Waldkorn Bread

This bread is mainly eaten in Holland and Germany. It originates from the Schwarz Wald (Black Forest) in Germany and contains loads of fibres and seeds. In Europe you can buy Waldkorn Bread-mix that's ready made, however it is really difficult to find out how to make it from scratch. It's original recipe is a well kept secret, however I believe I cracked the code!

This bread turned out to be one of our favourites and is on the daily menu in our house hold. The good thing about this bread is that because of the many fibres and seeds, you only need a couple of slices to fill you up and it'll keep you going for hours. To make it really posh, I sometimes make bread rolls for a Sunday brunch by forming the dough into triangles.

This bread is quite heavy because of all the seeds and grains, therefore it needs time to rise. Don't speed things up with this recipe otherwise you'll end up with a low and dense bread that feels very heavy on your stomach.

I will now unveil the magic secret ingredients of the original Waldkorn to the rest of the world for everybody to enjoy this delicious earthy bread.

Ingredients:
- 100g High Grade (strong) flour
- 250g Wholemeal flour
- 150g Rye Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 150g mixed grains (oats, linseed, soy seed, broken corn kernels, barley, wheat, kibbled rye, white sesame seeds, you name it!) I buy the mixed grains at a local shop, which makes life much easier...
-  10g ground Barley (optional)
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 450g water, lukewarm
- 25g fresh yeast

For garnish:
- 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 Tbsp linseed
- 2 Tbsp white sesame seeds
Combine all three ingredients in a small bowl or cup.

* If using a bread starter made from white (strong) flour, add 300 grams of starter and 3/4 tsp fresh yeast. Use 400 grams of water instead of 450 grams, otherwise your dough will become very wet.

* When you don't have the option of using fresh yeast, go for the (instant) dried yeast. Take about 100 ml of the 450 grams of water and pour this into a small bowl or big long drinking glass. Add 1 tsp of caster sugar and stir until dissolved. Sprinkle one sachet (7-8 grams) of the dried yeast into the water and stir for several seconds. Cover with clingfilm and let the mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes or until it will become frothy. That means that a big layer of foam will form on the surface. If nothing has happened after 10 minutes, that means that either the temperature of the water is too warm (yeast doesn't like that. You might have killed it...) or the dried yeast is too old and has become inactive.

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine the flours and salt. In another big bowl, add the water with the yeast and stir to combine. (If using a bread starter, add the starter and 3/4 tsp fresh yeast to the water and mix until combined. When using dried yeast, pour the frothy mixture in with the rest of the water.) Add the mixed grains, sunflower seeds and barley (if using) to the water-yeast mixture, stir. Next, add the flours to the liquid and dive in with one hand! (Keep the other one clean, just in case the phone rings...)
Squeeze the mixture through your fingers until all the liquid is combined with the dry ingredients. Scrape the dough from your fingers with the back of a spoon and cover the bowl with a tea towel for 10 minutes.

To make the kneading a bit easier, pour one teaspoon of olive- or canola oil on your work top and spread it out with one hand. This prevents the dough from sticking. Scrape the dough out of the bowl on the bench top and wet the palms of your hands with a bit more oil. Knead the dough for about 15-20 seconds and form a round ball. Don't knead too long as the dough will start sucking up the oil. This gives an unpleasant texture of the bread and is much harder to knead. Clean and dry your bowl and rub the inside with a bit more oil. By doing this, the dough won't stick as much to the sides. Put the ball of dough back in to the bowl and cover. Again, leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Make sure your work-surface is still oily enough (if not, add a bit more oil) and repeat the kneading for another 15-20 seconds. Shape into a round ball again and place back into the bowl. Cover and leave the dough to rest for one hour at room temperature (21º-25ºC). It can happen, especially in winter time that your house is a bit colder than 21ºC. If you place the bowl close to your hot water cylinder you'll create the same effect. Another good place is your windowsill when there is a bit of sun shine. Make sure there is no draught as the yeast won't like you for that.

After one hour you can shape it in every form you like. For our daily bread, I shape it in a big rectangle by folding the ends underneath the bread and place it in a loaf pan. If making rolls, divide the dough in 12 evenly sized pieces and shape them in squares. (This is the original shape, but nobody will tell you off for making round rolls!) I like to shape the pieces into triangles with one end sticking out a bit longer then the base, just like when slicing a piece of cake. You can also use a mini loaf tin to impress guests of course.


At this stage you can sprinkle some of the garnish on top of the breads, however I feel that it is best to do it just before they go into the oven. It's up to you.

Now it's time for the final rise. Cover the bread, or rolls with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in height. If you feel the dough might stick to the tea towel, just sprinkle some plain flour over the top and cover.

Preheat the oven to 200º-210ºC. Carefully remove the tea towel and brush a bit of lukewarm water over the top of the bread. (If using cold water you scare the warm bread and it might collapse or shrink.) Sprinkle the garnish mix over the top and place the bread in the middle of the oven.

Bake a whole bread for about 45 minutes, or until the looks are to your liking (a nice dark crust, but not too brown). I always tap on top of the bread. If it sounds solid then you know it's ready. You can also insert a skewer to make sure the inside is cooked. If it comes out clean, then you know it's right.
If making rolls, doesn't matter what shape, bake for about 25 minutes at the same heat.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes before taking out of the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely. This bread freezes really well. We slice a whole bread in half and freeze the halves. When needed we take one piece out of the freezer the night before and let it slowly defrost in the fridge. The following morning you have fresh bread that still tastes good.
Another tip when planning to make this (or another bread) for daily consumption is to bake 4-6 breads at once. It takes almost a whole day, but will free you up on other days. You can also use a bread machine, however I'm not really familiar with the settings and everything. But a machine will save you time as well.

Beer bread

This is a fresh yeast bread in combination with a bread starter of white flour. However, if you don't have fresh yeast or a starter you can easily make this bread with active dried yeast. The flavours won't be as strong and well developed as with fresh yeast though. Start this recipe the night before you're planning on baking the bread as you need to cook and soak the grains. They need time to take on the beer flavour.  This bread is really great with cheese, jam, cold (cured) meat or just plain with a bit of butter to accompany soups or stews. It's one of our favourites!

Ingredients for the soaked grains:
- 200g kibbled rye grains
- Water
- 200g beer (I use Paul's home brew; Coopers Draught, but an Ale will do just fine.)

Preparation:
Put the grains in a big pot and cover with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and let it simmer slowly for 45 minutes. During the cooking time check if there's enough water and add some more if necessary. When cooked, strain through a sieve. (You can save the liquid for compost or your chooks will love it as well.) Let it cool completely and transfer to a bowl. Add 200 grams of the beer and mix until the beer is incorporated. Cover and let the grains soak overnight at room temperature.

