"What I Cooked Today" Day 158

Today Jochem and I cooked something that I had actually never heard of before: chicken tikka masala. Turns out that chicken tikka masala = a spicy spice mix with lots of crazy spices + chicken grilled in yoghurt + a creamy tomato sauce with onion + fresh lemon juice and coriander. Chicken tikka masala = yummie!

Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 12 August/September 2010

"What I Cooked Today" Day 157

Although he sometimes drives me crazy, this blog has to be dedicated to my boyfriend. He is pretty awesome overall, but today encapsulates exactly why. Today said boyfriend woke up at 5 AM to work an 8-hour shift for his internship duty manager position in one of Amsterdam's hotels. When he got off work, he traveled back to Utrecht and went grocery shopping. He then spend the next couple of hours preparing baked beans, one of his favorite new recipes which I had only tasted a spoonful of till today, while I was at work till 6.30 PM. When Mag arrived early he entertained her for almost an hour till I came home. He spend the remainder of the evening serving us food and wine while we talked. After dinner he did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. He didn't get to bed until 11.30 PM, even though his alarm clock will ring again tomorrow morning at 5 AM. Pretty nice, huh?

Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 156

Today I cooked dinner for Jochem. He had chosen a simple pasta dish with mushrooms that I tried to prepare as well as I could, but I wasn't really happy with it. We didn't have any parsley so I used some old basil, and because we were out of Parmesan cheese I had to use normal cheese. I also missed some kind of creamy sauce, or maybe something like broth or red meat to deepen the flavor of the dish. Jochem and I have been watching a lot of Top Chef and during the show the judges often say that if you're gonna make food that's that simple, it should be perfect. So true.

Source: The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 155

Wow. I spend 3 days in the Belgian Ardennes and I have completely fallen out of my blog routine. Luckily you didn't miss anything because I had left-over cannelloni again (last piece, I promise). But, I have an actual dish planned for tomorrow that will hopefully impress once more.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 154

After our romantic weekend in the Belgian Ardennes we came home to a sunny Utrecht. We decided to make the best of this since it might arguably be one of the last good days till winter hits us. We went outside and had some bagels and drinks in the sun. For dinner we had left-overs.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 153

Today Jochem and I had dinner at our hotel in the Belgian Ardennes. Imagine the most charming little chateau in the middle of the green and lush countryside, surrounded by Arabian horses and hordes of dogs. Here we had dinner by candle light in a beautiful dining room with just a few other guests. The 4-course dinner was prepared by a 60-year old patissier-turned-chef and the maitre d' is his son dressed in jeans. We had a lovely meal but we didn't take any pictures - we decided to just enjoy the evening instead.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 152

Today Jochem and I were in traffic during dinner time. Because there were not many other options, we decided to make a quick visit to McDonald's and for the first time, EVER, I didn't like it. May this mean that I am finally growing some sort of resistance to fastfood?

"What I Cooked Today" Day 151

Today Bic came over for dinner while Jochem traveled to the far east to pick up the car we'll drive to Belgium tomorrow. I had some left-over pumpkin soup which I served with some creme fraiche, some spring onions and some coriander. I also made the successful crostinis again with pancetta. Happy dinner!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 150

Today Jochem and I traveled to Zwolle to attend my aunt's funeral. Afterwards we had Thai take-out with a large part of the family at my uncle's house. Back in the train we had even more fastfood. Not a very good day, food or otherwise...

"What I Cooked Today" Day 149

I have a cold as of this morning and I decided that a soup would be the best way to go for dinner tonight. In the end we decided on a pumpkin soup because chilis go really well with it and I wanted some chilis for my sinuses. This pumpkin soup was also made with onion, ginger, lime, cumin seeds, coconut milk, yogurt and coriander. We also made Italian crostinis to go with the soup and at the last minute I thought of adding some pancetta to them - turns out that the smokiness of the pancetta + the creaminess/spicyness of the pumpkin soup = a heavenly dish!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 148

Today I didn't cook at all! Jochem basically hates his food at work, so whenever he has to work a late shift he brings dinner from home. Today I had to work all day, so Jochem made dinner before he had to leave and I warmed it up when I got home. This is one of Jamie Oliver's most brilliant dishes in my opinion: you start with a layer of spicy tomato sauce, followed by cannelloni stuffed with lots and lots of broccoli and cauliflower, followed by another layer of cheese mixed in with creme fraiche. It's like the Italian flag in a meal - brilliant and delicious! (Sadly I forgot to take a picture BEFORE actually starting the meal, so here's one mid-way.)

