Passionfruit Curd

Passionfruit Curd

We have a thing for anything passionfruit in my house. So every time I find passionfruits in my grocery store, I have to buy some.

This delicious curd can be used in cakes, on pancakes, crepes and on ice cream. 

Makes about a cup.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 60 ml (¼ cup) passionfruit juice, without seeds
• 100 g (½ cup) sugar
• 70 g (5 tablespoons) butter, cold and lightly salted

Directions:

Whisk yolks, passionfruit juice and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, until 160℉ (71℃).

Remove from heat. Add the butter, a little at a time, stirring until smooth. 

Strain the curd through a sieve into a bowl. 

Cover with some plastic wrap pressing it against the custard so it won't form a skin. Chill the curd completely in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight Oatmeal

I have been wanting to make this for the longest time. Why it has taken me so long, I do not know. This is an easy, delicious, and healthy breakfast, to just grab and go in the morning. So, so much better than classic warm oatmeal. The overnight oatmeal will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The longer it sit, the more soggy it will become. I always make overnight oats for 2 days. 

You can change this up in so many ways. Overnight Oats pretty much have no rules, you can use whatever you like. But as a rule of thumb use twice as much liquid as oats. If you do not add any thickening seeds like chia or flax seed, use a little less liquid.

Liquid: You can use pretty much any kind of milk you prefer, but if you use a sweetened milk, you might have to skip adding any additional sweetener. For a tangier flavor you can use or add buttermilk or thinned yogurt. 

Seeds: I personally like flax seeds in my overnight oats, but you can use chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or again use your favorite seeds.

Sweeteners & spices: I use brown sugar in my overnight oats but feel free to use maple syrup, honey or whatever you like. Spices give you more flavor options. Use vanilla, cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa or cardamom or keep it plain and simple.                                                                                   

Toppings: I like to have fresh berries or fruit and chopped nuts as topping. But yet again it's all up to you. By adding cocoa nibs you get good texture and a chocolaty flavor for a new twist.

Makes 1 portion.

Ingredients:

Oatmeal:

• ½ cup (45 g) old-fashioned oats

• 1 cup (240 ml) milk

• 2 tablespoons seeds (like flax, chia, pumpkin, sunflower)

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1 pinch salt

• 1 pinch lemon zest

Topping:

• chopped almonds and pistachios

• mixed berries and/or fruit.

• a drizzle of honey

Directions:

Mix the ingredients for the oatmeal in a maison jar or another sealable container, stir it well. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 8 hours. 

Stir the oatmeal, heat it or not, and add the toppings of your linking. 

Enjoy!

Cheesy Dinner Rolls

Cheesy Dinner Rolls

I finally got back to baking. I love baking bread, love working with dough. So getting back to baking makes me happy. One can call bread baking my happy place.

Yesterday was a rainy day here in Northern California. I was planing to make soup, and needed to have a good healthy dinner roll to serve with the soup. Thats why I whipped up this cheesy dinner roll, filled with good seeds and fibers. I used blue cheese in mine because, I had it in my refrigerator, but feel free to use any semi-hard cheese in yours. 

Makes 12 rolls.

Ingredients:

• 375 ml lukewarm water
• 30 g live yeast (2¼ teaspoon dry yeast)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 350-375 g all-purpose flour
• 150 g whole wheat flour
• 100 g mixed seeds (I used rolled oats, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 40 ml olive oil
• 200 g blue cheese

Topping:

• egg wash
• mixed seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl (the one for the stand mixer) dissolve (live yeast) sprinkle (dry yeast) over the warm water. If using dry yeast, add the sugar, this will help to wake up the yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, and stir until just combined. Let the dough rest for about 10-15 minutes. This lets the flour absorb all the water completely, and helps activate the natural enzymes in the flour, and improves the gluten development in the dough.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the dough and knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes, until elastic, add more flour if the dough gets to sticky. 

Let the dough rise for about 60 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Pour the dough unto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in 16-18 balls. Insert a piece of the cheese into each ball, and make sure to close the dough completely, to prevent any leakage.   Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet a few inches apart. 

Let the rolls rise for another 30-40 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).  

Brush the rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with mixed seeds. Toss about a cup of water in the bottom of the oven when you have put the rolls in the oven, quickly closing the oven door. This will produce steam, and give a better rise to the rolls.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until deep golden brown.

Let the rolls cool on a wire rack. 

Serve the rolls with dinner.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year

Pistachio kransekage.

True to the Danish tradition we have champagne and kransekage at midnight. This year we started the new year celebration with my native Denmark, at 3 pm in California, testing a new color champagne. 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog through out the year. It really warms my heart when you leave kind and constructive comments on my posts. This make me feel like a make a difference in the big community called the Internet.
I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2017.

Happy New Year!

Pistachio kransekage

Make 8-10 cakes.

Ingredients:

Kransekage:

• 50 g raw pistachios

• 100 g sugar

• 1 egg white

• 250 g marzipan

Icing:

• confectionary (powdered) sugar

• hot water

Directions:

Put pistachios and sugar into food processor with the steel blade in place and process until finely pulverized. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Be careful not to heat the mass to more than 95 - 104°F, else the egg white will cook. 

Shred the marzipan and add it and the pistachio/egg white mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat it until it's completely smooth and free of lumps. Form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven for 375℉ (190℃).

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your finger, and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Press the top part, making a top. 

Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.  Allow to cool completely before icing them.

Enjoy!

Lammerullepølse - Lamb spiced cold cut

Lammerullepølse - Lamb spiced cold cut

Rullepølse is a traditional cold cut made in the Scandinavian countries. In Denmark you normally make rullepølse from pork belly, but you can pretty much make it from the meat of your choice. 

When we had the big family lunches at my Godmothers house we always got a lamb version of Rullepølse. I really liked the delicate taste, so here is my take on the Lamb rullepølse. 

Makes 1 rullepølse.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1½  kg (2-3 pound) lamb belly or boneless leg of lamb
• 3-4 tablespoons coarse sea salt
• ½ teaspoon sodium nitrite (food grade) optional*
•  

Spice blend:

• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 3 teaspoons freshlycoarsely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2-3 packets (21 g) gelatine

Cooking broth:

• water, to cover
• 2-3 teaspoons salt
• 10-15 whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Direction:

If you are using a leg of lamb, you need to cut the meat into a large rectangle about ⅕ inch (1 cm) thick.  

Cut off any large chunks of fat, but don't make it too lean. Trim the ends so they are straight.  Trim any really thick places if that side is too thick when you roll it up. Lay the lamb flat on a cutting board and sprinkle salt and sodium nitrite all over. Fold the meat up, and place it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. 

Rinse the meat, and pat it dry with paper towel. Lay the meat flat on a cutting board, and sprinkle it with ⅓ of the gelatin powder. Spread the chopped onion on top. Sprinkle a good amount of pepper and allspice blend on top, ending with the rest of the gelatin. 

Carefully roll or fold up the meat into a large sausage. Use cooking twine to tie the meat up all the way.

Bring water to a boil, and place the rullepølse in the water with salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. Cook the rullepølse for 1½-2 hours at a simmer. 

When cooked, place the rullepølse in a press. If you do not have a rullepølse press you can use two loaf pans and tie it up hard with more twine. Put the rullepølse in a large ziplock bag and into the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Remove the twine, and slice the rullepølse in thin slices, and serve it on rye bread or another good bread, as an open faced sandwich.

Enjoy!

*Sodium nitrite makes the rullepølse keep the pinkish color