It’s Been A While…

Hello people,

seems like I’m not in a posting mood at the moment. I’m just so tired… whatever. Anyways, I made some small marzipan pies a while ago (they are covered with chocolate, so they don’t actually qualify as pies, I guess. I used a pie crust, however):

Not bad!

I also made a butternut-feta pie:

Or rather a tarte, I guess. Not bad, either! With caramellized onions and baked garlic cloves.

I really hope that I’ll be in blogging mode again soon. I kind of miss it, but there’s so much else to do, and bla bla bla.

Eat well!! See you soon!
xoxo, F.

Baked Apples

Hello,

check out those beauties:

Baked apples. (Bake apples for approx. 20 mins. at 390° F.) The perfect fall and winter snack or dessert. Serve them with vanilla sauce, or maple syrup, or ice cream, or sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, or just plain (they become really sweet in the baking process). Or… the possibilities are pretty endless.

Back to work!
xoxo, F.

Sweet Millet Casserole

Hi there,

here we go, as promised.

This is a nice hot dessert, or a main dish for people with a sweet tooth, or a side dish for brunches and breakfast buffets. I served it as a main dish for lunch this weekend (not a fan of sweet dinners), and we two eaters ended up with a lot of leftovers. I would say that the recipe serves at least 3 to 4 people that way, and more when served as a side.
What else? Oh yeah, what I wanted to mention was that of course, different kinds of fruit would definitely work in this, I’m thinking of using peaches next time. Just make sure the fruit is ripe and sweet!
I’m always interested in trying different kinds of grains in order to get some variety into our rice/ couscous routine, and I really liked the millet. It had a nutty taste and a nice chew.
My mother used to make a similar dish when I was little, but I don’t think it had quark cheese in it. The internet, however, only suggested rice casseroles with fruit, but I did not relent and mixed the two. So here we go:

Ingredients:
serves at least 3

2 cups milk
2 tbsps. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 oz. millet seeds

2 eggs
7 oz quark cheese
2 tbsps. sugar

approx. 9 oz apples and pears each (I used two medium apples and two medium pears)

Directions:

In a medium pot, combine milk, sugar, salt, and millet. Stir; bring to a slow boil, let bubble for 5 mins. and remove from heat. Stir; let sit for 10 more mins., with the pot lid on.

Separate the eggs.
In a large bowl, mix yolks, quark cheese, and sugar.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Preheat your oven to 390° F.

Add the cooked millet to the quark mixture; stir. Add the fruit chunks; mix well. Then fold the egg whites into the mixture.

Transfer the mix into a baking dish and bake for 30 – 35 mins.
Serve hot, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar or with vanilla sauce. Enjoy!

Allright then! Eat well, people! There’s so much good food out there.
xoxo, F.

Pomegranate Juice

Hello!

In order to satisfy an urge for vitamins, I made myself some pomegranate juice, i.e. I squeezed two of those beauties and drank the result.

That bittersweet taste, I love it! Pomegranates are something that I love, but I tend to forget about them (also, they are so darn expensive around here), and so I ‘rediscover’ them every once in a while. That glass of juice really gave me an energy boost on this rainy afternoon.

I’ll post a millet casserole recipe later. Until then:
xoxo, F.

Here We Go Again

Good morning,

what is the effin’ matter with me? It seems like my body only tolerates a very, um, restricted diet these days, meaning that I’ll crave one dish like crazy for a couple of days, and then move on to another obsession. After my ‘tomato-and-avocado-phase’ I have now entered into a ‘apple sauce-and-yogurt-phase.’ Duh.

I made fresh apple sauce the other day (‘recipe’: cook apple chunks with a little water and a little sugar), and I cannot stop eating this stuff. I especially like it hot, with cold yogurt straight from the fridge, and dusted with a little cinnamon.

Maybe it’s the weather – it’s fall, it’s stormy and rainy and lovely, and everybody needs comfort food. Which reminds me, I’ll bake some ginger snaps this afternoon. If they turn out well, I’ll post some pictures.

Goodbye for now! Eat well!
xoxo, F.

Current Food Obsession

Howdy,

here’s what I’m eating these days:

Literally almost THE ONLY THING I have been eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this past week. I don’t know why, but I’m craving avocado so badly at the moment, it’s insane. And I was lucky and got some really good tomatoes at the market, and for me, this is one of those perfect combinations that don’t need more than a pinch of salt and pepper to taste just heavenly. The arugula salad on top and the bread beneath are nice additions. So, this is obviously not much of a recipe, rather a flavor recommendation; if you insist, however, here’s a how to make this:

Find yourself a slice of good bread. Spread about 1/4 of a nice avocado on it; make sure the avocado is ripe. Layer with tomato slices. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and top off with some chopped arugula leaves. Enjoy!

The easiest food is the best. I could live on this stuff for another week. Maybe I will.

Eat well! And enjoy these beautiful days.
xoxo, F.

Pumpkin and Feta

Hello there,

fall is (almost) here! And with fall comes… pumpkin. Which is great! Here comes a very simple recipe which is great for weeknight dinners, but also, maybe with a roast or some other meat dish, fancy enough for Sunday night when the in-laws come for dinner. It requires very few ingredients, and doesn’t take long. So, without further ado:

Ingredients:
serves 3-4

pumpkin, washed, cleaned and cut into cubes; I used one small hokkaido, approx. 1.5 pounds
feta cheese, cut into cubes; I used greek feta, approx. 0.5 pound
salt, pepper, thyme

Directions:

In a pot, bring water to a boil; add salt. Put in the pumpkin cubes, and let boil for 3-4 mins., not longer. Take out, drain, and transfer into a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Cover the pumpkin cubes with feta cubes, sprinkle with thyme.

