All the more do I enjoy thinking about what I could make for the two of us on the weekend and then making whatever I have come up with.
Last weekend was mostly grey and cold, with some drizzle to make it even more November-ish - just perfect for spending more time than usual in my warm kitchen, and that's exactly what I did.
On Friday night, I made tomato soup from scratch. It looked nice with a dollop of cream on top and a sprig of Italian parsley (the variety that is not "curly") from the pot on my windowsill. What with O.K.'s arrival, making G&Ts for starters and then wanting to serve the hot soup quickly, I didn't take a picture. But it was as nice as I had hoped it would be, and I think I will make it again.
Saturday, we slept in (my biggest luxury on weekends and one I hate to give up when we have to be somewhere early) and then went for a leisurely run. It was cold, but with the right clothing, we weren't really feeling cold; breathing was not so good with the chilly air, though.
Back home, it was still breakfast time for us even though it was around 1:00 pm. We had fresh fruit (bananas and apples chopped up and topped with blueberries) with yoghurt and cream. By the time we were ready to leave again for a walk, it was close to sunset, which we caught the last beautiful bits of before reaching the fields where we walked for an hour or so in the dusk and then dark. I was amazed at how many other people we encountered there on the unlit fields; a few dog walkers (one dog was wearing a collar with lights), some people on bikes and others on foot.
We had reserved a table at a nearby Italian restaurant that has changed hands about a month ago, so there was no cooking that night. The food was good, service friendly, but there were hardly any other guests at the restaurant. I do hope business will pick up for them.
On Sunday morning, I finally did what I had wanted to do for weeks: Make Swedish cinammon buns! Monica (you may know her from her own blog) kindly gave me her recipe when I asked her for it. For the dough, I only made about half her original recipe (I knew that would be more than enough for us) but when I made only half the amount of filling, I found out I actually needed the entire recipe for the filling, not just half.
Without O.K.'s help, I don't know how my "snails" would have turned out - he made the second batch while I was in the bath. Actually, all I did was heat the oven, make the dough and the filling.
For the dough, I did not stick entirely to Monica's recipe, but used the tested and trusted one I showed you here, without the raisins.
For the filling, I mixed 100 g of soft butter with four tablespoons of sugar and three teaspoons of cinnamon.
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| One half of the dough that I rolled out - not the perfect shape to make into a roll... |
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| ...but O.K. still managed to create the desired shapes. |
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| Eight minutes in the oven at 225 C (fan on) was all it took. |
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| The second batch - O.K. is a lot better at this than I am! |
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| That's what I wanted them to look like! |
Once the buns were baked and cooled off a little, I put them in a box and we took them to my parents', where we had invited ourselves for coffee. My Mum had made a delicious soft cake with apples and bananas, the cinnamon buns were our contribution.
Afterwards, O.K. and I walked for another hour or so (in the dark) to get some exercise and fresh air. For our evening meal, I made mixed vegetables in the oven. We were both still full from yesterday's evening at the Italian restaurant and from coffee and cake that it was all we needed - plus some Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream for dessert.
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| Missing on the photo is the large yellow pepper that I added to the mix. |
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| Salt, pepper, ground ginger and thyme, plus olive oil. |
By the way, my kitchen still smells of cinnamon - in spite of having had the window open for hours! But I don't mind that; it just reminds me of a cosy weekend with plenty of comfort food.
Those cinnamon buns look very tempting. I can almost smell them from here!
ReplyDeleteThey are a little on the dry side (not sure what I did wrong there), but really nice with coffee. The scent is so intense, almost overwhelming!
DeleteYour food sounds wonderful! All of it! I like the sound of your weekends. You seem very happy and that makes me happy. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jennifer! You are right there, I am happy. There are always things I could spend my time worrying about, of course, but it wouldn't help one bit.
DeleteOh, this sounds like so much fun! All the more so because you are not cooking everyday, it is special and done with someone you love! I think I would enjoy that cinnamon fragrance that lingered like a good memory.
