Cheese scones

Posted on March 23, 2016 by elsje

I have been having a lot of trouble posting this recipe, every time I want to fotograph these fluffy delights, they seem to disappear. I am glad to post this recipe just before Easter brunch. Because it would be perfect for this occasion!

They also make a great side dish with a salad or a soup (like Dutch pea soup).

Cheese scones (for 8 scones)

Dry ingredients:
- 225 gr flour
- 75 gr cornmeal
- 1 tsp salt
- 150 gr grated cheese
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp baking powder
Wet ingredients:
- 55 ml oil
- 240 ml milk
- Optional: friend onions
For finishing:
- coffee milk or 1 egg
- rock salt

Combine and mix your dry ingredients.
Pour in your wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
Form into a round flat disc of about 1.5 cm thick, wrap in cling film.
Let this dough rest in your fridge for 20 minutes to 24 hours.
Resting your dough will ensure a good fluffy end result!
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C.
Cut your disc into 8 triangles with a sharp knife.
Brush your scones with coffee creamer and sprinkle them with salt.
Back them in your oven for 15 minutes.

These scones are best when eaten the same day, to prepare in advance, just make your dough one day ahead. You find my scone recipe here.

Vegetables with a twist

Posted on March 17, 2016 by elsje

Pumpkin and beetroot are such great and healthy vegetables. It can be a challenge to think of a new way to serve them. The illustration below helps you turn them into a great side dish. I like these dishes lukewarm or just cold. They make a good vegetarian starter or lunch or a fabulous side dish.

Enjoy!

Fabulous five: stews

Posted on March 16, 2016 by elsje

In cool weather there is nothing better for winter than a stew. The other thing I love about stews is that they are easy to warm up and prepare in advance. I understand that to some people a stew seems way to much work, please consider that the stove top does most of the work, usually the actual preperations and cooking only take around 20 minutes. I also like to make large quantities of a stew, as they are a great dish to freeze or to serve to a group of people.

Greek lamb stew – warm flavors and soft meat, what more could you ask for.
Chickpea stew – even though my family thought a good stew always needs meat, with this recipe I proved them wrong.
My mother’s Malaysian chicken curry
My mother-in-law’s oxtail stew
South African tomato bredie

The recipes to the last 2 stews will follow soon.

Greek Lamb Stew

Posted on March 9, 2016 by elsje

This is one of those real stews. It needs to simmer for two to three hours. This makes this is a great weekend dish or a meal to prepare in advance. It will however blow your mind.

The stew combines so many complex flavors, the lamb and various spices. It is however still balanced. Your lamb should be falling apart. The sauce is sweet, yet sour and ever so warming thanks to that cinnamon. Against that very hearty stew, it is nice to have that tangy yoghurt sauce. The potato chips are the perfect vessel for all this sauce. If you also serve the salad you get some crunch and fresh veg for a complete meal.

Greek Lamb Stew ( 4 portions)

3 large onions, finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil for frying
4 bay leaves
Spice mix:
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
400 gr lamb shoulder, cut in chunks
Meat coating:
- 2 tbsp flour
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 glass of red port or wine
1 tbsp of dried oregano
400 gr of (tinned) diced tomatoes
200 ml of chicken stock

After cutting all your ingredients, mix your meat with the coating ingredients.
Brown the lamb chunks in two or three batches and set aside.
In the same pan cook the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the spice mix and bay leaves until they give of their lovely aroma.
Add the meat and the port. Let this cook while stirring for a few minutes.
Add the diced tomatoes, oregano and stock and let this mix simmer for up to 3 hours or until your meat is soft. Keep stirring if needed.
The flour should have thickened your sauce. If needed, mix 2 tbsp of corn starch with water and stir this mixture through your simmering stew right at the end.

This stew can be made well in advance and reheated on a low heat. Serve this stew with some fresh oven chips, tzaziki and a simple Lemon & Nigella Seed salad.

