A collection of recipes by Yaroslav de la Peña Smirnov

Pour-Over Coffee

2024-02-20T03:24:41+00:00

</p>

A nice method of brewing really flavorful and balanced coffee that can also be tuned to the tastes of each person. Takes a bit more effort to get right than with a french press, but it has no sediment and you can get even better results.</p> </span>

This method is for those who are willing to spend a bit more effort and time on their coffee than with a french press. It's still not difficult at all and, although a V60 funnel is really only useful for making coffee, it doesn't cost much.</p>

So far, of all the methods of brewing black coffee that I've tasted, i.e. espresso, cezve, moka, french press, drip coffeemaker, Chemex, Aeropress, and V60; Aeropress and V60 are my favorite so far. I don't think a recipe for Aeropress coffee is really needed, though.</p>

Equipment</h2>

A V60 format funnel</li>
A V60 format paper filter</li>
Some way of keeping track of time, e.g. a Casio chronograph wristwatch</li>
Kitchen scales</li>
A coffee pot (optional)</li> </ul>
Digital kitchen scales are the easiest way to dose the water that you're going to pour into the V60 funnel. You could</em> do it without them, but your mileage will</strong> highly vary.</p>
Ingredients</h2>
I use the following amounts to get a 240-250ml cup of coffee</p>

18-20g coffee beans</li>
300ml ~89-95ºC water</li> </ul>
The beans should be ground, whether by yourself or by the coffee shop, a little bit finer than for a french press brew. You can play with the coarseness and with the amount of coffee beans in order to get a stronger or milder flavor, according to your preferences.</p>
The quality of the coffee beans is very important! A mild roast of arabica might be best for the V60, but it is also up to taste.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Grind the beans and heat the water.</li>
Fold and put the filter in the funnel, put the funnel on top of a pot or cup, and put all that on top of some kitchen sales.</li>
Rinse the filter with the same hot water that you're going to use to brew the coffee, so as to prevent the paper from changing the coffee's flavor. Discard the water you used to rinse it.</li>
Pour the ground coffee into the filter. Make a little shallow hole with your finger in the middle of the ground coffee.</li>
Slowly pour 60ml of hot water over the ground coffee in a circular motion; stir the funnel a little bit; let it sit for about 40 seconds.</li>
Now you need to pour in the same circular manner in 30 seconds (from dose start) intervals 60ml doses of water, until you get to 300ml. You don't have to be perfect about it, but the amount you pour each time should roughly follow multiples of 60. This should give a brewing time of about 2'40".</li>
Once you get to 300ml, lightly stir the funnel one last time and let the water seep through.</li>
Serve and delight in a flavorful and balanced cup of coffee. Smooth instrumental jazz to accompany your coffee highly recommended!</li> </ol>
If you want to make two cups in one sitting you can if you have a O2 or O3 size V60. It's just a matter of multiplying the quantities, as with any recipe, really.</p>
So, if for a single (250ml) cup you need 300ml water total, 18g beans and dose in 60ml; for 2 (500ml) cups you'll need ~600ml water total, 36g beans and 120ml doses.</p>

Country Style Potatoes

2023-12-18T21:07:52+00:00

</p>
Very delicious and easy to prepare potatoes recipe to eat as a side dish or just to snack on with a good dip.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>

Potatoes</li>
Garlic Powder</li>
Onion Powder</li>
Olive oil</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
All ingredients quantities to taste, more later.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Take as many washed potatoes as your appetite desires.</li>
Cut them into wedges. I usually do it by cutting them into eights by cutting them first in half, then the halves in half and so on, until the third level of halves (2^3).</li>
Add them to a bowl, pour a bit of olive oil, add salt, garlic and onion powder to taste. Usually I use enough garlic and onion powder so that a slight layer forms over the wedges.</li>
Stir the potatoes in the bowl thoroughly; if you feel like you might need some more seasoning and some more and stir some more.</li>
Preheat oven to about 230ºC, put the potato wedges on a baking dish or pan and put them in the oven.</li>
Cook for about 30-40 minutes or until the wedges are soft on the inside.</li>
Enjoy!</li> </ol>

Sour Cream Dip

2023-08-13T21:19:45+00:00

</p>
A really good creamy dip to have with your favorite snacks, especially good with potato chips. It's also quite fast and easy to make.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>

300g sour cream</li>
~50g butter</li>
1 tablespoon wheat flour</li>
A handful of dill</li>
Garlic powder</li>
Onion powder</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

First we need to make the roux; add the butter to a saucepan and let it melt, then add the flour and cook it at low heat until it's slightly brown.</li>
Once the roux is ready, add the sour cream to the saucepan and mix.</li>
Add the salt, garlic and onion powder, to taste, and mix thoroughly, let it simmer for about 5 minutes at low heat, mixing from time to time.</li>
After about 5 minutes the mix should be thicker; chop the dill and add it, and let the dip cool.</li>
Once the dip is cool, enjoy with your favorite snacks!</li> </ol>

Juicy Roasted Chicken

2023-03-12T23:08:39+00:00

</p>
I do sure love juicy roasted chicken, and even though it isn't quite as fast to cook as other recipes in this site, it is quite simple and yields quite a lot of nutritious and tasty food for the effort required.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>

1 whole chicken, plucked and gutted</li>
1/2 garlic head</li>
1/2 medium-sized onion</li>
~50g butter</li>
1 lemon</li>
Paprika</li>
Garlic powder</li>
Ground cumin</li>
Black pepper</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

