I'm off to give the U.C.B. a good airing on a French (or Spanish) mountain. In my last-minute, oops-I-forgot-to-put-this-in-the-car bag:
- Cooked garlicky lamb pieces and tabouleh
- Roasted tomatoes
- Chocolate chip lemon muffins
- Two fat Lonely Planet Guides
- Two extra pairs of shoes
- Camera
- Seven things with cords to charge other things
- A Microplane grater
See you after August 17!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Look At Me
Or rather, look at my blog. Isn't it pretty, with the new banner? Three cheers for the Dad, who made it happen on his spiffy new iMac. Here's the Header-Master himself:
Tanx lots!
Tanx lots!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Fingers Crossed (herring salad)
I had quite a good weekend planned. There was going to be dinner with friend L., who lives on a barge with a cool waterside terrace. There was going to be a jaunt in the park with two other friends, H. and R., both of whom I haven’t seen for far too long. There was going to be the purchase of funky hiking boots, F.H.B..
Alas.
First, dinner got cancelled. L’s sister is pregnant and her waters broke, so L. took a trip back home to become an aunt. An AUNT. V. exciting, but the baby isn’t due for another five weeks, so they are hoping it will stick around in the womb for a bit longer. Good thing I have enough time to keep my fingers crossed, what with not having dinner plans and all.
Then H. sent a text message to say we cannot get together because she has to stay indoors for seven days. Someone she spent time with came down with the New Flu and even though she feels fine, she won’t get the all-clear until it has been seven days since their last contact. That means seeing as few people as possible and hoping she hasn’t caught it. More fingercrossing to do for me.
Perhaps I should have paid attention to the signs and leave the boot buying for another day. But no, into town I went. After careful deliberation and much fitting, these were the shoes I picked:
Yup, they’re Ugly. No amount of superstition is going to make these babies a treat to look at. Luckily, they are also Comfortable. So that’s U.C.B. (ugly comfy boots), rather than F.H.B. And that’s okay. I picked them, I am responsible for buying them and I won’t ask for a miraculous shoe make-over. I have one other tiny additional request to fate, though. Will you please allow the U.C.B. to keep me safe when hiking in the Pyrenees two weeks from now?
And that’s enough with the finger-crossing and magic thinking. Time to count my blessings. Sure, I’ve seen two dates disappear into thin air, but at least I am not the one in the hospital, hoping her nephew or niece will stay inside for a little longer. Nor am I cut off from the world, keeping my germs to myself. No, I got to put on my U.C.B. and buy the ingredients for the salad you see up there. It’s got herring, it’s got beets. It has apples, and shallot and eggs and gherkins. It has a creamy dressing and it made me very happy to be right where I was.
Yes, it was quite a good weekend after all.
Herring salad with beets
Serves 1
1 ½ herrings (salty, not sour)
1 beetroot, approximately 150 gr
½ apple, not too sweet
2 gherkins
2 small, hard boiled eggs, yolks removed
1 shallot
1 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp thick, creamy yogurt
½ tsp grated horseradish, optional
Chop the beetroot, the apple, the eggs and the gherkins into roughly evenly sized pieces. Finely mince the shallot and combine with the ingredients you just chopped. Mix the mayonnaise with the yogurt and add the horseradish, if using. Add the dressing to the beetroot mixture.
Cut the herring into small bite-sized pieces. Gently fold into the other ingredients. Serve with thick slices of toasted bread.
Traditionally, this kind of salad would have a few boiled potatoes. I don’t like them, so I left them out, but don’t let that stop you from adding them if you are so inclined.
Alas.
First, dinner got cancelled. L’s sister is pregnant and her waters broke, so L. took a trip back home to become an aunt. An AUNT. V. exciting, but the baby isn’t due for another five weeks, so they are hoping it will stick around in the womb for a bit longer. Good thing I have enough time to keep my fingers crossed, what with not having dinner plans and all.
Then H. sent a text message to say we cannot get together because she has to stay indoors for seven days. Someone she spent time with came down with the New Flu and even though she feels fine, she won’t get the all-clear until it has been seven days since their last contact. That means seeing as few people as possible and hoping she hasn’t caught it. More fingercrossing to do for me.
Perhaps I should have paid attention to the signs and leave the boot buying for another day. But no, into town I went. After careful deliberation and much fitting, these were the shoes I picked:
Yup, they’re Ugly. No amount of superstition is going to make these babies a treat to look at. Luckily, they are also Comfortable. So that’s U.C.B. (ugly comfy boots), rather than F.H.B. And that’s okay. I picked them, I am responsible for buying them and I won’t ask for a miraculous shoe make-over. I have one other tiny additional request to fate, though. Will you please allow the U.C.B. to keep me safe when hiking in the Pyrenees two weeks from now?
