I I follow, I follow you (Lykke Li, I follow Rivers)

 I missed writing about fashion and stuff, so I decided to add another blog on the side. You can find the link here 

Don't watch my passport photo - I know I look a bit loco - And I know that my Spanish is so-so - But let's try keep that on the low-low (Holiday, Dizzee Rascal)

We zijn terug ! Het was geweldig ! Het (laagbouw) hotel in Moorse stijl, de vriendelijke mensen, de leuke plekjes en het zalige strand.
Ik geef toe, Spanje was de laatste plek op aarde waar ik ooit dacht te komen met Mr C.
Wij zijn eerder Italië fans, het land - het eten en de mooie mensen, maar het zuiden van Spanje moet zeker niet onderdoen. Het leukste vond ik dat je er zo ontzettend snel bent met het vliegtuig en trust me, ik ben een ramp wat vliegen betreft. Ongelooflijk dat je op amper 2u tijd in een totaal andere sfeer zit en het weer, het weer .. een certitude : zon gegarandeerd !
Dus, neem geen al te dikke truien of jasjes mee want ze zijn echt overbodig.
Vanuit Brussel vlieg je richting Jerez : Jerez is een zalig kleine vlieghaven waar je zo meteen buiten loopt en je uren wachten op je koffers aan de lopende band vermijdt.
Toppertje !
Ons hotel was gesitueerd in Novo Sancti Petri, vlakbij Chiclana de la Frontera, op 25 km van Cadiz.
Een mini oase van groen en netheid ; Stepford wives material, for real !
Sancti Petri is goed centraal gelegen dus en een prima vertrekpunt om met de (gehuurde) wagen rond te rijden.
Cadiz is ook prima te doen met het openbaar vervoer ; je neemt lijnbus 8 tot in Chiclana de la Frontera (eindhalte Plaza de Andalucia) en daar stap je dan over op de M020 richting Cadiz. Die brengt je dan vlakbij de haven, eveneens het eindpunt en later je opstapplaats richting hotel.
Cadiz is de oudste stad van Europa. Kleine straatjes en mooie monumentale gebouwen. Het wordt wel eens vergeleken met Havana, maar dan in het klein. Op de talrijke pleintjes kan je heerlijke tapas eten en iets drinken ; honger of dorst heb ik zelden geleden in dit stadje. Enig minpuntje tijdens ons bezoek was de staking van de stadsreinigingsdiensten. De mooie straten lagen vol met vuilniszakken ; het leek wel alsof de Gentse Feesten die avond ervoor in Cadiz waren geëindigd. Toch alle begrip voor de mannen van de poestdienst want de Spaanse economie en het land op zich staan momenteel onder zware druk door de crisis.

Ik moet eerlijk bekennen dat ik schrijnende taferelen zou zien in Spanje. Ons hotel bleek echter grotendeels door Spaanse toeristen bezocht en amper 5% buitenlanders. Misschien is de crisis duidelijker voelbaar in Madrid of Barcelona. Ik kan pas vergelijken als ik dit najaar enkele dagen Barcelona zal gezien en beleefd hebben. Ook daar volgt dan uiteraard verslag over.

Het zuidelijkste punt in Andalusië is Tarifa. Een walhalla voor de kitesurfers. Lekker veel wind en een onrustige Atlantische Oceaan zorgen voor een prima habitat voor de sportieve beachboy en girl.
Veel jongelui reizen af naar Tarifa, kamperen in een tent of VW busje en genieten dagelijks van wat de oceaan hen te bieden heeft. Op weg naar Tarifa heb je trouwens verschillende plekken waar je kan verblijven met je tentje. Ik vond het beeld bij valavond gewoon prachtig. Je ziet honderden kites in kleurrijke prints in de lucht hangen, het heeft iets surrealistisch. Magisch bijna.

