Aggedesmorfret!

#32 A little trip to more warm frontiers

2012-02-09T12:10:00.001+01:00

With the help of Ottolenghi and the use of good ingredients, me and my friend cooked a wonderful dish yesterday.

With a look outside (white-whiter-whitest) and temperatures of -8 C, we decided to bring back memories of better days. (For all you ice-skating freaks, a.k.a. Dutch out there: I'm sorry, but it's not for me.)

And what brings back memories better than aromas, tastes and colors?
In the end we made a dish in perfect harmony with some Dutch and some Mediterranean elements.

So we made:

- Beetroot fritters (but with brown beans instead of chick peas)

- Roasted aubergine with fried onions and chopped lemon

- Salad of brown rice with spring onions, mint, lime juice and pomegranate

For the salad:
Boil the 100 g rice until done. Chop up 15-20 leaves of mint. Chop up 2 spring onions. Cut the pomegranate in two: you will only use on half. Take out the seeds; mix everything together et voila, it's done. (You can add salt and pepper to taste).

For a moment there we were in warmer places ;)

If you have some leftover mint: make yourself some (virgin) mojito's!

#31 Profiteroles with Chocolate Chantilly

2011-12-27T14:36:00.000+01:00

A little something to indulge yourselves, since it's Christmas and we're already indulging ourselves... Combination of tradition and new insights from Molecular Gastronomy!

Profiteroles with a filling of Chocolate Chantilly.
One of the founders of Molecular Gastronomy, Hervé This, redesigned the 'classical' chantilly by using a chocolate-in-water dispersion instead of a fat-and-proteins-in-water dispersion (=normal cream before you whip it).
He took the characteristics of the basic creme chantilly; air bubbles trapped inside a network of fat droplets and used them to make a chocolate chantilly: air bubbles trapped inside a network of chocolate particles, stabilised by proteins (lecithin) from the cocoa fat.

Important is the use of key ingredients: use good quality chocolate with approx. 60% cocoa, so dark chocolate but not too dark; you need the proteins from the cocoafat to stabilise the mousse. In bad quality chocolate the cocoa fat gets replaced by cheaper fats but these will not have stabilising properties.

Right ratios of solid part and water part is also important: I used 1.5 solids : 2 liquids
Also use an electrical whisker, otherwise it will take ages. Even with an electrical mixer it took me ca. 5-10 minutes.

So 200 grams of chocolate (60%)
267 grams( it's science, so weigh everything to be exactly precise!) of water or another liquid (coffee for mokka flavour, orange juice, think of something!)

1. Melt the chocolate with the liquid.
2. Preset a bowl filled with ice and water
3. Once molten; whip the chocolate in a bowl over the bowl of ice. The ice will make sure the chocolate particles will get solid while the stabilising proteins will remain in between the chocolate and air bubbles.

4. Et voilá:

For the profiteroles:
50 g butter
90 g flour, sifted twice
3 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat the oven on 210 C. Melt the butter with 185 mL water in a saucepan, stirr untill it boils. Take of fire, add all the flour at once, stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon and put on heat again until the mixture forms a ball.

Little by little add the egg mixture and stir until a spoon can stay upwards.
Put in a piping bag, and make little droplets on your baking tray (lined with baking paper).
Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. Fill the profiteroles with the mousse, using a piping bag.
Don't push too hard, otherwise the profiteroles will explode.

#30 Pink Gnocchi

2011-09-27T13:16:00.000+02:00

To enjoy our last days of summer, but also to welcome Autumn; what better than beetroot gnocchi?

These pink gnocchi are flavored with sage butter, orange juice and orange zest. And of course; a good old grind of parmeggiano!

I roasted the beetroots in the oven to maintain the colour, vitamins and flavor. You will find the beetroots will lose some of their 'earthy' flavor (caused by a molecule called geosmin) and tend to sweeten up a little bit. A pleasant side effect, in this case!

Ingredients:
1 pound of beetroots (3 in my case)
1 kg of mealy potatoes (I used Zeeuwse Doré's)
1 eggyolk
about 300 gram of flour
10 sage leaves
zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 orange

good chunk of butter

Recipe
1. wrap the beetroots in aluminium foil and place in a preheated (200 C) oven for at least one hour. You do not need to clean them on forehand, since after the roasting you can just peel the skin right off.
2. Cook the potatoes for 15-18 minutes, peel of the skin (stick a fork in a potato and peel with your other hand, using a knife), and mash.
3. In the meantime, once your beetroots are done: clean them and place them in a foodprocessor until pulp.

4. Add the beetroots to the mashed potatoes. Add the eggyolk and the flour and form a dough, knead it through untill you have a non-sticky ball.
5. Divide the dough into 6 portions, roll out the portions and make little balls.
6. Place the gnocchi per portion in cooking water for about 5 minutes (the fact that they start to float does not necessarily correlate with the 'doneness' of the gnocchi. (Buoyancy, anyone?)

7. After all your gnocchi are cooked, or almost all; place the sage leaves with the butter in a large pan and let simmer. After 5 minutes, add the gnocchi and give a good stirr. Then add the juice and half of the zest and keep stirring and waiting untill the juice has almost completely evaporated.
8. Serve on a plate; add some grated parmiggiano and some freshly ground black pepper to taste! (Also the extra zest can be used here to taste!)

#29 Challenging myself: Macarons!

2011-09-09T17:25:00.001+02:00

Since my last post was on the beautifull use of eggyolks, why not share a recipe which calls for the other part of the egg, the eggwhite?

First let me get you in the mood with De Phazz

Macarons are very hard to make, and I've always wanted to make them (just for the challenge alone). Well frankly, it was challenging! However since this was a first time I expect I can only make better ones from here on. (Let's knock on wood for that ;))

I used Meeta K's recipe for the macarons (but used without chai flavour) and the salted caramel, but used different sugar and for the colouring I used beetroots, trying to keep things as natural as possible.
The sugar I used was this cute and very tasteful (caramel-like) Belgian cassonade de Graeffe.
For the colouring I roasted beetroots in aluminum foil for about 1.5 hours and then blended and sifted the mixture.

Another to really keep in mind is the order in which you prepare everything.

Add the whisked eggwhites to the dry ingredients, not the other way around (forced me to throw everything out and start all over again!)

Flavourwise the macarons were pretty OK, but I really have to work on the appearance. (Piping bag, anyone?) Furthermore I do think the skill of macaron making increases with the experience in it.
So I'll be trying macarons anytime soon!

#28 Sabayon, experimental kitchen!

2011-07-17T23:55:00.000+02:00

There is something about a sabayon that always puts a smile on my face.
The versatility of an egg, the effortlessness (unless you're baking for >4 persons, than you're whisking yourself an RSI) the texture, the flavor... It's a basic recipe and you can take it anywhere you want! Or be taken and let the flavors talk and see where they take you...

In my head I had this idea of a frangipane, with the weather all off I wanted something reassuring, warm and safe like in a hug, when two heartbeats find each other and resonance as one large one.
At the same time I did want to do the summer justice, so I chose for a compromise.

