Saturday, June 23, 2012

French Toast for Father`s Day

So Father`s Day was a few weeks ago.  I like to make the hubby something that he particularly enjoys to try and make the day special for him. He loves French Toast and pretty much only gets it when his mom visits or he visits her...so not often.  I think I`ve made it once in the almost 5 years we have been living here.  Not because I don`t want him to have it, but because it makes so much and he is really the only one who enjoys it.

That being said, this recipe worked out great because it was easy to have it again the next day for him. He said that he really liked this version of it, so if you like French Toast, definitely give it a try.

The main difference is that instead of bread, you use Angel Food Cake as the base. Now if you are lucky and live somewhere where the mixes are available, you have it easy. Or you could buy it on one of the American food websites I have listed.  If you would like to be adventurous, I found two recipes that look promising for making it yourself.  Here is the first, in English, and the second, in German. I will get around to making these and give you a review...probably when strawberries are less expensive as they go so wonderfully with an angel food cake.

What you need:
1 Angel Food Cake - either made with one of the recipes above, or a mix
2 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla

butter for frying
fruit, syrup for topping


Heat a skillet on medium with the butter. 


Meanwhile, slice the cake into wedges and mix the rest of the ingredients together. Put in a shallow dish.


Soak the slices for at least a minute on each side.


When the butter has melted, add the slices and cook for 2 minutes on each side.


Put on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with maple syrup and add fruit if desired.


Store any extra cake in a zip lock bag, and cover any remaining batter and refrigerate.
Original recipe here

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Fried Rice made simple

I know I gushed about the fried rice I made a while back, and I still really love it.  This one is different, really good and a lot simpler to make.  Also hubby liked it better.  I think I still prefer the other one, but on the nights you don`t have a lot of time, this is the way to go.
This is from another cookbook I was given for Christmas - Easy Chinese Recipes, Bee Yinn Low.  There are a lot of ideas that include store bought items that I cannot find here. However there are also a few basic recipes given - in case you have time to make them yourself - or in my case, if something isn`t available.
Oh - and sorry for any odd characters or misspellings...I finally got a German keyboard after my laptop died and I`m still getting used to where all the keys are.

What you need:
500g white rice. Cooked and cooled
2 1/2 Tbls oil - I used sesame
3 eggs, beaten
3 cloves minced garlic
150g speckwürfeli
80g frozen peas




Seasoning:
1/2 Tbls soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbls fish sauce (Coop or Migros)
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper (I bought mine at the Turkish grocery store)

Mix all into a bowl and set aside.


Heat up a wok or large skillet, add 1/2 Tbls of oil and add the eggs. Cook until they are just done and break into pieces. Put in a small bowl or plate.







Add the remaining oil to the wok and add the garlic. Cook until light brown.  Add the speckwürfeli (ham) until slightly browned and then add the peas.  Mix well and then add the rice in.

Mix in the seasonings and then add the egg.  Mix continuously for about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste, however since I used the full sodium soy sauce, I did not add any extra salt.

Serve immediately and enjoy!