Types Of Apples

It’s the season for apples, the time when one of the world’s best-loved fruits is harvested for the coming year. But with all the many varieties of apples on the market, it’s tough to know what you’re getting when you make a purchase. Here we’ll demystify the top 10 apple varieties you’ll find in farm markets and grocery stores.

10. McIntosh
An autumn staple, this often small, sweet apple is perfect for any number of preparations. With its hearty juiciness it makes a fantastic treat raw, as well. Its classic aroma means when cooking it will fill your house with a delicious apple scent.

9. Lady Sudeley
This unusual apple was cultivated in England in 1849. Its bright yellow skin is tinted with a blush of ruddy orange, and striped with red. Also known as Jacob’s Strawberry, the Lady Sudeley is a firm apple with a sweet flavor.

8. Red Rome
Red Rome apples are fantastic for sauces and other types of cooking, including salads. Red Rome is a slightly tart apple with greenish-white flesh. It’s a mostly red fruit with pronounced spotting. Red Rome apples first emerged in Ohio in 1816.

7. Granny Smith
Seemingly the very inspiration behind sour green apple flavoring that’s so popular in candies, the Granny Smith is a tart apple with firm flesh. It packs a wallop of a crunch when eaten. It keeps extremely well, making it a great investment for off-season eating.

6. Golden Delicious
This fragile apple makes a great all-purpose fruit, versatile enough to be included in pies and fillings while still great for perfect eating. It’s firm, crisp, and juicy, with a mild flavor. It bruises easily and shrivels in storage, however.

5. Red Delicious
This is the most commonly purchased type of apple in the United States. It’s the iconic fruit most people think of when they think of apples. The red delicious is, as its name suggests, bright red. It’s crisp and has a sweet flavor. It’s a highly popular eating apple.

4. Macoun
This apple is much like the McIntosh, which is one of its parents – Jersey Black being the other. It’s deeper red than a McIntosh, however, spread out over green skin. It is an all-purpose apple. Like the McIntosh, the Macoun is a highly fragrant fruit. And like the Golden Delicious, it bruises easily.

3. Paula Red
The Paula Red is a fantastic early-season eating apple. It’s a beautiful rosy red with a near violet hue, and is a small to medium sized fruit. It has a mild taste, so it’s great for those who may not like the tartness of a Granny Smith or the sweetness of a Red Delicious.

2. Gala
The Gala apple is a sweet apple with yellow flesh and a hint of tartness. It’s at its best when eaten fresh. Its base of yellow skin is heavily patterned with orange and red. It’s a beautiful fruit on the tree, producing some of the prettiest orchard scenes.

1. Jonagold
This cross between a Jonathan and Golden Delicious is a large fruit that’s striped with red over a yellow skin. It’s another firm apple with juicy, somewhat tart flesh. It is of the highest quality for desserts and for eating. It also cooks well, and can be refrigerated for up to 3 months!

Garden's Apples

Visit Grandad’s for the day and enjoy a variety of fun activities on a 70 acre family farm located in Hendersonville NC near Asheville.
Select pre-picked apples or pick your own in the orchards. In Grandad’s pumpkin patch you will find pumpkins and jack o’lanterns in every size and shape.
At Grandad’s Barn and Country Store, you will find a great selection of fall harvest decorations, apple peelers, apple bakers, and other apple gifts. We also have apple turnovers, apple bread, caramel apples and a whole lot more. And, don’t forget to try a refreshing cider slush or some hot cider!

How To Cook Chinese Chicken Soup

 

Ingredients

• 3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
• 1 package (16 ounces) frozen stir-fry vegetable blend
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Mushroom Soup Recipe

I am posting this raw cream of mushroom soup recipe for my raw friend Gayla. She is dying to making a batch of raw cream of mushroom soup so I wanted to post my simple mushroom soup recipe for her ASAP! I’ve actually been eating this for lunch all the time lately. As you can tell, I am on a raw vegan soup kick!
It’s really quite freaky how much this tastes like Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup. Also, you can vary the water content of this soup quite a bit to alter the result. I would start with 1/4 cup of water and slowly add a bit more water if necessary to (a) facilitate blending; and (2) to get the consistency that you like your soup.

Another note… Sometimes I like to make a very thick batch of this soup and use it like a mushroomy gravy, as well. Mmm!
In terms of portion sizes, this raw vegan mushroom soup recipe is perfect for one nice big bowl of soup for one person.
Raw cream of mushroom soup recipe
1 1/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (you can use canned mushrooms, but obviously fresh is best!! Canned mushrooms are obviously not living foods, but they could do in a pinch.)
1/3 cup cashews
1/4 to 3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mushrooms (reserve – do not add to blender) (and never use canned mushrooms for this part!!)

1. Wash and dry your mushrooms. Chop ‘em up a bit.  (If you’re using canned mushrooms, make sure to rinse and drain them. Pat dry with a clean tea towel.)
2. Add all ingredients (except the second amount of reserved finely chopped mushrooms) into your high-speed blender. Blend on high until very smooth and well-blended. Blend for an abnormally long time because you want this raw cream of mushroom recipe to be slightly warm when coming out of the blender.
3. Pour liquidy mushroom soup mixture into a bowl(s). Add remaining mushrooms and stir with a spoon. See what we’re doing here? We’re making a liquidy mixture and then adding some chunks to it to give it some texture and variety. That’s the trick to all my raw soups.
4. Eat this raw cream of mushroom soup recipe immediately, while still warm from the blender!

Pasta In Japan

Pasta is a very important part of Japanese cuisine. People adore pasta and it’s even commonly eaten for breakfast. People in Japan find pasta so good that they celebrate festivals to hail this scrumptious dish. It’s a dish one can have at any time and place. To accommodate this huge demand for pasta in Japan, there are Japanese pasta restaurants. The origin of pasta is considered to be in China, but in Japan pasta is actually devoured and served in several unique styles and forms.
If you are a pasta lover and are in search of some famous Japanese pasta restaurants, then be sure to check these places. Here’s all the necessary information about 5 famous pasta restaurants in Japan.

Ristorante Il Bianco:
This is a very famous Italian restaurant in Japan.   It is renowned for serving exotic and flavorful pasta in different styles.  Its decor is excellent, and overall it is a place all pasta freaks must visit!
Fussa no Birugoya:
Fussa no Birugoya offers homemade pastas and pizzas served with divine beers.  All kinds of pastas are offered, and this restaurant specializes in using broccoli, shrimp, bacon, spaghetti, and cream. 

Three-Cheese Pasta Bake Cooking

This delicious variation on traditional macaroni and cheese is easy to prepare and perfect for weeknight family dinners and weekend entertaining alike. Add cooked chicken, shrimp, or sausage to the pasta bake and serve with a green salad and fresh vegetables for a hearty, well-rounded meal.

