Stine Mari

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/lemon-blueberry-french-toast-casserole/

Lemon Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese

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  Lemon Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese. It’s got it all! Zingy lemon and blueberry, sharp cream cheese and soft ooey gooey bread. A sweet breakfast for a sweet morning! Easy to prepare the day before, pop it in the oven and just relax and enjoy a slow morning.

    That’s definitely my favorite kind of morning. I love to be up way before I really need to, simply to sit down with a cup of tea, look out the window and just take a breather. I also love to be out for a morning walk before everyone wakes up. And since this lemon blueberry french toast casserole needs some time in the oven, you’d get a chance too! Surprise your family with a super easy, yet immensely delicious and indulgent breakfast treat (and you’ve got your appetite going with a stroll!).

    Sooo… this post is up slightly late because I have been swamped with WordPress related issues this week. I am really struggling with my RSS feed and whenever I try to fix it, I get new issues. So I am incredibly annoyed with this and I can’t seem to find a good solution to it. I just have to keep trying, although I think I am going to give it a rest until Easter is over!

  Let me just enjoy Easter – cabin, good food, fireplaces and skiis. And puzzles and way too much sweets. I am a kid at Easter (and Christmas, and pretty much everyday). And this french toast casserole is totally on my list for Easter brunch, and it should be on yours too!

  Lemon Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Cream Cheese

  This recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction, but I wanted it more fresh and zingy and added the awesome combination of lemon and blueberry. I use half a loaf because, come on, it sure is enough. This is more of a leftover treat for me, I don’t buy loafs to use it all to a French toast casserole. I don’t have enough people in my family to justify that. BUT, if you do – just double the recipe! It’s so, so delicious and I ate French toast casserole everyday for at least three days. A bonus dessert!

    Take a day old (or several days old, don’t worry) loaf, and cut the bread in thick slices and each slice into around 9 cubes. Just roughly chop it up. Grease a 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan baking pan with non-stick or butter, and add in half of the cubed loaf. Beat softened cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium high, until soft and add in the powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp vanilla. Drop random spoonfuls of cream cheese over the bread. Place a few blueberries or blackberries evenly over the bread, and layer the remaining bread cubes on top. Set aside.

    Whisk milk, eggs, cinnamon, brown sugar and the remaining vanilla together, until no more brown sugar lumps. Pour over the bread, and add in the zest of one lemon. Cover the pan with a plastic wrap and chill for 3+ hours, preferably overnight.

  Preheat oven to 175C (350F).

  Make the topping:

Whisk brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add in small cubes of cold butter, and cut it with a pastry cutter or two forks. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and sprinkle the butter mixture on top of the soaking bread.

  Bake uncovered for around 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown. The longer you bake it, the crispier the top will get. I found 50 just enough crispy, but the rest is super soft.

  Meanwhile this is baking, make the blueberry sauce. Bring sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice to a boil, and add in the blueberries and/or blackberries and continue to boil. Stir often, until it thickens.

  Serve the warm french toast casserole with warm blueberry sauce.

    You can store leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days, I had mine for three days and it tasted just as good the third day! Don’t forget to check out the other perfect Easter brunch recipes below. There’s clearly never enough days in a holiday to fit all the delicious food I want to eat… oh well, indulgence it is!

  On my Easter brunch table:

Best Ever Scrambled Eggs

Easy Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

Orange Hot Chocolate

Rich and Decadent Hot Chocolate

Norwegian Sweet Buns

Crispy Fluffy Doughnuts (Smultringer)

Healthy Banana Pancakes

Whole Wheat Bread Rolls

Apple Honey Brie Toast

Classic Irish Coffee

  What’s on your Easter brunch table?

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/classic-irish-coffee/

Classic Irish Coffee for St. Patrick's Day

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  So this is starting on the wrong foot. I wholeheartedly thought St. Patrick’s Day was on Sunday and not Saturday. Last year, I was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin and truth be told, the parade was nothing to cheer for. However, Irish coffee is.

    I’m not really a coffee drinker, I need sugar, milk and sometimes chocolate or booze. Might still be a teenager in that department. But regardless if you’re a coffee drinker or not, I believe you are going to love this! It’s just the right amount of bitter from the coffee, and it goes so well with the sweet brown sugar and a little zing from the whiskey. Top it off with a velvety almost pourable cream, and it’s a really nice dessert. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the comfort of your own home and enjoy this comforting hot coffee drink.

    I know there are a lot of Irish coffees out there that has so much more alcohol than this one, and that’s what I love about it! Too much alcohol just tastes like cat’s piss to me, and it does no one any good. I want a little, just to break the bitterness and tie it with the sweetness. This is perfect. Of course, you add more or less whiskey and sugar to your own liking, this is just my preference (however, I might add even more sugar the next time, but don’t tell anyone).

  And one more thing about Dublin and/or Ireland; does anyone really understand what they’re saying?? I had such a hard time understanding their English – immensely thick dialect! So eventually, we just faked a bad hearing, because you know, it was kind of embarrassing. But, we had a blast anyway.

    You should be using an Irish whiskey because they have good whiskey, and it’s an Irish Coffee duh. However, I’m guessing you have a favorite brand, and rest assured, you can use it. I used the Irish Jameson whiskey. Whiskey might be one of my favorite drinks, apart from mojitos of course. Nothing can beat a good mojito! However, a whiskey sour is pretty high on my list. Totally going to experiment and make the perfect whiskey sour.

