Die Hard with a Vengeance and ... a Zucchini Dream Salad

Yes, I'm still here, still healthy and alive. But then again, so you might have guessed. Right, I haven't been around here much, lately. However, it will be very hard to get rid of me completely. You never know, when I might pop up again.

While I am already here, we could also try to do something useful. I hope it doesn't feel like a vengeance to you. As I choose this for the title of this blog post, in fact, I'm not quite sure where we do have the vengeance here. After all, I'm not really the vengeful type.

Maybe the vengeance results from the other side. Me looking to much at food on the Internet and getting greedy about cooking more again, there had to be consequences. Alternatively, there might be some other explanation as to what happened to me. I will tell you in a jiffy ...

These days I have the custom of getting up early, like shortly after 5 am and even on the weekends I just make it to 6 am or a tiny bit more. Last night, though, sleep didn't like me that much. My brain - yes, there is one - was going back and forth, back and forth, back and ... I guess you get it. Where was it going? Exactly! Food! I kind of dreamt about what to have for breakfast. I wanted eggs and I wanted to do something with zucchini.

From this there resulted my zucchini dream salad ...

As the brain carefully had prepared everything during the night, it was a sure and quick thing to get the salad up and running and being eaten. Here some more details ...

Ingredients (for one person):

110 g shavings of zucchini

2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

6 black olives, cut into three pieces

4 brazil nuts, chopped up

A little bit of lemon juice and olive oil

Salt, pepper, chilli flakes

Grated parmesan

Method:

Yes, here we go. Use a potato peeler to get the shavings of the zucchini. If you like - and that is what I should have done, but didn't - shave off some more zucchini than mentioned in the ingredients.

In a bowl dress up the zucchini with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Then arrange on a plate together with the eggs and the pieces of black olives. Sprinkle over the chopped up nuts for the crunch. In fact, use other nuts, if you want to.

To finish off, you can sprinkle over some extra olive oil. Grate over the parmesan and season with some chilli flakes.

Then ... dig in ...

As I mentioned in the outset, I had the salad for breakfast, but naturally, you can have it anytime. It has round about 500 kcal and has its good portion of protein and of course some good fats. So, no worries!

Did you have a similar experience before, like 'dreaming' about a dish that you wanted to cook. I hope you didn't loose too much sleep because of that. Anyway, it didn't do me anything bad. I still felt fine during the day and didn't have to fight fatigue.

I hope you liked my little zucchini dream salad. If you just toss all the ingredients together quickly you have a ... yes, right ... quick meal.

Do you have some recipes like that? What do you prefer for breakfast? Do you have salad for breakfast sometimes? Or strange things?

Thank you for stopping by and thank you for your precious time you invested for reading this little blog post right to this point.

Now I will go on and live free but not ...

Strawberry Time - Strawberry, Mascarpone & Chocolate Cake

Some say it is best to eat foods that are in season. I especially enjoy this with regards to strawberries. They taste so much better, when they are fresh from the region compared to the ones you get at the supermarket and are imported from who knows where. Last year we didn't take full advantage of that, but this year will make up for it. Nearby is a large field of strawberries where you can pick them for yourselves at a very good price. Therefore whenever we feel like it we head over and get some fresh strawberries. Well, that is when we have finished off the last once we got. Usually the last remaining once end up in a smoothie or something like that.
There are many ways to enjoy the strawberries. You can eat them fresh, with yoghurt, with your muesli, with curd cheese, in smoothies, in cakes, in salads ... well, we just watched Forrest Gump the other day, but I think I really shouldn't go into this part in detail of what you can do with strawberries like they did in the movie with shrimps ... hm ... eh ... well ... eh ... and that's about all you can do with strawberries. Well, I haven't got that much time and I really can't imagine an end of that list.
Therefore I will rather limit my writings to what I did and what I announced in the title of this blog post: Strawberry, Mascarpone & Chocolate Cake.

I tried to think of another name for this cake, but I really couldn't come up with any and above that in these days there are certain words you rather shouldn't use in public. Anyway, let's focus on the more important things ...

Picking strawberries is really enjoyable for me, in the sun, it's relaxing after a full day at the office. I reckon we still have a few weeks, maybe about two and then it will already be over with this field. I guess, though, it is not our fault.

We usually get about two kilos or a wee bit more of strawberries. After all we can easily return and get some more another day.

