Happy Weekend!

I will be 

I want to be

I am looking forward to be

Here

back 

again!

Before that..

I will have a nice little break in my Home Country Finland!

Have a nice weekend! 

And in the end the rain was gone

Last days I have been afraid of even opening this blog. Why? Because I felt quilty not writing something here. That is so silly, writing here should give me the feeling of freedom and joy. I love posting something, but I would then like to give a little bit more than I can at the moment...and just something is not enough. Some days can be a struggle and the ongoing cold and rain doesn't help.

Sometimes other people think that I am always positive and I don't worry about things too much, but the truth is quite opposite. Just trying to be positive and trying to get over the problems, there are different ways to handle things. My way is that I don't want to focus on negativity or feel hopeless. I trust in life and I want to go on, even if the road is rocky sometimes. We have to accept that in many days we can't be the ideal picture of ourselves, but those good days coming are diamonds. And who wants to be ideal, sometimes is good to have few bad days and my goal is not to be perfect. That is the reason I collected my courage and told you this. I know tomorrow will be better and I am already preparing myself for it. 

So the black and rain can go, I prepared already the breakfast Chia-pudding, which I have never tried before. Trying new things and letting the weight of the low pressure fade away. We are going to the countryside tomorrow and I will take my camera with me of course. 

 There is light in the end of the Tunnel.

 There is something fresh and green! The Rain, you make everything more beautiful in the end, but not without the Sun. The raindance is not needed anymore, your work is done! 

Moments of peace

Finally I had time to go for a jog today, run away my sudden "spring tiredness" and collect some inspiration from the Nature. I took my mobile telephone with me and stopped to take few pictures from my round at the park. Usually I don't like any interruptions when I am concentrating on my rhythm and breathing while running. I had to compensate a little bit my small photo stops by making my jog a bit longer than usual. My week has been busy and this morning outdoors gave me a lot of joy: I liked the peace, sounds, smells and the views. No walls, no roof, no computer and it would have been even better without a telephone, but I wanted to say "Hi" to you! I also wanted to underline this precious & beautiful morning for me by taking a few photos, making a stronger memory track! Stopping and admiring the light and the colors, multitasking and being happy!

GreeNings from A'dam!

The colour of the landscape is changing, so fresh and inviting! Happy weekend!

Healthy Taste 001: Lentils salad with blueberries

I like cooking, but sometimes you get stuck to same old recipes. I always try to find some motivation to test new ideas and at the moment I want to add more vegetables to our daily menu's. I want my kids to learn to appreciate new tastes by offering them fresh and variable meals. The next recipe is from the "Supermarket magazine" from a big Dutch market chain.

  

Lentils salad with blueberries  

We had this with "Kabeljauw' (white fish) and it was really good!!

500g  cherry tomato mix

2 tsp sugar

4 spoons of olive oil

3 branches of fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

1 can of lentils(400g)

150g blueberries

a big handful of basil leaves

1 eating spoonful of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

40g pistachios

1.Preheat the oven up to 175 celsius. Cut the cherry tomatoes in two peaces and set them on the oven proof pan the cut side up. Spread a little bit of sugar and some fresh oregano on top. Let the tomatoes get soft and juicy for 40 minutes in the oven.

2. In the meantime rinse the can lentils with some water and let the extra water drop off. Put the lentils on a bowl and mix with blueberries. 

3. Take one big handful of basilica leaves and cut them smaller on top of the cutting board. Put it in the bowl with blueberries and lentils.

4. Collect the juice from the ready oven tomatoes and mix it with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard.

5. Decorate the lentils salad with the oven tomatoes and add the salad dressing. Mix gently and add some pistachios on top. Enjoy with some fish, white meat or just like that. 

The combination with blueberries was fresh and something new!! Oven made tomatoes have also an extra portion of antioxidant called lycopene compared to just fresh non cooked tomatoes. 

