Nancy's pink coach house

With  the weather all of a sudden sunny(?!?) and the temperature over 25°C (???!?) all productive behaviour was forgotten, instead our innermost primitive instincts took over: like sleepwalkers we dragged the table and chairs onto the lawn and decorated everything in pink and with flowers, only regaining control over our consciousness when happily seated in said chairs absorbing the warmth.

Tuesday morning

Moritzburg Castle

#photoadayApril 15 to 20

Fatmumslim's photoaday prompts continue to inspire me  - whether I have to dig through my photo archives or come up with a brand new idea, I always enjoy the visual challenge.

in random order:
15. sunset close to my home
16. wisteria flower
17. something you don't like (haha, guess which one)
18. beautiful Hanna's hair 
19. the vibrant orange of a ripe cantaloupe
20. something you drew while thirsty

Rose Carrarini's Rhubarb and Orange

Obviously I should give up the idea of a whole Menu in Pink and go instead for  easier things like photographing pink walls and pink glasses or simply a pink dessert..

Rose Carrarini's Rhubarb and Orange is prepared in a moment,  looks beautiful and has been so delicious that tomorrow I'll go and buy more of those lovely sticks. Why not give it a try with lemon as well?

Rose Carrarini's  Rhubarb and Orange
5 sticks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 7cm pieces
grated zest of 1 orange
about 150g sugar

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F

Place the rhubarb in a baking dish and mix in the orange zest and sugar according to taste. You will need to add a fair amount of sugar as this will lift the flavour of the fruit and provide a little syrup.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven between 15 and 25 minutes, depending on the quality of the rhubarb. As soon as  a knife slips easily into the fruit it is ready.

Chill.

The longer the rhubarb reposes in the syrup, the nicer the colour.  Enjoy!

countryside decadence

Sautéed oyster mushrooms with fresh spring herbs and champagne
2 servings

oyster mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
a glass of champagne
a handful of fresh spring herbs
flour to slightly dust the mushrooms
3 tbs olive oil
sea salt
freshly grated black pepper

Place the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Stir-fry the garlic and the spring onions. Then raise the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Stir and turn until all mushrooms are browned. Dust them slightly with flour.

Remove from heat, add vinegar and champagne. Toss to incorporate. Return to heat and let the flavours  
blend. Now add the finely chopped herbs and let them warm for a moment.

Best with chunks of baguette and ice cold champagne !

how I feel today

#photoadayApril challenge day 14:  how you feel today

#photoadayApril 7 to 13

7. shadow on wet sand
8. inside your wallet: Venetian madonna patronizing all the lovers
9. younger you: sweet little me!

10. cold: frozen landscape on our way to Dresden airport some winters ago.
11. where I ate breakfast: I especially loved breakfast in the Robertson Small Hotel, South Africa, cosy but open, light and modern, fantastic food
12. very, very old stairs in  a Cretan palace
13. something you found in the garden: this beautiful beetle


I need so much that spring finally springs. I need warm temperatures and sun and more amazing beetles and flowers and bare feet in ballet flats...  have a lovely sunny weekend!

Happy Easter!

Easter weekend and time for the next series of @fatmumslims challenge photos

 If you want to know more about the photo-a-day challenge you find all details here.

2.colour

Spontaneous gathering of bright colours in my kitchen sink


3.mail

My mailbox, which on my flickr site has had the honour to be invited to www.rustymailbox.blogspot.com.
Thank you, rustymailbox guy, but again: this mailbox is NOT rusty! It's just painted in a rusty shade of brown. Any suggestions for a more attractive colour?


4.someone who makes you happy

My beautiful children full of life, health and inspiration. 

5.tiny

For me it's the tiniest High Heel ever - a small piece of sliced cabbage fallen down to the floor

 6.lunch

Delicious Pappa di Pomodoro lunch, which I had together with my daughter in a small  Florentine restaurant. Vik, I'm comiiiing!!

#8 Menu in Pink, first try

I'm so sorry, I don't have a  Menu  for you today. No pink fried panther, no dessert, I even ruined Johan Odendaal's  extravagant beetroot paint.

• the pink herring salad I bought in the supermarket was fine
• the pink grapes and plums for dessert came out red in the photo
• the beetroot paint did not emulsify  (I realized too late that I should have added the olive oil in a thin stream while running the blender...)
• the beetroot purée I obtained instead had a burgundy colour
• the burgundy painted potatoes turned orange  
• eventually the whole arrangement looked neither artistic nor appetizing 
• the pomegranate flavoured drink couldn't save it
• too much creativity!

Cheers!

#7 Menu in RED

Menu

Oven-roasted cherry tomatoes

Pointed peppers filled with spicy red quinoa

Red fruit jelly

Barolo

finally finished

Before I continue to cook my Sophie Calle inspired menus in red, pink and purple, and before I reveal  more about myself by participating in @fatmumslim's photo-a-day challenge I  invite you to finally have a glimpse into my kitchen. Yes, into the new one! The light-flooded one! You can't believe how happy I am with all the works finished.

Well, there are still missing some blinds and a real nice work of art (black-and-white photography?) on the wall behind the table, but overall I'm super happy that I've met the challenge to transfer my kitchen from the dark to the bright side of the house. The former kitchen has become a cosy little library.

Those of you who are visiting my blog regularly know that I passed through hard times during the construction and at the end nearly lost my nerves, my energy and my patience..  A big thank you to all my friends who supported me and especially to those who helped me "not to give up three meters in front of the shelter"!

@FATMUMSLIM's photo a day challenge list

What a great idea!  The moment I stumbled upon  @fatmumslim's photo-a-day challenge I knew I wanted to join in for the next month: April! Can't wait to see the pictures of my fellow participants and  I'm  even curious about my own ones.
So here goes number one:

#photoadayApril  1. your reflection

 It's me in a gazing globe in my mother's garden.