Searching for more interesting recipes besides the traditional jelly or jam, I found a long stirred raw red currant jam in an old cookbook of my mother. And when I say long stirred I mean loooong stirred. I tried it … the outcome is delicious.
Note the little “x” mark by the side. Means the recipe is tried and well approved by my mother.
Raw red currant jam
500g ripe red currants 500g sugar
Wash the currants and discard the stems. In a china bowl mix the currants and the sugar and let the mixture rest during the night in a cool place. With a wooden spoon crush the currants and stir for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the same direction. (I recommend watching a Netflix series or selling the task Huckleberry Finnwise to family members or friends). Once thickened to the consistency of jam, fill in alcohol rinsed jars.
This recipe is based on a cake found in the book “Tartes et Gourmandises” by Eric Kayser. For my own mini orange cakes I reduced the amount of sugar and substituted some of the plain flour with stone milled barley and spelt, resulting in a more hearty bite and less overall sweetness. I also opted for my homemade quince jelly instead of the original orange marmalade. The recipe below is still the original, with my suggestion in brackets, if you wish to follow my path.
mini orange cakes
300g sugar (I used 130g) pinch of salt the zest of an organically grown orange 330g flour (I used 130g barley & spelt flour, 200g plain white flour) 1 sachet baking powder 180ml cream 6 eggs (I used 5 eggs) 130g soft butter 50ml liqueur d’orange 100g orange marmelade (I used quince jelly)
Preheat oven to 180°C.
In a bowl mix sugar, salt, orange zest together with the flour and baking powder.
In another bowl slowly beat the eggs and the cream.
Gently whisk the wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
Add the soft butter, the liqueur d’orange and the orange marmelade.
Continue to whisk until all ingredients are perfectly combined.
Fill the batter into the baking forms of your choice.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Let cool and dust with icing sugar before serving.
…which does not mean, that only three apples are necessary to make this beautiful tart. On the contrary: apples are its main ingredient. They come in three variations (thus the the name) and three layers. Grated apples mixed with almond butter, a layer of sliced apples and a glaze of apple juice thickened with kuzu.
It’s macrobiotic (a Steve Acuff recipe), vegan and free of added sugar.
Feel free to use any kind of apple for a range of results. I have made this tart several times, once using apples from my garden (crisp and juicy), wild apples from a communal field (soft and melting) and apples gifted by my friend (tart and bright).
three apple tart
for the dough: 1/2 cup wholemeal flour 1/2 cup white flour 1 tablespoon Kuzu or arrowroot powder 1 pinch salt 1/3 cup oil 1/3 cup water
for the filling: 2 1/2 cups grated apples 1/2 cup raisins 2 tablespoons almond butter
1 1/2 cups apple slices
for the glaze: 1 cup apple juice 1 pinch salt 1 pinch cinnamon 1 tablespoon Kuzu or arrowroot powder
Mix wholemeal flour, white flour, Kuzu and salt with a fork, add chilled oil and stir it in. Add chilled water and knead until you obtain a smooth dough. Store in the fridge for 15 minutes. Flatten the dough with your fingers into an oiled baking form. Bake at 250°C for 10 minutes until the crust is dry, but not brown.
In the meantime grate and slice the apples (see ingredient list for the amounts). Mix the grated apples with raisins and almond butter and fill them onto the baked crust. Then lay the apple slices on top in a circular pattern.
Bake for another 10 minutes at 250°C.
Heat apple juice, cinnamon, salt, add Kuzu diluted in water, cook until the liquid turns clear. You may add a tablespoon of red currant jam for a more rustic look. Glaze the tart and let it rest until cooled.
900g ripe tomatoes 75g butter 1 onion, peeled and halved salt
Immerse the tomatoes for 1 minute in boiling water. Once cooled down, peel and chop them. In a pot simmer tomatoes, butter, onion and salt with the lid open for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Eventually the fat should have separated from the tomatoes.
Discard the onion. Add your pasta of choice or gnocchi to the tomato sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan and serve immediately.
The remedy for the summer’s heat came to me from the Baltic countries: an earthy, slightly sour, chilled red beet soup. Sophie from Café Goldfisch introduced me to it, hers in a striking baby pink shade, mine a bit more on the magenta side. Anyway, as long as you use the traditional main ingredients red beet, gherkins, dill, spring onions and kefir (yoghurt, sour cream…) you can’t go wrong.
Baltic beet soup (yields 4)
ca. 600g red beets 750ml vegetable broth (or water) salt 4 eggs 250g gherkins 4 spring onions 1 bunch dill 1l Kefir (buttermilk, Sweden milk, yoghurt…to your liking) freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (to your liking)
Peel and chop the beets, cook them in the broth for about 20 minutes until soft. Let beets and broth cool completely.
In the meantime boil eggs until hard and set them aside.
Chop the gherkins, spring onions and the dill (leave some tips to decorate) and add to the beets. Blend to a gentle, velvety soup. Stir in the Kefir and enjoy the arising pinkness!
Serve with quarters of hard-boiled egg , a sprig of dill and -if you like- some hot boiled potatoes on a separate plate.