Back to beach life

Here is simply a collection of pictures from the beach today. Now the spring is really warming up the weather and waking up the people - including me! Sorry about the quiet week here in the blog. I have been thinking to make some changes to my blog, to make it more reader friendly, better organised, more regular&beautiful. That would mean also more short posts with photos and of course the weekly "normal" posts with more text, information and personal thoughts. 

I hope you had a nice weekend! I really enjoyed the beach today. They are building now all the beach clubs for the summer season. We went to Bloemendaal near Haarlem and the contrast was already huge compared to our winter visit. I prefer going to the beach in the morning time when it is still peaceful. 

Building a beach club for the summer season. This happens every spring time and in the autumn the houses will be taken away for the windy, stormy and cold winter period. But there is always one or two restaurants open all year round.

Everything is ready for the customers to enjoy!

A fresh mint tea is a popular drink in Holland. Just some fresh mint in the hot water and some honey if you like. 

Having a lunch at the beach on Sunday is always good. Food tastes better outdoors. I am a big fan of picnics and grilling. Finally we can do this again.

An option is to buy something fish related from the kiosk.

The landscape of mussels.

The children find always something interesting to bring home like this poor dead, sun dried crab.

Let's also remember to keep the beach clean. I saw some volunteers picking up the garbage and there was a a big basket at the beach to remind visitors to collect the garbage when they leave. 

Wishing you a good start for the next week, Erja

Medical garden in Beatrixpark

Beatrixpark is a small and clean park located behind the RAI congress centre in the South of Amsterdam and just a small distance away from the A10 motorway. This nice park is a mixture of modern and old gardening. The old part is influenced by the English style and after the second World War the park was modernised. You can also see the modern, high  architecture just behind the motorway near the Metrostation Zuid and the opposite side of the park is just beside the Amstel canal.

At the Beatrix park, just opposite to a big playground is a interesting medical herb garden. It is good to walk in there and have a look of different useful plants and herbs. Many of those are growing wild in the forests, gardens and at the park. In "Atrsenijhof" Almost every plant has a sign with a name and how you can use them as a "medical plant". The volunteer society of Beatrix park is taking care of this medical herb garden. There is about 250 different herbs growing and sometimes they organise a guided walk to get to know the plants and their powers. Next one will be in the 5th of June 2016 from 14:00 to 15:30. You can get more information from here.

I have seen this flower in many gardens and now I know it has a medical use as well. Helleborus Argutifolius (Hellebore in english, Nieskruid in dutch) can be used as a medical herb, but it is also toxic and you can't under any circumstances try to prepare a herbal remedy of Hellebore at home!! 

Everyone knows the Nettle (Brandnetel). The firs contact with this herb usually happens as a child when you have a skin contact with the stinging nettle and get the "burned" feeling on your skin. Then you start to avoid it and maybe even hate it. But it can be used as a medical drug treating allergies, prostate problems and it is said to help with some hair problems like losing your hair. You can also use stinging Nettle for cooking and substitute for spinach in any cooked recipe.

  

The next light rosa coloured flower I see everywhere by the water and I have been wondering the name of it.  It is "Petasites hybridus"(the Butterbur) and it is effective against migraine and it has been used over 2000 years to treat fever, lung disease, spasms and pain. Again this plant has toxics too and the medical extract has to be carefully made by a reputable laboratory. Even if you can't prepare many of the natural medicines yourself it is good to know the effects of different plants and then it is easier to buy some products from the pharmacy or from Reform shop if needed. 

I saw this feminine statue just when I was leaving the Park. It was like a reminder of being aware of the living Nature. A Mother Nature looking after the green and the animals and all of us. Many things are packed, designed and produced to make products look inviting for us. The "wild" and natural products are sometimes even scary for many people. It is just the lack of knowledge, lack of time and sometimes lack of interest. It is good at least to remember some of the advice from the older generations and natural medicine that can be found in your own kitchen or in the garden. This is learning process for me too, because just lately I have started to pay more attention to more vital cooking and the secrets of the herbs and other useful plants.