Counting down the days

I cannot believe that Felipe and I are going to officially be parents in 9 days!! We are so excited and nervous and trying to enjoy these last few days with just the "two of us". Last week was a busy week with Felipe working and I was busy working my way through all the baby clothes, blankets, and towels. Our washing machine has pretty much been running non-stop. Tuesday, I carved out a little time to go see the movie "Blue Jasmine". I forgot how "sophisticated" the European movie experience was and I was disappointed by the lack of movie theatre popcorn. Isn't that part of the reason to go to the cinema anyways?? Despite not having popcorn, it was nice to see a movie on the big screen and I enjoyed seeing glimpses of "home" even if the ending of the movie dropped a melancholy weight on afternoon.

Thursday was a big day of errands. I had the car for the day so I took full advantage by taking a trip to Villa Arena, Ikea, and Babypark. Villa Arena is this massive furniture mall with 50+ furniture stores. A stop there was a must because I needed to exchange a pillow, but then I spent another 2 hours or so browsing the different stores since I was alone and wasn't being rushed through. Next stop was Ikea to pick up a frame for the A-Z print that I bought Optimus. I actually need to give credit to Felipe for finding it. Check out their other prints here, http://67inc.com/. Last stop was Babypark for crib sheets, baby bath, changing table, and diaper bin. I found everything I needed but ended up buying the diaper bin off of Amazon.

On Saturday, I met up with an old friend from Nebraska who is taking the year off to travel around the world. I love meeting up with people that I haven't seen in MANY years and being able to just pick up where we left off. We had a great time checking out Noordermarkt Boerenmarkt with all of the different types of organic produce and the vintage flea market finds. She was able to find a super cute scarf to keep warm and I picked up some almond oil. We also explored the different shops in the Joordan and I found a pop-up store that I had read about and had been wanting to check out called A Store Without a Home, http://storewithoutahome.blogspot.nl/. They had lots of cute stuff and I managed to get out of there without spending too much.

I love mushrooms. Such beautiful shapes and colors. I picked up a package of dried mushrooms that are awaiting their fate in a tasty Mushroom Risotto.

Are you a pepper head?

Megan and I all smiles after some yummy Apple Pie.

The weather is definitely cooling off here and the smell of fall is in the air. I was craving something sweet for dessert the other night after dinner and after analyzing what we had to work with I ended up modifying a Carrot Cake recipe that turned out quite yummy. Below is the recipe if you'd like to try a twist on the traditional Carrot Cake. I'm sure it would be tasty with a cream cheese frosting as well but I was just as happy without.

Carrot Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest of one lemon)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional-I didn't have pecans but I think they would be quite tasty)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in cranberries, carrots and lemon zest. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

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Weekend in Bruges

As promised, I'm back to update you on our little weekend away in Bruges. The lunch at Oud Sluis was such a big part of the trip that it got its own post. I think I can manage the rest of the weekend here. We ended up choosing Bruges as our weekend away because it was close enough to drive, we knew there would be good food, and the city is small so seemed manageable to cover in one weekend. We had also been to Brussels and Ghent a few years back and loved both cities so we were excited to get back to Belgium.

We stayed at The Pand Hotel. It is an 18th Century carriage house that has been converted into a 26 room boutique hotel. Our room was the Ralph Lauren Suite however I'm not really sure why it was called that. It was beige and cream with plaid wallpaper. It was on the top floor so you had to watch your head at times but our view was lovely!

View from our hotel window

After we got settled in, we decided to go out for a little walk and find a pub so Felipe could start sampling the assortment of Belgian beer. Let's just say, if it wasn't for hot chocolate, this trip may have been a disaster for me. Haha. We found a cute little beer bar on a side street called Brugs Beertje that was the perfect place to slip into and hang out for awhile. The place was busy but there happened to be 2 open seats at the bar. Within 20 minutes of our arrival, all seats had filled up and the place was packed! 

First up was the local brew from Brewery de Halve Maan, Bruges Zot. This was probably Felipe's least favorite of the beers that he tried all weekend. He said it was a bit flavorless.

Next up was Urthel. I loved the old man on the label and tried to talk Felipe into naming our first born after him but, while he was quite impressed by the beer, he thought the name a bit old fashioned.

