HAPPY EASTER: Easter Tea-Sandwiches


This is a cute Easter idea I got from pinterest. As I love tea time, these little sandwiches are perfect :)

Ingredients:

  • bunny cookie cutter
  • 1 loaf white bread - extra thinnly sliced
  • 8 oz softened cream cheese
  • 1/3 cucumber - very thinnly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons carrot - shredded
  • 1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley 
  • 1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped chives
  • 1/4 garlic-herb seasoning
  • salt, pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. With the bunny cookie cutter, cut out an even number of bunnies out of the bread.
  2. In a small bowl, add the cream cheese, shredded carrots, parsley, chives and seasoning. Mix well and season to taste with pepper and salt.
  3. Now, spread the cream cheese mix on half of the bunny sandwiches. Place thin cucumber slices on top of the spread. Top the sandwich with the matching bread cut out.
  4. Additionally, you can place a little shredded carrot where the eye of the bunny would be :)




    Print this recipe:


    Print Friendly and PDF


    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

    Cheese Bunnys


    Here is a little recipe fitting for the Easter time :) I bought some bunny cookie cutters and prepared this little Appetizer for a work brunch.

    Ingredients:

    • Bunny cookie cutters
    • 150 gram flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 90 gram butter (room temperature)
    • 90 gram "Speisequark" (plain curd, similar to cream cheese)
    • 2 tablespoon milk
    • 100 gram parmesan - freshly grated

    Preparation:

    1. Preheat oven at 200 degree Celsius (390 degree Fahrenheit)
    2. Mix the flour with the salt and baking soda in a bowl. Add the butter and Speisequark (curd) and mix everything, either by hand (which works fine) or with a electrical handmixer with a dough hook. Knead the dough till you have a smooth ball.
    3. Refrigerate the dough for 30 min. Then roll it out (about 3mm thick) on a floured surface. Cut out the bunnies with the cookie cutters and place on a baking tray that is lined with a cookie sheet. Drizzle a little milk on top of the unbaked cookies and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 
    4. Bake for about 12 minutes.








      Print this recipe:


      Print Friendly and PDF


      Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

      Red Cous Cous Salad


      This is another little fast recipe from my work colleague. I don't really like cold cous cous salad because most of the times it is really dry, but this one is very juice with all the paprika paste. It tasted delicious :) We made it for our work brunch right before Eastern.

      Ingredients:

      • 2 cups uncooked cous cous (medium grain size)
      • 2 cups water
      • 1/2 tablespoon oil
      • 4 tablespoons paprika paste (or similar, e.g. Ajvar - eggplant/pepper paste)
      • 2-3 tablespoons harissa (depending on how hot the paprika paste is)
      • 1/4 cup tomato paste 
      • 1 bunch spring onions - sliced
      • 1 orange bell pepper - diced
      • 5-8 cocktail tomatoes - halved
      • 1 cup freshly chopped parsley
      • 3/4 - 1 cup oil
      • juice of 1 lemon
      • 1 tablespoon herbs de province
      • 1 tablespoon coriander
      • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
      • salt, pepper to taste

      Preparation:

      1. Put the cous cous in a large bowl. Heat up the water and pour over the cous cous with 1/2 tablespoon oil. Cover the bowl and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Then fluff up the cous cous with a fork.
      2. Add the paprika paste, harissa and tomato paste and stir till the cous cous is all red or orange. Add the vegetables (spring onions, bell pepper, tomatoes) and the parsley. Mix well. Pour the oil and lemon juice over the cous cous and stir.
      3. Add the seasonings (hebs de province, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper) to taste. 

      Note: You can add or subsitute other vegetables such as chickpeas, kidney beans or cucumber as well. 







        Print this recipe:


        Print Friendly and PDF


        Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

        My Mom's Spinach in Garlic-Tomato Sauce ("Spinat in Knoblauch-Tomaten Tunke)


        This is another little recipe from my Mom. This spinach tastes delicious! Can't get enough of it when she cooks it. With spinach I often have the problem that it tastes bland. Not this one. My Mom serves it with French Fries, I am using fried potato cubes, but it basically is the same. However, I have put my own little twist on the spinach by adding onions and a little feta cheese. Also, I discovered (as I had some leftovers) that it tastes really good on pancakes or crepes.

        Ingredients:

           Spinach and Garlic-Tomato Sauce:
          • 500 gram fresh spinach
          • 5 cups water
          • 3 tablespoons salt
          • 2 tablespoons oil
          • optional: 1 onion - finely chopped
          • 4-6 cloves garlic - minced
          • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
          • 1 teaspoon harissa (spicy paprika paste)
          • 1/2 cup water 
          • salt
          • optional: 1/4 cup feta cheese - cubed
          Side of Potatoes (substitute for French Fries):
          • 5-6 potaoes - cubed
          • 1 liter salt water 
          • 1 tablespoon oil
          • salt

          Preparation:

          1. Prepare the spinach. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the salt and the fresh spinach leaves. Boil for about 10 minutes, just so that it starts to wilt. Then remove from heat and drain in a strainer. Set aside.
          2. Prepare the sauce. Heat the oil and sauté the onions till almost translucent. Add the garlic, stir and fry for 2 minutes. Be careful that it doesn't turn brown. Add the tomato paste and harissa and stir. Cook for another minute. Then add the water, not too much. It is supposed to have sort of a creamy consitency.
          3. Mix the spinach and the sauce. Add the spinach to the sauce, stir in feta cubes. Mix everything and heat up for a couple of minutes till the cheese is melted Add salt to taste. 
          4. Prepare the potatoes. My Mom actually uses French Fries, but I deciced to go with freshly fried potato cubes. Cut the potatoes in little cubes. Heat up a small pot of salt water and boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes. They should not be completely soft. Then drain the potatoes. Heat up oil in a frying pan, add the potatoes and fry for 5 minutes. Don't stir too much, so that the bottom part of the potato cubes get real crispy.
          5. Serve the spinach with the potatoes. If you want to be adventurous, serve it on top of a pancake or crepes.
          Note: The onions in Step 2 are actually my addition, my mom immediately starts with the garlic and does not use onions. The feta cheese in Step 3 are also my idea and optional. 








