Choc-o-licious: Chocolate Festival, Bruges.

Today I got to experience one of the perks of living in Belgium ànd being a blogger: I'd been invited to the press event of Choco-Laté, the chocolate festival in Bruges.

Choco-Laté is a festival aimed at professionals, devoted chocolate fans ànd more casual ones. As a self-proclaimed healthy hedonist and passionate chocolate lover, I have been there in the past and I can testify it's a treat, a true feast for the senses.

This year's edition will focus on chocolate in its purest form: the origins of the cacao bean, organic fair-trade chocolate and authentic recipes prepared on the spot by representatives of the Kuna people of Panama.

Choco-Laté organiser Eddy Van Belle,
chocolatier Dominique Persoone &
representatives of the Kuna people.

The Kuna people have featured in several medical reports because of the absence of high blood pressure among them and remarkably low death rates from stroke, cancer or cardiovascular disease. This might be linked to their cocoa-rich diet, which is an interesting path for further research.
But I digress.

At this festival you can discover visually stunning chocolate art, learn about the origins, production, health and wellness benefits of chocolate, sample chunks and nuggets at a wide variety of exhibitor booths, or get your hands dirty (and lick them clean again) in truffle-making workshops. All this takes place in a unique historic location, permeated with the rich, velvety scent of more kinds of chocolate than you and I knew existed.

Trust me, it's not an event you want to miss.

'Choco en Lala'
book cover chocolates

The parents among you don't need to find a babysitter. Take your kids along and drop them off at the Choco Kids Village, where they can play and learn about chocolate while you indulge in more adult activities. Allow me to make a few suggestions: find the perfect wine to go with chocolate, design the perfect cocoa drink or watch the bodypainting artists at work - with chocolate!

When you're at the festival, be sure to drop by author Marc de Bel's booth. At Choco-Laté 2011 he will present his new chocolate-themed children's book: 'Spikkel en Spekkie: Choco en Lala'.

(Come to think of it, chocolate should play a much bigger part in my novel!)

'Bruges swan'
chocolate dress.

At first sight, fashion and (calorie-dense) chocolate might not be a good match, but this year even fashionistas will be able to indulge.

Star designer Nicky Vankets, known to yours truly because of his gorgeous wedding dresses (I got married last year - did I mention I ♥ his 'White Couture' collection?), has teamed up with my favourite 'shock-o-latier' Dominique Persoone to design a fabulous 'Bruges swan' chocolate dress.

I so want one. Or two: one to wear and one to eat.
But I digress again.

Choco-Laté 2011 will take place at the Bruges belfry from 11th till 13th November.
For more information and tickets, go to: http://www.choco-late.be/en.

If you can't make those dates, do not despair. Bruges has 52 (hyper)active chocolatiers, who sell their scrumptious creations all year round.

On top of that, until 8 December 2011, the city of Bruges celebrates "Choc'in Brugge" - chocolate month, if you will, with gastronomic events, chocolate-themed city walks, chocolate wellness and much more. You can find the programme here.

Last but not least, if you live too far and can't make it to Belgium this year, have some great chocolate wherever you are and consider stopping by in the future.
When you do, drop me a line and I'd be happy to point out a number of places that are worth a visit.

Have a choc-o-licious November!

Bonus picture. From left to right:
shock-o-latier Dominique Persoone, fashion designer Nicky Vankets
and yours truly, plotting an escape with The Dress.

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Urban Gardening Update.

What a great spring we've had so far. June hasn't even started and I've already managed to spend more time in the garden than I usually get to do in an entire summer - reading in the hammock or enjoying a glass of wine on the patio.

The vegetables are growing well, and I picked the first strawberries today. I swear I've never tasted better ones in my life; I wish I had planted more.

We've harvested so much lettuce already, yet we can hardly keep up. Apart from preparing lots of salads, I've started to experiment using the leaves in other, hot recipes.

They do well in quiches and frittatas, and soon we'll have a fresh batch that will be perfect for making lettuce soup - one of my favourite kinds: velvety goodness with a blue or goat cheese for extra flavour.

