Greek Restaurant visit

Sitting outside under growing wine in a Greek Restaurant is so unusual after this long time. My BFF visited her Dad and wanted me to joyn her. Then we went to the Greek Restaurant El Greco just around the corner. We had a reservation and were surprised about the amount of people who had the same idea. But sitting outside made it more comfortable.

My BFF went for two starters. I ordered a starter and an main dish.

A plate with grilled sardines and a plate with octopus was served.

My Tzaziki arrived and was tasty but too much raw garlic for me and a bit too much seasining. It lingered.

My main was the Greek classic Gyros. It was served with rice in tomato sauce, onions and a salad on the side. The rice was not my favourite. Too sour and undercooked. The meat was good. But a little on the bland side.

Later we went to a very nice modern cafe and I needed some ice cream to beat the garlic taste in my mouth

 

Kimchi Fried Rice

This is an other awesome recipe from one of my favourite YT channels Aaron and Clare. When I go into our Asia Go Supermarket, I always stock up on fresh kimchi in the fridge section of the market. When these bags are a bit longer at home in my fridge, they get more sour. But I love this too.

I had leftover rice from my Gung Penang and it was sitting in the fridge. A unopened bag of kimchi just beside it. Then I watched the newest YT video and knew I had to make that recipe next. LIDL hat pork belly on offer and I bought it yesterday on my way home.

Spring onions are a staple in my household and all kinds of sauces that are needed for this dish. Aarons finishing touch with roasted seaweed is awesome. I have these snack packages too.

recipe for 1 or 2:

170 g pork belly, 100 g kimchi, 2 spring onions, 1 tsp oil, 1 bowl cold rice, 3 tbsp water

sauce: 1 1/2 tbsp gochugaru hot pepper flakes, 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp rice syrup or sugar

1 tsp sesame oil, 1 - 2 fried eggs, 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds, 3 seaweed snacks   

Start with the pork belly slices and cook them until nearly done. Get them out and cut them up into strips. Back into the pan. Chop the green onions and keep some of the greens for garnish. Put the other into the pan and crank up the heat. Add a tiny bit of oil.

Take the kimchi into a ceramic or glass bowl and cut it up. Pour to the meat and stir well. In with the cold rice. Let it take heat and color.

Now is time to add the sauce. If it is a little to dry, add water and cook it out. That prevents burning.  

Keep stirring. Finish with a little sesame oil. In a second pan fry the eggs. Put all into a bowl, top with egg, green onion and sesame seeds and seaweed.

What a tasty dish, I loved it.

Mömax Cream Cake

I went out to order a new kitchen. Mx old one is outdated and does not have enough storage space.

At had an apointment at one of our local furniture stores. But there was some kind of hold up and I got a free coffee and cake out of it.

The furniture store has a nice restaurant with outdoor seating on the second floor. 

Their signature cream cake is called after the store name. It has apricots and and a strawberry flavoured cream on different layers. 

Pretty nice.

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Penang Curry with Prawns or Gung Penang

No grocery shopping today or the last few days. I am still cooking from stuff in the fridge and freezer and my dry store cupboard.

I have a couple of Thai curry paste packages bound together with a rubber band. I went through it to look for an idea. Most packages had chicken as the prefered meat mentioned on the backside. The Penang paste listet chicken and prawns. 

Frozen prawns are a staple in my freezer. While I was down in the basement to get some out of the bag, I took a hand full of frozen peas out of an other bag as well. No hassle to get a "balanced" meal on the table.

Recipe for 1:

8 - 10 black tiger prawns defrosted and peeled, 1 Penang curry paste bag

1 red chili, 3 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts, 2 tsp peanut butter, 3 tsp palm sugar

1 tsp coconut oil, 200 ml coconut cream,  3 tbsp defrosted peas, juice 1/2 lemon

 

Mozzarella Polenta with Air Fryer Veggies

Veggies and Mozzarella had to be cooked today. I had absolutely no idea. The Monsoon weather in the moment called for something comforting and warm. A salad was out.

I collected different  kinds of veggies. Bell pepper, kohlrabi, red onion, spring onion, purple and orange carrot, garlic.

1 ball mozzarella, some creme fraiche and butter and good quality veg stock, smoked sea salt

Salt, pepper, smoked paprika, herbes de Provence, olive oil.

Cut all veggies in bite size chunks, season and toss them in oil. Put in the air fryer for 10 min at 180C.

Heat up 400 ml veg stock and add 1 tsp butter to it. Stir in 100 g Polenta and stir and cook for 4 - 5 min on low. Add 2 tsp creme fraiche. Cut the mozzarella in small cubes. Stir in halve of the cubes and let them melt. Gradually add the rest and stir. You will have a nice cheese pull. Season to taste.

Spread on a plate and top with roasted veggies

Ham and Pistachio Sauce with Ravioli

Sometimes you need some ready made ravioli. I bought some in France. Ravioli au Boeuf with Timut Pepper.  But eating them cooked only in broth is boring. I needed some sauce to go with them.

A small bag of roasted pistachios was just over its expiration date. Since nuts can get rancid, I tried a couple of them and they were still good. Pistachios in sauces with pasta is a thing you can find on Sicily. I remembered that and the bag of ravioli sitting in my fridge. I came across the package of cooked ham in the fridge too. 

The sauce was pretty basic. Just some shallots, ham, pistachios, wine and cream and some seasoning.

Recipe for 2:

250 g ready made ravioli with beef filling, 2 beef stock cubes

2 shallots, 3 slices of cooked ham, 1 tbsp butter, 40 g pistachios crushed, 3 tbsp creme fraiche, 50 ml wine

Salt, pepper, smoked, paprika, dried thyme and chili flakes, parsley for garnish

Cut the shallots into rings. Melt the butter in a pan and give the shallots 4 min. Cut up the ham and toss it in. After 3 more min add the pistachios and the wine. Let it cook down a little. Season and finish with creme fraiche.

The ravioli will only need a few minutes in the broth. Add them with a little broth to the pan. Stir and garnish with parsley.

Pudding Rice with Ritter Sport Coffee Chocolate

Many people think that rice puddings are boring or only know the ones sold in the dairy isle of the supermarkets.

That is not true. Rice puddings can be comfort food, warm and rich and tasty.

I use rice puddings some times to get rid of chocolates that are sitting in my ceramic bowl on the living room table. I am not eating chocolates often. Sometimes one or two chunks and then the other pieces get old. Giving them an other purpose is great. 

For this sweet treat I used Carneroli risotto rice. It keeps its structure and has a better mouth feel for me.

Recipe for 4 smaller bowls:

800 ml whole milk, 180 g risotto rice, 30 g butter, 50 g coconut sugar

1/2 lemon juiced, 1 egg yolk, 50 g coffee chocolate Ritter Sport, 2 tsp instant hot chocolate powder

Melt the buttet in a pot and coat the rice in for 2 min. Add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the sugar and cook 25 min or until the rice is done. Add chopped chocolate  and a bit of lemon juice and stir in the egg yolk.

Pour in serving bowls and sprinkle with hot chocolate powder.