WINTERFOOD PARTY WITH GLÖGG

Last weekend I organized with my friend from http://unasemplicepassione.blogspot.com/
a lovely pre xmas winterfood party. People came with their typical winter/xmas food from all over the world. We had well known classics like

• italian "Lasagne"
• swedish "Janssons Frestelse"
• spanish/galician "Empanadas"

and less known for me :)

• south-african sweet "Koeksisters"
• filipino "Sticky Rice Cake"
• swiss/toggenburg "Schlorzifladen"

The Koeksisters I already have in my future food to do list :P. Really yummy dessert that I had never heard anything from.

For the party I prepared some Nordic classics like swedish Glögg, Lussebullar and estonian Pikkpoiss with beetroots.

GLÖGG

The word glögg comes from "glödga" to heat up something. My dear friend from Switzerland thought it means "Glück", luck in german :). I guess we are lucky ones to try all those different winter treats.

If you want some winter luck, follow the recipe below :P.

Ingredients

1 bottle of red wine

1,5-2 dl vodka

2 cinnamon sticks

10 whole cloves

12 cardamom seeds

10 tsp sugar

almonds&raisins

Heat the wine in the pot together with sugar, spices and vodka. Serve with almonds and raisins. Glugg Glugg Glugg.

SWISSFOODIES - GREAT BLOGS IN SWITZERLAND

It is not so easy to find other foodies in Switzerland writing in english.
I know there are many off us out there.
In this post I am making a little overview of the ones that I know.
Please let me know if you have a blog and would like to add it here or you know a great one.
It would be nice to meet some of you one day and share all this great knowledge we have.

Una Semplice Passione

This is for you who love italian food. Reading this blog you can feel the passion the blogger has for simple italian kitchen. She writes passionately and funny about her experiences with food in Switzerland and other countries. She shares some amazing italian family recipes with you in a very earnest and passionate way. You feeling like beeing in her kitchen cooking together with her.

http://unasemplicepassione.blogspot.com/

Once upon a Cakestand

http://www.onceuponacakestand.com/

This blogger from Zürich is cookbook author and food editor and currently baking a year in cakes. She has amazing pictures on her blog. It feels you already eating with your eyes before you even start cooking.

The Rambling Epicure

Jonell Galloway from Basel  joins the voices of food writers and artists from around the world who are interested in promoting a mindful, responsible approach to real food shopping, cooking, and eating, as well as food politics, safety, history, art, literature and philosophy.

 http://www.theramblingepicure.com/

SMASHING PUMPKIN SOUP

What can be better in the cold autumn day than a plate of yellow Smashing Pumpkin Soup. I love the roasted flavour of this soup.

And I am always associating pumpkins with my favorite band from youth - Smashing Pumpkins. So this is dedicated to the band, the best pumpkins ever :).




Soul Food:
Smashing Pumpkins
Disarm








Ingredients

ca 1,7kg pumpkin
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
600ml chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
2 dl cream
salt
pepper
chili


Preheat the owen to 200C.
Cut big chunks from a pumpkin (leave the skin), drizzle with olive oil and roast it in the owen 50min together with unpeeled onions. After 35 min add unpeeled garlic.

Peel and deseed the pumpkin and peel the onions and garlic. Blend until smooth, add cream, lemonzest and half of the lemon juice.

Bring the chicken stock to boil and add the pumpkin mix.

Season with salt, pepper and chili.

Pain au Chocolat and Berry Melon

I woke up early Sunday morning and made a surprise birthday breakfast for my husband. Warm Pain au Chocolat directly from oven, healthy Berry Melon and a glass of fresh orange juice. He was very happy when I woke him up with a yummy breakfast in bed. Even the weather was smiling and late summer morning sun was shining in the blue sky :).

Soulfood
http://vimeo.com/12229954
In The Blue Sky We And A Bee


Berry Melon

Servings: 2

1 Melon
your favorite berries
powdered/confectioners' sugar

This is really easy, healthy summery dessert. And it looks wonderful.
Take a little melon and cut it in half. Remove the seeds in the middle. Add your favorite berries in the middle and serve with powdered sugar.

Pain au Chocolat

This is recipe from one of my favorite chefs, swedish Leila Lindholm.
8 pieces

250g Puff pastry
50g Nutella
25g Dark chocolate (70%)
75g Marzipan
1 Orange zest
1 Egg
Flaked Almonds
Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 175 C.
Cut the puff pastry in half and then both halves in 4 rectangular parts.
Add Nutella across one of the short ends of the rectangle.
Chop the chocolate in big pieces, grate the marzipan and add it together with orange zest over the Nutella cream.
Roll up dough tightly, enclosing chocolate.
Brush the tops with beaten egg and add some almond flakes on the top.
Bake in the middle of oven 20 minutes until golden.
Before serving add powder sugar.

