Weekend Cooking: Vegan Tomato Rosemary Scones

This post is a part of Vegan MoFo. For more information about Vegan MoFo, visit their website.

This recipe is from the book Vegan Brunch which I posted about yesterday. I choose to make this recipe because my baking section does contain only a few vegan recipes, and I think that needs to change. I loved how these turned out. They are so full of flavour. Unlike most scones which need to be served with something, these are also great on it's own. Of course these also taste great with various toppings. I will also participate in Weekend Cooking for the first time in months with this recipe, because Beth asked me if I would share it :) So here is my first attempt at scones ever!

Tomato Rosemary Scones (makes 12)
- 3 cups all purpose flour (plus a bit extra, I used half normal, half wheat)
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce (use a good quality because this is the main flavour)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (about 4 sprigs)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. And mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ones and use a wodden spoon to combine them. Do not over mix, you may still have some patches of flour. I started to use my hands at a point because I found that easier. If the dough is too sticky, just add a bit more flour.

Separate the dough in 2 even balls. And form a disk. Cut each disk in 6 pieces, by first cutting it in 2, and then cut the halves in thirds. I used a pizza wheel for this which I coated in flour. But the cutting can be a bit messy. My scones weren't all the same size ;)

Place the scones on a baking sheet and bake them on 400F / 200C for about 15-20 minutes. My oven really needed 20. The scones should be firm on top, but do not use the toothpick test. You don't want your scones dry. They taste best the same day, but they do freeze well. But if you just save them in a container, they dry out quickly.

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Weekend Cooking: Zero Plastic Week

So for this weekend cooking I have something totally different. Next week it is Zero Plastic Week and the goal is to buy no plastic for 1 whole week. There are a lot of reasons why plastic is bad. And tbh, I haven't even looked into it in detail. But I know that it takes a long time to break down, that animals eat it and that it is used for too many unnecessary things. Like for example: do cucumbers really need to be wrapped in plastic? In the Netherlands there are plastic bags to put in your fruits and veggies. Why can't they be made from paper?

So I think it will be fun and very educating to not buy new plastic for a whole week and see what options I have left? I am allowed to use plastic that I already own. So I could use bags I already have to shop etc. I even heard you can wash plastic bags, but I yet have to see how I do that.

I already know that it will be impossible to keep this up for linger than a week, because for one week you can say: okay fine, I won't buy this for a week, but for longer? Some things like toilet paper are impossible to get without plastic packaging. So no, I don't intent to keep this up forever, but what I do hope to learn from this is to see if there are things I can easily change this week and keep those up for the rest of my life. I mean there must be some things that can be done easily to reduce the plastic I use in my home.

So for the next week I will blog about how to do my groceries plastic free. Maybe you have tips for me, or you can join me. Zero Plastic Week starts next Monday, June 10th. For more info look at: http://www.zeroplasticweek.org/ , in both Dutch and English.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please check out the other participants for your dose of foodie inspiration.

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Pin it and Do It: Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

One more pin for the challenge from Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity. I did something that I wanted to try for years, but thought was very hard to do. Making jam! Now I say, if I know it was this easy, I would have done it sooner! I made the jam according to a recipe on the blog Jolande kookt, but because it is in Dutch I will translate it below. I cut the recipe in half because no way we will eat that much jam in this house ;)

Strawberry-rhubarb jam with blueberries and vanilla (1 huge jar)
- 250 gr rhubarb
- 200 gr strawberries
- 500 gr jam sugar
- 50 gr blueberries
- 2 sachets vanilla sugar (I used 3, liked it better)

Make sure you have some clean jars. I just wash them in the dishwasher. But make them dry before use. Don't forget the lids!
Cut the rhubarb into little cubes. Cook the rhubarb in very little water. Just that they are under, no more. For about 10 minutes. Then puree the strawberries and blueberries together. I pureed the cooked rhubarb as well because I don't like chunky jams. I put all together in a large pan with the sugars. Bring it to a boil and let it boil softly for about 4 minutes. Then test the jam. Place a drop on a cold plate. Place it in the fridge for a minute and move it around to see if it is thick enough.

Pour the jam in a measuring cup for easy pouring. Place the jars on a wet tea towel, up side down, after holding the outsides under the hot water (or else the temperature with the jam will vary too much). Pour the jam in a jar. Put the lid on tightly and place them back up side down on the tea towel. Let them cool down completely.

This post is also part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please check out the other links as well for a good dose of foodie inspiration.

