Lego Time

While clearing out the garage my husband found a box filled with his lego from when he was a child. Talk about taking a trip down memory lane! The tupperware container it was in has seen better days but the lego itself is perfect.

I had to give it a bit of a wash though... it was filthy! Stella helped me wash all the pieces and as you can image more water landed on the floor than in the sink. Once the lego was dry I handed it over to the kids to play.

And play they did. And continue to do.

You just have to love lego and the magic it creates.

We've got a busy weekend and a busy week ahead with the move so please bear with me as I suspect there won't be much time for blogging.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Home Made Vegetarian Sushi!

Since our budget is very tight I decided that I should try and make sushi instead of order sushi like we usually do. It is a very expensive treat and making it yourself saves a LOT of money. We need to save money!!

Of course I'm a little crazy sometimes. I watched a few videos on youtube and decided I can do it. Clearly it is an art and I'm going to have to practise a lot.

First complication: the rice. I got confused with the instructions and didn't add enough water and it turned out a little stodgy... but sushi rice is supposed to be sticky and sticky it was.

Second problem: my knife skills and my perfectionistic tendencies. I cut the cucumber and avo as best I could but it could have been better. Of course I draw the line at using a ruler to measure the width of the cucumber slices but the fact that I'm writing this tells you I considered it...

Third challenge: rolling the sushi. After using the whole sheet of nori to make a giant cucumber maki roll I soon realized that you are supposed to cut the sheet in half. Duh! After that the maki was much easier to roll...

I'm quite happy with the results and my dinner was definitely tasty :-)

My ingredients were sushi rice with rice vinegar, nori sheets, cucumber, avo, mayo, wasabi paste, toasted sesame seeds, pickled ginger and soy sauce. Remember to cut the nori sheet in half, then spread out the cooled rice leaving a little border on one side. Place a smudge of mayo with wasabi paste in the middle of the maki roll and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Now add either the cucumber or avocado and start rolling! Cut with a sharp knife dipped in water after each cut and serve with soy sauce and picked ginger. Sounds simple right? Now you do it and let me know how it went!

Hope you have a great week! Wish me luck as I try and finish the packing...

Oh Fudge

It is a well known fact that I cannot make fudge.
Trust me, I have tried since the age of 12.
You can ask my mother.

We went through many a batch of runny fudge in our house. It usually ended up being one sticky mess which you could eat with a spoon. Even after hours in the fridge.

Luckily I can buy fudge whenever I like. I shouldn't because I cannot stick to one piece but every now and again my resistance fails and I indulge.

At the fair in the Griftpark a few weeks ago they had food stalls from all over the world (or so they claimed). Lo and behold, they even had a 'British' stall filled with fudge!! I couldn't resist buying a few pieces. Strawberry and cream, orange choc, choc mint, sweet heaven. Of course it wasn't nearly as good as it looked. Don't let fancy flavours or colours distract you. But who am I to talk, I'm a sucker for pretty colours!

Lamb Chops

It is true.
I've never cooked lamb before because I dislike it.
But my husband loves it and I decided to treat him.
I found some lamb chops at the supermarket and after years of resistance bought them.
It helped that I had beautiful green asparagus to serve as a side dish.

At home I simply cooked the lamb on a griddle pan with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of dried herbs. Only a few minutes per side since my husband likes his meat medium.

I even made myself a few chops but decided to have mine well done ;-)

While the lamb was cooking I made a mushroom sauce and sautéed the asparagus with salt and the juice of half a lemon. My mouth waters just thinking about asparagus... but back to the lamb.
It was a success! The husband loved it and I smothered mine with enough mushroom sauce to obscure the fact that I was eating lamb. Win win.

Hope you have a great week - my new kitchen is arriving tomorrow!!

Cookies!

Sorry I've been so quiet. It's been a great two weeks of vacation for the kids - they got to play with their cousin, we went to the Efteling, we had pancakes at Rhijnauwen, we had pancakes at the Hema, we played with clay, we drew, we painted, we ate ice cream, we walked to town a few times, we went to our new house, we played outside with the neighbours, we watched television and relaxed.

Of course we also baked cookies.
It is mandatory, didn't you know?

My dear friend and neighbour came around with her kids and we had a little cookie baking party on a rainy afternoon. I used the same recipe from Heidi's party for the dough and whipped out the cookie cutters. The kids had a lot of fun and I made sure my friend took most of the cookies home once they were cooked so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat them all!

Hope you have a great weekend - we'll be at our new house working away!

The Efteling

We try to go to the Efteling at least once a year and visiting relatives gives us a great excuse to go.
Last week we had a great day there. It was busy and the queues were long but that did not stop us!
We went on as many rides as possible although with three kids in tow it does get a bit tiring.
Especially when the wait is long... (I'm the one not good at waiting around!)

It remains a magical place and it was lovely to know that the three cousins share special memories of this day. Tomorrow we will say goodbye again, what a pleasure it has been to have them here.

Hope you have a great week ahead!