Random Tuesdays! And a Bonus Recipe for Protein Mango Smoothie

Hello everyone!

I am super late with this Tuesday post! I still have a few minutes of Tuesday left on the East Coast at least!

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a late Psychology class and I am so tired on Wednesdays and Fridays. Last night after class I cooked a bunch of homemade sausage(I made these on Friday night and froze them) for easy breakfast for the rest of the week, I did my workouts, got the kids stuff ready for school, and did other little things around the house. I was super tired by the time I was done at 1am!

This morning I woke up, packed the kids' lunches, threw on some booty shorts and a sweatshirt ha!

My goal was to finish Week 4 Day 2 of my Couch to 10K run! I can't do it tonight as my husband is working the late shift. The kids and I (only my oldest 2) walked to school and then I went for a run. I started pretty well and then I started getting really hot. Damn sweatshirt. I wanted to take it off (i had a regular workout shirt underneath), but I didn't want to carry it. According to my RunKeeper App I burned more calories today than I have on any run I've done so far this year. I was a sweaty mess when I was done, and I was so happy to be done! But as I made my smoothie, I was so happy that I did run though I was dressed the part I didn't feel the part.

I prepped some dinner, made breakfast for my youngest, made/drank my smoothie and then took a nice nap.

That's why I am so late with the post. It's already Wednesday afternoon here, I usually do the daily posts the day after (here).

So let me share with you all a quickie recipe for the protein Mango Smoothie I made today! It's soooo good!

Serves 2

I didn't really measure so I guessing based off feel here LOL. I did take a picture of the ingredients in the blender so that kind of helps me get a feel.

3/4 cup frozen mangoes

1/3 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup or one container of vanilla greek yogurt like chobani or yoplait

about 1/2-3/4 cup coconut milk

and a splash of vanilla extract

It's so good and filling!!!! Try it after your workout or breakfast….lunch…dinner

Have a great day!!!!!!

How to Make English Muffins

Egg McMuffin. Pizza McMuffin. Eggs Benedict…McMuffin…?



I love English Muffins, though I prefer English Muffins slightly toasted, with bacon or sausage with good ol' American cheese and a little grape jelly. Mmm Mmm.  How do you like your English Muffins?



Once you make homemade, you'll never buy store bought again. I had every ingredient on hand, which was good as I decided to make this pretty last minute. I wanted to keep my promise that I will share a recipe post once a week.



Even though I have loads of homework to do. That's OK though! I love you guys. You guys have stuck by me for 4 YEARS. Well a lot of you have. That's crazy. So let's celebrate with MUFFINS!

Please check out the tips at the end of the recipe instructions!

This recipe is from the lovely Laura Vitale of www.laurainthekitchen.com. She has a video and instructions on her website if you love videos!

Laura Vitale's recipe for English Muffins

Makes 18 muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups of Whole Milk, scalded (i used 2% as it was all I had)

5 cups of Bread Flour
1 Egg
2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Tbsp of Vegetable Shortening, melted
2 ½ Tbsp of sugar
1 ½ tsp of Salt
1 tsp of Baking Soda
1 Envelope of Active Dry Yeast, (2 ¼ tsp) plus 1 tsp of sugar
Cornmeal

1) In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast and 1 tsp of sugar over the milk and allow it to sit and foam for a few minutes. Add the shortening, butter and egg to the yeast mixture and whisk together to combine. I used 4 tablespoons of butter. However you don't need to use butter or shortening, I forgot both the first time I made this and they turned out very well and less fat!

2) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and milk mixture. If you do not own a stand mixer just add the flour mixture to the milk mixture.

3) Mix the dough on low until the flour is incorporated, turn the speed up to medium and knead for 3 to 4 minutes or until the dough is smooth but still sticky.

4) Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, place it in a warm place and allow it to rise for about 2 hours.