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Pin it and Do it: Carrot-Lemon Cake and Bell Pepper Risotto

Pin it and Do it is a challenge hosted by Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity. I always love her Pinterest challenges and I always try to join in. All though I have to admit that often I end up with more pins after the challenge than before ;)

One of my biggest boards is my baking board, and unlike my cooking board, it doesn't get used that often. Cooking is something I have to do every day anyway. But baking, I do about twice a month. My boyfriend and I both like lemon cakes. We often end up baking something lemony. We also tired carrot cake and liked that, so a combination of the two seemed awesome to us. I repinned this recipe from another pinner a while back and it is from goboroot.

This is really a success recipe. The cake is so moist! We baked it in a normal oven dish, that is why we cut it in brownie like squares. I really love the combination of the carrot and the lemon. It is sweet, but not too sweet and also not too sour. I would recommend this to people who find a regular lemon cake too sour. This one really isn't. Go here to the original recipe and two other recipes with carrot.

By now, you will probably know that I am a huge risotto fan and one of my favorite blogs for risotto recipes is amuse your bouche. This roasted red bell pepper risotto with goat cheese is no exception. My boyfriend loves bell pepper and because it is roasted it gives a lot of extra flavor. I can really recommend it. On the picture it looks a bit dry, but I think this was made on the 2nd day we had it. It was so good that I forgot to make a picture on the first day ;) Click on the link above for the recipe.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please check out what the other participants have made!

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Weekend Cooking: D'Lish Deviled Eggs by Kathy Casey

I actually wanted to write another book review, that I have been planning for a while. But because it is almost Easter, this book fitted the theme perfectly. Also great for Ostara of course!

Title: D'Lish Deviled Eggs
Author: Kathy Casey
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Release date: February, 2013
I got this book: from the publisher for review through NetGalley

Summary:
From Goodreads:
Deviled eggs are not just for summer picnics, now you can enjoy America's beloved appetizer year round with Kathy Casey’s 50 fabulous recipes.Deviled eggs are always a party favorite, and the first thing to fly off the table. D’Lish Deviled Eggs both pays homage to the classic deviled egg and dishes up creative, modern takes on tradition. And this isn’t just a recipe book; its pages are packed full with everything from how to make superb hard-cooked eggs every time, to filling and garnishing picture-perfect stuffed eggs. Chock-full of fab tips, from the history of deviled eggs to collecting vintage plateware, this book will definitely “egg you on” to head to the kitchen and get crackin’! A classy little guide to a classy little dish, D’Lish Deviled Eggs will open up a whole new world of ways to jazz up these one-bite wonders!

Personal opinion:
I just love deviled eggs and finding a whole book on the subject certainly sparked my interest! I never thought there could be so much said on eggs. From how to cook the perfect eggs, to the differences between eggs, it can all be found here. The book also has beautiful pictures with each eggs recipe. The book isn't vegetarian, but certainly there are enough recipes that vegetarians can make. Of course a book about eggs is not suitable for vegans. The recipes are original and I certainly have a few recipes on my to try list from this book. For example the Green Goddess eggs with avocado and the California Roll eggs. The eggs I tried were the Boursin and garlic with herb salad deviled eggs, which I will share below. I thought it was a really fun book, and a nice addition to a cookbook collection.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: Foodies Reading Challenge, E-book challenge
Other reviews: Beth Fish Reads, Bermuda Onion's Weblog, Cindy's Love of Books,
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

Okay, so on to the recipe!

Boursin & Garlic Deviled Eggs with Herb Salad: (makes 24)
- 12 hard boiled eggs
- 1 package boursin herb & garlic cheese
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp fresh garlic
- a pinch of salt
- a selection of fresh herbs. I used chives, basil and parsley. Italian herbs is also an option.

Half the eggs lengthwise and transfer the yolks into a mixing bowl. Set the egg halves on a plate, cover and put in the fridge. I found this really helps with filing them later, such a nifty tip! Mash the yolks with a fork, add cheese, mayonnaise, salt and garlic and stir until smooth. I also added some of the chopped fresh herbs at this point.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag with a plain or large star tip. I used the star. Pipe the egg halves with the mixture and sprinkle some herbs on top.

The post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Check out the rest of the participants. I am sure a lot of other Easter related things will be shared!

