Wholemeal Breakfast Pancakes

Who doesn't like pancakes for breakfast?

 I think everybody does.

And so do we.

But because Klara shouldn't have 

a lot of plain wheat in her diet

and because I try to feed my beloved ones

with rather healthy food than junk

I made pancakes from wholemeal spelt flour 

this morning. 

And everyone loved them.

Here's the recipe:

- 150g wholemeal spelt flour

(I used Odlums, bought at Tesco)

- 1 tsp baking powder

- ½ tsp salt

- 1 tbsp brown sugar

- 200ml milk

- 1 large egg.

- 2 tbsps melted butter or coconut oil, slightly cooled

-butter or coconut oil for frying

To serve:

- Maple syrup

- Nut Butter

-Fresh Fruit and Cream Cheese

-Jam, Chocolate Spread, Golden Syrup, Lemon Curd...

Sieve the flour and the baking powder,

add sugar and salt.

In a seperate bowl, beat the egg

and mix with the milk.

Add eggmilk and butter/oil to the flour and whisk.

Let stand for a few minutes.

Fry from both sides in a frying pan with a little butter or coconut oil until golden brown.

Now.
This is my favourite topping.
It's quite far away from being healthy.
So maybe you don't want to tell your kids
and eat this when they're in bed.
Or at school.
Or you tell them it's something only adults can have.
Like whisky or Guinness.
I don't know if that would work, though.
Anyway:
It's crunchy peanut butter,
chocolate spread
and Golden Syrup.
We call them "Snickers Pancakes".
Try this!!!

Lena

From a Toddler's Perspective

I took the camera out in the garden and laid myself flat on the grass to take some photos in another way than usual.

I like the result a lot.

The Swing.

The Sandpit.

T

The Toys.

The Lawns.

The Animals.

The Boy.

The Trampoline.

Try this yourself! Find out how a mini-human sees the world.

It's fun!


Lena



Hello from Germany!

The kids and I are currently visiting

our family in Germany.

And we're having a lovely time!

Klara and Alfie have been just SO good at

Dublin Airport and during the flight.

Yes, I was quite surprised myself.

We've spent the first 2 days in Cologne

with my sister Kicki and Ralf,

 my brother-in-law-to-be.

It was sooooo hot. 

But wonderful!

We bathed in the River Rhine.

We got to know "Espresso de Luxe",

Kicki's new pet.

And Klara test-drove it.

There was a pet farm...

...and fun time in a pretty little park.

We stayed up late 

as it was too hot to sleep

before 11pm.

We splashed with buckets of water

on the balcony.

We had some ice-cold beer

and German fast food.

And we realised,

how childfriendly Ireland is

compare to Germany.

Enjoy your summer!

Lena

Fresh Cheese Strawberry Tart

Make a sweet short crust pastry dough.

I used THIS RECIPE and it turned out very well.

Roll it out and put it into a greased, round baking tin.

Bake in the oven until its edges slightly browned.

For me, it took about 20mins at 160 degrees Celsius

in the Fan assisted oven.

Let it cool on a rack.

In a small bowl,

mix 3tbsp cream cheese with

3tbsp fromage frais.

Add a tiny bit of Vanilla Powder

or any other vanilla flavouring you like.

And if you have a sweet tooth

add some sugar.

Wash a punnet of strawberries,

cut off the green bits

and slice or cube or chop them.

Whatever you like best.

Spread the cream cheese mix onto the baked, cooled tart base.

Toss the strawberries on top.

Slice.

Eat immediately.

Enjoy!

Lena



Climbing Baby Vol. II

 

Alfie.

14 months.

Not walking.

Conquering the slide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the cat is like:

"LOOK at THAT fella!"

 

 

Baking Sourdough Bread

One thing I am really proud of are my bread baking skills.

German bread is different to Irish bread.
Its texture is firmer, its crust is thicker and really crunchy, its taste a lot more aromatic
and if you opt for a really dark, wholemeal, healthy Pumpernickel Style one,
it actually fills you for quite a long while and helps your digestive system to work more efficient..

When we came over to Ireland in 2007, the first thing I missed a lot was the German bread.
And nearly all of my German friends I met here over the last few years, are the same.

We nearly popped a bottle of bubbly stuff when "our" Lidl supermarket nearby extended its shop and announced, they were bringing German bakery products into the country. Boy was I thrilled!

And the bread was GOOD! Our favourite ones were a rustic rye bread and a triangle shaped wholemeal multi seed loaf. And OF COURSE these 2 where the first breads taking off the shelves again.

I am not a great fan of the Irish brown bread as I find its texture a bit to crumbly-cakey to be a bread I would like. The shop-bought ones. Homemade brown bread is different. I like that a lot. If someone bakes one for me.

I don't like white bread. Well... the odd slice here and there, warm, just jumped out of the toaster, a bit of butter... great. Sometimes. But every time we buy a whole white bread, two thirds of it don't get eaten, start to mould and end up in the bin. True story. (I KNOW!)
And as it turned out last year, Klara is intolerant to wheat and gluten and more than one slice of toast makes her very sick with bad tummy pains and diarrhoea.

So I made the decision to bake bread. I wanted to learn how to make my oh-so-much-missed sourdough loafs. And I interviewed my mom who gave me some recipes and I went to the health shop in town to buy different wholemeal flours.

My first trials did not go so well. I have to admit that I'm not the most patient person in the world and that reducing the time the starter needs to ripen from 3 days to 1 day might not have helped.

Waiting for the final dough then to "double its size" as it often sais in the recipes, wasn't one of my best talents, either.
And some of the recipes I have tried so far have maybe just not been for me. Dunno!
But I've learned. I know a lot more things now about making, "breeding" and storing the sourdough starter. I understood, how important it is to give the dough the time it needs to turn into the desired consistency, sometimes fluffy and airy, sometimes tough and chewy, depending on the type of the bread I am making.


And I love the breads now. I always batch-bake. To make sure there is an appropriate amount of bread, sliced and ready to be defrosted and eaten. For breakfast. Or for lunch or tea.
With butter and jam, with yummy mature cheddar or creamy brie. Accompanied bye a nice cup of coffee or tea or a glass of juice. 2 slices filled with salads and tuna or ham. As a very healthy sandwich variety.

The kids love it. For Alfie, I cut off the crust and he gobbles down little cubes of very dark bread even. Buttered. With a bit of jam. Or a bit of cream cheese.

And the SMELL of warm, freshly baked bread in the house!!!

Now! Look at these beauties! And DON'T tell me you're NOT jealous.

 

 

Very dark sourdough loafs.

Made from wholemeal rye and wheat flour.

With sesame, linseed, sunflower seeds and molasse.

 



 

Rustic, traditional sourdough bread.

Made from wholemeal rye flour..

A bit flat but still oh-so-good!!!!

 

 

 

Hungry now??!
You're welcome!

Lena