September, 2014 - Petite Haus

Angelina September 29, 2014 Appetizers and Sides

Authentic German Pretzel Recipe

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With Oktoberfest currently going on, I thought I’d try my hand at German pretzels. Now, the *authentic* German pretzel recipe calls for a dip in a bath of lye. I’m not going to risk my health with a lye bath in order to enjoy pretzels. The much safer alternative is a baking soda bath.

German pretzel recipe

Authentic German Pretzel Recipe- printable recipe here

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 packet active yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup baking soda
2 quarts water for bath
coarse salt

Instructions

Add yeast to warm water. Let it settle for about 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and salt to the yeast and mix in.
Add the yeast, sugar, and salt mixture to the flour. Mix together. I used the dough hook on my kitchenaid and mixed for about 5 minutes on speed #2. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.
Cut dough into about 5-6 equal parts. Roll out on a clean surface. Don’t need to flour the surface, the dough shouldn’t stick. Roll the dough in a line until it is about 1/2 inch in diameter, and approx. 16 inches in length. Then, make a U shape, twist the ends at the top one time, and fold over.
Place the baking sheet uncovered in the fridge for approx. 1 hour. This is key. This helps build a skin making it have that nice crust.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Bring 2 quarts of water to boil. SLOWLY add in baking soda into the boiling water little bits at a time. *caution* this creates quite a bubbly reaction for a few seconds so stand back and don’t get burned! It will eventually simmer down after a few seconds. Then add more. You have been warned!
Add the pretzels one at a time into the soda bath. Let it sit for about 10-20 seconds and then remove. Place on baking sheet.
Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Move to a cooling rack. Grab some honey mustard, nacho cheese, or a slice of cheese and enjoy!
To enjoy the next day, refrigerate and place in the toaster oven.

hint: I had only rolled out the dough to about 1 inch in diameter and 14-16 inches long and then folded. As you can see in the pictures, they puffed up quite a bit. I suggest making it even thinner, maybe about 1/2 inch. However, they still tasted fantastic!

German pretzel recipe

cooling on the rack

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Angelina September 26, 2014 oktoberfest

Funny German Words

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My Favorite German Words (Meine Lieblingswörter)

In honor of Oktoberfest this month, I thought I
would put together a list of my favorite German words. These are my
favorite words for two reasons: 1.The Germans have one word that takes a whole
sentence to explain what it means. 2. The word makes more sense than our
English equivalent. And most of them are fun to say as well!

Words that come with a long explanation:

Drachenfutter – Translation: ‘dragon food’. What it
means: the gift that you bought your significant other when you’ve
done something wrong. You are literally feeding “The Dragon”.
Be sure to NOT mention the fact that the gift is drachenfutter in front
of the dragon.

yes, this is a REAL candybar that can be purchased!

Kummerspeck – Translation: ‘grief bacon’. What it means: it
is the weight that you’ve gained after emotional stress eating.

are you an emotional overeater gaining kummerspeck?

Torschlusspanik – Translation: ‘door close panic’. What
it means: It is that feeling you get when it occurs to you that you’re
getting older and haven’t accomplished what you meant to in your life.

Treppenwitz – Literally ‘stair joke’. What it means: It
is that witty remark you think of as soon as you leave the room or a few hours
later and you wish you could’ve thought of it earlier!

Wish I would’ve thought of that earlier!!

Schadenfreude. Literally “harm joy”. What it
means: having pleasure from the misfortune of others. Why I like
it: They have a word that means you laugh at things that shouldn’t be
funny. Here’s an example: when someone falls down or runs into a door, you
laugh. Yeah, I heard you laughing when I fell. Thanks.

Falling is always funny

Ohrwurm. Literally “ear worm”. What it means: a
song that gets stuck in your head. Why I like it: having a
song that’s stuck in your head would be like having a worm stuck in your ear!

Wanderlust: literally “enjoyment of hiking”. What it means:
well, it’s also an English word. The desire to travel/wander.

