Wednesday 30 October 2013

A visit to the Cinquantenaire Museum (a.k.a. the Mummy museum)

Ah, Autumn holidays! It's only one month since classes started and already we have a week of school holidays! Hurray!

It's a tricky holiday, as it's only 1 week (not even, just 4 days this year), too close to Christmas holidays and weather can only be relied upon being thoroughly unpredictable. Most working parents either pack up their kids to grandparents or inscribe them into a stage and hope for the best, or resign themselves and take some days off.

We were a bit late this year to sign Bibu up for a stage, so it meant I had to provide all the entertainment. Thankfully, baby Pingu's creche is open, so it meant I could organise something really focused on a 5-year old.

I wanted to go to a museum (being out of the cold rainy weather and all that) so we finally decided to pay a visit to the Cinquantenaire Museum (History and Art Museum) at the Place de Cinquantenaire.


We took public transport to get there (walking distance from both Merode and Schuman metro stations) but there is also parking space available closer to the "Autoworld" entrance. The entrance to the Cinquantenaire Museum itself is on the side (the left side of the park if you're coming from Merode station) at the top of some stairs. The entrance fee for adults is 5 EUR and free for kids under 6 years old (4 EUR for kids until 12 years old)


The building in itself is huge and beautiful. It's a big, welcome surprise, as you don't really expect it from outside. The permanent exhibitions are mainly divided in two. Once you are in the entrance hall, on your left are all the non-European collections (American, Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Chinese antiquity) and on your right the European part.


We checked our coats in the free cloakroom and we headed immediately to the Egypt part, where the mummies were. Now, I have to say that after having visited the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum in London, which are much bigger museums, the mummies exhibited in the Cinquantenaire Museum are of the highest quality. They might not be the ones of Tutankamon, but they are incredibly preserved and they do provide that spooky feeling that 5-year old boys love (but hopefully won't dream about). Bibu was properly cautious around them, asking lots of questions about who they where, why they were so small, etc.


The rest of the museum, we did in a bit of a hurry. Bibu was hungry, so we headed straight into the museum restaurant. A word to the wise: if you can, avoid it. To start with, it's a proper restaurant, as in they do not serve snack food or let you pic-nic. They serve proper restaurant food, which I have to say it's not bad, but the service is less than charming and the prices are quite steep (kid meal for 10 EUR). Bibu and I arrived at 12 sharp and managed to get a table without much hassle, but people coming just 10 minutes later did not have the same luck and were dispatched by a "no-friends" looking waitress. Also, there is no space really for a stroller and they don't have high chairs. So if you're with really small kids, this is not the place to go for a relaxing lunch.

On the subject of baby-friendly facilities, there is a baby diaper changing station inside the women's loo on the groundfloor. Otherwise, there are lots of stairs, so I guess going around with a stroller is not very advisable.


I think in general that the Cinquantenaire Museum is a surprising little gem of a museum. Interesting to kids and adults alike. It still has that somewhat neglected look most museums in Belgium have, some dark rooms, some empty rooms, dingy loos, a thoroughly uninteresting museum shop, etc. but the quality of the pieces in exhibition is great.

For a few months now, they are also offering an organised activity called "Fly with the dragons" for kids 6-2 years old where your kid gets a dragon-shaped backpack (which has to be returned to the information desk when you leave) full of hints of things kids need to find in the museum. You need to pay an extra 3 EUR to do the activity, and be lucky enough so that there are enough backpacks available for your kids when you arrive. We did not try it as they had run out of backpacks, but if anyone has tried it, it would be great to hear some feedback.

So, all in all, the Cinquantenaire Museum is a good idea for a bad weather day, just avoid the restaurant if you are in a hurry/ have a tight budget or want to see some happy faces. :-)

Thursday 24 October 2013

Lice attack: an update

I just wanted to do a little update on the lice situation at home. I am beyond happy to report that, after a bit of suffering, we are back being a lice-free home.

Getting rid of these little disgusting creatures took longer than expected and a few lessons were learnt.

Basically, all that about "this product works in about 10 minutes" is crap. As I mentioned on the original lice post, I decided to treat the kids with natural products, like the Puressentiel lotion. As mentioned on the package, I was leaving the lotion for 10 minutes, then rinsing it through and thinking that was it, then becoming desperate when after a couple of days I would spot Bibu scratching his head again.

The lady at our nearby pharmacy told me to leave it on for at least 1 hour and then wash. She also recommended another lotion, which comes in spray form, by Apivita. This one should be left to work as long as possible and then shake the hair a bit (to see any dead bodies) and then comb through. She suggested spraying the kid's hair in the morning before going to school and then doing the shaking/ combing in the afternoon. It also has a "post-treatment" shampoo which I am currently using all the time with the kids, replacing their normal shampoo, at least during school term.



Also, another learning is that it is more than advisable to repeat the treatment at least once every week for about 3 or 4 weeks. So for us, Sunday evening was "lice-killing time" for a few weeks.