  Classic Irish Coffee

  I digress, today is all about the Irish Coffee. This Irish coffee unites all the coffee drinkers, booze lovers and sugar addicts into a cup of perfection. You want the secret? It’s all in high quality coffee and the cream. Yes, the cream. The cream should be just whipped, just slightly starting to become whipped. It should still be pourable, but a little thick. This makes it possible for the coffee to come through and not just having a thick dollop of cream floating on top. You can se what I made in the photo below.

    Add hot water to your mugs and let it sit for a few minutes to heat them up. Pour it out and add in the high quality coffee. Stir in brown sugar and whiskey and it’s ready for the cream. Take a spoon over the mug and pour the thick, pourable cream at the back of the spoon. This way the cream will stay on top of the coffee, and it’s liquid enough for you to reach the coffee and not just the cream! How genius is this! I’m totally giving this a try on hot chocolate too. It’s always been an element of irritation that the cream just floats and is impossible to get to. Perfect.

  Hope you’ll enjoy this classic yet delicious Irish whiskey! And if you want to really up the game and celebrate Ireland tomorrow, I suggest whipping up a batch of these Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting for dessert.

    Other hot drinks if coffee is too strong for you:

Rich & Decadent Hot Chocolate

Orange Hot Chocolate

Scandinavian Mulled Wine

Cranberry Sangria

Ginger Pear Bellini

  How are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? 

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/chicken-shawarma-homemade-shawarma-spice/

Chicken Shawarma + Homemade Shawarma Spice

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  Shawarma – that’s a new word in my household. But boy – I was missing out! Shawarma is like the Middle Eastern gyro or tacos. And we love gyros and tacos don’t we? Yes, we do! It’s often thinly cut meat packed with Middle Eastern flavors such as cardamom, allspice, lemon, garlic, yoghurt, wrapped inside a pita and served with dishes such as hummus, tahini, tabbouleh or fries.

  The day ‘suddenly’ got much lighter here, and the sun don’t go down until like 6.30 pm. That feels like an eternity when I’m used to it being dark basically all day during winter. And it’s light out when I wake up! I meaaan – Summer is getting close, I can smell it.

    And with Summer, there are lighter meals, more yoghurt and more lemon! Or at least, for me. I’m more of a comfort food eater during winter, and a salad doesn’t always appeal to me. However, after all that heavy food I’m looking forward to a new kind of comfort food – Summer, veggies and BBQ! Ohh and lemonade and berries. Yesss, I guess I’m looking forward to it.

      Seems like food and weather is what’s guiding my mood. Are you like that? All kinds of weather and food can get me in a good mood though. But winter, snow and pumpkin spice make me cozy, wanting to wrap up in blankets and hibernate. Summer is all about being outdoors, active and social around the garden table.

  Ok, that sounded like we were jogging around the garden table, my bad. I mean, I’ve got restless legs, but not that restless… I am babbling – I guess you want to eat sometime this century right, so let’s get to this delicious super yummy Chicken Shawarma! I’m also throwing in a homemade shawarma spice blend so you can just whip this baby up in no time the next time (because there will be a next time, I promise).

  Chicken Shawarma + Homemade Shawarma Spice

  Let’s begin with the marinade. It’s just mix and forget really. But we need to make the shawarma blend first (You should also begin cooking quinoa for the tabbouleh, see below). Recipe is based on Jo Cooks’.

  Shawarma Spice Blend

I halved the recipe from Little Spice Jar. Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight container. I know, so easy. You can marinade meat even easier than in my recipe here, but I haven’t tried this version; 2 tbsp of olive oil + 1 tbsp white vinegar and half a teaspoon of salt with 1 tbsp of shawarma to marinade 500 gr of meat. Marinade chicken for 20 minutes and beef for 1-24 hours (source). It sounds amazing, but I have not tried it! I’m all about the lemon and garlic in the next step.

    Chicken Shawarma Marinade

Add all the spices, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil to a bowl. Whisk well and toss in the chicken. Make sure the chicken is completely coated in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for around 1 hour.

  Pre-heat the oven to 220C (425F). Add sliced onion to the bowl with the chicken and toss around. Add everything to a 20x30cm (9×13) baking dish. If you still have a lot of marinade floating around, leave it behind. But the longer the meat is marinading, the more it will absorb.

  Bake until chicken is done, around 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of chicken. Once done, let them rest 5 minutes before slicing.

  Meanwhile…

Meanwhile everything is marinading, baking and so on – you’ll make the sides. The garlic sauce is made in around 30 seconds – just whisk everything together, taste and season more if you want. The tabbouleh salad is also very easy, but you need to cook and cool the quinoa, while you chop and measure the rest of the ingredients. See this link for an amazing tabbouleh recipe. Heat some pita wraps, spread with hummus, garlic sauce, tabbouleh and top with chicken shawarma.

    Enjoy this summer on a plate!

  Other Summery or Middle Eastern dishes:

Baharat Spice Blend

Middle Eastern Pizza

Lemon Tea Cake with a Cream Cheese Surprise

Moroccan Harissa Grilled Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Mexican Tacos al Pastor

Caribbean Mango Chipotle Quinoa Bowl

Cuban Quinoa Bowl with Fried Bananas and Mango Salsa

  What’s your favorite summer or bbq recipe?

