Pumpkin Pudding

It’s pumpkin time and this recipe is an easy way for a tasty recipe and yummy dessert.

I used fresh pumpkin from the garden, which I previously baked und the microwave (10 minutes at max) and blended after cooling down.

How to prepare caramel sauce directly into the mold; Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease your mold with butter. Scatter 50 g brown sugar to the baking dish and 2 tablespoons butter spreading evenly. Place in the oven until you see it begins to turn lightly darker. Remove from the oven and whisk shortly. Return to the oven and continue to bake a few minutes until a brown color is reached (be careful, do not burn it). Let cool in the mold.

• Servings: 12
• Time: 30 min working time + 45 min baking time
• Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients:

• 

• Butter or margarine for the mold
• 4 tablespoons caramel sauce for the mold (quantity to taste)
• 500 g pumpkin puree
• 75 ml olive oil
• 100 g flour
• 20 g conrnstarch
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (quantity to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon gingerbread spices (quantity to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Preparation:

1. Prepare the baking mold: grease with the butter or margarine and pour the caramel sauce
2. In a big bowl blend very well all the ingredients together.
3. Pour the ingredients in the prepared baking mold
4. Bake in the oven at 170°C for 45 minutes or until golden.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool down completely.
6. Invert on a plate for serving.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

Chicken with Cashew Nuts Stir Fry

In Thailand you will find many different versions of this popular dish, which turned into one of the most favourite dishes for travellers.

Weekday recipe with wow effect!

This recipe may serve you as a suggestion.

I love crunchy ingredients, for this reason I opted to set aside the cashew and the roasted onions and combine them to the chicken just before serving. On the other hand the chicken turned out very soft and incredible delicious.

A few ideas of possible additions: roasted broccoli florets, bok choy,  peas, oyster sauce (for the sauce) and orange juice.

• Servings: 3-4
• Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

For the marinade:

• 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon roasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon dried pink pepper
• ½ tablespoon ginger, grated

Other ingredients:

• 400 g chicken breast, sliced
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 100 g raw cashew nuts
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 2 big sweet onions, thinly sliced (I got some purple ones)
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1 cm pieces
• 1 dry or fresh chili, thinly sliced (quantity to taste)
• 100 ml water
• Additional light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste
• Sliced green onion

Procedure:

1. In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients for the marinade.
2. Toss the chicken well into the marinade and set aside for 10 minutes. Then add the cornstarch and toss well again.
3. In a dry skillet roast the cashew and place them aside in a small plate
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the onion, the pepper and the chili at high temperature for 2-3 minutes. Set aside in another plate.
5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoon of oil and stir fry the marinated chicken until it changes the lightly browned.
6. Add the water, stir well until a thick sauce is formed and adjust to your taste with additional soy sauce, salt and pepper.
7. Add reserved onion, red pepper and roasted cashew nuts. Stir well quickly.
8. Top with green onion and serve immediately

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/  

Risotto ai Fiori di Zucca – Pilaf with Zucchini Flowers

If you have some zucchini or pumpkin flowers in your garden, do not hesitate to try this delicate pilaf (risotto) dish perfect for a main dish or for a side dish. The colourful and tasty combination with tomatoes and parsley makes this dish very attractive, elegant and special. It is not difficult to prepare a good risotto, but you need to choose the correct rice and not to skip the roasting procedure, add the wine and then add the boiling liquid (usually broth) in small portions. As rice, we suggest following varieties: Arborio, Carnaroli, Roma or Vialone. Carolina, Asian or other similar “dry” rice kinds are not suitable for a good risotto.

• Servings: 4
• Time: 40 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 4 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cup rice for risotto
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups vegetal broth, quantity to be adjusted
• 2 tomatoes, diced in small pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 8 zucchini or pumpkin flowers, only petals in strips
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons flat parsley, chopped
• 1 lemon zest, grated
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese or to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a wide, but deep enough pot heat the oil and fry on medium heat the onion until translucent.
2. Add the rice and roast it for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant.
3. Add the wine, reduce temperature immediately and add the 2 cups of broth. Let simmer and stir from time to time adding more broth when the liquid is almost adsorbed.
4. When the rice is almost done (after about 15-18 minutes) add the tomatoes and the flowers. Stir well.
5. When the rice is done, but not too soft, remove from heat, add garlic, parsley, lemon zest, butter and cheese. If necessary, adjust with salt and pepper.
6. Serve immediately as well as some more grated cheese if you wish.

