Crunchy Chicory, Apple & Pecan Salad

First caramelise 100 grams of caster sugar with one tablespoon of water. When golden, add 100 grams of pecan nuts, make sure the nuts are coated and place on a piece of baking parchment to cool.

Remove whole leaves of two heads of chicory and place in a bowl. Cut two hard apples, one green one red, into small dice and add those to the bowl. Chop the cooled, caramelised nuts into rough chunks and add those as well.

Now make a quick honey mustard vinaigrette by combining:
1 tablespoon of smooth Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of grainy Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of mayonnaise
1,5 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Scoop the vinaigrette into the bowl and toss until the salad is covered with a nice mustardy sheen.
Very simple, very awesome.

Fruity Oaty Bar

If there's one chef known for his breakfast recipes, it's Bill Granger. This recipe was inspired by his breakfast loaf in 'Every Day', but I tweaked it a bit. Where he uses cherries I prefer the tartness of dried cranberries.
This cake is very easy to make and perfect for me, as I loathe cooking in the morning. Just make this during the weekend and slice off your breakfast the following days.

Put 50 grams of rolled oats in a bowl with 300 ml of milk and leave to soak for half an hour.
In another bowl combine:
240 grams of self raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder or bicarb
125 grams of dried cranberries
125 grams of dried apple, cut into small chunks
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of honey
75 grams of dark muscovado sugar
1 lightly beaten egg
3 tablespoons of chopped almonds

Add this mixture to the milk and oats and combine with a spatula. Spoon this into a greased loaf tin and sprinkle some slivered almonds on top. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated, 180C oven. Cool on a rack.
This cake will make a man out of a mouse.

Easy Strands

Put a few cherry tomatoes in a small dish and toss with a bit of oil and some course salt. Put in a hot oven to roast.
Cook the spaghetti in salted water, drain well and toss with a tablespoon or two of good garlic and lemon flavoured olive oil. Mix through some finely chopped red chilli, some fresh oregano leaves and some chopped flat leaf parsley. Add the blistered tomatoes and serve immediately.

Avocado & Pomelo Salad

Caprese

Monday Night Stir-Fry

I love a good stir-fry. Yes it's usually a super healthy way of cooking and all that, but that's not why I love it. That's just a nice bonus.
I love it because getting the old wok out, to me, means experimenting a bit. During a stir-fry you don't have the time to stop and read a recipe, so it's 'go with the flow' time. It's not as intimidating as you might think though, you just have to make sure to hit the few basic flavours. Salty, Sweet and Sour. If you manage a combination of those (and have some nice textures) it's always going to taste OK. This particular version, which I concocted tonight, turned out especially good. It's not overly complicated, but it just works.
The thing to remember is: prepare everything you need before you even think of heating up the wok. This is frantic cooking, but by having everything you need ready to go, it still manages to be relaxing.

So let's prepare.
Cut into small strips: one fillet of pork, one red pepper, one head of bok choy, three spring onions.
Finely chop: two cloves of garlic and one red chilli (seeds and all! be brave!).
Combine: three tablespoons of soy sauce with one tablespoon each of sweet chilli sauce, honey and oyster sauce and half a tablespoon each of ginger syrup and rice wine (or white wine) vinegar.
Also: put on a pan of boiling water (from a kettle).

Now let's heat up that wok!
Put it on a high heat and add two tablespoons of sesame oil. Let it get nice and hot, but be careful not to burn the oil. The way to test it is to hold your hand a few inches above the wok. You want it to feel about halfway between discomfort and searing pain. When it's hot toss in the sliced pork with the chilli and garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Squeeze over some lemon or lime juice (either from a fresh fruit or one of those green or yellow bottles) and add a dash of the sauce (about two to three tablespoons, I'd say). Fry for another 30 seconds and remove to a plate.
Return the wok to the flame and toss the noodles of your choosing into the boiling water (remember that pan we'd put on before?) and turn off that heat.
To the wok add another tablespoon of sesame oil and add the vegetables. Stir-fry for a minute and add one tablespoon of the sauce. By this time the veg will have reduced in volume by about half, the bok choy wilts a lot. The red pepper will be tender but still crunchy. Quickly drain the noodles and add those to the wok. Also add the pork, with the remaining sauce and stir to combine.
Serve immediately.

And yes, I do realise that I started off by saying that whilst stir-frying you don't have time to stop and read a recipe... So why did I bother writing this down? I think I've just confused myself. But hey, I had fun doing it.

Christmassy Snickerdoodles

Let's just get it out of the way immediately: No I don't know why they're called that. They certainly have nothing to do with Snickers, so rest easy, I'm not about to start deep frying candy bars.
There's a theory that the name comes from the word 'Snegl', which is Danish for snail. Cause of how the cookies sort of look like snail's houses. Doesn't really make much sense, but it implies that the cookies come from Denmark and I like the story so I for one am sticking with it.



Cream 125 grams of soft butter with 100 grams of vanilla sugar (I keep a jar of regular caster sugar with a vanilla pod stuffed in for just such occasions). Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and one egg. Cream until combined. Add 225 grams of flour, half a teaspoon of salt, same of cardamom and three quarters of a teaspoon of bicarb. Combine until the dough is soft and easy to shape into little balls. Before you start, take a plate and combine 3 tablespoons of vanilla sugar, one tablespoon of cinnamon and a pinch of ground nutmeg and cardamom (the nutmeg and cardamom make them extra Christmassy). Now roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and roll these through the sugar mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 180C oven for 15 minutes.
They're wonderfully aromatic, but because of the relatively large amount of salt, not overly sweet. Great little cookies, and really, with a name like that you just can't go wrong.

Fully Festive Cupcakes

The Holiday Season is upon us! What we need now, apart from some tidings of comfort and joy, are recipes that are quick, simple and comforting. I know, I know, we always need those. But now more than ever. A special thanks to my friend Ceci (check out her Cuisine here) for introducing me to this recipe. I have fiddled with it slightly (do forgive me) and added some icing. My cup of good cheer nearly runneth over!

Now before I start, in Holland we have such a thing as 'speculaaskruiden'. It sounds quaint and deeply exotic, am I right? If you can get it, great, if not:
Combine 30 grams of cinnamon, 10 grams of nutmeg, 5 grams of aniseed, 10 grams of ground cloves, 5 grams of white pepper and 5 grams of ground coriander. There! You now have 'speculaaskruiden'. I may have just taken away some of the mystique, but it'll taste great just the same.

Cream 125 grams of soft butter with 125 grams of dark muscovado sugar and 10 grams of vanillasugar. Do use an electric mixer! You want to cream it for a good 5 minutes and it's no fun decorating a tree with carpal tunnel.
When light and airy, add an egg, mix until well incorporated and add another. When that's incorporated too, add 3 tablespoons of milk, 130 grams of self-raising flour and one generous tablespoon of 'speculaaskruiden'.
Combine well and bake in a preheated, 200C oven for about 15 minutes.
Leave to cool on a rack and proceed with the icing:

In a saucepan melt 40 grams of white chocolate (I know it's not chocolate! It annoys me too, but bear with!) with a tablespoon or so of water. Let it bubble away for a minute, take off the heat and add one teaspoon of vanilla extract and 115 grams of sifted icing sugar. Stir well over a low flame until smooth. Act quickly, this will start to set the second it's off the heat. Dollop a spoonful on each cupcake and decorate with whatever you like, as long as it's whimsical.



When you bite into these, you know the world is a better place.
Now let's deck those halls!