Yogurt Lemon Cake

This was a recipe in a "Yellow Press" GALA magazine. A 3 minute preptime cake.

Well, 3 min is not enough, only if you have 3 hands. But after 5 min the batter was ready to go in the loose bottom tin.

Lemon and vanilla are the aromas, the yogurt gives some freshness. My new oven reached the desired temperature of 160 C fan in the same time. That is so cool, no waiting for 15 min.

Just bring the dry stuff together and mix in the wet ingredients. You wont need an electric kitchen helper, just use a spatula or a whisk.

Recipe for a 26 cm loose bottom baking tin:

2 eggs, 1 cup oil, 2 cups Greek yogurt

2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, zest of one lemon

Pinch of salt, 2 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar, 2 1 /2 tsp baking powder

Icing sugar and some glitter for the topping

Bake at 160 C fan for 50 to 55 min.

Peanut Butter and Banana Toast

This combination with an added slice of bacon is said to be Elvis Presley's favourite kind of toast.

I omitted the bacon, but it was scrumpious. No something to eat on a daily basis. It is so easy to make. A good way to get rid of overripe bananas. For 2 sandwiches you will need only one banana.

The banana gets smashed into a pulp and halve of it is smeared on one side of the toast. The other toast slice gets a good helping of peanut butter.

When you own a sandwich maker, put some butter on the outside of the toast and bake them. Otherwise use a buttered pan.

Feta Potatoes with baked Garlic

I saw a short video clip on Pinterest. 

This is actually a side dish for meat or fish. But I was looking for a vegetarian option for today. 

I served the cheesy potatoes with some China cabbage and lots of fresh parsley. They are staying in my Eco fresh compartment of my new fridge for a while now. And they are still good as new. I am very surprised. Often advertising does not work in real life.

This is a fast way to prepare a dide dish. Just peel as much potatoes as you need, season and toss them in olive oil and place them around a piece of sheep milk feta.

Cut the top off the garlic bulb and brush it with oilve oil. Wrap in foil and place in the baking dish too.

Seasoning:

Dried onion and garlic powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper

Bake them for 40 min, and stir them after 20 min. Then mash the softened cheese with the potatoes, press the garlic from its shells and serve.

Guinea Fowl Périgord Style

The French region of Périgord is famous for their cuisine. This is one of the recipes:

Pintarde à l' ancienne.

The day before I just bought the jar of tiny pickled onions. I have not bought some in ages. I was surprised to find them on a shelve at the Discounter. Dried mushrooms are the Umami in the sauce. Combined with the pickled onions and the bacon, very tasty.

I took the guinea fowl apart. Lots of bit and pieces of meat stayed on the bones. A waste to throw that in the trash. I needed chicken stock for the sauce anyway. I used the carcass with some frozen leek tops and some spices to prepare the stock. Now I have 750 ml left in the fridge for an other use.

Recipe for 3:

1 guinea fowl,  1 1/2 tbsp duck fat, salt and pepper

1 small jar of pickled onions, 85 g bacon bits, 40 g dried mushrooms (porcini and chanterelle) soak in 200 ml water

100 ml white wine, the mushroom water through a sieve, 250 ml chicken stock

1 tsp potato starch, 1 tbsp water

Season the pieces and in hot duck fat sear them on both sides. Take them out if the pan. Add bacon and start to brown it. Now in with the squeezed out mushrooms and onions. They will need 10 minutes. Season.

Get the guinea fowl pieces on top. Add wine abd cook it down a bit. Add mushroom water and chicken stock to reach up nearly to the top. Bring to a boil, cover and on low heat cook for 25 min.

Take the pieces out and with a slurry bind the sauce.

Serve with Penne pasta.

Black Forest Bread

I haven't baked bread in a while.

During my visit in Tittisee Neustadt, Black Forest, I found a special package of flour mix for bread making. The flour is called Ruchmehl. I never heard of it before. It is fine milled wheat flour with a special amount of outer shell of the grain milled in. Traditional found in Switzerland and in the Southwest of Germany.

The bread flour mix contained some dried sourdough, salt and malt as well. It was the size of 1 kilo. 

For baking I had to add 2 tbsp of olive oil, 10 g fresh yeast (or 4 g dried yeast) and 700 ml cold water. After the dough was mixed it had to rest in the fridge for 16 hours to proof. 

That amount was made in 2 loafs.  I slashed the tops and brushed a little flour on top. 

After resting an other 25 min, they went in the oven at 250C with a little water. After 15 min I dropped the temperature to 200C and baked the breads for 45 min more. The bottom sounded hollow, when tapped on.

Pork Belly Adobo with Lilies and Black Beans

This is a recipe from the Philippines. 

But I found it at the TV show Kitchen Impossible. There is a Restaurant in Berlin which serves Philippino food. Adobo is one of my most liked cooking methods. Soaking meat over a longer period of time in vinegar and light soy sauce. 

The addition of fermented black beans and dried lilies was knew to me. The Asia Go downtown had the ingredients in stock. The black beans were very salty. I only added a lot of black pepper to the dish.

The lilies are like veggies. They do not taste floral.

Recipe for 2:

3 slices pork belly about 300 g in total

1/4 cup light soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup black Chinese vinegar

1 tbsp oil, 3 bay leaves, 1 tbsp ground black pepper 5 shallots, 4 cloves of garluc

35 g dried lilies, soaked in water

35 g fermented black beans

Pineappke. Jasmine rice

24 hours before cooking starts cut the pork belly in bite size pieces. Pour the marinate over and let them rest in the fridge.

2 hours before you start, soak the lilies in water.

Heat up the oil in a pot. With a slotted spoon scoop out the pork belly and drop it in the pit. Sear it on all sides for a couple of minutes. Add chopped shallots and garlic. Let it cook 5 min. 

