the teeny cup

this was my lunch today. i usually eat at the mensa (cafeteria) when i am at university but the food there starts to bore me beyond belief. it always tastes the same, very little variation foodwise and practically no variation at all as far as seasoning is concerned.

so i thought i might give all the "fastfood"-stuff (not mcdonalds, i HATE mcdonalds!) that is available here in linz a try.

my first choice: a chinese takeaway that serves "teeny cups" with delicious and rich meals for as low as
€ 3,3.

one word: fantastic!

introducing my sisters foodblog

i am having my sister and my mother over for a quick lunch before we visit my dad in the hospital (surgery on the spinal disc). i figured that's a good opportunity to once again feature my sisters foodlog (though she is just starting to post).

meme!

i have been tagged by ostwestwind and i gladly respond:

four jobs you’ve had in your life

1. secretary
2. programmer
3. barkeeper
4. artist

four movies you could watch over and over

1. when harry met sally (gosh, i love this movie!!)
2. the big lebowski
3. my big fat greek wedding
4. the truth about cats and dogs

four places you’ve lived (apart from the town i was born and grew up in i only lived in four places)

1. one year in london, england right after i graduated from commercial college
2. two years in wels, upper austria because my first job was there
3. a month in vienna, austria because i did not know what to do with my life
4. and now for the last two years in linz, austria

four websites you visit daily

1. www.orf.at (federal broadcasting)
2. diestandard.at (female version of an austrian newspaper)
3. de.wikipedia.org (everyday i have to look something up)
4. ufg.ac.at (my university)

four tv shows you love to watch

1. friends
2. kind of queens
3. all kinds of cooking-shows
4. all kinds of diy-homeimprovement shows

four of your favorite foods

1. potatoes
2. pole beans
3. apples
4. chips

four albums you can’t live without

1. ten - pearl jam
2. nevermind - nirvana
3. reality bites soundtrack
4. singles soundtrack

four places you’d rather be

1. london, england
2. at a beach / in warm weather (freezing my ass off in austria right now!)
3.
4.

four people who are now obligated to do this to their blog

i would like to invite (update: seems like many people have already done this one! like kalyn, who i originally wanted to invite too). i pass it on to two of my favorite foodblogs though:

apartment food hobos
tea time

kaiserschmarrn with apple and raisins

0,2 l milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 p vanilla sugar
80 g flour
1 egg
a dash of salt
1 apple
some raisins

01 mix it all up
02 cut the apples and add them to the batter. throw in the raisins as well (preferably over your left shoulder - for luck!)
03 heat a little butter in a pan
04 pour the mix in the pan and bake on one side. it should look like a thick pancake
05 when turning slightly brown underneath rip the omlet with a spatula and roast a little longer
06 sprinkle with icing sugar

creamed spinach, fried eggs and fried potatoes

spinach is my comforting food. as long as i can remember i was crazy about this vegetable, even though as a child i did not even know how the actual vegetable really looks like. i was simply obsessed with creamed spinach and could not imagine how anyone would NOT like it. today i hardly ever prepare it the old fashioned way (just like my mum makes it), in fact i think i haven't eaten spinach in like two years.

as i was looking for frozen goods yesterday i actually shrieked in front of the ice box in the supermarket as i discovered the spinach. suddenly i got the munchies! and as i prepared it with fried eggs and fried potatoes today it truely tasted like a little piece of heaven :)

spaghetti tart and home made tomato sauce

spaghetti tart

160g spaghetti
1 liter salted water
1 tablespoon oil
50 g grated cheese (gouda is fine)
70 g tomatos (from a can)
70 g olives (they used peas in the original recipe)
100 g sour cream
2 eggs
salt, peper, parsley

01 cook spaghetti al dente and pour off the excess water
02 clean and cut tomatos or use tomatos from a can and add to pasta
03 add cut up olives and grated cheese as well
04 mix eggs, sour cream and season to taste
05 pour the spaghettimix in a cake pan and pour egg/creamsauce on top
06 heat oven to 200°C and bake for 60 minutes
07 serve spaghetti tart with home made tomato sauce

tomato sauce

375 g tomatos
1/2 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, pepper, basil
10 g parmesan
10 g fine chopped pine nuts

