Tag: recipe

21Dec

Last minute Christmas gift

  As much I feel Christmas is the most magical time of the year it can also be a very stressful time for some. Gifts to buy and wrap, final errands to run at work before the break, all the packing for those who are spending Christmas away and obviously, for all the hosts out there, the last minute food shopping, cleaning the house…Still thinking it’s the most wonderful time of the year? And you can plan it to the last curled ribbon but there is always someone that we unwilling forget to buy a present for. Or even that last minute guest to whom you just want to give a little gift. We have a solution! You can make this gift in 20 minutes and with the right packaging it can look really special too. These caramelised nuts are delicious and perfect for this time of the year. If you are a super-organised type of hostess and have done all your gift-buying and wrapping you can also serve it as nibbles. Careful, it is addictive. I used a spice mix called Lebkuchen which is traditional here in Germany but you can use the same spices as those for gingerbread
3 mins read
616 Views
12Nov

Briochettes with toasted coconut

This attempt to make a nice brioche was inspired by my early days in England, when me and my family were still wide-eyed about all the new things around us. Back on those days my mum used to go to Aldi, a famous low-budget supermarket in Europe where you can find anything from baked beans to venison. She religiously brought home every week brioche rolls that had crème patisserie  swirled in them and were topped with icing sugar. It was heaven. Back in those days I had very little to look forward to, I hated school I had left all my mates back in Brazil and was struggling to express myself in a foreign language so I have very little cheerful memories from those first months in England.That brioche is one of my earliest happy memories. Now brace yourselves because this is a messy recipe. Clear your kitchen surfaces of clutter, have your flour ready and your butter cubbed (maybe get a minder for your kids and husband) because halfway through it you will have a ”oh my goodness!” moment but it is perfectly normal, know it will be alright. I have made this recipe six times and have adapted it slightly
4 mins read
807 Views
06Nov

Mini apple and cinnamon cakes

Cinnamonn is a flavour I look forward to when Autumn arrives. Boy, do I love to sprinkle it everywhere: biscuits, cakes, puddings. So when October comes I start looking for recipes where I can sprinkle some cinnamon. Generously. Over here I am trying to catch up with a lot of things, since the baby’s arrival I have little time to be in the kitchen and that makes me a little sad. We would cook e-v-e-r-y day pre-baby but now the priorities have changed. I am still getting into the new routine (or lack of) and also trying to get used to making much simpler recipes that can be done in a short amount of time. The thing with babies is that they are unpredictable. When you think you’re putting them down for their usual 2hr nap and they only sleep for 20 minutes you kinda need a plan b. So I tried my luck with these cakes which are very simple and delicious. And if you don’t have a baby but have unexpected guests these are a good choice. Mini apple and cinnamon cakes (makes 12 mini cakes) 4 cooking apples 3 tbs lemon juice 150g cream cheese 1 egg 6
2 mins read
558 Views
07Oct

Cranberry, nut and chocolate cookies

  These are thank you cookies or as you say in German, danke cookies. Rather than doing the shop-bought stuff I like to give people all sorts of homemade gifts, especially edible ones such as cookies, sweets and savoury biscuits. I do this because it is the kind of present I would like to receive too, something people have put time and effort behind, from the buying the ingredients to making the wrapping look nice, it’s a process I love.  Before I took maternity leave I thought a lot about bringing a treat to the people I work with. I work in social services with a lot of adolescents, especially girls, so what do girls love most? Sweet things. So I decided on this recipe, it is only the second time I make it, the first was a couple of years ago when I bought my sister-in-law a nice glass jar. But it looked so empty so I made a batch of these to go with it. At the time I had the recipe on a little handwritten note but unfortunately I have misplaced it. So on this recipe I used both white and dark chocolate, Brazil nuts and cranberries.
3 mins read
525 Views
31Aug

Minute steak sandwich with plum chutney

As a student nurse I have been doing placements in several different offices and hospitals and right now I am based at an office. Unlike hospitals the working hours and the pace at a clinic are a lot more slow paced, which I love, however it leaves a lot of spare time to ‘’pop’’ to the kitchen and rummage the cupboards for biscuits and cake during both the morning and afternoon munchies. You often don’t find any and in days like that my munchies make me walk 2 miles to get a vanilla crown at a nearby bakery. Often someone will bring a few baked goods and leave it in the kitchen for everyone but the only treat this week was a massive box of Victoria plums from someone’s garden. No vanilla crown I’ll tell you.  On their own they are not my favourite afternoon snack. Unless they were in a cake. But their little translucent skins looked so beautiful I couldn’t help myself and picked up a few, all this recipes flashing through my brain. I think most people would have chosen to do something sweet with plums but my brain immediately thought: chutney. I love chutney and I have mentioned before
4 mins read
689 Views
25Aug

Lime and lemon tart

Exactly a year ago my friends got married and some of the guests brought to the reception a cake or tart to have a traditional Kaffee und Kuchen as it is known here in Germany. Coffee and cake often happens at around 3pm when families and friends meet up to eat something sweet. So a few days before the wedding I gave this a lot of thought and in the end decided on a lime and lemon tart, my husband’s favourite. At the reception there were several lovely cakes, but most of them with very simple decorations. And in less tan 5 minutes my tart was all gone and the few that had tried it were so impressed by it that they left the guests who hadn’t tried any feeling a tad frustrated. Do I need to say that I loved to hear all the compliments?!? My husband and I have been trying for months to have a get together, a garden party for friends as we have something very important to celebrate: I am pregnant and in four weeks we’ll finally meet this little boy who has been kicking my ribs for months. But my hormones made me cancel
3 mins read
925 Views