the big spring cleaning followed by a big artichoke dinner

Yes, March seems to become a "food" month, I'm aware of it. But  anyway, the weather was so bad until now, so grey, that I didn't feel like going out.  I felt like staying  at home, playing Mozart quartets, cooking, waiting for the sun... April will be more "outdoor", I promise!

And coming to the artichokes; we cooked them as a whole and ate them with a yoghurt dip. So yummy!

How to cook and eat whole artichokes:

Rinse  the artichokes in running cold water. In a large pot, put water , a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, a bay leaf and salt. Add the artichokes. Bring to boil and let it simmer until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off.

The dip: yoghurt, salt, pepper, lemon, olive oil and fresh herbs, like chopped chives and parsley, mixed together.

Once cooked, pull off outer petals, one at a time.
Dip fleshy end in the sauce. Grip the other end of the petal, place in mouth and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy,delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal. Continue until all petals are removed.
With a spoon scrape out the fuzzy part covering the heart of the artichoke. The remaining bottom is the heart. Dip it into the sauce and eat.  Enjoy!

Crossover Lentil Soup

My everyday cooking for lunch often develops like this: " Hm, it feels like soup today "(you may exchange the soup for vegetable, fish, polenta or salad, whatever my stomach suggests to my brain or vice versa).
Next I  look for the necessary ingredients while reminiscences of recipes start dancing in my mind. The Thai-Vinaigrette?  Or  a mixture of China spices and white wine?  Should I browse  the  "The Modern Vegetarian" for inspiration which is my favourite cookbook right now? Or should I pestle some of the exotic pinecone shaped pepper I got for Christmas?

As to the lentil soup of the picture I first cooked the lentils with greens- the traditional way. Thereafter I switched over to the intuitive part -  the seasoning and tasting with crossover-surprise-ingredients. So my recipe will be structured in a precise part and in a playful one. The measures of the second part will be only approximate!!!

Hope you'll love your own very special result!

Traditional part:

250 g            lentils
a bunch of    greens without the celery
2                   tomatoes, chopped
1                   onion, chopped
2 l                 water

Cook the lentils for about half an hour until smooth. The exact time varies depending on the sort of lentils and if you have soaked them before or not.


Intuitive part:
Add to the so far traditional lentil soup

Soy sauce                      start with 4 tbs
olive oil                        2 tbs
Balsamico Creme          4 tbs; maybe more: the lentils require a lot of acidity
ginger                           a small piece  (1-2cm), grated
white wine                    a glass; with the help of the wine I washed the ginger off the grater
China spice mixture       1 tbs, pestled
Long pepper                  4; pestled together with the China spices. Long pepper tastes very similar to
                                      normal black pepper, maybe a bit warmer. Just replace it in case you don't
                                     store  the long version...
turmeric                         a pinch of
Tabasco sauce                a few dashes
                                    
salt , pepper , more soy sauce, more balsamico vinegar...????

Homemade Pizza Ten Cheeses... or maybe eleven?

Sunday - the perfect day to prepare  homemade  pizza! Everybody loves it and its so easy to prepare!

Well, lets see what fridge and basement have to offer: red bell peppers, onions, olives, no Mozzarella - but instead plenty of cheese -  goat, cow, sheep, and of course, flour and tomatos.


So follow the images to find out how it is made:

The dough (for 2 baking trays):

400 g                   flour

1 sachet               dry yeast

a pinch of            paprika powder

1 tbs                    whole cane sugar

a pinch of            pepper

1/2 ts                   salt

300 ml                 lukewarm water

Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough until smooth. Let it repose for half an hour.

Roll out with a rolling pin for 2 baking trays. Put it on the trays.

The tomato sauce:

750g                    tomatos, peeled and chopped

1/2 ts                   paprika powder

1/2 ts                   whole cane sugar

                            pepper, oregano and thyme , a pinch of each

                            salt

Cook without cover until the sauce starts to be creamy. Let it cool down and spread it on the dough.

Slice the onions, the bell peppers and the cheese and arrange it generously over the tomato pizza.

Add olives and whatever more you find in the kitchen.

Put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 225°C.

Enjoy!