Grilled vegetables with Tofu

What’s cooking in on Pauline-Cuisine?

The temperatures are going down and it is time to cook some warm food for lunch. This week, I tried to cook with Tofu. Indeed, I heard a lot of good things about it and I quite remember that the taste is not really strong, I just cooked it once and I was not convinced. But I gave it a try this week again. I decided to cook it with vegetables on a kind of Chinese way.

When I removed the Tofu from its package, the texture was really fluffy. I sliced it in square pieces and decided to fry it on my “barbecue” pan. I put one spoon of toasted sesame oil and when the pan was hot, I added the Tofu pieces. I let them cook for 10 minutes before turning them back. I think that was the right technique in order to keep the Tofu in bites. Then I added all the vegetables and some seasoning with Chinese spices and Soya sauce. This dish is really easy and quick cook and it is delicious to eat at lunch for your lunch break.

I hope you will enjoy cooking this new recipe for your lunch box. Have a nice week and see you next week with another tasty recipe.

Pumpkin and sweet potato soup

What’s cooking on in Pauline-Cuisine?

I hope you had a nice Halloween party with scary pumpkin and delicious black and orange cakes.  Last Saturday, I planned for the Halloween party to cook a creamy Halloween soup. However, my husband had an idea on his mind, and he stole the lovely pumpkin that I had bought for carving it. It was the first time that he did it and I was really impressed by the result.  On the middle of the party, the sharp of the pumpkin has changed because of the heat, but no worries, my husband had done to the pumpkin a “facial surgery” and the pumpkin was great all the party long.

Even if the Halloween pumpkin was nice, I had no more of it for cooking my soup. So I bought another one and when I was in the grocery shop, I decided to buy a sweet potato as well. The taste association was really great and it was a nice amendment to my last pumpkin soup. So I share with you this pumpkin and sweet potato soup with you. It is really easy to do. The most difficult thing is to peel the pumpkin but after it, let’s cook for 30 minutes and your soup is nearly ready, so delicious for a winter dinner.

I wish you a nice week and see you next week with another delicious recipe.

Bakery: Brioche and Kamut Bread

What’s going on in Pauline-Cuisine?

I would like to focus my weekly note on baking. I love baking and I like eating bread; I try to do make bread as many as I can. A day without bread is not a good day :).

Every Friday, I bake a brioche in order to have it ready for a delicious Saturday breakfast. Last Friday, my usual mould for doing my brioche was used for my delicious bread (a test that I have done, I will explain it below), so I decided to use a square one. I was not convinced at the beginning because I thought I won’t have enough dough for fill in. So I gave a try, and then put the dough in the mould in the cupboard where the hot water tank is. It is so convenient because the environment is really warm but not too much; I think this system exists only in UK. So, I put it for 1 hour, I was so impatient to see the result and it was worth to wait. After one hour, the dough has filled completely the mould. I was so impressed by the strength of the yeast…. So, I decided to share with you this really easy recipe and so delicious … Look at the picture, don’t you want to eat it.

I have used my “brioche” mould for doing a bread experience. In fact, I was quite bored about my usual bread, so I have tried a new technique: bread on “poolish”. I tried this new technique with my favourite flour: Kamut flour. A few months ago, I was disappointed because I couldn’t find this flour and suddenly I found it at the supermarket. So I decided to give a try to this new technique with my newly found again flour. This new technique takes more time for making the bread because you need to let rest the poolish for one day before making the bread. But one more time, it is worth to wait because the bread is really airy. You should try it if you want to have really tasty and airy bread.

I wish you a nice week and I will share with you a new recipe next week.

Fresh salmon salad

What ‘s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

The cold days are settled and I will need to find and experiment new recipes for cooking hot dishes. But before sharing with you hot lunch boxes, I would like to give you my last summer recipe. Why, I am still in summer because I went on holidays most part of September. So this week, I will share with you a salad with fresh salmon for your lunch box.

