Inspiration: Do it yourself Chocolate Advent Calender

I made this for my boyfriend with 24 different, selfmade chocolatebars.

White chocolate, dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Topped with all the treats he 

likes and that are christmassy: Oreos, gingerbread men, peanut m&m's, cranberries, 

cinnamon, roasted marshmellows, dried fruits, pretzels, and so many more! 

I am sure everyone will love it. 

Easy to do, even if it takes some time, but makes a lot of fun! 

I packed them all seperately and put them in a decorated shoe box. 

Merry Christmas & love

Cooking: Red Beet Risotto with Roasted Vegetables

My simple, tasty and veggie winter recipe:

For 4 Persons:

- 80g Abrorio Risotto per Person

- 200ml white wine

- 100ml redbeet juice

-30g Parmiggiano Riggiano

- 8 mushrooms

- 1 carrot

- 1 red beet (middle size)

- 2 onions

- fresh thyme

- rosemary

- one pinch of lemon zest

- olive oil

- 400 vegetable or chicken stock

-2 Tblsp white balsamic vinegar

Salt & Pepper

1. Cut the red beet, mushrooms, carrot and one onion in mouthsize pieces. 

Then season with vinegar, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary, drizzle with 

olive oil and roast at 200°C in the oven for about 45-60 minutes.

2. After 20-30 minutes cut the other onion very small and fry it for 1 minute 

with the rice and a pinch of salt in 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

3. Add 100ml of the white wine, then continue adding 50-100ml of the stock 

and the white wine every time the liquid gets absorbed by the rice. 

Don't forget to stir, otherwise the rice likes to stick to the base.

4. Add the red beet juice to the rice and stir. Now it gets a beautiful 

rose color and a slightly sweet taste. Test the rice, it should be cooked 

and sticky, but not to mellow in the middle of the corn. 

5. Grate most of the parmiggiano in the rice and stir, then serve with 

the roasted vegetables on top and finish by adding the rest of the grated cheese.

Bon Appetit!

Cooking: My best pumpkin soup

After I participated last Friday a mexican cooking class, I was so 

inspired that I tried a new way to make a pumpkin soup - a must do in october!

Usually I made it with coconut cream, ginger and carrots. 

Good but very common...Now this is my new favorite, and I think that 

I am going to make it again in two or three weeks.

You will need for 6:

1 small hokkaido pumpkin

2 cans of sweet corn

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves

pinch of cipotle powder

1 avocado

100g/3,5 oz feta cheese (made of sheep milk)

500ml / 13,5 fl oz chicken brooth

200ml water

4 little tomatos

Bake the whole pumpkin for 50min in the oven (200°C /392°F)

then let it cool down while you cut the corn from the cobs. 

Chop the onion and the garlic in small pieces. 

Take about one tablespoon from the onions and fry them in a bit of hot 

oil until they are almost black - I really mean almost black! It will give a 

fantastic smoky flavour to the soup...now take the fried onions beside 

and bring the chicken brooth to boil. Add three quarter of the corn and 

the fresh onions and garlic and let them simmer for 10 minutes 

while you  add a bit water every 5 minutes. 

Take the pumpkin, core it and cut it into fingerthick pieces. 

Quarter the tomatos and add them with the pumpkin pieces to the corn.  Then 

let the soup cook another 10 minutes, until you blend it (I suggest a hand held blender). 

If the soup is to thick, add some hot water. Serve the soup with bits of avocado, feta 

cheese crumbs  and a bit of the remaining  uncooked corn.

Bon appetit! 

Best of New York - Part 1

Hi! I'm back, finally. 

I have been in beautiful New York for the first time. 

Twelwe awesome days exploring the big apple - and it's culinary treasures. 

There were so many treasures I want to share with you,

 that I decided to give you an outline of my absolute favorites. 

This is a list of the best locations and things I suggest to check out when you are in NY. 

Let's start - this is part one - the second is following soon!

1. Awesome, fresh Lobster Roll at Red Hook Lobster booth

every Saturday 'til 3pm at Smorgasburg Food Market in Williamsburg

http://www.smorgasburg.com/

 

 2. Brisket Sandwich from Mighty Quinns Barbeque
(also on Saturdays at Smorgasburg Market)
Brisket is smoked, marinated and slowly baked beef...delicious!

http://www.mightyquinnsbbq.com/index.html

3. Mexican Popsicles - here: Cucumber & Lime - sooooo refreshing!
La Newyorkina Mexican Ice & Sweets
http://lanewyorkina.com/Home.html

4. Marie Belle - the BEST creamy, italian hot chocolate & patisserie

Also teas, chocolates and a cute parisian atmosphere - Go there!

https://www.mariebelle.com/ 

5. BUY one regional farmer tomato from an organic store!

Very expensive but THE BEST. I ate italian, south french, romanian, greek 

and spanish tomatos. I swear, this one was better!

6. Bubba Gump's

shrimps, shrimps and shrimps - my favorite: fried Coconut Shrimps

http://www.bubbagump.com/

Cheers!

