Green Asparagus with tofu and mashed white beans

Hello everybody, hallo zusammen,

Springtime is asparagus time - yeah! I love it, when the fresh green and white asparagus spears are finally available in the supermarket and the blogs and cooking magazines fill up with asparagus recipes. It so happens, that today's recipe is actually inspired by the current frisch gekocht (freshly cooked) magazine where they combined white asparagus with mashed beans, bacon and hazelnuts. As David is vegetarian and we therefore only cook meat-free at home I made a vegetarian version and replaced the bacon with tofu and the hazelnuts with a delicious mix of roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and soy beans. But see for yourself... 

Frühling ist Spargelzeit - juhu! Ich freu mich immer riesig, wenn es endlich die grünen und weißen Spargelstangen zu kaufen gibt und sich die Blogs und Zeitschriften mit Spargelrezepten füllen. So kommt es auch, dass das heutige Rezept vom neuen frisch gekocht-Magazin inspiriert ist, wo weißer Spargel mit Bohnenpüree, Speck und Haselnüssen kombiniert wird. Da David Vegetarier ist und wir dementsprechend zu Hause nur fleischfrei kochen, habe ich das Rezept allerdings etwas abgewandelt und eine vegetarische Version gezaubert, mit Tofu statt Speck und einem herrlichen Salatkerne-Mix anstatt der Haselnüsse. Aber seht selbst...

Crostata with Blueberries and Ricotta

Hey folks, hallo zusammen,

today I wanna share a recipe for an easy and tasty crostata with blueberries and ricotta. I made it recently as a dessert when our good friend (and comedian) Elias Werner visited David and me for dinner. Everybody liked it, so I think it's save to recommend it to you guys... ;) Just a tip: Eat the crostata, while it's still warm. Then it tastes best!

heute möchte ich ein Rezept für eine einfache und leckere Crostata mit Heidelbeeren und Ricotta mit euch teilen. Ich habe das Rezept unlängst ausprobiert, als uns Elias Werner, ein guter Freund (und Kabarettist), zum Essen besucht hat. Nachdem es allen geschmeckt hat, empfehle ich es jetzt mal unbedarft weiter... ;) Nur ein kleiner Tipp: Esst die Crostata, solange sie noch warm ist. Dann schmeckt sie nämlich am Besten!

Wild Garlic Bread

Hey Gang,

today I got something delicious for you: a recipe for wild garlic bread with fresh wild garlic directly out of the woods. Yummy! I made it for the first time (my lovely classmate Katharina shared her recipe with me) and it worked out immediately. Crusty on the outside, super fluffy on the inside, combined with butter and wild garlic - simply great! :)

heute habe ich wieder was Leckeres für euch: ein Rezept für Bärlauch-Zupfbrot mit frischem Bärlauch direkt aus dem Wald. Yummy! Ich habe das Brot zum ersten Mal gebacken (meine liebe Unikollegin Katharina hat ihr Rezept mit mir geteilt) und es hat eigentlich sofort geklappt. Außen knusprig, innen total fluffy und dann auch noch kombiniert mit Butter und Bärlauch - ziemlich großartig muss ich sagen! :)

Cooking with Friends: Vegan Wild Garlic Pesto (with Romana)

Hello you lovelies, hallo ihr Lieben,

as I already mentioned in my last post, Romana and I met for a little wild garlic cooking party last week. We made pasta with mushrooms and a really delicious vegan wild garlic pesto Romana-style, which I'm going to share with you today.

wie ich schon in meinem letzten Post erwähnt habe, haben Romana und ich letzte Woche eine kleine Bärlauch-Kochparty verstanstaltet. Wie haben herrliche Pasta mit Champignons und einem richtig guten veganen Bärlauch-Pesto gemacht, für das mir Romana ihr persönliches Rezept verraten hat und welches ich jetzt auch mit euch teilen mag.

Broccoli-Spinach-Soup with Egg

Hey everybody, hallo zusammen,

I hope all of you had a lovely weekend! Mine was really nice actually! :) On Saturday I went to two birthday parties. On Sunday I went into the woods to collect wild garlic, followed by a great wild garlic cooking party with my friend Romana. Recipes will follow soon, but first I wanna share a recipe for a really tasty and healthy broccoli-spinach-soup with egg and hand-made potato chips with you guys.

ich hoffe, ihr hattet ein tolles Wochenende! Meines war ziemlich gut muss ich sagen! :) Am Samstag war ich auf gleich zwei Geburtstagsparties und am Sonntag habe ich mich in die Natur begeben um frischen Bärlauch zu sammeln. Und weil es so schön war, haben Romana und ich den Bärlauch am selben Tag noch verkocht. :) Die Rezepte kommen bald, aber zunächst möchte ich heute ein Rezept für eine richtig gute und gesunde Brokkoli-Spinat-Suppe mit gekochtem Ei und handgemachten Kartoffelchips mit euch teilen teilen.

