This week we invited some friends out for supper to thank them for helping out last October. We set up the Fondue since we haven’t done that in a while and it’s a lot of fun. You can eat while you talk and not stuff yourself like crazy. The challenge was dessert because one of your friends is living gluten free.
I am not sure if you know this, but I grew up in the GDR, behind the Iron Curtain so to speak. It were brief 5 years but a culture doesn’t simply disappear, it changes slowly. A lot of things from the GDR culture is gone, although it has seen a revival with so called GDR stores. Anyway, the point is, as any culture, we had certain recipes in the GDR that were and still are quite unique.
Smitten Kitchen had a wonderful idea: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. Of course I had to try that right away, it’s just the right combination. So off to the Farmers Market I go to see that I can buy a nice Red Kuri pumpkin. That’s the one we would use for most of our dishes so I thought it would be good for the buns as well.
It’s alsmost the first day of fall but frankly, I have been in fall mode for at least a week. I love this season because I was born in October and falling leaves, changing colour, and the slightly cool and crisp air with some sunshine just get to me. Apples of course play a big role in fall so here we go with another apple recipe.
By now you are, hopefully, aware that I am of German background. Living in Canada can be a challenge sometimes, especially when it comes to cooking and baking. On the other hand, it is nice to see that you can surprise people with things that you are natural to you, like certain dishes. The past weeks I have become a part of a German-Canadian Baking and Cooking Club and as such I am preparing for a baking class.
Today is my half marathon race day, thus I am sticking to my regular breakfast. However, once in a while we do “fancy” thing, e.g. breakfast that takes a tiny bit more time and preparation than pouring cereal into a bowl. Something like pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Though it takes a bit longer, at least French toast is fairly simple to make.
Pretty and tasty.
Yesterday I didn’t bake because I taught in the evening. That’s my Thursday evening activity: teaching German to little children. After that I am too tired to do anything but go sit and maybe have a glass of wine. But thankfully I baked a bit more so here comes another favourite German Christmas cookie recipe. Cinnamon Stars are quite common all over Germany I would say. As with many recipes, this comes in different forms as well, some add a spice here or there, or have a different way of preparing it.
My father-in-law loves these.
These cinnamon buns are made from a special recipe. Not the ingredients are special, but where the recipe comes from. Last year around fall I started working at a bistro and they sold cinnamon buns, cinnamon buns with raisin and lemon buns. They were made freshly every morning and were huge, like three times the size you see in the picture. The woman who made them is a professional baker and pastry chef. She also made fudge once every two weeks. At some point she asked me if I would do a morning shift or two so that she could have a day off.
Strudel – a perfect way to use apples
Strudel is a type of baking that can be filled with almost everything. Most common is the Apple Strudel but you can fill it with meat and vegetables to make a savory type of dish. In Saxony, Strudel is not as typical as in the Southern regions of Germany and Austria. I remember my grandmother making Strudel but not on a regular basis. Now that I have my own kitchen I try a lot of new recipes and Strudel is certainly one of them. Some say it is rather difficult, which I would have not believed after my first attempt. Now I see though that is can be somewhat of a challenge.
Fall is a great season because you can do so many exciting things with apples. I was born in October and I love apples, naturally, I had to make some apples muffins.
Baking in Saskatoon 