Writing for Eaten, the Food History Magazine

Writing about writing is far from being an easy task. When I started The Pickled Spruit, about two years ago, I had envisioned a completely different path for its development. With time, I started to better define and build my way and to tackle topics that peak my interest, such as literature, history, pop culture or architecture. The more I wrote, the more at ease I felt and I decided to take a big plunge by submitting a story pitch to what I consider to be a very respectable, well curated magazine: Eaten , the Food History Magazine. Read More

Sunday tartine: golden turnip, Gorgonzola, chives & ruccola

As life seems to be coming back to normal, I feel relieved and happy to pick-up my quirky habits…morning Sunday tartines being one of them. We went to the farmers market yesterday and I’m thrilled to report spring is finally here! We were already stumbling under the weight of tons of greens and fresh veggies & fruits, when I spotted something peculiar: the golden turnip. I’ve been devouring purple turnips the whole winter long, but never the golden ones: something needed to be done! I bought the above-mentioned turnips, headed back home and start planning the next dish in my head. Truth be told, turnips are amazing both cooked and raw, but this time, I decided to go for my favorite way of eating turnips: cooked in butter (really, how expected is this?). Here’s how to achieve turnip perfection and start your day with a mouthwatering sandwich. Read More

Taste of Brussels: the good, the bad and the ugly

taste_of_brussels_3_0

I waited for this event with anticipation and I was beyond excited. It promised “urban agriculture” and “food autonomy”- really, really great concepts! They had good marketing, some online traction and buzz words flying around. This should have, maybe, been the first sign, but the mirage was stronger. Here it is, The Taste of Brussels #2 (infuriating name, I realize now, because Brussels doesn’t taste like this at all). Read More

What has this gentleman been eating?

img_20160924_133403

I absolutely love this poster/ sticker right outside my metro stop! How wonderful it is, no?

So tell me, what do you think he has been having? Is it strawberry jam,  bloody mary, pasta with tomato sauce, red wine, a burger with too much ketchup? WHAT is it?

Sunday tartine: jambon de langue de cochon/ pork’s tongue ham

pork-ham-tartine

After the Taste of Brussels event yesterday (more to come on that soon), I just felt the need to come back to reality, where us, mere-mortals still enjoy the pleasure of the flesh, with impunity. What better place to surround myself with beautiful pieces of pork, veal, beef, ham, sausages & co. than my lovely butcher, M. Gaston? My week-end shopping list included 200gr préparé and a 800gr roti de porc/ pork shoulder (a wonderfully-fatty piece, now marinating in olive oil, smoked paprika, fresh rosemary & crushed garlic). To my surprise, something caught my eye: next to the tête préssée, a bit lonely and distinct: the pork’s tongue ham. I immediately asked M. Didier about it and he confirmed, then I proceeded to tell him about my love affair with pig’s tongue (while my man was telling him about pigs slaughtering in Romania). We ate the fresh préparé yesterday and I saved the best for last.

My Sunday tartine: dark bread + whole grain mustard + tongue ham + green & red pepper + home-grown ruccola. 

Food hacks, ep.2: Stuff people buy…but, of course, they shouldn’t

home-made

Food hacks is back!!! I’m thrilled to share this new episode about all the crap we shouldn’t be buying…let alone eating. Hope you enjoy!

People ask me the strangest questions and most of the times I can come up with a cheeky answer in a heart beat. Other-times, I’m dumbstruck and I blankly stare at them like cat stares at a calendar (literal translation of a Romanian saying)(because cats can’t read calendars and they just staaaaare). Most of these questions are food-related: where did you buy the……….. -insert one of the following: dough for a tart, hummus, pesto, croquettes, etc., etc., etc.. My bewilderment comes from the fact that I don’t really grasp the question: I mean, why would I buy such stuff? And then enlightenment: people ARE actually buying these things…but, of course, they shouldn’t.

