Morten's aften/evening - what to eat tonight

Today it is Mortens aften/evening, which typical is celebrated in Denmark by eating  roasted duck served with plain as well as brown potatoes, pickled red cabbage and brown sauce. For dessert we will typical enjoy the very Danish dessert ris a la mande (rice porridge) served together with warm cherry sauce. The food is more or less the food, which we will eat as well on Christmas Eve, so the evening could be considered as trial run on cooking the food to be served for Christmas.

As inspiration for food to enjoy on this evening I would like to the following recipes with you. Another way to the enjoy the duck part could be this:

seared duck breast

And to be served together with duck you could serve this

all currant jelly

The jelly can also be used for adding some character to the brown gravy. 

And for the rice dessert (ris a la mande) the cherry sauce could be this version:

  

cherries in rum

Squash cake a la Søndag

It is time for squash, which be used for both cooking as well as baking. I have tested this recipe on squash cake in the weekly magazine "Søndag". I decided to supplement the spices with a little nutmeg. And instead of dark chocolate I used milk chocolate, as I dislike dark chocolate. So use the chocolate, which you personally prefer.

I also decided not to make the frosting of cream cheese and sour cream. 

I really like the spices part of the recipe, but I prefer the texture of this squash cake. Therefore I think, I will combine these recipes into one cake next time, when I bake squash cake.

As other suggestion for helping out on a surplus of squashes, when take a look at these baking recipes in form of

• squash buns with whole grain flour
• squash cake a la Valdemarsro
• squash cake with butter
• Preben's squash cake with cinnamon cream cheese topping
• squash cake a la Årstiderne

Squash cake a la Søndag: - 1 cake

• 3 eggs
• 170 g sugar
• 150 g (cake) wheat flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon cardamom
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg 
• vanilla sugar
• 1 dl sunflower oil
• 250 g squash (roughly grated)
• 1 organic lemon - both the the zest & juice
• 50 g milk chocolate - medium chopped
• 50 g walnut - medium chopped

1. Heat up the oven to 200'C.
2. Add sugar and eggs oil into a medium size mixing bowl and whip it together with an electrical beater.
3. Add in wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom into the egg-sugar mass, whip it together.
4. Stir in the grated squash, lemon zest & juice and sunflower oil.
5. Finally stir in the chopped chocolate & walnut.
6. Fill the cake in a baking tray of 23 x 33 cm. Before filling in the dough, cover the baking tray with a piece of baking parchment. 
7. Bake the cake at 200'C for 45-60 minutes. Check, that the cake is baked, before it is removed from the oven.
8. Cool down the cake, before it is served with a cup of tea & coffee.

Start on Raglangenser sweater

 

During my Summer vacation in August I brought this Sandnes thin silk mohair yarn, which is a combination of 57% mohair, 28% silk & 15% wool, at the yarn shop MORS garn. 

I will knit a sweater called Raglangenser in a combination of three colours of light grey, petrol and olive green together. When these three yarns are knitting together, the sweater will end with a greenish colour, which I find quiet amazing. 

I have paid 1095 DKK (145 €) for the yarn and recipe.

Poncho blouse is finished

 

Yes, I have finished my knitting  of the poncho, where I have located the recipe in the weekly magazine "Hendes Verden (issue 15/2020). As yarn I have used "Tibet" from Cewec in the colour of green. "Tibet" is made from 24% yak, 55% merino wool and 21% polyamid. I have brought this specific yarn during Spring time. I have paid 448 DKK (59 €) for the yarn.

In total I have used 200 g yarn to knit this poncho blouse, so it a very light blouse to wear. The poncho has two tight fitted arms, which makes it into a poncho blouse, which makes it very easy to wear. 

After having used knitting needles in the size of 4.5, it is now time for a new knitting project, where I will use knitting needles in the size of 6.5, which gives a lot of progress in no time. My next project is a Sandnes sweater with yarn in three colours.

Pumpkin cake a la Skovdal Nordic

As part of my Halloween celebration I decided to make a portion of pumpkin soup with carrot & potato. I brought a large hokkaido, so I decided to use of the pumpkin to bake both pumpkin buns as well as pumpkin cake.

The recipe on pumpkin cake I found in my local newspaper in the Sunday edition (1st November 2020). The only modification, which I have done to this cake recipe is to add in ground nutmeg to have a more rounded spices character. 

