On Saturday we had friends over and as I was planning the menu I was thinking long and hard. I wanted people to enjoy and have enough to eat as well. And then, surprise,
the new (free) e-book by Marcela arrived in my inbox and I was suddenly inspired (seriously, such beautiful photos).
I made quinoa-tabbouleh, a lentil and tomato salad, courgette and goat cheese quiche, broccoli and brie quiche, Tomato-Mozzarella-Basil little boats, Mexican red (tomato) rice and
mole. We also got some Hummus, Tzatziki and Turkish bread. The night before I prepared Sangria. People kept saying how delicious everything was and kept going for seconds and thirds. I was so so happy. If you would like any of the recipes let me know and I'll post them in the comments, though most of these dishes were quite simple. How was your weekend?
Wow! You are a far better hostess than I am! I'm going to have to give some of these a go!
ReplyDeleteI agree! You are a better hostess than me too! I always panic when I need to feed people. All of those dishes look excellent. Simple, but different, and yummy.
DeleteWow thanks girls :) I really do love to cook / experiment, and I also love to have people over and talk, so I guess those go well together...
DeleteThose all look delicious! Right now, I am eating a quinoa salad that looks a lot like yours (I didn't make it, but it was home made).
ReplyDeleteCould you please post a recipe for the lentil-and-tomato salad? It never occurred to me to combine those two ingredients, but I like both of them. Thanks!
Thanks :) I am kind of in love with quinoa lately, it is so versatile (risotto, (fake) meat balls, salads and yet-to-try soups...)
DeleteLentil and Tomato salad
-1 cup and a half cooked lentils (I normally soak them, rinse them, then cook them with a bit of salt and herbs in the pressure cooker until soft, but you can also use them from a can if you don't want to wait).
-cherry tomatoes or Roma tomatoes cut in dices
-mix of salad leafs
-feta cheese, cut in squares
-balsamic vinegar, honey or maple syrup, oil, salt and pepper.
Toss everything together in a bowl... I really like the combination with the feta cheese and a slightly sweet dressing.
What a spread! Looks like the makings for a wonderful lunch to go along with fun times with friends. And your quiche combinations have me drooling.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) You should try the quiche sometimes, it is one of Mark's favorite foods (courgette and goat cheese is particularly good), it is so easy to make and you can make so many variations.
DeleteIt's something I actually make quite regularly, get sick of and then don't make for months. Probably one of my best recipes. Your combinations of fillers sound wonderful though and have me itching to try them out.
DeleteNooooo... de lo que me perdí!!!
ReplyDeleteY yo con ganas de comer sabroso!
Para la próxima... te sigo debiendo un pastel!
DeleteCierto, cierto! Mi pastel ganador!
DeleteEl 8 de agosto cumplo años. Aún no sé que voy a hacer, o si voy a hacer algo, pero seguro vendrán los suegros y los compadres de Pablo (oh! Y mi amiguita) a tomarse el respectivo café con torta... Creo que sería buena idea para esa ocasión, no te parece?
Ahora vemos cómo cuadramos, porque justo esas fechas estamos de vacas en la oficina en Amersfoort!
Besos!
Perfecto! Nos ponemos de acuerdo!
DeleteThat looks and sounds delightful! And vegetarian quiche is the best. I'm always so sad when there's ham in it.
ReplyDeleteYou must've has a lot of people over for you to make such a lavish buffet, too.
Thanks... and I get you on the ham in the quiche, or bacon which is a little bit worse, it's too overpowering.
DeleteI kept telling Mark oh, we'll be 15-20 people... and then on Friday when I actually counted I realized we'd be around 32-35. I was so happy to see everyone and people seemed to enjoy themselves.
Those little boats are sooo cute! I agree with everyone, you're such a good hostess!
ReplyDeleteOh thanks ! The little boats idea came from pinterest... I saw them quite a while ago and absolutely loved them.
DeleteWow look at you!!! Looks delicious :)
ReplyDeleteTanks :)
DeleteEverything looks delicious! So happy that my little ebook was useful :)
ReplyDeleteThanks :) You really got me inspired, I had forgotten how much I love tabouleh, with its lemon-minty freshness, my (Lebanese) godmother used to make it for us.
DeleteSe ve súper rico todo. Se me antojó demasiado el mole y el arroz!, me recuerda a las comidas familiares y de inmediato me hace pensar en agua de jamaica también.
ReplyDeleteOye, y hay algun secreto para cocinar quinoa? en las fotos se ve buenísimo, aunque intentamos una receta hace como un mes y fue un desastre, era como una masa gigante nada más, obviamente algo hicimos (muy) mal y ahora me da miedo cocinar lo que queda de la bolsita que compramos.
Si, creo que hay pocas cosas que sepan mas a Mexico que el mole.
DeleteLa quinoa la preparo basicamente como el arroz mexicano, primero se lava y enjuaga para que se le quiten las saponinas, que le pueden dar un sabor amargo o jabonoso. Despues las salteo / frio en un poquitito de aceite. Despues agregas agua con sal o caldo de pollo o de verduras (yo uso cubitos), por cada taza de quinoa, 2 tazas de agua y lo dejas cocinando a fuego bajo mas o menos 15 minutos, hasta que el liquido se evapore. Despues la dejas reposar como 5 minutos y la esponjas / revuelves con un tenedor. Pero la verdad es que si tiende a ser masosa sobretodo si se cuece demasiado... tambien la puedes hacer en sopa o como si fuera avena, o hacerla como si fuera un risotto. Aqui hay una receta basica de the kitchn.