In the end, the lice were eradicated.....until next time. At least I now know what to expect.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Dinner on a run: courgette, ricotta and ham quiche

Oh, Mondays! It's that day in the week when everything seems to need to happen at high speed. Maybe it's because we've grown accustomed to the slightly slower pace of the weekends, but Mondays always shake us up and cries in our ears "faster, faster, no time, no time".

Monday evening, Bibu has his swimming lesson, so it means I have to first pick up baby Pingu from daycare, then drive with Pingu to get Bibu and take him to the swimming pool, where I need to help him get dressed into his swimming trunks/ pester him for doing silly stuff and not hurrying up/ run after baby Pingu who wants nothing else than to touch everything in the changing room (other kids' dirty underwear included). En fin, you get the picture. Relaxing it is NOT.

And, when we get home, it's about 18:30 and there are two small kids demanding food NOW, so no use starting to cook at that time. The solution: it's quiche time!



I am working from home at the moment, so I can afford to make it at some point during the afternoon, before all the mayhem begins. If you work full time, a good idea is to make it the night before (great Sunday-night blues-beating pass-time)

Anyway, it's also a good way of getting kids to eat veggies without realising. The ricotta gives it a light flavour and both kids devour it in no time. Baby Pingu eats his virtually unaided (with his hands. Hey he's only a toddler) and will not leave a single crumb left.

Again, this is a courgette quiche (or tart? Does anyone know the difference?), but you can make a version with other vegetables of your choice.

Ingredients (for one tart, 8 portions)

  • bit of olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped as small as you can
  •  3 medium courgettes, chopped in little cubes
  • 1 ready round puff pastry (pate feuillete)
  • 1 pack of ricotta cheese (about 250gr)
  • 1/2 a cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven at 180° C. Cook the chopped onion in a little olive oil, in a pan, on low heat, until it becomes transparent. 


Then add the chopped courgettes (or zucchini), cover with the lid and let them "sweat" for about 10 to 15 minutes, until they are cooked but now brown. Check every now and then and give it a stir with a wooden spoon.


Take out from the stove, and set aside to cool for a bit.

Roll out your ready pastry on a round baking tray (leave the baking paper, it will avoid the tart getting stuck to the bottom) and pinch it with a fork a few times. Line the bottom of the quiche with a layer of ham. This also helps to avoid the sogginess which can be quite common in this type of quiches.



In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, the ricotta and the Parmesan together, season to taste. Add the cooked courgettes to the mix and then pour the whole thing over the ham-lined pastry. Pop in the oven for 30 minutes. Et, voila!

Once it's cooked, I usually just turn the oven off (mine is an electric one) and leave the quiche inside until I come back with my two hungry little caterpillars, ready to attack it.



Sunday 20 October 2013

Autumn walk through the Tervuren Park

Weather was quite good on Saturday. I was beginning to feel better after a horrible bout of flu which had me confined at home with over 38 degrees fever for three days. I was not fully recovered, but desperately wanted to get out into the fresh air.

So, around lunchtime, off we went to the Tervuren Park, which has to be one of the biggest, nicest parks in Brussels.



First we went for lunch. We headed to the Bootjeshuis, which serves typical Belgian brasserie-style food: Belgian carbonnades (beer beef stew), sausages with stoemp (a typical Belgian pure) and the like. While the setting is lovely and the food and service are quite correct, it was a bit of a let down. The restaurant had just started the lunch service and already they did not have a few of their specialities. On top of tat, at the end of the meal Mr M had to go to the nearest cash machine as they did not accept credit cards..... I don't know if they had a particular issue with their system that day, but I found it quite odd that such a big restaurant only accepted cash. Anyway, be warned.

On the plus side, they had a very nice baby-changing station, so I give them credit for that. Most restaurants in Brussels don't cater for families with babies that need a diaper change every once in a while, so it was a nice surprise.

After lunch, we went for a walk through this lovely, huge park. Due to its location close to the British School of Brussels, lots of English-speaking expats live in the area. It felt a bit like walking through a huge Regents Park.


There were many geese, ducks and swans to watch.


And even some spiky, weird-looking caterpillars


The Tervuren Park also houses the Royal Museum for Central Africa. It's set in a magnificent building built during Leopold II reign and houses all sorts of interesting pieces that give testimony of Belgian colonial history in the Congo. Neglected for a few years, the museum will finally undergo mayor renovation works that will last several years. You can still visit the old museum until December 1 2013, so hurry up if you want to see the "before" and "after" effect.



Our walk took us up to the "Spaanse Huis" (Spanish House in Flemish), which, besides not looking very Spanish at all, is a beautiful former water mill that since last year houses a nice cafe with a charming little terrace.



It was a great autumn walk, definitely worth taking your camera and recording the beautiful colours of the trees. Kids will love to walk, cycle or dart around in their "trotinettes" (scooters) through the parc (and they will sleep like angels on the way back home) :-)

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Donating kid's stuff: Les Petits Riens

Pingu just turned 15 months and he's a baby no more.....sigh....

