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Chinese Cucumber Salad with Squashed Cucumbers: Here’s How

The special thing about Chinese cucumber salad is the crushed cucumbers. The squeezing makes the light dish particularly crisp, refreshing and aromatic. We’ll show you a recipe for the healthy side dish.

Chinese cucumber salad is a popular side dish in Asian cuisine. Unlike the traditional cucumber salad, the cucumbers for this recipe are first squashed or smashed. Crushing creates small gaps that allow liquid to drain away. That’s why the Chinese cucumber salad will be particularly crisp later. In addition, the dressing can be better distributed in the small gaps and contributes to the aromatic, fresh taste.

When buying your ingredients, make sure they are organic. In this way you ensure that the food is free of chemical-synthetic pesticides. The organic seals from Demeter, Naturland or Bioland stand for high standards.

Cucumbers and other vegetables are usually available from regional cultivation during the season. This saves long transport routes and thus also CO2 emissions. In addition, by the way, it is very easy to grow cucumbers yourself.

Chinese cucumber salad: how to prepare it

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1 tsp salt
2 cloves)garlic spring onion
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 teaspoon nectar
1 tsp soy sauce
0.5 tsp coriander, ground 1 red chilli (optional)

Directions:

Place the cucumber on a board and squash it until it’s split open on both sides. For example, use a rolling pin or another hard object.
Tip: You can cover the cucumber with a kitchen towel beforehand to prevent the cucumber juice from splashing around when you crush it.
Cut the mashed cucumber into small cubes, one to two centimeters in size.
Put the cucumber cubes in a fine sieve. Place a bowl underneath to drain excess liquid.
Mix the cucumber cubes with the salt and set them aside for 30 minutes.
Caution: If you skip this step, the Chinese cucumber salad will be too watery.
Meanwhile, finely chop the onions and garlic.
Mix together the sesame oil, rice vinegar, agave syrup, soy sauce and the ground coriander.
After resting, place the cucumbers in a salad bowl and mix with the dressing, onions, and garlic.
Optional: Chop the chilli very finely and garnish the Chinese cucumber salad with it.

Chinese cucumber salad goes well with these dishes

Chinese cucumber salad is a light dish. Eat it as a light lunch or as a snack between meals. If you’re having the cucumber salad as a main meal, serve it with some flatbread or fresh focaccia.

As a side dish, the Chinese cucumber salad goes particularly well with fresh vegetables. Cook the vegetables the Asian way, like in this vegetable curry with local ingredients or the Thai dish Pad See Ew. Serve cooked rice or rice noodles with salad and vegetables.

Spices and herbs such as coriander, mint, parsley and various types of chili also go well with the Chinese cucumber salad.

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Puccia: This is How the Apulian Bread with Olives Succeeds

Puccia is an Apulian bread and you can make it vegan or vegetarian. We show you how to bake the flatbread with olives.

Puccia comes from southern Italy, specifically Apulia, and is a type of flatbread. The dough often resembles a pizza dough and is supplemented with ingredients such as olives.

You can also buy ready-made puccia at some supermarkets. However, homemade pucce have no extra additives or preservatives and are therefore healthier, and you avoid packaging waste.

In order to use good quality food, pay attention to organic quality. Conventional olive oils in particular can contain harmful substances. Read the following article: Olive oil test: Convince discounter and organic oils. We can particularly recommend the organic seals from Demeter, Bioland and Naturland, as they follow stricter criteria than the EU organic seal.

Puccia: This is how the Apulian bread with olives succeeds

Ingredients:

130 g durum wheat semolina
500 ml water
50 g green olives
50g black olives
1 clove(s) garlic
400 g flour
40 g of yeast
50 g olive oil
5 g salt

Directions:

Pour boiling water into a bowl and stir in the durum wheat semolina. Let everything swell for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the olives into small rings and the garlic into small pieces.
Now put all the other ingredients in a new bowl. You should also add the garlic, you should wait with the olives so that they don’t fall apart when kneading.
You can break up the yeast into small pieces with your fingers and add them.

When the swollen durum wheat semolina has cooled down enough that you can easily put your finger in the bowl, add it to the other ingredients.

