Tropical island

I'm sure most of you are dreaming of an idyllic tropical island. I love the tropics as well but it seems to me as if I have to sacrify a lot to live here. I don't want to mention any personal and private things and whom and what I've left in Germany. No, I just want to show you why (beside the fact, that my hard disk drive has crashed and I can't use my laptop, which means I have no www-access) I can't post any culinary stuff since a while.
I started out to my quarterly spring cleaning - yes quarterly. We have only one season: Summer, and to clean everything thoroughly more than only once a year is really neccessary. Okay I started my quarterly spring cleaning:

• Going through old magazines, folders, warranties, lipsticks, and declutter each and every drawer, cupboard, magazin holder,... all the things I stored, collected and stapled.
• Whip out everything and clean it from not only from the outside and above as usual but from the inside, back and underneath.
• Wash and clean everything stored in cubboards, drawers, boxes,...
• Check the expiry dates of medicines, cooking and baking ingredients and store them in their cleaned containers.
• ......

All that stuff you have to do from time to time. And whilst I'm doing this everything reminds me why I love the tropics:

I love the greenery - really!

But I prefer our balcony white.

I love all of those exotic animals

except those crawling around in the house and leaving me "messages".

I like those cute monkeys, I love to play hide and seek with some smaller animals.

Especially those tiny, tiny (and often some in a "normal" size) ones with eight arms who love to hide themselves in the drawers and in the edges of the shelves I recently cleaned "for them". And who are helping me to decorate the freshly with a toothbrush cleaned feets of my buddha, the lamps, my kitchen tools, almost every thoroughly cleaned spice mill and jar, and many other things in reward.

- but definetly not the bird spider we once found in our sink.

I'm already thinking about starting my own business growing some mushrooms. Not only inside of picture frames "under glass", behind our bed, in drawers, underneath the steps and even on the recently cleaned additional cutlery, and pans, my adored Riedel glasses, maybe even in boxes, and along the wall behind our bookshelves, or just on any other surface. For sure soon I could have my own plantation here thanks to the humidity and the "nice presents" those cute lizzards, geckos, cockroaches and sometimes rats are leaving behind to provide a breeding ground and to accelerate the growing process.

Those "transit" walls in this house will help me in this case as well as the almost primevally tropical "cots-feeling" when the rain comes through the ceiling.

I adore to life in a region free of airpolution (I have no clue where are those "black" curtains, doorframes, doors, and walls are coming from even on a place where nobody is passing by and could have left a fingerprint or something like that, why each and every surface is dirty right two days after I whiped away the dust and cleaned them, and the dust is so dark and greasy.)

Though that even stainless steel items (even though I often treat them with cleaner and polish) get rusty stains is one of the view negative things I have to accept since I'm enjoying my tropical island life.

And isn't it good to know that service is pretty cheap in Singapore and I could get my nails "restored" during a manicure if only I could find same time. Maybe even in spite of the fact that some of them start to have that nail disease called onchylosis semicularis from all those chemicals I have to use and from my always wet fingers.

I know there will be some things others, with a domestic worker doing their homework, will not even notice. And I'm not sure if their maids will treat for example the moss and mould right or just whip them "away" (into the cloth and spread them over the surface) and if they check each and everything from each and every angle.


I hope to be back on posting something delicious in the next two weeks. Hope you'll come back and visit my blog.

Sorry!

To all of you.

I havent't found enough time to write a new post since a few days. I'm simply to busy - spring cleaning the house, beeing invited and shopping tours at the annual GSS (great Singapore sale - and I am bit burnt out, always being in rush to shopping, cooking and cleaning. And I don't know why, but our internet connection is slow as a tortoise and that often interrupted that it tooks me almost more time to publish a post than to prepare a dinner.

But I assure you I'll post again something delicious in the next few days. Maybe Monday or Tuesday.
Hope you keep visiting my blog. And by the way - feel free to leave me a comment.

Brigitte

Freeze, froze, frozen...