Delicious!!!

EASY SWEDISH PRINCESS CAKE

Couple of weeks ago I joined a children party and baked a big marzipan cake and made a little monster Maia for the occasion. I think Guinness record was made that evening in cake eating. It took max 10 minutes and the cake was gone. Finitto. Infront of me was just a big empty plate with some rest of the marzipan on it. I couldn't believe my eyes :).

This is my version of the famous marzipan cake called ( in swedish ) Princesstarta. I am making it with two layers topped with rasberries&blackberries, cream and marzipan on the top.

Heaven :P

So if you want to experience my success then here comes the recipe.









Sponge cake:
4 eggs
120g sugar
90g wheat flour

100g rasberries
100g blackberries
20g sugar

500ml heavy cream
400g marzipan
confectioner sugar

First bake the sponge cake. Beat 4 eggs with sugar until it becomes pale and fluffy. Add flour very gently to the mixture. Grease a springform, add the mixture and bake in the middle of owen 15 minutes. Let it cool and cut the cake horizontally in two layers.

Whip the cream.

Mix rasberries and blackberries with sugar. Add half of the berry mixture in the middle of the first sponge cake layer. Spread the cream on the top of the berries and rest of the layer.

Add the second part of the sponge cake on the top of the first. Add berries and the rest of the whipped cream on the top. Make a little dome of the whipped cream on the top of the cake. Cover the side of the cake with thin layer of cream.

I am usually buying the marzipan but it is easy made yourself.
Dust the work surface with confectioner sugar and roll out marzipan into thin layer until it is big enough to cover the whole cake. Put the marzipan on the top of the cake and remove the excess marzipan around the cake.

You can soak the sponge cake layers with some kirsch if you know there will be no kids eating.

That's it :). You have to be quick enough to taste it before it is gone.

SUMMER APRICOT SALAD

Summer is perfect for a quick and healthy seasonal salad. There is so many other funny things to do outdoors than sit in the hot kitchen and cook for hours.
Enjoy the summer :)

Soulfood:
Joe Cocker - Summer in the City

Servings: 2-3

7 chopped apricots
1/2 chopped melon
1/2 chopped cucumber
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Mix the chopped apricots, melon and cucumber. Whisk together olive oil with vinegar. Drizzle the dressing over salad.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM WITH HOMEMADE BUTTER AND KNÄCKEBRÖD

There is a beautiful Midsummer fairy tale of two eternal Nordic lovers, the beautiful girl called Dust and a handsome boy called Dawn. They only meet once a year, on the shortest night of the year and kiss briefly.

To wait the whole year for this one kiss. Wow. This has to be something special :).




For the midsummer buffet I made homemade butter and swedish flatbread called knäckebröd. Unbelievably easy and tasty.


HOMEMADE BUTTER WITH CHILI & CHIVES

500g heavy cream
Sea salt
1 little red chili pepper
handful chopped fresh chives

Process heavy cream with electric mixer until buttermilk separates from the solid butter. Pour off (or save) the buttermilk. Remove the butter from the machine, squeeze it into a ball and wash it under cold running water several times until the water runs clear.
Add seasalt, chopped red chili, chives and mix it all together.


KNÄCKEBRÖD & SWEDISH FLATBREAD

150g flour
ca 50g water
sesame seeds
sea salt

Mix flour with salt. Knead together flour, sesame seeds and water until the dough is smooth. Add more water if necessary. Make little dough balls. Roll them out very thin on the floured surface. It is important that the dough is as thin as possible. Then bake each of them on the frying pan without oil until crisp on the both sides.

Enjoy with homemade butter.

Smakligt maltid!

"ICH BIN EIN BERLINER"

This is the famous quotation from Kennedy's speech 1963 in West Berlin. At that time the city was divided in West and East. The wall in the middle of the city cut West Berlin completly off from East Berlin and East Germany.

I had the opportunity to visit the city June 2011 and enjoy free and united Berlin, its history and culinary highlights.


