Jan, Jans en de kinderen... A Dutch comic

One of my all time favourite comics is Jan, Jans en de kinderen.
I've been reading this since I was a young girl.

The comic started in the Dutch women's magazine Libelle in 1970 and the characters are based on the real family life of Jan Kruis, who is the illustrator.
It's about Jan and Jans and their 2 daughters, Karlijn en Catootje, who, in the beginning of the comic series, move from a big city to a farm in a small village.
In later years, Jan and Jans also had a son which they called Gertje.

They also have a wiener dog called Lotje, 2 cats; a Siamese called Loedertje and a large red tomcat who is usually referred as "the large red tomcat" but in one of the first comics is called "Edgar Allen Poes" by Jans. Poes is puss in Dutch and pronounced in the same way.  Their youngest daughter, Catootje also has a horse called Kobus. The animals have their own adventures in many of the comics.
Another character is Catootjes friend Jeroen.

New characters appeared since 1980: Jan's dad Gerrit and Jans' lesbian cousin Hanna, who is also a feminist. 
Many other characters followed in recent years.

They also added another recurring animal character: a male pitbul called Annemarie (which is a girl's name in Dutch) who thinks he's a female Spitz dog.
There is clear evidence that Annemarie is a boy.😉

I saw a new album at the supermarket a few months ago and bought it. 
The comic still make me laugh.
There was one about the two cats that was very funny! 
I translated it in English, so the non-Dutch speakers can enjoy it too. 

                              The introduction of Annemarie the Pitbull. 

The change of London...

It makes me so sad... London is (or was) filled with hidden gems with a lot of history. Some run down building might have played a very important role in history. The buildings that I miss the most and that hurt the most when they were gone are Kensington Market, which is replaced by a monster of a modern building that doesn't fit in the street at all. The other is the Regent Palace hotel, which is an Ugg store now! What an insult to such a beautiful hotel with so much history! Another one is the Earl's Court venue. Such a beautiful Art Deco building where many famous bands have performed. It's now replaced by an ugly, boring box! I've seen many changes in the 26 years that I have been visiting London. It's horrible to see all these ugly modern buildings like the Shard, the walkie talkie, the gherkin and all these unimaginative tower blocks pop up in places that once were such vibrant, creative and lively places. They should keep these modern buildings on Canary Wharf and not taint the old city with it.

Deliciously Ella's tweaked pea & cauliflower bowl.

This is my all time favourite Deliciously Ella recipe that I ever made.
But... I have made some changes to my own taste.

I'm not a fan of asparagus, so I often replace it with broccoli or, if I'm feeling fancy, with bimi.

Despite the fact that the Netherlands knows kale for centuries, it's not always available as a whole. You can buy it frozen all year round but it's cut in very small pieces because over here it's used in stamppot. That's a staple dish that is very popular here during the winter.
A lot of seasonal vegetables and fruits are only available during a particular season.
So, often leave it out or I substitute it for something else I have in the fridge.

I make the mashed peas according to the original recipe apart from the lime juice because I don't like the sour taste.
If you like than you can add it of course. 

I usually eat it for dinner with some risotto rice or quinoa and a veggie burger or vegan fish burger.

Despite all that, it's a very tasty and healthy recipe.
I hope that you like as much as I do.

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ head of cauliflower or frozen florets
• ⅓ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Handful of broccoli or bimi (8 spears)
• 3 big handfuls of kale (about 80g) (optional)
• 200g frozen peas

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/ 400F/Gas 6.
Chop the cauliflower into florets and place these on a large baking tray (with space for the broccoli and kale) with the turmeric, chilli flakes, lots of black pepper, a little salt and a drizzling of olive oil. Put in the oven to cook for 25 minutes.
After 10 minutes, add the broccoli to the tray.
Finally, five to eight minutes before the end, put the torn-up kale leaves on the tray, too (discard the stalks), with a sprinkling of salt.
 Meanwhile, put the peas in a saucepan of cold water and bring them to the boil, allowing them to cook for 10 minutes. Drain them and place in a bowl with black pepper, salt and one tablespoon of olive oil, then mash the peas.
Arrange the baked veggies on the bed of pea mash to serve.

Ella's tip:
Shop sense: To avoid wastage, roast the whole head of the cauliflower in the packet and store the leftovers in the fridge. Roast veg makes a great addition to any meal.
Recipe from Deliciously Ella Every Day by Ella Woodward. 

This is a link to the original recipe 

Pastasalad with ranch dressing

It was one of those days when it was late and I needed to put something on the table. So I was looking through the cupboards and fridge for ideas. 
Pasta... yes! It's cooked quickly and you can add anything you want. 
Now, what can I add... 
I saw ranch dressing, which I thought would go great with a pasta salad because it has a bit more flavour that a normal salad dressing and I was right! Yay! 
I found a paprika (bell pepper), radishes, an onion and a package of vegetarian ham in the fridge. 
All combined, a very flavourful pasta salad. 
I hope you like it just as much as we do!  

This is for 2 persons.
 
Ingredients:

• 200 gram pasta of your own choice
• ranch dressing
• 1 paprika (bell pepper), diced
• 1 onion, diced
• pepper
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• vegetarian ham, diced (optional)
• radishes, sliced (optional) 

Method:

Bring water to a boil, with the stock cube.
Cook the pasta, as directed on the package.


Meanwhile, dice the paprika, onion and ham.
Slice the radishes.
Bake the onion, paprika and ham in a frying pan (skillet) and set aside.

Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse under cold water.
Put the pasta in a salad bowl, add the ranch dressing (to taste) and the onion, paprika, ham mixture.
Season with pepper. 

Mix it well.

Put the sliced radishes on top before serving.

Eet smakelijk! (Dutch for enjoy your meal)