Ricotta dessert topped with Licor 43 marinated kaki's

Kaki is the word in Dutch & in English they are called Japanese Persimmon fruit.

What are kakis? Persimmon fruits?

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Recipe: For 2 persons

Ingredients:

200 gr of sheep's ricotta ( this is a fresh & low fat ricotta )

15 gr of icing sugar

2 ripe but not over ripe, kaki's or Persimmon fruit, cleaned, washed & pad dry on kitchen paper, cut into little chunks, not too large ( the hard white bits on the interior removed )

Liqueur Licor 43 ( this is a bright yellow, Spanish liqueur with 43 flavours in it. ): 2 tablespoons ( each tablespoon =15 ml)

Method:

1. About 3 hours before you are going to devour the dessert, marinate the kaki chunks into 2 tablespoons of the Licor 43. Mix carfully well. Place them in a fitting bowl. Place a lid on top & place into the fridge. I marinated the kaki's 2 to 3 hours in the Licor 43.

2. In another bowl, mix the sheep's ricotta with the icing sugar. Loosen everything with a fork or a spoon. Mix well. Divide between 2 serving desserts bowls & place clingfilm over the top. Place into the fridge, until 15 minutes before serving.

3. 30 minutes before eating the dessert, take the bowl with the marinated kaki's out of the fridge.

4. Now, remove the clingfilm & compose the desserts. Add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the marinated kaki's on top of the ricotta.

Serve at once! Enjoy!

Beetroot risotto with ricotta & parmesan

A few evenings ago, I made this lovely beet risotto.

After cooking, when the risotto was done, I added ricotta & parmesan through the risotto, off the fire. That gives a rose bubblegum colour to the risotto & it doesn't look nice but its taste is wonderful!!! So, give it a try!!!

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Recipe: For 4 persons

Ingredients:

400 gr small to medium sized beets, cooked for 35 -40 minutes or more depending on their size, in boiling water, well drained, peeled with gloves on, diced into chunks.

2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & finely diced

3 tablespoons of a fruity EVOO

1 large onion, peeled & finely diced

1 liter chicken or vegetable stock/ I used chicken stock, kept warm

300 gr risotto rice / I used Arborio rice

100 ml white wine / I used Wine Chateau Genoels - Elderen, Chardonnay white 2006 ( that is a top Belgian wine!!!)

50 gr freshly grated Parmesan cheese

170 gr fresh sheep's ricotta

Method:

1. Take a large cooking pot, add 3 tablespoons of the fruity EVOO. Heat up on medium heat.

2. Add the chopped onion & garlic cloves. Fry for about 4 to 5 minutes. Then, add the rice & stir around the pot for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cut up cooked & peeled beet chunks. Stir continuly. Add the wine. Stir non stop. When the rice has absorbed the wine, gradually add the chicken or vegetable stock, bit by bit, until every time the rice has absorbed the stock. This will take about 20 to 25 minutes. When the rice is ready, taste if the rice is oke.

3. Now, off the fire, add the ricotta & the Parmesan. Stir well. Taste. It has to taste fab!

4. Serve at once & enjoy this lovely meal with your other loved one, with a good glass of the same wine at the table!

You might like:

1. Beetroot soup

2. Grilled salmon with a wasabi dressing, baked potato wedges, balsamic & fresh oregano marinated beetroots on a bed of watercress

3. Ras El Hanout roasted carrots, red onions & beets

4. Nigella's chocolate rice pudding

5. Cardamom risotto brûlée

6. Oven baked vegetable risotto

Maple & cognac marinated pork chops, served with a parsnip & potato mash, some latest awards & the pay it forward package!!

I love this lovely & delicious recipe. It is easy too. This is a true fall recipe. Parsnips are just coming in season. Parsnips are very underestimated vegetables in Belgium.

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Recipe: For 2 persons

Ingredients:

2 thicker pork chops, cleaned, no bone & no fat

** For the marinade:

120 ml of cognac, I use Courvoisier cognac

60 ml of maple syrup

1 heaped tablespoon of Dijon mustard

3 fat garlic cloves, peeled & finely cut up

sea salt

grinded fresh black pepper

** For the parsnip & potao mash:

600 gr of potatoes, peeled , washed & cut into 4

400 gr of parsnips, peeled, washed & cut into smaller pieces, the hard wooden nerve on the inside, cut off

sea salt

grinded black pepper

freshly grated nutmeg

a splash of heated milk

a bit of baking margarine

Method:

1. Take a large Ziploc bag. Clean your pork chops & cut away the fat. Score your pork with 3 or 4 semi cuts/ don't cut the pork through,...you just want the marinade to soak in your pork. Place the pork chops in the bottom of your Ziploc bag.

