How to wrap your cookies

No recipes today, just an idea about how to wrap your cookies as a gift. Buy some cheap plastic glasses (I got some martini glasses), put a nice napkin in and fill it with your delicious homemade biscuits. 

Christmas trees

Ingredients:

flour 300 gr
butter 200 gr
sugar 50 gr
vanilla sugar 2 spoons
1 egg yolk
1/2 envelop baking powder

jam




Make a smooth dough mixing first the butter (soften it first) and both types of sugar. Edd the egg yolk and slowly add the flour. Roll the dough 5 mm thin and cut them with the cookie cutter. Half of them cut in the middle with a smaller cutter of the same shape.
Bake them in a preheated oven on 180°C for 10-15 minutes.
Let them cool and then spread the jam you prefer on the cookies and put the cookie with the hole on the top.
If you want, you can add some sugar ice on the top, but they work without it as well.
Make them as a gift or offer them to your guests.

Spelt with porcini mushrooms

What about a healthy fall meal? Here is an idea.

Ingredients (2 people):

250 gr spelt
100 gr dry porcini mushroom
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
pepper
salt
nutmeg
olive oil





Chop the onion and garlic and fry it in a pan with some olive oil. Add porcini mushrooms that you soaked in some water for about 30 minutes. Add spelt and mix well. Slowly cook and add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Continue to stir until the spelt is ready (about 25 minutes approximately). A tip: if you soak the spelt in water before cooking it, it cooks faster.

Coconut kisses

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
200 gr sugar
1 vanilla sugar
30 gr cocoa powder
150 gr dry coconut









Mix the egg whites until they are thick. Slowly add sugar and vanilla sugar. At the end gently mix and add cocoa powder and coconut. Put the dough with a teaspoon on the baking tray and bake in a preheated oven (140-160° C) for about 25 minutes. Cool the biscuits.

Pasta with zucchini and philadelphia

Ingredients (4 persons):

2 zucchini

400 gr of pasta

garlic powder

chili powder

white pepper powder

salt

olive oil

100 gr of philadelphia

Slice the zucchini and fry them in a pan on olive oil. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, garlic and chili and mix well. Continue to stir. After 10-15 minutes add 2 tablespoons of water and cover the pan with zucchini. In the meantime cook the type of pasta you prefer. After 10 minutes take away the cover from the zucchini and continue to cook a few more minutes until you have no water left. Put the cooked zucchini on the pasta and add philadelphia cheese. Mix well and serve still hot. 

Risotto with leek and philadelphia

Here is my new experiment. Actually I've tried it at my friend's student house first, but I didn't have my camera with me at that time, so the recipe had to wait a few more weeks before it was posted here. 

Ingredients:

rice (1 cup per person)

onion (1)

leek (1)

olive oil

philadelphia (2-3 spoons)

salt 

pepper

chili powder

Chop the leek and the onion and fry it in a pan with some olive oil. Add the rice and mix for a minute. Cover with some water and add salt, pepper and chili powder. Mix well. Continue to cook until the rice is done. At the end add a few spoons of filadelfia and mix well. Easy, right? And the taste is wonderful. 

Indian potatoes

That's a recipe that my friend Darshana taught me when I lived in India. It's easy to make and it does taste really good.

Ingredients: 

potatoes 

oil

onion

salt

pepper

chili powder

mustard seeds

turmeric powder 

water

Boil the potatoes with the skin. Chop the onion and fry it in a pan with a little bit of oil. Add the potatoes cut in cubes and add salt, pepper and the other spices. Mix well, add some water and cook for some time. You can eat it with some chapati. 

Cauliflower indian soup

I found this recipe in the book Le migliori ricette dall'India, I tried it and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

1 big potato

1 small cauliflower

1 onion

1 teaspoon of oil

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped ginger

2 teaspoons of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of mustard

2 teaspoons of coriander powder

1 l of vegetable soup

300 ml of yoghurt

salt

pepper

Cut the potato in cubes, the cauliflower and onion and put it in a big pan with oil and 3 spoons of water. Cook it on low heat for 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and the rest of the spices. Mix well and cook it for a few minutes. Add soup, salt and pepper. When it boils cook it for 20 minutes on low heat, then blend it and at the end add yoghurt. You can garnish with some chopped fresh coriander (but you'll never eat this in my home) or parsley. 

Walnut cake

Yesterday we had a wonderful barbecue and I wanted to bake something good for my friends. I decided for this cake that I found in the book Vse o peki. 