De weg naar Tarifa leidt je trouwens ook naar Gibraltar. Omdat we nu toch in de buurt waren hebben we de rit gewaagd. Ik verwachtte er veel van ; het begon ook veelbelovend. Je ziet de 'rots' al van ver en mooie mintgroene bankjes langs de weg verwelkomen je hartelijk. Tot je dan geruisloos in een file terechtkomt. Het duurt en duurt .. dan blijk je rondjes te moeten draaien om uiteindelijk bij een grensovergang aan te komen. Nooit van het verdrag van Schengen gehoord ?
Nee, uiteraard niet. Gibraltar behoort tot de UK tot grote ergernis van de Spanjaarden. Buiten de Gabriel Rios-look-a-like heb ik niks gezien dat de moeite was ! Om het nog een beetje erger te maken hingen alle terrassen van de hoge buildings vol met 'we love our Queen, Queen of Gibraltar .. enzovoort' ; zelfs ik, als niet - Spaanse, ergerde me dood aan zoveel chauvinisme. Wilde meteen Spanje een hart onder de riem steken ; wees blij dat je van dit stukje land vanaf bent ! Er hangt toch altijd maar een wolk rondom die rots - geen zon ! Deze plek is gejinxed !
Kortom, vermijden die handel. Tax Free shoppen kan je evengoed op de luchthaven van New York of LAX. De moeite niet. Rij desnoods tot aan die mintgroene bankjes, neem een foto of 3 van de rots en maak een U, terug richting Tarifa !

We verloren door de Gibraltar (what a joke) rit ontzettend veel tijd want Ronda stond die dag ook nog op onze planning. Om Ronda te bereiken moet je door het berglandschap, centraal in Andalusië gelegen. Ronda ligt zo'n 750m boven de zeespiegel. Ik vond het een flinke rit dus begin het Ronda bezoek vroeg op de dag. Je moet uiteindelijk ook nog terug en dit kan niet anders dan opnieuw kronkelende wegen, stijgend en dalend, te moeten doorstaan. Mensen met last van reisziekte, voorzie een pilletje.
De van oorsprong Keltische stad is door een diepe kloof in 2 gesplitst. Er zijn 3 bruggen gebouwd die over El Tajo (de kloof) lopen en je kan hier ook de rivier zien. Ernest Hemingway woonde trouwens een hele tijd in Ronda ; hij schreef een boek geïnspireerd door het prachtige landschap. Wie fan is van stierenvechten komt ook hier aan zijn trekken ; het museum is het hele jaar door te bezichtigen, enkel in september heb je nog een viertal stierengevechten (waar ik blij om ben, alhoewel het er nog 4 te veel zijn).

Ons hotel was qua ligging net goed en slechts op 125 km van Sevilla verwijderd. Met een huurauto geen probleem ook omdat je makkelijk en in no time via de snelweg daar bent. Je parkeert je auto aan de rand van de stad in een ondergrondse parking ; vertrekkende van daar ben je zo in het centrum.

Wat is Alcazar  een heerlijke plek ! De Moorse stijl is sterk aanwezig ; een prachtige patio is het hoogtepunt van dit wondermooie paleis. Een langwerpige vijver, omgeven door verzonken tuinen met toegang tot verschillende zalen,  is zo mooi dat je hier wil blijven rondlopen.
Het vergulde plafond in 1 van deze zalen is echt prachtig. Je probeert dit vast te leggen met je camera maar in het echt is het natuurlijk nog véél mooier. Persoonlijk vond ik de tuinen ook  heel erg mooi. Ik stelde me voor dat dames in langgerokte gewaden via de vele paadjes schreden naar verborgen bankjes en waterpartijen om daar met hun geliefde te genieten van al het moois de tuinen te bieden hadden.. Jasmijn, exotische vruchten en palmbomen zijn hier ruimschoots aanwezig. Trapjes en tuinkamers versierd met Azuleo tegels (de stijl die je ook bij Emery & Cie kan terugvinden én aankopen) zijn voor menig interieurliefhebber een hoogtepunt in dit slot. Heel inspirerend,  die kleuren en tekeningen ..

Wie zich graag in de decadente rijkdom van de kerk wil wentelen, moet zeker een bezoekje brengen aan de kathedraal van Sevilla. Gebouwd op de plek waar ooit een moskee stond, werd deze in de 13de eeuw omgedoopt tot een christelijke plek van verheerlijking. Begin 1400 opnieuw verbouwd tot een staaltje Gotische pracht en door de eeuwen heen menig malen verbouwd en uitgebreid. De minaret, gebouwd in de 12de eeuw, is zeker een beklimming waard, te meer omdat er geen trappen zijn maar een hellend vlak. Dit maakt de klim naar de klokken toch net iets makkelijker. Onderweg naar boven kan je via verschillende ramen genieten van het uitzicht van Sevilla. Je kan oa de arena in de verte zien en ook de Moorse koepel van het Alcazar paleis.

