Plum Bresaola Salad

A Salad...

...the first of the season. Well, actually the season for all kinds of fresh vegetables and fruits, otherwise known as spring, doesn’t really want to start here. We are having below zero temperatures and the sun seems to have got forgotten how to rise... Okay, I’m being overly dramatic but the essential picture is true: It’s cold, windy and there was some snow.

All that bad weather couldn’t keep me from making a nice salad for dinner.  I’m usually not known for eating ‘just’ a salad for dinner but this one did the trick. I didn’t even touch the bread with herb butter I served.

 You’ll need:

(serves 2)

• 2 ripe plums (this also works really great with peaches, oranges and even pears)
• rosemary, preferably fresh and finely chopped, but dried works fine
• Bresaola or Parma ham, 3 -4 slices per person
• salad, a mix with some rocket (or just rocket)
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp natural yoghurt
• some goat’s cheese, crumbled

Roasted Red Pepper-Tomato Soup

Sometime last week (or maybe the week before) I read this mouth-watering recipe over on Tea&Cookies...  And it inspired me. It sounded amazing and I wanted to do something similar. I guess this happens a lot when you read so many food-related blogs.

So I made a soup like that one when I had a group of girls coming over to watch some silly tv.

I just added a few ingredients here and there.

You’ll need:

• 2 red peppers
• 2 onions
• some celery
• 4 small potatoes
• 500g diced tomatoes (canned)
• some garlic
• rosemary, thyme
• olive oil
• vegetable broth, if needed
• crème fraîche, 1bsp
• salt, pepper

The lazy Dinner...

... really very lazy...

Chicken Pita

One dinner planned in the meal-planning-euphoria I was going through was chicken pita.

I’m pretty sure that serving pita doesn’t qualify as cooking at all, because you simply prepare the chicken, toast the pita bread and cut up some vegetables... As I said no ‘real’ cooking involved.

I made a guacamole to spread inside the pita bread, but again there is no cooking involved in that.

You’ll need:

• chicken
• pita bread
• some dips, or sauces (mayonnaise, guacamole, ketchup)
• salads
• vegetables
• some feta cheese

For the guacamole:

• one avocado
• one clove of garlic
• two – three ripe tomatoes
• two tbsp of crème fraîche

We ate fries as side dish... (Again no real cooking involved)

Bloglovin'

I've been reading a lot about Bloglovin' on the blogs I follow because come June 1st Google will take down their reader.
I like the Google reader -  I love its simplicity.
I don't really understand why they are taking it down, might have something to do with Google+... but they are doing it, so I had to look for a new way to keep up with the blogs I love to read.

Enter Bloglovin'.

Everyone kept mentioning it, so I decided to give it a try.

I signed up - they actually help with the transition from Google reader - and a few seconds later I was ready  to go read.

So if you haven't found a  platform yet, I suggest you take a look :)

.. and maybe follow my Blog with Bloglovin'

Onion-Quiche

Well, it is a widely known fact that I love French cuisine... and pastries. Hand me a great Croissant and a coffee and my day will be perfect.

Any kind of Quiche is pretty high on my favourites-list. 

(And on top of that list is the Quiche my boyfriend makes – yes, my boyfriend cooks... and yes, it is always really good!)

But for now you’ll have to do with one of my recipes.

This Onion-Quiche is pretty basic but doesn't dissapoint at all. Just try it... 

You'll need:

• five onions
• one clove of garlic
• bacon, 200g, diced
• puff paste
• one egg
• crème fraîche
• milk
• cheese (this time I used Gouda)
• butter
• olive oil
• salt, pepper (freshly ground if you have it)...
•  a glass of vegetable broth

Meal planning - Part 2

The first week of meal planning is over.

And as you can see we had to rearrange our plan a lot.

But it was nice to not have to go grocery shopping every few days and only eat pasta once this past week. (I know that sounds bad, but we are students... and sometimes eat really late... and sometimes we are way too lazy to cook)

This past week we ate better  and our fridge was way more organized! 

Spaghetti Bolognese

When it comes to Spaghetti I can’t get enough, literaly. 

It scares people how I just keep adding more to my plate and still not feel stuffed. I’m sure there is some kind of intervention coming my way J

My theory is that spaghetti and I have some weird symbiosis going on: They feed me and I eat them...endlessly.

So here is the recipe to my favourite kind. To me it’s comfort food, homey but still not boring.

You’ll need:

• 500g ground meat
• 4 chopped tomatoes and 250g canned tomatoes
• Two carrots
• Onion (two small, or one big)
• two cloves of garlic
• two stalks of celery
• vegetable broth (at least a glass, but you’ll probably need more)
• paprika, pepper, salt, rosemary to taste (fresh, if you can get some – but dried is fine)
• olive oil
• parmesan

To plan or not to plan...

