Scrambled Aniseed Pancake

This is one of my most beloved memories from my childhood, because my mom would always make it for me, when I was sick:

You'll need:
4 eggs
240 ml / 1 cup milk
4 tbsp sugar
8 tbsp flour
Aniseed to taste
3-4 tsp. butter

Divide the eggs.
Whisk egg whites with 1 tbsp. sugar until stiff
Beat egg yokes and 3 tbsp.l sugar until creamy and white.
Carefully fold in flour, milk and egg whites.
Add Aniseed. I usually use at least 1 tsp., but I really love this flavour.
You may want to use only a little to begin with and add more if you enjoy the taste.

In a pan melt 1 tsp. butter.
Pour in batter approximately 2 cm / 1 inch high.
Bake over medium heat for approx. 5 minutes, until it's starting to set and the bottom is slightly brown.
Flip over and bake for another 2 minutes until slightly brown again.
Using two forks (careful if you use a coated pan) tear the pancake into bite size bits.

Repeat with the remaining batter (depending on the size of the pan you'll get 3 or 4 pancakes).

Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and a side of apple sauce.

Enjoy,

     Sasha

Spring Salad

Now that it seems that the winter is coming to an end, I felt the need to have something colorful and fresh on my plate, which would remind me that spring is just around the corner.

You'll need:
8 slices of boiled ham
8 slices of Gouda
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 handful of red radish
1 white radish (small)
1 zucchini (small)
1 cucumber (small)
2-3 carrots
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
salad herbs

Cut the ham and the Gouda in small stripes.
Wash the bell peppers, cut in quarters, remove the seeds and cut into small stripes.
Wash and peel red and white radish, zucchini, cucumber and carrots as needed.
Grate very thinly (julienne) using a grater or food processor.
Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salad herbs to taste.
In a large bowl combine all ingredients and taste with the salad dressing.

Enjoy,

     Sasha

Macaroons

Because I had a lot of egg whites left over from a different recipe, I made these:

You'll need (for one batch):

3 egg whites

125 gr / 4,4 oz ground nuts (almonds in the green ones / hazelnuts in the brown ones / cashew in the blue ones)

210 gr / 7,4 oz powdered sugar

30 gr / 1 oz granulated sugar

green - green food coloring and a few drops lemon oil

blue - blue food color

brown - 3 tbsp cocoa powder

For the filling:

75 gr / 2,6 oz whipping cream

200 gr / 7 oz white chocolate coating

In a food processor mix the nuts and the powdered sugar.

Beat the egg whites with the granulated sugar until very stiff.

Carefully add the sugar-nut-mix, and the additional ingredients for each kind.

Fill egg mix into a piping bag.

Cover backing pan with paper and squirt little drops onto the paper.

Let dry for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 160 °C / 320 °F.

Bake macaroons for 10 - 12 minutes.

Let them cool off on a rack.

Meanwhile boil whipping cream in a small pan.

Chop chocolate coating (or use chips) and add to hot cream, stirring until melted.

Cool off slightly.

Fill into a piping bag.

Use chocolate cream to glue together two macaroons.

Enjoy,

     Sasha

Chicken Soup with Carrot Semolina Balls

This is my little girl's favourite soup, mainly because she usually gets to form the balls.

You'll need:
125 ml / 1/2 cup carrot juice
75 gr / 2,6 oz butter
80 gr / 2,8 oz semolina (rough-ground)
Salt, Pepper
1 egg
750 ml / 3 cups chicken soup (instant)
2 spring onions

In a medium pot bring carrot juice and butter to a boil.
Add semolina and cook until you get a homogeneous mass.
Let slightly cool off, add salt, pepper and egg.
Form into cherry sized balls.
Heat the instant chicken soup, add carrot balls and cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes.
Wash the spring onions, cut into little rings, sprinkle over soup.

Enjoy,

     Sasha

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Well, that may just as well apply to women.
If you are looking for some ideas to score with your loved one, here are three simple and easy treats that require little to no cooking skills.

1. Sweet lovin'

You'll need
- Lump sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Sugar hearts

In a very small bowl or cup mix 1 tbsp powdered sugar with 1 tbsp lukewarm water. You want to go for a syrup like consistency. Drop 1 sugar heart in the syrup. Using a little spoon coat the heart with the syrup and then place on a piece of lump sugar. Let dry.

2. Take my heart

  

You'll need

- 1 bag of red hard candy without filling

- Dried rose petals / dried strawberries / coconut flakes

- Wooden skewers

Set your oven to the highest setting. In a food processor grind the hard candy into a fine powder.

Place a silicon mat on your backing pan. You can also use pan liner, just make sure it does not get too dark after the second or third time to the oven.

