No, Breadfruit are nothing to do with Bread…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Whilst I was looking at the Kiribati photos the other day, I saw some photos and was reminded about  a recipe I wanted to tell you about…

Fried breadfruit.

They are basically breadfruit potato crisps …

you simply cut the thick  outer rind part off a breadfruit, slice it into as thin slices  as you possibly can (use your sharpest knife and this will be easier to do) and then deep fry until crisp and golden.

Sprinkle with a little salt and serve.

Beware, they are addictive!

So… now if you happen upon breadfruit you will actually have a recipe that tells you what to do with it!

One breadfruit makes a LOT of chips, so this is especially good for parties.

- Sliced but not yet fried…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

These fried up like this.. yum!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

But with a little patience you can slice them even thinner and then they get  even better!…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A 101 Project ….Large Sized Matchbox: Folding Instructions.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Sitting in plaster for weeks on end , zombied out on painkillers and wishing your days could be put onto fast-forward did have one redeeming factor.

During my few waking hours I said “Thank You God for Wi Fi“   and with laptop on the bed,  groggily searched internet pictures for kid friendly, craft orientated fund-raising ideas.

Since concentration span was limited most days it did take me another 6 months to get as far as I have… a ramshackle collection of sketches, ideas and a few failed and eventually two ok prototypes.

One of these ideas was for over-sized matchboxes:  my mind whirred for possible uses:       -  used as small guest treats / name tags on a special occasion dinner table?    – to contain the dosh when someone requests a cash gift?   – to wrap a small gift?     – ribbon all around and Christmas tree ornament ?   -  wrap in crape paper so that it looks like a rectangular bon-bon?     – 24 or 25 of them would make a Christmas Advent calender?      – general “little bits” stash boxes that kids love,     – or just a crafty school holiday project for kids to keep busy and creative, just decorate fold and glue.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Himself printed out a template from the internet and a few weeks later I actually got around to assembling it.

It was perfect… neat folds and lovely, but the inner box would not fit into the outer sleeve come what may… the pattern pieces were clearly not sized so that one could actually fit properly into the other.

Darn…

…so I set about making my own pattern and three further attempts later had a carefully drawn template on a piece of white card.

One day when I am mobile again I want to make these with Scouting so started to measure up more of my templates for them to use. After the third one it was clear that if I were to continue on this track I’d be drawing forever, so changed tack and went in search of a printer who could make copies of  my template. One was duly found and once I explained my lack of mobility,  he even picked up and delivered to our door… brilliant!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

My method for my fund-raising  is simple: I donate  my time and pay  the cost of all materials from my own pocket, then every cent made from the sale of the kits goes to the Kiribati Kids and I don’t have to mess around with separating and deducting profits from costs etc later.

Himself is leaving the kids and I at home this weekend and attending a conference, there will be stalls where various things are for sale  so he’s taken a pile of these to sell and  this will be my “test run” to see which colours are most popular etc.    I’m putting the folding instructions here so that if Himself sells any, people can log in and see how it’s done if they need the information.

So.. I’m pricing them at a set of 4 little boxes for Euro 2,–  and will keep you informed in due course about if this fund raising project sinks or flies.

Large Sized Matchbox: Folding Instructions.

Step 1: Take both templates for the inside  and outside of the box and fold neatly along both the dotted and solid lines so that you have a sharp crease.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Step 2:  Cut ONLY the SOLID LINES so that your end result has the four corners cut out and “tabs” at each end. (Do NOT cut any dotted line, they are the fold lines).

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Step 3: Bend the tabs in as shown and put a dab of glue on the side of them that faces the outside of the box. Also add glue to the inside of the top flap. Line the tabs up neatly and press into place before folding over the flap (with the glue on the inside) to secure.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Step 4: Repeat (Step 3) to complete the other end of the box.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Step  5: If you wish to decorate the OUTSIDE of your matchbox, then draw, cover or paste things onto to card now whilst it’s flat and before folding it up but remember NOT to decorate the flap that has cut away edges as this is where the glue needs to go. (Make sure that the printed guide marks are on the inside of the box once it’s folded) My instruction box in the photos  is undecorated so that it’s easier to see the steps.

