Category Archives: Cooking

Recipes and other cooking related blabbering.

Forty days without meat: days 17, 18 & 19

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Breakfast:

  • Orange juice
  •  Musli with milk / oatmeal with craisins

Lunch:

  • Sammiches (day 17)
  • Salad with mustard dressing (1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp olive oil) (day 18)
  • Chilli sin carne, whole wheat (day 19)

Dinner:

  • Pizza, half 4 cheese, half mozzarella and pesto (day 17)
  • Veggie gyros pita (day 18)
  • Sammiches & No cream of broccoli soup (day 19)

Snacks:

  • Coffee & tea
  • Chocolate
  • Cookies
  • Banana
  • Mandarins

Bonus recipe:

No cream of broccoli soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 broccoli bunch (500 gr) plus the stalk of another (that was in the freezer from last week)
  • 1 leek
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 70 gr raw cashew nuts
  • 1 l water (more might be needed)
  • salt & pepper
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Make it:

  1. Soak the cashew nuts in water for an hour to soften up (this will make it easier to blend later on). The cashew nuts provide creaminess to the soup.
  2. Rinse the leek, and chop. Mince the garlic. Heat up olive oil in a 3-4 l pot. Add the leek & garlic, and cook until soft and golden.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in pieces. For the stalks, remove the outer layer (approx 5mm) that is a bit harder and leave only the heart, then cut in pieces.
  4. Add broccoli to the pot, cover with approx 1l water (it doesn’t need to be completely covered) and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat. Drain the cashew nuts and add to the broccoli. Mix with immersion blender until creamy. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne & lemon juice to taste.
  6. Serve piping hot.

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Forty days without meat: day 14

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Breakfast:

  • Orange juice
  • Musli with milk

Lunch:

  • Leek soup
  • Usual half sandwiches

Dinner:

  • Tofu with soy sprouts, rice

Snacks:

  • Mandarines
  • Banana
  • Pastry

Bonus recipe:

Tofu with soy sprouts

Ingredients:

  • 1 block firm tofu (~250g gr), pressed for at least an hour
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp mushroom sauce (vegetarian oyster sauce)
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled, cut in slices
  • 3 bell peppers (red, yellow & green), chopped into 1.5 cm pieces
  • 250 gr soy sprouts
  • 1 tsp vegetable broth powder (or 1/2 cube)
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger powder

Make it:

  1. Cut the pressed tofu in cubes, and marinate for 15 minutes in a sauce made with the soy sauce & mushroom.
  2. Heat olive oil in a wok. Add drained tofu (keep marinade!). Cook for a few minutes until slightly golden. Remove tofu from wok and keep warm.
  3. Add garlic, carrots & pepper to the wok. Cook for a few minutes, then add ginger, broth powder and water. Bring to a boil and cook fast for a couple of minutes. Add sprout and cook another two minutes.
  4. Add reserved tofu and marinade. Heat through.
  5. Serve with rice (1 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 125 gr basmati rice, 300 ml water)

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Forty days without meat : day 8

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Breakfast:

  • Musli with milk (surprise!)
  • Orange juice

Lunch:

  • Chervil soup (I’d never thought you could make soup out of something akin to parsley – live and learn, they love it in Belgium!)
  • The usual three half sandwiches (spread cheese, sliced cheese, veggie salami – Delhaize brand)

Dinner:

  • Rice with spinach, raisins & pine nuts
  • Quorn cordon bleu

Snacks:

  • Apple
  • Fresh cheese
  • Cookie

 

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Bonus recipe:

Rice with spinach, raisins & pine nuts

 Ingredients:

  • 125 gr whole grain rice
  • 400 ml water
  • 300 gr frozen spinach, thawed in the microwave, liquid removed but not squeezed dry
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2-3 tbsp raisins
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2-3 tbsp pine nuts

Make it:

  1. In the bowl of a rice cooker (or a stove top pot) put all ingredients except pine nuts. Cook until all liquid has been absorbed.
  2. Before serving, heat a pan until very hot and dry roast the pine nuts for a minute or two, shaking often, being careful that they don’t burn.
  3. Mix pine nuts into rice, serve warm

Makes two side servings.

Forty days without meat: day 6

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The menu of the day:

Breakfast: (yes I am that boring)

  • Orange juice
  • Musli with half skimmed milk

Lunch:

  • Broccoli soup
  • Bread with spread cheese, veggie “ham” & nutella (3 half sandwiches)

Dinner:

  • Roasted root vegetable soup (it is a lot tastier the day after!)
  • Spinach filled tortellini with spicy tomato sauce & some grated cheese

Snacks:

  • Cuppa tea
  • Soyjoy bar – got it for free, won’t buy it for myself
  • Apple

Forty days without meat

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Forty days without meat (40 dagen zonder vlees) is a campaign of a student in Maastricht. She proposes to eat vegetarian for Lent (the forty days between Ash Wednesday -today- and Easter Monday). Another interesting campaign in Belgium is Donderdag Veggiedag, where people are encouraged to eat vegetarian one day a week (Thursdays).

