For the Love of Food

I am always on the look-out for a good brownie recipe. I have been on the look-out for years now and have never found anything really worth mentioning. Well, it looks like my search ends here.

While searching my Taste&Create partner’s blog – My Sweet and Savory- I came across a blog post of hers where she raves about a fantastic King Arthur brownies. Well, she was right. They are perfectly moist, but not dense like fudge.

These are really the perfect brownies.  And, since I always love to see what a cupcake&brownie looks like from the inside, I thought I’d share this picture with you:

I would change 1 thing and one thing only. I would not add any cinnamon for a regular batch of brownies. However, I would leave the cinnamon for a Christmas batch of brownies. With the cinnamon they taste like a special type of cookie/cake that they have here in Germany.

Ok, here is the recipe: Continue Reading »

Hi everyone – it has been a really looong time since I’ve been around – I mean really long time. Last Summer I was pregnant and traveling and Min was taking care of my blog, then I had the baby, and then I had to move (homes) twice in the last 4 months! Let’s just say I’m ready to get back to things!

A BIG thanks to Min from The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for always being there to help me out in my time of blogger need! I am going to have to put together one heck of a care package to thank her for all her hard work and devotion.

Just to give you a peak into next month – it will be our 3 year anniversary here at Taste&Create!! I’d like to be be a special one – so keep an eye out for a small difference next month.

I have missed you all dearly and hope to be able to innaugurate my new kitchen by blogging with you. I’m really looking forward to it.

Just a reminder:
-the rules can be found here.
-please do not email me your submission, go to the Taste&Create website, register/sign-in and submit your entry there by the 24th of July, 2010.

The next Taste&Create you can sign-up for is August and sign-ups will end on August 8th, 2010 for that event.

Here is this month’s partner list:
Always Eat on the Good China & NO REASON NEEDED
TastyCurryLeaf & samayalarai-cookingisdivine
Everybunny Loves Food & Seduce your tastebuds
For the Love of Food & Sweet and Savory Says It All
My Green Mouth & Dragon Musings
My Year on the Grill & YUM FOOD

Have you noticed anything different here…or rather the same? Yes, this is the same bowl from the last post.

As many of you have read in previous posts, I have been in the middle of a move since February because the renovation company working on our apartment (Pravexx GmbH) is “a bit” behind schedule. Not to get anyone’s hopes up (including my own), but it actually looks like we could be moving in sometime in the next 2 weeks….I actually have flooring in the kitchen and if all goes well the new parquet will be delivered today and the walls painted tomorrow. And, my brand new kitchen is being delivered on Monday!!!

So, what does that all have to do with these awesome light turquoise bowls from Ikea (IKEA 365+)? Well, since ALL my things have been packed away in storage since February and I had been eating off of the same 4 plastic yellow pick nick plates and using tuperware as a cereal bowl (our temporary situation was only supposed to last a few weeks…not 4 months!!) I decided, on a recent trip to Ikea, to pick up some decent bowls. So, I walked out of Ikea with a big smile and 4 really pretty bowls. And, since they’re currently the only 4 bowls I have, they are going to pop-up in a lot of my food photography until we finally move and get the kitchen all squared-away.

On to the food…

I really enjoy bulgar. For some reason I don’t like couscous as much, but they are very similar. I buy instant bulgar which is ground up and only needs some boiling water poured over it and waiting about 3 minutes before you can consume it. It makes for a great, quick, and healthy meal – oh, and it’s pretty cheap here in Germany.

The one “down-side” to this bulgar salad is that it’s so good you will need a HUGE bowl to make enough for your family if you want to feed it to them for more than one meal (I only cook once a day for two meals).

My recipe is partially inspired by this bulgar salad recipe on Kayln’s Kitchen and partially by the great tips I received from my local Turkish grocer. Both recommended that I use fresh mint leave..and believe me I would love to..but I am still breast feeding, and nothing will dry up your breast milk like eating mint! Continue Reading »

As I was making my breakfast this morning, I was thinking how simple, healthy, delicious, and CHEAP this breakfast is. Why don’t more people eat this for breakfast??

I must admit that I grew-up hating oatmeal. I mean, who likes a bowl full of bugers?? Yes, that’s what I actually thought…and still think of cooked oatmeal. But, after moving to Germany I learned to eat breakfast as most other Germans: muesli. Muesli is basically some form of oatmeal, sometimes even in granola form (with lots of sugar), and other ingredients added to it such as dried fruits and nuts..and sometimes even pieces of chocolate.

For many years I bought pre-made muesli made of granola with tropical dried fruits until one day I could no longer eat sugar. A box of muesli can have a lot of added sugar in it! So, I started making my own. Throughout the winter I enjoy adding frozen blueberries and raspberries which I put together (without milk) the night before so that the berries slowly defrost and have the same consistency of the fresh berries they once were by morning. In the spring time I enjoy my oatmeal with bananas or strawberries, and in the summer I like adding peaches, apricots, or fresh blue berries. For some reason, every Fall I enjoy eating rye bread with different homemade jellies that I canned throughout the summer and generally don’t eat much oatmeal.