After we have gotten one of the key ingredients for our Strawberry, Mascarpone & Chocolate Cake, I reckon it is about time to start with the preparation ...

Travelling and Cooking: Salad with Green Plantain

We have been travelling a bit, flying over the Atlantic ocean from Madrid, Spain to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. There was a lot of running involved at the airport. At one point there was an employee of the airport shouting all the time at passengers that people with a European passport go to one line and other to another. I wonder for how long she made it. Anyway, it was a wonderful vacation with sun, sea, beach and food.
One day La Romana, Dominican Republic, we went to the mall and there was a cooking show going on with Gabriella Reginato. Well, I have never heard of her before, but hey ... it was about food and we still had a bit of time. The first dish she showed was Sangria without alcohol. There was some rosemary involved in this and it tasted good.
Next up was a salad with green plantain. That was very delicious and we thought we have to try it at home, just to have some other fine dish with plantains. 
Therefore I had to adjust the recipe of Gabriella a bit to fit the ingredients we have available here and to have it written in English.

Ingredients:
1 green plantain, cut into small cubes
1/2 red bell pepper cut into small pieces
1/2 yellow bell pepper cut into small pieces
1 green pepper, cut into small pieces
Some leaves of coriander
2 spring onions, cut into small rings
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 lemon
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Method:
To start with, we are going for the cooking of the plantains. Put them in salted water with the juice of half of the lemon. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Then let them cool down a bit.

The rest is super easy, for as you have done all the chopping already. Well, don't call me lazy when it comes to writing up things. It's just the way it is. No, not the lazy part, but putting the dish together.
Put the plantains, peppers, spring onions, garlic, coriander in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then add the remaining juice of the other half of the lemon. Finally add the olive oil and then you are ready to it, if ... you like it at room temperature. Otherwise you can put the salad into the fridge to let it cool down further.
Anyway, this amount of salad would serve for two people, but of course it is only a side dish.

I hope you try it out. Have a look also at the original version, when we tried it the first time in the Dominican Republic in the mall.

Again, another post comes to an end. It went quickly, just as the vacations. It seems that those always end to fast. Have a luvly time!

Hasta luego!

Panko Fried Brie with Lavender Mushrooms

While the weather is not as it’s best these days, we already had some quite pleasant days.

It’s best not to expect perfection all the time, because you are only going to be disappointed. For sure, you don’t want that. Rather concentrate on the small things of beauty always around you, appreciate that.

Then you can find enjoyment more often …

… like in a quick and simple meal with not much fuss about it. Among the simple things I enjoy is cheese. I wouldn’t want to imagine a life without cheese. If I would have to choose between cheese and meat – which one to go without, I would select the meat to go without rather than the cheese.

But, I don’t have to choose. However, for the following meal I have chosen to go without meat and with cheese … with Brie to be more precise. So we are having Panko Fried Brie with Lavender Mushrooms …

Somehow I like lavender, so I try to look for new ways to carefully introduce it into cooking. See, whether it works today.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
200 g mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
Salt, chilli
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp. lavender buds
Knob of butter
1 Brie (200 g)
1 egg
Panko (or other breadcrumbs)
Rosemary

Method:
Use two pans to get both elements ready at the same time. I used a griddle pan for the Brie.

Well then, how do we go about?

Heat up some olive oil for the mushrooms.

Prepare the brie by tossing it around in the whisked up egg. Next you have the panko ready together with some salt and finely chopped rosemary. Try as best as you can to coat the Brie with it.

The mushrooms start rolling in the pan. Season them with salt and a bit of chilli if you like.

The Brie is in the other pan. You turn it, when you think the time is right after a few minutes. If it starts oozing away in your pan, you’ve lost and evidently waited too long.

Add the lemon juice and the lavender to the mushrooms and let them continue in the heat. Finish it off with a knob of butter.

When you have done everything right, both the Brie and the mushrooms are finished at about the same time. So, serve it up …

Have some bread on the side and … whatever makes you happy. Fine, here we have another use of lavender in cooking. As I felt, the taste was good and I enjoyed it.

Do you enjoy going for a walk. I hope to walk … eh … well, a lot this year. 

Anyway, have a lovely day! Keep smiling!

Have a Snack - Chilli Cheese Balls

Sometimes when the day is getting late, I feel I don't need a proper dinner, but a snack will be just fine, maybe together with a beer ...

