CAUTION!
Christmas
Fever has struck again!
Lately,
all I can think about is how I am going to decorate for Christmas. How I should
tackle this year’s Christmas gift shopping in a timely and fashionable manner. Where should I put the tree? The star? The snowflakes? WHEN WILL IT FINALLY START
TO SNOW??
This
might seem ridiculous to some of you considering a lot of you are already knee-deep
in snow with your hair all tangled up in tinsel.... but some of us are just
not.
City
sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style…
Now I know not everyone is a massive Christmas fan (which, let's face it, is utterly ridiculous; those individuals cannot possibly be humans), but (like any normal human) I am (greatly), and I really, really wish it would start to snow! But, surprisingly, the sun is shining bright these days and it just keeps getting warmer and warmer here in Berlin...
Which
is not getting me into a particularly festive pre-Christmas spirit I might add.
Rather, it is making me plan my next trip to the Bahamas. Which is ridiculous.
Because it is December for crying out loud and yet I just switched from my
winter coat back to my between-seasons-jacket!
The
other day I overheard this conversation between a little boy and his mom: Is it
fall now? Yes, it is. And next, spring? No, first, there's winter.
Urgh,
if only.
If
only it felt a bit like winter, that might make me feel like Christmas was
actually approaching. Instead we are running around in flimsy jackets believing
spring is just around the corner...
This
is really killing my Christmas vibe.
Isn't
it odd though how we go from ‘Whaaat Lebkuchen is already in stores, I swear to
God Christmas comes round earlier and earlier every year, make it stop’ to ‘Christmas
is over, when did this happen?, The gifts I ordered yesterday haven't even
arrived yet’ within what seems like only minutes?
So
I have decided to no longer wait for Christmas to come around this year. Or the
snowflakes (come ooon weather gods, COME ON!) for that matter, but to embrace
the festive season regardless of rain or shine!
What
I am enjoying greatly these days is cuddling up by the fireplace with a
good book and sipping gingerbread-orange tea.
Except I don't actually have a fireplace.
Except I don't actually have a fireplace.
Luckily,
I did pick up a good-sized collection of candles, so they will have to
do.
Which they do.
Which they do.
Also, I should probably stop drinking so much tea since it is not doing my
teeth any good...
But
I still love good books!
Preferably, while munching away on a little snack.
Which
is why I decided to make some Bratapfelkonfitüre. Bratapfel is a German dessert
typically made around Christmas time. The apple is filled with sugar and
cinnamon, nuts, raisins and marzipan, baked in the oven and served with vanilla
sauce.
Today
I decided to make a Bratapfel jam inspired by this classic dessert.
Now
if this doesn't taste and smell like pre-Christmas jidders, I don't know what
does!
BRATAPFELKONFITÜRE WITH OVEN-BAKED PUMPKIN SEED CRISPBREAD
Bratapfelkonfitüre:
500g
apples
400ml
apple juice
100g
almonds
100g
raisins
500g
jam sugar 2:1
1
vanilla bean
In
a frying pan, roast the almonds. In the meantime, peal, core and dice the
apples.
In
a large pan, combine the apple juice, apple dices, raisins and sugar, let simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes.
Chop
the almonds. Scratch the pulp out of the vanilla pod and quarter the bean. Add
the pulp, the vanilla bean quarters and the chopped almonds to the apple
mixture. Let simmer briefly and fill the mixture into prepared glass jars.
Close the jars tightly, turn the jars upside down for 5 minutes to seal.
Oven-Baked Pumpkin Seed Crispbread:
Preheat
the oven to 350°Fahrenheit / 170°Celsius.
Sprinkle
crispbread with pumpkin seeds and top with grated cheese of your choosing. Bake
for 10-15 minutes.
Serving Suggestion:
Generously
spread the baked pumpkin seed crispbread with cream cheese and top with the
Bratapfel jam. As a savory alternative, substitute the jam with avocado slices.
For breakfast, add the jam to your muesli with jogurt. For dessert, top vanilla bean ice cream with a spoon full of the jam.
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