I baked bread!

This is the second batch of white bread I made this week! I'm delighted, two in a row that worked out! After a very bad attempt last week (the bread was stale as soon as it was out of the oven! too dry!) it's nice to see it work out. I don't have an exact recipe, but it goes like this

1 sachet of dry yeast
mix 250ml milk - and 250ml warm water
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of oil
enough white flour to make a good dough

I have a foodmixer, so I start with the yeast, half the milky water and a little flour, stirring it with the dough hook attachment to a yoghurty consistence. I then leave it until it starts to bubble up, maybe 20 minutes? Then I add the rest of the water, the salt and oil, and on the lowest setting, slowly add flour until the dough is nearly, but not quite, dry enough to handle. Turning it out onto a floured surface, I knead it some more, adding more flour if needed, then return it to the mixing bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and put into a quiet, warm place. There I leave it for about an hour and a half or until doubled in size. I knock it back, shape two loaves and put them into two loave tins, leaving them to rise for at least an hour, after that I check on them and if they look well risen I preheat the oven and as soon as it's hot they go in, 200 C in a fan oven for 45 minutes (although I think I might have done 220 for 35-40 minutes the last time... I really should write these things down...)

The loaves are nice and airy, with a hard crust on top, but squishable on the sides. There is some satisfaction in pulling good bread out of the oven! I already passed half a loaf on to my neighbour who's forever giving me thick slices of her cakes to sample! And today she brought two scones from Avoca, yummie!

Other news... we have realised Emm doesn't really need the night feeds any more, she's just waking up for a little drink and cuddle! So for the last week and a half I have more or less weaned her off the night feeds, with P's help. He's been looking after her when she wakes up, which is usually around 4. Some nights it just takes a soother to get her back to sleep, others she needed a little cuddle. Last night I tried to take over, but no luck, she could smell my milk and just wouldn't go back to sleep! When she also started to cry I had to wake P, and within a few minutes she was asleep. I'm a little sad to hand over that ability to soothe her back to sleep with a little milk, that connection we have at night, but on the other hand, I have so much more energy! I didn't just dream of going back to bed while making breakfast, I actually bounced out of bed in the morning, and getting lots done during the day! She's nine and a half months now, and becoming very aware of what she wants and doesn't want, so maybe it's a good time...

redcurranty goodness

persian lamb - the BBQ version

grilled lamb (gigot chops)
onion-tomato-cucmber salsa (with a mint and lemon dressing), yoghurt sauce, and just to be sure, also a mixed salad with a lemon and garlic dressing (in that tupperware shaker thingy, it's a great little gadget, my sis got it for free at a 'tupper party' and gave it to me, how nice is that!)
fried rice and green beans, with parsley and dill
and for the baby some steamed veg. she seems to prefer the lamb chop though!

we also had some chicken, and then redcurrants and vienetta (yoghurt for the ice cream hating husband) for dessert. a lovely relaxing afternoon with the MIL and SIL!

Strawberry Buns

last week's, with a butter-cream cheese icing (the butter/strawberry/icing sugar mix didn't combine, so i added philadelphia, yum!

today's, this time i didn't give in and kept beating the icing with the liquidiser until it turned into perfectly pink butter icing (thanks jo!). then i added some more strawberry pieces, blitzed it briefly, done!

lemon cup cakes for stitch'n'bitch

yumm...
we sat outside until half eight or so, then it got too cold! it's such a pity, the minute the sun has disappeared behind the house it got chilly. It's something I've noticed in Ireland, even in the middle of a hot day, it's always cold in the shade, it's not like that in Germany, as far as I remember. I wonder is it latitude, or the fact that it's an island, or is it like that at any coast?

stitch and bitch birthday

chocolate and peach cake
my friend c made these! how cute! see the letter 'p' that's a hank of embroidery thread? there were balloons at the door, too! nice to get a little attention for a birthday, even though i've pretty much stopped counting!

as you can see, c, who's hosting, is a big emma bridgewater fan!