Ingredients: 

Cake: 

4 eggs

2 spoons of orange juice

200 gr of sugar

1 envelop of vanilla sugar

150 gr of flour

1/2 spoon of baking powder

Filling:

125 gr of very soft butter

125 gr of powdered sugar

1 envelop of vanilla sugar

200 gr of chopped walnuts

Cover: 

3-4 spoons of apricot jam

Cover 2: 

2 spoons of orange juice

120 gr of powdered sugar

1 envelop of vanilla sugar

Decoration:

whole walnuts 

a few pieces of dark chocolate

a spoon of milk

Mix the eggs and the orange juice with the whisk for a minute on the highest speed. Slowly add sugar and vanilla sugar and continue mixing for a few minutes. Add the flour and baking powder, but keep the whisk on lowest speed. Put the dough in a model for cakes with the baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven on 180°C for 30 minutes.

When the cake is cold cut it in half or in 3 parts. My cake wasn't very tall, so I cut it in only 2 parts. (If you have only 2 parts, you can make less filling to put in.) For the filling mix the butter until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla sugar. Mix well and at the end add walnuts. Cover the lower part of the cake with the filling (or the 2 parts if you cut it in 3). Put the top on it and press gently. Spread the apricot jam on the top and on the side. 

Mix sugar, vanilla sugar and orange juice and do a smooth paste to put on the top. Decorate with some walnuts. In a pan melt the chocolate with some milk and decorate with it the top of the cake. Leave the cake in the fridge for an hour. 

Chocolate & apple cake

For my cousin's birthday I decided to make her a cake and after searching through lots of recipes, I decided for this one with chocolate and apples.

Ingredients:
500 gr of apples
200 gr of butter
225 gr of sugar
50 gr of cocoa powder (without sugar)
5 eggs
350 gr of flour
1 envelop of baking powder
1 glass of milk

Melt the butter just a little bit, to get it creamy. Add sugar and mix. Add one egg at time and continue to mix. Add cocoa powder and mix. Slowly add flour and baking powder. Add some milk from time to time. Make it smooth and put it in a model for cakes. Cover with slices of apple and bake in a preheated oven on 180°C for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Leave it to cool down. You can serve with some whipped cream. :) Hope you like it!

Pasta & ceci

Ingredients:

chick peas (250 gr )
short pasta (250 gr)
garlic (3 cloves)
red chilli (1)
rosemary
olive oil (2 tablespoons)
salt

Put the chickpeas overnight in a bowl full of water. After about 12 hours cook them in salted water for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Put in a small pan some olive oil and chopped garlic, chilli and some rosemary, when it's fried put it on the chickpeas. Add the short pasta and mix well. Cook for about 10 minutes and serve still hot.

Oven baked samosa

I really like samosa, but they are deep fried and that's not healthy! I found some recipes online how to make oven baked samosa, I took bits and pieces of recipes and that's my version of oven baked samosa.

Ingredients (8 samosa)

Dough:
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
water
1 tablespoon semolina flour
1 tablespoon oil

Filling:
2 large potatoes
2 carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1 red chilli
1 onion
1/2 teaspoon curcumin powder
1/2 teaspoon masala powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
oil (1 tablespoon)

1 egg

Mix the ingredients for the dough and make the dough. Leave it aside for 20 minutes. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds until they crack. Add onion and red chilli (you've cutted them before of course) and fry it until golden. Add curcumin powder and masala powder and mix. Add frozen peas and mix until tender. Add the potatoes and carrots cut in cubes that you boiled in water before. Mix for a few minutes.
Work the dough with a rolling pin. Make it thin and round shape. Cut it in half, do a cone and put the filling inside. When it's full close it. Do all the samosa and put them on a baking pan. With a brush cover the samosa with the egg you've mixed before. Bake in a preheated oven on 180°C for 20-30 minutes.

Pretzel

A few weeks ago I went to Munich for the second time. I fell in love with pretzels already the first time I was there, but now I've decided to try to make them. I found one recipe on the blog panperfocaccia-grianne.blogspot.com. Cristina was very kind and gave me permission to use her recipe. Thanx a lot! :)
It's not that difficult, it tastes good, but of course it isn't the same as the german one.

Ingredients (8 pretzel)

500 gr flour type 00
1 pinch of salt
4 envelopes of dry yeast
40 gr of sugar
75 gr of lard
125 ml of lukewarm water
125 ml of lukewarm milk

1 egg
coarse salt
sesame seeds
poppy seeds

Mix flour, salt, yeast, sugar and lard. Slowly add milk and water and mix the dough. Leave it for 30 minutes covered with a cloth. Mix the dough with your hands and leave it for 10 minutes. Put the dough in 8 pieces.  From every piece of dough do a long "sausage" and make the pretzel shape on the baking tin. Mix the egg in a bowl with some water then put it with the brush on the pretzel. On the top of the pretzel put some coarse salt and some sesame seeds or poppy seeds (if you want). Bake in a preheated oven on 200°C for about 20 minutes.