5) Dump the dough on a floured surface, knead it together and cut it into 18 equal pieces (if you like smaller English muffins, cut them into 22 equal pieces). Roll each piece into a ball, press them down with your hand to form a patty and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the top of your patties with a little more cornmeal, cover them with a kitchen towel or  spray the boules with cooking spray (to prevent sticking) and put plastic wrap over boules, and let them rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

6) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

7) Preheat a griddle pan or a skillet to medium heat, gently lift each round with a spatula, place it on the hot griddle and let them cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides (do them in batches). Place them back on the baking sheet, then place them in the oven for 10 minutes.

Allow them to cool a bit before serving. Then using a fork, Laura suggests to prick muffins opened with a fork to get extra nook and crannies. 

Some tips!
In my opinion, the key to a kick ass muffin is the size (besides taste of course). If you have a kitchen scale, make sure each boule (ball) of dough is about 2.5-3.0 ounces. If you do not own a kitchen scale, please make sure the ball fits in the palm of your hand at least. If this helps I made 18. So make 18 equal boules. Also, I was hoping this would be vegan for my non meat-dairy friends, but freaking forgot this recipe calls for milk. I think this recipe will work if you substitute a cup of warm water and a cup of soy milk a room temperature for milk. And the first time I made this recipe I used neither butter or vegetable shortening (rarely have that on hand anyway) and it still worked! And lastly these muffins keeps well in the freezer!!!! So the night before just thaw as many as you want to use for the next day and you have muffins for your family. I like to cook a lot of sausage patties to make it a bit more rounded.

ENJOY!

Cookies and Randomness Christmas-Style

Everyone in the Christmas spirit yet?  I'm not really yet. I usually start feeling a bit festive after my husband's taken some time off. The whole time he's on leave I am usually in the kitchen, and I do not have a problem with that. So far our tree hasn't felt the wrath of our ninja baby. About 3 times a day we go through all of his favorite ornaments so he can play and get all giddy. EVERYDAY. This is the first year none of our children broke any ornaments (knock on wood!).

This Christmas we plan to finally visit some Christmas Markets hoping to get into the spirit. Not just Christmas Market hopping, I plan on tackling the ever so daunting task of Christmas crafts. I've been on Pinterest a lot lately looking for Christmas Crafts and Christmas Goose recipes. 

Oh, did I mention I am tackling goose this year? 

 Not that one- the mean honking bird! My random husband asked me to make goose last year  for this Christmas and then reminded me when I was making our Christmas menu. I am excited, nervous, and very ready for the challenge. I've been researching a lot and I've found a lot of helpful info! I plan on taking elements of 5 different recipes I found and hope it yields delicious results!

Oh, back to the crafts. I wanted to do Thanksgiving crafts, but couldn't so I am hoping to tackle some Christmas Crafts with the children Christmas Style. I am hoping they will be things the children and I won't get bored with after 10 minutes. I will definitely share with you all the results!

The closest I got to doing crafts with my children last year was when we baked cookies and wrote letters to Santa.

 It was SOOO fun and the children enjoyed every bit of it as I did as well. I particularly enjoyed the royal icing soooo much better than store bought and very easy! recipe below!

Food and Wine's Roll and Cut Out Sugar Cookies
 

Floury fun!
2 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup(s) sugar
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
2 stick(s) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup(s) seedless raspberry or apricot jam, for jam-filled cookies
Royal Icing, (recipe below) for decorating
Sprinkles, sparkles, and dragées, for decorating

Directions
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the butter and mix at low speed until the butter is broken up into small pieces, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the flour and butter form small clumps, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix at low speed until the dough comes together in a few large clumps. Pat the cookie dough into two 1/2-inch-thick disks, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate until chilled but not firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using 3- to 4-inch cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. (Alternatively, cut the dough into 3- to 4-inch shapes and, using a smaller cutter, stamp out the center of half of the cookies.) Refrigerate the cutout cookies until chilled, about 30 minutes.

Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes, until they are lightly golden around the edges; shift the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking. Let the sugar cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then, using a metal spatula, carefully transfer them to a rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
For sandwich cookies, spread a thin layer of raspberry or apricot jam on the solid cookies and top with the corresponding cutout cookies to expose the jam. Otherwise, decorate as desired with the Royal Icing, sprinkles, sparkles, and dragées.