Baked sabayon of wild peach with ground almonds and rosemaryTwo peaches, cut in pieces
sprinkle of dried rosemary
30-40 grams of almonds, roasted
2 eggyolks
6 tablespoons of sekt (or any wine spumante)
1 tablespoon of organic chestnut honey

1. Organise the pieces of peaches nicely in a baking tray.

2. Sprinkle with rosemary.
3. Muddle the almonds until they are coarsely ground. Sprinkle over the peaches.
4. Put the ingredients for the sabayon together in a bowl, whisk a little. Place over a pan filled with water (au bain marie) and whisk untill a firm consistency appears.
5. Pour the sabayon over the peaches and put into the oven for about 10 minutes at ca. 200 C.

It was a warm combination of earthy flavors, not to sweet but with depth.
Something to make again!

With it I drank the rest of the sekt, and watched 'New York, I love you'.
Song to listen at (also great for running):
Pole Folder - Motel
Reminds me of my days in Antwerp.

#27 Tasty Tricolore and a lovely dessert

2011-06-17T13:10:00.004+02:00

Ok, so it's not always sunny in the Netherlands... that does not mean we can bring the sun to our p(a)late!
I'm always in for some good Italian food; gnocchi with mozarella, cherrytomatoes, basil and red onions and grilled nectarines with a zabaglione of triple sec and honey....

There is an interesting these I want to put up to discussion.

Since ancient Greeks, philosophers have put two senses above the others. Auditive and visual senses were ranked 'higher' than taste, smell and touch. This might have something to do with the distance these senses have with the awareness of the 'self'. Touch, taste and smell have a small distance to one self, and especially food can exert an effect on all of these senses. Still this was seen as functional, even Socrates already said that food was merely nutritive so that the more important mental business might proceed. This also shows the distinction between 'higher' mental senses and and the the 'lower' bodily senses.
Socrates also stated that a philosopher should neither care for food, drink nor sex (Phaedo 64d).
Hearing and seeing (the higher senses) direct the attention to the outer world, while the 'lower' senses of taste, smell and touch direct the attention to the body itself.
The pursuit of these secondary senses could lead to laziness, self-indulgence etc.

I came to think about these issues after reading the article 'Delightful, Delicious, Disgusting' by Carolyn Korsmeyer.
I do see the point the philosophers want to make, the primary senses can be universally valued and discussed, but it's the secondary senses that shake your core, stick to your gut etc.
Why else are there so many verbs or expressions that point towards the digestive system or are food-related?
Also memories, when thinking of for instance of that one vacation at Kos, immediately certain flavors come to mind. And the thing I love about food most is it's ability to share.
Sharing food, eating together, is as old as man-kind.
It shows equality, giving, caring, enjoying the things your senses experience together.
Also here are lots of (ancient) customs at hand, e.g. in the middle ages a ruler had someone who tasted the food for him, in case of poisoning.
Or the custom to clink the glasses at a toast comes from a time when suspicion ran high, and during the clinking of the glasses small drops could fly from one glass to another, so if one glass contained poison, both knights would suffer.
So as for now, I enjoyed this food with a group of friends, and I hope the memory of this meal remains!

Recipe:
Gnocchi as precious post,
including the part on the tomatoes.
400 grams of mozarella
15 basil leaves

Throw in the roasted tomato and onion mixture with the gnocchi, set aside and wait for it to cool down a little.
In the mean time dice the mozarella into small pieces and tear up or cut up the basil.
Add the basil and mozarella and stir thoroughly, wait for half an hour before eating (I know, it's hard!) to let the flavors blend in.

Add a little freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

For the dessert:
4 nectarines (1 per person, sliced in halves)
3 eggyolks
5 cl triple sec
2 tablespoons of honey

Place the nectarines with the cut side on a grill.
In the mean time, whisk up the eggyolks with the other ingredients au bain marie (tip: whisk up the ingredients before putting on the water, otherwise the eggyolk might cook already and you get a lumpy mixture!)
Whisk untill a smooth, slightly thick consistency appears.
Take the nectarines from the grill, drizzle with some zabaglione and enjoy!

#26 Glorifying Gnocchi!

2011-04-24T21:23:00.000+02:00

Even though it's only April it feels as if summer's here!
And since I turned in my Bsc-thesis only yesterday, I suddenly have free time on my hands.
So what else can you do but lay on your roof-terrace, go to 'de Uiterwaarden' (banks of the river 'Rhine') with friends and cook lovely meals?
I practically live in my bikini right now, since the roof-terrace of our student house gets so hot these days it's practically unbearable... Now you won't hear me complain though ;)

So today I really felt like going for something packed with flavour, nice to look at and a firm bite.
Gnocchi it is!

Gnocchi with bacon, caramelized tomatoes&onions and rucola
First put the tomatoes into the oven;dice 500 gram of tomatoes (cherry/normal), and toss with rosemary, seasalt, freshly ground pepper and a bit of sugar. Put into a preheated oven (220 C) for about 30-45 minutes. (Or as long as the gnocchi takes ;))
For the gnocchi:2 large potatoes (approx. 500 gr, I used organic bildstar)
250 gram flour
1 egg, whisked
salt and pepper to taste

1. First cook the potatoes, when they're done; remove the skin.
2. Purée or mash the potatoes, then add the egg and flour and knead to a firm and solid dough.

3. Put a pot on with boiling water.
4. Make the gnocchi; divide the dough into quarters. Roll each lump out into a roll of 2 cm in diameter; cut small (1 cm wide) pieces out of it. Repeat with the remaining dough.
5. Press with a fork onto each piece to get a ribbed texture; this will hold the sauce/flavour better.

6. Cook in 4 portions in the boiling water; when they start floating on the top they're done. Rinse under cold water.
7. When all the gnocchi is cooked; heat a pan and bake 250 gram of bacon, after 7 minutes you can add the gnocchi and bake a little more.

8. Get the tomatoes out of the oven, add to the gnocchi and bacon mixture and take of the heat.

Serve with some rucola and a nice wine!

Enjoy! We sure did ;)

#25 Puff Pastry for Dutchies

2011-04-22T17:16:00.002+02:00

I have a confession to make. Even though I am Dutch, I am not really fond of the Dutch Cheese. A typical Dutch lunch considers of a sandwich with cheese. This is frowned upon by foreigners, because most Dutch put only a slice of cheese on some bread, maybe with some butter but that's it.

If we go really crazy we like to eat something called 'broodje gezond' and that consists of bread with ham, cheese, salad and some tomato, maybe some egg.

Well, I don't eat my lunch that way.

I do like the Dutch cheese incoorporated into dishes, and that's exactly what I did with this recipe.

Gougères are french savory profiteroles with cheese.

The original recipe uses Gruyère, I used Old Amsterdam.

This was also the first time I made pâte à choux, and boy it was exiting!

I felt like a child again, using a piping bag, making small droplets on baking paper....