Once your decorations (if any) are finished, add glue to the flap that has cut away edges.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Step 6:  Fold the remaining flap over on the sleeve to complete the box shape. ( I use large paper-clips to hold it in place if I’m gluing up a few boxes at once)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Step 7: Once the glue on the inner box and the outer sleeve has dried, the two parts can be put together to make your box complete.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Global Soul: The Kiribati Connection…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

One of the tasks on my 101 Things in 1001 Days List was Number 43.  to raise (at least) Euro 1.001,–  for Charity.

Himself decided that he needed to scratch his travel bug itch at the tender age of 18  and that’s how he ended up on an 10 month journey hitch-hiking  from the Netherlands to India with school mate.

A few hard working and saving years later, his parents waved him off again, this time for a 8 month trip around the Pacific. In the island group of Kiribati (pronounced ” Kir ree bus“), he borrowed a scooter, hit a bump on the unpaved road, and lost a considerable amount of skin on his bare legs and arms as he met the rough coral of the road at speed.

Rescue arrived in the form of a Catholic nun from the local mission down the road, and she in turn introduced him to her (real life) sister who was a nurse at the local clinic, and patched up, he  got an invite to live with another family  …an arrangement that lasted some months and involved rolling out his grass mat in a thatched hut on the beach.

After more hard work and saving in The Netherlands, he returned for a second time for 11 months a few years later.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

He lost contact with several of the families over time but regained it after a series of completely serendipitous events some years later and has remained in excellent contact ever since.

Then by chance we discovered that one of our  New Zealand friends were actually relative to several of our Kiribati friends and a wider network  between us was established.  In recent years it came to our attention that the “Kiribati School for the Disabled” had been set up in Tarawa, the capital and was taking care of some 70 disabled children.

It’s since undergone a name change and is now known as “Kiribati School and Center for Children with Special Needs” and a helpful volunteer has built them a website:  http://sites.google.com/site/kiribatischoolfordisabled/ (scroll down the main page to see photos of the kids).

Our Kiribati friends told us that children with a disability were historically less accepted in society and until recent decades were often kept out of sight, living isolated lives at home. The formation of the school has been a radical step forward, not just for the children but for Kiribati societies attitude to them… and this sole school has been such a success for the children that now more children are being sent there as word spreads around families in the island group.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This has been a double edged sword as Kiribati is not a rich country and does not have the funds to help these kids,  after some perilous years where the school teetered on the brink of closure for lack of funds, various International donors have made Aid available and the building and most basic running costs have been met… for the moment at least.

However there is no money yet for books, toys, training or classroom resources. In 2009 concern was raised that many of these children were in desperate need of at least one nutritious meal per day and so Family Kiwidutch and other private donors have embarked on a fund-raising mission to help out with providing subsidized meals for the kids, after all, a hungry child is not a happy child.

Meal are nothing flash… rice, vegetables and possibly locally caught fish if they can manage, but first we need to provide basics… kids need food before they need toys.

Recently the number of children attending the school passed the 100 mark, and the four rooms they have at present  are clearly not adequate, but we are hoping that AusAid (Australia)  might be able to come to the rescue on that one since the fund-raising we can manage is on a far more modest scale.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This little country is far from the beaten track…  even if people have heard of the name, few can point it out on the map. It’s a largely unknown  part of the world and gets into the News rarely.

I know than many massive charities do great things, but nothing beats having a network that means you personally know who’s running things on the ground and what they are spending money on.  I know that when I fund-raise for these kids, the money reaches them and is used for the purpose for which it is intended.

We meet up occasionally with others in the Netherlands who have links to Kiribati (usually VSO) and in one of those meetings photos from a recent visit ( and previous ones) to Kiribati by one of the group were beamed onto a living room wall… I took photos of the slide show.

My personal mission is to try and make items for fund-raising that will raise funds for the kids meals. I have a heap of ideas, but will start small and work my way down my list to see what works best.

