Toasted Bagel with Avo and Bacon

The perfect lunch. Or breakfast for that matter.
A toasted bagel with butter, lettuce, avocado, bacon and a drizzle of honey mustard dressing.
I want to make it every single day.

Of course I won't but it is very tempting and I bought another avo yesterday, you know, just in case. It was 'American' week at the Lidl and that is where I found the bagels (and the jelly beans and the mini chocolate muffins...).

The kids love bagels too so I guess this week there will be more than one bagel on my plate.
Have a great week everyone!

Micro Herbs on my Lunch

I never used to think twice about micro herbs. They didn't really exist in my world.

Until I went to restaurant Niven where they use it on almost every dish!

I was surprised to learn that it actually adds to the taste experience and is not just something to make the plate look pretty.

Luckily I have some great shops in my neigbourhood where I could find a fine selection of herbs. Here I used them on my lunch last week: open sandwiches with home made hummus, cream cheese, beet, feta and herbs. Delicious!

Now all I need to do is start growing them myself...

Hope you have a happy Monday!

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!

Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

I was looking through the fridge, searching for something to eat.
Not much was jumping out at me...
But I always have cheese and I always tomatoes so I decided to make a sandwich.
Cheese and tomato on toast.
Plain and simple.

Sandwiches for Lunch

I make my own sandwiches for lunch.

Mostly because then I know exactly what I eat and I can control the calories.

Because lately I am all about counting calories.

So every day I skip the big lunch room with all the deep fried snacks and I enjoy my sandwich.

Honey mustard, rocket, cucumber, tomato, ham... yummy!

Quiche Lorraine

This was a week of many firsts... I finally decided to make a quiche.
Perfect picnic food, right?

I found a James Martin recipe for quiche Lorraine on the BBC Food website. It had a rustic look about it which tempted me into making it.

Well, it did turn out to be delicious but I had a bit of a pastry disaster.

Lesson learnt: Use ready made pastry - it will just make your life much easier!

Here is a link to the recipe.

The most important thing to note is that you simply must make sure that the pastry does not have any holes or cracks or else it will leak when you pour in your egg mixture.

Here is a copy of the recipe:

For the pastry

• 175g/6oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• salt
• 75g/2¾oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• (alternatively use ready made pastry)

For the filling

• 250g/9oz English cheddar, grated
• 4 tomatoes, sliced (optional)
• 200g/7oz bacon, chopped
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 100ml/3½fl oz milk
• 200ml/7fl oz double cream
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Preparation method

To make the pastry, sift the flour together with a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until you have a soft breadcrumb texture. Add enough cold water to make the crumb mixture come together to form a firm dough, and then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry on a light floured surface and line a 22cm/8½inch well-buttered flan dish. Don't cut off the edges of the pastry yet. Chill again.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Remove the pastry case from the fridge and line the base of the pastry with baking parchment and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for another five minutes to cook the base

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.

Sprinkle the cheese into the pastry base and add the sliced tomatoes if you are using them. Fry the bacon pieces until crisp and sprinkle over them over the top.

Combine the eggs with the milk and cream in a bowl and season well. Pour over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle the thyme over the top and trim the edges of the pastry.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.

Trim the pastry edges to get a perfect edge and then serve in wedges.

Homage to the Tosti

Every Sunday evening my mom and dad used to make toasted sandwiches for dinner.
Every Sunday evening.

In the Netherlands you can buy toasted sandwiches in almost any restaurant for lunch. It is called a tosti. I do prefer making my own. It is just always better.

It is so simple and easy. Plus I really love our tosti machine. It is big and shiny and makes glorious toasted sandwiches.

Butter the bread on one or both sides, add some cheese, tomato, ham, onions or tuna mayo... anything you like can be toasted on a sandwich!

Place in the tosti machine for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
Serve hot.

DWZI - Lunch at Le Cordon Bleu

So there we were, exhausted from slaving away at making croissants in the big industrial kitchen at Le Cordon Bleu. Listening attentively to Chef Xavier Cotte announcing that it is time for lunch.

Well, the translator told us what he said since he was speaking in French.

I welcomed the break because I am not used to standing on my feet for hours at end (shame on me!).

We headed to the lunch room and there we found a table laden with French treats. Fresh fruit, melon with parma ham, a big selection of cheese, pate's, shrimps with avocado, beef terrine, salmon terrine, tomato with mozzarella and pesto, bread and of course red and white wine.

Happiness!

The French certainly know how to have a lunch break :-)

Deze week zag ik... this week I saw
(inspired by DezeWeekZagIk on the blogs by Daan en Roos)

Lunch at Nourish

I just love it when I discover new restaurants, especially when they offer something different to the usual fare.

My good friend Sandy took me to a restaurant in Utrecht on the Twijnstraat called Nourish.
It is all about raw food but they do have some cooked dishes too.

We had a leisurely lunch, chatting away while we enjoyed our food.
I especially loved the soy latte and chocolate cake... I am such a sucker for the sweet stuff.

The concept of serving mostly raw food is very interesting and the restaurant has a lovely fresh feeling about it. Check out their menu - it has lots to choose from. The fresh juice is simply heavenly and so was the sandwiches with pumpkin, tomato, Parmesan and onion.

I will definitely return to sample some more raw dishes!

A packed salad for lunch

I am being a very good wife, even if I have to say so myself.

Lately I have been making my husband salad for his lunch. Every morning I get up with him and head to the kitchen to pack his lunch. Lettuce, tomato and cucumber are the main ingredients. To this I add whatever the fridge and pantry yields... capers, carrots, beans, peppers, onions, olives, etc.

This mission to be healthy is not just mine, no no no, we are doing it together.
Teamwork.

Plus it is Monday. A new week, a new beginning.
Time to cut out the meat and focus on being full time vegetarians again!

Lunch time blues

I am eating my lunch and feeling miserable about it.
Miserable for two reasons:
1. I have no appetite because I have an awful cold;
2. I cannot taste a thing (sob).

It is the worst feeling in the world for someone so obsessed with food. Taste is vital. I know it will return within a day or two, but I desperately want to taste my lunch.

My lunch today is vegetarian "balletjes" from the Albert Heijn on a wholewheat and seed bun with some rocket leaves and mayonnaise. Nothing special but I still want to taste it.

I share the vegetarian balls with Heidi and she seems to think they taste just fine. That just makes me feel worse.

This too shall pass...