And that’s enough with the finger-crossing and magic thinking. Time to count my blessings. Sure, I’ve seen two dates disappear into thin air, but at least I am not the one in the hospital, hoping her nephew or niece will stay inside for a little longer. Nor am I cut off from the world, keeping my germs to myself. No, I got to put on my U.C.B. and buy the ingredients for the salad you see up there. It’s got herring, it’s got beets. It has apples, and shallot and eggs and gherkins. It has a creamy dressing and it made me very happy to be right where I was.
Yes, it was quite a good weekend after all.
Herring salad with beets
Serves 1
1 ½ herrings (salty, not sour)
1 beetroot, approximately 150 gr
½ apple, not too sweet
2 gherkins
2 small, hard boiled eggs, yolks removed
1 shallot
1 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp thick, creamy yogurt
½ tsp grated horseradish, optional
Chop the beetroot, the apple, the eggs and the gherkins into roughly evenly sized pieces. Finely mince the shallot and combine with the ingredients you just chopped. Mix the mayonnaise with the yogurt and add the horseradish, if using. Add the dressing to the beetroot mixture.
Cut the herring into small bite-sized pieces. Gently fold into the other ingredients. Serve with thick slices of toasted bread.
Traditionally, this kind of salad would have a few boiled potatoes. I don’t like them, so I left them out, but don’t let that stop you from adding them if you are so inclined.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Me Man, Me Cook Good Food (recipes for my man)
When it comes to food, my man and I don’t see eye to eye. We both like to eat it, but that is about the extent of the common ground. He will happily gobble up sauce from packets, large chunks of undercooked bell pepper and potatoes dipped in ketchup. I think hot water mixed with powder does not equal food, like my peppers roasted until soft and loathe potatoes. He thinks butter is the root of all evil and the addition of fruit makes most savory dishes better. I believe that salty and sweet are best kept separate and that more butter is better. Perhaps most fundamentally, I feel flavor is the most important thing about food, while he considers it nothing more than a pleasant side-effect of nutrition.
Which would all be fine and dandy if we didn’t share a good few meals per week, and try to do roughly equal amounts of food preparation. (One man-prepared meal to four Laura-prepared meals is an equal division, no?) And while he doesn’t mind eating my food (as long as I go easy on the vinegar), I… am not as kind. Confronted with a pile of raw vegetable chunks floating in grey matter, I have been known to get grumpy. Or even call his cooking unpleasant. Hardly gracious behavior, but there you have it.
And I do feel bad about it, which is why I thought of a solution: I make a list of easy-to-prep foods I like and he chooses from the list when it is his turn to create a meal. I will even go as far as to list only meals that could be considered healthy, to be made with ingredients available at the supermarket. It is genius, I say, and it starts tonight.
First up, three fast pasta dishes. The sauce should be done in approximately the time it takes to boil water for the pasta and there is hardly any chopping involved. If they do get a test drive and look good, I will add pictures.
Pasta with roasted bell pepper sauce
1 jar roasted red peppers
125 ml sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt
2 eggs, optional, as a garnish and source of protein
1 organic smoked chicken breast, optional, as a garnish and source of protein
Enough pasta for two
Start boiling water for the pasta. (Use a large pot so the pasta has room to dance around- it helps with even cooking.) If using the eggs, start boiling water to cook them.
Fish the peppers from the jar and put them in the food mill attachment that comes with the immersion blender. Blitz them for thirty seconds or so and add the sour cream or yogurt (no need to measure the amount- two or three large spoonfuls should do it.) Blitz again until the peppers and dairy form a sauce.
Add the pasta when the water has reached a firm boil and cook for the amount of time the package tells you to. If we’re having eggs, put them in their pan too (after pricking their round ends to let air escape) and boil for seven minutes. Put the pepper sauce in a different small pan and heat gently.
When the eggs are done, run cold water over them and peel them. Chop finely. Alternatively, chop the chicken breast into smallish pieces. (Don’t use both eggs and chicken- it is overkill.)
When the pasta is done, drain and mix with the warm sauce. Divide over two plates and top with eggs or chicken. Serve.
Pasta with artichoke “cream” and pine nuts
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts (find them near the jars of dried tomatoes, but the cheap supermarket near the station doesn’t have them)
10 pitted green olives
small clove of garlic, peeled
three large spoonfuls of full fat Greek yogurt
3 tbsp pine nuts
enough pasta for two
bag of salad leaves
oil and vinegar to dress leaves
Start boiling water for the pasta. Pasta loves a big pot!