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package ziti
• 2 (10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preparation

• Prepare ziti according to package directions; drain and return to pot.
• Stir together Alfredo sauce and sour cream; toss with ziti until evenly coated. Spoon half of mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
• Stir together ricotta cheese and next 3 ingredients; spread evenly over pasta mixture in baking dish. Spoon remaining pasta mixture evenly over ricotta cheese layer; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
• Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Refrigerated Alfredo Sauce.

Note: Ziti pasta is shaped in long, thin tubes; penne or rigatoni pasta may be substituted, if desired.

Winter,The Perfect Time For Soup

Winter is the perfect time for soup and this one can even help you to keep your New Year’s resolution. High in protein and low in fat, this chunky soup will help you to feel full without packing on the pounds.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 32-ounce container of reduced sodium, low-fat beef broth
1 cup of water
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and chopped
1 5-ounce package mushrooms, sliced
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 14-ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups diced ham, (about 8 ounces)
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup whole-wheat elbows or other small pasta
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

 

Directions

In a large dutch oven or large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, tomato paste and garlic and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the broth, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and celery. Bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce to a simmer for 30 to 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the canned tomatoes along with their liquid, ham, broccoli and pasta. Cook an additional 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked through and broccoli is tender. Stir in the grated Parmesan before serving.

Summer-Fruit Soup Cooking

Jane Shapton's cold puréed soup of cantaloupe and peaches, topped with raspberries, captures the flavors of the season. She serves it for brunch or dessert, in hollowed-out melon halves. A splash of white Zinfandel underscores the fruity flavors of the soup, but you can use just peach nectar if you prefer.
Grilled Chicken and Nectarine Salad
Jay Decker, Medina, WA
Jay Decker combines barbecued chicken, sweet nectarines, tangy goat cheese, and toasted pecans in a great entrée salad.

Black Bean, Rice, and Veggie Salad
Becca Steinkamp, Bellingham, WA
Becca Steinkamp gives her mother credit for this vegetable-loaded rice-and-bean salad, which she calls "ensalada de colores." On warm summer evenings, she doubles the recipe to feed a crowd without heating up the kitchen. You can also make the salad up to 1 day ahead of time; chill airtight.
Toyoshimas' Teriyaki Tri-Tip
Michael Toyoshima, Whittier, CA
Michael Toyoshima traces his family teriyaki marinade to the time when his grandmother worked on Kauai in the sugarcane and pineapple fields. Now he and his children use the marinade on chicken, pork, and beef. For the most flavor, marinate the meat overnight.

Cookery Of Fish

Everyone knows which fish is good for you. The fats in fish, in all greasy fish similar to salmon, tuna, and mackerel, have been suspicion to assistance forestall heart disease, and can even assist in preventing diseases similar to Alzheimer’s and strokes.
But it seems which many people have been fearful of in progress fish at home. Americans eat usually about fifteen pounds of fish per chairman per year, though we eat twice as many fish in restaurants as at home. Buying, storing, and in progress fish isn’t difficult; it usually requires a tiny knowledge. This essay is about fish steaks and fillets.

Grilled Fish
The sturdier and fattier fish, together with grouper, salmon, tuna, swordfish, and shark, griddle beautifully. Make certain which your griddle is really purify and oil it easily prior to adding the fish. Then leave the fish alone! If the griddle is scrupulously preheated and prepared, the fish will rise a good membrane and will recover when cooked. For some-more ethereal fish fillets, regulating a griddle basket will have barbecuing any sort of fish many easier. Just be certain to mislay the fish from the basket as fast as probable so it doesn’t stick. we similar to Nigella Lawson’s process for in progress thinner fillets upon the grill; she simply puts a piece of heavy avocation foil upon the griddle and cooks the fish upon that. Don’t cover the griddle as the fish is cooking; the cover traps as well many of the fume and overseasons the flesh.

Do You Like Miso Soup

When my husband is out of town, I often let our daughter E pick what we’ll have for dinner. Almost always her first pick is lasagna, followed by peanut butter noodles or macaroni and “cheese.” The girl loves her pasta. Recently, however, I was thrilled when she told me what she wanted: Miso soup. Actually, what she said was, “I want a soup that’s warm and brothy, mostly liquid, not all thick and full of stuff like most of your soups are, Mom.”
She had me there. Usually when I make soup, I cram in veggies and beans and potatoes to make it a one-pot meal. I am, as I’ve said before, basically a lazy cook, and if I can get away with making only one dish for dinner, I’ll take the easy way almost every time.

But I can do brothy, if that’s what she wants; after all, brothy is easy, too. E’s crazy about miso soup, so that’s what we settled on, with silken tofu just like her favorite Japanese restaurant does it. Of course I had to add a little extra something-something: mushrooms-mushrooms. I adore the earthy flavor that shiitakes contribute to miso soup, and I tossed in a few white mushrooms for good measure. And you know what? We each ate three bowls. Because that’s the kind of thing we can get away with when her father is away!
6 cups vegetable broth (I used No-chicken Broth)
1/2 cup (.35 ounce) dried sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried shredded wakame (optional, but good)
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 carton (about 6 ounces) firm silken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used Mori-nu Lite)
2-3 tablespoons white miso
Bring the vegetable broth to a boil and add the dried mushrooms and seaweed. (If you are using whole dried mushrooms, add them now, let them soften, and remove them and slice before adding back to the pan with the other ingredients.) Simmer until mushrooms are softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the button mushrooms and silken tofu and simmer until the mushrooms are tender. Ladle out about 1/2 cup of the broth and stir it into 2 tablespoons of the miso. Mix until smooth and add to the pot. Taste, and if more miso is needed, repeat the process with another tablespoon of miso.
Allow the soup to simmer for about 5 more minutes without boiling and serve.
This makes about 6 large bowls or 8 smaller ones. Based on 6 servings, each bowl provides 38 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (11% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 705mg Sodium; 1g Fiber.

