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Author Archives: kiwiandpeach
Friday Links
What do you have on tap this weekend friends?
The Kiwi and I are headed to the Dachauer Volksfest. Knowing that it’s essential to train our bodies for the Maße of beer and straight animal fat we’re going to be consuming at Oktoberfest, we are getting an early start. Well that and the Kiwi is always looking for an opportunity to wear his lederhosen.
On a completely separate note…
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support in Small Cool Kitchens 2013. We made it to the top five! From here the judges will pick the winner, and, while I secretly think that one of the others should win hands down, I’m just tickled pink to have been featured and to have made it that far. {Read: I’m relieved it wasn’t a gigantic embarrassment and that no one seemed to think our kitchen had no business being on The Kitchn.} So thank you.
Really want to try this recipe this weekend.
…and this one too.
Would you eat the test tube burger?
A response to the ‘Frankenburger.’
Speaking of strange burgers…
it’s not a good sign when a comedian is your think tank.
This proposal can’t help but make you smile {and maybe cry just a little}.
Take that Kiwi. {I question it’s validity, but it’s pretty and makes me feel better about life.}
This would make my day every. single. day.
Baked Jalapeño Poppers
We have found that, as a general rule, Germans are not huge fans of the spicy stuff. German extra hot salsa is what we in the States would call mild. At our favorite Mexican take away, Condesa, which recently closed {sob}, they always asked what level of spicy sauce we want: 1 {German spicy, no not spicy at all}, 2 {American spicy}, 3 {Mexican spicy}, or a 4 which had the chilies spilling out the top of the bottle {I’m going to go ahead and assume that was English spicy}. That is why I laughed out loud at the shop the other day when I saw some habaneros. It took me a year and a half to find a jalapeño in this city, but they have habaneros, something that even I am not going to touch. Go figure.
Anyway.
I’ve been craving jalapeño poppers ever since we got back from our trip to the States last summer. There is just something about a crispy, spicy pepper filled with cheese that does me in. But, as previously stated, I couldn’t find a jalapeño in this whole city. I checked farmer’s markets, the special grocery stores that are in basements of department stores, and lots of Bio {organic} grocery stores other than my local. Nothing. Until last week, that is. I walk in the store and there, looking me square in the face is a huge basket of lovely, green jalapeños. And I only got a few dirty looks from other shoppers as I shoved handfuls of peppers into my shopping bag.
Naturally, the first thing I did when I got home was to whip up some jalapeño poppers. Just a warning, these are not for the faint of heart. They are incredibly flavorful, but also really spicy. I’d say they’re a Mexican spicy on the Condesa scale. Unless of course, you miss a few seeds. Then it’s definitely a 4.
Baked Jalapeño Poppers
{inspired by In Fine Balance}
The Stuffing
1/3 cup cream cheese
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
The Breading
whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
The Wichtige Sachen
6 jalapeños
1 Tbsp olive oil
Preheat your oven on high broil. {Grill for all y’all Kiwis.}
Slice your jalapeños down the middle. Remove the seeds and membranes, but leave the stem. It’s a great handle! As always when dealing with spicy peppers, be sure not to touch your eyes, nose, mouth, face, etc. until you’ve washed your hands really well. It makes for an unpleasant experience.
In a bowl, combine your cream cheese with all of the spices and mix well. Spoon a dollop into each pepper. Using the back of the spoon make sure the whole pepper is full of cheese.
On a small plate, mix the breading ingredients. Press each pepper, cheese side down, into the breading and then place on a grill rack. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the tops of the peppers and pop them in the oven towards the top.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the breading has browned a bit and it’s appropriately crispy.
Serve with some salsa and sour cream. Lots of sour cream.
Dig in! I may or may not have eaten an entire batch for lunch yesterday. True story.
Quinoa Stir Fry
My first experience with quinoa was back in college in one of my food science labs. My teacher presented its as this wonder food that was a grain AND a complete protein {meaning that it contains all 9 essential amino acids which are usually only available in animal products}. We then proceeded to make one of the most delicious casseroles I’ve ever had with it, so naturally I was hooked.
But quinoa really is the wonder grain now. I can understand why its been a fave for vegans, but I’m loving that all us omnivores have jumped on the bandwagon too. In theory, and for a while there it did make it easier to get. A few weeks ago I posted an article about the economics of quinoa, and I understand that it’s not always an easy or cheap grain alternative. We are so lucky that a 500g bag is still just 5 euro here which, compared to a lot of places is a steal.