Ingredients for the dough:
- 300g High Grade Flour (a.k.a. strong flour)
- 150g Rye flour
- 50g Wholemeal flour
- 1.5 tsp fine sea salt
- 200g beer (I use the leftover beer from the soaked grains)
- 100g water at room temperature
(If using a bread starter you'll need 300g and 3/4 tsp fresh yeast.)
- 30g fresh yeast or 1 sachet (7g) instant dried yeast
- 10g ground barley (optional)
- 200g cooked and soaked grains
- Plain flour for dusting

Preparation:
Combine the flours and the salt in a bowl. Pour the water and beer in another big bowl. (If using a bread starter add this to the beer and water.) Crumble the fresh yeast (or add the instand dried yeast) in with the water and beer and whisk until combined. If using the ground barley, add this to the mixture and whisk as well. Finally add the soaked grains and combine. Add the flours from the other bowl to the wet ingredients and here comes the fun part; dive in with your hand and start mixing. Squeeze the mixture through your fingers and make sure you reach all the way to the bottom. When combined, scrape the mixture from your fingers and cover the bowl with a tea towel. let it rest for 10 minutes.

Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil or canola oil on your bench top and spread it out with the palm of your hand. Turn the mixture out of the bowl onto the oiled surface and start kneading for about 15-20 seconds. Shape into a ball. Clean the bowl and rub the inside with olive or canola oil. Put the ball back in the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let it rest for another 30 minutes. Repeat the kneading again for 15-20 seconds.

Dust the bench top with some plain flour.Stretch the dough out into a rectangle by pressing the dough with your fingertips. Dust some flour on the dough to prevent it from sticking onto your hands. Fold one third of the dough inwards (towards the centre). Repeat with the other third. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave for another 30 minutes. Repeat the folding two more times with a 30 minute interval.

I don't have a special bread basket for the bread to rise, therefore I use a big (salad) bowl. Line the bowl with a tea towel and sprinkle a generous amount of  plain flour on the tea towel. This is to prevent the dough form sticking to the tea towel. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a round ball. Put the ball into the flour-dusted bowl and make sure the seam is on top facing towards you. Sprinkle the top with some more flour and fold the edges of the tea towel gently over the dough ball. Leave the dough to rise at room temperature for approximately 2-2.5 hours, or until doubled in size.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 210ºC. Grease and dust a baking tray with flour. And now comes the most difficult part. Fold the edges of the tea towel open. Put the tray upside down on top of the bowl and gently, but quickly turn the bowl and tray upside down. Carefully lift the bowl from the tray and gently peel the tea towel from the dough. Use a very sharp knife (I use scalpel blades, but a razor blade or very sharp knife will do just fine.) and quickly slash three times in the dough, making sure you only slash the surface.

Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes or when a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave the bread to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.

This bread freezes really well.

Homemade sushi

Teriyaki chicken filling with Wasabi mayonnaise

You can make the marinade ahead so the flavours get enough time to develop. This can easily be done a day ahead, especially when you're pressed for time.

Teriyaki chicken:
- 1 chicken fillet (150-200g)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (half sweet and half salted soy sauce)
- 1 good sip of dry sherry
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2cm piece of ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp just chili (chili paste)
- 1 smidgen Asian 5-spice powder

Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients except the chicken in a bowl. Slice the chicken in fine long strips and add to the marinade. Mix so that every piece of chicken is evenly coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a frying pan and (stir) fry the chicken until cooked through. Try not to overcook the chicken as it will become rubbery. Let the chicken cool completely before adding it as a filling to your sushi.

Wasabi mayonnaise:
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp wasabi paste

Preparation:
Mix the two ingredients together and taste before adding it to the sushi. You can make the mayonnaise as spicy as you like or even omit the mayonnaise.
Start by placing the rice on a nori sheet. Cover the rice completely with mayonnaise (like you would put butter or margarine on your sandwich) and place chicken strips in a small line. I like to add avocado as well, but that's entirely up to you. Roll the nori sheet and continue as with the salmon filling.

Tip: Instead of Teriyaki chicken you can also use smoked chicken (straight from the super market). Again use the wasabi mayonnaise with some avocado.

Home made Pasta (Basic dough)

There's nothing better than home made pasta, much much better than the synthetic processed ones from the super market.
Serves 2.

Ingredients:
- 200g High Grade flour or Tipo 00 if you can get your hands on it
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 generous Tbsp olive oil
- sea salt

Preparation:
Sift the flour on your bench top. make a well in the center. Sprinkle salt to taste in the middle, add the eggs and olive oil in the center and start mixing the eggs clockwise by corporating a little flour from the sides at a time. When most of the liquid is incorporated start kneading for about 10 minutes until a silky smooth dough forms. You know it's ready when the dough bounces back when pressing with a finger. If the mixture feels too dry, wet your hands a little bit and continue kneading. Too wet? Add a little flour at a time.

Wrap the dough in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour (preferably 1 hour). When ready to use, lightly dust the dough with plain flour and cut in half. Start rolling it through a pasta machine on the widest setting. (If you haven't got a pasta machine, you have to work yourself into a sweat and start rolling the dough with a rolling pin. This takes time though...)

After rolling it once, fold both sides inwards and feed it through the pasta machine again. Repeat the folding and rolling two more times.

Then continue feeding the pasta on a smaller setting, feed it 3-4 times on the same setting before changing the setting, By doing this the gluten in the dough will get the chance to stretch evenly.

When the dough is thin enough for your liking (on my pasta machine this is number 3 of 7 settings) you can do with it whatever you want. Cut it into (big) ribbons, leave it in one piece for lasagna sheets, ravioli or cannelloni or if you have an addition to your pasta machine you can make spaghetti or fettuccine. Always make sure after cutting the pasta to flour it so it won't stick. You can leave the pasta to dry or when using a filling dust with plain flour, cover with cling film and place in the fridge.

Be careful when cooking fresh pasta as it needs half the time of store-bought pasta. Taste during cooking to see if the pasta is al dente and/or to your liking.

Mango Peach Smoothie

When I cooked a couple of hot Indian dishes, we we're in the need of something soothing so I had a look in the pantry and came up with this kind of smoothie. The original plan was to create a Lassi, an Indian yoghurt-based drink, but I forgot how to do it. Oh well this'll do just fine...

Ingredients:
- 1 fresh mango, peeled and sliced
- 1 can peaches, drained and sliced
- yoghurt (or feel free to use ice cream)
- crushed ice (optional)
- 1 Tbsp dessicated coconut
- 1 Tbsp water

Preparation:
Put the mango and peaches in a blender and blend until smooth. Add yoghurt and crushed ice and blend until a smooth creamy consistency. Dip 2 champagne flutes in the water and press lightly in the coconut. Pour the smoothie in the glasses and serve.

