Spaghetti with beets, capers and mozzarella

Beets to purify almost everything!

The recipe below, is one I made some weeks ago. It was on a rainy afternoon when I just felt I needed a good lunch, with some great colours to brighten up the day. The combination of the beets and thyme worked very well, especially when topped with some parmesan cheese :-) But of course, this probably would do for dinner even better. The sweet beets and silty capers, and I guess these veggies would even work out with some nicely cooked quinoa, when you're not too fond of pasta's.

Beets are incredibly healthy, and that's not just because of the high level of various vitamins and minerals. Beets are Particularly beneficial to women who are pregnant, as the vitamin B and iron are very beneficial to new growth cells during pregnancy and replenishing iron in the woman's body. But even if you're not pregnant beets happen to have many benefits: they are a wonderful tonic for the liver, (when you 'oops' drank too much!) and they work as a purifier for the blood. To top that, they even can help prevent various forms of cancer.


When you're not feeling too cheerful, beets are really a godsend. They contain 'betaine', a substance also used in certain treatments for depression. It also contains useful 'trytophan', which relaxes the mind and creates a sense of well-being, a bit like chocolate. And finally, they can lower your blood pressure.

Convinced? Good, because there are numerous different and delightful recipes to be made with beetroot! You could use them raw,  finely chopped in a salad with some mint, or for example, a juice with apple and carrot, or in a salad with potatoes and chives, and so on. That said, I'd better think of what beet dish is going to be next on the blog!

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Avocado & Mozzarella salad with Blueberries and Chimichurrie

Avocados for a vital and young skin!

Last few weeks I have been ridiculously busy with the blog. Reason is, we are redesigning it. There weill be a new logo, new layout and some additional features. I'm very happy that my sweet ega is such a creative all-round skilled boy scout; he'll be doing all the designing and building himself. Though, I had to make clear what I had in mind, and what I'd find most important. In my (re)search I have been reading (foodblogs), Twittering, Pinning, Instagramming (is that yet a verb?) and Facebooking so much, that I was even dreaming in hashtags. That's really weird, I can tell you.

But we're getting there and it's absolutely going to look stunning! We will be offline soon for a few days, so in the meantime here's a little treat. Believe me; it is. And not just because of the looks; the combination of the creamy avocado and mozzarella with the sweet & sour taste of the blueberries, topped with some spicy chimichurri is just unbelievably good! And thereby; did you know what avocado does for your health? You should actually eat one of them a day! There are so many benefits from doing so!

For example: Avocados contain a variety of essential nutrients that are of great value to a healthy body: such as potassium, vitamin B and folic acid. Research has shown that avocados contain monounsaturated fatty acids, which help protect women against breast cancer. The potassium helps regulate your blood pressure, and stimulates the digestion so you can get rid of toxins easier (such as alcohol etc..).
In addition, avocados also contain a high level of vitamins B6, C, D, riboflavin and manganese, which  provides a beneficial effect on the immune system. Vitamins A and E, help protect you against cancer and the omega-3 fatty acids have a positive effect on the brains (they exist for 8% of omega-3)​​!

So, please eat this beautiful fruit as often as you want. The myth of avocados making you fat is absolutely, well.. a myth. Avocados are relatively high in fat, but as said before; these are healthy fats, such as monounsaturated fatty acids. They even contribute to a vital and young skin. They also stimulate the production of anti-wrinkle collagen in the body which, together with vitamin E, provides a healthy look. Amen to that. See you soon!

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Crispy spinach salad with orange-gorgonzola vinaigrette

Have it fresh!

It's been an incredibly good summer this year, and I can tell, since we've stayed home and really hoped for some sun and do-able temperatures. It was exactly what we got: it was a blast to be able to go outside with only some flip-flops, tops and shorts.

We live in the south of Amsterdam, just a few hundred meters near the famous Vondelpark, where friends and family meet each other after work or in weekends, with bottles of chilled drinks and  baskets stuffed with goods. So you can imagine what we've been doing night after night!

