Easy recipes, stunning presentations

Rice pudding pie (Rijstevlaai)

2012-01-30T06:46:00.003+01:00

I am not only half Italian, but also half Dutch and this is where this pie is from. As I live in France I sometimes crave these tastes from the past. Tastes you won't find in the South of France and 'rijstevlaai' is one of them. This rice pudding pie is not overly sweet, but simple and rich due to the creamy, soft texture created by the combination of simple ingredients. The recipe is not

Focaccio (Italian bread) with olives and tomatoes

2012-01-23T14:27:00.003+01:00

Believe it or not, but I am half Italian and I never tried to make Focaccio, so this post is based on my first attempt. I have to admit, I love the taste of olive oil in bread. It is not greasy but it makes the bread taste a bit more moist and as soon as you bring it closer to your mouth, just before tasting, you can smell the olive oil, although the quantity used in the dough is just a few

Caviar of Aubergine

2012-01-19T12:05:00.001+01:00

I love aubergines but it is a vegetable which, in most recipes, soaks up lots of oil. But by making caviar of aubergine you do not seed so much oil and the recipe is pretty simple and very tasty. This recipe can have 2 purposes, or as a cold appetizer or as a hot side dish of some grilled or steamed fish to give it an extra flavour. Hope you'll all enjoy it as it requires very little work ;-

Marbled Coffee Cake

2011-10-14T11:05:00.002+02:00

A while ago I have already posted the recipe 'Marble Green tea cake'. I have to admit I really like this recipe as it is easy, airy and you can even reduce the sugar (as I did in the ingredient list below) to make it less sweet and it is not changing the consistency of the cake once baked. But the other day I came across a marble coffee cake recipe. Although I keep the base of of my

Minestrone with bacon and chicken

2011-09-06T09:45:00.003+02:00

The other day I came across this minestrone recipe in one of the recipe books I have bought more than 10 years ago ('Low Fat High Flavour', Marks & Spencer) and just looking at the picture made me open the fridge straight away to see if I had all the ingredients at home. But honestly I only looked at the picture and not at the ingredient list and for some reason I thought they had included

Delicious chicken brochettes

2011-08-30T11:25:00.003+02:00

I remember going to Greek restaurants with my parents when I was little. I used to be a very bad eater, cooking for me was a nightmare because there where so many things I didn't like to eat, let alone try. Onions were definitely not one of my favourites, but every time at the Greek restaurant we used to order souvlakl's of different types of meat and they were always served with sliced, raw

Tuna relish

2011-08-22T14:07:00.004+02:00

This is definitely one of the easiest recipes, that is if you like canned tuna of course. You can taste it while preparing so you can really make it to taste. Such an easy starter when you have unexpected visitors but definitely a hit!!! Tuna relish Ingredients: 80gr tuna, canned, natural 1/4 yellow onion, diced mayonnaise to taste salt and pepper to taste some fresh chilli (

Fromage blanc with a nectarine coulis

2011-07-29T09:38:00.002+02:00

Yes indeed, I still have lots of nectarines in the kitchen. A nectarine cake is one way to go but a much easier dessert and definitely a healthy one is soft white cheese (0% or not) with on top a nectarine coulis. I think more simple than is, is difficult to imagine and it even presents nice in a simple glass at the end of a meal. Actually I even eat it for breakfast. It gives me the

Easy nectarine cake

2011-07-17T16:34:00.009+02:00

As this afternoon the weather is not so good here in the South of France, I have decided to skip the beach and to prepare something to accompany my coffee at 4 o'clock ;-). I recently bought so many nectarines that, of course they were not all eaten while they were still nice and crunchy, so some of them turned out to be so soft that I decided to look for a cake recipe. And here is where I

Frozen passion fruit yogurt

2011-02-08T11:23:00.004+01:00

No ice-cream at home but some plain yogurt and fruit in the fridge?! You can copy this recipe with any fruit you like such as strawberries, kiwis etc... It is definitely a healthier option than ice-cream you buy at the shop, and for sure, it is tasty as well!!! Frozen passion fruit yogurt Ingredients: 250 ml plain yogurt, 0% fat 2 tsp sugar (or up to your taste) 2 tsp honey 6

Mini sausage rolls

2011-01-30T21:36:00.003+01:00

I always have a roll of puff pastry in my fridge just to be prepared for unexpected guests or to make some little snacks for while watching a great movie. This pastry and a little bit of creativity can give you so many options. Adding some pork sausages, like I did yesterday, can create some great little appetizers. Everyone seems to enjoy this finger food specially when it is served hot.

