Category: Recipes

  • Almost-raw quinoa salad with rhubarb

    Almost-raw quinoa salad with rhubarb

    A deliciously fresh, tangy quinoa salad, light and filling.

    We’re used to eating rhubarb sweetened, boiled even to soften it up. But this celery like pink stalk can also be eaten raw and then it has a nice bite and nicely sour, tangy taste, perfect to complement more earthy flavors!

    A beautiful Summer dish (which is when you’ll find rhubarb on the markets), perfect for vegans because it contains proteins and healthy fats from different sources: green peas, pumpkin seeds and quinoa.

    The lemon zest goes together so nicely with the peas and olive oil, wow! You’ll want to remember that combo.

    While you’re preparing green peas, make some extra and watch out for my green peas ‘hummus’ recipe, coming soon ;).

    1. Rinse and prepare 1 cup of quinoa following the instructions on the packaging.
    2. Steam half a cup of green peas until nicely creamy with a gentle bite.
    3. Toast a handful pumpkin seeds in a pan until fragrant.
    4. In a bowl, mix two teaspoons of lemon zest with a good gulp of extra virgin olive oil and a spoonful of nut oil, such as walnut or pumpkin seed oil and a teaspoon of honey.
    5. Finely cut beetroot, fennel and rhubarb totalling one half to 1 cup.
    6. Mix everything together. Let sit for some minutes to let the flavours combine. Add salt, lemon juice and pepper to taste.
    7. Serve on a bed of velvety green leafs lettuce and sprinkle with more olive oil.

    Enjoy <3

    PS: If you like rhubarb, try my rhubarb smoothie or breakfast bowl recipe!

  • Rhubarb breakfast bowl & ‘very veggie’ smoothie

    Rhubarb breakfast bowl & ‘very veggie’ smoothie

    I like my smoothies creamy yet light and ‘very veggie’. My love Jan prefers his filling, nutty and just a hint sweeter than I do.

    We both often gladly compromise. Other days, we’ll create the very fruity/veggie base, pour half in a glass (for me) and then mix in some more nuts, seeds and dates to create his favorite.

    Thus, we both get what we need to get us going in the morning <3.

    Cut and put in the blender to create a creamy yet very veggie smoothie:

    • 1 big apple
    • 1 orange
    • 1 inch piece of rhubarb
    • 1 small raw beetroot
    • 2 spoons of fresh fennel (the vegetable, not the seeds)
    • 1 handful of pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or both
    • 2 spoons of flax seeds
    • 1 big spoon of avocado, for creaminess (can be replaced with cashew nuts)
    • 1 inch piece of fresh turmeric, or a spoonful of turmeric powder
    • dash of black pepper (necessary to make the curcumin in turmeric bio-available!)
    • 2 dates
    • dash (or two) of cinnamon
    • water

    Or, the create a breakfast bowl: double the amounts of nuts, seeds, avocado and dates. It’s nice to keep the breakfast bowl grainy by not blending the last addition of nuts etc, all the way. Top off with some more seeds and raisins.

    If you like the concept of the breakfast bowl (a perfect bowl of mixed nuts, fruits and veggies, which I love sooo much better than yoghurt and cereal), read this post, where I feature the favorite recipe of my friend and inspirator of this lifestyle dish: Simone van Putten.

  • Colorful stuffed eggs with hummus

    Colorful stuffed eggs with hummus

    A perfect surprise for a potluck: these colorful stuffed eggs. Ingredients: eggs and hummus. Easy-peasy!

    These were made with store bought hummus by Maza: one with curry, one with beetroot. Hence the amazing colors. Of course, you could make these yourself as well! Watch out for my green peas ‘hummus’ recipe, that would be a great add to this palette!

    1. Boil the eggs.
    2. Cut in half, lengthwise.
    3. Scoop out the hardened yolk and divide over two bowls.
    4. In one bowl, mix in yellow hummus so that you have even amounts of egg yolk and hummus.
    5. In the other bowl, do the same with the red hummus.
    6. In each bowl, mix the yolk and hummus to a homogenous paste.
    7. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
    8. Use two spoons or a garnish ‘bag’ to fill the eggs back up with stuffing.
    9. Garnish with rocket leafs for festive color effect.

    Have a nice party!

  • The amazing green breakfast bowl – by Simone

    The amazing green breakfast bowl – by Simone

    I don’t mean to be all frantic about green smoothies, but this one actually changed my days. The simple concept of creating a breakfast (or in my case: lunch) bowl out of a smoothie is now a part of my daily routine. My friend Simone van Putten (a yoga teacher, mother of Jara, and generally shiny beautiful creative being) introduced it to me.

    I had just returned from Brazil, where people love eating ‘acai’: a not too sweet ice cream made from the famous superfood berries, topped with banana, granola and (for those who want) condensed milk.