And the look of the little profiteroles in the oven, heavenly!

A roommate of mine came home and I literally ran up to him, saying 'it's so cute, it's so cute!'

OK I've let myself go enough now.

Time to get cooking!

For about 30 small gougères:

2 large eggs

70 g flour

90 g grated Old Amsterdam

125 mL water

40 g butter

good grind of pepper

salt

chives (fresh or dried)

1. Melt the butter and the water in a saucepan over medium heat, and add salt, chives and pepper to taste. When it gets to a boil, throw in all the flour at once and stirr untill you have a firm ball.

2. Let it rest for approx. 5 minutes, before mixing in the eggs because otherwise the heat will cook the eggs before they get incorporated into the dough.

3. Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time.

4. Stirr in the cheese.

5. Let rest for 30 to 60 minutes, refrigerated.

6. Line a baking tin with baking paper, prepare a piping bag or 2 spoons and make small droplets of dough, the size of a cherry tomato.

7. Put in a preheated oven of 190 C for about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

#24 Small f(l)avour: easy peasy chickpea pies!

2011-03-05T22:49:00.001+01:00

Just a small post, to let you know I am still cooking (just keep forgetting to take pictures... I don't think of taking pictures with a lovely plate of food in front of me!

This recipe was just something I quickly made up while gathering things together...

I celebrated my birthday and my sister's departure (she's for half a year travelling the world, as we speak) and my mum had already made cake, and my sister scones.
So since I wanted to bake something as well (I don't know what it is, but only when baking something for your own birthday the real birthday-feeling crawls in!) I opted for something flavorfull, spicy, umami even ;)

I opened some of my mum's cupboards and got out:
1 can of chick peas
1 chorizo
2 red onions
1 container hüttenkäse (you could use ricotta as well)
1 package of phyllo-pastry (5 sheets, to be exact)
1 muffin-tin

I diced the chorizo, baked it in it's own fat, then after ca. 8 minutes I threw in the chickpeas (which I'd drained in the maintime).
I let them cook for a while, and greased the sheets of phyllo with olive oil, cut them in smaller pieces and lined the muffin tin with it. > N.B.: do not forget to grease the muffin tin as well!
Then I scooped 2 eating spoons (something like that) in each muffin well and added the chickpea mixture on top of it.

Place in a preheated oven (190 C) and bake untill golden (10-15 minutes).

Let rest for like half an hour before taking the small 'quiches' out, otherwise it will all fall apart!

Enjoy!

#23 Little bites

2011-02-04T15:27:00.001+01:00

First of all: (even though I'm way to late) Happy New Year!
This is my first entry in 2011!
This recipe was for an event that was also a little late;
celebrating Christmas with my girlfriends. We have this habit of always doing it somewhere in January, so for us it was right on time ;)
The idea is that everyone brings 2 or 3 small and funny presents and 2 dishes (or booze, but this year only person thought of that!) and via a game with a dice the presents are divided. This of course happened with lots of laughter and enjoyment of each other's company and food!

So the creation of the day became a tomato focaccia; for the recipe check my blogpost of November 2010.
Instead of the pumpkin; slice tomatoes very thinly and place them on top of the foccacia, after which I drizzled some pesto on it. I also incorporated dried thyme into the dough.

I also made 'coxinhas encantadas' (see recipe of October)
but this time with a filling of puréed pumpkin with dill and feta... mmm!!

Enjoy!

(We sure did! The rest of my friends made; little sausage-breads, tzatziki, mushrooms filled with feta, club sandwiches, monchou-pie and lots and lots more!)

#22 Off I go! Last recipe of 2010!

2010-12-23T20:00:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow I'm off to Istanbul! My flight departs at 7u25 AM so wave if you see me pass by ;)
To get a little hint of the flavours I'll be tasting here's this lovely recipe for keftedes in tomato sauce, along with kritharakia. I already started the Mediterreanan flavours on Wednesday, we all went to a Greek restaurant, 'Thalassa', in Amsterdam.
Boy did we enjoy! I think frequent readers of this blog already know my weakness for Greek food, well, Thalassa really lived up to my standards! Even my mum & sister were pleased, there were lots of vegetarian dishes. (Those who know Greek food know Greeks also have lots of meatless dishes, which are eaten especially during Lenten, but they were pleasently surprised.)

Keftedes in tomato sauce with kritharakia
A little fusion, because the kritharakia are Greek/Italian but the keftedes had a Morrocan base (with the cinnamon).

Keftedes:
1 pound of ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1-1.5 tablespoon of dried bread crumb (panko)

1. Mix all ingredients together for about 3-4 minutes by hand, take a large heaped tablespoon of 'dough' and form into little balls, untill you're out of dough.
2. Set aside all small keftedes untill you've formed them all, now bake them in oil in a large pan, make sure each side gets nice golden brown.
3. Put in a baking tray

Sauce
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 package of sugo
2 cinnamon sticks
3 tomatoes, diced
1,5 carrot, diced

1. Sautée the onion, garlic and carrot for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the sugo, cinnamon sticks and tomatoes. Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
3. Pour the sauce over the little meatballs, put into a preheated oven of 200 C.

For the kritharakia:
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
vegetables to taste (I used cellery)
500 mL vegetable stock
250 g kritharakia (orzo) (rice-shaped pasta)

1. Sautee the onion with the garlic, add the vegetables and orzo.
2. Sautée a little longer, add the stock to such an extend the orzo is put under water.
3. Keep adding stock until your orzo is satiated.

I served this with chestnut mushrooms and a red bell-pepper.

Enjoy your holiday season, and I wish you all the best for 2011,
may 2011 bring you the time and opportunities to enjoy good food with family and friends!

#21 Focaccia time

2010-11-14T20:10:00.001+01:00

Days are getting shorter (and nights longer..)

Given these facts: I really had to do some catching up on my sleeping this weekend.
And when I woke up after two nights of 12hrs of sleep (after two weeks with a maximum of 5hrs per night...) I felt this tangly feeling to bake something!

So the creation of the day became a pumpkin focaccia; the pumpkin incorporated in- and onto the dough!
Ingredients:1 sachet of yeast (7 g)
2 tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
400 gram flour (I used a mixture of spelt- and buckwheat)
half a pumpkin

1 red onion (sliced)

7 cloves of garlic (whole)
salt
2,5 dL water
rosemary to taste

1. Add the yeast, water and sugar in a large boil and set aside for about 10 minutes.
2. In the meantime: cut your pumpkin into pieces and roast it in the oven (grilling or at 250 degrees Celcius for 5 to 10 minutes) among with the red onion and garlic. The garlic might sound a lot, but roasting it will reduces it's sharpness and you only put them in there to give of their flavour. Add rosemary (I used one tablespoon dried rosemary).

