Tofu telor - tahoe telor (GF-DF-SF)

Tahoe, tofu or bean curd, this soybean product comes in many varieties.
Lots of vegetarians eat it often. Including myself. I like it, it’s very versatile, you can add any flavor you want to it.

Being in menopause I came to read some articles and new insights about the health benefits of soy products. Like all beans soy contain generous amounts of phytoestrogens, very good and helpful for menopausal women. But eating and drinking a lot of soy products is not as healthy as I thought. At last it depends of the way you (tr)eat it. Just plain it contains anti-nutritional factors.

Fermentation destroys these anti-nutritional factors and increases its mineral availability.
Miso, tamari and tempeh are fermented soy products. Tofu, soy drinks and soy burgers etc. not!

So when you safely want to eat tofu you have to add for example tamari or miso.
Traditionally tofu is eaten with seaweed and miso and when possible fish or meat.
The anti-nutritional factors of unfermented soy can create big problems like brittle bones, thyroid problems, memory loss, depression, higher breast cancer risk, interference with the absorption of B12, etc. When you want to read more about this click here.
or you can read what Susun S. Weed has to tell about it in her book: The New Menopausal Years.

This recipe is a safe one which uses soy in combination with tamari. Buy a gluten free one (that’s the real, traditional stuff without wheat!)
It’s a traditional recipe from Indonesia. I ate it with black sticky rice, stir-fried chard and a peanut sauce.

Tahoe telor (tahoe omelet)(2 pers)

250 g organic tofu
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 organic eggs
3 tbsp gluten free tamari
Pepper and salt

Wrap the tofu block in a clean cloth and put a weight on it for about half an hour.

Then cut the block in cubes and marinate them in the tamari for another half hour. Stir occasionally.
In the meantime you can cook your rice, prepare your veggies and make the peanut sauce (recipe will follow this week).

After marinating you bake the tofu cubes in some oil golden brown.
Mix the eggs with some salt and pepper and pour in with the tofu. Bake the omelet slowly, some minutes. And ready!

Tahoe telor (omelet met tahoe, 2 pers)

250 g biologische tahoe
2 el zonnebloemolie
4 biologische eieren
3 el glutenvrije tamari
Peper en zout

Vouw het tofoeblok in een schone theedoek en zet er een half uur een gewicht op.
Snijd dan in blokjes en marineer ze nog een half uur in de tamari. Roer af en toe om.

Ondertussen kun je de rijst koken, je snijbiet klaarmaken en een pindasaus maken (recept volgt deze week).

Na het marineren bak je de tofublokjes in wat olie tot ze goudbruin zijn.
Klop de eieren met wat zout en peper en voeg ze aan de tofu toe. Bak de omelet zachtjes gaar.

En klaar!

Hotchpotch with endive and baked tomatoes - Andijviestamppot met gebakken tomaatjes (GF-SF)

This is a very Dutch dish.

In Holland I think in wintertime everybody at least once a week eats a dish like stamppot.

Literally it means crushed or mashed dish, but in my, very old, dictionary it is called hotchpotch .

There are lots of variations, but the main ingredient is the potato combined with some other vegetable and meat. Now most of my readers know I do not eat meat, so for me a hotchpotch is only vegetables, sometimes with cheese or fish or tofu.

This one is made of endive (cichorium endivia). It is a bitter vegetable, especially the outer dark green leaves are rich in vitamin A and C and calcium.

In Italy they eat a lot of green leafy vegetables and there is a big variety in de cichorium family. Here we only have 2, the leafy and the curly one.
It is really nice to eat it quickly stir-fried in the wok with some tomatoes, garlic and anchovies.

This recipe is very basic and easy to make and I use freshly cut raw endive.

It goes very well with a nice piece of salmon.

Endive hotchpotch (2 pers)

600g peeled potatoes
200-300g freshly cut endive
knob of butter
100-200ml hot milk
pepper and salt
250 g cherry tomatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic
handful of basil, roughly chopped
olive oil

Boil the potatoes with some salt and mash them with the hot milk and a knob of butter.
Season with some freshly ground pepper.

