Arugula Salad with Sweet Potato and Wild Rice

I seldom use arugula. There are different reasons for it. Mostly because it is harder to come by then the usual lettuce varieties. It's also more difficult to store it at home. (On Pinterest I found something that could help with that problem. You have to put some of the arugula in a small plastic bag, blow air into it until it's completely inflated, twist the bag close and secure it with a plastic clip. That way the salad should stay fresh for a few days. The drawback is that it occupies a lot of space in the fridge. I didn't have the chance to try it out yet. But there is always a next time.)
But taste definitely isn't one of the reasons it's a rare visiter in my kitchen. It has it's own distinct flavour. Even a little arugula in a simple mixed salad can give the whole dish some spice. I'm sure I will use it more often in the future.

I think this was the first time I ever used sweet potatoes. It's not an ingredient that was common in my family. And even now that I live alone, I still use most of the same ingredients that were more or less standard while I grew up. It's not that easy to change some habits, even when you're open to new things (like I actually am).
Now back to the potatoes. In combination with the arugula I quite liked them. And I think I would use them again. But more as a part of a dish, then as the actual main ingredient.

The original recipe asked for pure wild rice. I substituted it with a long grain and wild rice blend. For one it's cheaper, really wild rice costs almost three to four times as much as the blend. And personally I think it tastes a little grassy. It just would be to much.

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Arugula Salad with Sweet Potato and Wild Rice

Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 small lemons, zest
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp agave syrup
2 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt

1. Wash the lemons and dab them dry. Grate the zest of the lemons.
2. Squeeze the juice out of the lemons.
3. Peel the garlic cloves. Mince them finely.
4. Combine all the ingredients in a high slender bowl.
5. Use a blender to puree them all together.

Salad Ingredients

1/3 cup long grain and wild rice blend, raw
1 sweet potato, small
3 cups baby arugula 
1/3 cup cashew, salted
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

1. Cook the rice according to package instructions. Drain it in a sieve.
2. Add a little of the prepared dressing to the rice. Mix it well together and let it cool down completely. That way the rice will absorb the flavour.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350°F.
4. Put baking parchment on a baking sheet.
5. Peel the sweet potato. Cut it into cubes, about 1cm high. Spread the potato cubes on the baking sheet.
6. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and season it with cayenne pepper, pepper and salt. Stire the potatoes until they are evenly coated with the oil and the seasoning. Afterwards evenly scatter them out on the baking sheet.
7. Roast the sweet potatoes for about 20-25 minutes. Stir them once or twice to keep them from burning.
8. Let the potatoes cool down a little.
9. Wash the arugula and dab it dry. Cut it in half, that way it will be easier to eat.

To Assemble

1. Combine the rice, the roasted sweet potaoes, the cashew and arugula in a big bowl.
2. Add the remaining dressing to the salad and toss everything together.

The salad tastes best if you serve it when the potatoes are still lukewarm.
 

Bon appétit!!

Cauliflower Steak with Couscous

 

This dish tastes like Orient. Or at least the cauliflower steak does. All these spices make it pretty intense.

The couscous is rather bland but in combination with the sauce it's just right for this dish. I actually liked the couscous this way, with the onions and garlic. It just needs a little more pep. Adding some salt would already make a huge difference here. And then the couscous would be a great side dish for other recipes. And not only for oriental ones.

This is a great method to prepare cauliflower. Only to cut them as steaks is pretty impractical. I mean it looks rather attractive. It's just that you can only get 2 steaks out of one whole cauliflower. If you plan a nice dinner for two, go ahead and make the steaks. But if you are preparing a meal for 3 or more people, cut the cauliflower into bigger florets, spread them on the baking sheet and bake them all at ones. Of course you have to adjust the amount of spices, but that shouldn't be a problem.

You can of course use other spice blends. When I was visiting my parents, we grilled some shashlik. I made some cauliflowers as a side dish. Me and my mom just mixed together all the different spices she's got at home. Our spice blend tasted pretty italian. It all went into a big bowl, a lid on top. And than just shake, shake, shake!