If quinoa is scarce in your area right now, then go ahead and try it with some brown rice. However, I would throw in a chicken breast or and extra egg just to get that extra protein!
Quinoa Stir Fry
{adapted for two from DamnDelicious}
The Quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
The Egg
olive oil
1 egg
1 green onion {optional}
The Veg
olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 small white onion {or 1/2 of a large one}
1 cup fresh mushrooms
2 cups of broccoli {or 1/2 a head}
1/2 of a zucchini
1 ear of corn, cooked
The Juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp. ginger
Start heating a medium sized pot and a large pan with deep sides on medium high heat. Go ahead an boil your jug. In a sieve, rinse your quinoa under hot water for a couple of minutes to rinse off the powdery saponin on the grain that has a really bitter taste. Very important step!
Once the jug has boiled, measure your water and add it to the pot along with the salt. Once it comes to a boil, add the quinoa and reduce the temperature to medium low. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is soft.
While the quinoa is cooking away, pour a bit of olive oil in the pan {just enough for the egg not to stick} and add the egg. Scramble and cook until done then put it in a bowl and set to the side. Return the pan to the heat. {If you have a green onion, slice it up and scramble it in with the egg.}
Now get to chopping. This is all about timing. Mince your garlic and onion first. Then get to work on the mushrooms, broccoli, and zucchini. Wash the mushrooms, remove their stems, and then slice ’em up. Cut the florets off the head of broccoli and give them a rinse. Wash your zucchini, slice into half inch-ish sized slices, and then quarter those slices. Cut the kernels of corn off the ear and break them up into individual kernels.
Add the olive oil to the hot pan and toss in the minced garlic and onions. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Toss in the mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, and corn and cook until the broccoli and zucchini are soft enough for your liking. {Usually 5-7 minutes for us.}
The quinoa should be finishing up by now, so use a fork to fluff it up a bit and remove it from the heat.
When your veggies are appropriately soft, add the quinoa to the pan. {I push all the veggies to the side, add a little bit more olive oil to the empty part of the pan and then add the quinoa a little at a time so that the quinoa can get a little bit crispy.} Go ahead and throw that scrambled egg back in there too and mix well.
Season with a little soy sauce and ginger and cook for a couple more minutes. Serve it up and enjoy. I always use a little sriracha sauce on mine for an extra little kick, but it’s just as delicious without.
Milan Food Guide
After our lovely couple of days in Zermatt taking in all the mountain air our hearts could hold we headed on to Milan. We were only Milan for a quick minute, but it served our purpose as being a cheaper place to stay for our visit to Lake Como which was a ‘can’t miss’ for both of us. Even though we weren’t there long, I couldn’t let it go unmentioned because we had one really outstanding meal there.
The joint was called La Bottega del Vino and its right near Park Sempione. It is actually a wine bar that has about 3 or 4 mains offered along with a bunch of appetizer type goodies. This was our first meal in Italy and therefore we were out of the land of menus in Deutsch and in the land of menus in Italian. Y’all, I know zilch, zero, nada Italiano. So, after a brief moment of being completely overwhelmed with the fact that this was going to be our lives for the next two weeks, I got over it and randomly pointed to something. That something was seared scallops in a lemon pea sauce with bits of candied lemon peel. Thank the Lord I didn’t know what I was getting or I probably wouldn’t have ordered it. {I love, love, love scallops but the Kiwi is allergic, so I tend to steer clear so that he will still kiss me. Oh, the things I do for love.} The Kiwi also went with the randomly pointing method for ordering and his was a winner too! Strips of grilled beef over grilled veggies served on a piece of slate. So folks, the moral of the story is when in doubt, be adventurous. You can always swap with someone else at your table.
other Milan + Lake Como tips
Milan is a great base for a visit to Lake Como if you want somewhere cheaper to stay. There is a local train from Milan to Como that takes an hour and costs 10 euro round trip. It leaves every hour from Garibaldi {right near La Bottega del VIno}.
The fast ferry boat is fast, but the view is crap. We took the fast boat out to Bellagio where we spent the day exploring, but then we took the slow boat back so that we could take in the scenery, take some pictures, and work on our sun tans {read: burns}.
