Food Friday

And what we have eaten last week (random order)

On Saturday we normally eat "fast food". It is fast food I made myself, therefore it is not really "fast". But the dough is made by my kenwood cooking chef, I let it rise when I go shopping, and I have baked it in the oven, therefore my work was justo to put all ingredients in the kenwood and to assemlbe them later on before to bake it. Here calzoni (filled pizza's) with ham and ricotta filling, and a focaccia with onion and roma tomatoes.

On Sunday I normally cook meat, or I make a bit more effort to cook something the kids (well, the two small children and the older one I have married *LOL*) ask during the week. Normally something not "healty" but well, it is sunday only once a week. Here some grilled turkey with mashed potetoes and peas. Is not unhealty, but for the butter and cream I have mixed with the potatoes

Back to healty and sugar free, We have eaten this on Monday. Chicken curry with green beans. And spinach from the wok with a tahini dressing (tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, salt. You can add some roasted pine nuts if you have them, it is a wonderful combination. This dressing recipe comes from a vegan blog I follow)

On Tuesday we eat often pasta. It is easy and quick to make, and since on Tuesday my daughter has dance training I can optimise my time. These fusille are served with a tomato sauce with red lentils and mixed vegetables (zucchini, carrots, leek and onion cut in small cube). Did you know that lentil are a perfect substitute for meat? The sauce of red lentil comes again from plantaardigheidjes. I am not vegetarian, but I follow this blog because there are so much nice receips!)

Rice and curry again, this is what we have eaten yesterday: chickpeas with endive and curry sauce (made by me: a bit a fat free yogurt, curry and some peppers to add a bit os spicy flavor). We have eaten it with basmati rice

cream cheese, made by me!

Cream cheese, aka philadelphia, well I find it delicious in a sandwich! I have found many times on the internet the recipe to make it myself, and because it didn't look too difficult I decided to try it.
What do you need? Just 500gr full fat yogurt, one teaspoon salt, and a bit of patience since you will have to wait 24 hours.
What do you have to do? Put a tea towel (white, cotton, at least 30cm*30cm) in a big bowl, pour the yogurt in it and  add the salt. Pull together the four corner of the tea towel, secure it with a knot (I used an elastic rubber band to be sure) and hang it above the bowl. I used a chopstick, on which I have tied the tea towel. Be sure the towel is not touching the bottom of the bowl.
Put the bowl in he fridge and wait for at leat 24 hours. And you cream cheese is ready to be eaten. Free of all stabilezers, emulsifiers or artificial flavors.
I added some erbs (thyme and salvia) to have some flavor.

Food Friday

Random pictures of what we have eaten this week...

 Vegan chili

Potato tortilla with steamed vegetables

 Office bento: brown rice with zucchini and pine nuts

Penne with hand made pepper and tuna sauce

Vegan chili

(la versione italiana dopo la foto)

It was a long time sice last post. Let's try to restart my blog and to update it more regurarly...
Yesterday I have prepared a vegan dish. We are not vegan, we are even not vegetarian, well I must say that we love meat. But I try to not eat meat every day (let's say twice a week), and to use other kind of proteins. Because I really dont't like tofu and that vegetarian stuff (I have tried in many ways to prepare it, but I still get the impression I am eating a sponge...), legumes are the best solution for us. They are rich in protein, they are cheap, you can prepare them in many ways, and last but least my family like them very much
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 can peeled tomatoes
400gr mixed vegetables, in cubes (onions, zucchini, peppers, carrots, leeks, just use whatever you have in your fridge. You can even buy a bag of mixed vegetables, already cut, in the supermarket)
150gr dried brown beans, already boiled (or one can brown beans. I normally prefer the dried ones, so I boil the whole bag and I keep in the freezer in tapperware with 4 portions each)
cajun spices (salt, garlic powder, cumin, pepper, hot chili pepper)
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
one wok

Direction
Heat the oil in the wok. Add the spices and the vegetables and stirr for few minutes (keep high heat). Add the peeled tomatoes and let stove for about 15 minutes (now keep low heat). Add the beans, mix all together, if necessary add a bit of salt. Serve with tortillas, a mixed salad and enjoy your meal!