Now knead everything into a smooth dough. Finally add the olives and let the Puccia dough rise covered in a warm place for an hour.
Knead the risen dough again. If it’s too sticky, dust it with some flour if necessary.

Divide the dough into even pieces and form small flatbreads. They should be about ten centimeters in diameter.
Place the Puccia flatbreads on a baking sheet and place them on the middle of the oven. Place another bowl of water in the bottom of the oven to give the dough a nice crust. Bake the flatbreads at 160 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes. Note: Do not preheat the oven as this allows the dough to rise again before you bake it. It also saves energy and is better for the environment. Also read: Preheating the oven: useful or not?
To check if the flatbreads are done baking, you can take one out and tap the bottom. If you hear a dull, hollow sound, the Puccia are done.

Puccia prove: This is how the flat cake tastes particularly good

You can fill the Apulian flatbread as you like. There are no set ingredients or recipes. Italians often refer to Puccia as:

Mozzarella (you can also use vegan mozzarella)
tomatoes
basil
arugula
fried vegetables
So that the Puccia is not dry and tastes spicier, you can spread the halves with spreads or sauces:

homemade tomato sauce
pesto Rosso
Basil pesto
cream cheese
Make sure that you use organic food whenever possible. We also recommend that you shop seasonally and regionally. This is how you act particularly sustainably.

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Eating Potatoes with Their Skins: When to Do It

As a general rule, you should not eat potatoes with their skins on, as they contain natural toxins. Under certain circumstances, however, consumption is harmless – we will explain when this is the case.

Potatoes belong to the nightshade family. As such, they contain toxins that protect them from predators and act as a natural defense against fungal and insect infestations. The two glycoalkaloids solanine and chaconine contained in potatoes are mainly located directly under the skin. That’s why you shouldn’t eat potatoes with their skin on – this is also recommended by the Baden-Württemberg State Center for Nutrition.

Unripe potatoes with green spots or sprouted potatoes in particular have a high content of toxins. Other plant parts of the potato also contain large amounts of solanine. If potatoes are damaged on the surface or stored incorrectly, this encourages the formation of toxins.

By the way: To store potatoes, you should choose a dark, cool and dry place – preferably with a temperature between four and six degrees Celsius.

In addition, potatoes are often treated with germination or mold inhibitors so that they can be stored more easily and can be offered all year round. Although there are regulated maximum values ​​for such substances, you should not eat treated potatoes with their skins and instead use organic potatoes. These must not be treated with germ or mold inhibitors.

Even if the skin contains healthy minerals and secondary plant substances: the peeled potato is usually the better choice. You can find tips for peeling potatoes in our guide. However, if you can be sure that the glycoalkaloid content is low – that is, the potato is ripe, fresh and undamaged – there is nothing wrong with eating the skin from time to time.

Eating potatoes with their skins: you have to pay attention to this

If you want to eat potatoes with skin, you should consider the following points:

Make sure your potatoes have been stored properly. Even better: reach for fresh potatoes.
If they have a lot of green spots or sprouts, you shouldn’t eat potatoes with their skins on. However, you can generously cut out isolated green areas.
Use potatoes with no surface damage.
Grab local organic potatoes and buy them in small quantities so you don’t have to store them for long.
By the way: Potatoes are in season in Germany from June to the end of October. So it is easy to get hold of fresh potatoes at this time.

Potato varieties that are commercially available from us must not exceed a certain maximum value of solanine (200 milligrams per kilogram of fresh mass). On average, cultivated varieties contain around 18 to 94 milligrams of solanine per kilogram, according to the Baden-Württemberg State Center for Nutrition. It is therefore generally harmless to eat ripe and properly stored potatoes with their skins on. Imported potatoes, on the other hand, can have higher solanine levels, so it’s best to use local produce.

Pregnant women and children should always peel potatoes

According to the Baden-Württemberg State Center for Nutrition, mild solanine poisoning occurs from around 400 milligrams per kilogram of potatoes. The first symptoms such as nausea, headache, diarrhea and a sore throat can then be felt within 24 hours. In children, however, significantly smaller amounts of solanine can be dangerous due to their lower body weight. Children and pregnant women should therefore never eat potatoes with their skins on.

By the way: Glycoalkaloids are water-soluble but heat-resistant. This means that some of the toxins are released into the water during cooking and are not rendered harmless by heat alone. You should therefore always throw away the cooking water from unpeeled potatoes.

