Lime marinated beef kebab, chickpea and pumpkin casserole

I try to provide a variety of meals to my family. I recently posted a Mexican-style pork chili, a prawn and noodle Thai soup and some French cuisine-inspired dishes. But foremost, I cook like I feel. 

After the chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache that we shared with our neighbours yesterday, today, I felt like something healthy but flavoursome and spicy but not hot. I also wanted something very quick to cook - Monday is only the first day of the week, it's safer to save some resources for the rest o fthe week. My dinos wanted meat.
So I came up with this North Africa-inspired marinated beef kebab with a chickpea and pumpkin casserole served on couscous. And yes, this took me only 30 minutes or so to make it! And jackpot for busy moms to little bubba, the chickpea and pumpkin casserole can be blended or puréed. Chickpeas are rich in protein and low in fat, so a very healthy option. This recipe also follow proportions as recommended by WW* - so a tasty healthy meal for little and big dinosaurs. Enjoy!

Sunday lunch: Marinated pork fillet, orange and cranberry sauce with quinoa, amaranth and green beans

When I was a child, in France, Sunday was a special family day. All the shops were closed. Only bakeries, patisseries and restaurants would be open. Everybody gets well dressed, some goes to the church, then to the local pub to take the 'apero' (apéritif). I sometimes went with my grand father and would be given the permission to drink a lemonade with a tiny bit of bier, we call it a panaché. Then, it's lunch time, with the close family or the extended family.

In my family, it was a tradition to have Sunday lunch in the dinning room while we would have our meals in the kitchen the rest of the week. This lunch was not just a quick, improvised, lunch, but well planned. It could sometimes be a 3-course meals, but often offered a dessert. This Sunday meal looked amazing on our plates. As children, we were looking forward to this special family moment. But once the lunch finished, our tummies were so full that the elder ones could not resist a nap.

This has probably changed now, 25 years later... But I remember those Sundays. They are good memories. 

Now, we live in New Zealand, a lovely and amazing country but far from our extended family. For these reasons and others, we tend to spend lot of our time keeping ourself busy with varying activities every Sundays, thus leaving little room to develop such custom in our family.
But now we have two kids, both working full-time, after the older one's activity on Saturday morning, we must acknowledge that we quite like spending a nice and quiet family Sunday at home - especially since we moved into our new house. Such a family Sunday would not be the Sunday of my childhood without a classy family lunch made with heart by mum.
Last Sunday, I spend just a minimum of time in the kitchen to make this surprising dish: Marinated pork fillet, quinoa, amaranth and green beans, with an orange and cranberry sauce. The pork marries very well with sweet flavours, and the sauce is very easy to make. While you could serve this dish with a classic butternut puree or egg noodles for an Asian twist, I opted for a healthy side: quinoa, amaranth and green bean. Even dinosaurs loved it!

What about YOU? Where ever you are, how does a Sunday lunch look like in your family?

Ingredients (4 servings)

- 2 pork fillets (1 kg)

- 1/2 cup light soy sauce

- 1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

- 3 tsp raw sugar*

- 3-4 tbsp dry cranberries* (to your taste)

- 1 cup quinoa and amaranth mix

- 250g green beans

- a pinch of chilli powder

- 1 orange, finely sliced (for garnish)

Leek and onion tart with blue cheese

Yesterday, I posted a recipe to use unused egg whites. This post brought a very smart question: "What do you do with the yolks?"
The answer to this question is multiple and I will dedicate a post to recipes that will use only yolks or only egg whites, as long as I feed this blog.
In my case, the question could have been "What did you do with the yolks?"
This question was an easy one: I made a leek and onion tart.
A tart - not a quiche - this tart was inspired by the classic French onion tart with a twist: leeks and blue cheese.* By contrast with the quiche, this tart filling is creamy and delicate. It can be served as a light dinner or as an appetizer with a glass of Pinot Gris.

Ingredients (8 servings)

For the pastry:

- 160g flour
- 70g butter, diced, at room tempreature
- 50ml water
- a pinch of salt
For the busiest cook, just use an industrial savoury pastry - you'll save about 10 mins.

Lemon and blueberry Financier cake

I was so excited to be off work, on annual leaves today. Figure of speech?

My day began around 5.50am, just as usual, with the first food request of the day - No.2's breastfeed! But lucky we both fell back to sleep until 7.30am! Yay! Until I can vaguely hear "Maman, I'm hungry" from somewhere like on another planet... No.1 is awake. The day can start.
9am: direction to the doctor to get - I took the 'working mom special plan': every day off, I have the pleasure to see our doctor for one of my two boys when it's not myself!
Followed by the pharmacy, the bank, the post and the mall.
11 am: the kid show started in the mall (cause holidays). No.1 was so happy to watch it I couldn't refuse. Time for No.2 second breastfeed of the day... I really enjoyed sitting on the floor in the centre of the mall, with a baby breastfeeding and a big boy watching the magician with little stars in the eyes, in spite of what he made several requests for all sorts of naughty food.
12 pm: we're all home and starving! Of course, it's lunch time already! Fortunately I had some delish leftover of Paella (still need to find the time to post you the recipe as this dish was just stunning!)
1.30pm: No.2 Plunket appointment. I think that at that time I did not get a chance go wee-wee. Don't laugh at me I'm sure you already experience that!
2 pm: Back to the mall to change a faulty item bought the same morning.
3 pm: we are finally back home! for good! Just on time for a little dino snack, but nothing is ready yet.

