Ninja Neko




I'm doing 20 things
 

How I did it
How to decorate my apartment
It took me
1 year
It made me
at home


How to travel alone
It took me
18 months
It made me
proud & independent


How to steal a street sign
It took me
1 day
It made me
nervous


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Recent entries
explore the city where i live (read all 6 entries…)
in 2011

A long illness that started in July boycotted my plans for the summer in my city. But the weather was awful anyway so luckily I didn’t feel like I was missing too much. A swanky new museum (MAS) opened but the one time I visited the lines were just too long and I couldn’t face going in.
I pay a visit to Antwerps “famous” cemetery Schoonselhof (pretty, but not Père Lachaise by far), went to some great restaurants and some new (to me) venues. Now that I’m living in the centre I’m walking more and I’m getting to see new neighbourhoods.



be a better cook (read all 6 entries…)
Progress - 5 years after starting this goal

I had a big breakthrough this year. It may sound trivial to some but for me it was a reason to be a little proud: while cooking a new recipe, I decided to change the ingredients on the fly, adapting and figuring out what would taste better to me. I didn’t even realize I was doing it, until afterwards. When I first started this goal the idea of diverting from a recipe would have terrified me. And now I’m confident to do this without even thinking about it. I guess I am a better cook than 5 years ago. Not completely there yet though!

I actually kept a list of the new recipes I tried throughout 2011, but then my laptop was stolen last month…
Some highlights that have stuck:

I can now also cook
Some new staples in my kitchen:
- Chili con carne (Smitten Kitchen recipe)
- Moroccan minced lamb pitas (Delicious magazine recipe)
- Sweet & sour pork noodles (Delicious magazine recipe)
And had some kitchen disasters:
- Potstickers (Jamie Oliver magazine recipe) >> the filling tasted spot on but making the wrappers myself was a big mistake. It was exhausting and they kept shrinking, ended up tasting like rubber :(
- Fried eggrolls (forgot the source) >> the filling tasted spot on again, but while (deep)frying the eggrolls they kept coming to the surface due to trapped airbubbels – the bottom half of the eggroll was fried, the top half ripped and oil got inside, one big mess.
Conclusion: I’ll leave these Asian cooking techniques to the skilled experts.

On my list for 2012
- Salads. Friends make it look so easy. Why can’t I do it then? I have that mandoline now, so no more excuses.
- Still want to try fried rice.
- And still want to get to know more vegetable recipes. I got Plenty from Ottolenghi from the local library, but it looks a bit too advanced for me still :/



Participate in PostCrossing
Simple idea, absolutely great!

I’ve joined PostCrossing earlier this year, after reading about it on a blog. I love getting postcards (it’s so nice to get actual mail instead of just bills and adverts in my mailbox) but my family & friends aren’t that into snail mail. And I have to say I’ve gotten a bit addicted! Even though it’s more expensive than I expected (I had no clue about the cost of international stamps) it is so worth it. A few weeks after I joined I got seriously ill (mono) and had to stay home from work for 4 months. Most days I wasn’t able to do anything but lay on the couch, but I did make a trip to my mailbox every morning, and the occasional card really cheered me up. I love reading about other cultures & customs. And I love writing messages to strangers across the globe. I’m so glad I joined! And incidentally, I’m also getting more cards from friends & family now they know I’m interested in PostCrossing, go figure :)



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