...Yoghurt

Yoghurt is such a healthy stuff. The live cultures in it help, not only me with my lactose-intolerance, to digest milk sugar. It is refreshing und you can use it in savoury dishes as well as a companion for them. You can mix drinks with em like the Indian lassi. Cakes and that kind of stuff baked with yoghurt has a light texture, are moist and fresh. You can use it mixed with aromatic ingredients as a cake topping. Or eat it just plain, with a fruit juice, sugar, syrup, like maple syrup, with fruits and so on. So many possibilities and for sure much more I don't even know.
I love ice-cream, home-made gelato. That creamy, cold, sweat delicacies. Either with flavours like cinnamon, lavender, vanilla, coconut or with white chocolate, figs, passionfruit, other fruits, or any other ingredient. I still have to try to make a pandan ice-cream and one with black sesame seeds. I've collected recipes for olive oil-ice cream, fresh cheese-ice cream, and many other variations.... The creamier they are the more I like them. More whipping cream than milk and maybe additionaly butter or even one more egg yolk. Mmmmmhhhhhhhhhh yummi!
But there is a healthier version of an ice-cream as delicious as the creamiest one. Made with milk which is fermented with bacterias. Frozen yoghurt. I've made already one yoghurt ice-cream version with chocolate dulce de leche. But as you can eat yoghurt plain you can churn yoghurt in an ice cream maker without any additions. Some of the recipes for frozen yoghurt I've seen calling for gelatine, most of them for at least sugar. Be aware that yoghurt needs longer to freeze. It's boiling/freezing point lies higher/lower than that of regular milk or cream. But you don't need a double boiler, no bain marie, no eggs, no crème pâtissiére, non of that basic custard techniques; Just flavour and thicken if you want and churn.
I decided to create a version with honey, maple sugar and strawberries. Okay and I have to confess that I couldn't resist the temptation of cream. The crown of my yoghurt-strawberry is a huge dollop of whipped cream.

So you can call my creation for about 5 persons:

Health-cup with a sinful finish

Ingredients for the yoghurt-strawberry ice-cream:

1 kggreek style yoghurt, or 1,2 kg natural plain yoghurt packed in a muslin/cheesecloth to get rid of some of it's water content
3 Tbspthyme honey or maple syrup

300 gstrawberries, washed, drained, and trimmed
4 Tbsvanilla sugar


Preparation:

Mix the chilled yoghurt with the honey and churn in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.
Blend the strawberries with the flavoured sugar. Devide the mixture into onethird and twothird. When the yoghurt ice-cream starts to freeze pour in 1/3 of the strawberry sauce. Churn a few more rounds pour the ice-cream in a suitable box with lid and freeze.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan simmer the 2/3 of the strawberry sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally until reduced to a thick paste.
Stir half of the strawberry paste into the almost frozen yoghurt-mixture in the manner you'll do with a swirl cake. Freeze again until set.










Ingredients for the yoghurt with strawberries:

1 kggreek style or natural plain yoghurt
500 gstrawberries, washed, drained, trimmed, and cut in cubes or slices

200 mlheavy/whippening cream
2 Tbspvanilla sugar, or more to your taste, or use maple syrup or the thyme honey instead - it's up to you

4 Tbspmaple sugar (crystalized maple syrup by cooking maple syrup to a hard, crystalized rock candy) or sugar chrystals, alternatevly maple syrup or thyme honey










Final preparation:

Mix the strawberry slices/cubes into the yoghurt.
Pour about 1-2 cups of the strawberry-yoghurt into a bowl. Put 2 - 3 scoops of the yoghurt-strawberry ice-cream in it. Pour some of the remaining half of the strawberry paste over the ice. Top with a dollop whipped cream. And sprinkle some maple sugar over the dessert. Indulge.





I'm already thinking about making lemon curd and add this and maybe some caramelizised lemon wedges and lemon zests to yoghurt and yoghurt ice-cream....

