Cooking and Clothes

swedish school

Meet Lee Cotter and Astrid Olsson, the designers that rock the Swedish fashion sensation - Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair. Their conesquency in preserving the typical Scandinavian raw simplicity, has made them an ever growing name in and outside of Sweden. The lack of colors in their collections (apart from nude and black) is being compensated by genius draping, newly defined proportions and super quality finish. The pair could easily re price their items to equal with McQueen but Swedes are quite reasonable when it comes to spending, so this is a clever move to their gear shifting. Personally, I love their take on a classic LBD, biker jacket and so fashionable this season - the collar, which they made out of wood! Brilliant! So is their wooden peplum. Shoerepair.se.

not so classic ceasar under 250 kcal

I was passing a bistro bar this lunchtime on my lovely London high street when I saw peeps eating Ceasar salads. I thought to myself I have not had one in ages so this afternoon is all about the champion of all salad dishes. For those of you who don't realize, Ceasar salad can actually be quite fattening. An average amount of calories in a main course portion is around 750. Now, that's quite a lot, considering it's a salad not fried bacon. But what you have to remember, that it is mainly the dressing that makes it quite fattening. Other things that don't really help are parmesan shavings and croutons. If you are a Coeliac (gluten intolerant) you won't much care for parmesan which can often cause skin irritation or croutons for that matter, unless you have found some gluten free ones or made them yourself. What you really want to taste of course, is the tender piece of chicken breast combined with salad and a heavenly dressing. I replaced the classic salad leaves with rocket added two tomatoes and one steamed chicken breast and topped everything with 3 table spoons of dressing. And the taste was still amazing. Do try!

A generous portion of 60 grams (2 oz) of rocket - Only 8 calories!!!!

2 medium tomatoes - approx 12 calories each.

1 medium steamed breast of chicken (110-140 grams) seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper - approx 150 calories.

Reduced fat Ceasar dressing, around 15 ml - approx 55 calories.

In total - 237 calories!!!

 

Classic miso soup

A very simple and totally gluten free soup is Miso soup. For the Japanese, a cup of Miso soup in the morning starts the day. Not long ago, every household in Japan used to kake their own Miso from scratch and had pride in their home-made Miso. Thatis why there was even a term Temae-miso which means my home made miso. Today the greater portion of Miso if from industrial production. Yet according to a survey released, 80% of home-makers in Japan are still proud of their Miso soup made at home. Miso soup is still a homemade dish and transcends from one generation to another as the mother's taste. The japanese are known for their longevity in the world. They believe health is greatly dependant on eating habits. It is not an exaggeration to say that much of this can be attributed to the health benefits from Miso. It has been known from the antiquity that Miso does a body good in saying like a detoxicating drug in the morning or doctor killer. Its benefits have recently been scienti fically proven. The following introduces some of the functions of Miso itself and Miso soup.

Miso is a preventive care for cancer.

It eliminates radioactive substances.

Helps preserve beautiful skin.

Prevents aging.

Can control cholesterol level.

Helps maintain nutritional balance.

Here's the recipe and the ingredients:

65g miso, 200g tofu, 2 small onions or 1 large, wakame (an adequate amount)

Dissolve Miso in boiled water. I am using red miso.

Just before it starts to boil, add wakame. If it's quite long, you might want to cut it before adding it to the pan.

Next, add diced tofu and chopped onion and bring to a slight boil.

Cook on small heat for approx 10 mins. Enjoy!

 

back in the shops

Since I managed to feel a little better, I hit the shops. All fashion magazines go on about nude colors and lace. Those two trends continue from last two seasons. What's new, is pastels. I must admit, I am not a major fan of pastels. Being a blonde, I do my best to stay away from them, as I believe they would make me look like Barbie. Having said that, I took a look at few high street collections here in Barcelona and the idea is winning me over. I think, just like with everything else, the general idea is not to overdo it  and in this case, not to create an all pastel shades outfit. Mango and Zara have their collections looking spot on. As ever, Zara is a pleasure to shop in. I picked up this great t shirt and surprised myself how much I love the color. The bag is also from Zara's SS 2012 collection.

getting over flu

Omg! It took me like three weeks to get over a cold which turned into flu which turned into chest infection. All this when I am away, which is what I am most unhappy about because when I am here in Barcelona, I like to be out and about all day. Still, being unwell has it's little benefits, like abandoning chocolate ban and treating yourself to more fruits than normally. Check out those incredibly tasty, massive strawberries. Just gorgeous!!!

scandinavian inspiration

As I said yesterday, my friend was going to cook for us and it was indeed a very delicious dinner. I kept taking photos throughout the process so I could share this with you guys. This is a Scandinavian cousine inspired dish, healthy, easy to prepare and very economical as well. We cooked for four people, so adjust your quantities/ingriedents accordingly. So...