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Weekend Cooking: Pin It and Do It

Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity is having another Round of Pin It and Do It! And of course I am all for that! If you don't know what Pin It and Do It is, head over there to take a look what this is all about :)

I have been picking quite a lot of recipes from Pinterest recently to make. It is my favorite site to go to if I want to try something new. Here is a summary of recipes that I tried from Pinterest this month :)

Batch of zucchini latkes

One potato and one zucchini latke with sour cream

From Avocado Pesto I tried these zucchini and potato latkes! It are basically fritters. This recipe is so good though that this will probably be my new base recipe to go to when I want to make something like this :) I love it. Find the recipe here!

Carrot risotto

From Amuse Your Bouche I have Carrot and coriander risotto with mozzarella. It is one of my favorite ways to prepare carrots from now on! Click on the link for the recipe.

I also made Avocado Hummus from Giada de Laurentiis. I didn't make the pita chips that went with it but just ate it on a sandwich. It is good, but a bit on the sour side. Less lemon next time ;) Vegan and delicious!

I tried some more recipes, but I will save that for a next post. I can't garuantee that will be a Weekend Cooking post as well. It depends if I find the energy to write some book reviews. So keep and eye on the blog if you want the scoop ;)

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Head over there to see what everyone has been cooking up!

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Weekend Cooking: Imbolc Recipe

This weekend it is Imbolc. I have no clue which day it is exactly this year, but mostly somewhere between 1 and 3 february. I am not sure if most readers know but I am trying to live with the seasons and the old pegan celebrations fit this way of life perfectly. Imbolc is the time that we are starting to look ahead from winter to spring. It is not spring yet, but the first signs are there. Houses get cleaned, people seed new veggies for the upcoming year and there are newborn lambs. And I, I cook! To me there is nothing better than to eat something fitting to get in touch with these changes :) Something that is considered typical Imbolc food are pancakes! So yesterday Nick and I made some pancakes together. But not normal pancakes but really fluffy ones that are called blinis. You can serve them with any topping you can think of. Or include whatever you want, but because it was our first try, we kept it simple. This also goes for the cheese, you can interchange that too. I will share this basic recipe with you, which comes from Season to season - a year in recipes by Sophie Dahl.

Blinis - Base recipe (makes 4 large ones)

Blinis:
- 175 gr flour (I used wheat flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 300 ml milk
- 150 gr ricotta cheese, crumbled
- a handful chives
- a handful parsley
- 4 egg whites (save the yolks!)
- some butter or oil
- salt

Egg topping:
- 2 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- pepper and salt
- some butter
- some milk

Sift flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Mix them with the milk until you have a batter. Add ricotta, chives and parsley and mix well. In another clean bowl, mix the eggwhites until they are thick and fluffy. Make sure the bowl is fat free or else it might fail. You can use lemon juice for this. Lightly stir them in the batter, but not too long. Bake these in some oil or butter, a large soup laddle at the time, for 3-4 minutes. You can see little airholes in the batter and then you can flip them. Bake the other side for a minute or so.

For the egg topping, mix the eggs with salt and pepper, and scramble them. If they get dry, add some milk. Of course you don't have to make the egg topping, but keep your egg yolks, you can make eggs the next day or so :) It would be a shame to waste them :)

This post is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Check out the other posts as well :)

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Weekend Cooking: Coconut Custard Pie

Or should I say Weekend Baking? This weekend we won't be baking, but last weekend Nick and I decided that after the hectic holidays, we want to pick up our fairly newly found habit of baking something in the weekend. We won't do this every weekend because we don't want it to become an obligation. But we will do so on a regular base.

I picked out 5 recipes from my Pinterest board and Nick made the final choice for this coconut custard pie.

It was funny too. I never made a recipe before where you had to beat egg whites because I was quite scared that it would fail, but in this case the egg whites were only used to prevent the bottom from going soggy, so I thought I gave it a go. It worked out perfectly and Nick was all amazed by the changing progress of the egg whites. It was really adorable, and one of my best memories of us together in the kitchen.

The pie could have used some sort of topping, but because we baked on a Sunday, I couldn't go to the store and buy it. But the end result tasted great and the recipe is easy! Go and check it out: Lizzie's Coconut Custard Pie.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Hop over to see what the other participants have shared.

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Weekend Cooking: Vegan Eats World

Title: Vegan Eats World
Author: Terry Hope Romero
Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
Release date: October 2012
Length: 376 pages
I got this book: for review through NetGalley

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"What If the World Was Vegan? The true building blocks of cuisines across the planet are the spices, herbs, and grains—from basmati rice to buckwheat, coconut to caraway seeds. Apply those flavors to vegan staples such as seitan, or tofu and even straight-up vegetables, and the possibilities? If not endless, pretty darned expansive.

