Salad inspiration

We are being battered by strong storms at the moment and have unfortunately yesterday lost our favourite old hawthorn tree in our garden.  It's devastating because it was really old and such a feature as well as home to many birds and little creatures.  With the persistent rain we've been having, the ground is just saturated and wasn't strong enough anymore to hold on to the tree. :-(

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Needless to say that this weather isn't exactly inspiring summer recipes but nonetheless I'd like to share an idea for a salad - not so much a recipe but more of an inspiration to try something a bit different.

I combined quinoa, soya beans, avocado, beetroot, feta cheese and pumpkin seeds for a yummy, filling and healthy salad for lunch.  The different textures and tastes worked together really well and didn't even need a dressing (although a drizzle of olive oil would also have been nice).

I often tend to make the same old salads, so this made a very nice change and has given me a few new ideas.  I hope it has inspired you too!

One-pot curry rice

Dog walking in my local park has become so much more than just that - we appear to have created a walking recipe exchange.  One lady told me about this rice dish she was making for a curry buffet and the next time I saw her, she pulled a print-out of the recipe out of her bag - she'd been carrying it for me, hoping to bump into me.  In return, I promised her one of mine.  The same has happened with other people too and we just go along sharing food ideas - I love it!



Now, this rice dish that was recommended to me is a one-pot recipe and ideal to go with a curry or just some meat or more vegetables.  I'd even be tempted to have it on its own - that's how good it is.  And soooo easy!  It does require a couple of ingredients you may not necessarily have in your cupboard (e.g. mustard seeds - I'd never used those) but none of them are terribly expensive and this dish is so good, you'll be cooking it over and over again, hence not wasting any.  Oh, and did I mention that it can be frozen?  Perfect!

Marinated steak salad

Yay - it's almost the weekend!  Another wet one here, I'm afraid, but that hasn't deterred me from really, really wanting a salad for my dinner.  Not just any old salad though but one that I like to call a "boys' salad": a marinated steak salad with feta cheese and sweet potato (I seem to have a bit of a thing for the latter at the moment).

What I love about this is that the meat is marinated after cooking and hence retains lots of the yummy flavours of the marinade.  This is a great little dish for friends or a quick and easy dinner when time is short.  Oh, and it is absolutely delicious :-)

Sweet potato cakes

I'm beginning to realise that the secret to eating good and healthy food on a daily basis is planning ahead and being organised.  Well, better late than never, I suppose.  I've been trying to cook batches of food to keep in the fridge and/or freezer and to think a few days ahead to plan meals.  Given that I spend most of my time thinking about food, it's not been that difficult :-)

One of the recipes that's delicious but also easily prepared ahead and frozen are these sweet potato cakes - I topped them with smoked salmon and coriander/cilantro yogurt, served on a bed of salad.  Yum!

You could add a bit of curry powder to the patties or keep them plain as I did here - pretty much whatever you fancy goes!  And just make a big batch when you have time and freeze in portions, so you always have a healthy lunch or snack to fall back on.

Protein bread - easy, tasty, fast

I'm looking forward to the weekend and Mr Happy Larder being back from his trip.  The weather is forecast to be pretty shocking, so we might just have to curl up in front of the fire - love that thought!  I will also probably go for a little run - training is going well, even if it is hard most of the time.  Still, there is nothing quite like feeling your body (and your head) achieve something you didn't think it could.   The other great thing about exercising is that you can eat great food and quite a lot of it :-)

Protein bread

One of the recipes I found recently is one for a protein bread - it's fairly similar to soda bread in that it contains yogurt (or quark) but its texture is much lighter and it is packed with healthy seeds - yum! It's yeastfree, so doesn't need any rising time - ideal if you ate in a rush but want homemade bread.  I hope you like this one!

Back for good...with carrot cake muffins

Now, some New Year's resolutions just take a little longer to put into practice, hence the silence on my blog but now I am up and running again and have quite a few new recipes to share. It's good to be back!

Carrot cake muffins

With my leg healed, I am back in full swing with my training and eating pretty healthily most of the time.  I say "most" because sometimes I just fancy a little treat and to be honest, I think that's how I manage to be good the rest of the time.  Also, people have very different ideas of what is healthy and what isn't - some love bread, others think it is the devil's work.  For me, the good old "everything in moderation" is pretty much spot on.

