Howling at the Moon

 Now that it's Fall again and I'm inside the house more often, I like to try out new recipes and experimenting with cooking and baking again. This week I made empanadas filled with sweet potatoes, pumpkin, pecans and cajun seasoning. It was a try out, but is definitely a keeper!  You will not use all of the mashed pumpkin and potato mix. With what is left you can make a delicious soup by adding vegetable broth.     What you need 10 slices of pastry dough 1 sweet potatoe 1 pumpkin 1 garlic clove 1 shallot 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning mix handful of pecans, chopped   What you do Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius Cut potato, pumpkin, garlic and shallot into pieces and spread over a baking plate Sprinkle olive oil over it Roast for half an hour (don't turn off the oven after roasting) Mash the pumpkin and potatoe Add seasoning mix Put a tablespoon of the mix on the pastry dough, add some pecans and fold over Press the edges with a fork to cl...

  One of my favorite summer vegetables is rhubarb. Not because I like the taste of it much more than that of other vegetables, but because it reminds me so much of grandmother. My grandmother used rhubarb to make compote and served it as a side dish. When I use rhubarb it's in a crumble or in a cake, but this week I really followed my grandmother's foo(d)tsteps and made a rhubarb compote, together with scones and clotted cream.   What you need For the rhubarb compote 400g rhubarb in pieces of 2cm 10 strawberries 2 tablespoons sugar For the scones 450g self raising flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 100g cold butter 2 tablespoons sugar 285ml buttermilk 2 tablespoons milk For the clotted cream 250g mascarpone 125 creme fraiche     What to do Put rhubarb, strawberries and sugar in a pan and add a bit of water (about 1cm). Cook for 10, 12 minutes Stir until rhubarb is totally fallen apart   Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius Put flour, baking soda and butter in a bowl...

 This spring I started a little vegetable garden. In the grocery store where I do my shopping people got seeds for vegetables and flowers with every ten or so euro they had spend. The flowers did great, but to be honest not all vegetables blossomed under my hands (and sometimes they did while it wasn't intended, because I waited too long to harvest). But I learned and now know what vegetables I want to grow next year and what not.  One of the vegetables that did very well was chard. I don't think I have ever eaten chard. Actually, before I started my little garden I didn't even hear about chard, so I had no recipes at hand either. But I tried something myself and because it didn't taste bad at all, I share the recipe here.   What you need puff pastry 2 shallots 1 grated garlic garlic clove handful of chard, stems and leaves separated   handful grated cheese handful pecans 4 eggs 200cc creme fraiche salt and pepper to taste What to do Preheat oven to 180 degrees ...

 What's your favorite ice lolly? Mine is the orange creamsicle. Today I made a smoothie that tasted just like it and in case you are  a fan of orange creamsicles too, I share the recipe with you. WHAT YOU NEED 1 banana 1 cup of fresh orange juice 1/2 cup of whole milk 1/2 cup of frozen Greek yogurt vanilla essence (to taste) orange flavored powdered lemonade (to taste) WHAT TO DO Keep your Greek yogurt in your freezer, so you have frozen yogurt at hand whenever you feel like having a creamsicle smoothie.   Peel the banana and squeeze the orange Put all ingredients in a blender and blend Drink That's it!

  In the supermarket where I do my shopping you can purchase 'fresh boxes', boxes that include fresh vegetables and most other required ingredients for a complete meal for four persons. Our favorite is Thai Green Curry. That particular box contains various vegetables, among which zucchini. My kids hate zucchini, so I leave that one out. But what I hate is to throw good food away, so I was on the look out for something else to make with zucchini and I tried Zucchini Cake. Not bad, I think. Not bad at all, so here's my recipe.   What you need 120ml sunflower oil  175grams white caster sugar bit of salt 2 eggs 200grams of grated zucchini 200grams flour tbsp baking powder 75grams nuts (pecans are great, but you can choose whatever you like) 2 tbsp full fat yoghurt 125grams icing sugar What to do Preheat oven at 175 degrees Celsius Mix the oil, sugar and salt  Add the eggs and mix again Add zucchini, flour and baking powder and mix again Stir in the nuts Bake the cake fo...

