Die Bruncher...

Slightly belated but... better late than never. An update about our Saturday Home Brunch. After a seemingly endless summer break with our delightful clique spread all over the world, we finally managed to meet for another famour At-Home-Brunch at Kerstin & Alex' place again. Even Vera and Chris stopped by from Vorarlberg (other end of the country) with their freshly extended family. Let's welcome our newest addition to the Bruncher family: Ella - 4 months old and the secret star of this happening, gaining most of our attention and most of our talk circled around her and toddlers in general.

Just for explanation: our illustrious circle of friends usally has the most enjoyable conversations about university in general and Slavonic studies in particular as we all got to know each in the first place at some Russian class at university (with the major exception of Alex who first joined us as Kerstin's sidekick but know has gained a profound knowledge on Russian language, the Vienna Institute of Slavonic Studies and its staff and pretty much all Slavonic-related rumours and gossip over the years)! Ella's still too innocent to be part of that but she's grow into it at some point. Haha! And she did really well for a first time...

As usual, we had way too much of everything! Even though our "meetings" start somewhere around 10 AM and usually last to 4 or 5 PM!

 Also as usual, we had a lot of healthy food first before the common Nutella and Macadamia Cream feast started! ^_^

My contributiuon to this event, also as usual... Cupcakes! Blueberry and chocolate, this time. And I so wanted to use my fancy cupcake wrappers!

Some fun with the Satananas... ^_^

No chance to come short of bread with this amazing giant pretzel...

As always we end up in the kitchen, cleaning up and distributing the leftovers...

La Cuisine...

 

I finally had the time to get into my kitchen, again. I love baking. And it's rather cold today in my apartment. Plus I still had so many pears from our garden. Those muffins are perfect for a cold day, together with some strong coffee or tea. And ideal for breakfast, too - if you have a sweet tooth like me. They are not too sweet, though - as they are without any sugar and without butter. That's why some sweet jam, apple jelly or apple sauce is just a perfect accompaniment for them. The slightly bitter taste of orange marmalade goes pretty well with those, too. They are quick and easy to make and you can store them for a few days.

Pear & Ginger Muffins
[ adapted from Sophie Dahl ]

Preparation time: ~ 45 minutes (incl. baking)

Ingredients
makes 12 muffins

2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp natron (baking soda)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
145 g spelt flour
150 g oats
225 g pear mash (like the baby food)
4 egg whites, slightly whisked
125 ml joghurt
1 firm pear, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
110 g raisins

Preparation 
Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F). Grease muffin pan for 12 muffins with oil - or use paper baking cups. Mix baking powder, natron, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a big bowl. Add flour and oats. Make a little deepening in the centre and and all moist ingredients including the pear and raisins. Stir carefully. Put into forms so that each mould is filled up to 2/3. Bake at 180°C (356°F) on medium shelf for about 25-30 minutes until golden. Best served warm together with sweet fruit jam or sauce.

Bon appetite!

[ click here for the German version ]

 

WeisHeiten

Das hab ich bei der lieben Priska gefunden... Und es war einfach zu genial, um es hier nicht noch einmal zu wiederholen: 

 [ via we ♥ it ]

Ihr Lieben

Falls auch ihr mit der perfekten Bikini- oder Badehosenfigur kämpft, habe ich hier die Lösung. Beim Einhalten dieser auf Elisabeth Ornauers Lebensfreudeblog entdeckten Kalorien-Regeln, kann dem Erfolg nichts mehr im Weg stehen...

1. Wenn du etwas isst und keiner sieht es, dann hat es keine Kalorien.

2. Wenn du eine Light-Limonade trinkst und dazu eine Tafel Schokolade isst, dann werden die Kalorien in der Schokolade von der Light-Limonade vernichtet.

3. Wenn du mit anderen zusammen isst, zählen nur die Kalorien, die du mehr isst als die anderen.

4. Essen, das zu medizinischen Zwecken eingenommen wird, z.B. heiße Schokolade, Rotwein, Cognac zählt NIE.

5. Je mehr du diejenigen mästest, die täglich rund um dich sind, desto schlanker wirkst du selbst.

6. Essen, das als ein Teil von Unterhaltung verzehrt wird (Popcorn, Erdnüsse, Limonade, Schokolade oder Zuckerln), beim Videoschauen oder beim Musikhören, enthält keine Kalorien, da es ja nicht als Nahrung aufgenommen wird, sondern nur als Teil der Unterhaltung.

7. Kuchenstücke oder Gebäck enthalten keine Kalorien, wenn sie gebrochen und Stück für Stück verzehrt werden, weil das Fett verdampft, wenn es aufgebrochen wird.

8. Alles was von Messern, aus Töpfen oder von Löffeln geleckt wird, während man Essen zubereitet, enthält keine Kalorien weil es ja ein Teil der Essenszubereitung ist.

9. Essen mit der gleichen Farbe hat auch den gleichen Kalorieninhalt (z.B. Tomaten und Erdbeermarmelade, Pilze und weiße Schokolade).

10. Speisen die eingefroren sind, enthalten keine Kalorien, da Kalorien ein Wärmeeinheit sind.

Na, wenn das so ist... dann Mahlzeit und genießt es! ^_^

[ via El Mundo De La Gitana ]

La Cuisine...

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cointreau Chocolate Frosting

OMG! Those cupcakes were absolutely fantastic. I usually just make them and leave them to eat for my family and friends. But those were... amazing. Death by chocolate, that would be an appropriate name. Absolutely gorgeous. I only tried them because they looked nice and I love the decorating stuff...

If you want to try for yourself, here's the original recipe by Ming! It's cupcake #33. I used Cointreau instead of Chambord liqueur because I couldn't get that one anywere...

Bon appetite!

La Cuisine...

Cupcakes Vienna


Daily fresh cupcakes, cookies and cakes! And it's only 10 minutes from my place. Check out their awesome product line! If you have a sweet tooth like me and like your goodies lovingly decorated and arranged...

[ via Cupcakes Vienna ]

From Russia with Love...

My latest acquisitions. Just love the colourful desgin. And I'm crazy about mugs anyway.

front side 

back side 

This one I got from my fellow Russian student and dear friend Ines last year!