Some recipes are so simple that I really do think twice about posting them, but then I remember that one of (the many) reasons I started this blog in the first place is to keep track & share my favorite recipes, even the simplest ones.
Salsa is one of my favorite things ever, because it’s so fresh and tomatoey, and it can freshen up so many dishes with just a few spoonfuls. A few years ago, I developed (much to my dismay) an intolerance to onions and fresh garlic. Nightmare, right? Mine too. I was in denial for several months until I couldn’t take the turmoil in my tummy after feasting on an onion-laden burrito, one too many times.
Anyway, the long of the short is that when I make my salsa recipe, I (sadly) only put in the tiniest teaspoon of onion into it. In case there’s anyone else out there reading with similar issues…never fear, the salsa is still pretty darn good, without tons of onions and jalapenos!
One of my first trips abroad was to Mexico, and I’ve been lucky enough to go a few more times in the past decade. If you love Mexican Food like I do, then a trip south of the border is a must. You’ll quickly realize that the Mexican food that we’re used to (in America, in any case) is a pretty far cry from anything you’ll eat in Mexico. On my last trip there in September 2014I was lucky to go with my best friend who grew up in Oaxaca, and I discovered so much about what real Mexican food is – and I was not disappointed! I will be opening up a guest author spot to my best friend in a few weeks and she’ll be covering a few of her favorite authentic Mexican recipes, so keep an eye out for that!
Anyway, on to the recipe! The below can be whipped up in a matter of seconds and can be enjoyed for days. Do you have any favorite recipes that you’ve had to adapt and modify to meet your dietary needs? Feel free to post links to recipes below! Bon appétit 🙂
Homemade restaurant-style salsa
Recipe Type: Sauce
Cuisine: Mexican
Author: Veronica | seefoodplay.com
Prep time:
Total time:
A delicious, super-easy recipe for restaurant-style homemade salsa | seefoodplay.com
Ingredients
1 can of whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon of fresh garlic paste or 1 clove of garlic
½ white or red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons of lime juice
½ cup of fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt
Instructions
Throw all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse a few times, until the tomatoes are the desired size and texture. I always make mine such that it’s pretty uniform and without big chunks of tomatoes (Mainly just because I have a tomato-hating husband).
Notes
It should be noted that I’m not trying to pass this off as “authentic” Mexican salsa, which is all sorts of deliciousness that I’ll post about another day.[br][br]I can usually keep this salsa in my fridge up to around 4 days in those handy Ikea “Rajtan” jars.
No matter how many times I have tried, I have come to the conclusion that I simply am not great at making baked goods. I have a hard time accepting defeat (I have a framed quote of “Anything is possible!” on my desk…), but baking and I have never been friends. And I have tried everything! When it comes to desserts, it’s just not my thing. I am a believer that foods made with love simply taste better, so the fact that I don’t actually love desserts probably has something to do with my continued failure in that arena. My first issue with baking is that I have a hard time following recipes. I think there are two types of people in the world: people that follow recipes and people that don’t! When I’m cooking up a pot of my marina sauce, for example, I can wing it and throw in whatever my heart desires and it’ll usually come out delicious. It might be slightly different each time, but delicious all the same. A recipe for crème brulee, panna cotta, or fondant au chocolat, however, might be a little less forgiving! If you’ve never spent time and money on quality ingredients, not to mention preparation time in the kitchen on a dessert only for it to come out undercooked or overcooked, dry, too sweet or just plain grody, then you’re lucky and I envy you!
I, however, am not so lucky. It will remain forever etched in my memory the time I tried to master French baking (as if, lol) by taking on a cherry clafoutis. Oh, how I miss the youthful optimism and naiveté of days gone! Off to my local farmer’s market for fresh cherries I went, then back home to wash, de-stem and pit I don’t know how many cherries, whisk, pour, bake and wait (because a clafoutis takes about…forever to bake!). As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, it didn’t turn out great. It was the driest, least-sweet, most dense, sticky and generally unpleasant glob of flour, sugar and cherries that I’d ever seen or tasted! It was that very moment that I decided that baking desserts was not for me. Fast forward about 7 years later, I now realize that there are just very few desserts that I like, even when they’re prepared well, let alone when they’re horrible culinary disasters like my Clafoutis de Cerise of 2008 catastrophe! Making recipes of foods that you don’t actually like is a very special talent in my book, and I salute those of you are capable of this feat.
