trout & hawk | An exploration of flavours and beauty

Mohnguglhupf

26. November 2020

Um diesen saftigen Mohnguglhupf nach Art eines englischen seed cake zu backen, nehme man

für den Teig:

30-40g Mohn
300g möglichst frisch gemahlenes Dinkelmehl (oder Kamut, oder Weizen)
250g Crème Fraîche
250g Vollmilchjoghurt
225g weiche Butter
150g Rapadura
2 Eier
1 Teelöffel Natron
1/2 Teelöffel Meersalz
geriebene Schale einer Zitrone
1 Esslöffel Vanilleextrakt
60-125ml Wasser

zum Tränken:

Saft einer Zitrone
125g rohen Honig
60ml trockenen Sherry

Mehl und Mohn mit Joghurt und Crème Fraîche vermischen und an einem warmen Ort 12 -24 Stunden stehen lassen.

Butter, Rapadura und Eier schaumig schlagen. Natron, Salz, Vanille und geriebene Zitronenschale unterrühren. Nach und nach das eingeweichte Mehl unterrühren. Eventuell 60-125ml Wasser unterrühren, um den Teig zu verdünnen.
Teig in eine gut mit Butter eingefettete und mit Mehl bestäubte Guglhupf-, Kranz- oder Kastenform geben.
Bei 150°C 90 Minuten backen, bis eine hineingestochene Stricknadel sauber wieder herausgezogen werden kann.

Zitronensaft, Honig und Sherry im Wasserbad erwärmen bis sich der Honig aufgelöst hat. Diese Mischung langsam über den fertig gebackenen Kuchen geben bis die gesamte Flüssigkeit aufgenommen wurde.

Abgedeckt bei Zimmertemperatur 1 bis 2 Tage ziehen lassen.

Variation:

Irischer Samenkuchen
Statt des Mohns 30g Kümmel und den Saft und die Schale von Orangen statt Zitronen verwenden

lentil soup with rosemary, squash and leafy greens

15. November 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Soups

Lentil soup with rosemary, squash and leafy greens

1 1/2 cups lentils, soaked overnight
7 cups water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced, fresh rosemary
1/2 butternut squash (or Hokkaido), peeled, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
3 cups leafy greens like kale, cabbage or chard, sliced

2 teaspoons tamari
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
freshly ground black pepper

Drain and rinse lentils, place in a large pot, add water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pot, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are cooked. Drain lentils and reserve cooking liquid (about 4-5 cups).

Warm olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and rosemary, sauté until golden. Add squash and reserved cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Cover the pot , reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until squash is tender. Stir in drained lentils and simmer until soup has thickened.

Add leafy greens and continue cooking for a few minutes longer until the leaves are wilted and tender.

Stir in tamari and balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper to taste.

autumn reads & listens

6. November 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Guest Post

guest post by Vik

Floss’ Dreamy Bops

Gentle music with a nostalgic 70s feel. I like to play this in the morning for waking up to a milky cinnamon coffee.

Tyler Childers – long violent history

Irish-American countryside strings, perfect for a cosy night by an open fire carving pumpkins or an evening of boardgames and hot drinks.

Quarantini

Japanese disco jams for cocktail hour, because being stuck indoors can still be fun!

Mr. Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo

An easy read, set in East London with a cast of highly likable, funny and utterly human characters. I had a lot of fun reading this book and loved following their tracks in my own neighbourhood.

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

A compilation of sci-fi stories exploring classic themes from a refreshingly new angle. I just started this book and am already drawn in by the magical story telling.

The girl with the louding voice by Abi Dare

The story of a 15 year old Nigerian girl told with an astounding honesty and positivity despite her hardships. I finished this book in two days of binge reading because I had to know what happens next, until I made it to the satisfying happy end.

The mushroom at the end of the world by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

An anthropological study about ecosystems of forests, human intervention in nature and international trade of matsutake mushrooms. Really interesting read drawing parallels between human systems and nature. I now know more about forests and mushrooms than I ever thought possible.