Cooking: Fast Spaghetti with Salsiccia and Tomato-Lemon Sauce

One of my new favorite after working meals, because it's easy and fast to do and really tasty. 

You will need for 2 persons:

200g spaghetti or linguine

2 italian salsiccia sausages (with fennel seeds)

1 unwaxed lemon

2 tablespoons of capers

1 can of chopped tomatos

2 fresh tomatos

1 garlic clove

some parmigiano reggiano

olive oil

salt & pepper

1.) Preheat the pan while you drag out the filling out of the sausage casing and from little balls.

2.) Fry the chopped garlic in oliveoil for 30 seconds, then add the sausage balls and the capers.

3.) After 3 Minutes add the canned and fresh tomatos and start to cook the pasta in 

boiling & salted water for 8-9 minutes. No oliveoil in the pastawater! 

No real italian does that, and the oil film prevents the pasta to soak up the sauce.

4.) Rasp lemonzest and add to sauce together with two tablespoons of lemon juice. 

If you happen to have some lemon chutney or pickles, add a teaspoon.

5. Season with salt and freshly grounded pepper and continue cooking the sauce until the pasta is ready.

6. Mix together, add some grated parmigiano. 

7. Enjoy! (with red or rose whine)

Cooking: Halloumi with spiced Spinach & Apricots

Once in a while, not very often, I don't have appetite for meat at all, 

especially when it is warm outside and we don't do a BBQ. 

So I found a pack of chili-seasoned halloumi cheese and some frozen leaf-spinach. 

I started to roast some onions and garlic in olive oil, added some fresh 

chili peppers, eights of fresh apricots and the spinach.  After cooking it for 10 minutes 

I seasoned it with salt & pepper, a dash of fresh lemon juice I left it aside. 

Then I fried the cheese in a pan, and topped it over the spinach - easy peasy! 

What you need for 2 persons:

200-300g Halloumi Cheese (if it is pure, season it yourself with 

chilies, bell pepper powder and some olive oil)

350g frozen leaf spinach

8 fresh apricots

1/2 chili pepper

3 garlic cloves

1 medium onion

olive oil, salt&pepper, 1 dash of lemon juice

Cooking: chocolate maccarons with lemon zest and olive oil

Ok, first of all I must admit that I used a baking mix - but only because 

- I never made maccarons before

- It was 11pm 

- And it was a souvenir from France

So I made these for my Mom as a little birthday surprise.

I just wondered what I could add to make them more special and because it is summertime

 I tried extra virgin olive oil and organic lemon zest, that I put into the dough and into the cream.

Conclusion: Olive Oil remains subtle and intesifies the dark chocolate 

while the lemon zest gives a mediterranean perfumed flavor. 

Next time I will use a forcing bag to get them rounder and make the dough and cream all by myself! 

I promise...

Inspiration: Fat and Furious Burger

A funny and inspiring Blog: they present fantastic burger ideas in a wonderful way. 

Watch and try the recipes with your friends! My favorites are 

"The fart and the furious burger", "The End Burger" and "Neil Armstrong Burger"

http://fatandfuriousburger.com/

Inspiration: Rachel Khoo

Warm Potato-Apple Salad from "Little Paris Kitchen" by Rachel Khoo

By accident I found a new book in the cooking section of a big book store in Berlin: 

Rachel Khoo's "Little Paris Kitchen" and instantly fell in love with it. A young woman who 

studied Design, (like me), loving food and cooking, who passed the honored education 

of Paris' Cordon Bleu Institute in Patisserie, driven by her passion for good food and 

fantastic taste. I admit that she kind of became a role model for me: my biggest wish is to 

study Food Design in Nantes / Brussels or Rome for a long time.... 

She shows us the traditional french cuisine with her own twists and some new and easy ways 

to enjoy it. And she shows me, that a person, that is acting according to his passion and his 

instincts can achieve a lot. I do not want to become the same, not even to cook particularly, 

but I want to work with excelent food in a creative way, by inventing, composing and designing 

new products, concepts and combinations for tasteful high-quality meals. 

Now it seems that I talked so much about this book, that I got it twice as a christmas present 

from family and friends... 

Take a look for yourself and be inspired:

http://www.rachelkhoo.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hun_yj5u4S0

Cooking: Fast Peas with Mint Mash

I have to admit, this recipe is inspired by good old Jamie Oliver,

but mine are faster and so ridiculously easy. I made them for my girls as one of many different tapas.

For 4 Persons:

• 500g of frozen green peas - nothing against frozen vegetables, 

they contain more vitamins then the "fresh" ones from the supermarket

• 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter

•1 hand full of fresh mint

• salt

Defrost the peas in a heat-resistant bowl in the microwave oven for 3 Minutes (700W).

In this time you can cut one half of the mint leaves roughly in smaller pieces.

Add them with a little bit of salt to the peas and cook them for another 3 Minutes in the microwave.

Now add the rest of the mint and mash them for 1 Minute, add the butter, stir, Finito!

Goes with all kinds of meat, prawns, roasted peppers, bacon, or cheese.