Health Benefits of Carrots

Carrot is a rich source of carotene that turns into vitamin A in our body. No other fruit or vegetable has as much carotene as the carrot.

Health Benefits of Celery

Celery is one of the best spicy plants. Essential oils are responsible for its fabulous odor and distinctive taste. In addition to useful substances and minerals, celery offers vitamin U.

Health Benefits of Cauliflower

Due to its texture, cauliflower is easily-digested compared to other sorts of cabbage, so it is a good diet meal.

For this appetizer recipe you will need fried Brussels sprout and pickled vegetables. You can buy pickled vegetables, but it is better to make them at home using our easy recipe. You can change brine ingredients to suit your taste.

Ingredients for Pickled Vegetable Appetizer

300 g Brussels sprout
1 large carrot
1 celery
1 medium head of cauliflower
3 pickles
3 tablespoons (50 g ) butter

Ingredients for the Brine

3 garlic cloves
Coarsely ground coriander
Salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar to taste
2 onions
5 tablespoons (70 ml) vegetable oil
Saffron

Recipe of Pickled Vegetable Appetizer

• Finely grate carrot and celery, break cauliflower into buds.
• Place ingredients into separate bowls, add salt, pepper and sugar to taste.
• Fry finely chopped onions in a large amount of vegetable oil until brown and sprinkle with coriander heavily.
• Mash grated carrot and celery with hands until juicy, otherwise vegetables will be hard.
• Then combine onion mixture with vegetables and add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar.
• Add a pinch of saffron to celery and cauliflower to give it yellow color.
• Then chop garlic finely and add to vegetables. Let stand for 2-3 hours.
• Fry Brussels sprout in butter from all sides and season with salt.
• Place Brussels sprout, cut pickles and pickled vegetables on a serving plate.
• Serve as a side dish to meat, poultry and fish.

Ingredients for Nettle Sauce

1 lb (1/2 kg) young nettle
1 onion
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons (50 ml) olive oil
1 cup (200 ml) chicken broth
3 tablespoons (50 g) sour cream
Salt to taste

Recipe of Nettle Sauce

• Soak nettle in cold water for half an hour.
• Rinse thoroughly with running water.
• Use colander to drain water.
• Sort out leaves, remove roots and firm stems. Boil in salted water for 4-5 minutes.
• Put in colander and press slightly.
• Finely chop nettle.
• Fry flour in a frying pan until cream-colored, stirring regularly.
• Then pour oil in and add finely chopped onion.
• When onion becomes golden, pour chicken broth in, stirring regularly.
• Add boiled and chopped nettle.
• Stirring continuously, bring sauce to a boil.
• Now add sour cream.
• Let boil for 2 minutes and sauce is ready.
• Garnish with parsley or lettuce leaves and serve.

Ingredients for Pork Chops

800 g to 1 kg pork (brisket)
2 eggs
100 g flour
Salt, black pepper to taste
100 vegetable oil
1 onion.

Recipe of Pork Chops

• Cut the meat across fibers into pieces 1,5-2 cm in thickness.
• Tenderize the meat from each side so that it becomes half as thick.
• Salt the meat and add pepper from both sides to your taste.
• Roll the pieces in flour, remove excess flour.
• Fold in the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork.
• Then quickly dip the meat pieces in the eggs and place them on a warm frying pan with oil. Note, that there should be enough oil to prevent the meat from being burnt.
• Fry every meat piece until it becomes golden brown for about 5-6 minutes from each side.
• Serve the pork chops hot with onion rings, cucumber prickles and sweet pepper and any side dish to your taste.

Onion is eaten fresh, marinated, boiled and fried. Due to its high nutritional value it is indispensable in cooking and flavoring of different dishes. Onion is used in lots of recipes: fresh onions – in salads, fried onions are a perfect garnish to meat or fish. The tastiest variant of onions is to fry little onion bulbs. Onion is always used in various sauces and soups.

Fried eggs are especially tasty with onions, they become sweetish and flavored. The crowning glory of all Italians is “Venetian liver” (“Fregato alla veneziana”), which is prepared with a lot of onion; due to it the liver becomes extremely tender. Beans can also be prepared with onion, black olives and capers. Onion is very tasty and is an important ingredient in health maintenance.

Medical Properties and Health Benefits of Onion

• Onions secrets a lot of phytoncids killing pathogenic microbes, this is why it is widely used as remedy for catarrhal diseases: flu, angina, suppurative lung inflammation, catarrh and cough.
• Onion is used for the treatment of bronchial asthma.
• Onion prevents from prostatic hypertrophy. Even in ancient Egypt onion decoction was considered an aphrodisiac.
• Onion prevents atherosclerotic plaques.
• Onions reduce blood coagulation, prevents atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. One onion bulb can have the same effect as cardio aspirin.
• This vegetable improves kidney function and absorbs nitrogen from blood.
• Onion also has an anticarcinogenic effect.
• It stimulates digestion and regulated bowels function removing putrefactive microorganisms.

As wee see, onion is very beneficial to your health. Medical properties of onion exceed those in many drugs, which normally have side effects.

Substances Contained in Onion

Here is the list of substances contained in onion:

• magnesium, calcium,
• sodium, chlor,
• sulphur, phosphorus, iron,
• essential oils,
• ascorbic acid,
• vitamins PP, B, A.

There was a cardiologist in the USA, who once read an ancient Egyptian papyrus about health properties of onion. He decided to test these properties with his patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases (of course, with their consent). These patients had low levels of “good” cholesterol” (HDL). On the doctor’s advice they ate one little onion a day. And after two months had passed, all patients had better cholesterol levels. The properties of “good” cholesterol are to absorb bad cholesterol (LDL) from blood and bring it to the liver, which destroys it. Thus, the information from the ancient papyrus can be confirmed even today. In order to achieve more medical effect, it’s recommended to eat fresh onion. And to get rid of onion breath odor, just chew a twig of parsley or a piece of lemon with skin.

In order to know, if the meat is ready, press it or prick with a fork. If there appears red juice, your steak is medium-rare, if the juice is light, the steak is well done. Many people like medium-rare steaks, that is, with blood. This is safe only if you prepare beef.

Ingredients for Beef Steak

600-500 g veal
30 ml olive oil
Salt, oregano to taste
2 twigs of parsley
1 onion
1 tomato

Recipe of Beefsteak

• Cut the meat across fibres into pieces of about 1,5 cm in thickness.
• Tenderize the meat a bit from both sides.
• Roast the steaks on a burning hot frying pan without oil for no more than 3-4 minutes from each side.
• The longer you roast the meat, the tougher the steaks.
• As soon as both sides of the meat become brown, the beefsteak is ready.
• Serve hot. When the steaks are already on the serving dish, add salt and oregano and pour with olive oil.
• For the garnish ring onion, tomatoes and add parsley.

Ingredients for Red Beetroot Salad Vinegret

1 red beetroot,
1 carrot,
2 potatoes,
3-4 pickled cucumbers,
1 onion,
20 g capers,
50 g black olives,
Olive oil to taste,
Salt to taste.

Recipe of Red Beetroot Salad Vinegret

• Wash carrot, potatoes and beetroot.
• Boil them whole till they become soft. Don’t peel before boiling.
• Cool the boiled vegetables and peel them.
• Dice the vegetables. The dices should be small.
• Chop onion and pickled cucumbers.
• Wash capers from salt and cut as well.
• Cut some of the olives into small pieces and leave the rest whole to decorate the salad.
• Mix all salad ingredients, add salt and olive oil to your taste.
• Serve on lettuce leaves and decorate with olives and beetroot cloves.

Ingredients for Cupcakes with Raisin

100 g butter,
200 g sour crème,
150 g sugar,
3 eggs,
50 g raisin,
300 meal,
1 small packet vanilla sugar,
1 teaspoon of baking soda,
1 tablespoon of vinegar,
Salt to taste.

Recipe of Cupcakes with Raisin

• Soften the butter and rub with sugar.
• Add sour crème, eggs, a bit of salt and beat everything.
• Then dissolve soda in vinegar and add to this mixture.
• Add meal and raisin and mix everything thoroughly quickly.
• The dough should look like thick sour crème (like that for thick pancakes). If your dough is a bit too watery, add more meal and mix again.
• Place the dough with a spoon into baking cups washed over with butter or vegetable oil.
• Then place the baking cups with the dough into the oven.
• Bake at 180 C degree till they get a light brown crust.

The baking time depends on the size of the baking cup. If you bake cupcakes in little baking cups, then it will take about 30 minutes. If you bake one big cake, you will need about one hour.
After the cupcakes are ready and cool a bit, if you want, you can scatter them with powdery sugar.