Hot Smoked Salmon

Ever wondered how to hot smoke salmon yourself? It is dead easy and you can do it without all the sophisticated equipment!


This recipe serves 2.



Ingredients:
- 2 salmon fillets, skin on (+/- 200g)
- Sea salt
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice (optional)
- 2 hand fulls of wood chips (I use Manuka, a native to New Zealand. Make sure the chips are hard wood, Maple or apple wood are also good)
- Tin foil
- Wok with lid
- Rack that will fit inside the wok or feel free to use some chicken wire. (It'll do the same job just fine)

Preparation:
Line the inside of the wok with tin foil (saves you time cleaning up afterwards) and place two handfuls of the wood chips in the base of the wok.

Grease the rack with olive oil and place inside the wok. Make sure the rack doesn't touch the base or the wood chips! Rub the salmon fillets with sea salt and olive oil and place them skin side down on the rack.

Put the lid on top and turn the stove on. Smoke the fillets over a medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. Do not open the lid in the meantime just to have a look. I know it;s tempting, but you'll loose all the heat, smoke and flavour!!! Plus the house will smell smokey for the rest of the week.

You will notice that after a couple of minutes the smoke will develop. Open a window to get a bit of fresh air circulation. After the cooking time, turn the heat off and let it sit for another 3 minutes before taking the lid off. This enables the smoke to penetrate the fish a bit more and enhances the smokey flavour. When finished, I suggest you take the lid off outside to prevent all the smoke from staying inside the house. Carefully transfer the fillets on a plate and if preferred season with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle with some lemon juice. I like to serve them with some steamed broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes.

Tip: Try adding a sprig of fresh rosemary and some sprigs of fresh sage to your wood chips to give the salmon a distinct flavour. Or go wild and use tea leaves. (Haven't tried that myself though)

Next time I will try to smoke chicken! To be continued...

Muesli rolls

These rolls are very healthy and freeze really well. Just 5 minutes in a warm oven (160ºC) and they taste as freshly baked rolls. Also pretty handy when you're on the go and in the need of a healthy but yummy treat. You can vary with the seeds, nuts and fruits to your liking.

Try eating them plain, with a little bit of butter, butter and sugar or several slices of cheese.

Makes 12.

Ingredients:
- 400g wholemeal
- 280ml milk, lukewarm
- 32g fresh yeast or 1 sachet (7g active dried yeast)
- 2.5 Tbsp caster sugar
- 30g butter, softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- 60g oats or muesli
- 3 Tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped
- 40g hazelnuts, halved
- 3 Tbsp sunflower seeds
- 3 Tbsp almonds, roughly chopped
- 200g raisins or currants
- 6-8 dried apricots, chopped
- Plain flour

Preparation:
Put the wholemeal flour in a big mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Combine the milk, yeast and sugar together in a small bowl and stir until the sugar and yeast have dissolved completely. (If using instant dried yeast, follow the same steps, but give the yeast time to activate. So let the milk sit for about 5 minutes before adding it to the flour.) Pour the milk in the well. Mix together until a elastic silky dough forms (about 7-10 minutes). You can also use an electric mixer with dough hooks if you're not in the mood for kneading. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Rinse the raisins with warm water and place in a pot with very hot water (not boiling) for 7 minutes. Drain.

Knead 1 egg, salt, lemon zest and butter through the dough. It might take a while for the dough to absorb these ingredients. Continue kneading, and here comes the fun part, beat and drop the dough until a smooth silky consistency takes form. This might take a while and just when you think it will never become smooth and silky, then the dough starts to change. Hang in there, don't give up!
Cover the bowl again and let it rest for another 15 minutes.

Add the raisins, oats, nuts, seeds and apricots and knead again until fully incorporated and mixed well. Divide the dough in 12 pieces and roll small balls. If the dough is really sticky, roll it through some plain flour. Be careful not to use too much as your rolls will become dry. Grease 2 baking trays and dust lightly with plain flour. Divide the balls onto the trays, leaving some space between each roll as they will expand during the final rise. Cover with a tea towel and let the rolls rise for another 30 minutes if you can't wait any longer. (I let them rise between 1-2 hours, because wholemeal is quite heavy and needs time to rise completely.)

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (Fan-forced 190ºC) and beat the second egg in a cup. Glaze the rolls with the egg wash and place in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Check if they're done by sticking a skewer inside the thickest part. If the skewer comes out clean then they're done. Cool on a wire rack and they're ready to enjoy!

Homemade Sushi

Salmon Sushi

I must admit sometimes I buy sushi, but it's so easy to make at home. I always make more, which is relatively easy and won't cost the earth. I like to use cold smoked salmon and smoked chicken fillet or I marinade the chicken in a teriyaki style spice mix. When using chicken, I add wasabi mayonnaise which complements the chicken.

This recipe is for a lot of sushi, but you can easily halve the ingredients.

Ingredients:
- 4 cups sushi rice
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 4 Tbsp caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 packet of Nori dried seaweed sheet (10 sheets)
- Wasabi paste
- 200g (cold) smoked salmon
- 2 Avocados
- Kikkoman (table) soy sauce
- Sushi mat


Preparation:
Start by washing the rice with cold water. This can take a while, especially if you use 4 cups. If the water turns clear you've washed the rice enough. Cook the rice. I must confess I use a rice cooker which makes my life a lot easier. But if you haven't got one, please follow the instructions on the back of the pack...
A soon as the rice has cooked, let it cool for 10 minutes with the lid on top and transfer it to a big mixing bowl. Mix the rice vinegar, caster sugar and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle over the rice. Start mixing the vinegar mixture through the rice with a wooden spoon until the rice has cooled completely. If you want to do it Japanese-style, try mixing with one hand and use a Japanese hand fan in the other, fanning and mixing at the same time. This can be really tricky, well at least for me it is really tricky as my coordination is not exactly as it should be. And for some reason I end up with spooning all the rice out of the bowl instead of keeping it all in the bowl.

Sushi rice stays really sticky, which is ideal when it comes to rolling but can make life hell when spooning it onto a nori sheet. Therefore, I like to use disposable kitchen gloves. I also use a big wooden chopping block to prepare the sushi as for some reason this works better than my bench top. But have a go yourself and see what works for you.

Start with your sushi mat on a flat surface. Place a sheet of Nori on the mat. Spoon rice on the nori and flatten it out with your fingers. Make sure about 2/3 of the nori sheet is covered with rice. If you cover only half of the sheet you'll end up with your filling on the side like I did the first time...