Cheesecake with Sour Cherries

Hello everybody, hallo zusammen,

do you feel spring already? In Vienna the last two days have been wonderfully warm and sunny, but today the sun unfortunately hides again behind the clouds.
Today I wanna share a recipe for a delicious cheesecake with sour cherries. It's easy to make and remindes me of warm summer days, which are hopefully soon to come... 

lässt sich bei euch auch langsam der Frühling blicken? In Wien war es die letzten beiden Tage ganz wunderbar warm und sonnig, heute versteckt sich die Sonne aber leider wieder hinter ihrer dicken Wolkendecke!
Heute möchte ich ein Rezept für einen köstlichen Topfenkuchen mit Weichseln (Sauerkirschen) teilen. Der ist ganz einfach zu machen und erinnert mich außerdem an warme Sommertage, die jetzt hoffentlich bald kommen werden...

Carinthian Kasnudeln handmade

Hi folks, hallo zusammen,

last week I made "Kärnter Kasnudeln" myself for the very first time! I was really proud, also because they turned out really fine. :) For those of you who don't know these delicious filled steamed buns: "Kärnter Kasnudeln" are an Austrian specialty, from Carinthia to be exact. They are filled with a potatoe-curd-herbs-mixture. I love those filled noodles, but in the past I've always bought the ready-made-version from the supermarket. To make them oneself is actually a bit elaborate, but the result is definitely worth the effort.

letzte Woche habe ich zum ersten Mal Kärntner Kasnudeln selbst gemacht! Mann da war ich stolz auf mich, vor allem weil sie auch wirklich ziemlich gut geworden sind. :) Für alle, die diese leckeren gefüllten Teigtaschen nicht kennen: Kärntner Kasnudeln sind eine österreichische Spezialität und zwar aus (logisch) Kärnten, dem südlichsten Bundesland. Gefüllt werden mit einer Topfen-Kartoffel-Kräuter Mischung. Ich mag die total gern, wobei ich bisher immer faul die Fertigvariante aus dem Supermarkt besorgt habe. Sie selbst zu machen ist dann in der Tat auch etwas aufwendig, aber dieser Aufwand lohnt sich definitiv! 

Winterly Cabbage Stew

Hi folks,

originally Katja came up with the recipe I'm going to present today. Since the first time she's cooked it in the theater's office kitchen it became one of my favourite winter dishes: cabbage stew with potatoes, lentils and a hint of tomato. Yummy! :)

Burek with Veggie Filling

Hello everybody,

Ten minutes away from my apartment you can buy the best burek in Vienna. That's at least what the Austrian daily Der Standard claims, and they may be right, because it's really, really good!
However, as I can't always walk over there to buy one I decided to try it myself and make two kinds of vegetarian burek (or pita): one with potato filling, the other one with soy "ground meat" filling. And it was totally worth the try! Both kinds turned out really good! Not exactly as good, as the greasy, supertasty burek at Thaliastraße, but almost that delicious. Here comes the recipe!

How To Make Super Sweet And Super Tasty Semolina Slices

Happy Monday everyone,

how did you spend your weekends? Hopefully good? I had a very lovely one including some cozy wine drinking at a friends' apartment, a trip to the Feschmarkt at Ottakringer Brauerei and a wonderful afternoon dinner with delicious tabbouleh and yummy cake. 
I also want to share a sweet delight today: semolina slices with apple sauce. Those are a perfect dessert as they are very tasty with their coat of breadcrumbs and coconut plus they are easy to make. :)

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Hello everybody,

today I want to share a vegetarian recipe for stuffed peppers. Personally I think that the cold autumn weather virtually screams for more colour on the plate, which is why I went for red and orange bell peppers.

Green Salad Meets Figs And Camembert

Hello you lovely people,

I hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful weekend with your loved ones! I actually spent two beautiful days including a romantic dinner with my lovely boyfriend, a long overdue coffee chat with a good friend who finally moved back to Vienna (welcome back, my dear Kerstin!) and a really good ballet performance with choreographies by William Forsythe.
My Monday was very nice too! Among other things I prepared a really good green salad with figs and camembert, which I want to share with you today. :) Here comes the recipe!

