You didn’t think I had vanished from the face of the earth now did you? I’ve just been incredibly swamped with work ever since the new Year started. It’s weird, wonderful and a little troubling too. (knock on wood) It could be over next month, so I am taking everything I can to make up for possibly leaner times coming soon. The funny thing is too that I spend more time working in the studio then ever before… It must be a sign of some sort.

Cress

I thought I entertain you with a couple of shots from recent shoots I did. I’m getting more and more food assignments which is good news as that – ultimately – is what I want to do. Next week is again going to be really busy with on monday a shoot with a man who tries to get schoolkids to eat healthier by educating them about growing their own in small city garden, on Tuesday I am in the studio together with a food stylist shooting for a producer of a sustainable substitute for tuna, on Wednesday product shots, on Thursday I have the second day of shoots for a restaurant in Arnhem where we will do the desserts and a la carte menu and on Friday I am giving a workshop.. And that’s the week over again. Well except for the portrait shoots on Saturday..

Small cherry pie

And because Tom is still unemployed he has been doing most of the cooking so not a lot of recipes to share. I miss actually coming up with new recipes and even though we have eaten really well and delicious, because of the terrible light at night I haven’t shot any of them. But there will be recipes soon again!

In the meantime we’re also shopping around for a new kitchen, which is fun and frustrating at the same time. We are going to make the kitchen a bit bigger and according to all the sales guys we have a really big kitchen. We don’t think so, as a kitchen can never be too big right?

Possible colorsetting of new kitchen

I can’t give you the exact details of the kitchen but the color setting will be fairly similar to the one above. The wall will be light and the flour will be wooden but the cupboards will be fairly similar and the counter will be slightly less dark (but still stone). It’s a lot of work figuring out all the details while still trying to stay within budget and convincing the salesguys that we do NOT want to spend any more… O well, within the next two weeks, we will probably make the final decision so I’ll let you know once I have the details! And then you think you’re done you still have to figure out what to put on the wall and the floors… *sigh* But it’s all for the greater good!

So no recipe from me this time but there will be one next time!

Related Posts:

• Lemon Sour Bundt Cake – DHSPC #2
• Donna Hay styling and photography challenge #1
• Foodphotography;shooting at night or in low light
• Foodphotography; controlling the light
• Foodstyling attempt no. 1

It’s here… Happy New Year!

Oliebollen!

So let me first start by wishing everyone a fantastic 2012. Wishing you lots and lots of happiness, love and health for you and your families. Great food, friendship and more love. If you have any dreams or desires or plans for 2012, then I hope those will come to pass.

I cannot believe 2011 is over… It’s been a roller coaster of a year with a lot of lows and a lot of highs to. I met some amazing bloggers, that I now call friends in person during the fantastic Plate to Page workshop in Germany and during Food Blogger Connect in London. I’ve been to Germany (twice), London and France this year. O and let’s not forget our trip to Costa Rica at the beginning of the year.

On the low side, we have lost Tom’s grandma, Tom’s mum and a very dear friend as well this year. Tom’s lost his job too so in that respect 2011 hasn’t been the greatest year at all. But we’re positive about the future and it will bring new opportunities and chances. Of that I am sure!

To kick of the New Year I am giving you a traditional recipe that is quite famous here in the Netherlands and something that almost every single Dutch person will have tonight. Oliebollen… There is not really a good translation for this word, literally it would mean oil balls. Now that sounds just plain terrible, I’m sure you would agree. So the more commonly used term is Dutch donuts. It’s a bit similar to donuts but mmm, maybe better! The recipe I am about to give you

comes from a Dutch Blog called Eetschrijven and is maintained by a Dutch culinary journalist who also happens to live in the same town as I do. But that’s beside the point. I had never made these beauties myself although my dad always made huge batches of them around this time. So this is my first try ever at making oliebollen myself and what can I say? They are totally and uttery delicious!

