Archive | July, 2012

Immagine d’Estate

28 Jul

There hasn’t been much action around this blog lately.  We’ve been on vacation for the last few weeks and have been having a great time visiting family, friends and doing lots of Belgian-like activities.  We’ve had everything from winter weather to 35 degree heat and we’ve cycled our little hearts out through it all.  It has been an amazing holiday so far.  Here are a few images from the last few weeks…

Standing on their sand castle and waiting for the tide to come in.

A great-grandfather and a great-granddaughter sharing their love of stamps.

Visiting a vintage wallpaper shop in Gent.  The two old sisters who own it are worth the visit.

My kind of beach hut.


Some cows and on old German war bunker on the beautiful bike trails in Lier.

The kid’s set up a traditional Belgian bloemenwinkel (flower shop) on the beach.

Creating with clay with extended family.

A culinary experience involving paling (eel).   And it was (surprisingly) good!

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A Kid’s Life: Japan

23 Jul

A while back I published my first post in my A Kid’s Life series.  I give a short interview with families from around the world about their daily traditions and routines.  I thought it would be a great way to see how other people pass a regular day in their life and see how it differs from ours.

For this A Kid’s Life post I decided to contact my friend Kumi who lives in Japan.  Kumi and I studied French together many years ago and she is one of those gentle, generous souls.  We’ve kept in touch on and off over the years via snail mail and we recently got to see each other again in person on our recent trip to Japan.  We met as young single women and are now both happily married mamas.  How times have changed.

After spending time with Kumi and her family we realized that although we live in different countries with different cultures and daily rhythms, some things about life with kids are universal.  Such as ice cream and skip rope!

Here’s Kumi’s interview accompanied by a few photos that I took while staying with them.  Enjoy!

Where do you live?

We live in Japan.

Are both you and your husband the same nationality?

Yes, we are both Japanese.

How many children do you have?  What are their ages?

We have one daughter who is 7 years old.

Do you both work or does someone stay at home?

My husband works full time and I work only 2 days per week.

How many languages do you speak at home?

We speak Japanese together.  Sometimes we speak some English as a sort of game.

At what age do kids start school in your country?

In Japan kids start school at 6 or 7 years old.

During the school year, what time do you wake up?

We wake up at 6:30am.

What is a typical breakfast for your family?

We eat rice balls and miso soup.

What time does school start and finish?  What is the weekly school schedule?

My daughter is in the second grade and starts school at 8:40 and finishes at 2:20pm.  In the higher grades the kids finish at 3:15pm.  In second grade the kids learn Japanese, arithmetic, drawing, manual arts, physical training, calligraphy, music and life studies.

Do your kids learn a second or third language at school?  From what age?

In Japan they learn English from the second grade.  They learn English games and songs…not too hard!

Do kids eat lunch at home or at school?  What is a typical lunch?

Usually kids eat lunch at school.  They mainly eat rice or bread and milk but sometimes also Chinese, Italian, Korean and Mexican food.

Do your kids do any after-school activities?

My daughter doesn’t do any after-school activities but this is VERY rare in Japan.  Usually almost all kids do dance, swimming, calligraphy, English, abacus etc etc.

What time do you eat dinner?  What is a typical dinner you would eat?

We usually eat around 7pm.  A favorite dinner of my husband is okonomiyake (Japanese pizza).

How much television/computer time do your kids have on a daily basis?

Usually 2 hours.

What’s bed time in your house?

My daughter goes to bed around 9:30pm.

What are some typical family week-end activities?

In the mornings my daughter watches cartoons and then we do some shopping and go anywhere my daughter wants!

When is the school vacation?

In the summer there is the 44 days of summer vacation from late July to late August.  Then there are a few weeks in December and in March/April.

What are the typical “first foods” for a baby to eat in your country?

A vegetable soup made with white radish or cabbage and boiled fish or meat paste.

Do you notice any big differences between Kumi and her family’s life and yours?  I personally love the breakfasts they eat and the fact that school ends so early in the afternoon.  Any other questions that you think might be interesting to ask?  Check out the last A Kid’s Life:Italia here.

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De Vuile Winkel

22 Jul

We arrived at my in-laws at midnight on a Friday evening and by 9:30am the next day my mother-in-law and I could be found browsing through our favorite local fabric shop.

It’s a shop that used to be referred to as De Vuile Winkel (The Dirty Shop) due to the fact it was located in an old decrepit four-story house with narrow wooden staircases and room upon room full of materials, old and new.  It was an experience just to browse through all those stacks of materials and a few times we found some great vintage fabrics (see here).

But a few months ago they decided they were in need of more room so they moved to a bright, large and spacious new spot.  And it’s gorgeous.