(A small bit of semi-useful information: The first missionary’s to Kiribati observed that there was a spoken language but no written language. They decided to make one, but for an unknown reason decided that the new Kiribati alphabet should have only 18 letters. One of the omitted letters was “s”. Thus the letter combination “ti” is the written representation for the sound, “s”).

So now you know the reson why most people outside of Kiribati totally mispronounce the nation’s name.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

101 Things in 1001 Days …Rising to the Challenge!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

101 things to do in 1001 days Challenge

Agh me hearties… I’m feeling reckless brave, (nah, that’s probably the Tramadol)  and I have been in two minds about joining up because of my extremely limited mobility,  but yesterday I had a “good” day after several tough ones and decided to bite the bullet.

Sadly since I have more enthusiasm than capability and I can’t realistically expect to be physically recovered before  Christmas 2011, items like the “Move it” section ain’t happening except in my imagination.

I have trouble with 60 meters of walking on crutches at the moment so planing a 6 kilometer walk is a rather sick joke. Still, I have weighed up the options and decided that there are some things on my list that I can start with on my list… so here goes.

1001 days is roughly 2 years, 8 months and 23 days.. . more or less…  let’s kick this off now and see how it pans out.

Some of the things on the list may need some further explanation.. rest assured …it will all follow as appropriate in due course

I’ll try and add a separate “101 in 1001″ page and just have one main thing to say about my challenges: I will only make a “101″ post when something is completed or a particular milestone has been reached with the challenge. (that may however also be a ” first” a flop, something funny along the way).

Kiwidutch’s 101 Things in 1001 Days Challenge List:

Unleash the Creativity

1. Take one of the many songs I compose in my head and write down at least one of them per month

2. Work on “that” design idea I have for Spoonflower.com ….. (it’s a secret until it’s finished)

3. Teach Kiwi-Daughter to hand sew a project from beginning to end.

4.  Show both kids how to make paper.

5. Teach Kiwi-Daughter a new embroidery stitch.

6. Show Kiwi-Daughter how to make friendship bracelets.

7. Help Kiwi-Daughter make 10 hand-made cards.

8. Help Little Mr. make 10 hand-made cards.

9. Help Kiwi-Daughter make 5 hand-made gifts.

10. Help Little Mr. make 5 hand-made gifts.

Family Matters

11. Hand-stitch 3 Christmas Tree ornaments for Kiwi Daughter

12. Hand-stitch 3 Christmas Tree ornaments for Little Mr.

13. Update my Will, and make a letter to my kids to be opened should I die suddenly.

14. Write a letter to my kids telling them how much I love them/ am proud of something they have done etc and post it so that they will get a surprise in the post.

15. Let the kids plan an entire family day out and say “Yes” if it’s financially/practically do-able.

16. Play “family restaurant” at home where the kids are the “chefs” and other kids are the “guests”  (adult help in kitchen with oven)

17. Play “family restaurant” at home where the kids (not necessarily just our kids) are the “chefs” and parents are the “guests”  (adult help in kitchen with oven)

18. To chase up family history from some older family members before it’s too late.

19. Have a family picnic dinner in the park, do this more than 5  times.

20. Have a family picnic dinner in the park, invite another family we know to join in.

21. Have a pot-luck family/friends picnic dinner in the park, with a minimum of 3 families. Bonus points for ever additional family/friend set roped into the event.

22. Organize an extended family picnic , do this 2 times.

23. Let each kid have one Baking Day per year where they get to completely choose what is baked (no matter how much sugar or how unhealthy)