One Of My Favorite Dish

We here at Chez Widow have a fondness for lesser cuts of meat - we tend to eschew that much-lauded tenderloin in favor of cuts with flavor. Ask any chef what he'd like to remove from his menu, and chances are, it's the beef fillet. Why? It's the most boring cut on the cow. I know, I know, you love fillet - it's so tender! Yes, it is tender, and it has its place, I suppose, but the truth is, the very thing that people love about a fillet or tenderloin is the very thing keeping it from reaching its full meaty potential - fat, bones, and connective tissue. The same is true in pork - in fact, it's even worse in pork, because for some reason, we have decided to breed all of the tasty fat out of pork - breed the fat out of pork! Pork fat is the tastiest of all the fats! I mean, schmaltz is good, too, but pork fat! I just had lunch and still I'm dreaming of pork fat . . .
Fortunately, some farmers have seen this travesty and are starting to breed their pigs to be fat again. Thanks for the fatty pigs! Oh, have I digressed...
I don't remember why I picked up my first country style pork rib, what it was that made me want to make it for dinner (although just viewing that jewel-like pinky flesh quickens my heart) - I think it might have been some sort of delicious beef short rib I'd had recently - whatever it was, it was a really, really good idea. Very similar to a short rib, the country pork rib is a meaty, fatty, connective tissue containing, braisable thing of beauty. We've tried this cut with Thai red curry and pineapple - that was really good but not very photogenic - but here I've just done a traditional, American pot roast style here, served up with some pork-laden beans and greens. It's the perfect comfort meal, full of rich and wholesome flavors. Choose ribs with more reddish meat than pink - it's the red part which cooks to a meltingly tender, succulent mess of porky goodness. Convinced? Country pork ribs can be found (bone in) at Blues Creek Farms at the North Market, or (boneless) at Weiland's; both are superb.

For this recipe, I used what will probably be my last ramps of the year - and my best, lovingly (I'm sure) harvested for me by my CSA farmer, these were delightfully mild and crunchy. I also used the cautiously harvested stinging nettles - my first stinging nettle experience. They were really good, very similar to spinach but without that weird, mouth-drying spinach affect. They are a little scary to prepare - brushing up against them will cause a reaction similar to a chemical burn, no fun (I dropped one on my toe without realizing and I kept wondering why it was burning!) This is my method for preparing the nettles: put gloves on. Hold the nettles with tongs in one hand, and snip the leaves off with clean scissors, directly into the salad spinner. Wash in a few changes of water. The sting is, of course, neutralized with cooking. Yum! I love eating dangerously! Can't wait to try some more!
Braised Country Style Pork Ribs with Beans & Greens - Serves 2 hungry people, with leftovers
For the pork:
3-4 country style pork ribs, bone in or out, although I tend to prefer them with a bone
salt & pepper
1 onion, rough chop
4 medium carrots, rough chop, or a handful of leftover, dried-out baby carrots (I know, you don't want to throw them away)
1 rib celery, rough chop
5 cloves garlic, skins removed and just crushed a little with the flat side of a chef's knife
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cups red wine
1 large 28 can tomatoes, with their juice, no need to chop or anything
1 cups chicken stock
For the beans and greens:
1 link mild Italian sausage, or 4 slices bacon, chopped finely
olive oil
1 cup ramps, cleaned, blanched in salted water for 2 minutes
2 cans white beans or those fun enormous Italian "Gigante" beans
Lots of greens - I used a combination of nettles and spinach from my CSA along with 2 heads of escarole, chopped (you could also use tender kale or Swiss chard, although you might have to adjust cooking time; the greens I chose cook very quickly)
splash balsamic
good extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Unique Pork Ribs Recipe

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup water
3 tablespoons ketchup
4-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/8 teaspoon celery seed

Directions
Sprinkle the ribs with the onion salt, pepper and paprika. In a pressure cooker, brown ribs in oil on all sides. Remove from the pressure cooker and drain. Return meat to the pressure cooker. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over meat.
Close cover securely; place pressure regulator on vent pipe. Bring cooker to full pressure over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for 15 minutes. (Pressure regulator should maintain a slow steady rocking motion; adjust heat if needed.)
Remove from the heat; allow pressure to drop on its own. Skim fat from sauce if necessary and serve with ribs if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

French Cheese Is Unique

C’est Fromage, the 100% French food deli shops, stock New Zealand’s largest selection of French cheeses and a delicious range of charcuterie and terrines. With over 90 varieties of cheeses to choose from, customers are able to order superb cheese and/or  charcuterie platters  to eat in-house or to take home.


Three shops in Auckland: Remuera, Newmarket and St Heliers

Remuera: 585 Remuera Road – Ph: 529 5020
Newmarket: 5 McColl street – Ph: 524 8524
St Heliers: 5 Maskell street –  Ph: 575 2075

LA FROMAGERIE - French Food Wholesale Specialist - New Zealand's most extensive range of French cheeses to delight cheese lovers. Their range covers cow, sheep and goat milk cheeses, large whole rounds and small individual cheeses, portioned and wrapped or sold by the kilo. They supply to restaurants, hotels, delicatessens and food professionals all over New Zealand. Also available: French fine foods, foie gras, terrines, cured ham, fish specialty....

French In Romance With Their Food And Wine

The French are in romance with their food and wine, no doubt about it. Culinary traditions that have been developed and perfected over the centuries have made French cooking a highly refined art. In matters of wine, the French are also true connoisseurs, mellowing such a fantastic range as Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne to make them the toast of the world over.
We are pleased to have invited Mr Bruno Vaillant of EWineAsia to host an evening of appreciation for French wine at our Club. From France himself, Bruno has worked more than 15 years in Asia’s food and beverage industry including building his own company, EWineAsia, locally. He brings insight, humour and knowledge to your table. Four French dishes will be served with his supervision along with four

French wines in this remarkable session.
French Food matches with the attitude that must be done?
French "mother-in-law that" would come for lunch tomorrow. Often, I cook for him and I touched my head and decided he would enjoy the recipes and leave. Difficult, he assured that the British can not cook. In fact, most detailed description of the topics covered France nanyi all rebel strait is about my cooking abilities. They also "mad cow us" and we'll remind you.
However, our Christmas lunch at a French mother, "created by the law," roast turkey and trimmings this season at home in England halhaneun not use the patch for the former. Our holiday meal for the old boiler pressure canned chicken the night I'm only the term "artisan potato" (more than vegetables), creativity, endive salad, frozen desserts and supermarkets ... Not pleasant, crackers, or you can do behind the plate consists of a little decorative flourish.

Tasty Chicken Salad,You Can Try

Preparing sandwiches is not a very hard thing to do. However, people can get bored with the usual and common combination of meat and veggies. After all, not all sandwich recipes can be used to feed big crowd of people. But when people want to try making the tasty chicken salad for them and their big crowd, they can adjust the portion easily.