breadsticks for the baby!

i made these with

1 cup water (250ml)
1 tblsp oil
1 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp date syrup (instead of sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
and enough white spelt flour to make dough.

the breadsticks and mini flat breads i baked for 15 min at 200C, but the flat breads could have done with less, they are more like teething biscuits now. the rusks (zwieback) i baked for 20 min at 200C, then cut into slices, then baked again at 100C for about half an hour. (i think i'll have the rusks myself, with milky coffee in the morning!

i know we're not supposed to use salt for babies, but with the amount of salt i put in she could eat the whole lot over a day and a half and just about reach her salt limit. even i couldn't eat that many breadsticks! next time i might actually put 1/2 tsp salt in, they could do with a little more... (she'd never eat that much in 3 days either!!)
the rusks i might make again, with a milkier and sweeter dough.

No. 92 lamb

we had this today, it's really delicious!

No. 92 LAMB
(this was number 92 on the menu of a restaurant i used to work in as a student, the owner was iranian, so i suppose it's a persian dish! it's lamb with rice, green beans, a cold yoghurt sauce and a light salsa.

buy lamb shanks (or other cheap stewing lamb on the bone) at your local butcher, get him to split them for you. simmer for about 5 hours in salted water (we added carrot, celeriac, leek, onion, so we got a great lamb stock out of it, which we can use for stew another time). the meat should just fall off the bone!

fry cooked basmati rice and green beans in olive oil and butter, with some dill and parsley, salt and pepper. (the dill and parsley mix makes it so delicious)

for the yoghurt sauce mix 2 parts yoghurt with 1 part mayonnaise, season with salt, pepper, a bit of lemon juice and herbs (e.g. mint)

for the salsa chop onion, cucumber and tomato, add salt, pepper, mint and lemon juice. (you only need a small amount of this salsa)

i like to keep the 4 parts seperate on the plate, otherwise the sauce will cool down your meat and rice too quickly.

money saving tip: instead of buying dried mint from the herb section, get mint tea bags! much cheaper! or, grow mint in your garden, it grows like a weed!!

guinness and chocolate cupcakes

i baked guinness and chocolate buns today, they turned out lovely! i made some vanilla creme frosting to go with them, german style, which involves custard powder, milk, sugar, butter and icing sugar and makes for a lovely light but buttery topping. i'm not a hundred percent sure if it's ideal for the very rich chocolate buns, maybe a dark chocolate glaze would be better? maybe i plain buns would be better suited to the buttercreme?

either way, tomorrow morning i'm planning to ice the buns and bring them along to the mammies and babies coffee morning. the girls and babas are a lovely bunch and we have great chats, but the surroundings are grim (the local pub, smelling of shake'n'vac, selling instant coffee and tea) so i think some little cakes with sweet icing and sprinkles will lighten things up a little! if i have time i'll take a picture!

i interpreted several chocolate and guinness cake recipes (nigella has one, delia too) and made up my own version. recipes are such a mine field, all the different measurements, and the fact that to my german palate a lot of american and english baking tastes too sweet, so i often mess with sugar amounts. i think the difference is that in germany we eat cakes in the afternoon, several hours after lunch as a seperate meal, you'd have a big piece of cake, or two, with some coffee, whereas in a lot of other countries cakes are dessert, a small sweet treat directly after the meal.

don't get me wrong, germans have desserts, too, but they tend to be served in little glass bowls: custard and fruit, pudding and cream, yoghurt, ice cream... mmmh, i must write a post about all my favourite desserts from home, we had dessert with every dinner (lunch)!

chocolate and pear cake

mmmh... it turned out quite well!