Put the artichokes (minus their oil) in the small food chopper, add the olives and the garlic. Blitz for a minute or so and add the yogurt. Blitz again until thoroughly mixed. It will be a bit chunky, that’s okay.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and boil for the time the package indicates. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until light brown. This should take no more than a few minutes. Take them out of the pan when they’re done, because the residual heat in the pan might burn them.
When the pasta is done, drain and leave to cool a little. Dress the salad leaves to taste. Add the artichoke mixture to the pasta, divide over two plates and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Serve, with the salad on the side.
Pasta with tuna-leek-sauce
Adapted from an idea by Jeroen
1 can of tuna (please get the Fishes albacore tuna, in the cardboard package)
2 medium leeks
glug of olive oil
125 ml crème fraiche
1 tbsp of capers, optional
enough pasta for two
Start boiling a large pot of water for the pasta.
Cut the leeks in half along their length and rinse thoroughly. Slice the white and light green parts into thin slices (thin really is better than thick here). Heat the oil in a deep skillet and add the leek. Cook over medium heat until tender.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until done. When there are about five minutes of cooking time left, add the tuna to the leeks, break up and heat gently. Then add the crème fraiche and capers (if using), mix thoroughly and heat gently for one or two more minutes. Turn the heat down low to keep the sauce warm.
Drain the pasta and divide over two plates. Top with the sauce. Serve.
Which would all be fine and dandy if we didn’t share a good few meals per week, and try to do roughly equal amounts of food preparation. (One man-prepared meal to four Laura-prepared meals is an equal division, no?) And while he doesn’t mind eating my food (as long as I go easy on the vinegar), I… am not as kind. Confronted with a pile of raw vegetable chunks floating in grey matter, I have been known to get grumpy. Or even call his cooking unpleasant. Hardly gracious behavior, but there you have it.
And I do feel bad about it, which is why I thought of a solution: I make a list of easy-to-prep foods I like and he chooses from the list when it is his turn to create a meal. I will even go as far as to list only meals that could be considered healthy, to be made with ingredients available at the supermarket. It is genius, I say, and it starts tonight.
First up, three fast pasta dishes. The sauce should be done in approximately the time it takes to boil water for the pasta and there is hardly any chopping involved. If they do get a test drive and look good, I will add pictures.
Pasta with roasted bell pepper sauce
1 jar roasted red peppers
125 ml sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt
2 eggs, optional, as a garnish and source of protein
1 organic smoked chicken breast, optional, as a garnish and source of protein
Enough pasta for two
Start boiling water for the pasta. (Use a large pot so the pasta has room to dance around- it helps with even cooking.) If using the eggs, start boiling water to cook them.
Fish the peppers from the jar and put them in the food mill attachment that comes with the immersion blender. Blitz them for thirty seconds or so and add the sour cream or yogurt (no need to measure the amount- two or three large spoonfuls should do it.) Blitz again until the peppers and dairy form a sauce.
Add the pasta when the water has reached a firm boil and cook for the amount of time the package tells you to. If we’re having eggs, put them in their pan too (after pricking their round ends to let air escape) and boil for seven minutes. Put the pepper sauce in a different small pan and heat gently.
When the eggs are done, run cold water over them and peel them. Chop finely. Alternatively, chop the chicken breast into smallish pieces. (Don’t use both eggs and chicken- it is overkill.)
When the pasta is done, drain and mix with the warm sauce. Divide over two plates and top with eggs or chicken. Serve.
Pasta with artichoke “cream” and pine nuts
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts (find them near the jars of dried tomatoes, but the cheap supermarket near the station doesn’t have them)
10 pitted green olives
small clove of garlic, peeled
three large spoonfuls of full fat Greek yogurt
3 tbsp pine nuts
enough pasta for two
bag of salad leaves
oil and vinegar to dress leaves
Start boiling water for the pasta. Pasta loves a big pot!
Put the artichokes (minus their oil) in the small food chopper, add the olives and the garlic. Blitz for a minute or so and add the yogurt. Blitz again until thoroughly mixed. It will be a bit chunky, that’s okay.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and boil for the time the package indicates. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until light brown. This should take no more than a few minutes. Take them out of the pan when they’re done, because the residual heat in the pan might burn them.
When the pasta is done, drain and leave to cool a little. Dress the salad leaves to taste. Add the artichoke mixture to the pasta, divide over two plates and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Serve, with the salad on the side.
