Swiss Chard Tart with Pine Nuts and Raisins

The end of February marked the 3 year anniversary of this blog. On 2/21/2011 I wrote my first post, about an eggplant dish I made from one of the first vegetarian cookbooks I bought after Michael decided to eat vegetarian.
I have been reflecting about my motivation on writing here, posting recipes, taking pictures of my food, and honestly felt a bit demotivated about it all for quite some time now. Nothing good can come from comparing your writing, your recipes, your pictures and your life in general to that of other bloggers.

I'll spare you all the self-criticizing thoughts I had in the past weeks/months, because what I mainly want to say today is: I just love to cook. Basta. That is the reason I started writing here those 3 years ago and still, this is the reason I come back to this space after being absent, again, for quite some time.
I realize it is already March, but back on New Year's Eve Michael and I talked about the highlights of 2013, and mentioned Marcella Hazan's Torta di Biete, or Chard torta as one of the best things I had made in 2013. It's been a while since New Year's Eve, so I am really sorry to have kept this recipe for myself for so long. (Although it is published in The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, so it is hardly a secret) You really should have had the opportunity to make this since January 1st, with Swiss chard being in season and all.
The original torta is crustless, but there is a whole mess of toasted breadcrumbs involved. You could definitely make the recipe as Marcella Hazan wrote it (I found a closer version to the original here) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it with this sort of breadcrumb crust. I came to prefer the version with a crust though, if only because the crust makes it easier to steal a slice here or there out of the fridge.

Lemony Asparagus and Spinach Crepes

This is a quick post for a rather quick meal. I found myself in a bit of a hurry the last week or two. Or rather, I put myself int a bit of stress by not doing much during the first part of semester. Duh! I really should know by now, this is not my first semester. But every time I do the same, relaxing and enjoying my free time in the first part and then stressing about getting everything done on time.
 Thats when I crave simple food, simple but still delicious. Because I really need to step away from cooking all day in this time of the semester. Simple might mean different things to you, but making these crepes and filling them with simple ingredients was just the thing I needed. This is not the quickest meal around, but they were easy enough to make and reconnected me with something real.

Curried Tomato Stew

I talked about kitchen failures, and about insecurities. And still, I'd like to continue thinking out loud here.
You see, I really love to cook, I enjoy spending time in the kitchen, I talk about food - a lot (just ask my boyfriend), and still, I can get really insecure when it comes to cooking. So often I find myself thinking: "I couldn't do that. This must be really difficult. How does s/he do that? The thought of making x scares me."
I really need to stop doing that, because, you know, these insecurities do not only show up in the kitchen, but also in the rest of my life.
I sometimes nurture my insecurities, tell them that they have a reason to be there, where really, there is nothing to fear.
I have been trying to challenge myself these past weeks, because really, that is the only thing that can take away my fears. Your fears, too. I will continue to challenge myself, and think I want to share some of the things I try as I go on exploring.
But today, I want to share my adaptation of this weeks recipe for the Food Matters Project. It is a really easy recipe, quick to make, but still delicious. And it is great for the days between the challenges,  something that can't really go wrong and warms you from within.

Hummus Feta Soufflé

All I could think of the last days was soufflé. I never made one before, and I think I only had one once, and can't remember how it was. But I just love the idea of a soufflé, what it stands for in my imagination. I imagine that only really fancy people make soufflés, the ones who also have tea parties and wear hats. Or something like that. And while I thought it was a bit over the top to make a soufflé out of humble hummus, I just could not stop thinking about it.

I was a bit afraid to make a soufflé, though. I was afraid of failure, having heard that they are a bit difficult to get right. It felt a bit uncomfortable, moving into new territory. I'd love to think of myself as being a fearless cook, but I'm not. I have many insecurities in the kitchen. I don't know how many times in the past weeks I have said that I would love to try this or that, but don't because I am afraid of it. Afraid of failure. As if the cooking gods would come down to punish me if I end up making an imperfect soufflé.

I think the result was worth the risk, the nervousness, the sweaty hands I had as I stood in front of the oven, waiting for the magic to happen. And it happened, the soufflé rose nicely, but I guess I took it out a minute or two too early. It lost some of it's height. No cooking god came down to punish me, and the soufflé really tasted great. I think I can safely say that it was one of the best things I cooked so far. But perhaps that is just the feeling everyone has after conquering a fear. The hummus flavour did not come through much, but all the flavours combined with the lemon zest, and the light texture made me want to sing. I have that urge when I'm excited about something.

A picture of the not perfectly risen soufflé. I think it is pretty, anyway.

Galettes Bretonnes and Cookbook Challenge Update

I have been cooking from my cookbook but did not have time to take pictures, or the food was not really picture worthy.
Soon we'll travel to France again, like last summer, and we'll cycle through the Bretagne. We've been there last year too, and a culinary specialty of this region is the Galette Bretonne. It is similar to a Crêpes but made from buckwheat flour. They are great with savoury fillings. We made a Spinach filling and a Goats cheese and onion filling. I want to share the Goats cheese filling because it is more typical of the region, and also because my boyfriend made the other one and I'm not sure how he made it.