Pasta with Tomato and Blue Cheese Sauce

My new kitchen is huge.
It is just enormous.
I love it.

It is a little strange because we decided to buy exactly the same oven as we had in our old house so when I cook it feels like home. I know how my oven works and it makes me just as happy as the old one did. Except this one is all new and shiny. (Which it won't stay for long...)

Last night I made a very basic pasta dish. It went a little like this:
Take one big clove of garlic and an onion both finely diced and add to a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil which has been heated up. Let it cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Now add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a hand full of finely chopped basil (fresh if possible but a tablespoon of dried basil will do just fine). Stir together and let it simmer, make sure to add some water if the sauce becomes too dry.

While the sauce simmers away add enough pasta for two persons to a pot filled with boiling water. Cook as per the directions - my dried wholewheat spaghetti took about 12 minutes to cook. I added some of the pasta water to the sauce, about a third of a cup during the time the pasta was cooking.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained it is time to get back to the sauce which should be ready and smelling very garlicky by now. Simply dice about 150 grams of blue cheese and add it to the sauce. Now add the pasta to the sauce and mix it all up. Enjoy!

Spicy Sausage Pasta Sauce

Last week I made dinner ahead of time, something I never do.
A spicy sausage pasta in a tomato based sauce.
I added a lot of chili and peppadews.
Not sure why, guess the red colours seemed appealing at the time.
It was quite a treat to just heat the sauce up and not have to bother with cooking anything except the pasta. Easy peasy. And it tasted good too ;-)

Finely slice and dice one onion and one clove of garlic. Heat up a tablespoon olive and add the onion and garlic to the pan, sauté a few minutes on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Slice up two pork sausages (or similar sausage) and add to the pan. Cook for a few minutes until the sausage gets a nice colour - not too long since you'll be adding the sausage to the sauce later to cook through. Remove from pan but leave the onion and garlic behind. Add a tin of whole tomatoes and let it simmer for 5 minutes in the pan. Season with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of sugar. Finely slice a red chili (with or without seeds) and a few peppadews and add to the sauce. Also add a dash of balsamic vinegar. Smash the tomatoes with your wooden spoon and add the sausage pieces back to the pan. Now let it all simmer away for 10 minutes or so - you might need to add some liquid if your sauce reduces too much. The sauce is ready when the tomatoes are very soft and the pork is cooked through. Add to the pasta of your choice and mix well. Should be enough to serve two hungry people - not really for kids though unless they like chillies.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Sometimes you need a little bit of heat.
A subtle hit of chili to wake up the senses.

That is exactly what my spicy sausage pasta did. Merques sausages, jalapeno peppers, mushrooms, tomato frito, onions and garlic. With the obligatory olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some cayenne pepper. Add a dash of cooking cream to the sauce and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Delicious and very spicy indeed!

My Mom's Salad

It was so nice having my parents here.
The house is very empty now.

My mom cooked quite a few meals for us and she always made a salad with every meal.
Salad is after all very good for you!

Here is the last salad she made which we enjoyed outside on the roof terrace.
Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, avocado, basil and feta cheese.
Doesn't get much better than this.

P.S. Don't you just love my new bowl from Ikea?

Caprese Salad

The basil I have growing on in my kitchen is so lovely.
Even though I seem to neglect it ever so slightly (yes, I either give too little or too much water) it always bounces back to give me the most tasty, fragrant leaves.

This past weekend my husband pointed out (again) how disorganised I am. Of course he is right but I do so hate to admit it. I buy groceries without any real plan and then I find things in the fridge which I had better use or throw out. Like a ball of mozzarella which I bought ages ago. Why did I buy it again? Oh yes, it was on special... good reason, right?

Luckily I had my trusty basil and some ripe tomatoes which of course go really well with mozzarella.

I love the combination and what I love even more is eating it while in Italy but since that is not really an option right now I'm happy to enjoy it at home.

Remember to drizzle extra virgin olive oil over your salad just before you serve it :-)

Tomato and Beef Stew

Slow cooked food is good. I love a dish that requires an hour or so to cook. Just a pity I hardly ever have the time to wait that long.

Occasionally I find the time to make a stew and it is always so satisfying.

To tell you the truth I don't follow any recipe. I simply brown cubes of beef for a few minutes and then I add whatever vegetables I find in the fridge. Potatoes, carrots, onions, courgette, fennel and of course a can or two of chopped tomatoes. Some seasoning and a cup of beef stock also seems to go quite well with the whole stewing process.

