Recipe: Fish en papillote

My mom and I decided to try out a totally different recipe. A little diverse than what we normally make, but definitely worth trying. This fishpackage is awesome for when you simply want to make something else. This dish is full of flavours and a little party for your tastebuds!

What you will need (4 portions):

• 4 cod fillets
• 150 grams of spinach
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 100 grams of small tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 1 lemon
• 4 branches of rosemary
• 4 branches of thyme
• Peper and salt
• Olive oil
• 4 pieces of silver foil/bakingpaper

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius
2. Wash the spinach and place some on the different pieces of foil
3. Season the cod fillets with peper, salt and chilipowder and place them on the bed of spinach
4. Slice the red onion into rings and add those to the packages together with the tomatoes
5. Press the cloves of garlic and put this into the packages together with a branch of rosemary and thyme
6. Cut the lemon and place one slice on each of the fish
7. Sprinkle the packages with olive oil and close the packages
8. Steam them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes
9. Perfectly to be served with spinachrice and a lovely fish sauce

What is your favourite way to prepare fish related dishes? Let me know in the comments!

Have a sunny day. -x-

Do you know what it feels like to keep going?

Wow. Seriously, wow. What an amazing run I had today. Yes, amazing it was. I decided to take the same route as wednesday, to see if I could beat the time. I have been struggling with a knee injury for two years now, and it keeps coming back, just like during my wednesday run. Fortunately, my knees weren't bothering me today at all. Aside from a stomachache it was going as planned. I beat wednesday's time with a total of three minutes.

Every little improvement makes me so motivated to train more and more. During the run I faced a stomachache due to which I wasn't motivated to keep running. Then I remembered something I saw on the internet today:

This may seem a little exaggerated, but it is the general idea that really speaks to me. While remembering this quote, I figured every little bit of progress is progress. You just got up to do workout. Dressed up to get fit. Tied your shoe laces to become in better health. Why would you quit now? You may know what giving up feels like, but do you know what keep going feels like? Appreciate all the little steps of progress you make during the way to your goal. In the end, it is the journey that got you there.

For if you were wondering, yes, I got up, went running, maybe faster than ever. I had wings, I was flying. Figuratively speaking. Here is a picture of what I encountered in the forest. It had been storming and raining a lot overnight and this is the result: 

What makes you motivated to keep going, when quitting seems like the easiest option? 

With this all said, I wish you a great day! -x-

Recipe: Pastasalad with diced ham

Since we went barbecuing I decided to make a pastasalad as a healthy sidedish. As you could have probably guessed, I have got an addiction for pastasalads during the summer. They are just so easy to make and you can costumize it however you like it! I invented this salad myself by just trying out some ingredients that I thought would fit well together. The nice thing about this dish is that you can add any ingredient you like or use other ingredients which match your preferences.

What you will need (for two bowls):

• 500 grams of pasta
• 300 grams of diced ham
• 4 tbsp of black olives
• 15 cherrytomatoes
• 250 grams of green beans
• 450 grams of mozzarella
• 2 tbsp of fresh cream
• 4 tsp of italian spices
• olive oil
• peper

Preparation:

1. Shuck the ends of the green beans and wash them. Put them into a pan with boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Then swill with cold water, so that the beans remain green.
2. Boil the pasta following the instructions on the wrapper. When done, cast the pasta into a colander and swill with cold water. Let it leak out afterwards.
3. Cut the cherrytomatoes into pieces, as well as the black olives and mozzarella. Put the pasta, diced ham, olives, tomatoes, fresh cream, mozzarella and green beans in a bowl and toss it around. Season the salad with italian spices, peper and olive oil. Ready to serve!

Just a little note: I used olive oil that I got as a holiday present from a dear friend of mine. It is formed as the tower of pisa and contains olive oil with rosemary and pepers. It is absolutely delicious and really adds something special to the dish!

What kind of pastasalads do you make during the summertime? I would love to hear from you!

Have a lovely day. -x-

Running, hardlopen, laufen!

A new blogpost today. About running, hardlopen, laufen. What a wonderful thing that is. I went running yesterday while just having downloaded a new running app, called strava. It basically measures about pretty much everything, so you might want to check it out yourself (you can also use it for mountainbiking etc.).

I figured I would tell you something about my summer cardioprogramme. I wake up early on a workout day because I prefer working out at the start of the day. Before leaving the house, I eat two slices of gingerbread and drink a glass of water or juice. I run with a bottlebelt so that I always have access to water. I tend to delineate the route in my head before I go.

I like running with music, it gives me a great energy boost. Songs I really love listening to while running? Beautiful day, Ordinary Love and One by U2 (and basically all the other songs by U2), All of Me Remix by Tiësto and Waiting for Love by Avicii.

After running it is significant to keep hydrating yourself. When I come home I drink one or two glasses of water straight away. I also like to eat a citrus fruit. After my shower I still take a small breakfast. That is often a slice of bread with topping or a bowl with fruits and oatmeal. After, I am ready to take on the day!

What do you eat/drink before, during and after your workout? I would love to hear from you!
Have a beautiful day. -x-

Salmontartare

This recipe is one of my favourites on a hot summer evening when you are seeking for something fresh and full of flavours; a real joy for your tastebuds! The ingredients go suprisingly well together, and you just can't get enough of this delicious creation.

What you will need (4 portions):

• 1 lemon
• 300 grams of salmon
• 8 grams of dill
• 3 branches of parsley
• 1 spring onion
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tsp horseradish

Preparation:

1. Grate the yellow skin of the lemon and press the juice out of the fruit. Slice the salmon into small blocks. Slice the dill as well as the leaves of the parsley into tiny pieces. Cut the spring onion as well. Blend the lemon grater, the salmon, the dill, the parsley, the spring onion, the capers with one tablespoon of olive oil. Additionally you might want to add some peper or salt.
2. Blend the mayonnaise and horseradish in a bowl and flavour it with lemonjuice.
3. Make a tartare of the salmon (you could use a bowl or a cup for this). Serve the tartare with the horseradish mayonnaise. You might also want to decorate it with another branch of dill.

Leave a comment letting me know what your opinion on this recipe is, I would love to hear from you! Have a great day. x.