As mentioned in Day 57 of The Challenge Rotkohl, literally red cabbage, is a stewed cabbage dish traditionally eaten in Germany and German-speaking Switzerland alongside sausages or other meat. You can get them ready made in tins, or you can make it yourself, pretty easily too. This batch came out particularly well, but the key, really, is time. I got this ready early in the day, before lunch, and stashed it in my Wonderbag slow cooker for the rest of the day until dinner, thus giving it plenty of time to stew. I also added a couple of first-time innovations which worked out scrumptiously. Ingredients: 1 half of a red cabbage, chopped 2 apples, chopped 1 c raisins 2 tsp orange peel 1/4-1/2 nutmeg, freshly grated 1 c apple cider vinegar 1 c apple juice Pepper 1) Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer and stew covered at low temperature for at least 45 minutes (the longer the better). A slow cooker works wonders, but you can do it over the stove if need be. I love this dish! It works as a side for all sorts of meals, it is dead simple, and so so satisfying! Please try this! EDIT: I tried this again recently and made it with dried grapefruit peel instead or orange. It worked well, but there was a little more bitterness. A pinch of salt sorted that out though! Certainly an alternative to bear in mind!

After making my Yellow Carrot Tart with the barley flour crust, I started thinking. That crust base was unique, with a bit more bite and a bit more sweetness to it than regular crust. At some point when nursing in the middle of the night (sometimes that's when the best ideas happen, the problem is holding onto them in the morning) it occurred to me that the crust modified slightly would work nicely for shortbread. After thinking of it it kept niggling me until I tried it. So I did. It also dawned on my while making them that if I can get the barley flour fine enough, barley, with less gluten than regular flour, is a great replacement as in shortbread everything is done to prevent gluten chain formation (soft butter, no kneading). Starting with something even less likely to do that has the potential for even crumblier, tenderer biscuits. Ingredients: 2/3 c barley flour 2/3c flour 1/2 c butter, very soft 1/4c sugar 1/3 c dark chocolate chips 1) Place flours and butter in a bowl and mix until smooth. Add sugar and chocolate chips. Mix. Press together into a dough. Do NOT knead. 2) Turn out onto a clean surface and roll out to about 1 - 1.5 cm thick and cut into rounds of the desired thickness. Place rounds on a cookie sheet with wax paper and chill 20 minutes. 3) Bake at 190°C for 15-20 minutes until golden. These were very tasty and the flavours came together as I had hoped. The biscuits could have been a little thicker though. Also, in terms of the texture, these didn't melt in your mouth the way regular shortbread cookies do. I need to grind the barley flour a little finer next time as it had too much bite, but otherwise, I am delighted with these!

I first tried making these for myself last year, but as they are traditional here, I grew up eating This year's tweaks worked very nicely, adding a bit of a twist to old favourites.

As mentioned in Day 47 of The Challenge Our basil plant was starting to suffer from the cooler weather, and our tomatoes were ripening, so the stars aligned as it were for a tomato tart. Or agriculture on my balcony did in any case. I had been wanting to have a tomato tart for a while and so seized the opportunity and am delighted that I did! Ingredients: Crust: (you can use a store bought crust if you want, but this is also very quick and easy, I promise! It is better if you have a half hour to let it chill before rolling it out, but it still works if you don't) 3/4 c flour 1/2 c cold butter, cut into pieces pinch of salt 1/4 (approximate) water 6 large tomatoes, sliced a handful of fresh basil leaves 1 ball of mozzarella, sliced 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper to taste 1) To make crust, mix flour and salt. Cut in pieces of butter and mix together with fingertips until it forms a crumb like texture. Add water and mix with a fork, then knead into a soft dough. 2) Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. 3) Roll out the pastry and line a pie dish with it. Layer sliced tomatoes in the pie dish (Careful not to drizzle in the juice at the same time or your pie will be soggy!) and then place mozzarella slices over the top and drizzle over olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Tuck in basil leaves, and season. 4) Bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes until the mozzarella browns slightly. Tasty and fresh yet warm for a cool, sunny autumn day. Absolutely loved this, and it went down well with Hubby and Little One too!

As with the Honey and Cinnamon Scones, these were for an Afternoon Tea collaboration I was invited to take part in on Instagram for International Tea day on the 21st of May. Devilled eggs are simple and tasty, but a lot of people seem daunted by the idea of making them, so I thought it worth including a recipe here. I used my dad's Scotch bonnet hot sauce to devil the eggs, but beyond a bit of a kick, left them pretty mild so Little Bit could have some too. Along with fruit, he is an egg fiend. Ingredients: 6 eggs 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp mayo 2 tsp mustard 1 -2 tsp hot sauce (or more to suit your taste) Salt and pepper to taste Tandoori powder for sprinkling 1) Boil the eggs for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and run under cold water then let them sit in it until cool. 2) Peel the eggs carefully, halve them and pop out the yolks. In a bowl, mash all the yolks together with the other ingredients except tandoori powder. Taste test. 3) Spoon or pipe the yolks back into their wells in the whites. Sprinkle them with tandoori powder. I hadn't had devilled eggs in ages, and was delighted to have some again! I really should entertain more often (pandemics allowing) in order to make these more! Or maybe just have tea time at home with my boys and make these for us...