Pumpkin cake a la Skovdal Nordic - 1 cake

• 3 eggs
• 200 g brown sugar
• 2 dl sunflower oil
• 200 g (cake) flour
• 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger - finely grated
• 300 g pumpkin - peeled and roughly grated
• icing sugar & lemon juice
• roasted pumpkin seeds

1. Heat up the fan oven to 175'C.
2. Whip the eggs and brown sugar in medium mixing bowl into a foamy mass.
3. Add in the oil, flour, baking powder and the species and stir well.
4. Add in the grated pumpkin, and stir the cake dough well together.
5. Fill the cake dough into a rye bread silicone form.
6. Bake the cake at 175'C at the lower part of the oven.
7. Bake the cake at 175'C for 1½ hour. Check regular, how the cake is baked.
8. Cool down the cake.
9. Make a icing from icing sugar and lemon juice. Add the icing on top of the cake.
10. Sprinkle the icing sugar with roasted pumpkin seeds.
11. Slice the cake prior to serving together with cup of tea & coffee.

Pumpkin buns

 

As part of my Halloween celebration I decided to make a portion of pumpkin soup with carrot & potato. I brought a large hokkaido, so I decided to use of the pumpkin to bake both pumpkin buns as well as pumpkin cake.

To make these pumpkin buns I decided to use this recipe on carrot-sunflower seed buns as starting point. As I had some left-over dairy cream & sour cream, I decided to use these left-overs in these buns. 

I "learn the hard way", the use of both dairy cream, sour cream and grated pumpkin came along with a lot of moisture, so I had to increase the amount of flour. Another option could be next time to reduce or remove the use of milk from this recipe.

Pumpkin buns: - 16 buns

• 700 g wheat flour
• 100 g whole grain flour
• 50 g sugar
• 1 d dairy whipping cream, 30-38% fat
• 100 g sour cream, 18% fat
• 55 g butter
• 25-50 g fresh yeast
• 1 egg
• 8 g salt
• 200 g whole milk, 3-3.5% fat 
• 200 g hoikkado pumpking - roughly grated
• 75 g roasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 egg - whipped for glazing

1. Weigh all the ingredients (not the pumpkin seeds) directly into the mixing bowl of the stand alone mixer. Keep salt & sugar away from the yeast.
2. Place the bowl on the stand-alone mixer.
3. Start knead the dough at speed 1 for 8 minutes.
4. After the kneading at the low speed, add in the pumpkin seeds.
5. Afterwards increase the speed to 4, knead for 2 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough. If it is not OK, when knead it at speed 4 for another 2 minutes. Again check the consistency. If needed, knead again for 1 minute and when check consistency of the dough.
6. Let the dough raise in the mixing bowl under  a damp tea towel.
7. Let the entire dough raise for approx. 40-60 minutes under a damp cloth.
8. When you evaluate, that the dough has raise enough, divide the dough into smaller pieces with a weight of 100 g each. Smaller size of 75-80 g is also possible.
9. Shape the dough pieces into bun shapes. Place the bun pieces on the baking tray covered with baking parchment. 
10. Let the bun raise for second time for approx. 40 minutes under a damp tea towel.
11. Heat up the oven to 200'C.
12. Glaze the buns with whipped egg
13. Bake the bun at 200'C for 18-20 minutes.
14. Cold down the buns, before eating them.

Pumpkin soup with carrot and potato

 

I have been celebrating the season of Halloween creating various food items in my little kitchen with pumpkin as the ingredient in focus.

The hokkaido pumpkin, which I brought was quiet large, so therefore I decided to make both pumpkin bun, pumpkin cake and off cause this pumpkin soup with inspiration from Valdemarsro with various modifications.

Check out other suggestions for pumpkin soup here:

• Pumpkin soup
• Happy Halloween soup
• Pumpkin soup with parsnips and potato

Pumpkin soup with carrot & potato: - 4 servings

• 1 pumpkin - peeled and cut into squares
• 1 onion - medium chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
• 6 small or 2 large carrots - medium chopped
• 10 small or 4 large potatoes . medium chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger - finely grated
• ½ red chili - de-seeded and finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon grounded cumin
• olive oil
• 1 l vegetable stock
• 1½ dl dairy whipping cream - 30-38% fat
• lemon juice - for seasoning
• pepper - for seasoning
• roasted pumpkin seeds and sour cream for topping

1. Add the olive oil to medium-large cooking pot, and heat it up.
2. Add all the vegetables, chili, ginger and cumin to the hot oil.
3. Let the vegetable fry for 2-3 minutes, while you stir from time to time.
4. Add in the vegetable stock, bring the liquid to the boil.
5. Cover the cooking pot with the lid, and let the soup cook for 15-20 minutes.
6. Blend the soup.
7. Stir in dairy whipping cream.
8. Season with lemon juice and pepper.
9. Bring the soup to the boil.
10. Serve with various topping such as roasted pumpkin seeds & sour cream.