Vacation

Okay, I haven't blogged lately, because it's so exhausting to always type all the recipes!
And now I'm going on vacation ... I wanted to show you a very complicated and special recipe over the next weeks, but I was so busy today...

Please be sure, I was cooking the last two weeks!

I made:
Greek Salad
Fettuccine al Funghi Porcini
Chicken Pot Pie (the recipe I was going to post next)
Lemon Chicken
Katsudon
Rote Grütze

So now I'm here:

231 recipes and 340 days to go

I can't cook and post at all for the next two weeks, but I'll be back with 5 recipes the week from August 10th!

I actually said something like "No, now I can't cook for two whole weeks."
I'm really going to miss it. ><

California Rolls Uramaki Recipe Tutorial

I love sushi and I love to cook. But I hate cooking sushi! Blabla, I know it's not cooking but you know what I mean. It's not the time or that you have to stand all the time. I'm just not very good at it, period. The rice, the rolling the taste. It's not working very well. Lately I've improved, but still...
So, I was a little intimidated when the Chibichef asked for California Rolls (funnily they're under Japan, but were invented in the USA)

What can I say? I think I nailed it! It went really well and I think I'll try this again.

California Roll for 4 (550kcal/portion):

400g hot cooked sushi rice (before cooking, wash the rice like 6,7 times ; cook it with 2tbsp sake and a piece of kombu)
   For sushi vinegar:
3tbsp rice vinegar
3tbsp sugar
2tsp salt
   Filling:
200g crab meat (I'm allergic, so I used surimi - it's 12 picks here)
2tbsp mayonnaise
salt
1/2 cucumber
1 avocado
Nori sheets (I'm not quite sure how many, so get a pack)
white sesame
wasabi paste
makisu
foil

1. Mix the ingredients for sushi vinegar. Pour them over the hot sushi rice and stir, but be careful not to squeeze the grains. Cool down.
2. Wash the cucumber. Cut into 1/8 pieces. Remove the soft part.
3. Peel the avocado. Make a lengthwise cut around the avocado and then move it slightly, so you can remove the stone easily. Cut the avocado into 1cm sticks.
4. In a bowl, take half of the crab meat (or surimi) and tear. Add mayonnaise and salt to your taste and mix well. You can keep the other half as it is.
5. Cut the nori into half.

6. Let's roll! The cooking guide has a really weird technique here, that I won't show you. They roll up the filling first, then put rice in a foil and wrap it around the nori ... it's weird. I'll show you my way! :)
7. On your makisu, spread a large piece of foil. But the sheet of nori on top.

8. With wet hands spread a thin layer of rice and for California maki, don't forget the corners. :) Sprinkle sesame seed.

9. Now it's getting a little tricky. Flip your nori sheet, but the foil and makisu have to lay still.

10. Now spread a little wasabi in the middle. Thanks to the mayonnaise it's not neccessary here but I like it. Lay on the filling you like.

11. Now, bring the ends of the makisu together. With your hand, press the fillings inside and make a roll. Make it really firm, always pressing from all sides. The makisu will help you with this.

12. Repeat as long, as you have rice and filling. You can also mix it up. :)

13. With a wet knife, cut one roll into half. Than cut every half into 3 pieces.

14. Done! いただきます!

You can also use small caviar (masago) instead of sesame and shrimps or tuna instead of crab. Decorate with mayonnaise or a wasabi leaf.

This recipe might not be the most usefull, since you can learn how to make sushi ... EVERYWHERE. I hope, you still like it. :)

Nasi Goreng

I've been really lazy latley, because I wasn't blogging! I kept cooking but I had no will to upload the pics and actually write an entry. So This week I've already cooked three dishes, the next two following saturday and I haven't blogged about a single one! This needs to change!

Monday I made Nasi Goreng, which is an Indonesian rice dish. I (calling my blog rice bowl) usually love rice dishes, but this is not my cup of tea. It's all about taste but I think it's a little dry and, yeah, boring. I miss the vegetables. But I think as a side dish, it might be great!

So, here's the recipe for Nasi Goreng as main dish.

Nasi Goreng for 4 (660kcal/portion):

600g cooked hot rice (long grain)

200g ground beef

1 onion

12 small green onions

1 garlic clove

optional 2 red chilis

1tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to your taste

oil for frying

cucumber

  Fried eggs:

4 eggs and oil

  Sauce:

2tbsp soy sauce

2tbsp chilisauce

1. Chop the onion into small pieces. Properly wash the the green onions and cut them into small rings.  Grate or press garlic. Cut the cucumber into 5mm slices.

