Tag Archives: dessert

FOOD INSPIRATION

FOOD INSPIRATION

I had the pleasure to work with lovely Carla. We wanted to share some food inspiration and how to decorate a lovely spring table. Spring has finally arrived and I could not be happier about that fact. Now let’s have a look at the MENU and the beautiful floral decorations.
FOOD INSPIRATION
We have decided on a simple but very delicious spring MENU including a starter, main course and dessert. All the dishes are vegetarian and made out of fresh ingredients.
FOOD INSPIRATION
FOOD INSPIRATION #1 TOAST WITH TOPPINGS
Simple toast with colorful toppings. Something super easy to prepare and arrange.

FOOD INSPIRATION

Sour cream with scrambled eggs and sesame and pumpkin seeds. Cover the toast with sour cream and prepare a scrambled egg and season with salt and pepper. Top off with the seeds.

FOOD INSPIRATION

For this one you need an avocado, egg and some pistachio. Boil water and lightly season with salt and add a splash of white vinegar. Then use a spoon and make a whirl in the pan and then crack the egg in. Use the spoon to spin some of the egg white around the yolk and reduce the heat and let simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
FOOD INSPIRATIONCover the toast with avocado, place the poached egg and sprinkle some pistachio on top. Once you are about to serve the toast, cut open the poached egg.  FOOD INSPIRATION
Hummus, olive oil and sambal oelek a super easy one to prepare in 2 minutes in case you buy the hummus. In case you have some time I would recommend to make the hummus from scratch. All you need is chickpeas, sesame oil, salt, pepper and a blender. Spread the hummus over the toast, carve a line and fill with sambal oelek and olive oil.

FOOD INSPIRATION

For that toast you only need three things: a beefsteak tomato, an avocado and some basil. Spread some avocado on the toast and chop the tomato into thin slices and place it in the middle of the toast, lastly cut some basil and sprinkle on top.

FOOD INSPIRATION

And now, last but not least but for sure the simplest toast of all of them is the avocado toast. Spread some avocado on a toast and sprinkle some chia seeds on top.
FOOD INSPIRATION
There are many ways to display the starter and we wanna share two ways with you. One is to individually place each toast on a separate plate or to place four different toasts on one plate.

FOOD INSPIRATION

And these were our starters, super easy and delicious. And now I hope you are curious to see what we have prepared for the main dish.

FOOD INSPIRATION

FOOD INSPIRATION #2 PASTA WITH VEGETABLES
An al dente pasta topped with some colorful vegetables. All you need for this main course is any kind of pasta, onions, garlic, olive oil, yellow/red/orange bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, basil and chia seeds. Now lets see how to make the colorful vegetable sauce.

FOOD INSPIRATION

Take a frying pan and heat some oil and add the chopped garlic and onions. Slice the bell peppers and cut the cherry tomatoes in quarters and add to the onions and garlic. Fry for some minutes and chop some basil and that’s it.
There are two ways to serve the pasta. You can either place the pasta and sauce side by side in the plate. Or you can place the sauce on top of the pasta. Dont forget to top off with basil and sprinkle some chia seeds.

FOOD INSPIRATION

Now that you have had our delicious starters and a colorful pasta you should be ready for our last part of the menu: the dessert. And if you have not noticed already have a look at the beautiful flower arangements by Carla. She has a special talent for decorating and I have already uploaded another blogpost where I have worked with her, have a look here. 
In case you are interested to work with here, please visit here site www.festum-artis.ch

FOOD INSPIRATION

FOOD INSPIRATION

Carla did such a wonderful job with the table decoration. She found all these colorful flowers and placed them on a light blue drapped table cloth. Matching candles and vintage plates and glasses round up the decoration. A special twist is given by the orange velvet band that ties together the silverware.

FOOD INSPIRATION

FOOD INSPIRATION

FOOD INSPIRATION

FOOD INSPIRATION #3 PAVLOVA
I got the recipe for our PAVLOVA via this site and absolutely love the easy 7 steps. Instead of berries and passionfruit we are using apricots, pistachio and blueberries.

FOOD INSPIRATION

Step 1
Preheat oven to 200C. Line baking tray with baking paper. Draw 22cm diameter circle and lightly dust the marked circle with flour. Make sure mixing bowl and beater are completely grease-free.
Step 2
Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Add 6 tsp of the prepared sugar and beat till sugar dissolves. Add vinegar and half of remaining sugar, and continue beating till mixture becomes really stiff and glossy.
Step 3
Mix cornflour with remaining sugar, and gently fold this into mixture.
FOOD INSPIRATION
Step 4
Using a clean spoon, gently pile mixture onto circle on baking paper, and use a clean butter knife to “pull up” sides and make peaks on top.
Step 5
Pop tray into middle rack of oven. Reduce heat to 125C and bake for 90 minutes. Turn off oven.
Step 6
Prop oven door open with wooden spoon and allow pavlova to cool completely. This usually takes 3 hours. Once cool, carefully remove baking paper, and transfer to serving platter.
Step 7
Just before serving, spread whipped cream on pavlova, arrange the blueberries and apricots on the cream and drizzle with pistachio.