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/tropical-mango-pineapple-smoothie/

Tropical Mango Pineapple Smoothie

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  Today has been the warmest day it’s been in a long time. With the temperature up to 6C (43F) it’s basically Norwegian Spring. And Norwegian Spring is basically Norwegian Summer. So, I’ll be sharing a tropical smoothie today to celebrate the approaching lighter days and warmer skins!

  I love Winter, I really do, the crisp air and the crunchy snow. The cold really bite into your skin and you’re tucked under at least five layers of clothing. The view from my bedroom window is filled with alps covered in snow, the tranquil fjord and it’s just much more crisp than in the Summer months.

    However, it’s also impossible to get anything done. It’s cold and you just want to hibernate, my brain has shut off and yeah, I might be in desperate need of sun and warmth. It has seemed so far away the past few weeks and months – but today, today I felt it might come back.

  Tropical Mango Pineapple Smoothie

  And if it’s not sunny outside, let’s drink sunshine in a cup! Or glass, or whatever you drink your smoothies from. This mango pineapple smoothie is packed with tropical sweet flavors. It’s FRESH, but it’s also sweet. The sweetness depends on the ripeness of your fruit and water/orange juice ratio. I added a hint of mint because hey; added antioxidants and freshness with a cool aftertaste. Exactly what we want in a tropical paradise.

  Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. You can add more water or orange juice to reach your desired consistency. Remember that different blenders may require different amounts of liquid. You can also add some superfood powders, chia seeds or ground flax seeds if you want to oomph up the nutritional value.

  Pour into two glasses!  

    So, imagine sitting on a beach, in your bikini and straw hat, sipping on this tropical mango pineapple smoothie while soaking up the sun and bury your toes in the hot sand.

  While you’re mind is set on the Caribbean (or at least mine was), why don’t you do a full Caribbean menu today? I highly recommend this super delicious and exotic Cuban Quinoa Bowl with Mango Salsa and Fried Bananas or this Mango Chipotle Quinoa Bowl with Optional Lime Chicken for dinner.

  Want to go for a greener smoothie? This Energizing Green Smoothie with Grapes and Avocado might be something for you!

    What screams summer to you?

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/vegan-thai-lemongrass-noodle-soup/

Vegan Thai Lemongrass Noodle Soup

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  This vegan Thai lemongrass noodle soup is just what I need these cold days. As I’m sure you’ve heard of the #BeastFromTheEast as the Brits are calling it, these past few days have been exceptional cold March days. I’m not too worried about it. I’m tired of Easter being full of wet snow patches, mud – not good conditions for the Easter I’m all about; cross country skiing, chocolate, oranges and puzzles. Alright, one might do puzzles and eat chocolate in bad weather, but it’s not the same. I want to be tired from a day out in the sun skiing and get back to the cabin, take a shower and relax with a puzzle.

  Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. 3 more weeks of winter, and I’m embracing it with this spicy vegan Thai lemongrass noodle soup. As some might know, whenever I see a dish including lemongrass on a menu, rest assured I’ll be ordering it. I was in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia last Summer, and I ate – so much – lemongrass, I was in heaven. Lemongrass is one of my all time favorite ingredients, it makes any Thai or Vietnamese dish taste more authentic, a long with the delicious kaffir lime leaves. YES.

    Story about this photoshoot: I was super stressed out during this photoshoot, I didn’t have much time but I still decided to try using my tripod. (I really recommend this tripod if you have heavy camera equipment such as my Canon EOS 7D with my Canon EF 50mm lens). Back and forth and a few curse words later, I had to jump in the car to help my dad with something. When I was sitting in the car, I realized something – I had forgotten the noodles! I couldn’t do it over again, but the soup was so delicious I had to share. So yeah, no noodles in the pictures, but noodles in my belly. And yours soon, hopefully.

      Vegan Thai Lemongrass Noodle Soup

  As it’s been so cold lately, I’ve been craving soup. However, hungry men don’t always agree that soup is dinner, so it had been put on hold for many days. I couldn’t take it any longer, I thought about soup all day, so this weekend I made soup for lunch. It was a success. Spicy from the green curry paste and chilis, creamy from the coconut milk, hearty and filling from the noodles and a few crunchy elements such as snow peas and toasted coconut. This recipe is adapted from Well Fed Soul.

  Instructions

Begin with chopping up the ingredients. Smash the lemongrass stem with the pestle (from your mortar and pestle), and cut it into tiny pieces. Chop the other ingredients finely, apart from the snow peas. I cut them in half, I wanted the crunch, but not overpowering.

  Heat canola oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 6-7 minutes. Once translucent and a few brown pieces, add in the garlic, Green Curry Paste, lemongrass and ginger. Stir one more minute.

  In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, soy sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar, lime juice and smoked paprika. Pour it slowly into the soup pot. Add in vegetable broth and increase the temperature to high.

  Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce it to simmer for around 20 minutes, uncovered. This will get the flavors a chance to really pop and harmonize with each other. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package instructions. If you want it vegan, go for rice noodles or vermicelli noodles, if not I really like to use egg noodles in this dish.

  Add in the snow peas 1-2 minutes before serving. Taste the soup and season with salt. Enjoy this lemongrass noodle soup with noodles, chopped cilantro, spring onions, sesame seeds and toasted coconut flakes. I toast coconut in a dry pan for a few minutes, until you see small brown patches.

    Have a wonderful soup day!

What’s your favorite soup?