So what if the world was vegan? Your own cooking is the answer to that question; fire up the stove and make a green curry, simmer a seitan date tagine stew, or hold a freshly made corn tortilla piled high with chile-braised jackfruit in your hand. Chart your course in the great, growing map of vegan food history. Award-winning chef, author of Veganomicon, and author of Viva Vegan Terry Hope Romero continues the vegan food revolution with more than 300 bold, delicious recipes based on international favorites. With chapters devoted to essential basics such as Spice Blends; The Three Protein Amigos; and Pickles, Chutneys & Saucier Sauces, you can make everything from salads to curries, dumplings and desserts. Vegan Eats World will help you map your way through a culinary world tour, whether you want to create a piergoi party or Thai feast, easy Indian chaat lunch or Your International House of Dinner Crepes."

Personal opinion:
I know that almost everyone I know LOVES this book. But I am afraid I am the odd one out in this case. It is not that the book is bad. In fact the recipe I did try was delicious! But it is just not a book for me. The recipes are often long and require a lot of cooking time even though there are recipes that have a lot of down time. I like recipes that are quick and easy and I didn't find a whole lot of that in this book. Second of all, the book often calls for ingredients, that to me, as a vegetarian who cooks vegan about twice a week, aren't that common. So all in all this book overwhelmed me. Therefore I think this book will be great for the more experienced vegan, because the recipes do sound delicious, but not really for the newbie vegan. However on the Dutch vegan forum, they are doing monthly cookalongs from this book, so I might change my mind later on. Of course I will let you know when I do.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: Foodies reading challenge, cookbook challenge
Other reviews: none yet.
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

I will share a really tasty recipe for Ginger Peanut Squash Soup with my own spin of course.

Ginger Peanut Squash Soup (serves 6-8)
- 680 gr zucchini, diced
- 1 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- some chili powder to taste
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- a piece of fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tsp coriander
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 400 gr canned tomatoes with juice
- 2/3 cups peanut butter, chunky or smooth
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- some salt and black pepper

Sprinkle salt over the zucchini and leave it in a colander over the sink. Leave it to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. In a large soup pan heat some oil. Saute onions for about 5 minutes. Then add carrots, garlic, ginger and coriander and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth with the bay leaves, some chili powder and tomatoes. Set the heat to medium high to bring the soup to an active simmer.
Scoop the peanut butter into a mixing bowl and scoop out 1 cup of hot broth out of the pan (avoid the bay leaves) and pour this over the peanut butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until you have a creamy sauce. Return the peanut sauce to the pot. Also drain the zucchini from the last moist and add to the pan. Bring the soup back to an active simmer, then turn heat to low, cover the pot and leave it be for about 15-20 minutes until the zucchini is tender. Stir in lime juice, some salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Turn of the heat and leave the soup be for 5 minutes. Optional you can stir in some cilantro leaves before serving.

You can serve it as is, or blend the soup, if you like that better. I will do that next time, because I like that more.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please hop over there for your dosis of food inspiration.

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Weekend Cooking: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World

Title: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World
Author: Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Release date: October 2006
Length: 144 pages
I got this book: from my own collection.

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"The hosts of the vegan cooking show The Post Punk Kitchen are back with a vengeance — and this time, dessert. A companion volume to Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World is a sweet and sassy guide to baking everyone's favorite treat without using any animal products. This unique cookbook contains over 50 recipes for cupcakes and frostings — some innovative, some classics — with beautiful full color photographs. Isa and Terry offer delicious, cheap, dairy-free, egg-free and vegan-friendly recipes like Classic Vanilla Cupcakes (with chocolate frosting), Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes (red velvet with creamy white frosting), Linzer Torte Cupcakes (hazelnut with raspberry and chocolate ganache), Chai Latte Cupcakes (with powdered sugar) and Banana Split Cupcakes (banana-chocolate chip-pineapple with fluffy frosting). Included also are gluten-free recipes, decorating tips, baking guidelines, vegan shopping advice, and Isa's true cupcake anecdotes from the trenches. When Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, no dessert lover can resist."

