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katharina.kuehr

The only healthy Plum Compote Recipe you’ll ever need

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Plum compote = Zwetschkenröster

Plum Compote – an austrian staple

If you are not from Austria and have never heard of plum compote or Zwetschkenröster I can understand that you may be confused about this. Zwetschkenröster is a compote made out of plums, which mostly is eaten with Curd Cheese Dumplings (Topfenknödel) or Kaiserschmarren. It is sweet and still have fruit chunks in it so it is not the same as jam.

Traditional plum compote & how it is made

There is more than just the country it comes from, that connects me to plum compote. I have always had a passion for cooking from an early age on, and apparently a very big one for plum compote. A few years ago my parents showed me pictures of me, when I was a little kid, 2 years old or so, sitting on the counter in the kitchen and making curd cheese dumplings and plum roaster with my uncle. So yes, this is a very traditional recipe.

In Austria you can find it in pretty much any house hold, which makes sense when you realise how easy it is to make. And how delicious it is to enjoy. Making this actually is pretty simple. It really just is cooking plums with sugar, lemon juice, spices and some cornstarch until the skin separates slightly from the fruit. Then you let it cool down and fill it into jars. That is it.

What it special about this dish?

The only really special thing here is that it is healthy. Regular plum compote comes with loaded sugar, which obviously is not healthy so we are making a healthier version of it. Besides this, not too much is fancy here because we want to keep it quite traditional.

How to make it healthy

The main ingredient, the plums, stays the same of course. But instead of regular, white, refined sugar, we are using a mixture between coconut sugar and dates. Both of these have a great sweetness but are packed with less actual sugar and come with fibre, which makes the sugar be digested better.

How to best have it:

As I already mentioned, you can have this really well with desserts such as Kaiserschmarren (which is like a destroyed dutch baby) or with dumplings. I also love to have it on top of yoghurt with some granola or with some ice cream. I am sure this would also work really well on top of a creamy porridge. It is a great addition to pretty much anything sweet!

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and that you will also have memories that are as great as mine!

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Healthy Plum Compote

A healthy version of the austrian classic. Perfectly sweet and juicy plums cookeed into a long lasting and super delicious compote!

Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine austrian
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 1 Stunde 15 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde 25 Minuten
Servings 2 jars à 3 servings
Calories 133 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 kg plums
  • 50 g dates
  • 50 g coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • a sprinkle of sea salt
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 50 ml water

How to

  1. Cut all of the plums in half and remove the pit. Slice the dates very finely or cut them into amll pieces. Add them to a pot along with the coconut sugar, water, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about an hour at medium heat.

  2. After an hour you will see that the skins of the plums started to seperate from the fruit and are rolling in a littlw bit. Now combine the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water in a seperate bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour it in and stir through the compote very well so everything is combined.

  3. Take off the heat and let cool. Then fill into jars and stor ein the fridge! Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

My September Top 5

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Everything is slowly coming to get back into a routine and our daily lives with work, uni and school are starting again after a summer break. With the start of a new routine and a start of fall, I decided to start something new too. A series on my blog, where I´ll introduce you to my 5 favourite things every month. I hope to inspire you a little bit with this and make you life a tiny bit easier! I would also love to hear, what your top 5 things are, so feel free to leave a comment at this post!

Food of the month – Beetroot

The beetroot is part of the beets family (who would have guessed?!). It is a food that has already been eaten for many many years. It is believed that it has originated in the Middle East but also been eaten by the Romans, the Egyptians, and ancient greeks. Today they can be found in almost every part of the world, in foods but also in food and other natural colouring.

The part of the beet that usually is eaten is the root, although you can eat the greens as well. Usually they are steamed, boiled or roasted but it also is possible to have them in their raw form (not sure if this is quite delicious though). You can purchase fresh beets at pretty much any market from August to January or you can find them precooked and repacked in most supermarkets.