Let it all simmer away for about an hour (more if you have the time) and don't forget to stir occasionally  you know, just to make sure you don't burn anything!

Serve it up with some basmati rice and enjoy the warm comfort that only a stew can provide.

Roasted Vegetables

If there is one thing I love making then it is roasted vegetables.

The simplicity of it.

Peeling, slicing and dicing the vegetables is a type of meditation to me.

Mixing them up with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Since we had a big crop of cherry tomatoes I could not resist adding them to the mix.

They were sweet and juicy.

To finish the dish I added a few fresh fennel leaves.

I'm so looking forward to my next big vegetable roast in the new kitchen!

My Cherry Tomatoes

I am so proud.

Really.

The cherry tomatoes went crazy while we were away. 

Last week I enjoyed harvesting them all.

They were bright red, ripe and ready for the eating.

My very own cherry tomatoes, grown from tiny seeds on my balcony.

Hopefully there will be a repeat performance next year.

Ciabatta Sandwich

Ciabatta bread is one of my favourite breads.

I'll eat it any day, with any meal.

It works perfectly well as a sandwich for lunch.

Add some ham, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, red onions and don't forget the mustard.

Yummy!

Tuna Pasta Salad (again)

Yes, I've posted about tuna pasta salads before...

It seems like the moment the weather improves, and there is any chance of eating outside, that I want a pasta salad.

Here are a few photos of this week's pasta salad.

It is dead simple and only the pasta requires any cooking...

I usually use whatever ingredients I happen to have in the house so be creative!

Tomato Salad with Radish

Well I had to use the radishes we harvested.

Finely sliced I added them into a tomato salad.

Delicious!

Salad Days

As the season changes I find myself craving salads.

Fresh lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and best of all avocado.

Mix it all, add a dressing, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top...

Glorious salad days!

A Quick Tuna Pasta Salad

Quickly.
That is how I try to make all my dinners.
Unfortunately I don't like eating the same thing twice in a row or else I would just make everything double. Luckily some ingredients can be cleverly disguised.

I made a standard vegetarian pasta and decided to cook a little extra pasta to keep ready in the fridge for a pasta salad.

A can of lovely white tuna, one cup of cooked cold pasta, half a small cucumber finely chopped, a big juicy tomato, one red onion, half a bag of rocket leaves, lemon juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and ground black pepper.

(Notice how I resisted temptation and did NOT use any mayo with the tuna...)

Mix it all together and enjoy a very healthy dinner or lunch!

Kids Food #11 - Pizza Night!

Who can resist a pizza?
Certainly not my kids.
Every now and again, usually on a Saturday night, we have ourselves a little pizza party.
Heidi loves it. She just loves helping with adding the toppings.
The last pizza we made was pretty basic since Heidi wanted ham and cheese on her pizza, but you can let your imagination go wild.

The best part of this dinner is that I buy the pizza base and sauce ready made in the supermarket. Yes, you simply open the packet and roll out the dough in an oven tray. It does not get easier than this and it is much cheaper than ordering in!

Spread the sauce over the dough. Select your favourite toppings and generously cover the base. Lastly sprinkle grated cheese on top and pop into a hot oven for 15 minutes.

Definitely a winner in our house in terms of the kids and the grownups. Just serve with a green salad and enjoy!

Kids Food #8 - Pasta Bolognese

You better make sure you have a more than a few wipes nearby once you feed this to your kids. Well, that is if they are one year old and likes eating with their hands...

Stella loves food. It is a pleasure watching her devour everything you put in front of her.
As long as she can use her hands, she is happy. It also gets very, very, very messy.

I like this recipe because I used the frozen pasta sauce which I made last week.
Clever, right?

Simply dice a carrot or two and saute it in a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
At the same time, add 200 gram pasta to boiling water and cook as per the instructions. In my case it takes on average 13 minutes for the penne pasta which I like to use.
Now add some lean beef mince meat to the carrots and brown it.
Feel free to season as you like. I made this for my kids and did not actually use any salt.
Pour in the defrosted tomato based pasta sauce and let it simmer for a bit.
Remove from the heat when everything is cooked through.
If you time it well then your meaty sauce should be ready at the same time as the pasta.
Drain the pasta and then mix with the meaty sauce.
Let it cool slightly before serving to soon to be covered in pasta sauce kids.

