Roll with it

I’m currently studying over at my dad’s house and I bumped on a package of rice paper just the other day, while I was on a hunt for food in the fridge and the kitchen cabinets.

My dad does not keep any ‘real’ food in his house, I swear, it’s like a bachelor’s house! He had a cabinet full of cookies and chocolate and some mayonnaise, hot sauce and coca cola in the fridge…
well, that should make a great and nutritious dinner.

I’m so glad I asked him to do some groceries for me cause now I at least have some veggies, fruit and some rice.

So I decided to just roll with it:

Salad with cherries tomatoes,spinach and carrots.
Rice paper Spring rolls with:

One version is made with spinach, strawberries and half a peach.
The other version is made with a wild rice and quinoa mix, smokes almonds, pine nuts and dried figs.

And in case you never worked with rice paper before, have no fear: it’s super easy and quick. All you need is bowl, fill it with cold water, place the rice paper in and let it soak  for about a minute,take them out, place them on a towel and stuff them.

 

Tropicality

The sis had her wisdom teeth removed yesterday, I almost fainted, lovely day indeed.But hey, at least we found out Regina Spektor will be performing at Werchter the day we will be going, so that made everything all right again!

Breakfast today was cakelike and it was tropical tasting, an ideal boost  for a day of studying, reading mandatory articles and going for a quick run.  

‘Tropical Microwave Muffin’
makes one big or two small ones 

• 6 T of oatbran
• 4 T of soy milk
• half a container of yoghurt (I used a peach flavoured kind)
• 1 egg
• 1 T of grated coconut
• a handful of almonds,slivered
• a pinch of baking powder and a pinch of salt

Whisk everything together, pour in a big mug or divide over two smaller mugs. Microwave on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Love, M.

Craving Spring

As much as I like my new body butter from The Body Shop as it is so rich and creamy and it makes your skin feel super soft…

I still have a problem with the smell!
And I don’t mean that in a bad way, I absolutely adore that peach smell.

It smells so fresh and so real, but you see, that is the problem: I can’t stop thinking about peaches.
I’m thinking about their soft skin, their sweet juice, how it feels to sink your teeth into a peach that’s just ripe enough… I even considered having a try of my leg cause it smelled so peachy! It left my craving Spring even more than I had the last couple of days.

Spring is not going to happen though. Not in a while anyway, the temperature has been under 0° C for almost two weeks now in Belgium.

Seriously, where does this cold come from??
A month ago I was claiming “Spring would be here soon” and then all of a sudden winter decided to take a jump start after all, no fun!

Yet I don’t care that it’s snowing and freezing, I made a Spring salad yesterday.
A girl can dream, right?

‘Parsnip and Apple Salad’

• one carrot
• half a parsnip
• half an apple
• some olive oil
• some lemon or orange juice
• pepper
• optional: raisins or craisins, almonds

Peel the carrot and the parsnip, grate the carrot,parsnip and the apple. Sprinkle some olive oil and some lemon juice on top and serve with a dash of pepper.

I ate this with a couple of handfuls of spinach and some French bread.
Watch out, Spring, I’m ready for you!

Love, M. 

 

Cats, Quinoa and Layered Bliss

There’s a real yummy snack featuring quinoa, yoghurt and peaches coming up soon, but first I’d like to share a photograph of Mona

Cause this kitty only poses when she’s knocked out

Not really an elegant photograph, but that’s what it takes to take photographs of Mona, fluffy pink towels!
Let her sleep and wash for half an hour and she’ll stay where you like her too 😉

And for an afternoon snack of layered bliss  

‘Quinoa Parfait’

• 4 T of quinoa
• 8 T of soy milk (or 4 T of milk and 4 T of water)
• 5 almonds, chopped
• a container of yoghurt
• a peach  or nectarine, chopped
• a handful of granola

In a small saucepan heat the milk until it’s boiling, set the fire on low and add the quinoa and the chopped almonds. Let this simmer on low for about 15 to 20 minutes until the quinoa has absorbed all the milk.
In the meantime chop the  peach. Stir half of the peach in the yoghurt, the other half will for the base layer of your parfait.
When the quinoa is done you can start layering, I had a layer of chopped peach, a layer of quinoa, a layer of granola and a layer of yoghurt topped with the rest of the quinoa and some more granola.

I was hoping to have 2 layers of each but the bowl I used was too small 😉

Crunchy toppings and some quinoa peeping through 

As you can see in the photographs, it’s a gorgeous day in Belgium, the sun is shining and we’re all walking around in T-shirts, Autumn who?!

Enjoy your weekend,
Love, M.