FOOD INSPIRATION

Awww, I had so much fun putting together this blog post. It was a huge pleasure to work with Carla and hope that you all like the menu and decoration. Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think.
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LUMA POP UP BASEL

LUMA POP UP BASEL

 

LUMA POP UP BASEL
LUMA POP UP BASEL
For a limited time – from 15 October 2016 to 1 April 2017 – the “LUMA POP UP Steakhouse at Jonny Parker” offers selected meats in the idyllic pavilion in the St. Johanns Park. They are prepared outdoors on the legendary Green Egg ceramic grill.
The “LUMA POP UP Steakhouse at Jonny Parker” is: undescript and surprising! Only selected fresh meat from LUMA D.A.C. are grilled on the charcoal grill. Calf, beef and pork is matured with natural, noble mold fungus to reach a maximum level of delicacy. An unmistakable aroma which leads to a unique taste excitement. The gastronomic experience also includes delicious side dishes and an attractive wine offer.
All this makes the “LUMA POP UP Steakhouse at Jonny Parker” an exceptional address for a dinner with friends and family or for a special business dinner.

LUMA POP UP BASEL

Annika and I arrived at the LUMA POP UP for the pre-opening on Friday, October, 14, 2016 around 7 PM. And we started our dinner night, with delicious butters and different kinds of warm buns. I really love the tiny wooden cutting board and enjoyed the small appetizer a lot. I gotta find out where I can get these cute boards. It would be perfect for butter and jam for my “sunday morning breakfasts on a tray” in bed. 🙂
Now lets have a look at the LUMA POP UP menu. The starters and the main dishes are written on black boards. A very neat idea. Annika chose: LACHS MILLE FEUILLES and the LUMA ART BEEF CUT FILET. I went for the KÜRBISCREME SUPPE and the POP UP VEGI SPECIAL.

LUMA POP UP BASEL LUMA POP UP BASEL

LUMA POP UP BASEL  Our LUMA POP UP amuse bouche LUMA POP UP BASEL
Our greet from the kitchen was a LUMA meat ball and a vegetarian Knödel with black chanterelles. Annika loved the meat ball and my Knödel was really delicious. It was the first time I had black chanterelle – Totentrompete – a tasty mushroom. (more)
Our starters looked like that. In the first photo you can see Annika’s salmon mille feuilles with dill lemon panna cotta. Followed by my pumpkin cream soup sprinkled with truffle oil and chestnut crumbs.
LUMA POP UP BASEL
LUMA POP UP BASEL
Let’s have a look at our main dishes. Annika’s LUMA ART BEEF CUT FILET and my POP UP VEGIE SPECIAL. So far everything looked and tasted delicious.
LUMA POP UP BASEL
LUMA POP UP BASEL
Last but not least we reached the dessert. We were quiet full and decided to share something sweet. Our choice was this lovely creation below called lemon cream. Mmmmhmmm, it tasted divine.

LUMA POP UP BASEL

We had a great time at the LUMA POP UP at JONNY PARKER in Basel Switzerland. And will for sure recommend it to you. The owners recommendations are the ASIAN LUMA BEEF SALAD as a starter and the LUMA PORK NECK and the LUMA BEEF BURGER. I found some interesting information on their website:
blue rare          30° C
rare                  40° C
medium rare    50° C
medium           55° C
medium well    65° C
well done         70° C
LUMA Beef Burger   Switzerland
LUMA Beef Brisket   Switzerland
LUMA Pork Neck      Switzerland
LUMA Beef Pop UP CUT  Switzerland
Black Angus Beef Rumpcap    Australia
LUMA Beef Rib Eye  Australia
LUMA Beef Filet        Australia
Salmon    Norway
You can also order LUMA meat online and have it freshly delivered to your door step. by using the promo code you can get a discount.
https://luma-delikatessen.ch
PROMO CODE: luma1617
LUMA pop up
St. Johanns-Park 1
4056 Basel
+41 61 560 60 02
reservation@luma-popup.ch
http://www.luma-popup.ch
OPEN FROM 15.10.2016 – 01.04.2017
TUE-SAT 6:30 – 11:00 PM

 

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Choux Restaurant Amsterdam

MY AMSTERDAM TIPS

I was invited by C&A to see the AW16/17 collection in Amsterdam and now I wanna share all my visited places with you, hence the title: MY AMSTERDAM TIPS. the photo below was taken by lovely Giséle from TEXTILREVUE, thank you for taking this photo, it was very nice to meet you! and now lets start with the delicious food and drinks I had.