Garten-Koch-Event: Rhabarber

Gottseidank, etwas , das ich hier auch machen kann, nachdem ich letztes Mal beim Kresseevent nicht teilnehmen konnte. Rein theoretisch hätte ich schon gekonnte, habe ich dafür ja sogar ganz praktisch Kressesamen gesät. Nur sind mir diese nicht aufgegangen sondern verschimmelt. Ob es an der Dauerhitze und-feuchtigkeit lag? Manchmal ist das so stark, dass mir auch andere küchentechnische Sachen nicht gelingen, wie z.B. etwas mit Eischnee. Oder ob es an altem oder feucht gewordenem Saatgut lag oder what ever. Ich weiß es nicht. Jedenfalls gab es rein praktisch ausgerechnet in der relevanten Zeit auch nirgends "fertige" Kresse zu kaufen und auch keine frischen Samen. Eine meiner Kresseideen habe ich aber dennoch verwirklicht, zu sehen hier. Diesesmal werde ich nun endlich dabei sein, nachdem ich auch noch befürchten musste, dass die Garten-Koch-Events nicht mehr weitergeführt werden. Glücklicherweise habe ich vor einigen Tagen aber ein neues event-Logo entdeckt, mit dem Thema Rhabarber - *freu. Rhabarber wächst hier zwar nirgends. Hier wächst sowieso fast nichts außer Palmen, Bananenstauden, Mangobäume, Bougainvilleas, Heliconien und Unkraut aller Arten. Auf meiner Fensterbank in "meiner" winzigen Küche schaffe ich es allerdings immerhin zeitweise verschiedene Basilikums, Liebstöckel, Schnittlauch, glatte Petersilie, Dill, Zitronenthymian, Salbei, Oregano und Rosmarin "anzubauen" und eben auch Kresse. Unsere Gärten in Deutschland mit Kirschen, Brombeeren, Stachelbeeren, Himbeeren, Kartoffeln, jeder Menge Kräutern, Rhabarber, Tomaten, Pflaumen, Zwetschgen, Quitten, Mirabellen, Erdbeeren, und, und, und, vermisse ich darum sehr. Hier gibt es ausserdem nur sehr wenig gutes reifes Obst und Gemüse zu kaufen, zu einem erheblichen Preis und in geringer Auswahl. Ausgenommen der hervorragenden Mangos aus Malaysia und Thailand. Gut sind eigentlich nur, die hier wirklich sehr teuren, eingeflogenen Waren aus Japan, Neuseeland, Frankreich, Australien und Deutschland. Dafür muss man diese oft vorbestellen oder sie überall (zusammen-)suchen und bezahlt dann eben einen stolzen Preis, wie z. B. für 50,00S$/25,00€ per Kilogram etwas weniger holzigen Spargel. Aber all das andere Zeugs, dass es im normalen Supermarkt so gibt schmeckt meistens nach, sorry, "Zucht"-Holländer. Ich glaube, wenn man die Augen schließen und so verschiedenes Obst und Gemüse probieren würde, würden die Sachen alle so ziemlich gleich nach nix schmecken.
So, nun aber zum Thema - Rhabarber. Den gibt es manchmal und das auch nur, wie so vieles andere, das ich gerne habe, in einem einzigen Supermarkt und da heißt es dann zugreifen. Habe ich auch getan und wie so ziemlich jeder derzeit, der in der nördlichen Hemisphäre einen foodblog schreibt habe auch ich neulich bereits über Rhabarber geposted. Vor etwas längerer Zeit habe ich ihn im Backteig frittiert, das war auch ziemlich lecker. Eigentlich langt es mir in zu schälen und in Zucker gedipt zu verspeisen. Kuchen gibt es jede Menge damit, am einfachsten vielleicht in einem Hefeteig versenkt. Leckerer auf Mürbeteig mit einer Konditorencreme oder einem Buttercreme aus Vanillepudding darunter, vielleicht noch mit Erdbeeren vermischt und mit Streuseln belegt. Ich könnte mir die säuerlichen Rhabarberstangen auch gut als Zutat für eine Entengericht vorstellen oder zu Wild. Und es gibt vor allem einige deftige, indische Rezepte mit Rhabarber. Bei meiner letzten "Rhabarberkochtat" kamen mirr, ich glaube, so herrliche Dessertideen, dass ich diese unbedingt noch umsetzten muss. Vermutlich lässt sich blanchierter oder gedünsteter Rhabarber auch in einen Salat integrieren. In einem Feld- oder Babyspinatsalat oder etwas herberem könnte ich mir einige Zeit in Marinade eingelegte Rhabarberwürfelchen herrlich vorstellen. Da unsere Jüngste heute aber grillen geht und ich dafür schon Fleisch für sie mariniert und eine Riesenschüssel Kartoffelsalat zubereitet habe. Dachte ich mir mache ich doch endlich einmal die Entenbrust, die ich eingefroren habe. Bezüglich des Rhabarbers kam ich dann auf die Idee hierzu ein Rhabarberchutney zu machen, denn das Hühnerbrustfilet in Mangochutney hat uns vor einiger Zeit vorzüglich vom Grill gemundet. Da wir zu viert "speisen" werden musste ich meinen Männi extra wegschicken noch eine frische Entenbrust zu besorgen.

