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Yesterday I picked the very last red currants. We wanted to eat them just as they were, but instead of simply using some sugar, I got the idea to decorate them with white chocolate shavings. And being the good little food blogger that I am, I took a picture. Only after having eaten them with relish (a very nice combination!), I remembered Zorra's current blog event "Red, White or Swiss". Well, we have red, we have white and the chocolate is one of the most famous Swiss chocolates: the one with the mountains. Bingo!


This order of events unfortunately prevented me of taking another, nicer picture.

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Technorati: Rezept, Red Currants, Chocolate, Blog-Event

To prevent having too much time during the organization of the Gardening&Cooking Event 'Red and Black Currants' I also participate in the bread baking day #11 - Bread with sprouts.

I have very freely adapted my recipe for flatbreads with onion sprouts from here and here.

Originally I wanted to use radish sprouts, but the seeds didn't sprout but got mouldy instead. Since I didn't have enough time to try a new batch, I went to the wholesale market, which normally sells every sort of sprouts one can imagine. But too bad: no delivery today. So I took some onion sprouts instead.

Flatbread with Onion Sprouts

Source:	1 x umrühren bitte June 28th, 2008 by Sus
Categories:	Bread, Flatbread, Yeast, Onion, Sprouts
Yields:	2 smaller pieces

Ingredients:

		Sponge:
80	gram	Wheat flour
1	teaspoon	Dry yeast
45	ml	Water
1	pinch	Salt
		Dough:
250	gram	Wheat flour
150	ml	Water
1 1/2	teaspoon	Dry yeast
1/2	teaspoon	Salt
1	cup	Onion Sprouts
		Sponge

Preparation:

Sponge:
Dissolve the yeast in the water, add salt and flour and combine everything. Cover the bowl and let rest for approx. 2 hours on the kitchen table, then for 12 hours in the fridge.

Dough:
Put the sponge and the other ingredients - without the sprouts - into a large bowl und mix evenly. At the beginning this is possible to do with a wooden spoon, later use your hands to knead the dough until it does not cling to the bowl's sides any longer. This is the time to work in the onion sprouts.

Let the dough rest for an hour, and then make a Stretch 'n Fold.

Let the dough rest again for half an hour. Bring the dough into the desired shape(s) (here: two flatbreads), put on a tray covered with baking paper and let rest again for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 230°C. Before putting the breads into the oven, spray them and the inside of the oven with some warm water. My oven has a setting for baking and keeping the moisture inside instead of venting it. After 10 minutes set the temperature to 200°C and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Attention when opening the oven: Hot steam will come out! The bread is done when there is a hollow sound if you knock on the bottom.

Notes:

The onion sprouts tasted a little bit like onions (really?) and a little bit like nigella seeds. Tasty!

Now, after I've read the original recipes again, there isn't much I did not do wrong. E.g. I used plain wheat meal instead of the fancier ones, then I used way to little, but it seems I compensated instinctively by adding the correspondingly correct amount of water.

The stretch 'n fold technique really worked. It worked so well that I did it three times one after the other just for the fun of it.

For the last resting period I let the dough sit not for two but for five hours. Despite the high yeast percentage of the dough it was quite deflated.

Still, I like them. One day in the future (when I'll be a grown-up) I will bake the ultimately perfect bread. Until then I have a lot of time.

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Technorati: Recipe, Bread, Flatbread, bbd, breadbakingday, Blog Event

This year I decided to bake a classic sponge cake for Easter. When I was finished, I had one heart and six muffins made out of sponge cake. Typical for me ...

But since a heart-shaped cake is still a cake, I'm going to participate in Julia's Easter Cake Bake on A Slice of Cherry Pie again.

