Pickled Red Onions

Pickled Red Onions

These pickled onions are so good on a hotdog or a burger. Skip the raw onions and give these a try, you will not regret it. 

Danes like pickled things. My parents had a large vegetable garden, so my mom pickled a lot of the vegetables. I think most cultures pickle their different crops and even fish and meats to preserve them, for times with less abundance of fresh produce. Nowadays we do not have to preserve our produce, because of the global trading. You will always be able top get fresh strawberries, even in January. In my point of view this makes them less special, and you do not appreciate them as much, when you don't have to wait for the seasons.  From an economical and environmental standpoint, eating local produce when they are in season makes more sense. In a perfect world I would do that, and in my imperfect world I strive to do that.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium red onions

• 1 cup (240 ml) vinegar, I prefer a white vinegar

• 1 cup (200 g) sugar

• 10-15 peppercorn (I used red)

• 2 dried chilies

Directions:

Scald a glass jar and lid with boiling water, set aside. 

Thinly slice the red onions. Place the sliced onions in the glass jar.

Bring the vinegar to a boil, and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the spices and let it come to a boil again. Pour the hot vinegar over the onions until they are covered. Put the lid on, and let the onions cool down, 
Serve the onions on hotdogs, burgers or as a tangy side to your dinner.

Enjoy!

Cloud Eggs

Cloud Egg

Cloud eggs is the new kale/black or whatever the new trend is. So I had to try it. Normally I'm not a big fa of baked eggs. The rubbery texture of baked eggs do not agree with me. So the fluffiness of the cloud eggs could be the solution for a baked egg in my world. Plus adding cheese and ham to the egg, makes it a home run in my book.

Makes 4

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, divided in yolks and whites
• ½ cup (1 dl) grated parmesan
• 4 thinly slices of ham, diced
• chives
• salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450℉ (230℃) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

When I divide the eggs, I place each yolk in its own little prep bowl, making it easier to place the yolks on their own little cloud.

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks. Gently fold in cheese, ham, and season with a little bit salt and pepper. 

Place the 4 mounds of the egg whites, making the mounds so they look like little nests (clouds), with an indentation in the center.

Bake for 3 minutes, and remove from oven. 

Carefully place a yolk in each cloud, sprinkle with a little pepper. Bake for another 3 minutes, until the yolks are just about to set.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of chives on top.

Enjoy!

Homemade Sandwich Bread

Homemade Sandwich Bread

I have missed a great sandwich bread. One with seeds, and some bite to it. Most sandwich bread in stores around here are plain white bread, not worth the calories. 
With all my baking experience, I should have taken the regular bread I bake, into a loaf pan. But apparently I needed another Dane to make this connection for me. Thank you very much Charlotte.

Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

• 500 ml lukewarm water

• 5 g yeast (1 teaspoon dry yeast)

• 50 g flaxseeds

• 50 g rolled oats

• 70 g sunflower seeds

• 3 teaspoons salt

• 100 g whole wheat flour

• 425 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, the dough should be on the wetter side. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 4-6 hours. Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface and fold the dough into it self and shape a loaf. Place the loaf in a greased dish, sprinkle with flour and let it raise covered for another 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500℉ (250℃), with your loaf pan inside.

Gently pour the dough into the hot loaf pan, put a lid (made of foil) on the pan, and bake the loaf covered for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake the bread for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Let the loaf cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy!

Spicy Thai Inspired Barley Salad

Spicy Thai Inspired Barley Salad

What's for dinner tonight? The daily pressure to come up with a tasty, healthy option. Even though I have a Food Blog, I DO get surprised, that we need to have dinner every night. And I do tend to grab to the 5-8 easiest and well-known dishes or even take-out. I know choking, right?

One of my Facebook friends posted a Thai Pork salad from NY Times, and this inspired me to create this dish. And WOW - we loved it. The different texture and flavors worked perfectly. This one is a keeper in my house.
If you're not big on spicy food, just add a small amount of chili, so you only tickle your tastebuds.

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin

Marinade/dressing:

• 2 serrano chilies

• handfull cilantro + stems

• 5 scallions

• 3 limes, zest & juice

• 6 garlic cloves

• 2-inch fresh ginger

• 4-5 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 5 tablespoons soy sauce

• 5 tablespoons grape seed oil

• ½ teaspoon salt

Salad:

• ½ green cabbage, thinly sliced

• 5 scallions, chopped

• 1 serrano chili, julienned

• 3 carrots, in thin peels

• 1-2 cups pearl barley grain, cooked and cooled

• 1 handful cilantro, chopped

• 10 mint leaves, chopped

• a small handful roasted peanuts

Directions

Trim off the silver skin from the tenderloin and pat the trimmed tenderloin dry with paper towel. In a blender combine soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and zest, shallots, cilantro, half the sugar, garlic, ginger, chiles and salt. Purée until smooth. Save half of the mixture for the dressing, add the rest of the sugar to the dressing, and set aside. Marinate the pork in the rest of the mixture in an airtight container over night.  

Preheat the oven to 320 ℉ (160℃).

Sear the pork in a ovenproof skillet, and roast it in the oven until meat reaches an internal temperature of 150℉ (65℃), about 20-25 minutes. Let meat rest while you prepare the salad. 

In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients, reserving the herbs and nuts.

Whisk the dressing and use just enough to dress the salad.  Let the salad sit for a few minutes for the flavors to blend, then right before serving, add herbs, nuts and maybe some more dressing.

Serve the salad with the sliced pork on top, sprinkle with some more nuts.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls or snegle are a classic in many countries. And for good reason. They taste fantastic. Sweet, soft with the right amount of  cinnamon, Yum yum yum.

In Denmark this type of cinnamon rolls are called Onsdagssnegle (Wednesday Snails) if they are made in size XXL. Acutely they are often bigger than a DVD. Personally I like the smaller ones, they have a better cinnamon to bread ratio.  The snail part might not sound particularly delicious, but it is referring to the shape of the cake, the swirl of the snails shell. 

Makes 20-24.

Ingredients:

• 50 g live yeast ( 4 teaspoons dry yeast)

• 175 g butter, salted

• 500 ml milk

• 175 g sugar

• 2 teaspoons cardamom

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 200 g whole wheat flour

• 600-650 g all-purpose flour

filling:

• 150 g butter, salted, room temperature

• 100 g brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Frosting:

• confectionary sugar

• water or lemon juice

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Warm the milk in a saucepan until finger-warm, remove pan from the heat. Melt the butter in the warm milk. Crumble the yeast into the warm milk and stir to dissolve. 

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients, and knead the dough for 3 minutes, to form an elastic dough. 

Let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size. . 

Mix the filling and set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll it to a large rectangle (16x16 inches/40x40 cm).

Spread the filling in a thin layer onto the dough, leaving a thin edge closest to your self, without filling.

Roll the dough into a large log, pinching edges together to seal. Cut the log into 20-24 slices. Grease sides and bottom of a baking pan.

Place the slices fairly close together. Cover and leave to rise for another 40-50 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 425℉ (220℃). 

Bake the rolls for 10-14 minutes until golden brown. 

Leave them to cool in the pan. 

Frost the cinnamon rolls before serving.

Enjoy!