  Here’s a few other delicious soups and healthy bowls:

Curry Coconut Carrot Soup

Moroccan Butternut and Chevre Soup with Pomegranates and Ginger Coconut Cream

Mango Chipotle Quinoa Bowl with Optional Lime Chicken

Cuban Quinoa Bowl with Mango Salsa and Fried Bananas

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/best-ever-easy-fluffy-cinnamon-rolls/

The Best Ever Easy Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

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  It’s hard to avoid being a narcissist when I have the perfect bun recipe up my sleeve. Known as the bun queen in my circles, I think you should listen to me now (I don’t have to mention that my circle is very small, do I?). I’m always on top of the world when I see my cinnamon rolls rise, rise and rise. The smell in the kitchen becomes more and more satisfying as they bake.

  The 12 minutes it takes to bake them may seem like an eternity. But it’s also calming to just sit on the floor and watch the dough work its magic in the oven. Brew yourself a cup of tea and relax as the smell hits your core.

    Cinnamon rolls are one of the pinnacles of comfort food to me. Just watching them is comforting. But eating them, ahh that’s just amazing. The first bite, as soon as they’re (almost) cool enough to handle, is just DIVINE. I close my eyes and dance in the kitchen, making humming and yummy noises. I might not expect everyone to appreciate a good bun as much as I do, but I believe that if you try this recipe, there’s a fair chance you will do exactly the same as me.

  Easy Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

  The bun recipe is the same as in all buns I make. It’ the secret to a good bun, you know. So why jeopardize it. You can find the original recipe for regular Norwegian Sweet Buns here. I urge you to try one with butter and cheese on it, either brown or Jarlsberg/Gouda/Edam. Also delicious with jams, homemade preferably.

  However, you have clicked yourself into these deliciously easy fluffy cinnamon rolls. And I reckon you want the recipe? Alright.

    Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl – flour, sugar, salt and cardamom. In a medium saucepan, melt butter, pour the milk in and wait until the mixture is lukewarm. This is very important or else the yeast wake. Mine was at 38C (100F). Pour the butter and milk into the flour mixture along with one egg.

  Knead together. If you’ve got a stand mixer – good for you – I, on the other hand, still have to use a hand mixer. This is also a very important step, as you have to mix until the dough is fluffy and no longer clings to the bowl. But, you don’t want to add more flour that absolutely necessary, as more flour means denser buns – which you obviously don’t want.

    However, if you measure exactly like the recipe below, you shouldn’t need to add or subtract anything, I never do. Add a little flour on top, and place a kitchen towel or plastic wrap over the bowl. Leave it in a warm place (or at least not ice cold and drafty!) for about 1-1,5 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

  Meanwhile, make the filling.

Mix together the room temperature butter, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla bean sugar. Yes, it’s that easy!

  Take half of the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead a little and begin rolling with a rolling pin. I want it to be around 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick. Spread half of the cinnamon mixture onto the dough, and begin to roll.

  Do not roll too tightly. Just lightly roll, but then again, not so loose that everything falls apart. Cut the roll into 10-ish rolls. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Whisk one egg and brush each cinnamon roll. You may substitute with milk, but I prefer eggs.

  Take the other half and repeat the process. Bake in the middle of the oven at 210C (410C) for around 12 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

    I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Do you call them cinnamon rolls or cinnamon buns?

  Other buns and breads:

Norwegian Sweet Buns

Whole Wheat Bread Rolls

Saffron Buns (Lussekatter)

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/middle-eastern-flatbread-beef/

Middle Eastern Flatbread with Spiced Beef and Mint

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    JUMP TO RECIPE

  A few weeks ago I posted a recipe on Baharat, a Middle Eastern spice blend. It’s so so delicious, but what do you make? You could make these Middle Eastern Flatbread!

  I’ve been busy cooking up some Valentine worthy dishes lately (check here and here), but now I’m ready to show you these super delicious Middle Eastern Flatbread. It’s almost like a pizza, cause the flatbread isn’t all that flat really. But it’s tasty.

  So tasty.

  Middle Eastern cuisine is on the riise lately, and I’m gladly hopping on board! There are just so many divine Middle Eastern recipes out there, and I’ve just recently discovered most of it. And any excuse to eat mint, count me in. Don’t forget to check out my other Middle Eastern and North African dishes:

  Middle Eastern Spice Blend Baharat

Middle Eastern Tabbouleh with Quinoa

Moroccan Butternut and Chevre Soup with Pomegranates and Ginger Coconut Cream

Grilled Harissa Chicken Salad with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

  I do have a struggle in separating Middle Eastern and North African dishes. I think they use many of the similar ingredients in the same way. Don’t arrest me on this, because I think they’re equally delicious. I’m sure you could use baharat in Moroccan dishes too!

    But back to these Middle Eastern Flatbread, or Lebanese flatbread. It’s easy to make, easy to store and easy to eat! Gone in a flash! The sultana raisins add for a very interesting layer of flavor. You can substitute with regular raisins if you’d like, but it’s not exactly the same. The sultana raisins are yellow and sweeter than regular raisins (also called golden), but both are juicy and so yummy in this dish.

  You can add and subtract whatever you want, it’s a kind of pizza after all. However, I highly recommend adding baharat, you could probably find it in Asian or Middle Eastern stores if you don’t want to make your own. You can also buy it here. I’d also highly recommend the yoghurt, it adds a freshness that I think is highly needed on a pizza.