Sponge Cake and Sponge Muffins

Source:	March 24th, 2008 by Sus
Categories:	Baking, Sponge Cake, Muffin, Easter
Yields:	1 heart-shaped cake and 6 muffins

Ingredients:

		Sponge batter:
4		Egg whites
4		Egg yolks
4-5	tablespoons	Warm water
150	gram	Sugar
2	pck.	Vanilla sugar
150	gram	Wheat flour, fine
1	teaspoon	Baking powder
		Filling:
250	gram	Wild berry mix, frozen (I wanted rasberries, but did not find them in my freezer.)
100	ml	Whipping cream
1	pck.	Whipped cream stabilizer (may be omitted)
3-4	tablespoons	Sugar
		Chocolate coating

Preparation:

Prehreat the oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).

Whip the egg yolk with the water until frothy. Slowly add 2/3 of the sugar and the vanilla sugar. Continue whipping until the consistency is very creamy.

Beat the egg whites in another bowl until foamy. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add the egg white to the yolk without stirring.

Mix the baking powder with the flour and sift it on top of the egg mixture. Fold in everything carefully.

Grease the baking-tins (or silicones) and fill with the batter. Bake immediately for about 15 to 20 minutes. Do not open the oven door the first ten minutes, because the cake might collapse.

In the meantime put the frozen berries with the sugar into a small pot and simmer until soft. Purée with a mixer and strain through a sieve. Leave it until cool.

Remove the cake and the muffin from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.

Cut them into halves horizontally with a sharp knife or with a string.

Whip the cream with the stabilizer and some sugar. Carefully mix with the berry sauce. Spread thickly on the lower halves of the cake and the muffins. Also spread some berry cream on the top halves, but not so much. Put the upper parts on the lower parts. Decorate with chocolate coating.

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Technorati: Recipe, Cake, Muffin, Sponge Cake, Blog Event

This month was too short, although it has one day more than usual. I wanted to try at least one other flatbread, but again I didn't have the time. So I am going to present for the Bread Baking Day #7, which this time is graciously hosted by Petra of Chili und Ciabatta my chapati bread, which already took part in this meal. (Very clever of me: One meal, two events!)

Chapatis

Source:	Anne Wilson: Classic Essential Bread and Buns Typed 13.02.08 by Sus
Categories:	Bread, Flatbread, India
Yields:	20 Pieces

Ingredients:

		1 cup = 250 ml
2 1/2	cups	Wholemeal spelt flour, fine
1	teaspoon	Salt
1	tablespoon	Oil
1	cup	Warm water
1/2	cup	Wholemeal spelt flour, fine (additionally)
1	teaspoon	Black sesame (Nigella)

Preparation:

Put flour and salt in large bowl, form a well. Add oil and water. Using a cooking spoon first and then the hands, incorporate the flour into the liquid ingredients to form a smooth dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed for 15 minutes, do not add more flour. Roll to smooth ball and let rise in a covered bowl for at least two hours (even over night if necessary).

Divide the dough into 20 equal parts and form each to a ball. Roll out each ball to a flat round cake. Cover each chapati with plastic foil and let rest while doing the others.

Heat a cast-iron pan very hot. Bake each chapati for one minute, then turn and bake for another minute until it is brown. With a folded dish towel press the edges of the chapati down to create air bubbles.

Sprinkle each chapati with black sesame and pile them in a clean dish towel to keep them warm and soft. Serve immediately. The go well with curries and vegetarian food.

Time: 40 minutes + 2 hours or more unattended time

Notes:

- Because I do not have cast-iron pan, I used a normal teflon-coated one. But the chapatis didn't get brown and crispy. With a few drops of oil it worked.

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Technorati: Recipe, Bread, Flatbread, bbd, breadbakingday, Blog event

Zorra from 1 x umrühren, bitte invited again this year to celebrate Valentine's day. I knew quite soon that I wanted to make heart-shaped noodles, but I wanted to serve the dish on Valentine's day, not earlier. I prepared the noodles last week and let them dry. Luckily I made my pictures then and not yesterday: during the week they broke - all by themselves!

