It’s been a while since I’ve done this.
/ Banana pancakes*
/ 1 pear
/ orange juice with tap water
/ PG tips
Recipe for single serving pancakes:
Ingredients
1 banana
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
What to do
Mash the banana with a fork (or mixer if you want). Add egg and flour. Stir until you have a smooth batter.
Heat a pan and grease with a bit of butter. Pour the batter and wait for bubbles to show, then turn the pancakes. Bake until golden.
Living out of the city (but not quite in the countryside) has a lot of upsides. It naturally also has a lot of downsides but that’s not the point of my post today.
I’m lucky. I know I am. My parents have a garden and while it’s not huge, it’s plenty of space. It was big enough for water fights and tents for a camping sleepover when I was a child. It was secluded enough to have a fire pit to roast marshmallows. It’s great for lazy afternoons, lounging on the terrace or for our cats to act like fierce predators when they creep up on blackbirds.
Since this spring it’s also hosting two raised garden beds. It’s a dream come true for my mum, who has wanted one of them for years now and fills up the dead space in the back of our garden perfectly.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a small town in Lower Austria because an organisation there sold plants and vegetables that weren’t all that common. They specialised in rare plant species. Vegetables that are almost forgotten and things that you can’t get in just any garden centre.
So we went home with chard, spinach, three different kinds of salad, zucchini, corn, eggplant and cucumber plants. We got strawberries, rhubarb and four different kinds of tomatoes. Oh, and new herbs, of course (just those that didn’t survive the winter. Most of our herbs have been really good and are already flourishing. Mint and sage are growing like crazy again (even though we harvested all of it last autumn to dry it and make tea!).
But this is not enough. We also have an apple, cherry, plum and fig tree. Two blueberry bushes, a place where raspberries are growing and our grapes are looking good as well. It’s an urban farm jungle and we couldn’t be happier.
Some mornings the first thing we do is brave the chilly air, cup of tea in hand, and make our way to our veggies. Cold toes be damned, we want to know how our garden is doing. Soon enough this will be my first way for an entirely different reason because I cannot wait to be able and pick berries fresh from the garden for my breakfast.
This is happiness. This is the good life.
Finding an apt translation for Topfen (or Quark) is harder than one might think.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about this, just to clear things up.
Moving on. It had never occured to me to add curd cheese to my porridge, until my Instagram feed was suddenly swamped with it.
So I thought “Heck, why not give it a try?”
And I did.
And it was glorious.
Curd Cheese Porridge (of your choice)
Ingredients
1 portion of the porridge of your choice
Milk
Curd Cheese (I added about 1 table spoon per portion)
Fruit (I used one half of a Granny Smith apple)
What to do
Make the porridge as instructed. If you don’t have a ready made one you can always make it yourself by cooking up oatmeal and adding whatever fruit or dried berries you have. Nuts or coconut are also a nice addition.
Personally, I love the combination of coconut flakes, some ground nuts (almonds or hazelnuts), and dried cranberries.
You can cook it either with water or with milk. Personally I prefer milk, but that’s completely up to you (some recipes also say you can mix and add in water and milk. I haven’t tried that yet.)
Let the porridge cook until it reaches the desired texture. I made mine a bit thicker than usual because the curd cheese I add softens it up again.
Then add the curd cheese, stir until well combined and top of with the fruits of your choice.
Tip:
I like to add a little bit of sugar.
It’s as easy as that and gives your regular porridge a totally new kick of flavour. I’m in love. Very much so.
Easter at my home is usually a quiet, relaxed affair.
There’s food, there’s a small easter egg hunt, there’s a bit more food and a ton of chocolate. It’s small, it’s easy, it’s perfect.
I’ve made these a couple of times and because it’s such a basic, quick and easy recipe it’s quickly becoming my go to “Sunday morning, I want warm breakfast with freshly baked stuff” breakfast item.
So let me share this little gem with you.
Ingredients
225g flour
2tsp baking powder
1tbsp sugar
a pinch of salt
75g butter
1 egg
75ml milk
2tbsp honey
1 apple, chopped in small pieces
What to do
Pre-heat the oven to 220°C.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add in small pieces of the butter and mix it until the dough has a crumbly texture.
Add the chopped apples. In a bowl beat together the milk, egg and honey. Add this to the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth dough.
Roll it until it’s about 1,5cm high and cut into pieces. I used a small glass to make round shapes, but you can do pretty much whatever you want.
Bake for 8-10 minutes and enjoy them warm!
Standard of Grace 