Here are some Berlin gourmet recommendations


Weltrestaurant Markthalle in Kreuzberg
Pücklerstrasse 34

German Cuisin

It should be so easy. I am in Germany, Berlin and would like to eat some good german food. Nope. It is not so easy to find real german food in Berlin. My local friend took me to this restaurant and I am happy he did. This place has everything - good homy food, great service and nice rustic atmosphere. I tried their famous schnitzel with fried potatoes "Bratkartoffel". It was crisp, crunchy and irresistible, the way a schnitzel should be. An the fried potatoes, fried in butter like my grandmother did. Pure heaven.



Yoli - frozen yoghurts

Berlin Mitte
Invalidenstrasse 112

Yoli is the first frozen "pop" yoghurt store in Berlin. The shop has a very cool white and clean interior with stylish minimalistic furniture. But the best is the frozen yogurt with different toppings. I found the yogurt taste very neutral and creamy. Perfect with a combination of some fresh berries and chocolate cream. There so many different toppings you can choose from, berries, buiscuits, müsli, chocolate etc.

KOHUPIIMAKORBID - ESTONIAN CURD CHEESE BUNS

Summer is short. I can't believe it is already June. Time flies. One of the biggest festive activities in Nordics - Midsummer - is almost here.
There are different midsummer traditions in north. In Sweden you eat herring with new boiled potatoes, jump around the maypole and sing a song of little frog
Estonians jump over fire, eat a lot of bbq meat and traditional curd cheese buns. Estonians love their curd cheese. They eating it in various forms, salty and sweet, in porridge and with chocolate.
And in Switzerland people don't celibrate midsummer at all :(. It is just not enough north. But I decided to celibrate it anyway and baked those lovely little estonian curd cheese buns. It feels almost like home even with Alps and cows as background :).

SOULFOOD:
VILLE VALO " SUMMER WINE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8VpOJeUBhY

First you need to make the yeast dough from my white loaf recipe http://mumsfilibaba-mumsfilibaba.blogspot.com/2011/05/braided-white-loaf.html.

Divide the dough in 12 little parts. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Then press the dough balls down with a bottom of a glass that has smaller diameter than the dough ball. Fill it with the following filling:

Curd cheese mix:
250g curd cheese or ricotta
0.5g sugar
1 egg
100g sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
I have added 2-3 mashed strawberries.

Mix everything and fill the buns. Brush the edges with cold egg.
Bake at 200C for 15 minutes.

Head Jaanipäeva!

EASY PEASY SNAP PEAS

There are a number of ways to eat snap peas.
What is yours?

When I was a little girl, the whole world was simple and I was eating the peas whole as a snack. I would just lay in the sun, dream away and eating the green wonders one after another :). So delicious.

Now when I am a "little bit" older I still love to eat them "pure". And when I feel I want to make it more difficult for me I just add some garlic, seasalt and pepper. This is a wonderful, easy and healthy side dish. It takes 10 minutes and it's ready.

SOULFOOD:
BLACK EYED PEAS
"WHERE IS THE LOVE"


150g fresh sugar snaps, ends snipped off
pinch of seasalt
pepper
olive oil
2-3 cloves pressed garlic

Heat the oil in a wok and sautè the peas for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, pepper, garlic and stir well. The peas should remain crisp. Remove from heat.

SAILING PICNIC - CHICKEN LOLLIPOPS

Today we went sailing with some good friends. It was not one of those perfect blue sky weather days. We had everything. Blue sky, dark sky, nice white clouds, summer rain, no wind, a lot of wind. I loved it. Isn't it like a metafor for life? We all have our sunny days and rainy days. Without the dark clouds we can't appreciate the blue sky.



SOULFOOD:
ROD STEWART
"SAILING"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyIw0gcgfik

I took some picnic food with me to eat on the boat. Some colorful chicken lollipops. Perfect for a summer day out.

Ingredients:

ca 500g chicken breast
1-2 zucchini
1-2 garlic cloves
salt
pepper
handful basil

With vegetable peeler cut long strips of the zucchini. Put the zucchini strips into cold water for couple of minutes. Drain the slices.

Cut the chicken breast into long strips. Add pressed garlic, salt and pepper. Fry the strips over medium heat until golden brown.

Put the zucchini slice and basil on the fried chicken and roll everything together. Pin it together with a toothpick (or something nicer :)).

Ahoi!

POTATO PANCAKES & CRANBERRY SAUCE

It's so nordic, so delicious. Potato pancakes with cranberry sauce. They call them raggmunkar in swedish. Don't use new potatoes because they do not contain enough starch to hold the pancake together. Serve it with fried bacon or smoked salmon.
And nothing else matters :).

