Posted on Leave a comment

RECIPE Mac and cheese and ... PUMPKIN

Mac and Cheese... Who doesn´t love it? Too bad you didn´t really eat something nutricious after such a meal: lots of greasy cheese and no vegetables at all! Luckily you can make the healthy version from now on! Mac with a little bit of cheese and lots and lots of pumpkin!

I can hear you think: "Pumpkin? Jikes!" That ruins the Mac&Cheese party!". But no! I wanna bet no-one will even taste the pumpkin in it!

This is what you need:

  • a small pumpkin (or a big one. That leaves some for delicious pumpkin soup!)
    You need about 300 grams of pumpkin per person.
  • Macaroni (or any other kind of ´small´ pasta)
    I take about 100 grams of unboiled pasta per person.
  • stock cubes
  • 1 onion (when you make this for more than 4 people, you can use 2 onions)
  • some cloves of garlic (for 3 people, I use half a bulb of garlic, but we are true garlic lovers!)
  • a fleet of cream cheese like the one from Maredsous
  • Spices to taste: I use ´provencal herbs´, but salt and pepper are just as good. I now realise that curry would go great with it too!

Is the pumpkin season over? Or you don´t want to do al this cuttig and cleaning and risk losing your fingers in the process? In most grocery stores, you can find pumpkin cubes in the freezer! No need to defrost first.

If you do decide to go for fresh pumpkin, then here´s the ultimate tip to not lose your fingers. Especially with big pumpkins, you need quite some muscle to cut through the pumpkin and your fingers are in quite some danger when you want to peel it. Not anymore! Put the pumkin in the oven (150°C) for about an hour. Afterward, you will be able to cut through it like through butter. Literally! Look at the movie!

The peeling also will be a lot smoother afterwards. Often, you can just pull the peel of with your fingers. Make sure you let the slices cool down a little bit first.

Look how easy that is!

Then just scoop out the seeds and cut into little cubes.

Normally, the pumpkin has become so soft that you could let a toddler do the cutting with a regular knife. Nothing more fun than helping mommy or daddy in the kitchen!

Now the onion and the garlic. Cut these into fine pieces so you won´t have big lumbs in your dinner afterwards. It´s really easy with an onion chopper, but you could do it by hand as well.

Then melt some butter in a big cooking pot and stew the onion and garlic until it looks glazy.

The pumpkin is up next. Add it to the onions an stew for a little while.

Then add 3 to 4 cups of water. Make sure the pumpkin is completely under water.

When the water is boiling, add the stock cubes and the pasta. If the pasta is not completely covered in water, add a little more water.

Make sure the heat is not too high, but the water needs to keep boiling. Cover the pot and stir once in a while. You will see that the water will get more and more absorbed by the pasta and the pieces of pumpkin will start to fall apart.

Let it stew some more and stir regularly until the pasta is completely cooked. Still too much water after the pasta is done? Leave the lit of the pot so the water can evaporate. Stir firmly so the pumpkin falls apart.

Some stubborn pieces of pumpkin?

You can easily crush them with a fork.

We´re almost there! Is your pasta completely cooked and al the lumbs of pumpkin are gone?

Then it´s time to add the cream cheese!

Stir, stir, stir!

Taste and add some spices or herbs if needed and then it´s ready to serve!

Doesn´t that look delicious? And no pumpkin to detect!

A true cheese lover will sprinkle some grated cheese on top of this of course.

Do the kids prefer "real Mac&Cheese like the one from the store"? Then just throw the whole thing in a casserole, put some grated cheese on top of it and put in under the grill for a few minutes. It will taste so much better than the one from the grocery store!

 

Posted on Leave a comment

BACK TO SCHOOL share-and-win action

The summer holiday is coming to an end and we are flooded with stories about the obligation to wear a mouth mask in classrooms. Not all teenagers like this obligation! To make it more bearable for them and to ensure that their well-considered outfit is not spoiled by a boring and ugly mouth mask, we went looking for teen-proof fabrics for a new collection of mouth masks especially for our school-going youth. Young teens, adolescents, girls, boys… (but adults too of course!) We made sure everyone can find something to their liking! In addition, the amount of masks I put into circulation of each type of mouth mask is not that relatively small, so they can put themself in the spotlight with unique, handmade pieces!

MONDMASKERS terug naar school

But it doesn't stop there! Especially for the new school year we give one of these fun masks as a gift! What do you have to do to be eligible? Easy!

1. Surf to our facebookpage: https://www.facebook.com/MerelEnMa
2. Like onze action
3. Share your message publicly
4. Write, in a comment under the message which of our masks you'd like to win.

AND/OR

1. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merelenma/
2. Like our message
3. Share our message on your own instagram page
4. Write, in a comment under the message which of our masks you'd like to win.

AND/OR

1. Follow us on Twitter: Merel&Ma @ma_merel
2. Like our action
3. Retweet our action with a reaction. Use the reaction field to let us know which of our masks you'd like to win.

On Saturday, September 12, the action ends and an innocent child will draw the name of the winner out of our hat. IF you're the winner, you'll be contacted via a private message to obtain your address details so that we can send the mouth mask to you. Good luck!

