Read Me in Family Matters Magazine!

The latest issue of Family Matters Magazine is out! For those of you who aren't familiar with the magazine, FM is a Dutch publication mainly aimed at expatriate families (even though the Dutch seem to like it too!). Not only does it cover just about every topic of interest to today's modern parents, it also looks fantastic. And that's why I'm so proud to have joined their team of talented writers!

My contributions to this issue are:

Hide and Don't Seek:
Clever ideas for getting your children to eat more fruits and veggies.

Tutoring Helps:
Covers the types of tutoring help available to children in The Netherlands.

What's Cooking?
Why cooking with your children is not only fun, but also essential.

Of course, you'll also find many other interesting articles, so go grab an issue, curl up on the couch with a warm drink and enjoy!

Lucky

Sometimes friends jokingly tell Hans how lucky he is to have me as a wife. Imagine that- a home-cooked meal ready on the table every day after he comes home from work! And look at the dinner parties I host! And how tidy my house (usually) is! Superwife!
Well, I certainly don't consider myself utterly virtuous just because I do what I love, and that, of course, is taking care of my family. The great thing is that my family also takes care of me!

Who could possible be more lucky than a wife who hears "I'm going to cook you breakfast this weekend"? Not just toast and coffee, but a proper cooked breakfast complete with grilled mushrooms, tomatoes and the best scrambled eggs ever. It doesn't end there though. Sometimes I get surprised with gorgeous dinners (like the time I was served Beef Wellington), complete with candlelight and lovely music.

The little one is also one heck of a culinary cutie. She's there to help with the preparation of anything sweet and she doesn't mind rolling all the meatballs for my pasta sauce.

Honestly, I think we're a lucky family.

Kemphaan Bake- Autumn on a Plate

Every Saturday, we head to the farm for fresh, local produce. What I love about this weekend ritual is that it's so much more than a little ecologically-friendly shopping. Before we even have a chance to start filling up our baskets, we've petted goats and cows, stopped by the pond to admire the fish, laughed at the monkeys (rescued from just about every horrible situation you can imagine) and visited the turtles and iguana.
This is a joy for Kirstie- and for us. She loves to see all the animals and we love to show her what food really is and where it comes from. One time, we were lucky enough to arrive just after the carrots were harvested. We encountered a HUGE pile of carrots and Kirstie was allowed to take one home. That evening she had it for dinner.
These days we' re not just getting our veggies from the farmers' market, but also from the greenhouse where we pick them ourselves. I strongly encourage all parents to see if something like this is available in their area. It will teach a child so much about nature and about food.
This dish is a tribute to my local farm. It's autumn on a plate- and it's made with beautiful, local food.

Kemphaan Bake
Serves 4

2 tsps butter
2 tsps mild olive oil
3 leeks, chopped
2 tsps dried thyme
3 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 small pumpkin (about 800g), peeled and sliced into small, not too thick chunks
40g butter
3 ½ tbsps flour
400 ml warm milk
freshly-grated nutmeg
3 tbsps grated Gouda cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Add the leeks and the thyme and saute on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the corn and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for a final 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Make the sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. As soon as the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk vigorously until the mixture becomes a paste. Slowly start adding the warm milk, whisking as you go. The sauce will start to thicken. Continue to whisk for at least five minutes. Season with the grated nutmeg and salt and pepper. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese is melted.
Pour one third of the sauce into an oven casserole. Arrange half of the vegetable mix on top of the sauce. Cover with more of the sauce, top with the rest of the vegetables and finish with the sauce. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and allow to cook for another 5 minutes under a hot grill. Serve immediately.

Want to visit our local farm? Have a look here: Stadslandgoed de Kemphaan

Rainy Day Cooking

What's not to love about slow-cooked tomato sauces?
I love the way they make the house smell as they patiently simmer away on the stove. This particular sauce was exactly what I needed on a rainy, autumn afternoon. It bubbled gently for almost three hours- and boy was it worth the wait!

