June 28th, 2015
Paloma and I made it to my hometown in the Southwest of Russia, where we are thoroughly enjoying our stay at grandma’s house. Because I don’t get to visit here very often, my days are completely packed with family, friends, daily trips to the market, nature walks, and all sorts of leftover business. This time, we added a kitchen renovation to the mix, along with piano and swimming lessons for Paloma. The days fly by, and I’m always caught by surprise when the night falls and it’s time for bed.
As usual, we’re indulging in my mom’s home cooked delicacies and consume the local berry harvest by the kilo. The most abundant crops right now, which we have no access to in Florida, are sour cherries, black, red and white currants, wild strawberries and mulberries. We walk around with berry-stained hands and wouldn’t have it any other way.
I prepared this recipe in Florida, right before we left, where a very hot summer was in full swing, making me want to stay away from the oven as much as possible. I craved crunchy raw vegetables like kohlrabi and jicama, along with chilled watermelon and ripe mango, which often replaced my lunch. I came up with this easy salad – a combination of jicama, mango, avocado and grilled corn with loads of cilantro and lime juice. It’s a quick and refreshing dish on its own and even more filling and delicious when served in a taco shell.
Lastly, I have a bit of housekeeping to discuss. If you haven’t signed up for our newsletter, you can do so here. We recently changed the format to a better looking one, and along with recipe updates, the newsletters will include seasonal ingredient highlights and any other Golubka Kitchen related news.
And for the French readers, the translation for the Rhubarb Raspberry Fizz from Sarah Kieffer’s guest post is up here.
Mango, Jicama and Grilled Corn Tacos
serves 4-6
2 ears of corn – grilled
1 medium jicama – sliced into cubes or small matchsticks
2 ripe, sweet mangos – cut into small cubes
ground chipotle – to taste (optional)
1-2 limes
1 bunch cilantro
1-2 ripe but firm avocados – cubed
your favorite taco shells
hot sauce of choice
Cut kernels off grilled corn ears. Combine corn kernels, jicama and mango in a large bowl, add chipotle, if using. Squeeze lime juice over. Add cilantro leaves and mix gently. Distrribute the salad between taco shells, top with abocado slices, sprinkle with more lime juice, cilantro leaves and your favorite hot sauce. Serve right away.
Tags: avocado, cilantro, corn, jicama, lime, mango, taco
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April 15th, 2014
Boy, do we have a treat for you today. A few weeks ago, the ladies from a Brooklyn-based juice company Jus by Julie reached out to us about their 3 day cleanse and the possibility of a giveaway. We rarely do giveaways and only when we love and believe in a product. This was certainly the case with Jus. What’s unique about these particular drinks is that they consist of blended fruit and vegetables, with fiber intact. You might be thinking smoothies, and the blended juices are smoothie-like, but much smoother and less creamy than your average shake.
We loved the cleanse – it was much more manageable than normal juice cleanses – it feels as if you are drinking whole meals made of the freshest ingredients. There are six juices a day, and they vary in flavor, which eliminates boredom, which is always my problem with cleanses. And you do feel cleansed and rejuvenated at the end.
Jus creator Julie Maleh is a certified nutritionist and we asked her a few questions:
Hi Julie! In the never ending discussion about what is better for us – juices or smoothies, you’re a big proponent of keeping all the fiber from fruit and vegetables in the glass. What is your take on it?
I strongly believe that keeping all the fiber in the juices is essential because that is what keeps you feeling full and nourished all day long. The fiber also aids in digestion and ridding your body of impurities and toxins. On the other hand, cold pressed juices remove all the fiber and are just comprised of the sugars from the fruits and vegetables, not the fiber.
When reading about the concept behind your juices, I thought they would be much more like smoothies – thick and chunky. After trying them, it turned out that they still very much resemble juice in texture and thickness, which I love. What is the special process you use for making the juice?
We use a unique industrial blender system as opposed to a traditional cold press juicing system in order to retain the fiber and pulp from the produce.
What are your most popular drinks?
Island Coconut, which is made from coconut meat and water, dates, and cinnamon. Chia Berry, made from strawberries, chia seeds, lemon, and pomegranate. And Sweet Spin, made from spinach, kale, pineapple, banana, and mango.
What is your typical day of eating like? How many of your juices do you drink every day?
I start my day with a Morning Glory juice and egg whites, which keeps me full and satisfied until lunch. For lunch, I have a salad with a lean protein such as tuna with a fiber filled carb such as brown rice or quinoa. I like to snack on fruits and veggies in between meals, like apples with almond butter or carrots with hummus. I usually drink half of an Island Coconut juice before dinner. Other half after dinner. For dinner, I have a protein with vegetables and drink the other half of my Island Coconut for dessert. If you really want to feel like you’re indulging, place the Island Coconut in the freezer for an hour or two before and it will taste like creamy, rich ice cream.
Tell us about your cleanse.
JUS by Julie’s cleanse is a good fit for anyone, young or old. Whether someone is juicing in order to detox their body or lose a few extra pounds, it benefits everyone because we don’t give our bodies enough of these nutrients. Our 3 Day cleanse provides easy access to the abundance and variety of nutrients that our bodies crave, plus the fiber needed to satiate us, while flushing out the toxins from our bodies.