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Cauliflower Steak with Couscous

Cauliflower Steak

1 small cauliflower
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp coriander, dry
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 230°C/450°F.
2. Place baking parchment on a baking sheet.
3. Cut the of the leaves from the cauliflower.
4. Cut off the bottom evenly, so it can stand on it.
5. Cut the cauliflower in half.
6. Cut a 1,5cm thick steak from each half. The remaining florets are superfluous and can be used for something else.
7. In a small bowl mix together the oil, the coriander, the cumin, the cinnamon, the salt and the pepper.
8. Place the steaks on the prepared baking sheets.
9. Pour the spice blend on the steaks and use your fingers to spread it evenly on both sides.
10. Bake them for about 20 minutes. After the first 10 minutes turn the steaks around.

Couscous

1 cup couscous
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup water

1. Peel the onion. Slice it into half moons.
2. Peel the garlic. Mince the cloves.
3. Heat the oil in a sauce pan on medium-low heat.
4. Add the onions and fry them until they turn translucent.
5. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.
6. Add the water and bring it to a boil.
7. Add the couscous. Stir it in and then take the sauce pan of the stove.
8. Put a lid on the pan. Leave the couscous for 8 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
9. Carefully fluff it with a fork.

Lemon Tahini Sauce

1/3 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp water
salt

1. Use a fork to blend all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Bon appétit!!

Spaghetti Nests

I don't really remember how I stumbled over these recipe. I think I was looking for something specific on pinterest. I liked it the moment I saw the picture. The nests look flashy but the ingredients are still simple. Recipes like that are my favorites.
I think they would work great as appetizers.

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Spaghetti Nests

200 g spaghetti
125 g mozzarella
1/2 bunch basil
2 eggs
150 g cream cheese
8-10 cherry tomatoes
salt
pepper

1. Grate the mozzarella.
2. Cut the basil into fine stripes.
3. Cook the spaghetti.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
5. Put baking parchment on a baking sheet.
6. Whisk the eggs with a fork. Add the cream cheese and mix it in.
7. Add the basil and about half of the mozzarella.
8. Season heavily with salt and pepper.
9. Twist the spaghetti to nests on the baking sheet. Make about 5-6 nests.
10. Use a spoon to distribute the cream cheese mix between the nests. Pour the mixture into the middle of the nests.
11. Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut them in half.
12. Scatter the rest of the mozzarella over the nests.
13. Put 3 tomatoe halves each in the middle of the nests, cut side down.
14. Bake them for 15 minutes.

Bon appétit!!

Melted Tomatoe Soup

This soup has a really strong flavor thanks to the parsley. I can guarantee that you have never tried something like this. And it's sooooo simple.
I made it for my family. They loved it (but they love most of the dishes I make for them). Me and my mom found a few points in the recipe we could change. Another time I made it (the improved recipe of course) for a friend. She was pretty delighted too.

This is one of the dishes where the recipe is rather flexible, at least in my opinion. You like your soups with a lot of broth, then don't be afraid to add more of the vegetable broth. If you prefer your soup with more bite, then only add 2 or 3 cups of broth. If you have different kinds of small tomatoes, use them.
Don't be shy to experiment here. It may taste different each time, but it will always be tasty.

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Melted Tomatoe Soup

ca. 600 g cherry tomatoes
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch of parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cups vegetable broth
salt
pepper

1. Peel the garlic. Mince it.
2. Peel the onions. Cut them in half. Divide the halves into three and afterwards slice them finely.
3. Heat the oil in a big sauce pan.
4. Add the onions and garlic to the pan. Braise them lightly.
5. Wash the tomatoes. Put them into the sauce pan.
6. Add the vegetable broth to deglaze.
7. Cover the pan and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
8. Wash the parsley and dab it dry.
9. Take the whole parsley bunch and chop it coarsely. When all the leaves are cut, discard the remaining stalks.
10. Take the sauce pan of the stove.
11. Add the parsley to the tomatoes and stir it in.
12. Season with salt and pepper.
13. Cover the pan again and leave it for about 5 minutes.

Bon appétit!!

Vegetable Noodle Soup Italian Style

I think this is my favorite summer soup. For one it tastes great, so italian, for another the most important ingredients, the zucchini and tomatoes, grow in my parents garden.

The original recipe is in german. The webside LECKER.de is one of my favorite german cooking and recipe sides. They have lots of tasty dishes. When I need a recipe for one ingredient this is one of the websides I consult.

I made it a few times over the summer. It's pretty easy to make. And even if you don't follow the recipe to closely it still tastes great.

It tastes best with bread, the chesse muffins for example, and some crème fraîche.

