Me, and my crustless mini- cheesecakes...

My friend Beatriz tagged me last week for a meme and as promised, here are seven facts about myself, before we talk sweets.

1. My family used to hang out with Juan Valdez! I remember him visiting my aunt Estrella (my middle name by the way) many, many times in New Jersey. A few times, friends would ask to take a picture with him, which was pretty funny, because despite his fame, to us, he was just Carlos Sanchez. He retired in 2006 and was replaced by Carlos Castañeda, the new Juan Valdez.
2. My high school years were spent in a uniform, hanging around nuns and being a major nerd!
3. I was a young bride. I met Hans at 19, married him at 20 and became a mom at 21. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.
4. I had Kirstie at home, in my own bed, with nothing else but the power of the mind. I started to do yoga as soon as labor started and did it right up until delivery. It was the most wonderful, euphoric and life- changing experience ever.
5. My dearest friend Maggie gave birth to her daughter, Natalia, on Hans' birthday two years ago, while we were at a Beatles Revival concert. Pretty cool I must say.
6. I literally dream about recipes, wake up, write them down and immediately get busy in my kitchen trying them out. Pretty much in the same way Paul McCartney came up with Yesterday.
7. And in case you haven't caught on- I am a major Beatles fan, hence the name of this blog- In My Life, one of my favorite Beatles' songs.

So, there you have it! I'll leave this open to anyone who wants to join in after me!

And now for the food!

I came up with this recipe after almost butchering another one. It's a lighter version of cheesecake, tiny in size, crustless and not too sweet. I served it with cherries from a jar. Not very seasonal, but I had one of those moments when I simply needed some cherries!

Crustless Mini-Cheesecakes
Serves 2

-175g cream cheese
- 2 tbsps honey
-1 tbsp Kirsch
-2 tbsps cornstarch
-1 egg, slightly beaten
-cherries or other fruit

Preheat oven to 200C. Beat the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into two ramekins and put the ramekins in a tray. Fill the tray with hot water so that it reaches about halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold, with the cherries and perhaps a little powdered sugar.

Easter Break

Happy Easter! I woke up Easter morning, had two ristrettos and immediately went to work. My mission was to put together a lovely brunch for the three of us. First, I set the table: lemon yellow and lime tablecloth, egg- shaped candles in egg cups, pretty pale blue napkins, chocolate eggs scattered everywhere and a present from the Easter Bunny by Kirstie's plate. Then I went to work on the food- my favorite part! The menu was:

- two types of sandwiches: sourdough with cream cheese, cucumber and alfalfa sprouts, and smoked salmon on multi- grain
-a stollen with mixed dried fruits and marzipan (it was left over from Christmas so basically all I had to do was defrost it)
-a lemon and poppy seed cake which I made the night before and frosted the next morning with creme fraîche mixed with powdered sugar and a scattering of colorful egg- shaped sprinkles
-matze crackers with butter, rosebud jam and marmalade
boiled eggs
-fresh- squeezed orange juice

Quite a bit you might think, and indeed- we were stuffed to the brim after the sandwiches alone! With the exception of the eggs and the juice, everything else was wrapped up and put into the fridge! It's true, I am sometimes guilty of making too much food on such occasions but hey, that's why they call them "special occasions"! We feasted on the rest throughout the day though!

Dinner was simple but tasty- a roast chicken, a salad of lamb's lettuce served with Hans' balsamic vinaigrette and a whole wheat baguette. We also opened a bottle of red Château Bellevue La Forêt, a present from my friend Yolanda which she bought for me in Paris. It was a lovely dinner- the kind that makes your husband make goo-goo eyes at you from across the table!

Today I'm getting ready to make another brunch, this time a little less fussy: whole wheat rolls, Dutch boerenkaas, an omelette with chestnut mushrooms, a simple salad and some freshly- pressed carrot juice. After that we might go check out the fair at our local organic farm. I've thoroughly enjoyed my Easter and I hope you did yours too!

Happenings In My Life

First of all, I sincerely apologize for my absence! I've been very busy at the moment doing a lot of writing while at the same time trying to get my business off to a productive start. Last weekend I had the pleasure to conduct my first official Mijn Zoete Leven culinary walk in Amsterdam. We visited some wonderful delicatessens and bakeries, tasted bread, cheese, ham and chocolate, talked about olive oils and mustards, and ended our walk at the farmers' market where I showed the participants a selection of stalls and told them all about what's in season at the moment. Once again, I want to thank the shopkeepers who took the time to tell us a little something about their products or who gave us a taste of something delicious- especially Hollandaluz, Caulils, Unlimited Delicious and Vlaamsch Broodhuys.

