23 November 2016

Creamy soup of roasted chestnuts

Sandra main dishes, mains, snacks, soups chestnut soup, chestnuts, gluten free, roasted chestnuts, vegan 0 Comments

Hooray for fall, it’s chestnut season again! In Germany, from this period on you can buy freshly roasted chestnuts on every corner, to singe your fingers and lift your spirits. With temperatures lowering, these warm, sweet chestnuts make the ultimate seasonal treat. Here in The Netherlands you’ll mainly find the round, unrelated horse chestnut, which […]

9 November 2016

Lentil salad with roast pumpkin and walnuts

Sandra breakfast/brunch, main dishes, mains, salads gluten free, lentil salad, puy lentils, roast pumpkin, vegan 0 Comments

The past few weeks here in Holland we’ve been treated to an amazingly beautiful autumn, with bright blue skies, mild temperatures and a view of every shade of red, orange and yellow in the book. Now that November rains have started, I’m holding on to that happy sensation by bringing those vibrant autumnal colours and flavours to my plate […]

27 October 2016

Amazing pumpkin bread – classic, GF and vegan version

Sandra baking, breakfast/brunch, festive, sweet egg replacement, gluten free, pumpkin, pumpkin bread, pumpkin loaf, pumpkin mash, pumpkin puree, vegan 3 Comments

With pumpkin season being in full swing and Halloween coming up, I’ve been experimenting with sweet and savoury pumpkin dishes all week long. Living in a country where we don’t traditionally celebrate Halloween, our girls did carve their pumpkins – not into scary faces, though, but into their favourite cuddly animals (if you’d like to […]

19 October 2016

Potato salad with sugar snap peas, almonds and fresh oregano

Sandra main dishes, mains, quick & easy, salads poached eggs, potato salad, salad, sugar snap peas, vegan 1 Comment

This week I signed up for a local egg delivery service. Free range eggs, delivered straight from the local chicken to my door. When not raising your own chickens, you can’t get any more fresh than that! Since I use loads of eggs in my cooking, I was quite enthusiastic about the arrangement that would […]

5 October 2016

Fresh pattypan squash and courgette tart with basil ricotta

Sandra main dishes, mains, oven dishes/one-pan dishes button squash, courgette, gluten free, pattypan squash, shortcrust pastry, squash, tart, zucchini 4 Comments

From September onwards, you can see them appearing on porches and garden tables: little decorative squashes, announcing the start of fall. Varying from smooth and pale white to striped and knobbly, these flying saucer shaped pattypan squashes or button squashes are sold everywhere in Holland as seasonal decoration. When I picked up my girl at […]

5 October 2016

Gluten free almond shortcrust pastry

Sandra basic recipes almond flour, gluten free, quiche, rice flour, shortcrust pastry, tart case 2 Comments

This light pastry made with rice flour and almond flour has a gentle and slightly sweet flavour, pairing well with any kind of filling. Prepared with rapeseed oil, it makes an ideal base for vegan quiches and tarts, but it’s also delicious as a case for our non-vegan pattypan squash and courgette tart with basil […]

5 October 2016

Gluten free buckwheat and quinoa shortcrust pastry

Sandra basic recipes buckwheat, gluten free, quiche, quinoa, rice flour, shortcrust pastry, tart case 1 Comment

This wholesome gluten free shortcrust pastry makes a lovely crumbly base for quiches and tarts. The buckwheat and quinoa flour give it a deep, warm flavour which pairs wonderfully with fresh and more savoury fillings, like it does in our pattypan squash and courgette tart with basil ricotta. I don’t use xanthan gum when I […]

5 October 2016

Classic butter and flour shortcrust pastry

Sandra basic recipes quiche, shortcrust pastry, tart case 0 Comments

This classic shortcrust pastry makes the ideal base for crumbly quiches and tarts. The key to making it so nice and crumbly is the use of butter straight from the fridge. A food processor is very effective in preparing the dough: not only is it very easy, but it also prevents the butter from warming […]

21 September 2016

Gazpacho with homemade herby croutons

Sandra breakfast/brunch, snacks, soups croutons, gazpacho, summer, tomato soup, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian 1 Comment

When I had dinner at my favourite restaurant the other day, I was served a little shot glass with gazpacho for an appetizer. Up till then, I have to admit, I always found gazpacho to be a bit of a dull dish, a mixture which wouldn’t make up its mind between being a cold drink […]

6 September 2016

Kohlrabi salad: two wonderful ways

Sandra salads kohlrabi, kohlrabi salad 2 Comments

My friend Anca has a beautiful vegetable garden. The garden itself isn’t big, but she and her husband packed it with vegetable plots, glass houses for exotic herbs and lattice work for high-growing tomato plants and bean stalks. When she was giving me a tour the other day past beautiful black cherry tomatoes, cheerfully spotted […]