Rice milk

Rice milk is the kind of food your mom certainly made when you were a child. I read this week it was good for your health, the milk fixing the rice zinc or something... So I decided to give it a try, it seemed so easy to make...

This first batch was a bit of a deception. It burned over in a minute of innattention,and the caster sugar makes it taste a bit funny.

But it's still good...

Mouse in a salad

We were waiting at the cashier at the supermarket and I was browsing this cooking magazine for kids, full of good ideas.

Including the mouse made with an half egg, radishes and pepper.

And I put it on top of my usual mixed salad.

The guests liked it a lot !

Easter cookies

This is a long overue post, but blogging isn't on my top priority list at the moment.... But here are the cookies I made for everybody, family and friends (and DBF's collegues) at Easter.

Usually people make cookies for Christmas, but a few years back when I first wanted to try and make cookies, it hapened to be Easter time. So I got a set of cookie cutters with a Spring/Easter theme from my local Hobbycraft. It was lucky because these are hard to come by. At least harder than Christmas ones.

The novelty is that I used chocolate for the eyes and decorations over the coloured icing. They should have the same taste, as I made only one batch of batter, but people said they prefered the chicks because they have an almond taste ! Suggestion of the colours ?

Valentine cookies

It's a bit late, but I wanted to share the cookies I made for Valentine's day. I made them pink with food colouring, added some chocolate, but the specific thing is the letters embossed in the cookies. I got a "print your cookies" kit for Christmas. It's just like stamping, and it makes very personal cookies....

Express white sauce

I think I will create a new category "why should we do complex things when it could be so simple" or "simple express cooking". I just love to invent and create shortcuts...

After the microwave zucchinis, i give to you... the express white sauce. The Bechamel kind you can pour on cauliflower and brocolis.... Not only is it quick and tasty, but there is no added fat !

Ingredients

250 ml of cold milk
1/2 cube of vegetable broth
2 soup spoon of corn starch (Maizena)
pepper

Recipe

Boil 200 ml of the milk with the broth in a pan.
Dissolve the starch in the remaining cold milk and add the mix to the pan when it's boiling. Mix constantly until the sauce thickens. Add pepper.

There you go, it's now ready to serve !

Of course this recipe welcomes many variations. Add cheese, change to chicken broth, add herbs, etc.... and you get sauces for all circunstances.

Chocolate pie recipe

DBF really wanted a chocolate pie, a sort of obession with him. So we tried different method, such as buying ready made cream and cooking it in the pie crust. But as usual, we can't control what's in the cream.

So I tried to make my own chocolate cream. The first attempt with real chocolate tasted a bit weird, so I decided to try with Nesquik. I love Nesquik and it's designed to go well with milk. And tada ! the perfect recipe. And you can also make tartelets, like in the picture.

Start with making a basic pie crust (recipe here)
Read the preliminary notes

Ingrédients

450 ml of cold milk
2 soup spoon Maizena
1 egg yolk
90 g of instant chocolate powder (Nesquik)

Recipe

Cook the crust blank 5-10 minutes at 180°c. Meanwhile, prepare the cream.

Put 350 ml of milk and the chocolate to boil in a pan, and dilute the Maizena in the remaining cold milk. Add the egg yolk and mix..

Remove the pie from the oven before the milk boils. Because once it does, you'll have to add the Maizena, egg mix to the pan, mixing constantly, and the cream will thicken fast (in about 1 minute max). And you want to have the pie crust nearby to pour the cream in.

Oven cook the pie 10-15 minutes at 180°c.

Tart economics

We always say that home cooking with fresh basic products is cheaper than buying already made food. SO I made my calculations for my homemade pies, and yes, they cost about 2 euros when you need at least 6 euros for a pie at the supermarket.

But what is surprising is that the homemade dough, made with the cheapest ingredients, is more expensive than the fresh ready to use dough, even from a good brand. Why is that? If you have the answer, please share with the rest of us.

Of course, we can only repeat the advantages of homemade dough : you know the composition, you can make it whenever with ingredients you already have for other stuff, and of course, it tastes better.

So don't hesitate....

