Changing roles

Not long ago I used to be the one on top of things. I told my daughters where to buy their clothes, what the best restaurants are and which places to go to. Slowly roles are changing :-). When going to Amsterdam for a day in late September, my eldest daughter advised my husband and I to go to Mazzo. We both liked it.

The Italian restaurant has an industrial, but homely feel to it. It's the perfect place to just have a cup of coffee, a quick lunch or dinner. The clientèle is a mix of young and old. While sitting there we watched mothers chatting in the back of the restaurant, while their children enjoyed themselves, men reading their newspaper or working on their laptop and trendy young people just coming in for a drink. 

The food was delicious. My husband had a plate of spaghetti peperoncini vongole mussels and I a focaccia, tomato Mozarella di buffalo & pesto. When in Amsterdam do visit! You can find the restaurant on the Rozengracht, or just click on the link above.

Wish you all a lovely weekend! From a dark and grey Rotterdam,

Madelief x

Cupcakes & granny squares

It's been a busy week. Work, a piano concert, choir rehearsals and appointments with friends and family took up most of my time. I am sorry I haven't been able to leave any comments. I will try to make up for that this weekend :-)!

Now that temperatures are dropping in Holland and the garden is asleep, to me the kitchen is the place to be. I love to spend time behind the stove, trying out recipes or just cooking a simple meal for my family. Last weekend my parents came for tea and dinner. The perfect opportunity to bake some more cupcakes :-)! It was my intention to give it a 'white' theme, but somehow 'blue' slipped in.

Can you remember the granny squares I showed you a while ago? All through summer I have been crocheting, to come to a standstill in September..... I was fed up with them! A friend of mine suggested to sew or crochet them together. She said it would help finish the blanket. It's exactly what I did and she was right. It does help!


Wish you all a happy weekend!

Lieve groet, Madelief x

 

Cooking club

 

For more than eighteen years, I have been a member of two cooking clubs. I was host to one of them this week. Which means I had to make the dining room look acceptable and cook the main course. My friends took the starter and the chocolates with them. Normally we always have a dessert too, but due to a conference one of my friends attended, we skipped it. We all have busy jobs and families and although the cooking club is perfect for trying out recipes, it's main purpose is to spend time together and enjoy ourselves. 

One of my friends made a delicious potato leek soup as a starter. I prepared Marinated aubergine with oregano (Ottolenghi / The Cookbook) and Avocado, quinoa and broad bean salad (Ottolenghi / Plenty). It was more work than I had anticipated and glad one of my daughters helped me out double shelling the broad beans. I served some bread and Tsatsiki (Liselotte Forslin / Mezze) to go with it. It was delicious. So far the cookbooks by Ottolenghi have not let me down. The recipes are easy to make, look beautiful and are full of flavour.

Do you enjoy cooking?

A happy weekend to you all!

Lieve groet, Madelief x

Autumn leaves

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your sweet comments on my 'closet' post. I enjoyed reading them!

Last week felt like summer in Holland. I can't remember having such high temperatures before at the beginning of November. Because we had hardly any wind, the trees are still full of  leaves in the most beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red.

The garden is slowly falling asleep. However, there are several plants that still catch the eye. Like the Boston ivy with it's red leaves, the Callicarpa with it's purple berries and the Hydrangea and Sedum with their faded pinks.

We planted the last bulbs. Some purple tulips, pink and purple alliums, bluebells and forest hyacints. We cut back the grass, emptied the terracotta pots and cleaned out the greenhouse. There is still a lot of work to do before next spring, but there is no hurry.

Have you been working in the garden lately?

Wish you all a Happy weekend!

Madelief x