Mains

When it comes to main-courses I am in trouble…

…if I cook for my husband. You see, I like to cook plant-based most of the time with some dairy and the occasional egg or meat, while Douglas is a total meat-lover. He grew up eating some version of meat several times per day and – here’s the real problem – not eating vegetables AT ALL besides sweetcorn and the (in Brazil) obligatory beans. A main-course without meat is rather difficult for him to eat, he says.
But, as we all know these days, meat on an every basis is making you sick. So, how do you make healthy food for a guy who dislikes veges (and most fruits) and feels a meal is incomplete without meat?

Sounds like a great challenge to me! You will find my attempts and solutions (hopefully ;–P) here.

cous cous salad couscous salat

Kitchen-quicky: cous cous salad

Hi everyone! Yes, I am still alive and cooking ;–D I admit: long time no see… or read ;–) But now here I am with a delicious 10-minutes-recipe in tow. A kitchen-quicky for maximum enjoy-time at the table. You see, these days I am running a rather demanding “business” that keeps my me-time at an all-time low. Quick recipes are my life-savers right now, among other things like baby carriers and grannies. Luckily, at the same time, it’s the best job I could imagine doing: being a mother of two :–) This spring my second son joined our family. Ever since […]

quiche spinach spinat mangold swiss chard

Light summery spinach quiche

Wow, what a Summer! Minimum 30 degrees C heat waves, sun, sun and SUN. Even though I normally love the warm time of the year, I guess this last heat wave just made me realise that I am not made for this kind of weather. I was staying more inside the house than out and dearly wished we would have included some Brazilian standards when building our house: air condition! Well, we did not. However, on the upside: I came to appreciate an area of our house that so far was treated as the “step child” – the cellar. What […]

beans bohnen feijoada brazil

Holidays, Brazil & the truth about beans

Holidays at the sea – great times! Leisure, pleasure, duties left behind. Welcome change of scenery, warm salty air dancing around your nose, carrying cherished memories of the last visit to the ocean long before you even catch a glimpse of the glittering blue. Then, watching the local fishermen do their work on their little colorful boats, thoughts of home are suddenly far away. No wondering anymore, whether or not I emptied the bin before leaving and worries of every day life are drifting off on the cooling waves around my feet. That’s when I know, I have arrived. Brazil. Whenever […]

Christmas tree pizza

XmasTree in the oven & magical (pizza-)bread dough

Almost Christmas. Did you find the time yet to slow down a bit and actually FEEL it? And enjoy the good vibes (while skilfully ignoring all the lurking Xmas-stress)? I finally made it to that point :–D My happy Christmas-mood even magically turned our pizzas into Christmas trees last weekend ;–) There is no such thing as magic, you say? But isn’t Christmas all about magic? The enchanting magnificence of glittering snow (it snowed this week – YAY!). How all the Christmas-smells send you on a time travel back to your childhood days. How everyone suddenly finds a free spot in their schedule to meet […]

Therapist? No. Pumpkin!

Autumn time = pumpkin time, right? Aren’t pumpkins just amazing? How they come in all kind of shapes and sizes and in the most beautiful, BEAUTIFUL colours… Don’t they just act like a motivation-therapist, giving you a visual pep talk, when you leave for a challenging day at work, looking at them as they sit there, radiantly decorating the front door? I was always a big fan of their looks. But it was only a few years ago, when I first ate some. Crazy, right? How could I possibly miss out on that delicate taste for most of my life?!?! Well, pumpkins just never made […]

Simple food for complicated days – oven potatoes!

Do you remember the last time you had one of those days, when the world seems to be plotting against you? Well, this last Tuesday was my most recent hope-it’s-soon-tomorrow-day. My son is currently going through a quiet intense teething phase which turns this normally well-behaved little angle into someone that Santa Clause would most probably have on the naughty list… For all of you, who have never been a mom of a teething toddler: imagine a cute, little monkey of around 13 kg sitting on your hip, wanting to be carried around pretty much all day – and don’t even think about putting […]

Herbs – a gift for the senses

Herbs just take every single dish up another level, don’t you think? Two years ago I planted my first few herbs and since then the amount and variety are increasing constantly. They are taking over my garden as reigning plantpower (although the pumpkin seems to attempt a coup this year ;–)) I know that most people would prefer vibrant, colourful flowers to decorate their garden, but I am totally into those different greens and modest, but beautiful blooms. And when you give them a chance and walk up close to them, they will completely charm you with their amazing range of fragrances. […]