Lebkuchen

Mom's Lebkuchen

Christmas isn't Christmas without this baked treat.  This is mom's doubled recipe, which she kindly tweaked for me, to make it taste like the original recipe, but without the nuts or nutmeg (I'm allergic). I've taken this recipe on for the last several years, and tweaked it a bit myself, by doubling the spices for extra intense flavour, and "lemonizing" the icing part... 
the bulk of it is ALL MOM'S GENIUSNESS.

In a very large bowl, hand mix the following and let rest overnight:

5 cups flour

2  1/3 cups sugar

½ cup molasses

1 cup liquid honey

½ tsp ground anise

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground cloves

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground mace

2 tsp grated lemon peel

4 eggs

1 cup (or a whole small container) of candied mixed citrus peel (in the baking section, top shelf)

Optional: 

1 cup raisins, 1 cup slivered almonds  (we prefer ours just plain)

Next morning, add:

1 cup flour

1 ½ tsp baking ammonia (or 10 grams)

(this can be bought in specialty stores, like Vincenzos or even Central)

Press dough into a cookie sheet (about 1 ½ cm thick) and bake @ 350 F for 15-20 minutes.  I like it lumpy, lol.  Do NOT overbake!   Ice when it’s just out of the oven, slightly cooled (and next batch is in the oven) with:   1 ½ cups icing sugar, 1 ½ tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp lemon extract, and enough hot water to get a nice spreadable consistency.   I like my glaze extra lemony, so I eyeball it and don't use any water, only lemon juice and extra extract. 

Enjoy!!!

Hot Cross Buns in loaf form

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns,

Hot cross buns,

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot cross buns.

Yes, the song has become a loaf in my house.  I learned how to make these buns a year or two ago, thanks to the recipe found on Laura in the Kitchen... oh, they're so so so so good. 

Anyway, our toaster oven has been replaced by a regular toaster, so toasting and reheating those icing crossed buns is no longer an option.  Enter, the hot cross bun / loaf.

Here's how to make it:

Combine 1 cup milk, slightly warmed, with

2 1/4 tsp dried baking yeast and a spoonful of sugar

Proof 5 min, or until bloomed

Melt 1/4 cup of butter and let it cool
Bring 2 eggs to room temp, I usually just run them under some warm water for a minute

In a big bowl, mix 3 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom
zest of an orange or lemon or both

Add in the cooled butter and two eggs
Also, add in a generous 1/2 cup of raisins and a small container of candied citrus peel

Stir with a wooden spoon only until a sticky dough forms and the raisins / peel are well distributed, for the most tender result.

Cover and let rise slowly in a warm place, until doubled in size
This is what it looks like about 15 minutes into the rising process

Do enjoy!!

After an hour or so, when the dough is doubled and fluffy, cut it in half, and press gently into two loaf pans lined with parchment paper.

Let rise a second time, for about 45 minutes, until each loaf is domed and ready to bake.  Brush with butter or an egg, if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees F, for about 30-35 minutes, or until golden and baked all the way through.
Let cool on a wire rack before you dig in!



Umm, yes, I confess, those are my teeth marks, eep!  I already started eating the first slice before realizing I needed to snap a picture or two... here's one with some lovely melting action.



Do enjoy!





Special thanks to #mrsvitale

My best Gulasch ever

So... this traditional Gulaschsuppe... it's hearty and simple and really really really tasty.  
Here is a quick step by step of the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pounds stewing beef
1 beef shank (the bone and surrounding meat)
equivalent amount of roughly chopped onions
about 1/4 cup paprika (I used a mix of regular and authentic Hungarian paprika, purchased at our local European deli)
salt and pepper (to taste, each part of the dish)
flour for dusting (entirely optional, gives a slightly thicker consistency in the end)
1 or 2 carrots, chopped 
1 stalk celery, chopped (optional... I usually leave it out)
potatoes (optional)

Here's how to make it:

Take about 2 pounds of stewing beef and a beef shank bone, season well with salt and pepper.  Dust with flour and brown thoroughly in a bit of oil, in small batches, on medium high heat. 

