Banana Walnut Muffin

Hi guys!

Soo, it's Monday and I have a sweet vegan treat for you to help you start your week right. I know, can muffins ever be good for you? Well, these contain healtier flours and nutrious bananas and walnuts so I think they might be better for you than the average chocolate muffin. The recipe comes from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes to my kitchen table", one of my go-to books if I want recipes for a healthy treat. 

Here's the recipe:
4 (or 6) tablespoons rapeseed oil
125g (4.4 oz; 3/4 cup) whole spelt flour
100g (3.5 oz; 2/3 cup) white spelt flour
60g (2.1 oz; a good 1/3 cup) barley flour (or buckwheat)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
3 very ripe banana
125ml (4 fl.oz; 1/2 cup) maple syrup
4 tablespoons brown rice syrup (or 3 parts honey + 1 part water; equal parts light agave nectar)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
85g (3 oz) raisins
60g (2.1 oz) toasted walnuts

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases or oil them with the two additional tablespoons of rapeseed oil. Chop the walnuts and toast them in a pan. 

2) Sift the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl. Purée the bananas in a food processor or blender and then add 4 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, syrups and vanilla and pulse to combine. 

3) Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture. Stir just to combine and fold in the raisins and walnuts (don't overmix or you will have tough muffins!). 

4) Use an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter evenly among the muffin sections.

5) Bake for approx. 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack. 

Yield: 12 muffins
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 45 minutes
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrow, "Notes from my kitchen table", p. 226

Here's how mine look:

These muffins are not as sweet as a "regular" muffin, but they have lots of flavour anyways. I particularly love the stronger taste of the flours to balance the sweetness of the banana. The raisins turn into soft, moist pieces and the walnuts add crunch as well as deep nutty flavour from toasting them. It really does make a difference, so don't skip the toasting. I have a hard time finding barley flour, so I substituted buckwheat flour and it worked beautifully. Both flours, barley and buckwheat, contain eight essential amino acids and are gluten free. I also can't find brown rice syrup, but I do always have agave nectar in my baking ingredient box, so this is a good substitute. If you can't find any wherever you live, substitute honey (it makes the muffins vegetarian instead of vegan, but works just as well). 

Have fun trying!

mixed mushroom baked risotto

Hi guys!

Soo, another Monday has come along and, even though it is Pentecost monday, I don't want to break with tradition and introduce you to another vegetarian recipe. This week's recipe is not very fancy nor is it work-intense but it is the kind of food you're looking forward to after a long day of studying, in my case. As some of you know, I am a big fan of Donna Hay's version of a baked risotto as it is so incredibly easy but giving you all the comfort of "real" risotto. To make it vegetarin: use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock (as I always do). Here's the link to today's recipe: https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/dinners/mixed-mushroom-baked-risotto

Again, a few super simple steps and you're sitting in front of a perfect lunch or dinner.

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Slice the mushrooms. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter, oil, garlic and mushrooms for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden.

2) Place the rice, vegetable (!) stock and mushroom mixture in a 10 cup (2,5 l) capacity baking dish and stir to combine.

3) Cover tightly with foil - remember to put the glossy side on the inside as it would reflect part of the warmth whereas the dull side will channel the warmth. Bake for 40 minutes or until most of the stock is absorbed and the rice is al dente. 

4) Add the parmesan, butter, salt and pepper and stir until the butter is melted. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4 (as a main dish, approx. 6 to 8 as a side)
Active preparation time: max. 10 minutes
Total preparation time: about 50 minutes

Here's how my dinner looked:

The mushrooms get a lot of flavor from slowly browning in the pan before cooking along the rice so they can pass it to the risotto while baking. I personally omitted the garlic as I don't like the taste as much and it works just as well. This dish is super easy yet incredibly satisfying and flavourful and one of my absolute comfort foods. 

Have a great week and have fun trying!

Grilled Salmon with home-made teriyaki sauce

Hi guys!

With my exams around the corner, I am always trying to eat healthy and comforting food in order to keep me motivated and give my body and brain everything they need to perform at their best. I was craving fish today, especially salmon. I don't eat a lot of salmon as it is rather high in fat, but this recipe is just too good to skip. It's from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes from my kitchen table" and super super easy. 

Here's the recipe:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated ginger
2 sprigs fresh coriander
4 175g salmon fillets without skin
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives, for serving (optional)

1) Combine the soy sauce, mirin, honey, water, ginger and coriander in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce cool down. 

2) Once it's cool, pour into a large bowl or plastic bag and add the washed salmon. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, up to overnight. 

3) When you're ready to eat, preheat the grill. (I used the grill in the oven and preheated it on 250°C (482°F))

4) Put the salmon on a heavy baking sheet with whatever sauce adheres to it and grill until cooked to your liking, 7-8 minutes. While it's cooking, strain the extra sauce into a clean saucepan, bring to the boil, and let it reduce. 