Food and Wine's Royal Icing

 

My husband thinks he's fancy. He nearly preserved that cookie for decoration!

Ingredients
1 egg white
1/2 pound(s) (2 1/4 cups) confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon(s) water

Directions
In a medium bowl, beat the egg white at medium speed until foamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating between additions, until the sugar is completely incorporated. Add the water and beat at high speed until the icing holds its shape, about 5 minutes.
Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and use at once; thin with water if necessary.

Thank you for reading!!!

My 7 Links- slowly getting back into blogging

Hey y'all! How's Autumn going for ya? I know we're only 2 days in, but it's been freaking beautiful here!

Anyway, I've been tagged by my lovely friend Amy Kim over at www.kimchimom.com to participate in an online blogger's game  My 7 links started by TripBase to unite is whatever you blog about. I am so happy that Amy tagged me, because I've been so nervous about jumping back in the blog scene. Also good as I didn't do a 1st year anniversary post! #slacka. So allow me to start:




Your Most Beautiful Post: Still Have Leftovers? Try these Turkey Day "Pasties"

























I woke up early on my birthday to get just the right amount of light to photograph this recipe. If I was going to make my own take of pasties, I wanted to make sure they looked as awesome as they tasted. Living in Germany I've been more inspired by British cooking than German...weird. But look out for some more German recipes soon- have been experimenting on my hiatus :D
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Your Most Popular Post: Chicken Broccoli Penne Alfredo

This is the first blog post that was ever accepted by Tastespotting. After learning more about the photo sites, I tried my hand and had several declined so I stopped. Then I submitted this recipe to Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen and Cook Eat Share and it got a lot of attention so I thought? Why not share this with Tastespotting and holy crap they accepted! This is one of the first recipes I shared on my blog when I really blogging on and off, so it had maybe 45 views which was a lot for even then as I averaged maybe 12 hehe. Thanks mom!

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Your Most Controversial Post: Confessions, Nipples and Other Random Nothingness

While most of my blog posts are recipes, I started this blog to get myself to get motivated about things. Whether food, getting into shape, being a better mother, venting etc, I wrote about it. I am not a great writer, I do love this blog to express myself. Some stuff isn't wholesome lovey dovey stuff, I curse, I talk about masturbation being a military spouse,  rarely, but it's in here. I try to please, but I am not going to be fake to please others. I am really open in person, this blog is really a G rated version! Anyway, this is controversial because of the content and you can see boobies! You will see booty soon! This photo was taken 5 months after giving birth to my 3rd baby- yeah super brave!
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Your Most Helpful Post: Homemade Ricotta

As a budding foodie or whatever the cool word is for loving all aspects of food, as soon as I read that I could make my own ricotta and how freaking easy it was? I was ALL over it! Had a few friends try it themselves and it always nice to hear some tried something because I did! My goal in blogging about food is to get others inspired to cook period.

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A Post Whose Success Surprised You: Parsnip Fritters with Blue Cheese Walnut Whip

These were really really really good, but I didn't think they'd garner much attention. But as soon as I posted I got 3 comments. I was flabbergasted! I didn't think there were many parsnip lovers out there, but I am happy to know there are many apparently!

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A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved: Santa's Mincemeat Pies

A lot folk doesn't like meat and sweet in the same sentence. I am not going to lie, when I first heard about mincemeat, I thought GROSS! But the more I learned about food, and I actually read the ingredients I thought. YUM. So I had to try this. I couldn't find suet as it was a last minute decision so I went with a David Lebovitz recipe for Quick Mincemeat and it ROCKED! This will be a holiday tradition! The pastry was perfect everything- lucky santa!!
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The post you're most proud of: Peach Barbecue Personal Pizza

So happy I took a chance and it garnered amazing results loved by the whole family! My children normally hate peaches, but they loved this so much. Since then I've tweaked and made even more fruity versions. Taking chances with food is particularly difficult with children in the house sneaking in goodness and them liking it is always awesome! Same with my Autumn Mac N Cheese made with hokkaido squash :)


Well I hoped you enjoyed! Was cool reading through some old post to find these. A big thank you to all who still follow my blog- the support is amazing. I love the blog community xxxxx

Tagging:
Jessica- Mommyhood Next Right

Peggy- My Fiance Likes so it MUST be good!

