Food

Recipes for Hot Hot Weather

~ Hanna ~ 1 Comment

Happy Sunday everyone.

I gotta tell you right at the start: It’s too darn hot here. Way too hot for me to think. So I spend my time working (yep, gotta do that on weekends too), reading and looking for something to share with you. And this is what I came up with:

I hope you all know that I looove food. And even though it’s really hot right now, people got to eat. I’m not terribly hungry, but there are a few things that will make my mouth water. So, while browsing the world-wide web, I came across some great recipes for days like these. And I’d like to share these recipes with you.

I’ll start with a starter that reminded me of a trip to Lucerne. WATERMELON SOUP WITH MINT. I had it in a restaurant in Lucerne and I have to admit, there are lots of versions of it on the internet. Here are two recipes that I think look great:

A more classy version: Minty Chilled Watermelon Soup

A version for those who like it hot when it’s hot: Watermelon, Cucumber & Mint Soup

Now on to the entrée. So I found this awesome recipe for SPINACH AND ORANGE YOGURT SALAD RAITA. I have to admit it’s more of a dip. But hey, you can easily alter it. Just take some more spinach (If it’s fresh, take a LOT of it. Like a gallon or more [that’s about 4 liters]) and it’s a salad. If you’d like to add some meat, you could add grilled chicken or beef. Just experiment. Don’t be afraid. (And yes, you can also have bread with it). I had all sorts of spinach yogurt salads and I’ve always loved them. I’m looking forward to trying this one.

Here’s the original recipe: Spinach and Orange Yogurt Salad Raita

For dessert, I’d suggest HONEY YOGURT BERRY POPS. I think they look delicious. And I bet they also taste great. 🙂 When I was a child, we used to make yogurt pops, but we never put berries in them. This seems to be the adult version 😀

To bring back childhood memories, or to simply chill with a dessert, click here: Honey Yogurt Berry Pops

Bon Appetit

Recipe – Chocolate Chip Cookies

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi there,

For the past week, I’ve been munching away more than 20 Chocolate Chip Cookies. When a friend of mine told me she’ll make some, I felt instantly inspired and had to make some too. I knew that my dad wouldn’t want to eat them, so I only made half the recipe. But still… I had 20+ cookies to eat and I only gave away about three I think. You think that’s selfish? Nah… There aren’t that many people around me to feed. So it took me about a week to finish them all. And they were yummy.

Here you can see pictures of the last cookie vanishing:

cookie

 

While you watch, I’ll tell you something about the recipe. Because you’ll probably get hungry on the way down…

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is the one from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. You can find the recipe here.

This time however, I wanted to have an even more crisper cookie (I love them crispy) and so I decided to alter the original recipe a little bit. I made no changes to the process, only to the ingredients (and I only made half of the recipe). So here are the ingredients exactly as I used them:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
  • 1 cup chopped almonds

For instructions, follow the link to the original recipe.

What’s your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe? Please share it with me. I love baking! Thanks 🙂

Book Stack Cake

~ Hanna ~ 8 Comments

As I’ve already told you, I have made a Book Stack Cake for my grandpa’s 80th birthday last weekend.

It took me two days to make and I think it looked great for a first try. It also was my first time working with fondant and it was really fun. In the end, my auntie helped me do the decorating (she did most of the writing on the cake 🙂 )

Here it is:

grandpa cake

My grandpa has always been an admirer of Lenin and Marx, so I included these two books. And his first name is Hans, so the book on top is his book 🙂

 

To make the cakes, I followed these two tutorials:

Tutorial No. 1

Tutorial No. 2

I made three different cakes. Among them was an Earl Grey Tea Cake which was very, very yummy. You can find the recipe over at Visual Heart.

What I learned is:

  • Take your time – you’ll need it
  • Fondant tastes ugly – it’s way too sweet
  • Working with fondant is like working with modeling clay (childhood memories galore)
  • Only do this if you have strong nerves
  • Only do this for a person you really love 🙂

 

I’m glad I made this cake!