Oliebollen

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Serves:	30-40
Prep time:	1 hour, 20 minutes
Cook time:	30 minutes
Total time:	1 hour, 50 minutes
Allergy:	Egg, Wheat
Meal type:	Side Dish, Snack
Misc:	Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Region:	European
Website:	Eetschrijver

Ingredients

• 1kg all purpose flour
• 750ml carbonated water (while the original recipe states 750 ml I added quite a bit extra water as the dough seemed too dry. Added about 300 ml extra!)
• 50ml milk (only if you're using fresh yeast)
• 2 eggs
• 32g yeast (dry or instant yeast. If using fresh yeast you need 80 gr)
• 50g butter
• 30g sugar
• 15g salt
• 10g ground cinnamon
• 2 lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)
• 200g raisins
• 100g black dried currants
• 150g sour apples (in small cubes)
• 2 litres sunflower oil (for baking the donuts)

Optional

• 100g other dried fruits

Directions

Wash the raisins and currants thoroughly in tepid water and dried very well with a teatowel. Melt the butter on low heat in a small saucepan. If using fresh yeast dissolve in tepid milk. Put the flour, salt and the sugar in a large bowl and mix the eggs through. After that slowly add the carbonated water in and keep mixing until all is combined and there are no lumbs. I used a wooden spoon for that as the mixture became too firm to do that with a whisk. Add the yeast (or if using fresh; the milk with the yeast), the melted butter, the lemon zest and the cinnamon, mix again and add the currants, raisins and any other fruits you want to ad plus the apple and slowly stir for about 3 minutes with a wooden spoon.

Put a teatowel over the bowl that has been moistened with handwarm water and put the bowl in a warm spot (next to the radiator for instance) and leave to rise for about an hour. In the meantime start letting the oil come to the right temperature (obviously you do not need an hour for that) and make sure the oil is 180 C (356 F) when you're ready to start baking.

Take your bowl and stir the mixture again with the wooden spoon. It's easiest to drop them into the hot oil with either an icecreamscoop or two regular spoons. Put your scoop into the hot oil for 1 second and then - using the side of your bowl - scoop out a nice round ball. Carefully slide that into the hot oil and add two or three more balls into the oil (depending on the size of your pan). Bake the balls for about 3 minutes each side (turn them over to the other side halfway by using two forks) until golden brown. Take them out with a slotted spoon and leave to drain in a collander lined with kitchenpaper. Only add icing sugar to the balls shortly before putting them on the table.

Note

I found mine were done sooner then the 3 minutes each side. I think they needed 2 minutes. So don't stick to the timing but use your eyes and eat one if you're unsure if they're cooked properly.

Since these are not very sweet they are served best with some icing sugar dusted on top.

Soooo good!

I am also dedicating this post to the Virtual New Years Party. This virtual party is being hosted by Lora and Sanjeeta kk. These two lovely ladies bring a big group of bloggers together to share a virtual party taking you around some of the best recipes we had and shared with you in 2011. Make sure to check out the other bloggers sites too! And how can I not start with this gorgeous chocolate cake that was a real winner with most of you and has been made by a number of people too!

Chocolate cake with blue berries

Another one of my favorites is this delicious winter stew that had a lot of copper pot envy going around too.

Italian sausage stew with lentils

Then there was the matter of my slow cooked pears in a rich red wine sauce..

Poached pears in red wine sauce

And then last but not least there is another dessert popping up to end the line. A delicious mascarpone raspberry trifle. Ofcourse I can continue endlessly but I think these four pretty much sum up the most popular recipes for the last year.

Mascarpone raspberry trifle

And do I have any New Years resolutions? Well yes, although I prefer not to call them that plus I already started so they don’t count. First on the list is eating healthier foods. After all that sweetness during the month of december I am ready for some proper cooking. No more cakes, cookies and other sweets. Expect to see some delicious soups, stews and other savory things passing here (with ok, maybe the occassional treat in between. What the rest of the year will bring us is a guess at best, but whatever it is; we will make the most of it!!

I found some great inspiration the last year from great friends and fellow bloggers; Have a look at their blogs and be amazed!

Meeta from What’s for Lunch Honey

Jamie from Life’s a Feast

Mona from Wise words

Jeanne from Cooksisterblog

Ilva from Lucullian Delights

Jenn from Jenncuisine

And so many others out there too but the list would be too long to continue!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

For all posts in the Virtual New Years party check out the posts you see below!

Related Posts:

• Mascarpone raspberry trifle
• Pavlova with pomegranate and cranberry sauce
• Cranberry sauce
• Arretje nof – the simplest chocolate cake
• Spicy cake with persimmon

Wishing everyone out there a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah and hope you get to spend the days with friends or family. Enjoy the food and have some relaxing time!

