an artichoke heart and zucchini lasagna-ey dish with a garlic and sage béchamel sauce
black bean and quinoa burgers with oven roasted corn
cod with chanterelles in a wine and tarragon sauce
and.... pretzels, (veggie) sausage, and kohlrabi and apple salad with lemon, vinegar, and mustard.
thë fäct thät i nöw hävë än ümläüt ïn my nämë häs ïnspïrëd thïs dëlïcïöüs dëëd. well, that and the arrival of a kitchenaid and a kohlrabi à la garden.
for the pretzels, i used an alton brown recipe ive seen floating around the interwebs. (i have my eye on a martha stewart recipe that also sounds deeeelicious. im a huge fan of baking with booze and beer)
i changed the recipe to suit my needs/tastes1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 package yeast
4 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for pan and hands
5 cups water
baking soda and baking powder*
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
salt
*normally, one would use just baking soda. but baking soda and switzerland are not super friends. i should just go to the pharmacy and see what happens--from the grocery here, you can just get little packets. the quantity for cookies and cakes and the like is do-able, but for a big project, or for cleaning, the flimsy little packet does not satisfy.
i mixed the warm water, sugar, and salt together in the bowl and sprinkled the yeast on top. then i waited. when it was foamy, i added the flour, mixed, and kneaded. i oiled a different bowl, oiled the dough, covered the bowl with a kitchen towel, and let it hang out for a while (about an hour) in the sunshine.
in that time, the dough had nearly doubled in size. i divided the dough into smaller lumps, oiled my hands, and got in touch with my inner preschooler as i rollyrollyrolled the dough into long ropes. then i made a u shape, gave the dough a twist, and wrapped the ends around.
the raw pretzel was plunked in a bath of boiling water and baking powder and soda for about 30-ish seconds. the reason? science! the alkalinity of the baking soda and baking powder makes the outside of the pretzel brown while the inside is still soft and chewy. i put the pretzels on a baking sheet with parchment, sprinkled them with salt, and put them in the oven at 450°/232° for about 12 minutes.  |
| freshly pulled from the oven |
to accompany the pretzels, i made a simple salad. we got a kohlrabi from christian's mom, so i decided to make us a crunchy salad. i shredded some apple and cut up some onion, then lightly sauteed the two with some lemon juice. i tossed everything together with a healthy splash of red wine vinegar and a glob of mustard
and then..... lunch!
 |
| pretzel, salad, veggie sausage, nectarine |
this week in eating has been quite a bit adventurous as well because of our visitors. we had a small party and i made the most divine pie.
stay tuned!
bon appétit <3
