Long Goodbye, Long Lunch ... Fresh Baguette with Ham and Cheese

To me it seems I'm working now a very long long time on my move to a new flat and I still have a lot to do. I tried a relative organised way to do it, but ... I keep on doing here a bit and there a bit. Well, that doesn't mean I don't get anything done. It's rather gives me some variety and in the end ... I am sure about ... well, have to be ... that everything will be achieved in time. Anyway, it's a long goodbye from this place.
Therefore it's only fitting I have a long lunch ... eh ... well ... eh ... sort of ...

... yes, it was fresh, it was long and it was delicious ...

Still Summer - Zingy Chilli and Chocolate Gazpacho

I can't remember having a real summer last year, although the two weeks I was out hiking had been fine apart from the first day, where I got soaked completely. Fine, we had some rain, storm and sort of things this year, too, but mainly it was a real summer thing ... just a moment ... still is a real summer thing.
However, some people manage to complain all the time. "It's too hot", "I can't stand the heat" ... fine ... if you must. Should you belong into this category of people, you maybe also think, I would be too hot to stand in the kitchen at the stove and cook.
I'd say, it's no problem to have some more heat in the kitchen, but ... hey ... I can so also without and ... have some gazpacho ...

Clueless ... Bánh Mì? ... Asian Baguette with Omelette

I have no clue ... therefore I must be clueless so to speak. One of my teachers once said: "You can be stupid, you only need to find a way." Easier said than done, though ... if you are clueless. I would need some kind of a plan. Should I not manage, things will simply keep flowing in uncertain ways. Do you have a clue what I am talking about?
How, if I'm already clueless. Anyway, I found some photos on my computer. I took them a few weeks ago. Now I need to figure out what they were for or how I did things in order to present you something worthwhile.
Here we are then ...

Now that you could call Bánh Mì, a Vietnamese sandwich or baguette. Right away, I have to be honest that I never had a real Bánh Mì so I have no clue what it is supposed to be like. When I was in London, I went to City Càphê to had a try.
Unfortunately, I came to late and they had ran out on Bánh Mì. I had to eat something differently and still went on without any practical knowledge about Bánh Mì. Then I had no further chances to have a try.
If you start digging for information you will find out that Báhn Mì, the Vietnamese baguette was influenced by the French colonial time.
Well ... "You can be stupid, you only need to find a way."
I had rice the day before or even the day before that day. There were leftovers. So here comes the stupid idea ...
Why not have rice in the dough of the bread.

Ingredients:
350 g strong baking flour
100 g cooked rice
1,5 tsp salt
4,5 tsp yeast
200 - 300 ml lukewarm water

Method (if ... that is a big IF you want to call it so in this clueless case):
The flour goes into a large bowl.
Our attention moves right away to the cooked rice. It was in the fridge before that a day or two. Ah ... toss it  into the blender with a bit of water and then ... go. Try to blend it as good as it gets.
Add the salt and yeast to the flour.
Our attention moves back to the rice. It has to join the flour as well. Additionally we add as much water as it needs to do the job. Use your fine hands to knead the dough and form it into a ball. Let it rest for ten minutes and then knead it for 15 minutes, knowing you save the money for going to the gym, too.
Let the dough rise for 45 minutes. Then separate the dough into four party and form some flat longish objects, which will be left alone and covered with a wet towel for 20 minutes.
Now fold the four objects together to make them look more roundish. Maybe you can extend them lengthwise a bit, too.
Place them back to rest for another 35 minutes in a way where the folding edge is at the bottom side ... just use your imagination.
Transfer the baguettes to a baking tray. Slash them at the top a few times with a sharp knife and bake them for 20 minutes at 230 °C. At the beginning spray the oven with a bit of water for the crust.

In my humble opinion, the baguettes looked and tasted nice afterwards.
The rice didn't do any harm. But did it do any good? Well, I can say they tasted a bit different from the ones without rice. I was satisfied, although still clueless.
Now we still need something to fill the baguette.
A simple omelette will do. For that we just use three eggs, a bit of salt, one or two finely chopped red chillies and a hand full of coriander. After all we don't want to complicate things. Therefore mix the egg with the salt and the chilli and do your omelette in the pan as you are accustomed to do, if you are.
Obviously you have to cut the baguette open, fill it with the omelette and add the coriander to give it the final touch.
And then?
I reckon, you have to eat it. 
Taste?
I liked it. I might be clueless, but I still know what I like taste wise. Apart from that I know something else. Once more, I managed my leftovers not go to wate. With that in mind I like to add this post to Credit Crunch Munch by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours & Camilla from Fab Food 4 All. The trick, though, this time it is hosted by the wonderful Anneli from délicieux. Go, have a look and start having fun with some lovely entries there.

