Stuffed Salmon Fillet with Creamed Avocado

So, as promised in the last blog post Angelic cooking, I'll post the receipts so that you can also try! First one will be the Stuffed Salmon Fillet with Creamed Avocado. It was really really tasty and not difficult at all. Some of the photos repeat from the previous post as I'm speaking about the same yummie stuff. The receipt should be for 6 people.


Ingredients:
350 g white fish
150-200 g ground, skinned almonds
100 cream cheese (philadelphia or similar)
juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1tbsp. chopped fresh parsley and chives
4 tbsp. light olive oil
2 5 inch pieces of salmon fillets
1 leek
salt, pepper

For the creamed avocado:
1 large avocado
salt, pepper, lemon juice
100 cream cheese
1 glove pressed garlic


How to make the fish:
Puré the white fish with the ground almonds, cream cheese, lemon grind and juice, green herbs, salt and pepper and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season the salmon fillets and sandwich them together with the white fish mixture. Cut long strings from the leak and use them to tie the fish parcel together. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp. of olive oil on top and bake in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes.

Take out the bones in the salmon fillet with a pair of tweezers - one of the small little tips I learnt at my cooking course...:)

..and how to make the avocado cream
Skin the avocado and discard the pip. Mix the flesh with salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, garlic and cream cheese. Serve with the fish.

Enjoy!!! It's really really yummie - trust me!!



We ate it with Green bean salad and baked Fennel with Parmesan. I'll post these receipts little later

and if you have some filo pastry at home, you can easily prepare the little bags we made with the left overs of the white fish. They looked quite pretty, and it was sooo tasty!

Angelic cooking

I admire people who knows how to cook well.

A very good friend once told me that love is one of the most important ingredients when cooking. I totally agree, love and attention is absolutely needed to succeed in the kitchen. This also goes very well with what I'm currently learning with the yoga; to be present in the present and to enjoy what you are doing in the moment.

Angelic cooking course
I have realised how good food is very important to feel good. It helps to stay healthy and it is also so great to enjoy a good dinner together with friends. I have the love and attention to put into my cooking but I thought it could be also useful to get some inspiration and useful tips for cooking. So, I signed up for a reform cooking course. It's always so nice to learn new things, and to learn something useful and tasty which even looks nice is even better.

The very best thing with the course is that I get inspiration for every day cooking and I again found the great pleasure of cooking! Finally it is actually not that hard to prepare good healthy food and it is relaxing to take the time to eat at home.


We only cook vegetarian dishes, including fish which suits me perfectly. The teacher is really great and I feel so inspired every time! She gives us tips on cooking and also where we can find ingredients in Budapest.

Small useful tips on how the best way to get out the bones from Salmon fillets

The menu is very varied and yesterday we learnt to make:

• Stuffed salmon Fillet with Creamed Avocado
• Green bean salad
• Baked Fennel with Parmesan
• Florentine
• Christmas Chutney
• Spicy Christmas Cookies
• Mini Filo Baskets with dried Fruits Filling

Grean beans, stuffed salmon, Fennel and Avocado cream - yummie yummie!

Creative cooking
She makes us discover new things, and her attitude to cooking is very relaxed and creative. Also the most simply things becomes really tasty. She is not a slave under receipts but flexible and a really good attitude to food! It is more about take what you have, but make sure to have quality products at home. Yesterday we also made some kind of "bags" as the we had some fish filling left over from the fish dish and the filo pastry - so very tasty and also pretty!

what a simple but good idea: tasty bags with fish filling

Not only cooking but also learning Hungarian
It is also a good practice in Hungarian. The teacher speaks good English but as I'm the only foreigner, she explains everything in Hungarian and translates some parts for me. Maybe I miss a few things, but I don't mind at all. I also understand while we are cooking and I learn both how to cook and some Hungarian at the same time.. :) I get the receipts English and in Hungarian which has the good advantage that I can bring it to the market while doing my shopping and easily get exactly what I need.

Enjoying all tasty things we prepared

When I tell people that I attend a cooking course the reactions are different, but always positive. And, I guess I don't have to tell that I really suggest to attend a cooking course!

Later I'll post the receipts here on the blog to share some culinary inspiration

my new way of learning Hungarian

I find it a bit tricky to learn Hungarian I must admit. Or not only tricky but actually very difficult. Other languages I tried I have learnt relatively quickly, but maybe I just don't match with Hungarian. Sometimes I'm thinking of how fast I would probably have learnt the language if I would have been in almost any other country.. Anyway, now I somehow feel more motivated to learn. This doesn't mean that I will learn but at least the attitude is the right one.. :)

The good places to practice..
So far I liked to practiced at the market on Saturdays. There, the topics are limited to "are the apples good" "how much does it cost" or asking for something that I cannot see directly on the table... Even if I really like to practice with these small and friendly ladies, the topics are limited however.

