Tag Archives: cooking

Mandarine Yogurt Cake – Hell yeah it’s summer!

12 Friday Jul 2013

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Wow – it’s been a while since the last post! I promise to improve! ;)

But, well, summer has finally arrived in Germany! And guess what – with summer being here right now, my exam period is starting… what a great timing. Sitting inside and studying while the weather is absolutely awesome is hard for me.

However, this is not about my exams, this is about food! Yummy, delicious, vegan food! And so… there’s nothing better in summer than a no-bake cake. A refreshing, delicious, cool, no bake cake. So, that’s exactly what I made. I remembered the Vanilla-Mandarine-Pudding cake that my grandma used to make when I was still very little. Inspired by that awesome food combination, I thought of a light, cool and vegan summer version of this cake. Here it is.

Mandarinenkuchen_1

Trust me, it is delicious! An unexpected discovery with this cake was the crust, which I just whipped up pretty spontaneously, not knowing that it would taste SO great! I had some left-over dough from the crust and I just formed it into little balls and snacked on them – so yummy!

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Yogurt-Mandarine Vanilla Cake
Ø about 18cm / 7 inches

For the crust 

  • one cup muesli (just regular muesli, nothing fancy and NO granola)
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 2-4 tbsp agave syrup
  • 2 tbsp flax seed
  • pinch of salt (optional)

For the filling

  • 1 can mandarines (ca. 300g / 10.5 ounces)
  • 650g vanilla soy yogurt
  • 2 packages agartine (german product) OR two tsp agar agar powder

For the crust: Put the muesli, almond butter flax and agave in your blender or food processor. Mix until it sticks together, adding more agave if it’s too dry and more muesli if it’s too sticky. Press the mixture into a round pan lined with baking paper.

For the filling: Pour the can (fruit + juice!) in a pot and stir in agar agar. Bring it to a boil  for about 2 minutes. Pour the vanilla yogurt into a bowl and mix in the mandarine mixture, using a whisk. You want some of the little mandarine segments to separate, that’s what makes the cake great in my opinion. Pour the mixture into the spring pan, let it cool down completely. Store into your refrigerator.

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“Hey… you forgot to say something!!!”
– Oh, yeah, sure… well, you don’t have to use store bought vanilla yogurt. Actually, it’s quite easy to make your own! Just scratch out the inside of one vanilla bean and add sweetener to taste. You can create a yellow color by either using curcuma or saffron.

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Thanks for reminding me! ;)

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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.

Bretzels_1

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.

Bretzels_4

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!

 

Healthy Date Nougat

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

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Nougat – a divine combination of cocoa, hazelnuts and sugar!

Date Nougat

Usually, it contains a lot of sugar. Just like the famous spread from Europe that starts with a “N” and ends with “utella”. Here’s the good message: These little pralines taste just like that spread! They are perfect for cold winter days. Maybe enjoy with a cup of hot cocoa? Or as a snack, to keep you going!

I love any kind of date-nut candy when I am studying. They give you lots of energy and help to concentrate. And they taste delicious without any white sugar or artificial flavors. It’s nature’s best candy!

Okay… this candy is not only for winter time… however, let’s have a look at the winter village…

Date Nougat Lego

Transporting the date nougat! Destination: Tanya’s desk. Oh, I like that. The little guys still have to learn how to cook, though…

Date Nougat Lego 2

Another transport! Now, this is urgent! Had to take the post van!

Okay… we’ll go back to winter wonderland! But I guess I should share the recipe first! Well, here you go.

Delicious Date Nougat

Date Nougat 

  • 1 cup soft dates 
  • 3/4 cup coarsely ground, roasted hazelnuts *
  • 3 tbsp cocoa
  • optional: 1/2 tsp  cinnamon or pumpkin spice (recommended for a lovely winter candy!)