Alcazar en zijn prachtige Moorse elementen

de prachtige kleuren en prints vind je overal terug in Alcazar

de kathedraal van Sevilla : decadentie ten voeten uit

Ik heb deze post speciaal in het Nederlands geschreven op verzoek van enkele mensen die binnenkort deze plek(ken) zullen bezoeken. Mochten er nog vragen zijn of (winkel - eet) tips, aarzel niet om een berichtje en je emailadres na te laten. Ik beantwoord ze met veel plezier !

The time is right Your perfume fills my head The stars get red And oh the night's so blue (R. Williams & N. Kidman)

Remember the pizza focaccia I made in this blogpost ? Today I'm making a similar healthy pizza with greens and a special ingredient. Herbamare is a kind of seasalt that holds organically grown veggies and   garden herbs.
I sprinkled it on my sliced green baby asparagus when I glazed them. Not too much, you don't want the pizza to taste too salty in the end.
For a quick preparation, I used a ready made pizza dough ; read instructions before opening the package. Sometimes the dough needs to rest before use.
Preheat your oven as indicated.
I sliced 1 big onion, tore pieces of pancetta apart and opened a tiny can of tomato concentrate*.  I spread the concentrate on the dough (you can also mix it with some ketchup if you're making it for the kids). Divide onions, pancetta and the glazed asparagus. Sprinkle some tiny pieces of mozzarella cheese on top and put the pizza in the oven for 15 minutes tops.

* did you know that, when you eat a tiny can of concentrate every day, 2 weeks before you leave on your sunny holiday,  the chance in getting a sunburn decreases ?


Buon appetito !

prebaked but it looks so good already ! 

Dat moeten vrouwen weten, mannen houden veel van eten Ja, de liefde van de man gaat door de maag (Ria Valk)

I've wanted to make pasta myself for the last decade. Somehow, I never really got into it. Being someone who only likes to do stuff when the material is right. That's already half the job done for me.
Since Mr C. got me my Kitchen Aid device, I discovered there a so many things more this machine can do. Got myself the pasta-making part for our KA recently as our local Cookery shop did some promotion on loads of their things.

Making fresh homemade pasta is as simple as 1 + 1 makes 2.
All you need is wheat flour and eggs and a pinch of salt.
The (semolina) flour needs to be type 00.

I've tried out making several doughs but the best amount is to work with 300g flour, 3 eggs and salt.
You have to knead the ingredients for 10/15 minutes (when it looks elastic, it's ok) and then leave it to rest for another 10 minutes underneath a humid cloth (preferably in a bowl).

After 10 minutes of rest you can spread the dough out with a rolling pin or  pasta machine until you obtain a sheet of pastry with a desired thickness.

I rolled little balls, the size of walnuts and threw them 1 by 1 in my pastry container to finally see rigatoni shaped pasta coming out of the machine.
I left them to dry on a teacloth and that same evening boiled them in salted water for 7 minutes max.
The all dente rigatonis had full flavor ; a thick floury taste but without the disadvantage of that 'heavy on the stomach' feeling.
It's ever so true what the Italians say about food ; it's all about love !

the machine doing it's work 

Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly. It's good to touch the green, green grass of home. (Tom Jones)

June is a very busy month in my agenda. Garden and painting our house on the outside were 2 items in it. Normally weather conditions are fine for outdoor transformations but the weather has been horrid lately : gardeners and painters had to halt their activities because of this non-stop raining.

Our garden didn't need much adaptations ; we just wanted to get rid of 'the green devil' called bamboo.

How horrible can a plant be ? A real pest I call this one. Roots digging their way anywhere (especially where you don't want them to be as our neighbour's garden) !

Between showers the job was quickly done ! Off with their heads !

A massive pile of cut off stems was seen and soon to be gone to the 'compost heap imprisonment'. Ha !