Backpfeifengesicht – Literally “back whistling face” What
it means: A face that begs to be slapped.

slap his face

Klugscheißer literally “clever shitter” What
it means: a person that consistently corrects other peoples’ mistakes
in writing, speaking, etc. aka “a wise ass”. Why I like it: well,
I had to include a word on this list that used the “ß”, so I thought this word was perfect.

shitting cleverness

Verbs and miscellaneous
words I wish we had:

Umsteigen literally “to change buses/cars/planes/trains” or other
modes of transportation. Why I like it: We don’t have an exact
equivalent in English. In English we have to say, we will take the yellow
line to stop 3 and then get off and switch to the red line and get off at stop 6. In German you could just say yellow line to stop 3 and umsteigen to red line and get off at stop 6.

umsteigen from the green to the red line here.

Vorgestern – literally “the day before yesterday”. Why
I like it: Because they have one word to describe the day before yesterday.
Way more efficient.

Übermorgen – literally the day after tomorrow. Why I like it: Just
like vorgestern, it’s the day after tomorrow… but in one word.

Gondolieren. literally to ride a gondola. Why
I like it: In English we have to say “we took a gondola ride in
Venice.” In German, you can just say “we gondola-d in
Venice”. See? Way better.

we gondola=d in Venice!

übernachten. literally to stay overnight. Why I like it: Instead
of saying “We stayed overnight in Triberg” you can say “We
overnight’d in Triberg”.

I’ve uebernachted at this hotel… it was nice!

Fun Words

Leckerschmecker. Literally: “yum yum”. What it means: the
literal translation is pretty self-explanatory. They are tasty
treats. Why I like it: This is my favorite word. Say it super
fast. It’s fun!

goats think anything is tasty

Krankenwagen. Literally “sick wagon”. What
it means: an ambulance. But what does ‘ambulance’ even mean? I’d
rather ride in a sick wagon than an ambulance.

I’d rather take a sick wagon to the hospital

Handschuhe. Literally “Hand shoes”. What
it means: gloves! But aren’t hand shoes the perfect way to describe
what gloves really are? They’re shoes for your hand! Possibly one of the cutest
German words there is.

my hands have shoes

Kindergarten Literally “Children’s Garden”. What it
means: well, it’s actually an English word too. Except we spell it
“Kindergarden”. Why I like it: you send your children to
the garden(aka school) to let them grow.

Baumschule: literally “tree school”. What
it means: nursery. It’s funny because trees go to school and
children go to the garden. I guess it’s because you train your trees to grow,
but the children grow in school.

Liebling literally “darling or favorite”. Why
I like it: because if you add an ‘s’ at the end of the word, you can
put it in front of any word if it’s your favorite. Also, it’s one of the
sweeter terms of endearment in German. Examples: Is that your
favorite handschuh? Ja, that is my lieblingshandschuh. Bonus, you get to say
another favorite word again. Example 2: WHOA they have lederhosen here? Those
are my favorite! now, with liebling: Whoa die haben lederhosen hier? Das it
mein lieblingslederhosen!

Doch: literally nevertheless, still, yet. What
it means: well, there’s not an *exact* English translation which is
one reason why this word is so good. We could use it! I can’t really explain
it, other than it’s pretty much the perfect retort to everything.
Check out this long post that explains it.

Regenschirm literally “rain shield”. What
it means: umbrella. Rain shield makes way more sense than an umbrella.
I vote we switch our words.

rain shield keeps you dry

Schmetterling literally “something that gets
smashed”. What it means: butterfly! I think this word is
funny because Schmetterling sounds so angry (but it’s fun to say) to describe a
beautiful butterfly.

Kartoffelpuffer literally “potato puffs”. What
it means: potato pancakes. Why I like it: Because it’s fun to say! And I
loooove Kartoffelpuffer!

Mein lieblingspotato!

Pfeffernüsse. Literally “pepper nuts”. What
it means: spice cookies. These are the little spice cookies that
are frequently seen around Christmas time.

