Eggplant parmigiana

Today I made a yummy eggplant parmigiana (or baked eggplants with parmesan) following my nonna's recipe. I just slightly modified it to use some leftovers of roasted chicken. Serve with green salad or pasta if you really wants some carbs - that was a no-no for me trying to manage my weight after a decadent holiday trip.

Follow the instructions and travel to Italy!

And because, we never waste anything in my kitchen - it's not that dinosaurs eat really anything though - tonight I made bruschetta with the leftovers of the eggplant parmigiana. Take a slice of bread (which was a leftover of a cereal loaf I made two days ago), spread the eggplants parmigiana previously chopped, add tasty cheese on the top, 8 mins under the grill and there you go!

Ingredients (4-6 serves)

- 3 eggplants, large, sliced in the length, between 0.5 and 1cm

- 3 cans of peeled tomatoes, finely diced, or lots of fresh ripe tomatoes

- 60 g parmesan, freshly grated

- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- 5 tsp of olive oil

- 10 basil leaves

- 1 tsp of sugar

- 1 tsp tomato paste

- salt and black pepper

- leftovers of roasted chicken, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions (~ 45 mins) 

Pre-heat the oven, fan grill at 180C.

1. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil and stir the garlic in.

2. Quickly add the tomatoes and pour 1 can of water in. 

3. Stir in the tomato paste and the sugar. Season and add the basil.

4. Leave it on medium heat until it had reduced by half.

5. Brush the eggplants with the remaining oil on each side and precook them either in a frying pan or in the oven at 180C.*

6. Stack one layer of eggplant, then tomato sauce, parmesan and chicken (optional) after the other. Finish with parmesan.

7. Put in the oven for 20-25 mins. If the top starts burning, add foil on the top (which I obviously forgot to do today, hence a black-ish top on my eggplants - fail!)

Enjoy with pasta or green salad!

Good to know...

* I prefer the oven for its time-efficiency and it's less mess in the kitchen. But I prefer in the frying pan for the taste. Just choose the option that suits you the best, at the end they will be good anyway.

Stuffed tomatoes - Tomates farcies

Hello there!!

After nearly 2 months of  interruption due to a big Tiki Tour with my in-laws (yes we all survived this!), I am back, a veggie garden full of healthy goodies and - let's be fair - 6 kg to get rid of! So back on a healthy well-balanced diet, but without compromising flavours and mouth pleasure.

This is a French summer classic: Tomatoes stuffed with beef mince and herbs, usually accompanied by white rice, I chose quinoa and broccoli. There are many version of this recipe; I kept this one pretty simple - after 5 weeks on the roads of NZ, I need rest - so quick, easy and efficient!

Grapefruit and coconut chicken salad

Another great spring day - Summer is just around the corner! Here we are like busy bees in the garden: we started the herb patch, strawberry flowers are turning into small fruits, the raspberry plants are reviving and the earth of the veggie patch ready to get new seedlings. We already sow cucumber, zucchini, sweet basil, and lettuce in trays. Every day No.1 water his tray of veggies. I really enjoy watching him so excited about the sowing/growing vegetable process.
And you know what? while we were digging the ground, my little paleontologist even found a dinosaur bone. Yes a real one! He said that it would probably be a T-Rex arm. I did not make a picture so I was overwhelmed by the little stars in his eyes... love...

The garden kept us so busy all week end that I had very little time left for the kitchen. After a busy week end in the garden, nothing much was available in the pantry or the fridge. Leftovers of roast chicken, some grapefruits kindly given by a colleague - thanks! - and a need for raw veggies, all in a fresh mix that would suit an 11 month-old. Half an hour later we were all enjoying a fresh grapefruit and coconut chicken salad!

Lentil and ham hock spring salad

What a wonderful spring week we had! This has tickled my taste for salads. But my pantry is still full of winter-ish food like lentils and ham hocks. And veggies like capsicum and tomatoes are not exactly of season yet, so still a bit expensive.

Not a problem, lentils and ham hock gives you a nice end of Winter - early spring salad dinner, and you just need a little bit of capsicum and tomato.
In my native region in France, Alsace, we often eat cured meat like ham hocks (although we don't use this cut of the pork, but rather fillets, belly and shoulder). I love them, they are so flavoursome and require very little preparation as they just need to be boiled up. With a dash of mustard or horseradish, this kind of meat, warn or cold, is delightful! Here in NZ, ham hocks are what you can find at the butchery, although it is very tasty, it has not as much meat as on another cut like fillet or shoulder. And you better don't eat all the ham hock skin and fat, otherwise it is not as healthy - it's just a matter of being reasonable!

And the best? If you have lentil leftovers or cans, then it will take you less than 30 mins to make this nice meal for your family. Enjoy your spare time in spring!