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Make Mustard Yourself: Simple Recipe with 4 Variants

Making mustard yourself is not as complicated as you think. We’ll show you how to make a basic recipe, which you can then expand on as you wish.

Mustard is a delicious and versatile condiment. It should not be missing from any barbecue party and rounds off the taste of sauces and salad dressings. You can make the popular spice paste yourself with just a few ingredients and refine it according to your taste. In addition to the basic recipe, we will tell you four other variants for the homemade mustard: extra hot, fruity, sweet and with a herbal note.

Choose mustard seeds for the homemade mustard

There are white, brown and black mustard seeds – here the rule is: the darker the colour, the sharper the seeds. If you want to make medium-hot mustard, mix white and brown mustard seeds in a 50:50 ratio. You can get high-quality mustard seeds in health food stores or at the weekly market.

The mustard oils contained in the grains are not only responsible for the spiciness – they are also very healthy, have an antibacterial and appetizing effect and promote digestion. According to a study by the University of Freiburg, spicy mustard can even have a preventive effect against cancer.

Make mustard yourself: The basic recipe

For about three glasses of mustard you will need:

200 g mustard seeds
275 ml white balsamic vinegar
100ml of water
80 grams of sugar
3 tsp salt
some turmeric for the color
How to prepare the homemade mustard:

Grind the mustard seeds as finely as possible. The best way to do this is with a coffee grinder, alternatively with a mortar. The finer you grind the grains, the finer the mustard will be. Tip: If you don’t want to grind the grains yourself, you can use 200 grams of mustard flour.
Heat the water with the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan.
Remove the pot from the heat and let the liquid cool to a lukewarm temperature. This step is especially important to keep the mustard from turning bitter.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Pour the liquid over the mustard flour and mix with a mixer for at least 5 minutes.
Pour the mustard into sterilized, sealable jars.
Leave the mustard for three days and it will lose its initial spiciness.
The mustard can be stored in a cool place for up to three months. So don’t do too much at once.

Make mustard variations yourself

Extra hot mustard: If you like your mustard to be extra hot, add some wasabi paste or crushed chillies to the basic recipe.
Fruity mustard: To give the basic recipe a fruity note, you can add the zest of an organic orange, some fig puree or other pureed dried fruit to the recipe before bottling.
Apple mustard: Replace the white balsamic vinegar in the basic recipe with apple cider vinegar. Instead of sugar, use ten organic dates that you soak in water beforehand and a grated apple. Use just a small pinch of salt. Mix all the ingredients together with a blender. This mustard can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.
Herb mustard: Supplement the basic recipe with fresh herbs. The following are particularly suitable: wild garlic, rosemary, thyme and dill.

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Wild Garlic Salt: Recipe for Herbal Salt with Fresh Wild Garlic

Making wild garlic salt is a great way to preserve fresh wild garlic leaves. So you can enjoy the taste all year round. We explain what you should consider.

The wild garlic season starts in mid-March and you can harvest wild garlic leaves for homemade wild garlic salt. Wild garlic not only offers a wonderful, regional variety in the kitchen, but is also very healthy. The leaves contain valuable essential oils, as well as vitamin C and minerals such as iron, manganese and magnesium.

In addition to the classic wild garlic pesto, there are countless other recipes with wild garlic. We’ll show you a simple recipe for wild garlic salt so that you don’t have to do without the fine, spicy taste of the wild garlic leaves for the rest of the year.

Wild garlic salt: Two simple ingredients

You only need two ingredients for the basic recipe:

250 g table salt or other salt
100 g fresh wild garlic
Since dried wild garlic leaves quickly lose their taste, it is best to process them immediately after collecting them. Optionally, you can refine the wild garlic salt with a little spiciness. White pepper or chilli are particularly suitable for this.

