AA (or Avocado Appetizer)

Aaaaaaaaaavocado appetizer - an actually a-complicated and astonishingly appetizing antipasto!  

Yet another simple and healthy dish.  Avocados are a great source of healthy fats (actually reducing bad cholesterol), they are high in fiber contents and packed with vitamins.  But they are also very delicious!  Their creamy, smooth texture makes a great base for various salads and salsas.  They go so well with a whole bunch of different ingredients, which leaves the door open for you to experiment and try to pair them with all sorts of things.  This very recipe is the product of a quick experiment - based on what I thought would go well with avocado and.... what I had in the fridge at that time.

This appetizer has a great combination of different tastes and textures.  You have the smooth and rich avocado, tangy-sweet apple, crunchy shallots and peppers, and nutty roasted pine nuts.  The freshness of the lemon gives it an extra twist, and thick Greek yoghurt combines all the ingredients into one delicious salad.  Avocado really is a great canvas/background that brings out the crunchy, tangy and sweet components.  Yet again, without them, it would be bland and too rich.  With them, it's elevated to the super fruit status it fully deserves.

This appetizer can be served on its own or with a slice of good bread.  Double the portion (two halves per person) and you have a healthy, nutritious and filling lunch.  You could also serve it as a simple salad - a side dish to a main course.   

Makes 4 appetizers

Ingredients:

• 2 ready to eat avocados
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 small crisp, tangy-sweet apple (e.g. pink lady)
• 2 shallots (a big red onion would also work)
• a big handful of pine nuts (approx. 70-80g)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of very thick greek yoghurt (or mayonnaise if you prefer the taste - but this makes the recipe a bit less healthy ;-) )
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Toast the pine nuts in a very hot dry pan until golden brown (watch out not to burn them!).  Set aside to cool.
• Slice the avocados in half, get rid of the stones.  Gently remove the flesh, leaving the shells intact (this can be very easily done with a tablespoon).  Set the shells aside - they will serve as bowls.  Gently dice the avocado (in rather large pieces), put in a bowl and immediately generously sprinkle with lemon juice (this will prevent the avocado from going brown).
• Dice the shallots (finely), pepper and apple and add to the avocado.  Sprinkle some more lemon juice over the apple (otherwise it will also go brown).  Add the pine nuts, yoghurt and season well with salt and pepper.  Stir gently (e.g. using two forks) not to mash the avocado.
• Serve inside the avocado shells, garnished with basil.

Bon appetit!

Über-moist apple cake

It's funny how things work out and how much is a matter of chance. Once, I was on a plane sitting next to this 30ish year old woman and heard one of the most amazing love stories ever.

The woman was coming back from a business trip and couldn't wait to see her little girl and her wonderful husband. She showed me some pictures of the happy family, and completely lit up when talking about her loved ones. I remarked it really shows she loves being a mum and a wife. She smiled, and said she didn't see it coming at all -- only a few years ago she was absolutely determined never to get married nor have kids. Not out of spite or a broken heart -- she thought it just wasn't for her, and was a perfectly happy independent single. 

One day, she decided to email an old friend that she hadn't spoken for a long while, to see how he was doing. By mistake, she misspelled his surname in the email address and sent the email to a stranger. This stranger was surprised by the email, but thought maybe he'd just forgotten a long-lost acquaintance -- and replied. The woman deduced from the reply that this was not her old friend, but liked the tone of the email and wrote back. 

They kept on emailing for a while -- first laughing about the mistake, later simply getting to know each other better. Before long, they decided to meet IRL and fell in love. They moved to the same city and got married -- and now had a lovely daughter. The woman said she could not have been happier, against her initial plans and totally different idea of happiness.

Turns out, one small element -- catching an earlier train, going to a party, sometimes even making a mistake -- can have a huge impact on our lives.  Some say it's pure coincidence, and life is just a result of random events -- others say it's destiny.

I first bought this cake by coincidence -- it was the only one left at my local pâtisserie and I had no choice but to buy it, as I needed something to give to very unexpected -- yet very hungry -- guests.  However, with the first incredibly delicious bite I discovered this was no coincidence, but destiny.

Before & after

Ever since, the cake has become one of my favorite "ordinary cakes".  It's not very fancy, and can be eaten without a particular occasion -- simply with your afternoon tea.  It's a popular cake in Belgium, and I buy it either at the pâtisserie or simply in the supermarket (the latter of worse quality and taste, but still very good).

