DWZI - Paint Job

It is pretty amazing what a new lick of paint can do to a room.

A children's room turned into the new study / guest room as if by magic.

Well let's be honest. 

My husband worked very hard.

And he is my hero.

Now all I need to do is find something nice to put up on the wall!

Have a great weekend everyone!

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Deze week zag ik is iedere vrijdag een blik op de afgelopen week.

Rhubarb Muffins

In my surprise crate from the Streekmolen I received two stems of rhubarb amongst a lot of vegetables.

You know it.

The first thing that came into my head was to make muffins.

The last time I made rhubarb muffins I used dark brown sugar. It worked well but I felt like trying a different recipe and in my search found this one posted by the Telegraph.

It is very easy and I had only had to make one tiny adjustment for the crumble since I did not have any demerara sugar in the house. Plain sugar works perfectly well.

They turned out beautifully.

Sadly I am on a diet and had to remove some of the temptation. Lets face it, in a family of 4 you don't really need 16 muffins. Heidi and I knocked on two of our neighbours doors with a few freshly baked muffins. The surprise and the smiles on their faces was definitely worth it.

Here is a copy of the recipe:

Rhubarb crumble muffin recipe, makes 12 to 16

Ingredients:
For the crumble topping:
50g cold butter, diced
50g plain flour
25g porridge oats
50g demerara sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the muffins:
375g self-raising flour
125g soft light brown sugar
1 medium egg, beaten
250ml milk
100g butter, melted and cooled
200g rhubarb, sliced lengthways and chopped
50g caster sugar

Instructions:
* Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
* To make the crumble, rub the diced butter into the plain flour and oats until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
* Add the sugar and cinnamon, mix again and set aside.
* For the muffins, sift the flour into a bowl, add the soft brown sugar and mix.
* Whisk together the egg, milk and cooled, melted butter.
* In another bowl mix the chopped rhubarb with the caster sugar and 2tbsp of cold water.
* Add the egg, milk and butter to the flour and sugar. Add the rhubarb mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix.
* Divide this mixture between the muffin cases and then sprinkle over the crumble mix, pressing it gently into place.
* Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes then move to a wire rack to cool.

Avignon

You have to go to Avignon.

You simply have to go.

We only spent an afternoon in Avignon and it was not enough time.

And then there was the dessert from heaven.

I still dream of it...

Streekmolen Crate Contents

Every two weeks my crate full of locally produced products arrive from the Streekmolen.

I really look forward to it since it is a big surprise.

Plus I like supporting local produce.

It's like a mystery box from Masterchef ;-)

Only the contents make way more than one dish.

DWZI - Stella in the Kitchen

Any week with a public holiday on a weekday is bound to be a good week, don't you agree?

I decided to bake some rhubarb muffins and Stella insisted on helping me.

She was very sweet and very funny.

Until she knocked over my crumble mix and it became not so funny.

In the end the muffins turned out well and Stella kept on smiling.

I'm on a diet so I had to resist the muffin temptation and it was incredibly hard for me to do. But the good times with my parents and our holiday in France certainly added to my weight so I'm determined to be healthy.

Here's wishing you a lovely weekend with lots of healthy treats!

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Deze week zag ik is iedere vrijdag een blik op de afgelopen week.

Pont du Gard

I am a sucker for Roman ruins.
Guess what.
Provence has a lot of Roman ruins and that my friends makes me very happy.

We stopped a the Pont du Gard to admire a spectacular aqueduct bridge built in the 1st century AD.
How awesome is that?!

There are quite a few walks you can do while visiting the bridge but two small kids don't really make it easy to walk 5km's or climb a whole lot of steps. Especially when one of them (I'll give you a hint - Stella) decides to just be difficult the whole time we were there. We still managed to enjoy the views and admire the handy work of some very skilled labourers and engineers.

Rice Cracker Treats

The last time Heidi had to bring something for the theekransje at school I baked the most beautiful butterfly cookies. However, this time round I thought I'd make my life a little easier.

I bought a lot of rice crackers and got the kids to break them into pieces.
Then I melted candy melts (pink and white ones), which I had left over from my cake pop stash.
The next step is to drizzle the melted chocolate over the rice crackers and to work it in well with your hands - this is messy!!