Heart Noodles with Hearts

Source:	14.02.2008 by Sus
Categories:	Noodle
Yield:	2 Servings

Ingedients:

		Noddles:
100	gram	Flour
5	tablespoons	Red beet juice
		Salt
1		Egg
		'Sauce':
200	Gramm	Spinach leaves (frozen)
1	small	Onion; finely chopped
1		Yellow or red bell pepper
4	slices	Cheddar (mild and strong)
6	slices	Ham
5	tablespoons	Cream
750	Gramm	Nutmeg
100	ml	Salt, pepper

Preparaton:

To make the noodles, put flour and salt into a bowl. Mix in the egg. Add the red beet juice one spoon after the other and mix. Knead the dough for about 15 minutes until it is soft and smooth. Cover the bowl and let rest for half an hour.

With a pasta maker or a rolling pin make thin sheets of dough, like for lasagne. Either put them on a working place dusted with flour or directly on the trays where the noodles will dry later. With a small heart-shaped biscuit cutter cut ... small heart-shaped noodle biscuits. The remaining part of the dough can be used for the next pasta sheet.

For the sauce use the same biscuit cutter to cut hearts from the ham and the cheese. Do the same with the rinsed and halved bell pepper. (Easier than I thought!) Here the remains may be eaten.

Bring a pot full of water to boil and boil the noodles until they are 'al dente'. This may vary, depending on the time the noodles have been drying.

Fry the finey chopped onion with some fat or oil, add the spinach and some water. Stir in the cream. Add salt and pepper. After 10 minutes add the ham and the bell pepper. Add nutmeg.

Add the cheese hearts when serving.

Notes:

- Unfortunately the noodle hearts lost their pink colour while cooking. They had nearly the same colour as the ham.

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Technorati: Recipe, Noodle, Heart, Blog Event

Oops, it is middle of February already. And blog events galore! Last week I bought brussels sprouts, just because they looked so nice and fresh. Which blog event is the best? Hmm, the sprouts are not heart-shaped. Also not so thin like a flat bread. Brussels sprouts with star anise?? Shudder! And curry? No, doesn't work, I thought. But after some browsing the internet I discovered that there actually are curry dishes with brussels sprouts. From those recipes I found I created my own.

Wikipedia explains, that the spice mix 'Panch Phoron' has its origin in Northern India and mostly contains the below-mentioned spices in equal parts. They are fried in hot ghee or oil until the seeds pop.

Brussels Sprouts and Red Lentils Curry

Source:	February 10, 2008 by Sus
categories:	Curry, Brussels Sprouts
Servings:	4 servings

Ingredients:

		Panch Phoron:
2	teaspoons	Fenugreek
2	teaspoons	Nigella seed
2	teaspoons	Mustard seed
2	teaspoons	Fennel seed
2	teaspoons	Cumin seed
		Vegetable:
50	gram	Ghee (or some oil)
200	gram	Red lentils (Masoor Dhal)
750	gram	Brussels sprouts
100	ml	Vegetable stock
2		Onions; finely chopped
1/2	ts	Chilli powder
1	small can	Tomatoes
		Lemon juice
		Salt
		Meat:
400	gram	Ground Beef
1	small	Onion

Preparation:

Put the lentils in a small pot, cover them generously with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until lentils are soft, about 10 minutes. When they are cooked, drain and keep warm.

Clean the sprouts and cut into halves. Put the ghee (I used oil) into a large pot, add half of the panch phoron and fry it for half a minute. It will jump and pop! Stir in the chopped onions and then add the sprouts. Add the stock and the tomatoes. Mix well and sprinkle with chilli powder. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. Cover and cook on a gentle heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put the ground beef into a bowl and mix with the onion and the second half of the panch phoron, salt and pepper. Form little meatballs and roast them in a hot pan.

Mix the lentils with the sprouts and add the meatballs to serve.

Notes:

- Served with self-made chapatis.
- Nice spice mix, although next time I will use less fennel.
- Vegetarians omit the meatballs, of course.