You also need:

a mortar or a blender
Screw-top jars for filling

Recipe for wild garlic salt

The preparation of wild garlic salt is very simple:

Wash the wild garlic thoroughly.
Dry the leaves well or place them in a salad spinner.
Then remove the stems and cut the leaves into strips.
Grind the strips in your mortar or use a chopping knife to cut them into a homogeneous mass.
Mix the salt with the wild garlic paste.
Spread the mixture on a baking sheet.
It is best to dry the moist salt in the sun. This is the best way to preserve the taste of the wild garlic. This takes about eight hours. (In bad weather, you can alternatively dry the wild garlic salt in the oven at around 50 degrees. Check regularly whether it is already dry and stir it with a spoon so that it dries evenly. It should be ready in about four hours.)
You can fill your wild garlic salt directly into a spice mill or grind it finely again before filling it into screw-top jars.


You can simply sprinkle wild garlic salt on buttered bread or use it for cooking. From scrambled eggs, to salads or pan-fried vegetables – wild garlic is always a good choice, even if garlic would also be a good choice.

Storage: Wild garlic salt should be stored in a dark and dry place. The wild garlic is well preserved by the salt and lasts for at least a year.

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Emergency Supplies: You Can Get by with These Foods for 10 Days

Quarantine, power outage or worries about the political situation: Many are considering stocking up on emergency food in case of an emergency. The Ministry of Agriculture has created a corresponding shopping list with recommended foods – we have looked at them.

An emergency supply can feed you for a few days if new groceries can’t be delivered or you can’t leave the house.

However, panic and excessive hamster purchases are not appropriate. Since the first lockdown, we have known that the food supply is working well. According to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), however, it is still advisable to stock up on emergencies, regardless of the threat posed by the corona virus.

Apocalyptic scenarios are not understood as emergencies. A widespread power failure lasting several days can mean that supermarkets can no longer be supplied and the water supply is impaired.

But other unforeseen events such as natural disasters or epidemics can also mean that we suddenly no longer have access to fresh food. For these cases, the Federal Ministry has published a supply table with food that could feed a person for around ten days.

Emergency supplies: shopping list for cereals and potatoes

The list only includes products that do not need to be cooled, as it should also be valid in the event of a power failure. Therefore, frozen foods are not recommended. The ministry assumes a daily calorie intake of 2200 kilocalories per person. In addition to the “normal” table, which contains fish and meat, there is also a vegetarian shopping list. A vegan version does not yet exist.

In the cereals and potatoes category, the Ministry recommends the following foods for an emergency supply per person:

710g wholemeal bread
180g rusks
710g crispbread
280g pasta (raw)
180g rice (raw)
540g oats or other cereal flakes
710g potatoes (raw, without skin)

Emergency supplies: fruit and vegetables

With regard to fruit and vegetables, the ministry recommends using canned goods for the most part. Because they have a long sell-by date. Your shopping list should include:

570g green beans
640g peas/carrots
500g red cabbage
500g sauerkraut
290g of asparagus
290g corn
290g mushrooms
290g pickled cucumbers
290g beetroot
400g cherries
180g pears
180g apricots
250g tangerines
250g pineapple

The quantities always refer to the drained weight. Of course, canned food and well-travelled tropical fruits like pineapples are not exactly sustainable. The BMEL is primarily concerned with the list of shelf life and sufficient calorie intake. In order to improve the ecological balance of these foods, you could boil, pickle or ferment the fruit and vegetables yourself and use them to create a crisis supply.

Some dried fruit, nuts and fresh products are also on the BMEL’s emergency stock list. These are:

360g fresh onions
140g raisins
250g prunes
100g hazelnuts
710g fresh fruit (e.g. apples, bananas, pears, oranges)

Milk, eggs, substitutes, and fats on the shopping list

In the standard table, the Ministry recommends, among other things, canned tuna, sardines in oil, herring, corned beef, bockwurst or veal liver sausage. We think: Even in a temporary crisis situation, such food does not have to be. Tuna is heavily overfished, and canned sausage and meat products usually come from industrial factory farming.

The calories that the products are supposed to provide can also be consumed in other ways – without having to accept animal suffering. These products have been replaced by vegetarian alternatives in the vegetarian emergency stock list. The following foods can be found in this category:

200g tofu
150g vegetarian patties
230g vegetarian sausages
250g vegetarian spread
200g vegetarian salami
265g eggs (weight without shell)
Regarding dairy products, fats and oils, these products are on the list:

2l UHT milk (3.5 percent fat)
500g hard cheese
180g fat spread or butter
180g margarine
150ml cooking oil
To further reduce animal products, you can replace the UHT milk with oat milk or another plant-based drink. Make sure that it is a plant-based milk that does not need to be refrigerated, lasts as long as possible and has around 50 to 60 kilocalories per 100 milliliters.