First we are going to make the butter "sauce" mix for the chicken; add the butter, garlic powder, cumin, pepper, salt, paprika to taste to a sauce pan; I usually add enough paprika so that the sauce looks quite red, and add as much garlic powder as paprika.</li>
Cut the lemon in half, squeeze one lemon half over the sauce.</li>
Simmer the mix over low heat until the butter is melted, after that simmer for another minute.</li>
Put the other lemon half, onion half, garlic head half inside the chicken.</li>
Preheat oven to about 240 degrees Celsius.</li>
Rub the butter mix over the chicken; use a cooking brush, or if you don't have one, you can use a spoon.</li>
Put the chicken in a baking dish breasts up; I like to use a glass baking dish since it doesn't stick much to it, and that way the juices from the chicken pool up inside of it, more on that later.</li>
Put the baking dish with the chicken inside the oven, and roast for about 1 hour, depending on how big it is; should be about 30 minutes per kg.</li>
Baste the chicken from time to time, about once every 20 minutes, with its own juices.</li>
Once it's done, pull it out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.</li>
Serve with some side dish (mashed potatoes</a> are a great choice!) and enjoy!</li> </ol>
A small tip</h2>
Don't get rid of the fat and juices left over from the chicken! Pour them into a jar through a sieve and refrigerate them. You can use them later to make some delicious rice with them, or to use it as "sauce" for some side dish, like mashed potatoes, or even use it to make roux.</p>

Beef Stroganov

2022-09-12T20:25:39+00:00

</p>
A somewhat elaborate but very delicious recipe that originates from XIX century Russia. Best served with mashed potatoes</a>.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The following ingredients are for two hearty servings:</p>

400g lean beef</li>
5 champignon mushrooms</li>
150g sour cream</li>
1tbsp mustard</li>
Butter</li>
Wheat flour</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Cut the mushroom into thin slices.</li>
Cut the beef into relatively thin bite-sized pieces by cutting perpendicular</strong> to the meat's fibers.</li>
Dust beef pieces with flour and salt.</li>
Heat up some butter in a saucepan and add the mushrooms, fry for a couple of minutes.</li>
While the mushrooms are getting fried, mix sour cream, mustard, salt, pepper in a bowl.</li>
After letting the juice from the mushrooms out, add their juice to the mix and mix well, let fry for another couple of minutes.</li>
Heat up a frying pan to medium-high heat and add some butter.</li>
Add the beef to the frying pan and fry it for about 5 minutes mixing from time to time.</li>
Add the sauce mix to the saucepan with the mushrooms, stew over low heat for about 5 minutes.</li>
Once beef and sauce are done, pour the sauce into the frying pan with the beef and stew for about 1-2 minutes over low heat.</li>
Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let it rest that way for about 10 minutes.</li>
Serve with mashed potatoes and have a nice meal!</li> </ol>

Basic Mashed Potatoes

2022-09-12T18:44:59+00:00

</p>
I have already written in the past a recipe for mashed potatoes, so why would I need another? Well, sometimes a man just wants mashed potatoes as a side dish that is simpler, so as not to distract from the main dish. So here be the more classical version of mashed potatoes, to be served with many a different dish!</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The following ingredients are for about two servings:</p>

2 medium sized potatoes</li>
75ml milk</li>
20g Butter</li>
Salt</li>
Garlic powder (optional)</li>
Pepper (optional)</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Peel the potatoes and cut them into manageable pieces.</li>
In a pot, pour enough water so that it covers the potatoes, and boil them for about 20-30 minutes or until they are soft.</li>
Remove potatoes from water (or water from pot).</li>
Add warm (not cold!) milk and butter, mash and mix.</li>
Add salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste and mash and mix a bit more.</li>
Enjoy!</li> </ol>

Potato Draniki

2022-06-30T20:02:41+00:00

</p>
A classic recipe in eastern Slavic countries, typically eaten for breakfast, as a side dish or a for a light lunch. Similar to American hash browns or other potato pancake recipes. Potatoes are truly the most versatile vegetable there is; better than potatoes only meat.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The following ingredients are for about four draniki, enough for a one person breakfast or two side dish portions:</p>

2 medium sized potatoes</li>
1/4 onion</li>
Vegetable oil</li>
Butter (optional)</li>
Salt</li>
Pepper</li> </ul>
I would also recommend some sour cream to go with them as sauce, and some freshly chopped dill to top.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Peel the potatoes.</li>
Grate the onion and then the potatoes into a bowl.</li>
Add salt, pepper to taste and mix.</li>
Using a colander squeeze excess liquid from the mix.</li>
Form some relatively thin (about < 1cm thick) patties with the mix.</li>
Heat up a pan with some oil, the oil should be enough to cover at least half the height of the draniki. Optionally add some butter for more taste.</li>
Let the draniki fry at medium-low to low heat with the lid closed for about 10 minutes each side.</li>
Put the draniki on a plate with a paper towel, let them sit for about a minute to drain the excess oil, and enjoy!</li> </ol>

French Press Coffee

2022-04-07T19:37:18+00:00

</p>
A way of making a nice cup of coffee full of flavor, all without much effort. Why buy really expensive machines that require constant maintenance when you can get even better coffee with a very simple device?</p> </span>
If you don't know what a french press is or even looks like, it's the device next to the mug in the photo. They are not expensive and they can also be used to brew tea and other drinks. I actually bought my first french press to make tea, and only later found out I could brew coffee with it.</p>
Ingredients</h2>
The following ingredients are for one cup of black coffee:</p>