Kadai paneer

 

Ingredients:

oil

2 red chillies

2 cloves

2 teaspoons crashed coriander seeds

2 sliced medium onions

2 sticks cinnamon

2 bayleaves

2 teaspoons garlic paste

2 teaspoons ginger paste

2 teaspoons red chili powder

5-6 chopped medium tomatoes

salt

500 gr paneer

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add 2 broken red chillies, 2 cloves, 2 teaspoons of crashed coriander seeds and 2 sliced medium onions. Mix for 2 minutes. Add cinnamon and 2 bay leaves. Stir. Add garlic paste, ginger paste and red chili powder and stir for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt and cook until the tomatoes become soft. Add the paneer cubes and stir gently. Cook until the paneer is heated through. Serve with some rice or chapati. 

Prawn vindaloo

I tried this dish when I was in Goa and I loved it a loooot. :) I found lots of recipes on internet and I did a mix of all the recipes. It did taste good, but it wasn't the same, so I'll have to try more variations to find the right one.

Ingredients:

Mixture of spices:
vinegar (1-2 tablespoons)
salt (1 teaspoon)
black pepper (1 teaspoon)
red pepper (1 teaspoon)
coriander powder (1 teaspoon)
cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
mustard (1/2 teaspoon)
cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
ginger powder (1/2 teaspoon)
cardamon (1/2 teaspoon)
cloves (1/4 teaspoon)

prawns (500 gr)
boiled potatoes (225 gr)
tomatoes (225 gr)
onion (1)
garlic (2 cloves)
oil (2 tablespoons)
lemon juice (1 tablespoon)

Mix all the spices with vinegar. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic. Add the spices. Mix, then add tomatoes and potatoes. Cook 15 minutes on low heat, then add the prawns and cook for a few more minutes. Add the lemon juice and serve with some rice or chapati.

Chocolate cupcake

I've never been in the States, but I definitely like cupcakes, so I just had to try to make them. I found a lovely recipe for the cake here.

Ingredients (for 12 cupcakes):

butter (120 gr)
cocoa (2 tablespoons)
chocolate (80 gr)
flour (120 gr)
baking powder (1 teaspoon)
egg (2)
sugar (120 gr)
chocolate cream for cakes powder
milk
colourful sugar bits

Mix butter with sugar, add the eggs and mix in a smooth paste. In the meantime melt the chocolate, when it is cool add to the mixture. At the end add flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix in a smooth paste. Put it in 12 cupcake papers and bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven on 170° Celsius. When they're cool, do the cream with a chocolate cream powder for cakes and milk. Put it on the top and add some colourful sugar bits. Does it look good?

Risotto with avocado

I used some avocado last night, when I did sushi maki with smoked tuna and avokado. With avocado I didn't use yesterday I did a nice risotto for lunch. It is really easy to make and it taste good. :)¸

Ingredients:

avocado (1)
rice (250 gr)
onion (1/2)
garlic (2 cloves)
olive oil
chili powder
salt
black pepper
nutmeg
parmesan cheese
clear vegetable soup (1 l approximately)

Cut the onion, garlic and avocado. Fry the onion and garlic with a pinch (or even less) of chili powder on olive oil until it's golden. Add the avocado cubes. Mix until they become soft and creamy. If the avocado isn't soft enough, cook it in water for some time than smash it. Add rice and mix. Add salt and black pepper. Cover with vegetable soup and mix from time to time. A few minutes before the rice is cooked, add some grated parmesan cheese and a bit of nutmeg. Some people may add a bit of butter, but I did without and it turned out really nice.

Chapati

This is the indian bread I used to eat every day when I lived in India. It should be round shape, but I'm not good at it. It may be the rollin pin's fault (they use a smaller one in India) or just me not knowing what round shape is. :) It is very easy to do.

Ingredients:

whole wheat flour
salt
oil
water

Mix the ingredients in a smooth dough (it shouldn't be too hard and too sticky). Leave the dough for about an hour then work very thin round shape flat breads. Cook them in a non stick pan. Flip them over 3 times, then the chapati is ready. Easy, right?

Onion pakora

I decided to try to do pakoras, but I had to make adjustments to the recipe that I found on internet. There were a few problems: it had fresh coriander (and if you know me, you definitely know I can't stand fresh coriander! Too bad, that it is in every indian dish!) The other thing is that it was supposed to be with chickpea flour, but I couldn't find it in our stores, so I used just corn flour instead.

