New items

Het is weeral een hele tijd geleden dat ik nog een bericht gepost heb....Het is zeer druk en we zijn met een aantal grote projecten bezig...Zo gaat dat als drukke zelfstandige: onze klanten eisen ons op(... groot gelijk hebben ze...)en dan moet de rest even wachten.... Bij elk project doen we dan ook de begeleiding 100% volledig zelf: van de eerste afspraak en bespreking tot en met de levering en plaatsing van de gordijnen....Dat vergt uiteraard heel wat energie, maar het geeft ons als decorateurs een zeer bevredigend gevoel omdat de klant effectief een direct, persoonlijk aanspreekpunt heeft bij elke stap van de inrichting; ik denk dat dit ook de reden van ons succes is. Gelukkig hebben we een zeer aangenaam, trouw & dankbaar cliënteel en dat is voor ons uiteraard zeer prettig werken. Veelal zijn het ganse families die al jaren klant zijn(& ondertussen ook vrienden geworden zijn)of de uitgebreide vriendenkring van klanten waar we in circuleren en dat geeft natuurlijk voor de nieuwe klant altijd een beetje meer vertrouwen dan met volledig onbekenden te werken...We mogen met de hand op ons hart zeggen dat we goed bezig zijn! We zouden het niet anders willen....

We hebben ondertussen toch wel de tijd gevonden om de showroom te 'updaten' en er zijn bovendien zeer veel nieuwe items binnengekomen. Dit voorjaar hebben we geopteerd om met lichtere kleuren te werken in de showroom. We werken veelal in onze projecten(& trouwens ook in ons privé-gedeelte) met heel 'stemmige' kleuren, vooral in het aubergine-segment; maar om eens een 'frissere' touch te geven aan de showroom kiezen we nu dus eens voor de 'lichtere' look. Vooral de groen- ijsblauwe aardewerken potten vallen in de smaak! Deze zijn trouwens ook prachtig in een stemmiger interieur ...

Veel nieuwe items zien tegenwoordig  het daglicht in de showroom niet eens meer na onze aankoop: ze gaan meestal onmiddellijk mee als we projecten afwerken ter plaatse....
Maar ik wil jullie hierbij toch alvast een impressie geven.... Laat gerust weten wat je ervan vindt !
Een fijn weekend en tot binnenkort !
Sabine

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

So I was going to make chocolate chip banana bread with the bunch of brown bananas sitting on my counter, but then Cooking Light posted a link to their best banana bread recipes on Facebook. And they had me at "marbled chocolate."

It's the same basic recipe as the chocolate chip bread, but instead of just throwing the chocolate chips in the batter, you melt them down, mix them with some batter, and then swirl the resulting chocolatey goodness into your bread. I made a few substitutions to the original recipe: I used white whole wheat flour in place of all purpose (so it's, um, healthy?), 2 eggs in place of the egg substitute, and vanilla yogurt in place of the regular.

The note on the Cooking Light recipe says to toast the bread, and smear it with peanut butter. Yes. Do this.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread
adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add banana, eggs, and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters together using a knife. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf


Download a Printable Recipe

Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil

Grilled chicken breasts don't hold a lot of appeal for me... if I'm going to bust out the grill (ok, if John is going to bust out the grill), I want something a little more interesting than a bland old chicken breast. These chicken breasts, however, are totally not boring. They are stuffed with prosciutto, cheese, and basil, making them something special. Special enough for company, in fact... it was such a gorgeous day yesterday that we invited our friends over to enjoy some grilling and leisurely wine-sipping on the deck. Maybe it was the wine, but we all really loved these.

The only thing I would do differently the next time I make these is add more cheese! Only one slice is used per chicken breast, which seems a little skimpy. You need at least two in there. Also the grilling time called for in the recipe was 12 minutes... ours took over 20. I'm not sure if it was something with our grill or if I didn't pound the chicken flat enough, but be sure to test yours so as not to give your friends and family salmonella. We did the cut-it-open-and-see-if-it's-pink test, but an instant read thermometer would work too.

Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil
from Weber's Way to Grill

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 8 oz each
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 very thin slices prosciutto
4 thin slices provolone cheese, halved
8 large basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups good-quality tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat.

2. For each piece of chicken, use about 12 inches of plastic wrap. Place the chicken, smooth side down, to one side of the plastic, about 2 inches from the edge. Fold the remaining plastic over the chicken leaving an inch or so from the folded edge. This will allow the chicken to spread out as it gets thinner. Starting from the thick side, gently pound the chicken with the flat side of a tenderizer or the bottom of a small, heavy skillet, moving to different areas with every stroke until it is about 1/4 inch thick and just about double in size. Do not pound too hard or the chicken might break apart.

3. Season each piece of chicken on both sides with the salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Arrange the chicken with the smooth side down on a work surface.

4. Lay a slice of prosciutto on each piece of chicken. Then lay down 2 halves of the provolone and then 2 basil leaves. Carefully roll up the chicken, keeping it snug as you work. Tie 2 pieces of butcher's twine around each piece to keep it together. Trim the loose ends of twine. Lightly brush each rolled piece of chicken with the oil.

5. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the chicken over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until golden on all sides, about 12 minutes, turning a quarter turn every 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the tomato sauce.

6. Remove the twine from the chicken pieces, cut into slices, and serve warm in a pool of sauce. Garnish with torn pieces of basil.

Serves 4


Download a printable recipe.