Just like that! Some chilli cheese balls on a bed of rocket together with some serrano ham. Life is good! I'm happy and satisfied! The end of the day can come. I would say that snack has it all ... all those ingredients I love: chilli, cheese, serrano ham and rocket. What more could I want? Oh, I mentioned it already ... a nice refreshing beer.
It's not much work and quick you go and have your snack ...

Ingredients:
Rocket, as much as you want
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
4-6 slices Serrano ham
200 g soft goat cheese
Chilli, fresh, dried, flaked, powder or whatever you like, have and want
Small bunch fresh parsley, chopped up
Flour
One egg, whisked
Large hand full breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Method:
Dress the rocket with the lemon juice, olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Place it on the plate to serve and arrange the serrano ham on top.
Mix the goat cheese with the chilli and parsley. Give it a pinch of salt. Shape small balls from it. Then it's time to get them bread-crumbed. Off to be rolled in the flour, then egg wash and finally breadcrumbs.
Get some oil hot for frying and fry the chilli cheese balls until brown and crispy. Obviously you want to avoid that the cheese gets leaking out.
Lay the ready chilli cheese balls on some kitchen paper to get rid off some of the oil, but hurry, we want to have a snack ...

Ah, I really should make sure I have serrano ham and goat cheese in my fridge most of the time. So, have it as a late night snack or a starter, if you prefer that.
Now, tell us, what is your favourite quick evening snack?

Angel Food Cake for Boo Radley (#ReadCookEat)

  "Mr Tate went to the swing and picked up his hat. It was lying beside Atticus. Mr Tate pushed back his hair and put his hat on.

  'I never heard tell that it's against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did, but maybe you'll say it's my duty to tell the town all about it and not hush it up. Know what'd happen then? All the ladies in Maycomb includin' my wife'd be knocking on his door bringing angel food cakes. To my way of thinkin', Mr Finch, taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight -  to me, that's a sin. It's a sin and I'm not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it'd be different. But not this man, Mr Finch.'

  Mr Tate was trying to dig a hole in the floor with the toe of his boot. He pulled his nose, then he massaged his left arm. 'I may not be much, Mr Finch, but I'm still sheriff of Maycomb County, and Bob Ewell fell on his knife. Good night sir.'

  Mr Tate stamped off the porch and strode across the front yard. His car door slammed and he drove away.

Atticus sat looking at the floor for a long time. Finally he raised his head. 'Scout,' he said, 'Mr Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?'

  Atticus looked like he needed cheering up. I ran to him and hugged him an kissed him with all my might. 'Yes sir, I understand,' I reassured him. 'Mr Tate was right.'

  Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. 'What do you mean?'

  'Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?'

  Atticus put his face in my hair and rubbed it. When he got up and walked across the porch into the shadows, his youthful step had returned. Before he went inside the house, he stopped in front of Boo Radley. 'Thank you for my children, Arthur,' he said." 

- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

As you have read, thing turned out that Boo Radley would not get into the limelight and as a consequence wouldn't receive any  angel food cakes from anyone around town.

Therefore, in order to join #ReadCookEat again this month, I decided to have a go at an angel food cake. I never had one before yet attempted to make one. So I had to do some research. One recipe I found was from Mary Berry on the BBC website. It mentioned also it was from The Great British Bake Off. I didn't notice anything ...

So, I didn't want to make a huge cake requiring a lot of ... eh ... cake eating afterwards, so I went one adjusting ideas from the net to my needs ...

Angel Food Cake for Boo Radley:

Ingredients:

75 g flour

180 g sugar

6 egg whites

Zest of one lemon

A small splash of lemon juice

1 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

Method:

Sift the flour, baking powder and 60 g sugar into a bowl, which you set to the side for the time being.

Then start whisking the egg whites in a large bowl for one minute on high speed.

Add the lemon zest, juice and salt and continue whisking on high speed for another 3 minutes. The egg whites should form soft peaks when you remove the whisk.

Now you continue whisking at even higher speed and add the remaining 120 g of sugar on tablespoon at a time until all is in. Continue whisking for a while.

Now fold in the flour and sugar mixture, being careful as not to knock out all the air you whisked in before.

Transfer the batter to your tin you plan to use. Only after I had finished my angel food cake and was ready to eat, I remember I had seen the episode of The Great British Bake Off, where they had to bake angel food cakes according to Mary Berry's recipe. They even had special angel food cake tins. However, I hadn't. So I used a small rectangular tin for it.

