Phở Xào

I’m a worrier by nature. I overthink things, always think twice (except my words maybe. I really should learn to think before I speak sometimes but that’s a whole different story) and more often than good for me, assume an outcome to be the worst case scenario. 
It’s not only my own business I worry about. I worry about others and everything. Life. I’m simply a worrier and I cannot change it.

Pfeffernüsse (Pepper Nuts)

Christmas Day is coming closer and closer. The tree is up and decorated, half of the presents are bought and the grill assembled. You've heard me. Is said Grill. With a capital G. It's December, it's cold and wet (no snow for me at Christmas this year probably) and my wacky mother is holding up her tradition to invite people in the late morning and have the last barbecue of the year. That's how she rolls. Bless her heart.

And by Christmas Day, I actually mean Christmas Eve, which is the 24^th December. Unlike in many other countries where the presents are being unwrapped in the morning of the 25., it is all about Christmas Eve here. The family comes together, (religious people may go to a Christmas mass where children usually re-enact the Nativity), you eat and then it is time for gifts (and other religious people may skip the first mass and go to a later one sans Nativity as the latest is usually held at midnight). That is probably the rough plan for many German families. When I was little, one of my gifts always was a board game that we played after the gift giving.

Oh yeah, and the food! What I am about to write will probably make a few people's heart stop for a second. As long as I can think, the dinner on Christmas Eve always consisted of one thing, and I know it is the same in many German families: Potato-Salad and bangers/wieners.

I do not know what the story behind serving a humble meal like this is, though.

The two days afterwards (the official Christmas Holidays) however, Germans usually step it up a notch and prepare more festive meals like duck, goose or roasts.

Coming to the fourth recipe of my 5 Day Christmas Countdown/Bake-a-thon.

This one has really got the Christmas flavours tingling. With allspice, cardamom and ginger, it is a spice-fest. But the kick (or a certain “je ne sais quoi”) is definitely giving the white pepper. Pepper in a biscuit? Yes. But don't worry, it is not hot and the pepper is not overpowering. This really tastes like Christmas to me.

Pfeffernüsse (Pepper Nuts)

You can find the original here (German).

The dough needs to rest over night so it is easy to whip it up in the evening.

• 275g (9.7 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 generous pinch of baking soda
• 75g (2.6 oz) butter (or margarine for a vegan version)
• 3 tbsp. honey (ca. 50g; replace with maple syrup or more dark beet syrup for a vegan version)
• 75g (2.6 oz) dark beet syrup/molasses (alternative: simple molasses)
• 75g (2.6 oz) demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 ts ground white pepper
• 1/2 ts ground dried ginger
• 1 generous pinch of cardamom
• 1 generous pinch of allspice

• 75 g (2.6 oz) icing/powdered sugar 

1. Mix together flour and baking soda
2. In a medium pot, boil up butter, honey, dark beet syrup, demerara along with pepper, ginger, cardamom and allspice.
3. Add flour and quickly stir it up into a homogeneous mass. Let it cool down completely. Wrap it up in cling film/saran wrap and keep in in the fridge over night (the dough can become rather tough but do not fret, that is alright).
4. The next day, let dough regain room temperature again. Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F).
5. Roll dough into hazelnut-sized balls and bake on second rack from the bottom for about 12 minutes (the pepper nuts will not rise a lot, so you do not need to leave too much space between the balls while baking).
6. Let them cool completely. Stir icing/powdered sugar with about 1 ts of water to icing. Brush on pepper nuts.

On the first day, the pepper nuts will be rather tough and crunchy. But keep them in a jar or box for a couple of days and they will soften, developing their spicy flavour.

Enjoy!

How do your traditions on Christmas look like?

Mushroom & Pork Curry

How can you make a whole day working on a group project for university fun?

By choosing a subject that really interests you so the joy comes by itself? Haha. No.

By not making the day about work but food, silly!

That's exactly what happened when I met with two friends of mine for working on our project.

The only downside to this otherwise AWESOME method is that the working part might be getting a raw deal. I mean, we did manage to get the job done in the end. It just took a while. No regrets.

Caro, being just as much of a food enthusiast as my humble self (I detest the term 'Foodie' for so many reasons), has been very supportive since the moment I have mentioned that I am going to start food blogging. In fact, she is the one who provided us with this particular recipe from one of her cookbooks and suggested to write a post about it on the blog, even offering me to use her well superior camera for the photos. The only reason why I agreed on coo Who could say no to that, right? ;) So whenever a post offers pictures in a better quality than usually – you know at who's place I am.

Chocolate-Mint Tea with mint from my garden

Cooking with anyone else but yourself gives it whole different feeling. It is not just you and the ingredients anymore. You (might) win time, but lose a bit of control. It was a different kitchen, different utensils, a different management of space. 

 I have found myself in situations where I was completely stressed out because the “cooking chemistry” just did not work out. People not really knowing what they are doing (not like that never happens to me), having the will but not the skill, people arguing over the right way of doing something and one person trying to keep the upper hand over that whole big mess.

There is a reason why people say that too many cooks spoil the broth and it is oh so true, even literally.

Been there, done that. However, you gain something even from those situations. You learn a bit about yourself and others, how you handle things and hopefully grow through the experience.

This time, it was different. There were us three, happily doing our tasks, chatting away about food and preferences, learning new skills and tips from one another and at the end, indulging in what we have just prepared together. Basically, we were getting inspired and having a good time.

Sometimes, it just works and sometimes it does not.

This time, it did. And the result was this mouthwatering, just slightly hot Indian curry.

Mushroom & Pork Curry

adapted from here. Serves 4.

• 750g (26.5 oz.) pork loin
• 3 tbsp Oil
• 2 onions, cut in rings (we chopped them into dices)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed (we chopped them up, as well)
• 2,5cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, finely chopped
• 2 fresh green chili peppers, chopped up and seeds removed (we only used one red chili pepper because Caro, while being a sucker for Indian food, cannot handle the heat. Yeah, I also found that amusing), or 1-2 TS of chili flakes.
• 1 1/2 tbsp medium hot yellow curry paste
• 1 ts ground coriander seeds
• 200-250g mushrooms, cut into thick slices
• 900ml (3 4/5 cups or 30.4 fl. oz.) chicken or vegetable-broth (we used the latter)
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2-1 ts salt
• 50g (1.8 oz.) coconut cream (we used about 100g because, you know... the heat)
• 2 tbsp ground almonds (we used 100g simply because we did not want to let the rest of the package come to waste and because, you know... the heat)
• Basmati rice to serve

Garnish:

We omitted the garnish and only used sliced chili peppers

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 green or red bell pepper, cut in slices
• 6 scallions
• 1 ts cumin seeds 

1. Cut pork in bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat up oil in a pan, sauté pork, stirring continuously. Set aside.
3. Add onions, garlic, ginger, chili peppers, curry paste and coriander seeds to the pan, sauté slightly for 2 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, broth and tomatoes plus salt.
4. Add meat again, cook on low heat for 75-90 minutes or until meat is tender.
5. Stir in coconut cream and almonds and let it keep cooking on low heat covered for further 3 minutes.

For the garnish:

1. Heat up oil in a pan.
2. Add scallions and bell pepper, sweat before stirring in cumin. Cook for another 30 seconds.
3. Spread over curry and serve with rice.

Enjoy!

Om. Nom. Nom.

You know what else feels a bit different when doing with others around? Taking photos of the dish! You feel a bit ludicrous taking the pictures while the rest is watching, indulging in what you have just prepared.