Ingredients for Baked Filet of Black Sea Bass

500 g of black sea bass filet,
2 garlic cloves,
10 g of capers,
50 g of olive mayonnaise,
Salt to taste,
Olive oil.

Recipe of Baked Filet of Black Sea Bass

• If you bought frozen filet, defrost it.
• Wash the filet and leave it to dry a little.
• Rub the garlic.
• Rinse the capers to remove salt from them. Cut them into small pieces
• Grease the baking tray with oil.
• Place the fish on the baking tray.
• Lay rubbed garlic and cut capers on the filet.
• Grease the filet with mayonnaise.
• If needed, add salt to taste, but note, that capers are salted, too.
• Bake at 150-180 C degrees for about 20 minutes.
• When the filet turns brown, it’s ready.
• Serve with lemon and black olives.

Ingredients for Strawberry Pie

150 g of butter,
150 g of sugar,
3 eggs,
1 teaspoon of baking soda,
1 tablespoon of vinegar,
Salt to taste,
150 g of Strawberry jam,
250 g of flour.

Recipe of Strawberry Pie

• Soften the butter and rub it with sugar thoroughly.
• Beat eggs and add to the rubbed butter.
• Add a bit of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar beforehand.
• Add flour and knead the pastry.
• Knead it very well and add as much flour as you need so that it doesn’t adhere to your hands.

And here’s a small secret: sandy pastry doesn’t like, when you knead it very long. You should knead it quickly and bake right after it. It shouldn’t take much time.

• Grease the baking tray with oil and lay the even layer of the pastry on it and leave some pastry to decorate the top of the pie.
• Mix strawberry jam with flour not to let it spread.
• Lay the prepared jam-flour mixture over the pastry and make it even over the entire pie surface.
• Place the pastry patterns over the jam, form some balls, or lines, or whatever patterns you like – everything to your taste.
• Place to the preheated oven and bake at 150-180 C degrees for about 20-30 minutes.
• When the entire pie browns, it’s ready.

Яблони разводят в большинстве областей с умеренным климатом Европы и Центральной Азии. Коммерческие сады размещены в местах, где не бывает больших перепадов температур, а почва плодородная и достаточно воды для полива. Главные мировые производители яблок — Италия, Франция, Испания, Китай, США, Канада, Аргентина, Австралия. Италия экспортирует яблоки в Англию, Германию и Швейцарию.
  По времени созревания отличают летние, осенние и зимние сорта, более поздние сорта отличаются хорошей стойкостью, и долго хранятся. Зимние сорта собирают не зрелыми и они дозревают медленно, до января месяца.

Вместе с яблоками отлично созревает хурма. Если её поместить в пакет с одним яблоком, оно выделяет газ - этилен, и хурма становится необычайно сладкой и зрелой.

Плоды содержат:

• органические кислоты, сахара,
• витамины С, А, В1, каротин,
• дубильные и пектиновые вещества,
• микроэлементы (железо, калий, кальций, магний и другие),
• эфирное масло, и другие вещества.

Плоды употребляют в основном в свежем виде и в виде сухофруктов. Из них готовят соки, вина, сидр, джемы и, очень популярные, яблочные пироги.

По мнению ученых:

• Яблоки снижают уровень холестерина в крови, который является одним из основных виновников атеросклероза. Все дело в пектине и волокнах. Нерастворимые молекулы волокон прикрепляются к холестерину и способствуют выводу его из организма, тем самым, уменьшая риск закупорки сосудов, возникновения сердечных приступов.
• Яблоки также содержат растворимые волокна называемые пектинами, которые помогают связывать и выводить излишек холестерина, образующегося в печени.
• Исследователи обнаружили, что употребление 2 яблок в день снижает уровень холестерина на 16%.
• Доказано, что яблоки – эффективное средство профилактики и лечения ожирения, они уменьшают усвоение жиров, обладают низкой калорийностью, а наличие в них солей калия способствует выведению из организма излишков жидкости. Людям умственного труда, ведущим малоподвижный образ жизни, особенно необходимо ежедневное употребление яблок в целях профилактики преждевременного старения.
• В яблоках много солей железа и меди, поэтому их с успехом применяют и при лечении малокровия, для этого лучше употреблять кислые сорта.
• Кожура яблока содержит большое количество антиоксиданта кверцетина, который вместе с витамином С не позволяет свободным радикалам оказывать вредное воздействие на организм.
• Исследователи полагают, что пектин способен связывать поступающие в организм вредные вещества, такие как свинец и мышьяк, и выводить их из организма.
• Нерастворимые волокна в яблоках предотвращают запоры и выводят вредные вещества из организма, тем самым снижая вероятность развития рака толстой кишки.
• Яблоко способствует нормализации пищеварения. Пектин лечит диарею. Традиционно яблоки считаются хорошим естественным средством против расстройства желудка. На это есть свои причины: в яблоке содержатся яблочная и винная кислоты, способствующие пищеварению.
• Кроме того, яблоки укрепляют иммунную систему и помогают поддерживать постоянный уровень сахара в крови. Лучше всего употреблять яблоки в сыром виде, но и после небольшой термической обработки они сохраняют большинство своих питательных веществ. Старайтесь не срезать кожуру, так как в ней содержится большое количество пектина и волокон.
• Как выяснили ученые, всего одно яблоко в день существенно снижает риск инсульта. Профилактический эффект яблок, возможно, связан с феноликовыми кислотами, которые относятся к группе антиоксидантов. Феноликовые кислоты также препятствуют образованию тромбов.
• Ежедневный стакан яблочного сока - отличное средство для укрепления волос и гладкости кожи. Словом, недаром говорят: “Если хочешь быть молодым ешь яблоки”.