Here's the recipe:

Sausage and Sweet Peppers Sauce
Serves 4

2 tbsps mild olive oil
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
300-350g sausages, sliced
3 bell peppers, halved and thinly sliced
1 can of whole tomatoes (400g)
2 tsps smoked paprika powder
125g green olives (drained), save 3 tbsps of the brine
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole. Add onion and garlic and allow to saute gently for about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and add the sausages and the thyme. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the peppers, the tomatoes and the smoked paprika powder. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the olives with three tablespoons of the brine, the tomato paste, the sugar and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook covered for two to three hours. Increase the heat to medium-high about 10 minutes before serving and allow to cook uncovered.
Serve with pasta.

PS: The picture shows the sauce 15 minutes into the cooking time!

Morning Decisions

It's Sunday morning and I creep downstairs before anyone else. This will give me enough time to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee- and enough time to plan a leisurely breakfast.

Perhaps it's because of the early-morning chill, or maybe it's because I've promised myself to return to what I love most (cooking and making my house a home), but this morning the thought of muffins just won't let me go. I'm not good at making decisions so I veer between a recipe with the prunes I bought back from Agen this summer to one with the three little apples I picked from our tree a few days ago.

And then I catch a glimpse of a lonely, forgotten lemon. It has been patiently waiting to jump into something delicious for a whole week- to no avail.

I take heart and happily start to bake these tasty little muffins:

Zingy, Nutty Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

200g flour
80g oatmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
pinch of salt
75g mixed chopped nuts of choice
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
125g whole yogurt
2 eggs
80ml sunflower oil
175g raw cane sugar
juice of ½ lemon

Preheat oven to 200C and line a muffin tine with paper liners or grease the muffin tin and dust with flour.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, ginger, salt, nuts and lemon zest.
In a jug, whisk the yogurt, eggs, oil, sugar amd lemon juice.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Remember, don't stir your muffin batters too fanatically!
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
These muffins are perfect with a cup of milky Earl Grey.

I Love My Endive Salad!

A hearty lentil and sausage casserole is one of my favorite dishes during the colder months. I usually cook the lentils (Puy!) in half wine, half water and then I add a good shake of herbs de Provence. I then sear some lamb sausages, transfer them to the pan with the lentils and let them continue cooking there.
This casserole is usually served with my lemony endive salad with capers. The cold and bitter salad provides a wonderful contrast with the warmth of the lentils.
But why limit yourself?
This salad would also be great served with bean casseroles or even over a warm bowl of rice!

Oh- and for those who say the hate endive, feed them this!

Here's the recipe:

Lemony Endive Salad with Capers and Cracked Pepper
Serves 6

3 medium endive, about 500g, ends removed
good pinch of fleur de sel
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
small jar of capers in brine (150g), about 60g drained weight, but keep the brine
plenty of freshly-cracked mixed peppercorns

After removing the bitter ends, cut the endive in half and then cut each half into thin strips. Put the endive in a medium-sized bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir thouroughly and allow to sit for about an hour before serving.

Gouda Cheese Bread with Thyme

Sure the French have beautiful cheeses, but hey, let's not forget the Dutch!
Gouda cheese is one of the most popular cheese varieties in The Netherlands. You'll find it between thick slices of buttered whole grain bread (the Dutch 'boterham met kaas'), in oven dishes such as the popular ham-wrapped endive gratin and as a topping for pasta dishes. Gouda also works very well in savory bakes.
When I came home from work today, I hit the kitchen and whipped up this cheese bread with some leftover grated Gouda we had in the fridge. I'm serving it tonight with a lentil and sausage casserole, but I can imagine it would perfectly compliment a bowl of chili or just about any soup.

PS: Try it with other herbs or other varieties of cheese.

Here's the recipe:

Gouda Cheese Bread with Thyme
Serves 8

250g flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
150g grated Gouda cheese
2 eggs
80g butter, melted
100 ml whole milk
100 ml whole yogurt

Preheat oven to 200C and line a 20cm square baking pan with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, thyme and cheese.
Whisk the eggs, butter, milk and yogurt in a jug.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
Stir to combine.
Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before cutting into squares.