Last beer for the evening. I think this may have been a favorite.

Yummy as it was, my hot chocolate presentation was not overly impressive.

Saturday morning started off with a nice breakfast in the hotel with freshly baked breads, croissants, and eggs cooked to our preference. We both opted for scrambled. After breakfast, we headed across the street the catch a canal tour of the city. Our timing was perfect because one boat had just filled up and was headed off so that meant we were first in line for the next boat. It was perfect as we took the 2 seats right up front so that we could get some photos without any heads in our way. The guide was also super friendly and had me get in the captain's chair so that he could take a photo of Felipe and I.

Me looking like a giant next to Felipe. Notice the clear blue skies in the background. Perfection.

The tour was nice. It lasted about 35 minutes and it's always great to see a city from the water. The major sites were pointed out and it was fun gliding under the low bridges. 

Looking at the famous Bell Tower that has stood over Market Square since 1300. We tried to climb to the top but the line was ridiculous so opted out. This bell tour has 47 different bells that are very active throughout the day. It made me appreciate the simple bell tower a few blocks away from our flat in Amsterdam.

 Our guide referred to this sculpture as "Woman looking for her contact". I believe it was a joke. 

 Church of Our Lady and another boat in front of us.

Headed under one of the low hanging bridges

Pretty flowers in front of this hotel.

After the boat tour, we explored the city for awhile by foot. There are so many little side streets that it is fun to just walk around and get lost. We happened to stumble across a chocolate store that I had read about so popped in and picked up a box of chocolates. Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc, which means Sugarbelly in English, is the oldest chocolate business in Bruges. I picked up a small box and have been enjoying my treat now that we are home.  I hadn't read about their tea room, "de Proeverie" before the trip, but if I go back I will definitely be stopping in. We visited Church of our Lady, however, it was under renovation so the majority of the interior was covered with sheets. We also kept seeing these medieval groups of houses around the city called "Godshuizen". They were built in the 18th Century by rich families to house the poor or people that were unable to work due to illness, handicaps, or other mishaps. The inhabitants would receive food and basic care. They are quite pretty with lovely interior courts filled with flowers and at times little gardens where the inhabitants can grow their own vegetables. They are still all inhabited, however, they mostly house the elderly. The majority of the inner courtyards are closed to the public but we stumbled across one that was open. 

I loved all of the pink flowers in front of this one house.

Now it was time to get back to the beer. We headed over to Brewery de Halve Maan for a tour. This is where the woman that we bought our tickets from warned me that there were 220 steps on this tour. My response, "that's all?". The tour was okay. I think the highlight was getting to the roof and checking out the views of the city from up there. Who needs The Bell Tower after all?  

Looking towards Church of Our Lady from the rooftop of the brewery.

Watch your head, Felipe!

After completing the tour we had lunch in the restaurant. We both opted for the Flemish beef stew over fries. It was a bit of a gut bomb, but like most gut bombs....delicious. It came with a small side salad so I ate both of the salads and gave half of my stew to Felipe to finish. After lunch, we were both ready for a nap.

Placemat with the brewery founder's profile. It kind of looks like Abe Lincoln to me....

According to legend, a bear was the oldest citizen of Bruges so you see bears and references to bears all over. I thought it was only appropriate that I snapped an Optimus progress shot next to a bear. 

After feeling refreshed from our nap, we decided that we needed to find mussels for dinner. We asked the receptionist at the hotel's front desk and she told us where her favorite place was. We headed that way and since we were still kind of early we were able to get a seat despite not having a reservation. The mussels were good, however there was kind of a lot going one. I'd prefer a little less celery, or at least the celery chopped a bit smaller.

Pot of mussels

After dinner we walked around for a bit and stumbled across a band playing in the center square so we stopped and listened for awhile. 

The played some James Bond theme songs which I quite enjoyed.

The Bell Tower

Provincial Palace

Time for more beer and I was ready for dessert so we headed to Cambrinus, King of Beers, for some more tasting. I had a beer flavored ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce while Felipe kicked off his beer tasting. The sundae was quite tasty and I finished it before I thought of taking a photo. Apparently, I was more worried about capturing Felipe's beer experience. :)

First up, a tasting a 4 different beers. Felipe's least favorite was the pinkish red looking one which was a Kriek beer (cherry flavored). I tried a sip and will agree-it tasted like cough medicine. You can see in the background, that in addition to my sundae I also tried their hot chocolate. Very chocolatey.

