Author: Ester van Boesschoten

At my local coffee shop they have these delicious blueberry lemon scones. What I love about them is that they are blue on the inside. However, I often wish that blueberry taste was more powerful. I had to try and make my own version of them to kick that flavor up a notch!

These scones are light and have a cake-like texture. The blueberry compote I added made a beautiful blue dough that keeps its color even after it is baked. 

The base recipe for the blueberry lemon scones is similar to my other scone recipe you can find here. The added egg makes the scone have a nice cake-like texture and reduces the dryness. The combination of milk and heavy whipping cream makes it rich and creamy. Pastry flour is my preferred flour to use for any pastry I make. It is milled to a finer texture than all purpose flour, and is made with a soft wheat for a lower protein content, which helps baked goods produce very tender results.

The compote is easy to make. Combine the blueberries, cane sugar, salt and water in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, slowly warm it until the blueberries burst open and the spoon or spatula you use leaves clear streaks on the bottom of your pan. When you can see the bottom of the pan you have the right thickness, and it is ready to be used in your scone mixture. Let it cool down while you prepare the rest of your dough.

 

 

Pastry flour must be sifted before use. The flour is so fine that it can clump together very easily. While large clumps can be broken up with a spatula, small clumps are more easily missed and can show up as lumps of uncooked flour in your finished product if you are not careful. After sifting your flour, add the other dry ingredients, salt and baking powder. The lemon zest is also added at this point so it doesn’t stick together.

After the dry mixture is combined, grate your frozen, unsalted butter onto the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry cutter. Grating the frozen butter is an easy process which prevents the butter from warming up too much since it can be done quickly.

Combine all liquid ingredients, whole milk, heavy whipping cream, maple syrup and one egg. The cooled blueberry compote is adding after all the liquid ingredients are combined. The compote can be mixed in well with either a spatula or your hands. Work quickly so you don’t warm up the butter.

Remove the dough from your bowl onto a floured countertop. I love to use my silicone pastry mat for this because it is easy to use and clean. Gently form an 8 inch circle with your hands. Pat gently and don’t press too hard on your dough.

After you form a circle, cut it into 8 equal triangles. The dough may be sticky, but adding a little flour to your knife will help to prevent it sticking.

Put your scones on a baking tray with parchment paper. Bake them until golden brown in a preheated oven.

After the scones are done baking, let them cool completely on a cooling rack. While they are cooling prepare your lemon icing. Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice and the powdered sugar. The consistency of your icing depends on how much lemon juice you add. For a thinner drizzle simply add more juice. 

When the scone are completely cooled, drizzle on your icing. If you do this when they are still a little warm the icing will soak into the scones. 

 

 

Quiches are one of my favorite dishes to bring to a potluck or share with a friend for dinner and this Potato bacon quiche is one of them. They are easy to make, and I typically have all the ingredients I need at home. To make it a complete meal just add a salad or some extra protein, but it can easily be filling enough all on its own.

The quickest option is to use puff pastry dough or prepared store bought pastry dough. However, when time allows, I prefer to use my own hearty pie dough. You can find the recipe here Savory Pie Dough on my blog.  Quiches are made with eggs and cream but the option of what else to add in is up to your imagination. For this recipe I used potato and bacon. Some additional ideas are: spinach, mushroom, tomato, cheese. This is originally a French dish and can be served hot or cold.

My savory pie dough has fresh ground black pepper in it. This adds extra flavor to the pie. You can see the pepper in the dough in the top picture. Typically, in my pie dough, I use ice cold Vodka instead of ice cold water. However, in this savory pie dough I used both water and Vodka. I just find it nicer to work with and the pies have always turned out really flavorful. When in a hurry, I sometimes use puff pastry or store bought prepared pie dough, because it’s quick and easy!

After you insert your pie dough into your greased quiche dish you blind bake it. For more details about blind baking check my pie recipe.

The base of the filling for any quiche is eggs and cream. I used crème fraiche, this is a French style of cultured cream. It is most similar to sour cream. If your store doesn’t have crème fraiche you can substitute it with sour cream. The difference is that crème fraiche is a bit less sour.