So, talking of resolutions, I went for a run today and did a few exercises (in the pouring rain, so I deserve extra brownie points, I'd say :-)).  Before I started working out with my trainer, I couldn't do a single pull-up but now - a mere 4 months on - I managed 8 in one go.  That  called for a celebration or at least that's what I am telling myself: carrot cake muffins!  These would work equally well as a tray bake and are so easy and yet completely yummy - definitely worth a try!  I will continue to amend the recipe to bring down the fat content but in the meantime, this version is perfect for a treat. Enjoy!

Happy New Year

So, here it is - the New Year!  A blank canvas with lots of plans and resolutions of which the first for me simply has to be to start blogging again more regularly than I have done these last few weeks.  My leg injury didn't exactly help but I guess I've been struggling to find new recipes that would also go with a healthier lifestyle.  Well,  I'll just have to try harder :-)  And the main aim is still to go for easy & tasty recipes but I'll just try and keep them a bit healthier at the same time.  Don't worry - there'll still be plenty of treats :-)

Wishing everyone a very happy, healthy & fun 2014!  Looking forward to sharing many more cooking adventures with you!

Cinnamon Stars - a Christmas biscuit/cookie

It's quite cold and grey outside but cozy at home.  Keith the dog is still active as ever but loves to snuggle up in the evening, especially when we have the fire going in the fireplace.  Outside, at this time of year, he really does blend in quite well with nature :-)

Given that Christmas is getting closer and that this time of year always reminds me of home, I have been baking some traditional German Christmas biscuits/cookies: cinnamon stars or "Zimtsterne" as we call these at home.

These biscuits don't have any flour in them whatsoever, so if you have a problem with gluten, they might be a good alternative to other biscuits.  The dough consists mainly of ground almonds with a lovely hint of cinnamon and the topping is like a meringue.  The end result is a biscuit that's crunchy on the outside but still soft in the middle - delcious on a dark winter's afternoon with a cup of tea!

Cinnamon stars - Zimtsterne

Large chocolate buttons with trail mix

I can't believe it is only a month until Christmas - can't wait!

I have always loved Christmas - for us, it really is all about getting together with loved ones, enjoying some lovely food together and generally having a break.  There are little traditions we have as a family (I am sure most families do), for example, no matter how old we are now, we still have to stand outside the living room door and wait to be called in to admire the tree.  At my mum's, we always have a real tree with real candles - always have done, even when we were all small children.  Needless to say, the candles aren't lit the whole time and never without anyone watching but it just makes it so festive and cosy :-)  And there are always lots and lots of different types of Christmas biscuits/cookies my mum makes for the occasion.  Christmas bakery is very big in Germany and there are some classic recipes like cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne) and other decorated biscuits/cookies.  I will see if I can make some cinnamon stars and share the recipe here - it's a great one as it is gluten free, so watch this space.

Chocolate buttons with trail mix

If you like homemade gifts, then you might enjoy this little edible treat to give away in a pretty jar: chocolate buttons with trail mix.

The ones pictured have the added bonus of protein powder thrown into the mix, making them into little protein treats but they can just as easily be made without.  A quick and easy treat or gift that looks really cute and tastes delicious.

Christmas cake ... it's almost that time of year

Gosh, it has been ages since I posted anything :-(  Being on crutches was definitely not very helpful when it came to cooking but I am pleased to say that I can now walk almost normally and that as of yesterday I don't have to use my sticks anymore!  Hooray!  That in turn means that there will be no holding me back from trying out recipes again and skipping around in the kitchen - well, not so much skipping but you get the idea.

At the weekend I did manage to start making our Christmas cake.  I usually make two cakes - one to take home to the family in Germany and one for us to have when we are back home.  I love this particular recipe as you can make it a few weeks in advance or if pushed for time, a couple of days before Christmas.  I love how the flavours develop when you prepare it ahead of time, so that's what I usually do.  I also use a shallower tin, making a much "flatter" cake than is traditional but I always find that it is quite rich with all that fruit and icing, so smaller pieces are not necessarily a bad thing.  There is a non-alcohol option to this cake, using orange juice instead of brandy (although there is not that much of the latter in there anyway).  The decorations pictured are those from last year - I'm still thinking of what the design should look like this year, so watch this space. 