Harvesting of Capers

Harvesting starts in late spring and finishes at the end of summer. Capers are picked only by hand. Harvesting is carried out every ten days while the same plants produce new fresh buds. An average shrub produces from 500 g to 3 kg of buds (1-6.6lb). The smallest buds, up to 1 cm (0.4 inch) in length, are considered to be of the finest quality and are the most expensive. Salted or pickled caper buds are regarded to as delicacy.

Processing of Capers

The major part of the processing is performed manually. The ideal caper bud must be small, round and firm. Selling the finest capers on the global market is as profitable as selling grapes. Buds longer than 1 cm (0.4 inch) are less valued. To achieve a distinctive taste of capers, buds should age in coarse salt brine for, at least, 90 days. Processed capers have a sour, salty, spicy and astringent taste.

Culinary Uses of Capers

Capers can enrich and give zest to any dish. It is used in many special recipes, but they seem to be the perfect combination with large black olives. Capers also go well with cold beef, fish and poultry. They are ingredients in fresh vegetable salads, sauces and soups. Caper oil extracted from capers improves suntan and protects skin from ultraviolet emission. To make oil, capers are soaked in olive oil and extracted under high pressure.

Capers and Healthy Skin

Capers are both tasty and healthy. They contain a special alkaloid that is used in many drugs to treat skin allergies. Flower buds contain 29% of protein substances, 6% of fats, 0,32% of rutin, up to 150 mg vitamin C, essential oil and pectin. They provide us with vitamins, sugar, organic acids, glycosides and flavonoids. The most important flavonoid is rutin that is named after the plant Ruta graveolens. White coat that is sometimes seen on the surface of dried capers is actually crystals of rutin. Since ancient times, capers have been used in traditional medicine all over the world

Useful Properties of Capers

• Capers have a wound healing effect and may help strengthen heart and ease pain.
• They are choleretic and diuretic agents.
• Capers are reported to lower blood pressure.
• Herbal tea made from caper roots is beneficial against rheumatism.
• Caper roots are chewed to cure teeth ache.
• Caper root tea is drunk against neurosis.
• Caper berries is a remedy against thyroid gland diseases as well as against gum and tooth diseases.
• Oil extracted from capers is a good massage oil.
• Capers have anticarcinogenic properties.

Nevertheless, capers are best known in culinary where they are chiefly used to stimulate digestion and excite appetite.

Ingredients for Pancakes

1 cup (200 g) flour
1 cup (200 ml) milk
2 eggs
Vegetable oil
Salt and sugar to taste
Pinch of baking soda.

Ingredients for Filling

300 g fat cottage cheese
150 g cherry jam
Sugar to taste
Vanilla to taste

Recipe of Pancakes with Cherry

• Break two eggs into a bowl.
• Pour a cup of milk.
• Add sugar and salt to taste.
• Mix well.
• Then add flour, baking soda and a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
• Whisk everything thoroughly until a smooth batter.
• Heat frying pan well (cast-iron pan will be the best option) and coat with oil.
• Add a ladle of the batter and move the mixture around to spread batter evenly over the pan. One ladle of the batter makes one pancake.
• Make pancakes over high heat and cook each side for about 1-2 minutes.
• Cook until brown.
• For filling, mix cottage cheese, sugar and vanilla well.
• Take cherries out of syrup.
• Place cherries along one half of pancake.
• Now put cottage cheese on top of cherries.
• Roll pancakes up.
• Then cut each roll into 4-5 pieces.
• Place on a serving plate, garnish with cherries and serve. This recipe serves 4-5 pancakes.

