Kraeuter-Doemchen

This past fall I had the good fortune to go
to Germany. I went to Cologne for the first
time and it was love at first sight. The
cathedral - Koelner dom - was more than I even imagined it
could be. I had no idea
at the time but the remains of the magi
are at the Cologne cathedral.

Check out the website. They've got
a webcam so you can gaze at it any time you like.
You can also listen to the bells. They all have
their own names and you can pick which one
to listen to. The cathedral was bombed extensively
during WWII. It wasn't destroyed because the
towers were good visual guides for the allied pilots.
But how beautiful it is now!!!

In the gift shop they sold cookie cutters in the shape of
the dom.














I had to translate the recipe from german
so here goes:

200g flour
30 g rice flour
160g cold butter cut into pieces
1 egg
5 tablespoons parmesan
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg with milk to glaze the biscuits

Sift the flours together. Take the rest of the
ingredients and mix in starting with an electric mixer.
Then knead by had for a bit. Chill for
an hour or so. Roll thin and cut out.
Paint with milk and egg mixture.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. (you'll have
to judge about the baking time. The recipe
said to bake for a lot longer but they got too dark).



Enjoy with koelsch beer!!! More about the beer later.

Lunch in Traben-Trarbach

Market at Kollwitzplatz Berlin

Yes, I've joined the ranks of the lucky ones
who get to travel a bit and take
pictures of glorious food.
These are all from Kollwitzplatz market in
Berlin. It's just the tip of the ice berg.

Treacle Tart

When I was a bit younger, I had the good luck
to spend a whole summer in England in Oxford.
My daughter was young and I had wonderful
time spending every day with her. In the evenings
we would often go down to the local pub and
eat outside. We loved the sunlight that lasted till around
ten at night. My favorite dessert was the
treacle tart. They would heat it up and serve it
with whipped cream. An actual person made this
tart. And the actual person actually gave the
recipe.


















In case you can't read the recipe here it goes:

Pastry to Line Tart

6 oz self raising flour
3 oz butter
2 fuid oz milk
Half an egg
Pinch salt

Filling

16 fluid oz (1lb) Golden Syrup
5 oz fresh white breadcrumbs

Top Pastry

4 oz butter
2 oz castor sugar
half an egg
6 oz self raising flour
1 egg to gild tart
2 teaspoons castor sugar

Preparation

Put breadcumbs in basin and pour golden syrup over.
Leave to stand.

Make the pastry to line tart by mixing butter
lightly into the sifted flour and then forming the mixture
into a dough with the milk, half an egg and salt.
Knead lightly and place in the refridgerator for 1/2 hr.

Make top pastry by creaming the butter and sugar,
adding half-beaten egg when thoroughly combined
folding in the sifted flour. Place in refridgerator to chill.
Pre-heat oven to 375 F or 5 gas.

Method

1 Roll out bottom pastry to a 10 inch circle.
Line 9 inch flan ring stading on a greasted tray.
Trim off pastry and prick base with end of a sharp knife.

2 Fill pastry case with combined syrup and
breadcrumbs.

3 Roll out top astry ona well floured board or
press out with hands -- roll lightly with the
rolling pin and then roll over pin.

4 Place gently over patry bottom and press edges
together. Trim off excess pastry. Prick surface, brush
with beaten egg and sprinkle with castor sugar.
Bake in oven for approx. 20 mins - 25mins. Remove from oven
and leave to cool.

Service

The tart must cool for 1 hour then can be reheated at
250 degrees F. gas 1 for 5 mins.

You will note that two pastries are used.
This si the vital secret of this superb English dish.

Wild Mushroom Pizza

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit.
I used chanterelles for my mushrooms.
Usually they cost $20/pound but Costco
had a wonderful deal for a big box for just $9.

This pizza is especially good in the fall.







Mmmm chanterelles.


Putting together the pizza. I just make one big one
rather than two small round ones.


The problem is that we ate the pizza before we
had the chance to properly photo it.

Pickled Plums

Yes we need more blue food. OK this is purple but its
close. This recipe comes from Nika Hazeldon's
The Swiss Cookbook.

The plums are very useful around Thanksgiving
and Christmas.

Take 3 pounds of purple Italian plum, wash them
and poke each of them with a needle a couple of times.

Boil 1 1/2 cup red wine, 1 1/2 cup red wine vinegar,
2 1/3 cups sugar, 15 cloves and a couple of pieces of
cinnamon sticks for 5 minutes.

Let the mixture cool. Then pour over the plums.
Cover and leave till the next day.
Pour off the liquid and bring it to a boil.
Let it cool and then pour it over the plums.

Next day SLOWLY heat up the plums
till they begin to tear in one or two places.
IMMEDIATELY remove the plums
and put them in hot sterilized quart jars.
Boil the rest of the liquid till it thickens a bit.
Not too much or there won't be enough liquid.

Pour the liquid over the plums and seal the
jars. Process them for 15 minutes.



See how one is torn. If you cook them too much they
turn to mush.


My dog loves them!!!

Comfort me with apples some more - Apple Pie

Yes, it is apple season. I think the apples are pretty
good this year. I used a mixture of honeycrisp and
gala. All locally grown.

So make your pie crust.
I use 1 cup of flour and a 1/2 teaspoon of
salt. 1/3 cup butter and 3 to 4 tablespoons of ice water.
You know the drill. If not I'll be happy to fill you in.


For the filling I added some brown sugar, white sugar,
cinnamon, 1/4 cup or so of flour. Cloves and
the secret ingredient which you have no idea
how generous it is of me to divulge this:
rosewater. 1 tablespoon.


Roll out your dough. I only use 1 crust and curl it
over. So roll it out very thin and line your pie pan.



Put in the filling. I add about a tablespoon of
butter. Fold the dough over the
apples.


Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 F
and bake another 50 minutes to an hour.





Soutenez-moi avec des gateaux de
raisins. Fortifiez-moi avec des pommes;
Car je suis malade d'amour

Anise Biscotti

I can't remember how I found the blog site
64 sq ft Kitchen.
It's just one of those very lucky, serendipitous things
you come across on the web. It's absolutely gorgeous.

In the posting for these cookies, Warda, writes of her
grandmother and a dream
she had of her. I guarantee it is so beautiful
you will cry. So go check out her
site. You won't be sorry.

This is just the first of many things I intend to try
from her site.

Blue Gnocchi

I thought with a new month I might move
on to a new color but it doesn't look like its going to
happen. I'm definitely in a blue period.

So for blue gnocchi boil 1 pound of blue potatoes.
Mash them up so they are not lumpy at all.
Add 1 1/2 cup of flour and a beaten egg.


Make a nice non sticky dough.



Roll into a coil about 1/2 inch thick.
Cut into 1/2 inch pieces of however big or small
you like.


This is where I fell down on my sword.
You are supposed to put an indentation in them
so they sort of curl up. I couldn't get the hang of it.


Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
Boil gnocchi till it rises to the surface.


I served it with some melted butter and sage.

Leek and Blue Potato Soup

This is the last post for this September.
It has been a beautiful month. I thought
we should end with one more blue note.

Take two onions and chop them up.
Chop up 2 or 3 leeks. Sweat them
in 3 tablespoons of butter.




Chop up about 4 or so medium potatoes.



Add them to the leeks and onions. Put in a teaspoon of salt.
Add enough water to cover and cook until the potatoes
are tender.



Add about 2 cups of milk and 2 tablespoons of butter.
Taste for salt and pepper.