What to do in isolation? Part 2

Stay at home dude: We are since 2 weeks in isolation and really enjoying the sun on our balcony. Nights are still cold but now is the perfect time to grow some tomato and cucumber plants. To give the plants perfect conditions, I use two Flex mini led lights which I do not use for my aquascape at the moment. I installed them on a small aluminium rail which is attached to a small wooden angle. I use two small green houses from Elho which are cheap and have a good ventilation system.

The light is on for 12 hours per day and after 2 weeks I count over 200 small plants.

I will start singling the plants now and plant them into small pots. As the amount of plants is so big, I will share them with our neighbours. Who knows how much longer the isolation stands, at least we will have plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers. Stay healthy and stay at home! Your stayathomedude.

What to do in isolation? Part 1

Hi all currently staying at home in quarantine. Some of you might ask yourself what to do at home whilst the Corona crisis. As you know I have some experience staying at home for a long time and want to share some ideas that might keep you busy at home.

Get your tools organized

Some of you might have some power tools and other equipment at home. Staying at home is a great time to reorganize your stuff. My daughter loves to help me getting things sorted and has her own box to play. I very much like the FIXtainer boxes from Fischer. I bought them here. They can be stacked together and can be carried around. Because the lid of the box is transparent it is very easy to keep a good overview about all the small stuff you have.

These boxes are a great way to organize any smaller items like screws, hooks or wall plugs.

In our apartment there is always something to fix. Install a new door lock, place a new wardrobe for the little one or just simply install a new lamp. The boxes help me to find all the stuff I need for the job.

The boxes can be stacked and easy be carried around

If you wonder what to do at home, order some of these FIXtainer boxes and start organizing all the small stuff you own. Stay healthy and stay at home! Your stayathomedude.

Currywurst

Hi Dudes,

today I want to share a typical German dish with you – Currywurst. Not just an ordinary one, but one with a homemade tomato curry sauce. It is probably the fastest dish on my blog, but something you will enjoy and it is definitely a dude food for a nice movie. 

 




For 2 people you need:
 
PREP:  5
COOK: 10 min
LEVEL: easy
 
 
Pork sausages /  3

Oil  / 1 tablespoon

Baguette / 1
or
Kaiser roll / 3

Red wine vinegar / 1 tablespoon
Apple purée / 1.5 tablespoons
Tomato ketchup  / 4 tablespoons

Plum tomato / 1 small

Sea salt / a pinch
Pepper / a pinch

Chili flakes
Curry powder

 
 
 
 
Preparation:



1. Start to roast the sausages in a pan until they are well done. 

 
2. Meanwhile cut the tomato in small cubes and bring them together with the vinegar, sea salt and pepper to a boil. Let it simmer on low heat and add the apple purée, ketchup and chili flakes. 
 
3. Cut the sausage in 1 cm slices, arrange the pieces on a plate, add the sauce and curry powder.

4. Serve with the rolls or baguette and enjoy. 
 
 
Your stay-at-home-dude.
Lemon cake and hazelnut, walnut, almond apple cake

Hello Dudes out there,

today I post two delicious cake recipes. The first one is a yummy lemon cake, which I baked now 4 times and which gets always good feedback, so I want to share it with you. The second one is a hazelnut, walnut, almond apple cake. It is a recipe from my mom which I have modified a little. Enough talking –  lets preheat your oven and get started!




Lemon zest cake

PREP:  20 min
BAKING: 45 min at 180°C
LEVEL: easy


Butter /  150 g
Peanut oil / 100 g
Sugar / 200 g
Eggs / 4
Vanilla / 1 bean

Lemon zest and juice / 2 organic lemons

Baking powder / big teaspoon
Ground almonds / 50 g
Wheat flower / 280 g
Salt / 0.5 teaspoon

For the frosting you need

Icing sugar
Limone juice and zest / 1 organic lemon
Water / 50 ml
Sugar / 2 tablespoons




Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 ° C. Use an approx.  25 cm long baking tin with baking paper covering the bottom.

2. Grate the zest off two lemons and squeeze out the juice. Grab a big pot, add butter, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and mix it with a hand mixer. At the end add lemon juice and lemon zest. Now add the flour, almonds, salt and baking soda. Mix until all ingredients have blended together. 

