Recipe nº24: Pasta with tofu

Ingredients:
-100g tofu;
-1 clove garlic;
-olive oil;
-2 ripe tomatoes;
-a bit of tomato concentrate;
-Pasta penne;
-spices: parsley,chilli ;
-salt.

Method of preparation:
Making the usual stew of olive oil, garlic and diced tomatoes to the bit.
When they're all soft, add the diced tofu. Let cook for 10 minutes and season with salt and spices. Leave a few more minutes until sauce consistency be to your taste.
Cook the pasta for 10 minutes in boiling water.

Malukas in the Netherlands

My sweet and best friends came to visit me for some days. Off course I had to bring them to eat some traditional pancakes in Leiden.



Mine was of cheese, tomato and mushrooms. Delicious!
Restaurant: Oudt Leyden

Here it is the result!

Special Report: eating in restaurants

One of the greatest fears of vegetarian's friends (but usually not theirs) is where can they go to have dinner together in a way that veggies can also eat something.
In general, all rest. have at least one option, being more or less satisfactorily.

-Friendly cuisine: Italian, Indian, Nepalese, Chinese.
-Not so friendly cuisine: Japanese, Russian.
-Some options may be available in: Portuguese, Brasilian, Dutch.

I'll put some photos of what you may find in restaurants around here***


Vegetarian lasagna- Dutch restaurant, Amsterdam


Vegetarian homemade pie- Australian Pub Coco's outback, Amsterdam


Dutch Dinner Cafe d' Oude Harmonie, Leiden


La Place, Leiden (but in all the Netherlands)

Happy birthday Nicola !!!

Querido Nicola, muitos parabéns!!! ***

Recipe nº23: Soya Steak

Ingredients
-Soya Beef;
-Peeled tomatoes;
-1 small onion;
-Olive oil;
-Salt, pepper, parsley

Method of preparation
Soak the steaks in water previously for about 5 minutes. Then change them to a container with garlic and lemon juice where they can get to marinate for 10 minutes.

In a pan, do the usual stew: olive oil, onion to brown and then add the tomatoes. Let them disincorporate for 7 minutes and then add 1/4 hot water.
Add the steaks and let them cook +- 20minutes.
Tip lining: serve with rice and salad.

Information about eggs

In conversations with my friend Catarina, I got to know that there is a way to control the source of eggs, since egg production has disturbed me greatly over the years, knowing the conditions under which producers submit chickens.
See for instance: http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens_egg.asp

Now, buying eggs from home producers is not the only way to avoid funding this terrible business. In the supermarket, the eggs boxes contain some important information that you should look at!

0 = Biological
1 = Chickens that live outdoors
2 = Chickens that live in aviaries
3 = Chickens that live trapped in small cages



Below in the photo is showed the Dutch example.This is valid for any country.



Regardless of our preference for the domestication of certain animals to other, the most important is to respect life.



Regardless of whether the intelligence that we think they have, the suffering is visible, we don't need an IQ test.
We just have to thank them for provinding us this very nutritious food.

Recipe nº22: Wonder Crepes

This recipe provides for about 10 pancakes, depending on the thickness that you want to do.

I'll do the english filling that I learn in my last trip to England.

Other fillings that I also love: butter and honey, strawberry jam, nutela, sugar and cinnamon.

Ingredients
-1 Cup of tea with flour;
-2 Cups of tea with cold milk (preferably of the day);
-2 Tablespoons of water;
-1 Lemon (to shave the bark);
-2 Fresh eggs 0;
-Filling: sugar and lemon juice

Method of preparation
In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs and add the zest of half a lemon. Place 2 tablespoons of water.
Then slowly add the flour and stir well go. When the dough is uniform slowly add the milk. Stir well to mix.
Don't panic if the dough seems to liquid, it's normal! Otherwise they would turned to be pancakes.

In a nonstick frying pan already very hot, place the dough.
(I prefer them to stay thin but it's in your own taste).
Then make the crepes always simmer(lume brando).

The first crepe is always the worst. You can put a little bit of butter in the frying pan if it helps you.

One secret is to not let it cook too much. Once the dough is no longer liquid, turn it and add some sugar and a few drops of lemon juice.
Scroll in 4, leaving another 30 seconds and serve them!


Tips of the steps:

1.When you have something like this you can turn.


2.Already upset, add the sugar to it to go melting.


3.Add some lemon drops.


4.Then turn over and over again so that it is folded in 4. You can sprinkle it with powdered sugar at the end!
Bon Apetit*

Recipe nº21: Spaghetti with mushrooms, accompanied by broccoli

I will begin by saying that one of the vegetables that I less like is broccoli... Anyway, we should eat them once in a while because they are very friendly by being rich in vitamins and calcium and potassium...at least is what the mum says.


Ingredients
-Spaghetti;
-Can of mushrooms or fresh ones;
-Broccoli;
-Butter;
-Olive oil;
-2 Cloves of garlic;
-Chillies powder, parsley, pepper, salt.

Method of Preparation
For the broccoli:
In a pan put 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 clove garlic chopped large. Leave them browning and then add the broccoli already washed and cut. Add 1/4 cup of hot water. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook for 10 minutes.

Bake the spaghetti for 10 minutes, season with salt and then drain the water. Put it back in the pan and add a knob of butter (with the stove off).
In a frying pan, place 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 clove chopped garlic, let browning and put the mushrooms. Season with salt, chilli powder and salsa. Let it cook for 8 minutes.
Serve the spaghetti with the prepared mushrooms.

Carlota in England

In February, already in the Netherlands but still with my bag from Portugal to undo, I headed to England to make another visit to this beautiful country, but this time a visit that would be more "tourist" and with the company of my 3 dear friends emigrants, Jo, Ana and André.
I stayed 3 days at Jo's home and it was a wonderful time. I loved it!



Since the protagonist of this blog is Joana, I could not escape the opportunity to put a few photos from us, cooking at her house. We made garden fish, followed by carrot rice. At the end it was really good =)

The recipe is already published here:
http://carlaandcarlota.blogspot.com/2010/01/peixinhos-da-horta-fish-garden.html

Recipe nº20: Soyaloaf (Empadão de soja)

Ingredients:
(Each portion is a handful and equates a person)
-5 portions of rice;
-5 portions of soy;
-Small package of Béchamel sauce
-Grated mozzarella cheese
-3 Ripe tomato
-Tomato concentrate
-Spices: pepper, fine salt, parsley, 1 bay leaf;
-1 big onion
-Olive oil.

Method of preparation
Preparing soy:
Make the usual steamed in a pan with olive oil, minced onion and tomato cubes for 5 minutes. Add hot water and the grained soy (water quantity (+-) 2.5 X the amount of soy).
Season with 1 bay leaf, salt, pepper,and tomato concentrate.
Cook for +- 20 minutes and turn off the stove when it has reached the quantity of bolognese sauce you want.
At the end, it should look like this:


Cook the rise for 8 minutes and then drain all the water that it's left.
Mix the soy and rice toguether and place them in a pirex.
At the top, put some béchamel sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Bon Apetit!