As discussed, the garden designers built a construction of water-repellent wood to help our little grapes (plants) become strong and tall in the end. Sometimes some 'guidance' is needed.

For all garden works : Dao Peeters, garden architecture

construction is seen in the background

this is what the grapes should do with a little help from the wooden fence

I want to be seen green Wouldn't be caught dead, red 'Cause if you are seen green It means you got mean bread (The Wiz, Emerald City Sequence)

Tried something different today ; not your average pizza or tomato spread base to start with.

For this 'green' pizza focaccia you'd need :

1 premade pizza focaccia base
green baby asparagus
spring onions
mozzarella
lime juice (1/2 is enough)
olive oil
sea salt
oregano
black ground pepper

Preheat your oven 220°C
Take the base out of the package and leave to rest for 10 minutes
Meanwhile slice the asparagus in very thin strings
Put a pan on your heat - drizzle some olive oil in it and when hot throw in those strings together with finely chopped spring onions. Add the lime juice.
Season with pepper.
Once the vegs are glassy they are ready.

Pierce your focaccia base with a fork and spread some olive oil on it. Put the green veggies on top ;  season with sea salt and oregano. Rip little pieces of the mozzarella cheese and lay them evenly on your focaccia.

Bake 10 − 12 minutes in your preheated oven.
Serve warm and drizzle some honey on the triangles for some extra 'pazzaz' !

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it I'm about to lose control and I think I like it (Pointer Sisters)

Got an email from Baublebar yesterday : the necklace I wanted for the longest time was back in stock !
Yay !
Unfortunately, they only ship USA so you need a real good American friend to help you out !
Thanks Diane, I dedicate this post to you. Looking forward when that parcel falls in my mailbox ..

There's a brand new talk But it's not very clear That people from good homes Are talking this year (Fashion, David Bowie)

clockwise : shoes (Marcoz) - jacket and t shirt (Zadig & Voltaire) - clutch (Sportstaff) - nailpolish (Coco Blue de Chanel)

I really like the actual fashion colors this season. I'm slowly escaping from my safety zone called 'black'.

The nudes, orange and pink shades are my favorites. Touch them up with some bling and you got yourself a 'night out on the town' outfit too. 

I also pimped my nails last week and got so much response to it I will give you my easy peasy little secret  'how to - tutorial' :

take any lightcolored nail polish 

let dry until 'really' dry !

cut out tiny squares of any newspaper (if you manage to find a Japanse newspaper, would create an even more awesome effect !)

soak each tiny square in room temp water and drain on the side of your bowl

put the paper on your nail ; press firmly for 30 seconds 

remove paper carefully

cover each nail with a topcoat base so the 'paper print' doesn't fade

Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me, Anyone else but me, anyone else but me, NO NO NO! Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Till I come marching home. (Andrews Sisters)

I am very glad the sun is finally coming out these days. Since we moved in our house last October and just before Winter, we really did not get a chance yet to fully enjoy it. We had to wait and see how the plants and trees would develop in Springtime. I must say, there's a lot of green in it and next month we will do some small adjustments : for instance, the bamboo must go ! I really don't like the sight of it. We asked for some help and professional gardener Dao gave us some great tips. The bamboo will be replaced by a domestic grape. They grow real fast so the result will be quickly visible. We'd like a bit more privacy after the "neighbour glued with hands and nose to the window checking me out in my bathroom"-incident.
So with some help of Dao and his wooden construction the domestic grape will be guided along and cover up our garden from some curious peeping Toms.

Yesterday we also bought 2 garden storage tables. We will construct them on Sunday and display our finest herbs, plants and flowers. I'm really getting into the green fingers thing. I find it quite relaxing and it's still amazes me what nature is all about. Seeing something grow makes me feel like a 5 year old again.
Silly but if it makes me happy and relax ... why not, right ?

So, once the garden is prepped for Summer, I'd like to send a picture  to a  garden magazine. They did an appeal to photograph your favorite place in your garden. Might as well do this, so I can share my little joy with other readers and garden lovers.