20g or 2 tablespoons coffee beans</li>
300ml water</li> </ul>
You could buy already ground coffee, but freshly ground coffee beans give a better taste. Just make sure you have a coffee grinder than can give you a uniform medium/coarse grind.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Heat the water to below boiling.</li>
While the water is heating, grind the beans. You should get a uniform medium/coarse ground for best results.</li>
Once the coffee is ground and water is hot enough, pour the ground coffee and the water into the french press.</li>
Close the beaker without</strong> lowering the plunger. Let it sit for 4 minutes.</li>
Take a teaspoon and stir a bit so that the grounds at the top sit down. If there's too much foam, remove the excess with the spoon.</li>
Let it sit for another 4 minutes.</li>
Once it's ready, slowly but steadily lower the plunger and pour the coffee to your favorite mug. Enjoy!</li> </ol>

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

2022-03-29T21:09:21+00:00

</p>
A really fast and delicious pasta recipe. Probably the most well known pasta recipe around the world.</span>1</a></sup></p>
Ingredients</h2>
The following ingredients are for two hearty adult portions:</p>

400g ground beef</li>
1 medium onion</li>
200g spaghetti</li>
600–800g tomato sauce</a></li>
Olive oil</li>
Oregano</li>
Basil; optionally some fresh basil leaves</li>
Red wine (optional)</li>
Parmesan cheese (optional)</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Add olive oil to frying pan and heat to medium heat.</li>
Dice onion and add to pan.</li>
After frying the onions for a couple of minutes add the ground beef and salt it a bit. Optionally add a little a little wine to taste.</li>
While beef is cooking boil some water in a pot. After bringing water to a boil, salt it add spaghetti and cook it al dente.</li>
Once beef is done, add tomato sauce, add some dried oregano, basil mix and optionally a little more wine to taste and let stew for about 3–5 minutes at medium-low heat.</li>
Once spaghetti is done, drain it and add some olive oil to it.</li>
Serve spaghetti first, then Bolognese sauce (beef and tomato sauce).</li>
Optionally top with grated Parmesan, freshly ground pepper, and a couple fresh basil leaves.</li> </ol>
^{1</sup>
Except probably Italy itself. Yes, this recipe is not actually Italian,
per se.</p>
</div>}

Basic Tomato Sauce

2022-03-29T20:25:53+00:00

</p>
A good tomato sauce serves as the basis for many a delicious recipe. From pasta, to pizza and lasagna, as well as just as the base for other sauces. This is a quick and dirty recipe for a basic tomato sauce.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
When I said basic, I wasn't joking; these are the only required ingredients:</p>

A can of peeled or crushed tomatoes in tomato juice.</li>
Garlic; about 3 cloves for every 400g of canned tomatoes.</li>
Salt</li>
Pepper</li> </ul>
Yes, that's really it. Of course, you can some herbs and spices like oregano and basil, but I would suggest adding them at the end after the sauce is already cooked.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Open the can and pour all the tomatoes and the juice to a saucepan or pot.</li>
Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher until they blend in with the sauce. Here how much to mash them will depend on how homogeneous or chunky you like the sauce.</li>
Add salt and pepper to taste.</li>
Grate the garlic and add it to the sauce.</li>
Cook for about 20 minutes at medium heat, stirring from time to time, or until the sauce is the right consistency for you.</li>
Add any herbs and spices to your liking.</li> </ol>

Classic Quesadillas

2022-01-01T22:24:09+00:00

</a></p>
Fast and easy recipe for a very delicious and somewhat nutritious breakfast or lunch. This recipe is so simple that I was doubting whether it was worth it writing about it. But since most people outside of Mexico don't know about it, here it is!</p> </span>
I really like making these when I'm feeling very lazy and also when I don't have many ingredients at hand.</p>
Ingredients</h2>
The only required ingredients are these:</p>

Tortillas; either corn or flour tortillas, I usually make them with flour tortillas</li>
Cheese 1</a></sup>; usually oaxaca cheese, but I also use cheddar, gouda, mozzarella among others</li> </ul>
For each quesadilla you need one tortilla and about 50–75g of cheese. Two or three quesadillas should be enough for breakfast.</p>
However, you can add just about any ingredient as filling, depending on how much you want to eat and what your preferences are. Some examples:</p>

Ham</li>
Salami</li>
Chorizo</li>
Bacon</li>
Pulled chicken</li>
Onions</li>
Cilantro</li>
Some sauce (e.g. salsa roja)</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Take a tortilla and put on one half of it the ingredients that you decided to use.</li>
Close the tortilla by folding the tortilla in half, so that you end up with a semicircle that contains all the ingredients inside</li>
Repeat the steps above for each quesadilla</li>
Heat up a pan. Optionally you can add some oil or fat, for example, I sometimes like to fry some bacon for use in the quesadillas and use its fat to fry the quesadillas.</li>
Cook the quesadillas at medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side, or until each side is slightly brown.</li>
Serve hot, enjoy while the cheese is still melted!</li> </ol>
^{1</sup>
Some people in Mexico City say that a quesadilla can be made without
cheese. I think so much smog has caused some brain damage in those people.</p>
</div>}

Paprika potatoes

2021-12-07T00:20:45+00:00

</p>
An easy recipe that you can eat as side dish with other dishes like this one</a>.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
These ingredients are for about two portions</p>

3–4 medium potatoes</li>
Curcuma</li>
Paprika</li>
Garlic powder</li>
Butter</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Cut the potatoes into small cubes.</li>
Add some butter to a frying pan and preheat it to medium heat.</li>
Add the potatoes to the pan and salt them.</li>
Cover the pan with a lid. Fry for about 20 minutes or until they are soft, moving them from time to time.</li>
Add paprika, curcuma and garlic to the potatoes, mix well and fry for another couple of minutes.</li>
Enjoy!</li> </ol>

Rosemary Pork Chops

2021-12-06T23:28:23+00:00

</p>
A quick and delicious recipe of pork chops that I like to cook when I am feeling a little lazy.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
Use these ingredients to taste:</p>