I went to the fish market one week ago and I bought my favourite enormous piece of salmon. It is always surprising to see how big a salmon can be and how fresh it is when it is bought from the market. On my way back, I was thinking about cooking it and I remind one of my day out when I went to the restaurant where I took a salmon salad, I was surprised that the salmon was fresh and not smoked as usual.  So I decided to cook a salad with fresh salmon. As the baby vegetables were discounted, I decided to add them on the salad. The result was really nice and colourful but the most important is that was really tasty. No question, I will cook it again, no matter if we are in winter… there are heaters at the office.

I hope you will enjoy cooking this salad with fresh salmon. And promise I won’t let you down as I have done it in September.

Apples and Strawberries Compote

What ‘s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

I hope you have enjoyed your bank holiday. I took the opportunity of these three free days to clean up all the cupboards of my kitchen and I am now ready for a busy September. Today, I went to the street market in order to buy some vegetables and fruits, I am glad that every traders are back. I bought apples because in my mind, I wanted to do compote. As on Friday, I received my grocery order and I have ordered a large amount of strawberries and we don’t have time to eat all of them. I decided to give a try to a new idea: strawberries and apples compote.

I was a little bit worried during the cooking because the smelling was really strong, the entire kitchen smelt hot strawberries. When all the fruits are cooked, again I was not convinced by the appearance but this time the smelling was great. I put all on the blender in order to have smooth compote.  The texture is really nice, it is a little bit like a mousse. The taste is really wonderful, and I wanted to share with you this new recipe with seasonal fruits. Quite easy to do, tasty and so healthy.

I wish you a nice week and see you next week for another great recipe.

Caramel Jelly

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

This week, I would like to share with you a new dessert recipe: a flamby, that is a kind of caramel jelly. It was a quite emblematic dessert, when I was younger and I remember really well the TV ad on it. The funny value-added of this dessert is the little sticker on the bottom of the pot, you need to remove in order to let the jelly to go on the plate and the caramel spread around the jelly.

Last week, I went to a second hand market and I found some jelly mould, so I decided to give them a try and a start my various recipes of flamby. The first try was a mess, as I have tried to do my homemade caramel. That was a huge mistake because when you put the fresh and really hot caramel on the bottom of the mould, the plastic has melted with the caramel. I was disappointed but I decided to give a second try with my spare moulds. This time, I decided to use Agave syrup instead of caramel as it is easier to find this syrup in UK. Moreover, I decided to use some agar-agar, that is vegetal gelifiant. The huge challenge with this kind of powder is to find the right balance between a jelly texture and something not really smooth. So, for my second try I have only included 1 g of Agar-Agar that was not sufficient for 650 ml of milk and the jelly stay liquid. At the end, my third try was great, so I decided to give you the right recipe to try. 

I hope you will enjoy eating this funny dessert, reminder of childhood.

I wish you a nice week and see you next week with other delicious recipes.

Spring salad

What’s going on in Pauline-Cuisine ?

This week I would like to share with you a new lunch box recipe: spring salad. This salad is really easy to do and healthy, so that checks all the boxes for a great lunch at work. That can be a served as a dish for a light dinner as well.

Last time when I went to the corner supermarket, I was struggling to find lamb lettuce, so I decided to give a try to the iceberg salad. It was a good experience because it is really tender to eat and it is really easy to prepare. You washed it quickly with the bottom on the top, then take a large sheet and cut it in small pieces. The light green of this salad add some colour to the salad.  This try was a huge success and I totally adopted this new salad. Moreover, the value-added is that it is easy to find and it is cheaper.

For doing this salad, if you are struggling with peeling the eggs, don’t forget to put some cold water on it when they are cooked, the cold water on the hot eggshell helps to break the shell.

I hope you will like to cook this spring salad. Don’t hesitate to post a comment on it.

See you next week with another delicious recipe.

Salmon nigiri and salmon maki

What’s going on in Pauline-Cuisine?

Last weekend, thanks to the sunny weather, I got up early on the morning and I took the opportunity to go to the London wholesale fish market. It was a long time without buying fresh fish. When I came back, the fish smell was really nice and I though that it will be great to do some nigiri and maki.

