Heading to new shores!

Hi, Y'all!

This is what our home looks like right now: 

Therefore, I might get quiet online, because it will get hectic offline, I suppose... Wednesday morning the moving van will arrive at our house, and then it will become official! Until then I have to play Tetris with cardboard boxes, try to declutter and will ask myself many times, if a thing makes me happy or if I have to gracefully thank for its service and throw it in the bin afterwards...

What I learned so far: Marie Kondo and me definitely won't be besties; minimalism isn't my cup of tea! Without decoration it's pretty bare, and these empty spaces aren't liberating but uncomfortable. Of course, it felt good to let go of unneccessary knickknack, but without anything it feels also weird, somehow. 

But between all that boxes and packing stuff, you have to eat, right? Therefore, I'd like to show you my latest veggie experiment:

Officially, it's called "Börek", but I guess, it's not genuine turkish anymore. What have I done? I took store-bought Yufka dough (which is the low-fat little sister of puff pastry) and placed it on a sheet pan. Between the thin layers of dough I alternatingly put layers of diced Feta cheese and a mixture of yoghurt, egg, olive oil and garlic. The last layer was yoghurt, and I topped it with a seed mix for salads (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pine seeds etc.), because I was out of sesame seeds.  

In combination with an iceberg lettuce it was awesome, and you can eat it either fresh from the oven or cold - it's both delicious. 

Oh, and by the way: yesterday I received the confirmation that our new kitchen will be installed on 11 and 12 February. That means, for two weeks we have to amuse ourselves with one-pot dishes and delivery hero. I look forward to experimenting and reporting to you afterwards. 

Please keep your fingers crossed for our moving adventure and enjoy your time!!! 

Some kind of cozy

 Hi, Y'all!

Our first bags and boxes are packed, decorative knickknacks already gone - not very cozy, I have to admit. Therefore, it's even more important to have some yummy feelgood food and create some comfy atmosphere that way.

Last week I finally found the smoked paprika powder in our local supermarket, and I had to give that vegan version of sausage spread a second try. You might remember: The first attempt was an epic fail due to the lack of smoked paprika which I substituted with normal paprika powder - I just had to do better...

And the second version was much better, indeed - good texture, spreads perfectly, and the optics are great, too. Regarding spices I meant it very well - and it turned out really spicy. But served with a rich rye bread and some pickles it is awesome! And here is said bread: 

It was around Christmas when we turned to almost-vegetarians. We didn't consume much meat before, but now we can mostly do without. But I'm not dogmatic about it: If we order food and are in the mood for Kebab, then Kebab it is. Or we would like to have some fish, then I make it, too. Neither do I want to convert somebody, nor do I want to be converted. I only think that everybody can and should contribute to avoid industrial mass animal farming, and each step away from that is a step into the right direction.  

Besides, I realized that our menu had turned very predictable. I guess, anybody can relate to that phenomenon. You've got your standards, they are quickly made, you know all the ingredients by heart, and you don't need to pull out a cookbook for them. That's fine, no question, but to have some variation here and there might be nice. Thus our focus on a more vegetarian diet indirectly might lead to a larger variety of recipes. I like that!

Yesterday we had so-called carrot fries. Tbh - they were simply carrot sticks mixed with olive oil, garlic powder and shredded Parmesan cheese. Baked in the oven and served with a yogurt dip with garlic and lemon, but without a picture - was gone too fast! :-)

Today, however, I've got a photo for you:

Cauliflower steaks (I know, that steaks are something different, but I also say oat milk although I know, there is no milk inside) served with baked potatoes and the leftover yogurt dip from yesterday.  

You simply have to cut the cauliflower into thick slices (and leave the stem to hold the slices together). Coat each side with garlic butter and put them in the oven for 20 min. After half of the time turn them to get it nice and brown on each side. Top it with some basil pesto, and it is truly delish! OK, far from low-fat, but you can't have it all, can you?

And here's something for your sweet tooth: vegan nut braid! Basically you prepare a sweet yeast dough and coat it with a mixture of nuts, sugar and plant milk. The recipe called for 50 g walnuts and 200 g hazelnuts, but my pantry wanted it the other way round. Therefore, the filling was less sweet due to the higher amount of walnuts in it. But it was awesome nevertheless. 

Here is the plain dough:

Then with the nut filling/topping:

Then you have to roll it, cut the roll lengthwise and place both halves with the open cuttings next to each other, in order to twist them afterwards. 

You could place it on a baking sheet as is, but I put it in a loaf pan to make slicing easier. Here's how it looks: 

I opted against some frosting, but it was so fluffy and rich, and the contrast between the soft dough and the crunchy nuts created sheer awesomeness! That calls for many happy returns :-)

And with that being said I wish you a happy, cozy and comfortable weekend!!! 

Happy New Year!

Hi, Y'all! 