Bake for approx. 30 mins., until the feta starts to turn very light brown. Enjoy!

Easy, right?! We ate ours with cooked, sliced beetroot and a fresh green salad.

Ah, I love fall. In fact, I’ll take a nice long walk right now.
Good bye for now! Eat well!
xoxo, F.

Oooooooh….want. Now.

Hi there!

Good food and drink is one thing – nice dishes can add that little extra touch of love. Like these Jane Austen mugs:

I imagine it to be so enjoyable and comforting to drink hot cocoa from these! With a book on my lap, and a snowstorm outside, and a warming fireplace…ahem. Not that we own a fireplace, or that winter will be around anytime soon. But Miss Austen rocks, and so do hot drinks.

Things are kind of slow around here at the moment. But that’s no need to worry, I guess, because good food always prevails and so there will be something for me to write about sooner or later.

Goodbye for now! xoxo,
F.

Mugs by Brookish
via The Kitchn

Potato Croquettes

Hello, my fellow eaters,

here comes a recipe that on the one hand isn’t terribly awesome for this hot, humid weather, since it involves frying stuff in hot oil. On the other hand, however, these potato croquettes are, to me at least, perfect lazy summer food: they can be prepared in advance (in the morning, say); they taste well hot, warm, and cold, they are nice for buffets and finger food-parties, and a hearty addition to those light summer salads we are devouring these days.

Ingredients:
makes about 24; serves at least 4

18 oz. potatoes

1 cup manchego cheese, grated
2 1/2 tbsps. goat cream cheese
1 1/2 tbsps. ricotta cheese

1 medium egg

3 tbsps. bread crumbs
1 tbsp. starch (I used potato starch)

1 large handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt, pepper, chili, nutmeg to taste

For frying:
2 medium eggs
starch and bread crumbs, about a soup plate each; I didn’t measure
vegetable oil, approx. 3/4 cup

Directions:

In a medium pot, cook the potatoes (with peel) until tender, approx. 20. mins. Take the potatoes out, and chill with cold water (so that the peel will come off easily). Peel the potatoes, put them into a large bowl and mash them with a masher or a fork.
Add manchego, goat cheese, ricotta, egg, bread crumbs, starch, and basil to the potatoes. Mix well. Season strongly with pepper, salt, chili and nutmeg. You should now have a smooth, dough-like mix. Let cool for approx. 30 mins.

Cover a baking tray with parchment. Form the potato mix into 24 evenly sized balls. Cover with a light tea towl, and put the tray into your fridge (if the croquettes are still to warm for that, let them cool down elsewhere and then put them in). I left mine in the fridge for approx. 2 hours, and I think it made a difference, the croquettes held together really well when I fried them. So I think you should really give them some time in the fridge, at least 30 mins.

Crack the eggs into a flat bowl (or soup plate, or whatever), and beat them thoroughly. Prepare two more bowls, approx. half filled with bread crumbs and starch respectively.

In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil until bubbly. Now roll the croquettes first in starch, then egg, then bread crumbs, and fry them until they are golden brown. Let them drip on a paper towel for a minute before serving. Enjoy!

Writing this made me realize that this isn’t exactly a fast recipe… but it’s easy, and really good! These croquettes remind me of these fried risotto balls I made a while ago.

Goodbye for now! Eat well, and drink, and be merry.
xoxo, F.

Plum Cake

Hi there,

dude, it is hot. Hot and humid, which is a combination I don’t fancy. This is not the kind of weather that brings a plum cake to mind, but believe me, when I made this cake last week it was a perfect summer cake, very nice for dessert (with ice cream) or with a nice, giant cappuccino.

So here we go:

Ingredients:
makes one cake about the size of a regular pie

1 pound plums, halved and stoned; I used Italian plums

1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tbsps. dry yeast

1/2 stick butter at room temperature, cut into cubes
1 egg yolk
approx. 1/2 cup milk, lukewarm

1/2 tsp. sugar + some more for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. salt

bread crumbs to sprinkle
vegetable oil to grease
cinnamon to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix well. Add egg yolk, butter, and some milk, and start kneading. Keep kneading and adding milk, one table spoon at a time, until you have a nice dough ball. It will be a little sticky, due to the butter, but that’s okay. Leave in the bowl, cover with a teat towel, and let sit for approx. 2 hours.
Please note: I know that some people let the yeast work in the milk for some time before the kneading begins. Quite frankly, I never do that; I always knead everything together straight away, and it has always worked. However, this might not be the case with fresh yeast. If you don’t trust my recipe, use another one; the point is, in any case, to make a basic yeast dough.

To prepare the baking pan, grease it very lightly and sprinkle very lightly with bread crumbs.

When the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl, and roll it (on a lightly floured surface) into the shape of your baking pan; transfer it into the baking pan, press gently to its bottom and sides, and prick with a fork repeatedly, lengthwise and crossways.

Preheat your oven to 400° F.

Spread the plums on the crust evenly. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste. Fold over the crust rim. This is how mine looked before baking:

Bake for approx. 25 mins., until the crust is light brown, and the plums are bubbling.
Let cool a little before serving; tastes well with ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

I think I’ll have to lie down now. Even typing is exhausting in this weather.
So long! xoxo,
F.