  I was supposed to make this with lamb, as I rarely eat lamb, but why not? I’ll tell you why, because I can’t find lamb in the stores here. Right, it’s totally uncool. I found minced lamb in the store a few months ago, and thought to myself that I needed to find a kickass recipe with lamb. I found the kickass recipe, and then there’s no lamb.

  The struggles of small towns in Norway.

  And it’s not even small in a Norwegian scale.

    So, back to beef. But if you want, I’d love to hear how you thought of it using lamb! Beef was super tasty, I only wish I had more of the filling on because YUM.

  Middle Eastern Flatbread with Spiced Beef and Mint

  This recipe is adapted from Delicious Magazine.

  The dough

Begin with the dough. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl. In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm (37C/98F) water. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the watered yeast. Mix to form a soft dough. The dough should be smooth and elastic and just letting go of the bowl.

  Divide into 4 equal parts, place on a baking tray, cover and leave to rise for around 1 hour. The balls should double in size, so just give it time.

  Meanwhile, make the fillings.

  The filling

Add oil to a heated skillet, add in chopped shallot, garlic and spices and fry for around 2 minutes. Add the minced meat and brown the meat completely.

  Pour in the chicken stock and sultana raisins and bring everything to a boil before reducing it to a simmer for 20 minutes. The stock should be almost completely evaporated, just keep going if not. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cool.

  Assembly

Heat the oven to as high as it will go and leave an (empty) baking tray in it to make sure everything will be piping hot when ready to bake the flatbread. Roll with a rolling pin each ball on a lightly floured countertop, until about 20cm x 15cm, 5mm thick. Yes I actually took out a ruler to check the measurements. However, by the second one you’ve kind of figured out the size by sight.

  Top each flatbread with the beef topping, scatter with yoghurt and green chiles. Add a little more beef than you think, because the flatbread will rise a little. Bake in the oven for around 6-10 minutes, depending on your oven. It should be golden and crisp.

  Top your Middle Eastern Flatbread with cilantro and mint leaves, scatter with a little bit of fresh yoghurt and serve immediately! I thought it delicious with some fresh salad next to it. And maybe a little bit of muhammara…? Recipe coming sometime soon!

    Enjoy!

  Remember to check out my other Middle Eastern recipes (links above). And I’d love to hear how you thought this recipe went! Did you try it with lamb or beef? Regular raisins or completely different toppings?

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/peppermint-dark-chocolates/

Peppermint Dark Chocolates for Valentine's Day

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  Valentine’s Day is getting close. I like to receive gifts that has been made a little effort in. That means, it just needs to look that way. These peppermint dark chocolates are almost as easy as buying them at the store. And it’s just so much more special and perfect for a Valentine.

  The Valentine can be you of course, just make a batch and you’ll love yourself. Trust me. These babies make any day just a little bit better. Serve them with Ginger Pear Bellinis that look like they’ve got floating gold flakes in them, and you’ll be the Princess of today.

  Peppermint Dark Chocolates

You’ll need a mold, either it being some old chocolates box or silicone molds, it just need to hold the shape of a chocolate. Melt dark chocolate in the microwave, on 20 second intervals, and stir in between. When the chocolate is melted and slightly cooled, pour a little bit in each mold and use the back of a small spoon and work your way up to the edge of the mold. This way the entire mold is covered in a thin layer of chocolate, but not completely full as we need to fill them with the peppermint fillings! Place them in the fridge to set, around 30 minutes.

    Meanwhile, make the fillings. Add the powdered sugar to a bowl, pour in the peppermint extract and a little water. Add more water until you get the desired consistency. I like it firm but slightly runny. If it gets too runny, add in more powdered sugar.

  Add a dollop of peppermint filling into each mould, remember to not fill completely to the edge. Add melted chocolate on top and level them with the edge of the mould. Rap the moulds firmly on the kitchen counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Place back to the refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes, or until set.

    If you find a pretty chocolate box to put these peppermint dark chocolates in, I’d love to hear from you! It’s difficult to google this as chocolate is so many things. In Norway this kind of chocolate is called konfekt which would make things a little easier. Oh well, maybe you can help!

  Happy Valentine’s Day!

What are you up to on this lovely day?

  Valentine worthy sweets:

Ginger Pear Bellini

Mulled Wine

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting

Tiramisu Cake with White Chocolate Mousse

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/ginger-pear-bellini/

Ginger Pear Bellini

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  So, I’ve been away. Needed some sun and sangria (check this out). But I’m back! And in high time, as Valentine’s Day is upcoming. A time for romance, and I have the feeling that most girls get what they want on this day. I even get to choose a romantic comedy for the night’s entertainment! … yes, that’s not always easy to get through. I don’t think he has ever heard of a democracy (not true, we’re both stubborn).

  It’s also the time for decadent and festive cocktails or bellinis. Bellini is like a mimosa only that it’s champagne and not wine. How ’bout that for some celebration! The pear in this ginger pear bellini actually looks like gold flakes, so it really looks like your treating yourself (or your significant other) with the most expensive bellini ever. But no, only delicious ginger pear bellini!

    I know that Valentine’s Day comes on a Wednesday this year, but still, imagine a decadent bellini brunch with your love! I think we’ll have to settle for after dinner-bellinis instead, but a girl can dream, can’t she. Drink a ginger pear bellini, eat some chocolate and snuggle up with your love, yourself or all your single freinds! Enjoy a romantic comedy and just relax.

