Bread Roll Blossom

Do you know that moment in the morning when you still lie in bed – not full asleep but not yet quite awake? The duvet has just the perfect temperature. Not too warm and not too cold and your thoughts go into wondrous directions bordering from sheer fantasy to deep discussions with yourself, salutary and bright – gone within a gasp. I like to think of that moment as the closest overlap between conscious and subconscious possible. Between what is really going on in my mind and what it wants me to believe is going on.

Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (Potato Pancakes with Chunky Apple Sauce)

I wish I wish I wish. I wish I could cook and bake and enjoy life as much as I want. But unfortunately, there's stuff do to. Smart people stuff. Whether I'm up for the task has yet to be proven. I am working on my bachelor's thesis right now and am kind of in the crucial initial phase. Naturally, that means that it is taking up most of my time, leaving a little less for cooking and blogging. So today's main theme is: Keeping it simple.

You know what I have noticed? While I'm German, I have not posted any traditional German recipes so far. That is because I don't really know what “German Cuisine” is. I just heard some people yell “SAUERKRAUT!!”. Well, yes and no. Sauerkraut is eaten everywhere in Germany today, but traditionally, you would not find it in the northern parts. And then, every region would traditionally prepare and serve it differently along with different dishes.

See, historically, the area now known as Germany consisted of many small kingdoms and dukedoms each differing culturally, linguistically and culinary which one still notices today. I would not be able to understand people from the deepest parts of Bavaria. So even if a dish is prepared in a similar way in more than just one place, the name can still be different.

Those where a lot of differences in one post.

This is basically all you need.

These bad boys here for example, while basically known all over Central Europe, are called “Kartoffelpuffer” where I live. Other names would be “Erdäpfelpuffer“, „Reibekuchen“, „Reiberdatschi“, „Reibeplätzchen“, „Kartoffelpfannkuchen“ „Baggers“ and „Flinsen“ . See what I mean? Internationally, they are better known as latkes or simply potato pancakes.

For sticking with the 'simple' theme, I kept mine vegan, keeping it as simple as possible. The apple sauce however as a bit of an autumn like twist with roasted almonds and raisins. Onions along with a rather sweet dish? Yes. Trust me when I say that you won't taste them. Yet they are essential for having a lot of that roasted flavour!

Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (Potato Pancakes with Chunky Apple Sauce)

Potato Pancakes

• 1 kg (35.3 oz.) potatoes
• 2 medium sized onions
• 2 tbsp starch flour
• 1/4 ts ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt

• oil for frying

1. Peel and grate potatoes and onions. With your hands, tightly squeeze out as much liquid as possible (I am sure there are more sophisticated methods, but I am not that fancy and stick to the 'simple' theme here).
2. Add starch flour, nutmeg and salt. Stir well and set aside and start preparing apple sauce. Your batter might get a grayish tone that, while it will not be visible when prepared anymore, does not look too appetizing. To prevent the colour change, add about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
3. When apple sauce is cooking, heat up a pan. Cover bottom of pan with oil. You will need quite a bit or the potato pancakes will stick. 
4. When oil is hot, stir potato mass again and place a heaping tablespoon of it it the pan, pressing it down with a spatula immediately, forming a patty (it is better to use a bit more batter than too little). I would recommend only placing up to three patties in the pan. Slightly shake pan to prevent patties from sticking to the bottom. After about three minutes or when you see that the patties are starting to brown, carefully flip them over. 
5. If the potato pancakes are not browned enough to you liking, turn them over and over again until they are. The crucial part for them to stick together and not on the bottom really is the first turn. 
6. Lay them out on paper towels to soak up some of the fat.

Chunky Apple Sauce

• About 1kg (35.3 oz.) apples (preferably tart)
• A splash of lemon juice
• 1 ts cinnamon
• 150-200g (5.3-7 oz.) almond slivers
• 100g (3.5 oz.) raisins
• Sugar to taste

1. Remove core from apples and dice them in cubes of about 1''. You can peel them if you would like to. I did not. Throw them in a large pot heated up on low heat along with a splash of lemon juice. Stir well.
2. In a small pot, dry roast the almond slivers until they browned to your liking, add to the apples.
3. Once the apples start to soften, add all other ingredients. Stir occasionally until most apples have cooked into a sauce, yet still with some chunks remaining.
4. Add sugar to your liking. I found my apple sauce to be sweet enough because of the raisins.

