Toad in the Hole

A super British classic now that we are in the Lake District. Wow this area is sooooo spectacular. Highly recommend it. I NEEDED to do this one being here and it came out pretty great! I'm doing this one back in Spain for sure. A comforting pub dish, pretty decently healthy, original recipe here from BBC.

INGREDIENTS

-300 grms of flour
-4 eggs
-400 ml of milk
-12 sausages.
-oil
-a bunch of fresh rosemary.
-salt&pepper.


STEPS

1. First prepare the sausages. Brown sausages in the oven to 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes and flip them so that they are brown on both sides. Drizzle them with olive oil.
2. In the meantime, prepare the batter for the Yorkshire pudding, which is the yellowy doughy blanket around them. For that you need to put the flour in a big container and make a space in the centre and there put the eggs. Now mix it all gently.
3. You will get a big lump of dough and egg and now add the milk and whisk until it is very smooth, it has to be slightly runny, not too doughy, but more on the liquidy side. 
4. Now add the salt and pepper (1/2 teaspoon of each) and stick in the freezer for a while or oven for an hour (I put it in the freezer because I had no time) until it gets cold.
5. Get the sausages out of the oven and now pour the batter in the container. The sausages should be half covered in the batter ideally. 
6. Now add the rosemary leaves on top. This is a great great touch that adds a lot.
7. Stick in oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees and let the batter rise, do NOT open the door of the oven.
8. Check if the batter is golden and has risen and if that is the case it is ready! At this point you can also turn the temperature down a little so the the dough is fully cooked and leave it for 5 minutes.
9. And that's it. Serve with gravy (granules one will do) and of course Brussels sprouts will make you feel like you are back to 

           

Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

A great soup from Jamie Oliver.
See you think you have seen it all in terms of flavours and recipes, and then someone else comes along and blows your mind one more time, that has been the case of this recipe, credit also to my husband who showed it to me.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kg pumpkin.
• green onions.
• 75 grams of ginger 
• some basil.
• olive oil
• 1 litre of vegetable stock 
• 125 ml of coconut milk
• 1/2 of chili powder.
• 1 lime. 

STEPS:

1. Dice up the pumpkin in cubes  and then put in pot with grated ginger, green onions, and saute slowly with some oil. 

2. Add the vegetable stock, coconut milk and chili powder, bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. 

3. Puree with food processor or mixer and theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen do NOT forget to add the touch of touches: the lime!  Yum, it will blow your mind the combination of the sourness of lime with this soup.

JUST BEAUTIFUL. 

Lazy Marinera Pasta

Back to cooking! 
Lost count of the last time I wrote here.  But much has happened:

1. I got married!!!
2. I planned a wedding!!!
3. I made it happen!!!

Boy that was SO much work. Anyone that has planned a wedding knows that what I am saying is true. A wedding is crazy work but worth it cause it's once in your life and then you have memories forever.

To my point, I realized that I have abandoned cooking, one of my joys in life. So I have been looking at new recipes to spice up my life, I should say here, our lives.  So I am back readers to keep discovering new flavours and make life more fun since we have to eat everyday.

So here is a lazy recipe that I do when I only feel like boiling pasta but becomes a substantial and tasty dinner, "pasta marinera" I call.

All you need is:

Ingredients
-500 grams of pasta.
-3 cans of tuna.
-2 cans of mussels
-750 grs of peeled tomatoes made puree. (tomates triturados).

So this is all you need, you throw that all together when the pasta is boiled, and voila, you have a great tasty meal. The tomato sauce works incredibly well with these fishy flavours. Kenton was even impressed by how good it all tasted.

By the way the photo is Strasbourgh from last month.

Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki

Yum! 

another great recipe from Steamy Kitchen. My boyfriend says I am 1/3 spanish, 1/3 american and 1/3 asian! wow! compliment! 

Very easy and tasty this recipe, basically this recipe is a marinade recipe.

Also you can do variations such as sticking it in the oven or doing it as a stir fry sauce. Also you can marinate the chicken with the sauce for a while. Endless combinations. It is great for bland and tasteless meat such as turkey, chicken and even pork. 

So here it is:

Ingredients:  

-1 can crushed pineapple (300 grs).

-3 tablespoons of honey.

-1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger.

-3 garlic clove, finely minced or grated.

-2 spoonfuls of thick soy sauce.

-500 grms. of chicken. 

Steps:

1. Make the marinade, sautee in a large saucepan the ginger, and garlic and sautee with a little bit of oil.

2. After it is slighly golden add the honey, the thick soy sauce and the crushed pineapple with the juice of the can.

3. Stir it away and let it simmer in low fire for 10 minutes.

4.  Now add your chicken to the marinate. 

Pretty incredible recipe you all. My Bible study loved it.

Crunchy Chicken Salad

Hey readers!

I skipped an entire season! but my spring has been so crazy full!