At the existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell

An intimate look at the personal lives of philosophers such as Sartre, De Beauvoir and others, helping to understand their world views in context with the times they lived in.

The one-straw revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka

It’s one of the founding books of the alternative food movement. It came out in 1978 and is a condensation of ideas on how to farm and grow crops with the least effort possible, letting nature and crops do their thing AND without putting wasteful effort into farming.

walking South towards Columbia flower market

dark chocolate truffle tart with Brazil nut crust

28. October 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Cakes + Cookies / Sweets

What I love about this tart:

quick and easy to prepare
unbeatable flavour combination of dark chocolate, raspberries, toasted nuts and a touch of salt
looks chic
can be stored in the fridge for days
taught me how to perfectly melt chocolate without using bain-marie

dark chocolate truffle tart with Brazil nut crust

for the crust:

1/4 cup raw Brazil nuts
olive oil for oiling tart pan
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup dried, shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons spelt flour
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin melted coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the filling:

1/2 cup raspberry jam
1 cup plain almond milk
pinch sea salt
250g 70% dark chocolate , roughly chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cocoa powder or edible gold dust to garnish

Preheat oven to 150°C. Toast the Brazil nuts for 8 minutes until fragrant. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Increase temperature to 180°C. Oil the tart pan with olive oil.

Combine Brazil nuts, oats, coconut and salt in a food processor and blend until coarsely ground, about 20 seconds.Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in spelt flour. Drizzle in coconut oil, and mix with a fork or your fingertips until all flour is moistened. Add maple syrup and vanilla and mix again. Dough should be moist but not sticky.
Wash and dry your hands and press crust thinly and evenly into tart pan. Prick bottom of crust with a fork several times and bake for 20 minutes or until fragrant and lightly brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

Spread jam evenly onto the baked tart shell.

Place nut milk and a pinch of salt into a small pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. As soon as milk begins to boil remove from heat. Immediately add chocolate, cover pot and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove lid and whisk vigorously until chocolate is melted and looks smooth and shiny. Stir in vanilla and pour into tart shell.

Place tart in the fridge for at least one hour to set and chill thoroughly. Dust tart with cocoa powder or edible gold dust. Serve cold.

Kochen für Skeptiker

5. October 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Dinner / Guest Post

guest post von Hedda

Immer wenn wir Zeit in der Toskana verbringen, verabreden wir uns mit unseren Nachbarn Enzo und Gianfranco zum Essen. Einmal kochen sie und einmal kochen wir. Wenn wir dran sind, muss auf ausgesprochenen Wunsch etwas traditionell Deutsches auf den Tisch.

Seit vielen Jahren das gleiche Ritual: “Was werdet ihr kochen?” – große Skepsis – die sich in vielen, vielen Jahren hartnäckig hält. Trotz begeisterten Genießens jedweder Mahlzeit, die wir zubereitet haben. Eine Herausforderung, jedes Mal. Der Toskaner verehrt seine Traditionen!

Diese Mal haben wir uns für ein Gulasch entschieden.

Wie jeder weiß, der sich mit Kochen beschäftigt, insbesondere aber Gianfranco und Enzo, ist der Schlüssel zu eine exzellenten Mahlzeit die Qualität der Zutaten. In diesem Fall natürlich das Fleisch, die Zwiebeln, das Olivenöl – und nicht zuletzt der Wein.

Also auf zum Metzger Mirco, der nach meiner Erwähnung von Gulasch sofort nach der Rindswade greift. Strahlend vor Metzgerglück.