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Technorati: Recipe, Curry, Brussels Sprouts, Blog Event

The current Bread Baking Day is hosted by Eva on Sweet Sins with the motto 'Shaped Breads'.

I was inspired by the need for spring time in this dismal season and wanted to create something flower-like. My little bread flower looks much less sophisticated like those breads of some of the other participants, but this doesn't matter. It is a flower and it grew in my oven!

Bread Flower

Source:	January 29, 2008 by Sus
Categories:	Bread, Bread machine, Spice
Servings:	1 bread

Ingredients:

350	gram	Spelt flour
150	gram	Wheat flour
300	ml	Water
1	pck	Dry yeast
1/3	teaspoon	Salt
1	tablespoon	Basil, fresh; chopped
1	tablespoon	Dill; chopped
1	teaspoon	Fresh pepper; crushed
5	slices	Salami; chopped
1	teaspoon	Coriander seeds; ground
2	tablespoons	Sesame
1	tablespoon	Nigella/black sesame
2	tablespoons	Dried roast onions
1	teaspoon	Allspice; ground

Preparation:

Mix the yeast into the flour. Put the water, the flour and the salt into the bread machine. Use the program "yeast dough" for kneading and letting it rise for about one hour. (Of course, you can do all this without a bread machine. )

Divide the dough into nine parts. Knead ever part again and form it to a palm-sized plate. Take half of every kind of filling and put it into the middle of the plates, respectively. Fold the edges to keep the filling in and knead again to distribute the spices evenly. On each ball put the other half of the spices and press them into the dough. Arrange them in a spring or pie form.

Cover with a clean towel and let rise again for at least half an hour. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Sprinkle some water on the bread and bake it for about 30 minutes.

Notes:

I tried to cut the top of each ball first with a knife and then with scissors but unfortunately, as you can see, with no effect.

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Technorati: Recipe, Bread, bbd, breadbakingday, Blog Event

Since last year Sunita from Sunita's World has a monthly event running: Think spice .... Every month we are invited to participate with a recipe featuring the chosen spice. This month it was Garlic. Oh well, I really like garlic. So it was not difficult to spice up the leg of lamb, which absolutely wanted to leave the freezer last weekend, with spikes of garlic.

The day before yesterday I wanted to check the event's rules, but the page was not available. Going to the main page, it gave me pangs of fright and sorrow: While administering her blog, Sunita had by mistake deleted it entirely. Oh dear! What a catastrophe! But luckily she got it back! Phew! So this month's event can take place as planned! Congratulations! (And I immediately make a backup of my blog!)

Leg of Lamb Spiked&Spiced with Garlic

Source:	January 22, 2008 by Sus
Categories:	Meat, Lamb, Garlic, Römertopf
Servings:	4 servings

Ingredients:

1900	gram	Leg of lamb (with bone)
10-15		Cloves of garlic
1		Lemon, juice
200	ml	White wine
1	teaspoon	Chicken broth (Instant)
10	stalks	Peppermint, fresh
2	tablespoons	Goose fat (or butter)
1		Rutabaga (Brassica napus subsp. rapifera)
2-3		Parsnips
5		Parsley roots (Hamburg parsley?)
3		Onions
3		Carrots
3-5		Cloves of garlic

Preparation:

Remove most of the fat from the meat. Peel the garlic cloves and slice each into two or three spikes. Insert them into the meat using a paring knife and marinate for at least 2-3 hours in white whine and lemon juice.

Soak the Römertopf thoroughly for 20-30 minutes. Wash the root vegetables and cut them into rather large pieces. Peel and halve the onions and the remaining cloves of garlic.

Wash the mint, remove leaves from the stems and chop them. Mix with the fat and spread this paste evenly on the meat.

Put the vegetable into the Römertopf, but leave a pit in the middle for the meat. Season with salt and pepper.

Sear the meat in a pan on all sides and put on the vegetable in the Römertopf. Add the marinade to the pan and stir. According to taste add the broth (powder). Pour the liquid over the vegetables.