Whatsoever the case, bake the angel food cake in the bottom third of your oven at 180 °C for 30-40 min.  I had mine in for a longer time (as I have read in other recipes) and that resulted in the cake to be looking slightly unpleasant around the edges.

Whatever you do, use common sense and test with a wooden skewer whether your cake is ready. When it comes out clean, it is.

After you removed the cake from the oven allow it to cool down for at least one hour. Then you can remove it from the tin and eat it ...

As you see on the picture, I wasn't quite satisfied to eat it like this. I added some strawberries and some freshly made rhubarb and strawberry jam.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam:

Ingredients:

400 g strawberries

2 large stalks of rhubarb

175 g sugar

100 ml water

1 vanilla bean

Juice of one lemon

Method:

Chop up the strawberries and the rhubarb. Put them into a sufficiently large pot together with the sugar and the water. Slice open the vanilla bean, add the seeds to the pot and the sliced open vanilla bean, too. Finally add the lemon juice and bring on the heat.

Let it cook and bubble away. Once you are satisfied with the consistency, fill the jam into a sterilised jar. Use it for the angle food cake or to enhance other desserts.

Well, it really has been a long time since I read To Kill a Mockingbird, it was back in school. Hm, this reminds me once more, I am not 20 anymore. Oh, oh, I feel the crisis coming up again. Therefore, I have continue to do some stupid things again or ... some even more stupid things ... things, I've never done before.

But, before I can go over to this I go and link this post up to the #ReadCookEat challenge. If you want to join, too, head over to Chez Maximka and add your link. That will nit only make Galina happy, but me as well.

I hope this post has made you hungry for reading, cooking and eating and you will join us this month ...

Alea iacta est - Avocado Salad with Egg and Salmon

No, don't expect any kind of history lesson, although this was one of my favourite subjects before I went to school and maybe the first few years while in it. That would be ancient history then with the pyramid building Egyptians and the Romans, yes, even Julius Caesar.
Indeed, 'alea iacta est' - 'the die has been cast'. Apart from that phrase and a few others, my Latin isn't that good anymore. Another one of my favourites is ... you probably think 'veni, vidi, vici', but no, it's 'mihi equus est', although that has never been true for me. I never had a horse.
'Alea iacta est', but not in the meaning of 'I have reached the point of no return', although that might be more true than the horse thingy. I guess, I better get on with my point then. 'Alea iacta est' can only mean one thing in my case: 'the die has been cast' and that in a literal kind of way. It's time for random recipe again. For that I always use my 100-sided die to determine a random cookbook. 
However, it wouldn't be random recipes, if there weren't another trick to come. Well, it would be random recipes, too, but it's more likely it comes with an additional twist.
This time it is that Dom has teamed up with Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline from Caroline Makes. The result of that is a random recipes and AlphaBakes combination. According to that we are heading for a random recipe starting with the letter 'A'.
Well, the first book that came up, didn't have any recipes with a letter 'A'. So I decided to roll the die again. Once more 'alea iacta est'. The second book was one that features dishes for 1 person. At least that would help not to eat too much this time, but would it be something lovely? Edible, sure, but would it be delicious and enjoyable?
There were indeed four recipes starting with the letter 'A', two sweet one including apples and two savoury ones. Fine, one of the savoury ones included apricots, but the die stopped on the final one ...

... Avocado Salad with Egg and Salmon. Oh, I might try that book again. The avocado salad was good and there was really not much effort involved to prepare it. In fact it took longer to randomly pick a recipe than actually making it.
You just have to have a hard-boiled egg and cut it into small pieces, peel and cut an avocado, cut some smoked salmon into stripes and whip up a dressing with a tbsp. of oil, the juice half a lemon, one tsp. of mustard, a pinch of cayenne pepper, a tsp. of rosemary and salt and ... there you go, a quick and light lunch, kind of.

I have another one for you ... 'errare humanum est' ... wait, one more ... 'in vino veritas', not that I am suggesting you are having some wine with the salad or that you I am going to reveal all my secrets, when you fill me with a bottle of wine.
Enough then with our Latin lesson, although you might need one or the other word of Latin in your life at some point.
Anyway, AlphaBakes random recipes ... I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did or ... well, it suffices already, if I enjoyed it, but there is no harm in making others enjoy things ...

Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart

Finally I managed to buy a loose bottom tart tin. I was looking for it every ... I went to and thought they might have one. Now I managed. Therefore I can go for it and bake madly as ... eh ... I want to.
The first thing on my list of things I wanted to bake was a frangipane tart. This almond filling taste so gorgeous, at least in my mind. Here we go then. Over enthusiastically as I am at times I had stocked myself with lemons that I didn't actually have a plan for. Apart from that there was some basil growing on the windowsill, which wasn't too sure about whether to die or still live on happy ever after ... or rather until dying a natural basil's death of being used up in cooking.
To cut a long story short, before I go overboard here, the Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart was about to rise from the ashes of the basil ... no, the basil wasn't that bad, in fact it wasn't looking bad at all, but that could have changed any day now, kind of unstable that herb is.
Anyway, top talking, start baking ... Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart.

Ingredients:
For the pastry:
150 g butter
100 g sugar
Pinch of salt
250 g flour
Zest of 1 lemon
Handful of chopped up basil leaves (use more, if you need more basil in your life)
1 egg
For the frangipane filling:
1 egg
100 g ground almonds
100 g butter
90 g sugar
Juice of one lemon (how would that lemon have looked otherwise)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
100 g icing sugar
Apart from that:
100 g raspberry jam
Icing sugar
Melted chocolate

Method:
We like to start with the pastry for the Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart. First of all we cream the butter and the sugar so that you don't see any loose sugar grains anymore, but instead everything should have been assimilated by the butter. While you are at it sneak the salt in, too.
Next goes in the flour. Sometimes I like to massage it in until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. At other days I simply go for it and add the remaining ingredients as well. In this case, the lemon zest, basil and the egg.
Carefully bring all the ingredients together into a fine lump of dough. Wrap it into clingfilm and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
After that it's time to get your loose bottom tart tin (I love it now) ready. Rub some butter all over the tin and push the dough into the tin. Well, you could roll out the dough first and then go for it. The good thing with this kind of pastry is, you can still push it everywhere you want, even if the rolled out dough tears.
Whatever, that same pastry now needs some serious blind baking for about 15 minutes at 180 ºC.
Meanwhile, we can make the frangipane filling. Honestly, I don't want to make any fuss about it. Get a sufficiently sized bowl and mix all the ingredients for the frangipane filling thoroughly.
The 15 minutes of the blind baking should be over at one point ... about 15 minutes after they started, I reckon, unless you prove me wrong here.
Here a little picture, I tried to put together, showing the different steps of the tart until the product is finished.

To follow those steps, spread the raspberry jam on the blind baked pastry and after that try to top it with the frangipane filling. At least that was the idea originally. During that process the jam and the frangipane filling rather might mix a bit. No worries, though, it's part of the package.
Having now an empty bowl, where the frangipane filling used to be and a filled pastry case, I'd say it's a rather good time to put the tart into the oven, which is now at 190 ºC.
Further 18 minutes will bake things right.
Sadly, as some might see it, you have to cool down the Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart.
At this point it doesn't look too gorgeous as would everyone agree on, I suppose.
Have some icing sugar on it. Oh, that's better, but ... we can do even better. We need something that'll always do: CHOCOLATE. No, not that much, just sprinkle a few fine lines on top of the tart ... blob. Great, no fine lines! We can attempt a few fine lines and put here and there some occasional blobs to make it appear to the beholder it was on purpose. Said and done ...

... I am rather pleased with the outcome. While being at it, I just simulated the case I would have a guest for tea time enjoying this delicious tart together with me. I even put on a candle. At other times it might give the impression of being romantic, but ...
I simply wanted a yummy frangipane tart. 
Now have a closer look at the tart in the next picture and have a guess of what it reminded my malfunctioning brain! 

Anyway, the taste of the frangipane tart was so temptingly dangerously good I even could here the tart calling from the kitchen: "Come and get me, get another slice ...!" Great!
Then it wasn't even a shame that it didn't taste that much of basil. You get more taste from the raspberry jam and the frangipane filling. However, there is a slight hint of basil. Therefore, if you have the feeling, there hasn't been enough basil in your life, feel free to increase the amount until the dough has the colour of your lawn, reminds you of Ireland or until you are well pleased with it.

Things were fine with me. Right, apart from the fact of what I had to do with the tart in the course of days that followed ... it wasn't my fault, was it? Yes,I could have, but I didn't.
However, have an even closer look and tell me ... right to my face ... how you could possibly resist a piece of that tart. 

So, once more, totally heart-broken and shattered I have to admit, it was all my fault entirely, for who has created this Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart ...

While still being in grief ...over various things, I can't change now anymore anyway, I like to move on and submit this Basil and Lemon Frangipane Tart to a cleverly devised selection of blog challenges, due to various reasons ...

Let's do it in alphabetical order then. I might not have used mint in this tart, although I could have, based on the behaviour of the mint on my windowsill, but I didn't want to have an ill-behaved Mint and Lemon Frangipane Tart. Karen from Lavender and Lovage said, it would be alright, if I use any kind of herb to join the Cooking with Herbs challenge, which I from the bottom of my heart want to do.

That brings us already to the letter 'M' and Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays. Just to make sure you can use homemade quick raspberry jam with raspberries and sugar, but since I couldn't get that many raspberries I had to go with the nearly as good as homemade raspberry jam to have a from scratch recipe for the Made with Love Mondays.

Then I like to talk again about the lemon and the basil. I didn't want any of those two go to waste, that is let them die before I get the chance to use them. Therefore, I like to add this to the No Waste Food Challenge, which is brought to us by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. However, this month, the challenge is hosted by Ness from Jibber Jabber UK.

So, if you want to count in, that I ate the whole cake as well to the not wasting food, then ... oops. Now it's out!

Quickly, on with the fourth and final challenge. We go back to Karen, although it is a joined challenge by Lavender and Lovage and The Hedgecombers. However, this month it's Karen's turn and the chosen theme is: Jams, Curds and Preserves. Hopefully, at this point you don't have to guess for too long which of the three I used in my recipe.

Having reached this point of the post, I wish to say thank you to all those, who have continued reading this far into the post. You are wonderful people, thank you for being out there!!! Really, I mean it, it's not just a phrase. I hope to see you again. You can bring friends, too.

Now I have some work to do. Whatever that may be ...

Udon Noodle Stir-Fry ... kind of

At some point I had bought some udon noodles. They have this lovely package, where you have these nice little portions inside with a small ribbon around. Anyway, I had them neglected for a while, so I thought it was time to bring on some Asian flavours.

Fully Fed - Pulled Pork with Herb and Beer Cheese Buns

I know, there are quite a lot of things I haven't tried before. There is still a lot of food on my list to feed on ... eh to try, cook and eat. Sometimes I think, I should be cooking all day. Eh, well, for some thing you nearly have to do this literally, like for example pulled pork. An acquaintance talked about it, that he wanted to try it and then I saw something lovely on the net somewhere that encouraged me to try it, finally.
So I had a bit of a look on how to do it and then I had a go ...

Together with the pulled pork I wanted to have some Herb and Beer Cheesebuns.

From Failure to Bread-Stick Tomato Soup

Out of a sudden bread-sticks were on my to do list. What comes to your mind, when you think about bread-sticks?
Well, it would be lovely, if they are straight and they should make this snapping sound when you break them.
I had my standard yeast dough, I use in a similar form for pizza, ready and wanted to have a go. I had added some Parmesan and dried rosemary as well to the dough. Things started out nicely ...

I even made some extra effort to give them some spiral shape. Maybe there wasn't enough effort, for you can already see, they are not going to be straight. Anyway ...

Houston, we have no problem - we are having Steak with Pesto

"Houston, Houston, do you read? We have no problem ..."
The same old subject - I haven't made a secret out of it, I like rocket. Yes once again I'm not really talking about spacecraft and the lot, although I thought of scanning some of the photos from my visit to Cape Canaveral, but ... honestly ... I have absolutely no clue where I have put those photos and I am absolutely ... honestly ... not the mood to go searching for them. Therefore, Eruca Sativa has to do. Well, you might want to call it arugula, but ... yes ... honestly ... I prefer the name rocket and I have absolute no intention of bothering you with the fact it belongs to the Brassicaceae family. No, I am not even going to mention that it is rich in vitamin C and potassium and the ancient Romans thought it to be an aphrodisiac. Oopsy, I did mention all that now, while the only thing I wanted to tell you was that I like to eat rocket. I show you ...

Oh, you didn't see it? Let me assure you, though, that rocket is included in this picture. I will tell you more ...

Indy's Mysterious Daim Chocolate Apple Cake

It's about time again I get out my hat. Indeed, that might be useful in this kind f weather we have at this time of the year. However, it's not just the hat, I'm getting out and it's for a totally different reason ...

... it's for baking! There are still so many baking adventures out there, I better get going for it and get in the right frame of mind for it. So, I take my bullwhip and whip up some kind of mysterious cake ... with Daim chocolate and apples ...

Are you ready for the adventure?

South African Dinner: Bobotie with Yellow Rice and Tomato & Onion Sambal

Finally I safe one hour travelling time for every day I go to  work. That is even the case when I use my bike to go to work. So I get some exercise, although up to know it's quite exhausting to get back home after work, and I get more time at home.
One thing I can do with that, is concentrate more on cooking and baking. I even might have the chance to work some of the puddings and cakes off with my exercises. Then maybe not, but I should do more sweet stuff anyway.
Today, though, I am not focusing on the sweet side ... although ... hm ... there might be a slightly sweet touch in the dish for today. It's for Bloggers Around the World: South Africa.

So I am having some Bobotie with Yellow Rice and Tomato & Onion Sambal. I did a little bit of research for that, so I reckon, that's the way to have it ...

Now we have to see how to do it ...

Jamie Does' Ratatouille-Style Briouats

How are you? That is a really difficult question. Well, it depends also on who is asking. Some ask and immediately move on. They wouldn't even notice when you say 'miserable'. Anyway, I feel miserable and things are good at the same time. While there are aspects in situations in life that can really make you feel bad, there are also other things that can help you keep going and still feel good. You know what I mean. I don't have to mention all the details. 
For instance when you are home alone, feeling lonely and having no power to cook something good for you, a ringing telephone can make a difference. So I really was happy yesterday, when that happens and I got a surprise invitation for dinner ... at once. So everyone can make a difference for someone else.
At times you also can make a difference for yourself, if you have the power to cook something. You can enjoy something really lovely. That's what I did the other day, enjoy something really lovely: Ratatouille-Style Briouats.

Ravinder, Jamie and trying a few recipes

In the last few days I have been thinking again ... yes ... for a change. Since I have a few cookbooks it wouldn't be bad to try some recipes again. So I had a look through some books and made a list of what to try. Then I went shopping and after not getting everything on that list, cancelled a few projects again.
Anyway, there still remained something on the list. Let us start with Ravinder Bhogal and her book Cook in Boots. Actually, Ravinder Bhogal is the only person I have a cookbook from, which I met already. That was this year in London, when she was doing 9 course meals at a restaurant in Aldgate.
The first dish I selected from the book was pork roast with grenadine glazing.

I just had to get some pork and the remaining ingredients were already on stock. I took the grenadine from the bar and the rest was mainly spices and things.
On the side I wanted to have some potatoes and fry them, but they ended up being mashed. To have some vegetables I tossed in some carrots with the roast into the oven.
Overall I liked it very much. It was sweet and spicy for some chilli and garlic was included as well.
There was another recipe from Cook in Boots on my list, but before I tell you about this, let us move over to Jamie Oliver.
I selected something very simple from the book Cook with Jamie: chicken breast wrapped in bacon with leeks.

It goes all in one dish, is for one person and really not complicated. Well, on the picture it looks like there was a lot leeks, but it was alright. It all could have been a bit more spicy, but you don't have to use chilli on everything, although you can. After all it's good to get in some other flavours as well.
Now back to Cook in Boots. On the program now: Cappelini with garlic, chilli, lemon and olive oil. That again sounds like quite some flavour.

It doesn't look very spectacular. That's because I didn't bring out the chillies and apart from that there is no much colour in it due to it's simplicity. The whole things doesn't even take ten minutes to prepare. Of course, a little bit depends on your speed in chopping the garlic and the chilli and grating the lemon zest and the cheese, but the parmesan is just for serving. The boiling of the pasta itself takes just three minutes.
I can say, that pasta dish tasted very lovely. Since I refused to just cook the pasta for one person and didn't have anyone for dinner, there were bound to be some leftovers. No worries!
Inspired by a recipe from Jamie's Italy I went for fries pasta at another day. You just need the leftover capellini (you could use spaghetti for that as well) and added some chopped cherry tomatoes, a bit of bacon, chopped parsley, an egg, some extra salt and pepper just to make sure and then you go and fry it in a pan.

That was very lovely as well. I should go through the books again and make a new list ... but I guess I should rather go for some Caribbean dishes, since we still have our Bloggers Around The World going on this month with some Caribbean inspired dishes. Are you in for it this month?

Torta de Almendras for #BloggersAroundTheWorld

"Better days are coming for you ..." Those are the words coming from the speakers of my stereo right this moment where I start writing this together. I hope so!
On the other hand ... ('... four fingers and a thumb' - a friend used to say) ... if I would trust the weather forecast, all this needs to remain a dream for the distant future ...
Well, I don't even need a weather forecast to tell me things, I can already gather it from the calender that winter is just around the corner. It's just a matter of time before it happens ... (don't even like to think about it) ...
I already asked my doctor to prescribe me some sun, but it was to no avail, although I guess it would be cheaper than the other things he is prescribing me. Well, you can't argue with an expert ...
As to the sun for a few days now it's just elusive, but hope isn't ready to die yet. The same holds true for me, but I shall rather say that the situation isn't that bad altogether (... but enough already).

It's time to connect to our subject: Spain ... I would connect that directly with sun. Again memories come up of a distant warmth, memories of Barcelona, memories of Mallorca.
At least there is still the licor de almendra in the bar. We can work with that.
A word for caution though: alcohol is no solution, but then again, no alcohol isn't either.
Do not be worried, though, we are just using it for our Torta de Almendras - almond tart.
It seems to be very popular in Andalusia ... at least that is what my Spanish cook book Spanish Cooking from Cornelia Rosales de Molino claims.
I adapted the recipe a bit ... hm ... maybe a bit more and that not only to accomodate my licor de almendra.

Here we go ... If we cannot have the sun, we at least are having some pieces of Torta de Almendras ...

Ingredientes:
For the short crust pastry:
200 g flour
60 g sugar
100 g butter
1 egg
1 tbs milk
Pinch of salt
Few splashes of lemon juice

For the almond filling:
150 g ground almonds (if you ground your almonds yourself, you might get an even better aroma)
4 eggs
60 g sugar
4 tbs licor de almendra (or similar)
Zest of one lemon
Pinch of salt

Some sliced almonds for topping

Elaboración:
What shall I say? Oh, yes, of course, how to prepare the cake.
We start with the short crust pastry by carefully kneading together all it's ingredients. Yes, that's all that is to it. Shape the ready dough to a ball and (don't play ball with it) place it into the fridge for about half an hour.
I went to the dentist during that time period, which sadly took me longer then that just mentioned half hour.
On with the almond filling. No, you don't get that one at a dentist! I didn't get any other filling either. Nevertheless, a visit to the dentist is in the lower section of my top 1000000.
Almond filling! Back on track!
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Then cream the egg yolks with the sugar and add the ground almonds and the licor afterwards. Don't forget the lemon zest.
We give our attention to the egg whites now. Add a pinch of salt. Now it's time to get them stiff. Either, you let out all you aggressions and beat them that way with a hand whisk or ... you use an electrical one and safe your energy.
As I didn't make it to my exercise at the gym this week (naughty boy) I had to go for the manual method ... oh, that feels so good. Really? Whatever!
Carefully (again) fold in the beaten egg whites into the almond mix.
Heat up your oven to 220°C. 
Then roll out your dough to fit it to an approximately 26 cm round cake tin. Don't forget to remove the dough from the fridge first for doing that.
Once the dough is in the tin, which you hopefully greased and papered before, make sure the dough goes a bit upwards towards the borders of the tin. Then pour over the almond mix, toss over some extra sliced almonds and then transfer your tin to the oven for 30 minutes.
Keep an eye on the cake after about half the time. If it gets too dark, it might not help to turn on the light ... Obviously I was referring to the cake. You can protect it with a piece of aluminium foil over it.
After the cake is finished at least leave it some time to cool before you go for it.
The sun might not be conjured up by this, but ... it is at least something.
Anyway, this month it's time for Bloggers Around the World with Spanish recipes or at least Spanish inspired ones.

Maybe a few more recipes will help. Just feel free to join. You are very welcome!
Well, I better have some cake then: Torta de Almendras, to be specific.
The chorizo has to wait until dinner.
Hmmm, maybe because I'm such a winter wimp I should consider changing location ...