Farmers market Almere

It has been one of those things we’d been meaning to do for a loooong time; going to the farmers market here in Almere. Now that we’re on the subject of shopping; can I just complain for a little bit about the lack of good produce here in Almere? There are really not a lot of places where you can buy good vegetables other then the standard fare you will find in any supermarket. Even fresh herbs are sometimes hard to come by. Ok, you can now buy pots of basil, parsley and sometimes even mint in the supermarket, but finding dille or fresh cilantro can be a real challenge. (which is why we’re now attempting to grow them in our garden!!) So going to this farmers market we were hoping to find a good source of edible goodies. Well, yes and no. It was very very small. I had hoped for a larger selection of things, but there was literally only 7 stalls in total. The things that they did have looked good and I especially liked the vegetables. All very seasonal and looking rather good as well.

Next to restaurant de Kemphaan

The market is held every saturday at the estate of the Kemphaan which is all about organic farming and a huge area as well. There is a restaurant next to it, looking out over the water so that was a lovely place to have coffee. Next to the Kemphaan is Stichting Aap, which is a foundation that is famous for rescuing monkies worldwide from mallpractice, such as keeping them as a pet or animals that are used for entertaining tourists and have let miserable lifes in general. A lot of the monkies there are seriously damaged, either fysical or psychological and can at least enjoy the rest of their lifes in relative peace and quiet.

After the market we decided to head to Almere Haven for a nice light lunch. The weather is still gorgeous, although thankfully slightly less hot then the previous days, so on a terrace in the shade we both enjoyed a lovely sandwich…

Goatcheese and honey sandwich

Smoked chicken sandwich

Tonight’s gonna be another Jamie recipe; canneloni!!

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Shimeji Mushrooms

It must be something that only people who love cooking can appreciate; the ability to be able to buy the most beautiful ingredients at your own doorstep.
I am not that lucky as the place I live in  doesn’t seem to feel the need to create places where you can buy something other then potatoes and regular vegetables. I guess there must be no market for it, although that is hard to believe! I would certainly buy it.
Places like Amsterdam, Haarlem or Utrecht all have fantastic little shops where you can buy all sorts of homegrown produce or from smaller farmers, locally grown. They even have a special “supermarket” called Marqt, where you can buy fantastic stuff all from small producers who get their own space there. So if you go to the bakery section you would get real bread, if you go to the butcher area you get meat from a small farmer. Anyway, I can complain as much as I want; that is not gonna get those shops here, but you never know what might happen in the future. Although with the current climate I am not so sure that is gonna happen.

Red beet sprouts

Ollie (foodstylist) had suggested to me to get a Hanos card. I never figured I would be able to get one as it is mainly for restaurants to buy their ingredients etc. but it was actually surprisingly easy and now I can go there and buy all sorts of lovely goodness!
So on thursday I just had to go there and buy some ingredients for photography (and eating later) so here are a few examples of the stuff that I bought. The mushrooms are fantastic and have a quite pungy flavour. The beetroot sprouts are great but as dangerous when it comes to coloring (my lovely white tablecloth) as is the mother beetroot!
I had to restrain myself from buying too much stuff, so I ended up buying dried peas, as those I can use for a much longer period… But I will be back many many times! I haven’t even gone into the meat, fish and dairy section yet, knowing that I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself buying things I didn’t need!

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Today was that dreaded day of the year when the christmas groceries have to be bought. We purposefully did not leave it untill the very last minute to do it, as on wednesday I am sure it is a struggle for live to even get into the supermarket and I have not mentioned the car parking drama that preceeds the getting into the store-thing…

Cucumber

I am as guilty as the next person I guess but I can’t help but wonder what is possessing all these people to stock up as if we’re about to get a new iceage tomorrow…

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There is this fantastic little shop right in the centre of Amsterdam that sells the BEST ever chocolate cake, delicious muffins, tartelettes, cake,… o and so many other things that are in general not good for you. O and let’s not forget the totally wonderful bread they make as well.

Fi and I went there yesterday just before our hairdresser appointment and so we could have lunch. Ofcourse the problem with having so much choice is that you always feel you have picked the wrong dish, but that is mainly because you see so much other yummy stuff in the process. The actual bakery is fully visible from the seating area, so while you enjoy lunch or just plain coffee you can see the bakers making all that deliciousness. The store is called “Bakken met Passie” and I actually don’t know the address exactly but it is close to the Ferdinand Bol and Albert Kuyp market if you want to try.

I brought home two savoury cakes; one muffin filled with goatcheese and dried tomatoes and one tartelette with broccoli and also goatcheese. I had both for dinner last night and they were fantastic!!

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You know how you can look at photos in magazines and not realize what it took to achieve a certain look or to get a certain shot. Before I did any stockphotography I really didn’t have a clue as to what it takes to make a simple object look good. You see and ad for, let’s say, nailpolish, makeup or something as simple as a handbag and you simply do not realize how much work has gone in to creating that look.
I find styling in general one of the hardest things to do; wether it is food or non-food related and I am dying to get better at it, but for some reason it seems to be an art mostly tought in the any country other then Holland. Maybe it is something you’re not supposed to learn but something which has to come natural, as I am sure some great people will be able to show you just by looking at their work. Have a look at the blog of Sweet Paul for instance or Tartelette or La Tartine Gourmande to name just a view but the list is much, much longer so for more wonderful blogs you can check out the links on my page on the left.

I know some of them at least have done foodstyling for instance, but I also know quite a few where the art of styling a shot comes naturally. I am slightly jealous here!!
Maybe I just have to keep practicing, reading about it and looking at other people’s styling and maybe at some point in time I might learn..)

Today was another beautiful day with lots of sunshine. Once every 8 weeks a friend and I go to Amsterdam for our hairdresser appointment and we tend to combine that with either some good food somewhere (Wagamama is one of our favorites!!) or – as was the case today – we go shopping!

We went a bit wild at Studio Bazar today. It’s a huge kitchen-stuff store located in the former chewingball factory near the spaklerweg. Heaven for people like F. and me!! I had been wanting to buy a Magimix for a while now but they are not exactly cheap (good stuff hardly ever is!) but since our vacation is officially cancelled I had earned a nice present for myself, so today was the day! I bought a beautiful Magimix as well as a lovely new mixer. My day would have been perfect if I could have managed to get my hands on the new Blackberry Bold 9000, but that was not to be…
Patience has never been my strongest virtue…..

One of the shots of the cat-shoot from last week…

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