Becca- Living Wright at Home

Trininista

Celeste- Cooking Creations

Have fun with this! This was definitely fun reading the archives and going back in time. Inspires me to challenge myself even more. And it's so fun reading others' thoughts on their own blog posts read hidden gems!

Chorizo and Pork Belly with White Beans

Farmers hide your piggies and vegans/vegetarians beware! This soup is all about the delicious, flavorful and juicy pig. Pig in 3 different ways: we have the Spanish chorizo (from wiki): Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as eitherpicante (spicy) or dulce (sweet), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used. Then we have my favorite part of the pig, pork belly, and dry cured form of pork belly called Pancetta. However, I can not find Pancetta here to save my life (Friends/Readers in Germany help a mama out, bitte?) I asked another food lover which subsitute is best, and found that Bauchspeck is a great replacement. Like Pancetta, Bauchspeck is from the pig's belly and  then dried, cured, but unlike pancetta, is smoked. To compensate for flavor, the friend suggested that I add more garlic, chili flakes and nutmeg to the recipe. It worked a treat! 





I am not sure when or why I stumbled across the recipe on the BBC Good Food's site, but I am so happy I did. We love chorizo and pork belly on their own in different ways, putting them together is perfection! I don't  have much experience with pancetta given that it's harder to find here from my own experience, but if the substitute bauchspeck is any indication of pancetta's awesomeness? I am a big big fan. 


This stew or pork convention-in-a-bowl is hearty filling and the beans adds a nice texture and believe it or not taste. You can use Cannellini beans or haricots (as the original recipe)I don't think I would love this as much without them! Even better it's simple, as it's delicious. Chop some aromatic/bellies/sausage and some aromatics add a good glug of wine, spices and water let it slow cook and infuse your home with lovely aroma and you're pretty much done until you add the beans at the end! This is definitely a man pleasing meal, but I could have ate the whole entire pot on my own. I love me some pork and beans. 






Chorizo & Pork Belly with White Beans
 Adapted  From BBC Good Food's site
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb piece of boneless pork belly , skin removed
1 T olive oil
1/4 lb pancetta or any dried cured belly meat (I used bauchspeck) thick bacon may work, too
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tsp hot smoked paprika

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 lb chorizo, roughly chopped
1 -14oz can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
2 14-oz cans of Great Northern Beans or cannellini, drained and rinsed
a bunch coriander

Directions
Heat the oven to 160C/310F. Cut the pork belly into large chunks. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, ovenproof casserole and fry the pork in batches over a high heat until browned all over, then remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden, then reduce the heat slightly and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Stir in the paprika and chorizo also nutmeg and chili flakes if using and cook for a minute or so. Return the pork to the pan and tip in the tomatoes. Pour in the wine and enough water just to cover - about 1 cup.

 Season, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Stir in the haricot beans and return to the oven, without the lid, for 20-30 minutes. 

Stir in the coriander

I served with a family favorite- Buttermilk Cornbread from All Recipes. I substituted 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 cup with a teaspoon on white vinegar for buttermilk. I also used 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1 cup of flour, then baked in 13 by 9 baking pan. Turned out delicious and went very well with stew. Serve with any bread you like, my parents would have used a slice of good ol' white bread. That's how we rolled. This stew and bread was enjoyed by my whole family.

Enjoy!!

Homemade Bagels and Mawa's Raspberry Cream Cheese Spread

While thanking a friend for "liking" my Facebook page, yes I am cheesy like that, the subject of homemade bagels was briefly discussed. Last year I wanted to try it, but somehow it got put to the back burner. Since the conversation, I was looking around the interwebs for  a bagel recipe and this recipe seemed to fall in my lap because I saw a link for "Bagels are a Breeze!" on my Facebook news feed. I found a recipe I thought I wanted to use, but I loved the look of this one and had all the ingredients on hand.