Für den Garten-Koch-Event gibt es von mir heute:

Rhabarberchutney
zu Grillente süß-sauer und Süßkartoffelspießen

Zutaten für das Rhabarberchutney:

15 mlVerjuice (z. B. unfermentierter Cabernet-Sauvignon)
1 TeelSpeisestärke, wie z. B. Pfeilwurzmehl

250 gbrauner Rohrzucker
65 mlMadeira
45 mlVerjuice
1 EßlHimbeeressig, alternativ Rotweinessig oder Aceto Balsamico

350 gRhabarber, geschält und in kleine (Nachtrag: ~ 0,5 cm große) Würfel geschnitten
50 gfrischer, junger Ingwer, geschält und gerieben
2Zweige eingelegte, grüne Pfefferkörner ~ 1 Teelöffel, abgestreift und im Mörser zerdrückt
1Schalotte, gepellt und fein gewürfelt
1Peperoncinischote, in feinen Streifen
2Kardamomkapseln, deren zerdrückte Kerne
2Gewürznelken
½ TeelGelbwurz-/Turmeric-/Curcumapulver
1unbehandelte Zitrone, Schale davon in feinen Zesten

½ TeelSenfpulver
½ TeelSalz


Zubereitung:

Speisestärke mit Verjuice vermischen.
Zucker in einem kleinen Topf oder hoher Pfanne schmelzen bis er leicht karamellisiert. Mit Madeira und Essig ablöschen. Über kleiner Flamme rühren, bis sich der Zucker aufgelöst hat. Die geriebenen und geschnittenen Zutaten zugeben. 5 Minuten köcheln lassen.
7 Esslöffel der Flüssigkeit abschöpfen und für die Entenmarinade zur Seite stellen.
Mit Salz und Senf würzen. Die aufgelöste Speisestärke einrühren.










Zutaten für die marinierte Entenbrüste:

2Entenbrüste à 400 g
2Blutorangen, entsaftet = 200 ml
7 EßlFlüssigkeit aus dem ungewürzten und ungebundenem Rhabarberchutney
4 EßlOlivenöl
1Sternanis
¼ TeelCeylon-Zimtpulver
¼ TeelSenfpulver









Zubereitung:

Die Entenbrüste gut abspülen und trockentupfen. Alle Federkiehle und -schafte mit einer Pinzette entfernen. Fett, Sehnen und Adern ausschneiden. Hautseite rautenförmig einschneiden und halbieren.
Sonstige Zutaten zu einer Marinade vermengen.
Die vier halben Entenbrüste in 2/3 der Marinade für mindestens 4 Stunden, besser über Nacht, einlegen.
Die Hautseite kross anbraten. Entweder in einer gußeisernen Grillpfanne oder auf dem heißen Grill. Dann entweder in Alufolie verpackt unter dem Backofengrill oder in einem geschlossenen Kugelgrill ca. 10 Minuten grillen. Eventuell ab und an mit Marinade und weiterem Öl bestreichen. Letztendlich habe ich die Hautseite scharf angegrillt und die Brüste dann in Alufolie gelegt, wobei ich zu ihnen noch jeweils 2 Esslöffel der Marinade gegeben habe. 5 Minuten ruhen lassen. Auspacken und in Scheiben schneiden.
Das Rhabarberchutney dazu reichen.










Zutaten für die marinierte Süßkartoffelspieße:

4Süßkartoffeln/Pataten
1 TeelSalz
1/3der Marinade der Entenbrüste
1 Eßlgeschmolzene Butter


Zubereitung:

Die Pataten in der Micro (oder in einem Schnellkochtopf) ca. 8 Minuten vorgaren, schälen und in 1,5 cm Scheiben schneiden. Salzen, mit der Marinade und der flüssigen Butter übergießen. Eine halbe Stunde ziehen lassen. Auf gewässerte Holz- oder metallene Spieße stecken und von jeder Seite 3-5 Minuten grillen. Dabei eventuell nochmals mit etwas zusätzlicher Butter bestreichen.


Dazu einen Feld-/Acker-/Vögerlsalat (Radiccio und Eichblatt würde denke ich zwar besser passen, habe ich aber nicht da) mit Himbeeressig-Vinaigrette und alles ist perfetto ;-)


Na ja, nicht ganz. Erst gab es partout keinen Rhabarber mehr und nachdem ich vorgestern endlich wieder einen finden konnte, hat es mir vor lauter dringender Schimmelbeseitungsmaßnahmen doch nicht mehr gelangt meinen Beitrag rechtzeitig abzugeben. Schade! Nichtsdestotrotz habe ich aber bereits hier für 3 der "rechtzeitig" abgegebenen Eventbeiträge abgestimmt.

