Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup agave syrup or honey or maple syrup

1 egg

Pinch of cinnamon

1 tbsp almond flakes

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She first saw this recipe on Timbo's blog, it was the simplest and most genius recipe she ever came across and wanted to try it as soon as possible. And so when the very well known sugar cravings arrived one afternoon, she mixed all the ingredients together along with the pinch of cinnamon, spooned the mix on a baking plate with laid baking paper, sprinkled a few almond flakes on top and baked it in 170 C pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. The amount created about 12 cookies. After the cookies cool off, you can decorate with melted chocolate  The taste would never give out that there is no flower in it.

Bon Appetit!

Party Snacks

Ingredients:

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

8 small sized tomatoes

3 tbsp crème fraîche 

90 g Dutch shrimps 

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 teaspoon ketchup sauce

dash of lemon juice 

Bunch of fresh dill, chopped finely

5 tbsp freshly rasped coconut or alternatively 5 tbsp dried coconut and 1/2 tbsp coconut paste

3 tbsp walnut oil

pack of fresh coriander, chopped finely

1 tbsp ginger syrup

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder or alternatively fresh rasped ginger

1 pack of Kroepoek shrimp puffs

salt&pepper

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For the purpose of the King's Day celebration she wanted to try out a few new recipes for snacks that she could serve to their guests or alternatively that could serve as a light summer dinner. The boyfriend was proposing the small dutch shrimps so she looked for a recipe with them on Allerhande and altered the one she found.

Boil the egg for 8 min until hard. Peel the egg, cut into small pieces and place in a bowl. 

Meanwhile cut the top off the tomatoes and remove the seeds and sauce with a teaspoon. 

Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, ketchup, dill, shrimps and to the egg in the bowl and mix gently. Season with lemon juice, pepper and salt. Spoon the filling into the tomatoes and garnish with the remaining dill.
The second recipe was actually their intake on a delicious starter that was served in an Asian style restaurant called Leen and that they absolutely loved. Their tried their own version by mixing the dried coconut (but fresh rasped coconut was the real deal) and the coconut past with super finely chopped coriander. They seasoned the mixture with ginger syrup, ginger powder (fresh ginger was always a good option), lime juice, walnut oil and served the mix with Kroepoek shrimp puffs. Guests seem to really enjoy this snack.
Bon Appetit!

Spinach Leaves Salad With Chorizo And Beetroot

Ingredients:

Handful fresh spinach leaves

Handful dandelion salad leaves

50 g pickled beetroot

50 g chorizo salami, cut into moons

40 g soft goat's cheese

2 tbsp canned chickpea

Pinch of nutmeg powder

Dressing:

2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp mustard

dash of fresh lime juice

salt&pepper

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This salad was seriously good and her new favorite. She found it on Dutch Allerhande magazine, tried it and immediately fell in love with it.

Fry the chorizo salami on a pan without any additional  fat until crispy. Take out of the pan and put the chickpeas into the remaining fat and stir for a while with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Prepare your dressing. Place all the ingredients on a plate or in a bowl, season with the dressing. Serve with bread if you like.

Bon Appetit!

Superfood Breakfast

Ingredients:

4 Atkins Advantage Wheat & Rye Cracker à 10 g

1/2 ripe avocado

50 g President Chèvres doux soft goat's cheese

1 teaspoon chia seeds

Pinch of salt

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This breakfast has become her favorite option over the working week. Although there was no cooking involved she wanted to share this breakfast option as it contained so called super foods. It can be argued that the rise of so called super foods is nothing but a scam and clever manipulation by nutrition marketeers. It is true that these products are usually pretty costly and come with a fashion hype and promotions in the media and by celebrities. The judgement was on each person to make, but what she personally liked and appreciated about these products was the diversity and new door that opened to whole different life style. Not only she enjoyed the taste but it just made her feel good. The crackers were low carb and full of fibre; chia seeds were wholesome source of mega-3 fatty acids,  protein, manganese, and phosphorus along with vitamin A, B, E and D. Avocado was rich in healthy fats and nutrients - oleic acid, lutein, folate, vitamin E, monounsaturated fats and glutathione among them. 

Goat cheese, like goat milk, was easier on the human digestive system and lower in calories, cholesterol and fat than its bovine counterpart. In addition, goat milk cheese was a good source of calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin K, phosphorus, niacin and thiamin. Given the fact that she was lactose intolerant, this was a better option.

When she combined this breakfast with one of her fruit smoothies, she felt energetic, satisfied but not stuffed until the lunch time. Why not trying something new?

Bon Appetit!

