Miniature "Hexenhaus" (Gingerbread House)

For all those who never get around to making a proper gingerbread house, I have a solution: the miniature "Hexenhaus" - no baking required, and easily devoured.

 

Baking Adventures: Brötchen (Rolls)

One thing I love about German bakeries are the plain crusty rolls, the Brötchen, that you can get absolutely everywhere. And for a plain white yeast dough product, there are surprisingly many recipes as well as preferences by the consumers.

Now me, I like mine to have a definite taste, a crunchy crust, but a soft and almost doughy inside that's still satisfying and not completely consisting of air. You know, the kind of Brötchen I remember from my childhood, that taste good enough to eat plain and dry, just tearing off pieces and stuffing them in your mouth.

They are surprisingly hard to find in bakeries though, these days.

Cooking Adventures: Turkey breast stuffed with feta and macadamias and served with rice

Yesterday, I cooked dinner for my parents, just because I felt like it. Living on my own means I don't get the chance to cook properly near as often as I'd like, so every few weeks I invite my parents over for dinner on a Saturday or Sunday, and make a proper meal.

Most times this means lasagne, as I like to freeze the leftovers for quick weekday meals. But since my freezer is currently full to the brim, I thought I'd try something different, something I made once a few years ago.

I'm not usually big on poultry, but I like it once in a while, especially if it is stuffed with some kind of delicious filling. When I was in Australia over Christmas a few years ago, the friend I stayed with made us turkey stuffed with macadamias and cranberries. I tried making this myself when I got back and it's a very delicious roast for a crowd.

Another recipe that I got from a cookbook by Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden also fills poultry with macadamias, but this stuffing is less sweet with feta, onions and bacon instead of the cranberries. It's also a recipe for 4 rather than a crowd, so this is what I chose to make yesterday.

Struwen

It's Good Friday today, and I am currently in the process of making Struwen. Struwen are a traditional Good Friday recipe where I live. They are essentially slightly sweet yeast pancakes with raisins.

Originally they were a proper Lenten dish, containing none of the forbidden ingredients such as butter or eggs, but over the years, probably even centuries, they have grown into a quite luxurious treat. ;-)

Bread Adventures: Wholewheat Bread with Oats and Seeds

I think you've noticed by now that I'm a big fan of Rachel Allen's books. This recipe is from her as well.

A friend asked me the other day for a recipe with a high wholemeal content, and I wasn't sure my usual recipe would work with more than 50% wholemeal flour. So I had a look through my books and stumbled upon this recipe for a wholewheat loaf with oats and seeds, which is from Rachel's Favourite Food at Home.

A lot of wholewheat breads can be very dense and crumbly, but this one is surprisingly light. It is a bit crumbly, but that's probably partly due to the sunflower and other seeds, not just the flour type used.

Cooking Adventures: Lasagne

I've just finished portioning the leftovers of a big batch of lasagne, and because this batch turned out really well, I thought it best to write down what quantities I used so I remember for next time.

This makes a very big batch, would easily feed 8-10 I'd say.

I usually share it freshly baked with my parents and then have around 8 portions left for the freezer, but I make those smaller on purpose so I'm not tempted to overeat. ;-) Which is very easy with this...