Ingredients:

2 cups corn flour
1 cup rice flour
oil
onions (1)
chillies (2-3)
salt
cashew nuts
curry powder
coriander powder
cumin seeds
baking soda
water

Cut the onion and chilli very thin. Add half teaspoon coriander powder, coriander powder and a pinch of salt. Put the cashew nuts in water for 10 minutes, then add them to the onion. Mix the flour with a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon od cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of oil. Add onions and cashew nuts, mix it dry, then add some water and some oil if needed. Make small balls out of the pasture and deep fry them.

Samosa

Last night I invited a few friends on an indian dinner and I tried to cook new recipes, so the next few post are gonna be about indian food.

I learnt how do samosa from a lady on youtube: Manjula.

Ingredients:

Dough:
1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon semolina flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup lukewarm water

Filling:
3 boiled potatoes, chopped in small cubes
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon masala
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup frozen peas

Make the dough with flour, semolina flour, salt, oil and water. When the dough is ready leave it aside for 15 minutes. In the meantime heat the oil in a pan. Add the frozen peas and the spices, then mix. When the peas are tender add potatoes and mix. Cook for about 15 minutes. Cool them a little bit.
Put the dough in 4 pieces. With the rolling pin make it thin and round shape. Cut it in half. Make out a cone and fill it with the filling. When you filled it put the edges of the dough together. You should have a triangular shape. I'm not really good at explaining this, Manjula in her video is a lot better than me. Be careful, it should be attached well. When you did all the samosas deep fry them in hot oil.

Vegetable ginger soup

That's what I tried today for lunch, light and healthy. It turned out quite well. :)

Ingredients (4 persons - or more):

chinese cabbage (2 leafs)

onion (1)

carrots (3)

ginger (2 cm)

potatoes (2)

zucchini (1)

olive oil

salt 

white pepper

black pepper

curcuma

curry

chili powder

knorr cube

water (1,7 l)

emmer wheat (1-2 cups)

Cut the onion, potatoes, carrots and zucchini, slice ginger and chinese cabbage. Fry them in a pan on olive oil, then add the spices and the water. Cook for 30 minutes and blend it. Cook the emmer wheat in the soup and serve hot. 

Maki sushi

Time for the first experiment of this year. :) My boyfriend got me a sushi kit for Christmas, so I had to try it. And what it turned out are these sushi maki. I'm not sure about the amount of the ingredients this time, as it came with the kit. I did 4 medium rolls as I used the whole sheet of nori, but next time I'll try to do the small ones.

Ingredients (2 persons):

rice (2 cups)
vinegar (1/2 cup)
sheets of nori (4)
cucumber (1)
smoked salmon (50 gr)

Cook the rice in salted water for 15-20 minutes. Drain well the rice, add vinegar, mix and leave it to cool. Put the nori sheet on the bamboo roll. In the middle put 1/4 of the rice with a spoon. With wet fingers distribute well the rice all around the nori sheet. Put the salmon on the rice and the sliced cucumber in the middle. Roll with the help of the bamboo mat and when the nori sheet join put some water with the fingers. Make the other rolls in the same way. With these ingredients you can make 2 vegetarian and 2 fish rolls. At the end cut the roll with a sharp knife and you'll have maki. Serve with some wasabi paste and soya sauce.

Carrots and ginger soup

Yes, I'm still alive and yes, I still cook. :) I haven't posted here for ages, I guess I had other priorities. I just came back from my last trip, this time from the Bavarian capital Munich and I can't wait to try to cook their tasty potatoes.

While I'm waiting for the first experiments in the new year, I'll post some recipes I've done ages ago, but I didn't have time to write them down. I've done so many cookies before Christmas, but I didn't bother to take pictures, so I can't post them here without a picture. Maybe I should do all of them one more time. :)

That's a recipe I tried after my visit in Berlin last october. I'm not sure it's a typical german dish, but since I tried it in Berlin first for me it's gonna be from Berlin. It became an extremly popular recipe in my house and my boyfriend asks me offen to do it. Today I'm sharing it with you, my few fellows.

Ingredients (4 persons):

carrots (500 gr)
potato (2)
onion (1 small)
ginger (2 cm)
curry (1/2 teaspoon)
curcuma (1/2 teaspoon)
knorr cube (1)
water (1,5 l)
olive oil (1 spoon)
salt
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds

Chop the onion, cut the potatoes and carrots in small cubes and the ginger in slim slices. In a pan fry the onion on olive oil, then add potatoes and carrots. Continue to stir and add the ginger. After a minute add the salt, curry and curcuma. Cover it with the water and a knorr cube. (That's the lazy version of the recipe, you could actually add a clear vegetable soup you did before.) Cook for 30 minutes in a coveres pan. Then blend it. Now you should have a creamy soup. Serve with sunflower and pumpkin seeds on the top. You can also serve with roasted bread cubes.
I hope you enjoy this meal.