Beetroots actually are a super healthy root vegetable. They are very low in calories (with about 43kcal /100grams), since they are made up of 88% water. The rest is carbohydrates and protein. They also come with a decent amount (3.8g/100g) of fibre. Besides this they are high Vitamin B6 and C, Manganese, Iron and Potassium. These are important for cell function, immune system, reducing blood sugar levels and the transport of oxygen in the blood cells.

So, it is a true superfood actually. Plus, what also is great about it is that it can be grown regionally and that it has a very long season, so almost half a year! I truly believe that it is very underrated. Beetroot is delicious and so versatile. I already have some super delicious beetroot recipes on my blog, like the Beetroot Pasta Bake with Goats Cheese or the Seed Coated Beetroot Balls! And don’t worry, there are a few more to come. Don’t want to spoiler, but I´ll give you a little hint; hummus, falafel,…!

I can only recommend incorporating more beetroot into your diet because it is super delicious, and extremely healthy!

Product/ Brand of the month – Pastafani Organic Basil Pesto

I know I know, I have told you of this a few times already. However, I cannot stress enough HOW good this is! Since summer is coming to an end, and the fresh basil is disappearing to make your own homemade pesto, packed pesto is a life saver.

Organic pesto made from Austrian ingredients only! That really exists. And believe me, I would not tell you that it is good, if it wasn’t! It is at least as delicious as the freshly made pesto in Italy. You can already tell by it’s colour that it’s got to be delicious. The darker the better.

And I have got a BONUS for you: you can even get 10% off your order when you order it with the discount code UNEPETITE10 ! Guys, I can tell you, it is worth the 5 euros spent. More than worth!

If you need some pesto recipe inspiration you can make the Incredibly easy Strawberry and Pesto Couscous with Crumbled Feta (just use figs instead of strawberries since they are in season), or the Ultra Green Pesto Salad with Burrata.

Recipe of the month – French Toast with whipped Ricotta and Figs

This recipe is from last year but believe me, it is incredibly delicious! Softly soaked bread that’s crispy on the outside, creamy, honey dreamy whipped ricotta cheese, that is so smooth and delicious and the fresh figs on top. Sunday morning heaven.

No matter if you make that for brunch when your friends are over or as a breakfast for dinner, it is incredibly delicious any way! Plus, you can make use of the juicy and sweet figs that currently are in season!! Just heaven!

See the recipe here!

Workout of the month – 15 minute Sixpack by Pamela Reif

Since I love working out and we all know that being active is an essential part of staying healthy, I though I needed to include a workout into these top 5 as well!

I think since quarantine started, we have all gotten to know Pamela. And to be fair, her workouts are really good. While she definitely has something for everyone, from total beginner who works out for the first time – to extremely hard ones, I currently love her 15 minute Sixpack workout!

It is not something where you do lots of mountain climbers and jump around but one, which is rather focused on slower movements. This is great because you can really feel how you are using your abs and you also really do feel it after.

It is great if you want a slower workout focused on your abs. And a little tip: do it at the beginning of the workout because it is a killer at the end!

Inspiration of the month – The Happiness Advantage

For this last part of my September top 5 series I want to introduce something to you that has changed my life a little bit and influenced it positively. This can be a book, a person, a documentary, or anything else. But for this month, it is a book.

I have actually stumbled across this book accidentally when I was studying about happiness. I found it sounded interesting and that’s why I ordered it. I was so keen to learn about what Shawn Actor had to tell, so I immediately started reading it. And believe me, it is not a book that you will put away and don’t continue reading for a while but it’s a book that will make you forget about dinner (and that means something, coming said from a food blogger who wouldd never forget about dinner).

The author basically makes the claim that contrary to what is generally believed, that you need to be successful to be happy, the reality is the other way around. You need to be happy to be successful! In his book he describes 7 simple principles that will help anyone be happier and therefore also more successful. It is scientifically proven with studies he conducted.

I need to say, that this is something extremely interesting and fascinating to read. It basically makes one realise that you already have everything you need to be happy so it really is down to you to make use of these 7 tips to turn your life around. I can definitely highly recommend this book to anyone, and especially to those who are struggling to be happy or successful at the moment!