That's it! I'm through, done and at my wits' end. There is nothing much left to say.
Now I need to continue looking for a plan in order to get back on what track I'm supposed to be ...

This and that

It is definitely spring. This is what the calender says anyway. However, the full action is still delaying. The temperatures are not what I would like them to be. Here and there you see things sprouting, but it could be more.

Still, the sun is coming out from time to time. Then, of course, it's a good opportunity to have a quick lie down to catch some warming rays.
Go for it while it still lasts. You never know when it comes back.
Inspecting the garden there are some suspicious looking plants living, although they don't always appear to be.

The sage really doesn't look to promising, but when you take a real close look you may find those small leaves that are hiding somewhere.

For the oregano (left edge of the picture) things seem better. Next to it the mint looks totally dead. This, though, is no reason for the mint to come up somewhere else. It seems the supply for mint is secured.
Coming to the kitchen, what happened this weekend?

I changed a recipe I tried last week. Cardamom twists then and now cinnamon-peanut butter now. Simply replaced the cardamom with cinnamon and the filling with peanut butter. They were gone all so quickly!
Why with peanut butter? Well, I tried another recipe. Although I didn't use this peanut butter for the recipe above, it made me use peanut butter. The chocolate one I reserve for my breakfast.

Then I wanted to do some bread baking and had a go at French baguettes again.

The result was only average. Well, I wasn't too satisfied. They were edible, but lacking the special extra.
Finally the neighbours were doing some fish smoking and brought one smoked trout for tasting. Very kind! I didn't want to simply eat it as it was, so I went looking for a recipe again. I ended up with this: Baby Yorkshire Puds with creamy smoked trout.

The Yorkshire puddings are not quite baby and not quite normal looking as well. The taste was right. That's enough with testing for this week. The week is almost gone anyway. Do I get a drink somewhere?

Baba Ghanoush sort of thing

Do you know Baba Ghanoush. It is an aubergine puree - very delicious. So I just did a kind of this puree, but with a little variation - some kind of a mix in the direction of what they sell at this oriental stalls on the marketplace at market day (costs you a fortune, sort of, when you buy it there).

That's how you do it then. Grab yourself two nice big aubergines and chuck them for 20-25 minutes at 180°C in the oven - turning it from time to time. Meanwhile get yourself 200 g of feta cheese, 100 g of creme fraîche, 2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped, olive oil, salt pepper, some dried tomatoes (depends on your taste how many you like to use - I used some), a bit milk (a splash), some cumin. Put it all in a food processor or liquidizer. When the aubergines are ready, peel them (if you can stand it, do it right away or you have to wait until they cool of a bit). Cut them in chunks and add to the liquidizer. Then do it and have a nice puree. You may have to add some liquid to make it work - maybe more oil or milk.

I had to go a little bit piggy to get all from the liquidizer. It is just to delicious to waste any. What do you do now with it?

Have some nice bread and go ...

Or you can put it between a baguette with some roasted meat or ham on it and maybe some slices of tomato. Yummy yummy! Maybe you have also some lamb available.

Just enjoy it!

Baguette at home

Well, I thought I would need a baguette for the weekend. Unfortunately, in all the shops I looked for them they didn't have any left (maybe I should have gone a few hours earlier). So, no chance. There is still a baguette resting in peace in the freezer. I can't exactly remember how it ended up there, but I didn't fancy that particular one so much to revive it again. From experience I know this only leads to disappointment.
So, I have this book about French baking. Just got it yesterday. I went for it and tried making baguettes for myself. As a rough calculation that I took from the book for raising times, kneading, baking and so forth, I ended up with 3.5 hours. Not too bad.
First sifting the flour (Type 550) with a bit of salt, adding the yeast and 300 ml water - kneading for ten minutes - resting for ten minutes (the dough - not me) - kneading for 20 minutes - rising for 45 minutes - pre-modelling four baguettes - rising 25 minutes - finish forming of baguettes - 45 rising again - baking for 20 minutes - cooling for 30 minutes - enjoying.

The end result was not too bad, though something seemed to have gone wrong with the rising. The taste, however, was as good as I would expect from a fresh baguette. So despite some friends telling me you can't do a baguette for yourself, it worked.
But, if you want to do it you have to be ready for some work and really need to take time for it. Thinking about what was behind making baguettes for myself ...  well ... we are really spoiled and too often don't appreciate the things we buy.