Beverages and other items in emergency stock

For a 10-day emergency supply you need 20 liters of mineral water. This includes both the recommended drinking quantity of 1.5 liters per day and water for cooking pasta, rice and the like at 500 milliliters per day. For people over the age of 65, it is advisable to have even more water available, as they should drink around two liters of water a day.

In addition to mineral water, the following products are on the list in this category:

140ml lemon juice
180g coffee powder or instant coffee
90 grams of black tea
In addition, there is a table with other foods that are listed without a specific quantity. This includes:

sugar
sweetener
honey
jam
chocolate
iodized salt
ready meals
Dried potato products (e.g. mashed potatoes powder)
flour
cocoa powder
hard cookies
Pretzel Sticks

Create your individual emergency supply

The Ministry points out that this shopping list is only an example and must be adapted to individual needs such as allergies, intolerances and diets. Some foods are definitely not necessary for most people, such as artificial sweeteners or canned asparagus.

If you want to create a completely vegan emergency supply, you can rely more on legumes, which are not yet included in the ministry’s list. Lentils, chickpeas, beans and the like also provide you with important nutrients that keep you full for a long time. You can use both dried and canned products.

You can get dry groceries in bulk shops and thus avoid packaging waste. You can also reduce packaging in large containers and often save money at the same time.

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Vegan Biryani: Recipe for the Rice Dish with Zucchini and Carrots

Preparing biryani vegan is not difficult: You simply add some vegetables to the Asian rice stir-fry. We will introduce you to a biryani recipe and explain what you should pay attention to.

Biryani is a rice dish that comes from Asia. The dish is particularly popular in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The word “biryani” comes from Persian and means something like “fried”. The rice stir-fry is often prepared with meat, but you can make biryani vegan by adding your choice of vegetables, nuts or tofu to the rice.

We recommend looking for organic quality when buying the ingredients. This is how you avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides. Rice often comes from Southeast Asia and uses a lot of water to grow. Then there are the long transport routes to Europe. Rice that was grown in Europe (e.g. in Italy) is therefore ecologically more advisable. If you do use rice from countries further away, we recommend looking out for the fair trade seal. In this way you guarantee that manufacturers have observed human and labor rights during the production process and the long delivery routes.

Vegan Biryani: Recipe for the rice dish

Ingredients:

300 ml water
200 g basmati rice
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp curry spice
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika spice (sweet)
1carrot
1Zucchini
1 piece ginger (thumb size)
1 clove(s) garlic
1red onion
2 tablespoons oil
50 g cashew nuts

Directions:

Start cooking the rice. Put it in a pot with the water. Add salt and the spices. Let it gently simmer for five to ten minutes. It shouldn’t be raw anymore, but it shouldn’t be fully cooked either.
While the rice is cooking, you can grate the carrot and cut the zucchini into pieces.

Place the vegetables in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let it steep for five minutes. This will lightly pre-cook the carrot and zucchini so that the vegetables are not fried raw. Then drain the water again.

Now cut the ginger and garlic into small pieces as well. Then place the pieces in a mortar and grind them into a paste. This unfolds even more flavors. Tip: If you don’t have a mortar at home, you can also chop the ginger and garlic very small with a knife and press into a paste with the bottom of a spoon.

Gradually add the vegetables and finally the half-cooked rice.

Biryani with peanut sauce

As a dip for biryani, you can stir together a quick peanut sauce. The nutty taste goes very well with the dish. You need the following for this:

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
65 g peanut butter without additives
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup (alternatively rice syrup or date syrup)
Juice of half a lime
1 pinch cayenne pepper or chilli powder
2 teaspoons water, as needed
First chop the ginger and garlic. Then mix all the ingredients together and stir them into a smooth sauce. You can garnish the sauce with peanuts or fresh herbs.

Soy sauce also goes well with the rice dish. You can simply pour it over the rice on the plate.

