Category Archives: Dessert

New York City 2014: Ellis Island, Bridesmaid Luncheon, and Austrian Dinner

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Group Photo on Ellis Island with Manhattan in the background

Group Photo on Ellis Island with Manhattan in the background

Koen and I were finally able to visit Ellis Island! We really wanted to go last year, but because of Hurricane Sandy, the museum was closed. Koen and I visited Ellis Island with Christina and her family, Ashley, and Meredith. This was a special visit because Christina’s father’s father and grandfather (so her grandfather and great-grandfather)  entered the United States via Ellis Island and both of their names are commemorated on a plaque. Koen and I visited the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp recently, which is about leaving Europe for the United States, so we felt like we came full circle visiting Ellis Island and learning about entering the US.

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Birthday in New York City

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Birthday cupcakes from Molly's Cupcakes in Greenwich Village

Birthday cupcakes from Molly’s Cupcakes in Greenwich Village

For the second year in a row I was able to celebrate my birthday in New York City! Christina just happened to be getting married September 14th in NYC, so Koen and I made sure to plan my birthday (September 9th) into the agenda. Unfortunately I didn’t think it out very well, because we arrived on my birthday and we were exhausted. We still made it out to Cocoron, a Japanese soba noodle restaurant in Chinatown, for dinner and to Molly’s Cupcakes, the best cupcakes in NYC located in Greenwich Village, for dessert. After our cupcakes we headed back to Park Slope in Brooklyn, where we were staying for the week, to sleep off our jetlag. Unfortunately our hosts were sick and at their parents’ place most of the trip 😦

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I ♥︎ Rhubarb!

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A few of the ingredients for the Maple Tossed Rhubarb & Puy Salad

A few of the ingredients for the Maple Tossed Rhubarb & Puy Salad

I recently discovered Green Kitchen Stories and one of the recipes that caught my eye is the Maple Tossed Rhubarb & Puy Salad. I love summer lentil salads, and the mixture of fruits and vegetables with goat cheese (my substitute for feta) and basil sounded so delicious! Koen’s family from Canada was visiting and I decided to make this salad. This was exciting for me, because I’ve actually never made anything with rhubarb before. I wasn’t even sure how it tasted – sour it turns out! Before making the salad I wanted to look up a few things about rhubarb:

  • Can you eat it raw? Yes.
  • Can you eat green rhubarb? Yes, but people like the red ones for aesthetics but the taste is the same.

The salad is really easy to make – just cooking the lentils and chopping the produce. What a great combination of flavors! There were no leftovers, so that’s always a great sign!

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Amsterdam for Els’s Birthday

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Lunch at Beter en Leuk

Lunch at Beter en Leuk

For Els’s birthday this year, we celebrated in Amsterdam. We started out at our favorite café in Amsterdam – Beter en Leuk – for a delicious and healthy lunch. Beter en Leuk just so happens to be owned by Koen’s cousin Hanneke, and you can find organic vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc dishes and drinks for breakfast, brunch and lunch, as well as great cookbooks, clothing, jewelry, and other treasures! If you are in Amsterdam, Beter en Leuk is a definite must-visit!

After our feast, we took Els on her first metro ride to the center of the city to Dam Square. We visited the History & Royalty: Journey In Time exhibit at De Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) where I learned a lot about the history of De Nieuwe Kerk and its relationship with the Dutch Royal Family. After the exhibit we walked a bit more through Amsterdam before heading home.  What a fun day!

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Dinant, Belgium May 2014

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View of Dinant from the other side of the Meuse River

View of Dinant from the Meuse River

My parents have already seen a lot of the Netherlands and the Flemish part of Belgium, so this trip we ventured toward the south into Wallonia. Dinant, Belgium is located at the beginning of the Ardennes on the Meuse River. I searched for city trips within Wallonia and after seeing a photo of the beautiful cathedral, citadel, and river, I wanted to find out more information. Dinant is most famously known as being the home of Adolphe Sax, who invented the saxophone and would be 200 years old this year, and regional cuisine such as the couques de Dinant, Europe’s hardest cookie, and the flamiche, a type of quiche served with a glass of Burgundy, as well as Leffe beer. So we decided to check it out!