    Simone pulled two big green bowls from her fridge, looked at them and laughed: “well, this is actually like green acai!”

    It was amazing: the looks of the dish really did remind me of acai (except, well, deep green in stead of purple red) and it just tasted so nice!

    It’s the perfect combo between a green smoothie and a acai: a breakfast bowl made of fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, dates… topped with banana and granola, or cacao nibs, or anything else you might fancy to kickstart your morning.

    Simone, thank you for inspiring my morning routine in this way <3.

    The pictures in this article’s image are taken from a Simone’s beautifully crafted, handmade recipe book.

  • Chocolate hearts with propolis, cardamom and rose

    Chocolate hearts with propolis, cardamom and rose

    Want to help save the bees? Check out my post on the super simple and fun things you can do to support the little workers: Bee the change.

     

    Bees & propolis

    Some weeks ago, my colleague, friend and beekeeper Fleur gifted me a beautiful bag of bee’s favorite flower seeds and a cute little pot with propolis. The propolis inspired me to make all kinds of medicine out of it, including (of course!)… chocolate :D.

    Propolis is made by bees and contains all kinds of plant resins. The result is a (mostly) dark brown, thick sticky substance with healing and protective properties. Bees use propolis to protect and fortify their ‘city’, hence the name: pro polis in Greek means ‘for the city’.

     

    Benefits of propolis

    It supposedly has strong protective, antibiotic and antifungal properties and is subject of extensive scientific research. I love the sweet, earthy smell and every now and then take a deep sniff from the tiny jar sitting in my cupboard.

    Sucking on a little piece for some time helped relieve a nasty throat ache and a few months ago when I was still in Alto Paraíso, Brazil, I had an unidentified bump growing on my thumb that magically disappeared after I applied propolis cream twice.

     

    Back to chocolates, right?

    Ok here we go.

    It’s a beautiful way to surprise a loved one: create bonbons from their favorite chocolate. Add your own signature by carefully choosing a few extra special ingredients.

    I’ve done from-the-start chocolate recipes before. This one is different: we start with a ready-made bar of fairtrade (should I even mention that?) chocolate. Check the label to see what else is in there except cacao, cacao butter and sugar – less is more. Pick their favorite one, in my case: 1 extra dark and 1 caramel sea salt chocolate bar.

     

    Recipe for Chocolate hearts with propolis, cardamom and rose

    Melt the chocolate au bain marie (in a pan sitting in a pan with hot water).

    Then, what I did is break a piece of propolis and the seeds from one cardamom pod and grind them together finely.

    When the chocolate has melted, stir it well, let cool as far as you can without solidifying the chocolate too far. You want it cool to preserve the medicinal qualities of the propolis but warm enough to stir. Add the propolis and cardamom spice and mix well.

    (Ok I also added a tiny bit of celtic sea salt and rosemary, which was delicious, but in general and especially if you’re just starting out with making chocolate I’d say keep things simple – the stuff is already great by itself.)

    Now scoop full teaspoons of the new chocolate creation in a silicone ice cube tray, sprinkle with dried rose leafs and let solidify for some time.

    If you just use rose leafs, you won’t really taste them. Adding a drop of rose essential oil to the chocolate will change that and give a heavenly rose fragrance… I haven’t done that but will in the future. I’m already dreaming up recipes for chocolate hearts to make next time! Ginger and walnut maybe, or mandarin mint…

    Win a box of chocolates

    What’s your dream chocolate like? Let us know in the comments and win a box of your special recipe chocolates, personally made by me for you!

    With love in the heart <3

  • Oven roasted veggies

    Oven roasted veggies

    Simply delicious. The tomatoes are what makes this dish amazing. They will release some of their fluid, which then blends with the olive oil and gently caramelizes the veggies beneath them. Plus they look stunning. Easy-peasy. Give it a try!

    • Pick your favorite vegetables and cut them in robust chunks. I used zucchini/courgette, eggplant/aubergine, turnip, carrot, and bell pepper.
    • Always add shallots and roughly chopped garlic, then drizzle generously with olive oil.
    • Mix until all the veggies are shiny and put in the oven (270 C).
    • After 10 minutes, stir the veggies, then add the tomatoes on top (leave the stalk on).
    • Drizzle with a bit more oil and let sit for about 30 more minutes or until everything looks like in the picture :).
    • For the last 5 minutes, add some capers and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts and just before serving, add pepper, salt and fresh basil.
  • Caramelized Pineapple with Rosemary

    Caramelized Pineapple with Rosemary

    This mouthwatering, super-simple, delicious dish is also secretly known as: piña puta madre. Now I am not going to translate that, but it’s a compliment.

    I made it yesterday as a side dish for two Spanish cousins living here in Costa Rica and they obviously loved it.

