Abstracts and Clafoutis

 

Yesterday we were without Internet almost the entire day, so I wasn't able to post anything. It was actually a nice change not to be at the computer, but instead I worked in the garden, started knitting a hat for my Etsy shop and finished reading my book.

In July I joined the online Artist Soul Retreat that Laly Mille hosted, one of my favorite artists. It was mainly about abstracts and since Laly likes to work in series, we did that as well. When I had done my first few layers I felt that this wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't know where this would go and this was the moment that I walked away from my four "abstracts".

I came back to them several days later and decided I would go a different direction, leave the idea of "abstract" behind and add some images. I felt much better with that and started to like my little creations. The last touch was, of course, birds.

Even though I didn't create "abstracts", this was an interesting experiment and a good learning process. I was a bit surprised as well since I had seen a video by Laly about abstract landscapes that I loved and created my own landscapes. This one, however, was very different.

On to some sweet stuff for Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date! In last week's TADD I showed you the photo of a clafoutis that I had made when my neighbor gave me plums from her garden. Well, she gave me more after that and I was looking for a different recipe for a clafoutis. I found a gluten free one - it is with cherries, but you can use other fruit as well. I think this would also work with apricots, peaches, even strawberries. I altered the recipe a bit, I didn't use brandy and instead of almond flour and almond milk I used regular APF and dairy milk. I did add a teaspoon of almond extract to the batter to get the almond flavor. You can find the recipe here.

You will need:

After you have halved the plums and removed the pits, put them in the bottom of a greased cast iron pan or baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Make the batter and pour it over the plums. Please note that I am still using my faithful Krups hand mixer from Germany. I have been using it for 30 years. I think the 3Mix is one of the most well-known hand mixers in Germany. I'm so glad I brought it with me to the US (I have a step up and down transformer so I can use it here).

Bake the clafoutis for 60-70 minutes until it is no longer jiggly in the center. Let it cool a bit and then enjoy!

Do Elephants Eat Chicken?

 

When David commented on one of my past posts, he mentioned Chicken Shawarma - which inspired me to cook it since the Geek and I hadn't had it in quite a while. We both love Chicken Shawarma and I honestly don't know why we don't have it more often. It is so easy to make.

Chicken Shawarma is a middle-eastern dish - and this is all you need - plus a cup of Greek yogurt for making the sauce:

Chicken thighs (bone- and skinless), garlic, smoked paprika, coriander, cumin, cardamon, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil. The flatbread is for wrapping.

Combine all the ingredients (with the exception of the chicken thighs) and make a marinade. Put the chicken thighs in a ziploc bag, add the marinade and make sure that every piece is coated. Marinate overnight in the fridge.

The next day make the yogurt sauce with the Greek yogurt, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Put in the fridge. As you can see I added a little bit too much cumin to my yogurt.

You can grill the chicken thighs, but I prefer to bake them in the oven. Preheat oven to 425F (220C), spread the marinated chicken thighs on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. The drink in my picture is not wine, but pomegranate juice.

When the chicken is done, cut it in strips and serve with tomatoes, lettuce and the yogurt sauce. Don't forget the flatbread.

Trader Joe's flatbread is not very big, so eating became quite messy. But who cares? It was delicious with a very good spice, but not too hot. (If you don't like too spicy, use less of the cayenne pepper; it really puts the heat in the dish.)

A chilled dry white wine like a Pinot Grigio is a nice companion.

You can find the full recipe here.

Of course we need dessert! When we were in Istanbul we often had Künefe. When I discovered it at Trader Joe's I had to try it. It was very good, but then unfortunately for reason unbeknownst to me, they stopped carrying it. One of the employees who knew how much we liked it warned me about that, so I could stock up. This was the last package... I will probably need to learn how to make it myself.

I'm joining Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - please do yourself a favor and visit some of the other wonderful blogs.

My art for today is this happy patchwork elephant:

This was one of the Kaleidoscope Taster Sessions with Eulalia Mejia, an artist from Colombia. Thankfully she had provided a traceable elephant because I would not have been able to draw it - I'm hopeless at that. She was the only one of the "taster artists" who provided complete step-by-step instructions with pictures to download. Supplies used: acrylic paints and wax pastels.

