By the way...

...I have finally figured out how to make falafel. Expect a recepy soon, because this is GOOD.

Savory hangop

For the last week of August me and my family went to our summerhouse in France. My younger sister Clara and I love cooking together and so had taken upon us the task of cooking. Cooking and grocery shopping in France is so much more fun than it is at home! The farmers market is like a celebration of color, there are so many different kinds of vegetables, herbs, fruits. When you're used to shitty Dutch supermarkets you wont know what hit you. 

The star in this dish is not the soup, it's the topping. Instead of using creme fraiche we made a savoury hangop. Hangop is yoghurt that is strained from all the liquids, resulting in a very full, creamy and delicious substance, somewhat resembling greek yoghurt. The great thing about this is it tastes like it's extremely fattening, but it's only yoghurt. I like that.

So for dinner we made a grilled peppersoup with a savoury hangop and garlic croutons for topping. The soup was delicious, but the hangop was a real winner. Wanna try?

This is not cooking - Bruschetta

I usually make this is as a small bite before dinner, to make sure my guests aren't starving while I'm cooking. I just use smaller slices of bread. Last week however I was just too tired to cook properly so I ate it for dinner while watching Monte Carlo (with Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy and Leighton Meester). Which is a tip if you like horrifying chickflick as much as I do.

I have to warn you about one thing, I'd recommend eating this when you're by yourself or with people who are close to you and don't mind you eating like an apeman. Not very suitable for first dates, I think. It's just impossible to eat this in an elegant manner! When I was done eating this I didn't have to moisturize anymore - my face was completely covered in olive oil. I couldn't stop thinking about SATC and overeating. Ieuuww...

Final note: if, like me, you don't like raw onion and intend on skipping this - you really don't have to. Because of the bread and the mozzarella it's really not as dominant as it can be in a salad. It's also a little less sharp because you marinate the onion a bit in the olive oil and tomato fluids. I cheated though, I left some of the onion on my plate. 

Bee loves... Falafel

So I had never eaten falafel before. Weird, I know. But I have now, with the great company of nice weather and a glass of white wine at Deli, at the Naschmarkt in Vienna. I know you're supposed to eat it with pita bread, but we had it served in a wrap, with tahini and tzatziki. I loved it! Expect a falafel recepy soon (or maybe not soon, depending on how difficult it is ;)). Tips anyone?

Another day, another salad - Potato salad

Okay so to start with, I ate this salad some time ago and can't find my notes anywhere... So instructions on this might be a little bit vague. But it's just a salad and it doesn't really matter thát much. Does it? It's pretty delicious (and simple) anyway so I just had to post. It's nice and green and the apple gives it such a fresh bite, it works wonderfully with the dressing. You should try, really!

Food equals love

You know how memory is associated with taste and sound and smell? My memories get activated by taste. The most precious of my childhood memories are associated with good food. I can remember tastes from when I was two years old. One of my first memories associated with taste is actually quite a bad one, even though I remember only the good part. It's the day my tonsils we're removed. I was almost two years old, it was the fifth of december. Which is, by the way, a holiday in the Netherlands. It's Sinterklaas. Not very surprising, there wasn't a waiting list that day. They put me in a bed on wheels, which was very exciting. My mom and dad were there as was my beloved teddy bear Bobine. I got my narcosis and it tasted like banana. I love banana. All I remember is this, a fantastic party in a riding bed. I can't seem to recall what happened afterwards, but my parents told me the rest of the story. When I woke up, I was angry. All this excitement and a nice bananatastingnarcosis and then waking up with nightmarish pain. Sinterklaas (a sort of Dutch Santa Claus) came in bringing me a present and I threw it away and yelled at him. I was furious at him and my parents and went to sleep. Waking up, the first thing I asked for was my present. Which was, by the way, a supernice puzzle of Donald Duck.

Sunny salad

Summer has only showed it's face for a moment here in the Netherlands, and it's been raining ever since. Thankfully we can bring summer into our kitchen and on to our plates! 

Favourite song ever.

And another one to whistle the summer back to the Netherlands. This song is a perfect companion to the Sunny salad above. Don't try whistling with your mouth full though!

I love my... Morning coffee

Summer ratatouille out of the oven

The reason I'm calling this 'summer ratatouille' is because I make ratatouille a lot and find new ways to prepare it each and every time I eat it. In winter I'll make it a bit heavier, using canned tomatoes and lot's of thyme and maybe some red wine. In the summer, I try to keep it as pure as possible, giving the fresh ingredients (tomatoes!) the spotlight they deserve. When I ate this it was 30 degrees outside and I wanted to keep it fresh and light. I planned to eat this with couscous but I sinned big time by eating half a bag of crisps before cooking and completely ruined my appetite. So I just ate it by itself. I love this way of preparing ratatouille. Tomatoes have a habit of becoming even better when put in the oven for some time, you really get the best out of them this way. I have a few more recepies in store involving baked tomatoes, so if you like this, stay tuned.

Homemade: Speltcrackers *update*

A few years back I had a collegue who was always eating organic speltcrackers for lunch. I was always quite curious but never got around to trying because they were only available in biostores and I didn't have one in my neighbourhood back then. In the end I totally forgot about spelt, until I got Sophie Dahl's cookbook Miss Dahls Voluptuous Delights for my birthday last year, she mentiones spelt here and there. So off I went to the biostore near my home only to discover speltcrackers are insanely expensive, they charge three euro's for only eight crackers! Look, I like being organic and all but I'm a student. Which is basically equivalent to always broke. So I had to get creative and decided I'd just bake my own speltcrackers. Which is better anyway because now I decide what they look like and how they taste. And no creapy or suspicious ingredients, all natural. And way cheaper, which was my motivation. Being organic sounded so much better.... Ah, well. 