Gastrezept für Sebastian und Alin von der Hüttenhilfe

Nachdem ich die email von der 'Hüttenhilfe zufällig aus meinem Junkmailordner gefischt hatte und nachgelesen hatte worum es darin geht, habe ich mich dazu entschlossen bei ihrem "Gewinnspiel" mitzumachen. Dazu muss ich ein Rezept als Gastbeitrag an sie schreiben, das unter der Creative Commons Lizenz veröffentlicht wird. Ich weiß ja nicht, ob ich damit einen Blumentopf, respektive ein Buch gewinnen werde. Uns jedenfalls gefällt schmeckt das Rezepte hervorragend. Es ist etwas, dass bei uns immer wieder einmal auf den Tisch kommt - ein echter all-time-favourite eben.
Am besten daran finde ich aber, dass das Gericht aufgewärmt nochmal so gut schmeckt und man daher einfach die doppelte Menge kocht und dann ein paar Portionen davon auf Vorrat hat.Und natürlich, dass es kaum Arbeit macht. Wenn ich nämlich 'mal nicht so richtig "Kochzeit" habe, dann mache sowas wie Pasta (meistens Spaghetti oder Penne lisce) mit Tomaten- oder Bolognesesauce. Eine Suppe mit viel Gemüse und Nudeln (meistens Risoni oder Conchigli) d'rin. Pfannkuchen, Nudelsalat, Currywurst, Grießklöschensuppe, Buritto wraps/Fajitas, gemischten Salat mit Fleischstreifen, Waffeln, angebratene Nudeln mit Kartoffeln oder eben

chili con carne.

Ein Rezept dafür habe ich sicherlich in dem ein oder anderen Buch, zubereitet habe ich es bisher aber nur "aus dem Bauch" heraus. Und nachdem mein Mann einmal "versucht" hatte anhand eines Rezeptes eines zu kochen und das, mit dem Wortlaut der Kinder beschrieben, nicht gerade der burner war, werde ich mich vermutlich auch nicht in ein Rezepte einlesen. Für den Fall, dass es jemals wieder eines zu kochen gedenkt schreibe ich jetzt einmal die heute verwendete Zusammensetzung auf.




Falls sich jemand beim Rezept wundern sollte, warum ich die Bohnen nicht einweiche:

1. Koche ich eher spontan und dann hätte ich sie nicht eingeweicht oder käme eventuell nicht dazu und müsste sie vermutlich in den Müll geben.
2. Würde mir das hier sämtliches Ungeziefer anziehen und eventuell gären und/oder schimmeln. (Und nein, im Kühlschrank habe ich NIE Platz.)
3. Halte ich Einweichen für ziemlich unnötig. Meiner Meinung nach werden dabei nur Nährstoffe ausgeschwemmt und den einzigen Vorteil, den ich darin sähe wäre eine verkürzte Kochzeit.
   
4. Koche ich sie im Schnellkochtopf und das dauert dann auch nicht länger. Das mache ich mit allen Legumionosen so, wie z. B: mit Linsen.
   

Zutaten für ca. 5 Personen:

~350 gKidneybohnen
800 mlWasser
2Lorbeerblätter
6geknackte Pfefferkörner

5Schalotten
4grüne Chilischoten
1 kgfrisches Rinderhack
1rote Paprika
1 EßlSalz
Chili, Cayennepfeffer oder frisch gemahlenen Pfeffer nach Belieben
1Dose (425 g) eingelegte Roma-Tomaten
1Dose (425 g) passierte ...

der "Rest" findet sich in der Hüttenhilfe ...

By the way my own favourite is Lemon blanc manger.

Waiter There’s Something In My…stuffed fruit/vegetables

Jeanne from Cooksister is hosting this round of waiter there’s something in my .... She has chosen stuffed fruit or vegetable for this event. I know a lot of dished with stuffed vegetables, I have several good recipes, including my own, for stuffed capsicums alone. And of course not only one Hungarian one. But stuffed courgettes/zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions or eggplants/aubergines came to my mind as well as apples filled with nuts, marzipan and raisins or my own idea of using the creme bisic from the fig ice cream for a crème brûlée in a fig served in a bath of bluecheese creme. The combinations are endless for vegetables as well as for fruits. For this event I opened my fridge and at the first glance I glimpsed some things they might go well together.
I combined Australian avocado, Italian blood oranges, Thai mango, Norwegian salmon fillet, Thai asparagus, Italian parsley, and tomatoes with some ingredients from my pantry like Chinese wolfberries, French Du Puy lentils, Japanese tempura flour, Vietnamese rice paper, Californian missions figs, Himalayan salt, and so on. With them I made:

Asian lentil-mango-wolfberry salad in avocados with steamed salmon parcels

Ingredients for the salmon parcels:

370 gsalmon fillet, bones and skin removed cut in 10 equal sized sticks

2clove garlic
3dried black mission figs (alternatevly 2 dried plums or 1 large dried fig)
1bunch parsley leaves, washed and dry spinned
10leaves tarragon
13cup cashew nuts, toasted
1½ tspblack and white sesame seed, toasted
13cup sesame oil
4-5 tspfish sauce (choose one with a low salt content)