Beetroot Soup for Autumn Days

Hello everybody,

I am back! :) Last week I've been totally occupied with the intensive week at my new university. It was really great but unfortunately my time to blog was severely limited (not to say non-existent).
However, I spent my whole Sunday with cooking and crafting, so I will be back to my normal blogging routine shortly... ;)
Today I want to share a recipe for a really good and nourishing beetroot soup. I love the red beets and think they are the perfect vegetable for cold autumn and winter days.

Veggie Love Story: Tomato Avocado Salad

Hello you lovely people,

I apologize for making myself so scare for the last few days, but it's been season opening week at the theatre and my last work week there in general (I decided to go back to university! :) ). Therefore everything has been a little bit stressful...
In compensation I am going to share a really good, quick and easy recipe for a tomato-avocado salad. I served it last week at my birthday brunch and it was eaten up almost immediately. I figure that's a good sign. ;)

Spinach Cake with Peanuts

Hello everybody,

today I wanna share a recipe with you which works as well for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is quite easy to make: spinach cake with peanuts. What may seem unusual at first is actually one of the greatest combinations I've recently tried!

What you'll need

• ca. 75g spinach
• 2 spring onions
• 100g flour
• 1,5 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• salt and pepper
• 50g peanuts

How it works

Roast the peanuts in a dry pan for a few minutes and preheat the oven to 160°C. Chop the spring onions and the spinach.

Mix the flour and the baking powder in a bowl. Stir in the eggs, the sour cream, the olive oil, the mustard as well as salt and pepper. Then slowly incorporate the spinach, the spring onions and the roasted peanuts into the mixture.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased loaf pan and bake the cake for about 40 minutes.

Take the spinach cake out of the oven and let it cool down for about 5 minutes before you carefully separate it from the pan.

Enjoy!

Have a great day!

Yours,
Steffi 

All images by Steffi Reichl

Hello Mushroom Season: King Oyster Mushrooms with Polenta Sticks

Hi folks,

I love this time of the year - I love the mushroom season. Besides chanterelles my absolute favourites are king oyster mushrooms. Some days ago I bought some for dinner and David and I made the most delicious and really simple mushroom dish with polenta sticks and green salad. Here comes the recipe. :)

What you'll need (for 2 persons)

• 250g polenta
• 1 l vegetable stock
• salt
• nutmeg
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 20 g butter
• olive oil
• 200g king oyster mushrooms
• 3 garlic gloves
• 2 spring onions
• (tamari) soy sauce 
• green salad
• salad dressing of your choice

How it works

We start out with the polenta. Pour the vegetable stock into a pot, add the salt, some grated nutmeg, pepper and the butter and bring everything to boil. Stir in the polenta with an eggbeater and cook it up. Then add the Parmesan, turn down the heat, and let the polenta expand for about 10 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent the polenta from scorching.

Put the polenta into a rectangular pan (we used our baking dish) and let it cool down completely. This will take about an hour. Now you can go and watch an episode of your favourite TV show or something or bake a cake like I did (more on this soon)... ;)

Cut the mushrooms and the garlic gloves into thin slices and chop the spring onions. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and gently roast the mushrooms for a few minutes. Add the garlic gloves and spring onions for two more minutes and deglaze everything with soy sauce. Salt and pepper to taste and put the pan aside.

Turn the baking dish upside down and cut the now cold and stiff polenta into sticks. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and roast the polenta sticks for a few minutes until they are warm and a little crispy on the outside.

Conclusively dress the green salad with a dressing of your choice (we made a simple dressing with cider vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil) and you are ready to serve.

Bon appétit!
Tulip

All images by Steffi Reichl

Delicious and Healthy: Minestrone

Hi there,

my mother's vegetable garden is exploding right now. Green beans, tomatoes, celery... everythings ready to be harvested. Good for me, as I'm therefore currently getting the best organically grown vegetables directly from the garden. I decided to use them to make a really tasty and substantial vegetable soup: Italian minestrone. 

What you'll need (for 4 persons)

• 3 garlic gloves
• 2 spring onions
• 1/2 handful celery leaves
• 2 big carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 1 handful green beans
• 1/2 zucchini
• 60g butter
• olive oil
• 1 1/2 l vegetable stock
• 100g tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 handful fresh basil 
• grated parmesan
• salt and pepper
• 85g spaghetti (broken into small pieces)

How it works

Chop the garlic, spring onions, celery leaves, carrotts, potatoes, green beans and zucchinis. Heat the butter and the olive oil in a big pot and brown the garlic and the onions for two minutes. Add the celery leaves, the carrots and potatoes and continue roasting for another two minutes. Add the green beans and the zucchini and...what do you think?... brown for two minutes.

Cover the pot and cook the vegetables stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. Then add the vegetable stock, the tomatoes, the tomato paste and the basil and add salt and peeper to taste.