Prepare a large square or rectangular dish by lining it with baking paper and then simply pour in the mixture. Push it down so that it sticks together.

Place in the fridge for an hour or so and you are ready to cut some squares.

Heidi came home beaming - apparently the treat was a great succes!

Market in the Griftpark

I ran into a neighbour while at the grocery store and she suggested we drop by the Utrechtse Fabriek market at the Griftpark in Utrecht.

What a good idea!

By some luck the sun was shining yesterday so I packed a small picnic and off we went.
Good thing we went early because it turned out to be very popular.
I shopped, the kids played, the husband took in some sun - bit of a win win situation don't you think?

If you happen to be in the area then you are in luck because the market is still on today, so go and drop by!

DWZI - Clouds

This week we came back from our holiday in France.

Talk about reality check.

We left behind the sun.

Literally.

In the Netherlands it was a week of clouds, rain and layering up.

But at least I can look at the photos. like this one of Stella and the ice lolly.

This week I also stopped by at the Pottery Tree and picked up a plate that I painted a few weeks ago. I'm quite happy with the results but I need a lot more practise!
Definitely something I recommend to anyone who feels like being creative :-)

Hope you have a great weekend!

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Deze week zag ik is iedere vrijdag een blik op de afgelopen week.

Lazy Holiday Dinners

The tiny kitchen in our accommodation in Provence did not stop me from cooking most evenings and the best part was sitting outside to eat.

Asparagus featured a lot... it is in season after all!

I served it with steak, mushrooms, potatoes and a salad.

What I wouldn't give to be sitting there right now.

Memories of Provence

Yes, you know it was bound to happen.

This whole week I'll probably be posting something about Provence.

I mean how can I not?

In fact, it will continue until I run out of photos.

We stayed in a really nice resort near Mallemort (pretty much in the middle of nowhere).  

The view from our garden was glorious. 

Mountains in the background and the kids running free.

Just look at my sweet Heidi, hat and all.

Provence

Did I mention we went to Provence in France last week?

Probably not.

Well now you know!

It was wonderful. 

So wonderful I did not really want to leave that beautiful place.

And the food. 

Enough said.

Pasta with Ham, Mushrooms and Asparagus

I love asparagus.

Two weeks ago I made a pretty tasty pasta dish with garlic, shallots, ham, mushrooms then I topped it with a sprinkle of parmesan and pan fried asparagus.

Of course that sounds very basic but there was some skill involved and a cup of white wine.

In this foto I applied Florabella's colour pop and ocean actions.

I quite like the subtle effect!

My Mom's Salad

It was so nice having my parents here.
The house is very empty now.

My mom cooked quite a few meals for us and she always made a salad with every meal.
Salad is after all very good for you!

Here is the last salad she made which we enjoyed outside on the roof terrace.
Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, avocado, basil and feta cheese.
Doesn't get much better than this.

P.S. Don't you just love my new bowl from Ikea?

De Veldkeuken Bread

Every two weeks when I get my box of food from the Streekmolen I look forward to the bread.

It is always a different type of bread.

Usually from de de Veldkeuken in Amelisweerd.

This bread is called Houthakker. 

Delicious.

DWZI - Cupcake Time

I really love baking cupcakes with the kids.

I also really love eating the cupcakes.

Dilemma.

Note to self: stop eating the cupcakes!!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead :-)

You can find all the DWZI participants here.

Deze week zag ik is iedere vrijdag een blik op de afgelopen week.

De Karpendonkse Hoeve

Eight courses.
I know I mentioned this before but can you imagine it?
We went to the Karpendonkse Hoeve in Eindhoven on a sunny Thursday evening.
From the outside it is very unassuming and you wouldn't guess that a very classy michelin star restaurant can be found once you pass through the door.

Since I am a very fussy eater I went for the vegetarian option.
My husband and our friends had the full option which included a mix of fish, chicken and lamb dishes.
The food just kept on coming!

I think my favourite part of the restaurant is the setting. Our table looked out on a beautiful park with a lake. The service is also impecable. And the food is very good. Art on a plate.
Of course it helps to have a glass of wine and be in the company of good friends.

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