01 mince tomatos with hand blender and strain through a tight sieve to produce some kind of tomato puree
02 chop onion and sauté in olive oil
03 add tomato puree and season to taste
04 once the sauce is thickened add basil, parmesan and pine nuts

if you use the quantities for 4 persons you really get a big cake! since i come from an austrian/bohemian background i always expect tarts to be sweet. having a recipe transfer that given image into an italian dish is quite experimental for me ... i also did not use a big pan, i used some tiny childrens cookware and adjusted the time in the oven. after all i devide all my recipies to match my needs as a single gal. i don't need to eat eight servings ...

tagged with: imbb # 22 + noodle

for my first imbb i also decided to add two more pictures of the tart ...

salmon filet with potato crust plus cauliflower, broccoli and romanesco in honey and ginger

salmon filet with potato crust

200 g salmon filet
2 potatos
mustard
salt
pepper

01 peel and grate potato and squeeze out well
02 season with salt and pepper
03 spread mustard on one side of the salmon and press on grated potato
04 roast gently in a little olive oil (potato side first)

cauliflower, broccoli and romanesco with honey and ginger

200g cauliflower, broccoli and romanesco
½ red onion
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon honey
50 ml vegetable stock
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt

01 sauté cut up cauliflower, brocolli, romanesco as well as onion
02 add minced ginger and continue stirfrying
03 add honey after about 10 minutes
04 add vegetable stock
05 season to taste

this is quite a smart recipe! the ingredients are rather traditional, yet the seasoning and the combination itself is quite sensational! it tastes amazing!!!

thinking about cooking

having my foodblog back on track makes me think about my dinnerplans all day :) what am i going to cook today? i feel like i need to cook fancy and delicious things to rise to the occasion and be an exemplary foodblogger. of course i always like to experiment with new spices and flavours, dishes and ingredients, in addidtion to a tasty meal for myself i'd like to create good looking stuff for you to look at.

as i was cleaning my fridge yesterday i found a rather old piece of a ginger root. now i have such a craving for a ginger dish, it's unbelievable!

i am looking through www.chefkoch.de to find a delicious gingerdish i can cook, eat and post this evening. on my way home i might also check out that new health food store that opened last week right by my workplace for some fancy & healthy ideas ...

by the way:

the ginger root from my fridge also has a sprout on it.
can i plant this little thing?
will it start to grow?

sweethearts, i am back!

i finally got internet at home again! it felt like i was thrown back in medieval times over the last weeks ...
so ... what happened kitchenwise lately?

of course i cooked a lot. i even tried some christmas cookies (which turned out to be quite ... not so good).

my mother bought me my first real kitchenappliance: a hand blender with many different tools. i tell you - THIS thing is a godsend! how could i ever live without it?

and as i was bored out of my mind without internet i started to redo my boring kitchen. i am not finished yet so i will post the results later on. i am painting everthing white and some of the cupboards and shelves will get a black finish just like a school blackboard. i can write my shopping lists directly on my kitchen then :)

... for now i wish you and your loved ones all the best for the new year!

can't wait!

my new provider is installing internet at my place next week.
i can't wait, i really miss foodblogging!

karottenbrot

i am a big fan of bread. traditional schwarzbrot, soft english bread, scandinavian knäckebrot or french toast - i need to have bread at least 2x a day.

i discovered the best bread i tasted in months last week at my local supermarket: superdelicious carrot-bread!

one thing i did shy away from in my cooking adventures is making bread. i always fear that i get a hard lump of dough instead of a tasty loaf of bread.

cooking with yeast scares me.

coconut milk / turkey / curry - freestyle

300 g turkey breast
300 ml coconut milk
1 teaspoon of curry powder
olive oil
salt, pepper
ground chili
parsley

01 cut turkey breast
02 fry in a pan
03 add 1 teaspoon of curry powder
04 stir until the meat is slightly roasted
05 add coconut milk
06 let simmer till the meat is roasted thoroughly
07 season to taste

since i had no salad at home i figured i could try to marinate an orange. this would go well with the curry thing.