Oddio quanto tempo che non postavo sul blog... Vediamo di recuperare e magari di essere anche un po' costante...
Ieri sera ho preparato un piatto vegano. Noi non siamo vegani, anzi non siamo neanche vegetariani e doppio anzi la carne ci piace anche tanto, ma dato che cerco di variare il piú possibile quello che metto in tavola e che non si puó vivere di sola carne, i legumi sono per me un'ottima alternativa alle proteine animali (dato che ho provato soia e tofu, ma ahimé proprio non riesco a farmeli andare giu)...
Si tratta di una ricetta molto veloce, buona e bilanciata che ha riscosso l'approvazione dei bambini (i due piccoli e quello grande). Assolutamente ve la consiglio!
Ingredienti per 4 persone
una lattina di pelati
400gr di verdure miste a cubetti (carote, cipolle, zucchine, peperoni, porri... dato che ultimamente ho dei problemi di asma e quindi cerco di stancarmi il meno possibile, io ho comprato una busta di verdura giá tagliata e pulita al supermercato, peró potete usare tutto quello che vi avanza in frigo)
150 gr di fagioli borlotti secchi, che avrete ammollato per 12 ore e fatto bollire senza sale (potete anche usare una lattina di fagioli in scatola, io di solito preferisco quelli secchi, ne cuocio un pacco intero e poi li congelo nei tapperware, pronti per quando mi serviranno)
spezie cajun (sale, cumino, aglio in polvere, peperoncino, pepe)
3 cucchiai di olio di oliva extra vergine
un wok

Preparazione
Far riscaldare l'olio nel wok, aggiungere le spezie, le verdure e fare andare su fioco vivace per 3-4 minuti. Aggiungere i pelati, eventualmente aggiustare di sale e far cuocere a fuoco basso per 15 minuti. Aggiungere i fagioli, mescolare bene e servire con delle tortillas e magari una bella insalata mista
Buon Appetito!!!

Meatless Monday: leek and cheese ravioli

(la versione italiana dopo la foto)
This was the first time I tried to made ravioli, and I should say it was a success. To be honest, you should call them "agnolotti" because they were much bigger than the standard ravioli.
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the dough
200gr flour
1 egg
water
For the filling
250 gr ricotta cheese
1 leek, cut in rings
1tblsp olive oil
1tblsp  parmigiano cheese, grated
salt and pepper
For the sauce
50gr butter
sage
Directions
First of all, prepare the gough. Mix the flour and the egg and add water until a smooth dough. Put it in the fridge for about half an hour
Now you can start with the filling. Warm the olive oil in a pan, and stuff the leek. When the leek is ready let it cool to ambient temperature.
Time to make the agnolotti: roll the dough until it is 2 mm thick. Cut several rounds (you can use a glass).
Mix the stuffed leek with the ricotta cheese, add the parmigiano cheese, salt en pepper.
Fill one round of dough with a spoon of filling, cover with another round and press the edges with a fork to prevent they will open during cooking.
Boil 3 liters water with a pinch of salt. Pour the ravioli and let them cook for about 6-7 minutes.
Melt the butter with the sage in a pan and pour on the ravioli. If you hav leftover of the filling, you can mix with the butter and sage.
Serve with grated parmigiano cheese.
It looks like a difficult recipe, but I can assure that they are delicious.

Ho pensato di cimentarmi a fare i ravioli, anche vista la grandezza di questi, dovrei chiamarli agnolotti. Questa variante e' con ricotta e porri nel ripieno, e conditi con burro e salvia
Ingredienti (2 persone)
Per l'impasto
200gr farina
1 uovo
acqua
Per il ripieno
250 gr di ricotta
1 porro
1 cucchiaio di parmigiano grattugiato
sale e pepe
Per il condimento
50gr di burro
salvia
Preparazione
Prepariamo l'impasto: mescoliamo farina e uovo e aggiungiamo acqua fino ad ottenere un impasto liscio e compatto. Lasciamo riposare per mezz'ora in frigo.
Intanto iniziamo a preparare il ripieno: tagliamo il porro a rondelle e facciamolo stufare in una padella con l'olio. Facciamo raffreddare, mescoliamo alla ricotta e parmigiano, e aggiungiamo sale e pepe secondo gusto.
Stendiamo l'impasto in una sfoglia sottile e tagliamo dei cerchi con un bicchiere.  Mettiamo un cucchiaio di ripieno al centro di meta' dei cerchi, copriamo con un secondo cechio e sigilliamo bene usando i rebbi di una forchetta
Portiamo ad ebollizione 3 litri di acqua salata, versiamo i ravioli e facciamo cuocere per circa 6-7 minuti. Scoliamo.
Scaldiamo il burro e la salvia in una padella e usiamolo per condire i ravioli. Se ci fosse avanzato dell'impasto possiamo usarlo insieme al burro per condire.
Sembra una ricetta difficile, ma e' piu' che altro laboriosa. Vi posso pero' assicurare che sono deliziosi.