Amsterdam Tips

CAFE & RESTAURANTS

BEURS VAN BERLAGE CAFE
Amsterdam Tips
mmhhmm, such a tasty vegetarian sandwich that I had at the Beurs Van Berlage café. a very nice place to either sit in the sun on the terrace in front or to warm up inside. I went there twice and had the chance to do both due to amsterdams april weather. the café is very close to the central station and here is some info that I found about its history:
At the end of the 19th century, Amsterdam was doing well. Trade was flourishing and a growing number of people decided to move to the city. In 1896, the Amsterdam administration therefore decided to allow the construction of the new stock exchange to go ahead after all. The honour of developing this new building went to architect and urban designer Hendrik Petrus Berlage. Berlage designed a completely new building, its bell tower carrying the ‘Beursbengel’ (exchange bell) being the most prominent element. Berlage, being a staunch socialist, believed the stock exchange trade had a short lease of life. Yet he found a smart and creative solution for this dilemma: inspired by the Italian Palazzo Pubblicos, he decided to design the new stock exchange building in such a way that it could serve as a grand communal home, a public palace, after socialism had triumphed. He therefore built a sort of symbolic city hall, a ‘public palace’ that could temporarily serve as a stock exchange. Beurs van Berlage has a rich history of being the third stock exchange building of Amsterdam and being the host of the marriage of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima”
CHOUXAmsterdam Tips Amsterdam Tips Amsterdam Tips
a very cosy and nice place to have lunch or dinner. and let me tell you, the food is nothing what you have ever had before. special combinations and gorgeous decorations. the restaurant is located behind the central station and is open monday to saturday. my favorite part of the lunch was the dessert. mmmhhmm, the mix of frozen, soft, tart and sweet made my day!
CAFÉ RESTAURANT AMSTERDAMAmsterdam TipsAmsterdam Tips
this place is a bit further outside of the centre but is absolutely worth to take a cab or bus and visit this place. a huge hall with a ceiling height of at least ten metres. here is some info about its history:


”1897: a new century was beckoning, an industrial revolution was rageing, factories were shooting up everywhere. in amsterdam the first brick was layed for the pumping station. ever since 1851, the dune-water company had provided the people of amsterdam with fresh drinking water from the dunes at vogelenzang. through 23 kilometers of cast iron piping, it was pumped into the city where it could be bought outside the willemspoort at one cent per bucket. forseeing an imminent increase in water- consumption (in which case the capacity of Vogelenzang would prove insufficient), manager J. van Hasselt had plans drawn up for a new pumping station in amsterdam. In 1897, construction was started, and as early as 1900, the pumping station haarlemmerweg went into operation. behind the main building there were four underground reservoirs, each holding about 10,000 cubic metres of dune water. this water could be forced into the city through huge pipes in the cellar and the old watertower by four pumps in the engine room (now the restaurant). the spectacular engine room was renowned and people from everywhere came to see it. In 1941, a technical magazine spoke of “a well filled, symmetrical engine room that made a grand impression on the visitor and could be considered to be a jewel for the city of amsterdam.” the pumping station was kept operational until 1996. in the eighties, when it became trendy to convert vacated and restored ninteenth century industrial buildings into museums, theaters, restaurants, studios, offices and appartments, westerpark city council decided that a restored pumping station was to become the heart of a new car-free eco-area built in the former watercompany grounds. and so, on december 20th, 1996, café-restaurant amsterdam, situated in the old engine room, opened its doors to the public.”
W HOTEL loungeAmsterdam TipsAmsterdam Tips
this is the signature drink of the W Hotel lounge and as I dont drink alcohol I ordered the virgin version. it was as delicious as it looks! a rather posh lounge with very comfortable seating areas, an open fire place and a gorgeous view over amsterdam, thats what the W Hotel lounge has to offer and I am very glad that Mano took us there.