1 orange
olive oil
herbs, salt, ground chili

01 peel and cut the orange
02 sprinkle witz salt, herbs and ground chili
03 drizzle with olive oil

any kind of flat bread goes well with this asian-inspired dish

you should never be too busy to maintain your foodblog

shame on me. but since i no longer have internet at home it's become quite a challenge to post my treats ... i am currently changing providers and i'll be online again soon ...

i'm gonna cook some coconut milk / turkey / curry - freestyle-thing combined with "tiroler schüttelbrot", which is a tyrolean speciality similar to pita or flat bread. it is made of rye flour, water and yeast. i bet it will fit perfectly to an indian style curry.

i'll be posting about it on monday.

a little off topic - i am planning a trip to london

yesterday my baby sister (she's working on a foodblog too!) paid me a visit.

we where in a pretty reminiscent mood, talking about our time in london and how we both loved it there. she was the only one of my family who paid me a visit when i lived there and i in return visited her when she was working at the austrian centre a few month later.

london really is our big big thing. so yesterday - out of nowhere - suddenly the question popped up:

why not go?

we are both finally (after like 8 years!) in a position where we just could book a flight and spend a few days in our beloved city. whenever we where dreaming about another londontrip before one of us was either broke, too busy or most of the time both.

so now we are seriously shifting commitments to spend some days in london. maybe around new years? however, we are very excited.

where will we stay?
will we have enough time to go all the places we planned?
should we leave our creditcards at home or shop till we drop?

so many questions, so much more to figure out ...

can't wait!
can't wait!!

"gebrannte mandeln" with vanilla flavour

every year around christmas i am really really into vanilla.
german speaking girls, help me out on this one: is there an english word for "gebrannte mandeln"?

you only get this sort of candy/pastry this time of year on the christkindlmarkets.
the scent of the almonds enwrap all of the marketplace and it already feels like christmas.
they smell so incredibly delicious and they taste like little pieces of heaven.

simple vanilla noodles

0,25 l milk
10 g butter
1/2 vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
75 g noodles (ribbon noodles or any pasta you like)
salt
cinnamon

01 bring milk to boil and add vanilla, sugar and lemon zest.
02 cook till noodles are tender and the liquid is nearly absorbed
03 serve with stewed fruit or sprinkle with cinnamon

my ascetic drive hasn't lasted very long ... i decided not smoke for a while instead of not eating. this makes me feel better too, to be honest ...

roasted duck with bread dumplings and red cabbage

are you kidding me, mister butcher?! i am not buying a goose for 20 euros! a goose which can feed at least 7 people. i am single, i live alone. and i don't want to eat roasted goose for the rest of the year.

so what am i going to do now? according to the butcher i have no alternative. he would not just cut off a piece of the damn bird for tiny little single gal. what the hell. i still want to have a nice piece of extravagant poultry today!

so i went to the supermarket and bought a haunch of a duck instead. not a good start to my adventures in traditinally inspired dishes.

main dish: roasted duck
haunch of a duck
half an apple - peeled, cored and chopped
some small potatos
water
salt
pepper

01 wash, dry and salt the meat
02 place in a pan
03 add peeled, cored and chopped apple and the small potatos
04 add two cups of water to the roasting pan
05 let roast gently at 200°C and baste every now and then

side dish: red cabbage
3/4 cup water
1 small head red cabbage, finely shredded
1 apple - peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
spices, herbs, salt

01 place all ingredients in a large saucepan
02 bring to boil
03 reduce heat and cover
04 simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender

side dish: bread dumplings
2 white dinner rolls
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 egg lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg

01 dice rolls and soak in milk, until moist but not soggy
02 melt butter in a small skillet and saute onion and parsley
03 add eggs, onion saute, salt, pepper and nutmeg to bread/milk mixture
04 mix well and shape into dumplings.
06 cook in salted water for 20 minutes and serve immediately.

angelika posted a very detailled description of this rather special day in austria too ... go check it out!

i have to lay down and open my pants now because i am really stuffed.
the martiniduck was delicious!