Like anytime I make homemade bread, my kids were impatiently awaiting the finished product. The only one willing to help was my little Curly Sous (chef) and I think she and I did a fabulous job. They have great flavor, slightly chewy but fluffy texture and was truly a breeze to make. My daughter aka Mawa made up her first recipe today as well. She demanded  delegated when it came to the cream cheese spread. She told me how much raspberry sauce, sugar, and lemons to use and ya know what? She did pretty damn good. I am proud of my Curly Sous.

Bruce Ezzell's Bagels

From Michael Ruhlman's blog

Sponge (4 to 12 hours before baking; do this before you go to bed if you want fresh bagels for breakfast or brunch, only takes a minute)

Ingredients:

500 grams flour/18 ounces/ 3.5 cups
500 grams water/18 ounces/ 2 1/4 cups
3 grams active dry yeast/3/4 teaspoon

Combine the ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix with a spoon till the ingredients are combined. Set aside at room temperature for at least 4 hours. Do this before going to bed if you want fresh bagels in the morning.

To Make the Bagels
18 grams kosher salt/.6 ounces/1 tablespoon
18 grams honey/1 scant tablespoon
18 grams malt syrup/1 tablespoon (you can substitute molasses if you wish I used molasses)
446 grams flour/16 ounces/ 3 cups
Baking Soda (1/2 tablespoon for every 2 liters/1/2 gallon water)
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt or other garnish (optional but recommended) I used onion seeds and salt

Add salt, honey, malt syrup (molasses), and flour to the sponge, the flour last.

Attach dough hooks to your mixer and mix at low speed for 8-10 minutes. This is a stiff, bucky dough so don’t walk away from the mixer if it has a tendency to walk across your counter top. I've had more than one mixer hit the floor and it is distressing. (This can also be mixed by hand.)

Once the dough is mixed remove it to your counter and cover with a cloth to let it rest for 5-10 minutes. 

While the dough is resting place a wide, fairly deep pot filled with water on the stove to heat (measure the water so you know how much baking soda to use). 

 Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.
Divide the dough into 12-13 (4 oz) pieces. Round each piece and set aside to rest for a few more minutes, covered.

To shape take each ball of dough and flatten out slightly using the palm of the hand, making a disc approximately 3.5 inches wide. Make a hole in each using your thumb and place back on the counter, covered, to rise.
After 10 minutes flip each bagel over so the bottom is now facing up. When this side begins to get slightly puffy and rounded it is time to boil. This may take as little as 5 minutes, but depending on the temperature of your kitchen, how cold your countertop is, etc., it might take longer. When the bagel looks and feels a bit puffy, it’s ready to boil.

While your bagels are in their final rise bring your water to a simmer, then add the baking soda.When I boil I typically use a pan like a wok filled with water. 

Drop the bagels 3-4 at a time into the simmering water (depending on how large your pot is). They should float immediately or within a few seconds. Let them simmer for one minute, then flip them over using a chopstick or spoon and let the other side simmer for one minute. 

Remove from the water using a skimmer or large spoon. I like to bake them on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper. They can also be baked on a pizza stone.
Sprinkle them with sesame, poppy seeds, salt or whatever you prefer immediately after removing them from the water, or alternately, brush with an egg wash and sprinkle after that.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 12-13 minutes or until golden brown.

These were so easy, and it didn't take long to do at all. I am very pleased and will be adding another homemade bread on my regular baking repertoire. If you don't have a scale, just measure everything as precisely as possible. The dough can be easily kneaded by hand as well!

From these bagels I made my son a quick lunch of ham and swiss

For dinner I made "pizza sandwiches". Made from the bagels with black onion seeds. I made a quick sauce using tomato puree, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, bay leaf, a splash of vinegar, red pepper flakes, a little sugar and salt and pepper. I parboiled sausage, sliced, sauteed. I added a heaping 1/2 cup of organic shredded mozzarella cheese, and broiled. Was GOOD.

I also seved them with those smiley faced potato fries. I can eat my weight in those!

Mawa's Raspberry Cream Cheese

My daughter directed me with this recipe and it yielded delicious results. I won't type the directions in Mawanese, though haha.

