food shopping, frankfurt, germany5.28.2009
5.26.2009
kitchen LIVING: saffron yellow
saffron yellow kitchens, very mondrian, very sixties, very modern... bold and surprisingly nice.
images via marie claire maison and AT casa
5.25.2009
pour of the week: riesling riesling
GUY: this is great. a great pleasure drinking this wine.
GAL: the wine is as pretty as the bottle. dry, floral... love it. love to have a few in the storage.
GUY: this is a killer, aromas are well balanced. get the diversity of all the taste... great wine.
GAL: this is another bottle that is as pretty as the bottle. well balance, like a perfect pretty lady... floral, dry, hint of sweetness perfectly balanced.
GUY: very good.
GAL: very very good. love to have more.
GUY: ahhh, i love it i wish i can drink it now.
GAL: i think this might be one of my top favorite riesling. fragrant, crisp and nice! plus i love the bottle with glass vino-lok cap.
Schloss Vollrads, 2008 Kabinett trocken, Rheingau (10,50 € germany)
GUY: it's nice, but i like the Gerhard better.
GAL: lemony, crisp refreshing, but a tiny bit too acidy.
5.24.2009
HOW TO: remove the sticky glue on jars
often times i save glass jars for spice storage, dressing mixer or pickling vegetables. once in a while i come across a jar with stubborn labels that leaves sticky glue that is impossible to remove. here's a useful kitchen trick my friend sherrie showed me on removing the leftover sticky glue gunk from labels on glass. use an eraser to erase the stubborn glue away, it worked like magic! thx sherri!5.22.2009
pour of the week: 1 x cremant: 1 x muskateller: 3 x riesling
GUY: really nice. great value, taste a lot more expensive then the actual price.
GAL: i only had a sip, it was fantastic. GUY drank my glass then finished his... i guess he liked it as well. love to have it in the fridge all the time, great as a pick me up!
Ökonomierat Rebholz, Muskateller Kabinett trocken 2004, Pfalz (10,20 € germany)
GUY: really nice. big fan.
GAL: i love this wine! crisp and refreshing with a hint of sweetness with honey and pear. easy to drink. great with chinese food. anytime, good mood wine. need to pick up a few next time. and it's organic...
Becker Landgraf J2, Cuvée 2006 (6,95 € germany)
GUY: not my thing. too easy.
GAL: good, if i see it in the store and there's nothing else i would buy it again. would order it in a restaurant. easy bottle to start off the evening.
GUY: like it, has a very subtle unique character... but too acidity.
GAL: too much acid for my stomach.
GUY: i like this wine a lot. it's a little on the safe side, but still good fun. Mosel Saar is the most famous region for Riesling, and the most picturesque.
GAL: it's good. i drink it again. but not my first choice in the wine shop.
5.20.2009
5.18.2009
kitchen LIVING: green
jungle kitchen is nice... going shopping for some green for our kitchen. images via marie claire maison
5.15.2009
SALAD du JOUR: red arugula with walnuts & apricots
-----------------------------------------red arugula with walnuts & apricots
serves 2 - 3 as lunch or 6 as starter
2 big handful of corn salad (it's a type of salad leaves/ green small leafy type, any type could be used here)
1 tablespoon capers
1 pear cored and roughly chopped
1 handful of dry apricot roughly chopped
1 handful walnut lightly toasted and crushed
3 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon green pepper mustard or dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic
1 lemon juiced
3 big pinches of black pepper
1 pinch of salt
1 TB walnut oil (optional)
to make the dressing, place the olive oil, walnut oil, mustard, balsamic, lemon juice, and salt in a clean empty jar.
shake the jar like you would with a cocktail shaker and emulsify the dressing.
in a big platter or salad bowl, layer with a bed of arugula, sprinkle the caper, apricot and walnut on top.
dress the salad, toss and sprinkle lots of freshly ground pepper on top. server and ENJOY!
note: the caper is amazing with the walnuts and apricots. the flavor combo is amazing!
5.11.2009
5.07.2009
poppy seed lemon yogurt muffins
we are on a mission to use up all the stuff in the fridge and cupboard. there it was, a bag of poppy seed i bought a few months back and still unopened. then i remember that i still have not fulfill that craving for a lemony poppy seed cake. so here they are... lemon poppy seed yogurt muffins.
will i make this again?
yes! with a few adjustments.
what will the adjustments be?
really like to try the greek yogurt instead of whole-milk yogurt; find better vanilla extract (new in frankfurt, people look at me funny when i say vanilla extract); get some muffin paper cups to line the tins; a little less baking time (slightly over baked by 3 - 5 minutes); lemon juice in the muffin to give it more tang (included in the recipe).
what's good with the muffin?
i suppose anything... by itself with tea... some quince gelée or orange marmalade.
comments?
MARKUS: the kids love them.
GUY: super! (he didn't want to give any to markus and the kids)
mistakes?
YES! well, i didn't have any muffin paper cups and i tried greasing the cups but still pain in the ass to get them out of the muffin tin. do yourself a favor get the cups. I also over baked the muffins by a few minutes... a little dryer then i expected.
tips?
i know everyone knows this... but this is not a date food. the poppy seeds love to linger between your teeth.
helpful websites?
this recipe is adapted from smitten kitchen's lemon yogurt anything cake which was adapted from ina graten's lemon-blueberry yogurt loaf. smitten kitchen suggested a few great ideas for variations including idea for replacing fruit with poppy seed and olive oil instead of normal oil.
other interesting poppy seed recipes?
glazed poppy seed tea cake via new york times recipes
poppy seed dressing via 101 cookbooks
my special zucchini bread via 101 cookbooks
more information about poppy seeds?
a homebrewed high? poppy tea hits the web via abc news
poppy seed pastries can lead to a positive drug test for heroin? via beth israel deaconess medical center
------------------------------------
lemon poppy seed yogurt muffin
makes 12 - 15 depending
1-1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 eggs or 3 extra large eggs
2 lemon zest
1 lemon juice freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup poppy seed lightly lightly pan toasted
preheat the oven 350F or 175C.
line the muffin pan with muffin paper cups.
sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
in a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest + juice, vanilla and oil.
slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until fully incorporated.
mix in the poppy seeds. pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling 2/3 of the cup and bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick insert into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.
5.06.2009
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