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!!!!!

Fusion breakfast

Wow, best breakfast ever!!! Last November I have been in Serbia for almost one month where I have tried many of the local delicacies. One of them is called Rakija, a schnapps with 50% alcohol. Rakija comes in many different flavours and my favourite is plum (slivo) honey (med) or quince (dunja). As the tradition has it, you drink one shot of rakija in the morning at breakfast to get your machine going ;-) So I happily did that for almost a month, hey it's tradition ;-)

One of my friends is a travel journalist and she was lucky to go to Macedonia a few weeks ago and she also got accustomed to the traditions of the Balkan. As a gift she received a bottle of Rakija (made of plums) which I was very happy to share with her. As the new Dutch herring arrived 2 weeks ago fresh from the sea a match in heaven was created.

My friend and I decided, she would bring the Rakija and I would bring the herring....so we did and this picture was made this morning. Best way to start the day!

Rakija and Herring.... how could you ever survive without?

Crazy Nails

OK, originally this blog is about food.... BUT, today I found out about something that I just have to share with you and since this product is a liquid before it turns solid......so it is actually both... I decided to blog about it anyway. So what is it.....?

THE STORE

AMAZING STORE

Since a few weeks there is a new cosmetic store in Amsterdam called INGLOT The brand already exists for 25 years and is from Poland but I just found out about this brand today. Apparantly, while travelling, I only saw Nars and MAC, without opening my eyes for other brands.

So today I walked in to check it out and it is an amazing store. They have so many different colours but besides that so many different fun products. The most beautiful body sparkles/shimmers, eye shadows, eyeliners with glitter etc etc. But the product that excited me the most is their Crazy Nails nail enamel.

This is how it works.... choose a nice colourful nail enamel that you like, pink for example, and then choose one of the 7 colours of the Crazy Nail enamel for example red. You only need to apply 1 layer and when it dries it 'cracks open'.  So what you end up with is a nice piece of art on every nail. Through the red cracked open top coat you see the pink of the first layer...... I'm soooo excited by this, it is so cool!!! I put some pictures for you to understand me better and I really hope you like it as much as I do!!

And.... I shouldn't forget to mention that the staff in the store was very friendly, they were very happy to show me around and to inform me about their assortment.

http://atqabeauty.blogspot.com/

http://atqabeauty.blogspot.com/

iPhone cases

Although I haven't got an iPhone (yet), these iPhone cases are just too funny! I came across this through a link on Twitter. It looks soooo real! I wonder what people will think when they will see you calling with an egg-and-bacon, a rice-unagi-dish etc...

Which is your favourite?

Lemon Batidooooooooooo

I am sooo happy, yesterday we had great weather and I was able to go to the beach! Enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin and the freshness of the cold sea. Unfortunately, today, the weather made a 180.... Rain, thunder, cold winds everything all at once. That  is how summer feels like in the Netherlands. But it makes you appreciate the sun more as well.

However, I like to be a little bit longer in this vibe called summer so I invited the sun into my house with this nice cold fresh drink. While  I was living on Aruba I drank this a lot. It is called a batido and here is how you make it.

For 1 tall glass:

1 lime, cut in 2-3 pieces
2-3 table spoons of cane sugar, depending how sweet/sour you like it
a splash of water
a glass full of ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in a blender, which is able to crush ice, and then pour the mixture in a sieve. Push it through the sieve with a spoon.... for decoration put a slice of lime on the rim, some nice straws and ready is your summer-in-a-glass!!!!!

Enjoy!!!!

Lunch @ Gartine

Everybody who ever visits Amsterdam and is looking for a nice place to have breakfast, lunch or a high-tea .....Gartine is the place you are looking for. They grow their own veggies, herbs and fruits in their veggiepatch. The eggs they use come from a foundation called "Adopt a chicken". You 'adopt' a chicken on an organic farm, where the chicken stays, and you can get your organic eggs at the organic store.

Everything they serve is home-made and truly delicious. Also the people working there are very friendly which, for Amsterdam, is almost unique.

I made a picture of the sandwich I ordered: a whole wheat bun with spinach, bleu de causses (French blue cheese) and apricots, yummy in my tummy!!! Also loving the plate!!!

Sandwich Bleu de Causses with spinach

To get more of an impression, I took some photo's from their website......

