Friday, August 20, 2010

A Muffin a Day Keeps the Munchies Away



Ingredients:
100 gram rolled oats
100 gram flour
tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
100 gram sugar
100 gram butter
2 bananas
shaved almonds
brown sugar
nutmeg and cinnamon to taste

Info:
175 celsius oven 30 minutes.
makes 12 muffins.

Method:
fit dry ingredients together.
beat butter, sugar together, add egg, then milk.
add to dry ingredients until just mixed.

fit muffin papers into muffin pan
sprinkle some shaved almonds into the bottom of each muffin paper.
ice cream scoop into muffin pans - don't use all the batter
lay two slices of banana on top of each muffin, cover with one spoon of batter.
sprinkle with shave almonds and some brown sugar.
bake. cool. enjoy! :o) katrin

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Dark Chocolate Puddings with Anis


This dessert is alot better in your mouth than on your hands ... Now the weather is getting cooler, this is a great warmer-upper! HINT- if you flour the bowls, you can let these cool and turn them out. Then you have an interesting snack! Just be sure you watch for the chocolate when you bite in. :o) katrin

whole anis seeds - a teaspoon of
300 gram dark chocolate
250 gram butter
1 espresso coffee / strong

300 gram sugar
6 eggs
150 gram walnuts
200 gram flour

if you have a nut allergy then leave out the nuts, as they supply interesting texture but without you can simply enjoy the chocolate on its own ...

crush anis, add to espresso.
melt chocolate and butter, let cool.
whip eggs and sugar together until fluffy.
sieve in flour, add nuts to chocolate and butter.
pour into 6 small oven proof ramekins.
bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.
serve warm with creme fraiche or ... orange sorbet?

** BE CAREFUL - THE PUDDING SHOULD BE RUNNY INSIDE - THIS MAY BE V HOT WHEN YOU BITE IN **

enjoy! :o) katrin

Monday, August 16, 2010

Friday Night is Pizza Night (but of course)



Opening rant:
This crazy blog just lost my entire post and I have spent the last 5 minutes staring crazily at the screen debating whether I should retype it. At the same time cursing myself for not typing it in text beforehand and pasting it here like I and any intelligent person always do. If that's corrrect grammar but it sounds good. SAVE. I recall the time of internet dialup with AOL when you always typed your emails in word or a text file and then pasted them into the email to save dialup time. But this was a long time ago. Ten years of interent time is like 50 years used to be I find. Technology is simply speeding everything up. In the rush to eat well I find that I'm missing the good old days! And we do eat well. The entire family is in good shape, we walk, we go to the gym, and only hubby and I can pinch an inch. We both think the other is beautiful and ourselves fat pigs, but still. Can't have everything.

The Problem:
I remember a day when the fridge was where you kept leftovers, which could be lovelingly perused at leisure and interesting snacks enjoyed like having your own private buffet. That was yesterday. Now any time I open the fridge all I find is white wine, yoghurt, the odd chocolate bar, milk rice, jello, cold cuts and cheeses (but never any bread in the basket), berries and juice, kefir and quark. Not a single slice of leftover quiche, never a half chicken or a slice of roast. Not a pickle! Well, yes there are pickles but it's just an expression ... :o) I stalk into the living room and knock on the wall. "Family! The fridge is empty. Why don't we have any leftovers? We must be eating wierd. We need to get organised. NO more cooking on the fly." Everyone looks at me. "But I thought we had decided to cook light, eat light, leftovers were the work of the devil?" "True, but if I have to eat just one more yoghurt at 2 AM instead of the chicken leg I crave I might just pop." Everyone turns back to the television. See, we are prety normal after all. I fetch a block of paper and a pen. "We'll vote." I look at the clock. "Just as soon as we finish dinner."

The solution:
After a dinner of couscous with salmon, tuna and cod served wtih a fresh tomato compote and white wine, I push my plate to the side and put pen to paper. There is some couscous on my finger and I draw it to everyone's attention. "What am I to do with couscous leftovers? Why don't we have potatoes more often? What is this family's fascination with grains?" No one mentions the fact that I cooked dinner and also forgot to buy potatoes from the market. Hubby pours me another glass of wine. After only three rounds of voting we manage to create our family's first weekly dinner menu. Every other day should offer precious opportunites for leftovers too. Does anyone else do this or is it just me?? :o) katrin

Monday: schnitzel (turkey or pork)
Tuesday: pasta and two sauces
Wednesday: chicken (preferably whole and roasted)
Thursday: fish
Friday: pizza night (3-2 vote by the girls) with salad (mum and dad amendment)
Saturday: a roasted meat with all the trimming and dessert
Sunday: quiche or blini/crepes

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Taking the Plunge

I've been working so much lately and everything, including my blog, has completely fallen to the wayside. I will be in Munich the second week of August to meet with three of my favourite catering clients to help them plan upcoming Fall events. While I'm there I am going to take the plunge and indulge in a very expensive treat. Something I have always wanted to put my mouth around and simply let it fill me up. I'm always producing the goods and for the last ten years I have been wanting to let myself be REALLY treated. Money is no object this time. Once we move back across the pond it will be a very long time before I can enjoy this Munich treasure. So it's salads and white wine until then! More about this paradise for my senses when I return. :o) poka! katrin