Today is January 7 already, but I want to wish you a very happy new year anyway! May we all learn to live our new normal, and maybe this situation offers us new chances and possibilities... In any case I wish you health, joy and success - and for the first time this is no shallow phrase, but an honest and true wish for us all! 

We startet our new year very cosy with G&T on our sofa, but then it got hectic somehow. You might know we share our sofa and our life with two furry guys who aren't in their spring any longer. Else is even competing with Methuselah with her 12 years+... 

And on Sunday we got the impression that something wasn't right with her. She behaved differently, and during the night we had to let her out in the backyard around six to eight times. No sleep till Brooklyn 𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱, or better: no sleep till Monday morning. As soon as our trusted vet opened, I fixed an appointment, and an hour later our golden girl was checked - cystitis! Nurse Honey (aka me) is now regularly administering antibiotics, pain medication and vitamin b to help with her arthritic joints. I would do anything for you... 𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱 But thanks to tender love and pharmacy, she is already feeling much better! The following night she had to potty three times, and the last two nights only once - massive improvement, I'd say.

Kudos to DHL - last Christmas 𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱𝅘𝅥𝅱 all presents were delivered in time and in good condition, and therefore I can show you all the gifts I mixed in my magical cauldron: 

Let's start with a very healthy, low-calorie piece of cake for a teenage girl, and I thought, a small pouch is always a good idea. It has a zipper going all around, and it's pretty suitable for chap sticks, hankies, scrunchies, bobby pins or even a spare face mask.

And while we're at it: This season I made the largest part of my gifts in the kitchen, but a few things I produced with my sewing machine:

This photo admittedly isn't the best, but unfortunately the only one... Anyway, it shows a pillow cover with ruffles and hotel closure. Which means there are no zippers or buttons, but overlapping fabric in the back. Very handy, because there is no risk of lost buttons or a broken zipper. You might know this method from pillow covers by the large Swedish furniture company, they use it very often. In this case here, I used some leftover fabric from a pair of curtains I had to shorten. Thus Marie now has throw pillows perfectly matching with her curtains, and due to the color they aren't kitschy-girly but kind of elegant. And as the fabric is a heavy duty canvas, the ruffles don't get flat and stay fluffy. 

But let's jump right into the kitchen: Our girls changed their diet: one turned completely vegan and the other one does without animal protein. Therefore, I had to come up with some ideas reflecting their lifestyle. I started with caramel syrup: 

You can find a "how to" in one of my previous posts. I added the recipe for my vegan pancakes, because this combination is a match made in heaven! 

In addition to my apple-cinnamon-limes with vodka I made some raspberry-vanilla liqueur and cherry-jam with mulled wine: 

The liqueur was mainly for my mum, because she can't stand cinnamon. The mix of raspberry and vanilla is gorgeous, but you have to be awfully careful with it - devil in disguise!!!

The recipe for the cherry jam with mulled wine called for some gingerbread spice, and is paired perfectly with fluffy white bread and cream cheese. You could also use it as filling for a sponge cake, I guess. 

For the jars I sewed some covers from a felted fabric. When empty, you could insert a tealight or candle and thus re-use the jar. Pretty sustainable, isn't it?

On top this offered some additional protection for the jars. I had to ship everything due to the current situation, and the shipment of bottles and jars is always a risk. But it worked out, at least nobody told me about some damaged goods. 

As gingerbread spice is not to everyone's liking, I made an alternative spread inspired by the Raffaello pralines. Ingredients were mostly white chocolate, coconut, butter and sweetened condensed milk. Definitely fuel for the love handles :-)

Until now I couldn't unterstand the hype about sweetened condensed milk, it didn't make sense to me: I don't like condensed milk in my coffee, especially not sweetened, and besides: What's so difficult in spooning some sugar in the cup that you need an extra convenience product? But the recipe called for it, and I realized it had a texture like custard, therefore,  I would never ever think of putting that into my coffee!   

But it was perfect for my coconut spread, and therefore I tested a second recipe with that special ingredient: fudge with spiced biscuits (speculoos, I already talked about them).

I tried fudge for the first time in England and loved it instantly! Main ingredients for my batch were the aforementioned sweetened condensed milk, again white chocolate and the spiced cookies. Melt the chocolate, mix in the milk and cookie crumbles, brush it on a baking sheet and let it cool. Afterwards cut it in bitesize pieces and enjoy! 

And to please two special gentlemen who are very dear to me, I surely had to make a gigantic batch of truffles: 

The re-usage of milk cartons was tried and tested last year, and as you should never change a running system, I didn't dare to change this season's packaging for the truffles.

After all these rich and substantial gifts you might want to add more sports to your life - just ask me, I may have some good recommendations. Hubby and I didn't get substantially slimmer, but fitter - and moving regularly is defitively good for your immune system.

Have a good start in 2021, Y'all!!!