Personal opinion:
This is such a cute book! When I got interested in vegan baking, I just knew I had to have this book. I heard good reviews about how fail proof the recipes from this book were, so for me as a newbie in the vegan kitchen, this seems like a good choice. The book is filled with pretty pictures and there is something for everyone. From the most basic cupcakes to cupcakes I never heard of. In the front of the book is everything you need to know about vegan baking and ingredients. Those ingredients are the only downfall for me, because some things are still a bit hard to come by. That is the reason that I haven't used this book as much as I wanted. But I am sure this will be much less of an issue in the USA. I am really happy that I got this book and I hope to make many more delicious vegan treats from it because the Lychee cupcakes with coconut glaze I made, were so good! I dare to say they were even better than a lot of non vegan cupcakes I made in the past. So don't be shy! Give it a try :)
Other cupcakes I want to try include the pistachio rosewater cupcakes, coconut lime cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla marble cupcakes and chocolate cherry creme cupcakes.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: Foodies Reading Challenge, Cookbook Challenge.
Other reviews: The Broke and the Bookish,
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

And of course here is the recipe for those delicious Lychee Cupcakes!

Lychee Cupcakes with Coconut Glaze (makes 12)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp ground flaxseeds
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 can (115gr) lychee fruit, drained and chopped, syrup reserved
- 1/4 cup lychee syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (I forgot to do this ;) ) In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl beat ground flaxseeds with 6 tbsp water with a fork until gelatinous. Add oil, coconut milk, chopped lychees and lychee syrup to the flaxseeds and mix to combine. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, mix to combine. Fill the cupcakes liners full and bake for 22 to 25 minutes in a pre heated oven at 350F (175C) until a toothpick comes out clean.

Coconut glaze:
- 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut milk

Mix sugar and coconutmilk until smooth. Pour over the completely cooled cupcakes.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Hop over to get inspired by a lot of yummy food posts.

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Cookbook Challenge November Wrap Up

The Cookbook challenge is officially over... awwww. I very much enjoyed hosting the challenge and participating as well. But also to see what other people made from their cookbooks. I will only post about what I made in November from my cookbooks. My wrap up for October can be found here.

I cooked mostly from the Meatfree Monday Cookbook this month because it has so many great recipes that go so well with my vegetable bag. My review can be found here.

First off I made an apple-radish salad with halloumi cheese. It was my first time eating halloumi cheese and I thought it tasted a bit like pineapple. Anyway, I liked it but the BF didn't so I don't think this will be made again.

I also made a noodle stir fry with bok choi, and this one we enjoyed very much! We love noodle dishes and the sauce from this one was great!

Then we tried the mac & cheese with cauliflower, but my BF bought a broccoli instead. No matter ;) We liked this enough, but we will be continue are search for the perfect home made pasta and cheese recipe.

Lastly was the eggplant and potato stew that I shared earlier on this blog. Together with the noodles, this was my favorite recipe from the book.

I also cooked from other cookbooks. I made another recipes from the Karma Chow Ultimate cookbook. This is the Indian Spiced Coconut soup, but we didn't really enjoy this one. It smelled great but the taste wasn't good at all.

I made another soup from the book Vegan Eats World (review with recipe to come) for a cookalong on the Dutch vegan forum. This is a ginger squash peanut soup. Next time we will blend it, but other than that, this is a keeper!

I also did some baking this month. From Vegan Cupcakes take over the world (review with recipe to come) I made the Lychee cupcakes with coconut glaze which I totally LOVED! Must make again!

And last: from the Dutch cookbook Appeltaart (review with recipe to come) I made a French apple pie. It has a custard topping that surrounds the apples. I did encounter some challenge with this recipe and it isn't perfect, but it tasted so good!

Well this was what I made in the previous month. Please look here for the general wrap up post, where you will find links to all the recipes that were submitted for the challenge. If you participated: thank you for making my first ever challenge a success! I will probably host another round in Feb. 2013. I hope I will see you again!

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please take a look if you need some foodie inspiration!

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Weekend Cooking: Fennel Risotto

I had planned to write a cookbook review today for the cookbook challenge, but because I fell ill again, I didn't feel like writing a very long post. Therefore I decided to share just a recipe this weekend. I still have a backlog of recipes that I made, but didn't blog yet. So I am taking the chance to reduce my backlog a bit. All though now I will be adding to my review backlog.... oh well ;)

I love risotto, summer, winter, it doesn't matter. And when I was looking what to do with my lonely fennel bulb, I stumbled upon this lovely fennel risotto recipe on Vegatopia. I will share a translation here, but I altered my version a bit. Partially by mistake because Zeronic bought sage tea instead of sage by accident. But I just used it and it tasted great all the same.

