Yes.

I said yes

Three years ago,
When we first saw each other, July 20th in the late evening. Both with a glass of beer in our hands, surrounded by mutual friends who didn't yet meet. We laughed. We danced. We flirted. We slipped into the conversation like sliding into fresh apple crumble, right out of the oven. It felt gooey, warm and comforting.

When you asked me out. We skipped down the street. We sang the worst love songs aloud. We hugged like the world would end.

When we closed our eyes and our lips touched each other for the very first time.

I said yes.

Last month,
When we were sitting on the prettiest bench in Lille. Talking about the fancy dinner we just had, giggling about life.
When you dropped on one knee and pulled a small box out of your pocket. I cried a lot and stuttered. You cried a little and laughed.

Light Eton Mess

Nop. I haven't been eaten by wolves, I didn't bake myself to dead and I definitely don't suffer from a burnout.
In the contrary; I'm more alive than ever. Ready to kick some serious ass.
But boy, oh boy! How this was the craziest of months someone has ever dealt with.

Last month, I finished my master's thesis and graduated like a boss! This was celebrated with some bubbles and an indoor pick-nick.
I was also told I can start working in September as a kindergarten teacher. Hell yeah! We drank bubbles for realz and ate pie.
Finally; Mr. Boyfriend and I moved in together in our new cosy palace -I'll show you around later on-. We packed and unpacked like our lives depended on it. When all of this was done we drank a bottle of bubbles until we didn't feel our sour feet/hands anymore.

I really got slimmer and way fitter from all of these celebrating-dinners and events. Alcohol does wonders for my body.
- Has no one ever said.

Baked Ravioli Salad

Last time I told you I handed my master's thesis in. I made it sound all simple and joyful.

Real talk; things got ugly. The paper got stuck in the printer, I had to cut off the front page with a knife and I cried at the copy-shop. On the upside of all this: the nice lady at the counter gave me a pity-discount.
{Is that a real upside? I'm not sure...}

On days like this; the only thing that keeps me going is a pasta-heavy meal, shared with the people I love the most. So that's exactly what I did.

This is a recipe that you'll see me bringing along on the next pick-nick/barbecue/potluck for sure. It's so easy, great to make ahead and a creative turn on the casual everyday (mayonnaise loaded) pasta salad. It's also a great excuse for eating pasta everyday of the week: "but I'm eating a salad?!"

Spinach, mushroom and ricotta cannelloni

So... It finally happened. I submitted my Master's thesis!

It feels surreal, amazing and totally normal at the same time.

So now you know... the reason why this blog was on stand-by modus for the last couple of weeks was mostly because the amount of proof-reading, referencing and rewriting that was happening on this side of the screen. 

Not much fancy cuisine happened. Microwave and pizza happened. 

Lucky enough I could also count on both Marjan and mr. Boyfriend who prevented me from starving. 

Both of them did an awesome job at keeping a real foodie satisfied and happy.

Marjan made this super-tasty cannelloni with spinach, mushrooms and ricotta. It's an absolute classic for dinner parties at her place and always seems to blow away her guests. I also love the simplicity of the recipe; it's fairly straightforward and healthy.

Taco Salad (De)Light

This salad is fresh tasting, crispy, filling, and has that sweet-salty thing going on that I love.
The confusion while eating it is something extra; just to get you to start talking at the dinner-table.
Is this salad healthy or isn't it?

Well, it surely doesn't taste like something you'ld eat wearing a bikini.
It has a bunch of meat, chips and even a bit of cheese on top.

But by replacing the meat by ground turkey, the sour cream for fat-free yoghurt and by reducing the amount of cheese you healthied {shhht, totally a word} it completely up without any of the sacrifices.

The recipe is more of guidance or coach than an actual recipe. Use what you have in stock, feel free to change up the ingredients. Like with any (salad) recipe: Don’t like something? Don’t use it. Have another great idea?  Please,feel free to try it out.

Strawberries with mint, prosecco and yoghurt

Spring has finally arived! From memory, I think this winter was one of the hardest and coldest I've experienced. Slowly but surely those short dark days are being replaced with beautiful bright sunny days and this couldn't get me any happier. Along with the downside of shaving our legs and spring cleaning we get to rejoice on berries, ice cream and picknicks.

Baked doughnuts with raspberry and coconut glaze

I’ve been wanting to experiment with making homemade donuts for a while now but its kind of hard without owning a donut pan or candy thermometer.

Luckily, my sassy, sweet toothed friend Marjan, was all over the idea, and together we decided that something must be done about this situation.

So we set out on our own pink donut -making adventure!

These puppies took us about 3 hours and 10 minutes from start to finish.
But how they're worth every minute...

If you’ve never made doughnuts before, here is my advice to you: Take the afternoon off! Go home and preheat the oven. Double the batch and invite some friends. Eat five to eight donuts and fall asleep as a happy girl.

Marjan mixing the icing, drinking frozen mimosas

For this particular recipe you won't need a donutpan, frying pan or candy thermometer. All you need is an oven, a pretty friend with good kneading hands and some spare time.