Author Archives: Amanda Dews

Hello! I am Amanda. I am the mother of two girls aged 9 and 11 and we moved from the UK to the Netherlands two years ago. Over the last two years I have been through the trials and tribulations of living in a new country and embraced its traditions and culture. Have been learningContinue reading “Welcome to A bite off each leg.”

This dish was everything I thought it would be. I like to let the kids help themselves to food from the table and generally serve it in such a way that they can control how much they take which sometimes leaves a few rouge prawns left in the central dish which we then have theContinue reading “Prawn Linguine”

I have a funny relationship with exercise. At the beginning of the school year I drop the girls off at school and then I schedule into my week exercise classes, swimming and time to get outside walking. Then as soon as half term arrives mid to late October, I take a break from exercising whileContinue reading “My Virtual Walk – Lands End to John O’Groats”

One thing I can say about the British is that we love a pie. Be it the easy grab snack from the petrol station or a warm Greg’s pastry on the go; a burn your mouth at the footy with the molten lava from the pie stand; a Cornish pasty; a lovely steak and aleContinue reading “Chicken Pie”

The best thing about summer are the light evening meals on a warm day that leave you feeling pleasantly full. This evenings dinner has given me that feeling. I adapted Jamie Olivers recipe to suit my kids and had to do without chicory because I couldn’t find it anywhere but think it would have hadContinue reading “Smoked Salmon with Potato and Asparagus Salad”

At the start of the year my husband’s trainer challenged him to go meat free for 30 days. This was a real eye opener for me as I realised that meat is a staple on my plates and my remit of vegetarian recipes was and still is fairly limited. If I have vegetarian friends comingContinue reading “Grated Rainbow Salad and Feta Fritters”

Since moving to the Netherlands the one area of my life which has improved immensely is my cooking. Not to say my cooking was bad when I was in the UK but over the years I have definitely evolved. My journey was somewhat like this… Like many people I learnt to cook with my Mum,Continue reading “My cooking evolution”

They say all best laid plans go to waste and today was one of those day. It was the penultimate school day for our school year and my youngest had a leaving party to attend which gave me the greatest gift – one on one time with my eldest daughter. With Covid19 we are allContinue reading “Spaghetti Arrabbiata”

When I sat down to draft this entry my mind decided to take leaps and bounds on connectivity. I decided to research the origins of the humble shepherd’s pie. I read articles proclaiming it an English dish dating back to the late 1700’s, an Irish dish and a French dish. There are even references toContinue reading “Shepherd’s Pie”

Both my girls were home from school today not feeling too well and and were snuggled down on the sofa under blankets having cuddles and watching movies. Our lunch comprised of bits and pieces out of the fridge, chicken wings that had been cooked on Sunday for any picky eaters not wanting the paella andContinue reading “Schnitzel with fully-loaded potato skins”