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Vegetable Noodle Soup Italian Style

3 onions
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
1 zucchini
2 beef tomatoes or bulls heart tomatoes
180 g pasta, small
2 tbsp tomato paste
1,5 l vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch of parsley
4 tsp thyme, dry
salt
pepper

1. Skin the onions and garlic cloves.
2. Mince the garlic.
3. Cube the onions.
4. Peel the carrots. Cut them into 3-4 mm thick slices.
5. Wash and dry the zucchini and the tomatoes.
6. Cut the zucchini into 5-6 mm thick slices. Quarter the slices.
7. Cut the tomatoes into rather big cubes.
8. Heat the oil in a big sauce pan.
9. Braise the onions and the garlic in it until the onions turn translucent.
10. Add the carrots and the zucchini and braise them for about 8 minutes.
11. Add the tomato paste and let it sweat a little.
12. Add the tomatoes and mix them in.
13. Add the vegetable broth and bring it to a boil.
14. Add the pasta.
15. Let the soup boil at a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
16. In the mean time chop the parsley.
17. Add the parsley and the thyme at the end.
18. Season with salt and pepper.
 

Bon appétit!!

Cheese Muffins II

I absolutely love these muffins. Since that first post I made for them, I've been experimenting with the recipe. Some variations were better than others.

Here are two I rather liked. The Curry Variation is my favorite. The first time I made it the curry flavor wasn't intense enough. Another time it was a little to much. But I think I figured it out now.
The Pizza Variation was planed as Paprika Variation but in the end it reminded me more of pizza. That's not a bad thing even if it isn't what I wanted. I can still find the right combination for the paprika taste. So there is still more to come. YAY!

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Cheese Muffins

Base Dough

Dry ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
70 g parmesan
60 g gouda

1. Grate the parmesan and the gouda.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
3. Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to mix everything together.

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1. Put the eggs in a small bowl and whisk them with a fork.
2. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the eggs and whisk everything together.

Egg Wash

1 egg yolk
2 tsp water

1. Combine the egg yolk with the water and whisk them together.

Curry Variation

1 cup corn, out of a can
3 scallions
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp curry
1 tsp masala

1. Put the corn in a colander to drain.
2. Wash the scallions and dab them dry. Cut them into slices.
3. Peel the garlic clove. Mince it.

Pizza Variation

1 red bell pepper
3 tbsp ajvar, hot
ca. 40 g black olives
3 scallions
2 tsp paprika powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Piri-Piri spice blend

1. Wash the bell pepper and dab it dry. Cut it into small cubes.
2. Put the olives in a colander to drain. Halve the olives and cut them into slices.
3. Wash the scallions and dab them dry. Cut them into slices.

To Assemble

1 base dough
1 variation
1 egg wash

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. Grease a muffin pan with baking spray.
3. Add the prepared ingredients from the chosen variation to the dry ingredients of the base dough.
4. Mix everything together with a spatula or a wooden spoon.
5. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients of the base dough.
6. Use the spatula or wooden spoon to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
7. Distribute the dough in the muffin pan, it's enough for 12 muffins.
8. Smooth out the top of the muffins.
9. Brush them with the egg wash.
10. Bake the muffins for 35-40 minutes.
11. Leave the muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes to cool down.
12. Take them out and put them on a cooling rack.

Bon appétit!!

Lemon Garlic Pasta

It's been a while that I made these recipe. So I don't remember much about it. But it was obviously good or I wouldn't have put it on my "to post" pile.

So here it is.

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Lemon Garlic Pasta

150 g pasta
1/4 cup parmesan
3 garlic gloves
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts
6-8 basil leaves
2 tsp olive oil

1. Toast the pine nuts in a skillet, without oil.
2. Skin the garlic. Mince it afterwards.
3. In a skillet heat the oil on low. Fry the garlic in it until it turns a light brown. Save it for later.
4. Cook the pasta.
5. Grate the parmesan.
6. Chiffonade the basil leaves.
7. Combine the pine nuts, the parmesan, the garlic oil and the basil in a bowl.
8. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl. Mix everything together.
9. Combine it with the pasta.

Bon appétit!!

