Happy Birthday to meeeee!!

Yes, my first car was a BMW! Look at that perky red roof. Love your hair Mom! Ahhh those were the days when I could sit on the roof of a car without leaving dents...
I think I will stand on my head for a while today, they say it relieves stress.. Stay tuned for more happy birthdays in September..(birthday planning? Not this family!)
PS: I got to unwrap my first presents already! A pasta attachment for the Kenwood, a beautiful shade of lipstick and 6 lovely pastel coloured rectangular individual ovendishes! Spoiled and happy!

Cheers!

Yesterday night I was checking the Dutch breadbaking forum and found a link to Zoubida's blog called: Kitchen Culture. Besides unbelievably intricate chocolates and moroccan inspired recipes there was this little recipe that caught my eye... Although it was already late and I had spent the better half of the day in the kitchen, I mentally checked my pantry, figured I had all the necessary ingredients...and in a minute I was whisking away on the chocolate syrup and home-made cream of whiskey. Zoubida cautioned in her recipe to let the cream stand chilled for 24 hrs, I couldn't resist sampling...and it's good! I used whiskey, and real real strong coffee. Next time I will try to tweak it a little as this was a tad too sweet for my taste.
Other than that, this morning at breakfast the kids had their milk infused with the chocolate syrup and they were very happy too! Thank you Zoubida!
This morning (morning, yes!) I introduced the "annual" coffee-club to very tiny, because of the hour, not because I wouldn't share, glasses of whiskey cream. Cheers all around the table. (Angelika, don't worry, I do have regular chat-sessions over coffee with friends, but this was a special once-a-year kind of kaffee und kuchen...) ;-)  

Guests welcome!

There is a wanderer in our garden. And I love the way it's walking around, raising it's beautiful head, last year we discovered it beside the house, this year against the wall at the back of our house. I can't remember the name but I love every bit, the purple flowers, the bells and even when the flowers are gone, there is this deep purple bud left.

Budding beauty

Happy Birthday little sister...

Happy Birthday Mirjam!
A couple more candles on that cake today, wishing you a wonderful day today (keep your fingers out of the pie...) and a safe trip tomorrow. Hope you and H. have a great holiday in Italy. Did I mail you my little wishlist of foodie things to bring from Italy?

Lazy Sundays..

Sunday...
Sleeping in, long morning coffee sessions, kids in pyjama's, reading all pages of Saturdays paper (no sunday papers here in Holland), breakfast slowly maturing in brunch, walk on the beach/woods, visiting friends for drinks and chats, watching some tv, boring serene long hours...
No way!! Look at this and remind me please, what does Sunday look like? No preppy clothes, no make-up, no soft boiled eggs for breakfast, no papers, yes for the bored kids. Today we were ripping out the carpet, tearing off wallpaper, attacking the steps with hair dryer and stopping knife, sponging the walls with warm soapy water to get rid of the last wall paper and sanding, sanding, sanding. I. Hate. Carpet. GLUE!!
I forgot to take a "before" photo but here you can see a detail in the top left corner. That was the staircase...before. All dark brown you see here was once covered in -once- beautiful sand/corn coloured carpet. The walls were wall papered in the same shade. But what the heck was I thinking with three boys (and all their friends)? Yep. I was not. Thinking I mean. Soooooo...the plan is......covering the steps of the stairs and the first floor (or is that the second floor in US-speak? confusing!) with wood ("vintage oak" is what it is called). The sides of the steps needs painting and we uncovered the panelling on the walls and that should be painted too. And the handrail but that is something the Husband is not aware of....yet.
Anyways...I took a 20 minute break and hurried some breakfast raisin muffins in the oven. I figured we needed something warm and sweet. Recipe will follow some time later..

My favourite things...

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,
door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
These are a few of my favorite things".