I confess, I don’t like these cookies but they’re fun to say!

Eichhörnchen literally “little oak horn”. What
it means: squirrel! This word is just fun. To think that squirrels
are little oak horns is kind of funny

i have a funny name

Schneeeule literally ‘snowy owl’. Why I like it: there are 3 e’s in a row.

I have 3 e’s in my name

Ausfahrt: literally ‘to drive off’. What
it means: to exit (for cars). Why I like it: because
it’s fun to say! Do you know what “entrance” is? Einfahrt! bahaha.

let’s ausfahrt right here

einfahrting is forbidden

Geschwindigkeitsbegrezung: meaning speed limit. Why
I like it: well, I don’t. Must this word
be so long?

Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze meaning the Danube steamboat shipping company’s Captain’s
hat. Why I like it? This is one of those great German compound
words where you can keep adding things onto the word. And, there’s a set
of 3 ‘f’s in a row.

check out my hat!

What’s your favorite German word? Leave a comment!

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Angelina September 25, 2014 Fall

Decorating the outdoors with pumpkins

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I love pumpkins. I love decorating with them. I love pumpkin in everything… lattes, breads, cakes, soup, cookies, etc.

I had to share these pretty displays from Roger’s Gardens this year.

I wanted tons of pumpkins like this to come from my own garden. Sadly, 7/8 of my planted pumpkins have died. The last one is barely hanging on.

You could place some pumpkins in a birdbath or outdoor pot to spruce the outdoors up with Fall!

Ok, so not a pumpkin, but how cute are these doggy topiaries?

And these scary black cat topiaries!

I also love these blue pumpkins and the white pumpkins. Some day soon when I move to the Central Valley of California (where everything grows like magic), I will plant my own pumpkin patch with all of these pumpkins! How fun would that be?!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina September 22, 2014 Fall

Owls have landed for the Fall

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I love these owls made of natural material. I have very slowly built this collection of owls. This is several years in the making!

This year though, I found the owls a new friend… a squirrel. Of course there should be a squirrel searching for acorns in the “tree” that the owls are sitting on.

I think the owls are just the cutest. I also like how they are not very in-your-face which is what I find a lot of Fall decor to be.

You can see now the squirrel sits at the end of the leaf branch.

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways,Tablescape Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays,G’day Saturdays,

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com/

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Angelina September 19, 2014 oktoberfest

Oktoberfest-themed Tablescape!

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Today I’m sharing with you my tablesetting I made for Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest starts on September 20 this year. Last year, I had the privilege to visit Germany during the start of the Oktoberfest. What a sight to see!

I used my Bavarian nutcrackers in the center. From left to right: an Oktoberfest salesman, a wine maker, and the Bavarian dressed up in full regalia.

Oktoberfest-themed table

The Oktoberfest themed nutcracker is seen closer here. I printed off the Lebkuchenherzen (the gingerbread hearts) and placed them on top of each plate.

Oktoberfest themed party table setting

If you’ve been to Germany you would’ve noticed these little gingerbread hearts everywhere:

lebkuchenherzen

Now looking from the other side… another nutcracker comes into view. You will also noticed scattered around the table I have little steins.

The steins are vintage. Most people pick them up as souvenirs from their travels. I picked mine up at an estate sale. Ironically, I’ve been to all the places that are featured on the little steins… and I didn’t have to lug them back in my suitcase and paid a fraction of the price! I call that a win-win!

close up

The official colors of Oktoberfest are blue and white. However, since it is also a harvest festival, I thought using orange looked good and it compliments the blue.

Oktoberfest themed party table setting

One last look!

I hope you enjoyed my Oktoberfest themed table! Be sure to check out my other posts about how to throw a great Oktoberfest party.

oktoberfest tablesetting

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Angelina September 17, 2014 Fall

A look back at Fall from last year

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As I’ve been busy decorating for the season this year, I thought I would revisit some of my posts from last year.