Ginger snaps are on of the traditional Christmas cookies that I grew up with.

I started out by trying to make candied lemon rind in the same way that I've been making candied orange peel. I used a little more sugar to simmer the lemon rind though to counteract its' being slightly more bitter than orange peel. When I went to cool and then drain the peels (setting aside the syrup for some other use), I discovered that they should be kept together, rind in syrup rather than just drying the rinds. The combination was really tasty! It was not too sweet nor too bitter, had a strong lemon flavour and the peels had a nice tooth to them without being in the least bit tough. Trying a spoonful, I decided to set it all aside as it was and make panna cotta to have with it. We did that this weekend, and the combination was too good not to share. Ingredients: For the Lemon rind in syrup: Rind of 2 lemons, all flesh removed and sliced into strips 1/2 c sugar (approx) Water (approx 2-3 c) For the panna cotta: 500ml cream 1/4 c sugar (approx. - adjust to suit your own tastes though) 40g gelatine (I used the granulated kind, but check the packet instructions for the one you use) 1 tsp vanilla 1) Place the lemon rind and sugar in a saucepan with enough water to cover them to twice their depth. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the rinds are tender and the liquid is reduced to syrup. Cool and set aside. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge in a sealed jar. 2) Place cream and vanilla in a saucepan and heat gently until it reaches a simmer. Stir in the gelatine and sugar (if using gelatine sheets, don't forget to soak these first). Taste test for sweetness and vanilla. 3) Pour into small pots or ramequins and chill for at least a couple of hours or overnight. To serve, spoon the lemon peels and syrup over the panna cotta. I absolutely loved this dessert. The tart peels played off the creaminess really well, and none of it was overly sweet. My only problem was with the gelatine. It caused the panna cotta to be slightly grainy, and it is not the first time I've had this issue with the granulated kind. It didn't happen with the Lemongrass Panna Cotta but did a previous time. I don't know why it does this, whether it is simmer time or something else. On the whole, I prefer the sheets and have since picked some up for next time. Book Pairing: I was listening to China Miéville's Embassytown when I made these. Miéville's novels are delightfully strange. This one centred around language and its effects on thought patterns and ways of knowing the world around us. One race of beings represented can only speak Truth and can only conceive of what they have words for. Through the plot, the differences in language and the way it is used were interestingly explored. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although the reader was a little irritating. Certain concepts are described using an existing German word which was surprising. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

When I posted my home made mayo recipes a while back, a friend asked me for a ketchup recipe. It's been a little while coming, for which I am sorry, but here it is. Or rather, here they are, as I am posting a couple of options below. When first asked about a ketchup recipe, having only made it a couple of times before I took a look around other recipes and let the ideas percolate for a while (and got busy with work and potty training a toddler, among other things)... and then didn't get back to it right away. Yesterday was a very rainy day though, so I decided it was a good time to have something simmering away on the stove all afternoon (well, several somethings. We made yogurt, apple pectin, salted caramel ice cream, goat's cheese and burger buns too.) When checking different methods a while back, there was a debate on whether to use tomato passata and paste or chopped tomatoes (from a tin or fresh), so I decided to do both yesterday and see how they came out and which I liked best. I also used dried vs fresh garlic and onions in the two recipes. I therefore made two basic variants, and then tweaked, separated out portions and tried further variants through the afternoon. In the evening, having been informed by my Guinea pigs that the only way to truly test ketchup was with a burger and some fries, I made burgers with fresh buns and my sister brought down her fryer to make chips. Long story short, we tried four different ketchup variations yesterday, detailed below. We all liked all of them (and all ate a bit too much). So here they are. Ketchup One: Sharp and Bright Ingredients: 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 800g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 onion, minced 4 small cloves garlic, crushed 1 tbsp dried oregano 2 1/2 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp red wine vinegar Salt and pepper to taste 1) Heat oil in a saucepan. Sweat the onions and garlic until soft, then add the oregano and cook for another minute. 2) Add other ingredients and cook for about 2 hours, stirring regularly, until thickened. Blitz until smooth and taste test, adjusting as necessary. Ketchup Two: Deep and Rich Ingredients: 3 c tomato passata 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp dried onion 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 1/2 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp dried oregano Salt and pepper to taste 1) Heat oil in a saucepan. Briefly fry the dried garlic, onion and oregano then add the passata, vinegar and sugar. 2) Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 2 hours, stirring regularly, until thickened and reduced to desired consistency. Taste test, adjusting accordingly. Ketchup Three: Sharp and Rich Ingredients: 3 c tomato passata 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp dried onion 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 1/2 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp dried oregano Salt and pepper to taste 1) Heat oil in a saucepan. Briefly fry the dried garlic, onion and oregano then add the passata, vinegar and sugar. 2) Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 2 hours, stirring regularly, until thickened and reduced to desired consistency. Taste test, adjusting accordingly. Ketchup Four: Deep with a bite Ingredients: 3 c tomato passata 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp dried onion 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 1/2 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp dried oregano 1 tsp (or more) tandoori powder/paprika Salt and pepper to taste 1) Heat oil in a saucepan. Briefly fry the dried garlic, onion, oregano and tandoori, then add the passata, vinegar and sugar. 2) Bring to a low simmer and cook for about 2 hours, stirring regularly, until thickened and reduced to desired consistency. Taste test, adjusting accordingly. We enjoyed all four Ketchups enormously. Hubby declares he never wants to buy ketchup again. The four different ketchups all had great flavour, and all of them actually tasted like tomatoes. This was very easy to make, but it did require time spent in or near the kitchen to stir regularly. My favourites were probably One and Three. I made all of them using white sugar. Given that I was already comparing the effect of fresher ingredients vs passata and dried garlic and onions, a further variable I thought would muddy the waters, but I would like to try it with brown sugar at some point as well. I also intend on trying other tweaks, like different herbs or spices, different base vegetables, and tweaking the quantity of garlic etc. I'll keep you posted! And in the mean time, don't hesitate if you have questions, suggestions or ideas! NB: This ketchup is entirely natural. Sugar and vinegar are both to a certain extent preservatives, but not really in these quantities, so be aware that this won't keep as long in the fridge as commercial ketchup. I will see how mine does and let you know!

