Tag Archives: breakfast

Homemade Soft Pretzels – whole wheat!

21 Sunday Apr 2013

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click for German version / Deutsche version hier 

Fresh soft pretzels are one of the first things that come into peoples’ minds when thinking of Germany.
What most people don’t know: It’s actually just the south where those pretzels are really popular. You can also buy them in the north. But the south is famous for it’s soft pretzels.

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I’m from the north. ;)

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To finally get rid of the prejudice: People in Germany don’t look like the little lego guy above. They don’t wear leather pants and they don’t drink beer all day. Actually, leather pants are just the traditional costume in one particular state (Bavaria)! And there are 15 more states that don’t have leather pants. They do have beer and pretzels though. But no leather pants. And no dirndl. Just saying.

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The lego guy is a traditional Bavarian.

Okay. I do have a pretzel food critic from the south (He’s not from Bavaria and he doesn’t wear leather pants). He liked loved my homemade pretzels. I love them, too. So I guess they are really good!

At first, I thought whole wheat pretzels were a completely new idea. After all, I’ve never, neither in the north, nor in the south, seen a whole wheat soft pretzel. As I’ve never seen them or heard about them, I always thought soft pretzel won’t work with whole wheat, or they won’t taste good.

I was proven wrong.

In both points.
1. Whole wheat pretzels taste great! I might even like them better than their white relatives.
2. My friend from the south told me, that some organic bakeries sell whole wheat pretzels, too. However, they don’t seem to be that popular. I really don’t know why.

Pretzels

Whole wheat Soft Pretzels 

yields about 8 pretzels 

  • 400g (3 1/3 cups) whole wheat pastry flour (Germany: Weizen 1050) 
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 60g (1/3 cup) margarine
  • 160g (2/3 cup) soy milk (plus 4 tbsp in case you need more liquid!)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 liter (4 cups) water
  • 3 tbsp baking soda (Germany: Natron)
  • coarse salt for sprinkling

Combine four, dry yeast and 1 tsp salt in a bowl. Add margarine and milk. Start with 160g (2/3 cup) milk and add more if needed. Knead the dough by hand or use your food processor. (I always use my hands… honestly, cleaning your hands is easier than cleaning a food processor!). The dough should be smooth and not sticky. Use more water if needed (the exact amount always depends on your flour). Put dough back in the bowl, cover with a towel and let it sit for 30 min.

Put 1 liter water (4 cups) in a pot, add baking soda and bring it to a rolling boil. Now it’s time to form your pretzels! Roll into a log first and then form the “knot”. You could also watch a youtube video for more detailed instructions. Or you simply form pretzle sticks or buns! Place your pretzels into the boiling water, one by one, for one minute. Remove from water and put on a backing tray, lined with baking parchment. Brush with water and sprinkle with coarse salt. Let them sit for another 30 min. Bake for about 15-20 min, until golden brown in color (180 C / 360 F ).

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Enjoy!

Those pretzels would be fun when served with Dessert Beer! =D

Indian Rice Pudding

10 Sunday Feb 2013

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The last one of our little Indian series! But I am sure you will see more Indian recipes here. Indian food tastes like home to me. I learned cooking with indian dishes. So it’s always something special for me!

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A good Indian meal needs a great dessert! And a good Indian dessert is rich, creamy and yummy!
So here’s another traditional one: Indian Rice Pudding. It’s easy yet delicious!

Rice Pudding

 

And obviously I am not the only one who likes it ;) Must be an indian Elephant whose trunk ended up in pudding…

Indian Rice Pudding 

  • 1 cup white basmati rice 
  • 4 cups almond milk
  • a pinch of salt
  • sweetener: agave syrup, xylit or your favorite one!
  • optional: 1 tbsp rose water and 4 capsules cardamom

Heat milk in a pot and add rice. Cook and stir, some plant based milks burn pretty fast! Add salt, spices and sweetener of choice! (I used agave. As milk, I used a rather rich and thick homemade almond milk. I guess it was somewhere between milk and cream. Store bought cream works too, though!)
When the rice is soft and done (after about 15 min), either mash it with a masher (yes, the one you’d use for potatos!) or mix / puree it with your blender or hand mixer. I actually prefer the mashed version, but it depends on the consistence you want to achieve: creamy like pudding or a sweet rice. You choose.
Decorate with chopped pistachios! Enjoy!

Rice pudding

Note: Cardamom and rose water are not for everyone. I love cardamom, but I know as many people who hate it, too. It’s a typical spice for Indian dishes and desserts though. However, make sure that you like the spices before you add them all!

 

Gingerbread Pancakes – Breakfast before christmas

13 Thursday Dec 2012

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Time to get festive!

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One thing I love about christmas time are all the spices! Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, all spice… I love them all. They warm me from the inside when it’s freezing outside…

There are all these foods they only sell around Christmas. One of them is “Lebkuchen”, which is the German equivalent to gingerbread. But it’s more like a soft gingerbread and the spice mix is slightly different. The most famous one is the Nuremberg gingerbread. Try it if you get a chance! (I might be posting a recipe for “Lebkuchen” / soft gingerbread before Christmas, too, stay tuned!)

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To cut a long story short: “Lebkuchen” tastes great and so do pancakes (I guess I don’t have to tell you!) – so let’s combine both things! That’s what we did for breakfast today. It warms you form the inside and fills you up for a while because it’s whole wheat. And it’s a really delicious and easy way to make pancakes just a little bit different than usual!

