Raspberry ice-cream

Who doesn't love raspberry? It's hot outside, let me make some :)
The taste it really good - a bit acid & a bit sweet.

Ingredients

- frozen raspberry, about 700g

- cream, about 250ml

- icing sugar (you need to taste it...) I used about 150g

Instructions

Mix the ingredients together, TASTE it and put it into the ice-cream machine (follow the instructions of your machine).

Quality control for making ice-cream is important!

Optional: At the end you can add some defrosted raspberries or even the fresh ones, with some almond flakes & the raspberry sauce... yummm!

This is how I ate it - with meringue... because I had some egg whites left in the fridge... :p Sorry, it can be better presented... improvement for next time!

French Pot au feu

I looked over my old recipes and found this one, it is from an old cook book. 

Ingredients (about 6 servings)
1.2 kg beef, short ribs, marrow bones - defrozed
3 L water, room temperature

1 onion
3 cloves garlic
4 cloves
4 thyme
4 bail leaves
4 sage
8-10 pepper grains
1 tbsp salt

2kg vegetables - carrots, leek, turnip, celery

Instructions
1. In a big cooking pot, pour water & place meat, bring to boil and let it boil for 10mins
Remove white foam if there is any, then reduce to low heat, cook for 1 hour

Note: the best will be cocotte such as Staub or Le Creuset (Mine: 37cm oval Staub)

2. Briefly chop onion and mash the garlic
After 1 hour, add onion, garlic, cloves, thyme, bail leaf, sage, pepper & salt into the pot
Leave it cook for another 1 hour at low heat

3. When time is up, add in vegetables, bring to boil at medium high heat
Then reduce the heat to low & leave it cook for 1 more hour

Note: If you use frozen vegetables, you can directly put them into the pot but bring it to boil for 5 mins

Serve hot!
Enjoy!

Indian eggplant

I am fan of eggplant, that's why I found this is the recipe, I have done it several times and I still like it. So let me share with you all :)

Ingredients
1 eggplant

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 sliced onion
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 clove minced garlic

2 medium size tomatoes, peeled & diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven's broiler, place a baking sheet on the tray
Cut the eggplant into half (lengthwise), place them on the tray with the flesh facing downward, then rub oil on the eggplant skin
Put the tray right under the broiler and let it cook for 30mins

2. Scoop the flesh out, discard the skin, chop the flesh
Set aside

3. In a large skillet pan, heat the oil at medium high heat. Add in cumin seeds, let them crackle for a min, but be careful not to burn the seeds
Add in onion, ginger & garlic, let it cook until tender

4. Add in tomato, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt & black pepper, stir well
Let it until the tomato becomes soft

5. Add in eggplant, cook for 10-15mins in the open air (without the lid).
Garnish with fresh cilantro

Serve with rice & serve hot!
Enjoy! 

Mexican Guacamole

We know avocado is healthy food, this is a easy recipe for Mexican dip or side dish or Mexican roll.

Ingredients
3 avocado
1-2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
6 cherry tomatoes or 1 medium size tomato
Juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

fresh coriander

Instructions
1. Cut avocado into half (lengthwise), scoop out the seed and scoop out the flesh
Place it in a bowl, use a fork to mash it into purée
Then transfer it into a mixing bowl

2. Chop the red chillies, onion finely. 
Also chop the tomatoes into little pieces, place them in the mixing bowl of avocado

3. Extract the juice of limes and add into the mixing bowl

4. Add olive oil, salt & pepper, stir well

5. Transfer the guacamole into a serving bowl, decorate the top with fresh coriander

Now you can dip tortilla chips or serve with Mexican roll :)
Enjoy!

Radish leaves soup

When I was first moved to France, I first tasted radish at my husband's parents home. They like eating radish with salt. For the leaves part, my mother in law makes the soup. No waste at all! The soup is delicious too :)

If you like radish and do not know what to do with the leaves part, then now you know what to do!

Ingredients
A bunch of radish leaves

1-2 onions
20g butter (original recipe = 50g)

700ml - 1 liter water
salt

Instructions
1. Soak the leaves, rinse them and chop them briefly
Chop the onions

2. In a medium pot at low heat, melt butter
Then fry with onions and radish leaves for about 5 mins or until golden

3. In another pot, boil water and add salt
When it comes to boiled, pour it to the leaves. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 20 mins at low heat

Enjoy!

Mushroom quiche (meat-free)

I rarely make quiche, I am not fan of ham, lardon... I prefer veggie quiche, that's why I bake this mushroom quiche! It is actually quite simple to make.

One thing to pay attention is that whenever you bake mushroom with something else, like quiche, flan, soufflé... if you don't fry the mushroom and discard the juice ahead, you may probably unable to cook well the flan... you will have it end up watery...

Ingredients
300g pastry dough, click here for the recipe
2 onions
500g mushroom

olive oil

250g cream in liquid (I used 30%)
150g milk (I used 1.5%)
3-4 eggs
Salt & pepper

Optional: chopped Scallion


Instructions
1. Rinse, sliced the mushrooms
Chop finely onions

2. In a sauce pan, at medium heat, fry oil with onions & mushroom, until you see the juice from mushroom released

Discard mushroom juice

3. In a big mixing bowl, whisk eggs with cream and milk until they blend together

Add in salt & pepper, then mushroom & onion mixture
Mix well

Note: You can also add scallion at this stage

4. Preheat the oven at 200°c
Place a baking sheet on a pie mould

5. On a floured working surface, roll out the dough until it's 0.3cm (not thicker than 0.5cm) thickness
Lay the dough on the pie mould

6. Use a ladle to transfer the egg mixture to the pie mould carefully

7. Put the quiche into the oven for 30mins or until the surface becomes golden

Note: I used large cake mould since I have no pie mould at home. Because of the height of the quiche is about 4cm, I baked it for 1 hour

Serve it hot!
Enjoy!

Courgette flan

This is a recipe given by my mother-in-law who always bakes very nice flan, soufflé.... I love it because it is really simple and time consuming, suitable for busy day! It is also comfort food of my husband :)

Courgettes are not cooked ahead version

Ingredients
1kg courgette, sliced without peeling off skin
2 shallot, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
parsley

6 eggs
100g Parmesan cheese
100g Emmental cheese
salt & pepper

Instructions
1. Slice courgette, chop shallot & garlic finely

Preheat the oven at 160°c

2. Fry them with olive oil & parsley on a pan until the courgettes become soft, then use a fork to smash them
Set aside and let it cool down

Note: If you don't have time, you can even skip this step

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, cheese, salt & pepper until they blend well together
Add in courgette mixture, stir well

4. Pour the flan mixture into a mould about 1.5" high
Cook it in the oven for 45mins or until the surface becomes golden

Serve hot!
Enjoy!