Sunday suppers; spicy pasta soup with sweetened basil and parmesan wafers

Sundays. I can never decide if they are the start or the end of the week. Probably because my chore list is the the same length every day and especially after a week dedicated to my son's epic fourth birthday (starting school, new room etc.) I needed dinner to be quick and easy. Bon dia, it's gotta be soup. I was going for hearty, soft flavours but the winter weather was so sunny and bright, it went spicy!

Soup

2 bays leaves

chili flakes to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon olive oil

250 grams chorizo sliced and halved

800 grams soffritto

2 cups chicken stock

2/3 cups red wine

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

pasta of choice, e.g. tortellini

nutmeg

garlic powder

parmesan

basil

1 teaspoon white sugar

Warm the bay leaves and chili flakes in the oil till fragrant. Add the rosemary, thyme, fennel seeds, half the chorizo till the flavours mellow. Tip in brown sugar and all the liquids; soffritto, stock and wine. Cook till bubbling, then add the pasta. When cooked add a splash of full milk and nutmeg and garlic to taste.

Grate parmesan into small flat piles on a baking sheet and sprinkle with oregano. Bake until melted and crisp. I tossed the remaining rind into the soup for added flavour.

Blitz a bunch of basil, drizzle of olive oil, pinch of sea salt and black pepper with a teaspoon of fine white sugar. Chill till ready to use.

Plating up is simple. This stuff is thick so a ladle full goes a long way. Top with the parmesan wafers and dot with the basil dressing. The cold and sweetness helps to break up the heat of the chili and spices. Serve with lost of crusty bread to mop up!

Treasure table

I love bell jars and love seeing new ways of displaying treasured objects. Remember the combination bell jar and vase from Ontwerpduo? Well, Frederik Roijé took it one step further. A display table! The Treasure table comes in two different sizes and in light or dark cork, so you can mix it up. I love the idea of having your prized possessions up front and center but still being able to use the surface takes this further. A perfect example of form meets function.

Mika

Secretly I'm having a hard time with today's birthday. 4 is a milestone. It means Mondays together are now over. It means backpacks and lunchboxes. New rooms and jungle gyms. Big boy time. Four years and I'm still not ready but I'll keep my inner mush to myself. Happy birthday Mika.

Gold splattered fedora

I kind of feel guilty admitting it but I loathe DIY fashion. Most of the time it looks like a kid trying out a sewing machine for the first time. Except I saw the most beautiful fedora from Eugenia Kim but couldn't justify the price tag. Plus it kept whispering..you can do this. And so I did!

A simple, inexpensive fedora, gold textile paint and now I have my own customized bit of headgear for rainy days of like the picture covering up my post-workout hair! I watered the paint down to desired consistency, which I tested on a piece of scrap paper. I did a mix of smaller taps and larger drops. Make sure to cover up the part of the hat you don't want to splatter. It's that simple.

Blush blooms

I didn't intend on making quite so many Valentines posts but I couldn't resist some pics of the flowers. I love flowers, so of course those make an appearance at every celebration. My guy came home with a beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies. Plus tulips as he knows me well enough to know that I love having flowers everywhere.

I decided to keep it simple. The  kids got their own personal mini bouquet. Super simple, just a small glass vase, velvet ribbon, apple leaves and a pink lollipop. Even simpler is the one sitting on the bench at the end of our bed because the soft blush on the tulips needs little. Just cascading tulips, surrounded by apple leaves in low ceramic vase. And keeping with the simple, just adding some candlelight and little pink porcelain can make even cacti romantic...

P.S. I felt a bit tulip stumped because it's my favourite winter bloom and in those instances I like cruising for inspiration and that helped me decide to go for simple over wild..

F.I.T. kit

I posted here about my workout routine. We’re about a month in and I wanted to follow up, starting with my gymbag, which is stuffed to the gills;

• Simple kicks with a bit of pink, to save my running shoes.
• A huge fun towel, because A. I sweat like an ox and B. it makes a fitness mat bearable.
• Padded gloves, because calluses and manicures are not a mix.
• Stylish work-out gear, because we all want to look cute at the gym, sweat are not.
• A thick warm jacket and knitted joggers because my body  temp crashes hard when I’m done.