Serve along with potato pancakes and enjoy!

Hasselback Potatoes with Apple Chutney

Apples. I know I have already posted a picture of the apple tree from our garden. But just in case, here is a reminder:

Yup. A different one.

In fact, there are THREE apple trees back there taunting me with their heavily loaded branches. They know exactly that I should spent my time on something else than picking them all and I could swear there is a hushed giggle following each thud caused by another apple dropping down. You complained about a bad "apple year" last autumn? You want apples? We give you apples! Mean apple trees those are!

Actually, I should be happy about the plethora of tart, juicy fruits they are carrying this year. However, the only thing you cannot have too much of is money happiness, right?

So, as I am trying to use (and/or give away) as many of them as possible, there are going to be lots of apple recipes showing up on here, as I have mentioned before. Don't say I did not warn you.

This combination has a bit of a fusion cuisine touch to it with the hasselback potatoes originating from Sweden and chutney being associated with India and Pakistan. Hasselback potatoes are less of a recipe than they are a way of preparation. Make thin cuts (about 3-4 mm) into a (preferably waxy and broad for better hold) potato without actually slicing through. I put a few pieces of onion into mine, salted and topped it with a dab of butter and paprika powder. They were then baked in the oven on 220°C (425°C) for about 40 minutes, with pepper added afterwards.

The actual recipe is the chutney. I really like the combination of sweet, sour and savory. However, the recipe calls for a whopping 500g of sugar for 1kg apples! I sticked strictly to the recipe and found it to be overly sweet so I halved the amount the next time and it was just sweet enough this way. It works great with potatoes and pork like I served it. Chicken works just as well so does cheese or a fondue.

Apple Chutney

The original can be found here (German).
Makes a lot! But you can store left-overs in jars.

• 1kg (35.3 oz.) apples (preferably sour), peeled and cut in thin slices.
• 250g (8.8 oz.) onions, finely chopped.
• 1 clove of garlic (I used 3), finely chopped.
• 375ml (12.7 fl. oz.) vinegar (while the original recipe suggests wine vinegar, I used cider vinegar)
• 500g (17.6 oz.) sugar (I would suggest 250-300g)
• 3 tbsp ground mustard seeds (I used freshly ground brown mustard seeds which are milder in taste)
• 2 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
• 1 ts cayenne pepper
• 250g (8.8 oz.) raisins

1. In a large pot, combine all ingredients but the raisins and let simmer for an hour, stirring it from time to time.
2. Add raisins and let cook for another 15 minutes (I always add the raisins right away and never found anything to complain about this way.)

The chutney is done when it does not run off a spoon anymore.

You can store it in jars like jam if you want to right away, or heat up any left-overs and store those. Here is a great instruction on sterilizing jars. 

Enjoy!

Mexican Chocolate Tart

Sometimes, to create something beautiful, you have to do evil.

There were five of them. I tore off all covers, leaving them bare-naked on the cold wooden surface. The first one was strategically placed right in the centre. I knew what was about to happen. Gazing at its shiny, smooth outer, my mouth could not be detained from smirking a little. Then I ran the knife through it for the first time. Easier than imagined. Chop chop chop it continued. Chop chop chop. Bits and pieces flew everywhere, covering the others that were silently sitting right next to it. Chop Chop Chop. First one done. Four to follow. Let's see if I can do three at once, I thought. The knife went down with three dull thuds each time. What a peculiar rhythm. Still one to go.

As I said. Sometimes, to create something beautiful, you have to do evil.

Chopping chocolate really is not the most delicate activity in the kitchen. In fact, I thought it always creates a scenario reminding of the intro of Dexter. You know, where that whole procedure of preparing breakfast somehow has a murderous touch to it. Coming to the beautiful part, now.