Source: Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 147

Well. After the champagne (enough said) and dragging my sorry ass home, I spent the entire rest of the day watching reruns of Dawson's Creek in my bed. It was actually kind of fun (minus the mind numbing motion sickness), although I wish Jochem had been there as well instead of at work in Amsterdam. I was thankful to have a frozen pizza available to me in these dire times, although, sadly, I forgot to take a picture of this meal. But perhaps that's for the best...

"What I Cooked Today" Day 146

Today Jochem and I traveled 'below the rivers' as we say in Dutch to celebrate Jochem's uncle's 50th birthday, so we had dinner with the in-laws and then feasted on champagne and appetizers all night (more so on the champagne than on the appetizers...). We did, however, had a wonderful lunch when Jochem prepared these breakfast tortillas based on scrambled eggs with spring onion and lots of typical fresh ingredients one would expect to put on a tortilla, including homemade guacamole. I wish I could have lunches like this every day!

Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 145

Today Jochem and I cooked another meal with left-overs, although this one was a little bit more difficult to pull off and we really had to get back to the basics. We sautéed some garlic, onion and mushrooms with parsley first. Not having any cream, we decided to add some white wine and then some lemon juice. We served it with spaghetti, but not having anymore Parmesan cheese we used some of our normal cheese. It was pretty decent for a meal whipped up in 15 minutes, although you may not be able to tell from the picture!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 144

Today Jochem and I made dinner with last night's left-over ingredients. We cooked tagliatelle and served it with a homemade tomato sauce with lots of fresh goat's cheese and fresh basil. Whenever I feel lazy, I often make this pasta sauce because it's so simple - addings fresh goat's cheese gives it a crumbly yet creamy texture that is just to die for. Try it some time!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 143

Today Jochem and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary! For a moment I thought that we could go out to dinner, but in the end we decided that cooking dinner ourselves would be the best way to go. It was, after all, just an ordinary Wednesday night and we love to cook, after all, and this way we could spend a couple of hours together in our home with Bicho and Manchego. We started the meal with a little Prosecco topped with fresh lemon fruit. We then proceeded to cook the following, appropriate 4-course meal (inspired by fall flavors, because, say all you want about the fall, food-wise it's the absolute best, at least in my culinary book):

For the first course, we cooked what Jamie Oliver refers to as a mothership tomato salad: a tomato salad with LOTS of sea salt, black pepper, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Top this with fresh chilis, basil and mozzarella cheese and you're good to go!

Source: Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

For the second course, we cooked a simple mushroom dish with mozzarella cheese and thyme. It basically comes down to putting all of the ingredients into a baking tray and putting it into the oven. It was a delicious golden oldie!

Source: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver



For the third course, we cooked something totally new: a game ragù made from deer and rabit served over tagliatelle with orange zest, parsley and Parmesan cheese. It had to stew in the oven for 90 minutes, so you know that it was good!

Source: Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver



For the fourth course we cooked another golden oldie: chocolate rocks with nuts, seeds and chili. We had this on the couch with green ginger tea while watching Top Chef!

Source: Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 142

Sure, it's September, and sure, it's the Netherlands. It rains. But this is crazy! From the moment I woke up till now it hasn't stopped raining for a second. I came home after a long day at work fully drenched. Luckily I came home to a warm apartment where Jochem had made me dinner in the form of a zuccini and tomato tart. What made it so delicious was the lemon zest at the bottom, although next time we're thinking of adding some pancetta as well.

Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 12 August/September 2010

"What I Cooked Today" Day 141

Today Jochem cooked me lasagna leaves with a creamy spinach sauce, fresh goat's cheese and roasted pine nuts for dinner. It was simple, fast and delicious and I wish we had more!

Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 12 August/September 2010

"What I Cooked Today" Day 140

Usually I try to cook something new and exciting during the weekends, but today I had no energy for anything new and decided to make an old classic: tofu tandoori. To make it a little bit extra special, I also made a Japanese cucumber salad with coriander, mint and ginger rice wine vinegar.

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 139

Today I didn't cook because Jochem and I were in Veghel to celebrate with the in-laws. Okke and Loes had arranged a LOT of tasty treats to celebrate their birthdays and housewarming, and we gladly enjoyed it all!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 138

Today Jochem and I cooked a classic Sicilian pasta dish with sardines. In hindsight, it would've been a much better dish had we used fresh sardines instead of tinned ones, but one can't be perfect in the kitchen every day, especially not when it's a late Friday night. Jochem did most of the actual cooking and prepared the sardines with fennel, onion, pine nuts, raisins and lemon zest. He only added one chili and of course I used some spicy olive oil, but it was a very hot dish for some reason. The flavors were really interesting: there was the overwhelming presence of the sardines, the acidity of the lemon, the sweetness of the raisins and the fattiness of the pine nuts. An interesting Friday night experiment, I'd say.