Ingredients (6 servings)

- 2 ham hocks
- 600 g brown lentils, cooked, cold (dry or can)
- 1 large red capsicum
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 shallot
- 1 or 2 tbsp grainy mustard (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp water
- greens
- salt, white pepper

Preparation (30 mins)

1. Wash the ham hocks under cold water. Then put them in a large pot, cover with water and bring to the boil for 10 mins in order to wash all the impurities.
2. Dice the tomatoes, chop the onion and the capsicum. Mix with the lentils.
3. To make the dressing, mix together the mustard and the oil. Then add the vinegar. If the dressing is a bit too vinegary to your taste, then add a dash of water, but not more oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the salad. You can either this salad on the top of some green leaves or mix them in.
4. Carve thin slices of ham hock to serve with the salad. Or if you prefer dice the ham hocks and mix in the salad.

Bon appetit!

Creamy couscous pudding

Today I want to show No.2 my genuine gratitude for the extra 2 hours of sleep we are all getting since Sunday! MER-CI! Loving daylight savings!!!
I don't write often about my very little one. It's probably because somewhat we don't know each other as much - as compared to his big brother -, yet. But we make progress every day.

I now respond to two very familiar, but distinct and how charming, voices when they say 'Maman'.
My No.2 is very cheeky: he crawls away as soon as he sees me around the corner; and he knows that I can be quite impatient, when it has come to cuddle times!
My No.2 is so charming: since very little, he waved bye-bye at people; a bit more recently, he sent flying kisses to his close circle; he is now kissing maman in exclusivity! I am so in love with my almost one-year-old bubba that I have already forgotten the poor nights of last months and the grumpy week-ends... and all the rest!... not so far from feeling ready to take the next step in my mum-career, which might be the nightmare of another Big Dinosaur...

Let's focus on the present step, and the present has come to me feeding 4 dinosaurs, all at the same menu - very important detail! No. 2 is ready to eat by himself what's in our plates. So I decided to focus even more on healthy meals for the whole family - this doesn't mean no more treaty recipes here, we have some parties upcoming so I need to do a bit of testing/experimentations in the next few weeks -.
In order to thank my very little one (I did not write 'to fill him more and more and to get him asleep longer in the morning), I prepared a healty pudding special for him but also for the whole family! Jackpot!

This couscous pudding is inspired by some French couscous gateau, but creamier, egg-free, just slightly sweet thanks to the addition of sultana and dry apricots. It is smooth, full-filling and health. Not only it is yum, but it is looking great! Don't you think?

I prepared this kind of pudding for my children since they were around 8 months. I prepare 5 to 6 little jars for the whole week (can be kept in sterilised jars in the fridge for up to 5 days), when it has been devored before by some bigger dinosaurs.

Buttercup, kumara and spinach curry with chicken breast

I think I've already told you about our soup day at work. Few weeks ago, one of my (male) colleague's partner made a fantastic pumpkin and spinach curry. So rich in flavours, very hot, so well balanced. Probably, the best curry I ever had. When I asked for the recipe, I got a: 'emh... emh emh...' She actually had no recipe, she was just cooking from heart, and honnestly we could feel it. That vegan curry was awsome!

I don't pretend to even compare with this curry but this awsome pumpkin and spinach hot curry inspired today's recipe: a butternut, kumara and spinach curry, which I served with chicken breast rubbed in the same curry spices for those meat-lover dinosaurs.

This curry is not as spicy as the one that inspired it because I need to look after my little dinoboys' buds. But the combination of spices works very well. And you may not believe me, but this is a very healthy dish!

Ingredients (~ 6 servings)

- 1 buttercup, medium size, cubed (2 cm pieces)
- 6 kumara, cubed (2 cm pieces)
- 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled (en chemise)
- 4 bunches of spinach
- 1 onion
- 4 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 2 tsp olive oil*
- a pinch of dry hot chilli (optional)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, whole
- 1 tsp cumin seed
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger ground
- 250 ml water
- salt
- 1 chicken breast (800 g), skin less, cut in two

Honey and grainy mustard-glazed chicken thighs with orrechiette salad

Sometimes, the best recipes are the improvised recipes. I recently received Rata honey for experimenting with it and grainy mustard from a friend. I thus improvised honey and grainy mustard-glazed chicken.

To serve with I used leftovers of home-made pasta dought, which I shaped into orrechiette to create a beautiful but simple roasted tomatoes and mushroom orrechiette salad. The salad is better served warm.

Spot on! all the flavours, from the chicken and the salad went very well together.

Home-made orrechiette are quite time-consuming - so we worked as a team: Dinodad rolled the little balls, Dinomum squeezed and rolled the balls on the board to form the orrechiette and Dino No.1 checked that the orrechiette were well shaped, while No. 2 was nicely sleeping! Heaven! These moments are so rare that I have to record them. But this is not the topic of this post!
Be reassured, you don't need to make your own orrechiette, dry orrechiette will be perfect instead!

