Vegetable Lasagna

Last summer, I discovered that Coop had recipe cards and that they basically showcased a different item in a dish. They change them out seasonally and you can find them at either the front of the store or near the item being showcased.  The cards are all in German which has helped me learn a lot of words as well.  This is one of my favorites.  It is a summer recipe, but I think it works equally well for fall.  You can eat it as a main dish or as a side.

What you need: (for 2 people)

1 diced small onion
1 minced clove of garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 diced tomatoes
1/2 dl vegetable bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp basil, coarsely chopped
400 g zucchini (about 3  large ones or 4 smaller ones)
1.8 dl saucen halbrahm (runnier version of sour cream)
100 g Sbrinz cheese

Put the oil in a pan and heat it up.  Add the garlic and onion. When slightly tender, add the tomatoes for a minute or two.  Add the broth and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.

Cut the zucchini into thin slices - this is the hardest part I think.  You can use a cheese grater/mandolin or I used a potato peeler this time.  You want thin slices as these are your 'noodles'.

Lay 3 slices overlapping in a small dish.  If you have a small rectangular ramekin, they are perfect, otherwise you can use a baking dish and create little aluminium foil pockets in them for the individual 'lasagnas'.

On your first layer of zucchini spoon out about 3/4 of a Tbsp of the tomato/onion mixture. On top of that about 3/4 of a Tbsp of the saucen halbrahm. Place some Sbrinz on top of that.  Using the rolled kind, I unrolled them (they are made of 2 slices) and put the 2 slices on top.

Repeat this for a total of 3 layers (more if you have leftovers).  If you have some rolls left, place those on top and bake for 30 minutes at 200 C.

Either serve in the ramekin or let sit a minute and transfer to a plate.  There will be juice. Enjoy!

Blueberry cake - so many possibilities

I love blueberry muffins.  Unfortunately I love Betty Crocker blueberry muffins and the only way I get those is my my mom and MIL bringing me some - or ordering off some of the food websites I have listed.

I've looked for a 'from scratch' recipe and still haven't had a lot of success (Coop occasionally does sell BB muffins but they're 2chf a piece and that's a bit much for a week of breakfast).  I have now found a fantastic recipe though, and while I made it as a cake as suggested, next time I will make it in muffin cups.  It was really easy to make.  I'm also already thinking of making it with chocolate chips for hubby - which would be easy to make both at once if using the muffin pan.  You need a few bowls to make this.  (sorry about the pictures - when I remake it I will retake them)

The original recipe is located here
What you need:

100g butter - room temperature
The zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup of sugar
1 egg - room temperature
1 tsp vanilla (again I used my homemade which I think tastes better than store bought)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder (next time I will try it with backpulver)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 a package of frozen blueberries (BBs)-(or 2 cups of fresh if you make this when they're in season
1/2 cup buttermilk (sauer buttermilch - available at Coop but not online)

Preheat the oven to 180 C

In a small bowl, cream the butter with the zest and sugar until well mixed

In a larger bowl, add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add in the butter/sugar mixture.

In another bowl, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of flour. If you use frozen BBs you may want to rinse them off so your muffins/cake don't turn purple.  It doesn't bother me, and it wasn't super purple, but if making it for guests you may want to so it looks prettier.

In your final bowl, mix the baking powder, salt and flour together.

Add your flour mixture and buttermilk a little bit at a time to the butter/egg/sugar bowl and mix.  I did this in two batches.

Fold in the BBs gently.

Butter (or use cooking spray) a medium sized baking dish and spread the batter into the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Cut into squares and allow to cool slightly.

Enjoy!