The first step was to slice the half salmon that I had bought then to slice thinly a salmon piece in order to do the top of salmon sushi. This part of the work is easy but you absolutely need to have a good knife for doing it. The hardest thing for me when I do sushi is to cook the rice. Indeed, the cooking way is important in order to have the right texture and make the sushi sharp. The easiest way to cook the rice is using a rice cooker but you can do it in a traditional way with pan and water. When the rice is ready, put some mirin in your hand for modelling the rice. I like the texture of the mirin and that helps to not burn the hand skin with the really hot rice.

As I had some leftover from the salmon filet, I decided to make some salmon maki. My sister offered me a “easy suhi” for Christmas, it took me a long time to try it but now and I can confirm that is a brilliant accessory. You just have to pour it with all the ingredients that would like to add on your maki and then it makes the job.

I wish you a nice weekend full of sun.

See you next week with other amazing recipes.

Lunch box: salad with 2 cabbages

What’s cooking in Pauline –Cuisine?

The sun is back and that is a great news because the salads are back too. This week, I have enjoyed cooking fresh lunch boxes and eat them in the office’s terrace. Yes, I need to confess that I am really lucky to have this terrace which allows me to have sun bath during lunch time. Salads are perfect match with that. As I would like to celebrate sun, I wanted to create something new to eat. I had a quick review of some cook books, I picked up some idea of dishes and idea of sauces, then rushed to my kitchen in order to create my new lunch box: salad with 2 cabbages.

I am not a huge fan of cabbages but this mix of colors is so attractive. The crispy of the cabbage, fresh raped carrots and beansprot is so delicious. But the “must have” of this salad is the sauce.  I was fed of the basic vinaigrette but I was too tired to do a complicated sauce. So the fact to use lemon juice instead of vinegar was really great idea. The mix of mustard + lemon juice is so tasty that you don’t need to add pepper or salt.

For sure, I will eat a lot cabbages salad as I like the texture and the mix of colors add a joyful touch to my lunch break.

I wish you a nice weekend.

See you next week with a quick and delicious chocolate dessert.

Pork chops with caramelized peaches

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

I am quite fed up by the weather at the moment, I didn’t use a lot my balcony and I can’t do my favorite skewers on the barbecue. With my winter mood, sometimes it is hard to wake up on the weekend. When I wake up quite late, that is difficult to eat a breakfast and a lunch. So usually, I cook a brunch.

Last weekend, I was not in mood to eat a lot of pancakes, brioche or bread…. So I decided to cook something new, still sweet but not as usual. I bought pork chops on Friday and I decided to use them. Surprised? A few weeks ago, I have seen a recipe where you need to mix the pork chops and orange juice. I was not really convinced by the idea but I decided to give a try as I feel it because I don’t have the recipe.  First, I mixed sugar and orange juice and let them cook in a pan in order to create a kind of caramel, then I put the mixture on the pork chops and cook the pork chops. In order to accompanying the meat, I cooked peaches that caramelized thanks to their own juice. The sweet and sour mix was amazing and this recipe was a success.

Don’t hesitate to give a try to this new recipe: pork chops with caramelized peaches.

I wish you an excellent week.

Lunch box: Gnocchis with vegetables

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

The sun is back and that is really great news. I am still really tired by our long winter but seeing the sun when I wake up is marvellous. So, I decided to put some colour on my dishes, still hot but really colourful and tasty.  This week I will share with you the recipe of Lunch box: Gnocchis with vegetables.

I have used some leftover in my fridge for creating this weekly recipe. In fact, I am so busy at the moment that I didn’t take time to order my grocery and that is quite good because I just cook with all the leftover on the fridge, so no waste. Every time, I place an order, I order some gnocchis because it is a long conservation product and you can use it when you are in a rush. But this time, I wanted to spend a little bit more time in my kitchen and make a more complicated recipe with my gnocchis that my usual one: Gnocchis with cheese and pesto. I had cherry tomatoes and courgettes in my fridge because I went to the market on Thursday. In fact, I have discovered recently an amazing market near my place where they sell bowls of fruits and vegetable for £1, unbeatable :).

I decided to cook the courgette in square piece in a pan. I have peeled the cherry tomatoes in order to let them really melt with the gnocchis. Everything in a pan with some piece of mozzarella, then served with fresh basilic, really amazing taste and texture.