12sheets rice paper
optional some additional parsley leaves to wrap them with the salmon in the rice paper wrappers
¾ Tbspeanut oil







Preparation:

Finely mince the garlic, herbs, nuts, seeds, and figs together using a mezzaluna or a blender. Add the oil and the fish sauce and stir until the paste is well combined.
Soak the rice paper wrappers in cold water until soft. Cover the salmon pieces with about 1½ teaspoons paste each. Lay them each on one sheets rice paper and wrap it tightly around.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the parcels, seemside down, for 3 minutes. Let cool, cover and place in the refrigerator until the other ingredients are prepared.
If so steam them over boiling water for about 5 minutes.



Ingredients for the sesame dressing:

1 Tbsprice vinegar
½ Tbspto 1 teaspoon soy sauce (depending how salty your soy sauce is)
1 Tbspsesame oil
2 Tbsppeanut oil
½ tspsea salt flakes
1 Tbspblack and white sesame seeds, toasted


Preparation:

Whisk vinegar and soy sauce together and add the oils gradually whisking vigorousely.
Season with salt or more soy sauce.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the dressing right before serving or simply over the salmon parcels.







Ingredients for the blood orange dressing:

1large blood orange
½ Tbslemon juice
1 Tbspred wine vinegar
2½ Tsfruity olive oil
1/8 tspfreshly ground black peppercorns
1 tspsea salt flakes, or more to your taste
5dashes tabasco sauce


Preparation:

Cut the the end from the orange away and peel it with a knife removing the pith. Over a bowl cut the segments out. Speeze the remaining membranes out and discard them.
Remove the orange segments to add them later to the salad.
Combine the juice with the other ingredients.



Ingredients for the asparagus tempura:

60 gThai asparagus (3 to 4 spears per person), trimmed, washed and chilled
20 gtempura flour
30 mlicecold water or a bit more
100 mlpeanut or frying oil







Preparation:

Combine the water with the flour and coat the asparagus spears with the mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a smal frying pan with a high rim to about 175 °C. Fry the asparagus until golden brown. Remove to a kitchen or tempura paper.



Ingredients for the lentil salad:

½ cupDu Puy lentils
1 tspsea salt flakes
1/8 tspfreshly ground black peppercorns
2 TbspChinese wolfberries or raisins
400 gmango, finely diced
3shallot, finely diced


Preparation:

Wash the lentils and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes in a pressure cooker. Drain, season and mix with the berries. Place them over an ice bath.
Pour the blood orange dressing ove them and let them soak at leat 30 minutes (best over night) in the refrigerator. Mix togehter with mangoes and shallots.







Remaining ingredients:

3avocados
1 Tbsplemon juice
½ cupsprouts
1 Tbspcashew nuts, toasted and chopped
1large aromatic tomatoe ripened on the vein, cut in slices
Himalayan salt
freshly ground black peppercorns
some sprouts like alfa alfa and snow peas to decorate/serve


Preparation:

Cut the avocados lenghtwise around the pit. Twist them to seperate the halves. Remove the pit and with a spoon seperate the flesh from the skin. Increase the mould in the avocado with the spoon. Brush with lemon juice. And decorate with sprouts.

Serve each avocado half filled with the salad on top of the sprouts. Drizzle with blood orange dressing.
Lay 3 to 4 tempura-asparagus and some toasted cashews aside.
Sit two salmon parcels on one tomatoe slice with some sprouts as a nest on a plate. Sprinkle everything with Himalayan salt and pepper. Serve the sesame dressing as a dip for the salmon parcels.

waiter there's something in my pie, der Technorati Tag ist hier

Hay, hay it's Donna day #12 - ceasar salad

Katie has won the last hhdd mousse event. Now she's hosting the current 12th Hay, hay it's Donna Day which initially created from Barbara. Katie has chosen that Roman imperator, Caesar. No, not as her husband and no, not something with a bay-wreath, or any other laurel related stuff. No, she wants us to make something with the "regular" ingredients of a ceasars salad. First I thought: "Urgh, caesar salad." I love salad and I really often make salads in so many variations but NO caesar salad. I simply don't like it. Then I though. "Okay, that will be a challenge." I've made already Marshmellows even if we don't like them. I fell tempted by the possibility to try and to modify a recipe to our palate. And this was the reason why I decided to that this opportunity and to make a caesar salad. So here is my contriution for the 12th HHDD event.

