macaroni with ham and cheese

macaroni with ham and cheese
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

Could this be simpler? Start dicing ham and cheese while you boil water for pasta. When it comes to the boil, add the macaroni, short tubular elbow shapes. The short pasta cooks in around three minutes, which leaves you plenty of time to put out the plates and get your favorite brand of tomato ketchup out of the refrigerator. Then, when the macaroni is cooked, drain it and return to the pan with diced ham and cheese. Stir the mixture on a slow fire, the ham will warm up and the cheese will melt, leaving beautiful strings. Add a little salt, oregano or pepper to your liking. An old-time favorite!

still life of vegetables

still life of vegetables
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

Couldn't resist buying these great vegetables in the Turkish shop around the corner! A very large bunch of parsley for just 0,75 euro; nice lemons, some hot green peppers; an artichoke; and a small jar of olive and almond spread.
Take some chicken and fry it in a pan, add water and let it simmer for about half an hour. Take out the chicken, let cool a bit and take off the meat from the bones. Put back in the pan, add salt, pepper and some cream and cook a little more. Meanwhile, cook a pasta of your choice. Then beat an egg in a bowl with half a lemon. Put the sauce off the fire, add some tablespoons of sauce to the egg and lemon mixture. Stir, then pour the mixture into the sauce until it thickens. Take care not to curdle the sauce... Snip some parsley and stir through the sauce, which you have over pasta. Grated parmesan on top. Enjoy!

salad for lunch

salad for lunch
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

This is the basic salad I take to lunch every day. I cut up all ingredients the night before and add the vinaigrette (crema balsamico, olive oil, salt and oregano and sometimes a little black pepper) in the morning.
Inside is cucumber, lettuce, tomato, rocket, black olives, feta cheese, strips of sundried tomato and pine nuts. Sometimes I add strips of red pepper or peppadew pepper for extra zing. Although I eat it in front of a computer screen while emailing or scripting webpages, I still feel very healthy and in control of my life this way! Organizing this kind of lunch is not too hard, just stock up on pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes and other goodies like peppadew peppers, and buy fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and rocket twice a week. I have a 100% guaranteed air tight lunchbox, so no fear of leaking vinaigrette all over stuff in my bag. Yes, this DID happen before, all over a library book...

starter with shrimp and avocado

starter with shrimp and avocado
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

A nice starter: mix some shrimp with home-made mayonaise, worcester sauce, a dash of tabasco, a little cream and a squeeze of lemon juice and put them on a plate. Side it with pre-cooked lentils (lentilles de Puy), to which you add a little vinaigrette. Cut an avocado in half, put it cut-side down on a cutting board and make slits with a knife from the bottom just to 1 inch below the top [be careful not to slice it all the way through]. Pushing it lightly with your hand makes it fan out into a nice shape on the plate. Add freshly torn rocket to the side. This is a very delightful salad to start off a meal, for example some pasta affair!

ravioli with truffle sauce

ravioli with truffle sauce
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

These ravioli I had in 'Olive Garden', an Italian restaurant in Leiden. The place was completely packed on a Friday night, and even though we had made reservations for 9:30, which was late enough for me, we could only be seated at 10. We had a chef's surprise dinner. After a starter of carpaccio, which I always like immensly, we were served these ravioli. The ravioli were filled with something like mascarpone cream and cheese, and had a lovely sauce with mushrooms and truffles. The only thing I didn't like was their shape, too unprofessional. But I guess their idea was to make them as homely as they could, afraid the guests might think they were store-bought.