22nd Birthday

Yay it's my birthday today, I'm turning 22! I woke up early this morning, but I definitely needed a cup of coffee to wake up completely. A coffee in the morning is always a good idea, but this morning it was extra special due to the lovely presents my parents and sister gave me and all the sweet birthday messages I received. Great start of the day!

All week it was really hot outside so I was hoping today would be nice as well, but Mother Nature turned her back to me and decided to let in rain, ugh. So far my plans of having lunch in the sun in Laren (a Dutch town that is also known as the home for the rich and the famous). It didn't really matter after all, because enjoying a delicious birthday lunch at a warm, cozy (and dry) restaurant was a pretty good alternative. I must admit that I also did a little bit of shopping in the posh town. Guilty, I know.. But since it's my birthday I think I'm allowed to buy something for myself too. You know what I'm talking about, right girls? You'll find out what it is soon, but first I need to hurry and start preparing tonight's dinner: gourmetten it is!

Have a nice Friday everyone!

Jumpsuit / Mango

Wedges / UGG Australia

Bag / Bulaggi

Bracelet / Ti Sento Milano

Oatmeal Banana Cookies

Lately I have been watching '24 Kitchen', a Dutch television channel. I just love it, it makes me want to cook immediately!! There are so many recipes I would like to make.. or at least try to make as I like cooking and baking a lot. Today I decided to make Oatmeal Banana Cookies. In my opinion it's sort of a homemade muesli bar, it's super-easy to make. I thought to share this with you, so here's the recipe!

You'll need:

• 240g oatmeal 
• 2 bananas 
• 40g mixed nuts 
• 1 vanilla bean 
• 1 pinch of salt 
• 1 tbsp cinnamon powder 

Note: preheat oven at 180ºC

Cut the nuts into smaller pieces. If you like, you could also add some dates. Not everyone likes dates hence I decided to add more nuts instead.

Split the vanilla bean length wise with a knife and scrape out all of the oily seeds from the inside.

Put the oatmeal in a bowl and add the nuts and vanilla. Mix all ingredients together and add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of cinnamon powder.

Next, take two bananas and mash it.

I know it doesn't look very appetizing to eat haha, but it smells oh-so delicious!

Anyway, add the mashed bananas to the bowl..

... And simply mix it all together until you get a nice bonding mixture.

Pour the whole mix into a slightly buttered cake pan. Make your hands a little wet and press firmly. If you like, you can add a little bit more cinnamon powder on top. Put it into a oven for about 30 minutes, 180ºC, and bake until it's golden brown.

When it's ready, cut the lukewarm cookie into square pieces and serve it!

Tadaaa, here it is!

Mexitalian wraps

You have those days when you're in a cooking mood. Here's one good recipe I've made a few times.

Ingredients:

Ground meat, Italian vegetable stir fry and Mexican wraps (including tomato ketchup mix, Mexican spice mix etc).

Step 1: Cook the meat and add the vegetables. When it's almost ready, you can add the Mexican spice mix with a little bit of water for an extra flavor twist.

Don't forget to preheat your oven to 200°C!

Step 2: In the mean time, add water to the tomato ketchup mix. Leave it for 5 minutes and spread it on the wraps.

Step 3: Put the meat and the veggies on the wraps and roll it.

Step 4: Leave the filled wraps in the oven for around 10 minutes.

And.. That's a wrap!  

Very easy to make and it tastes very good!

Buon appetito! ;-D