Tijd!

Eindelijk.....Tijd....

Na 2 jaar zit mijn postacademische vorming er op! Enorm boeiend, dat wel, maar op het einde werd het écht teveel!

Examen is reeds zeer succesvol afgelegd. Eindwerk is, naar mijn mening, iets minder succesvol, maar toch tijdig ingediend. Nu nog de beoordeling afwachten, maar met een voldoende zal ik al meer dan tevreden zijn. Zeker als je daarbij de namen van de beoordelaars in het achterhoofd hebt.

Ik heb me ook meteen voorgenomen om het komende jaar niets, maar dan ook niets meer bij te studeren. Benieuwd hoe lang het duurt vooraleer ik alweer op zoek ga naar een nieuwe cursus om een of andere vaardigheid of kennisaspect bij te schaven...

Eindelijk weer tijd om na het werk wat orde te scheppen in het huishouden, af te spreken met vrienden en vriendinnen voor een drankje, een hapje of een ijsje (met dit warme weer zeker een aanrader), heerlijk in het zonnetje een boek te lezen, receptjes uit te pluizen. Eens het huis weer wat op orde staat en alles er weer iets netter bijligt, kan het kookplezier hopelijk weer beginnen!

Bijlezen op mijn favoriete blogs, inspirerende receptjes ontdekken op Good Food, de laatste nog ongeopende delicious.-nummers doornemen.
Ik kijk er al naar uit om binnenkort weer te kokkerellen en allerlei lekkers op tafel te kunnen zetten!

wilde 'tuin'aardbeitjes

Enkele jaren geleden kwamen er, wellicht dankzij enkele vogels, wilde aardbeiplantjes terecht in een minder goed onderhouden bloemenborder van onze tuin. Ondertussen zijn die enkele plantjes uitgebreid tot een mini-aardbeiveldje waar elke zomer prachtige piepkleine rode vruchtjes groeien. Ik was altijd nogal ongeduldig en ging al half mei/eind mei van de aardbeitjes proeven die dan meestal nog geen smaak hadden of ronduit zuur waren.

Geduld is echter een schone deugd en dus ben ik dit jaar pas eind juni de tuin ingegaan om daar een uur lang in de brandende zon door aardbeiplantjes (en helaas ook netels) te woelen en ten slotte twee à drie handvol (diep)rode aardbeitjes te oogsten.

Ongeloofelijk wat een zoete smaak en heerlijk parfum er in zo'n miniscule aardbeitjes zit! De grote aardbeien die hun doosje uit de winkel op de keukentafel stonden verbleekten gewoon bij de smaak en geur van hun veel kleinere neefjes...

Ondanks hun verrukkelijke geur, heb ik me beheersd en een potje confituur gemaakt van deze geurige aardbeitjes. De aroma's die vrijkwamen bij het maken van deze confituur waren overheerlijk. Het potje staat voorlopig nog te wachten tot het aangebroken wordt, maar een van deze dagen ga ik bij de bakker om een vers wit brood en dan wordt het vast en zeker smullen van eenvoudige witte boterhammen, met boter en (hopelijk) lekkere
wilde aardbeitjesconfituur.

120 g versgeplukte wilde aardbeitjes
80 g aardbeien uit de winkel, in stukjes gesneden
140 g fijne suiker
1 theelepeltje citroensap

De wilde aardbeitjes controleren op insecten (wassen was niet nodig want we gebruiken geen pesticiden in onze tuin). De wilde aardbeitjes aanvullen met gewassen en ontkroonde winkel-aardbeien die in stukjes gesneden zijn. De stukjes winkel-aardbei moeten ongeveer zo groot zijn als de wilde aardbeitjes. Voeg winkel-aardbeien toe tot je een rond gewicht (hier 200 g) bereikt (dat is gemakkelijker om ongeveer de hoeveelheid suiker te bepalen).

Doe de aardbeien in een kookpot en zet ze in een heel klein bodempje water op een zacht vuur. Roer met een houten lepel tot de aardbeien 'gesmolten' zijn. Voeg dan suiker toe (ik gebruikte 140 g maar dit is uiteraard een beetje 'naar smaak'). Blijf roeren tot de suiker opgelost is en test de consistentie van de confituur door een drupje te laten vallen op de bolle kant van een theelepeltje. Als de confituur snel opstijft en niet van het lepeltje afloopt, is de confituur stevig genoeg. Voeg eventueel een beetje citroensap toe indien dit niet zo moest zijn.

Switching Languages

Lately I noticed that I had lots of posts that didn't make it further than the concept phase. I keep them in that phase because I always think they need some extra information or some refinement that I can, at the moment of writing it down, not produce in English.

So to create a more vivid blog with more frequent postings, I will switch languages and write my postings in Dutch instead of in English. I'll also rewrite the posts that are still in the concept stage. If anytime you are interested in a recipe and your Dutch isn't that good, you can always send me an e-mail and I'll translate the recipe for you (into English or French).

Love,

An

Macarons aux fraises tagada

Fraises tagada...

a candy that I hadn't heard of untill I stumbled upon a post of macarons aux fraises tagada on Tart'in & chocolat who referred to the macarons recipes from Mercotte and Pure Gourmandise. The macarons looked wonderful so I hàd to make those macarons. Unfortunately, the recipe of Mercotte wasn't that easy (especially the syrup-thing for which a sugar thermometer was needed). The recipe of Marina from Pure Gourmandise had quite common ingredients so that was the one I wanted to follow...

only one problem left....

