tyrolean bacon dumplings

finally i am back in my own kitchen after quite some time abroad! my trip to london was just fabulous! i have to make sure to not let this much time pass before i go back to london next time. i think i'll make this an annual trip :)

we where living on sandwiches practically the whole time because we did not really have much money to spend. i just LOVE sandwiches, and the local supermarket in hammersmith had an amazing range of sandwich fillers on stock which i have never seen and tasted before. an entrie section in the fridge-area was dedicated to sandwich fillers, can you imagine that? this is what my ultimate sandwich-fantasy looks like! i posted from my mobilephone while i was there and loaded up pictures later too. there are not too many food-related entries though. check out my photostream on flickr if you like!








after all this fast (prepared) food it is rather tough not to stick to the habit and eat sliced austria bread all day. i have to cook something sturdy now and overcome my newly gained lazyness. how about tyrolean bacon dumplings? as i am always scared that my dumplings fall apart (due to a dumpling fiasko about a year back) i roll the mixture nice and tight in a napkin and cut the mega-dumpling in slices later.

100 g bacon, finely diced
3 rolls diced as well
125 ml milk
1 egg
1/2 onion, finely chopped
parsley
30 g flour
salt, pepper

01 roast bacon and remove from pan
02 roast onion in fat from bacon
03 blend milk and egg, add salt
04 put diced rolls in a bowl and pour over milk/egg mixture
05 stir in roasted bacon and onion and let rest for half an hour
06 sprinkle flour over the mixture and mix well
07 make dumplings - remember to keep your hands moist
08 let simmer in water or soup for about 15 minutes

the slices of the dumpling make a main course, i like them with mushroom sauce. you can eat them as a side dish with meat or vegetables as well.

tagged with: cooking + food + dumpling + recipe

london, baby!

my easter holidays are always reserved for the family. so i spent the last few days at my partent's, i ate way to much and hung out with my folks ... and i am still not tired of them!

today i am going to london with my sister and my mother for a couple of days. i have been planning this for months now and i can't wait, i am so excited! check out my flickr-account for pictures because i am planning to send pictures from the uk via my mobile phone. i hope roaming is not too expensive in the uk ...

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

euro blogging by post 4 (again)

so i sent a parcel to mr. david lebovitz for euro food blogging 4.

it is a disaster what happened! read for yourself ....

... and weep - just like i did! i spent so much time and effort putting the parcel together and now pretty much everthing is ruined. not only did i spend (probably way too much) good money on all the stuff (i am sure everyone who participates does that!), i am really disappointed that my first blogging by post experience did not turn out too well. when i heard from david i was really devistated, i was thinking about not joining in anymore ...

... but this would be silly, actually. first of all, david was on holiday for a couple of days and the parcel was probably in a damp corner of some french postoffice for too long.
and second of all i was lucky enough not to get some mouseshit delivered, i got a pretty good parcel.

i am just really disappointed that i probably could not fulfill david's expectations.

tagged with: ebbp + euro blogging by post

bratwurst & potatos, zucchini, fennel

tagged with: cooking + food + bratwurst + fennel

little adjustments

ever since i have my foodblog i constantly think of how i could pep up my standard recipes. one thing i cook quite often is some sort of roasted meat, noodles, rice or vegetables on the side and some sort of gravy since growing up in a bohemian influenced middle european home makes it absolutely essential to get ahold of meat at least once a day. vital household recipes in our family include g'röstl (roasted sausage and cut up potatos), schnitzel, bratwurst, leberkäse, gulasch, reisfleisch (rice with meat), speckknödel (bacon dumplings) ... i know way more everyday recipes containing meat and being savory than recipes for sweet dishes (though upper austrian cuisine is supposedly famous for pastries and deserts!).

for most of my life meat was the epicenter of each meal. but growing up and learning about food and health made me think. from the first day i had home economics at school i became very aware of what i consume and how it affects my life. when i was eleven i came home from home ec and proudly announced to my surprised family: "i am a vegetarian now!!!". of course my strong-minded decision only lasted until next sunday's schnitzel.

since i moved out of my parent's flat i had several issues with my weight and even though i made my peace with the fact that i will never be super-skinny i don't want to feast on regional food anymore. i'd much rather indulge in a slimmed down version of traditional dishes and i adjusted my style of cooking. i do not use heavy cream anymore for example. i rarely used salt in my diet, so it was no problem cutting down on heavy seasoning. and i now replace ingredients to get more variety in my dull standards.

i am much more aware of what i eat and how the dish tastes, and that is quite a change. now i can easily make a traditional austrian roast filet taste sort of asian :). today i replaced an onion with an apple for example.

a piece of filet (pork, turkey, whichever you prefer)
1 apple
1 onion
200 ml cream (or similar but much lighter rama cremefine)
salt, pepper
rice

