Recipe for a Very Quick Healthy Dutch Beetroot Salad

Good afternoon to you!
A new year, so lots of you (like me and my family) will have made the resolution to eat (more) healthily. And good for you!
This very simple recipe for Dutch beetroot salad is everything you desire: easy to make, simple, quick, and very very very healthy.

Serves 4

What do you need?

- 4  normal size pre-cooked and cold beetroot (or 6 small ones)

- lettuce (I prefer iceberg, for a crunchy bite), as much as you like to use

- fresh chives (a small bunch)

- gherkins

- feta cheese (I use the original Greek sheep stuff, and not the cow's milk fake - I dislike fake)

- dressing (I use simple aceto balsamico - or balsamico vinegar in plain English)

- fresh ground pepper if you prefer, but it doesn't really need it

How do you make it?

- Tear up the lettuce

- cut up the beetroot in small cubes, put it on top of the lettuce

- sprinkle the cut up chives on top

- cut up your gherkins and sprinkle them on top as well

- cut up the feta and sprinkle this right on top

- finally, just before serving, sprinkle some balsamico over it and enjoy

PS Don't worry if your pee turns red...that's completely normal :-)

New Year's Resolution Fulfilled - oh yeah!

Good afternoon to you!
I hope this day finds you feeling optimistic and full of anticipation of a good 2015.

I cleaned my oven today. Yay!
No,no,no,no, don't run away now...You have NO idea what an achievement this is!
You see, I am definitely NOT a natural born cleaner.
In fact, I hate it. I do it though, as I hate dirt as well. Not a good combination...very unpractical. But, truth be told, I would gladly pay someone (man or woman, I'm very into equality) to do it for me, except I cannot afford that.

So, with the sun shining and all the festive parafernalia cleared away, I took a deep breath and bought new gloves, oven cleaning poison, new sponges and stuck my head into that oven.

I use if often, being an oven cook (read: lazy cook), and this last couple of weeks it has been doing overtime with glazed potatoes, roasts, fish, more potatoes, cakes, even more potatoes and home-made crisps.
And thus it was filthy. It took me 1 1/2 hours...But now it is sparkling clean.

The thing is though, I had to use that Hagesan poison. Oh...it works alright. But I prefer natural cleaning materials. For instance, I clean my bathroom with clear vinegar and sometimes soft soap, and that works fine.
Question: does anyone have a natural solution for cleaning a filthy greasy oven???

Obviously, with music playing the enormous role in my life that it does, I looked up a good cleaning song. The link is right next to this line. Dixie Chicks

And it feels great. It is absolutely true that a clean oven makes you feel all righteous and good :P

Right. And that ends this prosaic blogpost.
See you soon!

Happy 2015 to You! May it be a Peaceful Year.

Hi there, all you dreamers, lovers, thinkers and other assorted well-wishers.
It is Dec. 30th over here, but as I am aware that 2015 will be starting sooner with lots of you  'over there' than me 'over here', I will post this one day 'too early'.

So...anyway :-)

Frankly I dislike fireworks, unless it's the show from the Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam, which is the best fireworks display in the entire Wetlands. But I, like my pets, abhor these loud bangs, usually when I least expect them.

New year's resolutions? Do you have them?

Let's make a list.
# world peace
# peace in Europe
# peace between Ukraine and Russia
# peace....

Okay. That was a tad unrealistic, I know. So let's make the list more personal.

# appreciate the people around me
# eat more (Hah! Got you!)
# eat more vegetables and fruit/nuts than protein
# re-start my long-distance walking routine
# play the guitar
# play the guitar
# play the guitar

Also, since I know that he has quite a few fans, I asked Viggo for a selfie. Here it is. He was a bit drowsy, due to his usual over-eating. So I asked him for another one.

Tssssssss. Not very interesting, is it?

So. Anyway.

I would like to wish you a marvelous 2015! May it bring you everything you desire; love, good health, wealth, fame, success, and...well, yes, let's...peace.

Want to stay in touch? You'll have to take action!

Good morning!
The immediate result of my decision to leave Facebook is that you will not see my notifications in your FB feed...obviously...
So...If you would like to continue reading my posts, you will have to take action yourself. Sorry. Or YAY! depending on your reaction.
You can click on the button showing up prominently on my blog and become a Follower. Or you can subscribe, again simply by clicking on the button.

See you!