Laugenbroetchen

Makes 1 dozen

• 520 g Strong bread flour
• 300-310 g lukewarm water
• 3-4 g dry yeast
• 25 g butter (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 50 g baking soda for each liter of water for Lauge

Measure out the flour in a bowl and form a small hollow in the middle to hold the water, sugar and yeast. Let rest until the yeast is foamy, then add the salt and butter and knead 10 minutes on slow. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Divide into 12 and form into balls. Let rest for 15-30 minutes. In the mean time, pre-heat the oven to 200C, and set a pot containing 1-1.5 liters water to boiling. Just before you are ready, slowly add the baking sode to the water (it will foam!). Place the doughballs in the boiling water for ~30-40 s (turning occasionally). Slit the doughballs with a cross ~1/2" deep, and sprinkle with coarse-grain salt or sesame seeds (sprinkle just before putting into oven).

Alternative: Kaeselaugenstangen: instead of forming into balls, form into cigar shapes. After boiling in the soda, slit the rolls deeply lengthwise and fill with cheese (preferably some form of Bergkaese--e.g. Gruyere, Comte, Appenzeller, etc).

Adapted from: http://slava.com.de/?p=697

Apfelkuchen

• 4 eggs
• 250 g sugar
• 125 g butter
• 100 ml milk
• 300 g flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3-4 medium sized Granny Smith (or similar) apples, peeled and cut into slices
• Cinnamon and sugar
• Almonds (optional)

Beat the eggs and sugar until foamy. Heat the milk and butter together to a boil, and beat into the egg mixture while still hot. Mix the flour and baking powder together and fold into the egg mixture. Grease and flour a 12" springform pan and pour in the batter. Lay the apple slices on top of the batter. Bake at 190C for ~40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. After baking while still hot, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and spritz topping lightly with water. Add almonds if desired.

Adapted for springform pan and fan-assisted oven from here. 

Simple Beet Salad

Makes: 4 large servings
 
Ingredients

• 2 pounds (~900g) beets
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• salt
• pepper
• plain thick or set yogurt

Boil or roast the beets until done (pierced very easily with a fork) - check after 1 hour and then go from there. Peel the beets and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Toss with the garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.  Let sit in the refrigerator a few hours or overnight.  Serve with yogurt.

Brussels Sprouts with Cheese

Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• ~20 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (enough to make one layer in bottom of pan you're using)
• 1½ tablespoons olive oil
• grated cheese of your choice (recommended: gruyere, parmesan, appenzeller...)
• salt & pepper

Toss sprouts with half a tablespoon of the oil.  Heat the other tablespoon in a skillet over low/medium-low.  Place the sprouts in the skillet in a single layer cut side down and sprinkle with salt.  Cover and cook ten minutes.  They should be well browned on the bottom.  Stir around a bit over higher heat.  Remove from heat.  Sprinkle with cheese, salt, and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Pasta and Greens

Adapted from thekitchn.com.  It originally calls for rocket/rucola/arugula and orzo but in our constant struggle to remember to use up all the greens in the veg box before they go bad, we've found it to be good with all kinds of combinations.

Makes:  2 servings

Ingredients:

•  ½ - 1 cup pasta, cooked according to package directions
• 5-7 cups (not packed) rocket/rucola, spinach, chard, kale, or similar (not lettuce)
• olive oil
• 8-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ~50g semi-soft goat cheese
• salt & pepper

Clean, de-stem (if necessary) and roughly chop greens.  Heat a bit of olive oil and cook the greens by the handful, letting them reach varying degrees of wiltedness.  With the last handful of greens, also add the cooked pasta, tomato halves, and goat cheese and cook until all heated.  Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil if desired.

Pumpkin & Kale Plait

Adapted from Vegetarian Living magazine.

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 hokkaido pumpkin (~800g), cubed
• 1.5 pounds (~700g) potatoes, cubed
• 6 cloves garlic, 3 sliced and 3 minced
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried rosemary
• 5 small-medium onions, sliced
• 175g Russian kale, destemmed and torn (weight is before destemming)
• 100g pitted dates, chopped
• 500g puff pastry
• ~225g Stilton cheese
• 200mL creme fraiche
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 220'C/425'F/gas mark 7.  Toss the pumpkin, potatoes, garlic, thyme, and sage with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Bake 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Set aside to cool.

Heat the other 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan.  Saute the onions until translucent.  Add kale and dates and cook until softened (~5 minutes).  Set aside to cool.

Grease a large baking sheet.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to about 15x17 inches (38x43cm) or shorter if your pan/oven is shorter (as mine is!).  Spoon the squash mixture down the center, leaving enough pastry on each side to wrap over the top.  Crumble half the Stilton and spoon half the creme fraiche over the squash.  Spread the onion mixture over the top, then top with the remaining Stilton and creme fraiche.

Cut the pastry into three-quarter-inch/two-centimeter wide strips on either side of the filling.  Brush the edges of the pastry carefully with water.  Fold the pastry over the ends, then fold the strips across the top in a criss-cross formation to enclose the filling.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 220'C/425'F/gas mark 7.  Remove plait from fridge and brush with beaten egg.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden.