Cola Chicken Stew

Posted on March 9, 2016 by elsje

This is a great way to get your entire family to enjoy a chicken stew. I know it might seem crazy but this stew has a lovely and balanced sweet and sour taste. You can make this stew fresh, or a day in advance.

I like to have this stew with white rice, the stew should be garnished with large hand fulls of spring onion. Your children might also really enjoy having chips and a glass of coke with this meal!

Cola Chicken Stew

1 tbsp of oil
3 onions, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 chicken legs or thighs
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
3 tbsp ketchup
4 tbsp ketjap manis or sweet soy sauce
400 ml cola
Optional: 2 tbsp corn starch to bind the sauce
Serve with white rice and sliced spring onion

Fry your onions and garlic until they are soft.
Add the chicken and let it brown.
Add the smoked paprika and fry it a little while.
Stir in the final ingredients.
Let your stew simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until your chicken is tender.

Chocolate Cake

Posted on February 28, 2016 by elsje

This is an indulgent cake recipe for fanatic chocolate lovers. It stays nice and moist. The cake will serve many people, a slice of this is very filling!

Chocolate cake

150 gr butter
150 gr sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
150 gr flower
1 tsp baking powder
75 gr dark chocolate
75 ml cream
Chocolate icing:
- 75 gr dark chocolate
- 50 gr butter
- 150 gr icing sugar
For the baking tin: 25 gr butter and bread crumbs

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Measure up all your ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients and mix them with the fork. This makes the flour light and airy.
Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C.
Coat your baking tin thouroughly with butter and bread crumbs.
Mix the sugar, butter and vanilla essence.
Mix the eggs in one by one.
Fold in the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter in the baking tin.
Bake the cake for 45 minutes or untill it is golden.
Let your cake on a wire rack before turning it around on the serving tray.
Make your icing:
1. Melt the chocolate and butter.
2. Mix in the icing sugar.
Decorate your cake.

Find a banana bundt cake recipe and more baking ideas inspiration here.

Banana Bundt Cake

Posted on February 28, 2016 by elsje

This is the perfect recipe for using up your overripe bananas. The banana flavor is subtle and the cake is moist. This cake is a great show stopper desert or birthday cake for banana lovers.

Banana Bundt Cake

2 ripe bananas
100 gr butter
150 gr sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 free range eggs
200 gr flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
50 gr shredded coconut
Icing:
- 100 gr cream cheese
- 250 gr icing sugar
- Optional: yellow food coloring and banana chips for decorating
25 gr butter and 25 gr shredded coconut

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Measure up all your ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients and mix them with the fork. This makes the flour light and airy.
Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C.
Coat your bundt tin thouroughly with butter and shredded coconut.
Peel the bananas and mash them up with a fork.
Mix the banana mash, sugar, butter and vanilla essence.
Mix the eggs in one by one.
Fold in the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter in the bundt tin.
Bake the cake for 45 minutes or untill it is golden.
Let your cake cool on a wire rack before turning it around on the serving tray.
Mix the icing ingredients and decorate your bundt cake.

Find a chocolate cake recipe and more baking ideas inspiration here.

Eggplant lasagna

Posted on February 28, 2016 by elsje

This is a great vegetarian family meal. My son will eat anything covered in tomatoe sauce. The melted cheese on top combined with the crispy topping will seduce any vegetable sceptic.

It is essentially a lasagna with grilled eggplant instead of pasta sheets. It makes a great lunch or dinner when combined with a salad.

Eggplant lasagna (3 person meal)

2 eggplants, in long 5 mm strips
500 ml italian tomato sauce (your own recipe, mine or from the shop)
200 gr kwark or cottage cheese
olive oil for frying
250 gr mozzerella and/or dutch cheese in slices
Optional for a crust: 2 cups of bread crumbs and 75 gr butter

Cut your eggplant in slices, season them on each side and lightly oil them.
Fry your eggplant slices in a skillet on each side.
Make layers:
1. Tomato sauce
2. Eggplant slices
3. Kwark
4. Eggplant
5. Tomato sauce
6. Eggplant
7. Kwark
8. Eggplant
9. Tomato sauce
10. Cheese slices
11. Optional, for a crispy top: Sprinkle on bread crumbs and devide knobs of butter over the crumbs.
You can store this dish in your fridge or bake it right away in a 220 degrees C oven for 20 minutes.