My saving grace for many years was simply living in Paris! With Lenôtre, Ladurée, le Bon Marché and (if you’re really fancy) Michel Rostaing, who needs to make dessert at home anyway? Paris has so many amazing (really, amazing, and this is coming from the girl that could care less about 95% of all foods with sugar in them) places to procure fully prepared and ready-to-consume desserts, I have always relied on buying them (I know, I know…sad times). That is, until a 5-ingredient recipe for chocolate cake changed my life.
My old job duties before I changed departments (at my day job) used to include sometimes working Saturday’s. We didn’t always know when we’d have time for lunch, so someone often brought in snacks to hold us over. Then one day, something beautiful happened: one of my coworkers brought in a cake that was so moist, so perfectly cakey yet somewhat browny-like, so sweet, but not overpoweringly so that it almost took my mind off the fact that it was the middle of summer and I was spending my Saturday afternoon testing our latest software release. I thought to myself: man, this guy’s lucky to have a wife that has mastered the oh-so-elusive art of making dessert. I jokingly asked for the recipe (knowing deep down inside that I’d never be able to replicate this little slice of perfection in my own kitchen), and much to my surprise, I got an email the next week with the recipe that I’d like to share with you today. I’ve changed a few ingredients (because I can’t really use 5 eggs in anything, and I never have the full 200g of butter in my fridge). In my book, it has the title of “Easiest chocolate cake recipe on Earth” but you can call it whatever you want, it’s just that good. What makes it so great is not only that it’s easy to whip up with ingredients that we often have already on-hand, but it’s also impossible to mess this up. It’s my marina sauce’s twin-sister, in dessert form! Don’t have the right amount of sugar? No problem! I’ve used half the sugar, half the butter, and half the eggs once and it was still good. Everything, except the right amount of chocolate? No problem – it will still be good. Don’t like measuring? As long as you’re pretty close, no problem, this recipe will forgive you and make you a delicious piece of chocolate heaven. This is definitely my go-to cake recipe for birthdays and it is super easy to pair with all sorts of things to mix things up a bit: whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, caramel crème sauce, raspberry reduction syrup… the possibilities are endless. It turns out that I can bake; I just hadn’t found the right recipe!
It’s so easy, I hesitate to even share this with you in the guise of a “recipe” – but it wouldn’t be right keeping it to all to myself, so here it is!
Easy chocolate cake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Veronica | seefoodplay.com
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
An amazingly simple, perfect go-to chocolate cake recipe.
Ingredients
200g baker’s chocolate (any brand)
3 eggs
100g granulated sugar
150g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of flour
Instructions
Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over a low heat, or in the microwave until smooth and all of the major chunks have melted. (just watch it to make sure it doesn’t burn!). Do the same with the butter. While that’s happening, crack open the eggs into a mixing bowl that will be big enough to hold all of the ingredients. Whisk together the eggs until they’re uniform, then add in the sugar and whisk until well-combined.
Be careful with the melted chocolate and butter: they’ll be very hot once melted!
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Next, slowly add in the melted butter with the whisk, followed by the melted chocolate. Whisk for around 30 seconds or until completely uniform, then add in the teaspoon of flour.
Pour the mixture into your baking pan, and cook at 200 degrees for around 20 minutes (depending on the size of your baking dish).
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This recipe will yield a thin and dense sort-of-like a brownie chocolatey cake. If you like a lighter cake, then simply add in a teaspoon or so of Baking Powder. If you like yours more like a fondant, then cook for around 17 minutes. A bit drier, then go for 25 minutes. The beauty of this recipe is that it is simply meant to be adapted, tweaked, and turned into your chocolate cake recipe.
What’s your go-to recipe when you need a guaranteed crowd-pleaser? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section below! Bon appetite 🙂
When I moved out of my tiny 30m2 Parisian flat to move into my then-boyfriend’s (now-Husband’s) 110m2 suburban mansion (anything over 40m2 is a mansion by Parisian standards), I was thrilled with all the space… and get this: there was a balcony!! Any Big City dweller can appreciate the rarity of such a thing, so that was just icing on the cake! After almost 10 years and 5 different apartments in Paris, I never even came close to having an outdoor space, let alone a balcony that you could actually go out on…for fresh air…!