Red Cabbage with Apples

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil or butter
• 1 apple, sliced
• 1 medium or large onion, sliced
• 1 medium head red cabbage, sliced
• ⅓ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¾ teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oil or butter.  Fry onion and apple until tender.  Add all other ingredients, mix, and simmer covered for 1 hour.

Beet and Potato Hash

Adapted from the New York Times.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound (~450g) potatoes, peeled and cut in small dice
• 1 pound (~450g) beets, roasted, peeled, and cut in small dice
• ~50g beet greens (or similar - chard, spinach, etc), cleaned and stemmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh or ~½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 4 eggs
• salt
• pepper

Steam cubed potatoes for 10 minutes.  Add greens to steamer and steam 5 more minutes, turning them halfway through to cook them more evenly.  Remove greens and rinse with cold water, squeeze out, and chop.  Set greens and potatoes aside.

Heat olive oil and add potatoes.  Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are lightly browned.  Add garlic, greens, beets, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring often, for about five minutes.  Press the mixture into the pan to brown the edges.  Taste and adjust salt/pepper as needed.  Add vinegar.

Top each serving with a fried or poached egg.

Leek tart

Borrowed heavily from here.

We got some leeks in the vegetable box and had an inclination for leek tart. I was skeptical about this recipe because it's so simple, but it turned out really well.

• 2.5-3 leeks
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup double cream
• a bit of milk (if necessary)
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt
• pepper
• ~1/3-1/2 cup shredded Appenzeller (or gruyere, Bergkaese, etc)
• 250g pre-made pastry crust (or make your own)

Preheat oven to 375F (gas mark ~5-6). Melt butter, add leeks, and sprinkle pinch of salt over leeks. Saute leeks over medium heat until very soft (~10 minutes). Add cream (add milk if mixture is too thick) and heat mixture on low for 5 minutes. Add salt pepper and nutmeg to taste taking care not to add too much salt (the cheese will add to the saltiness). Roll out pastry to fit three 3.5" ramekins, distribute leek mixture evenly between them, and top with cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot, warm or cold.
Serves 3.

Cucumber Bread

So many cucumbers in the veg box....so many.

Makes: 2 small loaves

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled, seeded, grated cucumber (~7 small cukes)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups plain/all-purpose/type 405 flour
• 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

 Drain shredded cucumbers in a colander for at least half an hour.

Grease baking dishes and preheat oven to 325'F/165'C/Gas Mark 3.

Stir together eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and cucumber.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until well-combined.

Pour into baking dishes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  (Start checking around 50 minutes if your oven runs hot, around 60 minutes otherwise.)

No-Bake Cookies

These are little sugar bombs. There are lots of recipes out there for this, but this is the right one!  Many others are too dry.

Makes: almost 5 dozen
Calories per cookie: ~100

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1½ cups dessicated coconut
• 3 cups quick or porridge oats

Combine the cocoa, sugar, butter, milk and vanilla.  Melt together over low heat.  Bring to a boil over low/medium-low heat, then allow it to boil for one minute.  Remove from heat.

Add peanut butter, coconut, and oats and mix well.  Drop by small spoonfuls onto wax or baking paper and let cool.

Frankfurt Green Sauce

I originally wrote about this recipe here.
Try to get as many herbs off the "preferred" list as you can.  Sub from the second list before subbing from the third list. Try to use a total of 7 herbs.

Makes: 4 servings
Calories per serving: ~600 (it has a lot of oil! do not skimp!)
Cost per serving will vary considerably depending on how you acquire your herbs

Ingredients:

• 1.2 kg new potatoes
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup oil (I use sunflower)
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons spicy mustard
• 150 grams mixed herbs:
• Preferred: parsley, cress, chives, borage, salad burnet, sorrel, chervil
• Tier one substitutes: dill, tarragon, lovage, spinach, basil, lemon balm, shallot, dandelion leaves, daisy leaves, plantago
• Tier two substitues: grated cucumber, cilantro/coriander leaves, scallion/green onion/spring onion, celery leaves
• 1 pinch sugar
• ground white pepper
• salt

Wash, brush, and boil or steam the potatoes.
Shell the eggs and separate the whites and yolks.  Press the yolks through a single-layer metal sieve or mash well with a fork.  Mix the yolks with the oil, vinegar, and mustard until smooth.  Dice the whites and set aside.
Wash and dry the herbs.  Chop very finely.  (You could use a food processor.)  Stir the herbs into the egg yolk mixture.  Add pinch of sugar and salt/pepper to taste.  Lastly, mix in the diced egg whites.
Serve potatoes peeled or unpeeled with the sauce.  You can also add sour cream, plain yogurt, or créme fraîche.

TIPS!
* The sauce freezes well with the exception of the egg whites.  To save for later, freeze the sauce before adding the egg whites and add fresh whites when you use it.
* Don't be a snob about the sauce.  It's not always easy to get the seven preferred herbs and you get no prize for looking down on those who substitute.
* Following the above, anyone who uses the words "never, ever" with you when talking about what herbs to use can be perfectly well ignored from a cooking and deliciousness standpoint.
* For a bigger meal (meat eaters only), serve with boiled beef.

