I definitely prefer tea over a cup of coffee. I grew up drinking loads of different Asian teas and the older I get the more I'm fascinated about these amazingly beautiful dried leafs which give me such a soothing and warm feeling every time I drink it! And it's not just tea to drink but you can also use tea a lot as an extra ingredient in a variety of dishes. It gives a soup, sauce or dressing a whole new dimension and the tea I used the most to enhance savory dishes is the Lapsang Souchong tea! I discovered this tea 6 or 7 years ago in Paris and I straight away fell in love with the deep smokey flavor it has.

I will soon post some recipes for you guys using this tea as an ingredient.

Some people told me this specific tea is supposedly unhealthy for you as it has been smoked. My reaction to that?: ZIP IT and let me have my moment to enjoy this delicious tea, thank you very much ;D!
There will always be pro's and cons but moderation is the key as they say so I cheers to that.

xoxo
The Cookteaser

It was Kings day yesterday, our biggest National Holiday and since I've certainly had my share of partying ;) I'd normally would have escaped Amsterdam from all the craziness, but due to my work schedule I wasn't able to get away this time. so, A. and I decided to go for a quick stroll along the Prinsengracht to check out the vintage market before hitting our bed for an all day film marathon instead!

It sure was worth to walk around cause look what I've found!! A beautiful little mortal and pestle, originally used for medicinal purposes but from now on it will be used in my kitchen to grind all sorts of herbs and spices into curry pastes, dressings and pesto's! And who doesn't love a good bargain, the previous owners sold it to me for only 2 Euro's! Lucky me!

Scroll down for my super easy to make basil pesto, I never use cheese when making pesto by the way so I guess that makes it a vegan pesto too! I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
a bunch of basil (I used the whole bunch of the image down below)
3 garlic gloves
olive oil
2 hands of roasted pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste

What now?
I mean, of course it's way more convenient to use a small kitchen machine to make this pesto, but honestly, using a mortar and pestle to make this pesto was just way more fun and even therapeutic to me!

Music I listened to while making this:
Première Gymnopédie by Erik Satie

In other words, this stuff is damn good for us!

xoxo 
The Cookteaser

A little update to let y'all sexy bitches know I'm alive and kicking since rumors were spreading that I was hit by a truck filled with gluten and sugar. Truth is, work needs time, and time needs me, so blogging just hasn't been my  no.1 priority lately.
But, today my fingers started to feel itchy so that's always my natural que to do some blogging :D
​
Yesterdays event for 'Bluebirds' went smoooooohooooooth (no idea why I type it like this but hey, who cares :P)
For the ones who don't know what 'Bluebirds' is, it's a new yoga school situated in the beautiful Amsterdam East. 

Somehow I always tend to forget to take pictures when I'm doing events... So I can only please you with a photo I took of the starter from the 3 course menu I created.

A refreshing cucumber salad with a tangy feta mousse, wild peas, roasted nuts, a drizzle of lemon vinaigrette and  crumbled feta. Just so you know, I'm talking about real feta here, which is made out of sheep milk, not that fake shit which is called white cheese and mistaken a lot for feta. 

Thanks to the amazingly talented dj Emanuelle Vos who was one of the lucky few invited for this exclusive lunch at 'Bluebirds' I could add 2 more pictures to this blogpost as she was kind enough to email them to me. This stunning beauty is vegan (check out her instagram The Vegan Hotline) and since I have no problems with making vegan dishes I of course adjusted the recipe to her likings.

Look! She also took a great shot of the main dish I created! 

Spiced up black lentils, caramelized carrots with a sesame-ginger dressing, pomegranate and mini shiso leaves! This last ingredient is one of my all time favorite herbs to use. The taste is so unique and intense, it just uplifts any vegetable dish if you'd ask me!

Well enough typing for today, I have to get back to work, create new dishes and make more people happy with my food!
​
xoxo
The Cookteaser

I haven't been blogging for quite a while, the reason is because I've been super super busy the past few months doing catering and event productions one after the other that I couldn't find the right time to cook again, take a photo and sit down to write about it. I was honestly completely exhausted of all the hard work and I needed a little break. 

There is a very positive side of when you work your butt of as I did and I will soon update you with all new exciting updates and projects yet to come! OOHHLALAAAA :D 

Scroll down to find the 'recipe' for this salmon dish I made myself this afternoon...

I don't know what all the fuss is about, people debating over which diet really works and which are a marketing blowup fantasy. Let me just set things straight as the truth is so easy, the only diet of which I can assure you that it truely works is the one I've written down below ;P

Don't judge.

Xoxo
The Cookteaser

Being an Asian I will and can not ever dismiss rice out of my diet. I just absolutely LOVE it! White pandan, Jasmine, Japanese, Sticky or Black rice, you name it... I love'm all! They all have something unique and I think it's an underestimated ingredient these days. I get it that people want to watch their intake of carbs but giving up rice?!? Uhm… how about NO, that shit ain’t happening in my world ;D

This is a dish I often make in times when I know I’m too busy to prep myself a meal every day. It’s easy because I can eat it cold and just make a big batch and fill up a bowl whenever I feel like eating. I never get bored by it even if I eat it 3 to 4 days in a row. Yes people, that’s how much I love blackrice :O
When I do find the time to sit down for a proper meal I add some lemongrass beef kebab to it or when I don't feel like eating meat I just grill some Tempeh or Tofu to combine this dish with. All good!!