Spicy avocado dip

2010-08-03T14:58:00.008+02:00

I have often been to Kenya to do some volunteer work during my holidays and this avocado dip was often served to bridge the big gaps between meals on those long working days. As everything ripens with the sun over there, all these ingredients taste just divine. A nicely ripened avocado, some lovely tasty tomatoes and some sweet but spicy red onions. Porcelain by Piet Stockmans Spicy avocado

Japanese style chicken wings

2010-04-18T17:25:00.005+02:00

I recently went back to Japan but when I returned this time I decided to make some of their delicious recipes. These Japanese style chicken wings is definitely something that will please many of you. Very easy to make, with or without the sauce. But the sauce can determine if you'll make the wings spicy or not. Japanese style chicken wings Ingredients: 12 chicken wings flour (enough

Red fruit tiramisu

2010-04-12T09:28:00.008+02:00

Mascarpone is such a delicious creamy cheese for desserts. The most common recipe is of course the traditional tiramisu with coffee and liquor. But this time the layers are made by a red fruit coulis instead of finger biscuits. The combination of sweet and slightly sour is just divine! Give it a go, it is an easy recipe and after a rest time of just an hour you can let this dessert melt in

Potato waffles

2010-03-01T13:56:00.006+01:00

Last week I flew back to Belgium to see my parents and my mum made potato waffles to go with some nice beef stew. I never had it before but it is a nice variation instead of having just mashed potatoes with your meal. It turns out as a crunchy potato with very little extra ingredients and what is great is that you do not really use any butter or oil to prepare them. So they are pretty healthy!

Cold cucumber, yogurt & mint soup

2010-02-16T21:35:00.005+01:00

Do you want to make some appetizers beforehand, this is definitely one of those recipes you should go for. It only takes little time to prepare and can even be prepared the day before. You can of course serve it in a bigger glass but my choice went out to these little glass containers with a lid. It gives a more personal feeling and it looks a lot more appetizing. You can eat your cold soup,

Pizza dough: Leftovers alias Garlic knots - part2

2010-02-08T09:58:00.002+01:00

Well, the other day, I posted the recipe of Mini Pizza's. All good and well, but by cutting out those round mini pizza's you are always stuck with leftovers. What to do with those leftovers??? It would be such a shame to throw them just out. We can actually provide here 2 different appetizers with 1 package store-made pizza dough, the Mini pizza's and some garlic knots!!! Both of them savory

Pizza dough: Mini Pizza's - Part 1

2010-02-03T23:51:00.003+01:00

Sometimes I buy the store-made pizza dough but instead of using it to make one big pizza out of it, I prefer to use it to make mini pizza's as a snack. As I have Italian roots, I prefer to make the tomato sauce myself to keep the real authentic taste. By using some garlic, these little snacks, when in the oven, make the house smell like my grandparents house when I was a child. It brings

Marble green tea cake

2010-02-02T00:03:00.005+01:00

I love the taste of green tea powder that is why I decided to turn the existing recipe of 'Marble chocolate cake' into this 'Marble macha cake' (macha means green tea in Japanese). As green tea powder is not sweet but rather bitter on it is own but it creates an interesting balance between the sweet vanilla taste and the green tea flavor. Not only a great taste but also an interesting colour

Mushroom soup - quick and easy

2010-01-26T11:29:00.007+01:00

I seem to be in a 'mushroom' mood this days. Keep buying loads of them, that is why I decides to look for a mushroom soup recipe. This was so quick and easy but most important, it was so tasty, that's why I decided to post it. Mushroom soup Ingredients: 40gr butter 250gr white mushrooms 1 clove of garlic 1 onion 2 teaspoons flour 1L hot chicken stock (for vegetarians use vegetable

'Mushroom in wine' crostini

2010-01-17T18:33:00.005+01:00

I have found this recipe on the internet the other day (Sam the cooking guy), honestly it is a very tasty starter or even appetizer. I am a big fan of mushrooms and I always like the taste of wine in my meals. It gives it an extra dimension to the food. The main ingredients here are of course mushrooms, wine, garlic and french bread. It is a very easy recipe and takes only 15mins with

Rollicos au vin

2010-01-13T01:01:00.004+01:00

How great is this... biscuits without butter and eggs!! ;-) How often does that happen? This delicious recipe is a 'pied-noir' recipe. The 'Pieds-noirs' were the French, Spanish, Italian, Maltese... who lived in Algeria during the French colonisation. They returned to their home country in 1962, when Algeria became independent and brought back this lovely recipe. The wine in these dry

A salad with grilled pear and proscuitto

2010-01-10T21:39:00.006+01:00

After the holiday period it is time to eat some lighter food ;-). Of course as it is still winter here in Europe, just a cold salad is not what we have in mind. But if it gets served with some warm ingredients, I think most of us can make an exception. This salad can serve as a starter or as lunch. A salad with grilled pear and proscuitto Ingredients: 4 pears 8 slices of proscuitto

Chocolate Meringue kisses!

2009-12-21T13:05:00.008+01:00

You want to make something easy that looks great and taste even better than it looks? Well, these little chocolate meringue kisses are the way to go. I brought them into work today and they turned out to be a big hit. 'Meringue' is a very common word in a French bakery. It consists out of whipped egg whites and sugar, which makes it light, airy and sweet. You have the famous lemon meringue

'Classic' Glühwein for a nice, cold winter's day!

2009-12-19T20:13:00.023+01:00

Christmas is really there once you smell and taste hot Glühwein. It comes such a lovely smell in the house when you are preparing it, but you definitely need to drink it outside and experience the way it warms up your body. Don't forget as you will be heating the wine, a part of it will evaporate, so 1 bottle of wine will serve 4 people. You better choose a wine with a rather strong taste (