Chop dates with a sharp knife into very small pieces. Add ground hazelnuts, cocoa and spices and mix the dough with your hands. Add more nuts if it’s too sticky. Form small balls  with your hands and put on a plate. Don’t store these candies in a box or jar, they need some fresh air. You could either store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Of course you could make the dough using your food processor. However, I wanted to try not using any expensive, fancy tools… it works just as great using a knife and your own two handy! And hands are easier to clean than your food processor, keep that in mind!

* Roast hazelnuts: Put raw hazelnuts on a clean baking tray. Roast in the oven at 200 C / 36o F for about 10-15 minutes. Let them cool down and put them in fridge or refrigerator for a few hours. Now put your roasted nuts in a blender or food processor and grind them coarsely (pulse works best). Cooling the nuts in the fridge before grinding them helps to prevent them from turning into nut butter! I love nut butter – but it’s just not what you need in this recipe…
Don’t have a blender / food processor? I recommend using one part store bought chopped hazelnuts and one part store bought ground hazelnuts (hazelnut flour / meal). Carefully roast the ground and chopped nuts in a pan or use them straight from the bag.

* Want to keep it RAW? Just don’t roast the hazelnuts! It’s a little different, but still delicious!

Date Nougat Winter Village

Back to winter wonderland. It’s been snowing. It’s been snowing date nougat pralines! Oh, I like that kind of weather… Winter and I could become friends…

Actually, that reminds me of that movie. Cloudy with a chance of… date balls!

Date Nougat Winter Village

Time to shovel the snow (or date balls!). Hey, Guys… could you tidy up the kitchen, too? Please?

Indian Naan Bread

12 Saturday Jan 2013

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No Indian meal without Naan! I could go without the basmati rice. I often do eat my Indian curries without basmati rice. Don’t get me wrong, I really like basmati rice, it’s my favorite kind of rice. But Naan bread is just SO much better! So when I do have the choice – rice or naan, it’s gonna be Naan! A lot of Naan!

Naan Elephant

If you want to be really authentic: Try to eat your indian meal using the naan bread the grap the veggies and suck up the sauce. No knife, fork or spoon needed! Okay, that’s for pros. Might be easier than chop sticks, though.

My twist on Naan bread was to use whole wheat  flour. It fills you up and makes you feel much better. I also prefer the hearty flavor! However, feel free to use either whole wheat flour or just normal white flour – it both works in this recipe. Just keep in mind that whole wheat flour need a little bit more liquid than white flour.

Naan

Naan Bread 

inspired by “The Lotus and the Artichoke” (have a look – it’s a great website and a unique approach)

  • 1/2 package dry yeast (or 20g fresh yeast)
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbs warm water
  • 1 3/4 cups / 220 g wholewheat pastry flour (Germany: Weizenmehl 1050)
  •  1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 Tbs soy yogurt
  • 2 Tbs water or soy milk
  • 2 Tbs oil

Whisk yeast, sugar, warm water in a small bowl. Let it rest and rise for 10 min. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix soy yogurt, soy milk, oil in another small bowl and add this to the yeast-water mixture. Add combined wet ingredients to dry mix in large bowl. Fold, mix well. Knead for 5-7 minutes until dough is soft and rubbery. You can add slightly more water or flour if needed. The dough should form well and not be sticky. Cover dough and let it rise in a warm place for 2-4 hours.
Heat a large pan on high heat. Separate the dough into 4 different pieces and form long, oval naans. Cook dough in the pan. Each side should cook 4-5 min on high heat. Once there are brown spots and bubbles on each side, this delicious bread is done!

I am getting hungry by looking at it. And so does my little zoo right here…

Naan Panda

So, it’s your turn. What’s your favorite part about indian food?

Coming up: Navratan Korma and Mango Lassi!

Oktoberfest Beer for dessert

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

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Yeah, now she’s gone crazy. But I really had beer for dessert. I even had it for breakfast. And was still driving my car afterwards.

No, don’t worry, everything is fine with me.

You’ll still be sober after ten dessert beers!

They are tasty and healthy. Oh, I know there will be many men and women telling me that “real” beer IS very healthy, too. However… my beer doesn’t taste like beer at all. Okay, I admit it: It’s a fake. It’s a dessert that looks like beer. Like real beer.

