“Wedgitables”

The potato gratin recipe inspired this one, even without the five-a-day, I want to say nonsense; but I realise it’s not – being burned into our brains at every turn, I know we must eat veggies, my own body tells me it needs “wedgitables,” thing is I get so bored of plopping ‘just’ veggies on my plate and slopping sauce or butter and salt and pepper, over the top, I needed something different. So I decided to do something else, this is what I came up with.

Mixed Cheesy “Wedgitables”

¼ cabbage
2 carrots peeled and diced
1 leek thinly sliced
1- ½ cup mixed frozen vegetables
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. shred the cabbage, peel and chop carrots and leek, place in boiling water and cook until soft, then add frozen vegetables and cook for 5 more minutes.

2. Drain all the vegetables, place in a medium sized bowl, stir in the cheese and salt and pepper.

3. Place in a 180˚C (350˚F) oven and bake until the cheese is nicely melted!

What's in a regional recipe? Bauernfrühstück.... Farmers breakfast

As with most recipes, this is a regional thing, and I’m sure there’ll be a long standing debate, with the Germans as to whose came first, just as I’m equally sure that depending on where you are from in Germany will depend on what ingredients go in it. I spent 18 years of my life living near Mönchengladbach, in Nordrhein-Westfalen and this is theirs, it’s a variation on an omelette or a Spanish tortilla.

From what I am lead to believe, I gather this is something that dates back to the war, when rationing is rife – however I have also read that it dates back further than that, unfortunately when I tried to google, to check my facts, it seems either no one knows or it gets lost in translation? From what I have managed to read about this recipe, it was cheap to make, but also a last resort (going back further than the war now) because people thought that potatoes, were only good for animal consumption. Whatever the case maybe, I would be interested if anyone does know the answer. This is mine.

Bauernfrühstück

Quick, easy and cheap to make....... German recipe

3 potatoes, diced

1 leeks thinly sliced
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 onion coarsely chopped
4 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp mixed dried herbs

1. Peel and chop potatoes into bite sized pieces, place in a saucepan of boiling water, with the leeks. Boil for about 10 - 15 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked.

2. Dry fry the bacon until they start to crisp, remove some of the excess fat and then add the onion.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Add salt and pepper and herbs.

4. When the potatoes and leeks are done add to the bacon mixture fry for about 5 minutes, then add the egg, keep frying until eggs are cooked to desired doneness.

Bacon, potato and mushroom gratin.......... Good for a cheap, quick and effortless meal

In my opinion this is a really good recipe, as you can see from the picture, the first time I made it, it was in a deep bowl, which kind of, well not kind of, it does defeat the purpose of the word gratin, from what I understand it is made in a shallow gratin dish and you brown the crust, I tend to do this in the oven, although I am lead to believe it's normally done under the grill/broiler.

There are three very good reasons why this is a good recipe         

1. It tastes good and is filling - that's two but I'm counting it as one.

2. It's quick and easy to make. I'm cheating here that's another two. 

3. It's very cheap to make. Didn't cheat that time.                              

Another one for my comfort food list.                                               

Bacon, Potato and Mushroom Gratin                                                

250 grams small potatoes

coarsely grounded pepper

1 small onion, diced

125 grams bacon, diced

30 ml evoo

125 grams mushrooms

125 grams cheese plus a little extra

1. Halve the potatoes, cook until tender and drain thoroughly

2. Cook the onion and bacon gently, to soften the onion and crisp the bacon add the mushrooms and cook stirring for 2-3 minutes. Pre-heat the oven, to about 200 degrees C

3. Put the bacon, onion and mushrooms into a gratin dish and stir in potatoes, season with pepper  and stir in grated cheese, then sprinkle a little on top. Bake until cheese is bubbling.

Sometimes I add more cheese depends on how cheesy my mood is.