350g of butter
350g brown sugar (some soft, some dark)
5 duck eggs
300g self raising flour
30g cocoa powder
4 tbl sp milk
2 pears

10" round tin, 180C (fan oven), about 1 hour 30 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean)

today i made carrot cupcakes

i had nearly all the ingredients... the recipe comes recommended by jo from piosacakes
i'm not very good at icing...

apple cake

i didn't quite get it right, it's slightly undercooked, i think. possibly too many apples (i used the right amount of apples but i think they were very big... or maybe the 30 min was for the smaller amount, my mum's recipe specified doing either the recipe in a round tin or double the amount on a baking sheet, but the time said 30 min for both... or, 3rd possibility, i think my mum has the 'oven sized' baking sheets, whereas mine is a big cake tin, so it's the cake would be a bit deepe than my mum's.
next time i go for 40 min, or for half the recipe...

yummie tea...

i discovered this tea recipe on apron thrift girl's blog, and made up a similar mix with what i had in the cupboard and in the garden! it's yummie!

for a pot of tea (about a litre) i used 3 chamomile flowers (the ones i have are really strong), one lavendar flower from the garden (mine are very small this year, normal sized ones i'd probably use a half), one big sprig of mint from the garden (crushed) and two tea spoons of dried raspberry leaves (the ones i got are called 'pure raspberry leaves' and are green, not read). All this goes into the 'tea sock' (a filter/strainer for the pot) in the pot, fill up with boiling water and steep for ten minutes. stir 2 teaspoons of honey into the pot. drink some while hot, let the rest cool down and fill into a caraffe or bottle, for the fridge, i quite like it cold!

i'm not sure how much i'm supposed to / allowed to drink while pregnant, but i had 2 cups yesterday, and two today. i might step it up a little as i get closer to my due date (the raspberry leaves are supposed to 'tone' the uterus and make the contractions more effective when it comes to labour, that's why i bought the raspberry leaf tea initially)

if i manage to keep the tea drinking up then i might make up a mix, i might even try the rose hips in it, but from all i remember i don't like them, never have, too sour...

annions

sorry, is it just me or is rachel allen pronouncing onions in the most peculiar way? we were just watching her make roast chicken and were nearly on the floor laughing, especially as she said it so often, we didn't count but it went 'then i take the annion and i peel the annion, then i put the annion into the saucepan..." anybody know where she's from?
the other thing that cracks me up is that she often looks like she hates the food she's tasting, while saying 'i lav the flavour, mmh, it's delicious' and it often looks like she hates touching produce, too!
enough bitching, i have to say i love her clothes, make up and jewellery, and the actual food looks yummie!

eclair desaster...

this is a picture of yesterday's attempt to make chocolate eclairs... i used duck eggs, which i think might have been the problem. i tried all kinds of temperature time combinations, but the centre just wouldn't cook! it was gloopy, eggy, shiny, wet, nearly custardy. what a waste of a saturday afternoon! the reason i tried making them was that the weather was awful, torrential rainfall! and i thought i'd feel much chirpier if i could have the eclairs i fancied without leaving the house!

you'd think i'd have gotten into the car today and bought some, but no, i'm attempting them again. with medium chicken eggs. the dough looks lighter this time, less oily, wish me luck!!

the recipe i'm using is a german 'windbeutel' recipe,

60g butter
1/4 l water
pinch of salt
150g flour
1 tea spoon of baking powder
4 eggs.

i'm going to do some more experimenting.

using the fan oven i'm starting with 20min 200 degrees, (eclair shapes, not german sized profiteroles or mini profiterols) i'll try all sorts of combinations again, from different other recipes, and hope that at the end of it i'll get at least 2 eclairs for dessert tonight!

car bootie

i went to a car boot sale and got these beauties! they are soup cups and saucers and i just love the leaf pattern... and the colour!




my idea was to plant something in them, but for the moment i have them on the window sill just to admire them. and the middle one right now holds the last flower of my anniversary bunch of flowers, a pink lilie that was only opening up when the rest of them had already given up the ghost.

these are the flowers on the day i got them!



and this was the anniversary breakfast, fruitsalad with raspberries and yoghurt, and the first redcurrants from the garden, made by me, and french toast with honey made by himself, he makes the best french toast...


hard to believe we're married over a year already!