01 boil the rice while you prepare the dish
02 roast filets in a pan and put aside when done
03 chop onion and cut apple in really tiny pieces
04 in the same pan now saute the onion over medium heat
05 add the apples and saute a little more
06 add 200 ml of cream, (i like to use rama cremefine instead, it has much less fat and calories) but be careful, the acid of the apple can quickly curdle the sauce!
07 though the juice from the roast meat has a very rich taste you might want to season with salt and pepper

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe

easy bread and carrot soup

my project "40 soups of lent" is a gigantic failure. i planned on making a different soup each day during lent and so far i have only made 11. oh well. maybe i manage to try out 30 new recipes for soup in passion week, who knows ...

recipe # 11: easy bread and carrot soup

1 clove of garlic
1 slice of dark bread
1 big carrot
1/3 l water
oil
salt

01 cut garlic and fry with one tablespoon of oil
02 dice dark bread and add to the pot
03 grate the carrot and add to the pot as well, stir it all well
04 add water and bring to a boil
05 place a lid on the pot and let boil for 20 minutes
06 once the soup thickens season to taste and serve quite hot

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

i am a tofu virgin

i have to admit i never had tofu before. so last week i bought tofu in order to search for some easy recipes on the internet, something even a tofu virgin like me could handle. as i was going through my kitchen cabinet yesterday evening i found some rice noodles i hadn't thought of in ages (i had a big thing for asian cuisine last summer, i ate stir fry every day for like 3 months!) as well as a can of bamboo shoots i purchased a while ago. i thought i might mix that up and have my first tofu experience. i figured when it comes to cooking i could handle the tofu like regular white meat, so this is what i came up with:

250 g tofu
150 g bamboo shoots
teriyaki sauce
garlic
oil
stir fry rice noodles

01 place rice noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water
02 cut tofu and fry with a little oil in a wok over medium heat
03 add finely cut garlic
04 add bamboo shoots and stir-fry until garlic starts to brown
05 season with teriyaki sauce and finally add the drained rice noodles

tasting the outcome of my first tofu adventure was kind of disapointing. i mean, the dish wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't really mouthwatering either. as far as the other ingredients are concerned it all was pretty asian-influenced, but when it came to the tofu ... it was rather spongy and tasteless.

i have to admit that i am not really keen on soy anyway. i am always willing to give new stuff a try, but when i bought soy milk for the first time about a year ago and i could not even finish off the carton. i did not like it at all - the consistency, the taste and especially the aftertaste it left in my mouth.

i am sorry to say that cooking with tofu was an equally disappointing experience. i guess i'll stick to chicken in the future :)

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe + tofu

london, baby!

after managing some dates and appointments i have finally booked a flight to london! i originally planned to make the trip with my sister and brother, but they both don't have time now ... how sad! i thought i'd have to fly alone, but then my mother suggested to come with me! how great! she could not visit either of her daughters during our stays in the uk (i was there 1996-1997 and my sister 1998), so now i finally have the chance to show her all the important places and sights of my life back then ...

chiswick, where i used to live.

ealing, where i went to college to improve my english

hammersmith, sheperd's bush, brentwood, earl's court, where i used to hang out with my aupair friends

my favorite pasttime on sunny days: hanging out in chiswick park, holland park, kew gardens, richmond and hempstead heath, chilling on the riverbanks of the river thames.

i can't wait to show her around. of course mum wants to see the tourist stuff as well - she has never really been travelling, the furthest would be a visit to relatives in plauen, germany. she is very excited, because it also will be her frst time on an airplane ...

the fastest spread/dip in the world

this is a delicious spread i invented due to a lack of fresh groceries when i was about twenty and living on my own for the first time. since i am very busy right now i tend to relaps and use processed food rather than fresh ingredients. nevertheless this is a favourite of mine, it goes with breakfast, snacks or munchies.

strain a can of kidney beans (225 g), throw in a food processor, add a little salt and freshly cut herbs if you want. also add a dash of sour creme - this will soften the mixture (you can also use cream, yoghurt or even a little milk). blend until smooth. add more sour creme if you wish to liquefiy the spread

tagged with: cooking + food + recipe

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

20 eggyolks

there are six appartements in my building and three of them are occupied by me, my best friend franziska and her boyfriend markus, as well as my friends leo and his girlfriend tanja. you see, we are almost taking over the house by now ... it's great to have my best friends in the building. we meet in one of our flats quite regularly to eat, drink and chat and generally have a good time.

on saturday it was markus's birthday and we had a big big party with about 120 guest all over the place. every appartement served a different food and drinks so people where litteraly forced to tour our building in order to experience full culinary offerings. i served kidney bean dip, magic monday morning (pear juice and rum) and chips in my appartement. franziska and markus served potato spread, white russian and pretzel sticks. leo and tanja offered a herb dip, vodka-orange and snips (peanut snack)

on friday we also made a giant cake. a cake with layers, which turned out pretty fancy! we never thought we could even handle such a big project, but we did! with a littel help from our friend martina who knows her way around the kitchen very well too us four girls managed to accomplish this pretty difficult task. check it out:


cutting a long story short: i still have 20 eggyolks in my fridge and don't know what to do with them. some sort of desert would be nice. any suggestions for a recipe where i can make use of that ammount of yolks?!? please help!!!