Possible variations for the Biryani

You can not only prepare the rice pan with zucchini and carrots, but also with other types of vegetables. Well suited are, for example, broccoli, peppers or mushrooms. It is best to buy seasonal vegetables that do not come from overseas but grow regionally or within Germany. This protects the climate and reduces CO2 emissions. Our seasonal calendar can help you with that.

In Asia, biryani is often prepared with meat. As a vegan alternative, you can use smoked tofu, for example. Cut the tofu into cubes and fry it in a pan or bake it in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius with top and bottom heat until crispy. Later you can sprinkle it on top of your biryani as a topping.

You can also replace the cashew nuts with other nuts. Peanuts, almonds or walnuts go just as well in biryani. Many nut varieties cannot be grown in Europe and are therefore imported from Africa, among other places. There they are sometimes grown under poor, inhumane working conditions. In order not to support this, you should look for a Fairtrade seal when buying the nuts.

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Meal Prep: Save Time and Money with Pre-cooking

Meal Prep is the solution for everyone who, despite the hustle and bustle of everyday life, values healthy food and wants to save money. We’ll tell you what’s behind this trend.

Meal Prep is made up of the English words “meal” (meal) and “preparation” (preparation). It’s all about pre-cooking food to save time and money. In Japan, food has been prepared in boxes, in so-called “bentos”, for on the go since the 5th century. And our grandparents were also excellent “meal preppers” by preserving fruit, beans and even roulades. Meal prep has been a trend in the US for years.

How does meal prep work?

Meal prep is about organization. Before you go shopping, think carefully about what you want to eat in the next few days. Instead of storing food until you need it, Meal Prep processes it right away.

It’s best to do this on a day when you have plenty of time. Because you may have to stand in the kitchen for a few hours to pre-cook. This saves you time for the rest of the week and you can eat the dishes right away or just heat them up when you get home from work.

You should note that dishes with uncooked food only keep for about two days. Cooked and fried food, on the other hand, is still fresh after three to four days in the refrigerator. Soups are easy to freeze and thaw as needed.

Since meal prep involves cooking for several days, you need space to store your supplies. It is best to store the components of your food separately in screw-top jars or cans. Don’t put them together until you’re finally preparing the food. That way everything keeps its consistency and doesn’t get mushy.

If you’re cooking for an entire week, you’re going to need a lot of containers. Start collecting large screw-top jars in good time.

Those are the benefits of meal prep

With meal prep, you do everything yourself. By pre-cooking, you know what is in your dishes. In this way you avoid processed foods and preservatives and can value healthy, regional and seasonal ingredients.

On top of that, you have control over the portion sizes. Since many dishes are suitable for the lunch break and there is no need to go to the snack bar, you also save money. If you buy groceries seasonally and regionally and do this in a planned manner, you can also save money. Spontaneous purchases during the evening supermarket quick shop are no longer necessary. You also have more time for you and your family if you don’t have to shop and cook freshly every day.

These foods are suitable for “Meal Prep”

When it comes to meal prep, vegetables should dominate. For a balanced diet, however, proteins should not be neglected. You can spice up your dishes with sauces and vegan dips. The following foods are particularly suitable for meal prep:

  • carrots
  • zucchini
  • broccoli
  • potatoes
  • rice
  • millet
  • tofu
  • Legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans)
  • Pesto
  • hummus
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Bean Puree: A Recipe with White Beans

White bean puree tastes delicious and is also a valuable source of protein. In this article we will show you a recipe that you can easily prepare yourself.

White bean puree looks confusingly similar to the well-known hummus made from chickpeas. However, it tastes different and brings variety to your diet. You can prepare the bean puree very easily and quickly. All you need for additional kitchen utensils is a blender or hand blender. The white bean puree is particularly suitable as a dip for vegetable sticks or as a creamy component in salads or wraps.

We recommend that you choose all organic ingredients. In this way you avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides and thus support species and soil protection.

White bean puree: A recipe to make yourself

Ingredients:

400 grams of white beans
2 cloves)garlic juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp almond butter or tahini salt pepper

Directions:

Remove the beans from the can or jar and wash them thoroughly.
Peel the garlic and cut it into slices. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice from one half.
Put all the ingredients in a blender. Mix everything until you get a creamy and homogeneous mass.
Season the white bean puree with pepper and salt to taste. Now you can serve it and/or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.