They can prepare all the ingredients used for making chicken sandwich, like the bread, mayonnaise, lettuce leaves, and the chicken meat. But here’re some tips to make everything tastier and brighter.
• Try to cook the chicken in think fillet form and fry it. It’s even better to roll the chicken in the eggs and some bread flour before cooking it so it will be crispy.
• Beside lettuce leaves, people can try adding grapes, pecans, and celery, depending on their taste and requirement. If they don’t like it, the lettuce alone is fine.
• It’s okay to use sour cream if they want to, but remember that not everyone may like it, especially when the cream is mixed with mayonnaise.
• If they’re going to use the chicken salad for big crowd, they can put the chicken salad on a bowl on lettuces with a plate full of sliced croissant next to it. It will certainly look appealing and tasty.

Seared Tuna Steaks Cooking

I had been seeing some really amazing photos of some barely seared tuna steaks around the blog sphere and I just had to try it. I like a nice barely seared beef steak and I was wondering what a tuna steak would be like. A few of the tuna steaks that I saw were crusted in sesame seeds which sounded pretty interesting. The tuna was really easy to make. You just crust the steak with sesame seeds and sear it for a few minutes on either side. You want to be careful not to over cook it as fully cooked tuna can be a bit dry. The seared tuna steak was really good. It was nice and moist and tender. The sesame seeds added a nice contrast in texture. I served the sesame crusted tuna on rice with some orange teriyaki sauce and some asparagus on the side.


Ingredients:
1 5 ounce ahi tuna steak
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds (toasted)
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (toasted)
1 tablespoon oil

Directions:
1. Press the tuna steak into the sesame seeds to coat.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Fry the tuna steak for 2 minutes per side.

Make Shaped Cookies At Home

Whether you're rolling dough into balls for sugar cookies, using your thumb to indent jam-filled thumbprints, or crafting more elaborate cookies filled with fruit or nut mixtures, all of the cookies in this chapter are coaxed into shape with your hands before baking. Here you'll find a wide variety of appealing cookies, from quick classics like snickerdoodles to festive cranberry-filled
rugelach.

Helpful hints:

• If your kitchen is warm, you may need to chill the dough longer than the recipe suggests.
• If the dough becomes sticky as you work, chill it until firm but still pliable.
• Lightly flour your hands and your work surface while shaping cookies.
• Line baking sheets with cooking parchment to make it easier to remove delicate cookies.
• To ensure that the cookies hold their shape, make sure the sheets are cool before baking the next batch of cookie dough. If you need to cool sheets off quickly, hold them under cold running water; dry well before using.

Cooking Rice Steps

1. The best rice to use for separate, fluffy grains is basmati. This has long, thin, pointed grains, and is more expensive than others but, since cooking is about flavour, it is the one to buy as it has a far superior taste. Always measure rice by volume and not by weight: use a measuring jug and measure 2½ fl oz (65 ml) per person (5 fl oz/150 ml for two, 10 fl oz/275 ml for four and so on). The quantity of liquid you will need is roughly double the volume of rice; so 5 fl oz (150 ml) of rice needs 10 fl oz (275 ml) of hot water or stock.


2. The very best utensil for cooking fluffy, separate rice is a frying pan with a lid. Over the years I have found that the shallower the rice is spread out during cooking, the better. Buying a 10 inch (25.5 cm) pan with a lid would be a good lifetime investment for rice cooking. Failing that, try to find a large saucepan lid that will fit your normal frying pan. First cook some onions, which can provide extra flavour but are not a necessity as rice can be cooked quite simply in water. Then add the rice, which doesn't need to be washed because it is thoroughly cleaned at the milling stage, and washing it removes some of the nutrients (anyway the high temperature of the cooking will purify it). Turn the grains over in the pan until they are nicely coated and glistening with oil. This helps to keep the grains separate.


3. The next stage is to add the boiling water to the pan (to save time I always pour it into the measuring jug straight from a boiling kettle). Stock is an excellent alternative particularly if the rice is to be served with chicken (use chicken stock) or beef (use beef stock), and for fish a fish stock is particularly good. I don't recommend stock cubes, as I find them too strong, masking the delicate flavour of the rice. Also don't forget to add salt; about 1 level teaspoon to every 5 fl oz (150 ml) of rice.


4. Once the hot liquid has been added, stir once only as you don't want to break the delicate grains – this releases the starch and results in sticky rice, spoiling it utterly. Because people get nervous and anxious, or because they just have a habit of stirring things, this is the fatal flaw.


5. Cover with the lid and turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Leave it alone – once the lid is on, set the timer and go away! If you lift the lid and let the steam out you can slow down the cooking process, and rice should always be cooked as briefly as possible. Give white rice 15 minutes and brown rice 40 and use a timer – overcooking is what spoils rice. The best way to test if it is cooked is simply to bite a grain. Another way is to tilt the pan and, if liquid collects at the edge, it will need a couple more minutes' cooking.


6. When the rice is cooked, remove the lid, turn the heat off and place a clean tea cloth over the pan for 5-10 minutes. This will absorb the steam and help keep the grains dry and separate. Just before serving, use the tip of a skewer or a fork to lightly fluff up the grains.

A Few Travel Tips About Hotel Breakfast

I just got back from a work trip to Mozambique and South Africa. Ten years ago, I would have spent months preparing for such a journey and in fact did, but after living in the bush of Africa for a total of three years in addition to many trips abroad, this time around I resorted to making reservations AND packing the morning of my departure—whether that’s a result of well-heeded travel routine or just total lack of time remains another question.
In any case, here are just a few travel tips I use when traveling to a developing country or in Africa in general.

