APPLE AND GINGER SOUP

I tried this soup on my friend's house and since then I have made it several times. Perfect for Summer.
Ingredients
2 or 3 apples (depending on size)pealed and chopped
1 onion
1 potato pealed and chopped
1 celery stick chopped
1 soup spoon of butter
300 grs of pumpkin pealed and chopped
Cinnamon stick
1/2 tea spoon of Nutmeg powder
Ginger (depends on your personal paste but for me a good piece of clean pealed)
1 Lt of chicken stock
2 dl of cream

Slice the onion and place it in a pan together with the butter.
Let it cook slightly (not brown) and add the potato, the celery and the apples. Once these become soft, add the pumpkin, the cinnamon stick, the ginger and the stock.
Let it cook for 30minutes, remove the ginger stick and blend until you get a rich pure.
Add the nutmeg and the cream a let it cook again for 15 minutes.

Haydary - Yoghurt and cheese spread

This is a great dip to eat with schreded baked lamb.


Place 500 grs of greek yoghurt in a fine cloth to drain for an hour. Beat the yoghurt until smooth and add the fresh mint finely chopped, add teaspoon of paprika, cayenne papper and 125grs of white cheese crumbled (feta), salt. Put in a bowl for a few hours. Before serving sprinkle with paprika and olive oil.

Patlican - Aubergine purée

Another of my favorites Turkish mezze and just so easy!


Pick 6 aubergines with a fork and put them on the grill until skin is burned and inside is soft. Cool them to handle , cut lenghtways and spoon out the flesh in to a bowl. Mash with a fork, add juice of 1 lemon, 4 cloves of garlic crushed, 120ml olive oil, salt and coninue mashing until puréed. Place on serving dish.

Hummus

I already have this receipt in a previous post, however for my most distracted readers, I will repeat some of my Turkish favorites.
This is an original receipt from my dear friend M.

Hummus, so easy and wonderful - chick peas paste!



Put 250grs of canned chick peas in a food processor. Add 4 ts of olive oil, 1/2 cup of sesame seadd paste (tahin), 3 ts of lemon juice, 3 garlic cloves crushed, cayenne pepper , salt and blend until reaching a creamy consistency. Turn into serving dish and sprinkle with paprika and cover with olive oil. Eat with pita bread.

Cook Decoration Course

Last March I took time to make something I long desired, a cook decoration course.
I was 15 when I spent my summer holidays on a cake decoration course, it was a lovely older brazilian woman which made cakes as she would make jewlery with love and detail.
We would do the base cakes, sponge, nuts, chocolate, carrot and then the fillings custard cream, chocolate, raspberry, and so many other.
After we would set the cake, repair the airy holes and cover it until it was velour touching.

It is funny as so much as changed since then as now most of the covers come ready and all taste de same, however still very interesting to learn new processes although I doubt how much I will use it.

This is a brazilian technique of marzipan covering and we covered a baby shower cake, an orchid cake and the wedding cake.




THE TRADITIONAL WEDDING CAKE

This is a very traditional cake where we had to use several techniques. The roses were made several days earlier and the big bow was made one day before.
We then moulded the sponge, add the filling , cover the fist layer and then cover it will with the marzipna dough.



Thanks to all the team and hope we can see each other soon at another course.

SACHERTORTE

This weekend I baked!
It was a long time since the last time I made Sachertorte, you really need the time and the patience but it is still my favorite chocolate treat.
This cake was created in 1832 by Franz Sacher after an order from the prince Metternich-Winneburg demanded his young baker to make a dense,compact and «viril» chocolate cake.
It resulted in the most famous cake in Viena and now it is a world famous icon.
The success of this cake depends on the quality of the chocolate, the texture of the dough and apricot jam which gives it a distinctive flavor.
The son of Franz Sacher guarantee that this cake was the most copied in the world but noone could match the original.