Pork chops</li>
Rosemary</li>
Black pepper</li>
Salt</li>
Butter</li>
1 garlic clove/pork chop</li>
Tequila (optional)</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Add some butter to a frying pan and preheat it to medium heat.</li>
Add to taste salt, black pepper, rosemary leaves and chopped garlic to each side of each pork chop.</li>
Put the pork chops and one or two branches of rosemary in the frying pan.</li>
Optional: pour some tequila on each pork chop.</li>
Fry the pork chops for about 5–6 minutes on each side or until well done.</li>
That's it!</li> </ol>

Chicken Soup

2021-09-20T20:17:15+00:00

</p>
Whenever I get sick I immediately crave for some chicken soup. This is a chicken soup recipe that sure makes me feel better even if I am not sick.</p> </span>
Prerequisite</h2>
I use the broth in this recipe</a> as base for this soup. I also use the chicken meat from that same recipe.</p>
Ingredients</h2>
This is for two adult portions:</p>

Pulled chicken</li>
1 liter chicken broth</li>
2 small potatoes</li>
1/2 carrot</li>
2 handfuls of rice noodles</li>
1/4 onion</li>
Cilantro</li>
1 Lime*</li>
Chile de árbol*</li> </ul>
* Optional</p>
Instructions</h2>

Pour the broth to a cooking pot.</li>
Peel and cut the carrot and potatoes into small pieces. Add them to the pot.</li>
Simmer for about 20–30 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are soft.</li>
Add the rice noodles and chicken and cook for another 5 minutes.</li>
Serve the soup.</li>
Chop the onions and cilantro and top the soup with them.</li>
Add some lime juice to taste, if you like.</li>
If you like spicy, crush some dried chile de árbol and add it as well.</li>
Enjoy, and if you've got a cold, get better soon!</li> </ol>

Fragrant Chicken Broth

2021-09-20T19:50:33+00:00

</p>
Chicken broth can be used as the base for many delicious dishes like chicken soup. This is my take of an aromatic chicken broth.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The quantities will depend on how much broth you want to make:</p>

Chicken pieces with bones* and skin* (*very important!)</li>
Bay leaves</li>
Onion</li>
Garlic</li>
Allspice or black peppercorns</li>
Parsley</li>
Thyme</li>
Salt</li>
Olive oil</li>
Rosemary</li>
Carnation</li>
Ginger</li>
A pinch of curcuma</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Add some olive oil and chicken pieces to a big pot.</li>
Cut the onion into big pieces and add it.</li>
Add the rest of the ingredients on top to taste and depending on the quantity you want to cook.</li>
Pour as much water as needed after having added all the ingredients.</li>
Heat the pot until the water is boiling and simmer for 1–2 hours.</li>
Strain the stock into a different container. You can dispose of the vegetables. Use the chicken meat for some other dish.</li> </ol>
That's really it. Again, the proportions depend on your tastes and how much broth you want to make. Next I will be writing a recipe on chicken soup using this broth and the chicken that was used for this broth as a base. You can check out the chicken soup recipe here</a>.</p>
I also remove the skin and bones and use the chicken meat as pulled chicken for sandwiches or other recipes besides chicken soup.</p>

Refreshing Limeade

2021-08-31T18:17:01+00:00

</a></p>
What better way to cool yourself on a hot summer day (especially this summer!) than a cool glass of limeade.</p> </span>
Wait, summer is all but over. Well, who says you can't enjoy a cold drink on a not-so-hot-anymore-end-of-summer-almost-autumn day?</p>
Ingredients</h2>

1 liter water</li>
4–5 limes</li>
A branch of mint</li>
2–3 tablespoons honey</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Squeeze the limes into a jug. You can keep half a lime unsqueezed to later slice it and the slices to the jug.</li>
Pour the water.</li>
Add the honey.</li>
Add mint leaves and, if you still have the unsqueezed lime half, lime slices.</li>
Mix thoroughly. Taste it with a spoon to make sure you've got the right balance of sweetness for your taste. Add more honey or lime juice as needed.</li>
Let it cool inside a fridge and enjoy!</li> </ol>

Russian Bliny

2021-03-27T13:45:42+00:00

</p>
A classic that has its many spins in different cuisines, including Russian cuisine. Recently was the maslenitsa 1</a></sup>, so as usual I decided to prepare them. They can be filled with sweets or meat or basically any food.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The following ingredients should yield about 15 blinys.</p>

300—400g wheat flour</li>
700—900ml milk</li>
2 teaspoons baking soda</li>
2—3 eggs</li>
1 teaspoon olive oil or melted butter</li>
Butter</li>
Boiling water</li>
Sugar</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

You should start by adding the flour to a bowl, then add the eggs, sugar and salt to taste, and baking soda.</li>
Next add the milk carefully, so that the batter ends up liquid enough, but not too liquid. It should be more liquid than bread batter, but not too liquid so that it doesn't drip too fast.</li>
Add a little bit of boiling water and oil or butter and mix the batter until it becomes homogeneous. If you feel its too liquid, add a little bit of flour, if it's not liquid enough, then add a little bit more milk.</li>
Heat up a frying pan to medium heat, cover with a thin layer of melted butter, you can use a paper napkin or towel for that.</li>
Slowly pour the batter to the pan rotating it a little bit while you do this, such that you end up with a thin layer of batter that covers all the pan.</li>
Cook until you see little bubbles or pores forming in the batter, then flip, and cook for another couple of minutes.</li>
Once one blin is ready, remove it from the pan and put it on a plate. Spread some butter on its top.</li>
Continue cooking the bliny, spreading butter on the pan with a paper napkin/towel once every 1-3 bliny, until you run out of batter.</li> </ol>
^1</sup>
A Slavic holiday</a> celebrated at the end of winter. It is typical to prepare bliny this time of year.</p> </div>