Unser Gulasch

2 kg Rinds- oder Kalbswade, pariert und in mundgroße Stücke geschnitten
1,5 kg Zwiebeln (wir nehmen Zwiebeln der Sorte Tropea), gehackt
6-10 Knoblauchzehen, gehackt
Olivenöl (am besten von Gianfranco) zum Anbraten
Meersalz, schwarzen Pfeffer frisch gemahlen oder gemörsert
Edelsüßes Paprikapulver
Peperoncino als Pulver oder frisch gehackt
4 reife rote Paprika, in mundgroße Stücke geschnitten
400ml (1 Glas) Kalbs- oder Rindsfond
Rotwein nach Flüssigkeitsbedarf, das Fleisch sollte knapp bedeckt sein
400 ml Sahne

Fleisch portionsweise in einer großen Kasserolle scharf im Olivenöl anbraten, so dass sich Röststoffe entwickeln können. Zwiebel und Knoblauch separat anbraten- sonst wird es nix.
Zwiebeln und Knoblauch zum Fleisch geben, mit Salz, Pfeffer und Paprikapulver großzügig würzen, beherzt mit Rotwein ablöschen.

Geschnittene Paprika dazugeben, mit Fond auffüllen, Deckel drauf und bei kleiner Hitze behutsam schmoren. Immer wieder den Flüssigkeitspegel kontrollieren, eventuell Rotwein zugeben.

Nach ungefähr eineinhalb Stunden Garzeit sollten die Zwiebeln beginnen zu zerfallen.
Es braucht Geduld. Es könnte auch länger dauern. Nicht die Hitze erhöhen.

Es ist Zeit für ein Glas Rotwein und ein bischen Muße.

Wenn Zwiebeln und Paprika allmählich zerfallen, ist es Zeit für das Würzen mit Peperoncino.
Es empfiehlt sich das Fleisch zu probieren, um den genauen Garzeitpunkt zu erwischen. Ganz zum Schluss die Sahne zugeben und nochmal richtig aufwallen lassen.

a Greek wedding + a Greek celebration cake

17. September 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Cakes + Cookies

In August we travelled to Greece to celebrate the love between Maria and Dimitris at their wedding. We spent the whole week basking in the sun, eating mountains of Greek salad and enjoying each others company at the Gulf of Corinth.

a Greek celebration cake
(original recipe from the bride’s great grandmother)

for the batter:

330g butter
50g sugar
6 eggs
grated orange peel
240g flour
175g hard wheat semolina
1 sachet baking powder
225ml milk
ca. 150-200g flaked almonds

for the syrup:

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
juice of 1/2 squeezed lemon

Beat the egg whites
Beat the yolks with sugar and orange peel
Add butter and beat until the mixture turns white and creamy
Mix in the flour, semolina, baking powder and milk
Fold in the beaten egg white

Preheat oven at 180°C.

Pour the batter onto a slightly buttered baking tray. Sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake for about 40 minutes until the cake turns golden.

Simmer the syrup for about 10 minutes and pour onto the ready-baked cake while it is still warm.

Teig-Götter

17. July 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Breakfast / Snacks

Teig-Götter

1 Tasse Weizen, Einkorn oder Kamut , wenn möglich frisch in der Steinmühle gemahlen
1 Tasse kaltes Wasser
1/2 Teelöffel Salz
Brotgewürz nach Belieben

Bereite aus 1 Tasse Vollkornweizen-, Kamut- oder Einkornmehl mit Salz, Brotgewürz und kaltem Wasser einen dickflüssigen Teig.

Heize den Ofen samt Backblech auf 200°C.

Gib den Teig löffelweise auf das heiße Blech und backe ihn 10-15 Minuten im Ofen.
Ohne Backofen gibt man den Teig in eine flache Pfanne, die man während des Backens zudeckt. Man kann auch das Waffeleisen nehmen; hier werden die Teig-Götter etwas weicher, weniger knusprig als im Ofen.

Variation: mit eingebackenen, kleingehackten frischen Kräutern oder Pepperoni

the secret rose garden

23. June 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Jams + Preserves / Uncategorized

On a cloudy day mid-June I was invited into my friend’s rose garden. She has a beautiful collection of historical roses growing in wild bushes and blooming only once a year. Their special charm lies in their wildness. They are not pruned into shapes or put into arrangements. The first thing you notice is the lovely scent wafting through the garden – especially on a warm summer day after the rain.