This tart is insanely rich. The filling consists solely of a ganache made of chocolate and cream while the crust has a nice flaky crunch with hardly any sugar giving just the right level of sweetness. I would stick with the official version that I only had a small piece but the picture unfortunately outs me as a big old liar.

Pants on fire.

Depending on what chocolate you use, it can be a bit pricey. However, you know what I did? I did a quick search online looking for reviews of chocolates and found a reliable source that told me how good they actually are. I have found one that was rather low in price, yet high in quality and it still tasted great (I tried it, of course).

As the recipe told me, I sifted a bit of cocoa over the tart which I actually would not do next time as the flavour overpowered the rest quite a bit. I kind of ate a thin layer off of the top first so I could indulge in the rest sans dutch-processed cocoa powder.

It's fairly easy to prepare yet decadent and just too good. I guess I have found myself another monster to munch on. ;)

The hardest part is to really keep it in the fridge for four hours before cutting it!

The magazine I found this in calls it 'Mexican Tarte', although I am not quite sure what is so Mexican about it.

Mexican Chocolate Tart

Adapted from: Frau von Heute, 9^th issue, 25.02.2011: Mexikanische Tarte

• 160g (5.6 oz.) AP Flour
• 100g (3.5 oz.) Butter
• 50g (1.8 oz.) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk (size M)
• 1 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 500g (17.6 oz.) dark milk chocolate (I was not too sure what exactly that was supposed to mean so I used 4 bars of 50% dark chocolate and 1 bar 30% so my ganache was generally rather on the milky side)
• 400ml (13.5 fl. oz.) cream
• 1 pack of vanilla sugar (this is lesser known in the US, I think you could either omit it or replace 1 ts cream with 1 ts vanilla extract)
• Cocoa for dusting the cake (I recommend skipping this)

In addition:

• Dry peas, beans or cherry stones for baking the crust blind.
• Parchment paper for the same purpose.

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, egg yolk, cocoa and butter and knead until smooth (I did that with my hands). Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Grease a 24cm (about 9'') spring form pan and and lay out dough, forming a crust. Prick it with a fork several times and lay out with parchment paper. Fill with dried peas.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, remove peas and parchment paper and bake for further 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Chop up chocolate and heat up cream in a small pot. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate along with vanilla sugar to the heated cream and stir until smooth. Let it cool off for 30 minutes. (I added the chocolate to the cold cream and heated everything on low heat just enough to let it melt. It worked fine for me and there was hardly any time needed to let it cool down.)
6. Pour mass into crust and put in refrigerator for 4 hours. Dust with cocoa powder.

Forget about those damn calories and indulge!

Indian Sweet Potato Dessert

It's warm outside. Soothingly warm. I have mentioned before that this year's summer did not mean well with us so every single day temperature rises above 20°C is precious. In fact, they appear so precious you kind of want keep them in your pocket so you can take them out again when you know exactly that you have got the time to make the most of it. Writing these words, I just realised how odd that thought is. Imagine people had the ability to save sunny days for later. The result? Clouds and rain all year.

Anyway.

This recipe is a bit on the odd side. It's simple. And apparently, it's Indian. It was the dessert we have had the day we enjoyed last time's recipe and comes from the same source. The original only asked for three ingredients: Milk, sugar, and sweet potatoes. This particular dish was chosen for two reasons: Not only were we actually supposed to work on a project so time for cooking was meant to be short (uhm...), it was also meant to be an experiment.

You can imagine that this concoction can only get as pretty as good ol' mashed potatoes and is maybe a bit one-dimensional flavour-wise. So foresighted, we added about 100g of almonds we caramelized with a bit of sugar. Some of it went directly into the puree, the rest was garnish. Almost pretty, right?

Indian Sweet Potato Dessert

Adapted from here. Serves 4.

• 1 kg (35 oz.) sweet potatoes
• 930 ml (4 cups) milk
• 200g (7 oz.) sugar
• 100g (3.5 oz.) caramelized almond slivers (optional)

1. Peel and slice sweet potatoes.
2. Put in a big pot along with 600ml of milk, let it cook on low heat until potatoes are soft.
3. Remove from heat and puree completely. Add sugar and rest of milk, stir well.
4. Put pot back on heat and let it simmer until consistency is creamy.
5. Fold in caramelized almonds and garnish (optional).
6. Serve warm.

