urban odds & ends

Welsh rarebit

This is soo delicious! Even more delicious with a nice bottle of beer and it's a very good way to use the chilli-pepper chutney I made recently.

Welsh rarebit (2 hungry persons)
adapted from Jamie Oliver - Jamie At Home p. 322

4 x 2 cm thick slices good bread (sourdough)
2 large egg yolks
150g crème fraîche
100g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp. chilli-pepper chutney
Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper

Preheat your oven on high heat (250°C) and toast your slices of bread on both sides. Whisk the egg yolks with the crème fraîche, stirr in the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Von Cooking

Spread a big tablespoon of the chilli-pepper chutney on each slice, followed by a quarter of the rarebit mixture.

Von Cooking

By spreading it to the edge of the bread you'll avoid a burned crust. Grill it in the oven until melted and bubbling.

Von Cooking

With a knife, criss-cross the topping and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce just for the right kick.

Von Cooking

Break.

| at 12:18 PM

Since friday we are visiting Stephans family, this week is going to be pretty eventful. Stephans uncle, who is only 4 years older than him, is getting married tomorrow and friday is the churchly wedding. Yesterday was the wedding-eve party - I have to admitt that my liver has to work on full speed this week - the family is able to hold one's drink ;)

I spend my time with doing nothing besides relaxing. Reading, fighting the cold weather in the bath tube and watching tv. Occasionally we are lifting our bottoms to go shopping (I was in need of a lipstick fitting to my gown: Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon - it looks amazing!).

Now I have to draw my attention back to the Champions Legague game FC Bayern München vs. Girondins Bordeaux. Equalizer and red card for Bayern - hilarious ;)

Bye Bye!

Hot Chilli-Pepper Chutney

| at 9:39 AM

Von Cooking

Hello my precious babies, are you ready to heat things up? We have a little chilli overflow at the moment and are forced to use them in almost every dish ;) Today, I made a batch of hot chilli-pepper chutney - lovely!

Chilli-pepper chutney (makes about 500g)

adapted from Jamie Oliver - Jamie At Home p.321

5 Fresh red chillies, pierced a few times with a sharp knife

8 Red peppers

2 Medium red onions, chopped

A spring of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped

2 Fresh bay leaves

A 5cm piece of cinnamon

75g Brown sugar

150mL Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

And here are the leading actors - Restless Red Rita and Yummy Yellow Yna:

Von Cooking

Place the red peppers and the chillies on an oven rack in the preheated oven at the highest heat possible turning them now and then to blacken them evenly. We want them really dark and blistered, when they look like burned - it's okay, this is were we want to go. But be careful and keep an eye on the chillies, they're much smaller so take them out earlier then the red peppers.

Von Cooking

Lift the hot peppers and chillies in a bowl and cover thightly with clingfilm. As they cool down they will cook in their own steam. By the time they're cool enough to handle, you'll be able to peel the skin off easily. When you've got rid of the skin, stalks and seeds chop them finely and put on side.

Von Cooking

Place a large skillet over medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Throw in the onions, the bay leaves, rosemary and cinnamon and season with a little bit salt and pepper. Cook very slowly without browning for about 20 minutes, until the onions get sweet and sticky. Add the chopped peppers and chillies, sugar and vinegar and keep cooking until the liquid reduced and you're left with a lovely thick sticky chutney. Remove the cinnamon and the bay leaves, season to taste and spoon into sterilized jars or keep in fridge and use it right away (for Welsh rarebit like we did - recipe follows).

Von Cooking

A little advise: open the kitchen window while your cooking, the air gets very "thick" while cooking this hot chillies ;)

Chicken Tikka Masala

| at 9:15 AM

Hm, this was really delicious!

The last time Stephan visited Heidelberg, he gifted me with something I always appreciate: cooking stuff :) He bought me in my favourite spicemonger a package of garam masala spice - so it was obvious that I have to cook something indian this weekend. After a quick search in my recipe collection I found a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala - yum!

Chicken Tikka Masala (2 persons)

2 Chicken breasts

100g Plain yogurt

100g Creme fraîche

1 Can whole tomatoes

1 Large onion, chopped

2 Gloves garlic, finely minced

1 Thumbsized chunk fresh ginger, finely minced

1 Chili pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp. butter

Garam Masala*

Cumin

Ground Coriander

Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Sugar

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven on 150°C. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, cumin and ground coriander and set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and coat the upper side with yogurt. Put it in the oven for about 30 minutes until the chicken ist totally cooked and lightly golden.