5) To serve, drizzle the cooked salmon with some of the extra sauce and a sprinkle of chives. 

Serves: 4 
Active preparation time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 1/2 hours up to overnight
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrown, "Notes from my kitchen table", p. 177.

Here's how my salmon looks like:

I served it along some Basmati rice which I also drizzled with a little sauce. I cooked the salmon for 7 minutes and it turned out perfectly cooked with a tiny bit of a medium core, just the way it is supposed to be. Tastewise, the salmon gets a beautiful mixture of sweetness from the honey, spiciness from the ginger and saltiness from the soy sauce. The sauce that adhered to the salmon while grilling, caramelizes and turns into a light crust on the fish. This recipe is super easy and pretty fool-proof as you don't have to pan-fry the fish which I find difficult with any fish that's thicker on one end than on the other. Just stick it in the oven and it'll turn out wonderful every single time. 

Have fun trying and enjoy the (long) weekend!

Yoghurt Pot Cake

Hi guys!

Well, it's Monday so I guess you know what this means. I know I vowed to get to you a little more often this year, but with exams coming up (yup, I'm a student) things are a little crazy. This lets me to explain why I chose something sweet for this week's post. Whenever I have to learn and concentrate, I start craving sweets and the easiest way for me to keep a good conscience, or try to at least, is to bake the stuff I eat myself so I know what gets into it. Today's recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's "Nigellisima" or "Genießen auf Italienisch", as the german version is called and is perfect for spring of summer as this cake is wonderfully refreshing. 

Here's the recipe:
150ml (2/3 cup) vegetable oil
3 eggs
150g (5 oz) plain yoghurt
250g (8.8 oz; 1 cup + 1 tablespoon) white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
grated zest from 1/2 organic lemon
175g (6 oz; 1 cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
75g (2.5 oz) cornstarch
1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar, for dusting

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Grease a 22cm spring tin with a whole in the middle and dust with flour.

2) Separate the eggs. Beat the eggwhites until stiff and set aside. 

3) Combine the eggyolks with the sugar and yoghurt and beat for about 5 minutes until significantly lighter in colour and airy in texture.

4) With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract. 

5) Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until combined. Carefully fold in the eggwhites. 

6) Fill the tin with the dough and bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack. Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving. 
© Copyright: Nigella Lawson, "Genießen auf Italienisch", p. 199

Active preparation time: about 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 50 minutes

Here's how mine looks:

I didn't manage to snap a picture of a slice because as soon as the cake was halfway cooling down, I started eating... The texture is wonderfully soft and each bite almost melting. The yoghurt makes the cake beautifully moist and the lemon adds just the right amount of freshness. You could try to make the cake in a small (maybe like 18cm) spring tin, but you would have to adjust the baking time as there's no whole. Or you could use a bundt cake tin. The batter would probably fill it by half. Whatever way you decide to give this recipe a try:

Have fun trying and have a great week!

Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano

Hi guys!

Meat free monday time and I decided to get summer, or spring maybe, on my plate even though it is grey outside and probably going to rain sometime today. Today's recipe comes from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes from my Kitchen Table" and I have had an eye on it for a while. I remember trying it a first time right when the book was published and I wasn't so convinced back then, but after giving it another shot, I am in lemon pasta heaven so there was no way not sharing it with you.

Here's the recipe:

350g (12.3oz) spaghetti
salt
1 lemon
100g (3.5 oz) parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3-5 tablespoons of pasta water, to thin
Handful fresh basil leaves, to serve

1) Boil the spaghetti in salted boiling water, according to packet directions. 

2) Meanwhile, using a grater, grate the zest from the lemon into a bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl. 

3) Grate the parmesan, add it to the bowl along with pepper and a pinch of salt and mix in the olive oil to form a wet paste.

4) When the spaghetti is perfectly cooked, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the cooking water to the lemon and cheese mixture. Add the spaghetti to the bowl and toss thoroughly, adding another tablespoon or 2 of pasta water if necessary so that the sauce coats each strand. Roughly tear the basil leaves.

5) Serve each portion with a sprinkle of coarse salt, a grind of black pepper and a few grating of extra Parmesan. 

Serves: 4
Active preparation time: 5 minutes
Total preparation time: about 15 minutes
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrow, "Notes from my Kitchen Table", p. 128.

Here's how mine looks:

It might not be the most interesting dish with regards to the colour, although when you get close enough, you can see hints of bright yellow from the lemon zest, the black pepper of course and white grated parmesan cheese. I love this recipe, because you can assemble the sauce in the time it takes for the pasta to cook and even though it is basically no work, you are rewarded with lots of summery flavour. The lemon adds a really nice sourness and freshness, pepper makes it a little fiery and the parmesan adds creaminess and saltiness. So if you are sitting in the rain and want to get sunshine on your plate, this could be your new go-to recipe. Or if you are sitting in the plain sun enjoying lunch or dinner on the terrace. 

Anyways, have fun trying and have a good week!