I do a weekly cooking class with 12 kids, we have a very small space to cook in and they don't speak English.....so we have 45 minutes to get in, get washed and set up, me to talk about what we are doing, get ingredients and stuff out, then cook, eat, and wash dishes, clean floors/tables/kids etc etc. It's a NIGHTMARE!
BUT on the positive front, I am getting to be expert at finding recipes that can be done up quickly and easily!!!
Next week we are making a traditional German Christmas treat, called "Marzipankartoffeln" - in English, Marzipan potatoes. Named potatoes because of the shape they take when you roll them, they kind of look like wee baby spuds with dents in them. No cooking required. I have never actually tasted them because I am not a big fan of marzipan, especially a big glob of it, but the kids here love them.
125g of ground almonds (ie almond flour)
125 powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons of either rose water or orange petal water (or a liquer if making for adults!)
1 Tablespoon vanilla or almond extract
For coating:
4 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix everything together by hand until well mixed. Add additional liquid if needed, tiny bit at a time, until the dough clumps together. Use about a teaspoon of dough and roll by hand into small balls.
Mix the cocoa powder and cinnamon together in a small bowl, and roll the marzipan balls in the mixture. Set balls on a sheet of parchment to dry. They do not need to be refrigerated or cooked. I am estimating 30 minutes to make them and roll them - with time then left to clean up!
Here are some pictures of them:
http://www.google.de/search?q=marzipankartoffeln&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C1ASUT_en-GBDE413DE413&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=z3DEUJyvG4HftAajv4HACQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1366&bih=616
