Berry Frangipane tarts

Have a break.. have a Frangipane!!!

Hey guys, I am back!! But today I have this ultimate tasty frangipane dessert!! And the most important thing of all is.... it's Gluten free, wheat free, and yeast free :)

Berry Frangipane tarts

Ingredients:

75g Butter, softened

½ tsp vanilla extract

75g caster sugar

1 egg

90g almond meal

1 tbsp cornflour

150g fresh blueberries and raspberries, mixed

1tbsp sifted icing sugar, to dust

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 deg C/160 deg C fan-forced.

Grease six 5.5cm x 10.5cm loose-based fluted flan tins; place on oven tray.

Beat butter, vanilla extract and caster sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat until combined. Stir in almond meal and cornflour. Spoon mixture into the prepared tins; smooth surface, sprinkle with berries.

Bake tarts about 30 minutes. Stand in tins for 10 minutes; turn carefully, top-side up, onto a baking-paper-covered cooling rack.

Serve tarts warm or cold, dusted with sifted icing sugar.

Isn't that easy peasy

Enjoy xx

Storage tip: Tarts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days, although mine never lasted 2 minutes :)

Egg Lovers

As promised for a special request... 

Oven Baked Frittata

A well-made frittata is one of the world's most perfect foods. It's cheap, quick-cooking, and an efficient vehicle for leftovers - not to mention equally delicious at breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner.

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing baking dish

6 eggs
100 ml whole milk or light cream
2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
150 g bacon, roughly chopped (or any meat you like - sausage/leftover chicken, proscuitto or even cooked mince...)
8 cherry tomatoes, chopped quarterly
2 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated

½cup mozzarella, grated (optional)

1-2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.

Lightly butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish (or any medium-deep baking dish available in your kitchen).

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, until smooth about 20 seconds. Add the crushed garlic, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Stir in the chopped bacon and tomatoes.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the grated mozzarella on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot with any side you feel like; could be salad, potato crisps or even toasted bread.

Enjoy xx

Cooking tip: You can add any type of vegetable you like, provided that you chop it to fine bits. Red bell peppers are my best choice.

Saturday's Brunch

Saturday's Brunch

Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch eaten usually during the late morning, but it can extend to as late as 3pm.

Ciabatta means 'slipper' in italian and describes the appearance of this oval, flattish yeast bread with an open texture and crisp, floury crust. It is flavoured mostly with olive oil and toasts well.

So why not combine both??!... A soothing mouth-watering ciabatta for Brunch

Grilled vegetable, Ricotta Ciabatta

Olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and lot and lots of fresh herbs is the secret to this vegetarian bread. Creamy Ricotta smoothes out the sharp flavour of the sun-dried tomatoes.

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)


1 long ciabatta, sliced in half lengthwise
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 cup ricotta cheese
2-3 tsp store-bought basil pesto
½ tsp salt 
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
4-6 slices of coppa (or any proscuitto)
1 zucchini, ends trimmed, sliced lengthwise ¼ inch thick
1 aubergine, ends trimmed, sliced lengthwise ¼ inch thick
1 tsp olive oil

2 handful Potato crisps

Method:

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. 

Add the zucchini and aubergine slices to a bowl and toss with the teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper, until coated. Grill the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until tender.

While keeping an eye on those vegetables, spread the ricotta cheese on the base of the ciabatta, and the pesto on the other half (top). Season with salt and pepper, especially the ricotta to enhance its flavour. Add the sun-dried tomatoes to the ricotta base.

As the vegetables are cooked, layer them on the bottom half of the ciabatta. Arrange the coppa or proscuitto over the vegetables. Place the top half of the ciabatta on top of the filling and toast for a few minutes, using a sandwich grill toaster.

To serve, cut in half and place in 2 separate plates, adding a handful of potato crisps on the side.

Enjoy xx

Serving tip: This recipe can also be added to the list of picnic/beach food, to relax and enjoy the moment.

