We went to Aldi, checking for the good tofu. I spontaneously purchased a huge tin of peach halves while we were there, off of some kind of thought process like: it's winter, there aren't many good fresh fruits now... how about tinned fruit? I used to love tinned peaches as a kid, maybe sage would like them... now I realize how sweet they are, I guess that's why I liked them really, but they do have a specific, nostalgic taste. I won a tin in a tombola once.
They'd been sitting in the pantry for some time when I realized I was never really going to eat 800+ g of tinned peaches... and I felt like I'd seen a German cake recipe with tinned fruit. I came across this one and it sounded good and I had pretty much all the ingredients sooooo here we are.
For the base:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup (55 g) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup milk (used oat milk)
1 egg
1 large (c. 825 g) tin peach halves, drained and sliced 1/2 in thick
For the custard:
1 cup heavy cream (used oat milk)
2 tsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
Heat the oven to 400F / 204C. Grease and line a springform cake tin. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together with a fork in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Pour the milk mix over the flour mix and mix with the fork until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Arrange the peach slices on top (I had a few left over). Bake for 15 min.
Meanwhile make the custard. Combine 1/4 cup milk with the flour, and whisk to get rid of lumps. Add the rest of the milk, sugar, egg, vanilla and salt, and whisk well to mix. Take the cake out of the oven and pour the cream mix over the top. Put the cake back in and reduce the heat to 350F / 177C. Bake 35-40 min more (nb mine took longer, and I had to add a foil hat as the peaches were catching). When the cake top is puffed, and the edges are deep gold and separating from the sides of the tin, the cake is done. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 min before removing from the tin and letting cool completely.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Kohlrabi sesame slaw
Our friends are having a Thanksgiving potluck tomorrow. I wasn't sure what to make, but C suggested a salad, and also said whatever we had in the fridge was fine... We had a gigantic kohlrabi in the fridge. Most of it has now become this slaw. I think I'll also take a tinned-peach cake.
2 lb kohlrabi
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (recipe said 1 minced chilli)
1 small clove garlic, crushed and minced (recipe said 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic)
2 spring onions, finely chopped (recipe said 1/2 cup chopped spring onions)
handful chopped coriander (recipe said 1/4 cup chopped coriander)
toasted sesame seeds
Peel and shred the kohlrabi. Toss with the salt and set in a colander for 15 min. Rinse, drain and pat dry. Whisk together the tahini, oils, lime juice, chilli and garlic. Toss the dressing with the kohlrabi, spring onions and coriander. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the top before eating.
2 lb kohlrabi
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (recipe said 1 minced chilli)
1 small clove garlic, crushed and minced (recipe said 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic)
2 spring onions, finely chopped (recipe said 1/2 cup chopped spring onions)
handful chopped coriander (recipe said 1/4 cup chopped coriander)
toasted sesame seeds
Peel and shred the kohlrabi. Toss with the salt and set in a colander for 15 min. Rinse, drain and pat dry. Whisk together the tahini, oils, lime juice, chilli and garlic. Toss the dressing with the kohlrabi, spring onions and coriander. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the top before eating.
Shakshuka
I first ate shakshuka quite a while ago. Perhaps it was made by my friend N, it was one of his signature dishes (he's also vegetarian, and a good cook). But somehow never got around to making it for ages. We had some for lunch in a cafe recently, and I realized it is good, and also super simple if you make the sauce in advance. I used approximately this recipe, and made the sauce in advance, before cracking 4 eggs into it for a weeknight dinner.
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 sweet peppers, diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne
800 g (2 tins) tinned tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs*
small bunch coriander, chopped
c. 2/3 a pack feta
Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Add onion, cook until golden. Add peppers, fry until soft. Stir in garlic and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, stir in the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for c. 30 min. Taste and season.
When ready to eat, heat the sauce in a large lidded deep-sided frying pan. When warm, turn down to the lowest heat, make the right number of wells for the eggs, then crack the eggs one at a time into a cup before pouring into a well. Simmer gently for approx. 10 min (mine took a bit longer) - you may wish to put the lid on to encourage the eggs to cook more evenly. Sprinkle with coriander and feta and eat with crusty bread.