After you peel the potatoes and thinly slice them, let them soak in cold water. This prevents them from turning brown due to the potato starch. Prepare the rest of the filling and drain the potatoes when you are ready to assemble the quiche. Dry the potatoes on a clean dish cloth and start to layer them into your quiche.

The first layer is the baked spring onions and 1/2 of the crisped bacon. The next layer is potatoes and then more bacon. Repeating these layers till the crust is full.

When you have layered all the filling you finish the quiche off by pouring the cream and egg mixture over the filling. Salt, pepper, paprika powder and chili powder were added to give it some extra depth of flavor. Fresh herbs is always a good addition, and I added some curled parsley.

Final finishing touch is grated cheese, I use this grater by hand and “bigger” section of the grater. My preference is always Gouda, one of the few Dutch cheeses I can get here in the USA. Then you bake the quiche in a preheated oven at 375 Fahrenheit until golden brown and the potatoes are soft. The time required depends on each oven.

Note: my current oven takes some extra time to bake things, so always keep a close eye towards the end of your baking process.

After the quiche is done baking let is rest for at least 10 minutes before you cut into it. Using a cooling rack is preferable. This is the one I like to use. 

 

 

This basic savory pie dough is easy to make and has a hint of black pepper combined with a buttery dough. It is a perfect base for all your savory pies or quiches. You will find it makes the perfect base for the quiche recipe on my website. 

The ingredients are simple and typically I have them at the ready in my pantry/fridge. Thus when I want a nice hearty quiche for lunch, or need something easy and quick for a picnic, I don’t have to run to the store. I can quickly make this basic pie dough, let it chill for a bit, and I am ready to bake whatever I am up for. This dough makes a great substitute for recipes requiring a puff pastry as a base. Since I don’t always have puff pastry in my fridge I have substituted this dough several times and it works great.

As you can see in the picture above I use pastry flour for this recipe. You can substitute it with all purpose flour, preferably an unbleached one. I think that pastry flour yields a nicer end result, but it is not essential that you use it. Pastry flour is milled to a finer texture than all purpose flour, and is made with soft wheat for a lower protein content. This helps baked goods, like pie crusts, have more tender results and a finer crust.

Before you add the butter and liquid make sure you combine all the dry ingredients well. The pastry flour is sifted before use. Sifting is a process that breaks up any lumps in the flour. I always sift my flour before I go to any next step of baking. Sifted flour is easier to mix into other ingredients. Another tip is to fluff up your flour before measuring. When flour sits in the package it gets compressed together.  Measuring before fluffing may cause too much flour to be added and you will need more liquid in your recipes.

Frozen butter is easily grated and combined into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter.  It also doesn’t require as much strength as when you cut your butter into cubes and try to incorporate it with the flour. Since it is already tiny, it is quick and easy to cut in, and this prevents the butter from getting too warm. It is essential when making a pastry dough to work quickly and prevent warming the butter.

When the butter is well combined with the flour, it is time to pour in your ice cold liquids, starting with the Vodka. After the Vodka is combined with the dough, you add one tablespoon at a time of the ice cold water, until the dough comes together and no longer feels dry. Keep adding more until you are satisfied your dough isn’t dehydrated. You will need to add enough liquid to form a circle. If you add too little of the liquid the dough will crack later when you roll it out.

Form a circle, wrapping it air tight, and put it in the fridge to chill for at least one hour. You can also prepare it the night before you need it. If it made the night before you may need to take it out 30 minutes before you are ready to roll out your dough.

When rolling out the dough it helps to start from the center and then roll outward. After you have done one side, flip the dough to the other side and repeat the rolling out from the center. This method will help you create a nice even circle. It may be helpful to dust the rolling pin with flour to prevent it from sticking to the dough. Once you have your desired circle width, gently roll it over your rolling pin and transfer it to your oiled baking dish.

Make sure the dough goes over your edges of your pastry dish because this will be a blind bake. During a blind baking, the pastry will shrink, and if you cut off your edges before the bake you won’t have a nice edge on your pie. Before we put it in the oven, place some parchment paper on the dough and fill it with pie weights. There is no need to buy specially made weights. I typically use any dried beans I have on hand.