3. Once you're done roasting: blend half of the pumpkinpieces with half of the onion mixture and 2 cloves of garlic.
4. Add the oil to the yeast mixture, stirr, and add the flour (don't forget to sift!).
5. Knead thoroughly, then add the blended pumpkin mixture.
6. Form a ball, set aside in an oiled bowl for 1 hour to rise.
7. After one hour, knead the dough again for about 1 minute, and put in a baking tin of 18x28 cm lined with baking foil.
8. Cut the remaining pumpkin into small pieces and slice 2 cloves of garlic as well(or more if you're a garlic lover), and put onto the dough.
9. Let rise again for about half an hour, put in a preheated oven of 180 C and bake untill done. This will take about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

#20 Vegetarian Delight, Party Time & Lots of Work!

2010-10-03T22:15:00.002+02:00

Last week my mom turned 50. Well actually it happened a year ago but we only celebrated it just now... But we did it with style to make it up to her!
I took the liberty of cooking, having 25 people in mind. It turned out to be 35!
But all went well and here's the result!

My mom's a vegetarian so I made an all-veg-dinner;
and of course I got my inspiration from Vegeterrenean!
I made Coxinhas encantadas with tagliatelli con zucchini e pomodori secchi

> Small patties filled with eggplant, parmesan and pecorino cheese.
> Pasta with dried tomatoes and courgette.

Coxinhas Encantadas (for 6 persons):

Filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 piece of garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon of onion, chopped
- 1 eggplant, peeled and diced
- salt&pepper
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon Pecorino Romano, grated

1. Heat the oil, saute the garlic, thyme and onion for one minute. Add the eggplant and season to taste. Bake untill the eggplant is tender and dry, approximately 20 minutes. Blend and let it cool down completely before adding the cheeses.

Dough:
- 1 small potato
- 120 mL vegetable stock
- 120 mL milk
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 0.5 teaspoon of salt
- 125 g flour
2. Cook, peel and mash the potato. Bring in a small pan the stock, milk, salt and butter to a boil. Add all the flour at once and stirr it in firmly. Stirr for about 5 minutes; you've stirred enough when the dough is starting to dry out and doesn't stick to the pot anymore. Get the pot of the stove and mix with the mashed potato; knead for another 2 minutes until you've got yourself a nice dough.
Finishing touches;
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 whole eggs, beaten and slightly salted
- 60 g breadcrumbs
- oil to fry (or put into the oven)
3. Make a ball of one tablespoon of dough, flatten and form a circle of about 6 cm. Put one teaspoon of filling in the middle and close the dough around it. Be gentle ;)
Repeat this with the rest of the dough.

Put the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in different bowls:
put one coxinha at the time in: 1. the flour 2. the eggmixture and finally in the breadcrumbs.
Set aside and repeat with the rest.

Now fry these coxinhas in a deep-frying pan or put into the oven (at 200 C) for about 15 minutes.

Since I made 78 of these; I used the oven ;)

And for dessert: Zabaglione!

#19 Cocktails!

2010-09-17T14:55:00.000+02:00

Just because I'm a student does not mean all I drink is beer....
On the contrary, me and my friends like to indulge ourselves with a nice cocktail once in a while...

We normally always make mojito's, so this time we tried out new classics!
A Bellini, Contreaupolitan (Cosmopolitan but hold the Vodka) and a Margarita.

Cosmopolitan/Cointreaupolitan:
50 mL triple sec (Orange-flavoured liquor)
30 mL cranberryjuice
20 mL lime juice
1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker, shake with ice and strain into a (preferably chilled) martiniglass. I have tasted a 'true' Cosmo and I have to say; I do taste difference in orange-liquor but not in flavour, considering the vodka. To me the vodka just adds the extra alcohol... ;) But this cocktail already has enough, as you can see...
You can garnish it if you like, with a cranberry or a slice of lime..

Margarita
45 mL tequila
15 mL triple sec
30 mL lime juice
1. Add al ingredients in a shaker, shake with ice and strain into a glass. (I used a martini glass, but there are 'official' margarita glasses...
'Officially' you can rub the rim of your glass with a slice of lime and dip it into salt,
some say this cocktail was a more posh way of doing tequila shots...
You can drink this dry (just strained), frozen (blended with ice) or served over ice.

Bellinipureed peaches
sparkling wine
1. Put a tablespoon of peach purée into a chilled flute (champagne glass)
2. Add sparkling wine and stirr gently.

This is a very nice cocktail to use as an apéritif, or when you want to add that little extra something to your prosecco. (Other varieties : add crème de cassis for kir, or pomogranate juice for a pomsecco!)
This cocktail originated from Venice, Italy.

And being the foodlovers we are, we of course had these cocktails with selfmade apple-cinnamon scones...

#18 Moment of fame!

2010-09-16T19:40:00.001+02:00

This month I'm featured in the magazine of Albert Heijn, Allerhande.

This is a free magazine available at all Albert Heijn stores, but it's also available on their site;
go and see for yourself!

I have been busy and I know, that's no excuse, but:
more recipes will follow!

Love!

#17 Pasta a la risotto

2010-08-23T21:05:00.000+02:00

So I had a busy day today, showing all 116 (!) new 'Nutrition&Health bachelor students a good time. And afterwards I went to the gym to see if I could manage to run 6.4 km, and in what time-span.
I'm training for the 'Ladies Run' of the 'Dam tot Damloop', ergo the 6.4 km.
(I just wanted to use ergo once :D)
But when I arrived home it appeared all my roommates were eating out, so I had to make up something quick and easy. And it always turns out to be a 'one-pan-dish' or 'prutje' as it is in Dutch...

Deer pasta with mackerel and mushrooms (1 person)

75 g pasta (deer-shaped, IKEA)
1 small red onion, diced
5-6 mushrooms, chopped
1 tin mackerel in tomato sauce
ca 200 g spinach (I used chopped out of the freezer), if you want to use fresh you should take ca 350 g.
1 cup water
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon hot ajvar

1. Heat a pan and saute the onion in 0.5 tablespoon olive oil for ca 5 minutes, add the mushrooms and heat up for another 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the pasta and the spinach and the water and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
(Squeaky clean as I am, I used this time to do the dishes.....)
(This is why it's called 'a la risotto'; you cook the pasta directly in your 'sauce'> you don't boil it in a lot of water...)
3. Once the pasta has cooked and the amount of water has reduced, take the pan off the heat and stirr in the mackerel and ajvar.
Season to taste and enjoy!

#16 In the mood... for some truly good food!

2010-08-13T11:55:00.000+02:00

This recipe, spanakorizo, is one for the category 'comfort food'... Truly smudgy, sticky rice with that hearty, earthy spinach. Just grind some parmesan or sprinke some feta over it, and squeeze a little lemon for that extra touch.

Enjoy and relax...

I combined this with pumpkin-cashew fritters for the vegetarians and a lemony-sage chicken breast for the meat-eaters.