Place some smoked salmon and avocado on top of the rice and start rolling. Take the mat with both hands and gently roll the nori sheet away from you. Don't squeeze too hard otherwise all the filling will come out.

 



The shape of the mat makes sure you'll end up with a nice round sushi instead of a square morsel.

And voila, a delicious piece of sushi all by yourself!

Place the rolls seam side down on a platter or serving tray, cover with cling film and put in the fridge if you're not consuming them immediately. Cut in small bite size portions and place on a serving platter. Serve with a good quality soy sauce, some wasabi paste and pickled ginger to taste.


Tip: Vary the salmon with shrimps or tuna. Or for a vegetarian option use finely sliced (julienne) cucumber, carrot and avocado.

Muesli Bar / Granola Bar

It is sooo easy to make your own healthy muesli bars. Trust me if I can do it, everybody can!

You only need to buy the seeds and nuts, which can be hard to find in some countries. But when you do have the ingredients in your pantry, it is quick and easy to make and a little goes a long way!  They are really yummy and I think very healthy as well!!!

Ingredients:

- 1 egg

- 1 egg white

- ½ cup honey

- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp canola oil or other light oil
(e.g. grape seed, sunflower or extra virgin light olive oil)

- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 1 cup rolled oats

- 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

- ¼ cup sesame seeds

- ½ cup sunflower kernels

- ½ cup chopped almonds

- 1 Tbsp plain flour

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Mix the first seven ingredients in a small bowl until combined. In another bigger bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour the liquid mixture in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Line a square or rectangle pan with baking paper and spoon the mixture in the pan. Flatten the mixture out and press it evenly with the back of a big mixing spoon.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then lift out of the tin and let it cool completely. Cut into bars with a lightly oiled knife.
Store in an airtight container.

Variations:

- Add ½ cup of chopped dried apricots, raisins, currants, berries or other dried fruit to the dry mixture.

- Vary the seeds with different seeds or nuts according to your taste.
- For a not so healthy bar; add chopped chocolate to the mix and when completely cool, swirl melted chocolate over the top.

Sauna Grog or Ginger Tea

This tea is made from natural ingredients only and has several benefits. Not only will it warm you up on a cold winters day, but it helps with digestion problems and stomach aches. The ginger acts as a natural antibiotic and calms an upset tummy. Besides that, it is also great when having a cold, sore throat and runny nose. Most important; it is sooo easy to make!

Grate 2 good thumbs of fresh ginger in a small pot. Add the (grated) zest of one lemon, 10 cardamom pots and about 1 liter of water. Bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Pour over a small sieve in a big cup (you don't want all the grated stuff in your drink) and add the juice of half a lemon (or more according to taste). Stir a heaped dessert spoon of honey into the grog and it's ready to drink.
Once cool you can reheat the leftover grog easily. If there's not enough left, just add some more water and bring to the boil again. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and the grog is ready.

Try a different flavour by adding a cinnamon quill.
Use less ginger if it is too sharp for your taste.

Rice cake

This rice cake is a local treat from the southern part of the Netherlands. Officially it's eaten with sweetened, whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top, but I've had to cut some calories somewhere after eating too much baking's lately. (That's what happens when starting a food blog...)

Even without the cream and chocolate, it still tastes delicious. This recipe takes a wee while to finish, but it's definitely worth the effort. Eat this cake cold, straight from the fridge. This cake freezes really well, that is if you can stand the temptation of eating the whole lot at once.

Serves 8-10.
Ingredients:
For the dough;
- 200 gr High Grade Flour
- 12 gr fresh yeast
- 100 ml milk, lukewarm
- 20 gr butter, soft
- 20 gr sugar
- 1 egg
- pinch of salt
- extra flour for dusting

For the filling;
- 500 ml milk
- 100 gr Arborio rice (risotto rice)
- 130 gr sugar
- 10 gr custard or flour
- 3 eggs

Garnish (optional);
- 250 ml cream
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar
- 20 gr dark chocolate

Utensils:
- medium pot
- wooden spoon or spatula
- measuring spoons
- teaspoon
- cup
- fork
- metal mixing spoon
- sieve
- mixing bowl x3
- electric mixer
- clingfilm
- rolling pin
- spring form pan
- grater or vegetable peeler


Preparation:

Preparing the dough:
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Sift the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add butter, sugar and the egg. Then add the yeast mixture and start kneading until combined. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured bench/work top and knead for about 8-10 minutes until the dough feels soft and satiny and bounces back when lightly pushed with a finger. If you're not really into kneading by hand, you can also use a handheld mixer with dough hooks or a kitchen aid. When using an electric device, knead the dough for a minute or two by hand after mixing it.
If the dough feels really sticky, then add some more flour. Is it too dry, add some more milk. Just play with it. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes up to an hour or until doubled in size.
The filling:
Bring the milk in a pot to the boil, add the rice and 100 grams of sugar. Stir until the milk comes back to the boil again. Lower the heat, cover and boil the rice for approximately 20-30 minutes or until cooked. (I always taste if the rice is cooked. I like to have a bit of a bite instead of cooking the rice to a complete mush.) Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Be careful not to cook the rice too dry otherwise the rice will burn. If the rice is cooked, but there's still some milk left, add some custard mixture. (To make the mixture; combine the custard or flour with a little splash of cold milk in a cup. Stir with a teaspoon until all the lumps have dissolved and add this to your hot rice-milk mixture.) When adding the custard keep stirring until the rice-milk mixture becomes more difficult to stir and let it boil for a few seconds. Keep on stirring otherwise you will burn the milk. Take it of the heat and let it cool almost completely.
Turn the dough onto a floured work top and press gently with your fingers to flatten the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a circle big enough to cover the spring form pan. Roll the dough onto your rolling pin and gently 'un roll' it over your spring form pan. You can either choose to cover only the base of the pan or you can cover the base and the sides. I like to have a crust on the sides as well. If you choose to cover the base only, then roll with the rolling pin over the base of the tin to cut off excessive dough. When opting for sides as well, leave the dough that hangs over the sides of the pan. (You can cut this off later. If you do this now the dough might collapse inside the pan and it will be a real nuisance to pull it back out as it won't stay up... trust me!) Use a fork to pinch some small holes in the dough (only the dough that's on the base of the tin, not the sides) and cover with the clingfilm again. Leave to rise for another 30-40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (electric oven to 220ºC, gas on 4-5). The rice has had time to cool a bit and is now ready to finalise. Separate the eggs. Cream the egg yolks with the remaining 30 grams of sugar and add the rice. Mix until combined. In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold half of the whites gently into the rice mixture.
Take the spring form pan and pour half of the rice mixture into the pan. Then add the remaining egg whites to the rest of the rice and again fold in gently. Pour the whole mixture on top of the first layer. If you choose to have a side crust, then cut the remaining dough from the top of the sides.
Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until both the rice and the dough are golden brown and the crust comes loose from the sides of the tin. Check after 20 minutes if the cake starts to brown evenly. You may need to turn the pan to create an even colour.
Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before taking of the ring and base. Let it cool completely before decorating and place in fridge before serving.