Best the next day, when the flavours had time to melt
Im letzten Jahr habe ich Maitriebe von Tannen, Kiefern und Fichten gesammelt, Rezepte gelesen und experimentiert. Ich habe sie frisch gehackt auf Butterbrot probiert, daraus Kräuterbutter mit Zitronenabrieb hergestellt, sie für Tee und Wildgerichte getrocknet und in Gin eingelegt. Die Triebe von der Fichte fand ich im Vergleich zu den anderen Nadelbäumen mit Abstand am würzigsten. Ihr Aroma ist frisch, ganz fein fichtennadelig und ein wenig zitrusartig. Und sie sind ganz weich und zart.
Fichtenspitzen in Gin
In Gin marinierte Fichtenspitzen sind eine Delikatesse, die besonders gut zu sahnigem Vanilleeis oder selbstgemachtem Beereneis schmeckt.
Fichtenspitzen zum Trocknen ausgelegt
Getrocknete Fichtenspitzen
Fichtenspitzen gemischt mit ein paar Blättern Brennessel und Waldmeister, übergossen mit heißem Wasser , ergeben einen würzig-waldigen Tee.
Fichtenspitzen, 5 Minuten in Wasser zusammen mit Chaga geköchelt, wärmen an kalten Wintertagen.
Ich verwende die Fichtenspitzen auch gern im Schmorsud, wenn ich Wild zubereite.
Chaga und Fichte
Fichtensahne
1 Handvoll Fichtenspitzen 1 kleine Prise Salz 1 EL Honig 1 EL frisch gepresster Orangensaft 2 TL gerieben Nüsse 200g Schlagsahne
Püriere alle Zutaten mit einem Pürierstab bis eine feine grüne Masse entsteht. Köstlich über Vanilleeis und zu Erdbeerkuchen!
In our internal ranking system the giant bean soup unanimously scored a 10, which translates to 3 Michelin stars, 7 golden ladles or 5 chef’s hats. The combination of veggies and beans results in a humble yet luxurious comfort food.
Root vegetables, especially burdock root, are very strengthening and make for a warming winter dish, much needed in the cold month of March.
giant bean soup
Ingredients:
400g giant beans, canned 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 leek, chopped 3 celery sticks, chopped 3 carrots (or 2 carrots and 1 burdock root), sliced 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced 1 bay leaf 1 sage leaf 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 potatoes a few leafy greens like kale, Brussels sprouts or Swiss chard 1 1/2l organic vegetable broth 1 splash of white wine parsley to garnish Tabasco, lemon and lime to season at the table
In a big pot heat the olive oil and fry the chopped onion. When the onion starts to brown add the leek, and after a few minutes, the celery. Continue frying the mixture for a few more minutes at a high temperature.
Add a splash of wine, the vegetable broth, thyme, sage, the bay leaf and finely sliced garlic. When the broth has heated up to a steady simmer, add potatoes, sliced carrot and burdock root. Then cover the pot with a lid.
After 10 minutes the potatoes and carrots should have softened enough so it’s time to add the giant beans and leafy greens. Put the lid back on just for a couple of minutes as not to overcook the greens, and then your soup is ready to serve!
Garnish with parsley leaves and some freshly ground black pepper, and if, like us, you enjoy seasoning some more at the table, a squeeze of lemon or lime and a few drops of tabasco are heavenly.
Christmas Wreath Bread (a slightly adapted recipe from Yvette van Boven, A Homemade Christmas)
For the dough: 250ml milk 50 butter(cubed) 450g flour 1 envelope active dry yeast 50g sugar 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the filling: 200g raisins ( soaked in rum) 50g chopped succade (crystallized fruit) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon sweet spice mix zest and juice of 1 lemon 100g butter at room temperature 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten
powdered sugar for serving
First make the dough. In a saucepan heat the milk until just below boiling, then add the butter and remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add the yeast to the now lukewarm milk.
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and form an indentation in the center. Pour in the milk mixture. Using a wooden spoon, combine until the dough holds together. Continue kneading with your hands on lightly floured countertop for another 10 minutes. Shape into a ball, dust with flour, place in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 90 minutes, or until it has doubled in volume.
For the filling mix the butter, brown sugar and the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.
Knead the dough briefly once more. On a lightly floured countertop roll it out into a rectangle. Spread the filling over it using a spatula. Allow a margin of about 2cm at the long sides.
Roll up the dough from a long side moisten the are edge with water and press to seal the seam. Place the roll with the seam facing down. Moisten the ends of the roll as well and bend them together, forming a circle. Place the wreath on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
With a sharp knife, cut into the roll every 3cm, almost all the way through, but not quite.Pull out each cut piece, exposing the sides and the spirals will forma circular fan of swirls. Cover with a clean dish towel and allow the wreath to rise again for about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush the bread with the lightly beaten egg. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Barbarians at the Gate Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
Pachinko Min Jin Lee
Empire of Pain The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty Patrick Radden Keefe
Gastrophysics Professor Charles Spence
Der Klang der Wälder Natsu Miyashita
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid
Vom Wachsen und Werden Sue Stuart-Smith
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