Now that Spring is right around the corner, this is the perfect time to share the details of our balcony makeover that we did last year. So, read on to hear how we turned our drab balcony to a cozy little summer hang-out spot!
As in any new relationship, moving in together is a pretty big step. Since I was moving into his flat, it took me a while to feel at home. Translation: it took me a few weeks before I was comfortable enough to start changing things around once I got over the initial shyness.
One of the first projects was to re-do the balcony, since it was fairly uninviting and therefore not used very often. Can you imagine, a gigantic (again, everything is relative) balcony overlooking a bunch of greenery? That’s prime outdoor real estate in my book! As soon as I got a glimpse of it, though, I understood why people rarely ventured out there: ugly cement floor, unattractive beige walls, a worn down privacy screen, no seating, no plants, and a bunch of random stuff stored on it that accumulated over the years. Anyone that knows me knows that I love a good project, and this was perfect! Also, anyone that knows me that most of my projects start off the same way: a visit to the Ikea website to get ideas. Yes, my name is Veronica and I am addicted to Ikea. But who wouldn’t be?! All home improvement projects can benefit from at least one or two elements from Ikea. They have great products that are budget-friendly and easy enough to adapt to your needs.
Once I got an idea of what Ikea had to offer by way of outdoor furniture, I quickly made my way over to my next addiction: Pinterest. This is a must in my book, as it’s really inspiring to see what others have created in their homes. I almost always look to Pinterest for ideas on how to improve “small spaces” and the ideas on there are fantastic. So, a few hours later (okay, a good several weeks of pinning and Ikea searching and more pinning), I had a plan! Whenever starting a home improvement, room makeover, or DIY project, I like to define a clear objective. For the balcony makeover, it was very clear to me from the beginning: I wanted to created a warm and inviting space that we would be able to actually spend time on, after work and on weekends, enjoying the summer sun. And most importantly: I wanted somewhere we could BBQ! When I lived in Michigan, I pretty much lived off of grilled food in the summer, so needless to say the possibility of a BBQ grill got me even more excited about this project.
With my Ikea shopping list saved and my balcony “vision” defined, we set out to make the following purchases:
Synthetic grass
New bamboo privacy fence
Flower, plants and pots
Metal shelving unit
Outdoor bench
Electric BBQ grill
Total cost: around 350 euros
Putting down the synthetic grass was what I was most worried about, but it ended up being beyond easy to install: simply write down the dimensions of your balcony before heading to the store, to make sure you get enough of the stuff. Next, roll it out, cut it down to size, smooth down the edges. Easy peasy. Same with the privacy fence, measure the length of your balcony that you want to cover, and head over to the hardware store. There were lots of different options (in lots of different price ranges), so this could easily cost you way more that we invested, depending on the materials you choose.
So, the total cost for this project was pretty reasonable considering the difference it made, and we only spent one afternoon of putting the grass down, and arranging all the new furniture. Needless to say, it was totally worth it. If you’re hesitating to take on a similar project, then hopefully this post will motivate you to just go ahead and try it!
Interested in a balcony makeover of your own? Check out the Pinterest board I created to help with design brainstorming ideas.
Did you undertake any big home improvement projects after moving in with your significant other? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section!
Sometimes I have to take a step and just be thankful for the lovely little French family I somehow got lucky enough to marry into.
We have been relocating from Paris to London for what feels like an eternity (okay, it’s only been about 5 weeks of back-and-forths, and there are much worse problems to deal with…). Last week, we had to return to Paris for yet another formality: my French nationality ceremony. Since I also need to be in Paris for work next week, here we are: stuck in town for almost a week! Tough life, I know – forced to hang out in Paris for a week…
Jonathan’s parents living only an hour south of Paris, we decided to pay them a visit. Imagine the nicest, cutest and most welcoming parents-in-law, and you have my in-laws! Any trip to see them usually involves eating some amazing food, good times and some even better wine. As I sit here looking through the window at the Loing river, sipping a glass of champagne waiting for Jonathan to finish making lunch, I can’t help but just feel one thing: happy.