So. How was it? Actually, it was alright and I can see myself preparing it again. It was sweet, creamy and, well, sweet potato-y. But probably only when there are any left-over sweet potatoes. I know it's really, REALLY simple but hey, there is worse.

Baked Tomato Bruschetta

Seasons are changing. There is no denying it. Just yesterday I was still sitting on my terrace in the early evening, enjoying the diffuse light of a sun that is not reaching as low anymore - blocked by trees and buildings - but yet able to beam down on the higher parts of the house, painting those sharp, bright orange lines on the walls. The air was warm and tight; you could feel it. This summer was not one of those that genuinely deserve that name. It was unsettled, more cool and cloudy than anything else with one day after another looking like it was just about to rain or raining.

So last week it felt like summer actually had to proof something. Like it still wanted everyone to know that it actually existed. Suddenly it was hot. Not that hot you could hardly motivate yourself to do anything, but hot. For one week and if I am being honest, not even a full one. Then it was yesterday evening, and hell broke loose. Within moments, the sky was tinted in a deep gray with wind starting to build up. First lightnings already went down in the distance before it reached us and hastily I put all the flower pots and herbs I could on the floor. Torrents fell from the sky in a moment's notice. Wind. A strong breeze. A storm. Pots I thought where heavy enough went rattling to the ground. The place I just sat – soaking wet. It went on until deep in the night and had its last flare-up early in the morning.

Some Food Porn - always a good idea, right?

Now I am sitting again in my chosen place on the terrace, a mild sun shining on my face in clear and cool air. Autumn.

Yet still I am not ready to bring myself completely in that season's mood, so with this little recipe, I am clinging on the little rest of summer that is left.

It contains what I would call the queen of summer, tomato (with zucchini being king), and my personal holy trinity of summery herbs: Basil, thyme and oregano. Depending on the size of the bread you choose, this can either be an appetizer or a light little meal.

Baked Tomato Bruschetta

Makes about 6-10 slices of bread, depending on the size

Serve on your bread of choice. I recommend a nice baguette or ciabatta.

• 250g cherry/date/plum/any kind of small tomatoes (8.8 oz. but does not have to be exact)
• 1 ball of mozzarella
• 2 twigs of thyme
• 1 big twig of oregano
• a nice hand full of basil along with the stalk
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 2 gloves of garlic
• Bread of choice, I used ciabatta but it is also great on a baguette or even plain white bread.
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
2. Depending on their size, half or quarter tomatoes, removing most of the seeds (important). Set aside.
3. Finely chop up onion, add to tomatoes.
4. Remove leaves from the twigs from both thyme and oregano. Chop them up along with the basil. No need to remove the stalk (as long as it is green) – you can chop it up like chives. Add to tomatoes.
5. Pour in vinegar and olive oil, add salt to taste (a few dashes, probably), stir well.
6. Let sit for about 15 minutes. The herbs, garlic and onion will get stuck in the hollow parts of the tomatoes.
7. Lay out slices of bread on baking tray lined with parchment paper.
8. Place tomatoes, mostly cut side up, on bread. To help them stay that way, lay some of the onion/herb mixture on bread beforehand. The whole procedure does not only look prettier, it also keeps most of the nice juices in the tomatoes, preventing the bread from getting soggy.
9. Pour remaining mixture over tomatoes until there is nothing left.
10. Tear mozzarella apart with your hands and evenly place on bruschetta. It should be enough for all of it. You do not want to cover it up completely with the cheese.
11. Put in the oven for 15 minutes or until mozzarella is completely molten and slightly brown.
12. Add pepper to taste and serve immediately.

My little storm is nothing compared to the hurricane that is barreling towards New York and the East Coast. Let's hope for the best!

Simple Thyme and Rosemary Potato-Wedges

Alright, this is just a snippet that I don't really consider a recipe but because it's THAT simple and good I think everybody should add that to ones repertoire. Normally I just eyeball the whole ordeal so the measures of quantity are not exact but sure will work. You can already see these wedges making a cameo here but they are also great as a side to steak or pork tenderloin or even just all by themselves along with a dip.