Take time to try this really nice recipe that you can eat straight away or for your next day lunch box.

Welsh - Typical dish in the North of France

What's cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

I am planning to pass some few days on the North of France next week, near the sea in order to have a nice relaxing break. As I am dreaming at it I decided to cook a really typical dish of this area: Welsh. One again, it is not a healthy recipe but with this awful weather I need to cook some comfort food. This recipe is really easy to cook and it is so delicious. I just recommend doing it on a small portion because it is really consistent. Moreover, I usually serve it with French fries. So try the recipe of Welsh during the weekend and go for a long walk after eating it :)

See you next week with another cheese recipe.

American pancakes

What's cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

Once again I am late but with the bank holiday that we had on Monday, I have enjoyed my free and sunny time. So this week I will share with you a pretty simple recipe. A really tasty one but be careful because it is a really caloric one… An American touch has arrived in my kitchen this weekend. I have done some pancakes for the Breakfast.

Indeed, I was so lazy (quite often at this moment) that I didn’t bake bread or brioche, so when I woke up on Sunday morning, anything wasn't cooked for me and I have anything delicious to eat for breakfast. At this time, I remembered that I bought a pancake pan one month ago, not because I wanted to cook pancakes but because it is pretty red small pan. So on this Sunday morning I decided to give a try to my new pan with a recipe that I had for several years, it was my mother that found this excellent recipe in women's magazine.

These pancakes were really nice and I have enjoyed to see this big pile for breakfast. We didn’t eat all of them, so I have some for my afternoon break. I have served them with maple syrup, so delicious.

See you next week with a typical recipe from the North of France.

Asian Chicken skewers

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

One more week lazy and tired, so I will share with you some really easy and quick recipe with an Asian touch. In fact, I was a little bit nostalgic of our dinner at the Japanese restaurant near where we lived in Paris, so I wanted to recreate the chicken skewers.

I was in the mood of skewers because two weeks ago (before being really sick) I bought a new pan. In fact, last time that I have tried to cook some skewers, I used my oven (because it was too cold for using the outside BBQ) and I was really disappointed by the result and I had a hard clean job to do after using all the stuff because everything has sticked. So last time, when I saw an online offer for a Tefal grill pan, I decided to buy it. That was a great purchase. I was at the beginning a little bit surprise by the square sharp of the pan but after the first use, I totally understood this sharp, that is perfect for cooking skewers.

I have really enjoyed this simple Asian recipe with soya sauce, honey and sesame. This new pan was a real advantage and the dinner was perfect. It was great for my next day lunch box as well.

Apricot treat and homemade yogurt

What’s going on in Pauline-Cuisine?

Sorry for my absence from last week but I was badly ill and I couldn’t go out to my bed and cook, so no new recipes went on going and all my grocery that I have ordered became out of date, so that is a pity, no strength for cooking and no food. I am a little poor thing :)

Anyway, as I had difficulty to eat, I focused on what I like the most and guest what! That is the sweet food. In my bed, I though about something that I usually saw in a famous French bakery in London: that is apricot in puff pastry. So I just try to imagine how to do it, I saw a friend to eat it so I had an idea of how to do it. When I feel a little bit better, I went out my bed and I defrost a puff pastry dough. When the dough was ready, I have prepared a frangipane and I took some apricots in a can and I began to do this little sweet thing. It was really delicious and I feel a little bit better after eating it. The frangipane was perfect with the apricot and you can choose the size of your dough in function of as sweet tooth as you are. Take the opportunity of the weekend for trying this quick and delicious treat or dessert.

The second recipe that I wanted to share with you is the one of homemade yogurt. I enjoy doing my yogurt and manage all the various taste of them. When I have checked my website two weeks ago I saw that I didn’t share with you the simple homemade yogurt, the one that you need for doing the yogurt cake with chocolate touch, so it is time to share with you this recipe. And if you have bored of the natural one, don’t hesitate to try the Homemade Guava yogurt or the Homemade Pineapple yogurt.

