Mohnschnecken, with a simple quark dough

For someone who likes to cook, I know very little about the basics of cooking. I mean I do know how to cook, but when it comes to classic recipes, the foundation of many other recipes, I am rather ignorant. Until a few weeks ago I have never made a Bechamel sauce, even though it is not actually hard to make. But when I wanted to make a lasagna with the left over (vegetarian) sauce bolognese I had to face my fear, because that is what is really keeping myself from making those things, and dive right in. (And obviously, it did no fail and was really easy to make.)
Other things I just had never heard of until recently, like the German Quarkölteig I found when I googled recipes for Mohnschnecken to figure out what type of dough enrobed the poppy seed filling in the poppy seed snails Katie had in Berlin.

So I stumbled onto a very easy dough, called Quarkölteig in German. Quark is a very creamy cheese that is very common in Europe, at least in Switzerland, Germany and as far as I know in the Eastern countries, too. It is commonly called a cheese, but I always thought of it as a very thick and creamy yogurt. I suspect the quark could be substituted with sour cream, but since I just learned about the dough myself, I have tried it only once and cannot actually speak from experience.
Working with the Quarkölteig is pretty easy. It comes together really quickly, just a quick whisk then a little more stirring and a short knead. After resting in the fridge for 15 minutes, it is ready to be used.

The texture of the dough is really silky and soft, almost like a cookie dough that has not been refrigerated enough.
Rolled out, with the help of quite a bit of extra flour to keep the soft dough from sticking, this dough is the perfect vehicle for probably just about any filling. I guess it would be great for cinnamon rolls, too.

But today, I wanted to give the Mohnschnecken that Katie posted a try. Strangely enough, even though I was in Berlin only a few months before Katie I never saw/noticed these Mohnschnecken in any bakery. And up until today, I had never given poppy seeds a second thought, perhaps sprinkling them on some type of  baked good, for the looks, but actually savoring them? Not until now.
Turns out, I really love these poppy seed rolls. As I write this, I have actually eaten three four already, and am desperately looking for someone to come over to share them with or I might actually eat them all myself  before Michael comes back from work.
And now that I tried that Quark dough, the next thing I need to give a try is the laminated dough Katie made for her Mohnschnecken.

Hazelnut Maple Cookies

It is almost two years ago that I started this blog and shared the first recipe with you. I started the blog because I needed somewhere to talk about food where I would not annoy the heck out of Michael. According to him, there are many things to talk about that are a lot more interesting than what to cook for dinner, and lunch the next day, and what cookies to make inbetween.
I can totally understand that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for thinking about cooking and talking about it, too.
What I did not anticipate back then was the joy I would get from playing with the design of this site. If you don't just read this in Google Reader, as I do with many blogs, you may have noticed that I have changed quite a few things over those two years, and you have my latest redesign before you right now. (That would be the time to come on over from Google Reader to check it out). If you visited the blog in the last few days, and on certain days during those two years that I worked on the design, you might have noticed a too large header sticking out into the blog posts, buttons in strange places or just generally parts of the blog missing.

Let's just say I haven't figured out how to do those things smoothly. I have long stopped worrying when that happens and learnt to use Photoshop quickly to fix things that went wrong.
I hope you like the new design, and I guess now that I made everything to my liking, it will actually stay this way for a long time. (no more misplaced headers in the future, yay!)
To celebrate, I made cookies for you and me. Nutty non-bake cookies that are really quickly mixed together in a food processor, rolled into balls, flattened, frozen and then enjoyed with a warm cup of tea. And I tell myself that since they are vegan and glutenfree, and only require a little maple syrup instead of sugar, they are healthy-ish.

Jasmine Tea Muffins with White Chocolate

For the last few days I felt like I needed to unplug in the evening. When I lived alone, I did not mind spending the evening on the computer, being online and reading blog posts, but lately, with my boyfriend in the other room, the door half closed, it felt wrong. It felt so disconnected. So instead we went on a walk through the snow that fell last weekend. We watched a movie we wanted to see for quite some time. We sat in the kitchen and read. It felt right, being closer physically and emotionally.
I am still figuring out when to fit in blogging and reading now, perhaps lugging my laptop into the kitchen or his room when I do, to at least be less isolated.
Because while I feel the need to connect in real life, I also want to be here, to read what other bloggers create, to have some place to share what is on my mind and on my plate.

For now, let me share an adaption of one of the recipes I posted here about a year ago. I loved the Jasmine Tea Muffins I made then, but never tried them in a normal size version and so never updated the post from back then.
I adapted the recipe slightly, adding in a little xanthan gum since I usually find eggless muffins not quite sturdy enough. I happen to have it at home, but I guess it is not an ingredient you might have on hand, so you can just leave it out, too.

Pistachio Cantuccini

My father's 50th birthday is coming up, and organizing and preparing the food for his party is my pleasure/task. I did the same last year for my mother, and it was great fun, but lots of work, too. I did not go the easiest route, and ended up spending nearly two days in the kitchen, preparing all sorts of appetizers.
My parents and I decided early on to keep the food mainly Italian, although we are not really strict about it, though you wont find Middle Eastern mezze on the table this Sunday. We are going to buy all sorts of cheeses and cured meat, and then I plan on making a variety of crostini, and a few other things.

