The one with the things I liked this week (105)

I already made this post yesterday, but forgot to hit the publish button. Today I woke up with a bad case of the sniffles, so maybe that was already simmering yesterday.... I'll leave home for a bit to celebrate friend L's birthday and then I'll go straight back to bed with a cup of tea and a book. I've really had enough of all the cold we've been having lately and the snow we had last week. I am ready for spring. Hope the sniffles haven't found you, and that you're having a great weekend so far.

Looking up

 Working on some new notebooks

Seen on the street

Giggle

 I was team starter this month at the cooking club, we made pea-soup accompanied by toast with fish

And working another door into a 'things I liked post' :-)

The one with the strawberry popsicles

I bumped into some super cute pink popsicles molds last week. Immediately childhood memories of warm summer nights, playing in the streets, enjoying sweet cold treats came to mind. I needed to get them, and made some popsicles the same evening. As a kid, we filled the molds with sweeter than sweet lemonade. These are a more adult-y and healthier version.

What you'll need:

• popsicles molds (mine makes 6 popsicles, but the mixture could make about 10)
• 400 grams of strawberries
• a big cup of greek yoghurt
• 5 big tablespoons of honey, or to taste 

Wash the strawberries and remove the leafy tops

Puree the strawberries in your blender, and add the yoghurt and honey. Taste and add more honey if you don't think it's sweet enough. The strawberries I bought were pretty sweet, so five teaspoons of honey was enough for me. 

Fill the molds with the mixture

I left them in the freezer over night

Enjoy!

 

I got these molds at Dutch store HEMA. They're € 1,50 and easy to use. After taking them out of the fridge, the popsicles were pretty easy to remove from the molds. 

Do you like making your own popsicles? I've got one of them left, so I am in need of some ideas for making a new batch. What's your favourite recipe? Any flavour combinations I should try?

More recipes are over here

The one with cheese and filo pastry

Last sunday I was craving for a little something to snack on. Preferably not too healthy, and easy to make. Oh, and something that didn't require a trip to the supermarket. As a cheese aficionado, I always have cheese in the fridge. I had some filo dough as well and thought these two might be a match made in heaven.

What you'll need:

• 5 sheets of filo pastry
• 10 chunks of cheese
• 50 grams of butter
• ketchup, or something else for dipping purposes

Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Cut the dough in half, and melt the butter slowly in a small pan. Remove the pan from the heat and brush the sheet of dough on both sides with the melted butter. Place a big chunk of cheese on top, and wrap it like it's a present.

Place them on a sheet of baking paper, and bake them on the middle shelf of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy.

 

I served them with ketchup, but I can imagine they might taste good with a mixture of crème fraîche, chopped up garlic and fresh chives.

More crafting and cooking can be found at the super duper fun Linky Party below!

The one with the leek tart

What you'll need:

• 2 eggs
• 3 big tablespoons of mascarpone
• 3 sheets of ready made dough (150 grams)
• 3 leeks
• blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven at 190 C / 375 F, and start by lining a pie tin with baking paper. Cover the thin with the dough and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the washed and chopped leeks until they get soft. Remove from the heat and let this cool down a bit.

 

In a bowl, mix the eggs, mascarpone and season this with salt and pepper. Add the leeks and give it all a good stir. Fill the pie tin with the mixture and crumble over the blue cheese. Let it bake in the preheated oven for about half an hour, or until the top has a nice golden colour. Wait for 10 minutes to cool down and remove the tart from the tin. Enjoy!

More recipes are over here. Have you made something worth sharing in the kitchen recently? I'd love to see your links in the comments below, I can always use a good recipe!

The one with chocolate and oranges

I wanted to make a little something over the holidays to take with me on my visit to my granny. I decided it needed to be sweet and easy to make. We both enjoy a nice piece of chocolate, so I made these chocolate covered oranges to accompany our Christmas coffee.

What you'll need:

• 160 grams of orange peel
• 200 grams of dark chocolate
• optional: sea salt

What you'll need to do:

Melt the chocolate in a bain marie

Dip the oranges in the melted chocolate

Oops...

I added a bit of sea salt to half of the oranges and 

let them harden on a sheet of baking paper.

The one with the brussels sprouts pesto

As most kids, I used to dislike brussels sprouts when I was young. Fortunately for me, my mom also didn't like these miniature cabbages, so I didn't have to eat them very often. A couple of years ago, I discoved that they can actually taste pretty good! They are quite the healthy guys, containing vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre. Also, they contain sinigrin, which is believed to protect against colon cancer.

What you'll need (dinner for 4)

• 350 grams of brussel sprouts
• 2 (small) cloves of garlic
• 6 tablespoons of roasted pinenuts
• lots of extra virgin olive oil (around 1/4 cup)
• pasta for four
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 60 grams of grated parmesan cheese for the pesto, plus extra for the pasta.

 

Wash the brussels sprouts, remove the bottoms, the outside leaves and slice in half. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add the sprouts and cook them for 3 minutes. Take them out of the pan, into a colander and let them cool down. If you're in a hurry, you can rinse them with cold water.

Prepare the pasta, as said on the packaging. While the pasta is cooking, Toss together the brussels sprouts, garlic, the pine nuts, and grated cheese in a blender, and mix until it's smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the pesto to the pasta and serve with extra cheese on top.

 

More recipes can be found over here