Ingredients for Salmon Cream Soup

300 g salmon
1 carrot
1 onion
2 potatoes
30 g capers
50 g olives
3 tablespoons sour cream or cream
1 tomato
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 bay leaves
Fennel and salt to taste

Recipe of Salmon Cream Soup

• Scale fish and cut into pieces.
• Add 1 liter (2 pt) of water and boil for 10 minutes.
• Remove fish.
• Put carrot, onion, tomato and potatoes (peeled and cut into large pieces) in the fish broth.
• As soon as the broth boils, add bay leaves and season with salt to taste.
• Boil for 15 minutes.
• When vegetables become tender, put them in a blender and beat with sour cream or cream.
• Strain the fish broth.
• Now put the vegetable mixture in the broth.
• Add a tablespoon of tomato paste, capers and olives.
• Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Remove bones from the fish and put back in boiling broth.
• Sprinkle with chopped fennel and serve immediately.

Ingredients for Lovers Salad “San Valentino”

1 avocado
3 tomatoes
200 g shell shrimps
5 quail eggs
Lemon juice of a half lemon
3 bay leaves
1 onion
Salt to taste

Recipe of Lovers Salad “San Valentino”

• Boil eggs, peel and chop finely.
• Wash avocado and cut along. Remove pit and use spoon to take out flesh.
• Sprinkle with lemon juice to avoid oxidation.
• Mash the flesh with a fork or cut into small dices.
• Boil shrimps with bay leaves and remove shells.
• Finely chop shrimps and save a few of them for garnishing.
• Cut onion and tomatoes (save one tomato for garnishing) into small dices.
• Combine avocado flesh, eggs, tomatoes, onion and shrimps.
• Add salt to taste and mix everything together.
• Fill halves of avocado with the salad.
• Garnish with greens, tomatoes and shrimp.

Useful Substances in Garlic

Garlic contains a wide range of trace minerals. These include nitrogenous matter, natrium, kalium, calcium and magnesium. It is a source of various acids such as silicic, sulfuric and phosphoric acids. The chemical composition of garlic also includes vitamins C and D, the B-vitamins, phytosterols, extractive substances, phytoncids and volatile oils. In addition, garlic contains selenium that is known for its antioxidant properties.

Health Benefits of Garlic

In phytotherapy, garlic is used as a remedy with the following effects:

• gastrointestinal
• vitaminizing
• diuretic
• sweating
• cardiovascular
• blood-pressure lowering
• anesthetic and wound healing
• antimicrobial, anthelmintic and antitoxic
• cancer prevention
• brain circulation improvement

Garlic Study

Studies conducted at the University of Southern California Medical Center have found that garlic eliminates glioblastoma cells, or brain cancer cells. Those studies revealed that garlic-based drugs effectively kill malignant tumor cells.

Garlic Cures Naturally

Recently, Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” has published a story about a patient who was in a long coma after suffering blood stroke and who checked out after fifty days at the hospital, completely exhausted by drugs. Instead of taking his medicine, he began to cure himself with garlic. Now, he has fully recovered and is lively. In fact, while helping cure our diseases, all synthetic drugs can cause other health problems. In contrast, the nature gives us many natural products with excellent therapeutic properties, and garlic is no exception.

Garlic Use in Culinary

In culinary, garlic is used as seasoning for soups, sauces, meat, vegetables, mushrooms, fish, eggs as well as for cooking poultry and seafood. Garlic gives pickles and marinades their nice smell and keeps them from perishing. In some countries, garlic stalks come with some salads and meat dishes. Stalks are significantly richer in vitamin C than cloves (280 mg %).

How to Get Rid of Garlic Odor

However, there is one disadvantage of garlic. It causes bad breath. But you can get rid of garlic odor, if you chew a chunk of lemon, parsley stalk or root, or rinse your mouth with natural cow’s milk. If you don’t want your dishes smell too pungent, remove cores of garlic cloves.