Last year’s scary cat and pumpkin bear table.

A beautifully decorated Fall doorway… just not my front door!

A look at Halloweentime at Disneyland 2013

The BEST pumpkin festival I’ve EVER been to in my whole life! Over 450,000 pumpkins!!

A Fall tablescape

I made pumpkin waffles

and a healthy Fall Harvest Salad

and I shared about antique Clapsaddle Halloween postcards.

I have other posts too, but frankly I’m a little embarrassed by my picture taking skills! I’ve learned a lot about photography in one year, especially since I now have a Canon rebel.

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Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com/

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Angelina September 15, 2014 Drinks

Copycat Pumpkin Spice Latte

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I updated my pumpkin spice latte recipe. I posted one last year, but after some trials through the season I’ve altered it. I can’t keep going to Starbucks (I said that last year too!).

copycat pumpkin spice latte recipe

Copycat Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients

3/4 cup fat free milk
3/4 tablespoon canned pumpkin
1-2 packet of sweetener or sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp for a spicier drink)
1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee (or 1 nespresso pod, either lungo or regular)
Whipped cream, optional

Instructions

In a saucepan, whisk together milk, pumpkin, and sugar/sweetener on medium heat.
Once steaming, mix in vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk quickly so it develops a nice foam.
Add to brewed coffee.
Add whipped cream to the top (optional), with a dash of pumpkin pie spice.

I estimate the calories to be around 60-70 with this cup of pumpkin spice latte!

copycat pumpkin spice latte

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Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
search terms: pumpkin spice latte recipe, copycat starbucks pumpkin spice latte recipe, DIY starbucks pumpkin spice latte, #PSL

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Angelina September 12, 2014 entertaining

Oktoberfest Party Ideas

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How to throw an awesome Oktoberfest Party

This year the official Oktoberfest starts on September 20. It’s time to start pulling together your ideas for your Oktoberfest party! I’ve created a list to help you out!

1. Oktoberfest-themed invitations – I found these cute ones on Etsy. A cute hand-made invitation can even be a fun keepsake. Be sure to ask the creator how much of it can actually be customized to your taste.

2. Oktoberfest music – No Oktoberfest party is complete if there isn’t an oom-pah-pah band playing in the background! I listened to various albums through Amazon and found this one to be my favorite:Traditional Oktoberfest music. Music is essential when entertaining. By setting the tone, it often enhances the atmosphere, and helps make it a ‘good time’ as you wait for guests to arrive.

3. German beer – You should serve only German beer at your Oktoberfest! There are only six breweries in Munich that can produce the official Oktoberfest beer. You should buy from one of them: Hofbräu, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten, and Löwenbräu. Traditionally, it is also served in the 1 Liter glass beer stein.

4. Oktoberfest-themed decor – I found these really cute printables which would be great for labeling your appetizers and food. I like these themed-printables because it adds the extra little oomph that your party might be needing. It’s also inexpensive.

5. Plates and napkins – Blue and white are the colors of Oktoberfest. This bundled plate wear is festive and fun. Or, if you want a say in the decorations, you can create your own plates and placemats for your party through Shutterfly.

6. Traditional German Food – Break out the schnitzel and sauerkraut! Here are some links to some great recipes:

7. Coasters – Where are you going to set down your cold drinks? How about on some nice coasters! Many people like to keep their coasters as souvenirs from when they visit Germany. Why don’t you make some custom coasters through Shutterfly and give them out as party favors? For something truly authentic, you could also purchase some German coasters here.

8 and 9: Dirndl and Lederhosen: If you really want to get into the spirit of Oktoberfest, I recommend purchasing a dirndl or lederhosen; these are theme-appropriate outfits that will surely make you the ‘hostess with the mostess’. This blog post has some great information about how to buy a dirndl. The German Import Haus sells authentic German outfits.

