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 ;)

 

 

Blondie

Another cold & rainy Sunday afternoon...

Reason enough to bake :)

This time I wanted to try something new:

 

How to:

* Preheat the oven to 175°C.

* Grease a square baking pan with butter & line with baking paper.

* Melt the butter slowly, take the butter of the heat and add 75 grams of the white chocolate

and let it melt. Stir.

* Mix sugar and eggs until thick & yellow. Add flour, butter with chocolate, salt and vanilla essence & mix until well-combined.

* Finish by adding the dried cranberries and mix them carefully with the batter.

* Add the batter in the baking pan and put the rest of the chocolate on top.

* Bake the blondies for about 35-40 minutes. Let cool down and cut in squares.

 

 

The taste was great, but next time I will add the chopped chocolate to the batter instead of putting it on top. And I will also use less heat on the upper side and let it bake a bit longer.

 

The rest of the family enjoyed it to the last crumb so there will definitely be a next time!

 

Bon appetit!

 

Rome

Mother's Day 2012, already some time ago... but...

The present I got from the boys: A city trip of my choice - in Europe, specifically added (they know me too well I'm afraid!)

And so, last Friday, after work, we left for...

ROME

The city of my choice - this time :)

We spent 4 full days in this beautiful city and had a great time.

Very busy, soo many tourists!

Luckily we bought our entrance tickets for the Colesseum and the Vatican Museum online

(make sure you do that too should you travel to Rome!), the lines were amazingly long.

 Quiet outside (rain!)...

 Busy inside!

Of course, I had to try my luck at the Trevi fountain
 

 

The next day the sun accompanied us at the Colosseum:

 

 Old & new (can you spot the heli?):

 

 Piazza Navona is also a must-see!

 

 

 Reminding me of Place du Tertre in Paris:

 

Many more pictures made of course, but this is the selection I chose!

 

And for now, I'm just wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Take care & enjoy!