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On dit toujours que cuisiner à partir des éléments de base revient moins cher. Du coup, j'ai fait mes calculs pour mes tartes. Et en effet je me retrouve avec une tarte maison à 2 euros 16, alors qu'une part de tarte est facilement 3 euros en Boulangerie, et une tarte complète en supermarché est d'au moins 6 euros.

Par contre, quand on calcule le prix de la pâte brisée maison, on tombe des nues : c'est plus cher que les pâtes toutes prêtes, même de marque, et de "haute qualité". Pourtant je n'ai utilisé que des produits premier prix de Lidl. Comment est-ce possible? Surtout avec juste de la farine et de la margarine? Je laisse la question ouverte, si vous avez la réponse....

Pourtant, même si le prix semble plus élevé (pas de beaucoup), on ne peut s'empêcher de rappeler les avantages de la pâte maison : on sait ce qu'il y a dedans, c'est bien pratique de pouvoir la faire n'importe quand avec des produits qu'on a de toute façon toujours à la maison pour d'autres choses, et surtout, c'est meilleur.

Alors n'hésitez pas.....

Test de scones

One of the things I miss from not living in the UK anymore is scones. I was browsing my Google + thingy when I found a recipe for scones, so I had to try it.

I left out the sultanas (I don't like them). I have to say I don't master the shape of them yet, the dough was all sticky (better add more flour next time).

But they are tasting like real scones, crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and a little sugary. No need to add anything, it's like mini cakes !

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Une des choses qui me manquent depuis que j'ai quitté l'Angleterre, ce sont les scones. Alors quand j'ai vu cette recette sur Marmiton en surfant sur mon Google plus, il a fallu que j'essaye sur le champ !

Je n'ai pas mis les raisins secs (beurk) La pâte était assez collante (ma faute, la prochaine fois je rajouterai de la farine), et je n'ai donc pas maitrisé la forme, mais ils ont le goût des vrais scones, croustillants à l'extérieur, fondants à l'intérieur, pas besoin de rajouter quoique ce soit, même pas de la confiture, c'est assez sucré, comme des gâteaux miniatures.... Bonne recette !

Oats cookies

DBF is a chocolate freak, mostly in a pie form, but I prefer cookies and biscuits. The simple kind. The advantage of baking our own cookies is to know exactly what's in them, to avoid all the E-something and other weird things so good to the taste, but potentially harmful to our body.

So here is a recipe for oats cookies.

Why oats? Look on the box, it's full of good things, lowers cholesterol, etc... You can keep these cookies for weeks if stored correctly, and they are easy to carry around and eat whenever you feel like it during the day. You can make them any shape you want. I personnaly prefer 4 cm size shapes, quite small, so it's easier to munch on them.

Ingredients

50 g of flour
100 g of oats (the Quaker porridge kind)
60 g of vegetable fat
75 g of caster sugar
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
1 soup spoon of milk

Recipe

Mix and knead all the ingredients together to get a firm and non sticky ball. If it's too dry, add some milk.
Leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Switch the oven to 175°c
Roll the dough flat to have a 0.5cm thickness with a rolling pin or your hands. Use shapes to cut out the cookies.

Note that the dough might be a bit brittle, so knead it a little bit to warm up, and the dough will become more elastic and workable.

Bake about 10 minutes. The cookies will be a little bit soft still, but will harden with time. If you cook for too long, beware of your teeth !

Leave the cookies to cool down on a grid, and store in a dry cool box.

Break a minute

I don't know what I ate yesterday, but it made me sick on my stomach not from my cooking !), so I'll do a bit of dieting, and so will this blog, to match the mood.... But tomorrow we'll have a recipe for Oats cookies. Ideal to carry around in case of hypoglycemy or so....

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Je ne sais pas ce que j'ai mangé hier, mais ça m'est resté sur l'estomac (pas ma cuisine en tout cas). Donc un peu de diète, pour moi et le blog. Mais demain je partagerai ma recette des biscuits à l'avoine qui conservent bien et sont idéaux pour les fringales l'hypoglycémie.