    I, in turn, have to thank my dear friend Sander van Haasteren (formerly Gaia Catering, now chef de cuisine at YogaFest Studio Amsterdam) for teaching me how to do this.

    It’s amazingly simple and yet I had not seen anyone do it before.

    When I first had it, served to me on a spoon by a glowing and shining Sander, it just blew me away. The deep sweet taste and fragrance, if prepared well, are really amazing.

    This is my own, improvised, deeply satisfying version.

    There is only one ‘downside’ and that it you have to heat the pineapple through and through. This is not a raw dish. We take away some of the qualities of fresh, raw pineapple.. but then again we are bringing out other qualities all the more!

    Now this starts with choosing the right pineapple.

    Use your eyes: bright yellow, all the way from the bottom to the top, is best for this dish because it is the sweetest.

    And nose: smell the butt of the pineapple. The more fragrant, the better. Unless you smell rott or ferment, of course.

    Pick the right one from your garden, market or store, because I’ve read that pineapples hardly ripen after they have been harvested. So the state it’s in when you obtain it, that’s more or less as ripe as it’s gonna be.

    Recipe for Caramelized Pineapple with Rosemary (Piña Puta Madre)

    1. Cut the fresh pineapple in small bite-sized chunks. If you’re wondering how, I may add a post on that some time but for now I suggest you google it.

    This also works with canned pineapple but I suggest you use fresh, if possible :).

    2. Gently heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee in a heavy pan.

    3. Add the pineapple pieces and turn the heat low.

    4. Add two sprigs of rosemary, just the leaves.

    5. SLOWLY cook everything. SLOWLY is key here, because that will allow for the sweet juices to emerge from the pineapple and gradually caramelize.

    If you go too fast, the pineapple will brown or burn before the juices emerge or the juices, once come out, will caramelize too fast and burn into very unhealthy carbons.

    So, as with so many good things: take your time, go slow, and carefully watch as the pineapple color turns a deep gold and the juices caramelize into beautiful light brown. About half an hour would probably be perfect.

  • Tahini Olive Dip for Raw Veggies

    Tahini Olive Dip for Raw Veggies

    This is a perfect dip to go with raw vegetables such as peppers, celery or carrots. Just delicious. Friend Alani shared the recipe with me back in 2013 already… wow. Thanks man!

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  • Grilled Zucchini with Rosemary and Garlic

    Grilled Zucchini with Rosemary and Garlic

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    Being on the road, I like to work with whatever little means I have to still cook up something great. One of the secrets: OLIVE OIL. Olive oil is magic. It will turn any vegetable, pasta or piece of bread into a delicious bite. Especially if you add freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt.

    Another secret: fresh herbs. Especially rosemary. Rosemary always makes everyone go ‘Ooooooh wow… yummy!’ so I got some on the market before we left to enjoy even while being on the road :). It gives off a lovely scent in the van as well!

    In a separate container, I keep some olive oil with coarsely cut rosemary and garlic. The oil becomes strongly aromatic after you let it sit for a day or two. This oil is what makes the grilled zucchini a winner.

    Take your zucchini and cut it in pieces. Doesn’t matter so much how, just do whatever fits your pan and mouth ;). I also like to slice the whole zucchini in half lengthwise, then carve in a diamond pattern.

    Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 20 minutes or so. This will bring out the access water. Then carefully squeeze and discard the fluid. Now drizzle (lots of) olive oil on the zucchini, a few tablespoons per half.

    You can now either fry them (pan) or wrap them in aluminum foil and roast (grill). 20 minutes should do it, but just check. I like them ‘done’ all the way through, a bit soggy almost. Combine with nuts, lettuce or crispy bread for crunch.

    Enjoy!

    Photocredit: Jeremy Keith – Flickr: Grilled zucchini, CC BY 2.0.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • Sweet & sour curry rice

    Sweet & sour curry rice

    This was one of those moments when all leftovers matched up to a perfect dish. Should work with a variety of veg and curry pastes, but be sure to add the pineapple (for sweetness) and tomatoes (for tartiness).

    In our case, we had a piece of courgette, some canned pineapple, a few tomatoes, some sliced pieces of fennel and a handful of nuts & raisins.

    We added 5 spoonfuls of penang curry from Thailand, tasted it and took out 3 again for it would have been way to hot otherwise :D. The real stuff from Thailand is definitely different from the ‘real stuff’ in our tokos here in Europe..

    Anyway, you can’t really go wrong with this dish.. just fry the fruit & veg in the curry paste until they have a nice bite. This is one of those creations that taste even better the next day, so it doesn’t hurt to make a bit more than you need.

    The fluid from the tomatoes and pineapple will make it nice and saucy. Add small cups of water if it dries out too fast. The curry should be shiny when you serve, not dry.

    Even better if you can add some onion, garlic and ginger. That will spice it up bigtime, and I’m a big lover of spice.

    As always… enjoy!

    <3