Ingredients for 4 beautiful people:
- 4 hands of black rice (check the instructions of the package how to steam your rice)
- 150 gram of feta (cut in little cubes)
- fresh mint leaves
- fresh Coriander leaves
- 1 little back of Rucola
- 1 avocado (cut in little cubes)
- half a red onion (sliced in thin slices)
- 2 hands of pomegranate

Seasoning:
- zest of 1 whole lemon
- juice of half a lemon
- 4 teaspoons of a good quality Olive oil
- 1 spoon of Soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of Corianderpowder
- 1 /2 teaspoon of Cuminpowder
- a little dash of Garlic powder
- 1/2 a teaspoon of Smoked (spicy) paprika powder
- some salt and pepper to taste

What's Next?!?
Steam the rice like the package says. When the rice is cooled you can mix it with the flavourful dressing.
Let the rice cool off a bit before adding the rest of all the ingredients.
Mix it all up and TADAAA... Enjoy this beautiful Black Rice salad!

Xoxo
The Cookteaser

Oh man, what a beautiful Autumn we have in Amsterdam so far! Every year I fall in love with the bright orange and red colors of the leafs falling from the trees. Which then led me to be inspired and make this colorful Autumn-ish dish. Beware before making this recipe, this tomato soup  will never get you back to enjoy regular tomato soup ever again, so don't blame me when the 'damage' is done ;)!

I find this recipe great on days when  you don't feel like putting a lot of effort in cooking but still you want to serve something nice and unique to yourself and your lovedone(s).  

Ingredients for 2 gorgeous human beings :D (soup to eat as a meal)
- 9 Roma tomatoes (you can use any tomatoes but for soups I prefer Roma Tomatoes)
- 1 Small Garlic glove
- 1 Small white onion
- A little chunk of organic Feta cheese
- 1 spoon of Ghee (Rice oil will also do)
- 1/2 a teaspoon of Organic Spicy Smoked Paprika Powder ( I bought mine in Mallorca)
- 1 teaspoon of Organic Sweet Paprika Powder
- Some fresh Thyme
- Half a Spanish Red Pepper (if you like it spicy like me you can use the whole pepper)
- Some Himalayan Salt to taste

What's Next?!?
Cut the tomatoes into medium size chunks. Cut the Onion into chunks too. Heat the ghee in a pan and fry the tomatoes together with the onion, red pepper and garlic. Let it simmer on medium heat for about 4 minutes. Now sprinkle some salt and both the paprika powders. Let it simmer for 1 more minute.
Put everything in the blender and add 50 ml of water. Mix it all up until the consistency has turned into a thick full soup!
Throw the soup back into your pan and let it simmer for 10 more minutes on low heat.
Add some more salt to taste but make sure you don't over do it as the feta cheese will add a lot of saltiness too.

Topping:
Before serving just crumble a little piece of feta using your fingers. Add some fresh thyme at last and there you have it (I find thyme to have a very strong taste so please don't get to excited using it). This is a tomato soup, not a thyme soup :P

So there you have it. A great, easy and original tomato soup which will blow your mind!!

Xoxo
The Cookteaser

I love a good chunk of chocolate once so every always :P and these new flavors of 'Lovechock' will soon end up in my tummy :D

xoxo
The Cookteaser

I just love a good old fruit salad from time to time ;P

xoxo
The Cookteaser

I know I know, don’t give me that look… I know I’ve been lacking the blogging part a lot lately but I was doing some hell of a lot catering the past few months. I worked crazy hard so it wasn’t like I was binge eating Oreo’s while scrolling to my Netflix playlist.
I hope you can forgive me? If not… well, then screw you :P
 
So about granola… Until recently I never got it, it’s exactly the same like muesli right? They just gave it a more appealing name so they can charge double the price? That’s what I would think of Granola for years. Until that morning where A.  seduced me with his morning routine and granola was served to me in a bowl with some soy yoghurt. Holy smack, granola got me by the first bite, I mean I WAS HOOKED! This is like dessert, I associate dessert with celebration time and why not start your mornings celebrating a new glorious day with this kind of goodness! Yes please!
Along the way I learned that there are many different granola’s out there. Different combinations with dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Almost all granola’s out there are coated with a thick layer of sugars, organic or not, getting a sugar high in the morning is not really good for the hot body so yeah I was now determent to make my own batch of a healthier version of granola.

If you are gifted with the talent to stir a spoon into a big bowl, well my friend, you will manage to go through this ‘recipe’ :P
Cooking should always be about adjusting recipes to your own likings. So, go crazy on whatever you prefer to add in your granola. From dried mango bits to Coconut flakes...I leave that up to you!
 
Ingredients for a big jar of Granola:
 - 4 cups of Oats
- 4 spoons of Agave syrup
- 1 spoon of Honey
- ½ cup of raw almonds
- ½ cup of raw cashew nuts
- 5 spoons of cinnamon
- 3 spoons of coconut oil
- ½ cup of pecan nuts
- 1 cup of coconut crisps or coconutflakes
- ½ cup of dried mulberries
- 1 cup of linseeds
- ½ cup of goji berries
 
Necessary tools:
Baking sheet
Bowl
A little pot/pan
A big spoon
Oven
A smile on your face :D
 
What’s Next?!?
Start with preheating your oven on 175 C.
Mix the honey and the coconut oil in a little pot on low heat until it becomes liquidy. Mix the honey-oil with the Oats, Almonds, Cashews and Agave syrup in a big bowl.
Use a baking sheet on the oven tray and spread the mixture out evenly. Put it in the oven for about 20 minutes (oh man your house will smell SO GOOD it’s insane!)
Get the tray out of the oven and quickly mix the oats so all sides are getting a nice even golden brown ‘glow’. Pop it back in the oven for about 20 minutes. It’s super important to wait for the mixture to cooled off before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Mix mix mix and there you have it my lovers. Your very own batch of Granolaaaaa
 
Hope you liked this post.
 
Xoxo
The Cookteaser