One of Felipe's favorites, "it tastes like a steak in a glass and would be delicious with some bacon".

Last beer of the evening. Noir de Dottignies. 

View of the Bell Tower on our way home. Yes, this is a romantic city indeed.

Sunday, on our way home we stopped by the Passchendaele Memorial Museum. The museum commemorates the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, in which there were 500,000 casualties in 100 days in order to gain a few kilometers of frontline. A portion of the museum was a replica of the British dougout experience of life underground, necessary when there was nothing left above. It was very eerie and I can't imagine being one of those soldiers living in these conditions. There was also sound simulation and at one time when a "bomb went off" I actually jumped. 

I'll take the top bunk.

Artillery display

Reconstructed trenches - again can't imagine being down there in the rain and cold.

Close-up of the construction. 

Now we are home and just trying to get everything ready for the arrival of Baby Z. These last 9 months have passed so quickly, and while I am reaching the point of constant discomfort, I'm also looking at my to-do list and hoping I get everything done before he gets here. I had also planned on him being late, so of course since he has decided to settle in the breech position he will actually be delivered a week early via a "gentle cesarean". I had a check-up on Friday and the midwife did an ultra-sound to be 100% that he was still head up, I knew he was as I am quite familiar with the feel of his head nestled into my ribcage right now, and she commented on his feet being straight down. She called him "a stupid little boy" and I let it slide since English is obviously not her first language. We are so excited to meet him. Felipe is ready to take him to Scotland for his first football match in November and I had to put my foot down. He thinks he has some making up to do after Optimus and I getting so much bonding time in the last 9 months. Haha. I think he will have plenty of bonding time with him and I said he is more than welcome to change all diapers in order to gain a deeper "bond" with his son. 

Amazing lunch before the little one arrives-Oud Sluis

Last weekend we jumped in the car and headed south to Bruges for a little weekend get away before the arrival of Baby Z. We had read about this restaurant called Oud Sluis that was on the way and tried to get a dinner reservation for Friday. To our disappointment, they were fully booked until their closing at the end of December. As luck would have it, we received an email from them the following day to let us know that they had an opening for lunch on Friday if we wanted it. Yes, please!!

Taken directly from the website, "Oud Sluis is a family –run business of old. George Herrel, Sergio Herman’s granddad, was an artist and ran a café-bistrot on Beestenmarkt. Later, his daughter Ans and son-in-law Ronnie Herman took over Oud Sluis and turned it into one the most renowned mussel eateries in Zealand and Flanders. In 1991 Ronnie handed over the reins to his son Sergio Herman (1970), who for more than twenty years now has been at the top of the culinary game."

Oud Sluis has carried one or more Michelin stars since 1995 and 3 stars since 2006. After Friday's lunch, I can attest that this restaurant deserves every single one of those stars. Our reservation was at noon and we ran into some VERY heavy traffic/road works on the way there so ended up being about 20 minutes late. When we got there, Felipe dropped me off to check in while he found parking. I was originally flustered by our tardiness but the hostess put me at ease instantly. She gave me instructions to pass on to Felipe regarding where to park and then asked if we wanted to sit on the patio to enjoy a drink before lunch since the weather was so nice. That sounded perfect! We were seated at a little outdoor sofa and Felipe enjoyed a glass of champagne while I sipped on sparkling water. While seated outside, we were served the first of the amuse-bouches to "get us in the mood".

First tasty bite was basil, parmesan, fennel, olive, and anchovy. The flavors were clean and refreshing and I was excited to see what was next.

Sea winkle, celery, apple, yuzu, and toast of raisin bread. Such beautiful presentation that you almost don't want to bite in. I'm glad I did.

Sardines, crystal bread, romesco, sea lavender, and wild rucola

Squid and Crazy Mushroom

Fully in the mood now, we browsed the menu and selected the 6-course Pere et Fils for our lunch. At this point, we decided it was all or nothing and I love tasting menus because it means that someone else is making the decisions for me. Felipe also opted for the wine pairing and I stuck with water. One nice thing about this restaurant is that they did offer to make me a mocktail if I decided that I wanted something more. About halfway through the meal, I decided to take them up on the offer and the drink did not disappoint. It was like they had reached into my brain when selecting the perfect, not too sweet, Passionfruit mocktail.

