Category: Recipes

  • Semi-homemade coconut yoghurt with berries and mint

    Semi-homemade coconut yoghurt with berries and mint

    Enjoy yoghurt with a coconut twist, or use a non-dairy alternative.

    This is super simple and nice. I love adding dried coconut to my (soy) yoghurt. Let it sit in the fridge for some time; the yoghurt will thicken up a bit and take on a coconut flavor.

    Next, add berries or any fruit you fancy and garnish with mint, honey and cinnamon.

    Of course this is also great with banana and blueberries, or pear and kiwifruit, or strawberries and nectarines, or apple and raisins… or make up your own combo :).

    About yoghurt/dairy: be sure to buy organic and take note of the way the animals were treated. Unfortunately, dairy means a calf has been taken away from its mother so that we humans can take her milk. The calf is then slaughtered (if male) or raised with milk substitute (if female) to be a milk cow just like her mom. I do have an ethical issue with this and for me that translates into buying non-dairy milk when I can, and choosing organic when I really want real dairy.

    For Dutchies: https://beterleven.dierenbescherming.nl

  • Spicy rice patties

    Spicy rice patties

    Have some leftover rice? Great! Let’s make patties :). Patties are a great way to use leftover anything: rice, couscous, vegetables: chop together with an egg, spice it up and enjoy your own homemade brilliant burger.

    In fact, I always make sure I make too much rice for one day just so I can make patties (or nasi goreng: fried rice, but that’s for another time) the next.

    The recipe is simple and it changes a bit every time so as always I invite you to work with whatever you have lying around.

    In this batch, I had about one half to one cup of brown (wholegrain) rice from the day before. I added about a tablespoon of sunflower seeds (could be replaced with the same amount of cooked beans, lentils or chickpeas), one clove of garlic and a handful of stinging nettles (this could also be spinach or kale or almost any other veggie, actually), blanched for one minute then tumbled dry.

    I chopped everything in my little electrical herb chopper. It made for a kind of half sticky, half loose dough.

    In a new bowl, I added one egg to the mixture plus some pepper, salt and ras el hanout, which contains cumin, coriander and paprika, and that I think is a golden combo for patties because it gives a ‘meaty’ experience (without the part where an animal actually dies).

    The mixture should taste rather strong, at least I like the rustic burger quality that will give to your plate. Adding a bit of miso also helps with enhancing those flavors!

    Be wise with tasting though; there still is raw egg inside.

    Now divide the mixture in even parts, heat some oil and fry the patties like you would any other burger.

    These are great, I have always had raving reviews about them. Vegetarians, meat lovers and kids will love them alike, I swear! Just remember what I said about that spice combo, I think that really does the trick ;).

  • Easy Summer party dish: tastefully grilled veggies

    Easy Summer party dish: tastefully grilled veggies

    A grill pan is one of my favorite cooking ‘tools’: it’s fast, easy and healthy and the food looks beautiful.

    Try this: chop some garlic and let sit in olive oil for some time.

    Cut zucchinis, bell peppers and onions in nice large pieces, so it will be finger food when on the plate.

    Cut an eggplant in halves, then quarts, lengthwise, leave the stem on. Slice in the flesh (but don’t cut through the skin).

    Brush the garlic oil on the veggies. Use the pieces of garlic to stuff the eggplant with, and also rub some Italian herbs in the carves.

    Now put all veggies on the grill (I have one that closes on top, so it grills on both sides simultaneously, like a tosti grill).

    While the veggies are being grilled, go out in your garden (or kitchen cabinet) to find herbs, such as rosemary, oregano etc.

    You can add the more thick leaved herbs like rosemary and thyme shortly before removing the veggies, the rest right after serving the hot vegetables on a serving plate. The dish is ready when the eggplant is cooked through and the other vegetables are fragrant and hot but still with a bite. Add salt and pepper to taste.

    If you have a really good balsamic vinegar, now is a great time to drizzle :). Same goes for olive oil!

