Boo!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy Halloween! We are quite stuffed from a horrendously delicious meal and are now getting ready to curl up on the couch to watch a horror movie with a bottle of wine. So, I'm keeping it short. But if you want to read more about what we ate, be sure to check out my latest contribution to Expatica!


Wishing you a frightfully delicious Halloween!

Favorite Muffins

I can't think of a bigger indulgence than warm, fresh out of the oven muffins on a chilly Autumn morning. Especially during weekends, there's nothing quite as rewarding as hopping out of bed and diving into my kitchen to whip up a batch of 12 spongy, golden little treats. The smell that permeates through the house is enough to get everyone upstairs out of bed and hurrying to the breakfast table. Who can possibly resist a basket full of muffins along with some jams, butter and coffee? It always feels like such an achievement to get a gorgeous table set first thing in the morning on a Saturday, when in fact, it couldn't be easier!

I have a few recipes I love. My Health- Freak Muffins have been quite a success for example. They're filled with fruit and veg and although that's about as healthy as they get, I get a warm feeling inside when I pop one of these into my bag in the event of a train delay. Then there's my carrot muffins which have become a regular on our road trips out of the country. I remember baking them last summer at 5 AM (I'm not kidding you) before we left for France. Other popular recipes include Nigella's Chocolate- Chocolate Chip Muffins which have made me look like quite the domestic goddess in the eyes of my in-laws and my corn- thyme muffins, always appreciated with a bowl of chilli.

When it comes to quick breakfast muffins though, I almost always opt for the Orange Breakfast Muffins in Nigella Bites. They're so fragrant and beautiful with the little flecks or orange zest. I love to split them open while they're still steaming so that the butter immediately seeps into them. Then a good spoon of sourish blackberry jam and my weekend is off to a good start.

Here's the recipe:

Orange Breakfast Muffins
*75g unsalted butter
*250g self-raising flour
*25g ground almonds
*half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*75g caster sugar
*zest of 1 orange
*100ml freshly squeezed orange juice
*100ml full-fat milk
*1 egg
*12-bun muffin tray lined with 12 paper cases

Preheat the oven to 200?C/gas mark 6. Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the flour, ground almonds, bicarb, baking powder, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl. Measure the orange juice and milk into a jug and whisk in the egg and then the cooled, melted butter. Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork as you go. The batter will be lumpy but that's as it should be: you want everything to be no more than barely combined. The whole point of muffin mixture is that it must never be overworked. Spoon out the mixture equally into the muffin cases and cook for 20 minutes. Remove, in their paper cases, to a wire rack and let cool slightly (but not completely) before devouring. Makes 12.

A Little Halloween Fun

Last week Kirstie and I went shopping together and came across some fantastic Halloween cookie cutters. Usually I just bake a cake (Nigella's Ghoul Graveyard Cake, to be precise), but how could we possibly resist the prospect of an afternoon spent baking and decorating witches, pumpkins, bats and ghosts.

Here's what we did!

Express Happiness

When I first started to watch Nigella Express, I wasn't that amused. The idea of "express" food didn't really appeal to me, seeing that I'm one to carefully plan my meals and I try to be very conscious of what I eat. Not that I'm the poster girl for healthy eating, as you've probably noticed from some of my previous posts. Yes, I know Nigella's recipes aren't meant to be health food, but I was under the impression that the whole series and book were going to be nothing more than artery- clogging, calorific, fast foods. Anyhow, I've seen all the shows so far and must now confess that there were quite a few recipes which really wooed me- the Caramel Croissant Pudding and the Breakfast Bruschetta come to mind. I couldn't resist. The book arrived Friday and since then I have totally and truly fallen in love with it, and with Nigella. I love her now even more than I did before. And perhaps this is the time for me to say how big a role she's played in my passion for food and in seeing it as something to be relished. Since becoming a Nigella fan, I no longer look at food in terms of "calories", and I think that's a good thing.