Where we run into a problem was dessert. The problem is my parents fridge, to be exact. I don't know how many bottles of Prosecco are going to be stored in there, plus theres beer and maybe white wine, too.
This leaves little room for other things, which kind of makes choosing desserts difficult.
One of the things I already prepared for Sunday are these Pistachio Cantuccini. They are Italian, can be kept at room temperature and are quite easy to prepare. And they should appeal to all those coffee drinking folks my father invited.

Strawberry Peach Scones

My little sister is on her way to visit me, to help me pack my life together and move and just spend the day together.
It's a funny thing, having brothers and sisters. I am the oldest of four, two boy and two girls, just as if my parents had perfectly planned it; each child three years after the one that came before.
As I grew up I had lots of fights with my brother, we hit each other hard and fought over toys, until we moved and we got rooms of our own, with enough space between us to live without fighting. Only recently have we become closer again, and only now have I found the unique quality that is in the friendship between brothers and sisters.
Seeing them grow from the kids they once were into the persons they are now is truly amazing, I can only imagine how this must feel for a mother, not just a sister.

So to get to spend time with my sister today is great, and in between packing and decluttering I found time to make these scones for us to eat while we paint my bed.
I have seen different recipes for scones with summer fruit in them recently, and took a few ideas I saw and combined them in this recipe.
Ever since I spent time in Ireland (Oh Galway I miss you) I have loved scones. Scones for me equate calm and fun times, reflecting the time I had in Galway. Mixing in summer fruit makes them even better, though. Scones can be a bit dry when not totally fresh, juicy fruit packed in the middle can fix this easily.
These scones were really easy to throw together, the only flaw of baked goods in summer is the heat the oven generates. They are worth it, though.

Malted Coffee Cake Muffins

I'll be moving in a few weeks. Right now, the exact date is not yet clear, but I know it is approaching quickly. I feel the need to let go of a few things in this move. Right now, my room is too stuffed with things. I need some space to breath, to be able to work more focused and freely. It is the same with my kitchen. My pantry is full, and my boyfriend always jokes about me having enough food on hand to survive a war. I don't want to be this person, having bags over bags of grains and legumes and flours as if I awaited this "next war".
These muffins were created in an attempt to use up some things I have in my pantry. They use some of the stranger flours I have and the malt powder I bought a while ago. I grew up drinking Ovoltine, and really, these malted muffins taste a bit like it in muffin form. But better. They are only lightly sweet because you replace some of the sugar with malt powder and they have a crackly top.

Apple Rhubarb Crumble

 Last week I went out one evening, to drink some micro brew beer and meet some friends. At some point in the evening we talked about one guy we all know. He got married last fall and started working for a Swiss bank (in a low position, but with still a high wage compared to our student wages). Two guys in our group thought of him as being successful, while I silently disagreed.

To me, in my situation, this would mean failure (and I really don't want to step on any ones toes here, I am just speaking of myself. I love my independence.). And since this conversation I could not stop thinking about success, and what it means to different people.

I don't have a definite answer even for myself, as I see my definition of success change with my changing lifestyle, but these are a few ideas I came up with.

♥ Doing work that has a purpose.
♥ Earning enough money to be able to live comfortably.
♥ Working not too much, so I can enjoy this comfortable life.
♥ Putting thought and effort into the small things, because ultimately they are what makes us happy.
♥ Having honest and open relationships with friends and family.
♥ And right now, making a delicious crumble with things I have on hand.

But before I share this recipe with you, what do you consider success? 

Cappuccino Muffins

It seems that half of the food blogosphere is moving, and I am, too. Soon I'm going to leave this little apartment I lived in for two and a half years.

After thinking and talking about it for some time, I decided to move in with my boyfriend. It's exciting, I'm a bit nervous, but so looking forward to it. The new apartment will be less dark, with beautiful hardwood floor in the two bedrooms, a bigger kitchen, an even smaller fridge.

To celebrate, I brought you these Cappuccino Muffins. They could also be called Irish Coffee Muffins, if you decide to pour some whisky over the tops of the muffins. Then they would be totally appropriate to eat today, St. Patrick's Day. But really, make them any day of the year, not just today, and celebrate love with me. Because I am really happy today. (And so close to crying right now, I don't know what happens with me, I'm becoming more and more sentimental it seems)

Black Sesame and Pear Muffins

They are delicious, what is in them? - my boyfriend asked?
I always make him guess - I love this little game, it almost makes me feel like a child, at the same time hoping that he finds out and that he doesn't.

Poppy seeds, he said. I knew he would say that and that made me even happier. No poppy seeds in these muffins.

Apples, his second guess. Wrong again. I have a big smile on my face. I want to tell him, but at the same time I want him to find out. But he doesn't. I tell him, happy to have made something unusual, excited about all the possibilities in baking and cooking.

The Surprise Ingredients were Black Sesame and Pear, mixed in with some butter, brown sugar and the other suspects. They are really good, but what I love even more about them is that they make people pause and ask questions.