It's such a versatile vegetable. You can also use the leaves as wraps, on burgers (vegetarian or not), to make pesto (instead of basil, mixed to taste with other fresh herbs), juice them with other herbs and vegetables or wilt them into pasta or mashed potatoes.

I've found a lot more recipe inspiration here:

• 10 Tasty lettuce recipes @ Vegging out
• 147 Lettuce recipes at BBC's GoodFood

And to conclude, a few more photos of our patio garden in evening sunlight:

What are your favourite seasonal recipes?

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D is for Dips.

After yesterday's chocolate extravaganza, I thought I'd go for quick, delicious and healthy dip recipes today.

Dips make great party foods or last-minute miracles when you have impromptu visitors. They also add spice to an everyday meal.

I wanted to share 2 of my favourite quick dip recipes here. They're easy to make and require only ingredients that keep a while (in the pantry or fridge), or that you can grow yourself.

Greek yoghurt and green garlic dip 



Ingredients:

• Greek yoghurt
• fresh, green garlic, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
• salt & pepper
• splash of lime juice (optional)

Recipe:

• Add the garlic (white and green parts) to the Greek yoghurt, add salt and pepper, stir the ingredients together.
• If you can, let the dip sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours blend.
• Add a splash of lime juice.

Tips:

• As a variation, add chopped onions, shallots or fresh herbs (chives, coriander, dill, thyme, etc.).
• This is a great dip for raw vegetables (carrots, celery sticks, cucumber, etc.), nachos or potato wedges. It's nice to serve with fish fingers or calamari as well.

Feta cheese and sundried tomato dip

Ingredients:

• feta cheese
• sun-dried tomatoes (dry or in oil)
• olive oil
• pepper
• chillies, fresh or dried (optional)

Recipe:

• Mix the feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes in a blender.
• Drizzle in some good olive oil (or use the oil from the tomatoes) until you get the right texture (not too firm if you're using nachos or crisps). Use lemon or lime juice instead of oil if you'd rather not add more calories.
• Add pepper (and chillies, if you want it spicy) to taste.

Tips:

• Add chopped fresh basil for extra flavour, or a clove of garlic if you like.
• As a variation, instead of sun-dried tomatoes, you can use roasted red peppers (type bell pepper) in olive oil. The sweetness of the red peppers goes really well with feta cheese.
• This is a great dip to go with nachos or pitta bread.
• You can also use it as a pasta sauce (like pesto) or as spread on ciabatta bread.

What are your favourite easy dips?

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C is for Chocolate.

I am a huge chocolate fan. I have some every day. To me, good quality chocolate is one of the few sweets that fits into a healthy lifestyle.

As a chocolade aficionado, I am lucky to live in Belgium, the tiny country in Western Europe that is the grand home of Belgian chocolate.

Today, I want to tell you a bit more about my favourite brand of Belgian 'pralines', Neuhaus.

Neuhaus is a Belgian manufacturer of luxury chocolates. The company was founded in Brussels over 150 years ago, and to this day, all of its chocolates are still made here, in Belgium.

The founder's grandson, Jean Neuhaus jr. created the first 'praline' - a bite-size, filled chocolate - in 1912. A few years later, he and his wife Louise also invented the 'ballotin', the typical box in which Belgian pralines are still sold today and which prevents them from being damaged.

What I like about Neuhaus - apart from their scrumptious chocolate - is that the company respects its roots and traditions, yet continues to innovate and come up with new chocolates and flavours.

An example is the charming collection of 'Lady Chefs' chocolates, each of them designed by a world-renowned female chef.

Neuhaus contends their chocolates are top quality, and I can vouch for that. With every bite, you taste the impeccable quality of their ingredients and the care they spend on matching the most exquisite flavours.

As an illustration, I recently noticed their 'Sommelier Collection' includes one of my favourite dessert wines, the 'Elysium' - Black Muscat I discovered in my favourite restaurant in the Cotswolds.

Now, quality of course comes at a price. These are luxury chocolates, with carefully selected ingredients, and that's reflected in what you will pay.

These pralines are more than just nibbles. They're small treasures, the kind you savour slowly, enjoying each of the different flavours and textures when they work their magic on your palate.