How to make an easy & tasty Christmas cake

Banana & oat smoothie with a spice twist

Banana & oat smoothie

It's been a few days since my last post.  I've not really been able to do much exploring of new recipes as I sit here with my leg on ice after tearing my calf muscle.  Cooking whilst on strong painkillers is probably not the best idea, so food is pretty basic these days.  I am hoping that I will get back into it soon though as I do miss my little blog and writing about food.

What I can mention though is this delicious idea for when time is tight but you want something nutritious, even on the go: a banana & oat smoothie made with almond milk, a dollop of peanut butter and finished off with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whisked up in the blender it makes for a lovely breakfast or snack before exercising.  You can obviously change the ingredients but I think the spices go ever so well with banana and oats.  Yummy!

It's been quite a busy week and I am looking forward to the weekend with Mr Happy Larder and Keith the dog.  There will be some dog walking (in the rain, unfortunately), a visit to friends

Bread rolls

Not so much a recipe today as an idea of how to shape some lovely dinner rolls out of pretty much any bread dough (I used my fluffy white sandwich loaf recipe - see here).

Simply roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a round (resembling a large pizza base) - it should be roughly half a centimeter in thickness.  Then, using a knife or ideally a pizza wheel cut the round into what would look like 12 equal pizza slices/triangles.

Roll each of the pieces up, starting from the widest end and you will get these little "croissant" shapes.  Bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes or until golden.

Aren't they cute? They'd look lovely in a bread basket when you have guests and go ever so well with soup, pate...you name it.  A nice change from just the usual round dinner rolls.

Spanish tortilla with sweet potatoes & spinach

We've had some epic storms over the last couple of days but luckily, our part of the world appears to have escaped the worst.  I took the dog down to the beach as our usual walk in the park - a park full of old trees - just didn't seem safe.  Keith loved chasing around in the sand despite the rain and eventually the sun came out to say hello. 

I woke up really early this morning - not woken by the storm but by dreaming of scrambled eggs on toast.  It must have made me hungry in my sleep and that woke me up.  I wonder if other people dream of food the way I do - I can smell and taste it even when I am asleep :-)

With a craving for eggs there was only one thing to do - I made a Spanish tortilla for lunch but with sweet potato instead of "normal" ones.  It was delicious and very quick to make, so if you are ever after a fast meal, I can recommend this one.  Plus it's nutritious and filling - can't be a bad thing.  I had mine with a simple tomato & chive salad - yum!  The 2 pieces on the photo are half the tortilla (erm - I ate the rest of it too :-))

Cauliflower pizza...whaaat?

Cauliflower pizza

Isn't it funny how every now and again a new food fad appears out of nowhere?  First, we had goji berries, then chia seeds and now it is the humble cauliflower that is hitting the headlines with even Jamie Oliver making cauliflower "rice".  I must admit I was intrigued when I heard about cauliflower pizza and had to give it a go.  Stop that bandwagon - I am jumping on!

Believe it or not but the result was a really tasty pizza!  I couldn't quite believe it myself, especially since it didn't taste of cauliflower.  The base was probably not quite as crispy as a conventional pizza, so it could have done with a few more minutes in the oven but I was hungry, so I had to have it there and then :-)  

It was very tasty - what a great way to have more vegetables! And you can still have your favourite pizza toppings and freeze the pizza before the final bake if you want to have it another day.  Perfect!

Fruitcake cookies/biscuits

Brrr - it is horribly wet out there!  Feeling very fortunate that after getting soaked on the dog walk first thing this morning we could return to a warm and dry house. 

