Apple-Pumpkin Cake

Fall is here and since I moved to Canada I discovered pumpkin for baking. I love pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. This time I tried a recipe but didn’t have half of the ingredients and turned it into something completely different. Here is my (accidentially?) created Apple-Pumpkin Cake:

2.60 oz butter
5 oz brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 can pumpkin
1 tbsp cinnamon
5.5 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 large apple, diced
2 oz pecan, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl, add the apple pieces and mix well. Set aside. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add wet to dry ingredients and mix quickly together. Fill batter in a greased and floured brownie pan.
Bake for 25 minutes.

baking for Easter

…ready to be baked…

…cooling…

…done.

stuffed chickenbreasts

2 chicken breasts
3 Tbsp grated mozzarella
5 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Tsp pesto
vegetable or chicken stock
1 Tsp heavy or sour cream
toothpicks

1 sm onion, finely chopped
olive oil
1 glass white wine

Mix together the mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto. Cut a little pocket in each chickenbreast. Fill the pocket completely with the mix and close them off with toothpicks. In a pan heat the olive oil and sautee onions and chickenbreasts. Add white wine and let it cook for a while. Add the stock and let it simmer for about 20-25 min. until the chicken is done. Take the chicken out and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Add some cream to the sauce and puree until smooth. Serve with pasta and salad.

Oatmeal heaven

Sorry for the long break. I was busy trying out new recipes (mostly baking) with different results.

Now, let’s get started. I grew up in an oatmeal-deprived country. I didn’t know oatmeal until I travelled to England and North America. I never tried it because -let’s be honest- it is not the prettiest food. And who eats a hot breakfast anyway?

When Starbucks started to offer oatmeal a few months ago I got curious. To me it seemed odd that the hip Starbucks would offer such a traditional breakfast. I tried it and was hooked immediately. It is the perfect winter breakfast that keeps you going for at least half a day. Canadian winters are cold and I noticed that an oatmeal in the morning also keeps you warm for a while. I guess I won’t slam warm breakfasts so quickly again.

But let’s talk about making oatmeal. I bought quick oats (Robin Hood) and followed the instructions on the package. I didn’t like it so much. It was rather bland even with goodies like brown sugar and raisins in it. So I used milk instead of water. I figured when I eat cornflakes I wouldn’t use water either. And it turned out great! So here is my basic recipe for one person:

3/4 cup milk (I use 2%)
1/3 cup quick oats
pinch of salt

Bring the milk to a boil. Add oats and salt. Cook for 3 minutes. Done.
Easy, eh?

Now for flavor and variety I came up with the following mix-ins:

– brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon
– chocolate
– blueberries, maple syrup or honey
– almond slivers, brown sugar
– banana, brown sugar
– vanilla sugar, raisins
– walnuts, pecan, almonds, brown sugar (Starbucks combination)
– dried fruit, honey
– apple, cinnamon, brown sugar
– craisins, brown sugar
– any jam

I usually cook mix-ins with the milk to develop the flavour (especially raisins but not bananas and blueberries!). Try it you will love it!

holiday baking underway

Pizza Addiction

I am addicted to pizza for as long as I can remember. However, only a few years ago I started to make my own instead of frozen (yucky!) pizza. I adapted the dough recipe from one of Jamie Oliver’s books. Here is the recipe and some topping favorites of mine.

Pizza dough for one:

100g flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
luke-warm water

(Sometimes I add oregano, dried basil, parmigiano, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. to the flour.)

Mix flour with salt in a bowl. ‘Dig’ a little valley in the middle and add yeast and sugar. Slowly pour some water on it and start a little yeast-sugar-flour dough. I usually let it sit for a few minutes so the dried yeast gets activated. Then I start working the flour in and add more water until it is a smooth, not too sticky dough.
Let the dough prove for an hour or so. Roll out the dough on a baking sheet as thin as possible.
I like to spread sun-dried tomato pesto or a thick tomato sauce on it. Make sure it is not too much and too liquid. Otherwise the pizza will be soggy! You can also brush some olive oil on the dough before you spread the tomato sauce. The oil acts like a shield and will prevent the dough from getting too wet.

