Do You Fancy a Braces Friendly Brunch?

Hi Everybody!

If there's anything that I love more than breakfast it is definitely brunch! Apart from the fact that it's a weekend tradition for the hubby and I, it's really my favorite type of meal. I try to eat more healthy during the week so the fact that I can use this time to really treat myself is also the reason why it's my most loved meal of the week.

Let me also tell you that having braces has not made brunch any less enjoyable. Many brunch options are braces friendly since there's usually pancakes, waffles, crepes, and lots of eggs involved. This is why today I'm sharing with you recipes for lemon ricotta pancakes and veggie stuffed crepes. It actually surprised me that some of my friends haven't heard of lemon ricotta pancakes, and if you also haven't given these a try I highly recommend you take the little bit of extra effort and make them this weekend. They go splendidly well with real maple syrup and fresh fruit. You can also add fresh fruit to the pancakes as you make them. I really like blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries to add a bit of tang.

Ingredients needed for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes:
(original recipe from http://www.driscolls.com)

1 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Ricotta
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk (I used Hazelnut Milk)
2 Tsp Lemon Zest
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Whisk dry ingredients together. In separate bowl whisk ricotta cheese with egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Add wet mixture to dry flour mixture. Whisk egg whites in separate bowl until they form soft peaks and fold in gently together with mixture. Make about 1/4 cup pancakes and cook on low heat until small bubbles form on top.

If you prefer to stay with the savory side of things for your brunch, then the veggie stuffed crepes should definitely satisfy your cravings. Crepes can be difficult to make at first, but once you fail at the first couple you'll quickly become a master crepe maker. And just so no one here feels bad, know that I always mess up the first one and eat it to check for taste ;) I tell myself that the first crepe is designed for just that reason.

Ingredients needed for Veggie Stuffed Crepes:

Veggies (any veggies you like)
I used Spinach, Yellow Squash, Zucchinis, Bell Peppers and sautéed them until they were tender, but you can cook your veggies to your desired softness.

Crepe Batter:
1 Cup Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk (I used Hazelnut Milk)
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Tsp Salt
2 Tbs Butter Melted and cooled

Easy peasy, just mix all wet ingredients and sift in the flour. Pour a thin layer into a pan and swirl to cover the entire bottom of pan. Flip the crepe once the edges are dry and lifted off the pan a bit. Once all crepes are done stuff them with veggies and enjoy while hot. We did add a bit of feta cheese inside of ours to add a bit of tang to the veggies.

Are you in love with brunch as much as I am? What are your favorite brunch foods?

Hope you guys have a fabulous day and see you soon! :)

So many videos so little time!

Hi everyone! It's officially hump day today! That's gotta be exciting for at least one more person out there as I know I'm not the only one who loves Wednesdays for the promise of a weekend that they bring. Lately I feel like I lack in the time department and I have a hard time prioritizing my day. The weekend is close though... so close I can taste it. And wouldn't you know it, it's already so full of plans. We'll see how much I actually get accomplished, but I'm really excited because IKEA might be in the plans and I love any reason to go there. If I could, I would live there! ;)

I've been editing our Europe trip vlogs and I gotta say that I'm slightly sad that I'm almost done. It's been so fun re-watching our fun summer experiences that I don't want it to end. It's almost like putting the videos together extended the trip somehow. If you're planning on taking a trip, I highly recommend recording at least some of it as it really makes a nice souvenir to look back on.

Here are the most recent videos from Paris as well as Amsterdam! Can I go back now please? ;)

Till next time!
~Marta

Wasted Weekend?

Do you ever start your weekend off with the hopes of being productive and end your Sunday night with an even bigger list of things to do, because you didn't get to anything you hoped to work on?

Yup, that was my weekend. It might be why I'm up at 1:30am writing this post. Perhaps, it's to feel a bit productive before hitting the sack, but I tend to think it's because I have all this pent up energy and nowhere for it to go this late at night. Maybe, it's just so I can rant to someone since the husband is already asleep. Whatever the reason, I know I should be going to bed soon and not staring at another electronic screen.

