The Clumsy Cook

Well, they are mine now because I tweaked her recipe a bit. But without further ado: I MADE SARMALE! I don't know how or why, but while talking with a friend I decided this year I am cooking sarmale for Christmas. Then I started telling everyone, my dad sent me cabbage and minced meat and... well, I had to actually do it now! I was a bit scared because all the friends I spoke with who had their sarmale cooking experience told me it would be hard. And that was not my experience at all.  Stuffed cabbage or grape leaves is a thing in many countries, but I think it may have all started from Turkey since the Turkish word "sarma" means wrapped. And in Romanian we call one "sarma" and many "sarmale", and since you never make just one, the meal is called sarmale . Actually my grandma was mad when she heard I only made 23 sarmale , and not 60 or 100 like she expected me to. In my country, this is a traditional dish that we usually have for Christmas and Easter.

  By far my favourite Christmas film is The Holiday (2006) , directed by Nancy Meyers, with music by the amazing Hans Zimmer (yes, I am listening to the soundtrack as I am writing this). This is also my go-to feel-good movie and sometimes I may watch in July too because, well, you watch it when you need it, okay? But if it's winter and I am watching this film, I always make myself a huge mug of hot cholate, with only 5 marshmallows, just like Graham makes for his two little girls and for Amanda. Here's how I make it: Ingredients (1 serving): 400 ml almond milk (or milk of your choice; I also use 400m ml because my mug is huge) 16 g milk chocolate (or chocolate of your choice) 4 tbsp hot cocoa powder (use instant hot chocolate or whatever - there aren't many rules for this beverage, except for:) only 5 marshmallows Method: Heat up your milk, add the chocolate and mix with a whisk until the chocolate is melted. Then add the hot cocoa powder and mix well until everything is i

Ah, this cake! This cake took me two attempts to master because it turns out it wasn't a good idea to buy the smallest cake tin (although it made sense at the time) and fill it with the all the batter you have. Who knew there was actually a reason why chefs tell you the utensils they use! But I've learned my lesson now and I don't use all the batter in the same cake tin - I use the leftovers to make around 3 muffins to enjoy for breakfast. Without further ado, here's Nigella Almond and Orange cake and here is the recipe for it - below it will have the slight modifications I made because I rarely have oranges in the house and I don't have orange blossom water. picture from last year and I will replace it soon (I made the cake today for my neighbour to enjoy for Christmas with her family and forgot to take a pic) This cake tastes like winter holidays and I usually make it a couple of times each December - there's something about oranges and Christmas that's q

Well, since I already told you loud and proud that I make a habit of breaking martini glasses (case in point, I now only own one martini glass), then why not start this blogging adventure with a cocktail served in a martini glass? I present to you: The Cosmonaut . Category is: Breakfast Martini. The Cosmonaut is indeed quite similar to a Breakfast martini (variations on the same theme), minus the Cointreau and it replaces the orange marmalade with raspberry jam. According to Difford's Guide , The Cosmonaut was adapted from a recipe created by Sasha Petraske at Milk & Honey, New York City, USA. The colour will differ based on your jam, naturally - unfortunately mine is not the bubblegum pink I wanted it to be, but my goal this week is to try different raspberry jams - no judging, please! It's also winter here, hence no fresh raspberries to garnish my drink. Without further ado, here's how to make it: Ingredients (1 serving): 2 oz/60 ml gin of your choice 0.75 oz/22 ml