24. Have 10 Games evenings where the whole family plays, board games, lego, cards etc.

25. Plan a neighbourhood treasure hunt for our kids local friends.

26. Have a Mama/Kiwi Daughter day that we plan together.

27. Have a Mama/Little Mr day that we plan together.

Foodie Fantasies

28. Get the kids to have  5 new “joined-up-food”  experiences (the “sauce” being the new ingredient)

29. Get the kids to have  5 new “joined-up-food”  experiences ( the “herbs” being the new ingredient)

30. Get the kids to have  5 new “joined-up-food”   experiences (the  “spices” being the new ingredient)

31. Get the kids to have  5 new “joined-up-food”   experiences (the  “vegetable” being the new ingredient)

32. Have 10 goes at baking bread

33. Learn how to use the game pie mold I bought.

34. Find and make 5 recipes that use Filo pastry

35. Find and try out 5  aubergine recipes (that’s “eggplant” to some of you)

36.  Make and try 50 new healthy recipes

37. Try out 5 new tagine recipes

38. Find a  Historical recipe, research it,  make it and review it.

Exhibiting my Weird Sense of Humour

39. Think up 5 absolutely brilliant Aprils Fools Jokes, carry out appropriate research and planning and see how many people you can fool when you pull them off. (suggestions from readers welcome)

40. Make up an elaborately detailed practical joke (any time of year) and pull it off successfully

41. Host a (surprise) “regressive” dinner, so guests start the meal with dessert and end with an aperitif.

42. Convince the local Islamic Butcher to give me 10 sheep’s knuckles so that I can teach the kids  the game of “knucklebones” .

Giving Back and being Grateful

43. Raise at least Euro 1000  for the charity we support.

44. Have everyone donate a pig, chicken, goat, rabbit etc to an organisation like Heifer International, instead of Birthday or Christmas gifts.

45. Make a difference to a complete stranger, in a Continent I don’t live on. Do this anonymously.

46. Make a difference to a complete stranger, in a Country I don’t live in. Do this anonymously.

47. Send 10 “goodie” baskets to people  …“just because”.

48. Write 50 letters , handwritten ones snail-mail ones, and stick a stamp on and post them

49. Write and send a Thank you card whenever  people have done something nice.

50. Play and donate 101 000 grains of “free rice” on the Free Rice website.

51. Send 50 Postcards (with meaningful and personal messages)

Local Inspirational

52. Get to know someone new on my street.

53. Organize a summer street party.

54. Dig out a piece of city history and catalog it.

55. Bring recognition to an unsung “local hero”

56. Have neighbours (from across the street, you know who you are) over for dinner for the first time.

57. Have neighbours (from bottom left of the stairs, you know who you are) over for dinner for the first time.

58. Have neighbours (from several doors down of the left, you know who you are) over for dinner for the first time.

59. Have neighbours (from approx 6 six houses down, you know who you are) over for dinner for the first time.

60. Organise a “progressive” dinner within our street (soup at one house, main course at another, dessert at another etc)

Staving off  Dementia a.k.a. Stretching  the Mind

61. Make an additional two week of “reserve” blog posts written (Works-in-progress finished)…

62. Scan 101 old trip photos from my film camera days

63. Learn how to use my DSLR Macro lens

64. Improve my French language skills, specifically learn 20 new verbs.

Getting Personal

65. Plan and take 3 kid-free long weekends away with Himself.

66. Plan a surprise gift  for Himself.

Move it More

67. Use a fitness apparatus 5 days out of 7. (and break a sweat)

68. Take the whole family on a 3km walk.

69. Take the whole family on a 5km walk.

70.  Save for a Wii Fit/ sport thingy.

71. Walk 1001 kms on my walking machine or similar calories/effort on cross trainer.

72. Loose the weight I gained whilst in Paster / on crutches

Saving the Planet: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

73. Actively save towards one solar panel

74. Be better at switching off lights no one is using

75. Switch off computer and anything on “standby” if I’m popping out , no matter how short I’m popping out for.

76. Bake two things in the oven instead of one, do this on more than 20 occasions

77. Walk somewhere that I may have previously taken the car, do this more on than 50 occasions

78. Reduce my “collections of treasured stuff” by a third, get picky(ier)  about what I add to my stashes.

79. Clean out ancient emails, but save the good stuff.

80. Run 5 Give-a-Ways on my blog.

Get  Social

81. Meet up personally with 3 fellow bloggers who I follow on-line regularly

82. Offer a free bed and a bite to someone passing though… random catch of stranger, preferably someone on a budget.

83. Cook and deliver a meal to someone who’s going through some general long term stress.

84. Cook and deliver a meal to someone who’s just had a baby/had an operation/bereavement etc.

85. Have friends and family over for home-cooked meals  20 times.

86.  Babysit + kid-sleepover (for free) so that another set of parents can have a weekend off.

87. Include someone else’s kid(s) in one of our family kid-friendly outing so that their parents can have an afternoon or a day off.