Bento #23 - Office Bento

Yes, I agree, it is not a real bento because it is just a tapperware, and not fancy stuff in it... But it was delicious... Salad with quorn, cherry tomatoes, small onions, rucola, fresh spinach (hidden under the quorn and the tomatoes) and topped with seed. As dressing I had salt and olive oil. On the side I had 3 whole wheat crackers, and a big mug of green tea.

Si, lo so, non e' un bento nel vero senso della parola. E' giusto un tapperware senza decorazioni e orpelli vari, ma il contenuto era ottimo: insalata con quorn, pomodorini, cipolline borretane, rucola e spinaci freschi (nascosti sotto al resto) e una spolverata di semini vari. Come condimento sale e olio di oliva, e nel side dish 3 crackers integrali

Meatless Monday: frittata di spaghetti

(La versione italiana dopo le foto)

Frittata di spaghetti is a typical dish of Naples area for picnics and day out. Strange enough, I love it so much, but my mother never thought to prepare it also on normal days. Since shirt time, I have started myself to make on regular basis. Kids (an husband) love it, it is easy to prepare, with ingredients that normally are always in an Italian pantry/fridge. If you follow the original recipe you can add also ham cubes, or salami (or whichever you have in the fridge).  I have made the vegetarian version without meat, but we love the ham version as well.

Ingredients (serves 4)

300gr spaghetti (please, use real spaghetti, made from durum what semolina, is you use spaghetti of whichever  flour, you will probably get  a sticky compound that will be perfect to glue wallpaper, but not nice to be eaten)

4 egg

4 tblsp grated parmigiano cheese

2 tblsp bread crumbs

Oil, salt, pepper

Directions

Boil the spaghetti in salty water (use 1lt water per 100gr spaghetti) and drain carefully.

Mix in a bowl the eggs with cheese, salt and pepper and add the spaghetti. The original frittata di spaghetti is baked in a large pan without bread crumbs, but often I bake it often in the oven (180degree for about 40 minutes) in an oiled pan, I use a 24cm diameter)  after to have sprinkled the bread crumbs on top of it.

La frittata di spaghetti, il piatto tipico nel napoletano per le scampagnate, le giornate in spiaggia e I picnic! Io e mia sorella la adoravamo, ma stranamente mia mamma non la preparava mai al di fuori di queste occasioni fuori porta. Da qualche tempo ho iniziato a prepararla regolarmente, I bambini (e il marito) la adorano. Di solito si aggiungono cubetti di prosciutto, pezzetti di salame o anche rondelline di wurstel (o qualsiasi tipo di affettato avete in frigo). Questa volta ho preprarato una versione vegetariana con solo formaggio, ma ci piace tantissimo anche quella con il prosciutto.

Ingredienti

300gr di spaghetti

4 uova

4 cucchiai di formaggio grattugiato

2 cucchiai di pangrattato

Sale, pepe, olio

Preparazione

Far bollire gli spaghetti in abbondante acqua salata e scolarli al dente.

In una capiente ciotola sbattere le uova con il parmigiano, sale e pepe e aggiungere gli spaghetti. Di solito la frittata si cuoce in una padella larga, ma io preferisco cuocerla in forno a 180gradi per circa 40 minuti, dopo aver versato il pangrattato sulla superficie (cosi’ fa la crosticina). Per queste dosi di solito uso una teglia da 24cm di diametro, se pero’ preferite una frittata piu’ sottile potete usarne anche una da 26cm.