Ingredients for Kelp Salad

200 g kelp
1 beet
2 garlic cloves
5 lettuce leaves
1 fl. oz (30 ml) olive oil
Ginger soy sauce to taste
Lemon juice of a half lemon
Salt to taste

Recipe of Kelp Salad

• Boil beet, peel and dice a half of it into large pieces.
• Finely chop another half and mix with kelp.
• Add chopped garlic.
• Season with salt to taste.
• Arrange lettuce leaves and beet dices on a plate.
• Put kelp on top.
• Dress with the mixture of olive oil, ginger soy sauce and lemon juice and serve.

Ingredients for Three Color Squid Salad

1 lb squid
1 carrot
150 g canned green peas
5 quail eggs
2 garlic cloves
2 parsley stalks
20 g capers
½ cup (100 g) olive mayonnaise
Salt to taste
1 tomato and lettuce leaves for garnishing

Recipe of Three Color Squid Salad

• Wash and peel the squid body.
• Dip squid fillet and tentacles into boiling salted water for 5-6 minutes.
• Let cool and cut the squid fillet into strips. Do not cut tentacles as they look good whole on a serving plate.
• Boil carrot and quail eggs, chop finely.
• Mix the ingredients together: green peas, eggs, carrot, squid flesh, chopped parsley and capers.
• Add salt to taste and ground garlic cloves.
• Dress with olive mayo and mix everything well.
• Arrange on lettuce leaves, garnish with tomato pieces and green and serve.

Ingredients for Cranberry Dessert with Honey

150 g cranberry
2 tablespoons (30g) honey
Whipped cream to taste

Recipe of Cranberry Dessert with Honey

• Rinse cranberries.
• Use colander to drain water.
• Put into dessert bowl.
• Pour with honey over and mix well.
• Garnish with whipped cream.

Ingredients for Rooster Aspic

1 rooster
2 onions
1 carrot
4 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves
10 black pepper peas
1 parsley stalk
30 g olives
Salt to taste

Recipe of Rooster Aspic

• Wash the rooster, cut into pieces and put in pot.
• Cover meat with 0.5-1 inch of cold water.
• Boil over medium heat.
• As water boils, remove foam from broth with a skimmer.
• Then add washed, but unpeeled onion to give meat broth nice color.
• Add another onion (peeled and cut into large pieces).
• Put bay leaves, black pepper and salt to taste.
• Simmer over very low heat for two hours.
• Then peel and cut the carrot and add into meat broth.
• Let boil for two hours.
• Then add chopped garlic and turn the heat off. Cover with a lid and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Now take the meat out and arrange on plates.
• Before adding meat broth, check if it sets properly.
• Put a ladleful of broth into a small bowl and place in freezer.
• If this broth sets in 15-20 minutes, the aspic will set properly.
• If not, use gelatin: mix a spoonful of gelatin with a few tablespoons of broth, wait until gelatin swells and then combine with the rest of broth and heat until warm, but avoid boiling.
• Then strain the broth and pour over meat.
• Add pitted olives and garnish with parsley.
• Put in cold place.
• Serve when aspic sets properly.

Culinary Uses

Cranberry ranks high on the list of berries. These small scarlet berries have refreshing, acidic taste. They are processed into delicious sauces, jams, syrups and dried cranberries. Cranberries are perfect ingredients for making fruit salads and jellies. Cranberry juice can be mixed with other fruit juices. It really quenches your thirst and is a tasty way to stay healthy. Useful substances found in cranberry explain numerous health benefits of this berry.

Useful Substances in Cranberry Leaves

Cranberry leaves:

• contain tanning agents that have astringent and tonic properties and are useful for the treatment of hemorrhoids,
• have antiseptic action, it is a natural antibiotic and cranberry leaves tea is a remedy for cystitis,
• reduce blood sugar levels.

Useful Substances in Cranberry Berries

Many organic acids are found in cranberries, including citric (very high content), benzoic, quinic, oleanolic, and ursolic acids. All these acids improve cell metabolism. Because of their high acidity, cranberries excite the appetite and help increase salivary gland and gastric secretions in patients with secretory deficiency or low stomach acidity.