2. Make the marinade. Take all of the ingredients for the marinade & place them into the bag. Add some sea salt & a few grinds of black pepper to taste. Mix well with a spoon. Close the zip from the bag & place into a fitted bowl in case of leakage. Place into the fridge for at least 4 to 12 hours! I marinated for 7 hours.

3. When you want to make dinner, take the pork chops out of the fridge. Lift the pork out of the marinade & save the marinade. Boil the potatoes until al dente & cooked through. Drain well. Mash. In the meantime, boil the parsnip pieces until al dente in boiling acid water. That prevent the parsnips of becoming brown. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well. Mash together with the potatoes & add some heated milk, baking margarine, sea salt, grinded black pepper, some freshly grated nutmeg. The mash has to taste fab!

5. Now, fry the pork chops in some baking margarine, until rosé on the inside. Adjust the heat if necessary because the meat will caramelise & can burn easily!! This will take about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Wrap the pork chops in aluminium foil to rest for 5 minutes or so & to keep them warm. So, that the meat will be juicy & tender. In the meantime, boil the marinade until it is a bit thicker. If it is not the right consistency, add 1 tablespoon of maïzena express. (this is cornstarch )Let the sauce boil for 1 minute to thicken & whisk well because you don't want any lumps!

6. Plate up, with a medium cooking ring on the middle of the plate & fill up with mash. Level the top with a knife & remove carefully the ring. Slice the rested meat in thinker slices & place round the mash. Laddle the sauce around & on top of the meat & enjoy!!

Now, some latest awards!

Recently, I recieved 2 awards!

I got the friendship award from my friend, Rebecca @ Chow & Chatter. She has a cool foodblog. She is a true Brit, lives in the USA & has a lovely Indian husband & a little girl.

She cooks, bakes mostly healthy but with an Indian twist from time to time,...Go check her out!

I will give this award to:

1. Kerstin@ Cake, batter& bowl, she cooks & bakes mostly healthy but with a twist!! MMMM,...

2. Recipegirl @Recipe girl: absolutely never fail recipes!! I learn a lot!

3. Jessica & Lon &@ Foodmayem, from New York, New York! They inspire me all the time & they teach me a lot of new food products, techniques, etc.!!

4. Michelle @ Chocolate & marmalade tea. She has become a true friend in every way,..we completely understand each other & her food is great! She writes with enthousiasm!!

5. Sophie@ Les bonheurs de Sophie who lives in Luxembourg. She cooks & bakes healthy but so apart too! Every recipe is made witout cow's milk but with sheep's milk or goat's milk!

I also recieved this One lovely blog award from my friend, Kristen @ Passion4eating

She mostly cooks & bakes healthy food. I learn a lot of her.

I will give this award to:

1. Ellie @ Almost Bourdain. Her food is international. Cool food!

2. Christie @ Christies corner. I just love her excellent recipes! Her pictures are excellent too!

3. Esme @ Chocolate & croissants. She makes lovely food!

4. Gloria @ Canela's kitchen recipes. She makes fab food & real foodie desserts!

5. Angel @ Angel in the kitchen. She cooks & bakes with enthousisasm & I love her food!

Now, for something completely different!

A while ago, I recieved a pay it forward package from Lorraine aka Not Quite Nigella from Sydney, Australia.

I will have to do the same to 3 other persons. They will have to do the same,etc.

You, my foodie friends, told me in that post if you would like to do the same to 3 other persons.

I chose these 3 persons:

1. Jamie @ Life's a feast, who lives in France.

2. Kat @ Food good to eat who lives in Talinn, Estonia.

3. Christine @ Christine cooks who lives in Trinidad, California, USA

Could you 3 leave me a message @ sboven@belgacom.net

That is my email, with your full names & adresses, please.

Thanks!! I love to hear from you 3 soon!!

Bye bye for now & enjoy your awards!

Greetings,

Sophie

Apple & cranberry juice infused oatmeal with cranberries, cinamon & pecans

I love this oh so healthy breakfast!! I use medium cut oats, that need 10 minutes to cook.

