Bagels.

Hello everybody.

Housework and cleaning up today, too much dust in this country.

When done I was looking for something to do for a quick breakfast cause my son wants something ready to go or easy to fix each morning before going to the university.

Crossed over this bagels’ recipe and thought I’d give it a try,resembles a lot the soft pretzels one, result was not bad I guess waiting for the boys to judge.

Lunch was leftover lasagna with some chili potatoes with garlic and coriander.

my favorite dish ever.

I also made dried fruit cake,light and not sweet to have with Nescafe in the morning.

rich delicious cake.

Ingredients and method of bagels :
# 3 1/2 cups flour.
# 1 1/3 cups warm water.
# 1 tsp salt.
# 2 tsp sugar.
#1 1/2 tsp instant yeast.
# boiled water.

# mix dry ingredients together well then add warm water and incorporate well together.
# knead for 5-10 minutes till smooth.
# cover and let rise for 1 hour.
# when doubled in size knead once more then form 6-8 balls.
# with a floured finger make a hole in the middle.
# leave to rise again then broil in boiling water for 1 minute on each side then remove to dry.
# line up on a floured oven pan.
# brush surface with some egg whites then sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds or salt.
# bake bagels in a medium heated oven for 20-30 minutes.

Guess they’re fine as a first trial.

bagels in the making.

Soft Pretzels.

Hello everybody.

Stayed home today,a relief after busy days and a chance to put away heavy clothes and boots, hoping that no more cold rainy days are coming.

Since I have leftovers for lunch from yesterday which was fresh new baby string beans in olive oil and I had time before lunch I tried this recipe, been searching for the most suitable and light one for a while and did this with slight changes.

I also made a simple cake since the oven is on and hot,been craving it since I made it for my brother’s colleagues last week.

Ingredients and method :
* 1 1/4 cups warm water.
* 2 tablespoons instant yeast.
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 5 cups flour.
* 1 tsp salt.
* 1 tablespoon butter.
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
* 1/2 cup baking soda.
* 4 cups boiled water.
* 1 egg yolk.
* some kosher or coarse salt.
* some melted butter.

* mix water, yeast, sugar till bubbly.
* mix flour, salt, butter and oil.
* add water yeast mixture and knead well.
* leave to rise for 40-50 minutes.
* make long ropes from the dough, this quantity makes 10-12.
* shape them into Pretzels.
* mix soda with hot water then dip each pretzel into it for few seconds.
* line them in a floured pan.
* brush with egg yolk then sprinkle with salt.
* leave to rise again then bake in a medium heated oven for 10-15 minutes.
* brush with a bit of butter to keep them shining then roast till golden.

Turned out amazingly delicious, kids loved them.

lovely !

so easy to do dough.

ready to go.

lunch and dessert.

will definitely do them again.

Apple Strudel.

Hello everybody.

Went with my cousin yesterday to explore this new Austrian bakery that opened recently and was both disappointed and frustrated, place wasn’t as warm and appealing as photos showed,breads and cookies though some freshly baked but not encouraging at all, I specifically went to buy the famous apple strudel but the one they displayed was from 1 or 2 days ago so I declined,then got one plain loaf so as not to go out empty handed and to my surprise it was way too expensive 🙁

Anyway benefit of this visit is that I searched for apple strudel recipes all over,then got this original easy healthy one from my Austrian friend and made one today from scratch,even did’t use phyllo or puff pastries better than any bought one,really delicious.Thank you dear Mary for your help <3

Ingredients and method:

For the dough:

* 2 cups flour.

* 1 egg.

* 2 big spoons butter.

*pinch of salt.

*100 ml (almost 3/4 cup) lukewarm water.

Filling:

* 1 kilo peeled and thinly sliced apples.

* 3/4 cup sugar.

* zest of a lemon.

* 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

* 3 tablespoons crushed walnuts or almonds.

* 3/4 cup raisins soaked in some water.

* 2 tsp cinnamon.

* 2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

* extra butter to brush top of strudel.

* icing sugar for decorating.

* make the dough by mixing flour,salt and egg in the middle mix well then add butter and rub all together.

* start adding water till you get a round hard dough that you can handle.

* leave to rest for 30 minutes.

* spread some flour on a kitchen cloth and spread the dough to a big rectangle.

* make the filling by mixing all everything together.

* spread the breadcrumbs over dough then add the filling in the center.

* with the help of the cloth fold the sides together and ends also very well.

* transfer slowly to a big oven pan .

* brush with butter then make some lengthwise cuts with a sharp knife.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 50-60 minutes.

* dust with icing sugar upon serving.

Great dish to do for Christmas by the way.

Thanks again Mary <3

made a poppy seed loaf and mushroom soup for lunch.

Roya TV Interview.

Hello everybody.

BIG day yesterday,I think I’ll mark it as a turning point or new start for something different,not sure what it’ll be but I was really happy and very emotional from the huge amount of loving and cheering comments specially from my family and friends, my dearest friends took me out to celebrate my, as everybody assured me, first TV interview.

I was interviewed on Donya Ya donya morning show/ Roya TV ,talked about my blog, how it started and grew and about my future plans. Had to admit I was very nervous at first but it all went smoothly and the beautiful anchor was very nice and natural.

Thank you again to all family members,friends,followers and members of group banancooking for your support.

Well all this doesn’t mean I didn’t cook,my son just arrived from Berlin after a month absence and of course cooked his most favorite dish stuffed courgettes,made some stuffed vine leaves and string beans in olive oil .

here’s the link of yesterday’s interview: