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

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

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

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Lemon cheesecake with speculoos and blue berries

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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 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!

 

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!

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee & cake!!

Saturday afternoon... groceries done, bunch of flowers on the table, time to bake!

This time I wanted to make an apple pie, as it definitely fits the fall season that has just started.

But then my eye caught a recipe for apple crumble cupcakes... So apple crumble cupcakes it is!

 

The ingredients

 

The outcome

 

And a triple portion for a teenager who had just played a soccer match :)

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

P.S. Wanna see another baking post? Have a look here

And should you like to know the recipe, just let me know in the comments,

then I will post it here!

 

Another garden party!

 

And last weekend it was time for another party in the garden!

The weather was gorgeous and so, late in the afternoon, we received about 20 friends at home

 for what will probably be the last BBQ of this season... unfortunately ;)

 

Apart from cleaning, preparing & cooking I love to do some tablescaping!

Not that easy if you have to fit in 20 people on your  terrace.

But we managed!

 

This time I chose red tablecloths... with little white polka dots,

napkins in white with little red polka dots (I used them here too),

white flower bouquets, mix match of red & white china.

Lovely food, nice company, latino music, samba, salsa and aché :)

 

See you soon again!

 

 

 

Morning Tea

During the week it's difficult to find time for a get-together with friends, especially in the afternoons. And as I liked to have an Afternoon Tea, it seemed impossible to organize. But then I came up with the idea of a Morning Tea (why not?) and so it happened!!



Victoria sandwich cake with forest fruits

 

 

A lovely sunny September morning
'Brabants bont' (the red & white checkered tablecloths are typical for the region we live in ) on the tables, all kinds of china, various drinks, lots of sweets (homemade) & friends to join the party!

 

It was such a beautiful day! Sun, friends, food, what else do we need?

 

Pre-Easter diner

 Last Saturday we invited some friends over for diner.

And because Easter already entered our house, I decided that the table needed to be

decorated in the Easter theme as well.

 Plain white table cloth (just some fine details embroidered),

many transparant glass vases and candleholders

 Greenish-white Snowballs (Vibirnum)...

 and bright pink Gerberas

Napkins in the same colour combination.

 Quail eggs & little feathers.

Too busy eating to take pictures of the food ;)

Wishing you all a great start of the week!!

Preparations in full swing!

Tomorrow is the day; International Day... lots of cooking has been done already!

Time for the decorations now!

Are you also going to try typical dishes from all over the world this weekend?

I'm sure I will:

Spain, France, Argentina, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Israel, USA, Sweden, Germany,

Brazil, Switserland, Italy, UK, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, India...

Not sure if I will manage to get a taste of all of them, but I promise you I'll do my best :)

(diet & sports will have to wait till Monday!!)

Have a delicious weekend!

Bisous,