Take a bite It's alright There's some brandy and star margarine to make it bright Take a bite It's alright A little lovin' and some fruit to bake Life is a piece of cake (Fruitcake, Eraserheads)

It's been a while I shared a recipe over here. So here it is, my recipe for a Sunday delight fruitcake ;

for 8 pcs, you would need :

shortcrust pastry for a mould of 28 cm diametre (I bought it ready to use by Herta)
ceramic pie weight balls
5 dl of milk
3 eggs (1 complete + 2 egg yolks)
75 g of caster sugar
1/2 vanilla stick (fairtrade Madagascar)
65 g of flower
450 g of fresh red fruits

Preheat the oven at 200°C (T 7)
For 15 minutes, bake the shortcrust pastry in your mould with some bakingpaper on top, filled with the ceramic pie weights. (you could also use some dried white beans instead)
Let it rest and cool off.

Bring 5 dl of milk to a boil together with the vanilla seeds, scraped out of the 1/2 vanillastick.
Let it rest.

Beat 1 egg and 2 yolks together with the caster sugar. Add slowly  65 g of flower whilst still beating.
Add the milk to it, little by little. Warm this mixture up (in another clean pan), ow heat, until it boils. Remove your pan and let the vanillacreme cool off completely.
Stirr it occasionally.

Once it has cooled down, pour it into the baked shortcrust and garnish with the fresh red fruits.
Serve fresh !

ceramic pie weights

Kitchen Aid rules ! 

filling it up 

lush red fruits 

come dine with me 

If you a fly gal get your nails done Get a pedicure, get your hair did (Work It, Missy Elliot)

Told you all 'bout my wallpaper adventure ; well, it turned out that I have wall-decorating skills ! Ha !
Not even a single bubble seen on it ; very smooth and even.
I will use it as soon as my friend 'lends' me her beautiful Chinese girl Hanne for some try outs ! Sebastian already inaugurated the first moments as soon as my wallpaper(glue) was dry.

Seb had some help from our oldest deer in the family

Let me use this blogpost opportunity to write about 2 ladies who came in the other day, to present us their own new label : Lazy Lou.

They specialize in birth announcement cards. Check their website out and go figure out for yourself !

I'll bet you'll be an instant fan, just like me ! 

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue I could not forsee this thing happening to you (Paint it Black, The Rolling Stones)

There's an outlet Laura Ashely shop in Antwerp. I needed to fetch some stuff for India's dollhouse project for school. Samples of wallpaper, paint and other smallables to create a complete doll house.
I wanted to decorate a small part of my workspace with wallpaper for the longest time. Not completely sure I wanted a vintage design ; I wanted something special, demure, light to 'brighten' a small piece of wall to use as background for my models & pictures.
So here it is, something greyish blue with off white flowery design ; looks a bit like Japanese blossom.
I like it. It's still packed but today I bought all required material to finally do the job. I am very happy with my instant glue. No need for a table or extra help(er) to hold my paper. Just stick it onto the wall and set the  wallpaper.
Fingers crossed this will work !

When I look up from my pillow - I dream you are there with me (I go to sleep, Prentenders)

this is it ! (well, almost)


This picture must be the closest to what we have in mind for our bedroom. Enter a new bed : April 6th we have a date with Pieter (interior designer) and the other guy from the bedstore ! 

Come up and see me, make me smile Or do what you want, run on wild (Make me Smile, Steve Harley)

see this ? How great is this picture ... and there are SO many !!

I guess the best invention since Twitter must be Pinterest. My God ! How I love this organized way of storing pictures. I was one of those people, making others mad, by storing all kinds of pics on the desktop of our computer. Mr C. finally moved them into little maps, still, there were a lot of maps .. Now, I store every picture I like onto my Pinterest files (= boards) and the best thing is I can always track back where I found that image and it's contents (tutorials, someone's blog etc ...)

Are you already having a Pinterest account ? What kind of pictures do you store ?

She wore blue velvet, Bluer than velvet were her eyes - Warmer than May her tender sighs, Love was ours (Bobby Vinton)

Just wanted to share this picture 'cause finally, yesterday, all our stores and curtains were installed.
I am so happy with the result of all rooms ; even India's room looks amazing. Really bright but without loosing any warmth. She needed those curtains the most ; the previous owner didn't leave any curtains in her room so she played hide and seek for several months. Guess she must be really pleased to finally sleep in her room without any neighbour peeping through her windows.

