Recipe: coconut macaroons

Yes, it is the season of over-eating, yet I do want to make an effort to have (semi) healthy alternatives on the menu.  This is where these adorable macaroons come in handy!  I discovered coconut early in my life and what I like is its natural sweetness.  I always try to find new recipes to include coconut (savoury or sweet).  

So, with no further ado, here is the recipe:

Recipe: bookclub menu

I belong to two bookclubs:  one discussing classic literature, where soft drinks/tea and nibbles are the order of the day, and one discussing modern literature, where a potluck dinner is served.  For the latter one, then, I was hosting the The lady in Gold book discussion and this is what I had prepared for a casual buffet dinner:

Recipe: Shrimp & Pork wonton

This weekend marks the beginning of my "Asian cuisine" endeavours that I'll undertake until the end of the year - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, almost all Asian countries will be included, except for India, where I'll dedicate a separate chapter...

I'm fortunate enough to have a deliciously little Asian shop near my house, so when I went there for the first time for the "truly Asian" ingredients, the shop-owners were more than helpful to show and explain and try to steer me away from danger...

So off to my first recipe:  the wonton, as tasted through the aromatic and oh-so-soothing chicken stock...

Recipe: Pumpkin cookies

While we may not officially celebrate Thanksgiving in Belgium, I could not but help my (American) friend Jessi celebrate a proper Thankgiving dinner here!  She undertook the ueber-major task of cooking (and carving) the turkey, and I contributed ... with cookies!  Pumpkin cookies that is, and they turned excellent (in my humble opinion!).  So easy to make, and I got to use the remaining pumpkin puree from Halloween!!!

Pin it and Do it: Wrap up post

When Trish announced that she would be hosting this pinteresting challenge in October, I knew I had found a great challenge:  a whole month free to cook and craft (in my case, knitting and papercraft) was exactly what I needed to counter the intense workdays in the office!

I was overly ambitious and went for the 8+ level!  Would I make it?  Let's see - these are my pins:

Recipe: Beef enchilada soup

I have been under the weather for a week now with a terrible cold, and have consequently changed my attitudes:  as I can't taste much, I just eat to take my medication, without paying much attention to my senses... But I still wanted to finish my adventures with the mexican/tex-mex cuisine - what to do?  I can usually muster the "heaviness" of the beautiful dishes, but not right now.  Solution:  try a soup, a staple that has got me through this week, with a twist:  use ingredients that would give me that essential kick, to remind me of how I used to eat...

Recipe: Apple cheesecake bar

Most of the pins I keep in Pinterest are for my cooking recipes (Weekend cooking is a ritual for me...).  This is my way of keeping to-investigate recipes organised, so that if I'm not satisfied with the result, I can just delete the link.  If I love the result, it will be printed and included in my great book of cooking (...).  For the Pin it and Do it challenge hosted by Trish, I had a very good excuse to bring out all the long-forgotten material I have, and start making some wonderful things:

First things first:  an incredible dessert, that was munched within minutes... Just listen to this name:  Maple syrup streusel apple cheesecake bar (mmmm...).  And it is all that and more:  a few ingredients that get assembled within minutes (literally) and then baked.  Pure delight and decadence!!!

Maple syrup streusel apple cheesecake bar
adapted from Cookies and Cups

  










   

  
Crust
• 230g shortcrust pastry
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  
  Mascarpone Filling
• 200g mascarpone, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 50g granulated sugar
• 20g light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 small apples, peeled and finely diced
• 
  
• Steusel Topping
• 120g light brown sugar
• 120g flour
• 20g old fashioned oats
• 70g butter, room temperature

• 70ml maple syrup

Print recipe

Preheat oven at 180C.  Slightly roll out the pastry to make a rectangular and line a pie dish.  Sprinkle the crust with the brown sugar.  Mix all ingredients of the filling and spread on crust.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare the streusel topping.  After  20 minutes, take dish out and cover with the steusel.  Place back in the oven and bake for a further 5-10 minutes, until golden.  Take out and drizzle with maple surup (the quantity is indicative - you can pour as much or as little as you like).  Leave to cool (I actually put it back in the oven and left it to cool there).  Once cold, cut in 2*2cm squares.

This post is my entry into Weekend Cooking, a weekly event hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

This is also my second pin in the Pin it and Do it:  A Pinteresting challenge, hosted by Trish. 

Recipe: Beef enchiladas

I like discovering new food recipes and I like it even better when these recipes are a total success!  For now, I'm experimenting with the Mexican/Tex-Mex cuisine, and I had a big blast with these enchiladas! For a moment, they took away all the rain and the wind and made me feel as if I were in a warmer location...