Spinach Scrambled Eggs

We had a little experiment the other night.

Spinach scrambled eggs seemed like a good idea.

And it turned out pretty tasty surprisingly.

I probably used a bit too much spinach, about 300 gram for 4 eggs, but I really liked it.

Green eggs.

Literally.

No salt, only ground black pepper and chilli flakes.

How's that for being good!

Kids Food #3 - Vegetarian Pasta

This pasta dish is a real hit with the kids.
It is ever so simple and they get lots of veggies in this way!

All you basically have to do is make a pasta sauce with a little bit of olive oil, a diced onion, a diced courgette and sliced mushrooms. Add some sieved tomatoes and let it simmer away for 15 minutes. I usually add a little bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar as seasoning.

In the meantime go ahead and get the pasta going.
I use Dora pasta since the kids love the little shapes... either way, it takes about 10 minutes and the pasta is done.

Now the big trick is to blend the sauce with a hand blender until nice and smooth.
Cover the pasta with the sauce and mix well.
Dish up and sprinkle a tablespoon or three of grated cheese on the top.

Serve to hungry kids.

The pasta sauce is in principle enough to serve four people so I decided to freeze the remaining sauce. I am sure it will come in very handy!

Creamy Vegan Pasta Sauce

Yes, you can enjoy a delicious creamy pasta sauce even if you are eating like a Vegan!

The trick is to use a soy cream. I found a product called Alpro Soya Cuisine in my supermarket and it works like a charm.

I used it in my pasta sauce by mixing it into the sauce right before serving it. Just long enough to heat it through. No need to bring it to boiling point.

This was a very easy pasta dinner, with more than enough for lunch a couple of days later.

Ingredients:
500gram Packet of spaghetti (I used a pasta which is egg free)
One tablespoon sunflower oil
One big onion, finely chopped
One clove of garlic, crushed
Quorn vegetarian mince (one container, I think it was 275 grams or something like that)
Two hands full of mushrooms, sliced
One jar of tomato and basil ready made vegetarian pasta sauce
One courgette, grated
100ml Alpro soya cuisine
Seasoning

Method:
Heat up the oil and add the chopped onion. Saute until the onion becomes translucent and then add crushed garlic. Saute for a minute and then add the mince. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the rest of the basic sauce ingredients (mushrooms, tomato sauce, courgette). Mix together, season as per your taste and let it simmer on a low heat for approximately 10 minutes. You might want to add a little hot water to the sauce, depending on how wet you like the sauce to be.

Now cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet - in my case it took 10 minutes to be al dente. Drain and set aside.

The final step to the pasta sauce is to add the soy cream. Stir it in and mix well. Just keep it on the heat for about 2 minutes.

The deep red pasta sauce should turn into a creamy, almost salmon coloured sauce.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve.

Notes:
- Add any vegetables of your choice to the pasta sauce e.g. peppers (paprika), chillies, broccoli, etc.
- Make this a vegetarian dish by using real dairy instead of soy and adding some Parmesan cheese.

Spicy Chicken Wraps

My husband showed up with a grocery bag full of ingredients to make chicken wraps.

Tortilla wraps, diced chicken breasts, chicken spices, mild wrap salsa, tomatoes, onions, garlic and lettuce.

Well, I guess we were having wraps for dinner.

It's pretty easy to make. Just saute the chicken, add the spices and serve with above mentioned ingredients.

It turns out that 'mild' isn't really mild at all. At least, not my interpretation of mild!
After a couple of bites my mouth was on fire!! Not just mine, but my husband's too. We poured ourselves a some milk and read the label on the jar of salsa. The list of hot chillies, jalapeno peppers, chilli powder, etc. confirmed our suspicion that this was indeed not a mild salsa.

We still enjoyed our wraps, just with a little less salsa... In fact, if you have some sour cream then this would be the perfect addition to the wrap to balance out the hot salsa :-)

A Quick Macaroni Dish

The macaroni in the Netherlands is really, really, really tiny.
Little elbow shaped pieces of pasta.
I received a free bag of macaroni and I do like free stuff.

A simple tomato based pasta sauce with garlic, onions, mushrooms and basil smothered the cooked pasta. Then I covered it with a yellow layer of grated cheese and placed it in a hot oven to melt the cheese.

Serve it with a green salad and this quick vegetarian meal is complete.