2. Cut the chilis in half, remove the small pits and cute into small pieces. Be careful not to touch your face afterwards. If you don't like it spicy, just skip the chilis.

3. In a small bowl, mix soysauce and chilisauce.

4. For the fried eggs, heat oil on medium heat in a small pan. Crack the egg into a bowl. When the oil is hot enough, let the egg slide into the pan and fry until the white is firm. If you like it through, flip the egg, so the sunny side's down. Repeat with the other eggs.

5.In a big pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add garlic and heat through. Add the chopped onion and chilis and fry until their aroma is released.

6. Add ground beef and a 1tsp salt. Add pepper and lemon juice. Fry until the beef gets crumbly.

7. Add the hot rice and stir, so it won't clump.

8. Add the sauce and mix well, so that everything is covered.

9. Add the green onions and keep frying.

10. Arrange on a plate, lay the egg and cucumber slices on top.

11. selamat makan

Tuesday I made Californa Rolls (for the first time!) and today Fettuccine al Funghi Porcini. I'll post the recipe's soon!

Cherry Clafoutis (Clafoutis aux Cerises) [Kirsch Clafoutis]

The last two days I was busy with ... cooking. I made one recipe a day and so I can present you those two!

I'll start with the Cherry Clafoutis - a cake, that I know for over ten years now from 7th grade when my French teacher told us about it on our very first day. The taste is very special and I can't describe it properly - it's like you're eating a VERY thick pudding. It's tasty but I couldn't eat it every day.

Cherry Clafoutis for 5 (340kcal / potion):

100g wheat flour
3 eggs
50g butter
80g sugar
250ml milk
380g sour cherries (glas)
butter to grease the baking dish
a fireproof baking dish (like for pies)

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. I'm using an electric oven, you need to experiment with hot air.
2. In a bowl, scramble the eggs.
3. Let the butter melt in a pan at very low heat!
4.Put flour in a big bowl. Add the eggs and mix with a whisk.

5. Add sugar, milk and melted butter whisk well.

6. With a little bit butter, grease the baking dish slightly.
7. Lay in the cherries, so they lay side by side. Carefully shaking the dish a bit might help.

8. Slowly pour the dough.

9. Bake in your oven for about 40 minutes. With a toothpick, try to prick the thickest part of your cake. When the toothpick comes out clean, the clafoutis is done! If not, let bake for another 5 minutes, then try again.
10. Bon appetit!

Sweet and Sour Pork [Schweinefleisch Süß-Sauer]

357 days, 241 recipes

Thursday was sweet and sour pork. I'm usually not a big fan of sweet and sour, because I like my food decided. Plus, it most restaurants it contains pineapple or orange or something and I don't like fruit in hearty dishes. I don't know why, I just don't like it.
But since this recipe was part of the cook book and I had everything in the fridge, I decided to go for it.

My friend Laureen came over to help me cook (or help me eat?).

Sweet and Sour Pork for 4 (550 kcal/serving):

350g pork (best is from the ham part)
1/2 onion (if you like onions, take the whole)
1 bell pepper
100g carrots
100g cooked bamboo shoots
4Tbsp Salad Oil
Fryingoil
 
Seasoning for the meat:
A pinch salt
2Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 sake (rice wine)
pepper

Dough:
1 Egg
3 EL starch

For the sauce:
3Tbsp soy sauce
4Tbsp rice vinegar (seems a lot, but you'll need it!)
90ml water
120g sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp starch


1. Cut the meat into 1,5cm bitesize pieces.
2. For the meat seasoning, combine soysauce with salt, add sake and mix well. Add pepper and put in the meat. Stir until everything is covered with seasoning.
3. Cut carrots, bamboo shoots, bell pepper and onions into bitesize pieces.
4. In a small pot, bring little water to a boil and cook carrots and bamboo shoots for about 5 minutes. Then pour them into a colander and briefly chill under cold water.
5. For the dough, mix egg with starch and beat well! There shouldn't be any chunks. Add the meat and stir until everything is covered with dough.

6. For the sauce mix soy sauce, vinegar, water and sugar well. Add starch and mix well.
7. Now we're going to fry the meat. Therefore you need a big pot and lots of oil. Heat the oil in the pot to 180°C. Drop a little dough - when it comes right up, the oil is hot enough. Add the pieces of meat little by little without them sticking together. Fry until golden brown, then lay on a plate with kitchen paper.
8. In a big pan, heat the salad oil. Fry onions and bell pepper until the colours slightly changes. Add carrots and bamboo shoots and cooking a little. Then take out the vegetables and put aside.