Sweets for my sweets

Pictures from our double Valentines. Saturday was just the two of us, champagne breakfast in bed, duo-massage and wasting the day away. Sunday with the kids, lounging, playing and stuffing plenty of chocolate and cake in. Basically loads of sweet treats..oh and a pink overload!

Fireworks

Striking a balance between sharing and oversharing. Being open and confidantly happy or quietly cherishing. But it's the Saturday before Valentines, so no other subject even comes to mind.

Whenever I hear a conversation where the qualities of a (potential) partner are discussed, I always miss the physical aspect of it all. It's a great sense of humour, outgoing, easygoing. Blah, blah, blah. Basically a short or sometimes excruciatingly long list of character traits. I'm pretty sure the first thing you spot is the way someone looks and the first thing you note is a sense of attraction or not. Is it too honest to be honest that looks and attraction matter? Considered superficial? Well then, too bad. I am too honest and superficial.

But I'm not saying that it was love or even lust at first sight, at least not for me. Sorry, babe. Actually, much the opposite. Super connection from the get-go, but definitely no sparks..at least till the parting three pecks on the cheeks after the first date. It is kind of odd because the first real kiss I don't really remember but those pecks I do. Instantly transformed for interesting person to male, full blooded male of interest. I think it was because I felt how dare you kiss me, you scoundrel at the same time I'm thinking on the cheek, what am I, you're sister? Bringing out equal parts ice queen and molten mess. Boom, lit.

We're fireworks. Despite spending every free moment together, despite often being falling asleep on the couch tired, despite having kids running around like banshees half the time. I feel the exact opposite to how I first felt. The green eyes, the five o'clock shadow, the strong arms that lift me like one of the kids, but especially the eyes that sneak glances at the gym and make me feel like the hottest, most sexy person he's ever met.

Love is a fire. Attraction the spark. We light em up!

Noted in marble

A marble notebook. Nothing new except I'm not talking a notebook with marble print. I'm talking an actual notebook made of real marble. And not lumpy or impractical as it opens perfectly flat. A more perfect and high-end spot of all your brain spurts, there is not. Except maybe if you have it engraved..
The notebook is made of carrara and comes in white or black from Mikol.

P.S. The marble business cards make me want to start handing those suckers out at the grocery store.

Valentines lookbook; reds, pinks and golds

Staying in is our going out. Don't get me wrong I love getting dressed up and being my guy's arm candy but going out on Valentines just feels like too much. But that doesn't stop me from doing a little daydreaming..of this outfit, a surprise weekend getaway, a romantic dinner for two and a stay somewhere oozing sexy sophistication like the Fairmont in San Fran.

My guy is 100% red-blooded male. That means red is the colour of choice, the fit of choice is fitted to a T and the stiletto fetish is a match only comparable to my own. Except for the red, which is not my first colour choice ever, I'd totally sign up for this look, especially with the softer, more romantic touches in the accessories.

Dress by Victoria Beckham, shoes by Jimmy Choo, long-desired clutch by Meli Melo, stone ring, bar cuff and cupid's arrow bangle from & Other Stories.

Valentines eats; hearts, strawberries & blueberries

Food inspiration comes from the strangest of places. This week it was a bedtime reading of Red Riding Hood. who was bringing a basket with homemade elderberry jam to grandma. We switched out the elderberry for something we like, sorry grandma.

We went for strawberry and vanilla...and blueberry and mint. Why, layer up? Because we can, that's why. And what's more fun than not knowing if your getting pink, purple or both!


Jam
225 grams of frozen strawberries
225 grams of frozen blueberries
450 grams of fine white sugar
6 tablespoons apple juice
1 vanilla pod
3 sprigs mint
brioche buns
clotted cream

Add the frozen strawberries, half the sugar and apple juice to a heavy pot. Add the split vanilla. Add the frozen blueberries, mint and remaining sugar and apple juice to a second pot. Simmer on a low till thickened. Let cool, scrape out the vanilla beans and add to strawberry mixture. Remove the mint. Pulse separately in a food processor till desired smoothness. Return to low heat and simmer until further reduced.

Brush the buns with melted butter on all sides and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake on moderate for five minutes or until browned. Serve the jam and buns with clotted cream.

P.S. I saw the heart shaped mini buns and couldn't resist working in a bit of rehearsal for Valentines day..