Decorating:
Whip the cream and sugars until stiff peaks form that fall over. Divide the cream all over the top of the cake in an even layer. Grate the chocolate in big curls or use a vegetable peeler and sprinkle over the cream. Cut in pieces any size you like and enjoy!


Variations:
- When cooking the rice, add some vanilla sugar or a split vanilla pod with the seeds scraped out and added to the milk.
- Before decorating with cream and chocolate, use a cherry filling on top of the rice cake. To make the cherry filling; Drain a 500ml can of cherries and keep the juice. Use 7 grams of potato starch for every 100ml juice. Put the starch in a small bowl and add some of the cherry juice to create a liquidy substance. Put the remaining juice in a pot and heat to the boil. Add the potato starch and stir until combined. Bring back to the boil and cook for a minute or so, stirring continuously. Add the cherries and stir. Take off the heat and let the cherries cool a bit before pouring over the rice cake. When cool, finish the cake off with whipped cream and the chocolate shavings.

Cinnamon rolls

After baking our daily bread, I still had some fresh yeast left and decided to whip up some cinnamon rolls as a treat. They turned out really yummy and are very easy to make.


Eat the rolls while still warm!

Ingredients:
- 500 gr High Grade Flour
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 200 ml milk, lukewarm
- 100 gr sour cream or yoghurt
- 50 gr caster sugar
- 50 gr butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 25 gr fresh yeast
- 1 tsp olive oil, vegetable oil or canola oil
- 100 gr sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 75 gr chopped walnuts, optional
- Extra flour

Utensils:
- Big mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Cup
- Knife
- Teaspoon
- Measuring spoons
- Pastry brush
- Scale
- Rolling pin
- Cling film
- Baking paper
- Baking tray
- Tea towel
- Oven
- Cake rack


Preparation:
Mix the flour, caster sugar and salt together in the big mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the sour cream or yoghurt, butter, and egg in the well. Combine the fresh yeast and lukewarm milk in the small bowl and stir until the yeast has dissolved completely. Pour the milk in the well start mixing everything until combined. Turn the mixture onto a floured worktop and start kneading for about 10 minutes. If the mixture feels too wet, add some flour (a little at the time). If it feels too dry, add some milk (a splash at the time). The dough is ready when it feels silky and smooth and if the dough bounces back when pressing. Shape the dough into a ball. Clean the bowl and rub the bowl with oil. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rise in a warn place (20-25ºC) for approximately an hour or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough from the bowl onto a floured bench top and press it gently into a square. Roll it flat with a rolling pin. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon. Cut the dough into smaller squares (size doesn't really matter. Just cut it the way you like.). Sprinkle each square with the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Leave 1 cm around the edges to fold the roll. You can sprinkle some chopped walnuts onto the sugar if you like. Start on one side an roll the squares all the way to the other side. The side looks like a pin wheel. Line a baking tray with baking paper and put the rolls on the tray. Leave a little space between each roll, because they will rise again. Brush the tops of the rolls with water and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the tops. Cover the rolls with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 190ºC and bake the rolls for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before you can tuck in.
Really yummy with a cuppa.

The best ice cream ever!

I don't want to be too cocky, but this is really the most delicious ice cream I've ever made! The variations are endlessly, just use your imagination. I like to use vanilla extract and in summer I mix the basic recipe with fresh peaches or berries from our garden. And the good thing about this recipe: you can make it without an ice cream machine!

Ingredients:
- 3 eggs, separated
- 10 Tbsp caster sugar
- 500 ml cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (with seeds) or seeds from a vanilla pod
   (when making vanilla ice cream)
- 2 Tbsp boiling water

Utensils:
- 3 big mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- Measuring spoons
- Big metal mixing spoon
- 2.5 liter container with lid


Preparation:
Start with separating the eggs. (Make sure no yolk gets mixed in with the whites.) Put the yolks in one bowl (the biggest one you have) and add 5 Tbsp of the caster sugar, the vanilla extract and the 2 Tbsp of boiling water. Beat with the electric mixer until thick and pale. After 3-4 minutes the mixture will become ribbony and has a creamy consistency. Put aside.

Clean the mixing utensils and make sure they're fat free. Add the remaining sugar to the egg whites and beat for approximately 5-6 minutes or until the mixture forms stiff peaks. You can test the consistency by holding the bowl upside down. However, you have to be absolutely sure the egg whites have the right consistency!... Put aside as well.

Last, beat the cream to soft peaks. (You can also beat the cream until stiff peaks form, according to personal taste. This will make your ice cream even more creamier.) If you have over whipped the cream, no worries. Just add some more cold cream and whip again.

Add the cream to the egg yolks and gently fold together with a metal mixing spoon. When combined, add the egg whites and again, fold in gently.

At this stage you can add anything you like. When using fresh fruit, make sure you combine the fruit with a sugar syrup otherwise the fruit will become very dense and will contain (water) crystals, which is not very nice to eat. (Please see the Peach Sorbet recipe on how to make a sugar syrup.) If you like to make a coffee flavoured ice cream, add some strong coffee or espresso to the egg yolk mixture after beating the yolks to a creamy consistency or you can replace the boiling water with the coffee. You can also add instant coffee granules to the egg yolks right at the start. Same with cinnamon.

Pour the mixture in a plastic container and place a lid on the top to prevent 'freezer burn' of a change in flavour. Freeze the ice cream for at least 6-8 hours, preferably overnight, until set.

To create the same effect as shown in the photo above, I melted some good quality chocolate and coated the inside of a paper cupcake case. Make sure you have a fairly thick layer otherwise the chocolate will break when stripping of the paper case. Let the chocolate dry for approximately 10-15 minutes and fill the case with ice cream. Put in the freezer and let the ice cream freeze for at least four hours. Peel the paper off right before serving. You can sprinkle some grated chocolate on top of the ice cream, whipped cream, berries or whatever you fancy.

For the chocolate decorations, I melted some chocolate and filled a small plastic bag. Then cut a small piece from the bag and there it is; your own (budget) piping bag. I made the decorations on a piece of baking paper so it's easy to remove the decorations once they're cool.

The shooter glass contains Brandy and some sweetened whipped cream. You can use all kinds of liquor or omit the alcohol. I've served some chocolate mousse in the bigger glass. See the recipe for how to make the mousse on this Blog.