Philippine Polvoron

1 cup flour
½ cup powdered milk
just under ½ cup melted butter
½ cup sugar

You will also need a way to mold them into shapes (typically a polvoron mold).

Toast flour in a pan on the stovetop for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until light brown.  Transfer to bowl.  Add powdered milk and toss for 3-4 minutes.  Add sugar and butter and mix well.

Push batter into molds, press in with a spoon, then release.  If the batter is too loose, add more melted butter.

Chill in the fridge until firm.

Wrap polvoron in cellophane (or, in Germany, I used Butterbrotpapier) - I wrap a piece around and twist the ends like candy wrappers.  Store in fridge.

Champ

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and halved
1 cup milk
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
ground black pepper

Boil potatoes until tender (~20 minutes).  Drain well, then put back in the pan on low heat to dry them out a bit more.

While the potatoes dry, heat milk and scallions together in a separate pan until warm.

Mash potatoes, salt, and butter together until smooth.  Stir in milk/scallion mix and season with pepper to taste.  (Lots!)  Serve with more butter.

Grandma's Pancakes

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 Tblsp. sugar
• 1 Tblsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup oil

Mix dry.  Beat eggs, and add milk and oil.  Add to dry, and mix until it comes together.

Makes: um...rather a lot of little pancakes (about 20).  Or about 5-6 really huge pancakes.

Soup Dumplings

• 1/2 Cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1/4 Cup milk

Mix dry ingredients.  Add milk and stir just until mixture comes together in a smooth dough.  Drop by spoonfuls into simmering soup, and cook 10-15 minutes depending on size of dumpling.  Makes ~8 golf ball sized dumplings.

Fruit & Nut Curry

This is one of the first recipes we made at home straight out of college.  At the time we remember thinking it was so expensive and complicated.  Now it doesn't really seem that way. :)

Makes: 6 servings (1 serving = 1.5 ladles)

Cost per serving: coming soon

Calories per serving:  ~283 (excluding rice)

Ingredients:

•  half a large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½" piece ginger, minced or grated
• 2 Thai chilies, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• ¾ cup mixed nuts, coarsely chopped 
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• ¾ cup water
• 1½ tablespoons butter or ghee
• 4 dried apricots, chopped
• ½ cup raisins or sultanas
• 1 teaspoon salt (can omit if nuts are salted)

Saute onion in oil until it starts to brown - about 7 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger, and chilies, and saute another 3 minutes.  Add spices and saute until aromatic, about 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Try to mash them up a bit as you go. 

Pour mixture into a container. Mash the tomatoes more depending on desired chunkiness. Very finely chop 1 tablespoon of the mixed nuts.  (Maybe you have a whole tablespoon of nut dust already just from the coarse chopping!)  Add this plus the yogurt and water to the mixture. Set aside.

In the same skillet, melt butter.  Add the remaining nuts and toast for 3 minutes.  Add apricots and sultanas and saute 1 minute.  Add the tomato/yogurt/etc mixture and salt.  Simmer 10-12 minutes to thicken.  Serve with rice.

Corn & Zucchini

This is a great side dish when you're having Mexican food!

Makes: 4 servings

Cost per serving (Heidelberg): ~€0,96

Calories per serving: ~97

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large zucchini (yield about 2 cups when chopped), cubed
• 1 small can (140g dry weight) corn, or fresh corn if you can get it!
• 1 jalapeño, fresh or pickled, seeded or not seeded depending on how spicy you want it, finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• salt
• pepper

Fry the onion and garlic in the oil for one minute.  Add zucchini and cook covered for 5 minutes.  Add corn and jalapeño, stir while cooking for 3 minutes.  Add tomato.  Cover and cook until zucchini is tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Horchata

• 1 cup rice
• 5 cups water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tblsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar

Crush rice a little with a mortar and pestle. Poor water over rice and let soak overnight. The next day, filter the rice water, and add the other ingredients. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Serve cold or over ice.

If I were to make this again, I would probably soak the rice a little in just enough hot water to cover first, then crush the rice, then add the rest of the warm water and let soak overnight. The original recipe contains 2/3 cups sugar, but this would have been far too much for me.

Adapted from: Lola's Horchata at Food.com.

Salsa

• 3 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno
• ~1/4 cup water
• 1 Tblsp. olive oil
• juice from 1/2 lime
• salt and sugar to taste

Peel and chop tomatoes. Peeling can be made easier by placing tomatoes for ~5s in boiling water and then shocking cold water. Finely chop onion and jalapeno. Mince garlic. Heat oil in medium sauce pan. When hot, add onion, garlic, jalapeno, and tomatoes. After about 1 minute, add enough water to achieve desired consistency. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes. The mixture should change colors from a orangey-red to a deeper red color. Add lime juice and salt and sugar to taste. Pour into a clean jar and let cool to room temperature before placing in refrigerator. Makes ~1 pint.