As soon as they're out of the oven, run a knife over the edges to make sure it doesn't stick and IMMEDIATELY flip over onto another dish! I used some parchment paper on an extra baking tray.

Very important: let the tray sit upside for about 5-8 minutes not only to cool down but also that melted sugar will seem down and really get in those cracks.

Once you take off the tray your little golden babies will look like this:

I MEAN MMMMMMM.

Now I tried to get jiggy with it and used icing sugar but its 100% not necessary. Its sweet enough on it's own and so damn moist and delicious.

Make that cafesito and enjoy!

Buen provecho

-Nat

#comida #food #kitchen #natstravellingcocina #nom #baking #yum #delicious

[natstravellingcocina]

I'm just a girl, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a donut - Day 16

Well I love salads but sometimes you just want some deep fried goodness. I personally am a SUCKA for McDonalds Apple Pies.

Now listen, growing up...the thought of warm apples just didn't do it for me. To this day my mom tells me make some baked apples and your sweet tooth will be cured...no no...no.

If I'm eating warm apples it's going to be as an apple crumble or as a pie of some sort. I NEED THE CARBS that BELONG with it.

So I made a baked healthier version of the mcdonalds apple pies and this is my favoruite go to dessert or snack or dinner...ya know...no judgement here

Ingredients: Makes 6 pies

-2 small green apples (color can be your preference, just make sure they're not too sweet)

-1 tablespoon cinnamon

- 2 small packets of cinnamon sugar (equals about 4 tablespoons)

-1 premade pastry sheet

- handful chopped walnuts

Instructions:

-Set your stove to medium heat and preheat your oven to 200 C

-slice them apples to small squares

-In a small sauce pan toss in your apples, cinnamon, cinnamon sugar and about a tablespoon of water so nothing sticks

Cook until soft, roughly 8-10 minutes

After it's done stewing it'll look something like this!

Set pan aside to slightly cool, in the mean time do the next step:

Lay out your pastry sheet and slice it into small rectangles. I made small slits on half so they would look like the McDonalds pies!

Grab the stewed apples, place about 1 tablespoon of the mixture (more or less depending on the size of your rectangles) on the centre of your pie.

Spread out evenly. Making sure the edges remain clean or it'll really suck to try and close them. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES

Add the top pastry layer to the top and press the edges together using a fork. Place on your parchment paper! (I glazed the top of mine with some of the leftover cinnamon sugar in the sauce pan)

Place in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes or until golden brown!

Easy as pie😉

Voila!

Buen provecho

-Nat

#comida #natstravellingcocina #food #kitchen #yum #nom #baking #delicious

[natstravellingcocina]

Lentejas...the food for the soul - Day 15

Sopa de lentejas is and forever will be seared into my brain as comfort food because this, very much like my moms garbanzos, reminds me of home.

Paired with some rice and topped with a little shredded cheese and man oh man is it peeeeerfect!

Ingredients: Serves 2-3

-1 white onion

-200 g of lentils

-2 medium carrots

-1 red bell pepper

- half a teaspoon of pureed garlic (or 5 tablespoons really who am I to judge)

- 2 bay leaves

-spices (salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chilli flakes)

-drizzle of olive oil to satuee

- 600 ml of water

*if I had potatoes I would've added some as well

Instructions

Soak your lentils for about 10 minutes or overnight if you want.

Set your stove top to medium high heat and add in your drizzle of oil

Choppity chop your onion and bell pepper to the size you like and add to warm oil, along with your garlic! Cook for about 4 minutes before adding spices and your water. Let come to a nice boil!

Once boiling, add in your drained lentils.

Let boil for 10 minutes and then reduce to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes. Take a lil nibble of your lentil to make sure its cooked. Be careful not to leave it on high for too long or it will turn to mush!

Serve over white rice and voila!

Buen provecho

-Nat

[natstravellingcocina]

'Pero mira como beben los peces en el rio' Day 14

I'm trying to be as healthy as I can be during this quarantine where it seems like bad carbs will consume my life if I don't.

So I decided I wanted my version of a crispy chicken nug without the chicken part (I didnt have any).

So fish sticks and sweet potatoes fries for the win!

My sweet potato fry recipie is lower down on the blog if you fancy a how to on them!

Ingredients: Serves 1

-1 Tilapia Fillet

-Handful of breadcrumbs

-1 beaten egg

-Spices for your fishy

Instructions:

-Sunflower oil

Heat up your oven to 225 C

-I sliced up my fish into 'strip' shapes and to ensure they would get nice and crispy! Make sure to pat them dry and get rid of any excess moisture.

Then throw on some spices, I used salt, pepper, paprika, peri peri spices and chilli flakes. I felt that sit in the fridge for about an hour! But you totally dont have to

After that you should beat an egg in a bowl like it owes ya money to break up that yolk.

Dip one fish piece at a time and then dunk in your breadcrumbs! Make sure they're nice and covered

You want to grease your baking sheet and place your perfect little sticks on top!

Leave them in for about 30 minutes for a nice crispy fish stick! About 15 mins in I turned them over.

Once you're done pair with a side of your choosing and voila!

Buen provecho

-Nat