I am not taking part because I am already vegetarian, and the point is convincing people that eating less meat (and fish) can be healthier for them and for the planet, as well as tasty.

What I do want to do (hopefully) is during these forty days tell you (and perhaps show you if I remember to take pictures) what I eat as a vegetarian. So, without more blabla:

Forty vegetarian days – Day 1:

Breakfast:

  • Glass of orange juice
  • Musli with milk

Lunch:

  • Bread with quorn slice (vegetarian cold cut), cheese, and nutella (not all on the same slice!)

Dinner:

  • Pasta with mushroom sauce and quorn pieces

Snacks:

  • Apple
  • Tea
  • Mandarins
  • A cookie

And as a bonus point, the recipe for the pasta dish:

Pasta with mushroom sauce and quorn pieces

Ingredients:

  •  olive oil, salt & pepper
  • 500 grams mushrooms, clean, sliced
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 150 gr quorn pieces
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp marmite
  • 1/2 glass white wine
  • 1/2 glass water
  • 1 tsp maizena
  • 2-3 tbsp light cream (7%)
  • 125 gr whole wheat pasta

Multitask:

  1. Put a pot of salted water to boil to cook the pasta. When it starts boiling, cook pasta according to package instructions. I like my pasta al dente so I tend to boil it for a couple minutes less.
  2. In a wide bottomed pot, heat two tablespoons of oil. Sautee the quorn so it has some nice color and remove it from the pot. In the same pot, add another tablespoon of oil, and sautee garlic & shallot until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and let them cook until they have more than halved their volume. You can help them along with a sprinkle of salt. If the pan seems dry, wet it with a tablespoon or two of water. Add the thyme.
  3. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the wine and boil for a few minutes. Add the marmite and stir. Dissolve the maizena in the rest of the water and add it to the pot to thicken the sauce. Boil for two-three minutes. Add the cream and the quorn pieces, and heat through.
  4. By now the pasta should be ready. Drain it and add it to the mushrooms. Stir to combine.
  5. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese if desired.

Makes two servings.

Pasta with mushrooms and quorn

Non-Resolutions

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So, first of January and all that. You say “Happy New Year!” (Happy New Year!), you kiss and hug, you smile, and then you make an unreasonable list of new years resolutions like going to the gym five times a week, eating seven servings of fruit & veggies and clean the house from top to bottom every month.

I am not going to make resolutions. Because we all know that most resolutions are not kept anyway. But I do want to put here things I’d like to do this year. In no order of importance, small or big, doesn’t matter. I’m not even going to call them goals, like other bloggers are doing this year. Because having a goal (or a resolution) will most likely set me up for failure. So this is just a list of things I want do do!

Here we go:

  • Getting my bachelor’s! Yes, halleluja. Moving to Belgium and finishing my studies here was the smartest move ever I think. Right now I am one exam period and one semester (with its own exam period) away from this. I still can’t believe it!
  • Sewing more, and drafting some more patterns. I want to try a t-shirt and some trousers.
  • Knit more. I am enjoying knitting my first cardigan, so I might jump in and make a second.
  • Crochet more. I’m still taking toddler (not any more baby, I’d say) steps in crocheting. I prefer knitting, but there are some things that are more suited to being crocheted.
  • Keep reading. Brain candy! Something to let my brain rest after studying in Dutch.
  • Cooking. I want to try new recipes, adapt some Belgian classics so they’re vegetarian.
  • Blog more. I wrote a whopping 5 posts last year :(
  • Getting acquainted with our Nikon D7000. Maybe even read the manual gasp
  • Be happy!

And there is probably more to it. But that covers the basics. Enjoy the year, and don’t be hard on yourself. Who’s going to love you if you don’t?

Happy 1005 Times Two

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(That’s 2010 for those not inclined to do math or those who have had a wee bit too much to drink)

We celebrated with a feast for two, watching the Spanish tv with the 12 bell tolls from Madrid, fireworks from the balcony and bubbly in our glasses.

A quick recap of our menu with pictures. Just because I’m such a meany ;)

Cavi-Art on toast Faux Gras on toast Cottage cheese mint samosas and mango chutney
Mushroom Sundried Tomato Risotto Rosemary focaccia Chocolate pear cake with cinnamon whipped cream
Click on the pictures for a bigger view

Those are, in order from left to right, first row then second: Cavi-art on toast, Faux Gras (de Gaia) on toast, Cottage cheese mint samosas served with home made mango chutney, Mushroom & Sundried tomato risotto served with Rosemary focaccia (home made, of course), and Chocolate pear cake with cinnamon whipped cream. All accompanied by a lovely Spanish Rueda Verdejo and some bubbly.

Wishing you a lovely 2010, and hoping your wishes come true. I’ll be working on mine to come true, because well, fate always benefits from a bit of pushing in the right direction.

Long Time No See?

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I know I haven’t posted in a month and a half. Life hasn’t been so hectic as to put it as an excuse not to post, to be honest. I just haven’t been in the mood to post, and didn’t really have that much to talk about either. I still miss Macchiatto dearly, our little cavy, it makes me sad thinking about all that we could have done and didn’t know to do in time.