9. Pour the sauce mix into the pan and cook over high heat. When the sauce is becoming thicker add the meat and vegetables. Cook until everything is glazed. Taste and adjust seasoning.

10. 请享用!

Closet Voyage give away

So, this is a little different from this blog's topic (psst, it's food!) but I thought, it might get my chances higher, higher, higher of the ground.

It's about a give away and here is the info:

Maybe you want to try out for Closet Voyage's 200 Followers give away as well?

Looks great, huh?

First Prize:

• 1 x Dolly Wink No.1 Sweet Girly False Lashes (2 pairs)
• 1 x Majolica Majorca Majolumina Power In Puff Face and Body Powder
• 1 x Majolica Majorca Artistic Nails Speedy $ Glossy in PK411 (Baby Pink)
• 1 x Majolica Majorca Luminastic Eye Shadow in RD422
• 1 x OPI Nail Lacquer in ‘If the Fuchsia Fits’
• 1 x Tony Molly Peach Anti-Aging Hand Cream
• 1 x Skinlite Strawberry Yogurt Masque
• 2 x Collagen Crystal Eye Bag Mask (snicker)
• 1 x Jupiter x Sweet Magazine 5th Anniversary Pink Tourmaline Sweet Heart Necklace
• 1 x Jupiter x Sweet Magazine Heart Zipper Pouch

Second Prize:

• 1 x Box ES Hand Made False Lashes (10 pairs)
• 1 x Majolica Majorca Artistic Nails Speedy $ Glossy in PK412 (Deep Pink)
• 1 x Burt’s Bees Milk & Honey Body Lotion
• 1 x Skinlite Strawberry Yogurt Masque
• 2 x Collagen Crystal Eye Bag Mask

Third Prize:

• 1 Pair Ipdo Diamanté False Lashes
• 1 x OPI Nail Lacquer in Elephantastic Pink
• 1 Set Deco Nail Fabric Bows(Assorted styles)
• 1 x Isqueen Deluxe Collagen Brightening Essence Sample
• 2 x Collagen Crystal Eye Bag Mask

Great, right? You should try as well! Just follow her blog and promote the give away a little bit!

Insalata Caprese [Tomaten-Mozzarella-Salat]

361 days to go, 242 recipes

From my pizza margherita I had some tomatoes and mozarella left over. So I checked, what to do with it and ... no ... basically I knew what to do with it, but I didn't know if the cooking guide had it as recipe. Of course they have. It's a classic.

Insalata Caprese for 4 [232kcal/person]:
400g tomatoes
150g mozzarella
pepper to your taste (right, here they're using it)
basil to your taste
Dressing:
4EL olive oil
1TL balsamico
salt

1. Wash the tomatoes, cut in half, remove stem and then cut into half moons.
2. Pat the mozzarella with a kitchen towel. Then cut it into half moons like the tomatoes.
3. Arrange on a plate - tomatoes and mozzarella in turn. Put on basil leaves. (if not eaten immediatly put in the fridge)
4. In a bowl combine salt and balsamico. Add olive oil and whisk! If not mixed properly some black bubbles will swim in the oil. If mixed well you'll get a evenly brown dressing.
5. Pour dressing over the salad with a small spoon. Add freshly crushed pepper.
6. Buon appetito!

Pizza Margherita

As planned on Sunday (Who needs some intelligent forward looking planning when you can think everything through in less than 24 hours?... not me!) I went for groceries yesterday to buy everything for Pizza Margherita - invented in 1889 for Queen Margherita to resemble the colours of the Italian flag.

The recipe told  me to get pizzadough, basil, mozzarella and tomatoes. I don't think you usually put fresh tomatoes on a pizza, but I wouldn't argue with the recipe.

What I got was also very delicious!

Recipe for 4 [400 kcal/person]:
400g pizza dough (I was lazy and bought mine)
100g tomato sauce (not in the recipe, but came with the dough so I was using it)
fresh basil (as much as you like)
400g tomatoes
160g mozzarella
Salt, Pepper (it's not in the recipe but you'll need it)

1. Depending on your dough and oven type (mine's electric), preheat the oven. 220°C usually is a good temperature.
2. Wash the tomatoes, cut them in half, remove the stem and cut into half moons.
3. Pat the mozzarella with a kitchen towel, then cut into 5mm cubes.
4. Spread the dough on a baking tray. Mine's rectangular, but of course you can take a round one.
5. Spread the tomatoe sauce evenly.