Barbecues and little gatherings with kids and friends, sun and fresh food... staying out 'till the sun is long gone..  it's like the ultimate summer joy. And since I kind of know how to get around in my kitchen I've been sorting out some good salads to bring along.

 This spinach salad really isn't hard to make but has this nice twist because of the gorgonzola mixed with orange, which makes it a dish of it's own.

Healthy as hell, and great on your plate! ;-)

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Quinoa Caprese with tagliatelle from zucchini

Let's combine some great combinations!

Just like tomatoes, basil and mozzarella seem to be made for each other, the combination of zucchini and tomatoes is quite outstanding too!
I used to make the tagliatelle from zucchini dish often for my kids, when they where younger; it was a great way to have them eat veggies without the sour faces. And the nice thing is, it's such a pure dish, it's incredibly easy and absolutely rich in flavour.

 Since I've discovered quinoa, (please say keen-wa!) I can honestly say I fell in love with it. Besides it's tastiness, it's one of the most healthy products on earth. The seeds (it's not a grain!!) where already cultivated in the Andes, 5000 years ago, and formed the basic diet of its inhabitants, the glorious Incas. They considered quinoa as sacred food, a gift from god. They called it "La Chisiya Mama," the mother of all grains.
Quinoa is a complete source of protein, which contain all the essential amino acids that the human body can not produce itself. These amino acids help your body to actually use the proteins you eat.

Quinoa contains a lot of fibre, more than rice, pasta or potatoes and is richer in vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin E and vitamin B, than all other grains.

So.. and there it comes, I thought of combining the great taste of Caprese with quinoa and the zucchini- tomato dish. It worked out wonderfully well, and looked amazing! I used a small form to layer the dish, but if you don't like that, or don't have a form that fits well, please just layer the food on your plate. The colours will do the trick!

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Spicy Roasted Chickpea salad

Eat yourself healthy and beautiful

As mentioned before, beans and legumes are absolutely one of my favourite things to eat, and especially chickpeas are high on the list. Not only are they incredibly tasty in many different ways (think humous, salads, soups, dough etc.) they are also very, very healthy.

Especially for vegetarians, chickpeas are a great substitute for meat (or eggs when you're vegan). They contain a high content of essential vitamins, like vitamin B12 for instance, which is generally only found in animal products.
Chickpeas are full of iron and vitamin C. Also, vitamin B6 and folic acid are important nutrients that make them so incredibly healthy. Eating chickpeas weekly, in whatever way prepared, retain a right level of iron.

In this salad I roasted the chickpeas for about 15 minutes with some sea salt and a generous amount of chilli powder. It makes them hot and crispy, which goes very well with the sweet and sour taste of the vinaigrette. If you like you can ad some butterhead lettuce in the end. Just divide it on your plate and add the roasted chickpea salad on top. Watch out, this is incredibly good!

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Oeuf Cocotte

Bonjour!

With a family of five, breakfast can be a real pain in the ass. Most days during the week we're in a hurry, (i don't know why, my alarm -ánd the little one- goes off at 7 o'clock, but we still don't make it) which makes it a challenge over and over again, to get something healthy into every mouth, get them dressed properly and to get those backpacks filled in time. I guess we're just an average family..

So, weekends should be spent well! Despite the fact our youngest is a terrible sleeper, he is also mr. Sunshine himself at 07:00 o'clock sharp. So no laziness in bed for me. But the fact we don't have to hurry, don't have to shower or get dressed immediately to run off, is absolutely a blast.

When everyone is awake (I mostly already have spent several hours reading a newspaper, or some  blogs i like) i just love to have breakfast, and sit at the table together.  Happily enough, the rest of my family enjoys that as well. To celebrate these little moments of joy it's even better to make something special! And something special i found for sure on another Dutch blog; www.sarahaandekook.nl. I had no idea what 'cocotte' meant. I just thought it was a way of preparation. Until i found out about my little pans i have stored in my kitchen cabinet; they are called 'cocottes'.
Very well indeed! They just needed to be filled with whatever i had in my fridge and some homemade pesto and sit in the oven for about 10 minutes!

Very very little tasty breakfast pans, which will enlighten your day for sure!

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