Freitag, 4. März 2011

Chard Soup, Poppy Seed Cake

Maybe my new laptop will introduce a new era in posting...

two offerings today.

Chard Soup

one onion, chopped
2 tsp chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
some tofu, cubed (optional)
some swiss chard, chopped
mushrooms, sliced, if you have
2-4 dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced - reserve the liquid from soaking and use in the broth
1/2 cup brown rice or basmati
1 l veg stock
3 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce (optional)
lemon juice (optional)

Saute onion, ginger and garlic in a little oil. Add the tofu and brown a little. Add the sliced mushrooms and swiss chard. Fry for a bit. Add the rice. Then pour in stock, wine and soy sauce. Cook till rice is done. Season with chili sauce and lemon juice if you like.

Now the cake recipe has a history. One thing is the left bit of poppy seed cake filling I had left in the fridge from earlier baking. So I was looking for some recipe to use it up. And in my late grandmother's Doktor Oetker Schulkochbuch fuer den Elektroherd I found a sheet with the following recipe, lovingly typed by my grandfather. Brought back memories of having afternoon coffee and cake with them, and granddad on his typewriter...
It seems to originate from a mysterious "Baking with Tina" column...

Poppyseed Streusel (crumble) cake

For the crumble base and top:
150g butter or margarine
150g flour
125g sugar
1 yolk
grated rind of one organic lemon

Soften the butter and rub into rest of ingredients. Press about half of this mix into the base of a 26 cm Springform cake tin.
Make the filling:
750 ml milk
1 pack vanilla pudding powder (I don't know if custard powder will work, but probably. It should be fairly stiff when cooked)
2 tins mandarin segments (I left those out though)
1 egg white
250g poppy seed filling (polish shops!)

Bring 500ml of the milk to the boil. Mix the pudding powder with the remainder. Take milk off the hob, stir in mix, bring back to the boil while stirring. Allow to cool slightly while whisking the egg white. Mix the pudding with the poppy seed filling, then fold in the egg white. Put this mix on the dough base then crumble the rest of the dough over. Bake at 175 degrees for up to an hour until crumbles are golden brown and pudding mix set. If it browns too quickly, cover with a piece of parchment.
You can then mix 100g powdered sugar with 2-3 tbsp lemon juice to cover the cake with this.
Have a nice weekend!