I Wanna Noyu?

I recently stumbled upon this brand in my local supermarket. Noyu. They have several different flavours, but the one that caught my eye the most was this unsweetened, pure green tea. Everytime I visited Japan, I would buy my favourite bottled o-cha, which, unfortunately, isn't sold anywhere here. (They do have it in Düsseldorf but it's a little far from here)

When it comes to green tea, I am quite very picky, and usually I only drink Japanese green tea but still I wanted to give this brand a chance. The tea leaves they use for this tea are grown in Taiwan, and of course I can taste the difference, but it's still quite nice and refreshing, especially if you drink it really cold.

Check their homepage for more information: http://www.noyuteas.com/

~Vail~

Mad Tea Party

Ever since someone told me about pumpkin tea, I became thrilled to make my own tea blend. The tea used for the original blend was black tea, but I opted for rooibos, cause it is less strong and can be enjoyed even before sleep.

I chopped pumpkin, dried the slices in the oven, added spices, made a cup of tea...and was disappointed how faint the taste was. So I added much more tea and spices...I do know why tea blends always smell stronger than they taste ;)

After having tried the pumpkin tea, I really felt like creating other personal blends as well, so I dried apples and peeled oranges, mixed tea with different spices.

Maybe I should apply for a patent. Vail's Original Tea Blends. No artificial flavours!

In this sense, have a nice, cosy evening with your favourite tea blend!

~Vail~

Miso Ramen Vail Style

How I have been craving a nice bowl of good ramen! But good ramen restaurants seem rare here and I couldn't find a good opportunity to go, so I decided to give it a try and cook it myself. I have read about how making good ramen is a real craft, but still I wouldn't let myself be discouraged by all I have read. Since I am not a big fan of チャーシュー (grilled pork meat), I decided to replace it with a nice piece of fried salmon, season the stock with miso and even toasted the nori. All in all, I can say that I really had a nice lunch, but I agree that making good ramen really is a craft that needs some skill. :)

~Vail~

Pumpkin Quiche

Autumn is on its way and with it comes the craving for pumpkin again! Apart from the traditional pumpkin soup, this quiche is one of the pumpkin dishes I really enjoy making and eating the most, so here comes the recipe:







What you need:

for the short pastry:

* 250g flour
* 130g butter or margarine
* 1 egg
* 3 tbsp milk
* salt

Prepare the short pastry (add salt, cold butter, egg and milk [in the same order] to the flour and knead well) and wrap it up in cling film. Put it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then roll it and prepare the baking pan.

for the topping:

* 700g pumpkin
* 200g tomatoes
* parsley
* salt, pepper, ground chili
* creamy goat cheese
* 200ml milk
* 3 eggs
* 100 ml cream

Preheat oven to 200°C. Chop the pumpkin into dices and heat a bit of olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the dices until soft, and season with salt, pepper and ground chili. Dice the tomatoes and removed the insides. Beat the eggs with a whisk and add the milk and the cream, as well as some salt and pepper. Arrange the pumpkin, the tomatoes, the chopped parsley and the goat cheese on the dough.
Pour the egg-milk-cream mixture over the tart and bake it for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!
~Vail~

Salmon Soup With Shrimp

During my stay in Helsinki, I was told to try salmon soup, and it was really delicious. Now, a few years later, I really wanted to give it a try myself. I found several recipes on the internet, but none seemed to be what I was looking for. I decided to simply do my own creation. So here it is: the recipe for Vail's salmon soup with shrimp.



What you need: (about 4 servings)

* 3 big potatoes (about 500g)
* 250g salmon
* 150g cocktail shrimp
* vegetable stock
* salt, pepper
* dill
* white wine
* light cream
* oil

Peel and dice the potatoes and put them in a pot. Add water and vegetable stock until the potatoes are covered, then let it boil for a little while. Reduce heat and let it simmer until the potatoes are soft. Dice the salmon and cut the shrimp in two, or, if they're small, leave them the way they are. Add half of the fish and the shrimp to the soup and let it simmer for another ten minutes. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the other half of the salmon and shrimp. Season with salt and pepper.
Use a blender to create a smooth texture, add water if necessary, a dash of white wine and cream, and season with salt, pepper and dill. Serve with the fried fish & shrimp.

Enjoy~

Vail

Making Seitan

I used to be a vegetarian for 5 years, and during that time I consumed quite a lot of tofu. The range of vegetarian products, however, was still a bit limited, and tofu was the only "meat substitute" that I knew. I put the word between quotation marks, because I do not really regard tofu as a substitute, rather as a wonderful product that does not merit the pejorative undertone of substitute. Anyway, nowadays there is a much wider range on the market, and you can get all kinds of preparations on the base of quorn, seitan, lupin or even milk! Most of them are healthy and low on fat, but high on proteins.

After having read that seitan can be easily made, I decided to give it a try myself and bought a whole package of wheat flour to get started. There are several tutorials on the internet, and I will give you mine as well. You have to put a little work and it needs time, but it's fairly easy and cheap!

You need:
- 1kg wheat flour
- water
- 1 carrot
- vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp miso (optional)
- soy sauce
- pepper

Pour the flour in a bowl and add as much water as you need to knead a firm dough. Add warm water and cover the bowl with a towel. Let it rest for 1/2 hour.

In the meanwhile, pour 1-2L of water into a cooking pot, add vegetable stock, miso, soy sauce, pepper and the carrot cut into thick slices. It should be quite salty. You can add other spices if you like.

After 1/2 hour, knead the dough shortly under the water, and pour off the white liquid. This time, add cold water, knead, pour it off. You have to repeat that step until the water is no longer white, but clear. Make sure to alternate between cold and warm water. The last step should be done with cold water. You will notice that, while you wash out the starch, the dough will change. When the texture is chewy, it is ready.

Turn on the heater and wait till the brew is boiling. I suggest you cut the dough into slices or cubes, or whatever shape you want to have, because they will absorb the stock better. Reduce heat just a little and cook the seitan for 45 minutes.

You can season or marinate the seitan with other spices or soy sauce, depending on the dish you want to create, before frying or baking it.

Good luck and enjoy!

~Vail~

Cheesecake From The Orient

I found a recipe for an oriental cheesecake that caught my attention because it sounded so irresistible that I had to give it a try.

You can find the link for the original recipe here:
http://www.kuechengoetter.de/rezepte/Kuchen/Orientalischer-Kaesekuchen-2573.html

As usual, I made some alterations and baked it without a base. This is also the light version but the taste is very exciting. Dried, yet soft apricots, figs and raisins inside a creamy yet firm sour cream and quark mixture, flavoured with rum and grand marnier, cinnamon, vanilla and cardamom. I love it and would do it again. :)