Cover your pie dough and let it rest in the fridge while you preheat your oven to 400 Fahrenheit.

When the oven is preheated, remove the cover ,and place it in the center of your oven to bake for 10 minutes. After it is done baking, carefully remove the pie weights without burning yourself. Now the pie base is ready to be filled and baked.

 

Our family loves a good soup. My kids’ favorite is my creamy broccoli soup but my favorite is this tomato soup. The combination of butter, tomatoes and cream makes this a rich, delicious and filling soup that is good for dinner or lunch.

In addition to shallot, garlic and tomatoes, the soup is seasoned with salt/pepper, paprika and sambal oelek for an extra kick in this soup.

Nice fresh tomatoes can be either store bought or homegrown. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which is an antioxidant. They are also packed with vitamins A, C, calcium and potassium.

Cook your shallot until it is soft and light brown, then add in the garlic and simmer until it is fragrant. When it’s time to add these beautiful diced tomatoes we can include the spices as well. The paprika added with salt and pepper gives this soup more flavor and extra depth.

Letting the tomatoes cook on low to medium heat with spices until they are nice and soft helps the flavors combine. Just before adding the broth, I like to stir in a little bit of sambal oelek for that extra kick of spice. You can find it in most supermarkets. If you can’t find it you can switch it out for a half a teaspoon of chili powder instead.

I also enjoy adding in some fresh herbs depending on what I have in my garden or fridge. Either parsley or basil can make a nice addition to this soup.

Once all the ingredients are added bring the soup to a boil and let it simmer on low until the tomatoes are nice and soft and ready to blend. I use a hand held blender for this. My family prefers our soup very smooth. Finish the soup with some fresh squeezed lemon juice and a drizzle of heavy whipping cream. Finally if you have some herbs left over, you can add them on top to give it a nice pop of color just before serving.

 

This super easy focaccia bread is delicious. Focaccia bread is the easiest bread you can make. The dough is similar to pizza dough but with lots of olive oil. The other ingredients are bread flour, yeast, honey and sea salt. The topping can be anything you enjoy. 

Most bread recipes require sugar to activate the yeast. As I’m not a fan of refined sugar, I always look for an appropriate replacement. In this case, I found raw honey adds a delicious flavor while being able to activate the yeast.

For the topping I experimented with potatoes, rosemary, bacon and Parmesan cheese.

To start begin by mixing the 1/4 cup of warm water with the yeast and honey. The water needs to be  around 110 Fahrenheit to dissolve the yeast with the honey and to activate the yeast. It is important to let it stand until it is foamy and bubbly, around 5 minutes.

Here you can clearly see the foam and bubbles from the active dry yeast. It is ready to mix in with the flour and salt mixture after you can see the bubbles.

This recipe works best with a stand mixer and you will need to use the dough hook. My mixer https://www.boschmixers.com/product/bosch-universal-plus-mixer/ is Bosch, but any mixer with a dough hook will do.

When the dough comes away from the sides and is tacky, but doesn’t stick to your hands, it is ready. Grease a bowl with olive oil, and let it rest until it is doubled in size.

When the dough has doubled in size you are ready to place it on a greased baking sheet, and shape it into a rectangle.  However, first you have to punch out the air in the dough.

After the air is out you shape it into a rectangle on the baking sheet. I used parchment paper on the baking sheet to make it easier to transfer to a cooling rack later.

After you formed a rectangle with your dough, you cover it and place it in a warm area on your counter until it is doubled in size. This length of this rise will vary based on where you live and what season it is. It can take up to 1 hour or more if it is colder weather. It is important that you cover your dough and put it in a warm draft free area.

When it has doubled in size, you drizzle it with olive oil and make deep holes in the dough with your fingers. Don’t be shy!  Dig them in far, until you feel the baking dish.

When you’re satisfied with the amount of holes, sprinkle the dough with sea salt (I used this French salt) and add your washed rosemary. You can bake it now, or add some extra toppings. I added potatoes, bacon and Parmesan cheese.

