It’s finally time for our Lithuania trip recap! We traveled throughout the country and I’m going to spread the highlights of our adventure over the next three posts. Lithuania is the same size as West Virginia and sits above Poland and Belarus and across the Baltic Sea from Sweden. We flew into Vilnius, which is the capital and largest city in the country. Apolinaras was born and raised in Vilnius so I was very excited to finally see where he grew up! His mom met us at the airport and we headed over to his condo, where she had stocked the fridge with all his favorite Lithuanian goodies that just aren’t the same in the states (e.g. pickled herring, pickles, kefir). Apolinaras looked like a little boy opening his Christmas presents as he went through the fridge – it was just about the cutest thing ever and so sweet of his mom.

For the next couple of days we explored the city and visited many of Apolinaras’ friends and family members. I absolutely loved Vilnius. Like many European cities, the juxtaposition of gorgeous cathedrals and old winding streets filled with quaint rows of shops and apartments made me swoon. I also loved all the green space. There are parks throughout the city and Apolinaras’ condo is right next to a large national forest.

We climbed up the tower of a fort in the middle of the city to take in impressive views and also visited several churches where Apolinaras played the pipe organ when he was younger. This particular church is where people like to meet each other in the city center and we kept the tradition alive by meeting a few of Apolinaras’ friends there.

One of the highlights was going to a folk art festival with traditional Lithuanian music, art, and food. We leisurely browsed all stalls and picked up some wooden treasures including hand carved wall decorations for our kitchen and an adorable cutting board shaped like a pig.

Lithuanian artisans are also known for their linens, amber, and ceramics, so I got several gorgeous amber necklaces and linen pouches to store them in.

As you can probably guess, I was especially excited to try all the traditional Lithuanian culinary specialities. Most Lithuanian dishes are centered around the bounty of the farmland and dairy industry and contain sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, eggs, cottage cheese, and butter. They also have the best dark rye breads and amazing beer!

The zeppelins really stole the show for me – they are huge potato dumplings (the size of a regular potato!) stuffed with either sausage or cottage cheese and topped with bacon or mushrooms in a cream sauce – talk about the ultimate comfort food! And yes, they do eat a few veggies too, the most popular of which are beets, cucumbers, and cabbage. Oh, and between the 2000 lakes and Baltic Sea, fish is also on many menus and it’s often smoked or pickled.

Apolinaras’ mom made us several delicious traditional Lithuanian dishes during our stay including crepes stuffed with cottage cheese and topped with jam, potato dumpling soup, and fried potato pancakes, but my favorite meal was this lovely baked cottage cheese tart that also contained rice, eggs, and raisins. We ate it for dinner, but many people also eat it for breakfast and I knew I wanted to recreate something similar once we returned home. I mixed fresh blueberries and lemon zest into my version and enjoyed a big slice for breakfast last weekend. Next up are our visits to the countryside and resort towns by the Baltic Sea!

Blueberry Cottage Cheese Squares
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups 2% cottage cheese
2 cups cooked brown rice, at room temperature
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon, finely chopped
1 pint fresh blueberries (about 2 cups)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Mix cottage cheese, brown rice, eggs, sugar, and lemon zest thoroughly in a large bowl until well combined. Gently fold in blueberries and pour mixture into a greased 8×8-inch square pan.  Bake at 350˚F for 45 to 50 minutes or until tart is set. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 318 calories, 4.4g fat, 3.7g fiber, 19.8g protein per serving
Cost: $1.20 per serving

Cinco de Mayo is almost here! I’m planning on making a recipe from my new Rick Bayless cookbook on Wednesday, but couldn’t resist starting the celebration early by whipping up these tasty breakfast tostadas this weekend. I will always have a fond spot in my heart for Cinco de Mayo due to Wheel of Fortune. I know you’re thinking, huh, what’s the connection there? Well, a couple years ago while we were still in Chicago, I auditioned for the show when the Wheelmobile came to town. Thousands of people showed up and they packed about 500 of us at a time into a theater in Joliet. About 20 people were randomly called up to the stage in each group, and if your name wasn’t picked, you could wait in line all over again for another chance. It must have been my lucky day because I was immediately called up to the stage and solved the puzzle, which was “Cinco de Mayo!” I was rewarded with a tshirt and a spot in a call-back audition. I aced the written puzzle test, but unfortunately didn’t get picked for the show, which I attributed to the fact that I would have towered over Pat Sajak. It was a cool experience though and the term “Cinco de Mayo” now always makes me smile.

