Friday 29 May 2015

Joan's walk at Jesus-Eik


We all enjoyed another warm and dry walk in the forest this afternoon.  We left the path for a while to admire these beautiful yellow irises growing beside a pool, before heading back for our refreshments at the Bosuil.  Thank you Joan for a lovely walk!


Friday 22 May 2015

Ryoko's walk in Rouge Cloître

A new leader, a new route and a big group on yet another beautiful day. (When did we last walk in the rain???).
The eagle-eyed will have spotted two new walkers in the group - welcome Christine and Val! 
 
Ryoko showed us a swan sitting on her nest and pointed out a stalker who lurks nearby in the hope of finding the eggs unattended one of these days. Here's hoping the swans are wise to him.  
Ryoko, thanks for a lovely walk - and perfect timing: two hours exactly!  Maybe we can do it again when the cygnets have hatched...
 

Thursday 21 May 2015

Deborah's new walking group in Amsterdam

Here's Deborah, who walked with us for many years, with her new international walking friends in Amsterdam.  She sent her greetings to all the WIC Walkers.

Monday 18 May 2015

Sue's walk in Zaventem

Rain was forecast, but it stayed fine for another enjoyable walk
in and around Zaventem, where the sights included its leaning tower...
its paddling pool...
 
and this scene, directed by Ryoko ["Do something different!"] and snapped by Sue.  
 
Big thank yous to Sue for leading the walk and Ryoko for supplying the photos.

Friday 15 May 2015

Anne's walk in Tervuren Park


We were lucky again with the weather and the sun shone for us all afternoon.




Margosha's Apple Crumble recipe

Thank you Margosha for sharing with us the recipe for the delicious apple crumble we all enjoyed at our charity lunch:

APPLE CRUMBLE RECIPE  (Serves 6-8 persons)

For the crumble :

140 g plain flour
Pinch of salt
70 g sugar (brown or white)
70 g butter, cubed, at room temperature

For the filling :

2 kg of apples (jonagold brand is ok), peeled, cored and cut in small pieces
100 – 120 g sugar
3-4 cloves smashed
1 soup spoon of candied orange zest
60 g raisins secs
1 good pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

Preparation :

The filling :
Put the apples, cut into small pieces, into a big saucepan and let them simmer slowly. Add progressively sugar stirring the mixture constantly. Cook as long as it resembles a ‘compote’ with chunks of apples in it. 10 min before the end of cooking, add all other ingredients (clove, orange zest, raisins sec, cinnamon eventually) and let the mixture finish its cooking. Do not forget to stir it often as otherwise the apples will burn.

The crumble :
Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Add cubes of butter and rub them into the flour mixture with your hand until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Spoon the apple mixture into a glass or any other rectangular/oval/square container which can go into an oven which was preheated to 180°C. Cover the apple mixture with a thick layer of crumble and bake in the oven until the crumble is browned which should take about 20 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Bon appetit ! 

Friday 8 May 2015

Spring walk in Overijse

It was a perfect sunny day for our annual visit to the Femmes d'Europe spring event - followed, of course, by a walk!  Thanks to Ryoko for the lovely photos. 
 
 
 


 

Monday 4 May 2015

Paulette's walk in La Hulpe



This was our traditional 2 hour spring walk in the property of Château de La Hulpe in spite of the fact that the azaleas and rhododendrons were not yet in blossom yet. But we were able to admire some of the first little wild flowers of the season.

 The ajuga reptans or blue bugle (la bugle rampante). Thank you Germana.
A well known intersection




On the stairs, facing the castle

 Young fern


The handkerchief tree but no handkerchieves yet


 and this very delicate  cuckoo flower (cardamine des prés in French)