 One of my favorite delicacies with apples (after Dutch Apple Pie) is apple sauce. Especially when it's ice cold and there's fresh ginger and pumpkin spices in it. Today I found a couple of apples in my fruit bowl that were starting to get some wrinkles so it was about time to eat them or to use them for something else, so I made apple sauce. What you need 4 apples 50cc water ginger and/or pumpkin spices, if you like What to do Peel the apples and remove the core Cut the apples in little pieces Bring to a boil with the water Let cook for about ten minutes at medium heat Add ginger and spices and mash all ingredients Let cool off in the fridge Eat ice cold ~*~ The Swiss Roll with Mango and Mascarpone that I made a couple of weeks ago was featured by Slices of Life !     

  One of the things my youngest daughter and I love to do together is bake. This weekend we made this Spring Swiss Roll together.     What you need 5 eggs 150 grams sugar flour 110 grams cornstarch 35 grams fresh mango 4 spoons whipped crea 200 grans mascarpone 50 grams sugar vanille essence 1 mango decorations     What to do Preheat oven at 170 degrees Celsius Mix the eggs with the sugar for ten minutes Sift flour and cornstarch and mix with the eggs  Cover a baking tray (size 30x50cm) with baking paper Divide the mix over the tray Bake for 12 minutes (or until light brown and spongy) Let the cake cool off a bit  Sprinkle a bit of icing sugar over the cake and roll up with help of the baking paper Let cool down in the fridge   Mix mascarpone and cream with the sugar Cut the mango in thin slices Take the cake from the fridge and roll out Spread the mascarpone out over the cake Cover with mango slices Roll the cake up again Decorate with whatever y...

Almost Easter! Normally we have an extended lunch at our house with the whole family but, just like for most of the world, meetings with lots of people aren't very wise at the moment.  Just as well we celebrate Easter of course, but with just the four of us (husband, children and I, that is) and my parents. This weekend my youngest daughter has a friend staying over again and I wanted to make something nice for them for Easter, so I bought some chocolate bars and various edible Easter decoration and made chocolate bark.   What you need *chocolate bars * Easter M&M's * various chocolate Easter decorations * sprinkles * oven dish or something like it * baking paper What to do * cover the dish with baking paper * melt chocolate au bain marie * stir half of the M&M's in * pour the melted chocolate in the dish * lay other half of M&M's and decoration in the chocolate * add sprinkles * let cool down in the fridge * break into pieces ~*~ My Garden Bird Drawi...

  What do you miss the most, now that we're in the middle of a pandemic and in most countries lots of restrictions are applied to limit the spread of the virus?  To be honest, I don't miss very much, but I consider myself lucky. I have a job, so no cares about income, and it's a job that requires I'm going out of the house and being among people (I'm an OR-nurse). I have a family, so I'm not on my own. I have lots of hobbies, so I'm never bored. Except for night shifts I didn't go out of the house in the evening anyway, so I don't really suffer from the curfew either. But of course there are some things that I miss (luxuries, no necessities) and that is getting coffee or lunch somewhere with friends and having vacations out of my own country. I love seeing different environments, especially nature, but what I love the most is trying out local delicacies and eating breakfast.  The last trip I made before corona came was to Lisbon, Portug...

Don't you love it when birds visit your garden? I do!  At our former house we had a very small garden, but lots of birds, bats and bees, but although we have a much larger garden at our new house now, there isn't a single tree in it. Lots of bushes that attract bees and other insects, but not one tree for birds to take shelter. A couple of weeks ago I asked a landscaper to design a garden for us and when she asked me about must haves, I asked for a couple of trees: a couple of fruit trees for a small orchard, two or tree pollard willows (my favorite tree!) and a couple of trees to effectuate more privacy.  Last week the landscaper came with her design and I absolutely love it. It's green and lush, it gives a lot of privacy, it has enough places for relaxing alone and with friends, and the best: I think it has lots of possibilities for birds, insects and small animals like hedgehogs to find food and shelter. I think we will start building the garden in springtime, so for now...