1. When possible, book hotels with breakfast – There may not be many or any safe and fast food options once you leave your hotel. There will be plenty of food for sure, however it may not be cooked according to your standards, may be unfamiliar to you, may take a whole day to prepare, etc. Therefore, I try to eat a big healthy breakfast at the hotel to get me through the day in case I don’t eat anything until I come back for dinner. This way, I also get the most of my day by touring around instead of trying to find a restaurant that suits my needs.
2. Fill up water in hotel gym or lobby–Unless you plan on remaining in the area for longer than a few months, drink bottled water, no exceptions. There is nothing worse than getting sick in a location you’ve been dreaming about traveling to your entire life, and worrying about healthcare. Obviously, hotels mark-up their mini-bars and when you arrive you may not be in the position to find the nearest deli or grocery store to stock up. However, if your hotel has a gym, restaurant or lobby, chances are there will be purified spring water waiting for you. Bring an empty bottle and fill you so you can hydrate yourself and brush your teeth.
3. Bring laptop to keep in touch - Most people are hesitant to bring their laptops to developing countries for the fear they will get stolen or tampered with. That’s fair and does happen. However, if you keep an eye on your laptop and carry it with you, it will be the best friend you never in hard-to-travel places. Despite the perception that places like Africa have limited infrastructure and therefore wi-fi, thats definitely not the case. From Mali to Mozambique, from Timbuktu to Tunisia, I have found that big hotels, medium hotels, even bed and breakfasts and bars offer wi-fi that is fast and reliable. I had better internet service in Mali than I did in Manhattan! Plus, laptops are all made now for both 110v and 220 v, so all you need is the right plug and voila, it works! For tips on what to pack with your laptop check out this list I drafted a few years ago.
4. Buy a Skype number– When I moved to Mali a few years ago, I relied on Skype to keep in touch with my then-boyfriend and family. Most people think of face-to-face video streaming when they think of Skype however that’s not what I am talking about. Skype sells U.S. based phone numbers (and YOU can choose which area code) for only $18 per 3 months that includes UNLIMITED CALLS between the the U.S.A. This means your friends and family in America can call this number anytime from their cell phones and reach you anywhere in the world as long as you have a Skype account (free). And YOU can also call ANY U.S. number from your Skype account (without any video). When a caller dials your number, your laptop rings as any phone does, and you pick up an talk through the laptop mic as you would a normal phone. If your laptop is not turned on, or if you don’t have wi-fi at the time, the caller leaves a voicemail which you can listen to the next time you get wi-fi. You can actually purchase a real phone to plug into your laptop and use that phone to talk, but I’ve found that talking through the laptop works just as fine without the added wires.
I’ve had the same number for years (beginning with Chicago’s 773 of course), and keep on renewing it every year even though I am not always traveling abroad. My family and friends already all have the phone number programmed in their phones as “Kasia’s Abroad Number” so they always know how to reach me regardless of where I am. It’s the best kept secret out there. I haven’t used a phone card in years.
5. Wi-fi in airport restaurants – This isn’t so much a tip for traveling to developing countries but I am including it anyway. I traveled 85% of my weekends this year so trust me; I know our great American airports very well. Some offer free-wifi, some offer 30-60 minutes of free-wi-fi before you pay, but some make you pay for wi-fi straight – up. If you have a layover and want to brown the internet, consider sitting in a sit-down airport restaurant. Not only is the ambiance a gazillion times better than the food court but often they give complimentary wi-fi access (around a $10 fee) for diners. So that $10 glass of merlot is kind of free.

Sharing A Pitcher Of Sangria With You

Sharing a pitcher of sangria with friends is a great way to kick off summer. Sliced oranges are a traditional addition to this refreshing Spanish beverage. With their bright red flesh, blood oranges give extra impact.
Prep: 10 minutes
Chill: 2 hours
Makes: 12 servings
750-milliliter bottle dry red wine
1 cup light orange juice
1/4 cup brandy or cognac
1/4 cup orange liqueur
2 tablespoons sugar
2 medium oranges, sliced
2 cups club soda, chilled
Crushed ice and/or orange peel curls (optional)
1. In a large pitcher, combine wine, orange juice, brandy, orange liqueur, sugar, and orange slices. Chill at least 2 hours. Add club soda before serving. Serve over crushed ice and/or with orange peel curls, if desired.
Nutrition Information per serving: 100 calories, 0g protein, 9g carbohydrate, 0g fat (0g saturated), 0g fiber

The Perfect Breakfast For You

You wake to the gentle call of gulls, white gliders in a sky rosy with sunrise. Just outside the window, a mist rises from the quiet cove where wild ducks paddle and heron stand still as reeds in the shallows.
From the mouth of the Kennebunk River just across the way come boat sounds - a lobsterman chugging his solitary way to the open ocean to haul his traps, a yachtsman gliding out for a leisurely day under sail, a whale watch cruise boat filled with sleepy but eager passengers.The heady aroma of fresh-brewed coffee and an oven full of baking bread and muffins wafts down the hall to greet you. It's morning at the Green Heron Inn.....

Join us each day of your stay for sumptuous gourmet breakfast in our dining room for what our guests call "Quite possibly the best breakfast in Kennebunkport".
A lot of our guests have commented that the Green Heron Inn breakfast is truly their highlight of the day, and that they can not wait till sunrise to find out what our chef has prepared for them. Our beautiful dining area, with a picturesque view of the tidal inlet, is the perfect setting to start your day. Watch the seagulls and the heron at play while enjoying our sumptuous three-course breakfast.
Start your breakfast with a fruit opener, such as "poached pear with spiced devonshire cream", "grilled breakfast peach melba", or "fresh berries in crepes with lime-raspberry curd".
We also always have homemade granola and breakfast bread, such as our cranberry oat scones, cinnamon brown-sugar cream biscuit, or homemade ginger bread with streusel topping.
For the main entrée, we prepare two different daily specials from which you can choose. Recent egg-dish specials include unforgettable creations such as "mango-pineapple-turkey wrap with creamy picante and chipotle-maple sauce", "shiitake mushroom & smoked salmon omelette with wasabi-ginger sauce", or "roasted tomatoes and applewood smoked bacon frittata".
If your taste buds prefer something sweeter in the morning, your selections might include "grilled banana bread with lemon curd and fresh berries" or "apricot-raspberry stuffed croissantoast with toasted hazelnut", or "Grand Marnier waffle-iron toast with mandarin orange slices and maple-cream butter".
If neither of the specials appeal to your taste buds, our standard selections always include buttermilk pancakes, our famous blueberry pancakes, french toast, eggs any style, and omelettes. Also, bacon and Maine maple breakfast links are always available every day. To complete your meal, we also offer a selection of fruit juices, coffee, and a tea tray with choice of teas and herbal teas.

It’s Easter time, are you in for a seasonal baking treat?