6. Lay on the tomatoes, mozarella and basil and cover the pizza evenly.

7. Now put the tray in your oven an bake until the dough is done and cripsy and the cheese is melted. In my oven at 220°C it took 17 minutes. When you buy dough, it usually says on the package how long you need to bake it.
8. When done, sprinkle salt and pepper to your taste. Cut into pieces and buon appetito!


Well, what can I say? That's not it. In the end, I had some left over tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Luckily I'm smart enough, what else to do with it. Check the next post for more!

Spanisches Omelett / Spanish Omelet [Tortilla de Patates]

244 recipes
363 days to go

Yesterday I've cooked the first recipe from "Cooking Guide: Can't decide what to eat?" Because I had a lot of eggs and bell peppers in the frigde I was looking for something, which could use both. I went for omelet and since I was looking for a recipe, I checked my DS. I hadn't used the Cooking guide in over 1 year! I was a little sad and so my idea of cooking every recipe and thus making it up to the little chef was born!

Luckily, they have a recipe for omelet, which also has potatoes (filling) but no bell peppers ... but since I didn't care at all, I just added the peppers.

And some mushrooms.

Well, here's what I 've got.

Looks quite tasty, huh? Well it was! If you want to try out, here's my recipe.

Tortilla de Patates (Verdura) for 5 persons:

12 eggs (yes)
400g potatoes
1 onion
2 small bellpeppers
150g mushrooms
olive oil
salt and pepper
A big pan with lit and a big bowl! Everything has to fit in the bowl and the pan! The lit for the pan should fit perfectly! It's very important!

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 5mm pieces.
2.Peel and cut the vegetables into 5mm pieces. Everything have about the same size.
3.Heat olive oil in the pan at moderate heat. Add the onions and cook until they get tender.
Add the potatoes, place the lit and simmer over low heat until tender. (might take 20-25 minutes)

4. After 10 minutes, add the cut bell peppers and mushrooms. Also add some salt and pepper to your taste.

5.In the meanwhile, crack all eggs into the bowl and whisk. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
6.Now add the (now) tender wegetables from the pan to the bowl with the eggs. It's not necessary to let them cool before since you're going to bake it in a second. Mix well.
7. Now heat some more olive oil in your pan at moderate heat. Pour in the whole mixture.

8. Bake the mixture half through. That means, you have to stir it while baking! This might take  few minutes. In the end it should look like very soggy scrambled eggs. Sorry, I don't have a picture here.
9.Put on the lit and keep baking the omelet over low heat while moving the pan a little until the egg gets firm to 80%. That means, it has to be completely firm at the bottom, but can be a little tender at the top.
10.Now, here's the tricky part. Press the lit on your pan. Carefully turn the pan around, so the omelet lays on the lit! Be very careful not to burn yourself or drop the pan. If you have a very big pan, ask someone for help. I don't have pics here, because I had both hands busy with flipping my pan.
11. Now let the omelet slide from the lit into the pan again. Bake for about 3-5 minutes at low heat until it's done.
12. You can now place a plate on your omelet and turn the pan, so you can present the Tortilla de Patates. Since I have a rectangular pan, I had to cut it in pieces in the pan.

13. Done!

This dish is very delicious and interesting and I hope, you'll try it. :)

I've realized I've cooked a lot of the recipes in the "book" but differently. I'm going to make them again with Chibi-Chef.

For this week, I'll also have:
Pizza Margherita (tomorrow) [selber Name]
Sweet and Sour Pork (Thursday) [Schweinefleisch süß-sauer]
Almond Tofu (Thursday) [Annindofu] ~~~made this before after another recipe
Cherry Clafoutis (Saturday) [Kirschkuchen] ~~~made this before after another recipe
And something as main course for Saturday but I haven't decided yet.

Can't Decide What to Eat?

So, I'll try it again!

I've started a new blog about food. The other one is now just about me and this one is about cooking, bento and everything food related.

So, I'll try again!

Another recipe countdown and this time I'm being a lot more realistic, not trying to cook too much in too less time and choosing a cookbook, that doesn't contain things like snails or expensive stuff like lobster.
Actually it's not even a book.
It's a game.

I'll try to cook all the recipes from the DS game "Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?" in one year.

It's 245 recipes, I think I can do it. I'll start tomorrow with the Spanish omelet.

So.
245 recipes
365 days

I think that's possible...