I wish you a nice week and see you next week with new recipes a little bit more Asian.

Lunch box: Semolina with sultanas and carrots - dessert: Cake with chocolate touch

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

This week was quite busy because I began a new job. It is always hard to arrive in a new company; I feel always uncomfortable and useless. Fortunately at the end of the week, I felt a little bit better.  In order to help me to bear all the day, I have decided to do a cake for my after working day treat. I made homemade yaourts last weekend, so I decided to bake a yaourt cake but with my sickness during Easter weekend, I wanted to take the opportunity to add some chocolate in my cake, so I have done a yaourt cake with chocolate. The cake was really tasty and looked really good, so I share with you this lovely recipe, try it :)

Another job, new range of lunch box! When I need to face to something stressful, I usually sleep a lot, so I don’t have a lot of time for cooking. For my last week lunch box, I have opted for easy and quick option. I have done carrots with semolina and sultanas lunch box. I have enjoyed it.

I wish you a nice week and see you next week for new tasty recipes.

Easter chocolates and starter

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

This weekend is quite specific because it is Easter weekend, great for two things:  eating chocolate more than usual and 4 free days. This year, I have decided to do my own chocolate. I have already tried last year but my only memory regarding this cooking experience is long, too long. So this year, I decided to try it again, it was still long but the result was really great. Indeed, this year I have bought high quality dark chocolate from Callebaut and I bought a magic powder: Mycryo. I discovered this powder on “Cooking mumu” website. And I can confirm that is right the chocolate are shiny and beautiful. I am really glad of this chocolate experience and I will share with you the recipe which is quite inspired from L’Atelier Chocolat de Pâques (Larousse).

The second recipe that I would like to share with you it is an impressive starter for your Easter banquet: salted macaron with dried tomatoes. I decided to try macaron for the first time 2 years ago. The first time I was quite frightened because everybody said that is difficult. One more time that is not really difficult it is just long. I now manage to do sweety macarons (French Chocolate and Guava Macarons, Rasperry Macarons), I have decided to launch myself on the salty one. Moreover, I wanted to use my tomato chutney, that I have received in my surprise cooking box from Récréation Gourmande. I have opted for plain cream hull (the colour of almond). The experience was tasty and it was a success. Let’s try it for your Easter starters.

Happy Easter and see you next week with a new lunch box recipe.

Childhood recipes...

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

Last week, I went to a street market with a friend, it is an amazing place to be because you can buy any bowl of fruit for only £1, the game is to find the merchant that will give you the must heavy bowl for this price. I have enjoyed the experience and I have bought vegetables and fruits. The only problem with these fruits and vegetables is that you need to use them quite quickly, there are not like the one that you bought in English supermarket.

I have chosen to buy apples because I was in the mood to do an apple pie. So, I have baked a thin apple pie with nuts. I have only used few apples, so I decided to bake the apples with sultanas in the oven. I remembered eating it when I was a child and I remind that it was really tasty because the apple is smooth inside not as compote but almost. I baked these apples and I found again this a little taste of my childhood, so nice, so delicious :) Try this quick recipe and don’t hesitate to post a comment.

I was in mood of cooking my childhood best food this week, so I decided to try Goat cheese and ham puff pastry. It is a quite easy thing to find ready to eat in France but it is not as common as in London. Except for lunch at Waitrose. But I was fed up to eat them because there are full of white sauce and they didn’t contain enough bacon and cheese on it. For the first time, I decided to do a Goat cheese and ham puff pastry for a dinner. It is quite easy to do, I have done my own light white sauce, and I suppose it was the part the most longer of the process to cook this recipe. The taste was wonderful; I like the mix of goat cheese and cured ham. I have done a big goat cheese and ham puff pastry and I have served it as a main course with a salad with walnuts.

I wish a good week and tasty edible experience.

See you next week with a recipe for your daily lunch box.

Quiche, quiche, quiche....

Whart's cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

This week,  I was a little bit lazy, so I didn’t spend a lot of time in my kitchen. Nevertheless, I have kept trying to eat healthy food, so I have opted for quiches. This week, I will share with you one of my new quiche recipes: quiche of leeks.