Lehel market - quite a good place to learn Hungarian

I also practice with the taxi drivers and the people working in my little shop down the street. and other friendly people I come across. Maybe I should take a course, I have been thinking of it, but my level is so strange. I know many words, I understand quite a bit, but my capability of putting together sentences is limited... so which level to join??

A new way of learning
Anyway, the last month I found the perfect way of learning!!! I go for manicure and pedicure every week and this is my hour to practice Hungarian. The girl is really friendly and she doesn't speak English which makes it the perfect occasion to do conversation practice and the topics are more varied than at the market. She is also very patient, and together we do communicate quite well I must say.

my nails are not as nice yet.. but soon soon! :)

Today we were speaking about my trip to Frankfurt and she asked what I bought. I didn't know the word for candle so I told her that I bought a "kis naturel lampa" :) :) and imitated how to light a candle with matches. She smiled alot and told me the Hungarian word: gyertya. I then could tell her that I found those wax candles at the market that we use to have at home when I was a child and we continued speaking about many other small things.. like weekend plans, company christmas parties, and more..

I feel very happy about this new way of learning. Of course some studying would also do good, but right now I'm quite satisfied with my little progress I'm doing at the Szepsegszalon ...:) As she is listening to me, repeating and talking in a comprehensive way I'm gaining confidence with this Magyar language. Also she is very friendly and the best is that my hands and feet are being taken care of at the same time...:) so I think 8 euro is well worth the money!!

(M) ilyenek a Finnek

Between my trips to India and Malaysia, I unexpectedly discovered Finland and it seems indeed to be a very nice country..:) This cultural experience did not involve any travel as it was at at the Museum of Ethnography just a few blocks from my place. The exhibition introduced Finland and the Finns from an Hungarian perspective.
Very interesting!!

The exhibition was entitled (M) ilyenek a Finnek" which means "How are the Finns / the Finns are like this"


Relatives but apparently quite different
Hungarians and Finns are told to be relatives, but even if the languages may sound similar they can not understand each other, for example apparently only 300 words have similar origin. And I don't think the cultures have much in common, I mean not more than other European cultures. Or, they are both in the world top-15 statistics when it come to suicide but that doesn't say much.. The mentality seems to be very different in the two countries which was clearly shown by the fact that 2 walls at the exhibition were showing the use of reflexes in Finland.. apparently it is such a crazy thought here...:)


The Finnish culture through different eyes
The exhibition was very interesting in itself, but it was even more interesting as I went there with Ugandan and Hungarian friends.

For me, everything felt so familiar, and I have never been to Finland. It became clear how much the Swedish and Finnish culture have in common. It was also nice that some text was written in both Swedish and Finnish so I could even read without problem. For my Hungarian friend I guess it was interesting as the two cultures were compared and I'm quite sure that my friend from Uganda thought that all cultures in Europe are kind of the same finally. I mean a Mumin troll could theoretically be a Hungarian or a Finnish creation, same with the sauna or any other "typical things". And I guess I was the only one among us who clearly heard the Finnish/Swedish voice of Tove Jansson telling the story about Muminmamman, Muminpappan, Filifjonk och Lilla My when I saw them at the exhibition

I felt like at home when I saw Mumin mamma in Budapest

The use of reflexes is actually such a good idea, so I'll bring back one when I go home for Christmas. I even learnt that it's mandatory by law to wear one in Finland.

happy people wear reflexes or reflexes make people happy??

So what was presented to the Hungarians...??
It was very interesting to see what and how they presented the Finnish culture, it really did feel like they presented my culture. This is for sure not because of my Finnish origin but the common features of Scandinavian countries.

• Beautiful pictures of the nature and red wood houses
• A reconstruction of a sauna
• Mumin troll
• People with reflexes in the darkness
• Marimekko
• Mika Häkkinen and other sport stars mainly skiers
  
• Arabia porcelain
• blueberry picking tool (reminded me of Vastervik and childhood)
  
• information about the country
• and many other things...

Marimekko design

Life without mobile phone.

I'm without mobile phone since a few weeks as mine decided to stay in India. Sometimes I thought of stop using mobile phone, so from that perspective it was good to loose it; to test to be without and see the consequences.

For sure there are some positive and some negative aspects not having a mobile phone. We got so use to that everyone has one, I realised that many people almost think you are a freak not having one.

What is more tricky being without

• people is contacting you less as they think it is not possible without mobile
• more difficult to make spontaneous plans
• easily remain in contact and update friends and family (emotional or practical issues)
• society is expecting you to have one, so some services are only available for those with mobile
• even a simple mobile phone offers practical services such as alarm clock and calculator

The good things being without

• you feel more free
• plans can not be changed in last minute
• you do not send messages you regret later :)
• some people forget the company they are with because they are too busy with their phones
• loudly talking in mobile phone is disturbing for other people
• you don't risk to loose it or have to remember to charge it
• you don't think there was an accident just because you have no news
  
• there is absolutely no risk for sms loans and other similar services (I'm not really concerned but still it's a good point)
  
• probably more that I cannot think of right now..:)
  

Everybody has one...
One of the most interesting thing being without is that you realise that the society expects you to have one. In addition to all people asking for mobile number, there are also situations when you must have one. For example, at the airport in Delhi, I couldn't connect to the wireless internet which was even free of charge. reason; I needed a code to be sent to my mobile to connect. I also remember one time in Stockholm when it got really complicated to buy a bus ticket. The new system with less cash makes it really easy for people with to buy a ticket, but really difficult for those without mobile phone (as a side note, finally I found a place to buy my ticket in an old traditional way)

The mobile phone also contains lots of information. I was lucky as mine was an old one, so no photos and other data stored. I can imagine that for people with really hightech phones it is more painful to loose it.

