Archive for August, 2007

Spaghetti with anchovies, capers, chili, and olives

August 29, 2007 at 6:14 pm · Filed under cooking, food, pasta

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

Saludos! Today, H’s favourite football team Valencia is in the country. Beinvenido! Valencia will play against a Swedish football team in Borås in a few hours. Viva Valencia! In conjunction with this game, the Scandinavian fans of Valencia will also be formally organized. Ole!

Today’s biggest event is, of course, H’s birthday. Feliz cumpleanos! The events regarding Valencia are like gifts showered upon him from heaven. Icing on the cake. Cheese on the pizza. Strawberris on the vanilla ice cream. Parmesan on the spaghetti. Delicioso!

Speaking of spaghetti, if you love capers, olives, anchovies, and garlic, then pasta alla puttanesca is a wonderful treat for you. I had tried putanesca before but never made it myself. I re-discovered it while browsing through my Italian recipe booklets to look for easy- and quick-to-prepare meals for my lunchbox.

Here is the recipe for 4 portions taken from the complimentary recipe booklet from Zeta products (my reward for hanging out in groceries and taking a lot of time to shop).

  • 2 cans whole tomatoes
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh red chili pepper, chopped
  • .5 decilitre olive oil
  • 4 pieces anchovies in oil, chopped
  • 140 grams olives with garlic
  • 2 tablespoons medium-sized capers
  • 400 grams spaghetti
  • 2 tablespoons parsley (flat leaves), chopped
  1. Drain the tomatoes and chop them in small pieces.
  2. Saute the garlic and chili pepper in olive oil in a casserole for 2-3 minutes. However, do not saute them brown.
  3. Add the tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and capers. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Mix every now and then.
  4. In another casserole, cook the spaghetti al dente in water with salt. Follow the instructions in the package.
  5. When the spaghetti is done, drain and wash with cold water to stop the cooking process.
  6. Pour the drained spaghetti in the sauce.
  7. Sprinkle chopped parsely on top and serve.

Fresh tomatoes can be used instead of the canned ones. An expensive alternative so save it until tomatoes are in abundance that they’re almost free.

Since H would rather starve than have olives, capers, and anchovies, he is not missing anything at Maggan’s kitchen while he is cheering for Valencia with his Valencia-mates. I promised him that I would make Italian meatballs before the week ends.

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Berry french toast topped with mascarpone

August 25, 2007 at 6:11 pm · Filed under cooking, dessert, food, fruits

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

Nick is back. On his first day, he made a pasta dish, fish dish, and dessert. Appetizer, main course, and dessert. The dessert made the strongest impression on me.

French toast with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and topped with mascarpone. Easy to do and lovely to look at. Just by looking, I knew it was delish.

Nick put a handful of berry mix in a small casserole with a little sugar. He cooked them in low heat for a few minutes until the sugar melted and the berries became soft but still recognizable. He mixed the berries with a spoon every now and then ensuring that they didn’t stick to the pan.

For the french toast, Nick sliced some country bread. Dipped them in whipped egg and thereafter in dessicated grated coconut. He then fried the bread slices coated with egg and coconut in butter in low heat. 2-3 minutes each side.

When the toasts were done, he laid them on a plate and topped them with a spoonful of the warm and sweetened berry mixture. Visualizing a plate of this french toast is enough to make my mouth water and initiate my digestion. Ooops, I’m drooling!

For the final step, Nick put a heaping spoon of mascarpone on top of the berries which where on top of the french toast. I have to do this. Most likely next weekend. I’m feeling deja vu here. I said the exact same thing about pizza some weeks ago.

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Teapot–my latest kitchen buy

August 24, 2007 at 10:56 pm · Filed under drinks, gadgets

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

During Jo’s early years, she learned a song about a teapot. She learned it with choreography which made it fun and easy to remember.

I’m a little teapot short and stout

Here is my handle (Jo placed one hand on the hip to imitate the handle), and here is my spout (Jo raised the other hand in the air to imitate the spout)

When I get all steamed up then I shout

Tip me over and pour me out (Jo leaned to the side where the arm was raised).

Last week, I bought myself a nice teapot at The Ants (I love this second-hand shop). It is short and stout like in the song. Thick, heavy, and undamaged. Its dot design matches the cups I inherited from B 2 years ago. Most of all, the price was a bargain.

The purchase was to complement my habit of sipping a warm and relaxing drink. Most recently, green tea with lemongrass and ginger for detox and cleansing. Before this, it was chamomile for calm and relaxation.

