Quiz Night - Out with the Girls

Life's not only looking after my son, do the shopping, do my housework, cook, try to survive to all of this... I also need some time out with friends, a laugh (or more than one, maybe!) and maybe a glass of wine! So, when my friend Brandi asked me if I wanted to go out for a Quiz Night I was thrilled. And as my husband said he wasn't supposed to save the world for that particular night (well, we're always looking at the sky to catch a glimpse of the emergency bat-shaped call  from Gotham City, but THAT is an entirely different matter) I was filled with joy! A night out, three long hours without checking for Leonardo, without worrying about tantrum, dinner, going to bed, but only FUN!

So I went to the Carousel, a restaurant in downtown Eindhoven, where every Thursday there's the Quiz Night, and looked for Brandi. I found her with Allyson and Danette, and then Danica came. We were the team "From Venus", but mostly we were from Italy, Usa and Ireland! A nice, well-assorted group of ladies and moms.

Tips for Expats in Eindhoven

Moving is never easy, especially when your country of origin is far away and you find yourself in a different environment, with different timetable and habits. The very first thing I noticed since I moved in Eindhoven was: Where do they do the shopping? I surfed the net for clues, but only in English, so I couldn't find much. Then I bought a Dutch-English Dictionary, and try to figure out (with the precious help of Google Translator) where markets where. I am lucky, though, because my brother-in-law lived nearly 10 years in The Netherlands, so he is a constant source of valuable information. 

But I was much more luckier than that because I have joined the International Women Club of Eindhoven. Found it before leaving Italy, it made me feel like I had a distant friend there waiting for me. Well, the truth is that I fund friends there, loaded with kindness, life history, suggestions, but most of all friendship. Which is something you have to be lucky to find. And I did.

La (dis)educazione dei bambini in Olanda - part 4

The (Mis)education of Children in The Netherlands - Part 4

If you ask what is the typical Dutch habit, mostly everyone will answer: You need to ask them exactly what you want. Well, at the beginning I simply couldn't believe it. If you want to be a teacher, than you have to know what you have to do, and not wait for others to tell you. Same thing for any other job in the world. But not, apparently, for the workers at the creche where I took Leonardo in March. The experience was so bad, so unbelievable, that I thought I could never understand the "Dutch Way". 

Then, I tried again.

I took Leonardo to the same place, at the creche (daycare, in Dutch) of a thermal station close to Eindhoven. With my hearth pumping, nervous from head to toe, and nearly shaking (inside), I went to speak to one of the worker. And this time she was listening. Carefully. To every word I said. Please, give Leonardo his food, then he can eat all alone. Please, change his nappy around 11, just before lunch. If he cries, he can have some cookies. And please, help him with the straw, or else he won't be able to drink his juice. Then went. He was playing peacefully.

On The Lighter Side - Chocolate and Rasberry Gluten-Free Muffins

I think I'm gonna use my fantastic blender Vitamix (a migrant, as we are: of American origin, bought in Amsterdam by my brother-in-law, taken to Mantua and then back to The Netherlands) and its stunning recipes book, whose subtitles is "For Better Living". As a matter of fact, butter and other fat stuff are banned, but I've found out that life can be good and tasty even when light!

For all the ones without the blender (that can be use to blend literally any kind of food), I think a normal food processor will do the trick. I have personalized the recipe with the ingredients I had at home and for my special gluten-free flour.

Chocolate and Raspberry Gluten-Free Muffins

Make sure you have all the ingredients, then preheat oven to 350 F. Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups whole wheat gluten-free flour; 1/2 cup soy flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/3 cup brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 cup soy or skimmed milk (I use ubiquitous rice milk); 2 medium eggs; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped; 3 ounces raspberry (if you use frozen fruits, do no thaw before using them). Combine together flour, baking powder, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and put aside. Put eggs, olive oil and milk in the blender and start with speed 1 to 8 for 10 seconds. Then mix all the ingredients together at speed 8 for other 10 seconds. Divide the batter in two: put chocolate in one, and frozen raspberry in the other. Fill muffin cups (I use the silicone one) to within 1/3 inch of top and bake for 15-20 minutes.