And I love it. I don’t like “real” beer though. YES, I am living in Germany and I don’t like beer. It’s possible.

But I do like this dessert.

And so does the little Bavarian. (Honestly, I never thought I’d have use for him!)

German Dessert Beer

  • 500ml / 2 cups unfiltered apple juice (cider)
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1 tsp agar agar powder
  • soyatoo or any other kind of vegan cream (I used natumi)

Pour the apple juice in a pot and add the agar agar and the cinnamon, using a whisk. Boil the juice for about 2 min, stirring constantly. Pour into beer glasses and let it cool down until firm.
Whip cream and put it on top of your “beer”, it well be the “head”.
Enjoy.

It’s a perfect dessert for any Oktoberfest party. Or just for fun. At first sight, my friends really thought I was having beer!

Well, they should know me better… I’ve just been playing with my food.
Enjoy the dessert beer with a pretzel! (Aren’t those lego pretzels cute? I like it…)

Peace, love and … exams

13 Monday Aug 2012

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Just in case you are wondering: I am still here!

Usually, I don’t like non-food related post on a food blog… but oh well. You won’t see things like this that often, I promise!
As I said before, I am writing exams right know and hardly find the time to cook at all… let alone the time to take photos!

Here’s an old one though. One of my favorites. No food in here, sorry.

The Hippie might be the best minifigure ever. I wish they would also make a hippie girl! Gender and potential for identification, you know. Oh, I might be studying too much… let’s just say I really like the hippie!

I’ll be done with my exams on thursday and I am looking forward to be done (I am not looking forward to take the exam though, it’s gonna one of the hardest exams…)

So, afterwards… there’s time to create recipes, take photos and share them!!!

I though about posting some of my “exam recipes”, like the Ultimate Pre-exam shake, smart raw cookie dough, or my creamy quick polenta… I am also drinking a lot coffee on the bricks these days! Ironically, I am drinking a lot of calming tee, too… (yes, I am weird like that…)
Oh, and there will be the RAW frozen hot chocolate. And the yogurt cake you see in the header…
So many yummy recipes! I am looking forward…

Just to let you know what’s about to come!

 

 

 

Wicked Spaghetti

21 Saturday Jul 2012

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Green spaghetti! Homemade. Raw. And… did I mention green? Greenified?

All right, I have some Wicked songs stuck to my head. The musical.

Doesn’t the witch look like Elphaba? And those noodles come from Emerald City…

“One short day in the Emerald City…”

“Defying Gravity!” But I gonna have some noodles first!

I know, the idea to make zucchini noodles is not new. What you need to know: you don’t need a special spiral vegetable cutter. A simple potato peeler will do the job. And it’s much less expensive!

Raw Spaghetti

  • half a zucchini
  • one big carrot

That’s it. Just peel them with the potato peeler. And don’t stop until nothing is left anymore.

Toppings

Cashew Cheese Topping

Mix one or two hand Cashews in your food processor. Add one or two dried tomatoes, a dash of salt and some pepper. Stir in some herbs, like basil, thyme and oregano.

Spaghetti aglio olio

Mix one or two tbs native olive oil with salt, pepper, half a squeezed clove of garlic and herbs like basil and oregano.

Avocado Spaghetti

Mix one avocado with some lime or lemon juice, salt, pepper and (optional) some granulated garlic.

If you don’t necessary what it raw, you could also mix some vegan cream cheese with hot water!

Put seeds like sesame, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin (…) on top of your spaghetti! You could also add some nutritional yeast, it will taste like parmesan!

Level up!

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Busy days! I’ve been making a birthday cake, pink cupcakes (tomorrow’s post) and my first homemade seitan sausages…! The later ones are not pictured (yet) cause they taste way better than they look…

Oh, talking about looks! I’ve actually never decorated a cake the fancy way. Until now, cake decoration was arranging fruit, cream, nuts or chocolate on a cake. I’ve never used fondant! Actually, living in Germany, I think that’s the “American way of cake decoration”, even though people start using it here more and more, too. Those copycats.