So here’s a non-exhaustive list of crap people buy. I’m not including all the frozen meals, powder soups, bullions, silly desserts- I hope we’re well past that already. Let’s focus on the very practical side of things: ingredients, money and time. I’m gonna do an analysis of ingredients, price, time & effort involved and the recipes to make these at home. The prices come from various supermarkets in Brussels, but my (educated) guess is that these proportions apply pretty much wherever you are.

Read More

The week-end tartine strikes back: raw meat at its best

Rosbif and tartar tartine.JPG

If you’ve been here before, you are probably familiar with my week-end tartine ritual. And my love of raw meet. Pictured above (in very bad lighting, but have you looked outside? We live in Belgium!!!) is raw meat at its best. I only swear by meat bought from my lovely butcher, M. Gaston, all his products are amazing and fresh and delicious…OK, OK, I stop here. This time, my man went for filet américain nature and I opted for rosbif. We collected these goodies and fantasized about the tartines-to-come on our way home. Back in the kitchen, my man started opening a bottle of wine (yes, it’s OK to drink wine before lunch…we’re Eastern Europeans, after all!) and I was getting busy on the assembly line. Read More

The kitchen door: an analysis

I.svgt appears that the world is split up in two types of people: the ones that love their kitchen door and the ones that prefer an open kitchen. The kitchen is the beating heart of the house; I think there’s an ontological connection there: we keep our food in the kitchen and the food is what keeps us alive. On top of this, there are a ton of cultural, social, or even geographical or political elements that come into play…all of this changing with the times. Looking back, the kitchen is the genesis of everything. Starting with the Middle Ages, the majority of the population had only one room which served as a kitchen (with an open fire), bedroom (for the entire family) and living area (for people and animals alike). The wealthy 1% of the population had the luxury of distancing themselves from the kitchen which meant hard manual labor, horrid heat, pungent smells, garbage, unwanted leftovers and so on. All the things that needed to be kept out of sight and out of mind. Things change, but the kitchen (and the door controversy) are here to stay. So where does this leave us? Read More

Home-made pizza: pomodorini freschi & ruccola

Home-made pizza pomodori freschi

You’re probably wondering why. Why make your own when we have so many great options and pizza joints spread all over town and good delivery services?

I’m a huge pizza fan (I mean, really, who isn’t?) and Friday is pizza night at my house. I have 2 secret (well, not so secret) places where I get the pizzas from.

My best guarded secret place is called La Bottega Della Pizza on Chee. Waterloo…conveniently walking distance from my house, as they don’t deliver. You can either eat there (nice terrace & small, but cozy resto) or pick it up to enjoy at home. Now, these guys come from Sardegna and we have very close sentimental bounds with this wonderful island. My man used to live there and we go visit regularly. But what about the pizzas? Authentic, fresh, excellent ingredients, really THE BEST I’ve had! A bit more expensive, but totally worth it! My absolute favorite is Margherita Imperatrice: simple, beautiful, perfect! And you can enjoy an ice-cold Ichnusa…which I something I absolutely love: promoting their local products instead of going for the easy & convenient. I’m not telling you what Ichnusa is, you have to go there and discover for yourself.

Also very close to my heart is a shop called Pizza La Regina, in Ixelles and Brussels City. I’ve never actually been there, but I order from them on regular basis. I think it’s a mom & pop’s business and they are really doing a great job. They are super friendly on the phone, good delivery time (30-40 minutes) and the pizzas are absolutely AMAZING. My favorite ones are 4 fromaggi, Parmigiana and Siciliana. Whenever I have an event at work, I call them. If they can make happy 70 hungry, picky, smart engineers (my colleagues), I’m sure they can make you happy, too. Oh, and the prices are more than decent.

Then WHY do I sometimes make pizza at home? Well, the answer is very simple: for the love of cooking and for the love of pizza. I simply enjoy making it at home. No, it’s not authentic, it’s not perfect, it’s not always fancy. Yet, we love it and my man sometimes asks me to make pizza (yep, true story). It seems that I have an inclination towards pizza provencale, with a  thinner, more crustier crust. Interested in making it? It takes less than 30 minutes, baking time included. Read More