Now in with the marinate and the lily soaking water and a cup hot water. Cut the lilies in 3 pieces and toss them in. Add black pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat. Cook for 45 to 60 min.

Add the blacl beans. Be careful not to use too much. They are extremely salty.

Serve with Jasmine rice and a thick slice of fresh pineapple.

Stollen Dessert

Stollen is a traditional kind of heavy fruity bread. Originated in Dresden. I received one for my birthday from a very good friend. This one is a Thuringa Butter Stollen. 

Eating 1 kilo if it alone is a challenge. I had some with coffee last Sunday with friends, now I am making a dessert with some slices of it. The idea for the recipe is from Dr.Oetker, the producer of all kinds of food items, such as pudding powder.

Recipe for 3:

2 Clementines

1 package Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding, 250 ml whole milk, 200 ml double cream, 150 g Greek yogurt

Pinch of vanilla, 2 1/2 tbsp sugar

250 g Stollen, Spanish 43 liqueur

Cook the pudding with milk and cream. Put a plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin. Cool down. Stir well and mix in the yogurt.

Cut the Stollen in small cubes and douse it in 43. As much or as few you like. Peel the clementines and cut them in chunks.

Use jars and start to build the desserts.

Green Thai Curry Soup with Banana - vegan

I wanted to use a banana for something spicy. But today is not the day for baked curry bananas with rice and fried egg.

I found the yellow Chiquita website. An idea stuck and I made my own version of it.

Recipe for 1:

1 package Green Thai Curry Paste

40 g Mung bean vermicelli

270 ml coconut creamy milk, 300 ml veg stock, 2 tbsp coconut oil

1 banana, 2 long green peppers, 2 shallots, salt and pepper

Juice of 1/3 lemon, 2 tsp palm sugar, 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander

1/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Chop the veggies. Cut the banana in 1 cm slices. Pour hot water over the vermicelli and let them sit for 3 min, drain.

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil in a pot and fry off the shallot. Add the green curry paste and let it fry with the onion for 1 minute. Add coconut cream and veg stock. Toss in the green pepper and bring to a boil, place the lid on and reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 min.  Add the vermicelli and chop the coriander.

In the other coconut oil in a small pan fry the banana slices. Season with salt and pepper.

Add lemon juice and palm sugar to the soup and finish with banana and coriander. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Yakisoba

I wanted to try out my knew Teppan Yaki on the new Induction hob. The hob is equipped with a special sensor technique that works with the grill pan.

Flipping the ingredients around is much easier on that large surface then in a pan. One side is the hot part, the other side is great to park food to keep warm. 

Nice way to cook. Next time I am trying my hand with grilling some black tiger prawns.

Recipe:

100 g Soba noodles cooked and drained

1 spring onion, 80 g bacon bits, 2 tbsp oil

6 quail eggs, 1 green long pepper

1/4 cup Yakisoba sauce, salt and pepper

Start with the bacon in some oil.

 Then throw in the veggies, season with salt and pepper and give them 4 min to soften. Add the soba noodles, flip them and pour the eggs over. Give the eggs time to ser and stir with the other ingredients. 

Now mix with the Yakisoba sauce.

Salmon Honey Glazed with Risi Bisi

Peas mixed in rice are a classic. Using my rice cooker made it even easier. A slab of salmon in a pan is a great main focal point in that dish.

That meal is done in less than 30 min. But only when your rice cooker is small and fast.

Check the time the rice will need and adjust the cooking time. Or just cook it in a pot.

Pan seared salmon does not require a lot of work. Buy a piece with the skin on. That makes cooking it easier.

Ingredients:

250 g salmon, seasoning, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp butter, 2 tsp honey, 2 tbsp Noilly Prat

1 rice cooker cup Japanese short grain rice

Pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp veg stock powder

1 spring onion, 1/2 cup frozen peas, pepper and salt

Sweet Chili Sauce

Start the rice. 5 min before it is done, add the veggies.

Heat up the oil to medium high heat. Put the seasoned salmon skin side down in the pan.

Wait until you see a thin white line above the skin. Turn the salmon. Add the butter. Give it 4 min. Set it on each side for 2 min. Add honey on the top and give it 2 min. Add the Noilly Prat and close the lid for 1,5 min. Done.

Serve with the Risi Bisi. If you like add some sweet chili sauce.

Anglesey Eggs - a Welsh Dish

The state flower of Wales is the leek. Pin it to your hat on the National Welsh Day and you belong there.

I did a car trip for 10 days around Wales about 11 years ago. I stayed in B&B's and Hotels and visited all the castles and fortresses around.

The basic down to earth cooking was the first thing I learned there. Locally grown and eaten produce. People were proud of the food they have grown. 

Taters and leeks were everywhere. Simple food and well liked.

Anglesey is off the north west coast of Wales. I went over the bridge to tour around by car then.

This is an easy and inexpensive dish. Good to make for a bunch of people. It is meatless but no diatary food.

Recipe for 2:

500 g potatoes, 1 leek, soft boiled eggs

280 ml whole milk, 40 ml double cream, 5 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour, 75 g Cheddar grated

Nutmeg, dried parsley, salt and pepper

Cook the peeled potatoes and mash them with 80 ml hot milk, double cream and 3 tbsp butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Preheat the oven 180 C fan.

Cut the leek in rings and cook them for 10 min in salted water. Drain and mix with the mash. Fill that in an oven proof dish.

Boil the eggs and cool them down. Set them cut in the middle on top of the mash.

Make the Bechamel sauce by cooking butter and flour together. Adding milk little by little. Melting the Cheddar in the sauce and seasoning it with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Pour the Bechamel over the eggs.

Bake for 15 min, then use the grill for 4 min.