Owner

The veggies fresh from veggiepatch

Home made pastries

Old-fashioned style tableware

Truly delicious........pictures

Although I am always talking and thinking about food, it was a friend  of mine who pointed out a certain website. How come I didn't find out about it myself? I guess it probably was subconscious protective me as, ever since I 'discovered' this site, I am continuously looking at it. At all the lovely beautiful pictures, imagining how things would smell, taste, if it is easy to make etc.....

I put a few pictures below, so see for yourself if you agree.... more pictures can be found at foodgawker.com

Artichokes are in season !!

And you can find lots of them everywhere!! Artichokes are such a treat in many different ways. The way I like them best is actually very plain and natural.

Depending on the size I cook them for about 20-30 minutes, making sure the heart is cooked as well. I never cut of the tip of the leafs.... I don't understand why people do that.... why should I mutilate an artichoke without any reason? Anyway, when the artichoke is cooked I let it cool for about 5 minutes, otherwise my enthusiasm causes burn blisters on my hands ;-)

Then, when ready, I dip the bottom of the leaf either in melted butter, or a sauce made of mayonnaise, mustard, yoghurt ,salt, pepper and lots of lemon juice. 

Truly delicioso!

What is your favourite artichoke recipe?

A Foodie's kitchen.....

PLEASE... someone........ I guess I'll be cleaning all night.... how does your kitchen look like?

Clafoutis part deux

Since I encouraged all of you to make your own Clafoutis..... I also participated as it is well worth the try!! It is so lovely and delicious and terribly easy to make. To motivate you a little bit more I added a photo with the Clafoutis before it went into the oven and after.... don't you want to dig in?

Share some pictures of yours with me!!!

Cherry Clafoutis

One of my favourite summer desserts is cherry clafoutis. Especially those made with the best tastiest ripe cherries that are available in the summertime, makes this dish delicious and almost breathtaking.

Raymond Blanc, owner and chef of 2 Michelin starred restaurant/hotel Le Manoir, near Oxford, UK, shares on his website some of his best recipes. One of them is a recipe that belonged to his mother and is the recipe for the clafoutis.
It is not difficult, it just takes some time as you have to pit the cherries and make some beurre noisette (hazelnut coloured butter) and the cherries need at least 2 hours to marinade. But as Raymond mentions in the recipe, the best way to make this dish is with help of family/friends.

Enjoy and let me know how it turned out!!!!!

Your love is King

If you're having trouble finding the best gift for Father's day.... don't look any further, here it is!!!!

It's a pepper mill by Cole & Mason and has the shape (and size: 72cm!!! ) of a baseball bat. Combining Father's day with a summer's BBQ and you'll be done for the rest of the year (gift wise ;-))

In Europe you can find this item in cookery shops that sell Cole & Mason salt & pepper mills. If you are living in the USA you can get it here


Or.... get this great Williams-Sonoma Stainless steel grill tools set with storage case!!!

Your Father is going to be sooo Happy!!!

Very Raspberry

Since the raspberries are almost falling from the sky as they are to be found everywhere, I remember a recipe that I'd like to share. It is, of course, with chocolate but the combination of all tastes and structures together makes this dessert a real treat!

I got this recipe from Nigella. I remember very well watching the tv when she was preparing this dessert (Pavlova is the name). It almost got me stuck to the screen as it just seemed sooooo delicious. The picture      you see is of a Pavlova that I made as a part of the wedding cake (they didn't want anything traditional, rather several different cakes,  more about those later!)
As you can see, it looks beautiful on any table as the bright pink/red colour of the raspberries on top of the white cream and the dark chocolate makes it looks very vibrant.

Let me know how yours turned out!! Pictures please!!!!!!!! 

Mon Cupcake

Since it started to rain.... again.... I decided to do something that I like a lot: baking cakes. I got a present the other day that contains a very nice cupcake recipe book, with 10 silicone cupcake molds and an icing syringe. It's a very cute giftset the only thing you need... is to understand French..... and luckily I do

I made their basic vanilla cupcake recipe (with a touch of cardamom) which is made only with egg whites, making the structure very light and fluffy. 

I still need to get used to using a syringe for decorative icing...but I think I did a nice job ....... 

for a beginner ;-) 

On top of the cupcake is a layer of pure chocolate and I made the icing with powder sugar and fresh raspberry juice giving its pink colour. Perfect to bright up a rainy day!