Broccoli feast

Posted on September 28, 2015 by elsje

I am always looking for a way to make broccoli more interesting. Somehow this veg does not apeal to me, but I love it with cheese! This recipe makes my life easy. Especialy because I can do all preperations the day before. All I need to do when I get home is heat the dish in the oven.

We like eating this simple broccoli casserole with roast potatoes and maybe a salad on the side. As the sauce is so rich, we like having this broccoli feast as a vegetarian dinner. As a variation to this dish you could mix in cauliflower or maybe .

Broccoli feast

1 head broccoli, broken into florets
For the cheese sauce:
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 30 grams butter
- 30 grams flour
- 150 ml white wine
- 150 ml milk
- 150 ml stock
- 1 tsp mustard
- 2 cups of grated cheese, I like old Gouda or a gruyere for this dish
- salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg

Boil your broccoli until tender. Rince with cold water to stop the cooking process. Place the broccoli in an ovenproof dish and set aside.
Gently fry the onion in the butter intil soft.
Add the flour. Stir this mixture on a low heat for at least 2 minutes.
Do not skip this stage to prevent a grainy, floury taste.
Add the liquids gradually, while mixing and incorporating into a thick sauce.
Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and the mustard.
Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
Pour your sauce over the broccoli and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
(You can prepare this dish a day before and keep it in the fridge.)
Preheat your oven at 220 degrees C. Bake your broccoli for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Simpel Starters : Brussel sprout cappuccino

Posted on September 24, 2015 by elsje

I learnt this recipe at a cooking workshop. It was such a simple recipe, but it is a major showstopper for dinner guests. It celebrates the flavor of the sprout, complementing it with fluffy cream, crunchy salty bacon and zingy fresh spring union. It’s secret for me is the diversity in flavors and textures.

What I like most of all is that this luxury treat is easy to make for any starting cook.

For a vegetarian option replace the bacon with homemade garlic croutons.

You can serve this starter in a cappuccino cup, or a stylish glass cup.

Brussel sprout cappuccino (serves 4)

250 gr brussel sprouts
500 ml vegetable stock
150 ml (whipping) cream
75 gr bacon cubes
2 spring unions

Clean your sprouts. Boil the sprouts in the stock for about 10 minutes, until tender. Turn of your heat. Place a lid on the pan while you prepare the other ingredients.

Fry your bacon cubes until they are crispy while the sprouts are cooking. Slice the spring union in thin slices. Divide the bacon cubes and spring unions over your cappuccino cups.

Whip the cream into stiff peaks.

Blitz the sprouts and vegetable stock until smooth.

Add a spoonfull of whipped cream to the smooth sprout soup. Add the soup to the whipped cream and fold the mixture in until combined.

Gently spoon your fluffy soup in each cup and let your guests dig in.

Personalized coaster

Posted on September 21, 2015 by elsje

I created these personalized coaster for my sister yesterday, inspired by Pinterest. They are made with the coark coasters by IKEA (HEAT). I used coasters for pans which I created with the suitable texts: flavour, good food and togetherness.

I used a permanent marker and it was surprisingly easy to make them into something special. I will definately try this again with smaller coasters. My toddler might want to join in next time. I can also see this being a great mothersday present. Or you could make placeholders for your christmasdinner or wedding by writing names on smaller coasters.

Beet burgers

Posted on September 17, 2015 by elsje

My friend loves taking me to great lunchrooms. At one of these fabulous lunches I tried my first beetroot burgers, and I was hooked. Unlike other vegetarian burgers this burger does not try to replace meat, it is a totally new flavor sensation providing great texture and filling you up for the rest of the day.

Obviously, it is also a very healthy alternative to your regular meaty version. But that is not why you should try this. This is a new flavour you have to introduce to your pallet, the healthy part is just a bonus!

I have to honestly admit this dish isn’t for everyone, especially meat lovers that think veggie burgers are blasphemy. And you have to love beetroot. I do think that offering lots of garlic rich yoghurt sauce will help convince your family members.

These burgers and sauces can easily be made a day in advance, making them the perfect easy home made fastfood!

Beet root burgers (4-6 burgers)

1 uncooked medium beet root, finely grated
800 grams of tinned beans, I used field peas (we like to call them kapucijners in Holland)
1 onion, grated
2 eggs
2 cups of oats

Mash up the peas (in the foodprocessor), I like leaving some chunky pieces for texture.

Mix in the beet root, onion and egg. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Add half the oats and let the mixture stand so the oats can soak up the moisture. After 20 minutes, check the mixture and add oats as needed. You want a firm, non-sticky mixture that still holds together well. I like to compare it to how my meatball texture feels when it is just right.

