Medeteranian lentil mash with aubergine wedges, caramelized red onion, black olives and sun dried tomato yoghurt

This is one of my favorite meals; so much flavor in one dish! Its pretty healthy because its low on carbs, its vegetarian which suits me perfectly and its looks very pretty with all the different colors!

Its easy to make as well, 

All you need is

2 aubergines

2 red onions

2 dl red lentils

a handful or two of black olives

fresh thyme

3 tomatoes

butter

Turkish or Greek yogurt 

a handful of sun dried tomatoes

a pinch of sugar

salt, pepper

How to make it

Boil the lentils in lightly salted water for about 30 minutes. 

Slice the sun dried tomatoes and mix with the yogurt, add some salt and put in the fridge until its time to serve.

Cut the aubergines into wedges and put them in an oven safe dish with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees until softer. 

Peel and wedge the red onion and dice the tomatoes. 

Fry the red onion in butter in a pan, add some sugar to caramelize them (I know, it hurts to put sugar in this otherwise healthy dish, but it really makes the onions taste so much better!).

Add the tomatoes and let fry for about 10 seconds before adding the finished lentils. 

Add black olives and fresh thyme, plate up and add the softened aubergine wedges on top. 

A dollop of sun dried tomato yogurt sauce completes this great tasting and easy to make vegetarian meal!

Thank you Arla for the inspiration!

Beetroot & kidney bean patties with feta cheese & soy bean cream

So me and the boy have decided we need a bit of a healthy streak from all the snacking we've been doing lately, so we're cutting down on the carbs for a while. Easier said than done when you're a pasta lover like I am, but so far it's going pretty well. There are a lot of great alternatives and it leaves you feeling a lot better to be honest... Don't get me wrong, pasta will ALWAYS be my go to dish when I want to splurge!! I didn't get the nick name Pasta Girl for nothing... ;)

Beetroot and Kidney bean patties are really tasty, extremely healthy and have a great purple / pink color to it. They're easy to make and taste even better the next day which means they're great to bring in the lunchbox :)

The What:

3 beetroots, peeled and grated

400 g precooked kidney beans

1 egg

breadcrumbs

coriander (if you want)

salt

pepper

feta cheese

soy beans

creme fraishe

pepper

Salad of your choice to serve.

The How:

Peel and grate the beetroot. 

Rinse the beans and put in a bowl together with the beetroots. Add the egg and mix together until smooth. Add the breadcrumbs, the salt and pepper as well as the coriander. 

Crumble the feta cheese in a bowl, add the soy beans and mix together with creme fraishe, finish with pepper. 

Heat a pan with butter and make the patties straight in the pan. Be careful not to burn them!

Let cool before serving them with a nice salad and the feta cheese and soy bean cream.

Let's play - what's in the fridge?? or Avocado and cherry tomato linguine

My super smart and hot friend Lisa gave me the brilliant idea to do a post on "What do I have at home RIGHT NOW?" (Thanks Lis!! I will prove to you now that I can do a lot more than just burn electric kettles on gas stoves...)

I had this at home: 

Avocado

Feta cheese (of course)

Cherry tomatoes

Garlic

Lemon 

Linguine

Cream (because I'm a Swede at heart and stomach apparently, although perhaps also a little Italian?)

(salt, pepper, chili and olive oil are a given in my kitchen)

This became an avocado and cherry tomato linguine with feta cheese! Super easy and as you can see above, not a lot of ingredients!

The How

Finely chop the garlic clove and fry until soft on low heat in some olive oil. 

Throw in the tomatoes and let sizzle for a bit, add the cream and season with salt, pepper and chili (if also addicted, like I am). 

In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente.

Carve out the avocado meat and throw into the now simmering cream sauce.Squeeze some lemon over it and throw in the pasta and top with the feta cheese - mix and serve. 

Super tasty!! 

Chicken burger on sour dough bread with mango dressing, spicy fries and baby spinach salad.

You know when you really feel like having a burger? But then you're like "No, I really shouldn't, I have to think about beach 2014...". Living in Sweden I will only get about 2 months (if I'm lucky) of sun and it won't even be strong enough to make me tanned. To be honest with you, I would love to have that will power to say NO to pasta, NO to cheese, NO to wine, NO to the occasional pizza or burger and really go for that tight sexy beach bod this year.. But I just can't, food is just too damn good!! ... and also, I am a bit too lazy.

Chicken burger on sour dough bread with mango dressing,
spicy fries and baby spinach salad.

Take some advice from one of the greats: 

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 

― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Or as I like to say:

"The belly rules the mind".

- Spanish Proverb

The burger below is actually quite easy to make your own; you can eat it without the bread and you can use whatever dressing you like, add or take away anything really to make it more, or less, healthy. This is what I used (and it tasted amazing!):

Prepping; sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, baby spinach
 and the mango dressing.

The What:

500 g minced chicken breast

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 egg

Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese

200 g baby spinach

Tomato(es)

2 dl creme fraiche

Mango Chutney to taste

10-12 potatoes

chili flakes

salt and fresh ground pepper

Sour dough bread

Making the chicken patties; It's a lot easier using a spoon
and make the patties right in the pan!

The How:

Put the oven to 200 degrees.

Slice the potatoes into halves and slice the halves into sticks. Put the potato sticks in an oven safe dish, add olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper and chili flakes to taste. Put in oven for about 20 minutes. 

Put the finely diced red onion, the grated garlic and the egg in a bowl. Using a spoon, mix together with the minced chicken breast and finish with some salt and pepper.

Mix the mango chutney with the creme fraiche to taste, add more if you want it extra mangoey!! Add salt and pepper here too if you want, although it's not necessary.

Slice the tomatoes, the mozzarella and wash the baby spinach.

Heat a pan with olive oil and use a spoon and make the chicken patties straight  in the pan. Fry until they are a golden brown and cooked all the way through. They burn quite easily though so be careful!

Cut the bread into slices and put them in the oven on top of the fries when they've been in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Home made fries in the oven; letting the bread soak
up the oil and spices.

Put the bread on a plate, add the chicken patty, mozzarella, tomato, baby spinach and finish with the mango dressing. Serve with the chili fires and a nice spinach salad.