*The eggs took a little longer to cook than I expected (maybe more like 20 min?), but other than that it was great - perhaps even a good idea to leave the sauce in the fridge for a bit, to let the flavours meld.
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 sweet peppers, diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne
800 g (2 tins) tinned tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs*
small bunch coriander, chopped
c. 2/3 a pack feta
Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Add onion, cook until golden. Add peppers, fry until soft. Stir in garlic and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, stir in the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for c. 30 min. Taste and season.
When ready to eat, heat the sauce in a large lidded deep-sided frying pan. When warm, turn down to the lowest heat, make the right number of wells for the eggs, then crack the eggs one at a time into a cup before pouring into a well. Simmer gently for approx. 10 min (mine took a bit longer) - you may wish to put the lid on to encourage the eggs to cook more evenly. Sprinkle with coriander and feta and eat with crusty bread.
*The eggs took a little longer to cook than I expected (maybe more like 20 min?), but other than that it was great - perhaps even a good idea to leave the sauce in the fridge for a bit, to let the flavours meld.
Honey cake
Ever since I started keeping bees I have always been on the lookout for a perfect honey cake. I spotted this recipe in a feature about using stuff up (in this case, crystallised honey), and it seemed to fit the bill. So I gave it a try.
200-250 g honey
150 g butter
2 eggs, beaten
220 g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
Heat the oven to 200C. Grease and line a 20 cm diameter cake tin. Melt 170 g honey and the butter in a pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat, stir in the eggs, flour and baking powder until well combined, then pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake c. 35 min / until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Spike the cake all over with a skewer, then spread / crumble the remaining honey over the top.
It was a bit dry. Maybe I left it in the oven a bit long? Or I used 200 g honey, maybe it would be worth trying with 250 g instead? The quest for the perfect honey cake continues...
200-250 g honey
150 g butter
2 eggs, beaten
220 g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
Heat the oven to 200C. Grease and line a 20 cm diameter cake tin. Melt 170 g honey and the butter in a pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat, stir in the eggs, flour and baking powder until well combined, then pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake c. 35 min / until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Spike the cake all over with a skewer, then spread / crumble the remaining honey over the top.
It was a bit dry. Maybe I left it in the oven a bit long? Or I used 200 g honey, maybe it would be worth trying with 250 g instead? The quest for the perfect honey cake continues...
Asparagus, garlic, feta, lemon, thyme
Also belated from early Summer...
We did a pretty good job of asparagus season this year, if I do say so myself. We ate lots... and as much of it from our veg share as possible (think we ordered a special asparagus bag every week!). Everything seems to be growing well this year, and I guess asparagus was no exception. And it turned out small S loves it (although only the tips: he is a discerning little bug)... Much of it was prepped v simply - either with st george’s mushrooms or just boiled for 4 min and then dressed with melted butter and lemon juice... this is only slightly more complicated, but is now my other favourite way to eat it...
We did a pretty good job of asparagus season this year, if I do say so myself. We ate lots... and as much of it from our veg share as possible (think we ordered a special asparagus bag every week!). Everything seems to be growing well this year, and I guess asparagus was no exception. And it turned out small S loves it (although only the tips: he is a discerning little bug)... Much of it was prepped v simply - either with st george’s mushrooms or just boiled for 4 min and then dressed with melted butter and lemon juice... this is only slightly more complicated, but is now my other favourite way to eat it...
olive oil
c. 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large bunch asparagus, tough bits snapped off and rest snapped into nice-sized pieces
salt+pepper
zest and juice of approx 1/4 lemon
c. 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 pack of feta
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan with a lid and add the garlic. Sizzle for a few min, then add the asparagus pieces. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for a few minutes, then uncover and cook until excess moisture is gone and there is a little colour on the asparagus (it should be tender). Turn off the heat and let cool a bit, then squeeze over the lemon juice and add half the zest. Allow to cool a bit more, then serve warm, with the feta crumbled on top and thyme leaves and rest of the lemon zest scattered over it.
Aubergine, mango and soba noodle salad
A belated post from early Summer...