Shape your burger paddies, dust with oats to prevent the paddies from sticking if needed and let them rest for at least 30 minutes. For the practical busy moms I recommend making these a day in advance.

Fry your paddies in some oil on a high heat for a few minutes on each side. After making the paddies crusty on each side, place the paddies in the 220 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with some fresh crispy buns, some lettuce, a spicy yoghurt sauce and a yoghurt mint sauce (you find the recipe with the posh fish and chips recipe).

Spicy sauce

1 tomato in small cubes
1 onion finely sliced
1 finely sliced chili pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
handfull of freshly sliced parsley and/or koriander

Blend half the tomato, union and chili to a pulp. Mix the pulp with the other ingredients and season to taste.

Lunch salads

Posted on September 15, 2015 by elsje

Recently I descided to challenge myself and eat more healthy for lunch. What this comes down to is lots of salads! I would like to share to tasty simple salad recipes here.

Each recipe makes a tasty one person lunch or a great side dish or starter with dinner.

Eggy salad (1 serving)

2 soft boiled eggs in wedges
1 spring onion
1 handfull of chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tomato in cubes
Simple honey mustard dressing

Simple honey mustard dressing

1 tbsp of dyon mustard
1 tbsp of honey
1 tbsp of mayo (find a recipe for making your own here)

Combine the dressing ingredients in a jam jar and shake.

Fig and blue cheese salad (1 serving)

2 handfuls of your favorite salad leaves
1 tomato, diced
1 handful of fried bacon cubes
1 handfil of chopped nuts (I used almonds here but walnuts or pecans would be perfect!)
2 fresh figs in wedges
1 hanful of crumbly blue cheese
Drizzle with olive oil and a good balsamic vinegar
Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly crushed black pepper

Simple jummy scones

Posted on September 9, 2015 by elsje

We love having cream tea on a rainy sunday afternoon. Nothing tastes better than home made scones! I recently discovered a great secret making scones an even more attractive recipe. The scones puff up more when you rest the dough in the fridge for a couple of hours.

This means you can make the dough an evening in advance, take it out of the fridge, make scone shapes and place them in your oven. Now just enjoy those lovely scents filling your house as you make tea and take out your favorite jams and fresh fruit!

Scones (8 – 10)

225 grams plain white flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
25 grams caster sugar
50 grams butter at room temperature
150 ml buttermilk (optional: add some vanilla essence to the buttermilk)
1 egg, beaten, or coffee cream, for brushing or dusting

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
Rub your butter in the flour mixture untill you have a bread crumb consistency.
Stir in the buttermilk combine your dough into a ball.
This is the kind of dough you want to handle as little as possible.
Wrap your dough in kling film and let it rest in your fridge from 1 hour to 24 hours. Whatever works with your schedule. This does enable you to plan ahead if you are making an elaborate high tea.
Preheat your oven at 220 degrees C.
Roll out your dough on a floured surface. I like to make a circular disk, about 1,5 cm thick and slice 8 scones with a sharp knife as shown in the picture.
Place your scones on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
For golden and glossy scones, brush your scones with egg or coffee cream.
You can sprinkle your scones with sugar for a crusty top.
Bake your scones for 15 to twenty minutes or untill they are puffed up and golden brown.

Let your scones cool for at least ten minutes before digging in. This may be the hardest part of the recipe!

Fabulous five: jam jar re-use tips

Posted on September 2, 2015 by elsje

As a mother that works 36 hours a week I like to think ahead. Making soups or sauces in the evenings, ready to warm up for dinner the next day, is a real time saver. I like serving homemade food, and by storing my creations properly I can feed my troops quickly.

Once my homemade food is packaged in a smart way, it can also be taken to work or on a picnic on the beach or in the park. This prevents us from buying greasy snacks, although we give in to our cravings every niw and then!

People often ask me how I manage this, upcycling jars is a big part of the answer. Here are my five ideas for storing and transporting in jam jars:

Use jars to store your home made jams, jelly’s, lemon curd or mayo.
Make and store batches of delicious sauces and dips in the barbecue season like tzatziki, rocket pesto and tomato sauce.
Mix your favorite salad dressing inside a jar. Just add all ingredients, close and shake! I like making our C easar salad dressing this way.
One jam jar holds 1 (cold) soup serving, for a healthy lunch or afternoon snack! (like this my gourgette soup recipe, good warm or cold)
Label your jars! This way you know what’s in them and when you made them. I use pretty labels when I plan on giving the jam away. That brings me to another perk of using a jar, unlike an (expensive) plastic container, I never worry about getting the container back from my friends….

