Maple Walnut Rolls

Ok, I admit, telling my mom that I only want to get rid of the yeast that was still in our fridge seems like a lie when you look at these delightful treats, but I didn't have them in mind from the start. I found the recipe for these soft rolls HERE (sorry in German only, and I am lazy to translate the recipe)
The only alteration I made was to leave out the cinnamon, as I felt that it would ruin the whole maple-walnut taste, and dabbed the still hot rolls with a little more maple syrup to make them sweeter.

As soon as I opened the oven, the whole house started smelling like yeast-risen pastry....delicious!
These rolls are best when they're still warm inside, and this is the autumn version of the wintery cinnamon rolls.

Here some pictures of the process: (from left to right and from top to bottom)

1. Maple syrup covered chopped walnuts
2. How to arrange the filling
3. Roll this thing...
4. ...and cut it into pieces
5. Leave some space on the baking tray between each roll...
6. ...because they will grow while baking, as you can see
7. Cooling down a little
8. Close up.

Enjoy!

~Vail~

Gyouza

I had a friend coming over for lunch today, and I had planned to make japanese fried gyouza, starting from scratch. I found a recipe for the dough, so I didn't have to bother to actually get my lazy ass up and move it to the asia store ;)
This actually is quite time-consuming, so if you're in a hurry, you better buy the gyouza pastry. If you feel like spending a whole morning in the kitchen, this is the right recipe for you!

I found the recipe for the pastry here

I doubled the recipe as I planned to make a bigger amount and put the other half into the freezer.

You need: (about 60-65 pieces)

* 500g flour
* 200ml water
* 10 drops of Kansui (I didn't have Kansui at home, so I replaced it with 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in a little bit of water)
* 2 eggs
* 1tsp salt

With a whisk, beat the eggs with 100ml of water and Kansui. Add the salt. Pour it into a bowl with the flour and knead, while adding the rest of the water . Knead well until you get a nice dough. Cover it and let it rest for 1/2 hour.

Roll it out, take a drinking glass (∅8cm) and prick out the circles from the dough until nothing is left. (picture top left)

For the filling, you need:

* 200g white cabbage
* 2 carrots
* 1 tbsp japanese pickled ginger
* 400g pork mince
* soy sauce
* salt

Shred the cabbage and the carrots (works fine with a food processor). Heat some oil in a pan and fry the vegetables for a few minutes, reduce heat a little and cover it. Let it rest until soft, then add the ginger. Season with soy sauce.

Once it's ready, put it away and let it cool down. Salt the mince, then mix well with the vegetables. Now comes the hard work: take 1 tsp of the filling and put it in the middle of your small circle, brush some water along the edges and fold the sides up. Press together and make small foldings. Repeat this step with every circle until you're done.

In a pan, heat some oil and fry one side of the gyouza until brown, then add 50 ml of water. Cover the pan quickly and wait until the water has evaporated. In another step, add some more oil and fry the steamed gyouza on both sides so that they become brown and crispy. Serve hot with raw cabbage and soy sauce. Enjoy!

Vail's Note: This was my first time ever trying to make gyouza, and even though the recipe is not authentic, they tasted nice. I renounced garlic, or whatever it is they put inside *laughs* but you can basically fill these small turnovers with everything you like. Also, for the dip, I dissolved a bit of dashi in hot water and added soy sauce as well as 3 drops of sesame oil. The cabbage is optional too. I just prefer to always have some vegetable side dishes ;)

~Vail~

Whiting In Parmesan Coat And Pesto Sauce

Admittedly, I never liked spaghetti with pesto sauce, but when I tried pesto chicken, I just couldn't get enough of the creamy rich sauce, and wondered if it would suit fish as well. Here is the result: it tasted great!





What you need: (1 serving)

* 1 whiting fillet
* flour
* 1 egg
* breadcrumbs
* 2 handfuls of grated parmesan
* salt&pepper
* 2 tbsps olive oil
* 1 handful of fresh basil
* optional: pine nuts
* 1-2 tbsps light cream

In a plate, mix the breadcrumbs with 1 handful of grated parmesan, in another, beat the egg. Remove the fishbones from the fillet (if there are any), season with salt and pepper, coat it first with flour, then egg and finally the breadcrumb-cheese mixture.

For the pesto sauce, mix the washed basil leaves, the rest of the grated parmesan, the olive oil, the pine nuts (as much as you like) and the cream with a blender shaft,, then season with salt and pepper.

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the fillet on both sides until crispy. Take it out and keep it warm. Remove the oil from the pan and add the pesto. Stir well and reduce heat quickly. Serve hot and enjoy. :)

~Vail~

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~