Source: Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 137

Yesterday Jochem and I ended up finishing the entire quiche while it was supposed to last us two days. So today, while Jochem was at work, I bought some leek and creme fraiche and created a kind of quesadilla dish. I sautéed the leek with olive oil, Danielle's special sea salt and lots of black pepper before adding the creme fraiche, to which I added lots of Italian herbs. I spread this mixture in between two chili tortillas with grated cheese before preparing it on the grill. Fast and delicious!

Food Blogs

I consider myself quite the food snob and even like to modestly think of myself as a sort of kind of food blogger. But ever since a good friend of mine pointed out a couple of 'real' food blogs, I've been feeling amateurish and plain silly to say the least. Check out this lastest entry on Seven Spoons called "Summer, swallowed whole." This piece includes an actual recipe, the picture is stunning, and the writing... Oh! The WRITING! It's brilliant - it's funny, it's endearing, it's smart. I wish I could write like that. But maybe I should stop complaining so much and actually do something about it? It's scary though. Putting your dreams out there brings with it such an overwhelming sense of responsibility to act on them and I'm not sure if I'm willing to do that just yet. There is, after all, a real comfort into being a nobody in this world, knowing that only your close friends read your blog and even fewer really care about it. But enough now. More later.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 136

Today Jochem cooked quiche which he took with him to his job and which I ate when I came back from my job (of course one job ends where the other begins, but that's a whole other bitter story). For some reason we were both so hungry today that we finished the whole thing! Luckily I remembered taking a picture before I finished all of this colleague-inspired, spinach, tomato and cheese dish. And now it's all gone!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 135

Today was a long day, because after working for 8 hours at the office I had to tutor one of my students and I didn't make it home till 7.30 PM. But when I came home Jochem had cooked a wonderful fish pie with some of the left-over tilapia fish from when we made curry. He prepared it with lots of fresh vegetables and a crusted layer made from potatoes, cream, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Great comfort food.

Source: The Return of the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 134

Today was a pretty good day for an ordinary Monday. Jochem and I got up really early to spend some more time together than our usual 5 minutes during breakfast - Jochem made me toast and coffee and we watched an episode of Top Chef. Work was busy and productive and afterwards I tutored a student whom I've been tutoring for 2 years now and it was nice to see her again after the summer break. When I came home Jochem made me coconut pancakes with lavender syrup, to which I added lavender honey, maple syrup, butter and icing sugar. Just lovely!

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 133

Today I had the luxury of NOT cooking. Jochem cooked another Thai curry yesterday and saved me some left-overs for today. He made it with mint, onion, leek, green bell pepper, peas and tilapia fish, which I added some roasted peanuts to. Enjoy!

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

"What I Cooked Today" Day 132

For me, life is about simple pleasures. Today I traveled to Diever, a small and insignificant town in the east of the country for but one event each year: its famous Shakespeare Theater summer performances. My friends and I had only been to one of these performances once before (last year when they performed "Much Ado About Nothing"), but we already consider it quite the little tradition of ours. This year we came extra prepared (with warm shoes, winter coats, gloves, blankets, cushions, snacks and hot beverages) to see "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" performed live, which is basically Shakespeare's original version of comtempo pop culture's Dawson's Creek, but with a little less friendliness towards women and a little more homo eroticism. Mag's mom was kind enough to invite us for the second year in a row to her warm and sunny home and made us good old Dutch 'stamppot' for dinner. Thank you for your hospitality!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 131

I am having one of those days where work is long and extremely busy, boyfriend makes a huge mistake by shifting shifts (limiting your time together to exactly 4 hours this weekend), pets get under your skin (one of whom has spontaneously developed bladder issues) and generally everyone around you just pisses. you. OFF. But I decided that I need not surround myself with said BS, so, instead, I am going to the movies by myself to watch SATC2 again. I am determined to have a blast. Oh, and I am having left-over tortillas for dinner again.

"What I Cooked Today" Day 130

Today is going to be a boring day when it comes to cooking. I have a lot of errands to run today and since Jochem and I only got to spend lunch together, I decided to have today's left-over tortillas at lunch time. Tonight I have to attend a training session so I will probably end up having sandwiches for dinner or, if I'm really lazy, I might get some junk food at the train station. Boring, didn't I tell you?

"What I Cooked Today" Day 129

Today Jochem and I cooked a wonderful sauce with fresh herbs and spices, garlic, onion, tomatoes, lots of charred bell peppers and chicken. We served it on tortillas with fried chorizo sausages and creme freche. It was the mixture of all the different flavors that made this such a success - it was lovely, warm and homey food.

Source: Jamie Magazine Issue 12 August/September 2010