So much....sushi!

After a long absence, I came back with one of my most favourite dishes: Sushi! What you're going to see is the picture of my masterpiece (don't mind the exaggeration..) made a couple of days ago. My version of sushi is usually modified as the convenience of finding ingredients. This time I had a pack of smoked salmon in the fridge, so I used it as the main ingredient.

As rice seasoning, I prefer the powdered one. You can use rice vinegar adding some salt and sugar but the rice remains too wet. As my own experience, Thai rice comes out dryer than the Japanese one after steaming. For the reason that I don't live in a place where I can buy very fresh salmon, I don't trust eating it without cooking. I, then, choose to use smoked one. The result is quite satisfactory! Not having conserved ginger to accompany the sushi, I sliced a cucumber as it help reduce the heaviness of grease from salmon. Sorry that I don' t have a Japanese style plate...it would have been more original!

Colorful low-fat muffins! (Why not baking them to celebrate Carnival?)

Tomorrow it's carnival! We normally don't do much on carnival, we don't disguise ourselves except our kid who goes to school in costume. We also brought him to see some funny parades; however we've never been to a famous one like the Venetian one yet. I just learnt that the word "carnevale" means "farewell to meat". Some years I helped my mom-in-law making the classical carnival fried pastry called "Frittelle" or "Chiacchiere" or "Bugie".

Two days ago, I baked some of my-styled muffins. Then I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea proposing them in the occasion of the carnival celebration too. My muffins are not the same muffins you know because I replaced butter with low-fat white yogurt for the reason that all my family members could have them without worring much about their health and weight! They came out to be very light and not less yummy than those made of butter. I decided to make some with cocoa powder and the few with matcha green-tea powder. I love every food with green-tea flavour such as spaghetti, ice-cream and cakes. How I adore its scent and taste!

This's my recipe. 
Ingredients:
(I measured everything by the cup of yogurt)
1 cup of low-fat white yogurt
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
4 tea spoons of baking powder
1 1/2 table spoons of matche (green-tea) powder
2 table spoons of cocoa powder
sugar grains and tails for topping decorations

Before baking

Preparations:
1. I used 2 large bowls where I put half of sifted flour and baking powder.
2. I added the cocoa powder into one bowl and the matcha powder into another bowl. I mixed the ingredients well.
3. In a large bowl I whisked the yogurt with sugar, then I added eggs and vegetable oil and I mixed them well.
4. I united half of the well-mixed wet ingredients to the bowl with cocoa powder and then I mixed them very well until it became smooth. As well I poured another half of wet mixture into the bowl with matcha powder and mixed well.
5. I filled the mixture into muffin-sized containers for oven. At last, I put the sugar grains and tails on top.
6. I baked them for about 18 min. at 180°c.

The final result!

Have a great time on Carnival!