Climb the roof of the Duomo! It was seriously one of the most beautiful rooftops I’ve ever been on, and I’ve been on a few. However, ladies {well really everyone}, if you want to go inside the Duomo afterwards make sure your knees and shoulders are covered or you have something with you to cover them or you’ll be turned away like I was.
The Caprese
Yesterday, around lunch time, I realized we had no bread and then I commenced with the panicking. Most of y’all in the States are thinking ‘So what? Go to the store you lazy bum.’ Not so fast my friends. Three words that really make you pay for any lapse in meal planning preparedness. Sunday. Shopping. Hours. As in, there are none. Grocery stores, retail stores, some restaurants. All closed. Coming from the land of 24 everything, it’s not my favorite thing about living in Germany. I mean, I understand the wonderful things it means about their society {kudos Deutschland} but sometimes I just really need some bread on Sunday.
So what is a girl to do? Naturally I scoured Pinterest for a quick bread recipe because the Kiwi was getting kind of hungry. I found this quick focaccia recipe and immediately started remembering all of the amazing focaccia with olive oil and balsamic we had in Italy. I was sold. You can’t really go wrong with olive oil and balsamic on fresh focaccia bread that is still warm. You know what else goes really well with that? Tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and fresh basil from the garden.
Again, kind of like the fried egg and tomatoes, this isn’t as much a recipe as just a simple sandwich you an throw together in no time flat. {That is of course unless you’re making the focaccia too in which case it’s going to take about an hour.} In the end we were pretty pleased with our meal planning fail.
The Caprese
2 large slices of focaccia bread {or half a loaf of your own}
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 smallish tomatoes {or 1 large one}
1/2 of a ball of buffalo mozzarella
5-6 leaves of fresh basil
1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar {depending on your taste}
Slice the focaccia and pour the olive oil over the bottom slice. Then slice your tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Layer the tomatoes and mozzarella until the bread is covered and then sprinkle on the basil. Pour the balsamic over the top and close her up.
Don’t forget to vote for us in The Kitchn’s Small Cool Kitchens 2013.
Voting ends tomorrow!
Gorilla Pull Apart Bread {aka Jesus}
I acknowledge that is an incredibly sacrilegious title. Please don’t break out the pitchforks or stones just yet. Wait until I’ve shared the recipe.
Once upon a time, my college roommate told me about this episode of Paula Deen where she cooked for Jimmy Carter. {This is all pre-scandal, mind.} One of the things she made was Gorilla Bread. So going based on my roommate’s memory of what was in it, I whipped up this magical concoction that we henceforth called Jesus because it makes you say “Jesus Christ! That’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth!”
{commence stone throwing}
Despite it’s slightly sacrilegious name, it really is the best. thing. ever. Definitely not healthy, but that’s why you had the fried egg and tomatoes last night right? This is really a great something something to whip up if you have house guests and want to impress them with a great breakfast! So let’s get to it shall we?
Gorilla Pull Apart Bread {aka Jesus}
The Caramel
1/4 cup cream {or soy cream}
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pecans, slightly chopped
The Bread
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar
biscuit dough {or a can of the pre-made stuff}
8 ounces of cream cheese
This recipe can be as simple or as labor intensive as you want it to be. If you’re looking for a super quick and impressive breakfast then by all means, use the canned biscuits; use pre-made caramel. Really. It will still be delicious. However, since the Kiwi and I are trying to eliminate highly processed connivence foods {like canned biscuits} from our diet, I decided to be a glutton for punishment do it the slightly harder way.
If you’re making your own caramel, heat all of the ingredients in a pot on medium low heat. Whisk gently for about 8 minutes and then transfer to a bowl. Mix in the pecans and pop it in the fridge to thicken up while you’re getting the rest done.
If you’re making your own biscuit dough, I highly recommend using the Kiwi’s recipe. I whipped up the biscuit dough according to his fabulous instructions {substituting 1/2 the flour for whole wheat}, but stopped following his instructions after I got the dough made. Then I rolled it out and used the 3 in biscuit cutter to cut out my biscuits.
At this point, the rest of it is the same whether you’re using pre-made or you’ve just made it from scratch.
Preheat the oven according to your biscuit instructions. {450°F/225°C if you’re using the Kiwi’s recipe.}
Go ahead and grease your baking dish. I used a 6 inch pie dish this time, but I’ve had success with loaf pans and with bundt pans too. Use what you got.
In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar and mix well.