And no - this elephant doesn't eat chicken.

Quarantine Kitchen

In my last food related post I promised that there will be a part 2 to the food that we ate during the shelter-in-place. This is more of a look back now since the county has re-opened and it seems that people are getting out more. Restaurants are open for dine-in - most of them using patio space and dining outside which here in Northern California is a no-brainer, really. But I do wonder whether is has been such a smart idea to open up while still being in the middle of a pandemic. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away. No surprise that the number of newly infected cases is going up almost everywhere in the country.

But - back to food. Very often I cook without any recipe, like the dish in the photo on top. Seafood mix, red bell pepper, edamame and chow mein noodles all thrown in a wok with some good spices make a satisfying dinner. My secret ingredient for this is sesame oil, and apart from that any food you can find in your kitchen. Just use your imagination and experiment with different spices.

One of our favorite dishes from Italy is pesto. I don't make my own pesto since I found a wonderful pesto from Italy that always reminds me of Tuscany and the wonderful time we had there. Of course it's accompanied by a glass of California red wine.

When we had pesto we usually have some spaghetti left over that easily makes another meal. Again, I just use what I have - spinach and Bavarian bratwurst, broccoli and Bavarian bratwurst, eggplant and pancetta. There is no limit to your imagination.

Or you can make fritata with a salad on the side. Just make sure not to burn it like I did!

We do love that Bavarian bratwurst. I find this one at Trader Joe's, it comes right from Munich and is a true German bratwurst. We eat it with a broccoli-cauliflower gratin on the side and sometimes I eat it as a curry wurst just like in Germany.

Trader Joe's Instagram page also inspired me to try some of their ideas, like the "sweet balls of fire" - meatballs cooked in a sauce made from their sweet chili sauce and raspberry jam - so good! Even better with focaccia - this was my second try and it already was a big improvement from my first one.

I do love to cook seafood, so I made puff pastry shells with shrimp and a creamy sauce with cremini mushrooms, zucchini and red bell pepper (my own creation) as well as a lovely lemon baked cod (I found the recipe on Pinterest here). I'm always happy when I find a fish recipe that everybody likes and doesn't amount to a ton of work.

Have you heard of Shakshuka eggs? While it is a breakfast dish I made it for dinner once, first time I tried it because I wanted to bring a Middle Eastern dish to the table. While it wasn't a favorite, it was certainly very flavorful and delicious.

Let's not forget about desserts. While usually we just have a piece of chocolate to round out our dinner I sometimes make the effort to make a special dessert like Tiramisu which has been a favorite since I brought the recipe from Italy 25 years ago or so. Here is the recipe.

In our paper (or the New York Times, I can't remember) I found a recipe for a crumb cake that sounded easy enough. It doesn't look like much, but the taste was okay. I think I would like to add some fresh fruit on the side - strawberries or peaches - and some whipped cream.

And just to make this pandemic time a bit easier to endure, a good drink is never wasted - be it a maitai on a Sunday afternoon, white wine with the fish or a traditional German Erdbeerbowle.

Now go in the kitchen and make something beautiful!

Paris in July 2019 - La Vie Douce

After my last Paris in July post was all about street cafés, it's only natural that this post features those sweet delights we can't live without.

The French seem to love the "sweet life" - just look at their delicious desserts like profiteroles, mousse au chocolat, crème brûlée and crème caramel. Or just take a step into one of the many Pâtisseries.

Éclairs, Milles-feuilles, des gâteaux et tartes... a true paradise for everybody with a sweet tooth (or several...)

Aren't these mouthwatering?

Many love macarons like the ones in the top photo. They are available in so many colors, but if they are called "a Sunday in Paris" they have to have sprinkles.

I'm not sure what the sweets in the next image are. I saw them in the window of a very elegant shop in Le Marais, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Paris. There were no signs with prices, so I assume they weren't what I would call "affordable".

Of course you can get ice cream in Paris - how can you not? The selection is huge as you can see here on the board of Berthillon at its store on the Île Saint-Louis.

However, while Berthillon ice cream is super delicious, you can get good ice cream and sorbet almost everywhere in Paris. Enjoy!

I'm joining the Paris in July blog event at Tamara's Thyme for Tea.