::frick.collection::

catching the exhibition on the last day, as a result a long queue at the entrance even at 10am in the morning.

while most locals are attracted to  the frick collection's famous of portrait of the comtesse d'haussonville

the vast tourists are here to admire the girl with a pear earring, a master piece of johan vermeer.

 you finish with a cuppa and an apple tart at the in house brassiere

while sitting inside, it's sunny out there, you could feel the whisper of spring in the air ^^. can't wait for the warmer and sunnier days to come!

belly.zumba

this is your second time on the tuesday zumba session, little you know it has transformed from normal zumba to belly zumba. that said, it was fun though not necessary sweating like your normal thursday power zumba. but it's a good exercise of your core abs and tummy muscles.  so much that you got an effective abs muscle pain after the session.  with the help of the bell scarf tied on your waist, the audible sound helps you to understand how well you've shake your butt. certainly one more option of workout that you look forward to do again.

::workout::

what gone into your lip, stays on your hip.  with all the cny treats and feast that you indulged in recently and particularly over the weekend, you're determine to go back to active lifestyle, to shake off and burn extra calories when you can.  at the end of the day, it's all about balance of body, soul and spirit.

cny.treat.no.10 - 大年初三大团聚

day three of cny, finally a day of celebration as you host an open house this year, inviting a few friends and family to come along.

the appetizers, five spice meat roll (香炸五香肉卷 ), fried spring rolls ( 炸春卷), fried wanton (炸云吞 ) and steam and pan fried radish cake （港式萝卜糕）.

and the many cookies in trays and etages that brought by your friends, all home made either by yourself or by your friends. this is something really special and treasure to you to be able to indulge in these cookies.

and the preparation of fish salad is commonly known as yu seng (鱼生) with the chinese character ram/goat (羊）. as for you,  you're glad to find a cny greetings in christian's context that  羊  is always referring to your dear Jesus who is the sacrificial lamb. and that He came so that we can have abundant life (john 10:10)

although the chinese believe that the participation in a yu seng is a ritual for prosperity,  for you this is just a toss of salad and something refreshing after all the appetizers and cookies earlier.

 and the early dinner consists of many dishes ranging from drunken chicken, stir fry veg, restaurant bought roast duck, butter prawn, arrowroot pork, nyonya ju hu char

veg omelet, tea leaves egg, sticky honey chicken wings, fried mee hoon and cantonese stew of duck paw, mushroom, moss and dried oysters.  all in all, food overflow...

it's a fun and festive day, you truly feel merry and blessed.

cny.treat.no. 9 - 大年初二

this is still pretty much a non happening day, other than you baked a coconut milk glutinous flour nian gao, and a tiramisu cake. this will be served in for tomorrow open house.

cny.treat.no.8 - 大年初一

 a typical vegetarian dish that cooked with fermented tofu 南乳粗斋菜

steamed chinese sausage, waxed meat with arrowroot

these are typical chinese new year dishes, though not eaten widely in your home town but you grew towards these dishes over years in your adopted land.  they are more cantonese oriented and the ingredients are also commonly available during this period of time.  you didn't eat these today on the first day of cny but these were made a week or two ago in leading to cny.  today in fact you went for a re-union dinner with your ex-colleagues.

cny.eve.

it's lunar new year's eve, while most part of asia is in the big celebration, over here in the lowland it's just another working day.  nevertheless, you have baked enough chinese new year cookies and goodies to commemorate this festive season.
wish everyone a very happy chinese new year if you're celebrating.

cny.treat.no.7 - meat.jerky

meat jerky (肉干), something that you bake or make once a year.  this will be your last baking before the new year strikes.
it's almost cny!