tagged with: cooking + food

IMBB#23: le far breton

le far breton est une recette de bretagne. un gateau très facile à préparer.
bretonischer backpflaumenkuchen.
prune flan recipe from brittany.

i have never deliberately chosen a french recipe because i always found french cuisine way to hard to prepare. maybe i was wrong. the far breton is a delicious dish which is rather simple and yet very rich and opulent.

i also decided to drink a wine with the flan and though we have a great tradition of winegrowing here in austria i opened myself a bottle of chateau camp de la val.

all in all a divine combination!

ingrédients pour 6 personnes
500 g de pruneaux dénoyautés
125 g de farine
125 g de sucre semoule
1/2 sachet de levure chimique
2 sachets de sucre vanillé
4 œufs
3/4 l de lait entier
2 c à s de rhum
sel

recette
dans une terrine, mélanger la farine le demi-sachet de levure chimique, le sucre, le sucre vanillé et une petite pincée de sel. creuser un puits, y casser les œufs entiers. mélanger à l'aide d'une cuillère en bois. dans une casserole, faire chauffer le lait avec le rhum, ajouter les pruneaux et faire cuire le tout 2 min, puis verser doucement sur la pâte tout en remuant vivement. verser l'ensemble dans un moule et faire cuire à 240°C pendant 35 min dans le four préchauffé. servir tiède ou froid.

tagged with: imbb23 + french

imbb23

i am racking my brain to find a decent french recipe for imbb23 hosted by cucina testa rossa. i never really tried to cook something french because to me french cuisine always appeares to be difficult recipes and tiny portions.

argh! i guess i have to look at this as a challenge rather than an obstacle i can not overcome ...

green nockerl with mozzarella

75 g potatos, peeled and diced
50 g spinach leaves
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp olive oil
30 g grated mozzarella
20 g flour
salt, pepper

01 cook potatos and mash 'em up
02 blanch spinach leaves
03 sprinkle flour on the work space
04 place mashed potatos on work space and make a dent in the middle
05 add egg yolk, oil, spinach, mozzarella and flour
06 season the firm dough to taste
07 make tiny dumplings and throw into hot water untill they surface
08 place on a plate and garnish with some more mozzarella, spinach leaves, or salad

update:
this recipe was supposed to be for gnocchi but somehow my sleight of hand seems to be a little sloppy. what was supposed to be firm and tiny turned out to be rather fluffy and nockerlstyle. in order to adjust the title and erase the gnocchi-part i tried to look up the propper english word for the southern german and austrian delicacy - and guess what: the generally understandable word for nockerl IS gnocchi.

how funny.
you live and lern.
:)

tagged with: cooking + food + recipes

my sister is staying at my place

my sister does not come over very often. as long as i can remember we where like best friends. we went to the same schools, we had the same friends, we even lived together for several years. i always was the bossy, protective one and she always was the cute little sister. while we where roommates we also had to go through some pretty tough times. my sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 19. it was terrible. suddenly i was so completely helpless. as the oldest sibling i always took care of pretty much everything that could ever harm my "little ones". i could not make this problem go away though.

it was pretty tough for the whole family, but it was particularly hard for the both of us as we where living together. i have no idea why, but after like three years in the same appartement we somehow had a big fight. it did not come out of nowhere, i guess we both kind of saw that coming. my sister moved out and after a while i moved out too. we did not leave on good terms and we did not have contact for months.

honestly, this was a scaring and scary experience for me. we where very close ever since we where children and not having my sister around every day was like cutting an umbilical cord. everyone always asked us how we handle this: being sisters and being best friends too. we always wondered: "yeah, what's so strange about that?!"

well, to cut a long story short: after hardly speaking to eachother for two years we now have very very different lives. but we have forgiven eachother for that stupid fight we both picked.

now.

we sometimes visit eachother and then it is just like it used to be. yesterday karin spent the night at my place and she made a phenomenal interpretation of this chicken saag (murgh saag) giving it her own twist. i made an espresso gratina for desert. we had a great day, checking out herbs and spices the indian and asian corner shops.

i let my mother spoil me

after a big big presentation at university last week (which went very well, by the way) i decided to take a few days off and spend some time with my parents and recharge my engins :)

my mother is the best cook i know and of course she made some wonderful meals to spoil her eldest daughter. her "lungenbraten in semmelknödelhülle" was simply to die for - i have to look that up in my dictionary since i have no clue about the english word for "lungenbraten". and i'll post a picture as well.


update: there seems to be no propper translation for the austrian word "lungenbraten". my dictionary proposese "tenderloin" so i'll go with

tenderloin in bread dumpling crust with mushroom sauce and potatos

funny enough my mother usually makes stuff like this up. i have never ever seen her use a cookbook for a main course. now there's where i have all my fondness of experimenting from ... :)

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?