Spoon a good sized dollop of cream cheese in the middle of a biscuit and fold the biscuit around the cream cheese. Roll it into a smooth ball. Roll it around in the cinnamon sugar until it’s completely coated and then transfer to the baking dish.
Repeat for the rest of the biscuits.
Once they’re all in the pan, pour the caramel over the top. Really cover it. Then pop it in the oven to bake according to your biscuit instructions. {20 minutes for the Kiwi’s recipe.} Be sure to put a cookie sheet or something to catch drips underneath just incase the caramel decides to get unruly. Check it occasionally as well. If it starts smelling like burning sugar, take it out. Nothing worse than burnt caramel. That wouldn’t be a good way to start your day!
When it’s finished, let it cool for about 5 minutes and then plate up and enjoy!
Don’t forget to vote for us in The Kitchn’s Small Cool Kitchens 2013!
Fried Egg with Tomatoes, Feta, and Avocado
In keeping with our breakfast items for dinner theme this week, I thought I’d share one of my go-to last minute dinners. This isn’t really a recipe to write home about. It’s just a bunch of delicious things piled on a plate and called a meal; however, the simplicity of it really lets you taste all of the flavors and they are beautiful together!
If you follow us on instagram you already know this, but we have a tomato!! That my friends is something to write home about. We grew that! From a seed! {Please note that this is the first thing I’ve ever grown in the history of ever, so please pardon my over-enthusiasm for our tiny little tomato baby. This is a big day.} I can’t wait for the rest of them to really come in so I can try this recipe with fried green tomatoes!
Fried Egg with Tomatoes, Feta, and Avocado
olive oil
4 eggs
2 smallish tomatoes
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/2 of an avocado
4 fresh basil leaves
fresh ground black pepper
Start heating a pan on medium high heat. While its heating up, I go ahead and slice the tomatoes and place the slices on our plates. I also crumble the feta, slice the avocado, and slice the basil into strips.
Once the pan is hot, add a bit of oil to the pan {just so the egg doesn’t stick}. Crack an egg into the pan and let it sizzle away for about 3 or 4 minutes. Then, very carefully, flip it and let it cook for 1 or 2 more minutes depending on how runny you like your egg. When its finished, transfer to a plate and repeat for the remaining eggs.
Once all the eggs are cooked and in place, top with the avocado, feta, basil, and black pepper and enjoy!
Don’t forget to vote for us in The Kitchn’s Small Cool Kitchens 2013!
The Pig and Fig
We are big breakfast for dinner fans in the Kiwi and Peach house. It’s simple, straightforward, and usually pretty quick.
When I was in Croatia this spring, I picked up a teeny tiny jar of delicious homemade fig jam. I was kind of saving it to use on something special when I saw this delicious looking sandwich floating around on Pinterest. This was it. What more could you want? There’s fig, there’s creamy brie, and most importantly, there’s pig.
Mmm. Bacon.
Pig and Fig Breakfast Sandwich
{adapted for two from Sweet Sugarbean}
4 slices of bacon
2-3 ounces brie
4 slices of sourdough bread
2 Tbsp fig jam
1 Tbsp butter
Start heating a pan on medium high heat and lay the bacon in the pan.
While the bacon is cooking, cut the rind off of the brie and build your sandwich. Spread the jam on each piece of bread. Layer the brie and, when it’s finished, the bacon on two slices and then top with the other two.
Drop the butter into the hot pan. When it’s melted drop your sandwiches in the pan and cook until the bread is golden brown. Flip and do the same on the other side and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy by itself or with some scrambled eggs or with fresh fruit. The possibilities are endless!
Don’t forget to vote for us in The Kitchn’s Small Cool Kitchens 2013!
Creole Shrimp and Basil Goat Cheese Grits from Tupelo Honey Café
Thank y’all so, so much for your overwhelming support and kind words yesterday about our kitchen! Obviously a lot of cooking gets done in that kitchen, but like I said on the write up, my absolute favorite thing to cook is shrimp and grits.
On our last trip back to the States, I actually bought two 5 pound bags of grits. The Kiwi thought I was being absurd {which I kind of was}, but I was bound and determined to get back to Germany with enough grits to get me through. Unfortunately, we were over the weight limit on the bag so one of my bags of grits had to go. {It went back home with my mom. Don’t worry, no grits were harmed in the making of this error in judgement.} We have made do with just the one bag, but we do have to ration them. Its always a treat when we break out the grits.