Note:  the more colour you achieve in this step, the better the flavour.  Do NOT crowd the pan or hurry this process, or you'll end up steaming the meat and it will turn an unappetizing grey.

For this Gulaschsuppe, I got out my awesome new Instant Pot and I used the handy saute feature for this important browning step.  I also used a big deep frying pan to help things go faster, but you can do it all in the IP if you like.  I saved the browned meat batches in a bowl until I was finished with this first step.

Alternatively, if using the slow cooker for a long low / slow simmer, you should brown the meat in a frying pan first, and dump each batch into the crock as you go.  

While the small batches of meat and the shank are browning, chop a whole bunch of onions as finely or roughly as you like... about the same amount of meat as raw onion works best.  Do use a bit of oil and butter or ghee to help deglaze the pan, and saute the onions very well, until they are nice and soft and glassy, and the raw onion taste is well cooked out of them.  A little extra brown colour doesn't hurt here, either.  

Brown colour equals deeper flavour.

Now sprinkle the onions with a generous amount of paprika, and season again with salt and pepper.  Let the onions and the paprika toast a bit, until you get that fabulous smell wafting all over your home.  Scrape it all into your slow cooker or instant pot.  Rinse your frying pan and get all the browned bits added in as well.  Then add the meat, and enough water to just cover the meat and onions.  Add your bite sized bits of carrots and potatoes... and simmer until super tender.

For the slow cooker, cook it low and slow for as many hours as you can.  I have made the mistake of hurrying the onion sauteeing step, and the Gulasch ended up with a strong, and unappetizingly bitter, raw onion flavour in the end, even though the meat was tender.  Don't make that same mistake!

For this batch in the instant pot, I set it to stew for 20 minutes, with a natural release.  I must say, this Gulasch was the richest, most tender, and overall best tasting Gulaschsuppe I have ever made.

I am attributing a few things to this success.  

First, I took my time browning the meat and the onions to mouthwatering, and well seasoned perfection.

Second, I used a big beef shank... bones always make for better flavour in soups and stews, and this extra ingredient was definitely worth adding.

Finally, the instant pot tenderized the stewing meat so well, that it was super moist and fork tender in only 20 minutes of pressure cooking time.  Yes, it takes time to bring it up to pressure, and to release it afterward... but I just set it, and forget it, when I cook with my ipot.  There's no stirring or worrying about it burning while I'm doing other things. 

Anyway, it was delectable.  I do hope you'll try making it.  

I know I'll be making it again... and I will try to add some pictures of the process next time!

Consider adding some homemade dumplings (aka knockerl) ... you can get my recipe those here:  http://tastethelovebymj.blogspot.ca/search/label/Soup%21

Please let me know if you decide to try it!  

Kitty Love

Introducing Katiya and Mischka, our beautiful, curious, spunky, affectionate, hypoallergenic, raw food eating, spoiled rotten by my husband, Siberian Forest Cats.  

Two early pics - this one, and above - were sent to us from the lovely breeder at Ellinet.

This long overdue post is just a FEW of my favourite first few months of pics from June to September, 2016... when these two came into our home and turned it all upside down.  

No surface is safe from their curious noses and scampering paws.  No floor space isn't littered with their much played with toys.

Just enjoy these cuties.  They will make you smile.

Gotcha Day, June 6, 2016.  

This sweet picture features sister Chloe - she went to another home that same day.

Our beautiful Katiya.  We were told she is the shyest one of the litter, but she warms up quickly, if you're not too noisy, lol.  Katiya is quite the princess.

Mischka is the oldest of four siblings. 

He is daring and curious and a bit clumsy.  He is a big, sensitive, cuddly teddy bear.  He makes us laugh every day, from his unlimited (nearly human!) facial expressions, to his funny little meow.

These two just melt and swell my heart every single day.