• Chemical composition of cranberry also includes proanthocyanidins. These substances inhibit bacteria from attaching to the inside walls of urinary tract and prevent urinary organs infection. Cranberry juice could help in treatment of urinary tract inflammation.
• Antioxidants are found at high concentrations in cranberries. For example, cranberry is the richest source of polyphenol. Antioxidant properties of the cranberry make it analogous to wine in its health benefits. These berries appear to inhibit growth of various harmful bacteria and help to flush out infectious microorganisms.
• Cranberry improves vitamin C uptake, binds and eliminates heavy metal compounds.
• Cranberry juice with honey is a helpful remedy for cold with fever and soar throat and may help to treat rheumatic disease and anemia.
• Phytophysicians say that cranberry is a natural energy tonic that boosts out mental and physical activity. Cranberry is rich in vitamin C, phosphorus, natrium, iron, manganese, aluminum and zinc.
• Fresh cranberry juice improves cholesterol metabolism and may aid in the prevention of clots within blood vessels and cardiovascular disease.
• Substances with P-vitamin activity strengthen blood vessels as well as maintain strength and flexibility of capillaries.
• Cranberry also helps in the treatment of the crystalline lens. Some early laboratory studies suggest that quercetin found in cranberries can stop the growth of cancer cells.

All above mentioned properties make cranberry the best preventive measure. You can eat it throughout the year as frozen cranberries perfectly maintain all useful properties.

Ingredients for Pasta with Beans and Mussels

2 lb shelled mussels
300 g pasta (gramina)
200 g beans
1 lb (500 g) tomatoes
3 tablespoons (50 ml) olive oil
30 g parsley
2-3 garlic cloves
Salt and red-pepper to taste.

Recipe of Pasta with Beans and Mussels

• Soak beans in cold water overnight.
• Boil soaked beans for an hour until soft.
• If you have fresh mussels, drop them in pot and heat.
• When mussels open, pull shells apart and remove flesh.
• Strain mussel water and use it later for sauce.
• If you have ready-made or frozen mussels, just pull them open and remove flesh. Also, strain the water left in the package.
• Put oil in pot and fry finely chopped garlic slightly.
• Then add parsley and tomatoes (diced into small pieces).
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer for several minutes and add mussel water.
• Then add boiled beans to the sauce and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, boil pasta in another pot and use colander to drain water.
• Then put pasta in sauce with beans.
• Toss everything well and serve immediately.

Ingredients for Fruit Milk Jelly

2/3 cup (150 ml) milk
½ (100 ml) cranberry juice
½ (100 ml) orange juice
35 g gelatin (10-12 g per ingredient)
Sugar to taste
Candied fruit for garnishing

Recipe of Fruit Milk Jelly

• Add a spoonful of sugar in milk and sprinkle with gelatin.
• Let rest for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• When gelatin swells, heat the milk until gelatin is fully dissolved.
• Make cranberry juice and add a spoonful of sugar.
• Sprinkle with gelatin.
• Let stand for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Boil cranberry juice until gelatin is fully dissolved.
• Then make orange juice and sweeten with sugar if needed.
• Add gelatin into cold juice.
• After 30 minutes, heat orange juice until gelatin is fully dissolved.
• Pour milk into moulds.
• Wait until milk mixture is firm.
• Then pour lukewarm orange juice mixture.
• Wait until set.
• Then pour milk mixture again.
• Pour cranberry juice mixture.
• Repeat the procedure until ingredients run out.
• Put jelly in cold place.
• When jelly is fully set, dip moulds into hot water for a few seconds to ensure jelly slide out easily.
• Arrange jelly on a plate and garnish with candied or fresh fruit.

Ingredients for Cornichon Salad

100 g bacon
100 g cheese
50 g cornichons
2 eggs
100 g pitted olives
Oregano to taste
3 parsley stalks
3 tablespoons (50 g) sour cream
1 tablespoon (20 g) mustard
20 g cranberry
1 tablespoon (20 ml) olive oil
Salt to taste

Recipe of Cornichon Salad

• Peel and finely chop hard-boiled eggs.
• Dice bacon.
• Coarsely grate cheese.
• Cut olives into rings.
• Combine everything together.
• Then make salad dressing.
• Finely chop parsley.
• Mix oregano, cranberries and parsley well.
• Blend sour cream, mustard and olive oil.
• Add salt to taste, stir everything well and salad dressing is ready.
• Dress salad and mix everything well.
• Let rest for an hour to ensure better taste.
• Garnish with greens, cranberries and olives.

Ingredients for Stuffed Champignons

1 lb (500 g) champignons
50 g cheese
1 onion
1 tablespoon (30 g) mayonnaise
1 parsley stalk
1 tablespoon (30 ml) olive oil
Black pepper, salt to taste

Recipe of Stuffed Champignons

• Wash champignons.
• Remove stems and core from mushrooms.
• Finely chop stems and cores.
• Chop onion.
• Fry stems and onion together in olive oil until golden.
• Add finely chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
• Stir everything well.
• Stuff mushroom caps with the mixture.
• Put some mayo on top of stuffing.
• Sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes at the temperature of 300 F (150 C).
• Then arrange on a serving plate carefully. Garnish with lettuce, carrot, lemon chunks or whatever you like.
• Serve hot or as a cold appetizer.

Ingredients for Pasta with Tuna

300 g canned tuna
250 g pasta (Tortiglioni)
250 g tomatoes
3 tablespoons (50 ml) olive oil
3 garlic cloves
20 g capers
2 parsley stalks
Salt to taste

Recipe of Pasta with Tuna

• Cut tomatoes into small pieces.
• Finely chop garlic.
• Sauté garlic cloves in olive oil until golden.
• Then add chopped parsley, tomatoes and salt.
• Simmer everything together for 15 minutes.
• Then add tuna meat to sauce and stir everything well.
• Boil pasta until done and drain.
• Put hot pasta on a plate and place tuna with sauce on top.
• Serve this dish hot.

Ingredients for Goose with Dried Plump

5.5-6 lb goose
½ cup (100 g) sour cream
3 tablespoons (50 g) mustard
2 tablespoons (30 g) mayonnaise
3 garlic cloves
300 g dried plump with walnut stuffing
2 parsley stalks
Salt and meat spices to taste

Recipe of Goose with Dried Plump

• Wash goose. Remove insides (heart, liver and stomach) and cut meat into pieces.
• Blend sour cream, mayo and mustard.
• Add ground garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
• Rub goose carcass inside and out with this mixture.
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours to ensure proper soaking.
• Then fill the cavity of goose with insides, dried plump with walnut stuffing and parsley.
• Place goose on a baking tray and tent with foil.
• Bake for 2 hours at the temperature of 350-400 F (180-200 C).
• Then unwrap foil and bake for about an hour.
• Goose is ready when its crust turns nicely brown.

Ingredients for Meat Rolls

2 lb meat
100 g cheese
200 g mushrooms
100 g carrots
3 garlic cloves
Meat spices
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons (50 ml) olive oil
Breadcrumbs
Flour
2 eggs

Recipe of Meat Rolls

• Wash meat and cut along fibers into 0.5-inch thick slices.
• Lightly pound both sides with a mallet.
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices to taste.
• Finely chop mushrooms and fry with chopped garlic until golden.
• Cut cheese into long strips.
• Use pickled carrot strips.
• Put mushrooms, carrot strips and cheese on the meat.
• Roll it up carefully.
• Then roll well in flour, dip in beaten eggs and roll in breadcrumbs.
• Fry each side in olive oil until nicely brown.
• Arrange on a serving plate and garnish with vegetables.

Ingredients for Grilled Tiger Shrimp

1 lb tiger shrimp
2 lemons
1 tablespoon (20 ml) olive oil
Salt to taste

Recipe of Grilled Tiger Shrimp

• Rinse shrimp in running water.
• Dry with paper towels.
• In a bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
• Sprinkle shrimp with this mixture.
• Let marinade for 30 minutes.
• Place shrimp on the preheated grill.
• Grill each side for 3 minutes.
• It is done when shells turn red.
• Serve hot or cold.
• Cover grilled shrimp with lime juice if desired.

Ingredients for Fruit Salad with Dates

1 lb tangerines
100 g dried apricot
100 g date
Honey to taste

Recipe of Fruit Salad with Dates

• Peel tangerines, remove inner membranes and cut into dices.
• Wash dried apricots in warm water and chop finely.
• Pit and wash dates.
• Combine and place into a salad bowl.
• Pour honey or yogurt over.
• You can use no sauce as tangerines are juicy enough.

Ingredients for Lamb Shashlik

2 lb lamb
3 onions
4 bay leaves
½ cup (100 ml) vinegar
½ (100 ml) water
Black pepper
Meat spices and salt to taste

Recipe of Lamb Shashlik

• Rinse meat and cut into medium pieces.
• For marinade, dissolve vinegar in water.
• Add onion (cut into rings), bay leaf and pepper.
• Sprinkle with spices and add salt to taste.
• Put meat into marinade and marinate for 3-4 hours.
• Then thread the meat onto skewers.
• Additionally sprinkle with spices if desired.
• Cook on grill until brown, turning skewers frequently.
• Be careful not to overcook and spray with marinade if needed.
• Serve shashlik immediately with vegetables.