Wanderlust

88. Visit Castle ( exactly which, yet to be decided)

89. Visit Castle ( exactly which, yet to be decided)

90. Visit Castle ( exactly which, yet to be decided)

91. Visit  Museum  (Haags Openbaar Vervoer Museum (HOVM)

92. Visit:  Vredespaleis ( The Peace Palace) in Den Haag (The Hague)

93. Visit  Museum  (exactly which, yet to be decided)

94. Visit  Museum  (exactly which, yet to be decided)

95. Visit a Hofje   (exactly which, yet to be decided)

96. Visit a Hofje   (exactly which, yet to be decided)

97. Visit a Hofje   (exactly which, yet to be decided)

98. Visit a Hofje   (exactly which, yet to be decided)

99. Visit a place of interest in my Province  (exactly which, yet to be decided)

100. Visit a place of interest in my Province  (exactly which, yet to be decided)

101. Visit 3 new countries.

It’s Divine, but Phyllo-sophically it’s also Definiately a rare Treat…

I first made this recipe whilst on an elimination diet in 2006 for allergy reasons, so used my work colleagues as test tasters,  but have made it more times since and have my eye on it again: since Himself bought phyllo pastry home instead of Puff pastry a while back, the kids are itching to help make something in the kitchen and I want to make some space in the freezer.  If you are looking for an easy to make “Wow” dessert to make for guests too, then this one will certainly do the trick.

I have made this both with the lemon curd in this recipe and  once when in a hurry, with shop-bought lemon curd, and am happy to report that in my case at least, both variations  turned out almost too delicious for our own good.

Strawberry and Lemon Curd Phyllo Baskets

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Recipe by “evelyn/athens” at Food.com (formerly Recipezaar)

Ingredients:
4 phyllo pastry, thawed, covered with damp kitchen towel
1/3 cup butter, melted
6 teaspoons dry white breadcrumbs
Lemon Curd

1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon rind, grated
1 pint strawberry, hulled and sliced
fresh mint sprig

1. For baskets: Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface.
3. Brush with butter.
4.Sprinkle 2 tsp bread crumbs over.
5 .Top with second phyllo sheet, butter and sprinkle with 2 tsp crumbs.

6 .Top with third phyllo sheet, butter and sprinkle with 2 tsp crumbs.
7 .End with fourth phyllo sheet and just butter this one.
8. Cut out 12, 4-inch squares.
9. Brush every other cup of 2, ½ cup muffin tins with melted butter.
10. Place 1 phyllo square in each buttered cup, pressing down in center gently and around edges to mold (corners should stick up attractively ? bend them slightly, but not all the way, back).
11. Bake until just golden-brown and crisp, about 10-12 minutes.
12. Remove and cool completely (can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container).
13. For lemon curd: Whisk sugar, eggs, butter, lemon juice and peel over low heat until butter melts.
14. Cook until mixture thickens to consistency of light whipped cream, about 5 minutes.
15. Pour into bowl.
16. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours (can be prepared up to 2 days ahead).
17. Spoon some berries into bottom of each basket, sprinkle VERY lightly with sugar, top with 2 ½ tbsp of lemon curd.
18.  Arrange remaining berries in petal pattern on top of curd.

If you make the recipe too and would like to leave a review for Evelyn then the link is here: http://www.food.com/recipe/strawberry-and-lemon-curd-phyllo-baskets-88853

I know you won’t want to look too eagerly at the amounts of butter and sugar etc in this dessert, it’s not in the “healthy” category but it  is  a Once-a-Year Treat to treasure.