Tips for your homemade bean puree

Finally, we would like to give you a few tips that can help you with the production of your homemade bean puree:

Of course you can prepare the recipe with beans of your choice. So you can use kidney beans in the same way or combine different types of beans.
If you don’t want to use canned or jarred beans, you can cook dried beans yourself. You can find out how to do this here: Cooking white beans: This is how they get the right consistency. But keep in mind that the preparation time given above will be significantly longer.
Add kitchen herbs and spices as you wish. You can supplement the white bean puree with dried tomatoes or cumin, for example, and add fresh herbs as a topping.
If you like roasted flavors, you can roast the garlic in a pan or in the oven beforehand. Use several cloves of garlic for this because they lose their intensity when cooked.

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Yeast Dough Recipe: Simple Basic Recipe with Instructions

Yeast dough is versatile and not difficult to make. We will show you a classic and a vegan recipe for sweet yeast dough and tell you what is important when it comes to the dough – and also how it is made into a braid.

Recipe for vegan yeast dough without egg, butter, and milk

You can easily make a vegan, sweet yeast dough yourself.

You need for this:

500 g flour (light organic wheat or spelled flour)
80 grams of sugar
1 cube of yeast
250 ml plant milk (e.g. oat or soy milk)
70g vegan margarine
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 pinch of salt
Optional: some light-colored jam for spreading, quince or apricot jam without pieces is best.
You also need:

a bowl,
a whisk,
a kitchen scale,
a pastry brush,
a clean tea towel.

This is how the vegan yeast dough succeeds

Whether for Easter or for a nice Sunday breakfast – you can easily make a vegan yeast plait yourself with a little preparation time. There is no need to use eggs, milk or butter, because this vegan yeast dough is delicious and buttery soft.

How to make the dough:

Place all liquid ingredients and in a bowl. The plant-based milk and margarine should be lukewarm.
Add the yeast cube and stir until it has dissolved.
Then add the salt and sugar to the liquid.
Add the flour while stirring constantly until the dough has reached the typical consistency.
Knead the dough well on a floured work surface for several minutes.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for at least an hour. The cloth is important to protect the dough from drafts.
The dough is ready when it has doubled in size.
Important: The decisive factor for a successful yeast dough is the temperature. With fresh yeast, the liquid should be warm but not hot. If it’s too hot, the yeast culture will die and your dough won’t rise. Cold, on the other hand, does not harm the yeast. It just takes longer for your dough to rise. If you’re not in a hurry, you can leave the dough in the fridge overnight and bake it the next day.

This is how you succeed in making the perfect yeast braid

Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it well again on a floured work surface.
Divide the dough into three equal parts and form long strands out of the dough balls.
Braid the strands of dough loosely and pinch the ends together.
Use a pastry brush to brush the braid with some light-colored jam or plant-based milk.
Place the braid on a baking sheet and let it rise for another 20 minutes.
Halfway through the resting time, preheat the oven. If you want to bake with top and bottom heat, set the stove to 200 degrees Celsius and 175 degrees Celsius for circulating air.
Bake the braid on the bottom shelf of the oven for about 25 minutes.
Take the braid out of the oven and let it cool down a bit.

Recipe for classic yeast dough

For a classic yeast dough you need:

500g flour
80 grams of sugar
1 cube of yeast
250 ml lukewarm milk
70 grams of butter
1 pinch of salt
1 organic egg
You also need:

a bowl,
a whisk,
a kitchen scale,
a pastry brush,
a tea towel.
The preparation and processing of the classic yeast dough hardly differs from that of a vegan one. The following variant is for a yeast dough with pre-dough:

Sift the flour into a bowl and mix it with a pinch of salt.
In another bowl, mix lukewarm milk with sugar and crumble in the yeast. Stir the liquid a little until the yeast has dissolved.
Make a well in the flour and pour in the liquid. Thicken the yeast milk with a little flour using a spoon and then leave the bowl covered for 15 minutes.
Then add the other ingredients and knead the dough for several minutes.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for at least an hour.
The dough is ready when it has doubled in size.
You can use this dough as a base for cakes or a yeast plait. If you want to make a yeast plait, you can brush it with milk before baking to brown it nicely.

Tip: If you made too much dough, you can freeze the leftover yeast dough. It will last up to six months this way.

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