SOULFOOD:
METALLICA
"Nothing else matters"

Potato pancakes
500g cooked potatoes
2dl milk
10g butter
salt
pepper
4 eggs

fried bacon

Cranberry sauce
225g cranberries
1 dl sugar



Mash cooked potatoes and add hot milk, butter, salt&pepper. I am usually adding some harissa aswell but this is optional and not very swedish :). Add eggs. Mix it well.
Fry little pancakes on the medium heat until light brown on the both sides.

For cranberry sauce just mash raw cranberries with sugar. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that.

Serve with bacon, cranberry sauce or smoked salmon.

Smaklig maltid!

SWEDISH CINNAMON BUNS & KANELBULLAR

I had a great idea.
Yesterday I had the last german class day with my dear classmates and I had a wonderful idea of baking yummy cinnamon buns for the occasion.
It was a good idea until I took them out from the owen and tried one..and then another one...and then onother one. Mmmm I was in cinnamon bun heaven :). And then my husband tried one and asked if he can try one more...until there were only couple of them left.
Next time I will bake something else for my dear classmates :).

SOULFOOD:
One artist Sweden should be so proud of: ROBYN
"Dancing of my own"

For the buns you need the dough from Braided white loaf.
For the filling mix:
200g butter
80g sugar
2 tbs cinnamon

Divide the dough in 2 parts. Roll into 2 squares. Add the cinnamon mix on one of the squares and put the second square on the top. Cut into stripes and tie each stripe into knot. Let rise 45 minutes.
Brush the buns with beated cold egg. Bake at 200C ca 10-15min.

LEMON BALM ICE CUBES

Summer is here and it's hot, hot, hot. For a cool and pretty summer drink: Freeze leaves of lemon balm in ice cubes for a wonderful addition to your glass of tea or water. The cubes are quite attractive floating around until they melt.

PATACONES CHIPS

Are you like me tired of buying chips(crisps) for partys and weekends. "Pataconas" from Colombia are a wonderful alternative to those boring chips or french fries. It is made of plantain (cooking banana). I promise, it will be much tastier than usual chips. So get the party started :).

MUSIC FOR PARTY CHEF:
SHAKIRA
WAKA WAKA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssflEr3s44&feature=related

SHOPPING LIST:
2 plantains
1/4 l olive oil
sea salt

Peel the plantains.
Cut the plantains into 3cm slices.
Fry the plantains in oil until light brown.
Remove the plantains from the frying pan and put them on the plate.
Grab a glass and flatten them into little pancakes. Be careful not to break them. Return them to oil, fry again and remove when nicely brown-yellow. Add some sea salt.

RHUBARB CAKE - SMELLS FROM CHILDHOOD

It is amazing how a sence of smell can bring back so many memories. Why does the hint of certain smells instantly transport you back to childhood? It may be because the first smell you associate with an object is given privileged status in the brain.

The certain smells that bring me directly back to childhood are:

• Tomatoes in greenhouse
• Warm rhubarb cake
• Cloudberry jam
• Black rye bread
• Wild strawberries
• Ginger bread

Are there any particular smells that remind you of your childhood?

GOOD MUSIC TO LISTEN WHILE BAKING:

NELLY FURTADO
"CHILDHOOD DREAMS"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGtI8m8hW3A

GOOD TO HAVE:

SHORT PASTRY:
240g wheat flour
30g powdered sugar
150g butter
1 egg

SPONGE CAKE:
3 eggs
200g sugar
1ts vanilla sugar
50g butter
100ml milk
200g wheat flour
2 ts baking powder
pinch of salt

600g rhubarb, diced
50g sugar

Make first the sweet short pastry. Mix flour and powdered sugar. Add diced butter and work with your fingertips until completely softened. Add egg and knead the dough quickly together. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to stay in the fridge at least 30min.

The most important thing in sponge cake is AIR.
Eggs, vanilla sugar and sugar are beaten together until pale. Mix flour, salt & baking powder and gently fold in the dry ingredients to keep air in the mixture. Fold in melted butter&milk.

Roll out the short pastry and fit it into the baking tin. Prick the bottom. Bake in 200C for 10 min. Spread the rhubarb on the short pastry and sprinkle sugar on the top. Add the sponge cake mix. Bake for 30-40 min in 180C.

SPRING SUSHI

The word sushi comes from the Japanese word su and (me)shi. Su means vinegar, and shi is from meshi, the Japanese word for rice, hence sushi is 'vinegared rice'. It doesn't have to include fish at all. Why not use the lovely and tasty seasonal asparagus instead of fish :). It lookes and tastes wonderful.

