***Snow Morning***

 Last Saturday morning, we woke up to a fresh white carpet of snow. So we jumped out of bed, put on some warm clothes and ran outside for some snow fun, building a little snow man and of course a snow fight. 

Daddy & daughter against poor mama it was. Not fair!

Pure quality time. The way I like it.

4 hours in Antwerp

Monday we both had a day off, and after a weekend spent indoors for Olivia's potty training (more on that later), we decided to go on a quick lunch & shop trip to Antwerp. Antwerp is always a good idea.

We went for lunch at Burgers & Booze, a gourmet burger place with a very nice interior and very good burgers. We tried The Notorious P.I.G (egg, cheese, bacon, the whole thing) with some skin-on home made wedges, a jacked potato and some cole slaw. A very enjoyable lunch it was.

 

 After lunch and a walk to the Kammenstraat, I wanted to check out a new concept foodstore (yes, again) HNGRY . The concept is simple: the store is organized by meal options rather than by type of ingredient. This ensures boiling inspiration and makes it much easier to shop, because 1. you know what you want to prepare 2. the ingredients are right under your nose 3. it's already packed in the exact quantity you need for two. Very convenient for a busy life, and healthy cooking! It's just a pity that you have to buy for 2, because it is also a good concept for single people, I think. I would try it if I were single and living in Antwerp of course. 

 I also wanted to pay a quick visit to the H&M total concept store & Other Stories. I really like their collection, you can find everything there: lingerie, clothes, accesories, shoes, beauty products. I sure will come back here once after the sales.

 A little indulgence at La Duree, 4 heavenly macarons all for myself.

 And a last stop at the coffee bar Kaffeenini for some black goodness. 

The end of a happy afternoon.

3L Syndrome's Hot Dogs Deluxe

A few weeks ago we baked our own burger buns, because the ones from the supermarket are really not interesting and they turned out very tasty. So for this Saturday evening Hot Dog Deluxe Feast we decided to give hot dog buns a try. It was a little tricky to get the right shape - but when they came out of the oven, we knew it was worth it. 

We made two different ones.

One called, The Fat Dog - with pork sausage, fennel salad, lemon zest, basilicum mayonnaise and baked salami crumbs

& A Mexican style one with guacamole, spicy sausage, cherry tomatoes, crispy corn, cilantro and jalapeno peppers.

I'm telling you, gourmet hot dogs are the next hype. Burgers are so 2014.

Recipes inspired by Delicious Magazine

Content

 I always like to check out new food and grocery shop concepts and when I heard about 'content', I really wanted to go check it out. So Tuesday after work I paid a visit to this new shop in Leuven. I already like the name 'content' - it's all about the ingredients and the quality and preferably without packaging.

It's fun to go with your nice bottle and take olive oil right from the barrel and choose your own seed mixes for tasty and healthy granola without having to buy 200gr of everything.

The only problem for me to shop like that is thinking of taking mason jars, linen baggies or boxes to store the things in, before you head for the store. Because let's be honest here, I cannot tell you how much money I have already spent on bags from supermarkets that I always have to buy again, because I never think about putting them back in my car. I do have a nice collection at home though. You name the supermarket, I got the bag (or 2 or 3)

Anyway, this is my problem. Back to the cooperative food store without packaging - I do like the fact that they have fruit and vegetables from farms in the neighbourhood. Produce that looks real again - an idea I am starting to find more and more important . It is just so pointless to keep throwing away tons and tons of perfectly good produce, just because they don't have the right size or colour. But I am afraid that it will take a while before people will demand normal things again from the supermarkets, we are so used to buying these identical, shiny apples and perfect carrots.

Also, if I see what it is in my garbage bag by the end of the week, it's mostly packaging that was unnecessary in the first place. Time to rethink and take this into consideration while I shop!

The school where Olivia will go to soon, tries to limit packaging too by forbidding bringing anything in disposable packaging: drinks, lunch and snacks have to be in reusable containers.

(I think I am gonna buy her these boc'n'rolls to store sandwiches - see photo, they are cute)

At least our kids will learn from the beginning to limit disposables. 

It is their future world. 

oh and at Content you can also enjoy a healthy lunch !  

I ate a nice endives soup on a cold afternoon.

*If you are in the mood for soup, you can find someheart-warming recipes here
**If you need some meal inspiration, find it here