These are my 5 favourite things in September, things that make the month a bit better, brighter, and easier. I hope you enjoyed these five things and I would love to hear if you like this new kind of series in the comments!

I am wishing you all some beautiful last weeks of late summer and enjoy the first leaves turning brown!

Love, Katie // Une Petite Cusinière

The Best Healthy Falafel-style Pita with Dreamy Pink Goddess Sauce

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That bite into a warm and soft pita filled with a giant dollop of hummus, that coleslaw, the crispy deep fried falafel and that yummy yoghurt-mayonnaise sauce on top. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it? As good as it sounds, it is really everything else than healthy. But we do not want to miss out on that deliciousness. So why not making it healthy?

What is special about this dish?

A lot to be fair. We have falafel, that are not deep fried, as traditional falafel would be but pan fried. Then we have a pink tahini and greek yoghurt sauce (which I have never seen at any of those falafel stands before) instead of the mayonnaise yoghurt dressing and we have a homemade tzatziki and self-made hummus for that extra flavour .

First, what is falafel and where does it come from?

Falafel is a ball made out of chickpeas or cassava beens combined with different spices and herbs before it is deep fried. Usually it is served in a pita bread or to go with hummus or other mezze appetisers. It is believed to have originated in Egypt and can be found in the Middle Eastern cuisine today.

Why are falafel not very healthy?

While many people would believe that falafel are healthy because they are made out of chickpeas and are vegan, that is not quite the case. That is true, that the base of the falafel is healthy, so the „dough“ is healthy. But what is not nutritious about them then? The fact that they are deep fried. All of the oil adds a lot of fat and calories. It is more than fine to have fried food once in a while but it is not something that is healthy, one needs to be aware of that.

Authentic falafel are made with raw chickpeas that have been soaked. This way they are soft enough to blend but not too soft so you do not have a mushy consistency. But since we do not all have the time to soak falafel (especially when we want a quick meal), in here we use flour for the right consistency and canned falafel. This way they will not be white as crispy, but they are way quicker and still delicious!

How to make this dish healthy

Instead of deep frying the falafel, we prepare them in a pan with just a little oil. Yes, you can also bake them in the oven but to be honest, I never find that those get really crispy when being prepared in the oven. When making them in the pan, we still get that crisp (not the exact same of course, but a really good one) while keeping things healthy.

Also, to replace the mayo dressing that often comes on top we make a beetroot-greek yoghurt – tahini dressing. While homemade mayonnaise, in moderation is not unhealthy, store bought ones often have a lot of additives and preservatives in them and making your own one is a little tricky. The sauce we are making is high in protein, from the greek yoghurt, tastes delicious with the beets (and also has a nice colour), and has a good amount of healthy (or unsaturated fats) from the Tahin.

To make this entire dish even healthier you can substitute the normal pita with whole grain pita. This just is pretty difficult to find, which is the reason I stick with normal pita.

How do you make healthy falafel

This is super easy, to be honest. You need to drain canned chickpeas and add them to a food processor along with a bunch of parsley, onion, garlic, spices, and (wholewheat) flour. Then you just pulse everything together until you have reached a sticky, doughy consistency. (if you do not have a food processor or blender you can also add everything to a bowl, very finely chopped and mix it with a fork or your hands). Then you form little balls with your hand, one at a time and roll them in breadcrumbs.
In a hot pan with oil, you add the falafel and let them fry until crisp for about 3 minutes on each side. That is it!

Meal prep friendly?

I would say so. Pack everything separately and mix together before eating. The falafel will not be quite as crisp anymore but they’ll be just fine when you heat them up in the oven.

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and please your family and friends with it!

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The best falafel-style pita with dreamy pink goddess sauce

A healthy version of the dreamy Middle Eastern classic. A little crispy on the outside, super soft soft on the inside falafel with a creamy delicious Tahini-Beetroot Sauce, Tzatziki and Hummus. Not difficult, but really healthy.