WHITE ASPARAGUS WITH VINCENT KLINK

Couple of weeks ago I visited Vincent Klinks famous restaurant in Stuttgart, called Wielandshoehe. He is a well known chef in Germany who likes to cook from seasonal and local products. 98% of his products are bio. It was extremly yummy. Specially I remember his white asparagus with smoked salmon. I definitely have to say this is the best asparagus I have ever eaten :).

So of course after coming home the first thing I did was to buy a lot of asparagus and trying all kind of different recipes. Nami nam nam.

Here is one of my favorite ones. Asparagus sallad with rhubarb dressing. Very fresh and springy. And easy to make. The marinad is wonderful mix of chervil, parsley and chives in orange juice.

GOOD MUSIC WHILE COOKING:
Lena
"Satellite"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esTVVjpTzIY

WHAT YOU NEED:

Serves 2

1 little diced red rhubarb
handful of chervil, chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
handful of chives, chopped
1 tbs almond oil
2 tbs orange juice
1-2 ts orange zest
1 1/2 tbs sugar
salt, pepper
700g white asparagus
1 tsp butter

Mix chervil, parsley, chives with almond oil, orange juice, orange zest, 1 tbs sugar, salt and pepper. Marinade rhubarb at least 2 hours in the mix.

To prepare the asparagus, snap of the woody ends before cooking and peel it. Cook the asparagus with rest of the sugar, salt and butter ca 10 min.

Cut the asparagus in little pieces and mix with the rhubarb marinade.

Guten Appetit!


Here is his restaurant website:
http://www.wielandshoehe.de/html/speisekarte.html

LAZY DAY RHUBARB MUFFIN

Today is one of those lazzzzzzy days. The sky is gray and rainy. Perfect day for a cup of hot tea and a lazy day rhubarb muffin.











PERFECT SONG WHILE BAKING:
"Suede"
Lazy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP2enk5w5fk







GOOD TO HAVE:

2 eggs
150 ml sugar
50 grams melted butter
250 ml plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
150 grams quark or ricotta
300 grams rhubarb, chopped

Beat eggs with sugar. Mix flour with baking powder, vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Add it to the eggs mix together with quark and melted and cooled butter. Mix everything and add chopped rhubarb. Fill the muffin tray and bake at 220 for 20 minutes.

Based on the recipe from http://nami-nami.blogspot.com.

اتاي ATAI & MOROCCAN HOT TEA

"The first glass is as bitter as life,

the second glass is as strong as love,
the third glass is as gentle as death"

For me moroccan mint tea means that spring and summer is finally here. I love to drink it on the hot summer evening on the balcony. It is kind of part of summer and sun for me. As quickly as the first mint leaves appear in my herbal garden I am ready for the big pot of yummy green tea.

GOOD MUSIC TO LISTEN TO WHILE COOKING:
OUTLANDISH
"AICHA"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0nFTdKlKLw

WHAT YOU NEED IS:
Green Tea
Sugar
Boiling Water
Fresh Mint

This is my version of easy mint tea.
Pour hot water into tea pot. Put fresh green tea into a tea egg and add it to the hot water. Add handful of fresh mint sprigs to the water. Add 4-5 tsp sugar. Stir the tea. Let it stay couple of minutes.
Voila :)

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE AND BRAIDED WHITE LOAF

For me Braided White Loaf is weekend. Saturday, Sunday morning breakfast with family. The warm bread with some butter and a cup of tea. It's heaven.
And it is so easy to do. You just need some time and love :).

WHAT YOU NEED IS:

Time&Love
250ml Milk
20g fresh yeast
75g sugar
1 Egg
1,5tsp Sea Salt
500g Flour
75g Butter

GOOD MUSIC TO LISTEN TO WHILE COOKING:
Beatles: All you need is love"

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in (finger) warm milk and sugar. Beat the egg and put 3 tbsp in the fridge. Add the rest of the egg, salt and flour to the milk and beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Then on high speed for 5 minutes. On the low speed add butter cubes one after another to the dough.

Cover and let rise 1 hour in a warm place.

Knead for 5 minutes and divide the dough in 3 parts. Cover and let rise for 10 minutes.

Roll the 3 dough parts in 3 ropes. Braid the ropes, cover with kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes.

Brush the loaf with beated cold egg. Bake at 200 degrees for 25 minutes.

Anita from Bookmark this recipe baked my bread and put some comments and a picture on her blog. Check it out.

Enjoy it :)