Show me a man who doesn’t like sizzling steak, and I’ll tell him who he is….he may be vegetarian and not know it. No offense. I like the idea of steak – a smoking hunk of beef on a warm plate – tasty, rested – heaven! I wasn’t raised on steak, a natural born steak eater and cooker, not. Good, stewed beef – yes; de-skewered Suya (Nigerian version of Satés) – yes; in soups – for sure but as a slab for dinner – no, never. Yes we had BBQs too, thank you very much, but we ate our way through tons of...
Indonesian Satés & Soul
Talk about melangés…talk about Indonesia and its delicious patchwork of influences from all over Asia – peanut sauces and hot chilies from Thailand, Vietnamese nam pla (fish sauce) and terasi (shrimp paste), Indian spices, Chinese stir-fries… a conglomerate of tastes and techniques all rolled up. More often than not, a typical Indonesian meal combines sweet, sour, hot and spicy, even throwing in a bit of punch. Some may find it too sweet but if it’s served right then you just love it. Anyway, this weekend past, I got invited to a Braderie (dutch for fair) to celebrate Indonesia’s independence from Dutch...
Peanut Butter Chicken
Cupboard love – you have to have it. Those days when nothing will do but something simple. Guaranteed, full-proof. We all have some of those – the sandwich that quenches all hunger, the drinks that cool all thirsts and the chicken….. that satisfies the desire for creamy, succulent, fragrant and all with something straight from your cubby.
Greek salad extraordinaire
I have a recipe book, a recipe address book where I write down my recipes. The recipes that go in there are those that make the cut and hit the mark. Those recipes are forever immortalized in my food hall of fame. You’ll be glad to know that this salad has reigned there for almost a decade since I first discovered it while at University. I think everyone should have an address book for writing recipes…assuming you love writing like I do even in this computer age of online everything. Why I like the address book chronicling is that it allows you index your...
Target tips
Recognise this pattern? Maybe you do… but I didn’t, at first. I’ve never been to America. Please don’t laugh…..
Princess Cupcakes
Cakes fit for a Princess. With frosting to match. Turning four is no easy feat and we celebrated by having a kid’s version of our street party. I decided to make loads of pink cupcakes, frosted with Chocolate cream and decorated with hagelslag. This post is all about the frosting…. my amazing Creme Fraiche frosting. Tasty, glossy and immediately spreadable – where else can you find such? I call it my no-cook ganache.
Street parties
A few weeks ago, my neighbour organised a street party. It was a pleasant suprise and the turn out was great. Busy families, busy times, we rarely had time to meet or get to know one another. And so this party sorted that out. In one fell swoop. Families ordered as many pizzas as they wanted; The delivery guys were shocked. Or maybe that was just me. I haven’t ever had a pizza party.
Monkey bread, Banana bread
I’ve never fancied Banana breads or muffins. Never courted them, craved them or sought them out in a crowd. Not when I was young and my Liberian-American aunt made it with rice flour. I just couldn’t imagine how over-ripe bananas could morph into something glowing…. until I met my friend, S. Kids obey you parents and it will be well with you. So says the Word of God. And it’s true. My mum always said ‘Pick your friends with care and caution’ 🙂 . . . if only for Banana bread!
TV West Appearance
A few months ago, I came across an ad in newsletter about a TV station looking for expats to talk about their life in the Netherlands while cooking a meal from their homeland. Since I haven’t gotten on Masterchef … yet, I figured TV West was my best shot at fame and so I leapt at it much to the initial displeasure of my husband, who generally likes to have his peace. I was so excited because I’ve always wondered what cooking on TV/for TV was like. (Not to mention all the TV offers and the book deals to be...