For Raspberry sauce

1 16 oz bag of frozen raspberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

For Wazbewwy (Raspberry) Cream Cheese Spread

1- 8 oz pack of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened (leave out at room temp for a couple hours prior)

1/4 cup raspberry sauce

2 T sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Directions

Simmer sugar and raspberries over medium low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. Strain juice from skins and seeds through a fine mesh sieve. 

In a separate bowl, stir softened cream cheese until light. Add lemon juice, sugar and raspberry sauce; mix thoroughly.

Enjoy!!

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Growing up you couldn't get me near tomato soup. My parents would warm up a can and serve it to us. Nothing else, no cream, chives, crusty bread, just tomato liquid as I called it. My disdain for tomato 'liquid' carried on until I met my husband. He loves tomato soup and would buy the canned version regularly early on in our courtship, because I was for damn sure was not going to make it for him! But the more I learned about food, I knew I had to face past food dislikes of certain foods. One of the first I tackled was tomato soup. I made my first tomato soup from scratch about 2.5 years ago and it was amazing. This soup had body, flavor, and not just a wet red glop o' liquid. My husband was very pleased and impressed as was I! So since then, I've made all kinds of different versions of tomato soups, including another favorite I made this past summer I blogged about. No more canned soups went inside my kitchen cupboards.

This soup is by Gordon Ramsay from his  book and series on Channel 4 Great Escape. Where he journeyed throughout Indian exploring one of England's favo(u)rite cuisines, Indian food aka curry. I caught a few episodes of this and it was a great learning experience and man it made me hungry. This book was also a Christmas present from the husband. I just cracked it open last Friday night, and when I saw this recipe,  I knew I had to make this tomato soup ASAP. I also found a few dishes for my upcoming and first Indian-themed dinner party with my pal Becca!

This soup is delicious, bursting with flavor and it can be made very quickly. To cut prep time, substitute canned whole tomatoes (drained) and use hot madras curry powder instead of the ground cumin, fenugreek, chillies, turmeric. I made this recipe almost exactly as he did, only I added less chili peppers as my daughter loves soup but can't stand heat!

This would make a great starter or a main course. Easily doubled and tastes even better leftover.

Spiced Tomato and Coconut Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Tomatoes

2 T vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

Kosher/Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (add more peppers or don't deseed for more spice)

1/2 dried fenugreek, crushed with a pinch of salt

1 bay leaf

1 t ground tumeric

1 t ground cumin

1/3 cup tomato puree

1 can of coconut milk (i used light coconut milk)

1T cumin seeds

pinch of asafoetida (optional)

handful of coriander/cilantro leaves for garnish

toasted coconut for garnish

Directions

Bring pan of water to the boil. Lightly score a cross at the top and base of each tomato then lower them into the boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Once cooled, peel off the skins of tomatoes and then roughly chop.

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and sweat for 4 to 5 minutes until onions begins to soften. Add the chillies, fenugreek, bay leaf, turmeric, and ground cumin and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Tip in chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well.

Pour in coconut milk and use the can to measure out an equal amount of water. Add this to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and have broken down.

Puree the soup using a stick blender, or pour soup into a blender. If you really want a smooth result push puree through a sieve. I didn't do that, I like a little body to my soup :) Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

When ready to serve, reheat the soup. In a small saucepan, heat oil (coconut or vegetable) and add cumin seeds and asafoetida if using. As they begin to pop, take pan off the heat and pour spiced oil in soup. Stir well!

Ladle into warm bowl and garnish if you want. This photo shoot was quite short as this soup was too hard to resist!!! Hope you try this!! It's perfect for this weather. The best thing is you don't need perfect tomatoes which you will not find this time of year in Germany. The sourness of the tomatoes adds good flavor to the soup :)

Enjoy!!

Why I love Twitter, Awards and Pinwheel Cookie Recipe (finally!)

First off, I would like to thank Christina over at Being Mrs. Jones and Visual Luxe for the new design layout. On Twitter, she asked if I would like a knew blog design and I typed (and said as I typed) YES!!! So happy with the new brighter look. Thanks again,  Christina!