Some quick Oktoberfest FAQ:

What exactly is Oktoberfest?
It is a celebration that has been held nearly every year since 1810 in Munich, Germany. It is a 16-day festival that runs from late September into the first weekend in October. It was started on October 12, 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s Meadow). To this day, the celebrations are still held on the Theresienwiese! In Munich, an average of 6 million people visit during this festival.

Why is it called Oktoberfest when it starts in September?
The festival was moved up to enjoy the nicer weather of September.

For more information about the Oktoberfest, visit here.

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Angelina September 9, 2014 French Country

Floral Arrangements in the Tulipiere

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A while ago a blogged about tulipieres. For my birthday this year I received a tulipiere from my parents! (I think they read the blog post!).

I have enjoyed putting flowers in this wonderful vase. You can break it down and have 3 separate vases OR you can have one tall vase! That’s one of the reasons I love it.

Let’s take a look at some of the pictures I’ve taken through the Summer!

tulipiere with ranunculus, daffodils, and purple stalks

I had taken better pictures of the one below but I can’t find *any* of the pictures other than this crummy one from my phone. Oh well, you get the idea… I used mums and stalks.

The tulipiere displaying… tulips! It takes about 3 dozen flowers to fill the thing up!

What’s so neat about this vase is that you can create a HUGE impact with it. Below is one that my husband had waiting for me when I got home from a trip! *awwww* He did a good job, didn’t he?

The tulipiere stands at almost 3 feet tall! I LOVE it! I love how full this arrangement is.

a sunflower for the end of Summer!

I hope you enjoyed looking at my pretty flowers! I enjoyed having them!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina September 8, 2014 Uncategorized

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones… Recalled?!

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With Starbucks introducing their famed pumpkin spice lattes this week, which I have happily sipped down, I found myself missing something with my Fall treat: their pumpkin scone. I went to three (yes, three, and no, I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve been to Starbucks three times in 8 days) and could NOT find a pumpkin scone.

The new looking Starbucks “La Boulange” pumpkin scone pic source – Starbucks

…but there it was, front and center on the menu! All three times I had asked, I was met with a similar response: “we are currently out.” Finally, on the third try, I thought this was too much of a coincidence and I mentioned something to the barista. With shifty eyes, she looked around and finally whispered, “they have been recalled”.

the “old looking” pumpkin scone pic source -Starbucks

Recalled. There ya have it! I KNEW something was up… because why else would a company put something front and center and then not have any product in the store? After switching to a new looking scone and likely a new recipe based on the pictures in their ads, I guess something went awry. This scone was likely produced by their (in)famous collaboration with La Boulange Bakery.

Alas, now I must sip my pumpkin spice latte with my cereal at home. Or, since I have been craving the scone, I will try to bake my own copycat recipe. And hey, it will likely taste better than a new recipe produced by the Boulange bakery, if their old vs new cranberry orange scone is any indication. (Old cranberry scone = much better!). You can spot differences in the pictures above.

I found a few recipes for copycat Starbucks pumpkin scones. I’ve rounded them up below. Likely one will hit the spot!

Copycat Pumpkin Scone Recipe #1

Copycat Pumpkin Scone recipe #2

Copycat Pumpkin Scone Recipe #3

An internet search as of 9/7/14 only brought up one anonymous person mentioning that there were pieces of glass or plastic in the scones and that was the reason they’ve been recalled. I don’t know whether to believe it or not, but what I do know is that Starbucks is being silent on the manner as no official press releases are out. I would have assumed they are recalled due to the scones causing turkey squirts or something of the like.

Either way, I will be trying one of these yummy looking copycat recipes (which are also likely healthier) to go with my morning #PSL.

And I may just have to start making my own pumpkin spice lattes like I did last year. Check out my recipe for DIY copycat pumpkin spice lattes.

