Sweet morning

It's a gray morning, but I made pancakes for breakfast to get into a sunny mood. With bananas and maple syrup. I'd love to share (I made too many..).

How do you start your day when it's sulky outside?

Weekend Treasures

I've enjoyed the beautiful sunday outside in the autumn sun, brunching, drinking spritzer, and chatting the day away. I've also started on some Christmas presents, unusually early. But it's the same traditional toil every year; come the week before Christmas I am stressing out like nuts and can't find anything appropriate for the ones I love. Because I want gifts to be special, thoughtful and suiting. Perfectionism always breaks my legs.

Well, but I started. And I would love to post the result right now, but the lady it's for stumbles upon this site every now and then, so I will have to keep it a secret. Oh, the tensionnnn...

Grandma sent me some recipes from my childhood (with the most awesome vintage illustrations). She used to make this unbelievably rich and luscious chocolate cake. And even though she says the recipe is nothing special at all (my grandma isn't exactly of the cheerful kind, as you might remember from the conversation at my grandparent's diamond wedding about her lovely hairstyle), it brings back memories from good old times. Like doing crossword puzzles together. Feeding the chicken. Spending half the day in that old tree, playing with my cousin. And 4 o'clock sharply we had to come in for tea. There it was, that juicy chocolate indulgence. Even though I've got a ton of new recipes for chocolate cakes, none of them will mentally send me back into that old tree - big-eyed and red cheeked.

And some more music is on the way. I'll see these talented guys in concert this weekend. Here's a little video of one of their rehearsals.

Sunny sunday

Oh, such a sunny morning! I spent some time on the balcony looking after my tomato plants. They look terrible. As if all their energy went into providing me with so many delicious tomatoes, and now they're just totally worn out. I might have to find a foster home for them.

I also made another to do list. I have several scattered around the house, which I sometimes find after months. It's always amusing to browse through them, and still satisfying to strike off the things I managed to actually do. The leftovers make their way onto my current list. Like movies I really wanted to watch for ages. And musicians I never had the time to check out properly.

Here's another knitting project that's been occupying me for a while. I started rather feverishly with the smaller sleeves, and didn't think I would actually get this far. Now I'm out of wool.

The pattern is so adorable, reminds me of waffles. 
With powdered sugar and icecream. Mhmm...

Day 3, 4, 5 and 6 - The healthy week project

So you might be wondering how my healthy week project went ahead?

Of course it was interrupted by a slightly unhealthy weekend. I went to see old friends in the north where I used to live before, and there's nothing I enjoy more than a good old chat over some delicious food.

I was still very determined and motivated on Saturday and started the day with a mouthwatering fruit salad after I went running in the park at 7:30(!). The day is still so young and undisturbed at that time, and it feels like as if there's nothing that could bring you down.

We went to the flea market, but found nothing in particular. Maybe because we weren't really looking for anything in particular, and preferred staring at our shoes in the mirror, toecaps turned inwards of course. 

It felt nice to be back there. Few things have changed since I had left. Which was reassuring, too. Like those tasty croissants at the Portuguese. You'll have to queue up for them, but they are ever so worth the wait.

The late afternoon was for baking (the slightly unhealthy part). But I'll tell you all about the mishaps and pet peeves tomorrow. With pretty pics that definitely look better than the baked goods tasted. Unfortunately.

Day 2 - the healthy week project

I'm starting the day with a fruit salad. Do you remember my biggest fear I mentioned yesterday regarding this project? Well, it came true.

Getting up so early on a day off does have one disadvantage - it makes the day a lot longer. I only had to do some paperwork yesterday, and my biggest challenge was to find a store that sells still water in glass bottles, not plastic.

Rummaging through my papers, cycling around on my bike, writing mails and making a few phone calls lead to me having achieved my daily goal at around 1 o'clock. In the afternoon, mind you. Of course it's nice to have a lot of time at hand when usually we only rush through our days and wonder where time has gone. However, this made my healthy diet project into more than just a project. A real endeavour.

I simply had too much time all of a sudden, and that usually misleads me into having a few more snacks here and there. Bits of chocolate, maybe some pizza, lots of toast with whateverthereisstillleftinthefridge. What a trap.

Stuffing salad, fruit and vegetables into my mouth all day long can hardly fill the gap all those yummy unhealthy goodies left. I'm terribly hungry all day long. However I am positive my body will accustom itself to this change, but of course in its own time. If it was this easy, we'd all be eating a lot healthier, wouldn't we?

Thoughts on a perfect breakfast

No breakfast is complete without a dish of eggs.

I didn't always think that way, and toast, bread, butter, jam and a certain chocolate spread have always been sufficient and satisfying for a long time. Not anymore though. Now the first thing that pops in my head as soon as the stomach complains is "What's it gonna be? Scrambled, fried, or omelette?" (Yes, I admit, I have not tried "poached" yet, but I hear that's quite difficult, and I doubt I could be up for these challenges early in the morning with a grumbling stomach). 

Someone told me our taste changes every 7 years. So this is the year for me! I have never liked onions much, and even garlic took a long time to grow on me. Now I find myself in the kitchen, willingly chopping shallots, consequently breaking out in tears, and fixing up a roux (is this the proper term?) as a base for pretty much any sauce I fancy lately.

Just the same with my breakfast. I wrinkled my nose at fans of a proper english breakfast, even when I lived in London for a while ("How can you eat warm food in the morning?"). Now I really can't think of a better start into the day.

What you see above is a spanish tortilla without the potato.. which makes it more into a well intended (and therefor rather thick) omelette. I chop tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms (you can also add zucchini etc.), whisk three eggs in a bowl, add the vegetables, salt and pepper and fry it all in a buttered small pan with garlic. The garlic is really essential, you'll love it! Try frying the omelette with a lid on it. And turning it is a lot easier with a flat plate pulled over the pan. Sprinkle some parmesan on top for extra indulgence.

Hope you're enjoying your breakfast this morning!