Insalata dell'imperatore

Caesar salad made with baby romaine, pancetta, and truffles with anchovy-mayonnaise in parmesan baskets, and chiabatta-sticks

The recipes will be enough for 5 persons.








Ingredients for the dressing:

2egg yolks, beaten
2small garlic cloves, chushed
¼ tspmustard powder
2 tspanchovy/whitebait paste
¼ tspfreshly ground white peppercorns
¼ tspmapple syrup
4 Tbsp or 50 g truffle oil


Preparation:

Whisk the ingredients together without the oil. When well combined add the oil gradfually whisking vigourosely.










Ingredients for the salad:

250 gbaby romaine
2summer truffles
25slices pancetta


Preparation:

Trim, wash and spin dry the salad leaves.
Slice the truffles in thin slices.
Heat a pan over high heat and crisp-fry the pancetta in it. (Fry the pancetta right before serving.)










Ingredients for the parmesan baskets:

350 gparmesan, finely grated


Preparation:


Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Lay the bottom of it evenly out with about 4 tablespoons parmesan to a round shape. Let fry until just browned. Loose the edges with a spatula and put the parmasan-"pancake" over a small bown to form a basket. Let cool. Repeat 4 times. If you have some leftover parmesan make some "coins" and serve them additionaly.
Pour the oil from the cheese in a bowl and keep it for frying the chiabatta sticks.










Ingredinets for the chiabatta-sticks:

1chiabatta, cut in 1,5 cm sticks each about 8 cm long
Oil from the parmesan baskets
8 to 14tablespoons olive oil


Preparation:

Heat the frying pan again over medium-high to high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a bit of the oil from the cheese. Fry about 10 sticks from each side until brown and crispy adding 1 tablespoon olive oil after two turns. Toast the remaining bread in the same manner.










Ingredients for the poached egg:

5eggs
2 lwater
3 Tbspwhite wine vinegar
1pinch Himalyan salt (alternatevly fleur de sel or sea salt flakes) per egg


Preparation:

Bring the water and vinegar to a boil. Open 1 egg into a small bowl and let it slip into the water at that point where the water is boiling. Poach for 1½ to 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with salt and serve them imediately.




Final assembly:

In a bowl or plate arrange the salad, pancetta and truffel slices in the parmesan-baskets. Lay the poached egg on top and drizzle with the dressing. Serve the bread sticks aside.

hay hay it's donna dayhhdd

Burger Ballyhoo

What a great idea from Paul (and Freya) to host an event with such a subject in their blog Writing at the Kitchen Table. I think burgers are something like the Italian pizza everybody knows them, has eaten them at least once and I can't imagine anybody who don't like them. And as you can vary with the flour for your pizza-dough and with it's toppings you can vary with the burger-buns, the patties and the sauces. So much variety - almost every combination is possible. I've chosen lamb for our burgers. Lamb is one of our favourites and I think lamb is not that überbred as pork and beef-BSE is far away. Okay, it's a bit decadent to use lamb loin, other parts will do it as well or even better(?) but somtimes the other parts smell a bit strong, to say it politely, and the loin is much easier to mince. For sure this is not that kind of burger Paul is on the search for since 20 years but it was just that delicious.

My entry for this event is:

Lamb burger in focaccia-bun with
tzatziki, marinated eggplants, cole slaw, and tomatoe relish

First I made the rolls. The recipe for it will be enough for about 7 buns or 2 flatbreads. It is from the book "bread" written by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno. I only skipped the 400 g pitted and coarsely chopped black olives the original recipe is calling for. Every bread I've made from this book turned out as expected and the instructions are great.







Ingredients for the focaccia buns:

4 tspdried yeast or 30 g fresh yeast
350 mlwater (her in the tropics I use tepic water, usually you should go for lukewarm)
1 kgstrong white flour
3 tspsalt
150 mlolive oil
150 mldry white wine
4 Tbspfresh thyme leaves
2 Tbspfresh oregano, chopped


Preparation:

Sprinkle the yeast into 200 ml water in a bowl. Leave for 5 minutes and stir to dissolve.
In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt, make a well in the center. Pour in the yeasted water.
With a wooden spatula of your hands draw in enough flour to form a soft paste. Cower the bowl and leave to sponge about 20 minutes.
Add the oil and wine and mix in the flour adding the water gradually until you have a soft and sticky dough.
Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Work in 2 tablespoons of the thyme (at this step initially the olives will be added as well).
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size for about 1½ to 2 hours. Knock back.
Now I folded the dough once from each side and pressed the seem together. Then I folded it four times from only the opposite sites pressed it together and divided the string into 7 equal part. Chafe (form it into a ball with your palms by rotating the dough with your palms under light pressure) each portion for about 2 minutes. Leave to rest further 45 to 60 minutes under a tea towel, until doubled in size.
With your fingertips gently press into the surface to form some dimples. Sprinkle with oregano and the remaining thyme.
Preheat the oven preferably with a baking stone to 200 °C and put an ovenproof bowl filled with ice cubes on the bottom of the oven to provide steam.
Bake the rolls for about 20 to 30 minutes until browned and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.
Let cool on a wired rack. If you want them to be soft place them on a wooden chopping board or something like that and cover them with a tea towel. Cut into half.