What's in season?

In the left side bar I've added a new page, called 'What's in season?'. Every month I will post whatever fruits and vegetables will be in season, so you can fully enjoy the season's potential. And, let's not forget, live a little bit more ecofriendly. You can click on the fruit or vegetables for a recipe.
Hope you like!

Sometimes, it's really this simple

To eat well doesn't mean one should always have to spend hours in the kitchen. Sometimes, it's simply knowing where to go, and what to buy. Once you've invested some time in browsing the shops near your house, half the work is done. I am a very lucky girl to have a fantastic grocery store really close, where they do not only have the best tomatoes (also featured in the tabouleh) but also a fantastic feta cheese. That store made me fall in love with feta cheese. You think this salad isn't special? Think again. Those tomatoes are supersweet, the basil smells so fresh and that feta cheese is heaven. It's salty, it's creamy, it's soft, it's my favourite. It's just so good.

What I've been trying to say before I got distracted by the thought of feta cheese... I've spend more time licking my lips looking at this salad than I have making it. My tip for tonight is, look further than the closest supermarket. Is there a market nearby? Go check it out! It will make your cooking easier, your food tastier and, probably cheaper. I mean, who can spend 2 euro's on fresh parsley? And who would be satisfied by getting only a tiny container? You want a whole bunch! How else are you going to make that tabouleh!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

In the spotlight: Frozz

I'm a sucker for icecream. So when I was on a holiday some time ago I got to try frozen yoghurt and was immediately, irreversibly, totally and completely hooked. You can only imagine how bummed I was when I came back home and  discovered I couldn't get my daily portion of frozen lovelyness anywhere. With the opening of not one, but three (!) Frozz stores in Amsterdam that problem is now solved and everytime I walk past I just have to get some. And you know what? It's not even a guilty pleasure, since it's not even 100 calories a portion. So when you're in Amsterdam, find your closest Frozz shop and TRY. It's delicious. Serious. And no, it's not the same as yoghurt icecream. It's way better. And did I say it's low calorie?


I top it off with fresh raspberries, blueberries, almonds and walnuts. You know what, I think I'll try making my own soon.

Frozz, open daily in Amsterdam from 12.00-22.00 @ Rokin 30 & Hartenstraat 36. 

Open from monday to friday from 11.00-19.00 at Waterlooplein 13.

You can follow Frozz on Facebook & Twitter.

For those moments when you're really not that hungry

Try small bites, with a little bread and a simple salad. This is what my sister Clara and I did recently. We made baba ghanoush, houmous and a simple tomato/feta cheese salad with fresh basil. Bites like these are perfect for long summer nights and best enjoyed in the garden, with some cool white wine and a candle as the evening turns into night.

Tabouleh with Eastern spiced meatballs

 

This is tasty, fresh and healthy. Might not look that special... But it is. Take a chance on me. 

Yoghurt with rhubarbcompote

I always try cooking with the fruits en vegetables of the season. Rhubarb is a vegetable that's so typical for summer, I just had to try and celebrate the fact that this long, dark winter is finally gone (or at least is supposed to be). Fun fact is the Dutch don't really seem to eat rhubarb, they're mostly shipped off to England! Those Brits sure know what's good, because I love these fellas. So, you're looking for a nice way to make your breakfast a little bit more 

special? Jump!

For those moments when you want to drink your breakfast

I tend to get really slow in the morning. I spend an hour deciding what to wear and by the time I’m rushing out the door I haven’t even finished my makeup yet. Since women are supposed to be multitaskers I figured out a way to have breakfast and get dressed properly, at the same time. Curious? Jump!

On walnuts

Same recepy as written below, but with walnuts. It's delicious! I ate it with french ratatouille, which was a great combination. But more about that later, because I want to talk some more about walnuts. Did you know walnuts are the healthiest nuts? 

Scientists found that commpared to other nuts, walnuts contain the highest level of antioxidants. Antioxidants stop the chain reactions in our cells that cause diseases, so regular consumption of food with high levels of antioxidants can reduce the risk of disease. Walnuts are real beautyfood as well, since walnuts contain linoleic acid. This helps maintaining the skins structure so it remains soft, supple and beautiful. Sounds good, right? All that and tasty too :-)

Sources: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12865291

http://www.womenfitness.net/herbs/walnut.htm

Homemade: Baking bread with Bee

I try staying away from eating too much bread. Summer, bikini's, you know. But I think freshly baked bread is one of the simplest, most delicious things there is. I like it best when it's fresh, with salted butter. Or under bruschetta. Mmm. I've been wanting to bake my own for quite a while now. I kept putting it off, because I thought it would be difficult. It turns out, baking bread is actually kind of easy. At least, this bread is. Curious? Jump!

I made bread!

 

Recipe will follow shortly :-)

Wild rice salad

I live by myself and hence have to cook a lot of solo dinners (start the violins already! Just kidding). One thing that's perfect to cook for oneself is a salad. It's easy, it's tasty and it's healthy. And, many of the ingredients an be bought separately so you're not stuck with kilo's of peppers you'll never eat in your entire life, for example. I eat salads in all sorts and colors and this is one of my favourites. Curious? Take the jump.