Jonathan and Jonathan Senior (i.e., Jean-Luc) have been arguing over the merits of garlic powder versus fresh garlic, and whether Spaghetti n5 or n7 is best for a perfect bolognaise. As I’m distracted by these twos’ kitchen musings, the scent of simmering onions in olive oil perfumes the house. It’s also a nice little revenge as J.L. is changing the recipe around, changing the pots around, adding things like white wine and other spices, and generally acting just like Jonathan when I’m cooking.
So while these two go at it, I’ve decided to type up J’s recipe — it’s super easy, and is one of our family favorites. When I’m working late and starving, this is usually what I request that Hubby have waiting for me when I get home.
Ingredients:
2 8- oz cans of whole or crushed tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic, minced/finely chopped
½ cup diced onion
½ cup of parmesean cheese
1 teaspoon of oregano
4 teaspoons olive oil
500 grams of fresh ground beef
200 grams of n7 spaghetti
2 whole mini cayenne peppers
½ cup chopped fresh basil (optional for garnish)
Instructions:
Place 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a non-stick pan with the diced onion over a medium heat, until onions are cooked through and slightly browned.
Next, turn the heat up high and add the ground beef until browned. Turn the heat back down to medium and add the minced garlic, stirring frequently.
Add the remaining spices (including the cayenne peppers, whole) and oil, stirring for about a minute.
Next, add in the canned tomatoes and let simmer for about 10 minutes before adding in the fresh parmesean.
While your sauce is simmering, bring a bit pot of water to boil and cook your noodles until they’re al dente (for me, this is usually 1 minute less than the indicated cooking time).
Drain your pasta, return to the pot and toss in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to make sure the noodles are evenly coated.
Plate up your noodles, then top with the bolognese sauce, fresh basil and a dash of olive oil & fresh ground black pepper.
The “Rotisserie Roast Chicken” is an institution in French culture. At least, in Paris that definitely seems to be the case! I will never forget my first few months of living in Paris, and walking past the rotisseries with their chickens roasting away outside, filling the neighborhod with the delectable aroma of a perfectly-roasted chicken. You see, French rotisserie’s have a certain savoir faire that makes their roast chickens fall-off-the bone tender with that lovely rotisserie flavor. If I was feeling extra greedy, I’d go for the roasted potatoes with drippings too. It’s not uncommon to pick one up for dinner after a busy day at work, or for a Sunday family lunch.
I’m a big believer in making things from scratch, and eating homemade everything. French roast chickens though are one of my rare exceptions! Not only are they just that good, but they’re such a good deal. In my neighborhood, they go for 5euros each! A beautifully roasted, steaming-hot chicken… for 5 euros. As in, dinner for 4 on the cheap, but still totally healthy and guilt-free when serving it to your family. A whole chicken at the grocery store is around 7euros, and you still have to prepare and cook the thing yourself. Anyway, I think I’ve spent enough time telling you about how delicious these are because unless you live there (and if you do, stop reading and go buy one now!) – you’ll have to roast our own chicken.
Today I’m going to try to help you make a Rotisserie-level roast chicken in your own kitchen, one that could hold its own against even the best chicken shops in France! If you have a rotisserie attachment for your oven then again…stop reading and go buy all the ingredients and make this immediately – with this recipe you’ll be able to duplicate the Parisian roast chicken! For the rest of us, keep reading…then run out and get the ingredients and make this, because our regular-oven version will be good too 🙂
Basic brine:
2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
100ml Salt*
100ml Sugar*
2 Litres of water
Roast chicken ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cleaned and all organs removed
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
1 apple, quartered
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minched
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions:
Prepare your brine: bring about 500 ml’s of water and all of the other brine ingredients to a boil for about 5 minutes then let cool completely. Pour the boiled brine into a container big enough to submerge the chicken, add in the rest of the water, then add the chicken. Allow to brine in the fridge for around 12 hours.
Take your brined chicken out of the water and place it in the baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix together your butter , 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the minced and powdered garlic, and the dried herbs.
Now, with a sharp knife, separate the skin from the meat of the chicken, being careful not to poke holes in the skin.