COFFEE & DESIGN

COFEE ROASTERS LOT SIXTY ONE Amsterdam Tips
Adam and Paul are behind this very nice coffee place where you can also find Urban Outfitters goods. I found some interesting facts about them which proves that they really know what they are doing: great coffee!
“ADAM CRAIG is australian born and raised. while he remains a true-blue aussie at heart, the lure of new york’s cutting-edge specialty coffee scene soon grew too much for him, and before long he found himself heading over to see what all the fuss was about. it didn’t take long for rumors to become a reality when he saw the throbbing pulse of specialty coffee driving innovation and experimentation far beyond his wildest imagination in some of new york’s hippest coffee bars. not one to sit on the sidelines and watch, Adam soon set off on an entrepreneurial spree when he opened a string of his own inimitable coffee bars- ‘Variety Coffee’ in brooklyn in 2007, followed a year later by ‘Coffee Bar’ in brooklyn and eventually ‘Culture Espresso’ in the heart of manhatten with Paul Jenner in 2008. it wasn’t long before local hero The New York Times listed all three coffee bars in their ‘top ten all-time great coffee spots’ in manhattan and brooklyn. ultimately however, even the big apple proved too small to contain the dreams of this coffee serial entrepreneur, and in 2010 he sold up and set off over the horizon, this time with his sights on europe. in 2013 Adam and Paul opened Lot Sixty One which endeavours to be the netherland’s finest coffee bar and roastery.”
“PAUL JENNER is about as australian as they come. born and raised with a surfboard under his arm, he grew up carving his name into some of mother nature’s finest waves that rolled daily into his home town of sydney. but getting up to meet those early swells ain’t easy, and before long Paul was pulling espresso shots and earning his stripes in the horeca industry where he’s since been rocking it with the best of them for almost two decades. after founding and operating his own espresso bar back home, legend has it that a massive rip tide one day dragged Paul too far out from shore and brought him to america’s famed west coast surf belt, where he set up his next espresso bar in LA. always on the prowl for his next adventure, Paul soon headed on over to new york after hearing rumors that it offered respectable surf. well, while the verdict’s still out on that one, new york is where Paul opened Culture Espresso with Adam Craig in 2008. together at last, this dynamic duo perfected the art of running top coffee bars before relocating in 2012 to share the love with amsterdam, where Lot Sixty One receives the full double shot of aussie flair which has become the secret ingredient to making this place tick the way it does.
 today, Paul continues his search for the perfect wave – so if you see him wandering barefoot around oud west at 6am sporting a 10-foot longboard under his arm, you’ll know why.”
KOKO COFFEE & DESIGN
Amsterdam Tips
we had a great start into the day with hot tea at KOKO & Design. unfortunately I forgot to take a photo and thats why I had to hop to google maps and screenshot the location so you can at least see the house. KOKO offers a lovely mix of fashion and design accessories but let me tell you what I found via their website:
“the fashion at KOKO is selected by the two owners karlijn and caroline. with a strong vision and opinion about materials and quality they choose their designers. at KOKO you can create your own personal wardrobe. a combination of everyday basics combined with unique pieces.
the coffee at KOKO is roasted with love and care by the roasters of the antwerp caffènation. this microroastery and coffeebar is a statement in belgium and abroad. the roasters are always looking for the best quality specialty coffee of biological harvest. the love and passion for specialty coffee is at real place at KOKO coffee & design.”

FASHION

PRJCT AMS ™Amsterdam Tips
PRJCT AMS is a multi-brand store for men, based in the heart of amsterdam’s city centre.
they carry an on-going mix of casual chic & quality garments in the mid- and high-end segment with a strong focus on the perfect basic. they offer an in-store made-to-measure sartorial suit service! quality is key and they salute innovative brands and upcoming designers alongside their private label and household names. brands: PRJCT AMS LABEL, 
SSD | SUSUDIO
, VIVE L’HOMME,
 FRANZEL,
 PIOLA,
 DROME,
 PALOWOOD, 
THU and
 WON HUNDRED.
O’ QUIREY by JAN PALMENAmsterdam Tips Amsterdam Tips
when I was walking by this shop it was unfortunately closed but I got to sneak a peek thru the window and saw lots of really nice men shoes. and then I googled O’Quirey and found out about Jan Palmen:

“as a passionate sportsman and certified instructor, Jan Palmen entered the retail business as a store manager in at a sports apparel store in groningen, the netherlands. during this time his love of shoes became his passion.

his passion led Jan to establish his own athletic shoe and apparel store named COACH. under his leadership, COACH expanded its business to 69 retail outlets located throughout the netherlands and germany. in 2000, Jan Palmen sold COACH and devoted his energy to the development of a premium retail concept focused on shoes and apparel.
 FOSBURY opened its flagship store in 2001 at assen and was elected “most beautiful store of the netherlands” that same year. FOSBURY meets the needs of its customers for distinctive quality and style through its premium products for men and women. from its own design studio Jan Palmen develops exclusive shoe and apparel designs for his customers. 

it is at this studio that the O’Quirey line of shoes, boots and apparel was born. O’Quirey shoes, boots and apparel are being sold throughout europe and china.”

so that was it from my tips for amsterdam, I had an amazing time and want to thank all of you who made my stay so nice and welcoming. I hope you found these tips helpful and let me know which are your favorite places in amsterdam. X

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