Warm wishes

Simone

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Braised lambneck with couscous

What is it about lamb that makes it a meat that not a lot of people eat? I’m sure if I would ask any random person they would tell me they have eaten meat in the last year or so, but if the supermarkets are anything to go by then lamb is only on the menu during Christmas time. Ok, if I’m being totally honest (and you know I always am right?:) ) if you would have asked me a couple of years ago if I ever ate lamb I would not answer very differently then the average Dutch person. Why is that? Why is that really? Is it the price? Is it the fact that lamb’s are cute and cuddly? Or is it simply the fact that it is not available in the average supermarket? What do you think the reason is?

The fact of the matter is that due to some kind of funny coincidence my week last week was pretty much all about lamb. You remember I had that great meatcourse at Fontijn butchers in Weesp a couple of weeks back right? That was all about beef, but last Monday we had the session about – you guessed it – lamb and porc.

Like a lamb to the slaughter..:)

We started with dissecting an entire lamb which you can see in it’s pre-cut state above here. Not a small lamb but if I remember correctly about 6 or 7 months old. When they are at their best anyway. It was interesting hearing Gertjan explain all about the different parts of the lamb and also that it is fairly strange that most people never look any further then the typical lamb rack. I like a good lamb rack like anyone else, but my favorite is a leg of lamb like we had last Christmas (yes, true that was also for Christmas!)

The lamb part we all know

A lot of people also have the misconception that lamb is a seasonal item only to be eaten beginning of the summer. That is the period that you can get the really really young lamb which is soft and tender meat but for a bit more flavor an older lamb is actually preferred as I also learned that same Thursday, but more on that later. Gertjan also had some lamb from New Zealand so we could see the difference between the two races of lamb. In the afternoon we went on to porc and half a porc was taken apart into it’s various items. If you think about it; pork seems to not be a very populair meat either for an entirely different reason then the lamb. It’s cheap meat as there is so much of it and the good news is that from a pig you can just about use everything. The inedible parts tend to go into sausages, the intestines are used to make sausage skin and the legs and marrow are used to make gelatine. Talk about nose-to-tail…

Gertjan explaining how the pig is build

Then that same week on the Thursday we were invited for the press launch of We love lamb, a book all about lamb written by Johan Segers and Dirk de Prins, both Belgium people; one a chef and owner of the restaurant ‘t Fornuis in Antwerp and the other a culinary journalist. We had an absolutely amazing lunch and guess what we ate? Yes, ofcourse that was lamb. We had – in no particular order – lamb kidney’s, lamb liver, lamb neck, lamb tongue and lamb sweetbread (=zwezerik in Dutch). Not dishes I would ordered probably if they had been on the menu but they were each absolutely delicious… I think the sweetbread was my absolute favorite… Ofcourse, Johan Segers is not ‘just’ a chef and his restaurant is quite famous in Belgium and has a Michelin star.

my favorite of the lunch; sweetbread with puff pastry

The book is in Dutch but if you love lamb and can read Dutch it’s an absolute winner. Brilliant recipes and some nice background information too. On top of that; if all goes well there will be a contest here very soon featuring lamb. So stay tuned

We love lamb cover

for more details on what to come!

The book is for sale at Bol.com amongst some others mentioned below.

-          Scholtens
-          Bol.com
-          Cook & Book
-          NRC Lux
-          Acco online
-          Boekhandel Wijs
-          Kramer & Van Doorn

Related Posts:

• Zabaglione with red fruit – Cooking club # 5
• Not for vegetarians – meat course part I
• Bruschetta with arugulapesto – DHSPC #6
• Oliebollen and a Happy New Year 2012!!
• Turkey adventures

Orange and poppyseed bundt cake

As soon as I open our stock pantry I feel like closing the door right back again. There is so much junk in there that it scares me to start organizing. Going through the contents however I do find a large jar of poppy seed…

Remember I told you I would probably have to give up the studio? Well, the decision has been made that it has to go and now that the decision is made, I’m fine with that. It just makes sense financially and also logistically. We’ve decided that one of the rooms upstairs will be converted in a mini studio. It will be big enough to store all my props and do food shoots. Anything else would either have to be on location or it will have to be in a rented studio, which will still be many more times cheaper then the 12.000 euro I pay now every year.