It’s Easter time, are you in for a seasonal baking treat? Here’s a great and fun alternative to hard boiled eggs…
Some trivia: Have you ever wondered what determines the color of a chicken egg shell? It’s all about the earlobes. Well, almost, it depends on whether or not the chicken is a purebred. If so, chicken with white lobes predominantly deliver white eggs, ones with red earlobes brown eggs. Araucana chicken are special: they produce green-bluish eggs. If the chicken is a crossbreed really anything is possible.
Poke a tiny whole in the bottom side of the egg by using a needle or an egg poker. Carefully enlarge the hole using a pointy knife, make sure to only break small pieces of the egg shell to better control the size of the hole, about 1cm (or .5″) would be perfect. Turn the eggs upside down and empty them in a small bowl, some of the egg white/yolk will be used later for the cake batter. If the yolk and egg white refuse to come out, take a wooden skewer and poke inside the egg.
Clean the shells in cold water and prepare a bowl with salt water (dissolve 100g of salt in about 1l of water), fully immerse the egg shell, make sure there’s no air trapped inside. Remove them after about half an hour, rinse them under cold water and let them dry on a paper towel, with the hole pointing down. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C (~355°F).
Baking prep: A muffin tray works great, use little pieces of aluminum foil to form rings, which will help the eggs to stand upright during the filling and baking process.
In a large bowl beat the soft butter together with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved, then add three eggs. Beat well until the batter gets a creamy consistency, then add the flour together with the baking powder. Whisk until evenly combined.
Divide the batter into two separate bowls. Add the eggnog to one, the cacao powder together with the milk to the other bowl. If the batter seems too dense, you may want to add some more eggnog (for the yellowish batter) or a bit more milk (for the brown batter).
Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of sunflower oil in each egg and turn/flip it in your hand until the inside is completely covered. Get rid of any excessive oil. The hardest part is to fill the eggs, you can do it with a teaspoon and A LOT OF patience or you use a piping bag with a small nozzle. If you want bicolored cake eggs, start with one batter and finish with the second batter. Fill the eggs up to half and two thirds full, sort of trial and error – I seem to never hit the exact amount: Sometimes it is too few and the eggs will look incomplete or it is too much and the batter escapes through the holes, making a mess. You can easily remove the excessive parts after they’re cooled down, so better add a bit more.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. A wooden skewer should come out clean, if the cake eggs are done. Remove from the oven and let cool down completely before cracking them open and peeling off the shell. Surprise, surprise, here’s a cake egg!

Most times memorable food experiences

Most times memorable food experiences are predominantly related to one of your senses. Some dishes are pure eye candy, others are superbly fragrant, phenomenal taste-wise or have a very unique mouthfeel. But what to do when you hit jackpot and all your senses go wild? Simply enjoy!
If you’re up for a not so ordinary doses of ravioli, you’re in for treat: imagine a just runny egg yolk, its dark orange color which reminds of pretty sunflowers and bright sunshine and its velvety texture, warm enough to make your tongue feel comfortable, bedded on a deliciously seasoned ricotta & Parmesan mix and wrapped in thin home made pasta sheets, voilà, sunny egg ravioli.
Poached eggs require exact timing and therefor wouldn’t necessarily be my primary choice for a dinner with more than two guests – time consuming AND risky business. These guys however allow you to prep in advance, have them mise en place and serve them in perfection. I’ve had similar pasta before, filled with egg yolks and placed on a bed of spinach, but this combo can easily hold a candle to them: the herbed cheese mix is a wonderful creamy companion for the egg yolk and a worthy candidate to kick off any menu!
Sift the flour into a huge mixing bowl or on a chopping board. Make a well in the center, add a pinch of salt as well as the eggs, then incorporate the flour with your fingers and knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough comes together nicely. If the mix is too firm, add a little water, if it’s too soft, use a little more flour. Shape it into a ball, tightly wrap in cling film and let rest for at least 30 minutes on the counter.
Prepare the filling by mixing ricotta, Parmesan, chopped fresh herbs, olive oil and spices in a bowl. Season to taste.
Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets (EDIT: I used the highest level my pasta machine offers = thinnest sheets), spoon tablespoons of the ricotta herb mix on it and leave enough space in between to ensure proper stamping out afterwards. Form the mix into little, equally shaped cups using a teaspoon or your fingers, their rims have to be high enough to keep the egg yolks from escaping.
Carefully divide the eggs (the egg yolks must stay whole) and place one yolk in the center of each ricotta cup. Take one of the unused egg whites and brush the pasta around the ricotta, in order to make the pasta sheets stick together well. Gently place another pasta sheet over the ricotta/egg yolk arrangements and tightly seal each one to avoid any air trapped inside. Stamp out the individual ravioli with a cookie cuter or the thin rim of a drinking glass. (The filling is also very suitable for normal filled pasta, without the extra egg yolk.)
Cook the ravioli in a large pan of salted, slightly boiling water for two to three minutes until just al dente, but with the egg yolks still runny. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan and brown for a few minutes if desired. Drain the ravioli using a skimmer, place in a warm serving dish, then top with the butter, freshly ground pepper and extra Parmesan and get ready for a new favorite food moment.

You can't go to New Mexico without eating green

You can't go to New Mexico without eating green chiles—so it's no surprise that the Green Chile Burger is the calling card at Blake's Lotaburger, a chain exclusive to New Mexico. When I surveyed some locals about chains in the are, Blake's was the first suggestion out of anyone's mouth. Consequently, a Green Chile Burger was the first thing in my mouth when I arrived.

Blake's burgers reminded me of In-N-Out, in scale and structure—the patties are thin and cooked to order. My patty was a little crisp on the outside, which I loved, and the meat is pretty loosely ground. One patty feels a little weak on the patty-to-bun ratio, so I recommend a double.
But the green chiles are the real draw, of course. Each chile chunk was warm and juicily popped open, hot and sturdy, under the teeth. And whereas many fast-food chains tone down their "spicy" creations for a mass market, these were the spiciest thing I've ever tasted on a fast food burger. Without the green chile, the burger is still better than McDonald's and Burger King, but the green chili really makes it a star. The Green Chile Lotaburger comes with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and mustard. None of the other toppings are spectacular, not that it matters much since you can barely anything beyond the green chile.
On top of that, at Blake's I found awesome service: The guys behind the counter could tell i'd just gotten off an airplane, and they gave me a water right away, as well as a few free pumps of cherry syrup to go with my Dr. Pepper. "It's really good, man," the cashier told me; "I do it all the time on my break." Really nice people, spartan yet clean restaurant, and a solid, spicy burger—not much more you can ask for from a fast food chain.

Do you always crack your eggs in a separate

Do you always crack your eggs in a separate bowl before transferring them to the mixing bowl? I do. It was one of my grandma’s golden rules of baking to avoid a) small egg shell pieces in the batter and b) the worst case: a hastily cracked open but rotten egg in the batter, spoiling all the other ingredients. Because I tend to crack open my eggs snappily – still working on my skills to master the neat one-hand-crack – this precaution is an indispensable one for me. Over the years I have asked myself and in light of ever improving quality assurance, whether the latter reason for using a separate bowl still applied. And I have never, really not ever, cracked open a rotten egg. What are the odds it’s going to happen these days? Or have I been extremely lucky to not face such a nasty and disgusting experience yet?