Before I tempt you with an extraordinary Easter egg, I want to share a few tips on how to recognise good quality chocolates and on how to get the most out of your (Belgian) chocolate experience.


How to recognise good quality chocolates:

Good chocolates:

• have a pleasant, sweet smell; deep and complex but not overpowering.
  (Avoid chocolates that don't smell, or smell overroasted, chemical or stale.)
• have a shiny, smooth, flawless and evenly-coloured surface.
• begin to melt straightaway when you hold them in your hand. This indicates a high cocoa butter content, which is a sign of quality.
• 'snap' when you bite through the outer chocolate layer.
• have a complex, bittersweet, refined flavour, with sufficient acidity and a variety of textures that melt and blend into a smooth cream in your mouth.
• have a taste that lingers.

How to get the most out of your Belgian chocolates:

• Store them between 15 and 18°C (59 - 65°F), away from moisture, heat and strong smells. Don't keep them in the fridge.
• Depending on the type of filling, after opening the box, pralines will last for about a week.
• Ideal tasting temperature: 20°C (68°F)
• Give them your full attention when you devour them. Enjoy them with all your senses.
• Share them with people you love, especially if your loved ones appreciate great chocolate.

For gorgeous pictures, more information about chocolates and how they're made, and the places where you can buy them, go to the Neuhaus website or their extensive B2B catalogue.

If you'd have trouble deciding between all that scrumptiousness, my personal favourites are 'Les Irrésistibles', a collection of 5 triangular chocolates called Caprice, Tentation, Séduction, Désir and Plaisir.

Each of these pralines contains a layer of nougatine and is filled with either vanilla cream, coffee ganache, raspberry cream, dark chocolate ganache or hazelnut ganache.


And now for the Easter egg ...

If you happen to be near the Neuhaus store in Ghent, Belgium (Koestraat 50) - or any of the bigger Neuhaus shops - with a spare 250€ in your pocket, you might want to get this giant handmade, limited-edition Easter egg. Six kilos of fabulous chocolate and gianduja indulgence. Wouldn't that make a perfect gift for ... hey, me!

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My Home Away from Home: the Cotswolds.

A few days ago, I wrote about the Rollright Stones, which had me go through the numerous pictures I've taken in various corners of the Cotswolds. As always, the memories warmed my heart, just like the area itself never fails to do. I've spent so much time there in these past few years, to visit friends as well as to do research for my novel, that it feels like it's become my home away from home.

All of that gave me the idea to make the Cotswolds star in an article of its own. Because it's travel-related, I've posted it on my other blog 'The Enchanted Traveller', which is still simmering at the moment but will gradually come to a boil.

For the foodies among you: don't miss the feature on my favourite restaurant in the Cotswolds: the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington!

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Ideas for the Holidays - party themes!

Have you considered throwing a themed Midwinter, Christmas or New Year's Eve party?

Just in case, I've collected a few ideas for you:

- For aspiring writers (or accomplished authors - we're inclusive here): write your own paranormal, period or murder mystery scenario, get a few of your friends or family enlisted as actors, ask your guests to dress the part and host your very own Mystery Party.

- Tattoo chic. The tattoos can be real, but don't have to be. This party will however require heavy rock music for that little something extra! Can you think of ways to tattoo your food and drinks?

One of the gypsy caravans at our wedding
Picture (c) Dirk De Kegel

- Go Gypsy! Find some Django Reinhardt, Rosenberg Trio or Fapy Lapertin Quintet music, lots of candles, fringed shawls, colourful quilts, rugs and pillows, tarot cards and - why not - a gypsy caravan. Lots of inspiration in the links in this previous article or directly at Jeanne Bayol's website.

- Nerdy board games. Dress up like nerds and bring out the dice! Pick games that don't take too long to explain, and keep a few simple kids' games as backup for the wee hours' buffoonery...