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Gingerbread Pancakes / Lebkuchen-Pancakes
serves two

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 2 tbsp soy flour
  • about ten chopped walnuts (1/8 cup)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp stevia
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp “Lebkuchen” spice mix OR ginger bread spice mix OR one dash of each: Cinnamon, cardamom, muscat, all spice, coriander, ginger, cloves, mace)
  • dash of salt

Mix all the ingredients, adding just as much water as you need to create a pancake batter (the texture should be like a thick cake batter). Put about one tablespoon of dough in a non-sticking pan and cook at medium heat until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook until browned.

Serve with maple syrup. Or vanilla sauce, chocolate syrup, agave syrup, apple sauce… whatever you want! And remember – those are wholewheat pancakes. They will really fill you up! This a breakfast for two hungry people.

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But if you’ve been building snowmen and pancake skiing all morning, like this little friend of mine, you probably are hungry. However, don’t worry, the delicious smell that comes from the spices should be enough to make everyone crave these pancakes.

One more, just because I like it.

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Apricot Bars – Snack time!

01 Saturday Dec 2012

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I was a little unsure about the naming – are they energy bars? But why do all things to be functional? And no, they are way to delicious to be no more than energy bars…

Are they pop tarts? They are similar – but there is way more stuffing! (Which is the very best part…)

So… Apricot Bars it is. Because… that’s what they are, after all. And delicious, they are really delicious, of course. But delicious is not really descriptive…

Apricot Bars

 

Oh, don’t let those Bars deceive you. They are definitelly not the most pretty thing… But one of the most tasty ones I’ve made lately. And, remember, if things are not that visually appealing, you might not have to share that much…

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Apricot Bars 

For the dough:

  • 225g  / 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour 
  • 50g / 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
  • 100g / 1/2 cup margarine or vegan butter
  • 2-4 Tbsp water
  • soy cream or soy milk

For the filling:

  • 225g / 2 cups dried apricots 
  • 250ml / 1 cup apple juice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 50g / 1/3 cup raisins

Coat a baking pan with baking paper or slightly grease it with margarine. Mix the whole wheat flour and ground nix. Add the margarine and as much water as needed. Knead either with your hands or the food processor until combined. Put the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 min.

For the filling, put the dried apricots, apple juice and cinnamon in a pot and boil the mixture for a few minutes until the apricots are really soft. Let it cool down and blend in your blender (or food processor) until really creamy. Stir in the raisins. That’s your filling!

Roll out one half of the dough and cover the ground of your baking pan with dough. Put the filling on top of it, roll out the second half of dough and cover the bars. Brush some soy cream or milk on top (it adds a nice glaze) and bake for 20-25 min at 200 C or 350 F.

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Remember this guy? Yes, he also loves apricot bars. Maybe it’s the golden orange color that appeals to him? And don’t worry, he didn’t need his axe to cut them… they are rather soft.

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All those secret beauties! I am getting hungry looking at this picture, honestly! This is actually a really old recipe, an accidentally vegan one, which I already made before I was vegan! And I don’t know why I haven’t made those bars in such a long time…

 

The one and only female knight. I think she looks angry. She needs something to eat. People always get grumpy when they are hungry!

Bon appetit!

Magic Instant Pizza Crust – RAW

08 Thursday Nov 2012

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RAWmazing.

(yeah, I know – that’s an old one…)

I always thought I’d never make a raw pizza. For the same reason I’d never make raw bread or even a raw quiche. I recently stumbled upon a recipe for a raw quiche: It took more then 24h to make it, when you count the time for dehydration. That’s just not for me… I am a little… impatient, let’s just leave it like that.

But then… there was the idea to try an instant crust. I didn’t think it would really work… And I was surprised when I liked it even better than a dehydrated pizza crust! It’s a little more moist and not like a cracker!

I am in love with the simplicity of this recipe.

It’s magic. You see? My little friend has been working on that recipe… uncooking everything. And in the end, there was my first homemade raw pizza!

 

Magic Instant Pizza Crust

  • 1 cup sunflower seeds (or 1 1/4 cups almonds)
  • 1 cup flax seeds
  • 1 tsp dried oregano and basil
  • 1/4 tsp see salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3-5 tbsp water, as needed

Grind the sunflower seeds and flaxseeds until powdered. It does not necessary have to be very fine powder, feel free to leave it a little more coarse. I like the texture. Mix in herbs, salt oil and water and needed to create a dough you can knead without sticking to your hands.
Form a circle, add tomato sauce and all veggies you love. I love to use avocado as my “cheese”, of course, you can use any vegan cheese you want, like raw nut cheese or any other vegan cheese.
Voila, that’s homemade RAW Pizza crust without a dehydrator! It’s that easy!

In case you don’t have the possibility to grind nuts and seeds, just use store bought almond meal and flax meal (Flax- or Leinmehl, in German Reformhäusern or Bioläden). You’ll still get a delicious raw pizza crust!

Of course it doesn’t taste one-to-one like a cooked pizza crust! The mouthfeel is completely different – but it’s the idea and the spices that count. It’s fun to make and delicious – give it a try! Even if you make the raw crust, you could still add cooked tomato sauce. Just saying. (There are great recipes for raw tomato sauce, too, if you want to try it!)