oh behave! and bring me the crumpets!

after a couple of lazy days without grocery shopping this morning i unfortunatley had to discover that i was all out of bread! oh god! there is not a single slice of toast left in the freezer and with all my no knead creations consumed ... what is a girl supposed to do on her lazy morning without anything for breakfast?! now i am not a big breakfast person, but if i have to starve on my lazy tuesdays (probably the only lazy mornings left, including weekends) i get totally cranky. sure, i could eat weetabix with milk and honey, but i am so not in the mood for a dusty brick when i want to indulge in a gorgeous toast and jam orgy before i head to university.

trying to find my zen again and trying to chase away that terrible mood of mine (because i just can't stand myself when i am totally pissed!) i remembered something: i've always wanted to make crumpets ever since i found a recipe over at the real epicurean.

so there you go. i am no longer angry, i am british now. or at least in my little make-believe kitchen i am recreating an authentic (and perfect!) au-pair 1996/1997 breakfast. minus the baked beans and the saussage, of course!

lacking the fresh yeast to try the recipe mentioned above i googled "crumpets instant yeast" and found a lovely little recipe. i adapted my version from here.

1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2/3 cup water

1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup lukewarm milk

butter

1. mix 1/2 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of instant yeast
2. add 2/3 cup of water and mix together until smooth
3. cover and leave to stand in a warm place for about 15 minutes
4. sift a cup of flour and 1/2 tsp of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre
5. pour in the yeast mixture and 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk
6. beat the batter for 5 minutes to incorporate air
7. cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour
8. melt a tiny knob of butter in a frying pan over medium heat
9. grease the inside of cookie cutters (or crumpet rings, if you are lucky enough to have some!)
10. ladle the batter into the cookie cutters filling them about 2/3
11. cook the crumpets for about 5-10 minutes until the are nicely browned underneath
12. turn once and continue cooking until browned

oh, i just love the spongy texture of those lovely little things! i have missed them dearly because you just can't get crumpets here in austria ... it is good to know that i can recreate them at home :) why haven't i tried that before?

now, i definitely need to make another batch, freeze it and thaw the crumpets whenever i am hungry for british breakfast. that's probably gonna be every day from now on.

ricotta pancakes with fruit on top

just lovely! i can share so many *firsts* with you here on my food-blog, and here is another one:

250 g ricotta
125 ml milk
2 egg yolks
20 g sugar
125 g flour
2 egg whites

3 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 kiwi
1 banana
1/2 apple

01 in a bowl, combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks and sugar. add flour and stir until well blended
02 beat the egg whites and gently fould into the mixture
03 pour batter onto a lightly greased hot griddle and turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. cook until second side is golden brown
04 in a little pan, heat the maple syrup
05 cut fruits in little pieces and add to the boiling syrup
06 cook fruit mixture for a little while and pour over the pancakes

i have never made american style breakfast pancakes before! they taste just fantastic, i guess i will add them to my sunday routine! i am still used to eating pancakes (the much thinner version we austrians like to call "omletten") as a rich desert after a luscious meal - but hey, there seems to be nothing wrong with eating desert on sunday mornings!

(recipe can be found @ chefkoch and is by dialog)

technorati tags:pancake, pancakes, ricotta, fruit

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hazelnut-cocoa cream

in case you run out of nutella i have i nice little recipe for a similar spread for you! i silghtly modified one of the recipes i found in my new bread & spreads book. homemade stuff tastes so much better, it is amazing! especially if you are a sucker for cocoa like me (cocoa, not chocolate!) you have to try this one! so simple, soooooo fantastic!

60 g ground roasted hazelnuts
60 g soft butter
40 g cocoa
20 g sugar

01 put everything in a food processor or mix by hand until smooth
02 add sugar to taste.

i really adore the slightly bitter taste of cocoa, so i did only add two tablespoons. if you are a sweettooth you definitely need trice as much. i suppose this tastes good with maple sirup or brown sugar too!

okay, i agree, there is nothing like nutella, but this homemade spread is just as tasty and might be a good alternative every once in a while. i buy nutella maybe twice a year, but this spread might find its way onto my sunday breakfast table ...

healthy diet

i am devastated.

yesterday i had to whip out my fat ass jeans. when i hid them in my closet about two years ago i thought "i am doing so well, i will never have to wear them again".

well, there you go. the fat ass obviousely is back and i am crushed.

to be honest, i haven't stepped on the scales yet. i lost quite some kilos three years ago with weight watchers flexipoints ... i might have to start a diet-blog, folks, because i really want to at least get somewhere near my feel good weight again ...

aaahhh! this day sucks.

tagged with: breakfast + diet

lady marmalade

i am a sucker for maralade (or jam as you might call it). though i am not a great eater when it comes to breakfasts, i often start my day with a good slice of brown bread with an even more delicious blob of marmalade. the classic "marmeladebrot" has been comfort food since i was a little girl and will probably accompany me my whole lifetime.

i always keep at least 5 different jams in my kitchen cupboard and when they are down to three i really tend to get nervous. but today i am sitting here in front of my last two glasses, i stare horrified at the remains of rosenmarillen (apricots) and ginger. all i can squeeze out of these glasses will be approximately two teaspoons of jam - i always knew this was going to happen someday but i am just not prepared for it ... having a craving for something and not being able to give in really sucks.

i need more jam!
i need more jam!!
i need more jam!!!

tagged with: jam + marmalade + breakfast + marmelade

maple sirup

eversince my quebecois guest talked about the big tradition of maple sirup in canada i've had such a craving for it!

here in austria it is neither easy nor cheap to obtain a bottle of the sweet treat. i bought a bottle of 375 mililiters for 7 euros. it is grade c - i wonder if this has anything to do with the quality.

i bought the bottle a week ago and i already used up a lot since i discovered i just looooove the taste of maple sirup on my moring cereals.