In the meantime you wash and cut the endive very finely. Set aside in a colander.

Half the cherry tomatoes and bake them in some olive oil with the thinly sliced garlic, about 5 minutes. Season with some pepper and salt and throw in the chopped basil at the end.

When your potato mash is ready, stir in the endive with a big spoon. Do it quickly.
Serve in the middle of a plate and top with the tomatoes.
Bon Appétit!

Andijvie stamppot met gebakken cherry tomaatjes (2 pers)

600g geschilde aardappels
200-300g versgesneden andijvie
klont boter
100-200ml hete melk
peper en zout
bakje cherry tomaten, 250 g
1-2 tenen knoflook, in zeer dunne plakjes
handje verse basilicum, grofgehakt
olijfolie

Kook de aardappelen gaar met wat zout en stamp ze met de hete melk en een klont boter.
Breng op smaak met wat versgemalen peper.

Ondertussen snijd je de andijvie heel fijn en was ze. Zet even apart in een vergiet.

Halveer de cherry tomaatjes en bak ze samen met de knoflook in wat olijfolie, ongeveer 5 minuten. Breng op smaak met peper en zout en voeg aan het eind de basilicum toe.

Als je klaar bent met aardappels stampen voeg je de andijvie toe en roer deze er snel door met een grote pollepel.
Schep in het midden van een bord en de tomaatjes er boven op.
Eet smakelijk!

apple cake - appelcake (GF - SF)

It’s an old classic in Dutch kitchen: apple cake.
Especially made with a Red of Boskoop or a Golden Renet this cake is top.
Not too sweet and a soft, moist texture; what else do you need on a somber, low cloudy day in October? You’re right, a nice cup of hot tea and a good book.

Right now I’m reading The Tattooed Girl from Joyce Carol Oates(1938), she’s an American writer and a new find for me. She is a real storyteller, you want to stay with your book till you’ve finished it. But first make that cake and that pot of tea!

Apple cake (GF- SF)

100g soft butter
75 g caster sugar or 100g brown rice syrup and 85g of butter
2 organic eggs
115 g very fine brown rice flour
Pinch of vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 big apple

Pre heat the oven on 180˚C.
Prepare a cake tin (15 cm) with baking paper and grease with butter.

Mix the butter till it’s looking very pale, whitish.
Add caster sugar, vanilla and salt and mix another 5 minutes.
Add one egg at a time and mix each one for 3 minutes.

With a spatula stir in carefully the rice flour.
Peel the apple, take out the apple core and grate it coarsely above your dough, leaving out 1 quart of the apple for the top, then stir in with the spatula.
Transfer the dough to the baking tin and slice the leftover piece of apple very thinly and lay them on top.
Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for about 45-50 minutes.
Check at the end of the baking time with a bamboo skewer.
Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting.

Appelcake (GF – SF)

100 g zachte boter
75 g basterdsuiker of 100g bruine rijststroop en 85 g boter
2 biologische eieren
115 g zeer fijngemalen bruine rijstmeel
Snuf vanille
Snuf zout
1 grote goudrenet

Verwarm de oven voor op 180˚C.
Bekleed een cakevorm van 15 cm met bakpapier en vet deze in.

Met een handmixer mix je eerst de boter tot deze heel licht is.
Voeg dan de basterdsuiker, vanille en zout toe en mix dit 5 minuten.
Voeg dan een voor een de eieren toe, die je ieder 3 minuten mee mixt.
Schep er dan met een spatel het rijstmeel voorzichtig door.
Schil de appel, verwijder het klokhuis en verdeel in 4 stukken.
Rasp 3 stukken appel grof boven je beslag en spatel het er snel doorheen.
Schep het beslag in het bakblik en leg boven op het overgebleven stuk appel die je in heel dunne schijfjes snijdt.
Bak de cake 45-50 minuten in het midden van de oven.
Check aan het eind van de baktijd met een bamboeprikker of je cake gaar is.
Laat helemaal afkoelen op een rek voordat je de cake aansnijdt.