Fennel Risotto (serves 2)
- Some olive oil
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, chopped
- 150gr risotto rice
- 1l warm vegetable broth
- a handful of parmazan cheese
- about a soup bowl of frozen peas
- 2tsp sage (tea)
- 1tsp dried mint
- black pepper

Defrost the peas. Fry the onion in some oil for a few minutes and the add the fennel, fry it a bit longer. If it goes to fast, add a bit of water. Set aside.
Heat some olive oil in a deep pan and add the rice. Fry for about a minute while stirring and turn the heat to low. Gradually add the vegetable broth, about a large soup spoon at the time. Stir ocassionally and add more broth when the rice gets dry. You don't have to stir constantly but never leave your risotto alone. After about 20 minutes the risotto will be done. Add the fennel and onion mixture, peas, cheese, mint, sage and some black pepper. Stir well. You can add some extra cheese on top of the risotto when serving.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Need some food inspiration? Then visit the other posts as well :)

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Weekend Cooking: Current favorite food products #1

Even though I have at least 2 more book reviews to write for my cookbook challenge, I am taking a small break from sharing reviews to share something else. I am sure we all have them: favorite foods and favorite food products. Things that we tried new, currently crave or have rediscovered. Today I would like to share some of my current favorite food products. Unfortunately I only have boring product pictures in most cases. That is because I can't really know beforehand if I like a product or not. And just to be-buy stuff so I can put them on a picture together goes a bit far ;) Anyway, here we go:

I am an easy eater but I am not so easy when it comes to drinks. The usual beverages don't sit well with me. No coffee and no coke. No English blend tea (which is the most common tea here). Also Sisi or 7up I don't really enjoy. So getting enough fluids in, is a daily struggle. I do like fruity drinks but I am allergic to orange juice ;) Luckily I do drink a lot of tea, just not the regular kind and my current favorite is Autumn Storm. I drink this tea for years now, but of course it can only be bought during the autumn. So this is a tea that I wait for and rediscover every year. The tea contains apple, cinnamon and vanilla.

Another thing that I currently love to drink is Sourcy Vitamin water and especially the flavour Lime & Lychee. I know these kind of drinks aren't a replacement for water and have added sugars. Still when I am on the road, I like to grab myself a bottle. It is not like I drink a bottle a day ;)

Ever since my BF Zeronic stopped drinking coke, there are more fruity drinks in the house. We drink different brands because we like to change it up, but one I especially enjoyed is Dubbel Frisss Pear-Cherry. I LOVE all cherry related drinks and I already knew apple-cherry, but I like it better with pear because it is more mild and less tangy.

Breakfast is often a boring thing here in the Netherlands (compared to the USA, where I see tacos, pancakes, waffles and what not for breakfast), we eat mainly bread. I discovered when I recently read more about typical Dutch products that we are the land with the most bread toppings and bread replacements. We have more different bread type things than other countries, so it seems. Because I hate to eat the same thing all the time and I have periods where I just refuse to eat bread for a while, I like to switch with crackers. These Multigrain crackers from Vita-Lu are really tasteful with all kinds of hearty toppings. I enjoyed these with my homemade sweet potato hummus, but also with cheese and garden cress, for example. I just LOVE these crackers.

As most of you will know, I am eating mostly vegetarian and I am experimenting with vegan dishes. But I am not vegan and I use eggs, cheese, milk and yoghurt. However I do try to find affordable organic alternatives so at least I know the animals have had a better life. A short while ago I discovered this very affordable organic yoghurt from the AH brand. This yoghurt is so rich and creamy! Normally I find yoghurt too sour and I need to sweeten it with sugar, but I didn't need to do that with this yoghurt. So double win!

Thanks to my Foodie Pen Pals Package from last month I was able to taste Scottish shortbread fingers. And I really liked it! It is nice and buttery and I think this has to be my favorite Scottish snack of the moment. It is too bad that I can't get it here. But I am thinking about finding a good recipe to try to make my own. So if any of you have the success recipe, please share it in the comments :)

Last but not least, I want to share my favorite lunch item from this moment. In the nearby shopping mall, a Turkish bakery has opened. They sell a lot of tyipical Turkish bread of course, and also warm items to go. They have a good selection for vegetarians, all though most of the contain feta cheese. I don't mind, so Zeronic brings something from that bakery about once a week. My favorite item is this fluffy round bread with feta, tomato and green bell pepper in the middle. The bread is a bit on the sweet side, but not too much and I love how fluffy it is! :)

Well these were my current favorite food items. Do you have any products you discovered recently? I would love to hear about it.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please go see what other yummyness people have shared this week.

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