Salade avocat crevettes (avocado and shrimps salad)

It's Springtime, and we are craving fresh and greens ! Here is an easy classic you can vary again and again. The base is half an avocado, and shrimps in mayonnaise. Here I added chunks of red pepper and iceberg salad, but I often use surimi, hard egg, asparagus, ham, tomatoes....

According to the quantity and the number of elements, this can be an entrée or a main dish.

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C'est le printemps, on a envie de frais et de vert ! Voici un classique facile qu'on peut varier à l'envie. Je le fais souvent, mais jamais pareil. Ici on a un demi avocat, des crevettes dans la mayonnaise, des morceaux de poivron rouge et salade iceberg. Mais souvent j'utilise du surimi, de l'oeuf dur, des asperges, du jambon, des tomates....

Selon la quantité et le nombre d'éléments, cela peut être une entrée ou un plat principal.

Tarte à la clémentine

Yet another experiment... It's the end of the clementine season here, and I wanted to try an alternative to the lemon pie. So I replaced the 100 ml of lemon juice by clementine juice (freshly squeezed), and used 50 g of sugar instead of 150 g.

Verdict : it has only a subtle taste of clementine, and it's not very sweet. DBF, who hates desserts with citrus, loves it. He ate 2 parts tonight !!!

I think it will make a nice fresh dessert for a warm summer....

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Encore une expérience.... c'est la fin de saison pour les clémentines, donc c'est juste le moment pour essayer une version alternative de la tarte au citron, en remplaçant les 100 ml de jus de citron par du jus de clémentine (pressé) et en utilisant 50 g de sucre à la place de 150 g.

Verdict : le goût de clémentine est vraiment subtil, au point où DBF, qui déteste les desserts aux agrumes, adore et en a mangé deux parts ce soir ! 

Cela fera un dessert frais pour un été chaud....

Lemon pie recipe

I love lemon pies (just like the Stark girls, if you know Game of Thrones), but DBF hates them. So it's not easy to try and make one, then be the only one eating it. But I was lucky, because DBF's mom and sister came to visit and gave me a yummy thumbs up.

This recipe is a first draft, so if you try it on, don't hesitate to send your comments ! The originality is that it's made with milk, not with butter.

Start with making a basic pie crust (recipe here)
Read the preliminary notes

Ingrédients

2 lemons
about 350 ml of cold milk
2 soup spoon Maizena
1 egg yolk
150 g of sugar

Recipe

Cook the crust blank 5-10 minutes at 180°c. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon cream.

Squeeze 2 lemons and measure the volume up. It will determine how much milk you need for a final volume of 450 ml. For exemple, if you have 100 ml of lemon juice, you'll need 350 ml of milk.

Put the milk and the sugar to boil in a pan, but keep 50 ml to dilute the Maizena, the egg and the lemon juice.

Remove the pie from the oven before the milk boils. Because once it does, you'll have to add the Maizena, egg and juice mix to the pan, mixing constantly, and the cream will thicken fast (in about 1 minute max). And you want to have the pie crust nearby to pour the cream in.

Oven cook the pie 15 minutes at 180°c.

Notes for all my pies

I have a really small oven, so I use pie plates 20 and 24 cm in diameter. So adapt /

- the pie crust quantity
- the filling volume. Mine is ideally 450 ml, but of course you'll need more for a bigger plate.

It's essential to know your own oven, so you can adjust the temperature and cooking time accordingly.

Pie crust recipe

This is the recipe I use for all my pies.

Mix 200 g of flour, a pinch of salt and 100 g of cold butter (or 80 g of vegetable spread) with your fingers to create a  « crumble ».

Note : for a sweet pie, add 30 g of sugar and a pack of vanilla sugar, and for a salted pie, add 1/4 tea spoon of salt.

Add about 50 ml of cold water and mix until you have a non sticky elastic ball of dough.

Let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll and flatten the dough. Prepare the pie plate so it looks like the picture: put a sheet of cooking paper before setting the dough on the plate. Push the dough over the sides of the plate, make holes on the bottom with a fork and cut the excess paper so it won't touch the sides of the oven (because the paper will burn !)

That's it ! Your crust is ready to use !

