Ingredients

• 500 grams fresh apricots
• 100 grams white granulated sugar
• 1 ½ dl. white wine (dry)

Preparation

Quarter and de-pip the apricots. Mix all ingredients in a pan and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Serve with vanilla icecream.

[Original image from Jake Howlett]

Ingredients (taste is everything, quantities don't matter!)

• yoghurt
• mayonaise
• lime/lemon juice
• fresh garlic
• salt

Preperation

Mix yoghurt, mayonaise and lime juice. Crush garlic, add to mix and add some salt.

Keep the dip refrigerated over night.

Fresh starter/side salad (4-6 people).

Ingredients:

• 200 gr. green asparagus (preferably the mini type)
• 200 gr. haricots verts
• 1 red onion
• 6 stoneleeks
  
• ½ red pepper (take out seeds)
• 4 tomatoes
• 6 strips of bacon
• 2 cloves of garlic (slice until mushy)
  
• oil
• lime juice (1 lime)

Parboil asparagus and haricots verts and cool down quickly in ice water.

Finely chop onion and stoneleeks. Slice asparagus and haricots verts in half (roughly same size). Slice and deseed tomatoes. Finely slice red pepper (julienne). Mix in bowl.

Bake bacon until very crispy and let strips cool.

Mix olive oil, lime juice and garlic.

Arrange salad on plate, add a bit of the olive oil dressing, break bacon in small bits and add to platter.

Found a great site with wonderful recipes: Simply Recipes Food and Cooking Blog

Some that I have bookmarked:

• Shrimp Ceviche
• Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce
• Strawberry White Chocolate Mousse Recipe
• Red Chili Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

I've tried out the Shrimp Ceviche on my parents and they seemed to like it (even though there might have been a bit too much lemon/lime acidity).

Can't wait to try out the Red Chili Chicken recipe, but as I have decided yesterday to start watching what I eat, I'm afraid it's going to have to wait ;)

Strawberry Tiramisu — 6-8 people

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of strawberries (buy plenty)
• 1 cup of mascarpone cheese
• quart liter of cream
• 1 pack of sponge fingers
• 2 table spoons of white caster sugar, mixed with some vanilla sugar
• 1 egg
• crème de casis

Wash the strawberry, remove the green and cut them in halves.
Mix the mascarpone, 1 table spoon of sugar and the egg in a bowl for 5 minutes.
Whip cream with 1 table spoon of sugar, until good and firm.
Mix mascarpone and cream carefully - folding them together.
Pour a layer of the crème de casis onto a plate and roll the sponge fingers one by one, layering a dish (oven dish). After one layer, add the mix of mascarpone and cream, then a layer of strawberries. Continue to layer these ingredients in this order until the dish is filled.

Leave in the fridge for about 3 hours.

Serve with a nice desert wine.

Barbecue (from: Ruth Whitlock)

ingredients:

• 1 5-6 lb. Boston butt (pork) or beef rumproast
• 2 medium onions
• 4 or 5 cloves
• 1 18-oz. bottle barbecue-sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon hot sauce

Cover roast with water in a large Dutch oven. Add onions and cloves; cover and cook over medium heat 3 hours or until meat is tender. Drain meat and shred with a fork. Combine shredded meat and barbecue sauce and hot sauce in Dutch oven, cover, and cook over low heat 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve on buns, if desired.

Chili Recipe (from: Ruth Whitlock / Sharon Bell)

ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 large onion
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 large can tomatoe sauce
• chili seasoning

Brown the ground beef and onion; drain; add the remainder of the ingredients and simmer for an hour or more. Serve with grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese.

Optional:

• top with sour cream, cilantro, salsa

My sister gave me a blender for my birthday (it is a placeholder-gift, the real one is yet to be bought), and ever since I have been making smoothies all through the day.

My housemates enjoy my blending-skills as well, because I have not yet discovered how to make a smoothie for just one person.

So far, I've been making simple smoothies.

My most common ingredients?

• banana
• apple
• orange
• kiwi
• strawberry
• mango
  

and for extra liquid

• milk
• plain yoghurt
• apple juice
• orange juice

I have not used any 'recipes' yet, but that can always change.

Do you have some favorite fruits that I should try?

I've been meaning to check on any extra 'fiber' I could add, to make a smoothie suitable for breakfast. Any ideas on that?

Together with 6 other colleagues I spent my evening tasting the flavours of the Provence tonight.

What did we have? (a selection)
- Red/White/Rosé wine: Coteaux d'Aix en Provence
- Rillets de Thon
- Terrine de Chevreuil aux Champignons
- Tapenades d'Olives Noires aux Tomates Séchées
- Sardines à la Tomate et aux Herbes de Provence

The evening ended with a great comparison between two distinct ways of preparing aïoli. Either add garlic to plain mayonaise (which is what the dutch think aïoli is), or crush a clove of garlic, add 1 egg yoke and olive oil (perhaps some salt too). Mix well and enjoy!

Where did we go?
Lou Cigalou {nl}, a small store with a great variety of products of the Provence.