I looked in the fridge and find a bowl with egg whites left from the day before that I needed to use. Perfect to test this appealing recipe with egg whites only: Financiers myrtilles/citron created by Camille from Cakes in the city. Despite the English name, this is a French blog. But don't worry - I have tested and translated this easy and quick recipe for you ;-)

Prawn, ginger and coconut vermicelli soup - Thai inspiration

I quite knew it wouldn't be easy to conciliate children, dinosaurs, work, a passion an obsession for cooking and eating, a healthy and balanced dietary, and a cooking blog. Well I never claimed I would post fabulous recipes everyday, anyway. But what I did not expect was that No.2 would start teething and having poor poor or quasi non-existent nights, the same week I would finally start my blog!
Consequence: As usually, when I am under stress or tired, I compensate with food - Catch 22!
Tonight, I thus chose a rich and comforting, but so easy, Thai-inspired prawn vermicelli soup, a tiny bit spicy (or more just as you like!)

Ingredients (6 servings)

- 36 raw prawns, peeled (tail on)* 

- 300g rice vermicelli (dry)

- 350g of mixed veggies including: strips of red capsicum, broccoli, thin strips of carrots, chopped spinach, chopped green beans*

- 10g chinese black mushroom (dry, also found as dried fungus)

- 165 ml coconut cream

- 1.5 L chicken stock* 

- 40g fresh ginger, crushed

- 1 or 2 tsp red curry paste (to your taste)

Pork Chili Con Carne

My dinosaur loves this Mexican-style one-pot meal: A pork chilli con carne. So do I!
It is very rich, reasonable time-wise (for a slow-cooked meal) and so rich.
Instead of beef I used lean pork, but a more fatty piece like pork shoulder or leg would be yummy too. I used pork because it gets tender faster than chuck steak beef or blade steak. I also added corn for the crunch.

Ingredients (6 servings)

5 min preparation + 40 min cooking

- 600g lean pork, cut into 2 cm pieces

- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped*

- 2 cans kidney beans, drained but not washed

- 1 can corn, drained (whole kernel)

- 1 onion, sliced (French cut)

- 2 garlic gloves, crushed

- 1 tsp chilli powder (or according to your taste)

- 1 tsp olive oil

- 1/2 tsp sugar*

- salt, black pepper

Mexican-style flat-bread

This Mexican-style fat-bread is quick and easy to make and will perfectly compliment your chilli con carne or any other Mexican-style spicy casserole.

Ingredients (3 servings)

-100g flour

- 2 tbp olive oil

- 650 ml water

- a pinch of salt

- a dash of olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix together the flour, the oil, the salt and the water. 

2. Split the dough in three equal portions and roll finely.

3. Preheat over the pan with the dash of olive oil.

4. Cook the bread until it get slightly coloured.

5. Before flipping the bread, sprinkle some water on the uncooked side, then flip it over.

6. When cooked, rest in a wet tea towel to keep it moist or serve straight away.

Stand up ovation! Caramel custard / Home-made Danette

There are many food products that we miss from France when we live here in New Zealand.
Remember, two days ago, I opened a can of evaporated milk for the first time of my life. And when I tasted it, it reminded me one of those missed French pudding: the famous Danette - and now all my French followers are singing 'On se lève tous pour Daaanette, Daaanette!...", from the famous TV ad where everybody stand up for this pudding, creating a stand up ovation for this humble custard.
After more than two years in NZ and one can of evaporated milk opened, I finally decided to give it a go and experiment my home-made Danette. I still wonder why I did not try earlier.
It is actually very easy, easier than I'd thought, and very quick to make. Today, I chose the caramel flavour and it was delightful! And it is gluten-free!!! I may go for another serve right now...

Ingredients (5 servings)

Caramel:

- 150g white sugar

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

- 5 tbp evaporated milk

Baby food - Beetroot and carot puree

This blog is not only for kids and big kids. I think it is worth starting educating the taste of our little ones from the very beginning. No way I would give my No.2 commercially made baby food. It can be lot of work, but if you're well organised, it can be so easy. And it is so rewarding to see your bubba content with a full tummy of healthy food made straight from your heart!

So I prepare over 1kg fruit puree every week-end with the assistance of dinodad :) portion it in jars and keep them in the fridge up to 5 days, otherwise I freeze them. He eats one jar of 200g every day. That's the easy bit.

In addition, mini-dino eats 200g of veggie and meat (or fish) puree for lunch and the same quantity for dinner (but no meat). Every second day, I replace part of the veggies with carbs (rice, pasta, couscous). When I make puree, I try to prepare enough for 2 or 3 meals at least. When possible, I just cook the same veggies and meat as for big dinos, and puree them together.

