#MicroblogMondays: mussels

Yesterday we had mussels for dinner. Or at least, hubby and Mr Sensible did. Mr Gourmand and me don't like mussels. For Mr. Gourmand it might just be his "I am 2 and I don't like anything besides junk food", for me it's psychological. I don't think I ever really tried, I just can't bring myself to eat them. So I had thawed some salmon from the freezer for myself, and Mr Gourmand would have his beloved fish sticks. When it was time to cook it turned out the salmon was looking and smelling a bit funny, so I threw it out. Having no alternative, I put some more fish sticks in the pan...
However when we all sat down for dinner the fish sticks didn't look and smell appealing to me at all. So I started on the carrots and the fries. Hubby asked if I really didn't want to try a mussel (with my eyes closed if needed). Oh well, ok then. I tried, it wasn't bad at all (don't I sound really French here? C'est pas mal... the most positive reaction you can get). I'm not a big fan, but I ate at least ten (eyes open). Never too old to discover new tastes (and I hope it won't take that long before Mr Gourmand decides to try out some fruit and veggies - otherwise I'll have to come up with a new nickname for him)!

#MicroblogMondays is another great idea from Mel at Stirrup Queens. Join in!

How to decaffeinate tea

So since ET I have been reducing my caffeine intake, like a good responsible pregnant woman ;-). I don't drink coffee, so that was easy. I did drink cola, so I switched to the caffeine-free version, but since I'm pregnant I don't really crave it that much anymore and if I drink one mini-can (15 cl) a week, it's already a lot. But tea... I drink that a lot, I love it. So for my afternoon and evening teas I switched to rooibos and herbal teas. However, at breakfast I really need the taste of black tea (preferably earl grey).

Of course even if that would be my only caffeine intake (usually 2 cups) that would not be a big deal, but I read in a booklet from a local tea shop that you can easily decaffeinate tea by soaking the tea bag in a separate cup for the first 30 seconds, throw that tea out, and then use the bag to make the tea you're going to drink. Great! So I've been using this method ever since, but I'm still wondering if this is really true, or if I'm just kidding myself. I have no way to test. My hubby thinks it's strange, since this would mean the caffeine in tea is released in the opposite way as with coffee, where the rule is that the longer the coffee has been exposed to water, the more caffeine it contains (so yes, this means there's more caffeine in drip coffee than in an espresso! Believe it, my hubby is a regular on c.offeeg.eek.com).

Anyway, this is all not very important, but I thought it would be a fun fact to share during ICLW.

Eating out

Friday evening we went out to dinner with a friend from Holland, and I did not have a relaxing good time. Every item on the menu seemed to harbor a potential danger - salad (would it have been washed properly?), cheese (would it be raw-milk?), foie gras (out of the question), red meat (I rather don't eat it than eat it 'well done'), etc. etc. Pff, somehow the entire food industry seems to have become suspect. I think I prefer home-cooked meals from now on, even if I don't feel like cooking all the time...

Cheese

Now that I'm pregnant, I'm not allowed to eat raw-milk cheese anymore. Normally I buy our cheese at the market, but since I suspect that all to be raw-milk, I went to the supermarket.

Well... it's practically impossible to find pasteurized cheese here in France, even at the huge hypermarkets! I must admit that I'm mainly looking for hard cheeses (I'm Dutch after all), there are some brie, camembert and other soft cheeses that you can buy pasteurized, but that's not what I like on my sandwich for lunch, and to eat 'laughing cow' for 9 months is not very appealing either...

So, luckily my hubby had to change planes in Amsterdam on his way back from a business meeting last week and bought me a kilo of Old Amsterdam. And my parents are coming to visit tomorrow, also bringing some good old Dutch pasteurized cheese!