Together with a Dutch ceasar salad, this makes a great vegetarian meal.

Let’s bake!

Posted on February 19, 2016 by elsje

My son and I love making cookies on a rainy day. I know now to make this a truely memorable experience with these nifty tricks:

Make the dough a day in advance, and keep it in the fridge. Cookie dough also freezes well, so I like to make a large batch and freeze half for later.
While your cookies cool, and your children are otherwise occupied (in my case: building some new Lego creation), create some colorful icing for decorating.
Place small amounts of decorations in a muffin tin, this keeps your table organised. When we are done decorating, we put the leftover decorations aside. My son mixes these in a bowl of yoghurt for a festive desert that evening!
www.cookingwithmykid.com
Display your children’s creations on a pretty dish or cake stand. They take a lot of pride in their work.
Place the cookies in a transparant zip lock bag, then attach this bake to a decorative tray. This makes a great present for grandma or an aunty with a sweet tooth!
Remember your child’s attention span is a lot shorter than yours, don’t be surprised if they are bored after making 3 cookies. In their minds this is still helping and they will take the credit for all the work! This always makes me smile, because it does mean my son takes pride in his creations.
Nigella has provided a great cookie recipe in het book “how to be a domestic goddes”. Me and my 4 year old have made multiple batches of these cookies, and they never disappoint! These cookies are tasty, with and without the colorful icing.

I love making chocolate chip cookies. All my son does is make dough balls and press them flat, but he has so much fun!

Find more tips for cooking with children here.

Dutch Pea Soup

Posted on February 19, 2016 by elsje

I have been working hard to record my mother’s recipes. I want to record these for myself, my siblings and my own children. I have been on a mission to illustrate this book. Today I would like to share my progress with the world. This is a sneak peak into our family recipe book.

Besides this Dutch pea soup, I am also working on my mother’s macaroni, sweet & sour fish, curry chicken, tomato soup and many more. It is great to see how these recipes reflect special my family is. For instance, the love my mother feels for her family, but also all the travelling we di , are reflected in her cooking. I can really recommend you write down your own family recipes, your children will be so grateful someday!

The basis for this classis Dutch recipe are dried split peas. It is a winter warming dish associated with frosty weather. We like to eat it when we’re able to skate in the outdoors. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen every winter, this does not stop me from making this dish whenever it gets cold. It is a dish meant to be shared, great to share with friend or your helpful neighbours. That’s what my mom used to do.

Dutch pea soup (3 to 4 litres of soup)

1 l vegetable stock
250 gr dried split peas
1 large leak, in thick slices
1 large winter carrot, roughly diced
2 bay leaves
500 gr pork chops
½ Celeriac, diced
2 Celery storks, in slices
Optional: add the celery leaves, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 Dutch smoked sausage (about 275 gr), sliced

Bring the stock, split peas and meat to a boil and let it simmer for 45 minutes or until the meat is tender. You can slice all your other ingredients while the soup simmers.
Remove the meat and shred it. Place the meat back in the pan.
Add all the vegetables and the bay leaves to the soup.
Let the soup simmer for another hour.
Add the celery leaves and smoked sausage a few minutes before serving.

We like to eat rye bread and with slices of bacon (katenspek) with our soup. This makes it a very satisfying winter meal!

Find more soup recipes here.

metnlintje

the art of gifting

Category Archives: metnlintje

Cheese scones

Vegetables with a twist

Fabulous five: stews

Greek Lamb Stew

Cola Chicken Stew

Chocolate Cake

Banana Bundt Cake

Eggplant lasagna

Let’s bake!

Dutch Pea Soup