Notes:

• You may also add (together with the first to cups of broth) one small chopped zucchini
• For a smoother risotto you may add 1/2 tablespoon flower together with the rice and roast them together.
• You may also add some ricotta or some heavy cream just before the rice is done.
• I like to add one dash of white wine one minute before the rice is done.

Autor: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/

Looking Back to Stay at Home or In the Garden: Safety Net

After 6 Weeks of “stay at home” the life is slowly changing and the rules are less strict.

Compared to other countries we (in Switzerland) cannot complain: we were allowed to go out for walking, for shopping and to meet people (maximum group of 5 items).

We have to be careful and we will change the recommendation of “stay at home” to “stay safe”, this will be our safety net.

“Stay save” and “stay positive”!

Spider Net with sunlight and dark background:

Stay at home posts: https://artandkitchen.wordpress.com/category/nature/stayhome/

Stay at Home = Stay in the Kitchen

Stay in the Garden = Enjoy the Nature

Day 42 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Yellow Roses

Yellow scented roses on the wall of our garden for our eyes, for our nose and for our hearth!  🙂

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Day 41 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Deaf Adder

Even a small pond of little more than a square meter is like a small universum. We discovered an unexpected guest in our mini-paradise. the deaf adder (Anguis fragilis).

Every year we saw a few deaf adder here or there, but we never saw them disappearing under the roots of our yellow iris around the pond.

These legless lizards (no snake or worm, please) are also sometimes called common slowworms,  blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple.

These reptiles are mostly active during the twilight and occasionally bask in the sun, but are more often found hiding beneath rocks and logs. They are carnivorous and, because they feed on slugs and worms, they can often be found in long grass and other damp environments (in our case near the pond).

Useful links:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/anguis-fragilis

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anguis_fragilis/

Day 30 Stay at Home or In the Garden: On and in the Water

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It was time to arrange a little bit the garden and the almost abandoned pond came out to light again and, now after 4 weeks almost without rain, it needed the addition of some fresh water.

It was a more than pleasant surprise to see how much life we could notice on and in the water; the alpine newts are my favourites. I hope I will learn how to catch a few more pics of them.

Day 26 Stay at Home or In the Garden: Sunset and Cherry Blossom

A few spectacular minutes I would love to share!:  Sunset behind the fully blooming cherry tree!  🙂

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Day 16: Stay at Home or In the Garden: Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight

The winter came back and brought us snow again. It was cold all the daylong.

During the afternoon the sun came from time to time trough until finally in the evening another spectacular sunset remembered that tomorrow a new day with more sun will bring us the spring and the HOPE again.

In Matthew 16:2b–3, Jesus says:

When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.”
And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.”

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Day 13: Stay at Home or In the Garden: Dandelion and Bee

 

Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. Dandelions are a group of flowering plants that grow in many parts of the world. They are also known as Taraxacum spp., though Taraxacum officinale is the most common species. You may be most familiar with dandelions as a stubborn weed that never seems to leave your lawn or garden. Gardeners either want them in the yard or they don’t, and both sides are correct.

Dandelions are also know for many culinary uses. They are high in vitamins and the leaves are good in salads, the taproot can be ground into a coffee substitute, the flowers make wine and with the addition of sugar, some people make a honey-substitute. However, be careful, not all dandelions are suitable for cooking.

In keep in our garden ad beehive, flowering fruit plants and big bright dandelions with almost no bees. At the moment I can imagine that flours are so abundant that bees prefer other flowers than dandelions; it was not so easy to find and take a picture of bees over dandelions, but at least a few of them discovered these flowers. When cherries blossoms, apple blossoms… dandelions will turn more attractive for bees.

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