          Print this recipe:


          Print Friendly and PDF


          Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

          Red Quinoa Chili


          I was looking for another dish wish lots of vegetables and I love chili con carne. So far, I have never cooked with quinoa myself, so this quinoa chili looked interesting. I bought a fancy red quinoa that was called "Grain of the Inkas". After having been to Mexico, this kinda spoke to me :)

          The important part of this recipe is the spice mix - fresh spices (garlic, ginger, chilis, cilantro), ground seasonings (chili, cumin, coriander, paprika, sugar, cayenne, salt and pepper) and the pastes (tomato paste as well as harissa).

          As I am not a big fan of using only "half" a bell pepper, or "half" a can of beans, this recipe will serve quite a few people, maybe around 6, but it does freeze well :)

          Ingredients:

          • 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa 
          • 2/3 - 1 cup salt water
          • 2 tablespoons oil
          • 1-2 onions - chopped
          • 3 cloves garlic - minced
          • 1 tablespoon ginger - minced
          • 3 chilis - sliced
          • 2 carrots - diced
          • 1 bell pepper - largly diced
          • 1 small zucchini - diced
          • 1/3 cup white wine
          • 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
          • 2 cups water
          • 2 cups vegetable broth
          • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
          • 1 teaspoon harissa (chili paste)
          • 2-3 tablespoons chili powder
          • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
          • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
          • 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
          • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
          • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
          • salt, pepper to taste
          • 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
          • 1 (15 oz) can black beans
          • 1 (15 oz) can corn
          • optional: 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas or navy beans
          • 1/2 chopped fresh cilantro
          • juice of 1 lime
          • optional toppings: fresh cilantro, sour cream, cheese, taco chips, bread

          Preparation:

          1. The first step is to boil the quinoa. You will need about 1.5 cups of cooked quinoa. Therefore use about 1/3 cup of uncooked quinoa. Rinse the quinoa in a fine meshed sieve with hot water, it might taste grainy or soapy otherwise. Bring twice as much of water to a boil (2/3 cups of water) and add the quinoa and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 20 minutes, then drain.
          2. Heat oil in a separate pot. Add onions, fry for 5 min till almost translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and chilis and fry for another minute. Add the carrots and bell pepper, fry for about 3-5 more minutes. Stir to prevent burning. Add the zucchinis and a splash of white wine. Keep frying for 2 more minutes and stir. 
          3. Now, add the diced tomatoes, fill up with the water and vegetable broth and add the spices (tomato paste, harissa, chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, sugar, cayenne pepper). Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat a little bit and let simmer for about 15 min. 
          4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain and rinse the beans (kidney beans, black beans, corn, navy beans and/or chickpeas), add to the vegetable-tomato-chili mix. Add the cooked quinoa and the fresh cilantro and heat up for a few minutes. Sprinkle in the juice of the lime.
          5. Serve with optional toppings (fresh cilantro, sour cream, cheese, taco chips, bread).







            Print this recipe:


            Print Friendly and PDF


            Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

            Minted Pea Soup



            This is another great recipe from the "Ultimate Vegetarian". I was craving a pea soup but didn't want to go boring. So, this minted pea soup with nice toppings sounded delicious.

            Ingredients:

            • Oil
            • 2 onions - chopped
            • 4 potatoes - chopped
            • 4 garlic gloves - crushed
            • 1 inch fresh ginger - peeled and chopped
            • 1 red chili - chopped
            • 1 tsp coriander
            • 1 tsp ground cumin
            • 1 tbsp flour
            • 1/4 cup white wine
            • 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
            • 1 lb frozen peas
            • 3 tbsp chopped mint
            • salt, pepper, cayenne pepper
            • 2/3 cup plain yoghurt
            • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
            • 1 1/4 cups milk
            • Toppings: mint sprig, chili slices, drizzle of plain yoghurt, dash of cayenne pepper, crumbled feta cheese 

            Preparation:

            1. Heat the oil, add the onions and potatoes and fry for about 3 minutes till onions are translucent. Stir frequently. 
            2. Add the garlic, ginger, chili, coriander, cumin and flour and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook for another minute.
            3. Fill with vegetable stock. Add the peas and mint. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 15 minutes. 
            4. Blend the soup till smooth and add pepper, salt and cayenne to taste. I used a hand immersion blender. Before I blended it, I took a few tablespoons of the pea - potato mix and set it aside for later. I like to have a few chunks in my soup. 
            5. Blend the plain yoghurt till smooth as well as it sometimes has little chunks in it. Add the cornstarch and mix. Stir the yoghurt-cornstarch mix into the soup, add the milk and heat up until it almost boils. Cook for 2 minutes. 
            6. Serve with some toppings and crusted bread. You can now also add the pea-potatoe mix that we set aside before blending. I especially loved to put in the crumbled feta cheese.





              Print this recipe:


              Print Friendly and PDF


              Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
              Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...