My habit is carried out Japanese style, my friends. Noisy but very liberating. S-l-u-r-p. S-l-u-r-p. This is precisely the reason why I do it only at home, and our flat has double windowpanes and good sound insulation. That H hasn’t complained yet may have something to do with his thing for Japan and Japanese culture.

Herbal teas are best when infused. I leave it in the teapot with newly boiled water for 3-5 minutes before I pour myself a cup. Besides, I believe that one teabag of the finer teas are good for 2 cups. Wanna cuppa? I promise I won’t make any noise.

Two days ago, I learned that tea-drinking and hot baths didn’t combine well and that sipping tea in that set-up didn’t create a spa ambience. While sauna and tea-drinking are probably a good match, I have yet to try it.

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Apple muffins with hints of vanilla and almond

August 21, 2007 at 5:18 pm · Filed under baking, summer

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

Two days ago, when B came over for dinner, I baked apple muffins for dessert. The muffins were unlike those that I had done before. While the apple-muffin recipe used butter, the other one used creme fraiche. 

Between the two muffin recipes, the one with butter is softer and spongier. The one with creme fraiche is more compact and, therefore, harder. But not stale-bread hard. It’s just that the muffins baked with creme fraiche tend to be heavier in weight. 

So, which of these muffin recipes is better? Both are good in different ways.  I sound like a diplomat. And, yes, I can be more specific. I’ve made apple muffins using the recipe with creme fraiche. The ones I baked 2 days ago tasted better and had more hmph and pang.

It may be the butter, the vanilla, or the almond paste that did it. Two days after baking the hmph and pang muffins, I mean apple muffins, they tasted even better. I can attest to this because I just ate up the last one.

Here is the apple-muffin recipe published in this month’s issue of Buffet magazine. If it’s good enough for the Swedish female football team, it’s good enough for us. It makes 8-10 large muffins.

Ingredients

  • 150 grams butter
  • 1.5 decilitres sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • .5 decilitre milk
  • 3 decilitres flour (I used wholeflour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
  • 100 grams almond paste
  • 1 decilitre apple, peeled and roughly grated (equivalent to 1 medium-sized apple)

Procedure

  1. Pre-het the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.
  2. With a handmixer, beat the butter and sugar together until their white and spongy.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time.
  4. Add the milk.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and vanilla sugar.
  6. Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with butter, sugar, and eggs.
  7. Mix well.
  8. Grate the almond paste using the grater with big holes.
  9. Add the grated almond paste into the batter and blend well.
  10. Fill large muffin forms up to two-thirds. Make a hole in the middle of each muffin.
  11. Peel and seed the apple.
  12. Grate the apple using the grater with big holes.
  13. Press about 1 teaspoon of the rated apple into the hole in the muffin.
  14. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.

I did a shortcut since I was pressed for time. B was in a slight haste. Therefore, I skipped steps 10 and 13. Instead, I mixed the grated apple in the batter. It worked well and my muffins turned out fine. But they could have been even better if I followed all the steps. I will know the next time I bake apple muffins.

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I want my lunchbox!

August 20, 2007 at 4:57 pm · Filed under food, salad, vego

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

Summer is soooo over. Work is at full speed (and in full load). Aches and pains are as I remember them to be.

The regular workload makes me very exhausted and very hungry at around half past 12. If my forehead showed a warning signal, it would be a constantly blinking red. Keep your distance. Or stay away. May explode and cause injury.

For this reason, I’ve resolved to bring my own bento to work (and to save a portion of dinner for next day’s lunch) like M. It officially started after summer. Last Thursday, H and I had spaghetti. Last Friday, it was dinkel salad with greens and eggs. The rest of the days last week, I was dangerous. No bento.

Tonight, instead of preparing dinner, I’ll prepare something for tomorrow’s lunchbox. H and I had a big lunch at H’s favourite Chinese place. That is dinner as well. Honestly, my infatuation with Flower City has waned.

For tomorrow, I’m visualizing a salad of lentils, mixed grains, pulses, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, sunflower seeds, and a mix of greens dressed with pumpkin seed oil and balsamic vinegar. I’m certain that these ingredients will put me back in normal mode (and mood) and cool me off. Besides, I have to use them before their nutrients expire.

I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s work, I mean, lunch. What will be in M’s lunchbox tomorrow, I wonder. I’ll manage to sneak a peek when he’s not looking.

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