Spanakorizo

1200 g spinach, cleansed and chopped
1 bundle of scallions
2 to 3 cups rice (I used round short-grain rice)
0.5 cup of tomato puree or tomato sauce (I used leftover sauce)
1 cup water or (chicken) stock
salt and pepper, to taste
dill, preferably fresh, if not: dried (2-3 tablespoons fresh, or 1 dried.)
fresh feta, crumbled or parmesan

1) Cut the scallions into small pieces, throw into a large pan and let saute in olive oil (ca 2-3 tablespoons) until smoother and a little golden. Add the rice, make sure every grain of rice has a 'olive-oil shine', if not add a little extra oil. Saute for a few minutes, then add the spinach (in portions, because 1200 g is a lot!)
2) Once all your spinach is added, let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Depending on the amount of water that comes from the spinach you can add extra water/chicken stock.
(Even if you drain your spinach, as I have, there's still a lot of water coming from your spinach).
3) Once the amount of water has been taken up by the rice and your dish is starting to get a little 'gooyie' you can add the tomato puree/sauce. Also add the dill.
4) Let simmer untill your rice has well absorbed the fluids and the whole dish is starting to get less and less runny. It depends on your personal taste how runny you want this (soup like or thicker).
5) Add salt and pepper to taste, take of the stove and let it rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.
6) Serve with the parmesan or feta and squeeze a little lemon juice over it to taste!

Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1-2 teaspoons of dried sage
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
salt, pepper and a little paprika
a little bit of olive oil

1) Place the chicken breast in a bowl and add the rest of the ingrediënts, make sure every piece of chicken is covered equally. Set aside and let marinate:
I did this first, then made the spanakorizo, and when the spanakorizo is set to rest you can bake your chicken in a pan untill done.

Pumpkin fritters

1 pumpkin, diced into 8 pieces and the seeds removed
3 pieces of garlic
1 handfull of cashew nuts ( I used 'Duyvis dry-roasted cashews with garlic and rosemary) chopped
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
breadcrumbs/panko
a few extra cashewnuts for decoration

1) Place the pieces of pumpkin on baking paper in a baking tray, add a little oil (untill shiny) and the (whole) pieces of garlic and let roast on 200 degrees Celcius for about 15 minutes.
2) Remove the skin (throw away the garlic, this was just to give flavour to the pumpkin) and squash the pumpkin until you get a creamy mixture. Add the chopped cashewnuts, rosemary, salt and pepper and the egg and mix. If the mixture is too moist add a little (wholewheat) flour.
3) Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on a plate, scoop 1 spoon of pumpkin mixture at the time onto the breadcrumbs, turn over so each side is covered. Place on a baking tray covered with baking paper brushed with olive oil. Continue untill you're out of mixture.
4) Once you're done place a cashewnut into each fritter, and add a little bit of oil onto each fritter. (You've brushed the baking paper with oil so now each side should have a little oil on it.)
5) Bake into a 200 C oven for about 15-20 minutes, or untill ready.

Enjoy!!!

#15 Gözleme

2010-07-31T16:37:00.000+02:00

I booked a trip to Istanbul this week (I'm going with Christmas) so I already wanted to get a hint of the great Turkish food that's around.

The first time I ate this was in 2008, in the Berlin restaurant Knoffi, where the women roll these Gossies out for you while you wait! The year after I went back to Berlin, and back to Knoffi, these ladies had me craving for more!

Ingredients:>Filling:

800 g spinach, cleansed and chopped
1 bundle of scallions
salt and pepper, to taste
150 g fresh feta, crumbled

1) Cook the spinach, drain and set aside to cool.
2) Gently let the scallions simmer in a large pan, after a few minutes add the spinach.
Add the salt&pepper and stirr in the feta, set aside to cool.

>Pastry:

500 g flour ( I used a mixture of spelt and buckwheat flour)
250-300 mL warm water
7 g (1 sachet) of dry yeast
salt

3) Sift the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center.
4) Put the yeast in the water, stirr, and pour in the dough.
5) Stirr and knead the dough untill you've got a nice ball. This will take about 10 minutes.6) Cover with plastic foil and let rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
7) Divide the dough into 5 smaller pieces, and then divide each piece into 3 smaller chunks.
8) Per gözleme: roll out each chunk into a small circle, spread a little bit of mixture on half of the circle and fold in. (It looks similar to a 'calzone' right now.)
9) Spread a little bit of oil onto each side of the gözleme and bake into a well heated pan for about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

10) Serve with fresh tzatziki, humus, baba ganoush and paprikasalsa!

I ate this with a parmentiersoup and a delicious quark-cheese dessert.

#14 Rullo di Spinaci e Ricotta

2010-07-18T14:29:00.002+02:00

This time something out of one of my favourite cookbooks; 'Vegeterranean'; a must have for lovers of true tastes, and respecting your ingredients and the land they grew on.
Yes, it's a vegetarian cookbook but I consider it a cookbook 'without meat' rather than those cookbooks who try to make dishes that make you think of meat. (With meat-replacements rather than true vegetarian recipes.)

This is also a cookbook that makes high-quality vegetarian dishes, rather than 'same old' dishes vegetarian people always get. (Again with those cheese-filled mushrooms? Or always something with egg or cheese or a combination of both....)

Ingredients:>Filling:

150 g spinach, cooked and the water squeezed out of it (or 400-500 g fresh spinach)
1/2 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper, to taste
150 g fresh ricotta, drained
30 g grated Parmesan
pinch of nutmeg

1) Chop the spinach, heat the butter, bake the spinach and season to taste.Set aside to cool. (If you've used fresh spinach: don't forget to squeeze out the water before seasoning!)
2) Whisk the ricotta untill creamy, add the Parmesan and nutmeg. Add the cooled spinach and set aside.

>Pastry:

125 g Italians '00'-flour + extra for dusting (with lack of that flour, I used whole-wheat flour)
pinch of salt
60 g butter, in small pieces
1 egg, slightly whisked
1/2 teaspoon of water

3) Sift the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Put the butter in the center and mix with your fingers until you get a breadcrumb-like texture. Keep taking a hand of dough and rub it between the palms of your hand until the dough has a sand-like texture. Add the egg and squeeze it in until the dough has the form of a ball. Knead one minute until smooth.

4) Now this is where the fun begins: if you're stressed or a bit aggravated, this is your time! Grab your dough and throw it 20 times with brute force onto your worktop. You can scream if you want to ;)
5) Cover with plastic foil and let rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
6) Roll the dough onto a flour-dusted worktop until you get a rectangle of about 28x33 cm, with the short side facing towards you.
7) Roll the dough slowly onto your rolling pin and let it slowly roll of onto a large piece of baking paper.
8) Preheat the oven on 180 C.
9) Now spread your spinach/ricotta mixture onto your pastry; leave a small strip of 2,5 cm open on the upper side. Carefully fold in the sides, now roll, with the use of your baking paper, the pastry into a big fat roll.

10) If you want you can smear a cream/milk of egg/milk mixture onto your dough (to make it shiny and crispy).
11) Now take the baking paper with your roll onto a baking tray and put into the oven.
12) Bake for approximately 30 minutes. When you take it out; let it rest for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

#13 Brutti-ma-buoni

2010-07-01T09:16:00.002+02:00

This time something quick & delicious:
'Brutti-ma-buoni' cookies. It means 'ugly, but tasty'. And tasty they are indeed!
They're small meringues with ground nuts and chocolate.