Their names are full of meaning: Mariage Parfait, Isphahan, Unschuld, La Belle Sultane, Great Maidens Blush, Empress Joséphine, Madame Hardy, Yolande d’Aragon only to name a few. My friend has a map that shows the name and location of each kind.

In the picture above you see the Rosa Mundi Gallica Versicolor, my friend’s most beloved rose.

Diptyque about their Rosa Mundi perfume. “A rose always blooms like every first love story. And all love is a world in itself. Hence Rosa Mundi”.

On my way out my friend generously gave me one of each rose in a huge bouquet. Even though for herself she never cuts them for the vase.

rose petal jelly

petals from 8-10 organically grown fragrant roses
300ml dry white or red wine
200ml water
500g preserving sugar (1 plus 1)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon rosewater

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan, remove from heat, add the petals, cover and let steep for at least 30 minutes.
Strain liquid into a clean saucepan, discard petals. Let cool.

Add sugar and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a boil, boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, add rosewater. Pour into sterilized jars and let cool.

Quark cheesecake without crust

17. June 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

Cakes + Cookies

Quark cheese cake without crust

1 kg Quark
2/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons cornstarch (Maizena)
100g butter (= 8 tablespoons) , melted and cooled
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 lemon, grated peel and juice

Preheat the oven to 190°C and put the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Butter the bottom and the sides of the baking form and sprinkle in flour to lightly coat the form.

In a large bowl, beat together the Quark, sugar, vanilla, eggs, cornstarch, butter, flour, baking powder, lemon peel and juice until the batter is creamy.

Pour the batter into the prepared form. Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and place the form on a cooling rack. The cake will be losing its height – that’s normal. Let the cake cool down completely before removing the sides of the form.

Enjoy with with a dollop of whipped cream.

DIY artist charcoal

11. May 2020

by troutandhawk

Leave a comment

DIY

Guest post by Vik

Currently gifted with a lot of free time, we got my old art box out, filled with all sorts of chalks, inks, crayons and water colours. I used my french charcoal sticks for some sketches, and fully enamoured with the smooth texture and expressive line, decided that it’s time to make our own locally grown artist charcoal.

Preparation

Collect fresh branches/twigs. Willow and wine are classically used, but we also successfully tried beech and alder tree. The branches should be at least 8mm thick. (The willow tips within our reach were definitely too thin! They can be used but are a bit fragile.)
Cut the sticks to your desired length, and peel the bark off. We did this step while walking and collected the sticks in our pockets, so you will have to imagine how that looks like. The peeling was easy because the trees were so juicy.

Pictured below:
a) willow bark we peeled off; b) my french store bought charcoal next to our alder sticks; c) beech, alder, willow, and elder; d) our own charcoal.

The Process

Find a metal box that you can seal. We found a truffle box, also paint cans are suitable. It should be sealed well, but not air tight, in that case simply make a little hole in your container.
Build a fire! The box will stay in the fire for at least 1,5h.
Put the sticks in the box, close it well, and chuck it in the fire.
Set a timer, and wait. Carefully turn the box once or twice (at least that’s what we did).
BE CAREFUL: the box might have build up pressure inside, and it will be extremely hot. The metal was glowing red! Keep that in mind when moving it, use long sticks to handle it, and gently move it away from the fire.
Let it cool down completely, before carefully opening it to check if the sticks have charred fully. If they aren’t all the way black, just put them back in the container and back in the fire for a while longer.

Et voilà!

To try out the charcoal I just drew some lines. It’s truly amazing how each stick has it’s own softness and texture: you can see some hard lines and some soft fat, deeply black ones.

Now get yourself some quality paper, and start creating! My advice would be to throw your logical brain out and with it all expectation and control, and just have fun exploring the medium.

What we learned for the next time: Different trees all give great results. Super thin sticks are too fragile. It’s easy, if you have a metal box and a safe fire pit!