Cutting into the cake

But having said that; converting a room into a studio might sound easy in theory but in reality it means a whole lot of work. This room has been used as our “catroom” for 13 years. Remember we used to have 5 cats at the low point in our lives (way too many!!) but since there is only one left, having a catroom for just Gizmo is ridiculous. Besides her food and catlitterbox it also has a very large bookshelf stuffed with things we never looked at, a huge wardrobe and a little freezer. All that will have to go so we started planning on de-cluttering our entire house; not just the one room. And I cannot believe the amount of junk we gathered in the last 20 years since we’ve been together. All the stuff that we kept in the attic in boxes can basically all go (and has gone by now) We’ve brought cars full of stuff to the second hand store (books and things that might still be of use to other people) and an equal amount of car loads full went to the garbage.

It’s one of those things you start with, not realizing the enormous amount of work involved. It makes sense to do it now as Tom is at home, not having a job, so it keeps him occupied.. The attic is as good as ready, the soon-to-be-studio is empty apart from the wardrobe closet (need to sort out all the clothes first before we moved that one) Once it’s empty it will be painted and maybe a new floor too and then I can start moving things from the studio into the home studio. But let’s not get ahead of myself; that will probably be a few months from now.

In the meantime I also found a huge jar of poppy seed. 500 grams unopened to be exact. What on earth do you do with 500 grams of poppy seed? Sprinkling it on buns and stuff like that will not help much so when I saw this recipe for a poppy seed Bundt cake I could not resist and had to make it immediately! It uses a whopping amount of 120 grams so only 380 grams left. (Any ideas on what to do with the rest please let me know!)

Orange poppyseed Bundt cake

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Serves:	10-12
Prep time:	35 minutes
Cook time:	1 hour, 5 minutes
Total time:	1 hour, 40 minutes
Meal type:	Dessert
Region:	Worldwide
From magazine:	Delicious magazine

Ingredients

• 120g poppy seed
• 250ml milk
• 225g butter (soft at roomtemperature, plus a little extra for greasing the tin)
• 220g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 300g flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 vanilla bean (seeds scraped)
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 4 tablespoons orange juice

orange glaze

• 125ml golden syrup
• 1 orange (make very thin strips of the zest and juice the rest of the orange)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a bundt cake tin with a diameter of 20 cm and lightly dust with flour. Heat the poppyseed with the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling and then take the pan of the heat. Leave to cool while you work on your cake batter.

Whisk the butter and the sugar together on medium speed until you have a thick and pale mixture. Add the eggs one by one while you keep whisking. Put the flour and baking powder together through a sieve and ad a pinch of salt. Spoon a third of the flour mixture through the buttermix. Spoon half the poppyseed mix through the batter, then a third of the flour mixture again, the rest of the poppyseed mixture and then ending with the last third of the flour mixture. You should be left with a smooth but airy texture of the batter. Mix in the vanilla, orangezest and the orange juice. Pour the batter into the cake tin and put the cake one level below the middle in the oven. Bake for about 55-65 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a cake rack where you should let it cool for another 3 hrs.

Heat the golden syrup with the orange strips and the orange juice in a small saucepan on low heat. Leave to boil softly for about 4-5 minutes while stirring occasionally. It should reduce to about 2/3 of the original volume. Pour the glaze with the orange over the bundt cake just shortly before serving.

Note

Golden syrup is not easy to find in the Netherlands. it's like stroop but a much lighter color. There are apparently a few supermarkets that sell it. I've heard people mentioning Vomar or even Xenos or Action. You should be able to find it online for sure. If not, you can use honey like I did. It worked fine for me, but ofcourse I do not know what the flavor will be with golden syrup. it was delicious with honey, so a good alternative I think.

I have a thing for bundt cakes, so if you want a few more ideas have a look at;

Pineapple and toasted coconut Bundt cake

Apple and nuts Bundt cake

Donna Hay’s lemon sour bundt cake

Related Posts:

• Spicy cake with persimmon
• Quince with spices and Eden pans
• Pavlova with pomegranate and cranberry sauce
• Arretje nof – the simplest chocolate cake
• Mascarpone raspberry trifle