Ingredients:

60 g hazelnuts
40 g almonds
50 g (very) dark chocolate, chopped very fine
2 eggwhites
100 g caster sugar

1) Preheat the oven on 180 C. Also put backing foil (paper?) on a baking tin.
2) Spread the nuts onto the baking trays and roast the nuts for about 6-8 minutes. You will see them getting shiny and a wonderfull, earthy scent will reach your nose. Set aside to cool down.
3) Chop the nuts in a food-processor (not too finely) and mix with the chocolate.

4) Get a clean bowl and whisk your eggwhites with a little bit of sugar untill the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
5) Slowly add the rest of the sugar, keep beating untill you've got a creamy and shiny mixture.
6) Add the nut/chocolate mixture; stirr it in very gently; you don't want to loose the air you've just been beating in!

7) Get yourself a baking tray lined with baking sheets; scoop a small spoon of mixture onto it. Continue untill your mixture is finished.
8) Put into the oven; turn off the oven and let the cookies rest in there for a whole night, without opening the oven! (Although it's very tempting, I know!)
They will be crisp and dry in the morning.

#12 Orange Vibes!

2010-06-14T16:49:00.002+02:00

You can never eat enough phyllo-pastry! I'm truly addicted to this crunchy, versatile and delicious pastry.
So why not another recipe with phyllo?
And since the World Soccer Championship has started and 'our' Dutch boys are out there making us proud:
carrots for an extra orange Dutch vibe!

(If you're not living in the Netherlands you might not really understand this feeling for 'orange', but everything and everyone is dressed in orange nowadays. All supermarkets have come up with special orange 'gadgets', and also several brands of beer have made something. *(Google: pletterpet, jup holland jup, dutch dress etc)

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots
80 gram roasted pine nuts
250 gram feta, crumbled
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
40 gram melted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil (for brushing in the phyllo)
10 sheets phyllopastry (1 package)
2-3 teaspoons of sesameseed

1) Preheat the oven on 180 C. Also put backing foil (paper?) on a baking tin.
2) Clean the carrots and cut them in 2 cm pieces. Cook them until they are just tender, drain and set aside to cool down.
3) Grab a large bowl and mix the feta, scallions, basil and pine nuts. Mix well.
4) Add the drained carrots and mix again.

5) Mix the melted butter with your olive oil. Take one sheet of pastry at the time and leave the others underneath a damp cloth. (Otherwise they will dry out.)
Brush the sheet with the oil-buttermixture and put another sheet on top. Continue untill you've used 5 sheets.
6) Now spread half of the mixture onto your pastry, shape it like a rectangle. Now fold in the sides: the 'short' sides first and then the longer sides. Gently turn the phyllopackage over and place it onto your backing tray. Brush it in again with the oil-butter mixture and top it off with some sesameseeds.
7) Repeat step 5 and 6; you're supposed to have 2 packages now.
Bake these 35 minutes or untill crisp and golden!

Enjoy! And don't forget; we're going to win the World Championship this year! ;)

#11 Spanakopita, Salads and then some!

2010-06-02T22:32:00.001+02:00

This week started with a feeling, an urging, craving feeling. On Monday the feeling wasn't really clear yet, but when temperatures grew higher (and this girl could start wearing summer clothes and open shoes again!) the feeling finally revealed its identity.
The craving was for Spanakotyropita!

For all of you who've never tasted the true, earthy and utterly tasty sensation of this dish: my sincere apologies. To not have had this dish in your sensory-repertoire such a miss, one that can only be complemented by making this dish. So put on your apron and get to it!

Ingredients:1 kg fresh spinach (frozen really does not taste the same)
1 package of phyllo pastry
olive oil
250 g feta (one package)
40 g of grated parmigiano
1 bundle of scallions, chopped
1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of dill, chopped
2 eggs, whisked slightly
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

1) Blanche the spinach until soft and tender, drain and set aside to cool.
2) Put your scallions, parsley, parmigiano, dill and nutmeg to a bowl. Crumble the feta over it, add the eggs and stir/whisk until everything is divided evenly. Add the drained spinach, and add salt & pepper to taste.
3) Preheat the oven on 180-200 C (356-392 Fahrenheit)
4) Take one sheet of phyllopastry, rub it in with olive oil. Add the second sheet and cut into 3 rectangles. Take 1-2 tablespoons of spinachmixture and place it on the bottom of one phyllorectangle. Fold it up untill you get one triangle

5) Keep going untill you've used up all of your sheets of phyllo. (I made a triangle per 2 sheets because I got 10 sheets in one package). Don't forget to keep your phyllo under a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out!
6) Bake them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden!

The thing I like most about this dish is that you even though can still taste all ingredients separately, combined they taste even better. But never without losing the strength of all unique tastes. To me that also reflects the Greek kitchen, in some extent. Don't add something that's unnecessary, or don't end up with one bland, boring taste.

Enjoy! I ate mine with a cucumber/cherrytomato salad dressed with fresh basil & olive oil, and some Turkish bread garnished with creamcheese, 'pestoseasonings' and cherry tomatoes!

To finish it all : a virgin cosmopolitan (cranberryjuice, icecubs and juice of 1/2 lime. Shaken, not stirred ;))

#10 Summer's Here (respectively, that is)

2010-05-09T12:54:00.001+02:00

It's this time of year again when the sun decides to show it's true face!

True, this all has to be seen in the perspective of the National Dutch weather (that is: it can rain any day, any season, any time: unannounced) but for us Dutchies this is almost as good as it gets!

So we were all very delighted to be able to eat on our roof-terrace!

We made a mango-strawberry cake with mascarpone...

For the crust:
125 g butter
92 g icing sugar
8 g (1 sachet) vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
255 g plain flour
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 eggyolks
2 tablespoons water

1) Grease a 28 cm tart-tin slightly with butter
2) Mix together your butter, sugar and salt untill creamy.
3) Rub in the flour, lemonzest and eggyolks untill you get a mixture similar to breadcrumbs.
4) Now add your water, knead and form a ball, flour lightly.
5) Wrap your dough into plastic film and refridgerate for at least 1 hour.
6) After that hour: roll out your dough untill it fits your tin and place in the tin.
7) Bake in a preheated oven (180 C) untill lightly golden (ca 12 minutes).

For the filling
500 g mascarpone
100 mL single cream
3-4 tablespoons of sugar
1 mango, diced
250 g strawberries (or as much you can get on your cake) sliced in half lengthways.

1) Whip together the mascarpone, single cream and sugar untill shiny. For the alcoholics among as: you can add a little grappa/amaretto/other liquor... (Unfortunately those were not within reach when we were making this... but the prosecco afterwards made up for this loss!)
2) When your crust has cooled: spread your mascarponemixture (love this word) onto your crust.
3) Add the fruit and voila!