After adding the toppings, bake your dough in a preheated oven until it is golden brown. This can take around 20 minutes. Keep in mind that every oven is different, so the baking time may be more or less. Keep a close eye on the bread in the final baking minutes.

You can enjoy this light, airy and delicious Focaccia bread after it cools a bit on a cooling rack!

If you’re looking for more bread ideas, check out this Irish soda bread on my blog.

This easy broccoli soup is one of my family’s favorite! Super easy and quick to make. The combination of broccoli with the potatoes makes it extra creamy and delicious. Sautéed shallot gives it an extra flavor.

In my kitchen I use a lot of sambal oelek

Essentially Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian raw ground chili paste that isn’t very spicy. The spice levels are comparable to Sriracha but have far less lemon, making it less sour. The ingredients include chili peppers, vinegar and salt which add a little extra kick to your dish. I have been able to find it in most supermarkets. If you can’t find it, don’t worry, because this dish will still be delicious without it.

Adding lemon juice to this meal makes a difference because it adds a high back-note. The acid activates your taste buds the same way salt does. For this reason I always add a little to my soup towards the end of cooking. The addition of heavy whipping cream gives the soup its extra creamy texture. Once the cream and lemon are added to the soup, and it is fully incorporated, then you can taste if the soup needs more spices to suit your personal preference.

I added turmeric for its heath benefits because it is an anti-inflammatory antioxidant. If you choose to add this in you can combine it with the salt and fresh black pepper. 

I like to add the Sambal Oelek just before adding the broth. Saute it for 30 seconds or until it is lightly fragrant. Next you add the broth and bring it to a boil. I am using chicken bone broth. If you prefer it to be a vegetarian dish you can substitute vegetable broth. If you don’t have bone broth, regular chicken broth will work.

I like to use a hand blender to blend my soups. It’s easy and quick without any extra mess or large blenders to wash. Our family likes the soup super smooth but you can blend less if you prefer some texture. After you have blended your soup, add the lemon juice and heavy whipping cream. Give it a good stir and taste. If you prefer more of the lemon juice or heavy whipping cream add it now. You can also add the heavy whipping cream just before serving as a decoration on top. Taste to see if the soup needs more salt/pepper. When you’re happy with it, ladle into bowls and enjoy!

I served it with my overnight sourdough bread. 

When the pandemic started I ran into the problem that active dry yeast could no longer be found in any stores. So, I got on the sourdough train along with everyone else. At first I tried to make my own starter, but that wasn’t a big success. Luckily, a good friend got a starter from a local bakery, and kindly gifted some to me. Then the fun began! I started experimenting with lots of recipes for sourdough bread. Eventually, I settled on one my whole family enjoyed and I continue to make one loaf a week. The starter even moved with us from California to Pennsylvania and is still going strong. 

I recorded my first instruction video to accompany this recipe because some parts are hard to explain in words. I really hope this helps. The recipe is easy and delicious but takes a lot of time and patient. Believe me, it is worth it!

In this picture you see that my sour dough starter is active. You can tell it is active because of the air bubbles. To get an active starter, I recommend feeding your starter and letting it sit out at room temperature every 4-6 hours, or until it increases in volume by about 30%. I keep an elastic band around my jar, to help me keep track of the growth. I highly recommend to using filtered water when feeding your starter as chlorine can inhibit your active yeast. When mixing the sour dough starter do not use any metal. It is preferable to use a plastic or wood spatula throughout the making of this recipe. 

I normally let my dough rest overnight on the counter top because it takes a long time. Keep this in mind when you feed your sour dough starter. For example, if you feed the starter around 12 pm it will be active around 6 pm. This will allow you to let it rise overnight on your counter and bake the bread the next morning.

Air bubbles should form after the 8-12 hour rise. The exact time needed varies based on the climate where you live. In the winter it may take 12 hours versus on a hot summer night it can take 6-8 hours. In order to keep those air bubbles inside the dough, carefully scrape the dough out of the bowl with a flexible plastic scraper. Try to keep the air in as much as possible. This will create those beautiful holes in the bread later.

Placing the dough into a floured proving basket will allow it to rise nicely. These come in different shapes and sizes. 