My mighty Moussaka

Posted on September 2, 2015 by elsje

One of my favorite restaurants to visit is a Greek restaurant. I love the Mediterranean spices, and the hint of the orient. It is one of the few types of restaurant where I can choose tasty freshly grilled meats as well as seafood, or a jummy slow cooked lamb stew. I am also partial to their yummy yoghurt sauce, tzatziki!

I have always loved Greece’s answer to the lasagna: the moussaka! Recently it occurred to me that I could easily turn this recipe into a vegetarian dish. My meat loving husband was nearly finished with his dinner when he realized there was no meat in his food. He had enjoyed the texture and flavor too much to notice what was missing.

On the practical side of things, this recipe has plenty of upsides too. I made the actual dish a day in advance. The next day I baked the moussaka, which made for a nice fuss free evening for me and my toddler. This dish will definitely be on a family favorite list for a while.

Moussaka

Sauce:
- 1 tin of depuy lentils ( 310 gram )
- 1 tin of diced tomatoes ( 400 gram )
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp mint
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 large union, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 1 glass of white wine
- Half cube of vegetable stock
1 aubergine in slices
3 medium large potatoes
Topping (you substitute this with bechamel sauce, this is my lazy cheat version):
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 tub of cottage cheese ( 200 gram )
150 gram of grated cheese

You will need an ovenproof dish, I used one of 27 by 18 cm.

Before you do anything else. Boil your potatoes until they are soft.
Prepare the sauce;
- Fry your union in some olive oil until soft.
- Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin and thyme. Add the wine and let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients.
- Bring the sauce to a light simmer. Leave it to simmer for about an hour.
While the sauce is simmering, prepare your other ingredients;
- Slice the aubergine length ways. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Fry the slices in a griddle pan on each side.
- Let your potatoes cool, then slice them.
- Wilt the spinach down in some oil in a really hot pan. Let the spinach cool and slice it roughly. The spinach needs to cool in a collinder now. Drain as much of moisture out as you possibly can.
- Mix your topping ingredients.
When all your components are ready, you can layer your moussaka in an oven proof dish:
- One layer of sauce
- One layer of spinach
- One layer of potatoe slices, don’t forget to season these.
- One layer of sauce
- One layer of aubergine
- Spread out your topping
- Sprinkle with the grated cheese
- Season with some freshly ground pepper
(You can keep the dish overnight before this step) Bake the moussaka in a 220 degree C oven for about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden.
Let your moussaka stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Easiest healthy cookies ever!

Posted on August 27, 2015 by elsje

I love looking for inspiration on Pinterest. This time I ran into a 3 ingredient cookie recipe. This inspired me as it also contained no sugar and they looked delicious, find my inspiration here.

The cookies were easy to make. They are best eaten right away, or within 24 hours. This would not be a problem in my home! It is a great way to make use of that overripe banana. The riper your banana gets, the sweeter your cookies will be.

These cookies make a great healthy snack for the entire family. They could even be used as a breakfast cookie along with a smoothy or a tall glass of milk. I tested my cookies on my toddler and my colleagues. They were all amazed at how delicious they were without added sugar.

This simple recipe would also be a great recipe for children to make with very little help from you!

3 ingredient cookies

1 overripe banana
2 handfulls of quick oats
2 handfulls of chocalate chips
Optional: dried fruit and/or nuts

Mash up your banana and mix your ingredients. Spoon your cookies on a baking sheet. I made 6 smaller cookies, but you could make 3 larger cookies as well.

Bake your cookies in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C and enjoy!

Find more tips for cooking with toddlers.

My new discovery: Yvette van Boven

Posted on August 24, 2015 by elsje

I have finally discovered a Dutch cooking diva!

For years I have been watching great British cooking television, especially Saturday Kitchen. I always wondered why I could never find Dutch cooking shows to watch and love.

The passion for fresh ingredients, their sincerity and their inspiring amount of knowledge meant that I fell in love with many TV chefs like Jamie Oliver, Nigella, James Martin and Paul Hollywood. Now that the Great British Bake Off is on, I just started baking again. It is safe to say that the BBC has a large influence on the food I cook.

Since August 17th Yvette van Boven has her own cooking series on Dutch public television, marking a significant event in Dutch TV history.

This is a lady that can inspire the masses! Both the experienced cook and the beginner can learn from her show. She gives you confidence by making cooking look easy, she inspires you to use every resource and she makes me feel extremely hungry.

Yvette strikes the delicate balance between being green and ecological while keeping it affordable and practical. She shows you how to make showstoppers like homemade Cherry beer without making it endlessly complicated.

Some of my favorite recipe’s so far are:

A mouth watering hot milk cake that anyone would dare to make
Home made honey ginger ale, made from scratch in 2 days!!
Smoked makerel, in 2 minutes she shows you how simple smoking real

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