Vanilla Crescents

Even though it's not cold here, no Christmas markets are around, Christmas decoration is poor and I have no "Christmas feeling"... today it's 1st Advents Sunday and this means, I need to have some Christmas cookies.



Like every year I started with vanilla crescents. They are my favourite cookies. I love the taste of vanilla with almonds.

CU Pat!

A good friend of mine will leave Belize and I don't know, when and if she'll come back to visit us. So I decided to organize a "farewell coffee".

Since I know (I hope that I don't confuse it) that she likes the cherry cake - I baked one, especially for her.

Pat - I hope we'll see you soon back in Belize!!!

little chocolates with marzipan

This is my first try to make some little chocolates (pralines).

They have a "heart" of marzipan and are covered with semi-sweet chocolate.

for chocolate lovers

Chocolate-Pear Muffins with caramalized Walnuts

I found this recipe in another food-blog and the pictures made me, to bake them.

It's a little bit time-consuming to prepare the muffins - but in the end, it's worth it. The pears and the melted chocolate make them so sappy and the walnuts give them crispy bits.

This is definitely a keeper.

French Baguette

I don't need much more on a Sunday Morning.

A warm baguette and a cup of coffee. I would certainnly prefer a Cappuccino or a Latte Macchiato... you see, there's still room for improvement. ;)

real lemon

A friend of mine gave me a wonderful present today. Real lemon!

Usually you can get tons of lime here but it's almost impossible to get a lemon. And a lot of people even didn't realize that these two citrus fruits taste totally different.

I scratched of the zest, so I can use it for my pastries. The lemon juice is perfect for fish dishes or salad dressings.

lemon zest

potato calzone

I got this special recipe from a friend. She was so kind to translate it from Italian to German, so I could at least understand how to prepare the calzone even if it was impossible to get the Italian cheese and ham.

Next time when I cook/bake it again, I'll use blue cheese instead of mozarella and bacon instead of ham.

croissants

I love the smell of a freshly baked croissant. It reminds me of the little coffee-shops and bistros. In Germany I loved to sit there, enjoying a pain au chocolat and a latte macchiato, watching people passing by.

Today I enjoyed a croissant and a coffee, sitting on our veranda with nice friends, watching birds flying over our property.

It was almost like in the old days. ;)

Nordic Ware

is my favorite manufacturer of baking pans.

They have a huge variety of different designs and the quality is just awesome.
The cakes don't stick and they are so easy to clean.

I just got a new pan for two little cakes. The perfect size for a little afternoon coffee. :)