Welcome to March, welcome to Spring?!

 

The weather forecasts for the Netherlands this week are fantastic!

Between 11 and 17 degrees Celsius in the south...

Time for action, time for a good cleaning of the house (and get all of the viruses out!)

and time for some garden work!

 

 

So what am I doing here, behind the computer? Let's get started!!

 

Wishing you all a lovely sunny week!

Phew... February already!

 

It's been quiet here at my little corner on the world wide web ;)

Busy...

Working more hours in the office & being caught by the flu didn't leave me with much time

to spend here... unfortunately!

 

However, I did have time to bake a chocolate-pear cake AND I did meet Lynda again for cappuccinos and a chat :)

 

 

She gave me these double French tulips.

Aren't they just beautiful?

 

 

 

 

Hope you're all, again, prepared for the cold AND for the Carnival??!!

I'm looking forward to a long weekend in Paris...

 

Have a nice week!

 

Snow and a pinkish touch

 

Am I glad that I planted the bulbs last week.

And those little hints of spring from last Monday?

I hope they will survive the 'truckloads' of snow that have been falling lately, because this is what it looks like outside since Tuesday:

 

 

A winter wonderland!!

 



 

 

 

Last weekend I wanted to bake something but didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Surfing the net, I found these oreos on the blog of Fraulein Klein

Shop bought oreos and a homemade filling, I added a bit of pink food colouring too as we had some guests who would appreciate a pinkish touch :)

You can find the recipe here

 

They disappeared in no time...

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with sunshine & snow...

... & some skating maybe?

 



Little hints of Spring?

Last week, when the sun was finally shining again, I planted the bulbs that had been waiting in the garage since last October...

Beautiful bulbs that I ordered during my visit of the Keukenhof. I'd forgotten all about them, untill they arrived in the mail mid October. Didn't make time to plant them then, so now there wasn't an excuse anymore as I wanted them in the ground before the frost would arrive.

In the meanwhile I looked around and saw some signs of Spring:

 

 

I really hope they will survive the predicted snow and cold the coming days...

 

Have a nice week & enjoy the snow!

 

Berlin!

 

 As promised...

We decided to visit Berlin again.
My first (and last) time was in 1988.

So I had no idea of what to expect...

Look to the right and you see beautiful old buildings...

Look to the left and you see all kinds of new and very modern buildings!

 

'Checkpoint Charlie'

 

Unter den Linden in Christmas atmosphere!

Reminded me a bit of the Champs Elysées in Paris in winter time (like you can see here).

Brandenburger Tor... not to miss :)

Couldn't make proper pictures as a huge stage and lots of 'entourage' was built for the New Years Eve celebrations (apparently the biggest one in Europe).

More old and new...





 

Reichstag 

 And of course, we couldn't go home without having made our very own chocolate bar at Rittersport!

 

We had a great time in Berlin.

This was Thom's favorite:

A Bugatti Veyron!

Better start saving now... :)

 

We love to travel so we already planned our destination for the next holidays:

going back to...

... Paris!

 

Wishing you a nice weekend & see you next week!



 

Hello, I'm back!

 

Well, hello again! Welcome to 2013. Welcome to Abacaxi & Hortelã!

It's been a while!

 

Enjoyed a short break during the holiday season.

 

Of course I prepared a nice diner for my parents and some friends for Christmas Day.

I chose for a bit of an unusual combination of colours to decorate the table: aubergine (eggplant colour) and turquoise.

As I was the cook, I, unfortunately, didn't have time to take pictures of the food I prepared...

 

 

But this was on the menu:

 

Trio d'amuses: goat cheese/apricot bite, mascarpone/macadamia nut crème brulée & quick roasted scallop with sesame seeds and soy sauce

~

Beetroot soup with wodka, sour cream and mint

~

Filet of duck breast with roasted figs and a red wine - forest fruit syrup

~

Monk fish with mango salsa, mashed parsnip/potato, grilled green vegetables

~

Lemon cheesecake with speculoos and blue berries

~

Coffee/tea & some sweet little indulgences

~

 

Yes, it was pretty good if I may say so myself ;)

 

 

 

And between Christmas and new years Eve we visited Berlin...

But that story will have to wait till next time :)

 

Have a great new week in this New Year where everything is still possible!

 

 

 

 

For all of you!

 

For French food lovers...

Last minute Christmas present tip? For lovers of France and French food?

Then is is the cookbook to buy:

Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo

 

I received it from a friend and loved every page of it!

Simple recipes, yummy pictures, French feeling!

 

Or buy it for yourself, wrap it & put it under the tree ;)

 

Enjoy the pre-Christmas days!

 

Group hug

 

Lynda organiseerde weer en natuurlijk deed ik weer mee. Altijd leuk zo'n 'group hug'!!

 

Natuurlijk was het bij mij wéér last-minute werk, maar als het goed is, heeft ook Sjoukje haar pakje binnen (dat toch nét weer niet door de brievenbus paste...).

 

Van Sjoukje kreeg ik afgelopen woensdag al een grote envelop in de bus. Poeh, moeilijk hoor om die dicht te laten tot de 17e!

 

Heb ik ook lekker niet gedaan, haha! Donderdag was het licht en zonnig buiten en dus perfect foto-weer! Dat was dus een hele goede reden om het pakje al open te maken, vind ikzelf!!

 

En in die prachtige pakjes (vergezeld van een mooie zelfgemaakte kaart) zaten een heleboel mooie spulletjes, kijk maar:

 

 

Een geborduurde kerstloper, een stoffen hartje voor in de boom, kaarsjes, waxinelichtjes en een mooi bewerkt luciferdoosje! Kijk het eens lief bij elkaar staan!

Dankjewel Sjoukje! Ik ben er erg blij mee!

En dankjewel Lynda voor het organiseren!!

 

Ik wens jullie allemaal een fijne week & geniet van de kerstsferen overal!

Salted butter caramel macarons

 

Finally, I have found the time to update my blog!

I've been procrastinating...

Too busy with other things...

Like St. Nicolas (Dutch tradition)

Like diner parties (at home and elsewhere)

Like enjoying the snow
Like baking macarons!

 

Anyway, the (unforeseen) blog pause has come to an end!!

 

And what better way to celebrate than with these salted butter caramel macarons?

 

To be honoust, I've always been hesitating to make macarons,

it seemed too difficult & too much work to me!
Bu finally, I took the courage to really do it!
It wasn't that difficult, nor was it too much work.

I think they still need some 'finetuning',
but overall, they were not bad at all!

I tried several ones:
pistachio, red fruits, white chocolate-orange-cardamom
and last weekend I decided for the salted butter caramel ones!
Did not regret it!!

 

 

This salted butter caramel filling combines beautifully with the new Nespresso Variations:

noix de coco, macadamia or noisette. Did you try one of them already?

 

 

 

So, on a cold day like today, I pampered myself with a Macadamia latte & a macaron!

Life could be worse ;)