Lately, as I decided to consume less of the "E-vitamins" (E367 etc. additives), I started looking for a recipe to make the cake myself.  This turned out to be not such an easy task, and it took me quite a while to find something satisfactory.  I wanted to catch the distinct apple flavor and great moistness of the cake.  Help cake from legendary blogger Deb, and her recipe for "mom's apple cake" (which I slightly adapted).

The cake turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for.  Extremely moist, with big soft chunks of apple and crunchy walnuts, not too sweet.  With an excellent crisp crust and divinely silky center.  Sprinkled with powdered sugar for that extra hint of sweetness -- excellent cake to have with a cup of tea.  Having made it -- I don't think I will ever have to buy this cake again.

Try it out -- and let this be your destiny too ;-)

Ingredients:

• 6 apples (I used Granny Smith)
• 2 tbsp of cinnamon
• 6 tbsp of brown sugar
• handful of walnuts (around 60-70 g), roughly chopped
• 330 g (2.75 cups) of flour
• 330 g (1.5 cup) of brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 230 ml (1 cup) of vegetable oil
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• juice of 1 orange
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp of powdered sugar

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).  Line a round baking tray (24 cm / 9.5 in in diameter) with parchment paper.
• Peel, core and chop the apples in chunks.  Sprinkle with sugar (the 6 tbsp) and cinnamon, add chopped walnuts and combine.  
• Sift the flower, baking powder and salt.  In a separate bowl mix together the oil, remaining brown sugar, vanilla and orange juice.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix.  Add eggs, one by one.
• Pour half of the batter in the baking tray and cover with half of the apples (you might need to drain them a little bit from the juices).  Pour the remaining batter and add the remaining apples.
• Bake for around 1.5h.  Let cool a bit and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bon appetit!

Snow!... and apple & plum crumble

 

Winter has come to Belgium!  It started snowing two days ago and a thin white coat covers the streets ever since.  Unfortunately a thin layer is all we get here -- still, it's better than nothing.  

 

One of the most beautiful winters I ever experienced was two years ago in Philadelphia (and that's where these winter pictures were taken).  A solid amount of snow, a brisk -8°C (just cold enough, but not too cold), and of course: blue sky and sunshine -- after all "it's always sunny in Philadelphia."

There is only one thing better than a walk in the snow on a sunny winter's day.  A walk in the snow on a sunny winter's day with a camera.  The photoholic that I am, I ventured on a quest to capture the beauty of winter.  I went through heaps of snow and half-frozen puddles, just to get the best shots.  

The results were great -- though I did pay the price of catching a cold and being stuck in bed for a few days (my shoes got completely soaked, so no wonder).  But who cares -- the mission was accomplished.

Of course, there are also downsides to such weather.  The snow in center city is a grey ugly mush, the pavements are so dirty and slippery that you can forget about wearing heels (sic!), and there are traffic jams everywhere.  (On the bright side -- it is always fun to watch people walk like a bunch of flamingos -- very careful not to slip on the icy surface).

Now imagine you just came back from such a wonderful winter walk.  You have the great pictures, your cheeks are nice and rosy, and... suddenly you start feeling very hungry.  Well, here is the perfect solution: a delicious, warm and filling crumble.  Apples go very well with plums, and the lemon zest just gives everything a fresh and festive taste.

Not to mention your whole house will be filled with the most divine apple-cinammon aroma.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some custard: and you're all set!

Ingredients:

• 3 large apples (variety best suited for baking, such as Bramley)
• 500 g of pitted, halved plums (mine were frozen, and defrosted)
• Zest & juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 2 tbsp of sugar
• 150 g of butter (soft)
• 200 g of flour
• 100 g of rolled oats
• 115 g of light brown sugar
• A couple of handfuls of nuts (I only had pine nuts, but chopped walnuts would be the best)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 175 °C.
• Core the apples and cut them in chunks.  Toss with plums in bowl, adding lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, and 2 tbsp of sugar (you can add more or less -- depending on your taste and the taste of the apples).
• Cut the butter in chunks and mix with the remaining ingredients until you get a crumbling mixture (easiest just using your hands).
• Put fruit in a baking dish, sprinkle with crumble.
• Bake around 40 minutes until fruit is bubbling, and the crumble is golden.  Serve hot.

Bon appetit!