Cauliflower creamy soup with peas

Hard to take a nice picture of a soup but this one is really really lovely and easy to make. This is a perfect balanced dinner meal for kids and they will love it, like my son!

Ingredients (4-5 servings):

1 cauliflower

2 cups of peas

4 cubes of chicken stock

300 ml of cream

3 Tbs of gratted parmesan

Salt and pepper

1 cup of small pasta for soup (facultative)

Method:

• Steam the cauliflower until very smooth, using 2 liters of water (that will used later).
• Then save the remaining water used to steam the cauliflower (at least 1.5 liter) and bring it to boil. When boiling, add the chicken stock and salt.
• When the stock cubes are completely dissolved, add the peas and 5 minutes later the pasta. Cook for about 8-10 minutes.
• Mix the cream and the cauliflower in a blender. Add some chicken stock if necessary to get a smooth cauliflower puree.
• When the peas and the pasta are cooked, gradually pour the chicken stock with the peas and the pasta into the cauliflower puree which has to be on the heat. Do not stop stirring.
• Finally, add the parmesan and some pepper into the soup and serve.

It's ready! Bon appétit!

Let's make play-dough!! Not for eating!!! ;-)

Well, my blog is about cooking, traveling and more... So let's talk about more today!
Little ones are very keen to play with their hands. One very easy, quick and cheap method is to make your own play-dough.


Ingredients:
2 cup of flour
1 cup of salt
1 Tbsp of oil
3/4 cup of water (to adapt to get the desired texture)

Mix together the flour, the salt and the oil. Add gradually the water while kneading the dough.
Ready to use in 5 minutes!

For the colour, I used spices but you can of course use food coloring or painting.
For example:
- yellow --> turmeric, curry, curcuma
- red --> paprika, ground chili
- brown --> cocoa powder

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Eggs-cauliflower en cocotte

Today, I want to propose a new recipe of mine. This is a very easy and fast recipe that will wow your guests as an entry or a main. But where would this idea come from? I have no idea at all!
This recipe is an original way to propose cauliflower.
Originally from Asia, the cauliflower is mostly produced in China, India, France, Italy and USA. Usually white, it can be purple or orange (see here).

My recipe also uses a white sauce that is very common in French cuisine.

Ingredients (2 servings)

For the white sauce:

500ml of milk

40g of butter

40g of flour

Method: 

Melt the butter in a hot pot and then mix with flour. Out of the heat, gradually pour the milk and do not stop stirring to avoid lumps. Put it back on the medium heat. Do not stop stirring until you get a nice and smooth texture. When ready, add pepper, salt and nutmeg, a pinch each.

For the eggs en cocotte:

half a cauliflower

500ml white sauce

1 generous tsp tomato paste

1/2 cup of fresh cream

shredded gruyere or any other cheese you like

2 eggs

salt, pepper, parsley

2 toasts

• Steam the cauliflower for about 15 minutes. It is important that the cauliflower is just slightly undercooked after this stage (as it will finish cooking in the oven).
• Drain the caulifower and place half of the cauliflower in each cocotte (or ramekin or bowl, just use any dish that goes into the oven).
• Add 1 tsp of tomato paste into the white sauce and spoon the "rosy" white  sauce over the cauliflower.
• Mix the cream with salt, pepper and parsley
• Then spoon the cream over the rosy white sauce (1/4 cup in each dish, just make sure a slight layer of cream cover the white sauce).
• Break an egg without breaking the yolk and put it down in the dish (one egg in each dish or 2 if very hungry)
• Salt and pepper (just a little bit)
• Add the shredded cheese on the top, but avoid to cover the yolk.
• Bake in the oven for 7 minutes. Be careful, the yolk must still be raw.

Serve with toasts.

Click Here for more nice recipes!

France or Belgium? The Carbonade Flamande

Pic from here

French and Belgian people are always kidding each other, but they really like each other, maybe just like kiwis and Aussies (?) ... Well, humour is just a way to show affection, isn't it?

Grand Place of Bruxelles, Belgium (Pic from here)

Anyway, to avoid some huge debate about the origin of the dish that I am going to introduce to you today, let's say that Northern France and Belgium share at least one famous dish: the Carbonnade Flamande. This is a beef casserole cooked in a beer sauce that is lovely with fries and a pinte of beer, of course! A very easy but tasty dish to make for family or friend events!

Grand Place of Lille, France (pic from here)

Ingredients (6 servings):

1,5kg beef, e.g., blade steack, gravy beef, chunk beef (you can even mix various cuts of the beef)

5-6 onions

40g of butter

3/4 cup of soft brown sugar

3/4 cup of flour

1 liter of blonde beer, e.g., leffe (the better the beer is, the better the dish will be)

6 slices of ginger bread (pain d'épice)

French mustard of Dijon

salt, pepper, baie leaves, thyme

Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 2h30 (the longer it cooks, the better it is!)



Method:

Cut the beef into cubes (4 cm).
Slice the onions.
Heat the butter into a large pot and fry the beef briefly on each side. Then take the meat out of the pot and rest it.

 

Fry the onions into the rest of the butter. When gold, add the soft brown sugar and caramelize a little bit. Then stir the flour in and pour the beer gradually. Do not stop stiring to get a smooth sauce.

Slow down the heat and add the meat, salt, pepper and herbs. Stir and let cook on a very low heat for 45 minutes.

Spread the mustard onto the slices of ginger bread and put them on the top of your casserole after the first 45 minutes, and let cook for 90 minutes, at least. Sti occasionnally, when the slices of ginger bread will be wet enough, they will dissolve into the sauve, giving it a great flavour.
Remember, the longer you let the casserole stew, the smoothest the meat will be. It's even better when reheated the next day.



Serve with french fries or pasta. Enjoy this very friendly dish with the same beer you used for the sauce or with a red wine!

Sorry for this awfull picture! I have messed up my photos ;-)

I'll download a new one the next time I do this recipe! Click here to see nice pictures of the Carbonnade Flamande.