oh, must stop writing, just got handed a delicious smelling beef and udon noodle stir fry, with some of the monster pak choi from the garden!

market in alghero

shoppers eying up the produce... the look like they are concentrating hard, don't they?





i thought these were nuts at first


but then i looked closer! can you see what's coming through the netting of the middle sack?

if only this market was around the corner from me, the indoor market would be a great idea for ireland. p says they used to have them here actually, until the supermarkets arrived.

oh, the fruit were just so much better in italy! and cheaper!

tired!!!

still so tired! still waiting for that 2nd trimester energy! had today off after two 12 hour days, and i had so many plans; work in the garden, bake a cake, tidy up, iron, cook dinner, some knitting or sewing... i did none of them...
instead i slept in, had rice pudding and rhubarb (just boiled with sugar) for my breakfast (i figured it's not much different to porridge with fruit and therefore healthy), caught up with some blog reading, had a little lunch (which i nearly threw up, but i just about kept it down, i think i had let myself get too hungry beforehand) and a nap, went for a cycle to buy fruit at the local fruit'n'veg shop, met my neighbour for tea... the only productive thing i did was laundry and dishes... not very impressive. hopefully this downtime will have restored my energy levels to survive another two days in the office.
i read up on growing potatoes in a tyre stack, amongst other sites here
would love to try it, though it might be a little late for that, plus i would want a prettier stacking solution, our garden is too small for stacks of tyres not to make a bad impression... our veggie garden is not taking off so well yet, it's been so cold! and we've neglected the fruit bushes and trees completely. the truth is, i don't really know how to prune and feed them. i pruned the damson tree and it's taken it badly... no blossoms whatsoever. we did nothing to the cherry tree, no blossoms either! i think the gooseberries and redcurrant could have done with some loosening of the soil and some kind of plant food...
i also read some rollercoaster posts, but whenever i read about birth and labour i get very panicky and fearful, it all seems to be so totally out of my control once i get into hospital! 'actively managed labour' seems to still be the norm in ireland, from all i've heard from germany and other european contries it's different there...
i have a funny taste in my mouth from dinner, my brother in law cooked lasagne for us, accompanied by oven chips (i don't get this, chips with lasagne! there's already pasta in it, i wouldn't have spaghetti with spuds either, can anybody explain this to me? is it an irish thing? a canteen thing?) the lasagne was from a 'kit' with 2 jars of sauce and the lasagne sheets. you just add mince. i didn't realise that i haven't eaten food like that in ages, it just didn't taste right, the tomato sauce was as sweet as ketchup, the white sauce strangely salty, plus this strange 'artificial taste', is it msg? it's nice of him to cook every now and then, but it really makes us realise how well we usually eat! (another dinner he cooked once was spuds and carrots and steak, cooked entirely without salt or pepper or any flavourings, with the potatoes and steaks overcooked to take the last bit of goodness and natural flavour out of them. it's the kind of food that really depresses me, i know that's ever so healthy. but i really love my food seasoned!)
Gee, bitchy me, i should be grateful for any night that i'm not cooking (i haven't cooked much at all lately due to ridiculous tiredness) and i am, but i'm really looking forward to not being so crushed tired and cooking a healthy and flavourful meal again... P cooked a lovely chili con carne yesterday by the way, so i'm not all complaints.

rhubarb crumble

mmh... i just put the 1st rhubarb crumble of the year into the oven! we had to cut back our rhubarb plant allready, it started growing over the path (our garden is small so everything is small and narrow and close together). my mother in law's in longford has only just started sprouting, i didn't realise there was such a difference in climate! we're lucky though, our garden is south facing and quite sheltered.

we also did a little trip to woodies yesterday and bought a patio set: two chairs and a table. the table was put together quick enough despite the usual useless drawings and instructions, i mean, why do they have to label the pieces a1 and b2 and so on, why not just say outer left leg, inner right leg etc. it would save all the guessing and turning each piece every way to figure out whether it's a1 or b2! anyhow, for the 2 chairs we got 3 left arm rests and one right... so today i had to go back and swap one of them, it took the customer service girl, a boy, a manager and another boy, and some animated discussions amongst them, to get me the right piece, good job i brought the drawing with me, only after i showed that to one of them did they understand what i meant by 'i would like to exchange this left armrest for a right armrest'.