After the final rise, score the bread on top with a lame or blade. If you get a proving basket sometimes they come with a lame. I have tried multiple tools but so far I like this one the best. If you don’t have a lame a super sharp knife will work. 

The lame I use is from Amazon.

Or you can also buy this lame with proving basket from Amazon.

 

This recipe is written as a starting point, but you can add fresh herbs, cheese or nuts. I recommend that if adding ingredients you don’t add more then 20%. For example, in this recipe, since we use 500 grams of flour you can add up to 100 grams of extra ingredients without adjusting the baking times. If you add in a cheese, use a semi hard cheese such as old Gouda or cheddar. Make sure you shred it small before adding it into the flour mixture.

Baking bread is my favorite thing to do. You can never have too much bread or too many varieties. I normally don’t bake soda bread because they tend to be dense. I wanted to give it a go and try to make it a little less dense. The flavors of cheese, bacon and fresh herbs came quick to me as additions I wanted to add. I started to wonder about what additions might make it less dense? Besides a little more liquid from the buttermilk, I felt it needed an egg. The end result didn’t disappoint at all. My whole family loved it! By the end of the day, more than half the loaf was gone. 

I recommend putting out all your ingredients before you start, so you have everything at hand.

Fresh herbs, washed and ready to use. I used parsley, rosemary and a little basil. You can use any herbs you prefer.

 

I’ve included bacon to add that extra bit of savory flavor. Make sure you bake until it is nice and crispy.

Let the bacon sit on a paper towel for a bit to catch the grease.

Make sure you chop your herbs nice and small.

Combine the flour mixture with the bacon, herbs and cheese. Slowly mix them together. By adding them now it prevents them from sticking together and makes sure it is evenly distributed in your bread.

Combine all the liquid and eggs before adding to the dry mixture.

Pour the liquid into the dry mixture and gently combine it together. Make sure not to overmix or knead the dough. If the mixture is to dry add more buttermilk.

With a sharp knife score a cross on top of your bread.

Baked till golden brown and a skewer inside the loaf comes out clean. Before enjoying this delicious bread let it cool on a cooling rack.

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This upside down pear pie with the caramel on top is the best! The original recipe is inspired from a blue band basic Dutch cookbook that was gifted to me by my father in law. I received this gift over 15 years ago when I moved in with my boyfriend, who is now my husband. My father in-law is the best cook I know and I will never forget the first time he cooked dinner for me. I thought his first course was the main meal and I was already full when he put a second delicious dish on the table. That was the first of many delicious and fun family dinners.

The blue band cookbook was my first introduction into how easy and fun it is to cook things for myself. I used to make this pie a lot when I first started baking.  Recently, as I was looking through all my cookbooks, I realized I had to revisit it and give it my own twist.

 I added some ice cold vodka to the pie dough to make it less dry. This makes the dough come together quickly and it’s easier to work with. 

The filling is an easy caramel sauce made with butter and brown sugar. You pour this into your prepared baking pan and arrange your pears on top. Finally, you add your pie dough. 
When baking this pie do not use a springform pan!  If you do, the caramel sauce will pour out of it and make a giant mess into your oven. Unfortunately, I learned this lesson the hard way and it made a big smoky mess.

When we were living in California we did a lot of camping trips. Most were during the winter season for more moderate temperatures. Beach based campgrounds have always been a favorite go-to for our family. California beaches are the best during the winter season because it is cool in the morning and warms up in the afternoon. 

For those trips I always prepared our meals in advance and packed them to bring along. This cornbread is everyone’s favorite. It’s very easy to warm up and can be frozen until you are ready to eat. Chili with cornbread is one meal my kids all love. Mainly for the cornbread! There are many ways to prepare a cornbread. Some recipes use sugar, while others use honey. Instead, I love to use maple syrup! It just adds that subtle sweet note to the cornbread while not being overly sweet.

We’re now living in Pennsylvania, and finally having snowy winters again. This cornbread has turned into a side dish that comes to our table with many winter dinners. I hope you love it as much as our family does!






Baked my cornbread in a cast iron pan. Easy and looks nice, but any baking dish can do.