Naan bread

I've tried several recipes for naan bread, but this one is the best for my taste buds! They go really well with all curry dishes, mint sauce and mango chutney.

For this recipe I use dried yeast. I've noticed this works best and 'speeds up' the time a little bit compared to fresh yeast breads.

This recipe is for 6-8 breads.

Ingredients:

- 1 sachet instant dried yeast (is 7 grams), or 15 gr fresh yeast

- 1 tsp sugar (not necessary when using fresh yeast)

- 200 ml lukewarm milk

- 500 gr High Grade (strong) flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 150 ml yoghurt or sour cream

- 1 egg

- 2 Tbsp ghee or melted butter

- dried coriander flakes

- olive oil or canola oil

- extra flour for dusting

Utensils:

- big mixing bowl

- small bowl

- spoon

- tea towel

- measuring spoons

- scale

- working space, e.g. a bench top

- knife

- pastry brush

- baking tray

- baking paper, optional

- oven

Preparation:

Mix the sugar in the milk and stir until dissolved. Add the dried yeast and stir a couple of times. let is sit for 10-15 minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. (That means the yeast is activated and a layer of foam appears in the surface of the milk.) When using fresh yeast, dissolve the yeast in the milk. You can either do this with your fingers or with a (tea)spoon. This mixture doesn't have to stand to activate, it is ready for use now.

In the big bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Make a little well (hole) in the middle and pour the milk, egg, yoghurt or sour cream and the melted butter in the well. Now comes the fun part; with your right hand (or left if your left-handed) dive into the well and mix and knead everything together. Make sure all ingredients are combined properly. After a couple of minutes a dough will form. Try using one hand only. This in case the phone rings. Trust me, it will make a huge sticky mess when answering the phone with a hand covered in dough!

Dust a working space with a little bit of the extra flour and scrape the dough from the bowl onto the floured bench top. Scrape the sticky dough off your right hand with some extra flour and start kneading the dough. If you're a novice, use both hands. Otherwise try using one hand only. Knead for approximately 10 minutes or until the dough feels smooth and satiny and when pressing with a finger it should bounce back. If the dough feels too sticky, add a little flour. be careful not to add too much otherwise the dough will turn out dry and tough. Shape the dough in a ball.

Clean the bowl and rub the inside of the bowl with about 1 tsp (olive) oil. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let it rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Dust your working space with flour again and turn the dough onto the flour. Gently flatten the dough with your hands until about 1-1.5 cm thick. Cut 'tear drop'-shapes from about 25 cm long and 15 cm wide. Shape with your hands and try to avoid kneading the dough too much.

Line a baking tray with baking paper or rub the tray with (olive) oil and dust with plain flour. Put the breads onto the baking tray. Brush the tops of the breads with (olive) oil and sprinkle with dried coriander flakes. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let the breads cool for about 5 minutes before moving onto a cake rack to cool completely. You can also eat them while still warm.

They freeze pretty good. Before serving, make sure they're thawed completely. You can reheat them for about 3-5 minutes in the oven (180-190ºC) or simply put them in a toaster.

Variations:

- Instead of the coriander flakes, try onion seed or some crushed garlic. Be careful not to burn the garlic when baking the breads. Burned garlic will leave a bitter taste. If the garlic browns too quick, cover the naan breads with some tin foil.

Flat egg cakes

The pantry almost exploded with eggs from our lovely chookies, so the decision was easy; egg cakes!

This is a yummy Dutch treat that goes very well with people on a diet and is a good solution when you have left over eggs or too many eggs in the pantry. There is no butter or oil in this recipe and a very low amount of sugar.

Ingredients:
- 5 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g flour

Utensils:
- 2 mixing bowls
- measuring spoons
- electric mixer (or a hand mixer if you're into some exercise)
- baking paper
- baking sheet
- big spoon

Preparation:
Separate the eggs and place the yolks in one bowl and the egg whites in the other bowl. (Make sure no yolk comes in the egg whites otherwise the whites wont stiffen up.) Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and gradually add 50 grams of the sugar spoon by spoon. Mix until the sugar has completely dissolved. You can test this by rubbing a little bit of the mixture between your fingers. If it feels smooth, then the sugar has dissolved. If not, beat a little longer. Set aside.
Add the rest of the sugar and the lemon juice to the egg yolks and beat with the mixer on high until the mixture looks pale yellow and has a creamy consistency. Mix with the metal spoon the flour and baking powder through the egg yolk mixture. Add the egg whites a little bit at the time and gently combine. If you stir too rough, you'll loose all the air and the cakes turn out flat and chewy. It's alright if some specks of whites are still visible. Leave the mixture to rest for 5 minutes, this gives the egg whites time to 'recover'. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Put some baking paper on a baking tray. Take a big blop of egg mixture and spoon on the tray. Make sure to leave some space between each cake, because the mixture will expand in the oven.
Bake in 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

When the cakes have cooled, store in an airtight container.

Variations:
- Add 1 tsp of vanilla essence to the egg yolk mixture before mixing in the egg whites.
- If you're into raisins or currants, add some to the mixture.
- Try adding 1 tsp cinnamon.
- For more cakes with a zing, add 10 grams of lemon zest.
- Add 2 sachets (is 16 grams) of vanilla sugar. (You can buy vanilla sugar, but is very expensive. It is fairly easy to make yourself; put a vanilla pod in a jam jar and cover with caster sugar. I used a vanilla pod without the seeds after using the seeds for another dish. It still turns out great.)

Indulgence...

Just another day at the office...

Life sucks... and then you die!

Dutch Style Sausage Rolls a.k.a. Brabantse Worstenbroodjes

This is a really yummy treat. They go very well with a pint of cold beer and you can eat the rolls warm or cold. For people who like to dip, serve with tomato ketchup or sweet chili sauce. It is really delicious with the Dutch style 'Curry sauce'. (Not available in NZ.) Make the rolls as big as you like. We were having friends over for drinks and nibbles and I decided to go for the bite-size option.

Ingredients:
For the Dough
- 500 gr High Grade (strong) flour
- 25 gr fresh yeast or 1 sachet instant dried yeast (is 7 gr)
  (when using dried yeast, add 1 tsp sugar to activate the yeast)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 250 ml lukewarm milk
- 50 gr butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- plain flour
- 1 tsp olive oil

Filling
- 500 gr minced meat
- 70 gr bread crumbs or 2 slices of white bread, cut off crusts and crumble
- 1 egg
- 4-5 tsp Gehaktkruiden*

*In the Netherlands you can buy specific spices for mince, also known as 'gehaktkruiden'. However, it is quite difficult to get your hands on these spices when living on the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, I made my own mix and will share this highly confidential secret with you guys!

Gehaktkruiden:
- 4 tsp salt
- 3 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp ground white pepper if available, otherwise black pepper will do just fine
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground cloves (optional). careful with cloves, it can be overpowering

About 4 tsp is enough for 500 gr of mince. You can store the rest of the spice mix in an airtight container.


Utensils:
- big mixing bowl x3
- measuring spoons
- whisk
- cling film
- cup
- fork
- knife
- pastry brush
- baking paper
- baking tray
- tea towel


Preparation:
Start with the dough. Mix the high grade flour with the salt in one bowl. In another dissolve the yeast in the milk. (When using dried yeast, stir 1 tsp of sugar and the yeast in the milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until frothy. That means that the yeast is activated and ready to use.) Whisk in the melted butter and one egg until combined. Add the flour to the milk and yeast mixture and combine. Tip out of the bowl onto a lightly floured bench top and knead for about 10 minutes. The dough must feel smooth and bounce back when pressing with your finger tip. When the dough is too wet to knead, add a little more flour, but be careful because you might end up with a very tough and dry dough. It is better to have a relatively wet dough than a dry and tough dough. If the dough feels a bit dry, wet your hands with water and knead again.
Clean the bowl and rub the inside with 1 tsp olive oil. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place (25ºC) for 1-1,5 hour or until doubled in size.

For the filling, combine the mince, breadcrumbs, egg and gehaktkruiden and mix thoroughly. Take a little bit of the mixture and roll a sausage between the palms of your hands. If you find the meat is too sticky and you can't roll properly, try wetting your hands with cold water. Make the sausages as big as you would like to serve the bread rolls. For a snack I made the sausages about 5 cm long. If you're already finished preparing the sausages, but the dough isn't ready yet, cover the sausages and put back in the fridge. Cover the baking tray with baking paper.

Once the bread is ready, carefully turn it on a lightly floured worktop. Press the dough gently to flatten it. Roll the dough out to 5 mm thick and cut it into rectangles. I always cut the dough as I go to prevent cutting the rectangles too small. Put one sausage at the beginning of your rectangle and gently roll it like a wrap. You can leave the sides open if you want, or you can tuck both sides underneath the roll. Place the bread roll onto the baking tray, seam side down. Repeat the same steps with all the sausages.

Cover with a tea towel and let the rolls rise for another 30-60 minutes, until the rolls have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 220ºC and beat the second egg in a cup. Brush the rolls with the beaten egg. Bake the sausage rolls on 220ºC for 25-30 minutes or when they're golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when tested. Cool on a wire rack if you can wait that long, or dive in straight away!

If you have any dough left, shape it in any form you like and let is rise as well. Bake together with the sausage rolls. (Same temperature, same time.)

Mastering The Art Of French Cooking

Problably the whole world, except me, has seen the film 'Julie and Julia'. I've read the book though, does that count as well?... Strolling through the library I found the 'most influential cookbook of American history'; Mastering The Art Of French Cooking, by Julia Childs. I couldn't resist it and took the book home with me. It turns out to be the Fourtieth Anniversary Edition. Julia Childs herself has written an introduction. She declares that everybody can cook the recipes from her book. So I would like to give it a try. She didn't mention dummies though, but we'll see. I know it's all been-there-done-that and it is a far cry from originality, but what the heck. One recipe a week will be my goal. Keep you guys posted!...

Marinated Mushrooms

Start this dish one or two days in advance. The flavours and herbs need time to develop. This is an easy recipe and will take no longer than 25 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:
- 150 ml white wine vinegar
- 6 black peppercorns, crushed
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 75 ml (5 Tbsp) olive oil
- 75 ml (5 Tbsp) water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp oregano (dried)
- 1 tsp salt
- 500 gr white button mushrooms

Utensils:
- piece of paper towel
- small pot
- measuring spoons
- sieve or colander
- bowl
- cling film
- serving dish


Preparation:
Put everything except the mushrooms in a (small) pot and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Then turn the heat low and let the marinade simmer for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, clean the mushrooms with the paper towel (Do not rinse with water otherwise they will soak up all the water and go soggy!) and add to the pot. Cook for five minutes. Turn the heat off and let the mixture cool. When cold, transfer the mushrooms and marinade to a bowl and cover with cling film. Let it sit in the fridge to marinate for 1-2 days.
Before serving, drain the mushrooms in a colander and transfer to the serving dish.

Serve with fresh French bread (baguette), toast or garlic bread and a good glass of your favourite wine.

Flying Cupcakes

Last night was a bit of a disaster actually. During daytime I work as a nurse in the operating theatre and today we had a big day at the office. So I thought I could bring something for morning tea. It's always good to please the doctor, isn't it?!

Paul had to work late, so I had the kitchen to myself. (It's always better to screw up alone...) One of my colleagues has a gluten allergy and I decided to bake something gluten free. I quickly googled for a cupcake recipe and used the one from http://www.vanillacupcake.co.nz/

(Looking back it might have been a better idea to look for a gluten free option, but hey I'm a dummy and for some reason I like to do things the most difficult way possible!)

I must admit, I've never made cupcakes before. I always thought it was more of a girly-girl thing. Turns out I was completely wrong, it's a true art!

I planned on a quickie and bought an easy-to-make-failing-is-not-an-option packet for the normal cupcakes. You only have to add milk, eggs and oil and voíla, piece of cake you would think. Only this ready-to-make mix was for a cake instead of cupcakes. But how hard can it be?! According to the directions I had to pour the cake in the tin and bake in the oven for 60 minutes on 140ºC. So I decided to pour the mixture in little cupcake cases instead and baked it for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, the cakes were still very wet (almost liquid), so I decided to increase the temperature to 180ºC. This helped cooking the cakes, but the mixture turned out to be too moist and this is the result:

So far my first ever made cupcakes...
I tried one myself and the dog was quite happy to sacrifice herself for the rest. To be honest, the taste was not too bad. When I read the recipe from the Internet site, it turned out they put the paper cupcake cases in a muffin tin. This really helped the cakes shape nicely. OK, useful tip that I discovered áfter things went wrong.
Next step was the gluten free cakes. I substituted the self-raising flour for rice flour and 1 tsp baking powder. But as I discovered along the way, rice flour works a bit different than ordinary flour. The first batch was bubbling and foaming like an erupting volcano (or something like that), the second one needed twice the amount of cooking time and finally, third time lucky, the last batch came out quite nicely. Well, good enough for my standards anyway.