#9 Who needs Starbucks?

2010-02-23T15:30:00.002+01:00

For all of you who are excited that franchises of Starbucks are popping up now also in the Benelux; why bother? All you need is an espresso-machine, milk-frothing apparatus (steampipe or those little mixer-thingies, or 'lattemento' etc), blender and ingredients, as I've demonstrated last blog!

So since the snow finally seems to have disappeared for this winter (knock on wood), I allow myself to dream about Spring & Summer!

Background music: De-Phazz

And how better to do this than with an iced mocchachino?

It's just basically a frappuchino (or frappiato, or frappé, whatever you like!) with chocolate in it.
I made mine with cocoa powder and sugar but you can also use chocolate-syrup.

Ingredients:
1 espresso, cooled
100 mL milk (or more, depends on how strong you like your mocchanino)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 - 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
6 ice cubes

1. Mix the espresso with the cocoa powder and sugar (I put the ingredients in a lid-covered cup and shook really hard)
2. Put the ice cubes in your blender and pour the espresso-cocoa mixture over the ice.
3. Add milk untill you get the colour (and thus taste) you want.
4. Blend untill almost all the ice is crushed and you get a thick, frothy substance.
5. Pour in a longdrink glass and add a straw > Enjoy!

Tip:
You can also use all kinds of syrups (like those of monin) but pour them directly in the glass, and then add the frappé mixture (so this recipe minus the cocoa and sugar) onto the syrup.
If you blend the syrup with the rest it will not get that frothy and thick!

#8 Coffee!

2010-01-13T16:48:00.003+01:00

Good news! I went to the hospital today to have new pictures taken, and it turned out my food is healing as it should be! In a few weeks-months I'll be able to do everything I could before the accident, the only thing that remains is a 'scar of the bone' or something like that: you can see a 'lump' on my foot. But hey, if that's all, I can live with that! (I could NOT live with the thought of never being able to run again or walk in heels)

So well: food!

It's kinda interesting because this period I've got a course called 'Nutrition Behavior', which is really interesting. This week, for example: "To which content are our food preferences predisposed, and how much of our food choices are learned? And in which way can genetic predispositions influence the development of food preferences?"
For example: humans tend to have 'neophobia' (fear of the new) which in this case relates to fear of new foods. This fear is minimal in infants but increases as the child grows up, to decrease eventually from childhood through adulthood. This might be predisposed, but the content of a child's neophobia is also determined by it's parents and surroundings.

So, well, having read some articles about this subject, I'm wondering whether I'll put them into practice once I've got children.... But let's not think about those things, way to far away ;)

Since the snow still hasn't vanished (I would like temperatures above 0 °C, is that too much to ask?)

and because I have to get up at 7 every morning (yes as a student: this can be difficult) the subject of today is coffee!

latte machiatto

For recipes, click

Ok this site is really annoying... I can't get two pictures side-by-side, only either all over the place or under each other... I'll find a way to fix this :)

love

#7 Happy New Year! Scones

2010-01-06T23:44:00.001+01:00

First of all:
A very happy new year to all of you! And many thanks for the persons who sent me Christmas/NY-cards, that was really sweet.
2010 is going to be a very good year, with lots of good cooking and exploring new cuisines.
It's also going to be the year in which I can start wearing high heels again! (And I really cannot wait untill that moment comes.. I saw some amazing "Bally" pumps @ marktplaats...)

Ok so Christmas wasn't that much cooking for me, since I had dinner at my boyfriend's grantparents. I did have an indulging evening with some friends, where everyone had to bring at least two dishes. (That monchou-pie with chocolate-chip crusting was really to die for)
I made my 'all famous' brownies (I wasn't allowed to come if I wouldn't make them) and Manouri Flutes with mint, walnuts & rumsoaked raisins .

I also made some scones, which I'm going to share with you:

Apple-cinnamonscones.

Dark-chocolatechip scones

The recipe for the apple-cinnamon scones I got from AH.nl, but I wasn't completely satisfied with them. Although they tasted really nice, I wasn't sure whether to add an egg or not.. they didn't rise as much as I wanted. Also I found it really hard to knead the dough properly, especially since I heard that with scones it's the same as with muffins: don't overknead it or they'll end up tough.

The recipe for the chocolate-chip scones is really simple, and don't need any kneading at all really (and have therefore my preference):

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
250 flour, siffed
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon caster sugar

70 gram dark chocolate, finely chopped

1,5 dL milk

1. (Pre)Heat the oven at 220 °C
2. Put the flour together with the baking soda and the butter in a large bowl.
3. Cut the butter into pieces using two knives, each cutting in the opposite direction.
    After that, use your fingers to create a crumb-like texture.
4. Add suger and chocolate and stirr in the milk. Stirr in as much to get a smooth dough.
    Knead it a little bit, to make sure everything is distributed equally (this mainly counts for
    the chocolate chips)
5. Roll out the dough untill it's 2,5 or 3/4 inch thick. Use 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out
    rounds and place on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes untill risen and golden!

I enjoyed these scones while watching 'Bella Martha' , the original German movie on which 'No Reservations' was based. Really a great film to watch, if you're a foodie just like me ;)

#6: Brownies!

2009-11-23T22:07:00.003+01:00

Nothing beats these moist, fudgy, oh-so-good triple-choc brownies!

They're good for any occasion, whether it's a rainy day and you're feeling 'meh' or a shiny day and you're with some friends. *(In the latter, there are less brownies for you...)

Either way, every time I get home to my parents' my mum and little sister beg me to make these. Preferably one batch the day I arrive and one the day I leave "Because you don't come that often and we have to wait for them again untill you come!" (my mum).

The last occasion I made these brownies was when I went 'hospiteren' for a new room. Hospiteren means going to a (student)house that has a room left, and introduce yourself. (And you get to know your possible roommates).
I was talking to my mum about this, and of course she said "Well you HAVE to make a succes-recipe, nice way of introducing yourself!"
And of course I had to agree with her on this one!

(So this is also the reason I don't have any pictures of a single brownie, because I forget to take my camera there...)

Anyhoo; the brownies were considered quite good!

Ingredients:

125 g butter (1 stick+1 tablespoon)

350 g dark chocolate (12.35 oz)

175 g light brown sugar (3/4 cup)

3 eggs

4 teaspoons orange zest

125 cup all-purpose flour (1/2 cup)

30 g cocoa powder (2 tablespoons)

100 g pieces of white chocolate (3.5 oz)

100 g pieces of milk chocolate (3.5 oz)

1. Preheat the oven at 180 °C (365 °F). Grease a baking tray of 23x23cm (9x9 inch) and fill it with baking paper, to cover the sides.
2. Melt the butter with 200 grams of the dark chocolate au bain marie. (Yes there's still 100 g/3.5 oz left!) Stirr here and there, and do not allow the water to cook.
3. Meanwhile, mix the eggs with the sugar and the orange zest and beat untill light and smooth.
4. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggmixture and stir with a spatula untill it gets completely dark and you have to use more strength to whisk.

