Pumpkin lentil soup

I saw some pumpkins in the supermarket, they are cheap, so I bought some home to make a soup :) It's great to eat soup during cold days!

I asked my husband to cut it into pieces. It's quite hard and I am not strong enough :s

About the portion of the ingredients I used, I didn't measure them precisely, just do according to your preference and adjust yourself.

Ingredients
1 kg pumpkin
1 cup red lentils
water
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup cream

Instructions
1. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, remove the skin & the seeds

2. Put the chopped pumpkin and red lentils into a large pot, add water until it is cover the ingredients

3. When the water is boiled, let it cook at medium heat until the pumpkins are soft
Notes: It takes about 10-15mins, but just use a fork and poke into the pumpkins to see if it is easy to poke in, if yes = ready!

4. Add in cinnamon & cream (some people might like to add cloves/nutmeg.... be creative!)
Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients to purée like soup :)

Oh you can add grated cheese on the top... yummmmm

Serve hot!

Enjoy!

Intense coffee cake

I have tried different recipes to make coffee cake, but it is not too successful, usually the recipe contains chocolate, which always cover the coffee flavor.

Recently I found one which is good, and I modified the ingredient in the recipe. It turns out so spongy and delicious!
I love this cake! I will definitely make it again :)

Note that the brewed coffee in this recipe plays an important role to give nice intense coffee flavor.

To make brewed coffee, you need ground coffee, hot water and the tool - 

I use an Italian coffee maker (below picture)

 

If you don't have it, you can either choose one of the below options:

Ingredients

1 cup hot brewed coffee (2 tbsp ground coffee = 250ml water)
3 tablespoons coffee or expresso powder

200g butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups brown sugar (original recipe = 2cups white sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

4 eggs (separated egg whites and yolks)

Instructions

1. Combine the hot brewed coffee and coffee or espresso powder in a cup
Set aside to let it cool

2. Beat the butter until it becomes smooth
Gradually add in the sugar and then vanilla. Beat until the mixture is light in color and texture.
Add in egg yolks & mix well

3. Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F

4. Add baking powder & salt, mix well
Add in flour in two times, alternating with the cooled coffee. Beat at low speed after each addition

5. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed, until mixture becomes firm (with firm peak)
With the help of a spatula, stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the coffee mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites

6. Pour the batter into a baking pan (about 8"/20cm)
Smooth the top with the spatula.

7. Bake for 1hour 15mins or until the middle is cooked
Test: insert a knife in the middle and then pull it out, if it is clean = ready

I think it is even better to serve with some caramel sauce... yummmm...

Enjoy!

Olive Tapenade

I like black olives, not as salty as green olives. I remember the first time I ate olives in France, served as snacks before meal (apéritif).

Here are some info about the difference between green and black olives - green olives are picked before they are ripe, while black olives are allowed to ripen on the tree. They will then be treated to remove its bitterness. Green olives will have further treatment to become salty. Therefore, usually in France (in Europe?) we consume green olives as snacks while we consume black olives in dishes such as pizza, pasta, salad....

Also, I just found that olives are rich in iron! As we rarely eat beef, it is good to consume olives to retrieve iron!

Nutritive value of olives:

• Iron:  which is necessary for the body to manufacture red blood cells
• Fiber: Helps to maintain a healthy digestive tract
• Vitamin E: A powerful antioxidant  

Ingredients
2 cup cured black olives, pitted6 canned anchovy fillets4 tablespoons drained capers4 garlic cloves, peeledextra virgin olive oil

*You can add extra ingredients - basil, parsley, and thyme. adding There are some recipes with lemon juice

InstructionPut everything in a food processor and blend them well (stop for a few time, use a spetula to scrap down the ingredients at the edge)

Serve with French crusty bread/biscuits/vegetables for dipping

Enjoy!

Lemon tart - Recipe Ladurée

I have a super lemon tart recipe and everybody likes it ;) but when I see the bakery in France, they have different texture of the lemon filling, I wonder how they do it.
Now I found this recipe! yay!

Shortcrust pastry/pie crust
If you want to make your own pie crust, you can choose between the following recipe
- Shortcrust pastry (highly recommend)
- Fast & easy pie crust

1. Prepare the pie crust the night before, store in the fridge in plastic wrap (well wrapped -> to prevent it from drying)


2. 1st thing to do when you wake up => take the dough out from the fridge, let it warm up a bit, place it on a slightly floured working surface, roll it out, place it on the mould, pinch some holes at the bottom by using a fork

Let it rest in the fridge or freezer

Lemon filling 
3 large eggs 
150g sugar (Original recipe = 200g))
zest of 2 lemons
145g fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 lemons)

270 g butter at room temperature

1. In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Use bain-marie method to thicken the lemon mixture - cook at medium heat for 25-30mins until the mixture becomes thickened.

Note: The temperature of my mixture was about 60°c. At last 10mins you will feel the mixture becomes thicker, then I turned it down to low heat

2. Let it cool down at about 45-50 °C, add butter into the mixture, with the help of a whisk, combine them for 5mins until it becomes smooth

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for 24hours before use
Note: place the plastic wrap by touching the surface of the filling, ensure there is no air can enter => it is to avoid the filling being dried out in the fridge

Assemble crust & filling
1. Preheat the oven at 180°c
When the temperature hits 180°c, take the crust out from the freezer / fridge, put it in the oven

Bake for 10-15mins or until it becomes golden

Let it cool down

2. After the crust is cooled down completely, take the lemon filling out of the fridge. 

Use a spetula to pour the filling onto the tart

3. Put into the fridge for several hours to let the tart fix

Enjoy!

Fried Savoy cabbage with bacon

I feel so thankful about my life in Belgium, we meet very nice people here. They are very friendly and generous!

Dark green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, etc. are good for fighting against cancer, also cabbage contains lots of fibers

My Dutch teacher has a large garden with different vegetables and fruits, also herbs! She gave me a super big savoy cabbage, I don't know how to cook with it as I have never tried to make it.

I found a recipe, it is a British dish, simple but surprisingly delicious, even with simple seasoning. Actually it tastes like Chinese vegetables haha. 

The cabbage is sweet and soft, unlike other cabbages, my husband and I both like it ;)

Ingredients
1 savoy cabbage

4tbsp olive oil
4 cloves chopped garlic
100g bacon (I used smoked turkey)

salt & pepper

Instructions
1. Remove the dark outer leaves, cut out the thick stem
Cut the cabbage in half, then into quarters
Remove the core, chop the quarters up into smaller pieces

2. In a large pot, boil the cabbage for 10mins, be careful, not too long, because you will fry it after!

3. On a pan, heat up oil and garlic, add in bacon, fry a bit until the bacon becomes golden brown

4. Add in cabbage, salt & pepper, stir it & cover the lid
Let it cook for 10mins

Enjoy!