Course Appetizer, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine middle eastern
Prep Time 25 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 397 kcal

What you will need

For the falafel:

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2-3 tbsp flour (whole grain is prefered)
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the beet sauce

  • 1 small beetroot (precooked)
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp Tahin
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp honey

For the rest:

  • 1 cucumber
  • 200 g greek yoghurt
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 pita breads
  • some hummus
  • fresh radishes & tomatoes
  • 2 handful salad

How to

  1. For the falafel combine all the ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, flour and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until combined (do not blend until smooth!!!). Then add the flour a tablespoon at a time and pulse it in (not blending fully, again!) until the dough is not sticky anymore. Chill in the frisge for half an hour.

  2. In the meanwhile peel the cucumber. Then cut into very thin slices (preferably with a mandoline). Add it into a bowl and salt generously. Let sit for 20 minutes.

  3. In the meantime slice up the raidshes and tomatoes and wash the salad.

  4. For the beetroot sauce add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick add some water or olive oil!

  5. After chilling take about 1 tablespoon at a time of the falafel dough and roll out in your hands into a small ball. Toss in the breadcrumbs until they cover the ball fully. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Heat up the oil in a pan and add the falafel. Let fry on this side for about 2-3 minutes on medium high heat before tossing. Do not toss around in the pan immediately since the dough still is a little bit soft. After those 2-3 minutes, start tossing them around in a pan softly and fry for another 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown on each side and crispy.

  6. Prepare the Tzatziki. Take a clean kitchen towl and place the salted and sliced cucumber in it. Squeeze out all of the remaining water of the cucumber and put it back into the bowl. Press the garlic and add it along with the greek yoghurt. Combine everything well and season with more salt if desired.

  7. To serve fill the pita with hummus, the veggies and the tzatziki. Add the falafel on top and drizzle with the sauce. Serve and enjoy !

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cusinière

Ultimate healthy and creamy raspberry overnight oats from dahoam

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Summer is a tough time for all porridge lovers. As good as porridge is, who wants to have a steaming hot bowl of oat in the morning when you already start to sweat when you just take a look outside. That’s why we need a cold alternative. Cold oats? Yes, that’s a thing. Overnight Oats. And no, they are not boring or taste like a babyfood.

What are overnight Oats?

As the name already suggests, overnight oats is a form of oatmeal that is prepared overnight. Well not exactly. Usually they are prepared the evening before by mixing together oats and milk and then they chill in the fridge for a few hours, mostly overnight. This way the oats can really absorb and soak up the milk to get soft for the next morning

What is special about this dish?

Well, first, and most important, this breakfast, snack, dessert, whenever you want to enjoy it, is SO EASY to be made from LOCAL ingredients only. Why? Especially here in Austria we have a lot of farmers for local dairy products (but you can find this in most countries). Also, in pretty much any supermarket or bulk store you can find rolled oats that are grown in Austria, because we have an ideal climate here. And lastly, at the moment it is the season of berries, which means nothing is easier than finding berries from Austria right now.

Why is it better to buy local?

There is no single answer to this but I divided it into 4 main reasons:

  1. You support your local economy. Especially during or after a crisis like the one we are going through right now it is important to really support the country you live in. The farmers who produce Austrian products have also been hit by the crisis and as a nation it is important to help together. With supporting the economy you also save and maybe create new jobs, which is very important at the moment, since a lot have gone to loss.
  2. It’s environmental impact: when you buy locally, the goods do not have to be transported for a long time by ships, planes, cars or trains. Especially in a country like Austria, transport way are not very distant and this way we save a lot of CO2 and therefore have a positive impact on the environment.
  3. To be independent: This may sound weird at first but the importance is shown in crisis like the one at the moment. of course raspberries from countries like Spain or Portugal may be cheaper. But when we all keep buying those because they are cheaper, the amount of Austrian raspberries planted will be reduced. And then, when facing a crisis as the current, where delivery and the entire transport system suddenly stops or is interrupted we will not have enough berries to satisfy our needs. So when we consume the products we produce in the country we live in, we, as a nation, are more independent.
  4. Quality: when you buy local products (at least in Austria), you can expect the quality of the product to be at a high standard and you know this. When buying from other countries, where you may not not the quality standards, you may be disappointed and the product may contain some unnatural additives.

