Cooking for One

I miss my kitchen.

About a few months ago, I got this new aupair job in Flanders; I get to take care of two very young boys that are respectively 23 and almost nine months. Their parents are busy restaurateurs; I spend most of my time running after the babies and preparing their food.

The most difficult part was to learn how to cook with ingredients I wasn't familiar with, from our usual six-ish portions to one. That was quite depressing, to say the least. I had spent my whole life at home, and there would always be someone else I would enjoy sharing meals with. Now I don't have anything against babies - excepted that they can be very noisy, stubborn and sometimes frustrating animals - but I have to admit I cannot eat properly when they're around. And so, Dinner became my way to escape.

This is how it usually goes. I eat breakfast with the whole family in the morning. The kids then take a two hour long nap during which I check my email or sleep if I had a rough night (the elder is excellent at waking up at ridiculous hours of the night). When they wake up, I eat quickly a sandwich or some soup before getting them out of bed and feeding them. In the afternoon, I'll grab a bowl of cereals to hold on until eight thirty pm, when they'll finally sleep for the night. After the first few weeks of rushing, my last meal of the day inevitably became a time for enjoyment and relaxation; the whole house is very calm and the table beautifully set. I make sure most of the washing/cleaning up has been done and fucking sit down.

Since I started working here, not only did I learn to cook ridiculous portions (or I'd eat the very same thing the whole week long) but I also had to stop baking. How horrifying. I did make pancakes these last two months - and even two four fourth! - but still... It bothers me a lot. As exciting as working in a chef's kitchen sounded like, I soon had to realize it wasn't fun at all for a very simple reason: they work so much they don't spend any time there.

Which means they don't have the necessary tools for proper baking experiments.

I swear, I couldn't believe it. The mother owns a KitchenAid, but it's at her husband's restaurant. There are no cake pans, no decent scale, not even muffin tins; I use an old hand mixer from the '70. I have to bring the stuff from home. They didn't have self-raising flour nor baking powder. Jeez. On their days off, they eat already prepared food from the supermarket. Wow.

At least I get to eat much more fresh fruit and vegetables than before. And I became the queen of bolognaise sauce. lol. Expect new posts from now on. I'm friggin' hungry for baking.

Me :heart: pancakes - Hannah's Pancakes

Pancakes used to a sort of urban legend in our house for a very long time. I sort of knew they existed (thanks to television), understood the concept - a thicker but lighter batter than crêpes that would be served as huge piles of steamy goodness dripping with duh-licious syrup - but couldn't get my fork into them. My mother's old copy of the Joy of Cooking was just Chinese to me - don't look at me like that, I was just a kid! lol. Oddly enough, my mother - who spent a few years in Boston when she was young - didn't know any recipe, getting away with a vague 'just add more flour'. How irritating.

Years ago, a company started selling a pancake mix at the supermarket. All you had to do was add a couple of eggs and milk to the bottle and shake it for 30 seconds. I disregarded it after two tries because I prefer to make things from scratch. Mixes are usually very bland and too salty. Mixes make people forget they can cook. You never really 'know' what's in them...

The Internet allowed me to discovered real, authentic recipes - although some can be a little suspicious, lol. I've been completely hooked on this one from the very first bite:

Hannah's Pancakes - adapted from Epicurious :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons oil
• sugar (to taste)

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl to blend. Whisk milk and egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Whisk milk mixture into dry ingredients. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter and whisk until batter is smooth; add a little sugar to taste.

2. Beat the egg whites; carefully fold them into the batter. Cook in a pan. Tadaa!

Don't cover the pancakes with another plate to keep them warm; it will make them flat. It is much better to eat them as they're done.

These are the BEST ones I've ever tasted. Give them a try.

Banana bread

I am new to the banana bread making business. Imagine the horror when I realized I lost the very first recipe I tried and liked... Puzzled by the gazillion versions available online, ran over to epicurious.

Banana bread - adapted from Epicurous:

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 5- by 3-inch) metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, crème fraîche, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.

The bread tends to turn brown very easely; don't forget to cover it with aluminium foil if it happens before the end of the baking time. I made one loaf, which I sliced and froze, as well as muffins. The outer layer was deliciously crunchy and the inside very, very moist. Next time, I will replace half of the oil by applesauce.

my brother, back from school: 'Oh. You made apple cake?'

me: 'Banana bread. That's why the whole house smells like bananas.'

predatoriously eyeing the muffins: 'May I..?'

'No? You don't like them. These are for me. Go away.'

'...'

'Grr... alright.'

'Let's have tea with these.'

impressed: 'Good idea.'

He doesn't like banana things. He still ate two of these in a row lol. Rose hip tea was an excellent match.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Hello, it's been awhile. I needed some time off to take care of a few things - my sister's 22nd birthday, bills, unwanted paperwork, bills, bills and more bills. Oh, I also wanted to calm down a little because my food blogging had triggered a food obsession. 'Normal', you would say. The problem is I got so obsessed I eventually gained a couple of kilos. Heh.

It's been getting colder enough these past couple of week for me to pick up my copy of The Soup Bible. Once you try it's cream of mushroom, you'll never want Campbell's nasty canned stuff. I promise.

