Recipe: Pastasalad with diced ham

Since we went barbecuing I decided to make a pastasalad as a healthy sidedish. As you could have probably guessed, I have got an addiction for pastasalads during the summer. They are just so easy to make and you can costumize it however you like it! I invented this salad myself by just trying out some ingredients that I thought would fit well together. The nice thing about this dish is that you can add any ingredient you like or use other ingredients which match your preferences.

What you will need (for two bowls):

• 500 grams of pasta
• 300 grams of diced ham
• 4 tbsp of black olives
• 15 cherrytomatoes
• 250 grams of green beans
• 450 grams of mozzarella
• 2 tbsp of fresh cream
• 4 tsp of italian spices
• olive oil
• peper

Preparation:

1. Shuck the ends of the green beans and wash them. Put them into a pan with boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Then swill with cold water, so that the beans remain green.
2. Boil the pasta following the instructions on the wrapper. When done, cast the pasta into a colander and swill with cold water. Let it leak out afterwards.
3. Cut the cherrytomatoes into pieces, as well as the black olives and mozzarella. Put the pasta, diced ham, olives, tomatoes, fresh cream, mozzarella and green beans in a bowl and toss it around. Season the salad with italian spices, peper and olive oil. Ready to serve!

Just a little note: I used olive oil that I got as a holiday present from a dear friend of mine. It is formed as the tower of pisa and contains olive oil with rosemary and pepers. It is absolutely delicious and really adds something special to the dish!

What kind of pastasalads do you make during the summertime? I would love to hear from you!

Have a lovely day. -x-

Running, hardlopen, laufen!

A new blogpost today. About running, hardlopen, laufen. What a wonderful thing that is. I went running yesterday while just having downloaded a new running app, called strava. It basically measures about pretty much everything, so you might want to check it out yourself (you can also use it for mountainbiking etc.).

I figured I would tell you something about my summer cardioprogramme. I wake up early on a workout day because I prefer working out at the start of the day. Before leaving the house, I eat two slices of gingerbread and drink a glass of water or juice. I run with a bottlebelt so that I always have access to water. I tend to delineate the route in my head before I go.

I like running with music, it gives me a great energy boost. Songs I really love listening to while running? Beautiful day, Ordinary Love and One by U2 (and basically all the other songs by U2), All of Me Remix by Tiësto and Waiting for Love by Avicii.

After running it is significant to keep hydrating yourself. When I come home I drink one or two glasses of water straight away. I also like to eat a citrus fruit. After my shower I still take a small breakfast. That is often a slice of bread with topping or a bowl with fruits and oatmeal. After, I am ready to take on the day!

What do you eat/drink before, during and after your workout? I would love to hear from you!
Have a beautiful day. -x-

Salmontartare

This recipe is one of my favourites on a hot summer evening when you are seeking for something fresh and full of flavours; a real joy for your tastebuds! The ingredients go suprisingly well together, and you just can't get enough of this delicious creation.

What you will need (4 portions):

• 1 lemon
• 300 grams of salmon
• 8 grams of dill
• 3 branches of parsley
• 1 spring onion
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tsp horseradish

Preparation:

1. Grate the yellow skin of the lemon and press the juice out of the fruit. Slice the salmon into small blocks. Slice the dill as well as the leaves of the parsley into tiny pieces. Cut the spring onion as well. Blend the lemon grater, the salmon, the dill, the parsley, the spring onion, the capers with one tablespoon of olive oil. Additionally you might want to add some peper or salt.
2. Blend the mayonnaise and horseradish in a bowl and flavour it with lemonjuice.
3. Make a tartare of the salmon (you could use a bowl or a cup for this). Serve the tartare with the horseradish mayonnaise. You might also want to decorate it with another branch of dill.

Leave a comment letting me know what your opinion on this recipe is, I would love to hear from you! Have a great day. x.

On my way to Uganda!

That is a little odd... Let me explain: this heading is the title of my other (Dutch) blog, on my way to Uganda. In February 2016 I am off to Uganda to work as a volunteer for development project in the pearl of Africa. This expedition is instead of my internship to an English speaking country. I chose to join this expedition because of two reasons. First of all, I am eager to give my share in the development and building of the country of Uganda, including learning about the culture, the people and the traditions. Second, I believe this expedition could really help my own development flourish. I would love to broaden my view on the world and learn about other societies and lives.

As said before, in the two weeks I will spend there I will be doing voluntery work. Think about building a stove out of clay, teaching English at a school, working on the land and playing football with the local children. For these local projects, I was asked to raise money. I have found a, in my opinion, fun way for doing so. Every so often I invite two couples (whom each bring another couple) for a fancy dinner at my house. My mom and I will make a 3 course dinner based on the season. My guest will pay for a lovely night out and good company. All the profit of such a dinner will be for the local projects in Uganda. The previous two dinners were a great success and I am looking forward to more good experiences. 

If you would like to know more about my expedition or the raising of money, do not hesitate to leave a comment! I would love to hear from you guys.

Have a lovely day! x.

A morning workout

Since my fieldhockey season only starts in the last weeks of the summer holiday, I try to stay fit via other sports. During the 3 weeks I spent in France, I went mountainbiking with my dad, did some running with my mom, practised some exercises in the pool (think about swimming laps, aquarunning, etc.), did some kayaking and went hiking for a few days. Now that I am back at home my mom and I go for a nice morning run in the forest at least 3 times a week. 

The reason I am writing about this, is because I figured I would tell you something about my motivation to start running and about my workout routine. My main motivation to do sports is because it is healthy. We all have those days where you are just not motivated to do anything, let alone getting up and start exercising. I too have those days, it is normal I guess (?). 

I have been playing hockey for quite some time now, and it is a great way to exercise and meet new people. My weekly hockey routine consists out of two trainings and one match in the weekends. Still, I chose to start running next to my weekly hockey routine. My mom started running a couple of years ago, She wanted to become strong and fit and she has really inspired me to start running. It is a lot of fun to hear about all her stories evolving around running and if you want to read for yourself, you should check out her (Dutch) blog, under the label: 'rennen'.

So, back to my motivation to start running. I really wanted my body to become stronger (which is also very handy for hockey) so I decided to join my mom in a run on a sunday morning. What suprised me very much is the freedom and energy you encounter during and after the workout. Gosh, how great it feels when you have started your day all healthy. You would think you get very tired after a morning workout, which indeed is true, but the energy you gain outweighs the tiredness. So I started joining my mom every sunday and we always picked different routes through the forest so we won't get bored. Our loyal dog always comes with us and it brings me a lot of joy to see him so happily running through the forest (after which he will lay outside in the grass for the remaining day resting). 

Now that the previous hockey season has finished, we were asked to do some intensive sporting each week. So I decided to go and do running 3 days in a week. And, if you were wondering: yes, I still face those days where I am just not motivated to do anything. However, I know now how important it is for your health and how great it feels, coming back after a refreshing morning run, ready to start the day!