Nigella seems to enjoy her life. She's passionate (something which tends to annoy people) and she doesn't give a flying hoot about fitting into what society prescribes as acceptable. It's so refreshing to see a woman comfortable in her own skin. That's what makes her beautiful, and that's the reason why so many people have something to say about her. In a world where many have forgotten to really take pleasure in life, Nigella tells us it's OK to enjoy. Life is so short, sounds like a cliché perhaps, but something she knows all too well.

After reading the whole book, I can happily report that not all of the recipes are rich or fattening. There are quite a few lovely salads, lots of things with avocados, berries, pomegranates, salmon, beans and all those other things we consider "good" foods. So in fact, I feel there's been a lot of fuss over nothing. I can't say I'm completely clean here. Like I said, I wasn't really amused with Express in the beginning. It was only after reading the book, and trying to catch what she was trying to say between the lines (enjoy things!), that I changed my mind. Let me just clarify one thing- Nigella hasn't given me a reason to pig out now. She never did. I still plan careful menus, eat organic, hate convenience food and avoid fast- food like the plague, but there's always room in my life to bake a cake or eat a whole bar of chocolate all by my lonesome without feeling guilty. I woke up Sunday morning and the first thing I reached for was my book. In the recipe for Sweetcorn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas, she writes: "[...] I know that "guilty pleasures" exist, but I have never understood the point of feeling guilty about pleasure. Rather, I see plenty of reasons for feeling guilty about failing to take pleasure in things." These words are poetry to me. I live by them and I think there would be a lot more smiling in the world if others did as well.

So what have I cooked so far? Well, I started off our weekend by making the Home- Made Instant Pancakes, served with caramelized apples and a good swoosh of rum (yes, rum at breakfast). Kirstie loves pancakes so the fact that I have two jars full of this stuff makes her a very happy girl. I'm happy as well. Like Nigella, I love a well- stocked pantry. Keeping this mix stored away in old- fashioned jars just feels so darn good! Lunch was the fabulous Chef's Salad. To add a little pizazz I served it with some cream cheese stuffed peppadews and some chilled white wine. And dinner- amazing! Ever since giving up our vegetarianism (for a host of reasons), we have been experimenting with fantastic cuts of meat. The really good kind and only from animals who had a happy life. The times we do eat meat, we make them count. We went and bought a fresher than fresh chicken, one which I even had to finish plucking myself (haha! I bet you're shocked!). I fixed us a dinner which made us laugh and giggle as though we'd walked out of a coffee shop- and no, we don't go to coffee shops, the Dutch kind. Candles were lit, Kirstie helped me set the table and I even put out little bowls with rosewater and rose petals so that we could de- grease our fingers with ease. We feasted on Brandied- Bacony Chicken served with the Potato and Mushroom Gratin and a simple watercress salad. Dessert was the Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae. It was a feast to remember. When we blissfully plopped ourselves on the couch Hans asked, "Was this Thanksgiving?" It certainly felt like it! Sunday morning's breakfast was the Go Get 'em Smoothie (slightly modified with soy milk and cocoa powder) and meanwhile I had the Lazy Loaf going in the oven. Super healthy stuff!! We enjoyed it this morning with jam and a little butter. I also made the Jumbleberry Crumble yesterday with whole wheat flour instead of white. It was gorgeous served warm from the oven with ice cream and just like with the pancakes, it feels good to know I have the contents of a fantastic dessert sitting safely in my freezer ready to go in just minutes.

I have one word- balance. The rest of the week includes plenty of tofu, steamed veggies, beans and brown rice. Nigella Express isn't a license to kill yourself with cholesterol. It's a wake- up call to not kill yourself worrying about whether or not you should give into something gorgeous. And that shouldn't only apply to food.


For some photos of this weekend's feasts, click here: Nigella's Treats

Linda's Cookies, and Love

I'm a big Beatles' fan. Actually, Hans and I met because of The Beatles and our wedding song was All You Need is Love. Aside from The Beatles though, I've always been a fan of Linda McCartney. She was so much more than 'the wife of', she was also a talented photographer and did a lot for animal rights- something very close to my heart. In January of 2000, Paul donated over $2,000,000, for cruelty- free breast cancer research. Linda was a great cook and her cookbooks include some of my favorite recipes, like these oatmeal cookies which I baked a few nights ago in her honor. They are easy to make, relatively healthy and truly delicious.