Here is a great salad for summer time that I had been wanting to do for about a year, and finally got round to doing it on tuesday for my Bible Study! 

The original recipe comes from A cup of Jo, thank you Joanna! I love your blog! My Bible study really loved this salad, and so did I!

Here are the ingredients:

-1/4 shredded cabagge.
-1/4 red cabbage.
-5 carrots sliced.
-1 cup of mint leaves.
-1 cup of cilantro leaves.
-500 grs of chicken in stripes.
-1 cup of cashew nuts.

For the salad dressing:
-1 can of coconut milk.
-1 lemon or lime.
-2 teaspoons of sugar.
-2 teaspoons of fish sauce.

Steps:

1. Just chop up the cabbage, slice the carrots and break in smaller pieces the mint and cilantro  ingredients and then add everything into a bowl.
2. Cut the chicken in stripes and saute it.
3. Do the dressing and add to the salad.

Honestly this is one great recipe. 

I understand it is a bit annoying to have to buy mint and cilantro (here they are 1 euro each bunch), but it is a great recipe so colourful and with so many flavours and textures: crunchy, soft, coconuty, acid, fishy, it really has everything and you can also add a little bit of cayenne pepper to the dressing to give it a spicy kick! 

Don't you love summer???? I sure do!

Crepes

Happy new year friends!

A comforting recipe for these cold months ahead. Crepes a classic from all over Europe, but especially every time I go to France, it's like...duh--crepes, how amazing are they and why do I not make them, like everday of my life?

INGREDIENTS:

1. 2 large eggs
2. 3/4 cups of milk
3. 1/2 cups of water
4. 1 cup of flour
5. 3 tablespoons of melted butter
6. 1 tablespoon of sugar.
6. butter for cooating the pan


STEPS:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and then distribute evenly in a saucepan thinly.
2. When the sides gets golden turn it around.

3. Enjoy! ahhhhh they are so good with Nutella, jam, cheese and a good book.

Happy new year sweet friends and readers.

These pictures are France, Paris on the left, Strassbourgh to the right.

Chile con carne

Another great recipe tonight from Paloma de la Rica for cold winter days. Mind you the other day I was in Strasbough and froze to death. This recipe is awesome for winter days.

All you need is:

-400 grs of mince.
-1 red pepper.
-1 green pepper.
-3 cloves of garlic.
-1 onion.
-1 can of 800 grs of diced tomatoes.
-400 grs. of red beans.
-1 teaspoon of sugar.
-1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.
-salt and black pepper.
-4 cayenne pepper.
-some oregano.
-some garlic powder.

-1/3 cup of espresso coffee.

-some corn (optional)

STEPS:

1. Dice up the red pepper, green pepper and the onion and the garlic, I do it all in the same pot (unlike this photo shows).
2. Throw it into the saucepan until it all becomes soft.
3. Add the meat and then you will have migas of meat.
4. In a deep pot, put the diced tomatoes and throw all the spices, sugar, pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, garlic powder, etc...and add the beans. Add the expresso coffee cup! yes you read right, coffee is such a wonderful ingredient, it will make the chili taste amazing, but be very careful and do not add too much or it will overpower the whole thing.
5. Add the meat with the veggies and let it all simmer for at least 30 minutes. Season with salt, sugar, more oregano, etc.
6. Voila, done! a great dish, accompanied by rice. 

Great recipe. I made mine pretty spicy and loved it and my Bible study too. By the way...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

American Meat Loaf

Yesterday it was election day in the US!

So whether you are feeling suicidal or elated by the results, try out this awesome american recipe and gather some loved ones around you to share dinner.
So my american friend Amy brought to our B. Study this awesome dish that I want to share. My kind of recipe, good, easy and fast. Loved it. I love americans and their creativity....like Starbucks and their amazing marketing, on the left.

Of course I needed to try it:



INGREDIENTS:
-500 grs. of hamburger meat.
-3 eggs
-200 mil of ketchup or 1/2 american cups.
-1/2 onion chopped.
-30 crackers.
-salt and lots of black pepper.
-garlic powder.

STEPS:

-Mix it all up.
-Set it on a loaf pan and spread ketchup on top of it all with a spoon, like with icing on a cake.
-Bake it in a loaf pan in 170 degrees for an hour.
This is such a gret recipe, perfect for when you dont have time to make works of art, but will make you look like you actually know how to cook.
Great to serve with salad and bread.



So friends, cheers to America, democracy, creativity, dreams and great great recipes that they make up!

Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

Hello readers!!

it is is fall again and thus the time to be home hearing the rain fall and light candles. Mind you, I hate cold weather, but one of the things that gets me through this time of year it's to think of fun and original recipes....

So, this fall apart from doing 3.000 different things, like being in a music band, learning french, and many other things, I have started a Bible Study at my house. Every other Tuesday at 8pm at my house, we are studying Galatians. Anyone want to join???