Sunday Morning Milkshake

2021-01-18T19:18:29+00:00

</p>
A sweet and refreshing milkshake that barely requires any effort to make. You're not required to make it and drink it on Sunday, it was just almost a tradition in my family to make it on the weekends, and it somehow does taste better on a Saturday or Sunday morning.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
These are for about 4 glasses or 1 liter:</p>

1 banana (or 2 if they are small)</li>
~120 grams of berries. Can be any berries you like.</li>
<1 liter of milk</li>
Vanilla</li>
Sugar</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Chop the banana so that it fits better in the blender.</li>
Add the banana pieces, berries, vanilla and sugar to taste to the blender. Usually I use about 6 tea spoons of sugar.</li>
Pour enough milk so that the mix fills a liter of the blender volume.</li>
Blend it until it looks the mix looks somewhat homogeneous.</li>
Pour it and enjoy!</li> </ol>
Basically anything is better consumed fresh, but it is especially the case for this milkshake recipe. If you leave it sitting for more than 10-15 minutes it won't be so delicious anymore.</p>

Spicy Chili con Carne

2020-11-03T21:42:50+00:00

</p>
This recipe is for those who like their food a little spicy. A classic of Tex-Mex cuisine, although its true origins are disputed.</span>1</a></sup></p>
Ingredients</h2>
Here are the ingredients for 2-4 adult portions, depending on your appetite:</p>

400g ground beef</li>
300g can of pre-cooked beans</li>
1 onion</li>
3-4 garlic cloves</li>
6–8 spoonfuls tomato paste</li>
1 tomato</li>
~100ml water</li>
Whole black peppercorns, or even better, allspice^+</sup></li>
Chili powder or dried peppers^{+</sup>*</li>}
Cumin^+</sup></li>
Oregano^+</sup></li>
Salt^+</sup></li>
Cooking oil (preferably olive oil)</li>
3-4 Bay leaves (optional)</li>
Cilantro (optional)</li>
Worcestershire sauce (optional)^{+</sup></li>
</ul>
+: Add to taste.</p>
*: Before I found where to buy the peppers I wanted where I live, I used to add
red hot chili pepper powder, but I have been using chile de arbol and habanero
lately, and I must say the flavor is much better.</p>}
Instructions</h2>

Add oil to a deep frying pan, or a sauce pan, and heat to medium heat.</li>
Chop the onions and add them to the heated pan.</li>
After frying the onions for a bit, add the ground beef and fry it until it is well-done; salt the beef to taste.</li>
Just before the beef is done, mince or grate the garlic cloves and add it to the pan. Cut the tomato into small pieces.</li>
Add the water, beans and tomato paste and mix.</li>
Add chili powder or dried peppers after crushing them; add tomatoes, oregano, cumin, allspice/peppercorns and a little bit more salt to the pan and mix thoroughly; also add the basil leaves and Worcestershire sauce if you want to add a little more flavor.</li>
Once the mix is boiling, cover the pan, and stew at low heat for about 45-60 minutes.</li>
Once the chili is quite thick (but not too dry!), it should be done; or maybe you prefer it a little bit more soup-y.</li>
You can also add some freshly chopped cilantro on top to add even more flavor.</li> </ol>
How to eat</h2>
So, this might be strange, to tell somebody how to eat some food, but I gather there's multitude different ways to eat chili. The most obvious one, is to just eat it as it is with a spoon, or maybe with some totopos. I, however, like to make some burritos stuffed with the stuff, together with some grated cheese and jalapeños.</p>
There's of course other dishes, like hot dogs with chili (a.k.a chilidogs), sandwiches with chili, hamburgers with chili; you get the idea.</p>
^1</sup>
Nobody Knows More About Chili Than I Do (Archived)</a></p> </div>

Refried Beans

2020-10-02T11:49:49+00:00

</p>
One of my favorite dishes that works either as an appetizer or side dish is refried beans. A classic from Mexican cuisine, that is best eaten with some totopos, or tortilla chips.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
As usual, the ingredients here are for about two adult portions:</p>

400-500g can of pre-cooked beans</li>
1/4 onion</li>
3-4 garlic cloves</li>
Cumin</li>
Paprika</li>
2-4 spoonfuls butter</li>
Cooking oil (can be olive oil)</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Add the oil and the butter to the frying pan and heat to medium heat.</li>
Chop the onion and mince the garlic.</li>
Once the frying pan is heated, add the onion and garlic to the pan, and fry them for about 3 minutes.</li>
Add salt, cumin, and paprika to taste. Usually I add paprika till the mix is a brownish red. Mix with your spatula, and let fry for about 5 minutes.</li>
Open the can of beans and pour the beans into the pan. Depending on how liquid you want the refried beans to be, you can use all or just some part of the liquid inside the can. I usually get rid of some of the liquid from the can before pouring the beans.</li>
Mash the beans and mix. Let them fry at medium-low to medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, mixing from time to time.</li>
Serve, and enjoy with some totopos.</li> </ol>

Pasta Navy Style

2020-08-02T20:20:44+00:00

</p>
This is one of the three pasta dishes that I usually cook, one of which I have posted before here</a>. It's a Russian pasta recipe that is fast and easy to make and is quite tasty.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
Here are the ingredients for about two hearty adult portions:</p>