The waiter was kind enough to advise against eating the garnish. There is a chili in there that I'm sure would of been quite spicy on its own!

So many tasty treats on the menu, how do we highlight our favorites? There wasn't one dish that left us disappointed. The flavors were distinct, textures varied but not bizarre, and presentation was beautiful. Below, a few of our favorites.

Who knew butter and seaweed together would be so delicious?! I may have to try and copy this at home to have in the morning with my toast!! or any time of the day for that matter...

                    

Gillardeau oyster, potato, north sea shrimps, meadowsweet and young leek

Summer roe 'back to it's roots', carrot, blueberry, hazelnut and jus of roe

The venison was the best venison I have ever tasted. Being a girl from Nebraska with a hunter as a father, I've had my fair share of venison. The sommelier was telling us that they open up a nearby state park for about a month for hunting. This helps with population control and gives the hunters a chance before the "wolves go to town". She told us that the accompanying flavors were taken from the diet of the venison. It was perfection. Next up we had the choice between assortment of cheese or desserts. Being the dessert lover that I am, and knowing that being pregnant would limit my selection of cheese, I opted for dessert while Felipe chose cheese. When the waiter came by our table with the cart, Felipe told him to choose the stinkiest, most flavorful cheeses that he wouldn't be able to get anywhere else.

 The amazing cheese cart. You could smell all of the goodness when he opened the door.

Stinky, runny, buttery, delicious cheese. I'm not going to lie, I did have a little bit of envy....until my desserts came out.

I have a very happy husband on my hands.

Next up, my dessert courses. I thought it was going to be 3 little tastings of dessert but it was 3 full courses of dessert heaven. It started with chocolate, cherries, rhubarb and basil. I tasted the first one before having a chance to get a photo of the presentation. 

Yum, yum, yum

This one was called Kiss of an Angel. It consisted of peach, white chocolate, and a botanical that is often used in the flavoring of gin. I cannot remember the name of it but this dish was light and airy and oh-so-delicious. 

The last dessert was raspberry, oat milk, and pistachio. This dessert was an explosion of raspberry flavor. I think there were about 5 different preparations of raspberry in this dish and it was fun to discover the different treats.

By now, any worries that we had at the beginning of this lunch about leaving hungry had been completely vanished. We were happy, satisfied, and Felipe had a nice afternoon buzz going on from the wine pairing. Needless to say, Sergio and his team had one last treat to end with. Sergio Herman partnered with artist Kamagurka to create the "Face in a box". It came with a little manual illustrated by Kamagurka that instructed you on how to eat the face...

Porcelain tongue: 'Tongue licking', deadly delicious combination of cheesecake, basil, olive oil, and caramel.

Porcelain ear: 'Lick once in my ear' and discover flavors of aloe vera, green apple, and green herbs. 

Porcelain teeth: "To eat or not to eat ', a cake teeth to bite on the basis of raspberries, lychee, rose, and citrus. 

Then we had the face in the Kama-Box to spoon, one eye consisted of almond, apricot, and ginger and the other eye was flavored with hazelnut and vanilla. For the mouth was strawberry, orange blossom and dragon fruit and for the nose was a truffle of milk chocolate, hazelnut, and yuzu. 

We were given a little take away box to take "as far away as possible" with one green tea and ginger truffle and a cappuccino flavored truffle. We enjoyed those Sunday night when we got home and they were outstanding!  So that was our lunch. It was lovely. Chef Sergio Herman came out to our table about half way through the meal to check up on us and was delightful. I love meeting super talented people that are passionate about what they do and also friendly! We left the restaurant over the moon. Sluis is a cute little town as well and we took a small walk before getting in the car to drive the remaining 15 kilometers to Bruges. It was my turn to drive so I needed to stretch my legs a bit after sitting for almost 5 hours. 

Quick shot of the kitchen. The team is hard at work preparing for dinner service.

Optimus is growing and I'm about ready to burst. He is still head up so unless something changes in the next couple of weeks, or 2, it looks like we are going to be parents on October 1st!!