Quark

Quark?  That's that character from Star Trek, right?  Sure, that's his name but today I am talking dairy!

I first discovered quark in Munich, Germany.  Although at the time I didn't really know what it was.  I just knew that I had been seeing the runnier, semi sour European yogurts up until that point in my trip.  This one was drizzled with walnuts and honey and looked thicker. I took a small scoop to try.  It was so delicious!  Super creamy and just a little sweet.  I was pleasantly surprised.  

I belong to a German page on Facebook and one day she was discussing this treat called "quark."  I was pretty sure then that it was what I had in Munich.  I set out to see if I could make it from my goat milk.  I found a few recipes for using cultures and this is what I came up with.  Every milk is a little different so you may have to play with the draining times to get what you want but it is easy to make so give it a go!  

We'll still make our runnier type of goat yogurt for smoothies but this is my new go to thick yogurt type of recipe!  I also found that if I don't sweeten it that it works similar to sour cream.  I plan to try it with a baked potato soon.  I read that the un-thinned version can be used like cream cheese for käsekuchen (cheesecake.)  Maybe we'll have a go at that too!

Quark                                                                                                  Printable Recipe

1 gallon whole milk (not ultra pasteurized)*
Buttermilk culture  - USE 1 packet from New England Cheesemaking Culture or 1/8 teaspoon bulk from GetCulture
3 drops liquid rennet
Extra whole milk (amount needed depends on amount of quark making at serving time)
pure maple syrup or honey
pecans or walnuts

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Europe: A Carousel of Flavors Part 5

It's time to share the last leg of the European tour I took this summer.  It was fast, busy, lots to see, lots to eat, many memories and a yearning to go back and spend more time in some of the places I liked the most. 

We traveled our way through 7 countries which included the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, finally England.  

Stroopwafels, schnitzel, cappucinos (real ones!), gnocchi, älplermagronen, croissants and pasties....oh my!!

Changing of the Guard

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Sweet Swine Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are one of our favorite meals to eat.  We eat it on buns, on rice or scoop the meat up with chips.  It's your call on how you eat them! I have always made sloppy Joes with beef but this week I stepped out of the box and went with some local grown ground pork.  Then I threw in some pineapple.

I had a flashback to the first time I had ham and pineapple pizza.  I was dating my then boyfriend, now husband and he wanted ham and pineapple toppings.  Frankly, I thought he was nuts to put pineapple on his pizza but, hey, when your are in love, right?  So I tried it, it was pretty good.  It became my favorite way to eat pizza. That and spicy sausage and pepperoni is not a very good combo for dating breath!

Let's get to cooking!

Sweet Swine Sloppy Joes                                                                            Printable Recipe

1-1/2 pounds ground pork

1 small onion, finely chopped

8 ounce can tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 Tablespoon A1 sauce

Couple drops liquid smoke (optional)

8 ounce can pineapple tidbit, drained

salt and pepper

buns

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Apple Fritters

Recipe now at..... 

http://www.inthekitchenwithjenny.com/2016/06/apple-fritters.html

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Parmesan Risotto with Bacon and Tomato

Risotto is versatile dish.  Aside from the basic base you can add almost any flavor or add-ins you like.  The down-side...sorry there is one, but it's minor.  You have to stay and stir it constantly.  The rice needs to be pushed around a little so it can release it's starchy goodness.  That is what makes this dish so super creamy.  You also don't want your rice to stick to the bottom.   I started off with bacon and finished with fresh garden tomatoes.

Parmesan Risotto with Bacon and Tomato                                    Printable Recipe

3-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine (Chardonnay)*
4 strips bacon, diced
Small onion, diced
1 cup Arborio rice
2-3 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
3 small Roma tomatoes (seeded and chopped)

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Pork wrapped pork...yep, had to do it!! Thanks so much for the inspiration Chef Terrie! It's super easy to put together.  It looks fancy and you'll impress your guests with a dish that looks like you slaved away. Season it with your favorite seasoning or sauce.  Bacons come in a multitude of flavors too so use your  favorite! If it still isn't enough bacon for your meal, try my Parmesan Risotto with Bacon and Tomato for a side. 

Everything's better with bacon so let's get to wrapping!

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin                                                          Printable Recipe

2- pork tenderloins (size varies from 1 to 1-1/2 lbs)

8-10 slices bacon (depends on size of tenderloin and length of bacon)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Baked Chicken with Honey and Soy Sauce Glaze

For a quick, effortless meals boneless skinless chicken thighs are a great meat to use.  No bone to eat around and the meat is always juice and tender. Chicken is a very versatile, taking on any seasoning or flavor you pair it with. 

This marinade is a little sweet and little salty.  Serve it with your favorite side dish, salad or vegetable to round out the meal.

Baked Chicken with Honey and Soy Sauce Glaze                          Printable Recipe

1-1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons soy sauce (or 4 Tablespoons fauxy sauce - a homemade no-soy sub)
5 Tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

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Creamy Kohlrabi Bread Soup

I had this tasty soup starter for one of our meals while on vacation in Switzerland this summer.  I talked with the waitress and chef and they told me steps and ingredients and I replicated it as best I could.  This soup is a great way to use your garden harvest or farmer market buys.  

I used Russets in this soup instead of my usual Yukon gold potatoes as they break down easier and make the soup even creamier.  The bread I used was a 2 day old stale light rye bread.  The chef added the bread for two reasons, to use up the bread and to thicken the soup.  No waste here!

This is the first time I tried kohlrabi.  I tried a bite of it raw and a bite of it cooked.  It is no surprise that it has a cabbage flavor both ways being that is from the cabbage family.  The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rabi (Swiss German variant of "turnip") Kohlrabi is a very commonly eaten vegetable in German speaking countries. Make sure you should  peel off the tough outermost layer of the bulb with a vegetable peeler before cutting in half to get the core out.

Creamy Kohlrabi Bread Soup

2 pounds kohlrabi, peeled cored and chopped

1 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

6-8 cups chicken broth

2-3 slices stale rye bread

salt and pepper to taste

diced chives

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Europe: A Carousel of Flavors Part 4

The 4th part of my journey is all Paris.  I shared a little bit in Part 3 but there was so much more to share from Paris I had to have one more post. Paris was beautiful and the architecture was fantastic! 

The view from my hotel room at night.  This was so neat to see!!

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Europe: A Carousel of Flavors Part 3

We've arrived at the halfway point of my European trip.  I hope you have checked out Part 1 and Part 2.

This leg of the journey starts in the German part of Switzerland and then make our way to through the countryside of France on our way to Paris.

With this part of the trip comes a little family history from my husband's side.  We passed near where my husband's family is from, the Alsace region of France.  Many of the families from the small town I live in are from here.  My husband's grandfather arrived here in Iowa in 1905 at the age of 5.   The train he came in on at a tiny town near us, called Noble, used to run on the land just across the road from where I live now.  You can see some of the "hump" yet and bits of burnt coal here and there. I didn't get to meet anyone with our same last name but the folks at the hotel in Switzerland were familiar with it.  We've dropped the umlat (ä) over our a but the rest is the same.

Now on to the food and travel!

Hillside of Emmenten, Swtizerland.  This was the view outside my hotel balcony. You could hear the sheep and their bells.  Unfortunately I did not get a photo of them.

Europe:  A Carousel of Flavors Part 3

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