Aside from that, I've also been doing a little redecorating at home, mostly around the kitchen. Nothing big- added some new cabinet handles, bought some lovely antique plates and utensils (I adore things with a history in the kitchen) and yesterday we purchased a beautiful wooden cabinet where I am displaying some of my favorite plates and glasses. We treated ourselves to a gorgeous porcelain multi- tiered bon bon dish and two beautiful antique- looking wine glasses, just for the two of us. My wonderful husband also surprised me yesterday by taking me into a cooking store and buying me a new Jamie Oliver Italian Series frying pan! He even added a bag of pink and green marshmallows (my secret addiction) for good measure! And speaking of new kitchenware- I also got the red Le Creuset Tarte Tatin pan I had been lusting after! It was my birthday present!

On the cooking front, things are busy! Actually I am going to keep it short because I am hosting a six course French dinner tonight- complete with Kir Royales, gougères and lots of Burgundy! I started marinating the meat for the Boeuf Bourguignon Friday night, cooked it yesterday and am finishing it off with the mushrooms and pearl onions today. We're in for a treat! But before signing off, let me tell you about something completely different- Jamie Oliver's "Cheeky Chilli- pepper Chutney". I made this one last Friday, simply because I had a bunch of chillies I needed to use up. It was really amazing, quite mild and just a teeny bit sweet. The recipe comes from one of my favorite Jamie books- Jamie at Home. Give the chutney a go sometime!

Ok, off to get ready for that dinner party! Here's the recipe for the chutney:

Makes about 500g

Ingredients

• 8-10 fresh red chillies
• 8 ripe red peppers
• Olive oil
• 2 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
• A sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• A 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100g brown sugar
• 150ml balsamic vinegar

Method: How to make cheeky chilli-pepper chutney

Step 1 If you want your chutney to last for a while, make sure you have some small sterilized jars ready to go. Place your chillies and peppers over a hot barbecue, in a griddle pan or on a tray under a hot grill, turning them now and then until blackened and blistered all over. Carefully lift the hot peppers and chillies into a bowl (the smaller chillies won't take as long as the peppers so remove them first) and cover tightly with cling film. As they cool down, they'll cook gently in their own steam. By the time they're cool enough to handle, you'll be able to peel the skin off easily.

Step 2 When you've got rid of most of the skin, trimmed off the stalks and scooped out the seeds, you'll be left with a pile of nice tasty peppers and chillies. Finely chop by hand or put in a food processor and whiz up. Then put to one side.

Step 3 Heat a saucepan and pour in a splash of olive oil. Add the onions, rosemary, bay leaves and cinnamon and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook very slowly for about 20 minutes or so, until the onions become rich, golden and sticky.

Step 4 Add the chopped peppers and chillies, the sugar and the vinegar to the onions and keep cooking. When the liquid reduces and you're left with a lovely thick sticky chutney, season well to taste. Remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaves. Either spoon into the sterilized jars and put them in a cool dark place, or keep in the fridge and use right away. In sterilized jars, the chutney should keep for a couple of months.

Dutch Clafoutis?!

There is nothing quite like a savory clafoutis to rescue me on busy weeknights. What could possibly be easier than sautéing some vegetables and beating some eggs with a little flour, milk and cheese? I have become very creative with my clafoutis recipes. A few weeks ago I made one with Belgian endive and goats' cheese- turned out pretty awesome! This past weekend I opted for one made with some of the gorgeous stuff I bought at the Noordermarkt- chestnut mushrooms, leeks, Boerenkaas, Groninger mustard (grainy Dutch mustard) and Gelderse rookworst (Dutch sausage).
The wonderful thing is that you can experiment to your heart’s content- vary the amount of flour, eggs or milk, use different cheeses or meats! The possibilities are endless!

Noordermarkt Clafoutis
Serves 4-6

-2 tbsps olive oil
-500g leeks, white part only, sliced
-500g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
-1 Dutch rookworst (similar to kielbasa), cut in small pieces
-4 eggs
-80g flour
-1 tbsp grainy mustard
-100g freshly- grated Dutch Boerenkaas
-200ml milk
-salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 200C and lightly oil a 25cm quiche pan. Heat one tbsp of the oil and sauté the leeks for five minutes. Transfer to the quiche pan, add the other tbsp of oil to your hot pan and sauté the mushrooms 3-5 minutes. Transfer them to the quiche pan as well. Add the sausage to the vegetables. Beat the eggs, flour, mustard, cheese, milk and salt and pepper. Pour this over the veggies and sausage and bake for approximately 40 minutes.

NOTE: The clafoutis will deflate as it cools.

To read more about my wonderful adventures at the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam, check out my article, A Taste of Amsterdam. Stay tuned for a follow- up story!