::frost::

just as you thought winter is over, you're confronted with a layer of frost at 9.30am when you're about to drive to brussels for a day work.

you couldn't think of the crispy moment of your iris in your garden. what a shunkan(春寒） moment。

::yama::

dinner at this boutique restaurant in rotterdam.  you made the reservation since early january to secure a table for february fourteen.  this place only hosts about 26 guests per night in one serving.  all in all, it's worth the hassle to plan and book ahead, it's even a pleasure to sample the carefully prepared 5 course set menu from a chef that takes pride in preparing his food with tender loving care.
you'll be back for the spring or summer menu.

as for me...

mr cupid dropped by the house as you whisked up the  kaiserschmarrn for breakfast today. this austrian pancake is normally just being cut or pull apart in the pan but you use love shape cookie cutter to make it a little special today.
while you're in the midst of cooking, joshua 24:15 becomes very relevant to you to day.  yes, valentine's day may be a day where one declares the love to another but as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord..

set the valentine's day apart, you spent your afternoon in the church for the worker's meeting. and during the prayer session, you feel strongly that you should share this verse with the two sisters who're praying you.  and the verse is very relevant in the context.

 joshua 24:15 But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

you feel love today, so much love.
love by your honey. love by your church and above all love by your God.

cny.bake.no.6 - sablés aux biscuits roses

 happy valentine's day!  here's your take of pink heart sending love to everyone out there!

in reality, this is just another cny cookies that you baked with the french biscuisit de reims. sablés aux biscuits roses is it!

john 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another

cny.treat.no.5 - dry shrimp cookies

give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime...

cookies in fish shape.  while chinese has an auspicious saying about "fish" in the saying of " 年年有余" roughly translates to "yearly surplus", you like the biblical version more...

matthew 4:19 - Jesus said "follow me and I will make you a fisher of men"

cny.treat.no.4 - chestnut cookies

this is made using the chestnut flour that you hauled back from parma last year.  some of the flour went into the chestnut biscotti you made for christmas.  another portion went into this chestnut flour cookies.  easy recipe but you've perhaps over baked the cookies just by a little bit >.<

cny.treat.no.3 - sarawak acar

sarawak acar and keropok (shrimp cracker), the best combination that only sarawakian knows how to enjoy this classical childhood combination.

work wise, something that keep you busy and occupied is now winding down. that's mean you have a bit more time to churn more festive cookies.

cny.treat.no.2 - chocolate.pepper.cookies

this is again not a typical cny cookies and definitely not the german cookies that commonly available in south east asia.  the dough is very soft so you just couldn't make do with your nice cookie cutter, but instead turn it into a typical german-ish cookies outlook.
this cookie is packed with flavor, the sarawak black peper does the trick and bursting out between the rich chocolaty and cut clean with peppery taste.
it's certainly not a kid friendly cookies, a note to yourself when you serve this during the open house.

cny.treat.no.1 - yatsuhashi

 福 (fu) means blessing in chinese....

strictly speaking this is not typically chinese new year treat, but you baked it anyway because it's just the right occasion to bake.  this is gluten free and while the ingredient s simple, the procedure is laborious.  you enjoy the process anyhow.  the trick to get this right is a challenge. you have a mixed batch, some crunchy and flat, while other bloated and no snap moment.
the sakura flower is infused with rose water, the brown tree branch is cinnamon flavor and the leaves are japanese green tea flavor.
the composition looks spring and blossoming, rightfully symbolizing the coming of spring festival.

matthew 5 - the beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven

::feast::

while the chirstmas and new year feast is definitely over,  you see another series of eating coming in the month of february, starting with your sil birthday celebration.

 the dishes cooked by your mil

and a tasty red velvet birthday cake.
with chinese new year just round the corner, you're expecting more occasion to feast.

::loot.from.warsaw::

 your loot from warsaw... finally you have time to unpack your luggage..  warsaw vodka and polish sausage

and that reminds you of a dish that you ate on your last night in warsaw, the hunter stew, something hearty and really delicious eating with the rye bread.

winter.wonderland

you're back to lowland and what awaits you was the winter wonderland. the snowy view is superb and serene. you're glad that you have your dslr at hand and able to capture some shots like these.