Broccoli Gratin with Parmesan cheese

This Gratin can be made with broccoli or with zucchinis. It is very simple and quick to prepare. And while it's baking, you can do something else! It is a good recipe to have your kids eat veggies :)

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 2 medium broccoli bunches
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 (375 ml) cup milk
- 1 1/2 (100 g) cup shredded parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- a pinch of grated nutmeg

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart.

Steam the broccoli florets for about 5 minutes: they shouldn't be too tender but rather a little firm - they will finish cooking in the gratin.
Drain the florets and place them in a rectangular baking dish (I usually use a glass cake dish).

Preheat your oven at 200°C/390°F.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and add the grated nutmeg, salt and pepper and finally the parmesan cheese.
Pour over the broccoli florets.

Place your dish in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes. The gratin should be firm, not liquid, and golden brown on top.
Serve with a salad.

Bread Pudding Soufflé and Whiskey sauce

How to use bread leftovers? Bake a Bread Pudding Soufflé! This dessert is old fashioned light, and fluffy. My recipe includes raisins and pecans but you can replace the raisins with fresh fruits (diced apples and blueberries are my favorites), other dried fruits (cherries, apricots, figs..) use honey, chocolate chips, etc.

Serves 8
Praparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: **

Ingredients:
Soufflé
- 5 cups (about half a medium round loaf) day-old French bread (from a loaf, not a baguette), cut into 2 cm cubes
- 4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 1 cup (225 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmated
- 4 cups (1 l) milk
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in dark rum (to cover)
- 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
- butter and sugar for the mold

Whiskey sauce
- 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup bourbon


Prepare the soufflé first.
Coat a large, deep baking dish with butter and sugar.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup of the sugar, the spices, the vanilla extract until creamy. Mix in the milk

Place teh cubed bread in a large bowl and pour the milk mixture over it. Set aside for 30-45 minutes.

Preaheat your oven to 350°F / 180° C.
In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the remaining 1/4 of the sugar until peaks form.

Add the raisins and chopped pecans to the soaked bread and slowly fold in the beaten egg whites with a metal spoon.

Pour the mixture into the preapared mold and bake for 35-40 minutes until puffed and golden.

For the Whiskey sauce, heat the cream over simmering water in a double boiler.

In a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar. Off the heat, whisk the egg yolks into the warm cream.

Return the preparation to the double boiler and cook over simmering water, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Slowly add the bourbon. Continue to cook until the miwture is lightly thick and smooth.

Serve the soufflé with the warm Whiskey sauce.

Guacamole: the king of dishes for your fiesta!

Guacamole is an avocado-based dip which originated in Mexico. It is quite easy to do and always appreciated as a dip in parties. The traditional recipe only includes ripe avocados and salt. To give it a twist, I like to add garlic, red chili, lemon juice and diced tomatoes. Try it and let me know!

Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: none
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 1/2 red chili, very finely minced or 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- juice of 1 lemon (or lime)
- salt

Dice the tomato, grate the garlic and mince the chili.
Note that the chili and the cayenne pepper are optional. The give a nice kick to the dish but you can exclude them if you want to.

In a bowl, place the scooped avocado pulp and add the lemon juice. Using a fork, start mixing and mashing the avocado pulp.

Fold in the garlic, diced tomato and chili or cayenne pepper (if you use it).

Mash more until you reach the consistency you like: you can leave some avocado chucks for a more authentic guacamole of mash it more (even using a potato masher) for a smoother texture.
Serve quickly with tortilla chips or pita bread. Yum!

Eggplant and Celery Stew - Easy Vegetarian dish

This stew is a vegetarian dish with can be served with rice. For the story, I wanted to make an Indian Eggplant curry but since a dinner was planned at an Indian restaurant at the end of the week, I decided to use my eggplant in another dish. Celery is a vegetable which is rarely used: it's a pity in my opinion because its taste is very aromatic. I personally use both the stalks and the leaves, the latter being even more aromatic.

Serves 2
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 1 big eggplant
- 1 onion
- 4-5 celery branches, with leaves, chopped - Separate the leaves from the branches
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup vegetable broth (more if needed, depending on the consistency)
- salt
- pepper


Cut the eggplant into medium size squares. Sprinkle them with salt and let stand while you prepare the other ingredients.

Chop the onion very finely, cut the celery stalks into small pieces, crush the garlic cloves and cut the celery leaves roughly.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pan and add the onion, garlic and celery stalks. Cook for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, rinse the eggplant squares and pat dry. Add them to the sauce pan. Stir and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let cook for 5 more minutes.

Add the tomato sauce, the heavy cream and the vegetable broth. Add the celery leaves to the stew.

Cover and cook on low heat. Check after 15-20 minutes and add broth if the preparation sticks to the bottom of the sauce pan or is too thick.
There should not be too much liquid but it shouldn't be dry either.

After 45 minutes to 1 hour, the eggplants should be very tender. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot with jasmine rice.

Lemon-Ginger Steamed Chicken

The recipe I'm going to share today is very healthy and perfect if you are on a diet. If you are not, it's okay because steamed chicken is delicious and you'll want to have some anyways :-) Steaming is a great way to keep all the flavors and the nutrients of the ingredients. This recipe is an example of how you can use steaming for everyday cooking.

Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 1 pound (about 450g) chicken breast
- 1.5 inch (3.5 cm) ginger root, cut into thin slices
- 1 organic lemon, cut into slices
- salt and pepper
- olive oil (optional)
- some mint leaves, chopped

You should use a tall pot with a steaming basket. At the bottom of the basket, place one sheet of parchment paper. Make some holes in it.

Evenly layer the lemon slices in the basket and then layer on top the ginger slices like this:


Cut your chicken breasts in slices (not too thin) and layer them on top of the lemon and ginger. Season with salt and pepper and, if desired, sprinkle a little of olive oil.

Start steaming for about 15 minutes.
When it's cooked through, serve the chicken immediately with slices of lemon and ginger. Top with freshly chopped mint leaves. You can serve with rice or vegetables.