a foodbloggers meme around the world

i have been tagged with a nice meme by chili & ciabatta! i am crazy about collecting foodblogs and this is just the perfect meme for this addiction! so here we go:

1. please list three recipes you have recently bookmarked from foodblogs to try: this would be alu paratha by "food, in the main", the espresso bars by "bakingfreak" and the red radish and arugula soup by "la tartine gourmande"
2. a foodblog in your vicinity: there are not many foodblogs in my area, i wish there was a foodblogging map or something ... angelika is from austria and my sister is not too far away either.
3. a foodblog located far from you: the foodies in australia are on the other side of the globe!
4. a foodblog (or several) you have discovered recently (where did you find it?): my most recent discoveries: i came across sailu's food a few weeks ago as i was looking for indian recipes. and i found saffron hut's link in another blog (but i can't remember where i found it)
5. any people or bloggers you want to tag with this meme: anyone who is inspired by this meme should feel free to answer the questions! happy meme-ing!

euro blogging by post 4 - a parcel has duly arrived

i received a nice parcel from christina today! how great!! it is filled with various delicious treats.

two cookie cutters - christina wrote that she collected dozens and hardly ever uses them - well, so do i! i collect them as well, but i use them at least 4 times a year (especially around xmas).

homemade parsley and walnut pesto - how nice to send something she made herself, how thoughtful! can't wait to feast on that!

almond crush - "this unique snack from japan has been loved throughout the world for many years". i have not heard of it before and the writing on the box is intirely in japanese. they look delicious and i will try them with a nice cup of english tea tonight.

scottish oatcakes - i love, love love all things remotely connected to great brittain. did you read my mind?

trout terrine with grilled almonds - sounds like a pretty luxurious ingredient. most surely a nice variation on my dull everyday menu!

thank you so much christina, i was so excited by your parcel and its content!

tagged with: ebbp + euro blogging by post

euro blogging by post 4 - fly away little parcel, fly away!

i finally got everthing together for euro blogging by post 4! i sent out my parcel yesterday.

tagged with: ebbp + euro blogging by post

euro blogging by post 4 - simmering with excitement

oh my god, i am blushing! it is the first time that i take part in euro blogging by post and yesterday i got the adress of the person i am about to surprise with my specific austrian parcel - gosh, the person is fairly famous in the blogoshpere!

honestly: i am a little intimidated by that! i have to send out my servants to fetch the finest of austrian cuisine!

tagged with: ebbp + euro blogging by post

anglophile

reading about your traditional dishes in other languages actually gives you a hole different point of view. at least for me it shifts perceptions. it transforms the usual, the not ecxiting and sometimes even dull everyday dishes into lucullan highlights and flavourful masterpieces. it also lets you discover new ways to prepare dishes since even when it comes to food a tiny country like austria has an astounding variety of possibilities to offer. it almost seems that even cooking is colored by the local dialect here ...

i was surprised to see that the big bookstore in my town is acutally going global with quite a variety of austrian cookbooks in other languages in stock.

this is nice for tourists and guests from other countries as well as for anglophile people like me :)

knoblauchcremesuppe (garlic soup)

i read a delicious entry over at tea and cookies about austrian garlic soup which inspired me a lot to make this delicious treat. so here we go. although there are probably a thousand different recipes for garlic soup i suppose my version is not that different from hers:

recipe # 10: knoblauchcremesuppe (garlic soup)

1 small onion
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 l milk
1/4 l vegetables stock
butter
3 cloves of garlic
parsley
white bread

01 chop onion and garlic and saute on low heat in butter
02 sprinkle with flour and add milk and vegetable stock
03 keep stiring and bring to a boil
04 add chopped parsley
05 make croutons of white bread and garnish soup

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

lentil soup with roasted bacon

recipe # 9: lentil soup with roasted bacon

50 g dried lentils
1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
a dash of cream or creme freche
1/4 l water
1 bayleaf

01 rinse lentils
02 sautée finely chopped onion and garlic in olive oil
03 add tomato paste and stir well
04 add water and lentils
05 cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes
06 when lentils are soft, remove bayleaf and serve with roasted bacon

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

pear-a-dise cupcakes

very much inspired by chockylit i made some cupcakes today.
i singled out the weakest one and ate it right up.

