Travelling Europe through the medium of Ice Cream.

Now as some of you know and most of you can guess I really like Ice Cream. And by that I mean I  really really like Ice Cream. Among my friends I’m always the one choosing the weird flavours, for example my cone will contain rosebud and Chilli ice cream whereas others will have vanilla and strawberry.
I’ve also done my fair share of travelling around Europe at my young age of 17, at least I’d like to think so 😉
A few places where I’ve definitely eaten this frozen delight (excuse the cheesy expression) and that have left an impression are Germany (obviously, since I live there), France, the UK and of course Bella Italia.
Germany’s association with Ice Cream is not very significant. You wouldn’t come back from a vacation and say “The scenery and the food in Germany was ok but the most amazing thing was the Ice Cream”, if you know what I mean. Germans like their standard, pseudo-Italian “Gemischtes Eis” (Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry) without being very adventurous. Yet I still think it is also here where you can find very different and exotic flavours, especially in smaller private ice Cream parlor. In my hometown there are a few places that sell Sesame and Chilli flavours.
In France I had very delicious Ice Cream in Brittany and in Paris. I remember the flavours being very fruity and very vibrant in their colour selection. I also had the best berry ice cream EVER on the French coast, it was une boule de crème glacée à saveur de framboise, or Raspberry flavour for all you Francophobes 😉
Now, you know how much I adore Britain. I really do. But their ice cream isn’t that brilliant 😉 It’s nice, of course, and if you handed me some at any time I wouldn’t refuse, but it also isn’t anything to write home about. But there is one thing that is so British and also really nice: The 99. In case you don’t know, it’s Vanilla soft ice with a chocolate flake. It’s lovely and brings back soo many memories of walking down the British seafront, ice cream dripping on to sand, pushing the flake as far in to the cone as possible to make it last longer,… yeah. I love 99s 🙂
And last but sure as hell not least: Italy, home of gelato.
I love Italian ice cream, it’s the most delicious thing ever! The portions are enormous, the flavours so intense and I also love how they don’t use an ice cream ball making tool (I don’t know what it’s really called…) but a kind of spatula to fill the cones. When I stayed in Florence there was a Gelateria right outside our hotel and they had the most amaazing dark chocolate Ice Cream EVER. Ghaa… it was soo good… 🙂 So if you’re planning on visiting Italy any time soon, go out and find a Gelateria, you won’t regret it!

So that’s it, that was my escapade into European ice cream. I hoped you found it at least slightly entertaining 😉
By the way, I am participating in the Ultimate Blog challenge, that means I will be blogging every day in July! Let’s just hope I succeed 😉 not like the last time.. *cough*

When did you last have Ice cream? Do you love it as much as I do? Where did you have the most amazing Ice Cream you’ve ever tried? What’s your favourite flavour? 🙂

Have a magical day!

x 

Mmmmonday… My Perfect French Omelette :)

*

Ok, I guess I should call this a “french-style” Omelette since I’m neither a cook nor french and probably not qualified enough to teach others how to cook eggs.
But for the sake of this blogpost just imagine I’m a forty-something French 2 Michelin Star cook with her own hen farm 😉

French Omelette isn’t like the American or the Spanish Omelette because it isn’t cooked as long and it also is very thin and usually not filled with Chorizo Sausage (I guess you could though if you wanted).
It isn’t the easiest thing to cook but once you have mastered your first “omlette française” (said with an extreme french accent and accompanied by a flourishing hand gesture) they will only get better.

Des Questions? Non? Alors, je vais commencer avec cette Omelette magnifique!

You will need:

• 2 eggs (if you care about animals, choose free-range)
• butter and a little oil
• a frying pan
• a spatula
• a drop of water
• seasoning (i.e. salt and pepper)
• a mixing bowl
• Extras, for example spring onions, cheese, ham, Chorizo
  (only joking :)), Salmon,…

Method:

Crack both eggs into the mixing bowl, add the seasoning how you like it and add just a drop of water. Mix the ingredients together using a fork until it’s a solid yellow.
Put the pan on the stove and turn it on on a medium to high temperature. Pour in a little oil and butter and wait for the two to melt.
When the pan is fully heated, put in quite a lot of butter and when it starts to froth pour in your egg mixture.
Now comes the tricky bit:
Leave the egg in for about 5 seconds and then, using your spatula, push the egg in the middle from one side of the pan to the other. Let the runny egg fill the hole you just created by moving the pan.
Repeat this step in a flowery pattern until no more runny egg is there to fill the holes (If you want any extras on your Omelette, add them now).
Turn the Omelette over and let the other side sizzle for 6-8 seconds.
Get out of the pan and on to a plate, season in case it needs more salt and Voilà:
There you have your very own french-style Omelette!

Now… Get ready for my incredible visual explanation! **

Soo… I hope I could help you out here… Please comment and tell me if you tried this at home or if you have any ideas that you want to share 😉

xx

*this is not my picture!
** this is though 🙂

Mmmmonday… 5 Minute Chocolate Cake! :)

This recipe is quite well-known but also very delicious. I hope you’ll enjoy this idea, it really does only take 5 minutes in the microwave 🙂
Unless you’re reeeaaally hungry and don’t mind loads of calories then you can eat one yourself, otherwise I would suggest sharing it with someone else!

Recipe!

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

eat!

xx

not my picture! 🙂 xx

Recipe… Delicious German Christmas “Biscuits”: Zimtsterne (Cinnamon stars)

It’s a known fact that Germans  love food. Especially in Winter we indulge in backing “Plätzchen”, Christmas cookies. There are SO many varieties but I have decided to show you how to make one of the absolute classics, Zimtsterne.
They are soft yet a little hard cinnamon biscuits with a meringue topping.
One of my favorites!

 

You will need…
100 g finely ground hazelnuts,
2 medium sized eggs, but only the egg white
  salt
½ teaspoon lemon juice
125 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
125 g almonds, ground
  Sugar for rolling
  Cinnamon for sprinkling

Preparation 🙂

Roast the nuts in an pan without oil and let cool.

Beat Egg whites, lemon juice and a pinch of salt until stiff. Gradually add sugar and continue to whisk until it has dissolved. Keep 3 tablespoons of beaten egg whites for the icing later on. Stir the Vanilla sugar, cinnamon, nuts and 100 g of almonds into the backing mixture. Cover it up and put it somewhere cold for about 2 hours.
Roll out the mixture about 3 / 4 inch thick on a surface dusted with sugar. With a star cookie cutter dipped in sugar cut out little stars and put them on a backing tray covered with baking paper. Mix the egg white icing with a few drops of water and ice the stars. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 ° C (gas 1, convection 10-12 minutes at 140 °C) for 15-18 minutes on the bottom rail. Remove the stars from the backing paper and let them cool. Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.

Enjoy!

xx

Disclaimer: This is not my recipe or my picture, but I did translate it from German 🙂