Sandwich Project: #1 – Homemade Tuna Rillette Sandwich

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This one is inspired by French rillettes, which are quite common in sandwiches in France. We usually buy them when we are there, but it is not common here in Czech Republic, so we find a way to make our own one.

Rillettes (/riː.ˈɛt/ or /riː.ˈɛts/; French [ʁiˈjɛt]) are a preparation of meat similar to pâté. Commonly made from pork, the meat is cubed or chopped, salted heavily and cooked slowly in fat until it is tender enough to be easily shredded, and then cooled with enough of the fat to form a paste. They are normally used as spread on bread or toast and served at room temperature.

Rillettes are also made with other meats, goose, duck, chicken, game birds, rabbit and sometimes with fish such as anchovies, tuna or salmon.

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This French dish has its many regional definitions. In Quebec, cretons are similar to rillettes.

So how we make tuna rillette? We take soft creamy cheese, a kind like Philadelphia cheese, but more natural one. To tell the truth I don’t like Philadelphia since I read its ingredients. And we mix soft cheese with Rio canned tuna, maybe be in oil or drained one just with fork. It should contain pieces of fish. Those pieces are what make a difference between pate and rillette. Once you made it, just serve with salad and green onion. Very delicious and one of my favorites! I only make it with gluten free bread.

Fresh and Creative Sandwich Seven Days a Week!

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We have been shooting these sandwiches for you during May and the beginning of June. They are not vegetarian and not all of them made gluten free, but btw it is possible to do so.

7dayssandwich

Suddenly, I found I had 21 sorts of cheese in my fridge. Could you imagine that? I was also surprised with this fact.

The story about sandwiches started in France in 2009. We were young parents with a toddler on holidays. You know what? French people are very strict with their food intake. They only have lunch from 12-30 pm till 2-30pm and guess whats next? Dinner at 7 pm.

Our toddler slept between 12 and 2pm, so we could not eat outside. NEVER! The only thing you can get after 14, if you are lucky to find an open bakery is a sandwich. But my hubby always said they were not the right ones. Too little meat, not enough here and there and once I told, why didn’t you make your own one full of all that desirable stuff. Much time had passed since 2009. Now we have another toddler. You could even see “service continue” in many French restaurants. Bakeries work all day in high season last year. I couldn’t believe! But my husband is sandwich expert. The next days I will show you 7 sandwich ideas one by one.

Protein pizza-pie recipe

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This pizza can be either gluten free or not. It is as delicious but also high in proteins, because it is from tvároh or cottage cheese (or quark);)
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It must go in there

500g of tvároh or cottage cheese. I usually take 0.5% fat. Fattier is tastier, but we have to keep an eye on our lean body.

12 table spoons of olive oil. That’s why I take 0.5% of fat tvároh.

2 cups of flour (can be gluten free)

1 tea spoon of baking soda or powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt (I usually do not put it at all, because I use a lot of cheese)

1 table spoon of sugar (it must be there)

2 eggs

and whatever you like for topping. I usually spread canned tomatoes on the pizza, fresh tomatoes, sweet onions, olives, mozzarella and a few other types of cheese. I am trying to use small pieces of cheese which are left in my fridge.

Bake it in the oven 180C until golden (about 30 minutes). Cold tastes even better.

Sun protection and summer skin care

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I want to introduce a short review of my favorite summer care products.
best french sun protection 2015

I have been using Bioderma Photoderm for five years in a raw. I am very happy that the products are not only about sun protection, but skincare in general.

My top summer cream is

Bioderma Photoderm AKN Mat – Matifying Fluid SPF30 40ml

It is for oil skin and it prevents from oil skin look in summer.

When I need even more stronger protection I add

Bioderma Photoderm MAX Cream SPF 50+ tube 40 ml.

Both are waterproof. Used for surfing and cycling.

Total body is covered with Bioderma Photoderm MAX Spray SPF50+ 200ml, so when I am in an airport after one or more months in Mexico, I am the only one who is pale. people think I had a short break. Haha!

For hairs in summer I use Morrocan oil serie. Yes, it is a little bit oily for some people but in summer its exactly what my hairs need. I even do Coconut Oil 100% Pure hair mask with any organic coconut oil. I put it on dry hairs and leave for as long as I could, then wash with morrocanoil. Look silky!

And two life hacks for a face care.

Konjac Sponge with Activated Charcoal  for soft everyday peeling. Works better than soap and any cleanser, but just with water. And any of these serums at night Vitamin C Serum for Face with Hyaluronic Acid | 20% C + Vitamin E.

Take care of your skin this summer!