 

Coming Soon – New Incoming Books and a Book Stack Cake

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi Guys,

I’ve been gone for a few days because my grandpa turned 80 and had a huge birthday party. My family and I went there and I made him a book stack cake (which took me 2 days to make). I’ll post pictures and the links to the how-tos soon.

I also started reading a new book and I won another book which I’ll start reading today, ’cause taking part in a book discussion is part of the deal. I’ll tell you more about these two books in the upcoming posts. (The first is an ARC, the second a best-seller)

I hope you had a great week!

Stay tuned 🙂

Incoming ARC – Provence, 1970

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

I am thrilled to announce that Clarkson Potter provided me with an advance reading copy (ARC) of Provence, 1970 by Luke Barr. The book will be out in October 2013. I will read it as soon as I can and then I’ll get back to you with a review.

Image provided by Random House¹

 

Summary quoted from Random House¹:
Provence, 1970 is about a singular historic moment. In the winter of that year, more or less coincidentally, the iconic culinary figures James Beard, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Richard Olney, Simone Beck, and Judith Jones found themselves together in the South of France. They cooked and ate, talked and argued, about the future of food in America, the meaning of taste, and the limits of snobbery. Without quite realizing it, they were shaping today’s tastes and culture, the way we eat now. The conversations among this group were chronicled by M.F.K. Fisher in journals and letters—some of which were later discovered by Luke Barr, her great-nephew. In Provence, 1970, he captures this seminal season, set against a stunning backdrop in cinematic scope—complete with gossip, drama, and contemporary relevance.

¹http://www.randomhouse.com/book/202688/provence-1970-by-luke-barr

Milford sweepstake – another win

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

I’m so very sorry, but there’s so much going on right now, I barely got time to breathe. Still, I got some posts for you in the pipeline ’cause things have been happening in the world of giveaways, sweepstakes, movies AND I’m even trying to finish a book right now, so you might get a book review soon.

Now back to today’s topic. A few days ago, I entered a Milford sweepstake, forgot about it and found a little package at my doorstep today. In it, there was a package of tea that I chose in case I won, a pen, post its and four cute magnets.

Screenshot5~01

Teekanne Beerentraum

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

A few days ago, Teekanne sent me two envelopes of Beerentraum tea (berry mix).

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Taste:

Head: Fruity

Body: Citrus

Tail: weak Raspberry

Smell: Fruity, Berries

Overall rating: 3 Star Rating: Recommended

Nice fruit tea, I might buy it again, though nothing special.

Twinings Everyday Tea

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

So today I’d like to introduce to you Twinings Everyday Tea

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Here’s my 3 word review:

Head: Smoke

Body: Earth

Tail: Cinnamon

Overall: bohnen5s

Head, Body, Tail,… What does this mean? Look here

Twinings Goodie Bag

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

I’m a huge fan of Twinings, and I was one before all this happened. This goodie bag story actually started when Twinings announced on their Facebook page that they would hold an Easter Makes, Bakes and Treats Contest. At this point, I had already been in the process of crafting egg warmers out of felt for some days and so I thought, why not give it a shot? I took this picture of my egg warmers with a freshly-baked brioche bunny of the lot I made for some friends and posted it to Twinings’ Facebook wall.

eggwarmers

Twinings reposted my picture, which made me very happy and now, about two weeks later, the mail man brought me this:

twiningsgoodie

My very own Twinings goodie bag! Consisting of a Twinings tea apron, Twinings Everyday Tea and Twinings Camomile & Maple Sensation Tea!

Thank you Twinings 🙂

Biokiste – Organic Box

~ Hanna ~ 2 Comments

Today our first Biokiste from the organic farm Achleitner Biohof arrived. There’s three sizes and lots of different boxes to choose from. You can also choose between weekly and biweekly delivery.

DSCN3657
This is only part of what was in the box 😀

We decided to order the small “Mutter-Kind” box. It had tomatoes, carrots, 2 small cucumbers, 2 kiwis, 3 bananas, 4 small apples, mushrooms and an eggplant in it and cost about 14€. The produce is organic and looks fresh. The box was delivered to our door. As soon as we cook something, I’ll tell you more.

Price: bohnen3s

Content: bohnen4s

Taste: tba

x Darklittle