Raspberry glory

What is your favorite fruit ? I am not sure I can decide, because mango, strawberry and nectarine are definitely close contenders. But oh how I love the way a raspberry melts in your mouth, and how it is sweet, and acid and velvety all at the same time. This dessert is my new addiction and it is so easy... for such a marvelous result.

 It has the feeling of a creme brulée with added zesty fruitiness. I used greek yoghurt instead of cream and added 2 drops of lemon juice and cinammon for a twist. I also added strawberries. You will be impressed for sure. Now I want to try with other fruits. Loved how the yoghurt/cream unexpectedly changes texture as it cooks and finally sets, like a flan or a gelatin.

Here's another reason why you shouldn't eat fish.

Via sharkdivers

Mika says it after all. Yes, at about 1:02 :

No, but really. Unless we know where our fish is coming from, that is, unless we can actually speak to the fisherman who caught our fish and made sure he did it in a traditional way*, we are gonna end up with a huge, empty, lifeless desert of an ocean. The industrial fishing techniques and pirates are literally destroying populations of countless species.

Sharks, Tuna, Cod, Sole, Anchovies... Huge boat-factories track fish banks by radar, destroy the sea bed by scraping and killing everything they find (incuding all kinds of invertebrates). So-called longline fishing bycatches turtles, dolphins.. that are then sold in the black market. Often,  fish that are too young to have had the chance to breed are caught as well. As some of these fish species are top predators, their decrease  causes a disbalance which can lead to lower-in-the-food-chain  species to proliferate. This proliferation in turn exhausts the photosynthetic members of the ecosystem, on whom they feed and then their death causes oxygen depletion. We know what happens after that. Fisheries (farming) of salmon,  tropical shrimp.... are also bad options  since a). they pollute enormously and b).these species are often "fed" with other species that are actually taken from the wild, which brings us back to overfishing. We can make a difference by choosing which fish to eat, or not to eat fish at all. As consumers we have the power. I attempted to explain a very complex situation rather simply, but you should see this documentary or read the book "End of the Line". You can find more information, by species, in a very easy to read way here at Greenpeace.

* Or unless you buy from a source that guarantees a sustainable source.

Homage to the dress I didn't have.

Well, this is not supposed to be a wedding blog. Though I must confess I have a little bit of an addiction to the wedding pretties. And I always wanted to tell the dress story (after all that is how I found Meg, Lauren and all of you other amazing girls). Because one thing I knew. I knew I did not want a strapless, A-line, taffeta, sparkly, puffy huge dress. And I wanted sleeves. And I wanted the dress to have a historic feel, from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance period. I am not gonna deny this probably came from watching the lovely dresses worn by Danielle de Barbarac (that is Drew Barrymore in Ever After):

or Eowyn from Lord of the Rings:

And then, before I even was engaged, my best friend, who happens to live across the ocean asked me to go and check for her the wedding dresses at a certain shop that we both loved since our tramway passed in front of it every time on our way to University. And there I went. My first experience trying wedding dresses. And wow. Little did I expect that I would be totally in love with the first dress I ever tried on. That it would be THE dress:

Except, 8 months forward, when the boy asked me to marry him :) I had moved countries, and now that my turn had finally come to choose a wedding dress (though in my heart I knew no dress would ever make me feel like that first one), said dress was nowhere to be found. Of course I knew the model. But in the shops that carried the brand, they did not have it. When I showed them similar dresses, they actually scolded me... as in: "Ummm no, you see those dresses in american and british catalogs, but they are in fact for pregnant girls". Yeah. Right, Exactly. This is what I thought  %!$"&*. So I went on and on, to different shops and all they had was puffy, shiny huge things. And no, I did not want to be a marshmallow. And no, not all of those dresses looked so bad, it's just that I felt in disguise. I realized if I wanted that one, THE dress, I would have to actually travel to get it. And even if I went by train it would still be expensive. (Train fares are so expensive in Europe these days). Not to mention I would have to go at least 3 times. I also tried to find it on sale second-hand, but I was not able at the time. Oh, so I had to give up on it. THE dress. In the end though, I found a shop, where finally the girls were nice and hepful and got the idea of what would suit me and my "particular" requirements. Though apparently, I am not the only one. Judging by the internet a lot of us girls want "different" dresses. That are either so hard to find or have a $$$$$$$$$$ tag on them. It took me a while, but I learned to love the dress I chose, and the boy told me a million times how beautiful I looked (Cause I am guilty, even after the wedding, I would still stress over it, still think back to that other dress, and then feel bad about being so superficial). But now, now that the dust has settled in and I finally finished our wedding album, I have come to love the dress I wore. Because I got married on it, because it made me feel myself, because hubby found me beautiful, and special, and unique. So if you are curious, here it is: 

Photos via:

http://drewbarrymore.biz/pix/displayimage.php?album=16&pos=9

http://malloriemiller.theworldrace.org/?filename=10-things-i-learned-at-training-part-2

http://forum.viva.nl/forum/Relaties/Trouwen_in_20102011_het_vervolg/list_messages/70725/116

and special thanks to Isis, my dear sister in law who took pictures at our wedding .

Well hello,

So it took me a while to start. That is, I had been thinking about this for some time and finally here I am. So, a bit more about me in case you might wonder. I am a mexican-swiss-english (by accident) girl living in Holland. Sounds complicated, but not so much. I was born in England (cause parents were studying there), my mom is mexican, my father is swiss and I am now living in The Netherlands cause ta-da my lovely husband is dutch. I am a veterinarian / biologist and am still looking for a job, so if you want to hire me, let me know :). While I look, I am studying a virus from the cats at a laboratory in the university. I will try to write about the things that make me happy, and maybe also sad sometimes.