"What I Cooked Today" Day 128

Today Jochem stayed at home while I worked, so Jochem did the cooking. He made something that he has some very good memories of: fish & chips. Apparently he had this heavenly fish & chips once while in England, and he's been dying to have it again ever since. So today, he tried. Of course we used Jamie Oliver to do this (although, I must say, these recipes are not his but Brendan Fyldes' of the London's Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill). We ended up having some fish, some chips and some mushy peas. Greasy, but good!

Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 12 August/September 2010

"What I Cooked Today" Day 127

A gal (a working gal at that!) can't be culinary every day. And, what with having cooked Thai curry from scratch yesterday and my boyfriend forsaking me for his friends on his day off (scandalous, I know), I decided not so much to cook but to instead:

- tear off the wrapper from an oven pizza and put said pizza in a pre-heated oven;
- grate some Parmesan cheese;
- tear up some basil;
- pour some spicy olive oil;
- cut up pizza into quarters.

It's Monday.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 126

True, I've only been working my office job for a week now, but one of the things that I love about it already is that I don't have to spend my weekends doing homework or planning classes anymore - instead, I can do other things. Things that I really love and care for. Like cooking. Today my parents came over and they asked Jochem and me when our love for cooking started. We found it a difficult question to answer. I guess it's grown so gradually that we can't pinpoint it to an exact moment. But cooking we love, and cooking we did today. Good friend Danielle was kind enough to send me some Thai curry recipes and we tried one today. We made a penang fish curry with monkfish. We even made our very own penang curry paste and we bought jasmin rice, spicy shrimp crackers and Thai beer (the downtown Asian market made fortunes on me yesterday). It was quite delicious and I'm glad mom and dad also liked it as much as they did. I can't wait to try another curry!

Source: Cooking Know-How by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough

"What I Cooked Today" Day 125

I wish that I could say that I did NOT have left-over artichoke risotto AGAIN - that I was somehow NOT compeletely and utterly demotivated to cook after having sent off the boyfriend to work for a late shift for the sixth day this week and that I ended up cooking something absolutely breathtaking and delicious, you know, JUST FOR ME.

That, however, would be a lie.

Now, I have a movie to catch with Bic. Two of my friends kept raving about Inception and I, honestly, don't think I would've succeeded in convincing Bic to see Sex and the City 2 again. I just hope it's really as good as they said and, well, not too scary...

"What I Cooked Today" Day 124

Today is Friday and I finished my first week at my new job. Quite successfully, I might add. I was too tired to cook anything new, so I just had left-over artichoke risotto again. Mmm...

"What I Cooked Today" Day 123

Today I cooked a batch of artichoke risotto to last Jochem and me through the next couple of days of work, and I am happy to announce that after cooking undercooked and underseasoned dishes two days in a row, today I finally had a winner. I just couldn't get over the whole idea of using mint in risotto...

Source: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 122

Has anyone noticed that I have certain favorite recipes that keep coming back? Because the food I made today has been made at least twice before in the 122 days that I've kept this part of my blog. I made the good ol' classis pasta with leek and creme fraiche. The great thing about this dish is that you can cook a tasty meal with hardly any ingredients in no time - today, for example, Jochem only had to buy leek because everything else we already had and I can't have spent more than 20 minutes on dinner (including cutting things up, which, let's be honest, takes up most time, which is something they never show on TV). I must say, however, that working all day and having to cook by myself has harmed my ability to season my food and both today's and yesterday's meals were a little bland. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow.

Source: The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 121

After another GREAT day at work I came home to an 'empty' (+ pets) apartment and made myself some boiled potatoes with peas and mint, added some left-over chicken and watched a new episode of 'Grenzeloos Verliefd' (which I can't be bothered to translate right now) while the heavy Dutch rain come down on my old roof and Manchego sat in my lap whilst, in the process, I forgot to take a picture. Oops... Better luck next time!

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 120

Today was a GREAT day (besides having to saying goodbye to my American friend at 6 'o clock in the morning, which was nothing short of tragic since I probably won't see her for another two years). But today was my first day at my new job and I actually enjoyed myself quite a bit. Turns out that my job description is 'assistant office manager' (no, not 'assistant TO the office manager') and I had a great first day. When I came home after nine hours things got even better - my beautiful man was cooking a dish in the kitchen that I'd been longing to have for a while and finally had an excuse to make: a surf & turf (Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver). I don't really know what surf & turf means, but it consisted of lobster, tournedos and homemade potato salad. It was kind of out there, but I figured that finally having a 'real job' (as my brother would say) is worth celebrating, even on your ordinary Monday night. For dessert we made Oreo milkshakes (Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 12 August/September 2010). What a delicious meal!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 119

Today I will not be cooking because, in honor of Danielle's last day in Utrecht/the Netherlands/Europe we are going out to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants: the Theehuis Rhijnauwen. This rustic pancake house is located at the edge of the city near a forest and we have very good memories biking there on a cold winter evening to have us some well-deserved pancakes. Here we go again!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 118

Today Danielle cooked for me, which was a nice treat. She decided to make a green Thai curry with shrimp, ginger, onion, red bell pepper, basil and lime served with white rice. We also had some local organic beer to drink with the dish. I believe that the coconut milk was supposed to be thicker and that the curry as a whole was supposed to be spicier, but I didn't mind any of that because I loved the dish! Thank you Danielle for a wonderful meal!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 117

Today I was home alone all day running errands while Jochem was at work and Danielle was in Amsterdam with Derek. It was a bit of a crazy day, but luckily I finished most of my work. However, I didn't have dinner until 9 PM, so I decided to have some left-overs: a slice of Jochem's zuccini bread with goat's cheese, mom's tomatoe salad with basil and mom's chicken from the oven. I ate it while watching Dawson's Creek and then fell asleep in front of the TV while watching the Dog Whisperer (I HEART Cesar Millan - "calm and assertive energy!" "calm submissive state!"). Awesome!