Take your butter-garlic-herb mixture and spoon it (or use your hands) under the skin, evenly distributed on the chicken. It doesn’t have to be perfect, as it’ll all melt together anyway and will get into all the like nooks and crannies.
Next, stuff the chicken with the chopped onion and apple.
Take the remaining olive oil and spread it over the chicken.
Season with a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
Roasting:
Preheat your oven to 425°F, and stick the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes at this temperature to crisp the skin.
Reduce the heat to 375°F and cook for 45-60 minutes longer, depending on your oven. Chicken is done once it reaches 165°F, and the juices run clear.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
Notes:
Brining your chicken isn’t a must, but it does make a noticeable difference in the taste and texture of your chicken, and it’s much less likely to come out dry. Even if you only have enough time for a quick 60-minute brine, then do it!
I’m always worried when brining my poulty that it’ll come out too salty, so I never add as much salt as I should and I usually take it out of the brine sooner than I should. I’ve played around with it a bit, and I usually use 2 litres of water + equal parts salt & sugar (that is, 100mL of each). You should be safe with those quantities, but play around with it and experiment!
Using a meat thermometer is a must and a great investment for any home cook. This is the easiest way to know exactly when your meat is safe to eat, and prevents you from having to constantly cut in to check if the juices are running that famous shade of clear.
Check every 20 minutes or so that your chicken isn’t getting too dark, and if it is, then just cover it with some foil.
I have been wanting to create my very own bar cart DIY project for months, so I’m very excited to reveal our version of the Ikea Bygel makeover!
If Hubby weren’t around to stop me, I probably would have spray painted everything in our house gold. Seriously, I’m obsessed with it! It all started when I was looking into theme ideas for our wedding last summer, and I fell in love with everything gold. It’s so easy to just spray on a coat or two of gold spray paint and turn everyday basic objects into pretty impressive DIY projects, and here’s one of my favorites that I’ve done so far. And don’t worry, there’ll be lots more gold-themed projects to come in the next few months!
Finding the right tone of gold can be a challenge and there are a lot out there. I got lucky in that the first one I picked up was exactly the color I was after: a soft gold, not too shiny but not quite matte finish either.
Assemble the cart, per the instructions except for the wheels and the shelves. Take your project outdoors to avoid fumes and spray on a coat or two of your favorite gold spray paint. Give it a good 24 hours at least to dry, otherwise you might scratch the metal when you’re installing the shelves.
This one is as simple as it gets, and all you really need to do is grab the Ikea Bygel cart and choose some paint and get started! This one is super easy, and you have no excuse to leave your Bygel in the standard issue grey metal it comes in. This would look great in a brass or copper tone, or even something a bit more flashy like a bright pink – the possibilities are endless!
After moving to France, there were a few things that I missed sooo much food-wise that I would really stock up on during my visits back home to Detroit. Over the years, I got used to French products and relied less and less on my precious stock of American goods. I remember once during my first year in Paris I literally came back with an entire suitcase of American goodies like peanut butter, Kraft mac n cheese, ramen (yes, I brought Ramen to Paris because…French food wasn’t good enough for me), and lots of salad dressing. I’m a huge fan of blue cheese, cesar, ranch, thousand island… I love dressing!
Let’s take a step back though, because you might be wondering “…what do French people put on their salads if you had to import dressing??” The French do it the right way. They don’t add a bunch of fatty creamy sauce to their salads: they mix up an olive oil & vinegar dressing (or vinaigrette, I suppose, to be precise) and season it with a bit of salt and pepper, and that’s all she wrote. And it is good. So good. Once my ramen-noodle taste buds grew up a bit, I learned to really appreciate a great vinaigrette and stopped drowning my salads in store-bought dressings. Sometimes, though, a good ranch dressing is the perfect accompaniment to a fresh salad or pita, wrap, or even just as a veggie dip.
