DIY: Peanutbutter cups

It's recipe time again! This time we wanted to go for something sweet (which of course, involves chocolate..).

Today we're going to make peanutbutter cups! Of course we didn't come up with the idea of coating chocolate around peanutbutter ourselves. The idea is based on the famous Reese's peanutbutter cups. We noticed that sometimes, all of a sudden, we really crave for this type of candy. Maybe it's because of the perfect balance between sweet and salty.. the pretty shape.. the chocolate bite.. the soft peanutbutter core..  Anyway, we find it extremely addictive!

On the food blog Oh My Foodness we found a recipe that was very useful. We changed the ingrediënts a little bit, depending on what we had at home. And they turned out perfectly!!

For a clear and easy explanation on how to make them, you can watch the video below.

For 12 peanutbutter cups, use:

- 4 tablespoons of peanutbutter (smooth: without small pieces of peanut)

- 2 tablespoons of butter

- a small bowl of powdered sugar

- a pinch of salt

- two large milk chocolate bars

Bon appetit:)

Let us know if you tried them and how they turned out!

xx

Lisa & Ivanna

Recipe Cajun Spice Mix

Time for a fun recipe! Actually, it's not even a recipe, just a homemade spice mix to use for meat rubs and marinades. But it's very easy to make, and it's pretty damn tasty too!

You can watch the video below for a clear overview and some background info.

Or - if you're in a hurry - just mix these things together:
- 3 parts sweet paprika

- 1 part cayenne

- 1 part garlic powder

- 1 part onion powder

- 1 part thyme

- 1 part oregano

- 1.5 parts black pepper

- 1.5 parts white pepper

We didn't use any salt, because we like to season each dish individually, but feel free to add some if you feel like it!

The numbers indicate the proportions; you can use a tea spoon, table spoon, cup, bucket - all depending on how much you want to make. As long as the proportions are the same, you're good. We used a table spoon, and multiplied it by 5, to make half a jar of spice mix.

This mix is incredibly delicious on chicken (try this recipe!), but if you know any other dishes, let us know!

Lisa & Ivanna

Halloween Treat: Bug Candy

I don't know why I've put of writing this piece for so long. I guess these things still creep me out a little bit (I'm not as tough as Ivanna, who eats bugs like it's nothing). But with Halloween around the corner, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to show you my bug candy!

Sushi bowls

One of the things we have in common is our profound love for sushi. Given the chance, we'd probably go out and have sushi at least twice a week. Unfortunately, we neither have the money for takeaway sushi, nor do we have the time and patience to roll our own sushi every time we crave it. So, luckily we came across the perfect solution: sushi bowls! We had seen different versions of this genius idea on Pinterest, but it wasn't until Lisa's birthday in April that we gave it a try. Because it's so simple and versatile, it instantly became one of our favourite dishes.

Food of the Future?

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I were invited to a home-made dinner with his family and the idea was that all couples had to prepare one dish. We decided to prepare a chocolate fondue for dessert, but since we wanted to shock and impress a little bit, we wanted to add a special element instead of just fruits and cakes: ... locusts. 

Tea with a Story

Last Tuesday my two sisters and I went to a hotel with a view on the harbour river in our hometown to have a great high tea. They served a tower full of different kinds of sweet and savory treats like scones, sandwiches, brownies, small quiches and more. With that we could drink as much tea as we wanted. The tea is exactly the thing that I wanted to share with you, because we loved the way it was presented.

Lisa's Juicer

Homemade juices seem to be very hot and happening the last few months, and I have been responding frantically on anything juice-related on numerous blogs and forums. However, I completely forgot to blog about my own juicer! I've had this baby (a Princess VitaPure 202041) since November, and I don't think I have ever been more in love. It juices anything - hard, fibry stuff like carrots, beets, and ginger, but also the softer citrus fruits, mangos and pears it has no trouble with. It does seem to have some issues with squeezing all of the juice out of the softer fruits and veggies, but I found that alternating between hard and soft pieces while juicing, solves this problem pretty much entirely.

World Food Festival - Harvest Feast

The World Food Festival is a brand new festival in Rotterdam which presents different culinary trents from all over the world. Food-producing companies in all shapes and sizes participate in this festival and share their ideas on food development.

One of the participants is the 'Dakakker' (rooftop farm). Me and my boyfriend went to visit the Dakakker, which is an initiative of his brother, Wouter Bauman from the Rotterdam Environment Centre. The Dakakker was founded in the context of urban agriculture. The idea is that a city can partly become self-sufficient in food-production, which also means less transport and fresher vegetables. The free space of flat roofs in the city is very suitable for growing food. It also contributes to the greening of the city. As Spring to Fall we really like this idea!

On this special day, a part of the vegetables were harvested and used to prepare a very tastful dinner for interested guests. Together with other volunteers we made pumpkinsoup and pasta pesto, of course with ingredients derived from the roof field. There was also honey for sale, made by the bees which are also on the roof, and there was live music. The food was delicious and the dinner was very appreciated. A very fun and succesful day!

To read more about the Dakakker you can click here.
To read more about the World Food Festival you can click here (English) or here (Dutch).

xxx Ivanna

Meeting at DE Café

Last weekend, we met at the Douwe Egberts Café in Rotterdam to discuss some new ideas for our shop. The atmosphere in this café is very cozy and homely. At the same time the interior has a modern look and has place for people who want to chat with friends, but also for people who want to study with their laptop or read some magazines. This place is really inviting to have an informal meeting on creative projects like ours!