not many crafty news here, i have been extremely tired lately, i still haven't finished the cream wool clapotis scarf, or the mirasol sulka hat, but i've started a flannel blanket (just 2 pieces of flannel and a blanket stitch edging) and a granny square blanket, from a mixture of rialto, sublime cashmere merino and some other similar leftover yarn. i started 25 squares during our little easter getaway, i've used some pale grey and sage green so far, and a dark fuchsia. i will see how far i get. with what i have and then maybe buy some more in a matching colour to make borders for them all. i had initially thought i might make my usual 'giant granny square' but with every round in a different colour, but i thought if the different types of wool shrink differently in the wash it'll be nicer if each square has slight bumps than if the whole blanket's structure is uneven.



oh, and i cut up an unshapely cardigan in a lovely dusky pink soft loose knit, and made a thin scarf and a head band from the sleeves. i still have the body part, a strange round shape, to make something with! must take some pics. every time i dug this out of the wardrobe i though ' why am i not wearing this lovely soft cardi in that beautiful colour more often, only to realise after i've left the house in it, that it makes my arse look huge (it is quite big but not THAT BIG).


i would also like to make this blanket and this scarf, but with my current energy levels they will be projects for next winter.

easter holidays

my first day off for my easter break was good friday, and i made some muensterlaender good friday pancakes, they are called 'Struwen' and are sometimes made with curd, but my mum's recipe called for flour, milk, eggs, raisins, sugar, salt and yeast, the batter is more like cake batter and is prepared an hour in advance, to give it a chance to rise. when you then drop spoonfuls of it into a pan with hot oil they rise like mad! im not so good at turning them, i burned myself with splatters of hot oil :-( but they were delicious and very filling none the less! i believe they used to be the only dinner you got on good friday, but we were never very strict on that one.


on saturday we flew to germany, for a few days with my parents and siblings, the airport was mental, we arrived at 5.05am and queued non stop till 6.45, when it was time to board! the crowds were like something from a desaster film.


I brought this little bag for my nephew, who can use it for his swimming gear or toys, not that he cares much as he has his mammy to carry it all around for him of course, he's not even 1!
and my mum got this one which i made earlier, for her knitting (socks) that she brings to her monthly knitting circle meetings


my mum had lots of easter decorations up, some very tasteful (aren't those chickens cute!?) , and others more sentimental, like this basket filled with eggs my siblings and i decorated when we were younger! i recognised some that i made, like one, done in felt tip, of the easter bunny, a chick in an egg shell, a flower and jesus complete with beard and white robes and coloured eggs, all on the same egg... you can really only see his beard in the picture, i still don't know why the camera doesn't focus on what i want it to focus at...

This one says happy easter in german, the flowers are supposed to be daffodils and it's scratched into a naturally brown egg shell, possibly using a stanley knife.



and these are very clever, some leaves from the garden are held in place by old tights while the egg soaks in the dye.


it was a great trip, it was so good to see everybody, and we got lots of wedding stuff sorted which puts my conscience at ease, and i brought back some corduroy for trousers for my nephew, and some checked fabrics, and some double point knitting needles and some merino wool, i haven't taken any pictures yet.

i spent friday treating our garden furniture, 4 foldable chairs (hell!) and a bench and a table, lookin' good now, the weather was brilliant, we could have had a barbequeue but P. was working from 6pm till 7am, so it didn't work out that way, but i went for dinner with friends in town, delicious french food and wine! i didn't make my bus and two of my friends stayed on till the first night bus, town is quite mental on a saturday night!


and lastly, a picture of one of my westfalien prints, i took it when i recently decided to prewash and iron all my fabrics, so that they won't shrink after i use them, i read it's a wise thing to do...