Now, fast-forward to this weekend as our grocery delivery was hopelessly delayed and our cupboards were desperately bare. I didn’t have much to work with for dinner, so really needed something simple but with strong flavors. I always have ingredients to make pasta with a nice tomato sauce, so that was a no-brainer. But there were also a few fresh ingredients available, too: romaine lettuce, a tomato, red onions, cucumber and black olives. Since we were having a relatively simple meal, I really wanted to dress it up a bit with a bit more than our classic vinaigrette. Then the light bulb went off: Ranch! Now, I have tried many times to duplicate that classic ranchflavour, never really succeeding to create something I liked. Some things just aren’t the same when they’re from scratch. My goal was simply to throw the ingredients I had together for a creamy garlicy sauce, but it ended up tasting pretty close to the real thing, albeit way healthier! Let me know what you think. Bon appetit!
Wet ingredients:
1 cup of greek yogurt
¼ cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Dry ingredients:
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried chives
1 teaspoon dried dill
Instructions:
Combine all of the dry ingredients, then add in the wet ingredients stirring well to make sure everything is nice and mixed together. The dressing can be used immediately, but the longer you wait, the better it tastes! If you can make it overnight, then even better. Also note: lots of homemade ranch recipes call for fresh garlic – this is way too strong for me and really overpowers the dressing, but if you love garlic, then feel free to add a clove!
Note: if you can get dried buttermilk, then add 1 tablespoon of that as well. I can’t get it locally, so I’ve left it off the ingredient list.
Tip: If you combine only the dry ingredients, you’ve got Ranch-flavored spice mix, which can be used for all sorts of delicious recipes.
I’ve been trying to enjoy this Fall-like weather as much as I can, and nothing reminds me of Fall more than a rich and creamy caramel cream sauce. This is one of those recipes that I like to use when I don’t necessarily have time for a big fancy dessert, but still want an impressive end to a meal. Almost everyone loves caramel sauce, and you can serve it over fruit for a very simple snack or dessert. Spring might not be here just yet, but I’m making the most of it! If it continues like this, then I’ll have to bust out my copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte recipe…! In the meantime, I’ll settle for caramel covered apples 🙂
My first attempts at making caramel sauce were major fails, and I think it was because I was so intimidated by the mere idea of it! Boiling hot sugar, and a recipe that can go from perfectly golden to horribly burned in a matter of seconds…um hello?! Scary city. But then last year I got the bright idea of serving a dessert for Thanksgiving Dinner (recipes to come, so keep an eye out for that!) that called for a caramel crème sauce. And I needed enough of the stuff to make desserts for 25 people. Yes, I’m crazy. I considered buying it pre-made for about two seconds, before coming to my senses. If you usually buy this instead of making it homemade, then stop right there! This recipe is for you. It’s easy but does require a bit of patience! But it is oh-so-so satisfying when you serve it up and hear “wow – you made this yourself!?” – totally worth it!
First of all, I need to preface this recipe by telling you that there are two ways to make caramel sauce: the wet method and the dry method. I don’t personally like the dry method because it results in a flavor that I don’t really care for, and I find it more difficult to work with. If you want to try the dry method, then there are lots of recipes out there to try: like here.
My method, however, is pretty hard to mess up (yes, even for absolute beginners) and produces a thick and smooth, slightly-salty caramel crème sauce.
Perfect-every-time caramel cream sauce
Recipe Type: Dessert sauce
Author: Veronica | seefoodplay.com
Cook time:
Total time:
This is an easy totally fool-proof method for making perfect (every time) salted caramel cream sauce.
Ingredients
1 cup of sugar
¼ cup of water
½ cup of heavy cream, room temperature
½ teaspoon of sea salt
Instructions
Add your sugar and water to a small saucepan, and heat on low until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the sugar has completely dissolved, increase the heat slightly (to medium), until the sugar and water comes to a slow boil.
Continue to cook your sugar & water, and after about 5-10 minutes the color will go from completely clear to a slightly yellow color, then a darker golden color.
Once your sugar is a golden-yellow color (or darker if you prefer a richer sauce), remove immediately from the burner.
Now, slowly whisk in your heavy cream. The pot will bubble up quite a bit – don’t worry, this is normal! Just keep whisking and make sure it doesn’t overflow.
You should now have something that looks like a caramel cream sauce! Sprinkle your sea salt into the mix, and store in a container of your choice. I use Korken jars from Ikea.
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Notes:
Resist the urge to stir – this isn’t necessary!