***UPDATE*** 9/14/14
Still no official word from Starbucks. Several people have reported here and on another message board that there has been glass/plastic as I noted previously before. Someone else noted that when they received the scones in their store and reheated them, they were super soggy and all of the frosting melted off. I find it hard to believe that all batches of these scones had plastic or glass in them… maybe a few, but all of them?? Usually when foods are mass produced they go through an xray to look for metal/glass but plastic would be missed on xray. While some batches of scones may have some glass or plastic in them, I think more likely when the scones were reheated they were soggy and gross. A poor recipe would affect every single scone in the country… while a few pieces of glass or plastic would only affect a few batches. If it were really glass or plastic, then they should have thrown those out by now and have distributed new scones…. but they haven’t. Which makes me think it’s also a recipe problem. My 2 cents. Also, can’t believe I’m the only blogger that has written about this! We wants ze scones!

These opinions are my own. Recipes and their respective pictures are from the sources in the links.
Search terms:
#PSL
Pumpkin scone recall by Starbucks
Copycat Starbucks pumpkin scone recipe
copycat Starbucks pumpkin spice latte recipe

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina September 5, 2014 Fall

Fall Preview

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I’ve started setting out my decorations for Fall! I’m pretty excited about decorating for Fall this year. As you can tell, I’ve updated my blog design this week to go with the change of seasons. The pictures on my new blog design are from pumpkin festival I went to last year (except the velvet pumpkins).

Here’s a quick little preview of what’s to come…

A new squirrel found its way inside

Pumpkins are popping up around the house…

Of course, I love love love my velvet pumpkins. These were the first things out of the box!

Perhaps I have a new Autumn arrangement?

beautiful sunflower

There will also be several Oktoberfest themed posts as the Oktoberfest starts later this month.

Oktoberfest

I’ve also started cooking up some Fall recipes…

Fall recipe preview

Be sure to keep checking back as I unveil what I’ve been doing recently!!

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Angelina September 1, 2014 Breakfast

Buttermilk Scones with Currants Recipe

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It’s starting to feel like Fall… okay. Alright, it’s actually still really hot where I’m at. But I’m ready for Fall.

One of my favorite things for breakfast is a good scone. I’ve had a hard time finding recipes I’ve liked. I’ve tried many on pinterest but have been disappointed. I remember I used to have a good recipe but I have misplaced it!

This is a recipe for currant scones. But it could easily be replaced with dried cranberries or raisins.

The recipe is from the bakery, Tartine. Tartine is supposed to have the best croissant on the West Coast. (I was sorely disappointed). But, I will say they do have the best scone I’ve ever had on the West Coast!

For those that do not know what a currant is… it is a type of small seedless grape. So basically a little raisin.

red currants

California raisins on the left, Zante currants on the right

Currant Buttermilk Scones (adapted from Tartine’s recipe)
Get the PRINTABLE recipe here

Ingredients

3/4c Zante Currants (I found these at Von’s, but you could replace with dried cranberries, raisins. You could also use fresh fruit but it will make the batter more moist).
4 3/4c All-purpose flour
1 tbsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup Unsalted butter, very cold
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
zest of 1 lemon
large crystal sugar for topping
melted better for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.
First, combine currants in some warm water and set aside for 10 minutes until currants are plumped. Drain well.
While currants are plumping, add flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt. Stir to mix.
Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and scatter cubes over dry ingredients. Mix together. Your dough should look like a coarse mixture with pea-sized lumps of visible butter when it’s done.
Then add the buttermilk, lemon zest, and plumped currants. Mix in gently, just enough until the dough holds together.
Now law the dough on a floured surface, and pat until it’s about 1.5 inches thick. You can either make an 18 inch x 5 inch square, or little round circles like I did.
Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the scones until the tops are lightly browned, 25-35 minutes depending on your oven.
Remove and serve while hot! Don’t burn your mouth!

Here I made cranberry buttermilk scones

Now this scone recipe is DELICIOUS. But, it’s not exactly low-calorie. I’m still hunting for a lower calorie scone recipe.
Anyone have a lower calorie cranberry orange scone recipe they would like to share? If so, leave it in the comments!
Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday,Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Creative Ways, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays,Foodie Friday, G’day Saturdays,

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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