  Ginger Pear Bellini

  This recipe is from Hello Glow. First, make the ginger pear simple syrup. Begin with equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add in ginger and let it infuse for 30 minutes. In the meantime, puree your ripe pear in a food processor or blender. Remove the ginger and add in the pear puree. Let it cool in the refrigerator.

    Once it’s cold, add 2 tbsp into a champagne flute (remind me to buy champagne glasses… however, they looked good in these glasses too, right?), and pour in champagne. If you’re wondering to get personalized Valentine’s gifts and champagne flutes, Beau Coup has so many pretty ideas!

    Happy Valentine’s Day. May your day be filled with love and bellinis.

  Other romantic food to indulge in on Valentine’s Day:

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting

Peppermint Mocha Macarons

Mulled Wine

Cranberry Sangria

Tiramisu Cake with White Chocolate Mousse

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/dark-chocolate-orange-layer-cake/

Dark Chocolate and Orange Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting

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  Happy Birthday to me! This is really the cake I made for my mom’s birthday a few days ago, because you can’t make your own birthday cake. That’s just the way it is. However, it is my birthday and thus I want to share a birthday cake with you.

  And here it is. Dark Chocolate and Orange Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting. YUM. Dark chocolate and orange is one of my favorite flavor combinations. The citrusy tang from the orange and the bitter but sweet dark chocolate makes me so happy.

    This dark chocolate and orange layer cake is a heavy cake, but who doesn’t love buttercream? Everything is such a nice harmony, and it’s easier to eat too much than you’d think… However, when it’s a birthday cake, you’re allowed.

  Dark Chocolate and Orange Layer Cake

  This recipe is adapted from Taming Twins. Begin with greasing 3 x 18cm (7inch) or 2 x 20cm (8 inch) round cake tins. Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream your room temperature butter with the sugar, until it’s pale, light and fluffy. I like to cut the butter into smaller pieces so it’s easier to cream. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

    Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture into the butter mixture a small amount at a time. You can also sift it. This helps keep the sponge airy. Stir in the melted and slightly cooled chocolate, orange extract and zest of one orange.

  Pour equal amounts of batter into the cake tins, smooth out with the back of a spoon. Bake for around 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

  Dark Chocolate Orange Buttercream

  Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat your room temperature butter until it’s pale, light and fluffy. Beat in your icing sugar, orange extract and juice of 1 orange.

  Divide the icing into two bowls, 3/4 in one and 1/4 in the other. In the largest bowl, add in the slightly cooled melted chocolate, mix in completely. You can color the other bowl with orange if you want. I had just a hint of color in mine.

  More than likely, the buttercream you’ve got is too stiff. You should be able to pipe it from a piping bag, so you might want to add a little water to the bowls. But do it a little at a time, because you don’t need much.

  Assembling

  When the cakes are completely cold, level them. Take a serrated knife and make them level. Spread chocolate buttercream on each layer, reserve some for decoration. Place the buttercreams in two piping bags with a round tip. Pipe droplets around the edge of the two lower layers, and fill the top layer with chocolate buttercream on the outer part and the inner circles with orange buttercream.

  You will have leftover buttercream, I suggest you eat that with the cake trimmings while you wait for your birthday guests!

    Enjoy!

  Other cakes and birthday goodness:

Tiramisu Cake with White Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Coffe Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting

Light as Air Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/middle-eastern-spice-blend-baharat/

Middle Eastern Spice Blend Baharat

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  Lately I’ve had such a kick on Middle Eastern cuisine, and this weekend I made a bunch. Happy times. I wanted to first share with you the spice blends, so that you’ve got everything in place to begin cooking.

  It’s also so satisfying to make your own spice blends. You know exactly what’s in there, and you learn so much in the process too. What flavors work together and what spices each cuisine likes to use.

    The first spice blend I’ll share, is this super delicious baharat. Baharat just means ‘spices’ in Arabic. It is such a fragrant and mouth watering spice blend. Full of ingredients such as pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin and paprika. It does contain a lot of ingredients, but it’s totally worth it. I was almost jumping up and down in my happy dance when I smelled this mix. No joke.

    Where has baharat been all my life? Totally missed out on marvellous Middle Eastern cuisine. You can use baharat as a dry rub on meat, or mix it with a little bit of olive oil to make a marinade. You can sprinkle some with sea salt over caramelized onions (for Mujaddara rice). Mix with olive oil and spread on top of naan, flatbread or any kind of bread really. Maybe instead of garlic and cilantro, sprinkle baharat on these naan? You just have to try it on different things, and eventually you’ll know just what you want baharat on (which is basically everything).

  I used ground spices for this mix, but you could also just use a spice grinder and grind the spices up yourself. I will try that the next time, but still, this smelled so goood so it’s no rush. This recipe is adapted from Genius Kitchen.

    Other Middle Eastern/North African food:

Middle Eastern Tabbouleh

Moroccan Butternut and Chevre Soup with Pomegranate and Ginger Coconut Cream

Grilled Harissa Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Sauce

and you could also use these Indian Garlic Cilantro Naan for any of the Middle Eastern dishes

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/carrot-cake-cupcakes-cream-cheese/

Light As Air Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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To me, carrot cake is a winter cake, not quite Christmas, but definitely spiced just the right amount. The carrots make these carrot cake cupcakes very moist and the hint of cinnamon goes so well with it. Add cream cheese and we’re in heaven.