The time it takes for your sugar to turn golden depends on the amount of water used, and how high your burner is turned on. I prefer the low & slow method because I’m less likely to burn the sauce, but you can use a higher heat to accelerate the process. Just keep a close eye because it takes literally 5-10 seconds of too much heat to totally ruin your sauce!
Don’t freak out, because this will bubble like crazy when you add the cream! If it looks like it might overflow, just blow on it and the bubbles should go down.
If you have clumps of crystalized sugar in your sauce, just pass it through a fine sieve and filter them out.
Okay so, I have a confession to make: when it comes to making anything from any Asian cuisine other than plain rice (and even then, I use a rice cooker..), I am definitely challenged. When I decided to try this recipe I knew there was already a pretty big chance of failure. I didn’t let that stop me though, and I’m so glad I didn’t!
I’ve tried to make curries, stir fry’s, noodle dishes, soups and all sorts of rolls… they’ve never really come out more than just meh. If they’re actually good, they’re so different from what you might get in an authentic restaurant (well, American authentic…) that it doesn’t really count. This recipe has changed that and I can now say that I can make one Chinese recipe 🙂
My weekly shop consisted of about a kilo of flank steaks, which I used for Chipotle & lime steaks earlier on this week. Much to my dismay, the meat was tough as shoe leather – I had to pulse it through the mixer once grilled to make it edible enough for the tacos! (Tesco…first and last time grocery shopping from there…). Knowing that I had the same tough-as-nails beef steaks marinating for tonight’s dinner, I figured the safest best would be to try cooking them in the slow cooker instead of stovetop. Let’s just say that I made the right call on that one! The beef turned out juicy and tender, full of rich flavors which produced an amazing sauce. If you don’t have time for the slow cooker, then just make sure you get a decent-quality meat for this and cook it up in the wok! It should still come out delicious, and all comes together in about 15 minutes.
What are some of your most challenging dishes to make? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section!
Bon appetit !
Crockpot Beef & Broccoli
Recipe Type: Main dish
Author: Veronica | seefoodplay.com
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 servings
Crockpot Beef & Broccoli
Ingredients
200 grams of flank steak, thinly sliced
2 cups of broccoli florets
Marinade
1 teaspoon of baking soda*
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
¼ cup of water
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade until evenly mixed directly into the crock pot, then mix in the sliced flank steak.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Once your beef is almost done, steam or boil your broccoli for around 2 minutes. Don’t overcook unless you like mushy broccoli!
Drain the broccoli, then heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil on high heat in your wok.
Add the broccoli to the wok and cook for about a minute, then add in the meat and stir until the broccoli is coated with the sauce.
Serve immediately over rice
Notes
If the sauce in your crock pot is too thin, then simple transfer the cooked contents of your crock pot to a non-stick skillet and reduce on medium heat until you get the desired consistency.[br][br]* Using baking soda to tenderize meat has been a revelation for me! It really makes a big difference, and gets you that texture you find in Chinese take-outs (without the MSG). It works quite well on cheap cuts of beef, thinly sliced for better resul
I must be craving a taste of home these days because most of the recipes I’ve cooked up in the past few weeks have been my own homemade versions of some of my favorite childhood treats. One of the easiest, most-delicious ways to make chicken is shake-n-bake! The flavour is where it’s at, it couldn’t be easier, and is a sure bet to having deliciously moist baked chicken. And it’s fun to make, so great if you have kiddies that like to help out in the kitchen. In my case, that would be my better half 🙂
I keep my shake-n-bake mix on-hand so that I can always just throw this together in a few minutes when I’m short on time and/or inspiration.
I’m a big fan of recipes that can be adapted to what you happen to have in your pantry. If you don’t have some of the ingredients – don’t worry! Just use what you have and it’ll still come out great.
Homemade shake-n-bake
Recipe Type: Pantry item
Author: Veronica | seefoodplay.com
Prep time:
Total time:
A DIY homemade version of shake-n-bake, without all the preservatives. Simple recipe using ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard | seefoodplay.com
Ingredients
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion power
1 tablespoon Dried thyme
3 tablespoons Dried parsley
1 pinch of chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs (homemade or store-bought)
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients for the shake-n-bake, and store in an air-tight container for up to 4 weeks.