Serves 4:

• 275 g/10oz. button mushrooms
• 15 ml / 1 T vegetable oil
• 40 g / 1 1/2 oz / 3 T butter
• 1 small oinion, finely chopped
• 15 ml / 1 T plain flour
• 450 ml / 3/4 pint / scant 2 cups vegetable stock
• 450 g / 3/4 pint / scant 2 cups milk
• a pinch of dried basil
• 30-45 ml / 2-3 T single cream (optional)
• salt and freshly ground black peper
• fresh basil leaves, to garnish

1. Separate the mushroom caps rom the stalks. Finely slice the caps and finely chop the stalks.

2. Heat the oil and half the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the onion, mushroom stalks and about three-quarters of the sliced mushroom caps. Fry for about 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, then cover and sweat over a gentle heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring from time to time.

3. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Gradually add the stock and milk, to make a smooth, thin sauce. Add the dried basil, and season to taste. Bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Cool the soup slightly and then pour into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Melt the rest of the butter in a frying pan and fry the remaining mushroom caps gently for 3-4 minutes until they are just tender.

5. Pour the soup into a clean saucepan and stir in the fried mushrooms. Heat until very Hot and adjust the seasoning. Add the cream, if using. Serve sprinkled with fresh basil leaves.

Tonight, I'll be serving these with mini mushroom and salami pizzas, made with a ciabatta base.

"Leftovers? make Lasagna!"

Now that my sister stays in Brussels all week for school, I have to learn how to cook for two to three (my brother eating for 2.something on his 'good days'). We had eaten pan fried salmon on monday, with a mix of diced mediterranean vegetables (zucchini, eggplants, onions and carrots, according to the pack) which I cooked in a tomato sauce and rice. There was too much for us left but not enough for a complete serving.

My brother almost broke his foot two weeks ago and had to get it plastered (is this the right word?) which meant that I had to cook on his days. I had already made the 'interesting stuff' at the begining and I had pretty much ran out of ideas. By chance, the box of Barilla lasagna sheets was almost full. It was yummy. I absolutely love vegetables. And pasta. And gratins. Heh. I cooked some spinach, sautéed the meat of two chicken sausages and added them to the vegetables, along with a bottle of spaghetti sauce. I made a quick béchamel, built the lasagna , spred emmenthal cheese on top and hop! Twenty-five minutes later (at 200°C) it was ready. Don't jump on it, though, let it cool down a little.

No, I didn't take any pictures. We were too busy eating lol.

Ramen - don't 'just add water'

Oh, ramen... I fell in love with those noodles. Real ramen, that is, not the instant kind - although I have to admit that they were fun back in the days...

Manga sparked my interest in them. I remember an anime called Juliette, Je T'aime from the mid-eighties where the main character (a student named Hugo) would prepare them everyday because he was broke. Unfortunately, his neighbour Stéphane would sneak into his room and slurp them down before he did. Years later, regular supermarkets started selling them everywhere. But it was only after reading Naruto - a fellow noodle-obsessed young boy - that I craved for the real stuff.

Ramen are basically big bowls of noodles served in broth (to which has been added a fragrant base) and covered with different kinds of toppings (bean sprouts, tonkatsu, green onion slices, beef terriyaki strips, tofu, etc.). Some of these ingredients being hard to find, we usually end up making a 'easternized' version. Last monday, the fridge was desperately empty. My 16 year old bro had asked me to cook some for him and I pityfuly came up with the following recipe which he surprisingly liked. You will need big asian serving bowls for this.

Empty Fridge Ramen Bowls - serves two... or four:

• 1l of vegetable stock
• 6 BIG broccoli bits thingies
• a handful of haricots verts (the end of a frozen bag I found)
• two portions of thin egg noddles
• a handfull of lardons (bacon bits)
• cooked, diced chicken (leftovers from a previous pizza)
• 2 eggs

1. Cook the different vegetables in the stock. Take them out, set them aside.

2. Cook the noodles in another pan. Drain.

3. Sauté the bacon. Remove them, then scramble the two eggs in the same pan.

To serve, divide the noodles between the bowls. Pour in your ideal amount of broth. Cover with the broccoli, the haricots. Finish with the chicken, bacon and eggs. It is meant to be eaten with chopsticks and those funny looking asian soup spoons. Beware... it turned out to be so much I couldn't finish. You can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days and microwave it for lunch.

Saturday morning baking

me: 'I know you don't like crêpes... do you like pancakes?'
my brother: 'Nope.'
'Waffles?'
'You know, I'd really like to love waffles. They look so... enjoyable.'
(strange look): 'huh?'
'People look so happy when they eat warm waffles. But I can't stand their smell.'
dreamy: 'Yeah... they smell so good...'
making a face: 'Yuck.'
'Alright, alright. What about french toast?'
'I hate french toast.'
'In fact, you hate every sweet thing that can be made in a pan for breakfast.'
'I also hate omelettes.'
'You're no fun. At all.'

I just make sure to ask him those questions every once in awhile... hoping that he'll someday feel adventurous and, well, eat. Using leftover baguette, I made Baking Sheet's Individual Baked French Toasts with a few changes. I used sugar combined with the maple syrup, added grated nutmeg (I can't envision french toast without it) and used stale baguette for the base. I will probably cut down the amount of milk to avoid too much leftover and omit the salt. I really liked the crunch on the breadbits that were on top. So much, that I secretly swore to bake them separately for the hell of it. They were delicious!

I also made her version of monkey bread - the only recipe I had was too time consuming and had raisins which, as surprising as it may seem, my brother hates. I didn't like the buttermilk bread base. I have only been starting to bake with it a couple of months ago and I don't like the taste it gives to things... waffles excepted. It's like it lacks something. On the positive side, the bread felt really 'light'.

me: 'Did you try it?'
him: 'Yeah.'
'And..?'
making a face again: 'It was sweet.'
'It's monkey bread. What did you expect?'