  When I put one of these in my mouth it was like eating a spiced cloud with cream cheese. Really, so incredibly fluffy! It’s actually a cake recipe, but I wanted petite easy-to-transport cupcakes instead. So if you want to make a cake out of it, you can, using a small 20x10cm tin and baking it 5-7 minutes longer.

  Light As Air Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

  You know I talk about eggedosis a lot (here and here). I will again, until everyone know what eggedosis is. It is whipped sugar and eggs until white and fluffy. Do that, it will take some time, but eventually it will turn white.

  Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and vanilla bean sugar. Alternate pouring the flour mixture and pouring the oil into the eggedosis – egg mixture. Be careful! You do not want to beat the air out of the eggedosis. It should remain airy. Very important in order to get the light as air carrot cake cupcakes.

    Continue with the careful hand, stir in the shredded carrots. Do not taste the cake batter, because that tastes like crap. But when it’s baked, it is heaven in a carrot cake cupcake.

  Pour the batter into muffin tins. I like my cupcakes small, but you could use the normal (large) sized cupcake tins too. You might have to bake them for a little longer (toothpick trick – take a toothpick into the cupcake when you think it’s done, and it is if the toothpick comes out clean). I bake them on 175C (350F) in the middle of the oven for around 17 minutes.

    Taste one and let the rest cool on a rack.

  Cream Cheese Frosting

  Meanwhile, let’s get to the super easy cream cheese frosting. I’m not always dead sure on my measurements on this, because I taste along the way and add a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

  However, as a start I would suggest taking 250 gr of cream cheese, 250 gr of powdered sugar and 2 tsp vanilla bean sugar as a base. Mix with a handheld mixer until smooth. Try not to mix more than necessary. If it’s too sweet, add in more cream cheese, not sweet enough, more powdered sugar, and so on. You can even add cardamom, cinnamon and the like to really oomph up the spice factor.

    The cupcakes are cool and we are ready to frost them. You can just add it with a knife, but if you want my fancy flower frosting, you have to use a piping bag with a star tip. Begin in the middle of the cupcake and in a circular motion work your way to the outer part of the carrot cake cupcake. It’s so simple, yet makes for a rather pretty cupcake and that without 3 times as much frosting as you actually want to eat.

    Enjoy!

  Other delicious sweet treats:

Banana Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes with Irish Baileys Frosting

Healthy Spiced Pumpkin Soufflé with Maple Pecans and Cream Cheese

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/indian-jeera-rice/

Indian Jeera Rice

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  As you might have figured out by now, I love Indian food (but then again, I love all kinds of food). Sometimes I’m just tired of using that same boring basmati rice over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, regular rice is nice too. But jeera rice… that’s awesome.

  So, I was making tikka masala and you know tikka masala, a ton of steps and ingredients. Not the best combination when trying out a new recipe for the first time. The jeera rice, I mean. I wanted the rice to be finished just when the tikka masala was finished, and the naan were finished and the raita was finished. Yeah, that didn’t go so well.

  I burned my spices.

  Okay, but it smelled so good I had to try again. And bless me for that! YUM. Everyone can’t know what all those strange things in Indian is, and if you did like me, wonder what jeera was, I can tell you that it’s just cumin. So jeera rice is basically a cumin rice, but it has a lot of other rich Indian flavors such as cinnamon and cloves.

    It’s hard to go back to regular rice with my Indian food now. But I need to, so that I can really appreciate the jeera rice when it’s on the table. You just can’t eat your favorite food everyday (apart from chocolate of course).

  Indian Jeera Rice

  When you don’t have a million things going through your head, jeera rice is pretty simple to put together too. This recipe is adapted from Whisk Affair.

  Basmati rice always needs to be rinsed well before cooking. You want to rinse the rice so many times so that the water that comes out of it is clear. Sometimes I’m amazed how many times I have to rinse it. You can soak it for 30 minutes-2 hours too. But I find it necessary to rinse a lot before anyway.

  Heat neutral oil or clarified butter in a pot or a saucepan. You can also use ghee for this, but I didn’t want to buy 2 liters of ghee for this one purpose. I used about 2 tbsp canola oil. When the oil is medium-high heat, add the cumin seeds, and when they start to crackle, add green chilis and fry for a few seconds. You want the heat high enough for it to crackle, but still avoid burning the spices.

  Add the cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cardamom pods and cloves and fry for another 20 seconds.

  Now it’s time to add in the rinsed and soaked rice, 5 dl of new water, salt and the bay leaf. Have it up to a boil and then simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed (varies from rice to rice, check the packaging). Remove from heat and let it rest for 5 minutes, still covered. Fluff the rice with a fork, garnish with cilantro and it’s ready to serve!

    Other Indian deliciousnesses:

Garlic Cilantro Naan

Soothing Raita

Indian Style Kebabs

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/healthy-banana-pancakes/

Healthy Banana Pancakes

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  Pancakes. The classic American breakfast. I’m not sure if Americans actually eat pancakes on a regular basis, but when they are healthier than your normal pancake, I can’t see why not adding it to your breakfast portfolio.

  These healthy banana pancakes have no added sugar because of the sweet bananas, and remember; the riper the banana the sweeter the pancake. They also have whole wheat flour. I decided to make it half white and half whole wheat to make them fluffier, but you could just use whole wheat.