Project Provence

I just came back from my vacation, from my camping trip in the Provence with my five best friends. Wow!!! And now, it seems, Real Life begins...

"What I Cooked Today" Day 116

Today I finally arrived back at home in Utrecht. My very sweet boyfriend had bought the ingredients for a tortilla soup that Danielle and I ended up preparing late at night. We sautéed some garlic, onion and yellow and green bell peppers and added some chicken broth. Then we topped the soup with creme fraiche, chilis, avocado with lime zest and lime juice and tortilla chips with sage from the oven. We also had some of Jochem's zuccini bread with goat's cheese. We had some Coronas with it and talked till late at night. Good times!

Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 115

Today Bic, Mag, Danielle and I were welcomed in Almelo by my parents. My mother had prepared a food fest of epic proportions including an Asian-style soup with shrimp, stuffed Turkish bread, tomatoe and basil salad and chicken from the oven. My mom really deserves a beautiful picture of us devouring her food, but unfortunately I forgot to take one once again.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 114

Today was spent on the road. We had the same food for dinner as we had for lunch, namely massive sandwiches with Dijon mustard and Provencal ham.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 113

Today was the last day of our stay at the campsite and we wanted to prepare a dish with left-overs. Alas, when we finally came back from our horseback riding trip and we wanted to get some extra ingredients, all the stores were closed, so we had dinner at the campsite's café instead, where I had me some pasta carbonara.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 112

After another day of rest at the campsite, the girls prepared bacon, cheese and apple pancakes. Danielle even managed to consume a pancake with bacon AND cheese and APPLE, which was quite impressive. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this event.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 111

Although not at all in the mood to go out to dinner again after we spent the day in Aix-en-Provence, I must admit that my women were right in picking out this phenomenal rustic restaurant downtown. I enjoyed a beautiful steak with onion sauce as well as an orgasmic creme brulee with a chocolate bottom. What a treat!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 110

Today we spent the day in Grasse in honor of Mar's last full day in France. We went out to dinner downtown where I shared my duck with Danielle's beef. The typical Provencal flavors, like lavender honey, were exquisite!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 109

After a bruelling day of aqua trekking in the Gorges du Verdon, I was glad to leave the cooking up to Bic who prepared her signature couscous dish.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 108

Today, after spending a couple of hours at the local Castellane market, Anna prepared a wonderful, typical Provencal dish with potatoes, eggplant, zuccini and onion. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture...

"What I Cooked Today" Day 107

Today we took a long and windy and, above all, cheesy detour to Banon for a taste of authentic Provencal goat's cheese. Afterwards we (with, admittedly, some help from some men) prepared a bbq with loads of goodies like hamburgers, chicken, potatoes, corn, veggies and salad.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 106

Today we explored the small town of Castellane, after which Bic prepared a simple but delicious pasta dish with ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs.

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 105

Today we had a day of rest at the campsite. I cooked a warm bread salad with boiled eggs.

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 104

Today the six of us arrived at our campsite in the Provence. I cooked a simple pasta salad.

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 103

Today Bic, Mag, Mar and I traveled to Brussels to pick up Anna and Danielle for our French holiday. I cooked mac 'n' cheese.

Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 102

After having ordered a mini pizza online yesterday, today there was some cooking again, except not really by me. I was responsible for picking out the recipe and buying the groceries and overlooking the whole process, but after a gruelling day of packing the car for our trip to France, I was ready to order in again. Luckily, I have very good friends who cooked dinner instead. They made one of my favorite pasta recipes with macaroni, leek, red onion, garlic and creme fraiche. Of course we also added some sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Source: The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

PS: Since I will be on vacation in the Provence till the end of August and spending most of it on a campsite, it will be a bit quiet here until I return. But I promise to post my cooking experience abroad as fast as I can! Au revoir!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 101

Well. It is 9.15 PM, I got home from Brussels almost 3 hours ago and am still organizing, Jochem is at work and there is no food at home to make a quick dinner (I've been gone for barely 3 days and this household is already falling apart). What to do? This is probably a major anti-climax after yesterday, but I think I might just order some food... If I ever get all of this work done, that is.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 100

Today was a special occasion. Today was the 100th edition of my "What I Cooked Today" weblog writings. Since Danielle was here in Brussels with Anna and me, I decided to make something really tasty, homey and delicious. Yesterday Jochem helped me to make a pesto with almonds, garlic, basil, grated cheese, ripe tomatoes, sea salt, black pepper and olive oil (Source: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver). I served it with spaghetti. Jochem and I also made chocolate rocks which Anna served with dame blanche ice cream (Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver). To top it off, Anna made a white wine and peach drink in very special glasses. Happy Anniversary to me (I guess)!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 99

Today I traveled from Utrecht to Brussels where Anna and I picked up Danielle from the airport. But before heading in that direction, I helped Jochem to prepare these fantastic Oaxacan pizzas for lunch. They were made with homemade dough, mozzarella, potatoes, onion, chorizo, avocado, Parmesan cheese and spicy olive oil. I only had four pieces but the meal lasted me throughout the rest of the day and evening until Anna made us dinner.

Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 11 (July 2010)

"What I Cooked Today" Day 98

Jochem and I had planned to cook Mexican pizzas for dinner today, but at the last minute my parents decided to come over for a visit and we ended up having dinner at Mahanakorn, a Thai restaurant downtown, where we feasted on very spicy food. After that we had ice cream for dessert at Roberto Gelato. Thank you mom and dad for a great dinner!