I had some organic apple & cranberry juice left & thaught that it would go beautifully together with the rest. I was right. It only adds more flavour.

It truly fills you up!

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Recipe: For 2 persons

Ingredients:

312 ml of apple & cranberry organic juice ( not so sweet )/ I use Pajottenlander

63 ml of water

1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon

75 gr of smaller oats, that need 10 minutes of cooking

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

35 gr of cut up pecans

35 gr of aplle sweetened, dried cranberries

Method:

1. Take a medium cooking pot & pour the apple & cranberry juice & the water in it.

Add the cinnamon. Bring to the boil.

2. When boiling, add the oats, dried cranberries & the maple syrup. Stir well.

Let it cook for about 10 minutes in total until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Stir frequently.

3. After 5 minutes of cooking, add the cut up pecans & stir well.

After 10 minutes, your breakfast will be ready!

The cranberries have absorbed the liquid & it all oozes deliciousness,...

Enjoy!!

Sophie's maple scones with pecans & cranberries, served with Maple's Butter

I love these scones. They aren't too sweet & they have pecans, dried cranberries & maple syrup in them. They also have a maple glaze.

Normally, you serve them with butter, jam & maybe clotted cream, but I sliced them & ate them with maple butter. This is a Canadian product!

Recently, I got this as a present from my foodie friend Koko @ Koko's kitchen. She lives near Vancouver, Canada. We exchanged foodie & non foodie gifts to each other through the post.

That was a great experience!!

Maple butter is something special. Its taste is sweet , so I am glad that the scones aren't!

I also didn't use butter, I used baking margarine, so these scones are more light!

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Recipe: For 21 scones

Ingredients:

440 gr of white organic flour

88 gr of pecans, broken in little pieces

50 gr of dried cranberries, apple sweetened!

4 teaspoons of baking powder

160 gr of Alpro baking margarine (= lactose free )

250 ml milk / I used semi - skimmed milk )

125 ml of maple syrup

** To serve: maple butter

Method:

1. Take an oven rack out of the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C . ( 392 F ) for about 15 minutes.

2. Take a medium bowl, add the flour & baking powder. Mix well.

3. Take a larger bowl & sieve the flour & baking powder mix. Add the pecans & the cranberries.

Fold them into the flour mix. Now, add the baking margarine & with the help of your hands mix it all together until it forms breadcrumbs. Now, you have a crumbly dough.

4. Add the milk & 6 tablespoons of the maple syrup. Mix well with a spoon. Now, the dough sticks & is wet.

5. Place the dough with floured hands on a well floured Silpat. Knead the dough for 5 to 6 times until it forms a real elastic dough. Add more flour to prevent sticking.

Divide the dough in 2. With your hands, flatten the dough. I don't use a rolling pin. It's not necessary. My dough is about 1 cm to 1 + 1/2 cm thick. I use my round 5 cm diameter cutter to cut out equal sized scones.

6. Place them on another Silpat or a baking sheet, a bit apart from each other & prick the top of the scones a few times lightly with a fork.

7. With the rest of your maple syrup, glaze the top & sides of the scones . Bake into the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, on the lower shelf until they are golden & browned. Repeat with the other scones.

8. When ready, test with a sewing pin. Take them out of the oven & let them cool on a wire rack.

9. When completely cool, store in a cookie box.

Enjoy sliced open with some butter, your favourite jam & maybe some clotted cream.

I enjoy them now, with Canadian maple butter.

You might like:

1. My 2 favourite hearty scones : ricotta, olive & chorizo scones/ parmesan & rosemary scones served with a salad with a mustard lemon dressing

2. Sophie's cranberry, pecan & oats spelt cookies

3. Cranberry muffins with pecans & orange

Sophie's chicken with a sage wine sauce, served with lemon oil sage baked potatoes & bay leaf carrots

Yesterday, I made this for dinner. It is a special meal enjoyable with your loved one.

I had a lot of fresh sage left & wanted to use it in my cooking & baking.