  • Chick pea and apple side salad with tahin

    Chick pea and apple side salad with tahin

    Combine chick peas, thinly sliced celery stalks, apple and capers in a bowl. Add olive oil, pepper, salt and lemon juice to taste.

    For dressing, use 2 parts white tahini stirred with 1 part water, grated lemon rind, olive oil, salt, pepper, thinly cut celery leaves and chopped olives.

    Great with couscous, roasted bell peppers and pumpkin!

  • 1-minute vegan banana chocolate ice cream

    1-minute vegan banana chocolate ice cream

    Here’s a cool trick: slice a banana and freeze. When you feel like having ice cream, put the banana slices in a blender with a spoonful of cacao powder, a couple of dates and a small gulp of thick cream like coconut cream or (vegan) cooking cream. Pulse a couple of times et voila..: this is simply delicious!!

    All-real ice cream, no added anything. You should try this, really, it’s great.

  • Mean & green

    Mean & green

    Stinging nettles everywhere! This is a forager’s feast. I’ve made nettle pesto, nettle garlic butter, nettle soup, nettle tea and nettle smoothie in the past week or so.

    Stinging nettles (brandnetels): they tickle the kidneys, cleanse the blood and promote fluid excretion. They contain loads of vitamin c and iron (which is great during menses and pregnancy) as well as minerals. And, did I mention, they are everywhere and they are free :).

    I use a paper bag and a thin glove for carefree picking. I pick only the fresh green tops. Make sure you pick above peeing and pooing level to avoid contamination with worms or eggs in animal feces. Back at home, soak for a minute or so in freshly boiled water, this will remove the sting. Then use the fresh leaves and stalks in this super nice, simple juicy smoothie:

    Recipe for mean & green nettle juice

    • 1/3 cucumber
    • 1 celery stalk (or half, to taste)
    • 1 handful of stinging nettles
    • 1 cup apple or orange juice, or half an apple and some water

    Extra nice with some fresh mint!

    Enjoy 🙂

  • Cabbage and bean curry salad with apple

    Cabbage and bean curry salad with apple

    Recipe for cabbage and bean curry salad with apple

    Combine about 1 spoonful per person of (vegan) mayonnaise with a good dash or two of curry powder and a squeeze of lemon juice.

    Take whole leaves from the cabbage, cut them lengthways, stack the lengths and now thinly cut so you get thin (scruffy) juliennes.

    (By using whole leaves, you can keep the rest of the cabbage for longer than if you would just start cutting away, damaging the whole vegetable. Cool, right?)

    Combine the cabbage julienne with the curry mayo.

    Add in freshly cut apple, sliced celery stalk, cooked beans, mixed nuts (or use your favorite, walnut is great in this salad) and raisins.

    If you like spicy, add some finely chopped fresh ginger. Add salt and lemon juice to taste.

    Serve topped with toasted (black or white, I used black) sesame and pumpkin seeds.

  • Carrot ginger oat sweetbread

    Carrot ginger oat sweetbread

    This one started with a quick experiment that turned out exceptionally well :). Since then, I’ve been adding and subtracting ingredients to tweak it to near perfection. Next time, I’ll use yeast instead of baking powder, as that is more natural.

    Recipe for carrot ginger oat sweetbread

    • 1 cup of oats, ground into flour
    • 1 half cup of whole grain wheat
    • 24 grams of vanilla sugar (3 typical 8 grams sachets)
    • 1 sachet of baking powder (or enough for the amount of flour, check label)
    • 1 half big carrot
    • 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
    • 2 eggs, beaten
    • 1 half banana in small pieces (or use figs, I haven’t yet but imagine they’d work even better with the carrot!)
    • 1 handful of crunched nuts & raisins mixture

    Thinly grate or finely chop the carrot and ginger. I use the herb chopper of my immersion blender (staafmixer).