Is what Maria sings in the Sound of Music, but we are talking food here and besides the schnitzels and apfel strudel there are so many more things that I favour...
The BBC poll "50 Things to Eat Before You Die", inspired Melissa at The Traveler’s Lunchbox to start a meme-like challenge called "5 Things to Eat Before You Die". Tana at My Kitchen In Half Cups tagged me and I wasn’t sure if I could participate because I don't reckon myself a for real foodie, although when you read this post (don't forget the comments) you might think I qualify....a lot! Besides, qualified or not, it is a fun game. It turns out that thinking of my favourite things consist indeed of wonderful food but also I found that almost all of it had an extra quality added, be it surroundings, company or memories. I can only say; no matter how ultra-exclusive your food, it is who you are, where and with whom you are that makes food memorable.


My 5 things to eat…

1. the lobster in the topfloor restaurant in Nairobi, first night in Africa, the lights of nighttime Nairobi through the windows and lobster....

2. clam chowder in Monterey, 17 years ago, first vacation in the States, walking the pier, listening to the sounds of sealions ("they are playing a tape...no, there they are!) Ordering a bowl of clam chowder and with the first comforting delicious spoonfulls we saw otters playing in the waves....
3. the fries and croquets my grandmother made from scratch especially for me and my sister when we were kids. In a small old battered pan on her stove.

4. the wild mushroom filled ravioli with a delicious basil oil dressing one of our youngest sons had on Lago Maggiore on occasion of my husbands birthday. We were out on the terrace, under the trees, overlooking the lake and the last rays of the sun were playing with the white table linen. Our son made a point of choosing something from the menu he never had before and he loved every bite of it. He insisted that I should taste as well and was so proud he had made the "right" choice.

5. Cheese! There is always a cheese that makes a perfect companion for your fresh baked loaf of bread, your pastas, toast, fruit, wine...

And I’m tagging Lindy, Ashleigh, and Monisha, I hope they don't mind to play along and send their five things to Melissa. I’ve been back to the BBC list and found that I've tried almost all of it except Moreton Bay Bugs,
Barramundi, and Haggis and to be honest.....I think I'll pass on the bugs and the haggis!

Kippenhok, over tafelmanieren en zolders...

Het probleem; er zijn in dit kippenhok teveel hanen en te weinig kippen. Dat resulteert in een grote hoeveelheid vrij rondvliegend testosteron. Denk ik. Wat weer gevolgd wordt door haantjesgedrag. Wat zich dus uit in elkaar vliegen afvangen, wie de beste graantjes heeft, wie minder of meer graan krijgt, op de hoogste stok kan zitten, wie het best kan vliegen, de mooiste hanekam heeft, het hardst kan kukelen, en vooral ook heel hard kakelen als één van de andere haantjes zijn veren gewassen krijgt van Moeder Overste Kloek die naarstig haar best doet de vrede te bewaren en de haantjes klaar te stomen voor de Boze Buitenwereld. Dit staaltje faunabeheer is het best te observeren aan tafel.

Heel lang geleden, in een kippenhok hier heel ver vandaan, leefden ooit drie hanekuikens die keurige tafelmanieren hadden, en met elkaar en M.O. Kloek gezellige tafelconversaties voerden. Heel lang geleden. M.O. Kloek weet het nog goed. MO Kloek heeft een beetje moeite met loslaten.

Het voedsel ter tafel is al minstens 4 keer voorbij gekomen. In aanschaf, tijdens het opruimen, het schoonmaken, het koken en als het in meer of minder aantrekkelijke vorm ter tafel komt. M.O. Kloek heeft geen behoefte om afscheid te nemen vlak voordat het verteerd gaat worden. Dus roept ze regelmatig dat we niet praten met volle snavel, niet kauwen met de snavel open, dat de vork naar de snavel moet en niet andersom. Gelukkig hebben de kuikens het gedrag een beetje verdeeld, dat wel. Ieder heeft een andere onhebbelijkheid. Een uitgelezen gelegenheid om eens smakelijk te lachen om de ander en luidkeels steun te betuigen aan de Kloek als een ander op zijn veren krijgt.
Toevallig was gisteravond de Opperhaan aanwezig tijdens de maaltijd, en om een einde te maken aan het gestechel riep hij op ernstige toon met zware stem:
“Wie zonder Zonde is, werpe de eerste steen.” (Nog even en hij eist een plek aan het hoofd der tafel en komt op zondag binnen om het vlees te snijden).

Stilte.....