We also got the proposition for our bedroom from Pieter. He's got amazing decorating skills. Really good ideas and he is very talented : he can see what we really like and knows what materials would fit perfectly for this room.
Now that the curtains are hung in our bedroom, you can start to see the hotelroom feel to it.
Imagining how the furnished headboard will look like and compliant the rest of the colors in this room.
It's all about aubergine and dark bitter chocolat ...

Blue Jean, I just met me a girl named Blue-Jean (David Bowie)

I've been a fan of blue or green nail polish since that first Chanel show a couple of years ago. Jade was such a lovely tone ; unfortunately I didn't have the chance to ever purchase it.
It was only available at exclusive Chanel stores.
So I was very glad to finally find my own original Chanel Coco Blue polish last over the weekend.

"You'll just love my embraces 'cause they'll fit like a glove We'll be off to the races maybe..." Kiss me baby, let's make love (Marilyn Monroe)

metropolitan luxury

We are brainstorming our bedroom these days. Totally unexpected, hubby wants to make the most of this room and start 'yesterday'. We saw a beautiful purple silk carpet in a window display the other day and this was the trigger for the style and boudoir theme we have in mind.
Frank - our painter - starts with the entire first floor in 2 weeks time. Main color will be 'aubergine' combined with a saffron tone for our dressing. Our little wellness corner will be pitch black (well almost, it needs to be dark to give that relaxing atmosphere to it : we probably will repeat the aubergine again in that room.
So, today we went to Metropolitan Luxury, a brand by Eric Kuster. They specialize in hotels and suites and this is exactly what hubby had in mind for our bedroom floor.
When Frank's work is done, Pieter E. will come to our house with his samples of fabric for our new bed, cushions, sheets and towels. I'm quite excited that pretty soon I will have a room fit for a queen !

You're sweet like chocolate boy, sweet like chocolate you bring me so much joy, you're sweet like chocolate (Shanks & Bigfoot)

Tiramisu pie à la Dominica

preparing the base for the cake

Mix some crushed almond cookies (200g) with melted butter (75g)

firm base for your cake

Put the mixture on the bottom of your baking mould ; press firmly with your hands - it should cover a 20 to 22 cm mould. To lift and remove the cake easily, cut a circle matching the size of your mould's bottom out of baking paper.

adding cream

Make a firm cup of coffee and add 20 dl Amaretto to it ; leave it gently to boil and keep it aside.

Soak 6 sheets of gelatin in cold water. After 5 minutes, drain and squeeze them gently and add to the coffee/Amaretto mix.

Leave to cool off.

Take a small plate and pour some Amaretto in it : dip boudoir cookies - cut in half - into the Amaretto with the non-sugary side of the cookies. Put each piece of boudoir straight up on the side of the mould, the sugary side facing the outside. Leave it to rest in your fridge.

Pour 25 dl of cream together with 125g of crystallized sugar and whip on a low level until the cream is smooth and lush. Add 500g of mascarpone ; fold gently (or on a low Kitchen Aid level) into the whipped cream.

adding the coffee into the cream/mascarpone mixture

Pour the coffee/Amaretto mix gently in your cream/mascarpone mix. Take the base of your cake out of the fridge and put half of this mixture in the mould. Add some leftover boudoir crumbles. Add the last half of the mascarpone mix in your mould.

final touches

Finish off with chocolate/cocoa powder ; don't be thrifty ... you may sprinkle a lot on top of your lushious tiramisu cake .. 

la cottura è semplice, come l'amore (a volte) xx

Comme te po' capì chi te vò bene si tu le parle 'mmiezzo americano? (We no speak Americano)

freshly made papardelle

buon appetito !