200 g pears
250 g flour
100 g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
a dash of salt
30 g vegetable oil
50 g honey
200 g plain yoghurt
1 egg
2 tablespoons rum

01 preheat oven to 200°c.
02 dice pears
03 mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar. also add pears to the dry ingredients.
04 in a bowl combine yoghurt, oil, honey and egg
05 mi in flour mixture
06 spoon into paper liner cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes

coconut soup

recipe # 8: coconut soup

1/2 red pepper
1/2 eggplant
1/2 zucchini
100 g mushrooms
1/2 leek
125 ml coconut milk
500 ml vegetable stock
1 can of shrimp coctail (you can also use 125 g scampi)

dried lemongrass
curcuma
salt

01 clean and cut pepper, eggplant, leek, zucchini and slice mushrooms
02 bring vegetable stock and coconut milk to a boil
03 throw in vegetables
04 cook for 20 minutes
05 add shrimps (or scampi) and let simmer for 5 more minutes
06 season with dried lemongrass, curcuma and salt

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

efficiency and inspiration

i noticed that ever since i maintain a foodblog i am becoming really efficient and planed out (is that an english expression?) in the kitchen. i am a really organized person but growing up in a large family i am always cooking way to much. in the past i pobably threw out hundreds of euros worth of food because i did not finish off dishes or something was laying rotten in my fridge (yak!!). that is not only expensive, that is unnecessary and not very thoughtful (now i hear my mum in my head telling me about all the starving kids in africa!!!)

it is not really easy though to cook for one person. first of all smaller quantities are always rather expensive compared to family sized packaging. and the other thing is that if i buy a large pack of a perishable ingredient i usually have to use it up within a short period of time. usually being rather busy i am not used to plan ahead. i always go with my impulse to decide what i am going for. i don't want to eat stew for dinner 3 days in a row.

reading all your delicious foodblogs has inspired me a lot and changed my approach towards new tastes and recipes. as i run over your posts i memorize recipes, ingredients and quantities and when i am in the store i shop according to that. foodwise i am still on the spur of the moment, but your recipes are really broaden my horizon ...

cream cheese soup with minced meat

recipe # 7: cream cheese soup with minced meat

1/2 onion
1/2 leek
1 tbsp of butter
100 g minced meat (3-4 tbsp)
1 tbsp of flour
1/4 liter vegetable stock
75 g creme cheese (i used rama cremefine)
salt, pepper, chives

as i am going for less calories at the moment, i took rama cremefine). this product can be used everywhere you normally would use cream, whipped cream or creme freche. but only consisting of vegetable fat and milk. it has much less calories than those products and to me it actually tastes even better. it is not as heavy and rich, it is light and creamy and just delicious :)

01 dice onion and cut leek
02 heat butter in a pot and roast the onion for a while
03 add minced meat and keep roasting
04 the last thing you'll add is the leek
05 sprinkle with flour and pour in hot vegetable stock
06 let simmer vor 20 minutes
07 add the soft cheese and bring to the boil again
08 garnish with cut chives and serve with baguette

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

eggplantsoup with a twist

recipe # 6 : eggplantsoup with a twist

150 g aubergine
1/2 small onion
100 g zucchini
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
150 ml vegetable stock
salt, pepper, chives, cream

01 cut the vegetables and toss in a pan (don't forget to remove skin from the aubergine). drizzle with olive oil
02 put in the oven and roast at 200°C until browned and stirr occasionally
03 remove from oven and let cool for a while
04 puree roasted vegetables and put in a saucepan
05 add vegetable stock
06 simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes
07 season to taste and garnish with a dash of cream and some chives

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

go figure! i am a girl!

please stop me! i am turning into a housewife (just without a husband and a bunch of kids)!!

my mother got a new sewing-machine a few weeks ago and i said: "hey, wait, don't throw out the old one!! i want to have it!!" my mum was stunned. not only is she delighted by my desire to cook, cook and cook some more of our family recipes lately (and me calling her twice a week to ask her cooking questions), she is also embracing the fact that i am turning into a domestic girl.

for your information: i was a tomboy as a child. though i had looong blond pigtails i used to climb trees and beat up the boys in my neighbourhood. i refused to wear dresses and skirts and i banished everyhing remotely girly from my life. i cried my heart out when i had to wear girl shoes to church when my first communion was celebrated.

my mother and my sister on the other hand are just ... perfect in all the handiwork. knitting, embroidery, sewing, cooking, home decorating ... you name it - they do it. my mother is almost like a devoted housewife from the 50ies, only with a good deal of emancipation *g*.

she never pressured me into all this woman-stuff though. when a friend asked her about my desires to settle down and start a family when i was about 25 she proudly said: "no, but she just bought her second computer, isn't that great?!" when i showed up at her house in a skirt - i was 27 then - she was delirious with joy. i think she even cried a little bit.