Zegt één van de haantjes: en als je nou wel een zolder hebt, mag je dan geen stenen gooien?

Pomelo salad for la Festa al fresco

Invitation by mail! Ivonne over at Cream Puffs combined forces with Lis of La Mia Cucina and hosted a one-time summer party called la festa al fresco and I am invited! All I have to do is show up for the party with a dish to contribute to the table.
I can wear my prettiest summer dress -no hint of summer left here, it's autumn already-, now to think of a way to transport this salad to their party. (However, they forgot to tell me the address, hmm, do you think that was intentional?) I think I am the first to knock on their door, catching them in their preparations I guess....oops! Gives us time for a pre-party drink, did I hear someone was bringing Prosecco?

Recipe:
1 pomelo
1 cooked chicken breast
6 tbs finely chopped bacon bits, crisped
Peel and separate pomelo into segments. Remove the membranes. Seed. Gently flake the flesh apart into a bowl. Shred the chicken. Add chicken and bacon to pomelo and toss lightly.

Dressing:
zest of 1 lime
grated ginger (1 inch)
1 tbs brown sugar
3/4 ts cayenne
3/4 ts salt
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce (japanese, like Kikkoman)
2 tbs. lemon oil
2 tbs sesame oil/olive oil
With mortar and pestle, combine lime zest, ginger, sugar, cayenne, and salt and process to a smooth puree; add lime juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Blend well. Slowly add lemon oil and sesame or olive oil.

Plates and garnish:
mixed lettuce
optional: fresh red chili pepper, julienned for a bit of zing
Add a bit of dressing to pomelo-chicken mixture and toss. Arrange lettuce on a serving platter. Put the mixture over the lettuce. Sprinkle with dressing, garnish with red chili slivers.

Depending on the amount of lettuce you use this amount will feed two or three guests. Although earlier I was not too keen on the pomelo, we really did enjoy it's presence in the salad, it provided a lovely soft crunch and bite and the juices combined very well with the Asian inspired dressing. You could substitute with grapefruit but I think the taste and feel of pomelo is slightly different. Just try and see what you think.

Cloche-baked Herbed Rye bread

If you were a fly on my kitchen ceiling you would have seen me very early yesterday morning, hair pinned, sleeves rolled, apron tied (nah..just kidding; still in my pyjamas) slushing a wooden spoon in a bucket of sponge. Another one of Beth's recipes from Bread for all seasons. This one she tells us, is her take on Rose Levy Beranbaum's favourite rye bread baked in a cloche. Enough name dropping, on to the bread.
The sponge -rye and bread flour- had to rest for 4 hrs or overnight. I opted for 4 hours and that was plenty of time, with one hour to go it already popped the lid on my bowl (rye makes for powerful starters).

The dough consisted again of a combination of rye and bread flour, and as I plan to freeze this bread and use it for a family bbq next weekend I added fresh oregano, fresh basil and some mixed dried italian herbs. Again baked in the romertopf which is very easy to do once you know how... (Last year my first attempt ended in prying open the lid with a screwdriver and ever more furiously hacking away at the contents, and finally I gave up and submerged the whole thing in the sink to soak overnight...)

According to Beth it is very simple: just sprinkle the bottom dish with flour, place the dough on the clay dish (you could flour the bottom and sides of your doughball to be on the safe side) and move it around to cover the entire dish and part of the sides with the flour. Slash the top and cover with the bell dome and let rest for 20 minutes, no more.
Before placing in the oven, rinse inside of the domed cloche cover with water, drain off excess drips. Replace cover and place dish in the center of the preheated oven (450F). After 10 minutes reduce oven to 400, set timer again for 20 minutes then remove the cover and allow for the loaf to brown thoroughly, 20-30 minutes longer.

Knowing this I think you can bake any kind of loaf (the kinds you normally would freeform and bake on a sheet) in the cloche successfully.
If you have a love for baking bread I strongly recommend you get a copy of this book, you will not be disappointed! I've been strolling back in the kitchen a couple of times now, just to have another look and a smell. Too bad I can't sample a tiny piece... Wish I could send you some. Another pic then?

Can you can?