Where I get my local products from:

The main ingredient, so the Oats I buy at a bulk store. The one I go to is called Lieber Ohne and it only has organic and unpackaged food, mostly from the region but you can see from any product where it comes from.

The Dairy products I get at Joseph Brot. They are an organic bakery and always have dairy products from Austrian farmers in reusable jars and bottles. A great way to buy local and without producing waste.

The berries I get at a local market. I know where they come from and I can choose the ones I want myself!

The same goes for the honey and nuts. I either get both at Lieber Ohne or I get them at a farmers market!

How to make really good overnight oats:

As I said, overnight oats usually are prepared by solely combining oats with milk. Since this tastes a little boring as you can imagine we are taking a regular version and making it fancier, while still keeping it simple. By adding fruits we add an extra kick and we also use some more ingredients to make it extra creamy and delicious!

This already starts with the oats. Maybe you already know, maybe you do not – there are different kinds of oats. Larger (whole) ones and finer ones. While large ones work great for things like granola, finer ones are best for porridge and overnight oats. This may sound a little stupid because they are the same product in the end of the day but this really makes a difference! Finer ones just absorb the liquid better and therefore make it creamier.

Also, when wanting really creamy overnight oats it is best to add some yoghurt. In here I like to use greek yoghurt because it also is very easy to get in reusable glass jars but any other yoghurt or plant based yoghurt works just fine. Again, this makes it super creamy.

Another two ingredients which I would always recommend to be adding in are chia seeds and a little syrup. The chia seeds will swell up and make everything stick together better. The syrup adds a little sweetness (even if it just is a tiny drizzle) and make it 10 times better!

My last tip on making overnight oats is to add some fruit when making them. You for sure can just add some fruit on top the next day but adding them the night before helps the oats to soak up some of their sweetness, taste and juices, so it’ll infuse the entire dish.

More oat inspiration…

If you do like oats, just as I do you can check out a few other recipes of mine, which you are going to like for sure, like the Mango Overnight Oats, Oatmeal with Caramelized Bananas, Bircher Muesli with Honey Poached Apple, Healthy Peach and Cherry Crumble, Mango Coconut Granola or my Apple and Cranberry Granola !

How to make this dish low waste

Making delicious dishes while not producing much waste is actually pretty easy. If you wanna learn how, then you can read this at my Andalusian Gazpacho Post, My Easy No-Waste ice Cream Sandwiches or my No-waste French Toast with Basil Apricots blog post!

So just to summarise:

  • buy your oats at a bulk store! You can go there with your own jars or Tupperware and buy lots and lots of grains without packaging! A very sustainable way.
  • Get your dairy products at your local bakery. Most times bakeries have a small section with dairy products, which most of the time are packaged in reusable jars or bottles
  • Go to a local market. Getting fresh fruit there often is better than at the supermarket. Primarily, you know where it comes from easily and it most of the times is not packaged in plastic. I am aware that you will not find berries without packaging but mostly they at least come in paper or cartoon.

To sum up

I hope that this little guide and explanation really helps you to understand why it is important to buy locally and also include more local products easily into your daily life. Plus, you have really incredibly delicious breakfast recipe for these late summer days!

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The Ultimate Healthy and Creamy Raspberry Overnight Oats

A delicious, creamy and refreshing summer breakfast for those hot summer days with regional ingredients

Course Breakfast, brunch, Snack
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 2 servings
Calories 414 kcal

What you will need

  • 100 g rolled oats the finer the better
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 200 ml milk (you can also use plant based milk)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 200 g raspberries
  • a few walnuts and raspberries for garnish

How to

  1. In a large bowl mash the raspberries until mushy. Add the rolled oats, yoghurt, chia seeds, honey and milk and stir until everything is combined well.

  2. Keep in the fridge for at least 4 hours to overnight.

  3. Take out the next morning and top with extra greek yoghurt, raspberries and nuts. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy,
Happy cooking,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière