Homemade Lemon Curd

It is not a secret that I like to drink tea.. so one may not wonder that I like also tea time and the traditional english tea time with scones, sandwiches and ... lemon curd. Until now I´ve not found a lemon curd to buy that I find tasty. I think this is also the reason why for a long time I did´nt like Lemon Curd at all. The Mom of my best friend one day made herself some Lemon Curd and I had the chance to receive a glass for tasting it.. Heaven. I had never eaten such a good Lemon curd ever before. I asked her for the recipe...here it is....

You need:

- 440 g sugar

- 225 g butter
- juice from 3 organic lemons (about 100g) and grated peel of one of the lemons

- 3 big eggs

To prepare:

1. In a bowl placed over boiling water (but the bowl sould not touch the water) mix together with a eletric mixer butter, lemon juice and grated peel as well as sugar until well combined.

2. With a fork mix the 3 eggs and add to your butter-sugar-lemon mix and continue beating over the hot water until you get a creamy consistence. This takes some minutes, so be patient...and be aware that your mixture does not boil (otherwise it will not get smooth and creamy)...

Thats all!!!! Fill the cream immediatly in some glasses (like a marmelade). One can preserve the Lemon Curd in the fridge for some weeks.

I love lemon curd on a fresh, hot Toast.. of course with a cup of tea :) yumm!

green Onion Pancake

After a busy day, when coming home, what is more relaxing than sitting on the sofa, browsing a journal or watching tv or talking with your family, laughing together... and eating some Snacks. Chips and co might be not bad but one can do better no? So looking through my favourite Blogs I discovered this recipe for green onion pancakes. It needs some time to prepare them but the result compensates all the efforts you had... In fact I would double the recipe and freeze some of the unfried Pancakes for a later use. I was not sure if there would be a loss in taste when preparing them after having them freezed: I found no difference and so you really can come home, go to the freezer, take out your pancakes, fry them and inbetween a short time you have a delicious snack and then: sit down, relax and savour..... 

I also tried some variations for ex. by using basil leaves instead of  green onion.. I did not like this combination. I prefer the original recipe with the green onions...

(Recipe source: http://www.deliciousdays.com/ and Easy Chinese Recipes from Bee Yinn Low, p. 46)

You need (for about 8 - 10 little pancakes):

200 g all-purpose flour

1  tsp salt
125 ml hot water

3 green onions (green parts only, trimmed and cut into small rounds, to yield about 1/3 cup)

2 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
Some more oil for frying
How to prepare:

1. In a bowl mix flour and salt and add the boiled water slowly. Knead the dough until well combined and getting smooth. Let rest for about 30 minutes

2. Cut the green onion (only the green part)

3. Divide the dough in more or less equal parts and roll each portion of the dough in your palms to form a ball. Meanwhile the other dough is waiting, cover it with a slightly moisten handkerchief

4. With a rolling pin roll each dough ball to a thin disc (do it on a parchment paper - so you will not need some flour for the rolling..)

5. Disperse on each dough-disc the green onion and coil up like a snail

6. Roll each snail with a rolling pin until it looks like a small pancake and brush with some oil until frying

7. Heat up some oil in a non sticking pan to moderate heat and put in the pancakes. Shallow fry each green onion pancake until golden brown on each side

Delicious with some green tea and some sour cream dip....

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

NUTMEG PUMPKIN

NUTMEG PUMPKIN

Pumpkins are not only usable for Halloween lanterns... At the moment Pumpkins emerge on every corner, as decoration, in the supermarket or at the farmers market, in different shapes and sizes... To prepare pumpkins in a tasty way in my opinion is not so easy. On one hand because if you buy a whole pumpkin I find it not so easy to cut him into pieces, even with really sharp knifes...And on the other hand quite often pumpkin ends up in a or too hard or too soft cooked way.... Nonetheless I have to try each year some new pumpkin recipes. One of my evergreens is this creamy pumpkin soup that I love because of its mild spicy taste and its creaminess and its recomforting, warming "action". Especially when it´s a cold, grey day... looking at the bright colour of the soup and then savouring a hot pot of it, will get you soon warmed.

I made this soup with a so called nutmeg pumpkin which I like for his mild, sligthly sweet taste.

For the soup you will need (for 3 - 4 persons)

- 600 g pumpkin cut in cubes (weight without peel and seeds..)

- 250 ml vegetable stock

- 2 onions (about 80 g), cut in cubes

- 1 crushed garlic clove

- 1 can (400g) peeled tomatoes (pomodori pelati)

- 300 ml coconut milk

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. paprika powder

- 1/2 tsp. chili powder (or less if you like it milder or more.... )

Pepper to season and some more coconut milk to drizzle over the soup before serving

To prepare:

1. In a big pan pour the incomplete drained tomatoes, add the onions and the hot vegetable stock and cook for 8 minutes covered with a lid

2. Add the pumpkin, coconut milk, garlic and the spices and continue cooking for about 15 - 20 minutes until your pumpkin is soft (always with a lid)

3. Now mix the soup until completly smooth (the easiest way is to give the soup in a normal mixer - you might have to do it in several portions - depending on the size of your mixer - or you have a "wonder" machine as I have where you can cook the soup and mix it in the same machine... it´s really the greatest kitchen machine I´ve ever seen and bought..not the cheapiest one but taking into the account all the things one can do with her.... It is a "Thermomix TM31" from Vorwerk.... if you wanna have a look on it: http://thermomix.vorwerk.com/de/)

4. Pour the soup in your plate or bowl  and drizzle with some coconut milk and serve for example with some roasted garlic bread

Quick Chicken Ragout

Shame on me! First: I´ve done only few posts in october! Second: I´ve posted only sweet things! Third: This has to be changed :). So here the first post for november and it is not a sweet one! It is sort of a Ragout made with chicken breast and is done in short time and really simple to cook.

You will need (for 2 - 3 persons):

- 400g chicken breastfillet (without skin or bones)

- 150g crème fraiche

- 100 ml warm vegetable stock
- 1 small onion

- 1 Tbsp. paprika (I use the sweet paprika powder)

Some salt and pepper to season and some oil for frying the meat.

To prepare:

1. Cut the chicken breast in more or less equal slices. Cut the onion in cubes

2. Heat up some oil in a deep frying pan. Stir in the onions until slightly golden brown and add the chicken. Roast on each side for some minutes

3. Add the vegetable stock and the paprika and let simmer for about 15 minutes (depends on the size, thickness of your chicken pieces)

4. Stir in crème fraiche, season with salt an pepper and .... thats it!

The Ragout is delicious with some noodles or some rice. We ate the Chciken Ragout with so called Spätzle, also very fine. But I think you want get ready done Spätzle not everywhere. Of course one can do them itself but thats another story...  - I would start to cook the rice before preparing the Ragout as he would need longer time than your Ragout. The noodles or Spätzle (if you use ready done from the supermarket) can be done meanwhile the chicken is simmering. -