After three gruelling hours, both the dog and I were nauseous of eating all the 'miscarriages' and I had had enough of it. It felt beyond humanity! At one stage I really felt the urge to see if cupcakes can fly... I poured the last batch of mixture into a 20cm round cake pan and threw it literally in the oven. I quickly made some icing and tried to decorate the tops. I decided to sprinkle some rainbow strands over the cakes to cover up the chaos underneath it all.

So no more cupcakes for me. Done and dusted! And the worst thing of all this is that I almost missed Desperate Housewives!...

P.s. Everybody said they loved the cupcakes and by the time I went home there were only three cakes left. I'm not completely sure if they were truly honest or just being polite...

Chocolate Mousse

This is the most divine chocolate mousse I ever tasted! It is one of my favourite recipes and you really wow your guests with this dish. The most tricky bit of this recipe is splitting the eggs and beating the egg whites to stiff peaks. make sure your bowl and utensils are clean and fat free. Even if there's a tiny amount of yolk in the bowl with the whites, you can beat until your arm falls off, but you won't get stiff peaks. A fool proof method is to break one egg at the time into a small cup. Then pour the egg white into the big bowl and break another egg above the small cup. This will prevent you from throwing the bowl through the window! And it will save you on eggs. Trust me, I've been there...

The Brandy gives a nice touch to the mousse. You can also leave the Brandy out if you want an alcohol free chocolate mousse. But I have to tell you it won't be the same!
Serves 6.

Ingredients:
- 200 gr good quality chocolate, chopped (I use Whittaker's 50% cocoa)
- 30 gr unsalted butter, diced
- 5 eggs
- 2 Tbsp Brandy
- 3 Tbsp caster sugar

Utensils:
- 2 big bowls
- 1 heatproof small bowl
- Cup
- Electric mixer or hand mixer
- Large metal spoon
- Scale
- Small pot that can hold your small heatproof bowl,
   filled with about 2 fingers of water
- Spoon
- Knife
- Teaspoon and Tablespoon for measuring
- Big serving bowl or small lemonade glasses
- Stove and fridge


Preparation:
Put the pot with water on the stove and heat the water. Do not let the water boil or you'll burn the chocolate. Put the chopped chocolate and diced butter in the small heatproof bowl and place the bowl on the pot. Make sure the water in the pot does not touch the bowl. Melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally. Do not let the chocolate get too hot or it will be oily and go grainy when stirring in the egg yolks. As soon as most of the chocolate has melted, take the bowl of the pot (careful not to burn yourself) and stir a couple of times until all the chocolate pieces have been dissolved.

In the meantime, separate the eggs. Combine the egg yolks with the Brandy in one bowl and the egg whites and caster sugar in the second bowl. Gently stir the chocolate mixture in the egg yolks. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. (They will look thick and glossy.)This will take approximately 6-7 minutes. You can test if the whites are stiff enough by holding the bowl upside down. If the whites will stick, then your good. Don't put the bowl upside down over your head though. Make sure you trust your skills enough before you do that. If you really want to challenge yourself, do it when nobody is watching!

Using the large metal spoon, stir a 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to enlighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites, gently but thoroughly, leaving no white streaks or lumps in the mixture. If you beat vigorously then all the air you've been trying to create inside the whites while mixing them, will disappear and you'll get a dense, slimy mousse that is not nice to eat. Let alone serving it to guests. Pour the mixture into the serving bowl or the small glasses and refrigerate until set.

Really delicious with a good dollop of cream and a big scoop of ice cream. You can also scatter some chocolate shavings over the mousse before serving and serve with a little bit of the Brandy. If there's any left...




Note: This recipe is not suitable for pregnant women, as it contains raw eggs!

Soft Fresh Cheese

When making cheese the best recipe to start off with is soft fresh cheese. You don't need any fancy equipment or cultures for this delicious cheese. I've tried several recipes, but this one works best for my taste buds. This recipe requires overnight draining, so start preparing the cheese one day before you actually want to serve it.
Makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients:
- 1 liter plain unsweetened yoghurt ( I prefer Greek style yoghurt)
- 1 to 1.5 tsp salt (according to taste)
- Generous handful of mixed fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, basil, chives; finely chopped

Utensils:
- 1.5 liter capacity bowl x2
- Big lid that can cover the sieve
- Sieve or fine colander
- Muslin cloth (cheese cloth) or thin tea towel (I use a bandana)
- Spoon
- Teaspoon
- Chopping board and sharp knife

You can also use dried herbs, but it will definitely give a different taste to the cheese. You can use all of the above herbs, or only one variety. Just use what you like and try different flavourings every time you make the cheese. After a while you'll know what you like the most.

Preparation:
Mix the yoghurt with the salt in one bowl. Drape the muslin cloth or clean tea towel over the sieve and place the sieve over the second bowl. Make sure the sieve can stand in the bowl. (A wobbly sieve can collapse as soon as you pour the yoghurt mixture in the sieve.) Pour the yoghurt mixture into the sieve and put the lid on top of the sieve. Place it in the fridge and let it drain overnight.

In the morning you'll see that all the liquid has drained from the yoghurt. This is also called whey. You can either discard the liquid (Do not pour it down the sink if you have a septic tank! The bacteria in the tank won't thank you for that and it can destroy the good bacteria.) or give it to the chooks. They'll go mad and it is good for the egg production as well. You can also pour it onto compost if you have some. Seems to be really beneficial.

You'll see that there is a firm substance left in the sieve. That's your cheese. Ladle the cheese out of the sieve into a clean (serving)bowl and stir in the finely chopped herbs. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours for the flavours to develop.

This cheese will keep in a covered container for over a week in the fridge and is delicious served on a piece of warm French bread (baguette) or crackers. After a couple of days you might see some water (whey) on the bottom of the bowl/container. No worries, you can still eat the cheese. Just drain the whey and stir the cheese and you'll be fine.


Variation:
If you have a sweet tooth and would like to serve the cheese as a dessert, omit the fresh herbs and mix 2 Tbsp of liquid honey and 1 tsp ground cinnamon through the mixture.

You can use the sweet version for breakfast with toasted muesli and fresh fruit or as a light snack. When serving for dessert pour a generous dollop of cheese on a plate and scatter nuts around the cheese. Garnish the plate with fruit (pear, dates, figs or slices of green tart apple) and drizzle with some honey.

First Kickoff

Welcome to the Cooking for Dummies-Blog. Hope you find yourself some useful recipes, tips and tricks to help you whip up some really delicious treats for yourself, family and friends. Keep in mind though that all recipes have been thoroughly tested and will only be published if both Paul and I are convinced the recipe is amazing and a keeper. Having said that, not all recipes are of great benefit for your waistline! If on a diet, please substitute or omit certain ingredients.

Enjoy, indulge and live the good life...

Cheers,

Paul & Claudia