    Combine the flours, vanilla sugar and baking powder. Add the eggs, half a cup of water (careful! You can always add more), carrot and ginger and mix. The mixture should be thick and slightly running. Spoon in banana pieces, crunched nuts and raisins to taste and put in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

    Serve topped with honey and cinnamon (don’t forget, it really boosts the flavors!)

    Lovely, right?

  • Blueberry banana overnight oats

    Blueberry banana overnight oats

    A new craze: overnight oats with topping. Dear friend Eva (check her out here: evennaareva.com) served it last week when we had breakfast together.

    The basics: soak oats overnight in water or some ‘milk’ (almond, rice, coconut). When using water, you may find that adding a bit of honey and salt or vanilla sugar may improve the taste. I like to add dried coconut and chia seeds as well and leave that in the fridge overnight.

    Good to know: oats contain phytic acid (fytinezuur), which inhibits the uptake of nutrients in your body. So phytic acid is not something we want. Actually, the whole idea of overnight oats is to pre-digest them, making them more beneficial for the body. Adding acids such as fresh fruits, a squeeze of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to your oats before soaking overnight will aid this pre-digestion and hence help you benefit more from the other foods you eat! Many overnight oat recipes skip this, but it is actually pretty essential to the whole thing ;).

    Next morning, add toppings to your liking. My favorites from this recipe: apple, banana, blueberries, nuts, raisins, flaxseed and pumpkin seeds. Super nice bonus: thick coconut milk. But I keep that one for extra special mornings :).

    Recipe for blueberry banana overnight oats:

    In the evening, mix together:

    • Oats
    • Chia seeds
    • Coconut
    • Water or veggie ‘milk’
    • Optional: salt/honey/vanilla/sugar/some syrup/cinnamon
    • Something acidic (I use lemon juice)

    Next morning, add:

    • Freshly cut fruits (apple, banana, blueberries)
    • Raisins
    • Seeds and nuts
    • Cinnamon
    • Cacao

    There are no measurements here as I truly don’t measure often. Just play around and you’ll be fine!

    When in doubt about the amount of fluid, here’s a hint: you can always add but it’s hard to discard (well and just a pity).

    Hmmmm ?

  • Detox green smoothie

    Detox green smoothie

    This simple combo rocks my mornings these days:

    1 celery stalk
    1 small apple
    3cm piece of cucumber
    1 handful of spinach*
    2-3 cm lemon grass stalk
    1 piece of ginger (to your liking)
    spoonful of turmeric powder**
    dash of black pepper
    5 cashews
    good, long squeeze of lemon juice
    1 cup of cold green tea***

    Blend it all together.

    What makes this smoothie fantastic to me, is its tangy freshness. It is not too sweet, nicely green, full of fibers and it has great character because of the celery, turmeric and lemon.

    Spinach

    * Leafy greens are great, but it is important to switch every now and then because of their alkaloid contents. Replace the spinach for kale, for example.

    By the way, I often use frozen leafs becaus those are super easy to use and have better nutritional values than ‘fresh’ leafs that are a few days old!

    Turmeric

    ** This stuff is one of the most powerful foods in the world and helps fight inflammations and tumors, among many other health benefits. For some time, I have put fresh turmeric in my smoothie each and every morning until I decided to look up if that was even healthy… which, as it turns out, it isn’t.

    Because it is so powerful, raw turmeric is treated by the body as a poison and I have read some explanations that really make sense and led me to refrain from eating raw turmeric.

    Look up the 1976 (yes, old) Goodpasture and Irrighi study if you want to know more.

    Green tea

    *** Green tea has been proven to reduce ageing, prolong lifespan and improve health in remarkable ways. Every night, I make a pot full of green tea, drink a cup or two and save the rest for the next morning, where part of it ends in a smoothie and Jan uses the rest for a homemade ice tea.

    When brewing green tea, make sure to let the water cool down to 70 degrees Celsius after you boiled it and to take out the tea leaves after 5 minutes.

    This smoothie is my favorite thing to drink after my morning runs. It clears and replenishes and I feel as if reborn.

    I hope you’ll enjoy it, too 💗.