On to the awards. Was awarded the Stylish Blogger from Wendy and Faith! Both are two blogs that I thoroughly enjoy reading on a regular basis.
Wendy has delicious recipes from her amazing cookbook finds and her own glorious creations. Her latest post is something I will certainly try! Check it out: Smoky and Spicy Rice Pilaf- NOMNOM!
Faith has everything from marriage, fashion tips, funny to real life stories that I am anxious to read every time I see she has a new post. One of my favorite blogs! Her post on Martin Luther King Day was incredibly touching and definitely something I can relate to and appreciate! Check it out here!

I always giggle when I receive the Stylish blogger award because I am the complete opposite! As you can see here...ahem. Even when I try, I suck!

Also was awarded Versatile Blogger from my real-life friend and blogger buddy Tessie. Her adventures in homemaking, motherhood, being a full-time student are quite a read. I call her Supermom because the lady does it all, but she doesn't sacrifice what she's loved before children and school! Great inspiration!

And last, but certainly not least I received the Lovely Blog Award from fellow European Expats Alisha from Ardent Epicure and Nancy of Spicie Foodie! They have lovely recipes that are so exotic, healthy, and damn amazing!
 Nancy has done what most foodies dream of and has released a cookbook called "An Epiphany of the Senses available on Amazon. If you haven't read her blog, please do. She has certainly inspired me! One of my most popular posts, "Autumn Mac and Cheese: Mommy's Little Secret" was inspired by her. Also, Alisha has the most creative recipe and they're almost always healthy with a great story and description of ingredients used attached!  Her latest post featuring azuki beans had me so intrigued! Hoping to find some soon! Check out her post here!


Now, why I love twitter. Twitter is awesome because it's great for people like me who have random thoughts! Also, great for finding inspiration for recipes. The blog love amongst the bloggers on Twitter is remarkable, from congratulating one another for Top 9 on Foodbuzz, retweeting blog posts it's nice to see such a nice community that I am proud to be apart of!

I also love twitter because Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman tweeted the cookies I tweeted about for cookie week back in November. I tweeted a photo of cookies and thought a couple people would see them, but then I saw that SHE retweeted them I was really surprised and excited. I did "The Cabbage Patch" aka my happy dance! The only thing I was sad about was I made the cookies when  my internet was out so I didn't blog about them- dang it! I got a few extra followers on twitter and the blog so I felt bad there was no cookie recipe here for them. Those cookies got over 1000 views from that retweet alone...that lady is the woman! haha.

The other sad part is that I took photos of process and it's all saved on the computer that my ninja baby destroyed. Sigh. But these cookies aren't difficult, give them a shot!


So here is the recipe finally. It's from "Cooking" by James Patterson. I love this book, it's taught me so much about techniques and cooking. It's one of my cooking bibles.

Black and White Swirl Cookies
Ingredients
For Basic Butter Cookie Dough:
1/2 pound cold butter, sliced
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Chocolate Dough:
2 cups flour
2/3 cups confectioner's sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, butter sliced
1 egg
cocoa butter for dusting

Directions
Butter Dough
Make sure butter is as cold as possible. Put flour in bowl and sprinkle butter over the top. Make a well in the center then add egg, sugar and salt.and with the fingertips of one hand, move around the inside of the flour wall, moving around until the flour mixture and egg mixture blends together. Keep mixing until there is no loose flour. Try not to over mix. This can easily be done in a food processor, blending all ingredients until consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes. Or stand mixer, add flour and butter mixture, then pour in eggs, salt, and sugar while mixer is running at medium speed.

Chocolate Dough:
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt very well in a large bowl or food processor. Mix in butter well, until you have large crumbs, then add egg to bind.

 Roll out a rectangle of each dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, lay one rectangle on top of the other, roll up tightly, and chill 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven  to 375F.

Once dough are chilled, slice about 1/3 inch thick. Arrange on baking pans, and chill for another 30 minutes.

Once chilled, bake for 12 minutes, or until only the very slightest bit of browning is visible on the edges of the cookies. Let cool until set and then transfer to cooling rack. Once cooled store in tightly sealed container for up to a week. They didn't last 2 days in my house!

Enjoy!!!