250g pasta. Usually I prefer to use fusilli or penne, but any short-cut pasta should do.</li>
300-400g ground beef</li>
3-4 tomatoes</li>
1 carrot</li>
1/2 onion</li>
2-3 garlic cloves</li>
Cumin</li>
Paprika</li>
Black pepper</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Add olive oil to your frying pan, heat it to medium-high heat.</li>
Chop some onions and add them to the preheated pan.</li>
After a couple of minutes add the ground beef to the pan, salt it and mix it a bit with the onions in the pan.</li>
When the meat is almost done, mince the garlic and add it together with the cumin and paprika to the pan.</li>
Cook the pasta in a pot until its done al dente while the beef is being cooked.</li>
Grate the tomatoes over the pan using a grater with small-sized slots, in such a way that the tomato paste and juice falls right away from the grater to the pan.</li>
Grate the carrot using a grater with medium-sized slots and add it to the pan.</li>
Salt some more to taste, and add some black pepper to taste, mix.</li>
Cook it over medium/medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the water and juices from the tomatoes have almost completely evaporated.</li>
Once (or if) the pasta and beef is already cooked, add the pasta to the pan and cook for another couple of minutes.</li>
Serve hot and enjoy!</li> </ol>

Fresh Guacamole

2020-08-01T18:18:51+00:00

</p>
A nice recipe that functions as a delicious and fresh appetizer, best eaten with some totopos corn chips, especially in a hot summer day.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
Here are the ingredients for about two adult portions:</p>

2 Hass avocados</li>
1/4 medium onion</li>
1 small tomato</li>
Cilantro</li>
1 lime</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li> </ul>
And of course, some totopos to eat with.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Cut the avocados in half, open them and place the pulp in a bowl.</li>
Mash the avocados, add lime juice, mix and mash some more.</li>
Mince the cilantro, tomato and onion and add them to the avocado mix.</li>
Add salt and black pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.</li>
Enjoy fresh with some totopos!</li> </ol>
This recipe is best consumed fresh, since the avocado oxidizes pretty fast and might lose its appetizing color and texture in just some hours.</p>

Beef Goulash

2020-06-22T18:49:10+00:00

</p>
This recipe requires a bigger set of ingredients than usual - mostly herbs and spices - and it takes quite some time to prepare - about 1hr 30 minutes. However, it is actually quite easy to make, and it is a really hearty and delicious recipe, if I do say so myself.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The ingredients here are for about 2-3 portions, depending on your appetite:</p>

500g beef</li>
300-400g potatoes</li>
1 carrot</li>
1 medium onion</li>
12 tablespoons tomato paste</li>
500ml water</li>
3-4 garlic cloves</li>
3-4 bay leaves</li>
Curcuma</li>
Paprika</li>
Oregano</li>
Parsley</li>
Caraway</li>
Basil (optional)</li>
Cilantro (optional)</li>
2-3 champignon mushrooms (optional)</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Heat up the frying pan and add some oil.</li>
Cut the potatoes into small pieces and fry them on the frying pan over medium-heat, add some salt.</li>
Chop the onion.</li>
Cut the beef into small enough pieces and dust with flour.</li>
After about 15 minutes of frying the potatoes, add the onions and beef to the pan and fry for another 10-15 minutes, or until brown.</li>
While the beef, potatoes and onions are frying, cut the carrot and mushrooms, and chop the parsley and cilantro.</li>
Once the beef is brown, add water to the pan, and add the rest of the ingredients, including salt, black pepper and herbs/spices to taste.</li>
Mix thoroughly, cover the pan with a lid and stew for about 60-80 minutes over low-heat. While it is stewing, you can get back to doing some other things, like watching memes.</li>
Remove from stove, serve hot and enjoy with some beer or cider (or your favorite beverage).</li> </ol>

Merchant's Buckwheat

2020-06-14T23:24:10+00:00

</p>
Buckwheat is not very popular outside Russia, the former USSR, and some Asian countries; but it is a nice grain full of nutrients which can be used to prepare delicious and nutritious dishes. This recipe takes a little bit more time than other recipes I've posted here, but it is quite easy to make.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The ingredients below are for 2 hearty portions.</p>

400g pork meat</li>
1/2 metric cup (~125ml) buckwheat</li>
1 1/5 metric cup (~300ml) water</li>
1 medium-sized carrot</li>
1 small onion</li>
6-8 tablespoons tomato paste</li>
Wheat flour</li>
Curcuma</li>
Chili powder (optional)</li>
3-4 garlic cloves</li>
Parsley</li>
3-4 bay leaves</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Chop the onion and cut the pork into small pieces.</li>
Dust the pork with some flour. I sometimes like to do this once I've added the pork to the pan, just because I am lazy and I haven't noticed much difference between either approach.</li>
Heat the frying pan add a bit of oil, add the pork and onion, and fry for about 10-15 minutes over medium-high heat.</li>
While the pork and onion are being fried, cut the carrot into small pieces and chop the parsley.</li>
Once the pork and onion are fried, add the water, tomato paste, buckwheat and carrots.</li>
Add curcuma, chili powder, salt and black pepper to taste; mix thoroughly.</li>
Add in the garlic cloves, bay leaves and chopped parsley.</li>
Once the water is boiling, close the pan with a lid and stew for about 25 minutes over low heat.</li>
Serve hot and enjoy!</li> </ol>

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

2020-06-13T16:00:40+00:00

</p>
Mashed potatoes is a really great recipe that is often relegated to the position of side dish. This recipe is a spin of the classical mashed potatoes recipe that's got itself more going on. You can serve this dish for a relatively light meal, or you can also serve it as a side dish if you want to have a really hearty meal.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The quantities here are for about four adult portions. If you are planning on eating this as a side dish, it might be more like 6-8 portions.</p>