But I did loose all the phone numbers. And I know that I'm suppose to have written them somewhere else, but of course I have not. :( Anyway, most numbers I will find again and the others maybe I don't need. There will be people that I will only meet if we run into each other by chance. But I also got the feeling that maybe it was good to loose the numbers, and some old sms, something like a detox but this is a feeling I have to explore better myself before I can explain it properly.

Even if I do find many good aspects of being without mobile phone, I think I will buy another one soon, and instead turn it off once in a while. To connect with friends and family is so important and a small sms or call can mean so much!

Of course I cannot add a photo this time. I never thougth of taking a photo of my phone and now it's gone..

I guess everything is relative

Last week coming back from Delhi, I took a taxi from the airport as I had quite heavy luggage. It was 5 PM and rush hour in Budapest. Normally the traffic in Budapest is bothering me a lot and I always wish for regulations of using cars in the city. This day something was strange and different, I felt like I was the last human on earth or something, it was so quiet and peaceful with almost no cars on the street.

I'm happy not to drive in Delhi...
Traffic in Delhi is something unbelievable with more and more cars every time (according to Indian Times there are around 2 million vehicles only in Delhi) - traffic jam, beeping and a very interesting driving logic :)


There are cars, auto-rickshaws, bikes and people everywhere. It happen to us more than once to drive with a normal car on the pedestrian road and we were not the only ones doing it. Everyone is beeping all the time but it's a friendly way of beeping, more like "beep beep", not aggressively "beeeeeep" like in many other countries, but still it does make a lots of noise. And of course, pollution is really heavy - air is full of smog and even if you see that the sky is all gray, you realise to what point it's bad only when you get out of there.

Traffic jam - an exercise in patience
Let's hope that the new metro will be ready soon and help up the situation... And anyway, once you are in the traffic jam, there is no need to get upset or worried, but just to relax and accept that you will be late - a good exercise in patience. And maybe people living there are so use to the pollution and all the noise and then waiting in a traffic jam is finally a good occasion to have a nap... :)

I guess everything is relative..
So coming back from India, I was hit by the silence in Budapest, while just 2 months ago I came back from a 2 weeks trip to Sweden, and I had bad head ace for a few days due to pollution and the noise of the city with cars, sirens, and people shouting made me really tired.

During the few days I was in Budapest before leaving again, I didn't completely get use to the silence - so I enjoyed it a lot, what a nice feeling it is to have a rest for the ears even in a big city.

Also here in Miri, it seems calm, no street noise is reaching my hotel room at the 10th floor... me and my ears are so far having a rest :)

Vera's cake - a serbian pleasure

India was a great source of inspiration, and I also got some nice ideas for blogging that I hope to share here little by little later on. But first, as not all of you are lucky enough to have dinner with Vera once in a while, I want to share a recipe of a very delicious cake so that you can also try it. I'm positive you will also love it!

Yesterday I went to an African dinner with specialties from Uganda. It was a very nice evening, and in addition to the great pleasure of meeting friends again, I also discovered how tasty a mix of peanuts, cabbage and tomatoes can be, and I finally learnt to make the famous Serbian Vera-cake.

The cake is just amazing, so I will share the receipt here. All credits to Vera, a real expert in preparing this cake and who also composed the detailed description below on how to make it.

the famous Vera-cake

Vera's Cake!
2 cups of flour mix with 1 BIG spoon of soda bikarbona (NaHCO3;) and 3 BIG spoons of cacao.
add 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of sunflower oil and 2 cups of yogurt.
mix with wooden spoon, put in baking pan which is covered by oil and a bit of flour.
bake ~30 min on 200C, carefully! it should be soft, and separate from walls of pan.

mmmm CREAM
cook 10 BIG spoons of sugar and 10 BIG spoons of water till boiling.
move the pot from fire.
add 125 g of margarine,
when it is melted put 100 g of dark cooking chocolate and 150 g of coconuts.

hot CREAM should go over HOT cake!

cool it, cut and share with family and friends :D

Cultural adjustment
This cake was the last dessert I had before leaving and the first one when I came back, so even if it is not exactly in line with the suger-free diet that I'm doing, maybe it can be justified as cultural-adjustment assistance or jet-lag cure. This explanation is also quite convenient as I will be traveling a bit more in the near future, I may need such adjustment support :) And as I feel all fine, I make the conclusion that it did work well so far..:)