Thyme and Rosemary Potato-Wedges

Serves 4 or 3 when served as a snack.

• 2 pounds of evenly sized potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 heaping tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 twigs of thyme
• 2 twigs of rosemary
• 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
• pepper to taste and maybe some extra salt

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F).
2. Wash potatoes leaving the skin on and them into evenly sized wedges. Put them in a big mixing bowl.
3. Remove needles/leaves from both thyme and rosemary, chop them up finely with a knife or scissors (I find the latter easier).
4. Roughly crush garlic
5. In a cup or small bowl, stir all ingredients but the potatoes and extra salt and pepper together.
6. Pour mixture over wedges, tossing them well. Let it sit for 15 minutes, toss them in between.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper evenly spread the potato-wedges on it round side down, trying to make sure they don't touch each other.
8. Pour remaining marinade on wedges and let them bake on the centre rack for about 40 minutes or until they are golden and done (time depends on oven and size of wedges, you may want to try one before taking them all out).
9. Add nice amount of pepper and more salt if needed.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

I could pull off an Ina Garten impersonation by saying “How easy is that?” but that would be wrong because I actually mean it.

Creamy Zucchini and Basil Soup

I'm no vegetarian. Hell and I am miles away from being a vegan.

I love meat. Meat Meat Meat. I love me some juicy beef in my mouth. Yes. You heard me right!
Innuendos aside, I also am a complete hypocrite.
When it comes to eating meat, I block out the fact that what I am stuffing into my face has once been alive and kickin'. Whole fish with head and all is also not the most comforting sight to see.
Hey there big fella! You enjoy my filet? Don't mind me, I'm just watching you devouring my body. SHIIIIVERRS.

Is that a good thing? No. But that's the way it is with me and I doubt I'm alone with that.

Most people, including my humble self, are used to dishing up good ol' steak and Co. almost on a daily basis or at least too often. While many may argue at this point that ANY number is too often, I'll leave that aspect out for now. However, sneaking in some days where the only things on the menue never had a pulse is not the worst thing you can do to yourself and probably to your wallet as well. I mean, it should not be too difficult to find other nice things to spend that extra money on, right? (Like uhhm, a better camera...? Although that would take some major meat-omitting...so...hm.)

And then, there is the extra step again. Veganism. I know that to many, "vegan" is a term that equals "bland",  "boring" or, well, "thank you, but no thank you". Not. The. Case. Let that be told to you by an omnivore: Vegan cuisine DONE RIGHT can be down right delicious, comforting and filling - without leaving the feeling of anything missing.

A great resource for super healthy vegan cuisine is FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I love how Susan finds ways to veganize known and loved dishes and also reduces the fat to a minimum. You also find many recipes with Asian and Oriental twists. The only thing to critisize for me is that many recipes require spices and ingredients that I usually don't have myself and probably won't use completely before they expire. However, this is not the case with the following, which to me perfectly captures the way a mild evening in summer is supposed to be.

I served the soup with some nice oven-roasted herbed potato wedges, but some nice bread'll do just fine.

Directly adapted from her blog:

Creamy Zucchini and Basil Soup
Servings: 6; my own comments are put in italics.

• 2 pounds zucchini (about 5 small to medium)
• 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped (I just use onions I have got on hand)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 cups vegetable broth (I simply use water and then add the needed amount of granulated vegetable broth directly to the pot)
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
• 3 tablespoons raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (I find the soup tastes just as good without the yeast. And a teaspoon of Marmite or Vegemite would do the trick just as good. Or simply another one of granulated broth)
• additional salt & pepper, to taste

1. Set aside one of the zucchini; trim and coarsely chop the rest.
2. Cook onion in a large saucepan for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Stir in the chopped zucchini, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
4. Add the broth and simmer until zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Pour into a blender (in 2 batches, if necessary) taking care to avoid burns by not filling the blender more than halfway. 
6. Add the basil, cashews, and nutritional yeast and blend until smooth.
7. Return soup to the pot, season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm. 
8. Shred the remaining zucchini with a spiral slicer, mandolin, or grater. Pour soup into bowls and sprinkle grated zucchini over top.  (I also garnished the soup with some cashews and crushed pepper)

Enjoy!