Cook the soup on a low heat for about an hour. Then add the spaghetti pieces and cook for another 10 minutes.
Put the soup into bowls, sprinkle grated parmesan over it and enjoy! :)

Have a great weekend!

Yours,
Tulip

All images by Stefanie Reichl

Fast and Tasty Egg Spread

Hi folks,

today David and I went to Vienna's third bike picnic at Galopprennbahn Freudenau, an old race track in Vienna. It's a lovely event where one dresses in retro British outfits (for the tweed ride), relaxes on picnic blankets and meanwhile listens to Charleston and Lindy Hop. :)
However, as the name already suggests it's a picnic. Therefore I decided to make a portion of tasty egg spread with curry to take with us on the race track. Here comes the recipe:

What you'll need (for 2 hungry persons)

• 4 eggs
• 2 spring onions
• 2 tablespoons curd
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 teaspoon curry powder.
• salt

How it works

Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes.

Peel the eggs. Cut them and the spring onions into small pieces. 

Put the eggs in a bowl, add the curd, the sour cream and the curry powder and mix well. Then add the spring onions.

Put the egg spread on a slice of bread and enjoy! :)

Have a great evening!

Yours,
Tulip

All images by Stefanie Reichl/David Auer

Super-tasty Corn Fritters with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Hey you guys,

I hope you all had a beautiful week and an even better weekend so far! :)
I just made the best corn fritters with oven-roasted tomatoes and of course I want to share the recipe with you. I made these fritters for the first time myself and they are really easy to make, you won't need longer than half and hour to prepare them and they simply taste wonderfully. :)

What you'll need 

• (small) tomatoes on the vine 
• 450g canned corn
• 2 spring onions
• 3 eggs
• 100g flour
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 handful of fresh basil
• salt
• pepper
• vegetable oil
• salad
• lemon
• blueberries
• vinegar

How it works

We start with the oven-roasted tomatoes:
Put the tomatoes into a baking dish. Cut the garlic and the basil in small pieces and give them to the tomatoes. Add salt, pepper and olive oil and roast the tomatoes for about 15 minutes at 180°C in the oven.

For the fritters drain the corn well and put it aside. Whisk the flour and the eggs, then add the corn and the cut spring onions and flavour the mixture with salt and pepper.

Heat up some oil in a pan and fry the fritters (1 tablespoon of the corn mixture per fritter) for 2-3 minutes on both sides until they are golden brown.

As a side dish I decided to make a nice salad with corn salad and blueberries. I simply mixed the salad with the berries and added some salt, pepper, lemon juice, vinegar and oil. Yummy! :)

Enjoy!!

Have a great day!

Yours,
Tulip

PS: If you want to add some protein to the dish I would recommend either chicken or if you want to stay vegetarian fried smoked tofu.

All images by Stefanie Reichl

Pot-roasted apricots and peaches with basil mascarpone cream

Hey folks,

I hope all of you had a great Sunday so far! :)
If you're looking for an easy, warm and summerly dessert that tastes like heaven I might have the right recipe for you... ;) The basic idea is to pot-roast apricots, peaches and oranges and combine them with roasted coconut flakes, cashew nuts and a delicious marcarpone cream with fresh basil. Yes, you guessed right, this is no recipe for fans of calorie counting but in any case it's delicious!

What you'll need

• 8 apricots (fresh or canned)
• 4 peaches (fresh or canned)
• 30g fresh ginger
• 2 organic oranges (organic is important as we'll use the orange zest as well!)
• 1 organic lemon
• 20-30g maple syrup
• ca. 30g cashew nuts
• ca. 20g coconut flakes
• 2 handful of fresh basil leaves
• 250g mascarpone
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

How it works

For the basil mascarpone cream combine the basil leaves with the mascarpone and add one tablespoon of maple syrup. Blend everything with a hand-held blender.

Wash the peaches and the apricots, cut them into half and remove the stones. Peel the ginger and cut it into small pieces. Wash the orange and the lemon using hot water and peel them with a sharp knife. Cut the fruit into half and press out the juice.

Heat up the maple syrup in a pan and add the apricots, peaches and ginger. After a few minutes add the citrus fruit's zest and juice and boil slowly. Allow the juice to reduce, then turn around the fruit, add 50 ml water and continue boiling until the juice gets a syrup-like consistence.
Roast the coconut flakes in a dry pan for a few minutes. 

Serve the fruit together with the roasted coconut flakes and the basil mascarpone cream and enjoy! :)

Have a wonderful evening!

Yours,
Tulip

All images by Stefanie Reichl