martinigansl*

tomorrow is st. martin's day. this is a big big thing here in austria - if you are 5 years old or if you have a child in your family. kids tinker paper lanterns in kindergarten, walk around in the streets and sing songs about st. martin. the food traditionally eaten on this day is goose. according to the legend, martin did not want to become bishop so he hid in a stable filled with geese. the noise made by the geese finally gave his hideout away and he was discovered.

i am actually not very religious, i am not five years old anymore and there has not been a tradition of eating goose on this day in my family.

i want to make a tradition of my own and make my very first goose tomorrow. i have been looking for a recipe on the internet, but i guess i will buy myself this bavarian cookbook tomorrow which i have been keen on for a while! or maybe i'll buy a traditional austrian cookbook instead. this time there will be no freestyle cooking, if you buy a 5 kg bird you don't want to be in for a culinary surprise!

*martinigansl is the well known austrian dialect word for "st. martin's goose"

getting old and disappearing ...

i did not forget to foodblog, but i spent some time in the rolling hills of upper austria at my partent's. they don't have an internet connection and so i vanished off the face of the earth for a while.

why did i stay at my parent's?

acutally, i am hiding. i have my 30th birthday tomorrow.

i never really got expensive presents on my birthdays and having a birthday was never a really really exciting thing. though i am outgoing and selfconfident, i don't like it if people make a fuzz about me.

and my friends have been talking about this for weeks ... thirty, thirty, thirty! most of my homies are way younger, my best friend is 21. she has been laughing all year about the fact that i'm gonna be an old lady tomorrow. so i decided to avoid embarassing "hey-you-old-maid!"-scenes, turn of my cellphone for a few days and spend my birthday with my family back home. so my folks took me out to a nice rural gasthaus today, we had a traditional austrian meal with lots of meat, various kinds of dumplings, heavy gravy, potatos and afterwards: a schnaps for digestion.


i had a wonderful time with my my parents, my sister, my brother and his girlfriend, my grandfather, my godfather and godmother. spending time in the town where i was born is a rare treat these days so i really enjoyed these hours amongst my loved ones.

my two younger siblings gave me a delicious cake - and where also making fun of their "old, old, oh so old" older sister ... well, i decided to take it with grace and dignity!


t-h-i-r-t-y. quite a number, isn't it?

but to be honest - i don't really mind! i am quite happy about what i do and where i am.
i can't wait to see what life has in store for me!

bring it on!
i am a grownup now!

falafel and hummus

another fine dish i tasted for the first time when i lived in london was falafel with hummus. when i came back home i tried to get hold of all the ingredients which was quite a challenge. i also had to make everything from scratch. i used to make the tahini myself because in the small town where i used to live back then i just could not get foreign food or foreign ingredients. today even good supermarkets have foreign food sections and the recipes become more affordable :) i usually serve this dish with bread and salad. or i just eat the bits as fingerfood appetizers

falafel
400 g chickpeas
1 piece of white bread
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
coriander,
parsley
cumin
salt
pepper
50 g bulgur (can be substituted with 3 EL flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
oil for frying

01 put chickpeas and white bread in a food processor and puree untill smooth
02 add herbs and season to taste
03 finally add bulgur or flour and baking powder
04 heat oil, form small balls with a spoon and fry until golden-brown

hummus
50 g chickpeas
¼ clove of garlic
15 g tahini
juice of ½ a lemon
1 tsp olive oil
black olives, finely chopped
salt, pepper
cumin

01 put ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth

it was funny when i served hummus the first time when i was still living at my parent's house. if you pronounce "hummus" the german way it means something like "mould". so my family really was rather sceptical and they where looking at me in distaste when i proudly announced that i had made "h-u-m-u-s". their reaction was like:

humus?
ieeew!
how icky! do we have to eat soil now?!

i had to explain them that it was a dip of chickpeas, garlic, olives, lemon juice, and a sesame seed paste called "tahini". it is a dish from the middle east and i tasted it in a greek restaurant for the first time. they where delighted and even my father who hardly ever tries new tastes and flavours took a bite and welcomed the dish with an approving grunt:) my sister got hooked immediately and since she is an exceptionally gifted cook (way more willing to experiment than i am!) this was the kickstart to our adventures in cooking foreign dishes.