May 17, 2012 0
Take one bird feeder, some sunflower seeds and a hungry squirrel
The intrepid neighbourhood squirrel didn’t take long to discover the relocated bird feeders.
Apr 9, 2012 0
An Easter salad
Belgians do like their vegetables on the pale side. Whether it’s the ubiquitous, all-year-round chicon, witloof in Flemish, or, in spring, white asparagus.
With a more delicate flavour than its green cousin, white asparagus does not stand up well to prolonged cooking. Better to blanche it in boiling water until just tender, then cool rapidly in a bowl of iced water, before seasoning with lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt crystals.
Otherwise this salad is as you see it, the skinned tomatoes dressed with torn basil, the eggs boiled until the yolk has just set (six minutes, using Delia’s method), torn San Daniele ham and a few watercress sprigs, all finished with sea salt and olive oil.
Bon appetit.
Jun 30, 2011 0
No Schengen for iTunes
You’d think that moving an iTunes account from one country to another, as I’ve had to do three times, would be straightforward. But unlike international travel in much of Europe, it’s not.
Due largely to media companies’ archaic licensing regimes, Apple is forced to maintain a separate store for each country in which it operates, and restrict shoppers to the country of their credit card’s billing address. So of you physically move country, that means scrolling to the bottom of the store window in iTunes to make the corresponding virtual relocation.
Jun 27, 2011 0
A simple summer salad
Being an expat/economic migrant/immigrant has spoilt me. I can no longer bring myself to buy fruit and vegetables of international origin in a supermarket, when I know that nearby will be a market where I can buy fresher and cheaper local produce. Local markets are also by their nature seasonal (even if I did see some Kenyan beans this week), which at the moment means white asparagus, broad beans and fresh peas. Tossed with some bacon, olive oil, mint, basil and lemon juice and topped with fresh goat’s cheese they made a delicious salad.
Jun 10, 2011 0
Geese, cobbles and redcurrants
No, not another cooking post, just three of the local attractions here in not-so-sunny Woluwé-St-Pierre.
Yesterday’s trip to the supermarket — a trip I had to make twice after first taking the wrong bike lock — was delayed slightly when I had to wait to allow a family of geese to cross the road.
May 27, 2011 0
And relax
And we did, with a a spot of retail therapy at Habitat for The Becster, followed by Belgian beer in a bar that doubles as a record shop — Carlsberg doesn’t do record shops but if they did, etc. — then dinner in Cook & Book, an old haunt that is much improved since we last ate there.
The big move was pretty much trauma free, unless you happen to be one of Sven, Tommy and Kristof, the awesome removal men. They put in a 16-hour shift on Tuesday to ensure they and our belongings left Switzerland on time, only to have to spend five ours on Wednesday waiting by the road side after their second tyre blowout of the day.
Apr 1, 2011 0
Two songs about Belgium
Vic Reeves had a big hit when he teamed up with The Wonder Stuff to cover Tommy Roe’s Dizzy, but the comic genius reached his musical zenith with a “version” of Ultravox’s Vienna. The song featured on Ruby Trax, a 40-track triple CD released in 1992 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the NME and to raise money for The Spastics Society — now known as Scope — which also celebrated its ruby anniversary in that year.
Reeves’ ditched Ultravox’s nonsense lyrics for some nonsense of his own, largely concerning the Belgians, their police force and how they aren’t to blame for the destruction of Europe.
