Hummus tartines with Greek feta cheese, cherry tomatoes and walnuts

     How quickly time passes amazes me everyday. In one minute I am flying, sleep deprived, to Paris Airport of Charles de Gaulle, and the next minute I am packing my things to fly back to Zurich. Last weekend was spent walking up and down Rue de Rivoli, taking a bite at rue Lucien Sampaix next to the Place de la Republique and enjoying one pastry after the other. I was in Paris, dear friends, where each time I go gets even better than the previous. 

     I will stop rambling about the amazing time I had in Paris, as I intend to do it in another special post just about this city. Back to the cooking, I love that Spring makes its vibrant appearance again this year. Amazing weather, colours everywhere, strawberries will come around late April to May (the fresh ones) and in two week I will fly back to Greece for Easter. Before that, I plan to make some Easter recipes for you. I know I haven't been very active lately, but as an adult with responsibilities and studies, I have to study and be responsible.

     My boyfriend got us a bread maker two days ago. A BREAD MAKER! All you bread lovers I know you get me. I mean, I love bread and even more I love it when it's fresh and warm and crispy. Late at night, we decided to make our first bread with whatever we had in our kitchen pantry and voilà! A delicious and small loaf of bread that took three hours to make, was finally waiting for us to eat and savour.

     The idea for purchasing a bread maker came to us, when a good friend and head chef invited us for dinner with his wife and we enjoyed a lot of Turkish inspired food. With the food there was this amazing loaf of bread served on the table and we had to ask where it was coming from... The answer was, a bread maker. If you know me a little, you know I love homemade food and healthy that food even better. So, the idea to have a loaf of bread waiting for you without having to do the extra kneading it requires, sounded perfect to me. Don't get me wrong. The process of kneading and waiting for the bread to rise can be quite cathartic. But, whenever time is of essence, a bread maker can help.

     There was no better way to celebrate this, but to make a recipe with the remaining bread slices. And there was some homemade hummus calling me from the fridge that I most certainly, HAD to use. This is another way of letting you know, it was fridge clearance day! But who cares, when there is good food and good matching of food? The most important ingredient for this recipe I think is good hummus, so I left an easy recipe from the blog archive further down for you to make if you feel adventurous.

Hummus tartines with Greek feta cheese, cherry tomatoes and walntus 

ingredients

2 slices of bread of choice
1/2 cup of homemade or store-bought hummus
3 to 4 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup Greek feta cheese crumbles
a handful of crushed walnuts
olive oil
sea salt
oregano (optional)

how do I make it?

1.Toast your slices of bread in a toaster as wanted. Cut your cherry tomatoes in small slices.
2.Spead a generous amount of hummus on each slice.
3.Start adding your toppings. First, add the slices of cherry tomatoes. Continue by topping the feta crumbles and walnuts.
4.Splash some sea salt as wanted and some olive oil. If you feel adventurous, add some oregano on top.
5.Enjoy your tartines with company or by your self.

POACHED EGGS IN TOMATO SAUCE (SHAKSHUKA)

     Saying goodbye is difficult. Either it is people you love and see everyday or bad habits you don't need anymore. The last day of this year is here and it finds me still in foreign grounds, celebrating with friends the coming of a new year. A fresh start, if you are romantic like myself. And why not be romantic and believe in new starts? Life is full of ups and downs in its short period, so having "hypothetical" new beginnings is a motivation to pick up your messes and start changing or evolving. 

     I am not going to talk about New Year's Resolutions and bore you with ordinary stuff. But what I am looking forward in 2017 is to educate myself more on food and photography and manage to try yoga this year. I deeply want to get into better connection with my mind and body in order to find a balance in everyday life, which is so important to me. Other than that, I love my life since now and I don't think I can wish for material things so much. Just to keep meeting amazing people and get to taste good food.

     What are your plans for tonight? Are you doing a big party at your houre or a friend's house? Going outside to celebrate? Or just staying home and watching netflix? Whatever your choice, just enjoy your time. And prepare yourself for a New Year's breakfast or...late brunch. I have the perfect recipe for hangover and extreme hunger. This recipe calls for a good tomato sauce and a few poached eggs. The only thing that is missing is a good quality bread that you can toast and enjoy with your tomato eggs. Sounds delicious right? And it is quite easy, so don't be intimidated by the looks of it. Keep in mind that with the new year you get to do new things. So, if you've never had these kind of eggs before, now is your chance.

    Shakshuka is a Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian origin dish, that is made of tomato sauce with a lot of spices like cumin and chili peppers. You could find it with other ingredients added to it as well, but the original recipe only calls for tomato sauce and eggs. It is very favoured in Middle east and it can be eaten as brekfast or any other meal. Normally it is eaten with some pita bread (arabic style), but you could use normal bread as well. To be totally traditional you would have to use a cast iron pan, but I couldn't find one here, so I made it in my plain pan. Still, it was delicious!

Poached eggs in tomato sauce (Shakshuka)

ingredients (for 2 persons)

1 small red onion

1 garlic clove 

1/2 can of tomato juice

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon of ketchup

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon chili

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

olive oil

2 large eggs

how do I make it?

1. First, dice your onion and garlic well. Add two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan and turn your heat on medium to high. Sautee the onion and garlic, until they soften and become a bit golden.

2. When they are done add your tomato juice, ketchup and water and start stirring. Add your spices (cinnamon, chili, cumin, salt and pepper) and stir some more. Let your sauce be cooked for 5-7 minutes and lower a bit your heat.

3. Time to crack those eggs! Crack them open on top of the tomato sauce in distance between them. Put a lid on top of the pan to let the eggs be poached. If you don't have a transparent lid like mine, you can leave your eggs cook for 5 minutes and then check them by lifting the lid.

4. Toast two pieces of bread and serve your shakshuka as it is still warm.