We went for dumplings on blågardsplads the other day - at a place we discovered either before or after a hospital appointment (silver linings). A place (think it’s called gao) that I love - they have two different kinds of vegetarian dumplings (mushroom pan fried and spinach steamed), both equally delicious; plus a long list of veggie sides that are all simple but perfect... sage loved them too. Anyway, while there remembered about the great fruit and veg shops also on blågards, checked them out too, and discovered a box of Pakistani mangoes! The delicate south Asian mangoes are way superior to the thick-skinned African ones you usually find in supermarkets - the one thing that could convince me to go to India in monsoon season... I had just been thinking maybe it was the season, but couldn’t think where was the right shop to find them...
I made this salad first about this time last year, when sage was tiny. I remember feeling proud i’d managed to cook something proper, especially because it was from a cookbook Seb gave me for my birthday (ie a few days after sage was born). Aside from eating them straight up, this seemed like a suitably special way to use some of our fine box of mangoes. This time, sage ate it too (and liked it! Although think he preferred the vegan sausages we ate with it (didn’t have any tofu)).
120 ml rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
40 g sugar
½ tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lime, grated zest and juice
300 ml sunflower oil
2 aubergines, cut into 2 cm dice
300g soba noodles
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 large mango, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
40g basil, chopped
40g coriander, chopped
In a saucepan, gently heat the vinegar, sugar and salt, just until the sugar dissolves, for up to a minute. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chilli and sesame oil. Set aside to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the aubergine in three or four batches. Once golden-brown, transfer to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave to drain.
Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling, salted water, stirring occasionally, for five to eight minutes - the noodles should retain a bite - then drain and rinse under cold water. Shake off the excess water and place on kitchen towel to dry.
In a mixing bowl, toss the noodles with the dressing, aubergine, onion, mango and half the herbs. You can leave it aside for an hour or two. When ready to serve, add the rest of the herbs, mix and pile on a plate or in a bowl.
We went for dumplings on blågardsplads the other day - at a place we discovered either before or after a hospital appointment (silver linings). A place (think it’s called gao) that I love - they have two different kinds of vegetarian dumplings (mushroom pan fried and spinach steamed), both equally delicious; plus a long list of veggie sides that are all simple but perfect... sage loved them too. Anyway, while there remembered about the great fruit and veg shops also on blågards, checked them out too, and discovered a box of Pakistani mangoes! The delicate south Asian mangoes are way superior to the thick-skinned African ones you usually find in supermarkets - the one thing that could convince me to go to India in monsoon season... I had just been thinking maybe it was the season, but couldn’t think where was the right shop to find them...
I made this salad first about this time last year, when sage was tiny. I remember feeling proud i’d managed to cook something proper, especially because it was from a cookbook Seb gave me for my birthday (ie a few days after sage was born). Aside from eating them straight up, this seemed like a suitably special way to use some of our fine box of mangoes. This time, sage ate it too (and liked it! Although think he preferred the vegan sausages we ate with it (didn’t have any tofu)).
120 ml rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
40 g sugar
½ tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lime, grated zest and juice
300 ml sunflower oil
2 aubergines, cut into 2 cm dice
300g soba noodles
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 large mango, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
40g basil, chopped
40g coriander, chopped
In a saucepan, gently heat the vinegar, sugar and salt, just until the sugar dissolves, for up to a minute. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chilli and sesame oil. Set aside to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.
Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the aubergine in three or four batches. Once golden-brown, transfer to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave to drain.
Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling, salted water, stirring occasionally, for five to eight minutes - the noodles should retain a bite - then drain and rinse under cold water. Shake off the excess water and place on kitchen towel to dry.
In a mixing bowl, toss the noodles with the dressing, aubergine, onion, mango and half the herbs. You can leave it aside for an hour or two. When ready to serve, add the rest of the herbs, mix and pile on a plate or in a bowl.
Baked smashed potatoes
It's been a while since I updated my recipes. Ages ago, when potatoes were new, I made some smashed potatoes, inspired by this.
Basically just take some boiled potatoes (I don't remember if I used warm or cold ones, either should work?), put in a baking tin and squash with the back of a big wooden spoon. Then drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put in the oven at 200C for about 30 min / until golden and crispy around the edges.
Basically just take some boiled potatoes (I don't remember if I used warm or cold ones, either should work?), put in a baking tin and squash with the back of a big wooden spoon. Then drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put in the oven at 200C for about 30 min / until golden and crispy around the edges.
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