February | 2012 | Death by Martini

Rarely, I’m in the mood for something sweet. Since I’m a lazy bum, it has to be quick and easy. Enter semolina pudding.

It works like this: heat half a litre of milk, then add two tsp. of sugar and four tsp. of semolina. Semolina, despite its funky name, is something you can buy at every grocery store. Sugar, not as exotically named but still one hell of a great ingredient, too.

Bring it to a boil, but don’t forget to stir while doing so. You wouldn’t want your milk to burn. Once it’s started boiling, very drastically reduce heat, until it’s on a very, very, very low boil. Stir and wait for about five to ten minutes, until it’s thick but not too thick. If I were hard-pressed I’d say: make sure it’s somewhere between thick and too thick.

Pour it into a bowl, sprinkle it with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon and you’re done. This is literally the easiest pudding ever, but it tastes like a thick slice of heaven. Pudding-heaven, that is.

Viennese Beef Soup

This is Viennese Beef soup. It’s a great kind of soup for whenever you’re in the mood for some beef. And soup. It’s easy to make, requires only an onion, a few carrots, celery, leek, parsley, a few bones and some beef. To top it off, chives.

Cut the onion in half, place it in a large, heated pot, face down, until it’s dark. Very dark. Then add rinsed beef, bones and copious amounts of cold water. Bring it to a boil, in the course of which you’ll want to skim the brown froth collecting at the top. When no froth is collecting anymore, add the carrots, celery and some peppercorns. Then let this thing boil at low heat for a while. And by while I mean about three to four hours. If you’re like me, you can also add a couple of soup cubes. Just to make sure, you know.

Half an hour before serving, add leek and parsley, remove the bones, cut the beef in easy pieces and throw it back in. Add whatever you want for substance (I use Vermicelli), sprinkle with fresh chives when serving.

And that, my friends, is it.

Semolina Pudding

Viennese Beef Soup