All the Signposts, but Seemingly no Destination ?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In one of the small side streets in the centre of The Hague there is an unassuming doorway that probably most people just rush past in their haste. If you look closely has some beautiful decoration  in the inset above the door. The  stone banner sports an inscription surrounded by oak leaves that reads “St Willibrordus School, anno 1898“

Interested, I attempted to find out more about this school using The Hague’s Gemeente (city council) archive pages for all schools in Den Haag (http://www.haagsescholen.nl   dutch language website only).

Not only could I not  find it listed anywhere, but a Google search for more information turned up schools of the same or similar names but at completely different locations in the Netherlands so they were no relation to this one and also further searching turned up no historical information anywhere that I could find relevant to this place.

On the wall very close to the doorway are two plaques: the first reads: “Broeders van Sint Jan” (Brothers of Saint John) and the second one, in stone reads:  “Melchisedek priester van de allerhoogste offerde brood en wijn: Gen 14:18″ ” In dit pand was van de tweede helft de 17de eewe tot 1878  de schuilkerk van de parochie van Sint Jacob gevestigd”

That translates as: “Melchisedek Priest of the All Highest Being (God) is offered bread and wine: Genesis 14:18

“In this building during the second half of the 17th century until 1897 was established the hidden/underground church of of the parish of Saint James”

So, was a secret church masquerading as a school? hmmm the dates aren’t right as the school date is only one year before the end of the life of the secret church  and it’s unlikely that by then secrecy was much needed anyway. It’s a little mystery that I would like to solve one day and it just goes to prove that there might be all sorts of secrets and possible conspiracies hidden behind unassuming doorways.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Bricks on the Brain…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Yesterday’s post started me thinking about bricks. (Yes I know, you read it correctly …“bricks” , I can only confess that the  creative brain works in very strange mysterious ways, or at least that’s my excuse.)

Once I started looking through folders of photographs of buildings I have taken in recent years, I am struck by just how many ways you can use the common-all-garden-variety brick.

Certainly, bricklayers of the past century have taken great pride in their craftsmanship as the decoration clearly takes skill and precision. I had to walk to an address in the Beeklaan last summer and walked a length of the Groot Hertoginnelaan in an effort to find it, as the bit I needed looks like an unrelated side street (and I have no sense of direction and manage to get lost on a regular basis)

Not only did I spy some lovely brickwork, but also quirky wooden turrets, finials on tops of houses, ornamentation in the  form of  functional but decorative  archways and decoration seemingly just for the sake of being decorative.  Once  in the Beeklaan I saw something I hadn’t seen in ages… a row of garages.

Now to most of my readers a garage is just a garage amd everyone has one right? Nope, very few have them here (in the cities at least) and owning one is veeeeery expensive. I have seen the odd one in a street but more than one is less usual. Add to that the amazing brick wall decoration on the house at the end of the garages … impressive!

hmmm are they Bricklayers or  artists? You choose. This indeed proves that there is indeed artistry in the humble brick.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Hmmm… Wonder or Blunder? I haven’t yet Decided.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Yep, you guessed it, I’m still cleaning out my archive files from walks taken last summer.

(to be honest this one might even be from the summer before that)

This one was in an area that’s had a great deal of renewal and renovation in the district and  many of the buildings were due to be removed to make way for new housing space.

I’m not certain which buildings were earmarked for demolition and which were to stay and to be be renovated and since I’m not out and walking I am not even sure if  this is still standing. (But it’s quirky, so I do hope so)

Whilst I marveled at the ingenuity of the architecture of the building in the Anna Paulonastraat a few days ago, this one gives me mixed feelings.

On one hand, the beauty of how they handled the brickwork in this corner amazes me, on the other I am shocked to see a Dutch building that gasp ….wastes an entire corner of space like this one does.

Clearly it was never a doorway, nor ever big enough to have been a doorway, and land in The Netherlands has never been cheap.

Not ever.

So why did they not carry on the beveled edge of the top floor right down to the ground?… and not just once, but twice, if the windows on the right are anything to go by too?

