Mahlzeit - Food without Borders

Yes, the  focus is on the Crème Fraîche. I know how to make quark. But really sometimes, I wish I have Crème Fraîche. And it is so easy. The base recipe is off the internet. Buttermilk and heavy creme. The more sites one reads, the more ratios one can get. The numbers of day in the fridge also range from a couple of days to 2 weeks. Ok, here is what I did 2 cups of heavy cream 1/4 cup of butter milk All in a glas container (ceramic works as well, but not metal or plastic). I covered it with the respective cover, but did not press it down, so air could come in. I did let it stand for 24h on the stove. (I did not use the stove during this time at all). After 24h use a fork to mix things up and press the cover down and off to the fridge it went. The process was completed 3 days ago. Since then, here is the steak. As a steak sauce or for the potatoes, I just added a little salt and pepper. The red sauce in the little jar is store bought Famous Dave's Sweet and Spicy Sauce.  I...

It is Independence Day. Time to get the grill out again. Instead of a steak, I decided it is hamburger time.  1 lbs of beef 93/7 ground beef 2 tbsp of capers 1/2 onion finely chopped 4 tbsp of ketchup (Sir Kensingtons or another good one, I don't like Heinz) 2 tbsp ground bread (don't use panko) 1 egg salt and pepper to taste Mix all of this together in a bowl and from patties. I tend to make them rather thin. Preheat the Grill to 350F. Add the patties. This are plenty of patties. I will be eating burgers for the rest of the week. Well, I may freeze a few. 30 min before starting the burgers on the grill, I added a corn on the bbq. I may not get all the grill marks, bit it is going to be sweet and juicy. 90 minutes before starting dinner preps, I took 2 potatoes wrapped them in Alufolie and through them into the countertop oven. My dinner plate: Of course this deserves a nice cold Wernersgruener. -Mahlzeit-

I have another sour dough starter. They somehow turn out pretty runny. Oh well. I can work with that. 250g runny sourdough starter 250g King Arthur bread flower 1/2 tsp salt (mix with the flower) 100g warm water with 1/2 tsp of instant yeast and 1/2 tsp of sugar (let stand, so it gets foamy) 1/4 tsp Chipotle powder (yes, I wanted some kick in the bread) 1/2 tsp of neutral veggie oil Mix all in a bowl. I used a stand mixer for 10 minutes. The dough was still pretty sticky, so I added another 3-4 tbsp of flower. Let stand for about 2h. It is hot here. I covered it with  towel and put the bowl on the porch. Preheat the oven to 475F. Line a Dutch Oven with parchment paper. Dump the down into DO, cover and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the cover, turn the heat down to 420F and bake another 30 minutes. I love warm fresh bread with butter.   -Mahlzeit-

Soljanka is one of my go to soups. It is fast and easy to prepare.  At the grocery store I picked up some ground turkey and Napa cabbage. I want make filled cabbage rolls. Time to mix things up a bit 8 leaves of Napa cabbage, chopped into bite size pieces 1 pack of Eckrich Turkey sausage, sliced 1 medium onion, chopped 2 slices of bacon, sliced into small pieces 1 can of dices tomatos 1 can of whole corn kernels 1 can of red kidney bones rinsed tomato juice (1 can use one of the empty cans to measure) V8 hot and spicy tomato juice (1 can) 2 cups of water 1.5 tsp veggie Bouillon paste 2 tbsp of veggie oil 1 cup of chopped Famous Daves pickles 1/2 cup of Famous Daves pickling liquid 1 tsp of Chili from a can In a stock pot add the olive oil and add the bacon. Let the bacon get translucent. Add the onions and let them get translucent. Then add the sausage and let it get some color. Add all the remaining things and bring them to a boil Turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 mi...

I love lentils. It is time to have  another variation. We need 2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces (leave out for a vegetarian version) 1 cup of brown lentils, washed and picked through 1 cup of brussel sprouts, cleaned and cut in half 1/2 cup of Celery 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into equal size slices 1 medium onion chopped 2 tbsp of olive oil (use 3 tbsp if no bacon is used) 1 cup of mushrooms sliced 1 pack of Wieners (leave out for the vegetarian version 1 cup of cooked potatoes (left overs from yesterday is just fine) 5 cups of water 4 tsp of Knorr Tomato bullion 1.5 tsp of ground all spice 3/4 tsp of dried thyme 4 bay leaves I get my lentils at Indian grocery stores. They usually cook in 30 minutes without soaking. In a Dutch Oven, render the fat and add the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots and Celery, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the Brussel sprouts, lentils, water, Tomato bullion and the spices. Cover and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it s...

I have a box of sliced lunch ham. Other than for sandwiches I decided to come up with a different solution to finish this up. My fridge also had some parsley, that needed to be used.  Here we go:  1lbs of pork loin parsley a generous portion of lunch ham 6 medium garlic cloves sliced Butterfly the loin in the middle. Spice with Allspice, cover the cut with the ham, add the garlic and the parsley. Flip over  one wing and bind it with butcher twine. In a Dutch Oven melt 2 tbsp of margarine, add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Sear the meat from all sides. This is in the middle of the process. When all si seared, add  3-4 bay leaves 1/2 tsp of dried thyme 1 tsp of ground all spice 1/2 cup of dried shitake mushrooms 2 cups of water Cook till done, Done depends on you, A thermometer can determine when you want to turn off the heat. Mine turned out to be to dry.  The taste was still great. - Mahlzeit P.S. I have to review cooking times.

I saw a picture on Facebook with a savory cake. There were eggs, herbs, cream cheese, salmon, cucumbers to see. One just has to have ideas. This is what I came up with: From left to right Top row: Filling 1 (smoked salmon, fresh dill, very little salt, mayo, all mixed), store bought tzaztiki, hard boild eggs, thinly sliced cucumber skin on, in the boal are capers Row 2: fresh fill chopped, Filling 2 = egg salad (hard boilded eggs, salt, pepper, not more than 1tsp of finely chopped white onions, mayo, all mixed), 2 slices of smoked salmon, 2 slices of smoked salmon rolled up Bottom right: 4 slices of toast, the top removed. The curb is hard to deal with. Note, I had plenty of left over of all the fillings and the chopped fresh dill Assembly: 1 slice of toast, covered with the salmon filling 1, spread to the border, It makes the finish easier 1 slice of toast, covered with the egg salad filling 2, spread to the border 1 slice of toast, the 2 slices of smoked salmon, cut to size, left ove...