Soup for the sick - courgette-sweet potato soup (GF-DF-SF)

My son is sick, his belly aches, he feels exhausted and is just hanging around. On the couch, on a chair, in his bed and back to the couch under a soft blanket.
So I’m making nice herbal teas for him, stewing apples and pears and this afternoon I made him this very nice, healing soup. He loves courgette soup but now I added some sweet potato to make it a more grounding soup. Also I cooked a piece of fresh ginger (not on the photo) in the broth for its warming qualities.
Not only for the sick, it’s a delicious soup for everyone, very easy and quick to make.

Courgette – sweet potato soup
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 small slice of fresh ginger, ½ cm
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp of rich curry powder
1 middle courgette, halved lengthwise and then in 8 – 10 pieces
1 middle sweet potato, peeled and chopped in 6-8 pieces
½ - 1 l of vegetable broth
maybe some parsley stalks, chopped finely
1 handful of parsley, chopped finely
pepper and salt, to your taste

Sweat the onion and garlic in some olive oil for 5 minutes.
Then add the ginger, bay leaf and curry powder, bake 3 more minutes on low heat.
Add courgette and sweet potato, stir everything well while it bakes another minute.
Then add the hot broth till all vegetables are just under.
Add the parsley stalks and bring it to the boil. Let it cook for 20 minutes, till the vegetables are very tender. Fish out the bay leaf and ginger and puree the soup with a stick blender. Add the freshly chopped parsley, taste and season with some pepper and/or salt and serve.

Courgette- zoete aardappel soep

1 ui, fijngehakt
1 teen knoflook, fijngehakt
1 stukje verse gember van ½ cm
1 laurierblad
1 el kerriepoeder
1 courgette, in lengte doormidden, dan in 8-10 stukken
1 zoete aardappel, geschild en in 6-8 stukken
½ -1 l groentebouillon
wat peterseliesteeltjes, fijngehakt
1 handvol peterselie, fijngehakt
Peper en zout, naar smaak

Zweet de ui en knoflook 5 minuten in wat olijfolie.
Voeg gember, laurierblad en kerriepoeder toe en bak dit 3 minuten mee op laag vuur.
Voeg dan courgette- en zoete aardappelstukken toe, roer alles goed door elkaar terwijl het nog 1 minuut mee bakt. Voeg zoveel hete groentebouillon toe tot alle groentes onder staan, voeg de peterselie steeltjes toe en laat 20 minuten koken tot de groentes zacht zijn.
Vis laurierblad en gember eruit en pureer de soep met een staafmixer.

Proef en breng op smaak met peper en zout en voeg voor het serveren de peterselie toe.

sugarfree oatcookies - suikervrije haverkoeken (GF)

I made these gluten-free oat cookies and was a little bit anxious if they would be any good.
No sugar added at all, no agave, no palm sugar or any other form.
I don’t count the raisins, I like a cookie with fruit.
They are great, crunchy and very tasty and they feel so healthy.
The only problem is that I want to eat more than 1 at a time!

Sugar-free oat cookies (18 pcs)

225 g gluten-free oat flour
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp tartaric acid baking powder
75 g raisins
25 g sesame seeds
55 g butter or coconut oil (for a vegan), melted
80-90 ml hot water

Pre-heat the oven on 160˚C.

In a large bowl mix the first 5 ingredients.
Pour in the butter.
Bit by bit add water and knead till there forms a stiff, but supple dough.
Divide the dough in 3 pieces and roll them out in squares of 15x15cm, the dough is then about 5 mm.
Cut in pieces of 5x7 ½ cm.
Put them on a baking tray prepared with some baking paper and bake them in the middle of the oven 30-40 minutes. Check them at 30 minutes, they must be light golden, so depending on your oven, let them bake some more or take them out and make some tea!!