Time to prepare: 6- 8 hours
Ingredients to the cake

150grs of Valrohna Chocolate
75grs of egg yokes
175grs of egg whites
120grs of butter at room temperature
150grs flour
20grs of sugar
120grs of powder sugar
vanilla

To the filling
Sugar Syrup
orange liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
apricot jam



Preheat oven to 150 degrees and prepare a mould of 25cms in diameter, grease with butter and sprinkle with flour.
Melt the chocolate in double boiler, whisk the butter, add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until creamy.



Add the yolks one by one, to the preparation of butter, never stop to beat.
Whisk the egg whites, add the sugar and continue whisking for 30 seconds.
Add to the chocolate mixture a little bit of pre-sifted flour and part of the whites. Now, add the butter mix and be careful to incorporate these elements well and slowly and only then add the rest of the flour and whites.


Pour the mixture into the mould and bake the cake. It is cooked when you stick a toothpick in the center and it come out dried.
Turn out and leave until totally cold.
When the cake is cold, make two horizontal cuts in order to obtain three parts.


Moisten the parts with the syrup of sugar (this is made with 100grs sugar , 1dl water, the orange liqueur and bring it to boil until think).
Now, spread the cake with apricot jam and leave at least 3 hours.

Ingredients for the filling
200 grs of dark chocolate (al least 70% cacao)
200 ml of cream

Ingredients for the topping
250 grs of dark chocolate (al least 70% cacao)
250grs of butter at room temperature
30grs of sugar syrup (30º)

Put the cream on a small pan and bring to boil. Let it cool slightly and pour over the chocolate which should already be in pieces. Mix well.
When this mixture is warm add a few drops of liquor. Let mixture stand in refrigerator for a few hours.
When you are ready to use it,take a few seconds on the microwave to get the creamy texture and is easier to work.
Spread the parts with the chocolate cream and start assembling the cake by placing the 3 pieces lined up on top of each other.
Then just place the cake in the refrigerator for 5 hours.

To prepare the cover melt the chocolate and cool it until it is warm and then add the butter and finally the sugar syrup to room temperature.
Remove cake from refrigerator and place on a net with paper under to catch the chocolate that will fall.



Spread the cover one time (PHOTO) , let it set in the cake and repeat the operation several times until the surface is completely smooth.


MAYBE NOW, YOU UNDERSTAND WHY IT TAKES COURAGE TO MAKE THIS CAKE....

News and Movie Precious

I miss writing and I am full of excuses when it comes to sit down and decide on something to write.
This year I have decide to start cleaning some of the items on my "Bucket List" and next monday I start a new "Cake Decoration Course". I am really looking forward to it and will keep you posted on my new adventure.

Life has been pretty nice to me considering the world condition and I guess you just have to face it and fight. This is what where I spend my energies, in getting as much as I can out of my life, working hard to make my world balanced.

News , Bia has lounged her own blog, just starting but I am happy she is slowly getting the pleasure of writing and specially train her English. She writes about women...suddenly I have a women at home!!
http://laceandspice.blogspot.com

Daniel is still fighting to find his way, as sweet as ever, he makes my day with his melancolic eyes.

Little David has come as a blessing and works as my spiritual aid. Thank you God.

Last sunday decided to make a day on the movies and must tell you about PRECIOUS, it was a long time since I felt such a strong pump on my heart. It is a powerfully emotive story filled with hope and optimism.
The story of many young girls that have nothing worth for them to fight for and how a special environement can make them feel part of a world and not just an alien somewhere in the society.
As a mother, I was moved by the story of a mother that repeatedly tells her daughter how stupid and worthless she is and she has become hardened and heartless, lacking education and social skills.
But good things can happen in this world and Precious is blessed with an indomitable spirit that refuses to accept the negative.Through her efforts, and despite resistance from her mother, she finds an alternative school where is she feels part . It is a caring teacher and classmates who, although anything but perfect, possess enough compassion to become supportive friends. It turn out that the world can be a pretty good place.
DO NOT MISS IT!

Glad to be back.