Bakers & Roasters

Ooooo discovering new places always makes me soooo happy!!!
Today I tried out Bakers & Roasters in Amsterdam. I can't find their website but they are on  Facebook

Anyway they have an extensive breakfast lunch menu from huevos rancheros to a stack of american pancakes in all sorts to lentil salads. Also their drink menu is quite impressive... they even serve the Lemon Batido :) only they name it different....

Since I am on the road to eating more healthy I decided not to opt for the hash browns with salmon and eggs nor the pancakes but the green lentil salad with kale and cranberries... and must admit... even though the presentation of a dish like this on a plate is quite ambitious... the cranberries added a touch of nice color in this quite dark looking salad.... it tasted great and l loved it a LOT. 

As a drink I chose the green juice which is a mix of green apple, celery, ginger, very fresh! 

Since this place is very popular especially under expats and tourist... I  didn't hear 1 word of Dutch whilst being there... and making reservations is not possible... we waited for 30 minutes to be seated... but it was worth it... what I also like is that it is a no nonsense place.... meaning that you have to order at the bar and there is a table where you can get water, cutlery and napkins. 

If you are a sweet tooth they have many home baked goodies which unfortunately I didn't try out. 

I guess since I was there on a Sunday.. it will probably be less crowded on a weekday. 

Helloooo and welcome back ?!?!?!

I have been absent for quite some time due too.... fill out the dotted line. Anyway I am 'back' now and hope I can keep you updated on interesting, nice, new, funky, catchy, yummy and to-cool-to-be-true kitchen tools, gadgets, chinaware, foods, restaurants etc... Starting with:

Bar Moustache

Yesterday I had a nice rendez-vous with my dear friend Tally. Since she moved to Spain already a long time ago, it is always very nice to see her again. So I made a reservation at a somewhat 'new' restaurant in Amsterdam. I had never been there before, neither had she so it was all new and NICE! Interesting detail: the restaurant's name is in French but their kitchen is Italian.

Although the majority of the staff was on sick leave, which left them with only 3 people available, everybody was still friendly, no stress and actually it was not really noticeable. I was quite impressed by that, since we all know that good service can be hard to find in Amsterdam...

The food was great, we had pear ravioli and sea bass and a wonderful dessert, you can see the picture below ;-) it is chocolate fondant with a liquid center (yummy!!) and a sambuca-espresso semifreddo also delish!!!

So whenever you are in Amsterdam, make sure to give this place a try (make sure to make a reservation!!)

Let's have a beer.....?

My southern neighbour Belgium has a beer brand called Jupiler.... and they have come up with something new: a brewed soda...
Although they don't call it an alcohol-free beer... the main ingredient is still barley and the soda is brewed.... and it tastes quite good....

Being a woman, I was wondering whether I should blog about it since, according to their marketing, the product is made for  men that want to drink a nice cold beer but are not able as they are at work, the gym, driving etc.... One of their slogans is actually: For men who know how to work......or.... For men that know how to sport..... etc...

But I decided to ignore that and to just try it. It tastes like beer but much fresher, I guess that is because of the added lemon juice, and I just really love it! It is finally a soda that is not so sweet, and it really does give you the same taste experience as if you were drinking a beer.

Yeaah... BIG LIKE!!!!!

Would you like to read about it.. this is their website just keep in mind, the site is only in Dutch or French.....

Set fire to the rain....

Really, normally I am not the complaining type but..... when it is July and supposed to be warm and sunny it is already raining for 2 weeks and looking at the weather forecast it is not likely to stop soon. That's why I already started to make summery things like lemon batido and ice cream but it is not really helping...... However, when I read the newspaper this morning I came across the recipe of something that might actually help.... we all know that fire and water don't go together so by starting making chili based recipes.... we might be able to fight this rain.

The recipe is for the North African chili paste called Harissa. Like the Chinese use sambal, the North African people use harissa. It is hot with a slight sweet undertone. If you don't like it very hot, than you just simply don't use the seeds and use less hot chili's or leave out a few...

I like my harissa on almost everything, it just spices things up a bit. It is especially delicious when eaten in combination with a cous-cous dish like Tajine (the general word for stews from North Africa, they are prepared in a special pot called a Tajine)

I could just simpy place a link here to the recipe, but since it is in Dutch I translated it for you: 

You need: 

- 1 red pepper
- 1 small tablespoon cumin seeds
- 7 red chili peppers
- 2 cloves of garlic, pealed
- a pinch of sea salt
- 1-2 table spoons of lemon juice
- 50 ml olive oil

Place the pepper above a flame and turn it around so that all skin turns black. Then place the pepper in a bowl and seal it with plastic film.
Roast the cumin seeds in a pan until you can smell them. Clean the chili's and remove the seeds, the more you remove the less 'hot' the paste will be. Cut them in chunks and place them together with the cumin seeds, salt, and garlic in a food processor making it a nice puree.

Take the red pepper and remove the blackened skin. Slice it open and remove the seeds. Cut it up in chunks and add to the puree, puree it one more time. Add a table spoon of lemon juice and then while mixing add the olive oil. It is now finished but you can tweek it to your own taste.. adding some more lemon juice, or black pepper or......

This recipe is enough for 2 small jars and it will last about 2 weeks..... I hope this will be enough to scare the rain away!!!!!!

For this blogpost I used THIS recipe

Pop! Goes my........

Wow, I have not experienced this much rain since I don't know when. So it is time to invite the summer in my house.... again (see lemon batido blogpost) and here's how I am going to do that:

I love ice cream and...ice cream loves me and tends to stick around, never wants to leave and comfortably hangs on to the belly area. So we need a solution.... we are going to make our own ice cream that doesn't sticks around.

I found this Pop-Maker from Zoku on the Williams & Sonoma website. To make these popsicles you can add whatever you want. Put some sweetened lime juice together with slices of lime, or pureed strawberries, yoghurt and add some slices of banana and you have a wonderful refreshing popsicle.
They also made a recipe book to help you start your own popsicle factory.

I know I can't wait to start using this and get some sunshine in!!

Fruits & Vegs of the Season part II

Hello!!!!

I am back in Holland and back at blogging :-)  As I wrote in one of my first blogposts about eating fruits and vegetables of the season, I promised you a list with what's in season. The first list included the months: April, May and June but since it is July now it is time for the 2nd list. So here it is!!

Hong Kong

Negroni

Dear all,

Sorry for not posting as much as I normally do but I am in Hong Kong at the moment. I am here because of my job so I dont have too much spare time on my hands... I hope you'll understand. At this right moment I am at the Excelsior hotel's roof terrace called Tott's ( talk of the town) enjoying a very nice classic cocktail which is called: Negroni
In it is: tanqueray gin, campari and martini rosso and I LIKE it!!!
Ths roofterrace is absolutely amazing!! I have the best view on the skyscrapers, which at eight o'clock at night, start a lightshow, these are first class seats ;-)!!!!
Ciao de Hong Kong!!!!!