Since several weeks, one of my colleagues eats quiche of leeks that came from a famous French bakery in London. That quiche always smells really good. So I decided to give a try in doing mine at home.

I did a first one but I was not convinced by the taste :(, so I did a second try with my quiche basis and grated cheese. The second try was a success and it was really tasty. The quiche of leeks is not the fastest quiche to make because you need time for cooking leeks but that worth it and it is a great alternative to the quiche Lorraine.

I really enjoy making and eating quiche, so I have built a large choice of recipes. If you are like me or if you want to cook something good in a few minutes, let’s have a look to my various quiches recipes: salmon quiche, quiche with Roquefort and walnuts, courgettes quiche, quiche with leeks and goat cheese or a quiche with spinach and goat cheese.

Amazing choice !! and the value added of those quiches is that you can easily freeze them for eating later. So, it is not rare that during the weekend, I cooked several type of quiche or a lot of small of one type and I froze them for eating all along the month. The tip is to cook the quiche in an individual portion, that is better when you de-freeze them and re-heat them on the microwave or in the oven.

Enjoy your quiche experience!

See you next week with the recipe of the light version of a traditional French dessert: Crème brulée.

Pancakes and Crêpes :)

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

When I was on the underground this afternoon (on Monday) for going back home, I discovered that tomorrow is the Pancake day, so nice .

A new occasion for cooking my favorite dessert: pancakes/crêpes, a new one because in France, we celebrate on February 2nd La Chadeleur where we cook crêpes. So I have decided to share with you different recipes of Crêpes: buckwheat pancakes, sweet pancakes and light crêpes. All versions are really tasty and take the opportunity of this day to test several recipes. In order to avoid the common, but really tasty and enjoyable, filling of chocolate or jam, try to do your own whipped cream. Which taste do you prefer: vanilla, mango or chocolate? It is time to go shopping for buying flour, eggs, sugar and milk and cook tasty pancakes, so delicious  

For the other days of the week and with the frozen weather, you can opt for a soup. This week, you can try the soup of mushrooms and chestnuts . My auntie gave me this recipe and I have tried it after Christmas when it was easy to find chestnuts. This soup is really delicious and innovative. After tasting various way of serving it, I recommend to serve it in “verrine” as a starter instead of a big bowl as I have pictured it.

I wish you a good week and a lot of edible experience. Don’t hesitate to post comments on the recipes and help me to improve my cooking recipes.

See you next week with a tasty leek pie, so convenient for your lunch box.

Amazing lunch box and two potatoes soup

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

I hope you are fine and you have enjoyed the recipes already online; I was quite busy these last weeks.  One more hard working week at work and then I will be not as busy as these few last weeks.

I didn’t have put new recipes online but I have continuing to experiment new cooking thing in my kitchen. Just for a quick overview, I have tried a chocolate short-crust pastry that was amazing with strawberry, I will try with pears and I will probably share the recipe with you. Another good discovery was a quick lunch box with couscous semoula and carrots… and so many more delicious edible experiences.

With the snow and the frozen weather, I would like to share with you a really nice soup with two potatoes: charlotte potatoes and sweet potatoes. I have tried this one the first time when I was in charge of cooking for the homeless (one of my charity activity) and it was a success. The key success is a right balance with the water and the milk at the end because if it is not right, you will eat a mash and you are not going to drink a creamy soup.

The second recipe that I would like to share with you is a lunch box. In these frozen weather time, it is quite hard for me to keep awake all the day and it become more and more hard to wake up on the morning, so each evening I take the opportunity of commute across London for thinking about a delicious lunch box, something appealing that can help me to go to work. So it was during a underground journey that I had decided to do a gnocchis-pesto lunch box. The colours are nice, the gnocchis are good to eat and keep you awake all the day long. The value-added of this lunch box is that is really easy and quick to do (only take 5 minutes for cooking the gnocchis), that is really great when you go to bed really early on the evening and you have difficulty to wake up on the morning. I let you try it and don’t hesitate to leave a comment on the post.

I wish you an happy weekend and a good week.

See you next week with a  new soup: mushrooms and chestnuts.