What has been going on since then? Not much, I have been getting used to living in Ghent with Jan, me mostly been at home doing stuff, as it was pointless finding a job for two months, then come back to Madrid for another month, then finding another job when I get back to our home at the end of the month. Officially, I’ve been marked as house-wife, never mind I’m not a wife! And that’s actually what I’ve been doing most: grocery shopping (thanks given that we have two shops within easy walking distance), cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing, and so on and so forth.

I’ve also been preparing more paperwork to enroll at UGent. I need to fill in a lengthy application form and give them ton of information from my previous University. I’m hoping they’ll accept me and also transfer my credits. It’d be a great help if I only have 1 to 1.5 years left to get my Bachelors, and then another 2 for my Masters. The end is near, way closer than at my previous University, which is sad. I’m also going to enroll at UCT for either the preparatory year of Dutch, or only the levels I still need to take (3rd to 6th) preferably.

On the cooking and baking front, I haven’t innovated much or made up any recipes worth posting. I’ve kept to my staples with the savory, and not done much baking either. I made curry, and stir fries, some baked casseroles and the usual. I baked some muffins and was planning on cookies but forgot to buy cookie sheets!

I did get three balcony rectangular planters, and filled them with dirt, put some seeds in, and patiently waited for them to grow. I have Lettuce, Rainbow Chillies, Rocket, Leaf Beet (or Perpetual Spinach), Land Cress, Basil, Rosemary, Marjoram, Chives… All ready to pick when I need some. Nothing better than a sandwich with lettuce right off the plant. Or a pesto with such fresh basil (crossing fingers it grows enough that I have enough to make pesto soon).

Craft wise, I finished a beret (no pic), that still needs the ends sewn in. And I started on a lace shawlette using the Luna Moth Shawl free pattern from Elann, and a fingering weight yarn that’s a bamboo / silk / cotton blend, in creamy white. Since a post without pictures is boring, I’ll put one here of the shawl:

Luna Moth Shawl In Progress

I also got a set of funny giraffe rubber stamps. I made some thank you notes and gift tags that I plan on putting up for sale. I sewed a beach dress for me, using my brand new sewing machine that I plan on use a lot (Promise!). I’m right now waiting on an eBay auction to finish, and hopefully I’ll be the owner of 3.5m of MacKenzie Seaforth tartan to make a high waisted skirt.

I think that’s about it. Hopefully next time it will be sooner than with this post.

Cheers!

Baking.

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Bread, sourdough started.

Yum loaf of bread

Brownies, olive oil, 100% free of nut traces.

Brownies

There are three pans of brownies waiting for a friend to pick at least one up. Rest will be eaten or frozen.

Red Berries Tofu Cake

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Today’s Jan‘s birthday. Happy Birthday!!! And since I’m a poor student and can’t buy him the gadgets I’m sure he’d love to get as pressies, I made him a cake. I also got him a movie, but it was on offer ;-)

It’s very moist here, and so it makes the 25ºC or so feel like a lot more. And really, who wants to bake for hours when the weather is so sticky. So we settled for no-bake (nearly) cheese cake, but made with tofu, because it’s a bit healthier ahem.

Red Berries Tofu Cake Slice

Ingredients:

  • For the cookie base:
    • 120 grams cookies (Graham crackers, McVities, Maria… whatever rocks your world)
    • 40 grams butter (this is about 3 tablespoons)
  • For the tofu layer:
    • 300 ml pineapple juice
    • 2 tablespoons agar-agar
    • 90 ml lemon juice
    • 5 to 6 tablespoons runny honey
    • 1 teaspoon lemon oil / essence
    • 450 grams tofu
  • For the gelled topping:
    • 100 ml red berries syrup (the kind used for cocktails)
    • 300 ml water
    • 2 tablespoons agar agar
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • bunch of red currants and raspberries

Make it:

  1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC / 350 F (this is the only time you’re gonna use the oven, I promise). Whizz up the cookies in a food procesor until sandy, then add butter and whizz some more until it looks like wet sand. Line the bottom of a springform pan with baking paper, press the cookie slash wet sand into the base of the form. Bake for ten minutes until nicely golden, turn off the oven and breathe deeply.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the pineapple juice until steamy, add the agar agar, and cook, stirring, until completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool for about five minutes.
  3. Using the blender of your choice, blend the tofu, the pineapple juice with the agar agar, the lemon juice, lemon essence, and honey, until smooth. Pour over baked cookie base, put in the fridge, and have an iced tea, or two. Let the tofu layer chill for at least two hours, four is even better. A few more won’t hurt.
  4. In a small saucepan (clean, please :p), heat the red berries syrup with the water and lemon juice until steamy, add the agar agar, and cook, stirring, until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool as much as possible without setting. Pour over chilled tofu layer. Decorate with berries. Chill in the fridge until completely set, about 3 to 4 hours, or even better, overnight.
  5. Cut using a long sharp knife, serve yourself a generous portion, sit back, dip the spoon into the cake, and let it melt on your tongue. Or in short: Enjoy!

Yield: One 26 cm cake, 8 to 10 portions.

Wanna see the full cake before it was cut?

Red Berries Tofu Cake Slice