Have a great weekend :) 

Mesuring techniques at hand

Measuring techniques

Measuring can be quite a daring challenge when one has to convert each and every ingredient on a recipe. So I can across this website below which you can find it handy, as I do.

xx

http://www.cookitsimply.com/measurements/

Chilly weather round the corner...

Autumn

The days of bright, crisp salads and succulent summer fruit are almost behind us for another year. While you might be disappointed to see the last of the seasonal salads, don't fret - There are delicious replacements on the way to help you keep your healthy eating habits.

As chilly weather starts kicking in, we would definitely adore a bowl of fresh warm soup. I try a variety of soups, but yesterday's soup was one that its taste is between having something warm but at the same time its smell and taste is still fresh and light... Perfect for this time of the year.

Pea Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 cups chopped leeks (approx. 2 leeks)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

5 cups fresh shelled peas or about 570g frozen peas

15g fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 tsp Salt

½ tsp Pepper

½ cup crème fraîche (or normal/light cream)

½ cup fresh chives, chopped (you can also use dried)

Croutons, for serving

Method:

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add leeks and onion, and cook over medium to low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to boil. Add the peas and cook for about 5 mins, until tender.

Remove from the heat, add the mint, salt and pepper.

Purée the soup on low speed in a liquidiser or with a hand blender. Once ready, pour the soup into a large bowl or the same pot you were using while cooking. Whisk in the crème fraîche and chives and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with croutons.

Isn't is easy?!!! 

Enjoy xx

Cooking Tip: To clean leeks, chop well and then soak in a bowl of water for a few minutes. Lift the leeks from the bowl to be sure any sand/soil is left behind.

Serving Tip: This soup can be served hot or cold. If you plan to chill it, make it early and let the flavours meld in the refrigerator. Hot or cold, I personally think that the mint really wakes up the flavour of the peas.

Healthy tip: Autumn is a season of deep green, dark yellow and brilliant orange and these colours mean the fruits and vegetables are rich in disease-fighting chemicals. The more colourful the fruit, the better it is for your health.

The Chocolate life

Hey guys,  just one last post for today, but I' m pretty sure this recipe will win you over.

The 3-ingredient Dessert/Breakfast - Nutella Croissants

Ingredients:

1 pkt (2 sheets) ready-to-roll, store-bought puff pastry
¾ cup Nutella
1 Egg (plus 1 tbsp of water)

Method:

Heat oven to 175 deg Celsius. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Sprinkle a cutting board with flour. Then spread out the puff pastry sheet so that it is flat. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the puff pastry. If the puff pastry is round, cut it into eight long skinny triangles. Same when slicing a pizza. But if the puff pastry is a rectangle one, cut it into thirds and then sixth, so that you have six long triangles. There's no best particular method to this, as long as you finish with triangles :)

Then spoon some Nutella, about 1 full teaspoon, onto each triangle, on the wide end of the triangle, whilst using the back of the teaspoon to spread it out just a bit over the whole triangle. Try to leave at least ½-inch border all the way around the edges of the triangle, though, so the Nutella does not seep out during baking.

Then, beginning with the wide end of the triangle, roll the dough up into a croissant shape. Place on the baking sheet, and turn in the edges of the dough slightly to make a U shaped croissant. Repeat with the remaining triangles.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and one tablespoon of water until combined. Then brush the egg mixture on top of each croissant. (You can also use the egg wash mixture to help seal the ends of the croissant, if they are not holding together).

Bake for 20-25 mins, until they puff up and are nice, golden and flaky. 

Sprinkle some icing sugar, to make them sweeter :)

And serve immediately xx Enjoy

You can also store in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Tip: The Pizza cutter is best when young children are interested. It makes it more fun, interesting, and above all safe :) For the filling, you can also use any jam of any flavour. Depends on your taste buds.

Mussels

Food is tastier when prepared at home, and mussels are no exception. I always had a crush on mussels, but when I moved to live in Brussels... It was obvious, it got way out of control in my kitchen. I have tried it with everything - in wine, cream, even in tomato sauce. But the recipe below is the tastiest I find. 