Ingredients (6 servings)

- 6 chicken thighs, skinless, deboned
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey*
- 3 tbsp grainy mustard
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt, black pepper
- 4 tomatoes, chopped in 16
- 10 mushrooms, chopped in 4 or 6 depending their size
- mixed herbs
- 400 g orrechiette*

Instructions (~ 45 mins)

1. Pre-heat the oven, fan bake, at 180C.
2. Mix the grainy mustard, the honey and the olive oil together.
3. Brush the mustard mix all over the chicken tights and roll it on itself. Salt.
4. Put the meat in a baking dish and in the oven for 30 mins at 180C.*
5. Cook the orrechiette and prepare the veggies.
6. Five minutes before the chicken is ready, add half of the tomatoes and the mushrooms in the baking dish and cook with the chicken for 5 minutes. Keep the other half of tomatoes raw for the salad.
7. Take the veggies out and mix in the orrechiette (cooked and drained). Drizzle the cooking jus from the baking dish over the orrechiette as a seasoning. Add one extra tsp of mustard if you want to give it a kick.
8. Add the raw tomatoes and sprinkle some mixed herbs. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
9. Serve and bon appétit!

Good to know...

* I used a Rata honey (Airborne); because it is a little buttery, I heated it slightly for better combination with the mustard and the oil.
* You're welcome to increase the portion of pasta, but after several months of WW diet (and 14 kg less! Yay!!!), I learnt to increase the proportions of veggies at the expense of the carbs. So if you want to keep this meal as healthy and balanced as possible, I suggest you stick with 60-70 g pasta per person.
* The honey, mustard and oil mix will slightly caramelised over the chicken. The pictures may look like burnt but it was just perfectly caramelised. That said, be careful that you oven temperature is not too high or the glazing may burn.
* For my GF friends, I suggest to replace the orrechiette by cannellini beans - you'll love this salad!

Revisited Vietnamese nems - A healthy trick for kids

This post could have been titled 'How to make your kids love cabbage', but instead I preferred the reference to nems, the traditional Vietnamese rolls.

Traditionally, nems are fried rice paper rolls stuffed with pork, prawn or beef. They are quite easy to make and flavoursome. But they are not the healthiest Vietnamese food because they are fried.

While I was shopping at the local veggie store, looking for seasonal veggies other then carrots, parsnips and pumpkin, I saw cabbage. This is such a controversial veggie for children. I personally love red cabbage; it's a quite regular vegetable at home. I was after something less usual. White cabbage... we all like it raw in salad, but cooked it is quite controversial for my No.1. Then I saw savoy cabbage - they look so beautiful - and as I couldn't remember when was my last attempt with this kind of cabbage. I thus decided to go for this beautiful savoy cabbage. Then started the thinking... how could I sell this to my No.1.

Spark of genius! what about making nems? but instead of using rice paper, I'd use savoy cabbage leaves. And instead of frying them I'd steam them. I was not quite sure about the preparation and cooking process, but the idea was worth a try!

My revisited nems, served with sweet soy sauce, turned out gorgeous and so tasty! No.1 even asked for a second serve! Mission accomplished? Oh yes!

What's your trick to make your children eat cabbage? 

Avocado, ricotta and shrimp spaghetti - As quick as lightning!

Back to working days... And I've been quite lazy about shopping this week-end, so I had to deal with what was left in my cupboards and what was left of my time after hours to make dinner.
I quite like this kind of cooking challenge, although it does not necessarily bring up my favorite style of food. But tonight I was very happy with my creation given that it took barely 20 mins off my time watching my little one first adventure, exploring our place and crawling backward #stupidproudmom

Today, on the menu: Avocado, ricotta and shrimp spaghetti - humble, but incredibly quick n' easy! Perfect for busy working moms and daddies willing to give a hand in the kitchen ;) Would also work well for students busy with their dissertation or exam preparations, cook beginners wanting to impress friends, families watching on the budget and starving people looking for a healthier option than fish n' chips... Well, it should work for anybody though!

Braised pork tenderloin with butternut squash and fried polenta

Sunday, I left baby and partner home and I took my 4 years-old to the movies. The movie was very good for little ones, a lovely story about friendship between a bear and a mouse: Ernest & Celestine. After only few minutes, I felt blessed - and a little bit stupid to feel a bit emotional while watching a kid movie with my son - probably the lack-of-rest effect.
I felt so blessed to live in New Zealand, to be allowed to raise my children in this amazing country, to raise them as bilinguals and to share my native language and culture with my growing kiwis. What does it have to do with the movie? The movie was in French! When I left France, I gave up the idea of going to see a French movie with my children. But that was due to my ignorance of New Zealand way of integrating cultures. Not only New Zealand offers an amazing lifestyle, it also accepts and encourage the diversity of cultures. I couldn't tell for other cultures, but as French living in Auckland, we are blessed with a very active community that allows parents like us to pass our culture on our children thanks to playgroups (I love the kiwi culture of playgroups/playcentre, it's just a shame I have limited access to it because I work full-time), the preschools, the bilingual sections in primary schools and the various socialising French events and other festivals. Beyond the language, of course, food is another way to pass on our culture, and not only to our children.
After the movie, I felt even more blessed when I came back home where a meal from an original recipe by my mum had perfumed the entire the house after 2 hours of slow cooking earlier the same day: a braised pork tenderloin with a rustic-tasting but elegant sauce made from onions, carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms. This dish was well-known of all the kids from the neighbourhood in my home-town; this for the holy good reason that it is deliciously rich of flavour, while balanced and not overly fat.

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)