5. Sift the flour with cocoa in a bowl and then mix it with the chocolate/eggmixture. Stir well.
6. Finally, add the pieces of chocolate! (So 100 g white, 100 g milk and 100 g dark!)

7. Scrape the batter out of the bowl into the baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes.
They're done when a toothpick comes out clean (this depends on the oven you've got, some take more time and others less!). They should be still moist, so don't leave them in longer!
I always pick up the brownies by the baking paper and take them out of the baking tray immediately to cool of on a wooden board.

You will be able to eat them after ca. 15 minutes I guess ;) Maybe add some of your favourite ice-cream, and let it melt over the brownies...mmm!

#5: Kipferl!

2009-11-12T23:19:00.001+01:00

First of all: my sincere apologies, since it's been a month (+ 1 day) since my last post...!

But a lot has happened since then,

I got in a car-bike-accident (with me on the bike) resulting in a broken foot (my left-foot).

So for the first 2 weeks since then (it happened on October 27th) I haven't been able to move that easily because my foot hurt too much (it was (still is? I can't see because of the cast) 3 times the size of my normal foot, because of the hematoma.... Not very nice indeed!

For now: I'm just hoppin' like a bunny with my crutches... finally went to school again this week.

I haven't cooked that much in the last few weeks (but my mum & boyfriend have, <3)

but since I today it was the last meeting with my tutorgroup (I tutor several first-years @ the university, to get them around ) I decided it was time for some cookies!

Now I recently discovered this delicious blog; What's for lunch, honey?
It's a most amazing well-kept, wonderfull blog. You can just smell the different scents and aromas when looking at those amazing pictures.

Being already in a Christmas Cooking state of mind I decided to make Meeta K.'s Vanilla Kipferl!

I followed Meeta's recipe, but used vanilla essence instead of a vanilla bean and cane sugar instead of regular sugar. (I just didn't have those...)

Turned out to be delicious!

#4: Busy, and a must-see

2009-10-11T21:48:00.000+02:00

Just a short message to let you all know I'm still alive ;)

I'm having quite a busy period at school, so I can't post as much and as extensive as I'd like to.

I did take pictures of recipes so there is enough material!

I saw this documentary this afternoon, and it really shocked me.

Although it's worse in the U.S.A. than in Europe, I still think there are a lot of comparisons.

Watch and learn!

Food Inc, the truth about food.

#3: Equipment

2009-09-30T23:42:00.006+02:00

Since I haven't got that much time this week I'll just post something to show you what I have to work with here...
Keep in mind that I'm a student, and living in a small room with an even smaller kitchen!

Now that will not stop me from cooking what I want, but sometimes requires some coördination and time planning.

You'll see what I mean:

Jup that's just two stoves.This one in particular really demands some planning...
And the worst thing is: it's electrical! My worst nightmare, really. I'm used to cooking on gas and that's really the best way for me. When you turn it off, it's off!
I don't only have to plan which pot goes first (because I can only get 2 at the same time) but also to think ahead 'well when I turn this of it'll be warm for another 10 minutes so...'

This one on the other hand, I've had for a long time now. And it's still going strong!
Props for Tefal, now! The only weak point about it is its size... when baking cookies I have to make three portions, more won't fit at once! (But I love it because for me it's an oven of firsts... first brownies, first cookies, first phyllo-encounters (spanakopita and the like) and many others!)

My Delonghi! Me, being like totally Dutch, I was so happy when I bought this for 15€ at marktplaats (the Dutch version of ebay). I went totally crazy with espressos, cappuchinos, frappés and the like. (Well, according to my friends. I don't see any harm in that!)

Next up: my baby blender!

It's really small (One frappé at a time, please!)
But very convenient for cocktails, shakes, smoothies, soups, hell you could blend anything! (well just not in this one, it's no blendtec!)

Well that was about it I guess... I'd better start learning again for my exam...!)
Next time hopefully : cake/pepernoten (just google that!)/other nice things!

And if you're also 'SABBING' (Study-Avoiding-Behavioral) there's always the LOLCATZ!
(Of course, not for me... I already did this yesterday...)

#2: Reconsiderations & Mojito Time!

2009-09-25T14:18:00.004+02:00

After carefull considerations, I decided to write my blog in English from now on.
First of all because secretely I hope to aim for a more international audience
and secondly just to improve my English.

So yesterday I worked untill 23 (it's kind of ironic, a 'Nutrition&Heath' student working at a place that sells hamburgers&fries...) and got home at 23u30. - What better to treat yourself with than a mojito?

makes 1

10-15 leaves of fresh mint

1/2 lime, diced in 2 (if it's a small one: use 1 lime diced in 4)

2-3 tbsp cane sugar

4-5 crushed ice cubes

5 cl rum

soda water

longdrink glass

1. Rinse the mint under running water and put them in the glass

2. Add lime (squeeze them first, then throw in the parts as well)

3. Muddle (squash with a wooden utensil), then add sugar and stirr safely again. (Do not muddle with the sugar because it'll rip the mint leaves)

4. add rum, stirr, add crushed ice and fill up with the soda water

5. Garnish with mint sprig & slice of lime.

Enjoy!

#1 Aggedesmorfret: een nadere kennismaking

2009-09-23T22:38:00.000+02:00

Welkom op de allereerste blog van 'Aggedesmorfret'
(Antwaarps voor 'Als je dit maar eet'...)

Iets over mij:
Deze blog is geschreven door Iris, studente Nutrition&Health.
Geboeid door alles wat met eten (en vooral koken) te maken heeft,
en altijd op zoek naar nieuwe (culinaire) uitdagingen en recepten!

Trefwoorden: kleine hapjes als tapas/mezedes, vegetarisch geörienteerd, chocola, koekjes, bakken, cocktails en 'starbucks @ home'

Voor de eerste keer:
Voor de alweer wat koudere avond:

een chocolate-latte
Benodigdheden:
0,2 dL melk (voor de chocolademelk)
0,1 dL melk (voor het schuim)
2 a 3 eetlepels cacao (naar smaak, ik hou van een diepe cacao-smaak)
2 eetlepels suiker (zie bovenstaand)

Meng als eerste de melk, cacao en suiker in een pannetje. Probeer een keer lichte of donkere basterdsuiker! Klop dit met een garde opdat het echt goed gemengd is (hiervoor moet je hem ook heel even aan de kook hebben, dit mengt de cacao beter en zo bevorder je Maillard-reacties tussen lactose en melkeiwitten, wat een butterscotchachtige smaak op kan leveren).

Schuim daarna het melkschuim op met behulp van een 'lattemento', stoompijpje van espresso-apparaat, zo'n mini-mixertje (van bijv IKEA) of, voor de die-hard: met een garde ( er mag geen chocolademelk aanzitten anders schuimt hij niet!).

Giet eerst de opgeschuimde melk in een glas, giet hieroverheen de chocolademelk via een lepel (dan stort het schuim niet in).
Enjoy & tot de volgende!