Presumably. Yesterday my lucky egg phase came to an end with a loud bang. Add a scream to that. I was preparing food for our annual house party, just in the middle of mixing together all the ingredients for a Tiropita (savoury Greek pastry) filling, when I reached for the last egg sitting on my fridge’s separate egg shelf – an unloved white one, however, fresh and free-range I might add. Because of my snappy egg cracking technique I clearly favor brown eggs, which are not only prettier to me, but more forgiving if handled with an extra momentum – more than once I smashed white eggs while trying to open them. Cautiously, I knocked the pale egg against the little porcelain bowl, too cautiously, as it only showed a small crack, no hole. Automatically I started poking my fingernails into the crack and felt the egg shell collapsing. My thumbs sunk deep into the newly created hole and vanished into a slimy blueish-brown liquid! WHOOOOOA. An extreme sight that was sooo unexpected, I started screaming as if an army of spiders had just crossed my fingers! Expecting the worst, Oliver came running, expecting some sort of bloody crime scene, but spun on his heel as his nose caught the most awful stench of all: ROTTEN EGGS.
This, by far, has to be my most disgusting kitchen experience ever, the smell even beats slicing a thick worm hidden in a wild mushroom, which had happened someday last year. Not only the sight gave me shivers, but the stench! Yuck! I didn’t dare to breath and at the speed of light I jockeyed the egg’s remains into the waste bin, brushed off my fingers under hot water and immediately disposed the waste bag outside. That didn’t help much, the sulfurous rotten egg smell was still floating around in my kitchen…

This whole scenario must have brought bad kitchen karma for the day, the Tiropita didn’t work out as planned. While the filling was tasty and easy to work with, the phyllo dough acted up. I used plenty of melted butter to make it smooth, but when I – really carefully – tried to bend the long rolls into the desired snail shapes, the dough cracked open in several places and made a mess. After all, I tossed the Tiropita plans after the first tray on which I had tried different shapes. The rest of the filling gladly served as part of mini veggie tarts. But I won’t give up so easily – any tips and tricks a Tiropita or Spanokopita pro would like to share?

Don’t get deluded, we’re still on the road

Don’t get deluded, we’re still on the road. After indulging ourselves in fabulous food in California (including a Yountville adventure…) and a few thousand miles later – haunted accompanied by serious roadfood – we finally reached our last destination, Colorado Springs. We were fortunate to meet dear fellow food bloggers along the trip and are packed with countless stories and delicious recipes, more upon our return home next week. For the time being, luckily our dear friend Stephanie agreed to jump in and share her mom’s delicious peach cobbler recipe with us, the one we savoured during a fantastic family dinner a couple of years ago. Need to stop now, because it’s breakfast time and a very tempting frangrance of pecan pancakes with fresh raspberries lies in the air…

On a balmy night in mid-August, we sat on our patio with friends enjoying food and wine of the season. For the “contorni” course, I served a late-summer rendition of Caprese salad — all credit to my friend Mary Beth — substituting fresh peaches for tomatoes. As we relished the aged balsamico dripping off the peaches, creamy mozzarella, and freshly picked basil from the garden, our friend David warned that we should be aware of the dangers of becoming stone fruit fanatics (David’s brother has apparently been found in front of the kitchen sink with a blank stare and juices from the first peach of the season running down his chin). I confess to have enjoyed a mango that way myself, one found fallen from the tree, having warmed to full ripeness in the Costa Rican sun. I highly recommend adding this to the “things to do before I die” list, if you haven’t already. Let the juices run!
In Colorado, local stone fruits such as cherries, apricots, nectarines, and plums can be found at markets as early as July. But it isn’t until mid- to late-August that Colorado’s orchard queen, the “Palisade Peach,” fulfills its calling. Colorado stone fruit fanatics believe it’s Palisade’s high altitude mesa and semi-desert climate that make the local fruit a superior peach. At an elevation upwards of 1417 meters (or 4650 feet), Palisade enjoys a growing season with intense sunny days and cool, dry nights, which provide an ideal balance of sugars and acid. There are many varieties of peaches grown in Palisade, but the free stones are always in high demand because they make eating and cooking with them so very easy.
Sadly, we missed the family pilgrimage to hand-pick Palisade peaches this August, but we were able to find plenty of ripe bushels at our local produce market. Now the storehouse (my refrigerator and freezer) is full as we head into autumn, and I have big plans for these peaches, namely, my mom’s peach cobbler. Cobblers are as American as can be (originally a quick and “cobbled” together version of fruit pie) and a simple and delicious way to enjoy seasonal fruit. As you are soon to discover, there are few things that compare to the aroma of a peach cobbler baking on a cool autumn evening.
Note: Let there be cobbler for everyone! For the best cobbler, use peaches that have been picked ripe, and if your geography doesn’t allow for peaches, find a local fruit in season to substitute. Also, to make the process go quickly, blanch peaches in boiling water for just one minute before peeling.
To prepare:
Sift together dry ingredients, excluding almonds. Cut in butter until you have coarse crumbs. Combine milk and egg and then add to dry mixture, stirring just until moistened.
Combine cornstarch, cinnamon, brown sugar and water in saucepan and cook until thickened. Add the sliced peaches, lemon juice, and butter. Cook about five to ten minutes, until peaches are hot and juice is bubbling. Pour into an 8-inch (approximately) round or square baking dish. Spoon biscuit topping over the peaches in about 6 biscuits/mounds (don’t panic- they will not cover the peach mixture, but will grow in the oven). Scatter topping with sliced almonds. Bake at 400F (205C) for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Serve hot out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Things sometimes disappear in my kitchen

Things sometimes disappear in my kitchen. Right, I’m usually quick in blaming Oliver especially for food items miraculously vanishing but my kitchen gadgets & spice collection are starting to crowd my counter tops and I guess its in the nature of things that every so often I can’t find my stuff or forget about items that are buried somewhere.
When I recently was going through my Asian spice box – I have a regular one, a sweet one and one dedicated to Asian spices – my eyes fell on a little orange plastic bag. Ahhh, right, this was in the little Indian-spice-gift-box I had received for Christmas and not seen since. Taking a closer look I found a small label on its bottom, saying cardamom. How handy! The cardamom level in my sweet spices box almost had reached rock bottom. I opened up the bag and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow or two, with a frown on my face. Its content did neither look like cardamom, nor did it smell like it. Certainly not like the cardamom I’m actually starting to become better friends with. And where was that stench of tar and medicine coming from? Yuck. And this smoky, earthy tone? ‘Gotta go Google.

I’m probably the last one to discover black cardamom pods, but after my first and surely last impression, I come to realize that I can easily do without it them. My nose is still terrified from our encounter, or do these rather pungent pods deserve a second chance? Any ideas, suggestions, experiences?

Is it possible that the tiny man who is responsible

Is it possible that the tiny man who is responsible for pushing the clock hands is in a rush these days? Where did the last weeks go, are we really approaching Easter weekend yet? My oh my. Maybe writing a book puts you in some sort of zombie mode, there is so much to do, so many different aspects to take care off, life outside your kitchen simply ceases to exist, vanishing behind a thick curtain. This time around, no special Easter treats like I came up with last year or some years ago. Yet I don’t want to skip all the bunny and egg festivities, hoping my latest discovery qualifies for the Easter theme, too.