Linda McCartney's Oatmeal Cookies
*50g soft margarine
*125g light brown sugar
*1 egg
*1 tsp vanilla extract
*1/2 tsp rum extract (optional)
*50g flour
*1/2 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp baking powder
*1 tsp cinnamon
*175g oatmeal
*125g raisins
*2 tbsp chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In a large bowl beat sugar and margarine until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla and beat again just enough to mix well. Sift flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to egg/sugar mixture and stir well. Add oatmeal and raisins and mix well. Arrange tablespoons of mixture , not too close together, on a baking tray lined with baking paper. You might have to use your (moistened) hands a bit. Bake at 180 for about 15-18 minutes. Let cool on rack for another five minutes.

PS: Check out this link to see what was played at our wedding. This was made by Hans. All You Need is Love

Hazelnut Harvest and Intensely Rich Brownies

When people visit us, they always mention how much they love our garden. I remember when we first moved into the house and how the space outside was nothing more than a bare piece of land with a few tiny trees. Over the years, Hans has done a wonderful job at turning that space into our own little paradise. Today it's looking quite full and lush with beautiful flowers in hanging baskets, thick lavender bushes, other potted herbs and even a small pond. Last spring we added an apple tree, a cherry tree, various pepper plants, tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries. After ten years of living here and all the time we spend outdoors, you'd think we'd know everything there is to know about this beautiful space. That's why our surprise was huge when we recently discovered a hazelnut tree growing in a distant corner!

A few weeks ago, Hans and Kirstie harvested the first kilo of nuts and yesterday I finally decided to use some in my brownies. Sure, it sounds quite idyllic to do this instead of buying a bag of nuts, but let me assure you that cleaning hazelnuts is one tedious job! It took us about an hour of sweat to produce 150 grams of hazelnuts! Still, I'm not complaining. After tasting my thick, densely fudgy brownies with the addition of our own home- grown nuts, I realized that all that peeling was well worth the effort. A few handfuls of tangy dried fruits were also thrown in this time for a burst of zesty flavor.

Here's the recipe:

Intensely Rich Hazelnut and Fruit Brownies
*250g butter
*300g pure, dark chocolate
*5 eggs
*300g unrefined cane sugar
*2 tsps vanilla extract
*fat pinch of salt
*200g flour
*150g whole hazelnuts
*180g mixed dried fruits (I used a mix of cherries, cranberries and blueberries.)

Preheat oven to 180C. Melt butter and chocolate au bain marie. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla till thick and creamy. Add the chocolate while beating. I did this with the help of my Kitchen Aid. Fold in the flour, salt, nuts and fruit. Pour batter evenly into a 32.5 x 22.5-cm (13 x 9-inch) baking tray and bake for 20- 25 minutes. Allow to cool 20 minutes before cutting into bars. Makes about 28 brownies.

Uncomplicated Beauty

After our Sunday stroll through the forest in Baarn, not far from Groeneveld Castle, I was inspired to take us back to France. The trees were already in all their autumn glory, tinted in warm shades of red and yellow, and the sky was clear and sunny. I wondered how impressive the vineyards would be at this time of year and the thought alone told me it was time to finally open that bottle of Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits Rouge. If there was ever a wine that deserved beautiful simplicity, than it was certainly this one!

In a way, I felt a little sad opening the bottle. I remembered the lovely conversation I had with the vigneron in Nuits- Saint- Georges who sold me the wine. It's funny how someone I met and talked to for just moments caused such a huge impression on me. What I loved most about this man was his passion for the wine. He spoke about it as though it were one of his children, giving me instructions as to how I could best care for it and of course, how to enjoy it. Even the way he wrapped up the wine was a pleasure to watch.