1kg potatoes</li>
200ml milk*</li>
200ml mayonnaise*</li>
~100g cheese</li>
Garlic powder</li>
12-16 strips of bacon</li>
Butter</li>
3-4 green onions</li>
Black pepper</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
*You can play with the proportions depending on how creamy or dry you want the mashed potatoes to be.</p>
Instructions</h2>

Peel and cut the potatoes into medium sized pieces.</li>
Put the potatoes in a pot with some water so that it covers the potatoes and boil them for about 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.</li>
About ten minutes before removing the potatoes from the boiling water, cut the bacon into little pieces and fry it.</li>
Warm up the milk and mayonnaise.</li>
Shred the cheese.</li>
When the potatoes are done, remove all water from the pot, add the warm milk and mayonnaise mix, add some butter, and mash with a potato masher or a blender.</li>
Add some salt, black pepper and garlic powder to taste and continue mashing the mix.</li>
Once the mix is somewhat homogeneous and the potatoes are properly mashed, add the shredded cheese and fried bacon and mix a little.</li>
Serve and top with chopped green onions.</li> </ol>

Cheesy Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

2020-06-07T00:07:19+00:00

</p>
This recipe is a little bit more elaborate than the other ones I've posted, but it's still worth the time and effort to prepare. Nothing beats meat, cheese and tomato combined together to create the best combination of flavors that man has created.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
The quantities here are for about two adult portions. That is, if you are also making some side dish, like in the photo.</p>
For the meatballs:</p>

300-400g of ground beef meat</li>
1/4 of an onion</li>
~70g of cheese; I have made with different cheese types, but usually I use Gouda</li>
Parsley</li>
1-2 garlic cloves</li>
1 egg</li>
~1/5 metric cups (~50ml) of bread crumbs</li>
Salt</li> </ul>
For the sauce:</p>

Tomato sauce; you can take a look at a recipe here</a>.</li>
Oregano</li>
Basil</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Beat the egg(s) in a large bowl.</li>
Add in the ground beef, and the bread crumbs and mix.</li>
Chop the onion into small pieces and add it to the bowl.</li>
Mince the garlic cloves and add to the bowl.</li>
Dice the parsley leaves and add to the bowl.</li>
Salt the beef mix, add some pepper and mix it thoroughly.</li>
Cut the cheese into cubes. The amount of cubes you will need will depend on how many meatballs you make, which depends on how big you want to make the meatballs. You get the idea.</li>
Take a cheese cube and wrap with enough ground meat to completely cover it. Repeat this process until you've run out of the ground beef mix.</li>
Heat the frying pan, add some olive oil, and add the meatballs. Cook over medium heat rolling the meatballs from time to time until they are slightly brown from all sides (wait, spheres have no sides).</li>
When the meatballs look done, pour the tomato sauce; add the dried oregano and basil, and ground black pepper; and salt to taste.</li>
Cook over medium-low heat for about ten minutes rolling the meatballs so that they get completely bathed in tomato sauce.</li>
Serve with some side dish and enjoy!</li> </ol>

Parmesan potatoes

2020-06-06T15:51:39+00:00

</p>
A recipe that's easy and fast to prepare (I think I've said this too many times already). You can have this as a side dish, or for breakfast. Well, you can have it whenever and wherever you want if you are cooking it! We are grown ups here after all.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
As you can already probably imagine, this dish doesn't require a lot of ingredients. The quantities are for one average hungry student. If you want to have it as a side dish this should be enough for two persons.</p>

2-3 medium-sized potatoes</li>
Butter</li>
Parmesan cheese</li>
Rosemary; dried should be fine, but fresh is obviously better</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Cut the potatoes into small cubes.</li>
Add some butter to a frying pan and heat up.</li>
Add potatoes to frying pan, salt them and fry over medium heat for about 20 minutes moving the potatoes from time to time.</li>
About 3-5 minutes before removing the potatoes from the heat, add some rosemary leaves a stir the potatoes.</li>
Remove potatoes from pan, serve and add shredded Parmesan and some freshly ground pepper on top.</li>
Enjoy!</li> </ol>

Pan-seared Chicken Fillet

2020-06-06T12:14:10+00:00

</p>
This is a quick and easy recipe to prepare delicious chicken fillets that are juicy on the inside, and crisp on the outside.</p> </span>
Ingredients</h2>
For this recipe I don't use any exact proportions, it's just a matter of cooking it one time to get a sense of what the ideal proportions for you are.</p>

Chicken fillet(s); I normally use chicken breasts</li>
Wheat flour</li>
Paprika</li>
Garlic powder</li>
Herbes de Provence</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Rinse the chicken fillets.</li>
Remove excess moisture from the fillets by patting them with a paper towel.</li>
If the fillets are too thick, cut it in half.</li>
In a small container, pout enough flour and mix in paprika, garlic powder, Provence herbs, salt, and black pepper to your liking.</li>
Add a little cooking oil to the pan and heat it up to medium-high heat.</li>
Coat the fillets by rolling them in the wheat mix.</li>
Once the pan is hot, put the fillets on the pan and sear each side for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.</li>
As a final tip, if your fillet is too thick after all, you can just lower the heat at the end and cook it for about 2-3 more minutes.</li>
And that's it. Winner winner chicken dinner!</li> </ol>