Fruit cake cookies / biscuits

I guess it is no wonder that I am starting to feel very Christmassy and the recipe I found at the weekend reflects that perfectly: fruitcake cookies/biscuits.  These delicious treats are full of yummy dried fruit and nuts and warming spices - perfect on a cold and/or wet day!  I saw these made on Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa" TV show and knew they'd be just the right thing for us: the perfect cookie/biscuit to go with a warming cup of tea :-) 

The dried fruit is best left to soak overnight if you want a stronger flavour and the dough also needs to rest in the fridge to firm up, so best to plan ahead when making these.  They are definitely worth the wait!

Rum truffle cake balls - a delicious treat made from leftovers

I was really struggling to give today's recipe an appropriate name but I hope rum truffle cake balls describes roughly what they are :-)  These are actually quite popular in Germany (they are called "Rumkugeln" there) and I first came across these in my uncle's bakery when I was a little girl.  Traditionally made from leftover cake, they are the perfect way to avoid food waste whilst making something delicious. 

Rum truffle cake balls

When my cake went dry very quickly the other day, I knew immediately what to do with it - turn it into these little treats!  You can use just rum flavouring if you want to keep the alcohol content down (and serve to kids) but with just 2 tablespoons of rum for the whole lot, you are not going to get drunk eating these :-)

They remind me of my uncle and of sleepovers at the bakery - happy times!

Sweet potato bake

Sweet potato bake

I've recently started doing hot yoga classes - sweaty stuff.  Doing exercises in a room heated to 37 C sure makes for a hungry tummy afterwards.  Yesterday, I prepared my dinner before going out to the class which was great because when I got back all I needed to do was put the dish in the oven and wait for 30 minutes. 

I made a sweet potato bake - slices of sweet potato with chorizo and vegetables in a creamy sauce, baked in the oven and served with homemade garlic bread (see the recipe here) and some salad.  You could also use "normal" potatoes for this dish or a mixture of both and serve it as a side dish rather than a main meal..  Simply chuck in any leftover vegetables, bits of ham or whatever you fancy or turn it into a vegetarian dish by leaving the chorizo (or any other meat) out.  Easy & tasty - my kind of meal!

Tikka masala curry

It's been a busy weekend with lots of socialising, catching up on long overdue phone calls, exercising, the usual housework...you get the picture.  It also was Keith the dog's second birthday on Saturday - happy birthday furry friend! 

I found a great little recipe I'd like to share with you because it's ideal for those busy times when you just need dinner to (mostly) cook itself.  I love meals that you can just throw into a pot without much preparation needed.  This one is a tikka masala curry, cooked on a low heat in the oven whilst you can get on with other stuff.  Making a batch or two of this at the weekend to have later in the week or keep in the freezer will save a lot of time and hassle and you can be sure to have a delicious meal to hand when you are short of time.

The one I made was with chicken breast but it would be equally nice with chicken thighs, lamb or beef.  Or why not make a vegetarian option with potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower etc?  We enjoyed our chicken one with rice and steamed broccoli on the side - it wasn't greasy like curries can sometimes be and had lots and lots of flavour.  We'll definitely be having this again and next time I will double the amount and put some in the freezer as well.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Have a good start to your week!

Update! Chocolate plum cake with cinnamon...autumn, here we come!

Update!  Since writing this post a couple of days ago I have noticed that the cake has dried out really quickly despite being wrapped in foil and kept in a special cake container.  Very disappointing indeed!  Maybe it would have been better to let the fruit juices seep into the cake after all rather than using the suggested ground almonds.  I thought I'd let you know!
I guess I will use any leftovers to make something my baker uncle used to do when he had spare cake...I will write more about these naughty little treats next week in a new post.  In the meantime, have a good weekend!


Temperatures here have dropped by quite a bit but with the sun still out, it's been a lovely couple of days.

With autumn in the air I was very excited to find a recipe for a lovely chocolate plum cake.  I amended this slightly and added some cinnamon which I think goes very well with both the fruit and chocolate and also with this time of the year.  I could imagine this cake with apricots, peaches or maybe cherries instead of the plums - yum!

I also learned a new trick when I made this - the recipe suggested sprinkling ground almonds onto the dough before putting the fruit on top.  That way the cake doesn't end up soggy with the fruit juice seeping from the plums during baking - great idea I think and it would work well with other cakes too.  I'll have to remember this.

Chocolate plum cake with cinnamon