However, you can’t just walk into a store and buy fondant here! You’ll have to be creative and do it yourself. Okay, I was a little lazy. I used almond paste (marzipan) instead. That again is not so readily available in the US. I know you can find in big grocery stores though, sold in tubes or cans.
Almond  paste might be the German fondant. It’s tastes more like almonds, of course and it’s less sweet.

So, that’s what I did. Using natural  food colors and almond paste!

Yes, it is nerdish. It’s supposed to be. Look at the sweet little dragon! And please take into account that almond paste is much harder to form and more sticky than fondant and natural food colors aren’t as bright.  Plus it’s my first cake of that kind… I like it. Fluffy cake layers filled with a chocolate butter cream. I ate way too much cream while making and filling the cake! It’s worth it.

One more. Because I like it.

Level up! Kill the monster, steal the treasure, stab your friends. Something like that. Not those friends who can make cake though.
I guess I’m lucky…

Here’s the recipe!

Fluffy cake layers

  • 300g (2 1/3 cups) all purpose flour
  • 50g (1/3 cup) corn starch
  • 150g (3/4 cup) sugar
  • ca. 450ml (2 cups) almond milk
  • Vanilla extrakt or vanilla sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Mix everything together using a hand mixer or food processor! Line a backing pan (I used a 20 cm / 8 inch ) with baking paper. You can grease the bottom but you should line the side of the pan cause the fat can prevent the cake from rising or pull the cake down again when melting.
Bake for about 25 min at 350F (200C).
Check the oven in between, every oven is different!

Let it cool down completely until you cut it into two halves.

Filling

  • 1 cup / 200g margarine or vegan butter
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • confectioners sugar

Mix the butter and the cocoa with your hand mixer. Add confectioners sugar. I didn’t measure the confectioners sugar. Actually, there is no perfect amount. Just add enough to make the cream a little thicker and as sweet as you like!

Let the cream it in the fridge for one night.

Fill your cake and decorate it, using either almond paste, fondant, natural food colors, vegan whip… or just leave it plain!

Guard the cake from hungry monsters (do you remember those old lego dragons?).

This is how my cake looked from the inside. It’s just a cell phone pic, but there was no other opportunity to make a better picture at the party, cause the cake didn’t last for too long! (Oh, and please don’t worry about birthday cakes not being overly healthy. It’s just once a year! And all the fun while making and eating it will totally make up for that!)

Yummy.

Little Helper’s Milkshake

15 Sunday Jul 2012

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Tastes like cake batter…

These days, I have to study for my exams… it’s a never-ending story! By now, my  head is spinning… You simply can’t reach a point where you’re done. You can always learn more. However.

Milkshakes help. They help with many things. When your head is spinning – milkshakes help!

Especially my Little Helper Milkshake! Look at that little guy! He’s a little bit shy, hiding behind the glass.

Sprinkles just make everything so colorful.

So here’s what you need for the

Little Helper’s Milkshake
one large serving or two medium servings, in case you’re willing to share 

  • a very ripe banana (unfrozen or frozen. The shake will be more “icecream-like” if you use frozen)
  • 1 1/4 cup soy milk (300 ml)
  • 3-4 Tsp. rolled oats
  • sweetener to taste, such as stevia, agave syrup, marple syrup… or sprinkles!
  • 1 tsp vanilla extrakt and for a cake batter flavor some butter extrakt
  • optional: sprinkles and soyatoo or any other vegan whip
Put everything in a blender. Mix! Before serving, stir in a few sprinkles… and serve with vegan whip and some sprinkles on top. Voilà.

One more picture… showing the whole scenery. Macbook, papers… and even more piles of papers which are not in the pic.

And just to let you know what I’m going through. Learning in this house really isn’t easy. That guy wants to keep me from learning, too! He won’t succeed though. Hey, he’s a dwarf, after all!