3. Grease the baking tin and cover the bottom with the baking paper. Fill the mixture into the baking tin and bake it for 45 min at 180°C. At the end check with a wooden skewer if the cake is ready. Open the oven, push a wood skewer inside the batter and take it out gently. If there is no trace of the mixture on the skewer, then the cake is ready. If more baking is required, you have to check after another ten minutes. It is important because over-baking is leading to a dry cake.

4. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down. The cooling to room temperature typically takes about one to two hours. 

5. Meanwhile remove the zest from one lemon with a sharp knife and cut it in fine stripes. Bring it together with 50 ml water and 2 tablespoons sugar to a boil. Put it aside and let it cool down. Prepare the frosting with the juice of one lemon and mix with icing sugar until the mixture is thick. Take a pastry brush and spread the frosting over the cake. Decorate with the lemon zest strips. 


Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee. 




Hazelnut, walnut, almond apple cake

PREP:  15 min
BAKING: 60 min at 180°C
LEVEL: easy


Butter /  150 g
Peanut oil / 100 g
Sugar / 250 g
Eggs / 4
Vanilla / 1 bean
Baking powder / 16 g
Ground almonds / 50 g
Ground hazelnuts / 30 g
Ground walnuts /45 g 
Wheat flower / 250 g
Cinnamon / 1 tablespoon
Apples / 4 medium




Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180 ° C. Use an approx.  25 cm long or round baking tin with baking paper covering the bottom.

2. Peel the apples and cut them in small cubes of 1×1 cm. Grab a big pot, add butter, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and mix it with a hand mixer. Now add the flour, almonds,, hazelnuts, walnuts, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix until all ingredients have blended together. Add the apple cubes and mix it with a spoon together with the cake dough. 

3. Grease the baking tin and cover the bottom with the baking paper. Fill the mixture into the baking tin and bake it for 45 min at 180°C. At the end check with a wooden skewer if the cake is ready. Open the oven, push a wood skewer inside the batter and take it out gently. If there is no trace of the mixture on the skewer, then the cake is ready. If more baking is required, you have to check after another ten minutes. It is important because over-baking is leading to a dry cake.

4. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down. The cooling to room temperature typically takes about one to two hours. 


Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee. 






Spaghetti with white beans and paprika

Hi Dudes,

today was the first sunny and warm day in 2015 in Amsterdam – spring is definitely coming! Will be the last spring we spend in our flat in the beautiful de Pijp. Our landlords are moving back in and so we have to move out pretty soon. Therefore we are looking for a new apartment to rent in Amsterdam. If you know somebody, who might know somebody just send me a message.

The dish today is a real stay-at-home-dude girlfriend classic! Its our own creation and we prepared it so many times, but I never shared it. Try to get some fresh squid spaghetti if possible, so you can enjoy the real flavor! We have a nice fresh pasta place called “Il Pastificio” around the corner. It offers one of the best pastas I have ever tasted. If you are living in Amsterdam this is a must! This time they did not had any squid pasta, therefore we bought normal spaghetti. Serve the dish with dry Verdejo white wine and enjoy. Tastes like sun!

For 2 people you need:

PREP:  5
COOK: 20 min
LEVEL: easy


Fresh (squid) spaghetti /  250 g
Large white beans / 1 can 
Canned tomatoes / 1 can, high quality
Green paprika /  1
Red onion / 1 medium
Garlic / 1 clove
Olive oil / 3 tablespoons
Sea salt / a pinch
Pepper / a pinch

Optional: 
Fresh flat parsley / 2 tablespoons
Parmesan


Preparation:

1. Bring 3 – 4  liter salted water to a boil in a large pot. 
2. Meanwhile chop the onions and garlic and cut the green paprika in 1 x 1cm large squares. Strain the white beans. 
3. Take a large pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and brown the paprika together with the onions for 5 min at medium heat.  Add garlic, the canned tomatoes and the large white beans. Let it simmer for another 10 min at low heat. Spice the sauce with pepper and sea salt. 
4. Cook the spaghetti in the large pot al dente and strain them. 
5. Take two large plates, add the spaghetti and cover it with sauce. Decorate with flat parsley 
Serve and Enjoy!
Your stay-at-home-dude.

Freeletics Amsterdam

Hi Dudes,

last month I started to do#freeletics again, after a longer break. After the first exercises, I already regret to ever stopped to work out. But at the same time I can also feel my strength and endurance coming back. A big motivation is our new Amsterdam Freeletics group. We started with three people and now more and more people are joining the movement and our training.