Whole 30 - Garlic Mayo

(insert picture here)

Small batch Garlic Mayo (W30)

In a tall vessel, place:

2 large roughly chopped cloves of garlic 

1 very fresh egg yolk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

squirt (1/2 tsp) dijon mustard

1/2 to 3/4 cup oil combo...  I use a generous 1/4 cup extra light olive oil and a scant 1/4 cup pure canola oil for better flavour (spare use of canola oil is recommended in W30 - just make sure there is NO soy)

Put immersion blender into the bottom of your vessel and buzz thoroughly until the garlic is pureed and you see the white mayo beginning to form.  THEN, slowly pull up to include all the oil.  It will be very firm if you buzz it too long.  Can easily be thinned with more lemon juice or ACV, or other wonderful vinegar.  Experiment with champagne or other white wine vinegars and see what you like!  I eyeball all quantities.  Can vary the herbs and seasonings as well, depending on what you're using it for.  Great for dipping or making into aioli sauce for garnishing meats.  

(adapted from Food Wishes / Chef John video recipe)

This pic is from my first attempt (full batch)

Breakfast Love: Hash

I'm not a huge breakfast kind of gal, but I do love a leisurely Sunday brunch, and our Sundays almost always have some sort of cooked breakfast with bacon.

This is the first of a "breakfast series" ... where I do a simple picture dump and I include the recipe, or the process of how I make it.  I am big into improvisational cooking, so my "recipes" are less about quantities and more about playing with whatever is on hand.

The breakfast plate pictured above was from yesterday.  It was so good, I can still taste it in my mind.  What was it?  A breakfast hash.  In other words, it was a frying pan full of lovely things I found in the fridge.

I started with some bacon pieces (I like to cut them with the kitchen shears), and half of a leftover onion (chopped).  I then added two potatoes that I had quickly precooked in the microwave.  But there were only 5 chopped slices of bacon in the pan, since our nephew Matthew was here all week and he loves his bacon as much as we do!

So... I added 2 leftover baked potatoes (chopped), and a red pepper that was starting to wrinkle.  It still didn't seem like very much food, so I looked in the fridge... and found some uneaten french fries and a big chunk of chicken breast.  I chopped them roughly and threw them in.  I then added some garlic powder, a bit more salt and freshly cracked black pepper (I season as I go), and a few bits of tomato... and then snipped and added in some freshly chopped basil from the glass in our kitchen window.

Suddenly this pan of leftovers was overflowing with crispy goodness.  It was smelling amazing and I realized I didn't even need to make any eggs to go with it, because it tasted delicious!

What do you like to eat on a Sunday morning?

More Rhubarb Love

Doesn't this pie look goooood? 

Our love of all things rhubarb continues.  This is a rhubarb pie I made that spontaneously became a hybrid of pie and rhubarb crisp, simply because I didn't have enough rhubarb to mound it all up as I usually do.  Hubby wanted pie, so this is what happened. It was.... AH-MAZING!!!!!!

This was my sad attempt at making a lattice pie with a frozen "cheater crust" from the grocery store, lol.  Above it (on the right) was the gluten free version I made at the same time with our niece, Rachel.  Her crust was a simple gluten free shortbread cookie crust pressed together with butter, the filling was just the fruit with some sugar / cinnamon / cornstarch, and the topped was more cookie crumbles.  Obviously, my focus was on getting hers right.  Both tasted delicious!!

Speaking of "cheater crusts" ... I bake a mean butter tart using a similar type of (grocery story frozen) shells above, as I simply don't have the patience most days to make mini pastry shells from scratch.  This time, I baked some tarts filled with rhubarb (from our own garden!) and strawberries / blueberries... boy, they were yummy!

Finally, this is the strawberry rhubarb pie I made with our nephew Matthew last night.  Ummmm, oh man, strawberries and rhubarb are a match made in heaven.  Have I mentioned how happy we are that the rhubarb season has lasted so long this year?  

I'm going to have to freeze some, for when we need a lift from the wintertime blahs.

Aha.  You are seeing this picture correctly.  These two adorable kitties are ours.  We got them on June 4th and they have totally taken over our lives... in the very bestest and cuddliest and craziest of ways.  They deserve a post of their very own... it will be coming soon... they are very funny and photogenic at the same time.  Yup.  They bring such joy.

In the meantime, I will leave you with one more picture of our last rhubarb dessert.  Doesn't it look great on top of my Oma's crocheted table runner?  Love.  Love.  Love.

As always, I am happy to share recipes, just ask how I make 'em.