Salad With Grilled Vegetables and Lentils

Ingredients:

1/2 smaller courgette, sliced into cca 1 cm rounds

1/2 smaller aubergine, sliced into cca 1 cm rounds

1 small red pepper, sliced into stripes

1 cup lentils, soaked in water for at least a couple of hours or over night or alternatively 1 small can of lentils

1/4 iceberg salad or similar type of leave salad, cut into smaller pieces

100 g ricotta

80 g white cheese - here feta

1 tbsp olive oil or walnut oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Dash of lemon juice

Pinch of cumin seeds

Bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped

Bunch of fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

salt&pepper

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As said before, salads basically made at least 50% of all her meals. She loved them and there were so many options out there. This one was a great light vegetarian option for lunch or dinner. It required a bit more time for the preparation, especially in case dried lentils were used. Then one had to let them soak in water for a few hours or better over night. Cut all the vegetable, smear them with walnut or olive oil and place them onto grill or into the pre-heated oven (cca 220C), cook until soft for about 15-20 minutes. Prepare the salad leaves by cutting them and cook the lentils with a bit of olive oil along with pinch of salt, pepper and cumin seeds until soft. Mix ricotta with balsamic vinegar, dash of lemon juice, rest of the oil and finely chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper. 

Once ready, place the grilled vegetables on top of the salad leaves, add cooked lentils and pour the ricotta herbs dressing over. Top it up with some white cheese. Serve with bread if you like.

Bon Appetit!

Hearty Brunch

Ingredients:

4 medium eggs

2 slices of cheese eg. Leerdammer

1 cup of fresh mushrooms

Pinch of dried thyme

1 teaspoon butter

Mix of fresh fruit - here galia melon and cherries

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 tbsp agave syrup

salt&pepper

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It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We don't always have the time over the working week, but Sundays were perfect for a long hearty breakfast. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee. Try this alternative instead of the average corn flakes or bread with ham and cheese. Smear the butter on a frying pan, pour the whisked eggs over, place the slices of cheese and let it cook for a while. Scramble the eggs on the frying pan slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Fry the mushrooms on another pan with pinch of  butter, season with thyme, salt and pepper. Serve the scrambled eggs with fresh spinach leaves and mushrooms. Enjoy a slow breakfast without hurry.

Bon Appetit!

The Green Bomb Smoothie

Ingredients:

Handful fresh baby spinach leaves

1 kiwi fruit, peeled

1/2 banana

1/2 lime juice

100 ml mango and guanabana juice

100 ml water

A few fresh basil leaves

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One more tip for the smoothie recipes as requested. This one felt like an energy bomb, it was full of antioxidants and was very refreshing. Don't be afraid of the baby spinach leaves, they leave practically no taste and add to the texture of the smoothie. Basil leaves go amazingly well with banana. Again, just mix all the ingredients in a blender and if you prefer thicker structure, omit the water.

Bon Appetit!

Chocolate Fondant

Ingredients:

250 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

175 g butter

80 g sugar

5 eggs

75 g flour

pinch of salt

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She tried this chocolate cake already a while ago, she found the recipe in Czech Elle from October 2013 and wanted to surprise him with a sweet treat. Preheat oven to 210 degrees Celsius; butter the bottom of the baking form. Put the pieces of chocolate along with butter and melt it either in microwave or in water / steam bath and stir together until smooth texture achieved. Beat whole eggs together with sugar until they create a sort of foam and double their volume. Add slowly the flour and the chocolate-butter mixture, stir together and pour into the buttered form. Bake for about 10 minutes depending on the form and how high is the dough. The fondant should be soft and runny in the middle so you are influencing its structure by the timing. If you'd like to have the fondant firmer, bake it longer.

Bon Appetit!

Lamb Chops With Pistachio Crust

Ingredients:

4 lamb chops

1 teaspoon mix of Provencal or Italian dried herbs

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts

1 tbsp  bread crumbs

1 tbsp soft butter

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

5 medium size potatoes, with skin, washed and scrubbed

1 tbsp dried thyme

salt&pepper

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The spring season always brought some lovely fresh ingredients such as asparagus, green peas, strawberries or chicory. Lamb meat belonged to the main spring meat representatives. She altered recipe she found here and a delicious spring dinner option was discovered. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking sheet on the oven plate. Put whole potatoes with skin to boil with a pinch of salt and caraway seeds for about 20 minutes. Season each lamb chop with Provencal or Italian herbs with a bit of salt and ground black pepper.

Heat a spoon of olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Place lamb chops on the pan and fry, browning on all sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer lamb onto the baking sheet; set aside.

Stir crumbled pistachios, bread crumbs, butter and a pinch of salt and black pepper in a bowl. Spread mustard on the fat-side of each rack of lamb. Pat pistachio mixture on top of mustard. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden and lamb is pink in the center for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile once the potatoes cooked, slice them up and throw them into the frying pan which you used for sealing the lamb chops. The fat from lamb will give potatoes some flavor. Season with dried thyme, salt and pepper.

Bon Appetit!

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 banana, cut into circles

3 tbsp yoghurt (soy)

1 tbsp peanut butter

100 ml orange juice

100 ml water

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

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Another of her smoothie tips, just mix all the ingredients in a blender until smoothie structure achieved. This smoothie is almost like a dessert, a bit more fulfilling than the others and not tot forget, the peanut butter is very caloric, so one spoon should be sufficient.

Bon Appetit!