Divine Chocolate

You cannot go wrong with a chocolate that has 'divine' written all over it.

Talk about heavenly dark chocolate.

Weekly Menu

DWZI - Love

I love this child more than words can express.

Happy weekend everyone!

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Steak, Salad and Potatoes

Sometimes the only thing that will satisfy your hunger is red meat.

(well, unless you are a vegetarian then I totally understand if you disagree with me!)

Last night's dinner was just that.

Steak, onion, salad and a baked potato.

Satisfying indeed.

Rocket Salad with Melon, Parma Ham and Mozzarella

This is the perfect summer salad.

I found the recipe in the Allerhande Magazine from Albert Heijn, a local supermarket.
It's absolutely lovely.

Melon, parma ham, rocket, mozzarella.... need I say more?
Yes, in fact I do, it is also pretty low in calories and I really loved it.

Here is the link to the original recipe (in Dutch).

Here is my slightly modified version:

Ingredients:
1/2 cantaloup melon
1 bag rucola (I added some additional lettuce just because we like our greens!)
150 g Parma ham
Buffalo mozzarella (approx. 125 g)
3 tb balsamic vinegar reduction
1tb olive oil (extra vierge)
a scattering of pine nuts


Serves 4. 

Method:
Clean the melon, peel and slice into medium sized pieces.
Scatter the rocket leaves over four plates and place the pieces of melon on top.
Tear the parma ham and mozzarella into pieces and divide over the plates.
Drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction and the olive oil over the salad.
Sprinkle some pine nuts on top.

Serve with fresh bread and enjoy!

De Parade

De Parade is a summer institution in the Netherlands.
It's this amazing concept, kind of like a travelling theatre group with glorious food.
For two months in the summer you can find them in the four big cities: Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam.

They spend about 2 weeks in each city starting in Rotterdam and ending in Amsterdam.
At the moment you can find them at the Moreelsepark in Utrecht, they'll be here until 5 August.

We kind of decided to go there at the spur of the moment, they open at 2pm on a Sunday and entrance is free before 4pm.

We saw one show, then Heidi spent some time crafting and finally she just had to see another show in the silent disco. It was quite a busy afternoon.

The husband and I are thinking of getting a babysitter so that we can go and have some more grown up fun there one evening this week. And the food, oh the food...

If you haven't been then I can highly recommend an afternoon or evening at de Parade!

DWZI - Carrots!

Earlier this week I told you how impressed I am with my lettuce crop.

Well that's not the only thing that my little vegetable patch on our roof terrace yielded this week.

Heidi harvested our carrots.

They were perfect.

Sweet and delicious.

The pest part is that we still have a few more to harvest this weekend!

Have a great, and hopefully sunny, weekend!

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Tuna Pasta Salad (again)

Yes, I've posted about tuna pasta salads before...

It seems like the moment the weather improves, and there is any chance of eating outside, that I want a pasta salad.

Here are a few photos of this week's pasta salad.

It is dead simple and only the pasta requires any cooking...

I usually use whatever ingredients I happen to have in the house so be creative!

Lettuce from my Garden!

I am SUPER impressed with my lettuce crop.

We have been enjoying or own lettuce leaves in salads every (well almost every) night.

What a privilege, just walking out onto the terrace and harvesting our own food.

Pretty amazing actually.

Weekly Menu

DWZI - Luck Please?

This week I've fallen behind with my assignment and I have no idea when I will catch up again.

I'm tired and I'm stressed.

All I need today is a little bit of luck.

Please?

And while we're at it, can the rain stop already?

Have a great weekend!

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Avocado!

It is green and ever so good for you.

Is there anybody who doesn't like avocado?

Lately I have had good fortune with my avo's.

They have all been perfectly ripe.

Perfect indeed.

Courgette Pizza

I love pizza... but it is not exactly good for my weight.

That does not stop me from enjoying a slice every now and again.

I always make our pizza at home, that way I am able to control what I put on top of it and by default control my calorie intake (don't laugh, I'm not kidding!).

One of my favourite toppings is courgette. A tomato base, thinly sliced courgette ribbons (I use a potato peeler) and a little bit of mozzarella cheese on top. 

Bring on pizza night!

Weekly Menu

Inspired by my visual journaling class I've started a little journal with meal ideas. I was browsing through the Allerhande magazine published by Alberth Heijn supermarkets and found quite a few good ideas.

I've written them down in a mixture of Dutch and English 

(who knows what I was thinking at the time...).

A Rocket salad with parmaham, melon and mozzarella, and 

a pasta with tuna, courgette and ricotta cheese.

Hopefully I can make at least one of them this week!

DWZI - Home Alone

My husband and father in law are on a road trip and I am home alone with the kids...

This week saw me rushing around, taking Heidi to the doctor, stuck in traffic, Stella at a new KDV,  no sleep, being a little late for everything (and I really hate that), dealing with a lot of things outside of my control.

I also had a very difficult illustration assignment which calls for me to think outside the box and make up stories.  It is an online course by Pikaland and that in itself is a bit of a challenge. 

It was not really a bad week, but I'm not sure I want to go as far as calling it good.

Here is a sample of my latest visual journaling assignment... meet Claude the Cloud. It is a work in progress and I have a long way to go!

Summer Barbecue

The first barbecue of the summer is always great.

Especially when the weather actually plays along... 

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon with good friends, good food and actual sunshine. 

Of course this was a month ago and since then we have seen mostly gray skies and rain.

But the memories of our first summer barbecue are good ones, and the photo's testify to that!

Kids running around, potato salad, tomato salad, green salad, sausages straight from the barbie, bread rolls, strawberries and cheese... it was a delicious spread.

Thank you Tip and Michael for having us over in your gorgeous garden!

Pancakes and Salads at Rhijnauwen

There is a lovely pancake restaurant on the way to Bunnik.
It's called Theehuis Rhijnauwen.
We go there often because it is very child friendly and it is surrounded by beautiful greenery. A little bit of nature near Utrecht perfect for taking a stroll with the kids.

I usually have a goats cheese salad and the kids enjoy the pancakes.
It does get busy though, so I suggest you go early!

Weekly Menu