Courgettes au micro ondes

Need some greens on your plate fast? Here is a way to get yummy courgettes (zuchinis) in minutes.

- Wash the zuchini, dry and cut in slices that you put in a recipient fit for the micro wave oven.
- Put some olive oil, or philadelphia cheese, or fresh goat cheese on top.
- Micro wave 5 minutes. Let it rest a bit, and voilà !

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Besoin de légumes rapidement dans les assiettes, voici comment avoir des courgettes en quelques minutes.

- Laver la courgette et la couper en rondelles qu'on dispose dans un plat à micro-ondes.
- Verser de l'huile ou du fromage frais par dessus.
- Chauffer 5 minutes à pleine puissance, laisser reposer, et... voilà !

What I've been up to....

I'm not in a very creative mind at the moment, at least not craft-wise. Or I'm knitting jumpers. In any case, I don't have anything to show on this blog.

On the other hand, I'm getting creative in the kitchen. I started making pies and such, so my blog is going to be more cooking oriented from now on...

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Je ne fais pas grand chose en bricolage en ce moment, à part tricoter des gilets, ce qui est plutôt utilitaire, et donc je n'ai rien à montrer sur ce blog.

Par contre, je suis assez créative dans la cuisine, à faire des tartes ou autre, et donc mon blog va devenir plus orienté cuisine..

First cookies before Christmas?

On Sunday I made those cookies. Somehow, I like cookies a lot better than cakes, cupcakes and such. DBF is the reverse, or so he says, because yesterday a few star cookies disapeared before I had time to add the chocolate icing!!! The flowers have an orange icing. Otherwise it's a simple traditional recipe for vanilla biscuits.

Needless to say they are yummy!!!

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Dimanche j'ai fait des biscuits. Je préfère les biscuits aux gâteaux et cupcakes, bizarrement, alors que DBF déclare l'inverse. Pourtant, quelques étoiles de la première fournée ont disparu avant même que j'ai eu le temps de rajouter le chocolat par dessus ! Les fleurs sont glacées à l'orange. Et le biscuit est une recette basique à la vanille.

Autant dire que c'est super bon !!!

Jam cupcakes

A while ago I tried to make cupcakes with a bit of jam Inside,with the traditional method. This time I used my cupcake maker. First I tried the apricot jam, just adding a bit on top of the mix in the maker, and  not only it didn't sink in, but it tended to go all over the place.

Then I tried the orange marmelade ones, adding some of the mix on top, and it was much better. But the process remained messy, with jam spilling all over the place during baking, so that I had to clean up each the apparatus each time !

Not my favourites....

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Il y a un bout de temps j'avais essayé de faire des cupcakes ou muffins avec de la confiture à l'intérieur, mais  c'était un peu un désastre.

Donc il me fallait réessayer avec l'appareil à cupcakes. La première fournée, à l'abricot n'était pas terrible, car je n'avais pas ajouté de pate au dessus, et la confiture a coulé un peu partout. La deuxième, fournée, à l'orange, était un peu mieux, avec de la pate qui recouvre le tout, mais la confiture a toujours tendence à fuir, et donc il faut laver l'appareil entre les fournées, une galère !

Vous comprendrez donc que ces cupcakes ne sont pas mes favoris....

Miniature bread

I looked at my cupcake maker and I wondered "What if I used it to make mini  breads?" I used some ready made cereal flour where you just add water, rise, cut into mini doughs. And voilà!

You will ask me, what's the point? Well, what's the point of trying to make bread with a rice cooker? (yes, some japanese do it). Because I can! Just cut in two, spread Philadelphia or salmon mousse, and you get ppetizers !

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En regardant ma machine à cupcakes, je me demandais, "et si je faisais du pain avec?" J'ai utilisé la farine multicéréales o on n'a qu'a ajouté de l'eau, lever, couper en petits bouts, et voilà!

Vous allez me demander à quoi ça sert, ben à quoi sert de faire du pain dans un cuit-riz comme certains japonais? parce qu'on peut! En plus, coupez en deux, tartinez de Philadelphia ou de mousse de saumon, et voilà des bouchées apéritif faciles !