While there made our way to the corner with our favorite fabrics from Petit Pan, Echino and Kokka.  And as you can see from the photo, we left with our arms full (and big smiles on our faces).

If you ever find yourself in Kortrijk, Belgium I would recommend you pop into De Soldeur (De Vuile Winkel‘s real name).

And after just a few days the first creation was made.  My mother-in-law sewed this sweet little cotton skirt (material from Petit Pan) with a stretch jersey waistband for my daughter (who picked out the fabrics herself).  It really is the perfect summer skirt.  And it’s ready just in time for actual warm summer weather here in Belgium.  Halleluja

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“Traveling With Kids” Column on Classic Play! (Kroller Muller Museum, Holland)

19 Jul

Pop on over to Classic Play! for my next Traveling With Kids post.  This time we’re visiting the Kroller Muller Museum in the Hoge Veluwe National  Park in the Netherlands.  It’s a beautiful spot and well worth a visit.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and even experiences if you’ve already been there!

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Fietstochtje

17 Jul

The other day we all piled into the car and headed north to visit family in Belgium for a few weeks.  We started our day in 37 degree heat and air conditioning and ended our 12 hour voyage in 14 degrees and heating.

We are now in the land of chocolate, waffles, beer, french fries, mussels and so much more.  The kids are over the moon to be with their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.

After a few days of visiting various family members we headed to the sea.  We arrived in the pouring rain to a beautiful seaside apartment (thanks dear Julie!).  This morning we woke up to cloudy skies but dry weather and decided to do a long cycle ride to Holland and back.  The goal for the kids to get through the 50 km bike ride was the promise of the best pancakes in Belgium at the end.  We all got through it and they were indeed delicious.

During our cycle trip we came across an entire town in Holland that was transformed into an outdoor rommelmarkt (flea market).  We stopped and browsed through it and ended up buying these vintage umbrellas.  The kids were excited until hearing from the enthusiastic seller that he found them in an old box from the 50′s in a dead woman’s house.  They are in great shape and were a bargain at 5euro for all three.

I also came across this old book about making old scary looking dolls!  For 1 euro I was tempted to buy it.

Pensive cyclist dreaming of pancakes.

 

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Tattly Tattoos

14 Jul

A while back I was browsing around on-line and ended up on the Tattly Tattoos website.  I was immediately smitten.  Like they say on their website, they sell designy temporary tattoos.  And they are gorgeous!  They have such a huge selection of the most original, stylish and fun tattoos.

It took me ages to actually choose the ones that I ended up purchasing and my kids (and I) love them all.  The girls were invited to an old-fashioned outdoor dance party in an old Italian village and they decided some Tattly tattoos were the perfect special accessories to wear for it.  They went and danced the night away on an old stone dance floor in the middle of a park and had the time of their lives.  My teensy little (10 year old) daughters waltzed home past 11pm.  I’m thinking this is a taste of what our future week-ends will be like.  Oh dear.

One of the things I love is that they only charge $2 for international shipping!  Bonus for us Europe-living fans.  They just celebrated their first birthday and are offering 50% off all orders until Sunday evening (promotional code “1yearold”).

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Tavolino

11 Jul

The other day I made a quick stop into my favorite mercatino usato (2nd hand shop) and found this little table on wheels.  It was brown and ugly.  And did I mention it was brown?  I hate brown.  The guy who owns the shop couldn’t believe I actually wanted to buy it.

I’ve been looking for a little table to put my computer on in the evening while I’m browsing the internet, blogging or watching downloaded episodes of Mad Men.  I’ve started getting paranoid about always having the computer sitting on my lap.  That heat must have long term bad effects on our thighs.

So I brought it home, gave it a coat of primer and then three coats of paint and called it a day (I don’t like sanding).  I’m really happy with the result and love the fact that it’s on wheels and I can push it around from couch to couch and room to room.  I kind of feel like a stewardess sometimes.
It really is amazing what a few coats of white paint can do!

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Mirabelle Plums

9 Jul

School is finally out for summer and we’re all so ready for some good lazy summer vacation days around here.  We’re extremely happy to to have a break from those painfully early morning wake ups, the long bus rides to and from school, the homework and the studying.  I’m looking forward to focusing on spoken English in our household and I have dreams of my kids finally grasping the difference between “much” and “many”.  Hopefully by the end of the summer my kids won’t ask me questions such as “Mama, how many flour does the recipe call for?” or “Mama, how much cars are there on the road?”.  Wish us all luck.

This past week-end the girls and I spent some time picking all the ripe Mirabelle plums from the tree in our garden.  The last few years we didn’t get any fruit on the tree but surprisingly enough this year we had a tree full of miniscule sweet yellow prugne.