ReplyDeleteThe baking became a bit hectic at one point, not because I really was pressed for time, but because I had incoming phone calls at the same time and wanted to get it done plus still needed to have a shower and get dressed before walking to my parents' for coffee! Without O.K.'s help, I would not have made it in time.
DeleteDear Meike,
ReplyDeleteIt all looks, and sounds, like a fantastic weekend together. I think you two need to live closer to one another so you can enjoy baking more often!!!!!! I love also how you get out and walk so much when together - even when not actually hiking on a trip, just in the neighborhood. We are planning more of that around here now the cooler weather seems to have settled and it's comfortable outside if dressed right - hat, gloves, scarves etc.
My favorite time of year.
Dear Mary, if we had an easy solution that would do us both justice, we'd not be living 150 km apart any longer!
DeleteWhen you have an office job and sit at a desk most of the day like both of us do, it is so important to get out and about in your free time. Our bodies were never made for sitting hour after hour, they were made for walking, and that's what feels best in terms of exercise.
Definitely gloves and scarf weather here now, but I still hesitate with the hats - I hate having anything on my head.
Although I enjoy cooking and making Christmas cakes and a few other cakes, I've not had much luck trying to bake other things. As you know I've tried some of your Mum's recipes but after failing I've never got around to having second goes. It's probably not helped by the fact that I rarely eat cake myself but tend to cook if other people are likely to be here.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I know about you, Graham, you usually do very well in the kitchen and spoil your guests with wonderful meals. Baking is a little different, isn't it. I have known some of my Mum's recipes all my life but still can't get them completely right, which is why I leave the baking of my favourite Christmas cookies to her - I have given up trying.
DeleteI can almost smell them ... And wow, I'm impressed with how O.K. managed to make his batch such a perfect even size. (However, how big or small one wants one's cinnamon buns is really a matter of personal taste!) - Now I want to know what temperature and time you use for roasting those vegetables in the oven? And what is that pear-shaped orange thing - is it some kind of pumpkin?
ReplyDeleteIt probably helps that O.K. is a fully apprenticed baker by trade; he had to give up working at the bakery due to flour dust allergy when he was young.
DeleteI roasted the vegetables in batches according to their "hardness": first the carrots, 10 minutes later the pumpkin (Hokkaido), 10 minutes later the parsnip and for the last 10 minutes the yellow pepper. Altogether (from the first moment in the oven) until serving, the vegetables were in the oven for about 40-45 minutes at 200 Celsius.
I shall make those buns I think .I have discovered that supermarkets will sell you a small amount of fresh yeast from the bakery section .They do not advertise it but a nice smile and a small investment gets you a paper bag of possibilities.
ReplyDeleteHello and welcome to my blog - I think this is your first comment here, isn't it?
DeleteHere, you can buy fresh yeast at the bakery, but supermarkets also stock cubes of fresh yeast in the dairy section and dried one in paper bags in the baking ingredients section.
I love the smell of cinnamon but for some reason I never liked cinnamon buns, possibly because I like the smell better than the taste of cinnamon. I am now trying to plan meals to use the contents of the freezer since somehow the door got left open overnight. Only slightly open and it was only very slightly defrosted but I think it all needs using pretty soon just to be on the safe side. So I am actually being quite creative and varied with meals... though I suspect they will become a bit - shall we say "eccentric" as the week goes on! I am not wasting the stuff though :)
ReplyDeleteJenny, you are doing well not to waste any of the food! I love "making do" with what I have in my fridge and cupboard; often such incidental combinations make for great dishes - never to be repeated, as you'll never have the exact combination again. Enjoy! :-)
DeleteThe cinnamon buns would also work with ground nuts instead of the cinnamon.
Funny thing about cinnamon, Richard doesn't really care for it and I remember getting an American Cookery book in England in 1985 which said that cinnamon was not popular in England. Richard said he never had it growing up. Maybe his Mum didn't like it? It's a mystery! Anyway your cinnamon rolls look great! I have my eye on the carrots and parsnips roasted with ginger, I want to mAke that!
ReplyDeleteI love roast vegetables, and in particular carrots, parsnips, spuds and pumpkin. Ground ginger goes so well with either (or all) of them, I use it freely in the cold season - so warming!
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