I’m one of the people out there who likes to make plans, not the one-day-I’ll-do-that-type of plan, but the tasks, social events, the occasional fitness activities etc for the upcoming week.

(When I’m studying I plan every single day, sometimes on a post-it, but I like having a schedule to stick to... but that is not the point)

So when I read this post about meal planning on Friday I decided to try that. (I alos read a post on that here)

I sat down and thought about recipes I’ve been wanting to try for a while now.

I tried to come up with a diverse list, but also make some ingredients match, so that the groceries won’t go to waste. (Say, buying different types of cheese for a Quiche but then don't use the leftover cheese in anything else)

So here is what I came up with for a few days in advance:

 And for the first day I followed through.

I went grocery shopping, got everything I need for the weekend and most of the items on my shopping list for the upcoming week.

Made the Bolognese, took pictures (I’ll post the recipe soon)... oh yes, I was proud! J

And Saturday?

I was looking forward to making the salmon. But after a great breakfast we decided to go to a jazz festival that evening.  So the dinner plan was cancelled... not cancelled - but delayed.

 Let’s see how the week turns out... meal-plan-wise!

I'll keep you posted.

Hey ... it's me

I know that I haven’t been around lately, but I was sick so there was not that much happening culinary-wise.

The only thing worth mentioning was an evening at a sushi restaurant in Dresden.

 The Shou Sushi Restaurant.

We went Saturday night which is one of their all-you-can-eat nights. (big mistake)

We were seated at the running sushi line and had 1,5 hours to eat... and we ate – way too much. But I blame the running line. If there wouldn’t have been one plate filled with various delicious types of sushi after another coming our way – we might have stopped eating after 40 minutes or so.

The worst best part were the other dishes that were running on the line as well. There was a constant stream of chicken, fish and noodle dishes that smelled and tasted very good. Of course we didn’t taste every single dish, but we made it our mission to at least try J

The last time I felt that ‘full’ was Christmas, yes that is a compliment... I know it sounds weird but I don’t overeat unless the food is really very good.

I am not sure if the Shou Sushi is the best place for sushi in Dresden, but it was very good and the interior was nice. The tables at the running line are supposed to be for four people but we were five and it was fine.

It was not the very best sushi I've ever had, but it was good and the prices were student-budget friendly.

All in all, it was a fun (thanks to the company), delicious evening and I would go there again.

Moules Marinierès

This is my all time favourite. 

All I year I can’t wait until moules are in season.

I found the recipe on which my version of this dish is based in a cookbook by Paul Bocuse. 

If you have ever tried to cook one of his recipes you know it is very detailed and time consuming. That is why I changed a few things around and made it simpler.

First of all you’ll need moules. 

I always buy roughly 1.2 kg for two people because we can’t get enough.  J And I make sure that they are kitchen-ready, which means they are cleaned.

But if you can get your hands on some really fresh ones rinse them thoroughly under cold water until there is no more sand coming out.

Get rid of those moules that are more than half-way open.

You might have noticed that I mostly don’t use strict measurements so you will have to go with your gut when it comes to the amount of butter and the white wine. Don’t worry it is a French recipe so there is no such thing as too much butter... ok honestly there is but you would really have to go out of your way to manage that ;)

You will need: 

(based on 1.2kg moules)

• moules
• fresh bunch of Italian parsley
• garlic
• onions – red
• butter – roughly 60g
• crème fraîche – 2-3 tbsp
• white wine  - best guess is 1-2 glasses
• three bay leaves
• salt
• pepper

‘Equipment’ you need:

• a sieve, big enough to hold almost all of the moules
• a pot with lid, big enough to hold the moules
• a small pot

First you should prepare whatever you are planning to eat with the moules. We usually opt for moules et frites.

Make sure the moules are clean and chop the onions, the garlic and the parsley. Next melt the butter in the bigger pot and add the onions and the garlic. Let it simmer for five minutes but don’t let the onions get brown. Add the parsley and the bay leaves and stir for another couple of minutes.

 

Now turn up the heat to a maximum and put the moules in the pot, pour over the white wine. The base of your pot should be covered. Now close the pot with its lid and if necessary hold it shut. Keep as much heat as possible inside J (but be careful to not burn your hands – the steam is hot)

If your stove is a bit slow pour the wine in before you add the moules and make sure it starts to boil. This actually has a somewhat ‘flattening’ effect to the taste so you might want to add some more parsley now.

The heat from the steam will be enough to cook the moules... they will open up. You could stir once to get those from the bottom to the top, but usually that is not necessary.

 As soon as you hear the ‘plopping’ sound of them opening they are done. Like popcorn, but quieter.

Now drain them. But keep the sauce.

Put a small pot with the sauce back on the stove and stir in the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the moules in a soup plate and pour sauce over them. The sauce also tastes really good with the fries or baguette.

Bon Appétit