Looking into fenugreek a while back, I came across a description of it comparing fenugreek's taste to that of maple and the fact that fenugreek is sometimes used as a maple substitute. That gave me an idea. What about if I used fenugreek in something that often has maple syrup added to it, like pancakes. The idea niggled for a while until I finally tried it. The pancakes worked really well. They were missing a little richness to the maple flavour, but with butter or yogurt they were really tasty! Less sweet obviously, than adding maple syrup to a dish, and the flavour was more delicate, but very tasty. Ingredients: 1 1/2 c flour 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp fenugreek powder 3 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp melted butter 2 eggs 3/4c milk 1) Combine dry ingredients, then gradually add wet ingredients. Add an additional splash of milk if necessary for the batter to be just thin enough to pour. 2) Melt butter in a skillet then cook the pancakes in two-tablespoon-dollops (or bigger if you want) over medium heat until bubbles appear and pop on the surface and it goes from shiny to matte, then flip. Serve hot with butter, jam, syrup or fruits. Or anything else you fancy. I really enjoyed these. They had a definite maple flavour but without added sugar. I enjoyed mine plain with butter, which gave them an extra richness that brought out the maple flavour. These are definitely coming back out! The only aspect I wasn't delighted with was the texture. They were a little heavier than usual, and I don't know if fenugreek requires a little additional liquid or rising agent, or if there was a mix-up somewhere. To be tried again I guess, and I will see. If you try them, let me know what you think!

My second attempt at making my own ricotta went well, but I scalded it a little (Little Bit waking up at a crucial moment was not part of the plan!) The scalding actually gave the ricotta an interesting caramelised flavour though. The plan had been to make ricotta gnocchi with it, so I went ahead with that but decided to use the caramelised flavour and have a slightly sweeter, more robust sauce to stand up to the ricotta. I made a pumpkin sauce with a little red wine and balsamic, caramelising the onions first. Using my own home made ricotta for this also had the advantage of allowing me to drain it in its little basket for a couple of days so that it was nice and firm to start making the gnocchi. I must say, it came out nicely! Ingredients: For the gnocchi: 1 c ricotta 1 egg 1 c grated aged cheese (eg parmesan) 1 - 1 1/4 c flour 1/2 c cornmeal, and extra for sprinkling Pepper For the sauce: 3 onions, sliced fine 1/2 head of garlic, crushed 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp sage, crushed 1/2 sweet potato, grated 2 c roasted pumpkin (I pulled mine from the freezer stash of pumpkin I put aside when it was in season) 1 red or orange bell pepper, chopped 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 3/4 - 1 c red cooking wine 2 c water salt to taste 1) Place flour and cornmeal in a bowl and form a well. Crack eggs into well and add ricotta. Mix to form a dough, adding a little extra flour if it is too wet. Mix in the cheese and pepper. 2) Cut the dough into quarters and then roll these into long snakes. Cut the snakes obliquely every 1 cm or so to form the little pillowy gnocchi, then toss these in a little cornmeal to coat them (this absorbs excess moisture from the outside and gives them a little bite). Leave to rest while you make the sauce. 3) Heat oil in a pan. Sauté onions, sage and garlic over medium-low heat to sweat them. Add the sweet potato and pepper and cook for a few more minutes. Add the balsamic and wine and bring to a simmer. Add the pumpkin and break it up. At this point, the sauce should be quite thick, but coming together nicely in terms of the flavours. 4) Add the water and salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Add the gnocchi and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the gnocchi are tender but firm, not mushy. Serve, with a little more grated cheese over the top, optionally. I loved this dish! I wasn't sure until I started exactly what I was going to do with it, and then had my doubts mid-way in, but it was tasty, with nicely layered flavours without being heavy. It had some creaminess, and some tang, and some sweetness, and some umami. Overall a well balanced dish, in my opinion.