3-Ingredient No-Bake Cookies

I know I mention this all the time but I have the hardest time cooking in Russia. I can never find the ingredients I need when I go to the store, and sometimes I just don't have the right equipment in my house. This is especially the case with desserts. No matter what I do my desserts never seem to turn out right. For the past few months I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas. I would come across no-bake cookies, but they always called for that one ingredient I could never find: peanut butter. In December I managed to find peanut butter but forgot about my desire to make those no-bake cookies. A few weeks ago I resumed my search for a recipe that I could follow. All the no-bake recipes called for ingredients like cocoa powder. I felt defeated. Then, I found it. The three-ingredient no-bake cookie of my dreams. One that called for honey and not a stick of butter. There is no short supply of honey in Bashkortostan.

Mulled Wine

In December I met my friend Alesya for dinner. She asked if I ever had глинтвейн. Of course I had never heard of it because my Russian is horrible and then she translated it and I still had no idea what it was. She ordered them for us and I was in Heaven.

Fast forward to my St. Petersburg trip with Katherine and I suggest that we order them. We've been obsessed ever since. Any time we go to a restaurant that has mulled wine we text the other person to let them know. We decided that we would try to make our own to save some money and I'm glad we did. It was our first attempt and it turned out GREAT!

What you need:

• 1 (750 mL) bottle of dry red wine
• 1/4 cup Cognac (We used Cranberry Cognac, but you can also use rum or brandy)
• 1/4 cup of honey (or 1/3 cup of honey and 2 Tbs of sugar)
• 1 large orange (half for mix and half for garnish)
• 1 large apple (half for mix and half for garnish)
• 2 Tbs of cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 whole cloves

Directions 

1. Combine all the ingredients, including (except of the half fruits that will be used as garnish) into a non-aluminum pot. Cook on low bring the mixture to a simmer but not letting it boil. I have a gas stove so it heats up mixtures really quick. If you have an electric stove I would suggest setting it to medium-high until it starts to simmer and then setting it to low. 
2. Let simmer for 30 minutes-2 hours. I stirred often until the honey was complete dissolved.
3. Strain the mixture, and serve warm. Add additional fruit and cinnamon sticks to your glass for garnish. You can also eat the boozy fruits later. 

Cabbage and Noodles

When I was living with my grandma she often stopped at this pierogi place and buy a bag of pre-made cabbage and noodles. It was my favorite. Who knew cabbage and noodles could taste so good. I've been struggling to cook here in Russia because I'm not familiar with a lot of the ingredients and they make a lot of stuff from scratch (like I had to make my own evaporate milk once). I've been trying to find recipes with as few ingredients as possible. Russians love their cabbage and pasta, so it's a bonus if I can find recipes including these items. I stumbled across this really simple cabbage and noodle recipe and was so happy with the results. For just a few ingredients it was very flavorful.

This was the second time I attempted this recipe and both times it turned out great (except the first time I added WAY too much pepper. Check and double check the amount you need to add and don't add 3 teaspoons of pepper like I did).

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

When I lived in Cincinnati I worked at a Catholic nursing home run by nuns. There was one particular nun in charge of the food. She made a ton of baked good for a bake sale they were having. Not everything sold so they gave the extras to the residents. Being in charge of the 4th floor pantry I just had to try some of the zucchini bread that was sent up for breakfast. It was seriously the best bread I had ever eaten. Although I don't know her recipe, I knew one day I would have to make some of my own. Then one of my co-workers at my job now mentioned how he really liked chocolate chip zucchini bread, so I figured now was a great time to try.

What you need:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup plain apple sauce
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 large or 4 small zucchinis)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 F. Spray a 9x5x3 in. loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl combine olive oil, apple sauce, sugar, eggs, grated zucchini, and vanilla.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the large bowl and mix until all ingredients are combined.
5. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and cook for about 1 hour-1 hour 10 minutes. Test with a tooth pick or fork to make sure bread is cooked completely. I cooked mine for additional time. Checking every 10 minutes after the initial time was up.
6. Let the bread cool on a wire rack.
7. Enjoy! 

Make Your Own Vanilla Syrup

It’s no secret I love iced coffee. I spend wayyyyy too much on it. I like to mix up where I go between Starbucks, McDonalds, and Dunkin Donuts. I usually get it as a reward for subbing or for working, but I need to give my wallet a breather. I know I wrote this post a while ago about why I stopped drinking coffee. Since being home though I’ve needed coffee to help me get through subbing and it’s so much easier to just go out and buy coffee than make coffee or tea at home. I don’t drink a lot of hot coffee so I usually go out to buy my iced coffee.

I recently bought some iced coffee at Bruegger’s and they didn’t have any coffee syrup. I had to mix in my own sugar and it got me thinking about making my own coffee syrup so I could make iced coffee at home. So, I did! I can’t wait to start experimenting with new flavors. I can’t drink flavored creamers because they just make me sick, so I love that I can be fine with the flavored syrups.

What you need:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if you don’t want your syrup looking brown)

Directions:

1. Stir sugar and water together on medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Make sure you keep stirring or else your sugar could burn to the bottom.
2. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Pour into bottle.*
4. Pour desired amount into your hot or iced coffee! ENJOY! :)

These would make great gifts for any coffee lover! You can always double the recipe with 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract if you think you’ll go through it fast or want to make large quantities for gifts! There isn’t a set shelf life for this. I wouldn’t recommend refrigerating, and for that reason just be conscience of any mold growing. I’ve read it can last up to 6 months and people have even had the same batch mold at different times. So, it just depends.

*I bought my bottle at K-Mart. A lot of places sell oil and vinegar bottles (Target, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond), but they didn’t have a cap and I was afraid of little gnats or ants getting into the bottle since it is sugar. You can also look online!