Anyway, for the breakfast tostadas I crisped up some whole wheat tortillas under the broiler and covered them with scrambled eggs. Then I made a chunky salsa of sorts from black beans, corn, roasted red peppers, avocado, and lime juice, to top the eggs. I covered the tostadas with cheese and popped them back in the broiler until the cheese melted – yum! You can also drizzle a bit of salsa on top if you have it around. They were very filling and I had a whole one for dinner one night, but half a serving definitely filled me up for breakfast. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Breakfast Tostadas
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 whole wheat tortillas
16 large eggs
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked corn
1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa, if desired

Directions:
Heat broiler. Place tortillas on several cookie sheets and broil on each side for 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted.

Place eggs in a large greased nonstick skillet and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked, stirring frequently. Top crispy tortillas evenly with scrambled eggs.

Meanwhile, mix black beans, corn, roasted red peppers, avocados, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl. Spoon 3/4 cup of mixture evenly over eggs on each tortilla and top with cheddar cheese. Return tostadas to the oven and broil for one minute or until cheese is melted. Top with salsa, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 773 calories, 40.1g fat, 16.2g fiber, 46.1g protein per serving
Cost: $2.38 per serving

Apolinaras and I have a similar outlook on life and agree on all major issues that couples tend to fight over (family, money, politics, etc), but sparks always fly over desserts! I like to indulge in treats laden with butter and sugar since I don’t bake very often and feel like one real cookie satisfies my cravings more than several more healthy imitators. Apolinaras, on the other hand, is a health nut and is always trying to convince me to lighten things up. Unfortunately, this means I usually end up baking something only one of us actually enjoys. This needs to change! So, I decided to challenge myself this weekend and see if I could whip up a batch of muffins that weren’t completely bad for you that I would actually still gobble up with a smile.

I had a bunch of golden raisins left after making a Moroccan Beef Meatball Tagine from a recent issue of Bon Appetit, so I decided to center my muffins around them. Although applesauce is commonly added to low fat baked goods to keep them moist, I didn’t want to buy a jar just for one recipe, so I decided to puree a pear instead. In addition, I reduced the amount of sugar I normally use, used low fat sour cream and white whole wheat flour, and topped the muffins with an almond meal crumble topping. These muffins tasted like coffee cake AND Apolinaras wasn’t completely disgusted by the nutritional profile – problem solved! Well, for muffins at least…

Golden Raisin Almond Crumble Muffins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Crumble Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup almond meal

Muffins:
1 medium Barlett Pear, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped golden raisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cups. To make the crumble topping, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, and almond meal in a small bowl.

To make the muffins, pulse pears and sour cream in a food processor until smooth (I had 1 cup of liquid after pulsing); place in a large bowl and stir in butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in golden raisins.

Scoop muffin batter evenly into the 12 prepared muffin cups. Top muffins evenly with the crumble topping. Bake at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Nutrition: 260 calories, 14.2g fat, 2.2g fiber, 3.3g protein per serving
Cost: $0.34 per serving

Wednesdays have quickly become my favorite night to relax in front of the TV because I love Top Chef and have become addicted to Glee. I was so disappointed this week when Glee wasn’t on due to the World Series and the “Top Chef All Stars Dinner” was on instead of a new episode. I thought it was pretty boring overall, but did perk up a bit when they showed the clip of Carla working her magic and whipping up an incredibly creative green eggs and ham dish. Why didn’t I think of that? I loved all the Dr. Seuss books growing up – in fact, “Go Dog Go” was the first book I could read by myself. Anyway, I decided to come up with my own version of green eggs and ham as a little tribute to Carla, who SO should have won last season!

I knew I wanted to make the eggs green naturally, so I decided to whip the eggs together with spinach and basil until they were well incorporated in the food processor and then scramble them. I topped the eggs with a bit of crispy prosciutto for my ham component. The basil flavor really came through and I thought this was a great way to sneak in some spinach. I also really enjoyed the contrast of the soft eggs with the crispy prosciutto. This is another recipe I look forward to making for our future kiddos someday!

Green Eggs and Ham
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 slices prosciutto, chopped
1/3 cup cooked chopped spinach
8 fresh basil leaves
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and sauté prosciutto 3 to 5 minutes or until crispy. Remove prosciutto from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, place spinach, basil, eggs, milk, and salt in a food processor and mix until well blended. Place eggs in the same pan the prosciutto was cooked in and sauté 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked, stirring frequently. Top scrambled eggs with crispy prosciutto. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 189 calories, 13.8g fat, 0.8g fiber, 13.2g protein per serving
Cost: $1.20 per serving