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Sofie’s Birthday Party

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The birthday girl, me, and Barbara

The birthday girl, me, and Barbara

My parents happened to be in town for Sofie’s birthday. Also in the Netherlands was Koen’s cousin Andrea and her boyfriend Ethan from Canada – so my parents didn’t have to worry about people speaking English. I always love getting together for family birthdays because it gives me the chance to catch up and see everyone! We celebrated at Sofie’s apartment in Breda and enjoyed delicious cakes and frietjes!

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Christmas 2013!

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Opening my Christmas gifts from my parents!

Opening my Christmas gifts from my parents!

Koen and I celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Roosendaal, first at his Aunt Maartje and Uncle Sjaak’s house and then at the Brörmann house for Christmas. Unfortunately Nikki, Brigiet, and Sofie could not make it to Roosendaal to celebrate with us – Nikki and Brigiet were in Friesland and Sofie was surfing in Spain! Christmas Eve, we all made special dishes – Koen and I made two types of meatballs – and enjoyed an evening with lots of laughter and delicious food. The next day began with Christmas brunch. The entire afternoon we took turns in the kitchen preparing for dinner. I made macarons for the first time! Oma joined us for our delicious dinner which included a game where we guess what Dook is thinking. Koen and I were the winners guessing Roy Donder’s huispak and Oma’s pearl necklace! After dinner we facetimed my family in the States where they were also enjoying Christmas dinner! Also, special thank you to Barbara for the beautiful photos from Christmas!

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New York City: Revisiting our favorite spots

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One last Bahn Mì from Saigon in Chinatown

One last Banh Mì from Saigon in Chinatown

Day 13 was our last full day in NYC because we needed to head to the airport after lunch the next day. So we spent our last real day eating my favorite lunch again from the trip – Banh Mì from Saigon in Chinatown, and then heading back to Midtown to buy presents. I also wanted to visit the Ralph Lauren stores on Madison Avenue as well as his daughter’s candy store, Dylan’s Candy Bar. As a thank you to Christina for letting us stay with her so long, we spent our last evening seeing Mamma Mia on Broadway! The next morning we needed to pack and get our things together. For our last lunch we decided to go back to San Gennaro’s for steak and mozzarella sandwiches. Luckily we planned a lot of time between leaving Christina’s apartment and our flight. It turns out the exact time we wanted to head to the metro station was during the huge parade for San Gennaro! The crowds were gigantic and we were both with two suitcases trying to fight our way through. Then we had to talk to the police officers to try and convince them to let us cross through the parade because if we had would wait another hour it would be too late. So rather than taking 5 minutes to get to the metro station it took us 30 minutes – but we made it! At the airport we decided to have one last burger from the Shake Shack! Now we are both looking forward to going back to NYC in September!

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New York Day: Financial District, Shake Shack, Brooklyn Bridge, Molly’s Cupcakes

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Taking the Subway to Lower Manhattan, to the Financial District

Taking the Subway to Lower Manhattan, to the Financial District

Friday, Day 6, was a really fun day! Koen and I started with the Financial District, seeing Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange before having a delicious lunch at the Shake Shack. After our burgers, fries, and milkshakes, we walked off the calories along the Brooklyn Bridge enjoying the sun and clear skies. After walking to Brooklyn, we took the subway to Midtown because on Fridays from 4 to 8PM, the Moma is free! There is so much wonderful art at the Moma, and I could take photos, so there will be another post dedicated to the Museum of Modern Art. Afterwards, we headed back to Chinatown and induldged in cupcakes from Molly’s Cupcakes in Greenwich Village.

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New York City Day: Central Park, Mood Fabrics, Nintendo World, Cocoron

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Breakfast of champions! Cupcakes and iced coffee..yum!

Breakfast of champions! Cupcakes and iced coffee..yum!

My parents didn’t buy tickets for the US Open on Day 3, so we rented bikes and explored Central Park – so much bigger than I thought with a lot of hills! After a quick lunch, we explored a few shops while making our way to Mood Fabrics. After buying new fabric, my parents left to get ready for Wicked while Koen and I went back to Nintendo World and then to Chinatown to have dinner with Christina.

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