Tortilla Soup




I often have some difficulty to start my food related posts. I always want to write: what could be better than.... When I sat down to write about today's soup, I immediately thought: oh what could be better than a bowl of hot and comforting soup when it's cold outside?.. Very creative :)) On the other hand, a bowl of soup is really something that you want to reach to get warmer. And this tortilla soup is not only very comforting, but also spicy, so you get warm very easily :)). If you don't like spicy, so simply skip chilli powder part or put less! Besides, if you are not a big fan of cumin in general, maybe this soup isn't for you, because the taste of cumin in this soup is very strong. Myself, I am not the biggest fan of cumin, but I decided to give it a try anyway and I loved this soup and weirdly, the strong taste of cumin was something I was suprised in a very good way. So don't judge the soup until you try, and you should try! :))

******

Man dažnai būna sunku sugalvoti įžanginį sakinį rašant įrašą apie receptą, kuriuo noriu pasidalinti. Dažniausiai pirma kylanti mintis būna: "kas gali būti geriau nei ...". Tad ir šį sykį tik prisėdus rašyti, pirmas sakinys buvo, kas gali būti geriau ir jaukiau nei dubenėlis karštos ir skanios sriubos, kai lauke vėjas ir lietus siaučia kaip pakvaišę. Labai orginalu, ar ne? :)) Bet, iš tiesų, juk lėkštė sriubos yra tai, ko taip norisi, kai būna šalta. Keli gurkšniai ir tuoj pat po visą kūną pasisklaido šiluma. Man tai geriausias būdas sušilti ir kartu pasisotinti. Šios dienos sriuba tokia ir yra, šildanti, soti, aštroka ir labai skani. Jei nepatinka labai aštriai, tuomet dėkite mažiau čili pipirų, bet jei norite tikrai gerai užkaisti iš vidaus, tuomet geriau nemažinkite kiekio :)) Tortilijos sriuboje taip pat labai stipriai jaučiamas kmynų skonis, tad jei kas nesate mėgėjas šio prieskonio, gal tuomet ši sriuba ne jums. Nors, aš pati nesu didelė kmynų mėgėja, tačiau šioje sriuboje jie buvo nuostabūs ir netikėtai malonūs. Tad nenuteiskite sriubos nepabandę! ;)

TORTILLA SOUP  adapted from Thug Kitchen 'Eat like you give a fuck' book

2 medium red onion
1 big carrot
1 red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
400g canned tomatoes
5 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon lime juice
3-4 corn tortillas, cut into ~2 cm squares
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
fresh cilantro for topping

- Chop up onion, carrot and bell pepper into small pieces. Mince the garlic.

- In a large soup pot put some olive oil and sauté onions until they start to looks a little - see through. Add the carrot and bell pepper and cook until everything is golden. Add garlic, spices, salt and cook for another 30 seconds.

- Add the diced tomatoes and stir well. Add the broth and let all come to a simmer.

- Add lime juice and tortilla squares. Stir everything up and let that all gently simmer together until the tortillas get nice and soft, about 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat, take your immersion blender and pulverize until it's nice and smooth. Taste it and add more of whatever you think it needs.

- Serve this up with chickpeas piled in the center of each bowl with some cilantro. You can also squeeze on top few drops of lime juice. Bon appétit! 

TORTILIJOS SRIUBA adaptuota iš Thug Kitchen knygos "Eat like you give a fuck"

2 vidutinio dydžio raudoni svogūnai
1 didelė morka
1 raudonoji paprika
4 česnako skiltelės
2 1/2 arbt. š. maltų kmynų
2 1/2 arbt. š. džiovintų raudonėlių
1/2 arbt. š. Kajano pipirų
žiūpsnelis druskos
400 g konservuotų supjaustytų pomidorų
5 puodeliai daržovių sultinio
1 šaukštas laimo sulčių
3-4 kukurūzų tortilijos, supjaustytos į ~2 cm kvadratėlius
1 1/2 puodelio virtų avinžirnių
šviežios kalendros sriubos pagardinimui ir papuošimui

-  Susmulkinkite svogūnus, morką ir raudonąją papriką. Smulkiai sukapokite česnaką.

- Į didelį sriubos puodą įpilkite alyvuogių aliejaus ir įkaitinkite. Suberkite svogūnus ir pakepkite iki, kol šie taps šiek tiek permatomi. Tuomet sudėkite morką, raudonąją papriką ir kepkite apie porą minučių. Suberkite česnaką, prieskonius, druską ir pakepkite apie 30 sekundžių.

- Suberkite konservuotus pomidorus ir viską gerai išmaišykite. Supilkite daržovių sultinį ir leiskite viskam užvirti.

- Supilkite laimo sultis ir suberkite tortilijos gabalėlius. Išmaišykite ir leiskite virti apie 10 minučių. Tuomet išjunkite viryklę ir sriubą sutrinkite blenderiu iki vientisos masės. Paragaukite, ir jei manote, kad ko nors trūksta, tiesiog paskaninkite.

- Tiekite sriubą viduryje lėkštės pabėrus avinžirnius ir papuoškite kalendros lapeliais, dar galite išspausti kelis lašus laimos sulčių. Belieka tik skanauti!

LUSH Winter 2016 Collection




With Halloween being over, we can finally get into full Christmas spirit, who is in with me?? Two weeks ago I went to annual LUSH Christmas collection presentation at their boutique. As every time I had an amazing time with my fellow bloggers and got to try new Christmas products that I am sharing them with you today. So let's get started:

PAPA NOEL face wash jelly looks like a beard of Santa and is supposed to make your skin bright and fresh. Honestly, this is the only product that I am not raving about at all. First of all, I am not a fan of the texture, it's one big piece that you need to mass in your hands with a little water. Secondly, I have a sensitive skin, so I don't like to change my face routine that much.

SUGAR PLUM FAIRY lip scrub. I am in love with this scrub and in general with all Lush lip scrubs. I use it once a week and it helps my lips to stay smooth. This particular one has a nice, strong scent. Smells so good like a jelly candy. Besides, just look at this beautiful purple color!

SUGAR PLUM FAIRY lip tint has deep purple color. Contains coconut oil, jojoba oil and wild orange. Beautiful color in general, but I rarely put these kind of shades on my lips..

SLEEPY body lotion leaves the skin velvety soft and lightly scented. Almond oil and cocoa butter will hydrate well your skin for sure. Love this lotion!

SNOW FAIRY body conditioner. Well, this thing has a very, very sweet scent, I am not sure if it is right up my alley, but despite the scent, I really like the effect of this product. It really makes my skin smooth and hydrated. 


REINDEER ROCK soap looks super luxury because of its beautitul royal blue color. And just look at this cute golden reindeer.

SNOWIE bubble bar is supposed to make you feel like one of the world's biggest stars.  I already like it because of the description :)) It has a fresh and light scent and contains grapefruit, neroli and rose oil.



JESTER (on the left) is a reusable bubble bar, meaning you can enjoy a few baths with it, how great it is?! SANTASAURUS (on the right) - cute dinosaur with a little Santa hat on its head, also reusable!

Here you can see few bath bombs that smell amazing and I am pretty sure they will make your bath so colorful and full of Christmas spirit! I haven't used them yet, they are just too beautiful to use so fast.

I hope you enjoyed this year's Lush winter collection presentation. I have my few favorites like lip scrub, body lotion and conditioner. Love them, smell so good that it even makes me want to eat them :)) but I am not going to do that, obviously! To sum up, one of these Lush products could make a nice gift for a friend or family member of yours!! Let's get started with Christmas preparation!