Thursday, November 09, 2006

Muffins, Guitars and Pumpkin Pasta!





































I just love the colder months. Considering my Latina blood, that's a pretty strange thing to say but there's nothing cosier than baking or taking some time for slow cooking when it's chilly outside. I couldn't help myself yesterday and whipped up a batch of Nigella's Gingerbread muffins. They made the house smell so good! I baked them a bit on the big side and got nine muffins from the recipe instead of twelve. I must admit that they're half gone but hey, they're best warm no??

My cooking experiments are not always so succesful. I joke to Hans sometimes that he's a lucky man to have a wife who can cook for him like I do but then have to swallow my words when I make something like pumpkin pasta! Yuk! Granted, it's not really my fault it was terrible. I just followed the recipe! Still, it's one of those moments when I think I should've gone with my gut. I mean if I think about it, the recipe didn't even appeal to me in the first place. But for the sake of keeping the palate interested and surpised...


Another thing that makes for a cozy evening is Hans playing the guitar. Yes, he can play it very well and yes, I love it when he plays Beatles. When I was dating in my teens, all the guys I went out with had to be good with the guitar, otherwise I wouldn't be interested. One of the many reasons I love Hans! Last year Kirstie got a guitar from us for her birthday and it's just so awesome when I see her play with her dad! I'm sure she'll be just as good as him someday.

I think for me, cooking, good food and lots of music from those two is all I need to keep me warm and smiling in winter!

5 comments:

Anna's kitchen table said...

Aaah, that's lovely Paola!

:-)

Kathryn said...

Paola, the muffins look delicious. I love how happy you sound in your posts; they are so heart-warming.

A quick question though - what was wrong with the pumpkin pasta? I was wanting to try a recipe for that and I thought it sounded delicious...
Kathryn x

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi Kathryn,
I don't really know. I guess the flavors and textures just didn't go so well together. The starch with a starch thing was also a bit much and the dish was quite heavy. It was a recipe from Good Food btw. Let me know if you want it!

Paola

Kathryn said...

Paola, I have that recipe and it looked good. I can see why it might be heavy, though.
I made a toffee apple choc shortbread from Delicious last week and hated it - it felt too sickly and heavy. But Tootsie absolutely loved it! I guess we are all different.
I would love some of those muffins though:)

Kathryn x

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful pic of Kirstie & Hans!!