P.S .: Can't wait for the competition to end to leave the house with such a nice mask? But you also want to have a chance to win a free mask? That is also possible! If you buy a mouth mask from the collection between 22/08/2020 and 15/09/2020, you can - if you win the competition - choose an extra mask that we will send you for free or we will refund the purchase (premium shipping fees not included).

Disclaimer:
It is not the ok to participate in this promotion with a new, anonymous, or 'empty' Facebook, Instagram or Twitter profile. We try to appeal to a new audience with this promotion. Therefore only existing accounts with a number of existing friends, followers, connections… are accepted. If you participate with an inactive or new account, we reserve the right to refuse your participation. People who participate on various social media (for example on Facebook and Twitter) increase their chances of winning. However, it is not allowed to participate with multiple accounts on the same medium (for example two Twitter accounts belonging to the same person). Sending of the mouth mask is done by regular mail, with an untracked shipment.

Posted on Leave a comment

COOL BAGS

Go to school or to your job in style. Everybody should find a bag matching his or her personality: funny lama's, leaves or cheerfull butterflys...

All bags are handmade from sturdy cotton. Is your bag dirty? You can wash it in the washing machine!

cheerfull butterflies
TAS Blaadjes
Straight from the jungle!
TAS Ijsjes
Delicious icecream
A worldmap for a globetrotter
Cute lama's

Do you prefer a sober look or do you prefer to customise your bag? Then choose this plain black bag and pimp it with one or more of our ironing emblems. Would you like to have this patch ironed on or sewn on for free on this bag or on one of our other products? Then add this patch to the rest of your order and let us know in the comment field at checkout on which item and where exactly you want the patch to be applied. You can also order this patch separately and apply it yourself to ordered items or your own products.

Do you prefer neutral black?
Or do you have a sweeth tooth and prefer a personalised one with cupcakes!
Or some butterflies?
Or do you like flowers better?

These iron-on patches (and many more) can be found here: https://merel.mobi/product-categorie/strijkemblemen/

These bags are suitable for carrying your lunch, as a gymbag, as sportbag or to transport some books or binders...

Sufficient place to store sportclothes and gymshoes!
Perfect for your lunchbox, a drink and a snack container
Of neem je boeken en schriften mee in deze tas!

Are you ready to go out and show off these bags? You can find them here: https://merel.mobi/en/product-category/tassen/

Posted on Leave a comment

Iets origineels op de barbecue

Wil je eens origineel uit de hoek komen tijdens de barbecue? Krijg je een vegetariër over de vloer en weet je niet goed wat te serveren op de barbecue? Of ben je gewoon zelf de chipolata´s en kippenboutjes beu? Ik stel je graag een heerlijk alternatief voor: HALLOUMI!

Hallo wie? Halloumi! Het klinkt erg exotisch en het doet denken aan een Hawaiiaanse groet, maar eigenlijk is het gewoon kaas. “Wat? Kaas op de barbecue???” hoor ik je al denken. Ja, toch wel! Hij smelt niet zoals andere kazen en kan dus gewoon op de gril gegooid worden.

Snijd de kaas in dikke plakken. Meer hoef je niet te doen. Hij heeft al een eerder zoute smaak, dus bijkruiden is niet nodig.

De plakken kaas kunnen gewoon zo met het vlees mee op de barbecue. Af en toe eens omdraaien en klaar in geen tijd. Je hoeft je geen zorgen te maken dat hij niet `gaar´ is, want je kan hem in principe ook gewoon rauw eten.

Maak je de Halloumi voor een vegetariër? Leg hem dan bij voorkeur wel op een plekje waar geen vlees ligt, of leg hem op een klein aluminium schaaltje. Zo krijg je geen vleesvet op je kaas.

Heb je de smaak te pakken gekregen en wil je hem ook graag eten wanneer de barbecue niet aan is? Je kan Halloumi ook gewoon in de pan bakken!

Je vindt Halloumi in de meeste grote supermarkten in het koelvak bij de kazen en hij is erg lang houdbaar.

Posted on Leave a comment

RECIPE Healty bananapancakes

Gezonde bananenpannenkoeken

Are you craving a delightfull breakfast, lunch or brunch, but are you afraid "tasty" is a synonym for "unhealthy"? Then try out these super simple and delicious banana pancakes!

You don't need many ingredients. You'll need one banana and 2 eggs per person, that's it! Those bananas can even be a little to ripe, don't let them go to waste!

Cut the banana into small slices and open the eggs. Put everything into your blender If you don't have a blender: no problem, just put your ingredients into a bowl and use a mixer.

Mix everything untill you have a smooth batter! Easy peasy!

The endresult should be a light batter. Don't use to much batter per pancake, this way you'll end up with small, thick, fluffy bananapancakes. The look a little bit like an American pancake. You can eat them without topping if you want.
If you prefer bigger bancakes where you and your kids can add some extra toppings? Add 50 grams of flower per person to the mix, aswell as an extra egg and 125 ml of milk. This way you can make large banana pancakes with the consistency of "regular" pancakes.

Don't you start to drool at the mere sight?!?

Gezonde bananenpannenkoeken

What if your children don't like banana? No worries! If nobody tells them they're eating banana, they'll never know. Do realise you'll have to hide the banana peels if you don't want them to find out ;-)