Muffins.

Hello, world,

I made muffins over the weekend. We had family coming to visit, and I wanted some ‘finger food’ to go with the coffee and tea and chatting. I chose apple muffins (front) because beautiful apples are everywhere to be had at the moment, and carrot hazelnut muffins (back) because I had a craving for them.
So here we go.

Carrot muffins (makes 12):

3.5 ounces carrots, finely grated (roughly half a cup)
4 ounces soft butter (roughly 9 tbsps.)
1/3 cup sugar
vanilla to taste
2 eggs
2 tsps. baking powder
1/3 cup ground hazelnuts
1/3 cup flour

In a bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until the sugar has dissolved and you have a fluffy cream. In a sencond bowl, mix flour, nuts, and baking powder. Fold the dry mixture into the wet, adding the carrots.
Distribute evenly into your cupcake pan and bake for about 20 mins. at 400°F. Let cool before serving.

Apple muffins (makes 12):

1 cup flour
3 tsps. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
vanilla to taste
2 eggs
2 apples, roughly grated
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and vanilla. In a second bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and oil. Combine both mixtures, add the apples, and mix thoroughly.
Distribute evenly into your cupcake pan and bake for about 20 mins. at 400°F. Let cool before serving.

There! Obviously these are nothing special, and next time I’ll hopefully have the energy to make some cream cheese frosting to go with the carrot muffins, and add some cinnamon to the apple muffin batter, but on the whole, I was happy with these muffins. So was the family. Good times.

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.

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.

Apple Pie

Good evening!

It’s been a while. Time flies… Anyways, I made this beautiful apple pie tonight, because we had these apples lying around. They were not very good – kind of mealy, stale. Usually I make pancakes with whatever fruit I have to use up, but since it has been rainy today and colder, I was in the mood for comfort food.
This is a classic recipe (thanks are due to Martha Stewart – who else?), and it is very easy. Not to mention delicious!

Ingredients:

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup very cold butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
3 pounds apples
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt

Two things I should mention: I think the original recipe calls for an additional 1/2 tsp. nutmeg in the filling. I am not the biggest nutmeg fan, so I usually leave it out. What I also tend to not do is brush the pie with egg wash before baking; I usually use water (this time: apple juice).

Directions:

For the crust, combine flour and salt in a bowl, and add the butter. Then add half of the water and start kneading. Slowly add the rest of the water, one spoonful at a time. Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Form into a ball, cover in plastic wrap, and put into your fridge for at least 30 mins.

In the meantime, peel and core the apples, and cut them into cubes (or slices). In a bowl, mix the apple pieces with lemon juice, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Then take the dough out of the fridge, and cut it in half. Roll out one half (to a ca. 12 inch-round), transfer into your pie plate (9 inch). Fill with the apple mix. Roll out the remaining dough, and cut some ‘vents;’ I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place on top of the apples; pressing gently, seal together the bottom piece of dough with the top (crimp the edge the way you like it; I kind of tuck it under). Brush with apple juice, and sprinkle with sugar (both lightly).

Bake for about 60 mins., until the crust is light brown, and the inside is bubbling. Let the pie cool for a while before serving. We ate ours with vanilla ice cream. It was heavenly! Really good. What kind of pie do you like?