Grits are inherently southern. Go north of the Mason-Dixon or west of the Mississippi and chances are most folks haven’t heard of them. It’s always hilarious to watch non-southerners in the breakfast line at southern hotels. They always scoop them up and let them drop with the most bewildered expression on their faces. Grits, much like polenta, is a ground corn product. It cooks up into a thick porridge-like consistency and {when paired with enough butter, cream, and cheese} are incredibly tasty. To learn more than you ever wanted to know about grits, check out the wiki.
I hesitate to say this because it may come across as bragging, but I’m something of a shrimp and grits connoisseur. By that I mean, if shrimp and grits are on the menu that’s what I’m ordering. As you can imagine, I’ve tried a lot of shrimp and grits. Every restaurant has their own take on the southern staple. Most are good, a few disgusting, but the following are truly, truly outstanding.
Grits A YaYa from Great Southern Café in Seaside, FL
Shellfish {shrimp, scallops, and lobster} over Grits from Magnolias in Charleston, SC
Shrimp {with andouille sausage} and {Vidalia onion} Grits from NONA {originally Harry Bissett’s} in Athens, GA
Shrimp and Grits from Alligator Soul in Savannah, Georgia
and my all time favorite…
Brian’s Shrimp Grits from Tupelo Honey Café in Asheville, North Carolina
Creole Shrimp and Basil Goat Cheese Grits
{adapted for two from the Tupelo Honey Cafe
The Spice
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
The Shrimp
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small clove of garlic
150 grams of shrimp, shelled
1/4 cup roasted red pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp of a dry white wine
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
The Grits
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup quick cooking grits {If they’re good enough for Tupelo Honey, they’re good enough for me.}
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp soy cream
3 ounces of goat cheese
about 15 fresh basil leaves
Number one key to success in making this is preparation. The actual cooking time is so fast that you really won’t have time to prep ingredients while the others are cooking {my usual m/o}. That said…
Boil your jug and start heating up a medium pot and a large pan on medium high heat.
While they are getting hot, mix up the spice and set it to the side. Shell the shrimp, peel the garlic, thinly slice the roasted red pepper, and measure your butter. Most importantly, open your bottle of wine. You do not have time for wrestling with a cork once the shrimp is on. {Ain’t nobody got time for that!} As far as wine goes, I use a Gewürztraminer because that’s what the cookbook recommends you pair the dish with, and I’m not going to buy two different bottles of wine for one dish. It works well.
To prep for the grits, cut the rind off the goat cheese and crumble it; pick your basil leaves, wash them, and slice them; and measure your pat of butter.
The next few steps are an exercise in orchestration. Ready to multi-task?
By now the pot and pan should be nice and hot. Go ahead and add the olive oil to the pan to get it hot too.
Measure your {boiled} water from the jug and add it to the pot along with the salt.
Back at the pan, add your minced garlic and shrimp and give it a stir. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Over in the pot, the water should be boiling now, so add your grits and butter. Stir constantly to avoid clumps as the grits absorb the water and the butter melts. Add the cream and reduce the heat to low.
Back at the pan, add the spice and stir well. Then add the red peppers and give it another stir. Let this cook for a couple minutes so the peppers can heat up and then add the wine.
Over in the pot, turn the heat off. Add your crumbled cheese and basil and stir until all the cheese is melted.
Back at the pan, remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter melts completely.
Plate it up and enjoy!
Linking with Belinda and Bonnie for Travel Tuesday.
{This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. That means that if you head over to Amazon from the link and choose to buy the book, a tiny bit of the money you spent on the book will come back to me for the referral.}
•• Update ••
Apparently I should have consulted the Kiwi before I hit publish yesterday because he had a lot to add! Before he moved to Germany, he was living in North Carolina, and he has tried his fair share of shrimp and grits as well. Here are his recommendations.
Shrimp {with bacon and mushrooms} and {smoked cheddar} Grits from NOLA in New Orleans, LA
Carolina’s Shrimp and Grits from Carolina’s in Charleston, SC
He would also like to add that Gewürztraminer is a great wine to pair with spicy dishes in general {in fact, Gewürz means ‘spice’ in German}, which is what makes it the ideal choice for the Creole Shrimp and Grits.
Don’t forget to vote for us in The Kitchn’s Small Cool Kitchens 2013!
Kiwi + Peach 