Now you can place a large skillet on medium heat and melt the butter. Toss in the onions and cook until transluscent, add the garlic and ginger and a pinch of salt. Do not forget stirring since garlic burns very fast.

Von Cooking

Next you're going to add the garam masala spice and the chili and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Now take a deep breath - smells divine, doesn't it? Add the tomatoes and a pinch of sugar and stirr until the bottom of the pan is deglaced. With a wooden spoon crush the tomatoes and let the mixture simmer lid on for about 25 minutes.

Add the creme fraîche to the Tikka Masala sauce and stir it in. By the time the chicken is ready, chop it up into bitesized chunks and add it to the sauce. Season to taste and add the chopped cilantro.

Von Cooking

As side dish we cooked 2 cups rice with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp. ground turmeric, it gives a nice colour and additional taste.

Von Cooking

* The Garam Masala spice is a mixture of several spices and contains:

1 tbsp. coriander; ground
1 tbsp. cumin; ground
1 tbsp. ground black pepper
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper; ground
1 tbsp. fennel seeds; ground
1 tbsp. ginger; ground
1 tbsp. cardamom; ground
1 tbsp.nutmeg; ground
1 tsp. cloves; ground

Aspirations.

| at 11:12 AM

86/365

Originally uploaded by idle a while

Off time!

| at 11:57 PM

The days are becoming shorter, the colors of nature are changing and the craving for a nice mug of hot chocolate grows. Autumn arrived and I'm glad it finally did. I can't stand the hot weather any longer ;)

Last week I've finished my last exam for this semester and I'm going to enjoy this week without learning or being the whole day in the laboratory until the new semester begins. I will use this time to clean up our apartment, meeting with friends and spending a lot of time with a good book on our couch. Also I hope I'm going to spend more time in the kitchen and try new recipes - the cafeteria food comes out of my ears, why do they deep-fry everything? heeelloooo health *knock knock* can you heeaaaar me? ;)

Pumpkin soup with coconut milk(serves 2 persones)

1/2 hokaido squash, the flesh diced

3-4 middlesized potatoes, peeled and diced

1 onion, chopped

1 glove of garlic, minced

1 thumbsized piece of ginger, chopped

1 chili, chopped

~ 1L broth

~ 150mL coconut milk

salt & pepper

Favourite herbs & spices: parslay, coriander, garam marsala, ras el hanout

In a large pot heat a gulp of olive oil on medium heat and throw the squash, potatoes, onions, ginger, chili and garlic in and cook for some minutes occasionally stirring. Then add the broth, put the lid on and cook under a gentle boil for about 30 minutes. If the squash and the potatoes fell easily of a fork they are done. Now take your hand-held blender or food processor and free your agressions and mix until the soup is smooth. Return the pot to heat and add the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper until it tastes right to you. I like to add parsley, garam marsala and ras el hanout and I think coriander is a winner too.

The right thing for a fall evening

| at 12:40 AM

With seven chili bushes ready for harvest, we thought a Chili is the right dish to start. Minimal effort with maximal yummyliciousness ;)

Chili (serves 2 persones)

4 slices bacon, chopped

250g beef stew meat

1 large onion, roughly chopped

4 gloves garlic, minced

500g canned whole tomatoes

1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can red beans, rinsed and drained

1-2 chilis, halfed

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. oregano, dried

salt & pepper

In a big pot with a gulp olive oil, cook bacon and beef over medium heat until the beef is nicely browned. Reduce heat and add onions and half of the garlic. Cook occasionally stirring until the onion is translucent. Now add the canned tomatoes, beans and chilis. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer. After you covered the pot, you have to place yourself on your sofa with a glass of red wine in front of the tv and relax for an hour ;) - but don't forget to stir occasionally.

Then stir in the remaining garlic and add the vinegar. Cook covered for one hour. Check consistency (add water if it's to thick) and season to taste with salt, pepper and oregano.

urban odds & ends

Welsh rarebit

Break.

Hot Chilli-Pepper Chutney

Chicken Tikka Masala

Aspirations.

Off time!

The right thing for a fall evening

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