- Pick your favourite book, film, computer game, fairytale or TV show and ask your guests to be one of the characters for the evening. More fun ensured if they act accordingly!
A few book suggestions: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Alice in Wonderland, Animal Farm, The Picture of Dorian Gray or anything by Terry Pratchett.
On screen: e.g. Ghostbusters, Will and Grace, Jurassic Park, Toy Story, X-Men or True Blood. Be aware that if you pick Pirates of the Caribbean you're likely to end up with a party full of Jack Sparrows.

- Polka Dot Party! It might be the perfect opportunity to wear that itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow bikini!

- Choose a funky colour and get creative with your decoration, clothes, food and drinks. As an extra challenge: ban artificial food colourings!

- A missed opportunities party where everybody dresses up in the work outfit of who their child-selves wanted to be when they grew up. It's bound to spark interesting conversation and a lot of 'Well, that didn't work out, did it's!

- Or you could ignore winter altogether and have an indoor tropical party. Maybe you can rent a local pool, sauna or wellness center and with the right music and a well-stocked cocktail bar, you'll imagine yourself in the Caribbean in no time!

Here are a few more classics:

• Tacky Tourist party
• Tarts & Vicars (as featured in Bridget Jones)
• Arthur's Court of Camelot (or Round Table), possibly in the Monty Python version.
• Cyberpunk
• And of course: Pirates and Ninjas!

I'm still considering whether it would be a good idea to organise a musical party, where your guests would promise to sing at least a third of the conversation. It sounds like fun in theory, but the reality of it might be a boiled down version of hell.

Do you want to share some of your favourite party ideas with us?

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There is life before forty.

Have you seen this slideshow on the website of Food & Wine magazine? It features 40 people under the age of 40 who've all managed to make a difference, big or small, in the way their countrymen (and women) eat and drink. So what are the rest of us waiting for?

These were my favourites:

• Madécasse, a chocolate company making their products right where their cocoa grows: Madagascar.
• Food artist Jennifer Rubell. Anybody who makes desserts in balloons deserves a special mention.
• Urban & rooftop farming. These almost made me want to get a chicken. Or a house with a flat roof.
• Matt Jennings. You've got to love a cheesemaker who dunks cheese in Belgian ale.
• Annemarie Ahearn's farm-to-table cooking school. Where you can kill your pumpkin and eat it too.
• Several businesses like Emily & Rob's, helping artisans to sell their products, so they can continue doing what they do best.

Check out the full slideshow here. Which ones do you like best?

On a side note: this blog post made it clear that in over a month of blogging, I hadn't used the labels "wine" or "chocolate" even once. How is that even possible?

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Cider, sushi and Sunday aperitifs.

Another lovely sunny day today, which I wanted to celebrate with a healthy pre-dinner drink, especially after last night's (Somerset) cider tasting.

Two dear friends had got us the ciders (3 kinds: Cox's, medium dry and oak matured), and after a bit of doubt what food we'd pair them with, we decided on sushi.
 
I tried to make sushi for the first time about a year ago, and found out that - once you get the hang of it - it's not really that hard.

Of course I wouldn't compare mine to anything made by a real sushi chef, but for 'regular home consumption' they're pretty good.

On top of that they're fun to experiment with, they're healthy, made with a variety of good quality fresh ingredients ánd my immediate environment loves them, which is what matters most, really.

Pairing sushi with those exquisite ciders was a bit of an experiment, but we were surprised at how well it worked. Definitely something we'll be doing again!

But this morning I felt like a healthy, refreshing, sugar- and alcohol-free aperitif, so I decided to go for one of my (as yet unnamed) classics. Name suggestions are always welcome, by the way.

Here's how to make it:

1. Take a long-drink glass
2. Add an ice-cube if you want (I would do this in summer, I didn't now)
3. Add a splash of grapefruit juice
4. Add a splash of lemon (or lime) juice
5. Top up with sparkling water
6. If you have a sweet tooth: add a bit of natural sweetener. (I use stevia).
7. Stir and taste if it needs more grapefruit, lime or sweetener
8. Add a splash of carrot juice for the taste and the orange gradient effect.

(Use freshly squeezed juices if possible, but bottled will do, as long as it's got no added sugar. You don't need a lot of juice, it's just a bit for the taste and the colour, so this drink isn't high in fructose either.)

Enjoy!

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