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Recipe: For 2 persons, with a bit of seconds

Ingredients:

** For the chicken:

2 large chicken fillets, each about 160 gr, no skin, cleaned & cut into smaller pieces

2 tablespoons of flour

sea salt flakes ( S. )

grinded black pepper ( P. )

baking margarine

** For the wine sage sauce:

240 ml of low salt chicken stock

240 ml of a fruity white wine, like: Rias Baixas, Miudiño, Albariño 2008!! This is a lovely Spanish wine!

baking margarine

1 tablespoon of fresh sage, cleaned & cut up into little pieces

2 tablespoons of Maïzena express ( this is cornstarch )

** For the lemon oil sage baked potatoes:

About 650 gr hard boiled potatoes, peeled & cut up into 4, boiled for about 10 minutes, well drained, cooled in the fridge

lemon oil : 3 to 4 tablespoons or ( 3 to 4 tablespoons of EVOO with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice added )

1 tablespoon of fresh sage, cleaned & cut up into little pieces

sea salt flakes

** For the carrots:

A bunch of carrots with the greens attached, greens cut off, peeled & washed, cut into 2 or into 4 long equal pieces

3 dried bay leafs

Method:

1. So, before you are going to prepare dinner, take the potatoes out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 180° C. ( 356 F ) for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare your lemon oil sage potatoes. Take 2 large oven baking tins & place the potatoes in 1 layer in it. Add the 3 to 4 tablespoons of lemon oil or drizzle more over your potatoes. Add the chopped sage & scatter some sea salt over the top too. Now, with your hands mingle, mix everything carefully together, so that the potatoes are covered with the mix on all sides.

3. Place into the preheated oven on the medium shelf & bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, until golden.

4. When the potatoes only need the last 25 minutes, prepare the rest. Cook the carrots with the 3 dried bay leafs in hoy boiling water until al dente. This will be after 15 minutes or so. Drain well. Keep warm.

5. Meanwhile, season the chicken pieces well on both sides with sea salt flakes & grinded black pepper. Take a large plate & add the 2 tablespoons of flour. Flour the chicken pieces on all sides & shake off the excess. Heat a large nonstick pan up on medium high & add 3 to 4 tablespoons of the baking margarine. When hot & sizzling, add the chopped sage & fry for 1 minute. Stir from time to time. Then, add the chicken pieces. Fry on both sides until golden brown & cooked trough. Remove the chicken from the pan & place on a large plate. Place aluminium foil over the top to let the chicken rest & to keep it warm.

6. Heat the same pan on a higher heat. Add some tablespoons of baking margaine & let it melt. Now, you add the wine & the chicken stock at the same time. Let it all reduce. Stir from time to time. Now, the house smells great!! When it is reduced for 1/3, I add 1 tablespoon of the Maïzena express ( cornstarch ) to the sauce in the pan. Let it boil for 1 minute or so & whisk well. If the sauce doesn't is the right consistancy, I add another tablespoon of the Maïzena. Whisk well & boil for another minute. Taste the sauce. It has to taste fab! Add more S & P if necessary.

7. Now, take your plates & plate up!

Enjoy with a good glass of the same wine with this lovely meal!!

Fusilli with butternut squash, smoked bacon & a cheesy sauce

I love making this dish. Its one from Martha Stewart. I added more butternut squash.

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Recipe: For 2 persons, with seconds

Ingredients:

570gr of butternut squash, peeled, cut up into 1cm x 1 cm chunks

200 gr strips of smoked bacon

400 gr fusilli

240 ml of alpro soy cream

50 gr of grated Gruyère cheese, for the sauce

2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & finely cut up

EVOO

sea salt

grinded fresh black pepper

Method:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot with salted boiling water. Cook until al dente. Drain well, but reserve a bit of the cooking water for the sauce. Keep warm.

2. Heat a large non stick pan up on medium high. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the EVOO & heat up. When the oil sizzles, add the pieces of smoked bacon. Fry until browned & crisped up. This will take about 5 to 8 minutes. Put the bacon on a plate with 2 kitchen papers on it, to drain of the fat. Keep warm.

3. Using the same pan, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the EVOO & heat up on medium high. When the oil sizzles, add the garlic & the chopped butternut squash. Fry until the squash is cooked through & browned on all sides. Stir frequently. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt & black pepper.

4. Add the soy cream & add the pasta too. Add a bit of the left cooking water to create more of a sauce. Stir well. Let the soy cream thicken. Check seasoning again. It has to taste fab!

Remove from the heat & add the grated cheese. Stir well.

Enjoy!!

You might like:

1. Spiced summer pumpkin, butternut squash & red bell peppers soup