Place a heart shaped cookie cutter on the mat and fill the cutter with the candy powder. The more you use, the thicker your lolly will get, but it's also more likely for it to burn on the edges if you don't fill it evenly.

Take off the cutter and put a skewer in the middle of the powder down the center of  the heart.

I usually put three or four hearts in the oven at once, otherwise it'll get difficult to time the melting process.

Place in the oven for 15 to 20 seconds (don't go anywhere!), watch the melting process through the glass and as soon as all the sugar has melted, take the baking pan out and let the lollies cool off.

While the sugar is still melted, you could correct the shape if needed. I usually twist the skewer a bit, so it's completely covered with sugar, that way it will hold better.

Also you can sprinkle any of the above mentioned ingredients on your lolly to create different looks.

Those lollies also make a very nice table decoration for a valentine's dinner.

3. Roses are red.

You'll need

- 1 Puff pastry sheet

- 4 to 5 ripe plums

- Vanilla sugar

- Egg yoke

- Powdered sugar

Set your oven to 180°C / 356°F.

Cut the puff pastry in strips about 20 x 2 cm / 8 x 1 inch.

Cut the plum in half, take out the stone and cut the fruit in very thin slices.

Place the slices on the puff pastry, slightly overlapping.

Sprinkle with vanilla sugar.

Brush the egg yoke on the edges, then roll up the strips, carefully tucking in the ends.

Place on a backing pan and brush with egg yoke again.

Bake for approx. 15 min or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serve immediately, while still warm.

I wish all of you a very nice Valentine's Day.

Let me know if you tried any of those ideas and how your love liked them.

Love,

     Sasha

Bruschetta Dip

I love Bruschetta, an Italian appetizer made out of toasted Ciabatta and grilled tomatoes.

But sometimes I just don't have the time or the ingredients at home to make the "real deal".
For these cases I have the Bruschetta dip.

Ingredients - Bruschetta dip:

Spicery (recipe see below)
Tomato purée
Olive oil
Ciabatta bread
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven on "grill" setting.

In a bowl combine 1 part spicery with 2 parts olive oil.
Then add 3 parts tomato purée and stir until well blended.
You can add a bit of water if you want to have a thinner dip.
Rest for about 10 minutes.

I usually use a tablespoon to measure the parts.
Some people like more spicery or more tomato purée, you may have to experiment a bit until you find the right mixing ratio for you.

In the meantime cut Ciabatta bread in finger thick slices and roast in the oven until slightly brown on top or crispy.
Grate Parmesan. I like to have Parmesan flakes.

Serve in different bowles or spread the dip on the bread and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

The Bruschetta goes very well with the famous "Insalata Caprese", made of tomatoes, mozarella, basil and balsamic vinegar.

The dip is also very tasty with vegetable sticks. Any left over dip should be stored in the refrigerator and used within several days.


Ingredients - spicery:

Garlic*
Onions*
Parsley*
Basil*
Oregano*
Pepper
Salt

*freeze-dried
About equal amounts of each spice.

Combine all spices, except for the salt in a food processor and mixed until well blended.
Then add the salt. You can see the intended texture in the picture above.
Stored in an airtight jar this will keep for at least a year. The spicery can be used on about any Italian dish, for example meat sauces.

Enjoy,

     Sasha

The World's Easiest Chocolate Mousse

This is actually not my recipe, it has been posted by many people, but it's the first time I tried it.

You will only need two ingredients:

265 gram / 9.35 ounces bittersweet chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), coarsely chopped

Since this is the main flavor imparting ingredient you may want to choose a really high quality chocolate.

240 ml / 1 cup water
4 tbsp sugar, optional Without the sugar, this mousse is VERY intensely chocolately.  If you generally prefer a milder chocolate taste, add the sugar.

Place a mixing bowl on top of another slightly larger bowl filled with ice and cold water.  The bottom of the top bowl should touch the ice.  Set aside.

Put chocolate and water (and sugar if using) in a medium pan over medium heat.  Melt chocolate, stirring occasionally.

Once melted, pour the chocolate into the bowl sitting on top of the ice and begin whisking.  Whisk constantly until mousse begins to thicken, 2-3 minutes.  Be careful not to over whisk as the chocolate can become grainy.  (If this happens, just re-melt the chocolate over medium heat and pour back into the mixing bowl)

Divide into four ramekins cups and serve immediately.  Or, you can let mousse set up in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour if you prefer a slightly thicker, chilled mousse.

You can store any left over mousse covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

You could also add some orange or almond liqueur, but be sure to deduct the amount of water that you replace with the liqueur.

Enjoy,

     Sasha