Papardelle met paddestoelen, mascarpone en pijnboompitten

Zoals beloofd, hét recept van mijn ingeving van de dag :

Ingrediënten :

1. verse papardelle van de Pastaman bijvoorbeeld (een nestje of 4 per persoon)
2. een mengeling van paddestoelen zoals bruine Parijse champignons en een mix van canterellen (max 250g)
3. 40 cl mascarpone (zure room kan ook mocht je geen mascarpone bij de hand hebben)
4. zwarte peper
5. zout voor de pasta
6. pijnboompitten (licht geroosterd)
7. basilicum voor de afwerking
8. parmezaan (schilfers)

Zo maak je het :

Kook de verse pasta in een grote pot met water en zout (verse pasta heeft niet lang nodig dus maak je best de pasta à la minute) Indien je de pasta toch vooraf kookte, giet deze dan (niet blussen met koud water !) af en hou apart in de pot met het deksel erop.

Doe een klontje boter in de pan en voeg de (in stukjes gehakte) paddestoelen erbij - peper ze flink en keer ze om tot ze wat gekrompen lijken. Voeg de mascarpone toe - blijf roeren. Zet je vuur zachter en laat de saus inkoken. Voeg de licht geroosterde pijnboompitten erbij en roer om. Wanneer de saus klaar is roer je deze onder de pasta (je kan eventueel nog een scheutje olijfolie toevoegen voor extra smeuïgheid).

Garneer een blaadje basilicum 'on top' en klaar is kees ! 

La cuisine, c'est simple, comme l'amour ...

There is something and it makes me smile, I think I like you (Black Box revelation)

I've been to the KF fair in Amsterdam last Sunday and the thing that struck me most wast that next Winter's color palette will be so soft, grey-ish and chalky pastels will rule the fashion scene for kids.

I must admit I like it ; maybe I've seen to many bright colors these past years and a person needs to stay inspired and stimulated.

I still need to order loads from the designers these next few weeks. Curious what some of them will have in store. I've seen beautiful items at the fair but am curious to see if those with colorful designs will follow in fashion's footsteps or stay true to their own style.

He likes bread and butter He likes toast and jam That's what his baby feeds him And he's a lovin' man (Bread & Butter, The Newbeats)

how to serve Eton Mess

After my meringue adventure last weekend I'm challenging myself to take 'meringue' one step further. Don't forget I was/am never a kitchen princess to begin with.
I'm very happy with what I've achieved so far in my kitchen.

We are having some friends over this weekend ; dessert is my task and I'm taking this very seriously.
Now, I was wondering what I would make - what I like best and what dessert I loved and wanted to eat over and over again. I once ate 'espuma' for dessert made by this great chef who owned a little resto called Karper. Unfortunately this place closed down a couple of years ago so I can't go back and try to find out what all those flavours and ingredients were .. it's a secret gone forever ! What a waist. This must have been the best dessert ever on my list.

Now, I have a friend, Kev and he owns De Mosselbeurs in Oostende.
We got to know each other via Twitter and I first met him 'live' in 2009.
He made a dessert, especially for me and he knows whenever I'm at the West Coast, he needs to have all these lush ingredients to make me an Eton Mess.
Diet or not, he always fixes me one - a smaller portion if required so.
In honour of Kev and his version of Eton Mess, I will make this on Saturday and will call it Kev's Mess.
:-)

recipe and pics will go online after the weekend !
stay tuned !

Count me in from one to two - But nothing more or less will do (Sugar Me, Lynsey de Paul)

Happy New Year !
Here's some little easy recipe to enjoy a Sunday like this with your kids !

What you need :
4 egg whites
100g finest white sugar
80g powder (icing) sugar

lots of tlc

Mix the egg whites and the sugar all together until you see stiff peaks. You can do this either by hand (good to beat those chicken wings under your arms or u can use a device such as a KitchenAid)
When ready, fold the icing sugar through the egg withes using a spatula. For best results you add the (sifted) icing sugar one spoon at a time.
For a more colourful effect, you can use edible pigments (drops) to make the meringues more funky (this is the part kids will love most).
Now you put the egg whites in disposable pastry bags and inject the meringues onto baking paper on your tray. You can either cut of the tip of your bag or use a decorating ring (in the bag) to make your most beautiful meringues, ready to bake (off).
Sprinkle some edible candy on top for extra bling !
Make them as you would be prop-maker for a new Marie-Antoinette movie !

Put the tray in your preheated oven (80°C) and leave them for at least 1 hour. If they feel dry enough to you take them out and leave them to cool off.