Some may think that it could be difficult or cumbersome to cook seafood, but they are definitely misled. They are surprisingly easy and fast to prepare, being served as a starter or as a main course. 

Ideally, mussels should be fresh when bought, which means they should be alive. Often, they come already washed, so the first step in selecting which ones to cook is to put them under cold water, and those shells that do not close by themselves after a few minutes are probably dead and should be thrown away. 

From then on the cooking begins. 

Serves 2 - 4 (main course - starter)

Ingredients:

1kg Mussels

1 large Garlic clove, crushed

1 small shallot, finely diced

1½ tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped

1 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped

½ tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped

½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)

8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)

1 cup white wine

1 to 2 tbsp olive oil

Season with Salt and Pepper

1 tbsp lemon/lime juice (optional)

Few fresh parsley, finely chopped for garnish

Method:

Cooking Tip: The Casserole/Large-deep pot should only be filled halfway with the mussels, as they will double in size when opened.

Drain the mussels from the water after washing them, as mentioned earlier on, and transfer them to the casserole. Add and scatter amongst the mussels the Garlic, shallot, parsley, mint, basil, chilli flakes and tomatoes (optional). Then, pour in the wine and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover with a tight fitting lid, so that the mussels can steam.

Turn on the heat, bring to boil and then let it simmer for a few minutes, shaking the casserole very so often so that the mussels move around and open up.

When all the mussels are open, remove the casserole from the heat and stir in lemon/lime juice, if you like (optional). Indeed after cooking, check for any still closed mussels as they should be thrown away.

Serve the mussels in separate serving bowls and sprinkle over some finely chopped parsley to garnish. Serve with fresh crunchy bread :)

And... Voilà, an authentic Belgian Speciality at Home!! Enjoy xx

Healthy note: Mussels are not only very tasty but also extremely nutritious; they contain desirable fats and are rich in vitamins and minerals

How it all began...

Depicting that I'm a ''Self Trained Chef'' may suggest that I’m already “Trained” to be a chef. But I assure you, that is not the case at all. 

So how am I going to become a Self Trained Chef? I think I’m going to tackle this project in a number of ways. The first assignment I gave myself was to buy 'Few' Culinary Books written by the Greatest Chef's of All Time, in my opinion (Gordon Ramsay, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Anna Olsen), read them and start to apply the same techniques in my kitchen. Some where easy to handle, others were strange in some way. Like, for example, my first impression was that: 1) Most of the recipes use a funny measuring system like Quarts, Pounds and Ounces instead of Cups, Teaspoons and above all grams; 2) Many recipes, and many broths are made with a three veggie concoction called 'Mirepoix'. But I understood that I must get to the bottom of both this new conversion system and the culinary term.

Sooo... Umm, what the heck is this Mirepoix, and why do they need so much of it? Apparently Mirepoix is a mixture of diced onions, celery and carrots. As I read online on many websites, the fancy name comes from the renowned chef Charles du Mirepoix who coined the mixture as Mirepoix. 

Besides the weird volume conversions, and an array of new terminology, I think the Culinary books were a good buy in my pursuit of my becoming a “Self Trained Chef”, even though my Husband's face drops when the postman is at the door. ''Not again?!!'' But I see a smile underneath, so I keep going.

In addition to the Culinary Books, I’ll be using the Internet, YouTube and asking Chef’s and other foodies wherever I go for advice on improving my culinary skills. Above all, I will upload any recipes which I find to be irresistible not to share with you.

The end goal in all of this is to share my findings online through articles, videos and this blog to help other aspiring “Self Trained Chef’s” have an additional resource to also become educated in the Culinary World!

And for those that just have to cook, 'unfortunately' after a day's work, I'd say:

''Thinking of tasty food one can cook? Then drop by and all you've got in the usual refrigerator will make a delicious meal - Sounds Great, Right?! Well, help is at hand with these inspired selection of ideas and recipes for easy entertaining, snacks, meals and desserts based on various local and easy-to-find ingredients, which will make all your diners melt.''

Let the adventure begin! xx :)