As I am hosting it, I have volunteered to cook as well! So this is the perfect chance to actually bother to learn new recipes and post them. So my hope is that I will be posting. So here is the first one from last Tuesday.

Spaghetti with basil tomato sauce. VERY GOOD and easy. So this is the tomato sauce recipe that I tried the other day and that I want to remember:

Ingredients:

-6 pear tomatoes.
-2 tomate frito bricks.
-a bunch of basil, like a lot, a hanful.
-two garlic cloves.
-olive oil.
-some herbs with no specific flavour.






1. That's it. Basically I diced up the tomaotes and then put them in a saucepan with the two tetrabricks of tomato sauce.
2. I added the two cloves of garlic and let them simmer slowly for about 20 minutes.
3. Then I added a bunch of basil, yes a LOT, because this is the magic of the recipe, the awesome basil taste. And let it simmer for another 15 minutes.
4. I added the olive oil to  make it runny and nice.


Oh my goodness, this sauce was awesome. So balanced, full of flavour, sweet and salty, it was delicious. Then I added some mince and spaghetti. My friends loved it too. Success on my first Bible Study. Try it out. This was our table.

Roasted cabbage with bacon

Back a while ago I made this recipe that rocked my world, but never posted. So here it is. This is one you gotta try it.



Question: what is one to do with a cabbage??  Boil it?? That's really all I can think of....


But looking into my friend Lisa's cooking blog, I saw this idea about roasting cabbage with a little of bacon. Like my friend Tep says: "Anything tastes better with bacon". 

So this is what you need to knock off the socks of your guests:

• 1 cabbage (medium to small)
• 5 slices of bacon.
• olive oil.
• grounded pepper.
• an oven that works.

So on I went and bought a whole cabbage and sliced it into wedges. Then I sprinkled olive oil and pepper and then I chopped up the bacon and just distributed on top of the cabbage. I roasted in on 180 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Just make sure it doesnt burn.


Done! amazing, honestly the combination of flavours of this dish is SUPERB. I had no idea cabbage could taste so good...

This recipe is  so rustic, it makes me think of farms, like this one of my friend Angela in Michigan. I think this dish is ideal for Christmas or for a special dinner night.  

Anyway, enjoy!

spinach salad with goat cheese, cranberries and nuts

This is a great salad I made the other day...honestly I cannot remember where I got it from...so my apologies if I am plagiarisng anyone out there.  Not my intention. The photos are not great either, because it was late at night.  Anyway, here it is, great for a party for those time when you are asked to bring a dish, or a salad.

A bag of spinach.
Goat cheese (like 50 grms)
Some walnuts
Cranberries (about 100 grms)

I had some german sausages with it

Raspberry vinagrette

1.  No mistery in this salad. Clean the spinach and cut it up.
2. Add the cheese in small pieces, and the cranberries.
3. Add the dressing. The way I make the dressing is:
4. Use 6 spoonful of olive oil, and 3 of balsamic vinegar, and 2 spoonful of rapsberry or strawberry jam and stir well.
5. Add a little salt and pepper. You are ready to go. Pour it over the salad. 

Yummy for those who like salty and sweet and strong flavours like goat cheese.

curry de garbanzos con leche de coco

Ayer estaba en la cocina con un hambre feroz...pero sin ganas NINGUNAS de cocinar. No sé cómo me acordé de una receta que hizo Amy, mi compañera de piso, una vez...Amy es vegetariana y cocina SUPER BIEN. Pues es muy facil  y resulta que tenia todo en la cocina! yipeeee! manos a la obra.

Ingredientes:

• 1 lata de leche de coco de 400 ml.
• 1 berenjena.
• 1 pimiento rojo.
• Medio bote de garbanzos ya cocinados en frasco de cristal.
• Gengibre en polvo.
• Curry en polvo.
• Albahaca.
• Sal. 
• Un poco de comino.
• Y otras especias indias que tengas.

1. Ok, corta las verduras en trocitos. No hace falta que tengas estos vegetales exactamente...la verdad es que todos valen. Pues ponlos en la sarten con un poco de aciete de oliva y deja que se hagan un poco, no demasiado por que luego hay que dejarlos en la sarten con la leche y se pondrán más blandos.
2. OK, siguiente, pon la leche de coco y los garbanzos. Ahora añádale tambien las especias. Yo puse media cucharadita de gengibre en polvo, media cucharadita de curry, un poco de comino y unas semillas indias que ahora no me acuerdo como se llaman. También puse un poco de albahaca para que quedara bien, bonito vamos.
3. Y nada más dejalo a fuego lento por 10 minutos y ya está. Ponle un poco de sal también. Lo puedes servir con arroz o con pan de molde. Y también si quieres lo puedes echar un poco de agua para hacer sopa....MUY MUY BUENO. 

El truco de esta sopa es la leche de coco y queda genial con los garbanzos. Esto es un buen hallazgo porque ya sé que el curry no solo vale con pollo, etc.