And since it’s finally Spring and we’ve got this wonderful smoothie giveaway going, it’s about time to share a good smoothie recipe of our own. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with making smoothies without bananas, which I have nothing against, but really wanted to explore other possibilities. This Avocado Kiwi smoothie is very mildly sweetened and that’s what I like about it. If you prefer sweeter shakes, add any sweetener of choice like soft dates, frozen banana (eliminate ice in this case), etc. The drink is satisfying, creamy, and packed with nutrients – just look at the list of ingredients.
To enter the Jus by Julie 3 day cleanse giveaway, leave a comment here by Monday, April 21st. Update: giveaway is closed, winner – Jasmine Rivera.
And if you aren’t the one lucky winner, the ladies at Jus came up with a 20% off promo code for all Golubka readers, to be used when buying anything on the Jus website – GLBK20JUS 
Avocado Kiwi Smoothie
1 avocado
2-3 ripe, sweet kiwis
about 4 cups packed leafy greens (hard stems removed if using kale and such)
1-2 tablespoons vanilla pea or other vegetable protein
about 2 cups almond milk or more, to the consistency that you prefer
a few ice cubes
Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
Tags: avocado, drink, greens, juice
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February 9th, 2014
All politics aside, I love the winter Olympics. As the daughter and granddaughter of athletes, I grew up in a household that payed very much attention to all important sporting events. Winter Olympics was always our ultimate favourite, when all other things in life came to a sort of standstill and the whole family would be glued to the television, biting our nails and cheering (it got very loud at times!). This year’s Olympic games are even more special to me than usual. Sochi, the summer getaway town of my youth, where I stayed with my aunt in her ancient house with an outdoor shower and palm and fig trees in the backyard, holds an incredibly special place in my heart. I still dream about the cool, deep blue waters of the Black Sea and its pebbled beaches. The fact that the Games are taking place right there fills me with so much excitement, nostalgia, and pride. My cousins still live in Sochi and I get many daily, detailed, first-hand reports. I’ve always thought that Olympics should be about the olympians who invest their entire lives into this one time opportunity, and it saddens me when politics get in the way.
Now to the recipes. To me, this Russian-inspired comfort dish is the most appropriate one to make during the winter Olympics in Russia. If I absolutely had to choose my most beloved Russian dish, potato pancakes (draniki as we call them) would be the one. Traditionally fried, they don’t often appear on our table for obvious health reasons. This time I tried baking the latkes and was amazed by the little to no difference in taste. Great news for those of you who, like me, have an aversion to frying – goodbye to the greasy mess, smoke and achy stomach. And I can still indulge in my most beloved dish, once in a while.
Beet salad is also a very common Russian side dish, usually made with mayonnaise and sometimes cheese. I replaced traditional mayo with an avocado ‘mayonnaise’ and eliminated the cheese. Another pleasant surprise, the taste is very similar, and even better!
My two favourite sports to watch are Ice Skating and Biathlon, back to that!
Baked Potato Latkes
Note: The amount of pancakes you end up with somewhat depends on the type of shredder that you use. I use a very sharp mandolin, with a shredding attachment that produces more volume than a regular box grater. For me, this recipe yields 30 small pancakes.
I make my baked latkes in a muffin pan, if you don’t have one, see #6 for alternate baking directions.
2 lb Yukon gold potatoes (or you can mix it up, I used Yukon and purple potatoes)
1 small yellow onion
1 egg
1/3 cup oat flour (grind rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
olive oil for brushing
1. Peel and shred the potatoes. Place them into a colander and thoroughly rinse with cold water. Leave to drain in the colander, while peeling and shredding the onion.
2. Shake the water excess off the potatoes as much as possible and transfer them into a large bowl. Add in shredded onion, egg, flour, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
3. Squeeze the mixture between your fingers, one small portion at a time, and try to make it as dry as possible. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
4. Thoroughly grease a muffin pan(s) with olive oil. Distribute the potato mixture between muffin holes, pressing it into the bottom to achieve a regular pancake thickness. Brush with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing pancakes from the holes.
5. Serve with sour cream/Greek yogurt and Beet-Avocado salad.
6. If you don’t have a muffin pan, preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it with olive oil. Form 12 pancakes with your hands, placing them on the sheet as you go. Press with a spoon to flatten them and brush with olive oil. Bake for 12 minutes, flip and brush the other side with oil as well. Bake for another 8 minutes, flipping one more time and bake for additional 5 minutes.
Beet Salad with Avocado Mayonnaise
4 small to medium beet roots
2 ripe but firm avocados
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
1 garlic clove – minced
about 1/3 cup minced parsley and dill
handful walnuts – chopped
1. Bake, boil or steam the beets until fully cooked. Cool, peel and shred them, placing into a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mash flesh of 1 avocado with a fork. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over it. Add olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
3. Add the avocado ‘mayo’ into the shredded beets, along with the garlic, herbs and walnuts. Mix well to incorporate. Adjust salt and pepper.
4. Right before serving, cut another avocado into cubes, squeeze the juice of the remaining 1/2 lemon over it and add to the salad.
Tags: avocado, beets, latkes, mains, potato, recipe
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