Pasta al tuna and cheesy sauce

Just once would not hurt... Today I left work a bit late. So I picked the kids from the creche a bit late, too.
In the car...
"Maman!!!! Can I have a biscuit?"
"No, it will be dinner time by the time we get home." Starting to think about what I could make for dinner

5 minutes later in the car...
"Maman, I'm hungry."
"We'll be home soon." thinking more...

3 minutes later, still in the car...
"Ma-Man, I'm starving!"
"Yep, yep, we'll be home soon." Still no idea of what I could make for dinner... thinking harder...

2 minutes later, still in the car...

"MA-Man!!! I'm staaaaarving!!!!"
Now seriously considering the take-away option, I am asking my 4 years-old: "What would you like to eat for dinner?"
"PIZZA!!!!"
"Mmmm, well, that's not really my idea of a healthy meal and we won't have time to make pizzas."
"No Maman, we'll get from the take-away."
"No honey. What about pasta?"
"Nooooo! PIZZA! I've lots of money in my piggy bank."
"Let me think honey..." At this stage, while I'm driving, I am also thinking very hard of what I could find in my cupboards...

1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes... hah he's finally asleep... Yay!!! I have few minutes to think freely about my express meal for tonight.

6 pm, we are home. Unsurprisingly, the little fairy did not make dinner for us. I open the fridge: I can see a small piece of mozzarella, tasty cheese, bacon, gherkins, olives... well,  not very inspiring...
The pantry: a can of tuna and pasta! Yay! I've got proteins and carbs, I need fibres, vegetables... I find frozen peas and frozen broccoli in the freezer.
Now, I need a sauce! I return to the fridge: no cream, no ricotta, or cream cheese. I return to the pantry. A can of tomatoes? No, we already had tomatoes yesterday... And miracle! I find a can of evaporated milk. What the hell is that? I remember buying from the store while I was doing WW and thinking: "well, there's less fat than in cream and they say it can be used as cream in sweet or savoury dishes. At least, I've got to try once". The very first has come; I'm making 'Pasta al tuna and cheesy sauce'.

Celebrating Bastille Day with Crêpes

A promise is a promise: I made galettes (click for the recipe) and crêpes for all my workmates in the honour of Bastille Day - well the 2 days delay doesn't count; only the intention counts!

Dear workmates! if you're coming over here, please leave a comment to share your galette and crêpe tasting experience ;) And if you don't, never mind! we can all see there was only this left out of near 5 litters of batter! (see pic below).

For sweet crêpes, I am quite a classic girl: I like it filled with a little bit a sugar; it gives it a bit of crunch! But today I had one with raspberry jam, which is my second favourite. And you, what's yours?

Galettes bretonnes - Savoury crêpes

In my office, we all enjoy good food. So when one colleague offered to organise a soup tasting, everybody joined into the challenge and it turned in that, every Tuesday, one of us will cook a soup for the 12 others people.

I missed the first round last week - cause Chicken Pox - I thus missed the butterchicken soup :(
Tomorrow, it's my turn. But because I just can't do like anybody else, I decided to prepare galettes and crêpes for everybody. Naaah! I actually offered to prepare galettes and crêpes to celebrate Bastille Day - the French national day. I'll take another turn in the soup tasting challenge.

As a French native, people always expect high standing dishes from me. Well, with galettes and crêpes, no doubt, it will be a hit!

Given time constraints, it was galette and crêpes dinner for the dinosaur family!

Yoghurt Cake: A kid hit!

Easy start for my blog with a day off work - YAY!!! 

A nice winter day with my two boys at home. No. 1 is busy somewhere in his playroom. No. 2 is sleeping. All good. I make myself a cup of tea, sit in the kitchen and start thinking about what could be an interesting cooking challenge for my blog... 'I'd love to eat a Paris-Brest, or maybe a pasta challenge...' when No. 1, arched back, crooked fingers, knees bent, grinning and roaring - #dinomode - popped into my peaceful kitchen.

It might be time for another type of cooking or baking challenge... baking with No. 1. Actually, this would not be his first time; he's far from being a beginner. He loves helping me in the kitchen, but I can't always afford the time. Today is thus a perfect day for such a baking challenge: baking with No. 1! I love such activities with my son as it is a great opportunity for fun learning. 

Dressed up like a real little chef, he is ready to measure all the ingredients and mix them together. He even broke the eggs with no egg shell left in the batter - he just turned 4 and need to show that he is a big boy, so the next step was naturally breaking the eggs by himself - well done little dino. On my side, I was more interested in his counting skills as it still a bit difficult to get him counting up to 5 or 10. This baking challenge was a revelation in that he did not fail and the dino-yoghurt cakes were delicious!

Millions of years ago...

There was a time where I planned to write a cookbook when I'd be pregnant. Naively, I thought pregnancy would give me some spare time to achieve such a project. Then, I got pregnant of my first child and I forgot about my cookbook project. This project came back to my mind later while cookbooks had become old fashion and cooking blogs were flourishing. I then dreamed of joining the community with an elegant blog about delicate food, with nice pictures and very fancy (expensive) ingredients.
That was BEFORE...