Close the Römertopf and put it into the not preheated oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 180°C. Turn the meat after an hour.

Served with roast potatoes.

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Technorati: Recipe, Lamb, Römertopf, Blog Event, Think Garlic

Sometimes it is strange:

The 30. (thirtieth! Wow!) cooking event at Kochtopf with the nice motto Ginger was announced at the end of last year. I was very pleased about the many possibilities of ginger and the extended time until the deadline ... and? ... I only managed to test two or three recipes with ginger which then either didn't look nice or didn't taste good enough. Yesterday we finally found a worthy candidate for the event: The hot ginger and sweet cream go very well together.

Honey Waffles with Ginger Cream

Source:	January 13, 2008 by Sus
Categories:	Waffle, Cream, Ginger
Yield:	7 Waffles

Ingredients:

		Waffles
125	gram	Butter
1	tablespoon	Vanilla laced sugar or vanilla extract
5-6	tablespoons	Honey
2		Eggs
250	ml	Milk
250	gram	Flour
2	teaspoons	Baking powder
		Ginger Cream
1		Apple
100	ml	Cider
3-4	teaspoons	Ginger, fresh; grated
200	ml	Cream
1	tablespoon	Stabilizer for whipped cream
1	tablespoon	Vanilla laced sugar or some vanilla extract
2	tablespoons	Sugar

Preparation:

Peel, core and slice the apple. Put into a small pot with some cider (you can use water instead, of course) and sugar and cook until the apple slices are soft. Purée with a mixer.
Peel the ginger and grate it into the apple purée. Mix thoroughly. The purée should now taste quite hot.

Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff. Use stabilizer, if available. Carefully stir in the purée. Put into the refridgerator for one hour.

Beat soft butter, honey and vanilla until slightly foamy. Add the eggs one after another. Mix the baking powder with the flour and alternately add some flour and some milk to the batter, stirring continuously. The batter is supposed to be quite soft and liquid.

Bake the waffles in the waffle iron according to the manual. Put each one a plate, add some ginger cream and decorate with chocolate flakes.

Notes:

- The apple is not used for taste but for substance; the ginger-cream-mix is a bit creamier and more fruity with it.

- Use a dark and strong tasting honey for the waffles.
- Next time I will use whole grain flour; it should taste even better.
- I used some stabilizer for whipped cream which seems to be a German product.

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Technorati: Recipe, Ginger, Waffle, Blog Event

BreadBakingDay #5 has arrived. This time Chelsea from Rolling in Dough is the graceful host. She asked us to create a filled bread this time.

Did I tell that I love quinces?

Filled Quince Bread

Source:	Me
Categories:	Bread, Quince, Yeast
Servings:	1 Bread

Ingredients:

500	gram	White Flour
300	ml	Water
1	package	Dry Yeast
1	pinch	Salt
1		Quince
100	ml	Water
2	tb	Sugar

Preparation:

Peel and core the quince and cut into pieces. Cook them in some water until soft and purée with a mixer to a smooth paste. Add some sugar if you want.
Dissolve the yeast in the water and let grow for some minutes. Put the flour in a bowl, add the salt and pour in the yeast. Knead thoroughly until smooth. Let rise in a warm place until the volume has doubled.

Take a handful of dough (or more) and mix in the quince purée. It should feel like very soft dough.

Put a bit of flour on your working area. Spread and roll the larger part of the dough into a rectangle of about 25x35cm. Spread the quince dough on it, staying away from the border.

Roll the dough lengthwise. Close the edges by pressing them together.

Preheat the oven to 225°C (Convection: 200°C) now, giving the bread time to rise a little more. Spread some water on top of it.
Bake for 30 to 45 Minutes.

Notes:

- As you can see in the picture, the bread was a bit too short in the oven. Five to ten minutes more would have helped.

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Technorati: Recipe, Bread, Quince, bbd, breadbakingday