 Spring is here, and even though we are all in quarantine, we can at least enjoy some of the great ingredients that are harvested at this time. In my case are strawberries and asparagus. It always gets a bit tricky to cook the same food for us three, as I am an adult, Pepa, a toddler, and Otis, a baby. So here is how I solve this including a video of it at the end.  As I am writing a book for some months now, one of the things I need to do is to try different kinds of cooking technics. KMB & Braun Household send me the Multiquick7 to try it out. I had a Stabmixer from Braun for 20 years, and it still works as if it was new. But much has changed in technology since 1999. And all the new features that it has made my life (with kids) nowadays easier. Now even more as I make all meals for us three at home.  Making meals for us three could be time-consuming if you can't make them at the same time. So this recipe won't take more time than a conventional method, and it will include a baby meal. What you need for this recipe: A steamer or a steam basket 2 cups strawberries 1 cup of apples in slices 10 asparagus 2 garlic cloves lettuce fresh spinach 1 egg 200 ml of neutral oil a squeeze of lemon juice white vinegar a handful pistachios salt and pepper and a multiQuick7 of course
We start steaming now. Add the apples and 1 cup strawberries in the steamer or a pot with a steam basket. If your baby is 10 months old, you can add 1 asparagus. Add some water and let it steam until the apples are very soft. You can add some cinnamon to the water as well.  For the dressing, you need to make a mayonnaise first. This is super easy with the Multiquick 7. Check the video here or at my IGTV. Put in the glass the egg, oil, lemon, and insert the Multiquick 7 stab. Start blending with the Activeblade all the way down for a while until you see white coming up. Then lift the blade slowly until all is mixed and then push up and down until the consistency is perfect. This takes about a minute, and it is fools-proof. Add some vinegar to it until it reaches a dressing consistency.  Change from the Activeblade to the mini processor and use it to make the pistachios small. You can use any other nuts, but I love how strawberries taste together with pistachios. Heat a pan with some oil and add the chopped garlic. Break the last part of the asparagus stems with your hands and fry them until they are golden and take them off the heat.   By now, the fruits should be done. If your baby has no teeth still, I would use the Activeblade again to make it very smooth, but in my case, I changed to the mashed potatoes accessory and puree it until the fruits were done. Put it aside and let it cool down.  In plates, add the lettuce and spinach, use the rest of the strawberries thinly cut, and the asparagus cut in 3 cm pieces. By now, the baby food will be at room temperature.  The cutest thing I got with this PR package was this lovely bib for Otis... Isn't it the cutest? I drool every time he wears it!
Now we are ready to eat. Add the vinaigrette/dressing over the salad and sprinkle the pistachio dust over it, and you are ready to eat.  As I never get to eat warm, because I need to feed Otis, and sometimes Pepa, at the moment, I am eating a lot of cold foods. This salad tastes delicious warm, or after some time sitting there.  Eating fresh food that has a similar taste to the food that you regularly eat, helps your kid develop the same taste in food as you have. This will help you in the future to avoid "food dramas" and unnecessary "double cooking."
 Otis was a big fan of this food and couldn't get enough, Pepa had the salad and even got to help to feed Otis. This meant one spoon for her and one for him... kids!  Here is a short video of how easy it was to make this spring meal at home using Braun´s Multiquick7. I hope you liked this and you will make it at home. Please tag me in your stories or posts to see how you did! AD/PR Sample
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 Berlin is hot, hot, super hot at the moment. Having a toddler 24/7 and this heat makes me so unproductive and lazy. But as I need to get some things done, I decided to go pick up my new WMF pots in West Berlin with the help of a friend. (He is tall enough to carry the big boxes) But on our way back, we got a bit hungry, so I thought why not make a quick Gazpacho? It was pretty late so my kitchen was kind of dark but still wanted to share this with you.  The main thing about Gazpacho is the ingredients. As they won't be cooked, you have to be sure that you have good quality veggies and your tomatoes should be as ripe as possible. Ingredients: 8 Ripe Tomatoes or 2 cans of 400 gr of shredded tomatoes a handful of cherry tomatoes 1/2 Cucumber 1/2 Paprika or 5 small ones (like in the picture) 2 garlic cloves 1 Shalott 50 ml white wine Vinegar 2 tbsp Olive oil Salt & Pepper Fresh Chives or any other herb  Now it is chopping time. We will be cutting 2 different things: Soup and Topping. Start chopping 1/4 of your cucumber in thin slices and then cut the slices in 4. Do the same with your paprika, cut 1/4 of your paprika in thin stripes and last but not least, cut about the half of your cherry tomatoes in half. Put all these ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle some oil to it and let it rest..  Chop the rest of the ingredients in small dices and add vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes or more (if you have time). Make sure that you mix it well so all the flavours will combine.  Put this mix in a blender until smooth. I like to strain my Gazpacho but not with a very fine sieve, so I actually use my potato press just to remove the seeds. You still feel the vegetables and it isn't that fine. But if you like to have a good old-fashioned Gazpacho, get the whole pure through a very fine sieve. Get your soup in a jar and put it back in the fridge until you will be serving it.  For serving, add a spoon-full of the topping mix and serve the soup over it. I have this vintage hen jar that I had for many many years and I love how it looks when I serve soups from it. With a spoon serve some more topping in the middle and sprinkle olive oil over it. Do not spare on oil! It just makes your soup taste better!  Cut and sprinkle some chives or fresh herbs over your Gazpacho, it gives it a great aroma. Toast some bread and enjoy with Cold Grüner Veltliner or a dry Rosé if you are a fan of Rosé.  All Pictures were Made by Christian Mentzel... I tortured him as art director to see the picture outcome. It was really hard not to be the one making the pictures though ;)
 When I was in Junior High School, we had once a week a cooking class. Mostly all things we prepared were not baked. I remember some dessert or snack called "Sweet Bombs". As a neighbor lent me some flour one day, I decided to make something for him to thank him. And what not better something I can do together with Pepa.  Ingredients: 500 ml Evaporated milk or in German: Condensed Milk 500 gr Sugar 400 gr Butter Cookies 100 gr nuts (optional) a Pinch of Salt  First, start crushing your cookies. You can put them in a bag and smash them, or use a food processor as it is easier, faster and less messy.  I could have bought 250 ml condensed milk, but I like making my food from scratch. The recipe to make condensed milk aka Milch Mädchen is easy but takes a while. Mix the milk and sugar and let it boil.  Let's face it, condensed milk its just a milch marmalade. It is all about boiling and simmering until you have the desired consistency. So turn up the heat until it boils and lower the heat to minimum. Repeat until you can put the milk in a spoon and it doesn't fall from it while moving it. I use a wooden spoon with holes, it works way better. Condensed milk is normally cream colored, but when you make it yourself it turns caramel color... more like dulce de leche.   Once it has cooled down, Mix the cookies, nuts and condensed milk. It will give you a very sticky dough.   Using some nuts or dry hands, make little balls of about 30 grams. Or just make them to the size you want. I like 30 grams cause it is as much I cant it without dying of a sugar coma. You don't need to bake it at all and you can enjoy them right away. Try making these ones with your kids or by yourself. I hope you enjoy this easy old recipe of mine. And be prepared to eat a delicious "Sweet Balls" better together with a coffee or as a snack when you are outside in this cold winter.  |
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AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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