New York Monday #107: Full Moon

January 28, 2008 | Filed Under New York Monday | 7 Comments

Early in the morning, a full moon in the city, last week.

Have a great week, all.

Paz

Kaiser Pancakes (Kaiserschmarren)

January 27, 2008 | Filed Under The Flyng Apple, New York Times, Breakfast, Friends, Desserts/Sweets, Austrian Cuisine | 18 Comments

This Sunday’s New York Times has an article out on dining in Austria, and our friend and fellow blogger, Angelika of The Flying Apple is a major part of the article. She recently opened her own restaurant, which she has blogged about on her site.

Quite some time ago, she sent me an Austrian cookbook (recipes from the Austro-Hungarian Royal Kitchen). I hadn’t been able to try out any of the recipes, although I’d picked up the cookbook to look for something to make after recently watching The Sound of Music (which takes place in Austria). I never had time to prepare my Austrian meal.

With news of Angelika’s article in theTimes, I had to prepare something Austrian in her honor. For a Sunday morning, I decided to prepare the Kaiser Pancakes. The ingredients were readily available to me, except for plum purée. I bought blueberry preserves to use as a substitution for the plum puree. However, by the time I’d finished making my pancakes, I was starved and couldn’t wait to eat my food. I forgot all about the preserves. Next time.

Anywho, my Kaiser Pancakes didn’t turn out badly at all. In fact, I loved them. It tasted really good. As I closed my eyes and savored the taste of my pancakes, I imagined I was part of the royalty enjoying my meal. My imagination lasted, until I had to get up and wash my own dishes.

Congratulations, Angelika on a very nice article and all your accomplishments.

Best,

Paz

Kaiser Pancakes (Kaiserschmarren)

Imperial Austrian Cuisine by Renate Wagner-Wittula

Ingredients:

6 eggs

200 g (7oz) cake or pastry flour

50 g (1 1/2 oz) sugar

250 ml (8 fluid oz) milk

pinch of salt

40 g (1 oz) raisins

butter

confectioners’ sugar (powdered)

plum purée

Preparation:

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Thouroughly mix the yolks, sugar, milk and flour. Whisk the egg whites, add a pinch of salt and continue whisking until stiff. Now, carefully fold into the egg yolk mixture. Melt butter in a large pan, pour in the mixture and sprinkle in raisins. Let cook on one side for a few minutes, turn over and tear into pieces with a fork. Now let finish cooking (ideally in a buttered pan in a preheated oven(. Be especially careful not to overcook the pancakes, otherwise they will dry out. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve with plum purée.

Armenian Apricot Soup

January 22, 2008 | Filed Under Soup/Chowder/Gumbo | 9 Comments

I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks. The ingredients enticed me. Apricots, ground cumin, red lentils? Very interesting, I thought and wanted to try it. Try it, I did. The results pleasantly surprised me. I’d never tasted a soup like this before. The apricots made it taste sweet but the rich earthy cumin taste balanced the sweetness of the soup. I love lentils and carrots, so the soup contained favorite ingredients. The soup tasted different from what I’m used but I liked it. On a very cold day, like the one we’re having in the city, the soup made a welcome choice.

Paz

Armenian Apricot Soup

The Soup Peddler’s Slow & Difficult Soups by David Ansel

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, diced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

3 Cups red lentils, rinsed

10 cups water

12 ounces dried apricots, chopped

Salt

Heat the oil in your soup pot over medium heat, then stir in the onion and arrots. Saute for about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and stir well. Decrease the heat, cover, and let the vegetables sweat for ten minutes.

Add the lentils and pour in enough of the water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the hea to medium low and cook for twenty minutes, or unil the lentils and carrots are tender. Add more of the water as needed as the lentils soften and expand.

Remove from the heat, stir in the apricots and any remaining water, and season with salt. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth; alternatively working in batches, puree in a regular blender until smooth. Take care not to over salt this soup. The right amount will bring out the flavor of the apricots but leave the onions in the background. Serve hot.

Serves 8 to 10.

New York Monday #106: Shinran Shonin (1173-1262)

January 21, 2008 | Filed Under New York Monday | 4 Comments

This is the statue of Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo-Shinshu sect. It stands in front of the Buddist Church, which holds services in Japanese and English, in the city. My friend got married in this church (I was one of her witnesses). It is beautiful inside. Originally, the statue of Shinran Shonin stood in Hiroshima and survived the atomic bomb blast. Later, it was brought to the U.S., as a symbol of lasting hope for world peace. I find the statute very interesting-looking. It’s not your everyday statue you find in the city.

Have a great week!

Paz

New York Monday #105: Traditional Chinese Performance

January 14, 2008 | Filed Under New York Monday | 10 Comments

This young lady is part of a traditional Chinese performance group. On a very cold day, dressed in traditional clothing, she and her fellow perfomers passed out fliers to pedestrians around Times Square. They invited everone to come and see their show.

Have a great week, everyone!

Paz

Ed. Note: If you’re interested in more photograph’s of the performers, you can look here. Also, here are two links listed for the group:

www.HolidayWonders.net

www.ChineseSplendor.com