That’s the question Nicky and Oliver asked when hosting Sugar High Friday at their beautiful blog Delicious Days. You will find the round-up on or around August 28th. The answer? If I can, you can! Maybe these video podcasts help when you are just starting.
Now to make pictures that image the coral red of a newborn red grapefruit marmelade. Or find the words to describe the anxiety to pick the right moment of jelling. The simple goodness of the whole thing; just fruit and sugar. No sugarthermometer in this house, so I rely on the old saucer-in-the-freezer trick or spoon-makes-a-ridge on the bottom of the pan, or jellied drops forming on the spoon. Whenever I make jam or jelly I think of my Oma who used to make jam from whatever left-over fruit she had, just the odd little jar from two nectarines and a lemon. She is no longer there to enjoy mine, so I bore the rest of my family and friends with the fruit of my labouring. I still find myself reserving the smallest jar for her though.

Anyway, this month's Sugar High Friday is all about preserving. Do you think I can get away by telling them my I can't find my camera? Have you seen their pictures... Still, I'd like to participate so....(Which one, which one? Grapefruit honeyed marmelade, plum with walnuts and cognac, red pepper jelly, apple chutney or tomato relish or the family favourite: blackberry jelly. Decision time!)
And the winner is...

Plum Walnut jam
2 kg plums
300 ml water
2 thin cinnamon sticks
1.5 kg sugar (I used “jelly sugar” sugar with added pectin)
100 gr walnuts, chopped
4 tbs cognac

Quarter the plums, destone, separately bring stones and water to a full boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Sieve, discard the stones, the water is used in the jam.
In a large non-aluminum kettle, combine plums, water, cinnamon sticks and boiled water. Bring to a full boil, stirring every now and then for 10 minutes until plums are softened.
Stir in sugar and let dissolve on low heat. Return to full boil. Boil for 10-20 minutes (stir once in a while). Remove from heat, discard cinnamon and add chopped walnuts and cognac, stir carefully to mix.

Meanwhile, sterilize your jars or jelly glasses and the necessary lids, according to manufacturer's directions. Divide jam among sterilized jars, leaving 1/8-inch space at top of jar. Wipe rims of jars to remove any jam and seal. Before using store in a dark cool place for 1 month.Keeps 1 year. Yield: 2 ltr

Farmhouse bread

Still enjoying my new bread baking book, I made this wonderful whole wheat loaf. I played around with the recipe and what I got was a grain-sweet medium brown bread, quite dense but still airy enough to be pleasant. I think the substitutes I made were responsible for the firmness, substituted a part white for wholewheat and completely substituted barley and millet grits with "Graham's gryn" which came back with me from Sweden.

Recipe as adapted from Beth Hensperger's Celtic farmhouse bread:
1.1/2 c boiling water
1 cup Grahams gryn (orig. barley/millet grits)
1 tbs active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
1/2 c warm water
3 tbs honey
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tbs salt
2 tbs whole wheat (orig. wheat bran/germ)
1/4 c barley flour
1/3 c whole wheat (orig. rolled oats)
1/3 c yellow cornmeal
1.1/4 c whole wheat flour
2.5 to 3 c bread flour or unbleached ap (I used a basic flour as I was out of bread flour, added 2 tbs vital gluten for much needed strength but was left with a very slow rising bread due to this flour I guess)

In a small bowl pour boiling water over grits. Let stand 30 minutes to soften and cool. (Resembles glue....don't think, just use) In a small bowl sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water, dissolve and let stand until foamy.
Combine all ingredients except white flour and yeast in a large bowl and beat hard until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in yeast mixture and add white flour until a soft sticky dough is formed.
Turn out on a floured surface and knead by hand a few times till it is soft and springy (the dough will have a nubby look and still will be quite sticky). Bulkrise in deep greased container, covered for 2 - 3 hrs until doubled.

Divide in two, make tight oblong loaves and let rise, covered, for another 40 minutes. Oven 375F, bake for 35 - 40 minutes.

I loved the soft lightly sweet/nutty interior and the crust provided extra bite. It was quite versatile, we had it together with a green salad, but the next morning with cheese and/or jam or cold cuts it was equally tasty.