I don't know why I hit this slump this weekend, but I just couldn't muster the motivation to do very much. Sure I managed to do a thing here and there, but I swear that on Friday night the weekend was so full of possibilities! I think the problem lies in the fact that I put too much hope and pressure on those two days each week and try to cram everything I don't have time for during the work week. I guess sometimes my body and mind need to hit their "power off" buttons and recharge? Well, here's to a week full of new possibilities! :)

Although this might not be the most positive thing to talk about, I'm sure that I'm not alone on this. Do you ever feel a slump on the weekend?

On a positive note, I did find salvageable vlog footage from our Euro trip and the two first videos are up on my channel! If you want to see what we were up to in Paris, feel free to check them out! :)

Wishing you a positive week!
~Marta

Back to Life (back to reality)

Yes, I'm back from my vacation and back to the everyday grind. It's not as bad as it sounds... I promise. :)

So first off, remember how I said that I'd vlog in Europe? Yeah, it's a lot more difficult than I anticipated and let's just say it didn't work out very well. I have a new found respect for all those vloggers who manage to record their vacation adventures and more. Between being surrounded by all the beauty, trying not to get lost on the metro, and trying not to sweat our faces off, it just proved to be too difficult to record all the awesome moments of each day. I did film a bit and I'll see if any of it is salvageable, but I don't want to bore anyone with my nonsensical commentary or scare anyone off with my very sweaty close ups! ;)

That actually brings me to the first point of our Europe trip, and that is that it was extremely hot! The husband and I were truly looking forward to leaving behind the scorching heat of the Phoenix summer to enjoy a cooler European summer, but alas, that didn't happen. It seems we took the heat with us instead. In fact, Europe was under a heat wave and Paris was under a heat warning for a few days while we were there. We arrived in Paris, clutching our bags and luggage as close as we could (pickpocketing in Paris is apparently a norm) and by the time we arrived in our Airbnb apartment we were sweat soaked. Lovely, I know. The view from our apartment window, though, made us soon forget about the sweatiness.

After sleeping off the jet lag, our first day in Paris included eating a late breakfast, the Arc de Triomphe, and off course the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower makes an impression even from a distance, but when you get up close it's quite spectacular.

The second day included an amazing homemade breakfast (a great plus of staying in an apartment with a kitchen and having shops right at your doorstep), amazing ice cream, Notre Dame, the Hôtel de Ville, and Centre Georges Pompidou, which we didn't have a chance to go into as it was too late in the evening.

Third day was the most hot (103.5 F!), the most intense, and we covered the most distance. In short, I think the husband was trying to kill me. Since our apartment was within reasonable walking distance from Sacre-Coeur we went there first and enjoyed the amazing view of the city. Then we headed over to Le Palais Royal, The Louvre Museum which was closed as apparently it's closed on Tuesdays, and The Tuileries Garden. The heat was quite unbearable and we both were slightly miserable by the end of the day.

I managed to talk my husband into taking it a bit easier on the following day as a vacation can quickly turn into a exhaustication if you try to do too much in too little time. We took it easy and went to Musée d'Orsay to enjoy some art, the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House), the Galeries Lafayette to do some light shopping, had an amazing pizza a few steps away from our apartment, and capped the night off with the Moulin Rouge.

The following day we had to check out from the Airbnb place by noon, but our host was gracious enough to let us check out at 2pm. We made the most of it by going to the Louis Vuitton Foundation which proved to be the coolest building I've ever seen, and we stopped by La Défense which is honestly the most impressive business district ever! There was even a concert going on in the middle of the day!

Then it was time to head to Amsterdam. The train station is a bit scary with it's huge old school departure board. And don't even get me started on trying to find the right platforms, the correct train, and getting there on time. Thank goodness the husband doesn't panic like me. :)

I will write a separate post about Amsterdam and Brussels as posting everything together would create the longest post in the world and I don't want to overwhelm anybody out there. I will say that if you ever have the chance to visit this amazing city you most certainly should! It will not disappoint!

I can also now highly recommend Airbnb as we had an AMAZING experience with our apartment and our host! Look for apartments that are close to transportation (like the metro), close to restaurants and at least small markets, and are in a more central location to where you want to go. It helps if you reach out to the host and have any questions answered prior to booking any places to ensure you're getting the right place for you.

For now, I'm signing off! Hope you guys are enjoying your summer vacation and that you're not sweating your face off!

~Marta