Zucchini & Pesto Pasta Salad

Yes. This is finally happening.

Ehhrm. Hi there! I'm Tobias - the "T" in the title - and a complete greenhorn when it comes to foodblogging.

Yet, here I am. And so are you. Thank you for that.

After a tough and lengthy time of planning how to pull this off  (do you know what an exhausting process it can be just to come up with a nice name?!) I can finally present you the very first post on my brand new nice and shiny foodblog! Tada! FYI, I just tapped myself on the shoulder for that.

Soo, what's to expect in the future?

There are certain attributes that I like.

I like me recipes:

Layed-back. Cooking and baking is supposed to be fun. At least for me. When I find myself in the kitchen close to a nervous breakdown, yelling things like "Why are you DOING this to me? What's WRONG with you?! I'm supposed to WHAT?! HOW?!! What MORE do I have to do to make this work?" - it's not fun anymore. It's stress. I'm not in a break-up fight. I'm cooking.

While sometimes it's worth going the extra mile, stepping out of ones comfort zone and acquiring new skills, it just has to seem FEASIBLE. This especially applies to weekday dishes.

Not too pricey. There is always a certain limit. When that is passed, it just does not seem worth it to me, anymore. So no matter how delicious, extravagant and gorgeous the finished meal may be, a price that's TOO high overshadows the joy.

PRETTY! C'mon! I am not going to spend my time in the kitchen just to force an unidentifiable beige goop down either mine or other's throats. Especially simple food dressed to impress has always something satisfying to me.

So, while there are always exception, my agenda is going to be: Delicious, pretty, DOABLE recipes. :)

Oh, and I am not afraid of NOT doing EVERYTHING from scratch! Embrace the semi-selfmade, people!

That's why my very first - did you just hear that? - recipe is going to be this super simple, quick pasta salad that still kinda got it. You can whip it up last minute for a potluck BBQ and I guarantee you it's still not going to be that weird dish nobody's taken just a spoon of. In fact, just this summer I brought it with me three times and on each occasion was asked for the recipe, so, there you go. ;)

Zucchini & Pesto Pasta Salad
This makes a huge portion to feed a crowd, so make sure your bowl is large enough or take two.

• 3 medium sized Zucchini
• 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil (about 150g or 5.5 oz, drained)
• 190g - 200g Pesto alla Genovese or your favourite basil-pesto (self-made or store-bought, about 6.7oz)
• 1 bag of penne pasta (about 500g or 16oz, whole wheat or regular)
• 1 pack of baby leaf spinach (frozen, 450g or 16oz)
• 125g grated parmesan (4.4 oz, fresh or store-bought)
• 1 tbs oregano (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste (I use freshly ground mixed pepper)

1. Bring water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In the meantime, using a kettle or another pot, bring another 1.5l (50 fl. oz) to boil
3. Slice zucchini as thick as a finger, half or quarter them afterwards. You want them nice and chunky, yet bite-sized.
4. In another pan or pot, thaw spinach under low heat until it is hot. Set aside.
5. Drain the dried tomatoes and slice them lengthwise into 3 stripes each. Set aside.
6. In a heat-proof bowl, pour the boiling-hot water from the kettle over zucchini to blanch them, leave for about 10 minutes.
7. Drain pasta and pour it in a very large bowl, tossing it with about 1/3 of the pesto to prevent the pasta from sticking.
8. Drain zucchini and combine with the pasta.
9. Add spinach to the mix.
10. Add remaining pesto along with the parmesan. mix well. As the ingredients are still warm, the cheese will melt.
11. Add tomatoes and oregano (optional)
12. Season with salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.
13. Let it cool and dig in!

That's it. So easy. So good. The Zucchini won't be raw anymore but still keep a nice crunch to it.
I'm sure that you can leave a nice amount of this salad home for lunch the next day.

My very first post. A summery salad although the blog title refers to cake. Yeah, that's how I roll. The next recipe sure has to be something sweet, right?

Enjoy!