I couldn't find fraises tagada in the Belgian supermarkets. Luckily I spent my holidays in France where the fraises tagada almost seem to be a national childhood memory like Prousts madeleines. So plenty of fraises tagada in the French supermarkets. Since I didn't know if the candies taste and the macarons would please us I only bought one bag of fraises tagada.

This precious bag has been waiting in my cupboard for about a month and a half, that is, until my thesis was submitted and I had found some recipes (rice tart and waffles of Liège) in which I could use the egg yolks that were going to be left after creating the macarons.

Making the macarons took me about...well, about half a week and lots of planning...

According to the recipe of Pure Gourmandise, the egg whites needed to be separated from the yolks at least 24 hours. After forming the macarons on the baking plate, they needed to rest overnight (The next day my mum was a bit worried because those cookies I baked were still really soft :s). I let them rest more than a day (because I had a really busy day) and baked them in between the graduation and the graduation reception that I was invited for (actually while I was having dinner and getting myself ready for the reception).

Once they were baked, I had to put them back in the oven (just for the night) because I had no other (safe) place to put them (without them being eaten already) and I didn't return from the reception untill late. Only the next day (I lost count, the forth day is it?) I started making the ganache with the fraises tagada and the white chocolate. For glueing the macarons togheter, the ganache was surely sticky enough.

The result of the 4 days of making macarons looked like this...

Good enough for the first time, I think, but still some work on techniques though ...
and maybe on buying a good food colouring so the nice rose of unbaked macarons doesn't turn into some salm-like colour...

Last minute graduation reception

After six years of studying at the K.U.Leuven I finally graduated (even with distinction!) and obtained my masters degree in psychology (more specific: clinical psychology for child, youth and family).

The proclamation itself was quite a pityfull business. Althoug we saw more than 15 profs leaving the room where they held the deliberation, only one (!) made the effort to be present at the proclamation and I suspect him of being there only because two people have to follow on the list when the names and grades are being read aloud. Because we only gratuated after the third examination period no official reception (with drinks, snacks and professors giving speeches) was held. Until last year our faculty was the only who held two official promotions, one in july, after the second examination period, and one in september. This year they decided that they couldn't afford two promotions anymore so they only held one in july (instead of doing it on an evening in september so that everyone who graduated that year and even those who are already working, could be present).
Luckily Annelore (a friends friend) invited me at the last minute to a party/reception that her parents threw for her graduation.

No pictures from that party though, I didn't take my camera with me and besides, we were all to busy eating those delicious snacks and desserts that Annelore's parents ans sister created.

There were:
- mini vegetables with dip
- cherry tomatoes with a shrimp-mayonaise filling
- different types of chips (also with dip)
- little mediterranean quiches, halved for serving
- mini cheese croquettes
- mini spring rolls
- panna cotta with berries and raspberry coulis on top
- mini creme brûlée (with caramel sauce on top instead of the 'brûlée')
- white bavarois with limoncello and crushed bonbon Napoleon on top

Although I'm not so into last minute party-invitations, I'm glad I accepted the invitation this time. The role of the yummy snacks should be obvious, but probably more important is the fact that we all had a 'real ending' to those years as a university student.

Squirrel Hero!

Although I don't like the taste of fresh breath-mints (they just tast too minty for me), mints seem to give superpowers to little squirrels....

We saw just a sneak peek of this Vigorsol ad while we were watching football on tv (the Squadra azzura against...some other national team) and an injured player had to be carried off the field (apparently the Italian tv uses this moments to advertise...).

Because our knowledge of the Italian language does not consist of more than proper greetings, asking where we can find the toilet and ordering bread, pizza, pasta or gelati, we didn't really understand what was told while we saw the squirrel doing really heroic things. Showing only the last part (where the squirrel runs to the end of the branch and shows his superpowers) didn't really help us either....

Luckily things like YouTube exist and their even seemed to be an English version of the ad....

After a quick search on the net we found that the brave squirrel, a.k.a. Cippi, even has a website where you can not only watch and download the ad, but you can also play some games and download a screensaver and a wallpaper.

I might have to rethink my opinion about mints and put some of them in my handbag... You never know what you can find on your way...

More Boch!

And yes...there are still other people who are interested in Boch...

On Kapaza and SeniorenNet I found an ad of a lady who had collected Boch pieces for years and now wanted to sell over 200 pieces (!!) of her collection.
I quickly made a list with all the pieces I still needed and e-mailed it to here and ..... indeed, she had lots of the pieces that were on my list.

So, on Friday I took an early train to Ghent and from there another train to Kortrijk. The lady came to pick me up at Kortrijk Station (and brought me back too) and took me home to see the 11 squared dessert plates with rounded corners, 8 colorful cups an the little plates to put them on. All the pieces were still in good condition, so I payed, she wrapped them carefully in paper, put them in a box and there I went with my precious box back home.

Thanks to this purchase and the one from the lady in Charleroi I almost have all the pieces I wanted to collect. I already have most of the cups with their little plates. The only two cups I still have to find are two grey ones, but they seem rather rare. I also need a grey dessert plate, one emerald green soup plate with golden edge and a mint green dinner plate with golden edge.

Boch Frères is not only know for its crockery but also for quite famous Art Deco vases, for example by Charles Catteau. Even Quentin Blake (well-known from his illustrations in the Roald Dahl children books) had some of his incredible crazy birds decorating a sandwich platter and some bowls (the Up with birds! serie).

During recent years Boch Frères went through some changes, including a change of name, and is now know as Royal Boch. In 1994 they received the title of Supplier to the Royal Belgian Court and they still have lovely pieces!!