Yesterday my daughter showed me something she said she really needed to eat for breakfast the rest of her life (my daughter is a teen). I had to look at twenty or more You Tube videos, so I really understood what  she meant, but honestly, after seeing just one she had me convinced. It has fruit and it has dairy, there aren't many breakfasts that are much healthier than this. Today we made our first smoothie bowl for breakfast (but you can eat this any time of day).     What you need frozen fruit (I used a banana, blueberries and strawberries) milk (I used soya) decoration (fruit, chocolate chips. coconut chips, oatmeal, whatever you like)   What to do Fill the blender jar with the frozen fruits of your choice Add milk until one third of the jar is filled (it's important to put in the fruit before the milk; fill the jar one third with milk first and your smoothie will be way to liquid) Blend until the part above the knives is smooth, take of the jar and push the fruit...

  A couple of weeks ago I shared a recipe for Dutch Speculaas with you. Today I want to share with you another recipe in which a Dutch delicacy is involved: the Stroopwafel. My favorite drink is coffee, but the variety with just a bit coffee and lots of milk, in other words: latte. Even better: a stroopwafel latte!   What you need 1 stroopwafel (if your bakery or supermarkt doesn't have stroopwafels, then here's a recipe by Martha Stewart) 3 tablespoons sugar syrup 1 teaspoon cinnamon espresso powder milk  whipped cream    What to do Heat the milk, but don't let it boil Put in a cup or glass with two tablespoons of syrup, a half teaspoon of cinnamon and espresso powder to your like Crumble the stroopwafel Add the milk  and mix with the other ingredients Top off with whipped cream Sprinkle with crumbled stroopwafel, the rest of the cinnamon and the sugar syrup

 It's this time of year again: my favorite season has begun! Shorter days, colder outside, great light, beautiful colors. Time to get the 'speculaaskruiden' out!  Speculaas is a Dutch delicacy with lots of spices. It's especially made in Fall and Winter.      What you need 300 grams of flour 150 grams of brown sugar 175 grams of butter 4 tablespoons speculaaskruiden (see further how to make your own) bit of salt 2 tablespoons ice cold water   What to do Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius Mix all ingredients until you have a ball of dough Line a baking pan with baking paper Press the dough flat to about 1cm thckness Bake for 30 minutes Cut into squares immediately after taking the speculaas out of the oven, because otherwise it will break while cutting Let cool down  Enjoy! For 'speculaaskruiden' mix together: 8 teaspoons cinnamon (grinded) 2 teaspoons cloves (grinded) 2 teaspoons nutmeg (grinded) 1 teaspoon coriander seed (grinded) 1 teaspoon aniseed ...

My favorite summer drink this last three years is Ginger Beer. I just love this hot feeling when it glides down your throat and of course the taste is also great. Bonus: ginger is very healthy! There's only one thing on the downside and that's the amount of sugar added in the store bought version of it. So this week I tried to make my own and it turns out even better than I expected! What you need 100 grams fresh ginger 1 lemon 75 grams cane sugar 10 cloves 500cc lukewarm water 1 liter soda water 1,5 liter clean (swing-top) bottle  small funnel What to do Grind ginger in a food processor.  Squeeze lemon Put all ingredients together in a bowl and let ferment in the fridge for two days Sieve water above another bowl, pour the water in the bottle with help from the funnel and add the soda water That's it!       ~*~   The Hydrangea Wreath that I made last week of plants from my own garden, was featured by French Etherea l, The Artful Mom , The Cottage Market ...

Last night we made a great deal: we exchanged a homemade cake for an adorable little tomcat!        Naked Cake with Poppy Seeds and Lemon Cream, topped with White Chocolate and Summer Fruit   What you need For 2 cakes: 2x200 grams butter 2x200 grams sugar 2x3 eggs 2x250 grams cake mix 2x50cc milk  2x2 tablespoons poppy seeds 500 grams mascarpone 1 lemon 25 grams of vanilla sugar white fondant 2 tablespoons  cream  100 grams white chocolate summerfruit (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, redberries, blueberries etc)   What to do Preheat oven at 160 degrees Celsius Mix the butter until soft.  Add sugar and mix until smooth Add eggs one by one and mix after adding each egg Add milk and poppy seeds Mix for three minutes Bake the cake for an hour Make the other cake (or you can make the two cakes simultaneously, if your oven is big enough and if you have two cake pans of exactly the same size) Let the cakes cool down and cut them both i...