Not only is this a very very healthy and fulfilling meal, it is very inexpensive. For 27 cents a serving you really can’t go wrong (see my price list bellow). Continue Reading »

Souvlaki is one of my favorite summer time meals. And, and although the weather is so cool here right now you’d think it was Fall, it’s still nice to pretend that it’s sunny outside! But, honestly, souvlaki is great any time of the year, and although most recipes require you to grill your meat, I cook my in a griddle pan (without the grill ridges).

So, what goes well with souvlaki?? Zatziki – zattiki – zatziki, rice, and cabbage salad. You can vary the vegetables beyond cabbage salad if it’s not winter, but it’s quite delicious.

Please don’t be scared of the long resting hours – these recipes are all really worth making and well worth the wait. Continue Reading »

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share some pictures of lobster that I realized I hadn’t blogged….they’re from New Years eve!!

So, yes, we had lobster for New Years because one of the local grocery store was selling frozen pre-cooked whole lobster for €4 a piece! They each came in a double bag sort of packaging and where frozen like big popsicles..I mean…really really big.

I hadn’t had lobster in years and we all really enjoyed it, although I don’t think my husband appreciates when I buy food that he really has to work hard to get to and can be a bit messy. My then 2-year-old son found it fascinating that he basically got to beat up his food with different tools before eating it…he also ended up eating almost an entire lobster!!

So, enjoy the mosaic – I shot the pictures with my new macro rings that I got for Christmas from my husband – and a super happy belated New Years to everyone!

I am always on the look-out for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. In the search for a crisp chocolate chip cookie, I came across this fantastic chewy cookie recipe on Cooking On the Side.

I tried these cookies out in all sizes: small, medium, and jumbo. And, jumbo cookies were definitely best over all because these cookies are breadier than what most people are used to and the larger they are the better the chocolate to cookie ratio is.

I made some ingredient substitutions to adjust for my dietary needs at the time. That’s also why my cookies look a bit different than the ones on Cooking On The Side. Different ingredients react differently when baked.

So, while I continue my search for a crisp chocolate chip cookie recipe, you can enjoy this one! Continue Reading »

So, still no move date in sight to our newly renovated home from Pravexx (we should have moved in on February 5th,   then March 5th, then April 12th, then May 5th, then May 10th, then May 15th..today’s the 15th and still no move in sight). And, while I have told you in the past that I couldn’t post as much until I move to the new home, I have decided to stop waiting for the big move day.

In someways I have become a “broken food blogger” – I only have 4 plastic yellow pickinick plates to photograph on, one salad bowl, and 3 forks. But, in no way have I become a broken foodie – there is a big difference! Although my current kitchen/foyer is smaller than the bathroom of my last apartment (2 meter x 2 meter), I still cook for my family every day and I still send my son to preschool with delicious homemade meals.

There are somethings that you should never let go of. The most important being your dignity in the kitchen. Last week I cooked a 5 course meal with one electric burner and a toaster oven for 15 people and no body would have guessed. Granted it took me 3 days to prepare, but I accomplished it and it made me feel good.

So, today I want to share with you a recipe that I found way back in the winter when I lived in my old home, but still use today in my tiny hole-in-the wall kitchen. The recipe says it’s an Italian salad dressing, but I find that it can go either way Greek or Italian. Continue Reading »

Well, it’s another beautiful day outside today. And, what is nicer than taking a stroll outside on a cool sunny morning? Taking the same walk with a homemade soft pretzel hand.

My husband and son made these one afternoon. And, what recipe did they use?? Can’t remember…. bummer huh?? They were really yummy too. Continue Reading »

I have been trying to make fish once a week now.

Prior to making Adobong fish I somehow had stuck in my mind that fish was only meant to be served after a deep broil or frying – to kill the flavor, of course – and then be doused in lemon or lime juice to further suppress and flavor. I am always surprised when I retry a food that was never ever ever a favorite of mine growing up and it actually ends up turning out so delicious that it becomes a weekly staple.  Now, every Tuesday is fish day.  You should just see the look of excitement in my 3-year-old’s face when I tell him we’re eating fish.  Before this recipe I always would wish I could have such pure enthusiasm for eating fish, but now, we’re on the same boat.  There’s no turning back – it seems there is a whole world of fish recipes out there left to be explored.

This is a really great recipe that I adapted from The Cook Mobile. It is really tangy and goes well with my aunt’s mango salsa. If you don’t have something sweet (such as the salsa) to offset the tanginess of the fish it will be very over powering.  I didn’t have any access to swordfish, so I used a white fish from France that I could pick-up at my local Turkish market.

I hope this recipe changes your view, like it did mine.  And, I would also love links to your favorite fish recipes!  I need something new to try out for next week’s menu! Continue Reading »