Here we are, already in the middle of Christmas season, right in the second Advent weekend. Which means almost half-time for all the Xmas-fun!

Seriously, in 2016 time has been moving way to fast for my liking. I haven’t even managed yet to decorate the house at least a bit or take some time to put on merry music and bake our favourite Xmas-biscuits in-between sung along “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”s and “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer”s.

Suppose it doesn’t help that I am not in decent Christmas mood yet. For me, it is simply missing snow and proper cold temperatures to tune in on this special time of the year. Hopefully that is going to change soon. Although, looking at the past years, we will probably have to get used to enjoying green Christmas out on the sun-warmed patio, rather than in our snowed in houses, cuddling up in front of the open fire.

The weather obviously seems to think that Santa and our Austrian Christkindl could do with a break from the cold, while Easter Bunny should seriously consider taking a snowshoe-hiking-(or hopping)-course ;–)

But isn’t Christmas also meant to be a time of wishes and hopes? It might not be realistic for this year, but maybe, someday, humankind is able to fix the done damage to our climate. And my children and grandchildren will experience the beauty, serenity, and this special, unique atmosphere of magic and contemplation that only a glittering layer of pure white snow is able to create.
Or just experiencing the sheer fun of spending time outdoors, playing in the snow while always having an eye open to maybe get a glimpse of Christkindl… What exciting and memorable times we had, when we truly believed that those traces in the snow must be from Christkindl’s little feet.

Another smaller-ranged hope that I had last week: getting my first bunch of sweet roasted almonds! Definitely one of my favourite things to snack on during the season. If only they weren’t THAT heavy on the sugar-front. I mean, obviously they have to be sweet to be right, but with those amounts of sugar, a heavy sugar-crash-monster is sure to jump you right after giving you the feeling as if your teeth were glued together… you know what I mean? If only they weren’t soooo good.

So, last weekend I tried a few versions with less of the sweet stuff and found that my by far most favourite sweet roasted almonds are not with mountains of white sugar at all! No, they have got to be covered with honey instead! Tastes AMAZING. And no work at all. Just mixing 3 ingredients and the oven does the rest. Sounds good to me. Give it a try and let me know how you like them :–)

Last week seemed to be the week of hopes in my house. As I checked out the front door area to decide what I could do for a nice Xmas-deco, the pumpkins from Autumn-deco were still rolling around in bright, vibrant colours. Just as if they were hoping not to give way to conifers and candles and lastly land on the compost . Give way they will have to, but their final destination will not be a heap of rotting plants in the back yard, but this pumpkin-loving belly of mine ;–) The first one of the orange crowd made it there already. Transformed to a gorgeous pumpkin pie, I dare say that this knobbly guy did have his hopes fulfilled ;–)

I have to admit, that up until now, I have never eaten pumpkin pie in my life. Therefore I have no idea, if my version would taste anything like the common pumpkin pies around the world. But what I do know: this version here tastes GREAT!

For the crust I used whole spelt flour and it’s nutty, comforting flavour works beautifully with the lightly spiced, soft pumpkin filling. I love the natural taste of pumpkin and that is what comes out most in the filling. Also, I am pretty sure that the amount of sugar normally used in a pumpkin pie recipe would be much higher. But I just don’t like it so sweet. If you are rather a friend of very sweet desserts, you might want to have a little taste of the filling, before baking it and add more whole cane sugar if necessary.
It tastes awesome all on it’s own, but if you like, you could serve it with a dollop of yoghurt or whipped coconut cream – yummy! Also a cup of hot “coved” mandarines would taste amazing with it. Anyway, you should definitely give it a shot and tell me what you think of it :–)

Here we go, 2 recipes this time and another hope of mine: May we all enjoy the sweet side of Christmas season!

ROASTED ALMONDS
Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp honey (or maple syrup for a vegan option)
• 3 cups almonds
• 1 dash of salt
• optional: 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small bowl add all ingredients except almonds and stir until well combined.
2. Add almonds and stir until well coated with the honey-mix.
3. Preheat oven to 150°C top-bottom heat.
4. Line your biggest baking tray with baking paper and pour the almonds on top. Spread them out a little, so they don’t overlap.
5. Bake for approx. 17 minutes and keep a close eye on them towards the end of baking time, as each oven works a bit differently and burnt almonds are not what we want ;–)
6. Finally, let them cool and store them in an airtight container in the fridge until you serve them. IF you manage not to eat them all before ;–)

PUMPKIN PIE
Ingredients:
1 cup holds 250 ml = your average coffee cup

• Crust:
  • 200 g whole spelt flour
  • 100 g butter
  • 25 g whole cane sugar
  • 1 dash of salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
• Filling:
  • 3 cups (810 g) pureed pumpkin (eg. hokkaido, butternut)
  • 1 can of coconut milk stored in the fridge overnight
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) whole cane sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 5 tsp (90 g) cornstarch
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cardamon
  • 1/8 tsp generous dash ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground coriander
  • 3/8 tsp dried ground ginger
  • 1 dash of salt
  • optional: zest of one organic orange

Directions:

1. Starting with the crust, mix all dry ingredients well in a medium sized bowl. Work in the butter with a pastry blender or simply cut small pieces with a knife. Then rub the butter and flour-mix between your hands until well combined and crumbly. Pour it all on your working surface and knead it until you have one smooth piece of dough. If it seems too dry, you can add cold water to help binding. Only one teaspoon at a time though!
2. Wrap in a generous piece of cling foil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. In the meantime, for the filling, open the can of coconut milk. You will realize that the firm and liquid parts separated during refrigeration. Scoop the firm part into your blender (use watery part in soups, curries, to cook grains…).
4. Add all other ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth, put aside.
5. Preheat your oven on 180°C top-bottom heat.
6. Back to the crust. Flour your working surface, place the unwrapped dough on top and cover it with the already used piece of cling foil. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough in a circular shape, around 1/2 cm thick. The cling foil prevents the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
7. Before you transfer the dough to your cake tin, make sure it does not stick to the working surface. Carefully running a spatula or scraper under the dough helps.
8. Once in the cake tin, press down a little and cut off protruding parts. Prick with a fork several times and pre-bake for around 25 minutes.
9. Finally add the filling and bake for another 45 minutes. Enjoy!