Strawberry harvesting at Czech farms

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Strawberry season is approaching. The very first Czech strawberries will be sold at farm markets very soon. Another option is called Czech “samosběr“ (self plucking). It is possible at some strawberry’s farms from the end of May.

Harvesting by the student during a strawberry season

Jahodárna Vranany announced samosběr in the beginning of June. For dates please check here.

Kunratické jahody dates for samosběr can be checked later in May here

Jahody z Holešova around 30th of May depends on weather

Fruit gardens Bríství also announced the last week of May. Check later here.

Homemade Basil Pesto

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Finally we got back our farm market after long winter. There are a lot of herbs on the Andel farm market today. Basil pesto is what we use quite often for sandwiches, mozzarella, salads and pasta. So I stopped to buy it and once a time make it by myself.

Here is a very easy step by step tutorial how to make fresh basil pesto at home.

I make it different from time to time: with or without garlic, with or without nuts or Parmesan cheese. Olive oil is always used and it has to be the best quality, because you feel how it tastes too much.

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Today I made garlic and pine nuts basil pesto.

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Just blend it all together and conserve with extra olive oil at the top to prevent color change.

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I was so happy today to buy all that green stuff freshly grown in Czech.

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Asparagus cooking and serving ideas

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Asparagus is very popular in Czech Republic.

Only seasonally on the menu, asparagus dishes are advertised outside many restaurants, usually from late April to June. For the French style, asparagus is often boiled or steamed and served with hollandaise sauce, melted butter or olive oil, Parmesan cheese or mayonnaise. Tall, narrow asparagus cooking pots allow the shoots to be steamed gently, their tips staying out of the water.

It has many health benefits, so I cook it often, when it is possible.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one cup of raw asparagus contains approximately 27 calories, 0 grams of fat, 5 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein.

That same cup will also provide 70% of your daily vitamin K needs, 20% of vitamin A, 17% of foliate, 16% of iron, 13% of vitamin C and thiamin as well as smaller amounts of vitamin E, niacin, vitamin B6 and potassium.

In Czech Republic we have thicker asparagus, so I advice to peel it before cooking. I cook in just two or three minutes in boiling water with a pinch of salt. Then serve in different ways.

Today I offer you my latest asparagus serving ideas: asparagus with poached eggs and Parmesan_DSC1671-30Apr2015

and grilled vegetables with asparagus, Parmesan and sweet balsamic acid.

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What grows in my Prague garden?

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Some mint. I have a lot of Peppermint and just new small cocktail mint. In hope to have good Mohito in summer!
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Few beetroots. Just to show kids what they are and how they grow._DSC1715-02May2015Blackcurrant and red and white one… Miss it so much! _DSC1704-01May2015

10 sorts of strawberries and wild-berries. I hope insects will not eat them all._DSC1710-01May2015Wild wild berry_DSC1716-04May2015and more strawberry_DSC1724-04May2015A lot of bird-cherry trees
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and more blueberries, basil, one green onion and flowers.

The Very Healthy Fancy Poached Eggs

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I tried this recipe for lunch yesterday. Immediately I reported to my sister that if she cooks it for someone he will marry her. That wouldn’t work with my husband, because he hates eggs, but in general it is worth a try. HA-HA!

I cooked poached eggs for the first time ever! Guess why? I saw them recently at the Imperial Café in the center of Prague, a very sophisticated restaurant indeed. I had a very boring fish there, when I saw a waiter with a plate of very interesting design with poached eggs, veggies and bread. I wanted that too, but they didn’t have a gluten free option.

Later on, I saw a picture on Pinterest and decided to try. I always want to eat good and healthy breakfasts with eggs, I swear, but in the morning I usually start to load up on different types of sugars: pancakes, peanut butter, waffles, fruit and so on. Then I find myself full of it with no place for a healthy egg.

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 Firstly, I prepared toasts. I used gluten free whole grain sandwich bread from Marks and Spencer.

Then I made an avocado-parmesan salad. Super easy, just cut an avocado, grated some Parmesan cheese and mixed them together.

The last step before cooking eggs was to put the salad on the toasts. So I was ready to poach…

 I read a few articles on how to poach an egg. It seemed difficult to me. Also it was messy. I heated a deep pan until the water was boiling, broke an egg into a bowl and then poured it from a bowl into boiling water. The white partially fell off, but the egg was still poached. Maybe not very fancy for the first time, but who cares.

 Since then I have been a big fan of poached eggs, but still find it quite difficult to cook them for breakfast, when kids are messing around. I’d better save them for lunch.

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 pieces of gluten free sandwich bread
  • a half of an avocado
  • One tsp of grated Parmesan
  • Salt and pepper
  • Few cherry tomatoes or cut one big tomato