  It’s amazing how few ingredients these pancakes have, yet they taste so much! I would swear they contained vanilla, maybe cinnamon and nutmeg. But no, just banana. They taste amazing on their own, however, I do enjoy maple syrup and butter on mine. I understand not everyone would add those extra calories. Don’t you worry, these healthy banana pancakes are yummy and guilt free.

  Guilt free is exactly what we need now. But we still want tasty, right?

  Healthy Banana Pancakes

  This recipe is adapted from Cooktoria. Add your bananas to a medium bowl and smash them with a fork. I like to smash them good in order to get a smoother batter. Add in your eggs and milk of choice and mix until smooth. Add in flour, baking powder and baking soda. I like to let the batter rest 10 minutes before I begin cooking.

    Heat a nonstick skillet to medium and scoop 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet. This recipe makes about 10 pancakes. You want the heat to be high enough for the pancake not to flow too much out, you want it to rise up. You would also want the heat low enough to prevent the eggs from being scrambled and burning the pancake without cooking it through. That middle road is not always easy to find, so you might need to try different heat levels.

  Learn from my mistakes

Let them cool on a towel on a cooling rack. I am so glad I decided to have a towel over my cooling rack because I brainfarted, when I was flipping my pancakes I thought I was done with the pancake and I flipped it onto my towel. Don’t know what happened there, I had several thoughts in my head at once and that obviously didn’t go right. When I was going to move the pancake onto a stack, I immediately understood I had messed up. The underside of the pancake was not cooked, so it was just this doughy mess. It woudn’t be salvageable without the towel. Towels, guys, pancake savers.

    If you still want to take pancake cooking advice from me, I’m here. When the batter begins forming bubbles on top, the underside of the pancake is ready. Flip it – onto the skillet – and heat the other side. When you’re done with both sides, place them on a cooling rack.

  Enjoy with your choice of toppings. Delicious with maple syrup and butter, fresh berries and banana slices or even chocolate syrup if you’re feeling feisty.

  Other healthy breakfast choices:

Best Ever Scrambled Eggs

Whole Wheat Bread Rolls

Green Grape and Avocado Smoothie

Healthy Pumpkin Soufflé

Protein Chocolate Chia Pudding

Check out my new stuff on http://www.gingerwithspice.com/recipe/whole-wheat-bread-rolls/

Whole Wheat Bread Rolls

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  We always have homemade whole wheat bread. I cannot bear the thought of having to eat store bought bread everyday. It’s just not the same. Yes, there’s many exciting bread out there, like sourdough, carrot bread and so on, but they are expensive. So expensive they cannot be justified for everyday breakfasts. That’s when you make your own, and trust me, it feels so much better. You always know what ingredients are put into it, and you can change it up any way you like.

    Bread is a huge part of Norwegians’ breakfasts. It may not be that common where you are from, but I urge you to give it a try. Homemade whole wheat bread with scrambled eggs, with jams and with cheese. It’s all so delicious, and when it’s right out of the oven, there’s not much that’s better than that.

  I love mornings, it’s my favorite time of the day. The day hasn’t had the chance to go wrong just yet, and I can just relax. I like to wake up extra early just to be able to relax in the morning. I just don’t function without a good breakfast. The comfort of warm bread out of the oven, with some deliciously creamy scrambled eggs, and freshly squeezed orange juice, freshly brewed coffee and a good book. Nothing can compare.

    These whole wheat bread rolls are not just for breakfast. You can also have them next to your soups, salads and whatever you use bread for. They are pretty versatile!

  Whole Wheat Bread Rolls

  I made these one day when I realized I had forgotten to take bread out of the freezer the night before. There was extra time so I decided to just get these whole wheat bread rolls a go.

    Begin with heating up the milk to 37C (98F), and mix it with the yeast. If you want you can add a little more yeast than in my recipe, but my bread rolls turned out very fluffy. I am very particular with the temperature of the milk, the kneading and the rising, and if you do the same, I am confident that your whole wheat bread rolls will be equally amazing.

  Mix in the oil. Add in the dry ingredients and knead with a mixer. You want the dough to let go of the bowl. Give it time, but if it will not happen, add a little more flour. The more flour you add, the denser they will become, so do not go overboard here. If it is too much flour, add more milk, until you get the right consistency (just letting go of the bowl).

    Cover with a towel and rise on a warm place. I like to place it close to a heater, the fireplace or the like. But remember it can be too hot as well, so give it little space. Rise in about 50 minutes, until approximately doubled size. Form 9 golf ball sized balls and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. I like to weigh my dough so that all the buns get the right size, making them easier to bake evenly.

    Cover and rise once more, for around 40 minutes. You want them to rise to double in size. Brush each one with egg wash and sprinkle with sunflower kernels, poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (400 F) and bake for around 12 minutes. If you’ve got a steam oven, try using the steam setting.

  Cool them slightly on a cooling rack before cutting them in half. They taste amazing with butter and jam, or brown cheese or white cheese, but my favorite is these best ever scrambled eggs. I think I have mentioned them too many times in this post, but… it’s amazing. Don’t miss out.

  Have a wonderful weekend!

  Delicious breakfast food:

Norwegian Sweet Buns

Best Ever Scrambled Eggs

Healthy Spiced Pumpkin Soufflé

Apple Honey Brie Toast

Protein Chocolate Chia Pudding