We enjoyed the wine at a perfect 16C along with some cheeses and some thin- crusted pain de campagne smeared thick with my latest find- lightly salted and wonderfully creamy beurre d'Isigny from Normandy. The wooden packaging with its green checkered accents was enough to tell me how good this butter would be. Because good bread and butter need nothing more than a hot, clear broth, I made a pot of my mushroom soup with cognac. It's a simple recipe. Just perfect broth slowly simmered with 500g sliced chestnut mushrooms, 1 sliced leek, some shallots and 60ml cognac.

For dessert I whipped up a very fuss- free tart. The pastry came from Nigella's recipe for Blackberry Crostata in How To Be A Domestic Goddess. It's one of the easiest pies simply because there's no blind baking involved! I topped the pastry with crème fraîche flavored with a touch of honey and then layered on some pear slices which I had sauted in butter, star anise and a little rum. A sprinkle of lavender finished off the tart before it went in the oven. We enjoyed it warm with the last of the wine.

There's nothing like uncomplicated beauty to let a good wine shine.

Here's the recipe for the tart:

For the pastry:
*60 g flour
*30g fine cornmeal
*1 tbsp sugar
*1/4 tsp salt
*50g cold butter, in small chunks
*15g margarine, in small chunks
*3 tbsps ice water

For the filling:
*100ml crème fraîche
*1 tbsp honey
*1 1/2 pears, halved and sliced, not too thinly
*2 tbsps butter
*1 tbsp rum
*2 star anise
*3/4 tbsp lavender

In a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients. Add the fat and pulse again until it resembles bread crumbs. Add the water and pulse a few more times. Take pastry out of processor and form into a fat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Saute your pear slices in the butter with the anise on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the rum and increase the heat. Saute for 3 more minutes. Whisk the creme fraiche with the honey. Preheat oven to 190C. On a floured surface, roll out you pastry to a disk of about 25cm in diameter. Smear the crème fraîche on the pastry leaving a free edge. Top with the pears and sprinkle with the lavender. Roll the edges slightly towards the filling. Bake 30 minutes at 190C and then give it another 15 minutes at 220C.
Serve warm.

Putting My Pears Out of Their Misery

Have you ever felt sorry for a piece of fruit? I have. Even though I'm a fruit fanatic, I too am guilty of letting a pear sit in its bowl a tad longer than it should. I blame my market visits for that. Before every trip, I tell myself to stick to my shopping list and not come home with enough produce to feed all of Europe, yet I always succumb to the call of the market man who wants to sell me two kilos for the price of one!

This morning I felt particularly sorry for the last two pears in my fruit bowl. They had been exhibiting the classic signs of distress for a few days already (brown spots) so I took it upon myself to put them out of their misery. As I peeled off their skins, the juices dripping over my hands making an incredible mess, I thought about their ultimate fate- drowning in a bath of chocolate batter!

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Pears

*125ml walnut oil
*150g caster sugar
*3 eggs
*1 tsp vanilla extract
*350g flour
*2 tsps baking powder
*1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
*60g good-quality chocolate powder
*pinch of salt
*2 very ripe pears, cleaned and chopped into small chunks
*powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Sift the dry ingredients and fold them in. The batter will appear too thick. Add the pears. You'll see that this will give the batter that extra bit of moisture it needs. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for one hour on the lowest rack of your oven. Let cool 15 minutes before turning out. Serve with powdered sugar.

Food Career??

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Yes, John. You were right, of course.

Funny how up until a few months ago I was convinced that art would become my work. But as it turns out, food has blissfully taken over my life. So much that I'm dreaming up recipes in the middle of the night or trying to come up with interesting work-related ideas. Aside from my cooking classes, I've met with two editors in the past week, had a meeting with a client I am catering for (French dinner!), and am now a food writer for an online expat magazine! And there's still proposals coming my way! It's all very exciting and I'm especially enjoying meeting so many interesting people, in the food business and otherwise.

Perhaps only a start, but I've always believed that with hard work and motivation, you can get anywhere. Off to pour myself a well-deserved glass!

PS: For those interested, click on the following link to read my article and get the recipe for the pie in the picture! Dutch Apple Pie, featured on Expatica