Stuffed Puff Pastry Pears

Somehow I got the idea to make stuffed puff pastry pears. I searched for a good recipe on google and pinterest (my usual hunting grounds). But the most recipes asked for gorgonzola and I hate it. So I had no other choice then to make my own recipe.
I had a few ideas of what would go with the pears. I decided on ricotta and parmesan as base. Kind of like tortellini. 
Another ingredient that came up in my search was wulnuts. First I just wanted to put in chopped nuts. My mom owns a thermomix, so I thought I save some time and use it. But that thing really got a lot of power. A few seconds and the walnuts were already ground. But after I thought about it a little longer, I decided that it is even better to also use the ground nuts. That way the walnut taste would be even more intense.
To add a little more flavour I chose rosemary. But I didn't want to leave it whole for two reasons. First it would be rather unpleasant to bite on the leaves. And second the taste wouldn't be intense enough. Well I already knew the thermomix is strong enough to ground the rosemary to a powder, so no problem there. Except that the amount I needed was to slight. The rosemary was just thrown against the wall. The solution was to add more. In the end I ground all of my moms rosemary. Oops. Well at least I've got enough for the next time.

One of the reasons I wanted to make puff pastry pears is because I liked the look of the wrapped pears. I wanted to try my hand at it myself. I am rather satisfied with the outcome. It was easier to accomplish than I thought it would be.

All in all I have to say that the combination worked out rather well. The moist and fruity taste of the pears was a good contrast to the tart flavour of the filling.
I quite liked them and plan to do them again rather soon. I have been told that they are still good on the next day if you heat them in the oven or even over the toaster.
I believe that the pears would be great as an entree.

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Stuffed Puff Pastry Pears

Filling

200 g ricotta
5 tbsp walnuts, ground
ca. 25 g walnuts, whole
30 g parmesan
1 egg yolk
2 tsp rosemary, ground
salt
pepper

1. Chop the whole nuts.
2. Grate the parmesan.
3. Combine the ricotta, the ground and chopped walnuts, the parmesan, the egg yolk and the rosemary in a small bowl. Use a fork to mix everything together.
4. Season it with salt and pepper.
5. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge until you need it.

Pears

4 pears

1. The pears you chose should be ripe but still firm.
2. Remove the stem of the pears. Afterwards peel them.
3. Cut the pears in half lengthwise.
4. Carefully cut out the core. If you can make the hole bigger so you can put in more filling.
5. Use a paper towel to dab of the juice. It will be easier to work with them if they are dry.

Egg Wash

1 egg yolk
2 tsp water

1. Combine the egg yolk with the water and whisk them together.

To Assemble

Water
2 sheets puff pastry, ca. 500g

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
2. Put baking parchment on a baking sheet.
3. Put some cold water in a small dish. You will need it to glue the individual puff pastry parts together.
4. Place a pear with the cut side on the puff pastry sheet. Try to place it so that you don't waste to much of the sheet. Cut directly around the pear.
5. Place the pear on another part of the sheet. Cut around it again but this time with a rim of about 1,5-2 cm (depending on how high the pear is).
6. Take the pear of the sheet and fill the hole with the filling. Smooth it out so that the bottom is even.
7. Take the second cut out in your hand and put the pear, bottom up, on it. Fold the puff pastry around the pear.
8. Dab your finger into the water and rund it over the puff pastry that is folded over the cut bottom of the pear.
9. Put the first cut out on the bottom and press it to the moistened pastry.
10. Place the wrapped pear, bottom down, on the prepared baking sheet.
11. Repeat the process with the remaining pears.
12. Cut out leaves out of the remaining puff pastry. Glue them to the pears with the water.
13. Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash. 
14. Bake the stuffed puff pastry pears for 30-35 minutes.

Bon appétit!!

Cheese Muffins

The original recipe is actually a loaf of bread. And the first two times I made it as a loaf. The first time for myself, to see if I like it, I did. And the second time for my family, they loved it.
But there where a few things I didn't like. After the loaf comes out of the oven you have to wait at least a few hours bevor you can eat it. Cause when the bread is still hot it's to heavy and to moist. You can only eat a little bit or you get a stomachache, but it is hard to stop cause it tastes great.
And another thing is that I, and the rest of my family, love bread crust, and there isn't enough of it.
To make muffins out of these recipe was my moms idea. And it solves all these problems.

Like I said my family loved the bread, even my brother and he is a picky eater. So I had to make the muffins only a few days after the bread (it was barely enough for two days). And while I was at it, I thought I could try out different ingredients. I like bread and buns with kernel and raisins, so I tried that out. They turned out pretty well. The original recipe is mediterranean and has a rather intense taste. But the kernel variation is pretty mild in comparison. It's almost neutral, but not in a negative sense. More along the lines that it goes just as well with something sweet as something hearty.