I’m genuinely in two minds as to wither this is an architectural wonder or blunder.  Your thoughts?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Salsa Try Something Verrrry Different?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

My recipe for today is definitely “different” but well worth a try. It’s quick and easy to make and it tastes great!

I got it from fellow Recipezaar (now “Food.com”) member “Suzy-Q-Cooks” and it’s for a salsa with a difference because it uses grapes!

Grape Salsa
Ingredients

3/4 cup red grapes, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup green grapes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeños
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon bottled Tabasco sauce

Combine all ingredients. Mix Well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Drain well before serving with chips.

(originally I made it with just Tabasco but have gotten to like the jalapeños in it  as well, since then)
I do make a few changes when I make this: I use whatever grapes we have to hand, and double or triple the fresh coriander because we love the stuff and add more jalapeños and/or Tabasco depending on how hot we fancy having this on the day.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Here’s the review I made the first time I made this…

“WOW and WOW and WOW, This recipe is DIFFERENT with a capital D ! In this case Different = refreshing, amazing and unexpected, strong flavours bouncing off one another as you experience one then another and another in turn… I have made this twice in the last days and will make it again tomorrow for dinner guests. We find that we prefer it without the jalapeños, but with a little extra Tabasco sauce and that way there is still plenty of heat but no real point of fire so you don’t suddenly discover that you mouth is ablaze.

We also like this served as a small individual and very different salad rather than as a salsa. Yes, it is not a recipe for the unadventurous or the feint hearted, and you HAVE to love cilantro (coriander) because leaving it out simply isn’t an option in this recipe.

In fact it’s the one ingredient I used more of than stated… and it should go without saying that fresh coriander is the only way to go here too. Please see my rating system: 5 excellent stars for a recipe that even the non fruit loving DH devoured and pronounced wonderful. Thanks!“

Since I made this, others have reviewed it and say that it gets better the next day or so… ours never lasted so long LOL, if you’d like to give this a go and would like to leave your own review for Suzy-Q-Cooks here’s a link to the recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/grape-salsa-294570

Now Here’s A German Spezial for You to Sample …

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’ve gotten behind as the official writer-upper of the beer tasting reviews.

I can’t even say I couldn’t do it because I’d had a few too many as  A) I don’t drink beer and B) I drink so little alcohol in general that everyone who actually knows me would know that I was lying though my teeth if I ever said that.

I’ve been putting this post together over a period of weeks and finally got it finished.

As usual, one of the group picks the beer, (no, they would never trust me to do that part)  and the others get a blind tasting so that they can’t be influenced by anything on the label at all.

For better or for worse, all they have to go by is the colour and their taste buds…

Spezial Rauchbier

1pt.9 Fl. oz / 0,5 l

Vol. Alc: 6.7%

Cat:–

Bottle Cap: Brauerei Spezial / Bierspezialitäten aus Bamberg

Neck Label: Brauerei Spezial / Bamberger / Rauchbier / 1536 / Christian Merz / Bock Bier/ Bebraut nach dem / Reinheitsgebot von 1516 / bayerischen / alc. 6,7% vol.

Label: Spezial Rauchbier / Brauerei . Spezial .  Bamberg  / Kühl und dunkel lagern / Zutaten: Wasser, Gerstenmalz, Hopfen.  / 1pt.9 Fl. oz / 0,5 l / beer, birra, bière, öl.

Taste Test:

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Himself:  “I really like it, wonderful flavour, very full, (Rating=8)”

Andrew: “  long aftertaste, nice smooth all the way though, nice colour you can almost see all the way though it,  no idea the country  though (Rating = 8.5)”

Friedel: ” I’m not as poetic as everyone else but I really like it, taste stays a long time  in your mouth and that’s quite nice, colour is nice too   (Rating = 8 )”

Evan: “ Is this a Belgium style beer?  It’s really delicious. Good beer for a ski lodge. (Rating = 8 )”

Alicia: “ This beer is really good, better than some of  the others we have tasted (Rating = 9 )”

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)