Country Breakfast Skillet

2020-06-03T21:40:00+00:00

</p>
If you are feeling quite hungry after just waking up and want to have a breakfast to fill your HP and stamina bars for the day, I've got just the perfect recipe for you.</p> </span>
To be honest, this is more of a build-your-own dish. What I am providing here, I would say, is more of a starting point and you're more than welcome to add (or remove) anything you'd like. I also have to say that this is not exclusively a breakfast dish, I've had it for breakfast, for lunch, for supper, for dinner, etc. Although, I guess when you're a student just any food at any time of the day will do.</p>
Ingredients</h2>
Since I more often than not cook this only for myself, the ingredient list below is calculated for one person. Once more, this is not a strict ingredient list, so you can really add anything you want. I would say that the only ingredients that are a most are the eggs and the potatoes. The rest of the ingredients I will mark with * for the ones that I usually use, and ** for ingredients that I have used, but seldom use.</p>

2 eggs</li>
2 small/medium-sized potatoes</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li>
4-6 bacon stripes*</li>
½ an onion*</li>
Cheese (I usually use Gouda)*</li>
Paprika*</li>
A couple of Champignon 'shrooms**</li>
Some slices of bell pepper**</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Cut the bacon into pieces and fry it on a pan.</li>
Cut the potatoes into small cubes.</li>
After frying the bacon, set aside and use the bacon grease to fry the potatoes over medium/medium-low heat for about 20 minutes.</li>
Add some salt and paprika to the potatoes, mix well and cook for another ten minutes.</li>
Cut the onions and add them to the frying pan. Cook for about five minutes.</li>
If you decide to add some vegetables, like mushrooms or peppers, add them now.</li>
Now, there are two ways you can cook the eggs.*

Beat the eggs in a bowl and the pour them onto the pan.</li>
Or just crack the eggs directly on the mix in the pan and mix everything thoroughly.</li> </ul> </li>
Cut the cheese into small slices and add it.</li>
Cook for a couple of minutes more, until eggs are cooked enough. Don't let the eggs dry (unless that's the way you like your eggs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).</li>
For the final touch, chop the parsley (or whatever other spices/herbs you decided to use) and add it on top.</li>
Serve hot and add some freshly ground pepper.</li> </ol>
*Personally, I prefer to beat the eggs first in a bowl before adding them to the frying pan.</p>

Spaghetti alla carbonara

2020-06-03T20:51:00+00:00

</a></p>
I don't know many pasta or spaghetti recipes, but this is definitely one of my favorite. You don't need many ingredients to cook it, and it is very fast and easy to cook. This is of course not the "original" version, but rather my own version of the dish. I do believe it is still quite delicious.</p> </span>
The main difference is that the original recipe uses pancetta (a type of Italian salami). However, since nobody sells that where I live, I use bacon, which is the next best thing (and because I love bacon). I also add some sour cream to the egg mix to make the sauce more creamy, but you can forgo that if you'd like.</p>
Ingredients</h2>
Here is the ingredient list for about two adult-sized portions.</p>

5—6 egg yolks</li>
250g spaghetti</li>
10—12 bacon stripes</li>
1—2 tablespoon sour cream (optional)</li>
Some Parmigiano (Parmesan cheese)</li>
Salt</li>
Black pepper</li>
Olive oil</li> </ul>
Instructions</h2>

Boil some water in a pot and add some salt to it. After the water has begun to boil add the spaghetti and cook it al dente.</li>
Cut the bacon stripes and fry them on a frying pan over medium heat.</li>
While the spaghetti and the bacon are being cooked, prepare the sauce. Beat the yolks in a bowl and add a spoonful of sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Shred the Parmesano and add it to the sauce mix. How much Parmesano you want to add depends on your taste, I like to add as much Parmesano as about half the volume of the egg mix (i.e. plenty).</li>
Once the spaghetti is done, drain it, add some olive oil to the frying pan with the bacon, and add the spaghetti to the frying pan. Sauté for about 3 minutes over medium-low heat.</li>
Turn off the flame (very important) and add the egg and cheese sauce to the pan and mix thoroughly.</li>
Serve and enjoy!</li> </ol>

A collection of recipes by Yaroslav de la Peña Smirnov

Pour-Over Coffee

Country Style Potatoes

Sour Cream Dip

Juicy Roasted Chicken

Beef Stroganov

Basic Mashed Potatoes

Potato Draniki

French Press Coffee

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

Ingredients</h2> The following ingredients are for two hearty adult portions:</p> 400g ground beef</li> 1 medium onion</li> 200g spaghetti</li>

Basic Tomato Sauce

Classic Quesadillas

Ingredients</h2> The only required ingredients are these:</p> Tortillas; either corn or flour tortillas, I usually make them with flour tortillas</li>

Paprika potatoes

Rosemary Pork Chops

Chicken Soup

Prerequisite</h2> I use the broth in this recipe</a> as base for this soup. I also use the chicken meat from that same recipe.</p>

Fragrant Chicken Broth

Ingredients</h2> The quantities will depend on how much broth you want to make:</p>

Refreshing Limeade

Russian Bliny

Ingredients</h2> The following ingredients should yield about 15 blinys.</p> 300—400g wheat flour</li> 700—900ml milk</li> 2 teaspoons baking soda</li> 2—3 eggs</li> 1 teaspoon olive oil or melted butter</li> Butter</li> Boiling water</li> Sugar</li>

Sunday Morning Milkshake

Spicy Chili con Carne

Refried Beans

Pasta Navy Style

Fresh Guacamole

Beef Goulash

Merchant's Buckwheat

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Cheesy Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients</h2> The quantities here are for about two adult portions. That is, if you are also making some side dish, like in the photo.</p> For the meatballs:</p>

Parmesan potatoes

Pan-seared Chicken Fillet

Country Breakfast Skillet

Spaghetti alla carbonara

Prerequisite</h2>
I use the broth in this recipe</a> as base for this soup. I also use the chicken meat from that same recipe.</p>