apple compote

A friend of mine had these beautiful apples in her yard and just didn't know what to do with them all. I just thought, there are so many things we can do with beautiful, organic apples, so here is me sharing my first idea: apple compote.

So here is what I did:

I just put in a pan a glass of water and added about 2 kilos of beautiful apples, cleaned of both seeds and skin, cut in cubes.

Then, I tossed 3 table spoons of sugar, 2 tea spoons of cinnamon and 2 tea spoons of vanilla flavor into the pan.

The pan should be covered and from time to time, a gentle swirl will allow you to smell if the balance of flavors is at your taste.

It shouldn't need more than 30 minutes to be ready, and as I enjoy my compote quite smooth, I just mixed it all until the texture was just on the spot.

Needless to say, this is just yummee. Thank you A.

Tips: 

I used 2 different kind so we could taste different textures and smoothness's and I was very nice, you should try. Also, if you have a handful or two of sultanas, I reckon you could just put them in the pan just after the compote is mixed; I would recommend to leave the pan covered a few minutes before splitting it into ramekins so all the sultanas' flavors are released. 

Have it your way, and enjoy!

stuffed tomatoes

This one brings good memories, as my mom used to cook it for us; I just adjusted the recipe to my taste.

I cut off the top of 4 big tomatoes, so it looked like small hats and I cleaned the inside with a tea spoon. Then, I used the same technique for the tomatoes themselves and removed all the flesh. And as tomatoes are so beautifully juicy, my tip is to salt powder them and leave them to rest on a dish face down so all the excess of water would drain out.

On a bowl, I mixed about 500 grams of very fresh mince of beef with salt, pepper, thyme, fresh parsley, a small diced shallot, about a fourth of the tomato flesh finely diced and a egg yolk. And as always, I don't only put my heart in my cooking, but my hands as well ;) It's like my me-touch!

Finally, I filled the tomatoes up with the meat, still using my fingers, it's easier to make sure all the tiny spots are repleted.

I then layer two or three table spoons of a nice virgin olive oil on  a terracotta oven dish and display there my tomatoes topped with their small hats and add there 4 medium size potatoes cut wedgies style with a bit of salt and again dropped some more olive oil. The whole thing then goes on the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, at wish. I personally prefer to have it very juicy. 

I reckon we could also add small dices of mozzarella or fine stripes of bell pepper, or even replace the beef with finely diced veggies like mushrooms and eggplant.

Have it your way and enjoy!

L'important c'est d'aimer

« S'aimer soi-même est le début d'une histoire d'amour qui durera toute une vie. ». Oscar Wilde

Recipe for a Happy Day... Recipe for a Happy Life…

We spend so much time waiting for other’s approval of who we are, and what we do…



We spend so much time waiting for someone to acknowledge our presence, our importance…

Don’t wait…

Too many expectations lead you to so much suffering…

Who deserves your happiness?

Who deserves your bright gaze?

Who deserves your belly butterflies?

You! You! & You!

No one else...

So here is my recipe:

 You wake up in the morning, with your messy hair, your barely open eyes

and you look at yourself in the mirror

and you smile at yourself

First, you will think “how stupid am I”…

And you shall smile again.

Then you’ll start thinking “I am so wacky”…


And you will smile again.

 

You will say so many things to yourself, you will make fun of yourself, you will laugh until, for a second, you will look in the deep of your own eyes and you will smile back at you… smile again… and back…

You are now ready to start your day!

I sure know it is easier to say than to do. But once in a while, just give it a real chance, after all, this chance is for yourself, don’t you deserve a few minutes of your own time? ;)

Have a happy day!

Have a happy life!

Be happy!