Someday last year I had spent my entire lunch break at a nearby bookstore, one that is well-known for its unusual assortment, and yes, they even carry a small shelf of rather extraordinary cookbooks. That’s where “La grande Fête – Das große Fest” fell into my hands, written by restaurant chef Alain Weissgerber and his partner Barbara Eselböck. A book loaded with atmosphere in which Alain Weissgerber presents his cuisine, a happy marriage between his Alsatian roots and Austrian influences. (His restaurant Blaue Gans has a pretty cool website, although a bit tricky to navigate.) One small detail in his book struck me the most – he had used an ingenious method to poach an egg (p.132). In case your Easter plans warrants a poached egg, why not try this for yourself?

　Bring a pot of water to a boil. Line a small bowl or ramekin with foil cling film and brush its inside with a few drops of sunflower oil. Carefully break a fresh egg – the yolk has to stay whole – and let it slide into the foil-lined cling film-lined bowl. Close the foil cling film above the egg, keeping a little air trapped inside, then close with a clip (the clip part is my addition to Weissgerber’s methode). Now lower the “egg-bag” into the simmering water and turn the egg every 30 seconds or so for an evenly cooked result. The trapped air helps to keep the egg’s surface relatively smooth. The book suggests to remove it after 2.5 minutes and dipping it into ice water to stop the cooking process. However, my large sized eggs took almost 4 minutes. They slipped out of the foil cling film like nothing else and – except for a few wrinkles – their even appearance made it unnecessary to cut off any excess egg white! Poached eggs – a piece of cake.

There are certain recipes that are not to be messed with

There are certain recipes that are not to be messed with. No culinary experiments, no fanciful pimpin’. Real classics don’t need it. Instead it’s all about flavorful ingredients that shine on their own. Whenever we attempt a Spanish classic, our friend Carlos is the first reference person. He supplies us with the best Chorizo, feeds his friends the most amazing Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, serves stunning Queimada and has taught us how to make Tortilla de Betanzos together with his friend Juan.

Since he taught us his Gazpacho recipe a few weeks ago we’ve come to realize how many bland and mediocre lookalikes we’ve had before. Tasty, ripe tomatoes are a must, but well balanced seasoning is equally important. The best about this summer soup? It’s healthy, addictive, refreshing – and prepared within less than 10 minutes. But I have more: just like a good Chili con Carne or Lasagne, this soup tastes even better on the next day, when the flavors had time to sit and mingle. Give it a try, even if you’re not a soup person!

And if you’re in the mood for something more elaborate, why not freeze your Gazpacho and have a granita or sorbet? It certainly makes for a rather unusual appetizer, just be sure to add some vodka (2-3 tbsp) and strain the final mix through a fine mesh sieve (to enhance its frozen consistency) before moving it to your freezer’s compartment or ice cream machine.

Put the slices of stale white bread in a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside. Chill serving bowls or glasses (optional).
Prepare the vegetables:
Cut the tomatoes in quarters, stem to tail, then remove the stem ends.
 Quarter and deseed bell peppers (reserve half of the red and half of the green bell pepper for later use), then cut them into long fingerthick stripes, then smaller pieces.
 Cut about half of the small cucumber into thin slices (reserve the other half).
 Peel the onion, then cut half of it into thin slices (reserve the other half).
 Peel the garlic clove(s), then cut them into thin slices.
Prepare the tropezones: Cut the reserved bell pepper, cucumber and onion halves into neat little cubes or bitesize pieces – they will become tropezones (“stumbling stones”) in your final soup. Set aside for later use.
A large blender is the perfect tool to prepare Gazpacho (but a handheld blender can be used, too), just throw all of your prepared vegetables (tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, onion, garlic) MINUS the prepared tropezones into your blender and mix at medium speed until your vegetables have turned into juice and their blender volume has decreased significantly.

Add the bread slices (no need to squeeze out the water), season with sea salt, sugar, freshly ground black pepper, chili flakes, vinegar, olive oil and a small handful of ice cubes, before putting the blender to work again. Mix until the Gazpacho reaches a smooth consistency and you cannot hear any more crackling sounds from the added ice cubes (add more ice cubes, if you want your soup more liquid).
Season to taste (there’s nothing more boring than a flavorless seasoned Gazpacho!) and pour into chilled bowls (if you like your soup really cold, add one or two ice cubes to each bowl). Serve with a tablespoon of tropezones, drizzle with some more olive oil and a good pinch of black pepper. Enjoy immediately.

You’ve never heard of Thylehogichi?

What?! You’ve never heard of Thylehogichi? Well, neither have I. But THYme LEmon HOney GInger CHIli tea sounded a little stiff and boring, hence the new word creation by simply using the ingredient’s first letters (the kind of creativity, that arises from somebody who has caught a major cold, *cough*).

Last week I joined my friends Sebastian and Maike for a very special food and wine tasting at restaurant Huber. Yet I felt a little dizzy and my voice started to sound husky – bad timing, if you are surrounded by intriguing people that you’re keen talking to. Of course my intentions to use my voice sparingly fell by the wayside. We talked, we drank, we laughed a lot and left much later than planed. Next morning, the bill. My voice was almost gone, in exchange I couldn’t stop coughing and my head felt like a big balloon.

I remembered a piece of advice Sebastian had given me about his latest remedy drink (his friend Lea had recommended it) and since all the required ingredients were sitting on our kitchen window sill, I decided to give it a go. All its ingredients have a bounty of positive effects on a sore throat (antiseptic, alleviate throat tickle, soothe feeling of throat dryness), but – above all – the result tastes absolutely wonderful! I hope this post made it just in time for my fellow blogging friends – get well Ulrike, Katharina, Silke & Kaltmamsell and do give it a try yourself ;)
Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about the sweet something I promised, just let me get over this nasty cold…

Thoroughly wash your ingredients, cut the ginger into thin slices (I don’t peel mine, but that’s up to you), halve and squeeze out the lemon and cut off a few slices of the chili (optional).
(amounts are really subject of your personal preference, for 500 ml water I use 8-10 sprigs of thyme, 6 rather large slices of ginger, the juice of 1 lemon and 2 slices of chili)
Bring half a liter of water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a minimum and add the ginger slices, the thyme sprigs and chili slices. Let infuse for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the drinking glasses/tea cups – add some (1-2 tsp, I prefer more) honey to each as well as the lemon juice.
Pour tea through a fine mesh sieve into the glasses and serve hot with thin lemon slices and/or small thyme sprigs. Feel better :)