APPLE YOGURT QUINOA

I like waking up early, hearing the birds sing, seeing the weak sun become stronger as it works it's way up the sky, having the house quiet and to myself. Amsterdam is a city that wakes up late, even the markets tend not to be open before 10 and people don't show up until noon. 

In Canada I did things in the morning but since moving here I've learned to appreciate them as a time when I can do nothing because no one else is doing anything. A time to relax and not be busy.

MINI CHOCOLATE TARTS

I first ate this style of tart at my friend Amelie's house. Since our dessert rendez-vous 2 weeks ago I've thought about making them often but never had the occasion. Yesterday that occasion struck... The plan was to make strawberry tarts. On cupboard inspection I noticed there was only 1 spoon of sugar left in the jar and you definitely can't make creme patissière without sugar. 

CHOCOLATE PEAR CUPCAKES

 Mission, birthday goodies... My friend Clara is having her 25th birthday party today and I offered to bake a sweet treat to help her celebrate 25 years of flying around the sun.

I got to thinking of what I was going to make, initially I wanted to bake a cake but since there had to be enough sweet treats for 15 people and the cake had to be transported to a restaurant, I thought cupcakes would be more manageable, not to mention much cuter.

CUCUMBER ZUCCHINI CHILLI SALAD

Digging through my photo archives I found this salad I made about a year ago. I wanted to share it because it's the perfect summer salad — The Netherlands hasn't deep dived into summer yet... I'm not holding my breath either but where you are maybe the sun is shining — It's fresh and creative with a bit of a Thai flavour to it. 

The salad consists of peeled zucchini, cucumbers, a chilli dressing and pomegranate seeds. I think it would be perfect with some barbequed pork skewers or shrimp.

SWEDISH CHOCOLATE CAKE

Mild, light, long days and fresh air, Sweden is a beautiful country, especially in the summer, in many ways it reminds me of Northern Ontario although there is something just a tiny bit prettier about it. Maybe it's the position of the sun which never gets intense but shines a warm light on the landscape or maybe because there are wildflowers everywhere, there is just something magical about it.

Last weekend I was in Copenhagen and Southern Sweden, Skåne. I was there for a wedding and a jaunt around Copenhagen. Unfortunately it rained while in Denmark and after a day and a half of walking around under an umbrella a beeline was made to take the train over the Øresund Bridge and into Sweden. A very relaxed 4 days was then spent eating well, walking around forests and visting the most beautiful northern beach for a wedding.

OATMEAL COOKIES

Oatmeal is delicious, I eat it almost every day. Cookies are also delicious, unfortunately, I don't eat them almost every day. I actually don't even get cravings for them that often...

Today though... today was different. The cookie craving decided to pay a visit and I suppose since it hit around breakfast I was really, really craving oatmeal cookies. Sometimes those cravings just strike don't they? COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE. So out came the baking utensils, my bag of oatmeal, a generous helping of butter and my wooden mixing spoon, (cookies just aren't the same when they're not mixed by wooden spoon, I like to stay classic that way).