Pasta with tuna-leek-sauce
Adapted from an idea by Jeroen
1 can of tuna (please get the Fishes albacore tuna, in the cardboard package)
2 medium leeks
glug of olive oil
125 ml crème fraiche
1 tbsp of capers, optional
enough pasta for two
Start boiling a large pot of water for the pasta.
Cut the leeks in half along their length and rinse thoroughly. Slice the white and light green parts into thin slices (thin really is better than thick here). Heat the oil in a deep skillet and add the leek. Cook over medium heat until tender.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until done. When there are about five minutes of cooking time left, add the tuna to the leeks, break up and heat gently. Then add the crème fraiche and capers (if using), mix thoroughly and heat gently for one or two more minutes. Turn the heat down low to keep the sauce warm.
Drain the pasta and divide over two plates. Top with the sauce. Serve.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Rainy Summer, Happy Soup (Pea soup with mint and yogurt)
When I left the house this morning, it was pouring. I covered myself with a bright yellow cape, pulled the hood tightly around my face and draped the fabric over my bike before taking off. On the way to the station, people kept throwing smiles my way. Frankly, I was surprised at their good cheer in such crap weather. That is, until I got a good look at myself in a shop window and noticed I looked like a large yellow egg. With a hat and wheels. Yeah, maybe there were fewer naturally cheery souls around that morning than I thought.
Oh well. This weather does have its upsides. It is, in my mom’s words, “growthly weather”. Meaning that plants love the muggy wetness and bouts of sunshine and are falling over themselves to get bigger. Sometimes literally:
Oh well. This weather does have its upsides. It is, in my mom’s words, “growthly weather”. Meaning that plants love the muggy wetness and bouts of sunshine and are falling over themselves to get bigger. Sometimes literally:
The purple basil has toppled over
And that means lots of herby loveliness to cook with. Generous handfuls of oregano in my Greek salad, piles of green and purple basil for raw tomato sauce and plenty of mint for fresh pea soup.
The craving for this soup was inspired by Nigella Lawson, as is so often true for me. In Forever Summer she talks about a cold pea soup with mint, calling it a “lovely, fresh and soothing emulsion”. Makes you hungry, doesn’t it? Going whole hog with the recipe seemed like too much of an effort for a quick after-work bowlful, especially the bit where you have to wait for the soup to be thoroughly cold. Not happening when I am on the prowl for a snack to stop my stomach from growling. I am happy to report, though, that the soup is mighty tasty even in my adapted version.
Almost as happy as the people who saw a giant yellow egg hurtling past them this morning.
Pea soup with mint and yogurt
Serves 2
250 gr of peas (fresh or frozen)
1 shallot, finely minced
glug of olive oil
500 ml water
generous pinch of salt
1 handful of fresh mint leaves
2 large scoops creamy yogurt
Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan, and add the shallot when hot. Spin the pieces around in the pan a couple of times, until they have softened a bit. Add the peas, mix with the shallot pieces and add the water. Cover the pan and bring the water to a gentle boil. Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until peas are soft. Leave to cool slightly, then add mint leaves and blitz with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste, add salt, blitz again and repeat until it has enough salt.
Transfer to two bowls and cool to as least tepid before adding a scoop of yogurt to each bowl. Serve. (This tastes even better cold, so do chill before eating if you have the patience.)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Bits of Egg (Scrambled Eggs)
You cannot cook an egg by putting it in the coals of a barbecue. Or maybe you can, but leaving it for too long will result in an impressive explosion. This I discovered when a friend got experimental and another friend was doused with hot bits of egg, several just missing her eye. Good times at the camp ground.
When you properly cook an egg, however, you can end up with this lovely goodness:
I am guessing you don’t need a recipe to scramble some eggs. But a neat trick always comes in handy, no? My trick for a luscious scramble is to mix the eggs with water. Quite un-obviously this makes them creamier than even full-fat milk. After that, I cook them gently in a thick-bottomed skillet and turn of the gas when they are still fairly moist. A few seconds in the hot pan off the fire, and presto: lovely bits of egg.
Also, a good trick is to not cook them on the barbecue. I’m just sayin’.
When you properly cook an egg, however, you can end up with this lovely goodness:
I am guessing you don’t need a recipe to scramble some eggs. But a neat trick always comes in handy, no? My trick for a luscious scramble is to mix the eggs with water. Quite un-obviously this makes them creamier than even full-fat milk. After that, I cook them gently in a thick-bottomed skillet and turn of the gas when they are still fairly moist. A few seconds in the hot pan off the fire, and presto: lovely bits of egg.
Also, a good trick is to not cook them on the barbecue. I’m just sayin’.
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