Kale and Spinach Stuffed Portabello Mushroom topped with Feta Cheese - or Brunch!

There are very few things that are better than a home made Sunday Brunch. No stress, no musts and no hectic weekday schedule to follow. The thing with brunch is that you want a lot of food that doesn't take all morning to make and that you can sit and enjoy for a couple of hours. This stuffed portabello was easy and fast to make and will definitely be making more frequent appearances on our brunch table in the future!

The What

1 portabello mushroom per person (we were two)

2 handfuls of spinach

fresh green kale

2 cloves of garlic

chili flakes

salt and pepper

olive oil

feta cheese

The How

Set the oven to 200 degrees.

Sear the spinach and kale in a pan along with coarsely chopped garlic, chili flakes and salt and pepper. 

Stuff the mushrooms with the spinach and kale, top with feta cheese. 

Put in the oven and bake until the feta cheese is melted and has a little color. 

Easy and fast, and you know what? It tastes amazing. Really gets your taste buds dancing in the morning!

Eat it as it is or together with other brunch dishes like chevré and sun-dried tomato omelette or with a side of smoked salmon. Anything goes during brunch!

Saffron quinoa with butternut squash, goats cheese and pomegranate seeds, served with mint yogurt

Quinoa is a super food; full of protein, vitamin B and antioxidants. And a big plus, it tastes great! This dish is easy to make and is super healthy, a boost for your taste buds and your body!

The What:

3 dl of quinoa (I used black)

1 packet of saffron

1 butternut squash

1 - 2 spring onions

1 packet of goat cheese (I used chevre, but I think feta cheese would go well with this dish as well)

Seeds from 1 pomegranate 

Arugula

1 cube of vegetable stock

6 dl of water

salt and pepper

The What for the Mint Yogurt

Greek style yogurt

Fresh mint leaves

Honey

The How

Set the oven to 200 degrees.

Rinse the quinoa in hot water. 

Melt butter in a pan, add the saffron and let fry for a few seconds before adding the quinoa, the vegetable stock and the water.

Simmer under a lid for about 15-20 minutes.

Cut the butternut squash into cubes, put in an oven safe dish, pour over some olive oil, salt and pepper. Stick in the oven for about 10 minutes or until soft. 

Slice the onions, was the arugula and take out the pomegranate seeds (wear an apron, they stain!).

Coarsely chop the mint leaves and mix together with the yogurt and honey.

Mix the butternut squash, the pomegranate seeds, the spring onion, salt and pepper with the quinoa when it's ready.

Put the arugula on a plate, top the salad with the quinoa vegetable mix and crumble over the cheese. 

Top with the mint yogurt and serve. 

Enjoy! It tastes really good cold as well, try it for lunch the next day!

Hot Salad

Do you ever feel like someone else should do all the work for you in the kitchen? Can't get your best mate to come over and make you dinner? 

Step away from the pizza menu!!

This Hot Salad is super easy and super healthy, and best part of all, it basically cooks itself! Use your favorite veggies; 

I used

Aubergine

Zucchini

Red and yellow onion

Beetroots

Whole garlic cloves (with the skin still on!)

Chop them up (no need to make it all fancy, unless you really want to make them Julienne or Brunoise!), put them in an oven safe dish, pour over some olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever other herbs you want to use and stick them in the oven at about 180.200 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they are done (cooking time depends on what veggies you've used). 

Top with arugula or baby spinach (maybe even both if you're feeling adventurous) and crumble over some feta cheese (yes, I do use it for everything. But that's because it goes with ANYTHING! Amost anyway). Give the black pepper grinder a twirl over the veggies and serve when it's still warm.

Easy, healthy and basically carb free!

Who in the world decides what BREAKFAST is??

Swedes eat a lot of bread. A breakfast consists of a hard cheese, some kind of ham or salami, some kind of veggie like a cucumber or pepper, maybe some jam and always, no fail, COFFEE. 

In China, breakfast is just another meal that can be a noodle or rice soup with meat and veggies and green tea or hot water to swallow it all down. 

We all know the Brits and the Americans love a proper fry up, bacon and eggs, toast with or without baked beans.

The healthy ones, regardless of country, may have a smoothie or a fresh fruit plate, perhaps some serial or a non fat no sugar yogurt and at the moment, most likely "Overnight Oats", post coming up about this later!

You think I'm generalizing? What do you guys eat for breakfast? Do you even eat breakfast? And what is it that dictates what you eat for breakfast?

My breakfast varies, depending on a lot of factors. How much time I have in the morning, how cold or warm it is outside at the moment, if it's a weekend or a weekday and how healthy I have decided to be that day or week. 

When I'm hungover, whatever healthy streak I'm on at the moment goes straight in the bin and there is only one thing on my mind: greasy, unhealthy, fatty food, made by someone else. 

    

 And no matter what day of the week, no matter how I feel, Coffee is always a must. Mostly just straight up black, but sometimes I mix it up a bit. 

A post about the wonders of coffee, soon to come here on Declarations of a Foodie.