I adopted the recipes for the tomato relish and the lamb patties from my book "taste a new way to cook" in which Sybil Kapoor features amazing thrills to your taste buds. I made only some slightly changes.








Ingredients for the tomato relish:

450 gsmall plum tomatoes (I took all the tomatoes I could find in my fridge, tiny Roma in different colors, cherry tomatoes and some larger ones)
1red onion, finely diced
1cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tspolive oil
½ tspKosher salt
¼ tspfreshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tomatoes, onions and garlic on a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil and "bake" them for 45 minutes. Over a bowl speeze the tomatoes, holding them at the end where the vein was and remove this harder part together with the peel. Mix together with the garlic, onions, and juice from the baking tray. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature








Ingredients for the lamb patties:

930 glamb, chilled
7 Tbspparlsey
1¾ tspthyme
1 tsptarragon
5½ Tsolive oil
1large onion, finely diced
2large cloves garlic, finely diced
3organic lemons, the zest of them finely grated (You'll need some juice of the lemons later for the tzatziki and you can substitute all or parts of the white wine vinegar for the tartar sauce of the cole slaw with it.)
1½ tspsalt
¾ tspfreshly ground black peppercorns


Preparation:

Wash and pad dry the lamb than mince it coarsely. Leave the fat on it otherwise it'll be to dry. If you don't have a food grinder mince it by hand for example with a mezzaluna or, like I did, with a large santoku knife. With the food processing attachment of a kitchen machine it will become to fine. Chop the herbs either alone or simply together with the meat.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and sweat the onions and garlic in it.
In a bowl mix together the lemon zest, meat, herbs, onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper.
Divide the mixture into 7 equal batches and, with wet hands, shape them into burger-paddies. Don't apply to much pressure otherwise the meat will release its juice. Pile the lamb-paddies on a plate using greaseproof paper between them. Chill them for at least 30 minutes.

If you use a BBQ-grill cook the burgers when the flames already died down and you've a redish-grey ember. I used a, over medium-high heat, preheated grilling-pan of cast-iron.
Brush the burgers with the remaining olive oil. Grill them for about 5 minutes from each side. Turn them only once around.










Ingredients for the cole slaw:

500 gwhite cabbage, shredded or sliced
1fresh egg yolk
6 Tbspcold pressed sunflower oil
¼ tspground white mustard seeds or 1/8 tsp mustard powder
½ tspfreshly ground black peppercorns
3 Tbspwhite wine vinegar
1 tspKosher salt
1hard boiled egg yolk, mashed
4cornichons, finely chopped
1 tspcapers, finely chopped
1shallot, finely chopped
1pinch sugar
1 Tbsppaprika powder or more


Preparation:

For the mayonnaise beat the fresh egg yolk until frothy add 3 tablespoons of the oil drop by drop wisking vigourosely. When this mixture is thick like a mayonnaise should be whisk in 1 tablespoon of the vinegar, the mustard and the pepper. Whisk until well combined. Add the remaining oil gradually still whisking. To make an tartar sauce stir in the cooked, mashed egg yolk. Season with salt, add the tiny gherkins, capers, and shallots. Season with sugar and paprika. It may seems to be a bit to salty and sharp but if you stir it into the prepared cabbage it will be just right.














Ingredients for the tzatziki:

230 ggreek yoghurt
2large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2½Japanese or Lebanese cucumber, about 105 g
½ tspsea salt
¼ tspfenugreek, freshly ground
1/8 tspfreshly ground white pepper corns
1/3 tspfreshly ground caraway seeds
1 1/8teaspoons lemon juice


Preparation:

Simply mix all the ingredients together and season to your palate. If you want to add some herbs like thyme, oregano or go for dill. Refrigerate.



Additional:

100 gbaby spinach, washed and spin dried
6slices marinated eggplants/aubergines
Some thick cut-french fries seasoned with
sea salt and
freshly ground cumin