Next week I’ll transform them into speculaas or Dutch spicy cookies.

Suikervrije haverkoeken (18 stuks)

225 g glutenvrij havermeel
½ tl zeezout
½ tl wijnsteenzuur bakpoeder
75 g rozijnen
25 g sesamzaad
55 g gesmolten boter
80-90 ml heet water

Verwarm de oven voor op 160˚C.

Doe de eerste 5 ingrediënten in een grote kom en roer goed door elkaar.
Giet de boter erbij.
Scheut voor scheut voeg je het water toe terwijl je kneed tot een samenhangend en redelijk soepel geheel.
Verdeel het deeg in 3 stukken en rol ieder stuk uit tot een vierkant van 15x15 cm. Het deeg is dan ongeveer 5 mm dik.
Snijd de deegplakken in 6 stukken van 5x 7 ½ cm.

Leg de koeken op een bakplaat waar een stuk bakpapier op ligt en bak ze 30-40 minuten in het midden van de oven. Bekijk ze na 30 minuten, als ze licht goudbruin zijn, zijn ze klaar. Laat ze anders nog wat langer in de oven en maak vast een lekkere pot thee!

Volgende week zal ik ze omtoveren tot heerlijk brosse speculaasjes.

beetroot soup - rode bietensoep (GF- DF-SF)

This simple soup I’d like to dedicate to the International Breast Cancer Month.
In Holland 1 of 8 women get breast cancer, that’s a huge amount.
To support Stichting Pink Ribbon you can buy the magazine they bring out each year. All profits go to them; they use it for further projects.

You can add to your own (breast) health by:

* moving your body minimum 30 minutes a day, walking, biking, dancing, gardening, whatever you like
* eating more fruit and vegetables
* eating more monosaturated fats like butter and dairy products and olive oil
* eating more beans and pulses and less meat
* don’t get overweight
* drinking less alcohol, no more than 1 glass a day (every glass more the risk of breast cancer rises by 7 percent!)


Making soup every 2 to 3 days leads to eating more vegetables. Whenever I get hungry in between meals, especially around 17.00, soup is a real treat. Easy to make from all kind of cut-over veggies you have left in the fridge. Add some lentils or left over brown rice and some fresh herbs and ready you are in 30 minutes or less.
But today I'm making soup from organic beetroots, naturally gluten free!

Beetroot soup(2-3 pers)
2 cooked red beets, peeled and cut in big chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 piece of carrot, chopped in small cubes
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp of good olive oil
1 bay leaf
½ l of vegetable broth

Sweat the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt softly in the olive oil for 5 minutes.
Then add the carrot and celery and let it simmer for 5 minutes more.
Add the beetroot, bay leaf and the vegetable broth and bring it to the boil. Let it cook for about 20 minutes, remove the bay leaf and blender your soup.
Taste and add some salt and pepper.
You can leave the salt and in your cup you can add a teaspoon of miso!
Some chives are nice, a scoop of crème fraîche too. I keep it simple.

Rode bietensoep (2-3 pers)
2 gekookte bieten, gepeld en in flinke stukken
1 ui, grofgehakt
1 teen knoflook, fijngehakt
1 stuk wortel, in kleine blokjes
1 stengel bleekselderij, fijngehakt
1-2 el goede olijfolie
1 laurierblad
½ l groentebouillon

Verwarm de olijfolie en laat de ui en knoflook zachtjes 5 minuten zweten met een snufje zout.
Voeg dan de wortel en bleekselderij toe en laat 5 minuten meebakken.
Voeg de bietjes, laurierblad en bouillon toe en breng aan de kook. Laat het 20 minuten koken en pureer dan de soep met de staafmixer. Haal eerst je laurierblad eruit!
Proef en voeg zonodig peper en zout toe. Of laat het zout er helemaal uit en schep en theelepel miso in je kom soep!
Wat bieslook is lekker of een schepje crème fraîche. Ik houd het simpel.