Semmel and Salzstangerl

Measure and mix all ingredients. Water and milk should be cold, make sure that yeast, salt and butter do not get into direct contact before mixing all ingredients into a doug. Salt kristals do kill the yeast, also the butter would lock in the yeast and the dough wouldn’t develop proper.

Mix for 5 minutes slowly, than an other 10 Minutes more intensive. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, than form little rolls as shown in the picture. I will post a video for that shortly if you dont know how to fold/roll them.

Put the rolls upside down on the tray, and let them rest a further 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 210 C and also place water in the oven. Bake for 17 minutes at 180 C or until golden brown.

If you pour a shot of hot water into the oven right after placing the tray in it produces steam (careful) and the bread will raise a bit more.

for 8 servings:

Ingredient	Quantity	Unit
Flour Plain	500	gram
Yeast	7	gram
Sugar	10	gram
Butter	20	gram
Milk	60	ml
Water	220	ml
Salt	10	gram

Lentils Soup

This is a really easy and great recipe for a tasty soup and you need only the following ingredients:
1 onion
1 carrot
half a teaspoon curry powder
400 ml (can of) coconut milk
400 ml (can of) chopped tomatoes
200 gram red Lentils
600 ml chicken stock
1 spoon olive oil
salt and pepper

heat the oil and add the chopped onion and the carrot and let them brown a bit. Add the tomatoes and the coconut milk, bring to boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Use a blender to give it a creamy texture. If you made it rather spicy I suggest to serve a bread roll with it.

Some thoughts

A bit off topic from my blog, but you might know in my dayjob I am a Key Account Manager and I noted down what I expect and think about Customer Service.


What is great Customer Service ?

In opinion good customer service is like a good homemade and healthy soup.
If you go to a professional, a restaurant in my example, you wouldn't like to be served a instant soup,made quickly, with no love ?

Thats the same if you call somewhere, or send an email with a problem, seeking for proper customer service and help.. You wouldn't like to get a canned response, an instant answer, fast food.

It takes time, and special ingredients to serve the right product. You need to source your ingredients carefully, prepare them,get  them into the right shape to face the customer.
You need to use proper tools, and add the right spices to get the best results.

Like composing a tasty home made soup, it's also a composition how your company is preparing and presenting its customer service team. Do you want to use an “Instant” product, an outsourced team with canned responses ?
Or does your organisation decide to grow the ingredients themselves, hire great individuals, train them, and prepare them so that the clients are happy to be in touch with the finished product.

Individual Service, the feeling to be looked after, the experience to be served something, made with love.

I am happy that my clients get served the homemade soup, and they love it !

Buyersclub.ie - a local Online Shop for Ireland

Shop local, well as local as possible. I usually shop at the local market on Fridays, spend my money in the local supermarkets, restaurant and pubs.
Instead of shopping at Aldi and Lidl I discovered a Irish on-line shop Company, which created last year 40 new jobs in Dublin.
buyersclub.ie  Actually its not a club, everybody can shop there and at a spending of 50 Euro the delivery is free.

I compared the prices between leading supermarkets and that website, and have to say they got really good deals on nappies, cleaning products, and to fill the kitchen cupboard.

I used them now 3 times so far, and I made huge savings. Its pretty convenient too to get the stuff, most of the time the next day if you order early in the morning delivered to your doorstep.

This wont replace my usual shopping in town, but its a good alternative. I think especially people without a car who cant make their way to a discounter might like the offers of that shop.

have a good start in the week !

(and no, I didnt got paid for that story)

Dexter Beef - Great Irish beef from farm to fork

A special treat for my family is to have once in a while a great steak. We are lucky to life in an area where great food it produced on small farms right at our doorstep.

On a Friday morning, its family tradition if the weather is not too bad to go to the Clonakilty Farmers Market. Every so often we meet Vic from the Camus farm who is selling steaks from his dexter cattle he is breeding up the road from us.

We love this meat, its aged 21 days, and if you cook it right, I like it medium rare it develops its full taste. Its a very rare type of cattle, and there is only a few farms in Ireland raising this breed. 
If you want to learn more about dexter beef visit the following website for more information www.dextercattle.ie.

Irish medicine - Hot Whisky

Winter time is cold time and I was told the best way to fight it is to have a nip of Irish medicine. Hot Whisky. So, take your Whiskey of Choice, I prefer Jamson 4 cl, take a few gloves, a tea spoon or two sugar,(or drop of honey) and a dash of lemon and mix it with hot water in a glass.

Be careful, put in a spoon in the glass when you fill in the hot water, otherwise it might blow.
Checkout my blogpost from last year, how not to prepare it !

After you finished that glass, go to bed and sweat out that cold !
Get well soon !

The Xmas tree recycle

Its not really gardening season but I was  bored the other day when I started to recycle the Xmas tree.
I did cut of the branches which left me with a rather funny looking stem. Instead of chopping of all and hiding away the Xmas stand for a year I decided to fill the stand with earth and plant some beans.

I wonder if it is too cold or if I am look and these French runner beans I planted make their way up along the old Xmas tree and I can harvest some in a few months ?
So far the Irish winter was really mild, so I will let you know the result in spring.

Challenge 2013 - Make my own Leberkaese

I wrote before about the Austrian Dish Leberkaese, and now after long research I got a recipe how to make my own. So the challenge is on, I will try the recipe soon and taste my way through many attempts before I publish the perfect recipe for that great meaty dish from my old home.

Stay tuned !

Happy Bday honey

My sweet wife turned 30 today, before the big Party on the weekend I surprised her with a little raclette at home. Raclette derives from the French word racler, meaning "to scrape" according to wikipedia. to make sure no one damages the metal every set contains wooden spatula which should be used to scrape off the cheese.

In the modern version of raclette also beef, pork or chicken is grilled on the top of the grill.
If you life in Ireland, Aldi or Lidl sometimes has a offer for a set for as low as 25 Euro.


Happy Bday honey, I look forward to the next 30 years with You !

New Blog in Town

(c) The Recession Kitchen

A friend on facebook made me aware of a new blog which might interests me.
The Recession Kitchen

Anja, who I know from playing harp in the summer concerts of my local pub has a interesting goal for 2013. For a year she will document how she is running her kitchen.

Interesting will be, that she has the goal not to spend more then €2.50 to €5.- per person per day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She will cheat a bit buy growing some of her own and shopping cheap.

The dinner table above was entirely prepared out of leftovers, doesnt it look tasty ?
Have a look at her blog, yummi, I might steal the odd recipe maybe :-)