Some of my favorite toppings are: artichokes, bell peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, roasted garlic, fresh basil and arugula. But hey, it is your pizza, anything goes!

As for the cheese, I like to use a mix of mozzarella, parmigiano and feta. The feta gets a bit crunchy and then you have the milky mozzarella, I absolutely love that combination! But gouda, gorgonzola, brie or other cheeses work fine too.

The key is to preheat the oven to at least 230C/450F. I get the best results baking my pizzas very hot and very quickly. It will take no longer than 15 min. to bake but keep an eye on it. The easiest way to tell whether pizza is done is to watch the cheese turn golden brown.

Decadent Sunday

Well, well, yesterday I tried out two chocolate cake recipes. Both are from Jamie Oliver’s new book Ministry of Food.
And wow, they are both really, really, really delicious. Not that I ever doubted it. Jamie’s recipes usually are very simple and amazingly tasty.

The first one is a Mega Chocolate Fudge Cake (Recipe link). The recipe calls for fudge but I used butterscotch which works just fine. What’s the difference anyways?

Key, I think, is to use really good quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt’s).

The second cake I made is a fruit-nut chocolate tart. If you don’t think about the calories, it is mind blowing delicious. The topping is very rich und creamy. I could go on and rave about it all day.

I am already thinking about different variations. I want to try it with coffee or choconut instead of the raisins and hazelnuts or stick to the raisins and nuts but soaking the raisins in rum over night… One of my colleagues, a banana fanatic, came up with the idea of spreading bananas on the crust and the chocolate on top. YUM!

My first Cranberry Sauce

Easy peasy!

340g cranberries (fresh or frozen)
200g sugar
225ml water
1 TL lemon or lime juice

That is all you need. Rinse the cranberries. Bring the water with sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for about 5 minutes, then add the cranberries and juice. They will soon start to pop like popcorn. Cook for 5 more minutes until it thickens to a nice shiny sauce. Done.

Red brussel sprouts?

Isn’t that pretty? I have never seen these before but found them today at the Farmers Market.

I am curious if they taste differently to the green ones.

Update: They were delish! Very fresh and tasty. Though I can’t really tell the difference to the green ones.

1001-in-1 bread

Well, maybe not quite 1001 but lots. How many is up to your creativity!

I love to make bread mainly because I can create whatever I want. There are almost no limits as long as you stick some simple rules. I use the same dough for bread, pizza, little calzones or quiche. The basic recipe I use is from Jamie Oliver:

300g flour
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
luke-warm water

Put the flour in a bowl, mix it with the salt and dig a little valley in the centre to place the yeast and sugar there. To get the yeast started add a couple of tbsp of luke-warm water. Let it rest a little so the yeast gets soaked and activated. Then slowly add the water and mix it with a fork until it forms a nice and elastic dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest until it doubles its size. Bake in a preheated oven (230C/450F) for about 30 min.

Whatever liquid you use, make sure it is luke-warm. Too hot or too cold may not activate the yeast!

The quantity is enough for a medium-sized loaf of bread. Sometimes I use half of the dough for a pizza and the other half to play around with, well, I mean to bake a small loaf of bread.
I just play with ingredients e.g. substitute the water with tomato juice, sugar with honey or I try different kinds of flour/flour combinations. I also like to add dried or fresh herbs (oregano, sage, chives, thyme,…), tomatoes, olives, grated cheese, onions, corn, spices (caraway, fennel,…). Pretty much anything I come across.
Some of my favorite combinations are onion with caraway or black olives, tomato and oregano or chickpea and cumin or tomato juice (instead of water) and basil but there are endless possiblilities. I would say anything goes, as long as it is still holds together like a dough.

This one is with tomatoes, olives and green onions:

And here is an onion and caraway bread:

The first slice I usually eat almost straight out of the oven. Still warm with a little butter. Yum!