Boerenappelcake

This is the BEST apple 'cake' that I've ever made.
I simply love it.

It is easy to make and delicious.
Yum, yummy, yum yum yum.

Now the only question is... when can I make it again?

I stumbled on the recipe on twitter via culy.nl.
It is in Dutch so here is a translation into English:

Ingredients:

200 gram unsalted butter at room temperature
225 gram sugar
dash salt
3 eggs
200 gram flour
10 gram baking powder
3 tablespoons /45 ml milk
2 (big) apples
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
icing sugar
bake or brownie dish (28 x 18 cm) covered with baking paper

Method:
Heat the oven to 180 °C.
Beat the salt, butter and 200 gram sugar until well mixed and soft.
Now beat the eggs into the mixture one by one.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixing bowl and mix it all to a smooth batter. Add the milk and give it one last mix. Pour the batter into the oven dish and smooth it out.

Peel the apples and cut into squares. Mix with 25 gram sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle the apple pieces over the batter.

Bake the apple cake in the oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Let the cake rest in the dish and once it has cooled down you can sprinkle icing sugar over the top.

Cut into pretty squares and enjoy!

Butternut, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Pasta

This pasta dish turned out to be just lovely.

It started off with me having some fresh spinach and not knowing what to do with it.
Then I remembered something which I saw on pinterest (you just gotta love pinterest!)
It was a lasagna with squash, onions and spinach.
Since I did not have most of the ingredients, I improvised.

My recipe below is for one very hungry person, but can easily be adapted for more.

I roasted a medium sized butternut, while at the same time caramelizing one onion. The idea was that they should be done within 40 minutes and the timing worked out well.
Halfway through cooking the onion I added half a clove of crushed garlic.
Oh the smell... it was mouthwatering.
I cooked my spaghetti (100grams) and also sauteed two big hands full of spinach.
When everything was done I used about half the butternut and saved the rest for another day.
Then I poured 100gram demi creme fraiche onto the spaghetti, mixing it well and to this I added the onions, butternut and spinach.
Lastly I grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta.
Yum.

Kids Food #19 - Vegetable and Bacon Omelette

Eggs just seem to be my fall back dinner for the kids.

You can do so much with eggs.

Boil, fry, scramble and of course make an omelette.

This omelette was pretty basic since the fridge was very empty...

3 eggs

dash of milk

hand full of grated cheese

half a cup cooked bacon, chopped

half a cup of frozen vegetables (peas and carrots)

Simple beat the eggs and milk, pour into a hot pan.

Add the bacon and frozen vegetables.

Turn down the heat and let it cook for a few minutes.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and hold the pan under a hot grill until the cheese melts.

Cut into slices and serve up!

Today is my Mom's birthday.
Gelukkige verjaarsdag Ma!!
xxx

Banana, Oats and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, I was thinking about posting a weekly menu, but then at the last moment I couldn't resist sharing this cookie recipe with you. Have a look at the photo... I am practicing my 'food photography' skills!

Once again I found myself with one very ripe banana.
Only one.

I decided that this one banana will be used in cookies.
Banana and Oats cookies seemed like a good idea, although the recipe called for two bananas.
One worked fine. Of course one mustn't forget the chocolate chips!

It was a hit with the kids and grown ups alike, and very easy to make. In fact, Heidi did most of the work ;-)

Here is a link to the original recipe and here is a copy of it, converted to metric measurements:

Ingredients:

227 gram porridge oats
2 ripe bananas (I used only one)
227 gram brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
113 gram margarine
1 beaten egg
(optional - 28 gram dark chocolate chips)

Method:
Mix dried ingredients together.
Mash the banana.

The bananas form PART of the 227 gram of sugar, they aren't in addition to it! So you place the 2 bananas on the scales and then make up the weight to 227 gram with brown sugar. (I used only one banana so I had to use a little more sugar)

Melt margarine in a saucepan and add to dry mix. Blend thoroughly.

Use a teaspoon to drop walnut size blobs onto a greased baking tray (I use greased greaseproof paper as well), allowing space for cookies to run. Bake in middle of moderate oven (190 Celsius) for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Vegetable Patch #5

I am as proud as punch.

We actually did it!

The radishes were harvested this morning by my little budding gardener.

Heidi simply loved pulling them out of the ground, one by one.

They are gorgeous too...

Well done to us!

I'm already looking around for some ideas on cooking radishes. I'll probably be using it in a salad as well as roasting them. Definitely radishes on the menu this weekend!

DWZI - Art!

Heidi loves drawing.

And painting.

She can do it all day long and let me tell you, she is a prolific artist.

Our house is filled with her art work.

I love her use of colour, and I love her creative mind.

She is after all only 4 years old!

Happy weekend!!

You can find the Deze Week Zag Ik participants here.

Food Photography and Styling Workshop

I had the pleasure of attending a food photography and styling workshop on Saturday. Simone and Alexandra were our teachers and tried to impart a wealth of knowledge to us in just one day.
What an experience!

It was clear from the start that I was out of my depth... I used my old SLR camera which I admit I don't use very often. Plus I am not quite an expert on aperture and shutter speed so it was a challenge for me to keep up. Then my camera tripod broke and I had to borrow one. Not the best start to the day.

The group consisted of 9 participants, all eager to learn more about photographing food and of course styling! It is amazing what a little thought into how to place a bowl of pasta can do. It's all about colours, accessories and just playing around until you get the right effect.

Trial and error.

We had lots of opportunity to practice different shots and style some dishes, as well as taking the photos in various light.

I really feel like I learnt a lot, but now it is all down to practicing and resisting the habit of just picking up my iPhone for every photo I take.

It will take time, but at least I am making a start!