New website launching soon!

I've been taking a bit of a break from the blog lately to be able to concentrate more on my upcoming website launch! It's really exciting stuff!!! My apologies to all my followers, but I promise it will be worth the wait!

A sneak preview of what to expect on the new Foodie Declarations website

www.foodiedeclarations.com, coming soon... to a kitchen near you!

Blackened chicken drumstick with sweet potato fries, kale salad & yogurt sauce

Kale; the super food that has recently turned up on almost every foodies and health freak blog in every shape and form. Chips, in a smoothie, various pie constellations and just the way it is, raw. I'm surprised no ones made a kale cupcake yet. Oh wait! I take that back, according to Brooklyn Magazine, "Kale Cupcakes Are a Thing", read their post about them here. I'm not surprised, why not do a mash-up of two foodie trends? I'm just pissed I didn't think of it first. More and more people are getting hooked on the kale trend; what kind of foodie would I be if I didn't join the craze?

I went with a kale salad to match this blackened chicken and sweet potato fries, because to be honest, you really don't have to do much with kale. It tastes great just the way it is (you can always dress it up a bit like Cupcakes and Kale has done, with apples and walnuts. See her recipe here!). Add a bit of olive oil and some freshly squeezed lemon juice if you like and you're all set for a salad packed with fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, C, B6 and calcium, to name just a few. You can read more about it here.

The What

4 portions

4 chicken drumsticks

2 large sweet potatoes

4 handfuls of kale

Greek yogurt

feta cheese

fresh thyme

Marinade

1 dl olive oil

½ dl soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1-2 garlic cloves

salt & pepper

The How

Mix the marinade in a large plastic bag or in two smaller bags. Add the chicken. The marinade should completely cover the chicken. Close the bags and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, turning the bags once. 

Set the oven to 200 degrees. 

Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks, I cut mine a bit bigger than regular fries, but you can do as you like. Keep in mind that thinner fries have a tendency to get dry faster so keep an eye on them in the oven. Spread the fries on an oven tray, season with salt & pepper as well as chili flakes, if you like. Drizzle over olive oil and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the size. 

Put the chicken in an oven safe dish and set in the oven. The chicken is done when the juice is clear, the meat is white and comes easily off the bone. If you're unsure, cut one open and check. Better safe than sorry! 

Crumble the feta cheese, add the yogurt and some pepper. Mix together and top with fresh thyme. 

Serve with the kale salad, just as it is or with some freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil and salt & pepper. 

Medeteranian lentil mash with aubergine wedges, caramelized red onion, black olives and sun dried tomato yoghurt

This is one of my favorite meals; so much flavor in one dish! Its pretty healthy because its low on carbs, its vegetarian which suits me perfectly and its looks very pretty with all the different colors!

Its easy to make as well, 

All you need is

2 aubergines

2 red onions

2 dl red lentils

a handful or two of black olives

fresh thyme

3 tomatoes

butter

Turkish or Greek yogurt 

a handful of sun dried tomatoes

a pinch of sugar

salt, pepper

How to make it

Boil the lentils in lightly salted water for about 30 minutes. 

Slice the sun dried tomatoes and mix with the yogurt, add some salt and put in the fridge until its time to serve.

Cut the aubergines into wedges and put them in an oven safe dish with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees until softer. 

Peel and wedge the red onion and dice the tomatoes. 

Fry the red onion in butter in a pan, add some sugar to caramelize them (I know, it hurts to put sugar in this otherwise healthy dish, but it really makes the onions taste so much better!).

Add the tomatoes and let fry for about 10 seconds before adding the finished lentils. 

Add black olives and fresh thyme, plate up and add the softened aubergine wedges on top. 

A dollop of sun dried tomato yogurt sauce completes this great tasting and easy to make vegetarian meal!

Thank you Arla for the inspiration!

5 Ingredients; Vegetarian Salad

I really felt like something light and easy a few Fridays ago, so I started of thinking about some of my absolute favorite things to eat;

oven roasted aubergine

chevre goats cheese

soy beans

sourdough bread

spinach and arugula salad mix

I had some left over sourdough bread that was getting a bit stale so I cut it into crouton sized bits and quickly roasted it in the oven with some olive oil and garlic. 

I sliced the aubergine, salted it and let it sit for about 15 minutes to draw out the bitter tasting water, after which I washed it and oven roasted it in 200 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes. 

In the meantime, I blanched the soy beans in salted water, quickly cooled them down and removed the outer layer of skin on the bean. 

Add all the ingredients in a big bowl, cut down the aubergine when its nice and soft and add the cheese. 

I made a lovely dressing, inspired by an old friend, using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. It goes SO well with the chevre. 

There´s your light and tasty Friday night meal :)

Hot Salad

Do you ever feel like someone else should do all the work for you in the kitchen? Can't get your best mate to come over and make you dinner? 

Step away from the pizza menu!!

This Hot Salad is super easy and super healthy, and best part of all, it basically cooks itself! Use your favorite veggies; 

I used

Aubergine

Zucchini

Red and yellow onion

Beetroots

Whole garlic cloves (with the skin still on!)

Chop them up (no need to make it all fancy, unless you really want to make them Julienne or Brunoise!), put them in an oven safe dish, pour over some olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever other herbs you want to use and stick them in the oven at about 180.200 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they are done (cooking time depends on what veggies you've used). 

Top with arugula or baby spinach (maybe even both if you're feeling adventurous) and crumble over some feta cheese (yes, I do use it for everything. But that's because it goes with ANYTHING! Amost anyway). Give the black pepper grinder a twirl over the veggies and serve when it's still warm.

Easy, healthy and basically carb free!

Linguine with fresh asparagus, mushrooms, avocado and Parmesan cheese

My week of pasta started with a simple but amazing linguine with fresh asparagus. Unfortunately the asparagus wasn't local but I just couldn't help but to buy it anyway - and it tasted amazing, despite it being transported a few miles. It really is a sign that spring is on it's way!

The What

1 bouquet of fresh green asparagus

200 g forest mushrooms

1 ripe avocado

2 dl cream

1 tps of chili flakes (depends on how spicy you want it!)

½ freshly squeezed lemon

1 clove of garlic

salt and fresh ground black pepper

The How

Gently fry the garlic in some olive oil in a pan. Add the mushrooms and fry until they have gotten a little color, but are not burnt. 

Add the chili flakes, lemon and cream. Add salt and cracked pepper. Bring to the boil and then let simmer. 

Pick up one asparagus and hold it between the your thumb and forefinger on both sides. Bend it until it snaps and throw away the root part of the veggie. This part can be eaten, but it's more chewy and has a tendency to be a bit bitter. Repeat on the rest of the asparagus. 

Boil the linguine until tender. 

Throw the asparagus into boiling water with a bit of salt, boil for about 1 minute so that it's still nice and crispy. 

Slice the avocado.

Add the linguine to the cream sauce, add the avocado and mix together. 

Serve the pasta topped with asparagus and Parmesan cheese and some more cracked pepper, if you like. 

Enjoy!