At the moment we train on two training sites. One is located in the west of Amsterdam and the other one in the Sarphatipark in the area de Pijp. If you want to join our training just sign up for our Facebook Amsterdam Freeletics group and you can see our training schedule.

If you want to follow me in the #freeletics app you can add the following link:

https://www.freeletics.com/en/users/108951/feed

Here are some impressions from our training. It is a lot of fun to workout together and a great motivation! It is also a easy way to share knowledge and get some feedback.
RULE #1 – BE A FAMILY

Your Stay-at-home-dude

Green cabbage with chickpeas, beetroot and bulgur

Hi Dudes,

today I paid another visit to our Bilder & De Clercq shop around the corner and discovered a nice vegetarian recipe, which I want to share with you today. This dish gets it’s typical flavour from a spice mix called “Ras el hanout”, which is originally from North-Africa. 



For 2 people you need:

PREP:  15
COOK: 20 min
LEVEL: easy


Bulgur /  100 g
Green cabbage / 0.5  
Chickpeas / 1 can
Feta / 150 g
Beetroot / 2 pre-cooked

Olive oil / 2 tablespoons
Ras el hanout / 1 teaspoon

Walnut oil / 4 tablespoons
Garlic / 1 clove
Red wine vinegar / 1 teaspoon
Sea salt / a pinch
Pepper / a pinch


Preparation:

1. Bring 1 liter water to a boil in a small pot, add bulgur and cook for 15 min. 

2. Meanwhile cut the cabbage and the beetroot in 1 cm thin slices.

3. Chop the garlic very fine and add it to a small bowl. Add the walnut oil, vinegar and spice up with salt and pepper. We will use this as a seasoning.

3. Take a large pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of water and stew the cabbage for 10 min at high heat. During the first 5 min cover the pan with a lid. The cabbage is ready, if it is tender and starts to get brown.  

4. Strain the bulgur and the chickpeas and add them to the pan with the cabbage.

5. Spice with pepper, salt and Ras el hanout. 

6. Take two soup plates and add the cabbage mixture from the pan and decorate with beetroot slices. Sprinkle with the seasoning and crumble the feta over it.

Enjoy!

Tandoori salmon with yogurt and Naan bread

Hi Dudes,

I am still alive and today I will post a new fresh recipe for all dudes out there! During the last months I was not thrilled about blogging anymore, and therefore I stopped. I also startet to work for three months full-time and went on a trip to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia together with my girlfriend. Therefore I spent many hours not staying-at-home anymore.

In January I continued to work part-time for an Australian company here in Amsterdam and started my own small business. Now I can spent again more of my lifetime based on my own priorities and decision. It feels good to be back at home and blog again. I also started to do freeletics again, but this is worth a different post and you are probably already starving. Here is a fine Bollywood-inspired recipe you and your girlfriend will like!

For 2 people you need:

PREP:  15
COOK: 6 min
LEVEL: easy


Salomon / 300 g
Naan bread / 2 

Greek yogurt / 250 g
Cucumber / 1 small
Tandoori paste / 2 – 3 teaspoons 
Red chili / 1
Coriander / 1 bunch
Lemon / 1
Olive oil / 4 tablespoons
Sea salt / a pinch
Pepper / a pinch


Preparation:

0. Preheat the oven by 180 °C. 

1. Cut the salmon in 6 pieces each 1cm thick and marinate with the tandoori paste.

2. Cut the cucumber in half. Get rid of the inner part with the seeds and cut the rest in small cubes. The inner part contains a lot of water and we do not want this water in the yogurt. Also remove the seeds from the chili and cut it in thin slices. Separate the coriander leaves from the stalk and put them aside

3. Add 2/3 of the chili and the cucumber cubes in a bowl to the yogurt. Spice up with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

4. Bake the Naan bread in the oven for 5 to 6 min. At the end preheat 2 plates in the oven.

5. Meanwhile Grab a big pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown the salmon for 1,5 min at medium to high heat on each side.

6. Cut the lemon in small slices. Place the bread on the preheated plates, add a little bit of olive oil, add yogurt, salmon pieces and decorate with coriander leaves, rest of the chili and lemon slices.

Enjoy!