well. here i am. in front of MY sewing machine. trying to figure out how that thing works. it is an heirloom from my mom's cousin. her family emigrated to australia and this is a device from down under she got as a vintage present while i was still a child.

so here i am. in front of MY sewing machine. trying to figure out how that damn thing works.

i am a techie girl.
i can figure that out!
just give me a minute.

soup delay

i have been rather busy over the last few days so i have not been able to catch up with all the soup recipes i promised you. there are a few more to come but i suppose i will not be able to post before the weekend. look out for eggplantsoup with a twist, turkish noodle soup, cheese soup and lentil stew.

rindsuppe mit grießnockerl (semolina dumplings in broth)

recipe # 5: rindsuppe (broth) - made from scratch!

2 small beef soup bones
1 onion
1 carrot
1/2 liter of water
one small celery stalk
salt
1 clove garlic
some juniper berries
one bay leaf

01 blanch the bones in hot water to remove all fragments from the bones
02 chop onion, carrot and celery into chunks
03 place onions and bones in a pot and roast, uncovered, until the bones are browned. it does not matter if the onions are turning brown/black-ish, this adds a great taste to the soup
04 pour water into the pot and add vegetables, juniper berries, bay leaf and garlic
05 bring this mixture to the boil and reduce heat
06 let simmer for at least two hours
07 when the soup is done strain it through a cheesecloth to remove all solid parts
08 you can also skim off fat if you like

grießnockerl

4 tbsp semolina
2 tbsp soft butter
1 egg
salt, nutmeg

01 in a bowl combine smooth butter and egg
02 add semolina and season to taste
03 let the mixture rest for at least half an hour
04 form tiny "nockerl" with the aid of two spoons
05 throw them into slightly boiling broth and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes
06 take the pot away from the stove and let rest for another 5 minutes

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe















it was harder to translate this than to actually make the soup from scratch :)

creamy sweet corn soup

recipe # 4: creamy sweet corn soup

sweet pepper powder
2 tbsp olive oil
70 g potatos
200 ml vegetable stock
50 ml cream
200 g strained grains of corn
1 spring onion

01 mix sweet pepper powder and olive oil and put aside
02 dice potatos and cook with vegetable stock, cream and half of strained grains of corn for about 20 minutes
03 purée everything and put back in the pot. bring to the boil again.
04 cut spring onion into tiny rings, add them to the soup and also add the rest of the strained corn.
05 let cook for about 3 more minutes
06 season to taste
07 put in a dish and drizzle with the olive oil prepared earlier

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

apple curry soup

recipe # 3: apple curry soup

1 apple (sourly)
1/2 onion
0,25 l vegetable stock
1/2 tablespoon of curry powder
butter
salt
pepper
crème fraiche
croutons

01 dice onions and stew in some butter
02 (peel and) mince apple
03 add to the onions and stew a little more
04 add curry powder and vegetable stock
05 you might want to use a handblender if the bits are to junky. i like them that way!
06 season to taste
07 you also can add some crème fraiche if you like
08 some fresh croutons also go very well with the soup

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

krautsuppe

recipe # 2: krautsuppe

1/4 white cabbage
1 small onion
1/2 l vegetable stock
15 g flour
sweet pepper powder
caraway seeds
nutmeg
salt, pepper

01 chop cabbage finely
02 fry diced onion in butter and sprinkle over sweet pepper powder
03 stir a little more and add a little bit of water and sprinkle with flour
04 add cabbage
05 season to taste and add caraway seeds
06 finally add vegetable stock and let simmer for half an hour

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe

mühlviertler fastensuppe

today is ash wednesday. i am not particularly religious but i do not eat meat on ash wednesday and good friday. and i usually try to abstain from some beloved habit during the days of lent. watching less tv or cut back smoking for example.

as a new tradition i don't really want to cut back on something, i take up the challenge of making a different soup every day for 40 days of lent. lets see how that works out.

recipe # 1: mühlviertler fastensuppe (lent soup from mühlviertel)

1 tablespoon butter
20 g flour
1/2 onion
1 small potato
1/4 kohlrabi (stem turnip)
20 g white cabbage
0,25 l vegetable stock
parsley
salt
pepper
nutmeg
a little lemon juice
1 slice of dark bread

01 dice vegetables and stew in salted water until tender
02 make roux from butter and flour
03 add vegetable stock and stir in the precooked vegetables
04 season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg
05 pour in a soup plate
06 dark bread is perfect with this dish

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + soup + suppe