To start, peel the skin of 8 medium size potatoes. Dice them. Preheat the frying pan with generous amounts of olive oil and place the potatoes in it. Boil some water in another cooking pan, place broccoli florets (from one small broccoli) and beans (1 cup) in it. Let the veg boil for at least 20 minutes. In the meantime wash four chicken breast fillets under cold water, slice them into stripes and mix with 3 tablespoons of horseradish sauce (if you don't like horseradish, you can try natural yoghurt). Let the meat absorb the sauce for about 10 mins. On another chopping board, slice one large pepper, and 3 small courgettes and place them on a char grill pan. Do not forget to rinse them in cold water before. When your potatoes are golden and ready, gently remove them from the pan and place previously diced lean bacon (smoked or unsmoked) in it, frying on medium heat for about 8 mins. Also, after peppers and crougettes turn soft , remove them from the char grill and place the marinated chicken fillets in it.  Let them grill until ready, for approx. 12 mins, but you must check as it depends on what kind of heat you're placing them on. Starting from potatoes, start putting everything in an oven proof dish. Layer grilled veg, bacon and finally chicken. Finally, beat 4 eggs in a bowl and pour over the food just before placing it in the oven. Cook on medium heat, approx. 170 degrees for 40 mins. Throughout the process, season everything well with salt and pepper to individual taste. After removing from the oven, cool for about 10 mins and you can also pour natural yoghurt over individual portions once placed on plates. We were so eager to eat it, that I totally forgot to take pictures of the final dish, out of the oven, LOL. I can safely say though, that the taste didn't disappoint.

Great sunday out

One of the greatest things about being in Spain, is the fact that even in the winter you can hang around the beach in the cool little restaurants and bars. Sure, the weather is still freezing, but when the sun comes out, it is so much stronger than in the UK this time of the year. So we stopped at this small bar at Nova Icaria beach, which is by the way, my favorite beach in Barcelona. The bar is called ManGo and does anything from continental sandwiches to Spanish Tapas, which btw is locally (Catalan) called Tapes. I had a lovely lunch, consisting of baby cuttlefish and Spanish speciality, manchego cheese. Manchego cheese, as the name suggest, is only made in La Mancha region. It's made of sheep's milk and it is absolutely delicious. Apparently Manchego has been made for thousands of years. Im definitely taking a wheel of Manchago home, to London. Cuttle fish on the other hand, is something I will be making when back in London. Cuttlefish is apparently a relative of squid and octopus and if, like me, you love seafood, you will not be disappointed by its taste. I asked the chef for the Spanish version of fried cuttlefish recipe and here's what I got:

1. Clean the fresh cuttlefish the same way you would clean squid.

2. Slice into strips.

3. Deep in egg whites than dredge in flour. If like myself, you are a celiac, you need to make sure that you are using gluten free flower.

4. Heat oil in a pan or a wok and fry few pieces at the time, until they turn golden yellow.

5. If you choose the healthy option, make sure to place them on clean paper towels first, to drain them from excess oil before you serve them on the plate.

6. You can use any dip you like, I love alioli.

Enjoy!!!

After lunch, we took a walk through Port Olympic, all the way down Barceloneta beach to the W Hotel. I checked out the menu in Opium restaurant and bar at the seafront and, has to be said that I was inspired by a few of their dishes. Anyway, that's something I will try back in London. My friend is cooking tonight and that's always a tasty treat, considering he is a chef, so looking forward to it already. I shall report tomorrow. Cheerio!!

last night

So I'm here in Barcelona for the next couple of weeks. I come here often, to see friends and because I love the city. This time round, the city has surprised me with some freezing weather. Apparently the Siberian wind blows it all over Europe atm and I narrowly escaped the cold in London, when I departed last Sunday. Anyway, I wore few thick layers last night, and quite happy I did as it was CRAZY cold. My sleeveless black cardi is from Topshop, black skinnies from Only Jeans, and the stripy jumper with big buttons comes from H&M Men's range and is a size L. I love wearing menswear, especially if I wear a pair of really high heels or platforms with it. My good, old, vinatge, quilted handbag with gold chains, hardly stays at home. I love it for being so classic and yet current at all times.

 

 

 

Good afternoon from Barcelona

Good afternoon from Spain, or should I say Catalunya. I'm Maddie van Bronckhorst, a very mediocre home chef and an ex fashion victim. I live in North London and travel a lot. I like simple stuff, functional fashion and easy to make food. I take an instant dislike to all things weird and overdesigned. I believe cooking should be simple, so noone gets disheartened. If you follow me, I hope to inspire you with my easy to put together outfits and affordable cooking ideas. Let The Journey begin.