The base dough is great for all kinds of variations. I have some ideas for others, maybe something with bell pepers or cranberrys.
And of course you could also change the cheese. Instead of the gouda you could use something with a stronger taste. But I rather like gouda so I think that's not a variation I will try out.

Another thing I liked about the recipe is that it's so easy to make, you don't even need a hand mixer, a spatula or a wooden spoon suffices. And the base dough is pretty quick to make. The mediterranean varition takes some time, cause there is so much to cut. But if you make the kernel variation there is almost no extra work.

I also made the muffins for some of my extended family and some friends (on two separate occasions) and all around I only got positiv feedback.

One of my friends made the suggestion to make mini-muffins. I kind of like the idea, they would be practically bite sized. So I think I'll do that the next time.

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Cheese Muffins

Base Dough

Dry ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
70 g parmesan
60 g gouda

1. Grate the parmesan and the gouda.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
3. Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to mix everything together.

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1. Put the eggs in a small bowl and whisk them with a fork.
2. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the eggs and whisk everything together.

Egg Wash

1 egg yolk
2 tsp water

1. Combine the egg yolk with the water and whisk them together.

Mediterranean Variation

1/2 tsp mustard flour
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
1/2 cup green olives
10 sundried tomatoes
2 scallions
2 tbsp parsley
thyme, for sprinkling
sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Cut the olives into thin rings and then in halves.
2. Cut the tomatoes into thin slices and then in halves.
3. Wash and dry the scallions and then cut them into thin slices.
4. Mince the parsley.

Kernel Variation

1/2 cup gold raisins
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1/2 cup pumkin seeds

To Assemble

1 base dough
1 variation
1 egg wash

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. Grease a muffin pan with baking spray.
3. Add the prepared ingredients from the chosen variation to the dry ingredients of the base dough.
4. Mix everything together with a spatula or a wooden spoon.
5. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients of the base dough.
6. Use the spatula or wooden spoon to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
7. Distribute the dough in the muffin pan, it's enough for 12 muffins.
8. Smooth out the top of the muffins.
9. Brush them with the egg wash.
10. If the chosen variation includes something to sprinkle on the muffins use it now.
11. Bake the muffins for 35-40 minutes.
12. Leave the muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes to cool down.
13. Take them out and put them on a cooling rack.


If you prefer to make the loaf, you only have to change the baking time to about 50 minutes.

Bon appétit!!

Stuffed Onions

I was always a little more sensitive when it comes to onions then most. But lately it's getting ridiculous. By now I even react to scallions. It's a real shame because I love onions in my dishes.
I try to use my food processor as often as possible. It doesn't eliminate the problem but it makes it better.

While preparing the onions I had to wash out my eyes at least 8 times. Afterwards my face was bright red. And I really mean my whole face and not just around my eyes. I'm in no hurry to repeat that experience.

I like the stuffing. It's a really good combination. But you shouldn't eat more than one stuffed onion. All in all the dish contains a lot of onion. If you eat to much your throat will hurt afterwards.

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Stuffed Onions

5 spanish onions (large, mild onions)
2 red bell peppers
200 g green olives, stuffed with pepper paste
250 g feta
4 tsp oregano
olive oil
pepper
salt

1. Carefully trim the root end of the onions. Cut of the cap of the onions and skin them afterwards.
2. Hollow out the onions, be careful not to break or damage them.
3. Bring salt water to a boil in a big sauce pan.
4. Cook the onions in it for about 15 minutes. They should be soft, but not falling apart.
5. Take the onions out and let them drip off. Put them aside for later.
6. Roughly cube the onion innards.
7. Wash and dry the bell peppers. Hollow them out and cut them into fine cubes.
8. Put the olives in a colander and let them drip off. Cut them roughly into cubes.
9. Heat the oil in a skillet. Fry the cut onions and peppers for 5-7 minutes.
10. Add the olives to the rest in the last minute or two.
11. Crumble the feta or alternatively cut it into fine cubes.
12. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/360°F.
13. Mix everything together.
14. Season with salt, pepper and oregano.
15. Stuff the onions with the mixture.
16. Grease a casserole dish with some olive oil.
17. Spread the left over mixture in the dish. Place the stuffed onions on top.
18. Bake the onions for about 45-50 minutes.

Bon appétit!!