After picking the plums we decided to make a plum raspberry crumb cake to take to a friend.  It turned out to be such a tasty cake and knowing that it was made with plums from our tree, raspberries that we had picked and eggs from our chickens made us all extremely proud.  It is a really rich cake made with a crumb top and bottom and with a fruit and custard filling.  It’s delicious served warm with a little bit of vanilla ice cream.  If there is one recipe that you must try it is definitely this one.  You can substitute lots of different kinds of fruit for the plum and raspberries in this cake.

Plum Raspberry Crumb Cake

3/4 cup chilled butter (cut into small pieces)
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 cups Mirabelle plums (halfed and pits removed)
1 cup fresh (or frozen) raspberries
1 large egg (beaten)
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 (180) degrees. In mixer place ground almonds, 1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and small pinch of salt and mix until combined.  Add butter and mix until combined, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Press 3 cups of the crumb mixture into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the side of a greased 9 inch springform pan. Bake until set, about 18- 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

3. Scatter halved and pitted plums and raspberries on cooled crust.

4. In a medium bowl whisk together 1 Tbsp of flour with 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar.  Whisk in egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, milk, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and small pinch of salt.

5.  Pour custard over fruit (on cake base) and then sprinkle remaining crumble mixture on top.  Bake until custard is set and golden brown, about 45-50 minutes.  Let cool for at least 25 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Raspberry-Plum Crumb Tart recipe.

And because I have bowls and bowls full of these little plums I, of course, made a quick batch of jam.  I made some Plum Rhubarb Jam with Brown Sugar.  It’s got a dark caramel colour and a perfect balance between sweet and sour.  The rhubarb came from a plant in our garden that is growing completely out of control.  I’m in desperate need of new rhubarb recipes.  Please send them along.

So here’s how to make it.  In a large cast-iron pot put about 500 grams of pitted Mirabelle plums, 200 grams of chopped rhubarb, 75ml of water and the juice of half a lime (or lemon).  Let this simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Add 125 grams of brown sugar and 225 grams of white sugar and let simmer for a further 30 minutes ( or until preferred consistency).  Pour into sterilized jars (makes approx. 2 jars).  Enjoy!

So that’s it.  Now I’m all plummed out for another year.

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“Traveling With Kids” Column on Classic Play! (Japan)

5 Jul

I’m really really excited to let you all know that I have been asked to be a contributor to one of my favorite blogs.  I’ll be writing a Traveling With Kids column for Classic Play! and I’m over the moon ecstatic to be doing it.

Today my first column is published and it’s about our recent trip to Japan.  For the post I asked the kids to give me their top 10 favorite memories about the trip and in the end they came up with the exact same ones I would have (except the Japanese toilets maybe!).  I’d love it if you popped over there to take a look and even make a comment if you so please.

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Oatmeal Cookies with Marzipan, Coconut and Dried Figs

4 Jul

After a week-end of broiling hot weather we finally have a day of rest from the heat.  The sky is full of glorious grey clouds and the streets are glistening from the recent splattering of light rain.  The windows are all open and a cool breeze is dancing through the house and chasing out that heavy humidity that has been lurking in here for the last few weeks.  We can all breathe again.  Thank you.

So now that the house is full of renewed and re-cooled energy I can actually turn my oven on to do a bit of baking (oh how I’ve missed it!).

I opened my baking drawer and grabbed the first things that I saw: oatmeal, coconut, marzipan and dried figs.  I was in the mood for a heavy duty cookie (that didn’t involve chocolate – unbelievable but true).  In my younger days cookies involving these ingredients would have been considered a waste of calories.  Dried fruit in a cookie was for people who substituted carob for chocolate.  But I’ve grown up and matured and I’m ready to accept the fact that these ingredients actually enrichen a cookie (in moderation of course).

I also made these today as a special treat for my daughters who just got braces and have sensitive painful mouths at the moment.  I thought a good batch of cookies might lift their spirits a little.

As usual I made a double batch and froze half for another time.  Making a double batch isn’t any more work and it’s handy having ready-to-use cookie dough on hand for last minute guests, parties or late-night cravings.

Here’s the recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (230g) butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cubed marzipan
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped dried figs (or apricots etc)

1.  Combine flour, oatmeal and baking soda.  Set aside.

2.  In mixer cream butter with sugars.  Turn speed down and add vanilla, eggs and salt.  Mix until combined.

3.  Slowly add flour mixture and mix until combined.

4.  Stir in marzipan, coconut and dried figs.

5.  Spoon onto sheet lined with baking paper.  Bake for about 14-16 minutes (the cookies should become golden brown).

6.  Let cool on wire rack.  Enjoy!

My kids love these cookies.  They also have no idea what is in them.  I might have accidently told them there was white chocolate in them.  And I might of left out the fact that there are dried figs.  But all this is not important.  What’s important is that they are happily sitting in the garden munching away and happy as clams.

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