Now that he's officially into his toddler period, that time has come for the first "baby stuff clean-up".

I believe in "reduce, reuse and recycle", so since birth, Pingu has used Bibu's old clothes. We have bought hardly anything brand new for Pingu, and the few things he did get were presents from other people. Up until recently, as soon as Pingu was outgrowing his clothes, I would pass them along to a good friend of ours, whose baby boy is a few months younger. But now, both boys are wearing the same size and I have no other acquaintances with babies, so it's time to go the donation route!

The same for toys. I kept all of Bibu's old baby toys for Pingu to play, but he has consistently insisted on playing with his older brother's stuff (pfff) So early baby toys were hardly used and also on the list to be donated.

I find the simplest way to donate kid's old stuff is to do it through "Les Petits Riens"/ Spullenhulp. They are a non-profit organisation that collects all kinds of used goods in good condition (mostly clothes and shoes, but also toys, furniture, electronics, etc), which they recondition and sell through their boutiques. With the resulting money they provide shelter to homeless people, among other charity activities.

Their clothes containers (or "bulles") are dotted all around Brussels (there are about 900 in Belgium), so there is bound to be one close to you. In them, you can deposit clean clothes and shoes, inside a closed plastic bag. Here is the "bulle" closest to my place (vandalised a bit, poor thing) :



For other donations, you have to either go to Les Petits Riens donations reception centre in Rue de Prevost 30-32 in Ixelles (very close to Parc Tenbosch) or, if you have a large piece of furniture to donate, make an appointment for them to come pick it up at your place.

This week, I gathered a bag full of old baby toys and threw them in the wash, then bagged them and off I went to the Rue de Prevost.



The donation centre is in the Chatelain area. You recognise it immediately by the three yellow "bulles" standing by the door.



You just need to head inside the garage entry, and there in the back you'll find lots of volunteers sorting through bags and bags of goods. It has to be said that 25% of the donations they receive are in such bad condition that they have to just throw them into the garbage. So please, make sure what you give is clean, not broken and inside a sealed plastic bag.

After unloading my donation into the hands of one of the volunteers, I headed to their "Baby Paradise" boutique in Rue Americaine 97, which sells the donations for laughable prices. They have plenty of baby and toddler clothes and piles and piles of toys and baby paraphernalia such as potties, car seats, car booster seats, playing mats, etc. I saw a brand new Bumbo seat for 3,5 EUR and a Maxi Cosi baby car seat for 18 EUR.



I got a book and a little toy piano for Pingu (which works perfectly) and a toy beetle for Bibu for the large sum of............... 2,5 EUR!!!!




I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to donate and buy from Les Petits Riens/ Spullenhulp. Our kids' unwanted old stuff can become another child's favourite, while helping those who need it more in the process.

If you are interested in donating more than material things, Les Petits Riens are constantly looking for volunteers. Check out their job section.

And to finish, a very nice video from their Christmas campaign of last year.



Monday 14 October 2013

It's cold (and rainy) out there: Carrot curry coconut soup for the masses


It's officially autumn! Maybe I should exclude the exclamation mark, as I am not really that fond of cold weather, specially in Belgium, where it seems autumn-winter is an almost ever present season....

Anyway, Sunday was such a horrible, miserable, rainy and cold day that I decided there was only one thing to be done: cook comfort food! And so I did. I took advantage of Pingu sleeping a very nice long morning nap and spent lots of time in the kitchen cooking a delicious and calorific lunch (recipe to come soon)

But then, of course, for dinner I wanted something a bit lighter, but equally warming and comforting. And what better than a nice vegetable soup?

I know, I know, for many "soup" is not compatible with kids. I get it, kids can be fiddly with soup: it's too warm, they don't like the "green bits" floating in it, etc. But this soup is a blended soup, so although it has a few ingredients, there is only one colour and one texture to it, in the form of coconut milk.

We had lots of carrots at home, so carrot soup it was. I wanted to try something a bit different and decided to add a bit of spice (curry powder) and a bit of creaminess to it.

Ingredients (serves 4 big bowls plus 2 small bowls for the kids)

  • olive oil
  • 1 medium size onion, chopped (I used two small ones)
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • half a red bell pepper (paprika)
  • 1 kg carrots, peeled and cut
  • 1 l chicken stock (bouillon)
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 brick coconut milk (about 250 ml)

The process is very simple and in fact you can apply it to the vegetable of your choice. First you need to put some olive oil in a pan in low to medium gas and cook the garlic, paprika and onion until the onion is translucent. The great thing is that, as you will blend the soup, it does not matter how small you cut the onion, for example. You can do it really fast.



Then add the carrots and let them "sweat" a bit in the pan for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and the curry powder. Put the gas on medium-high and bring to the boil. Once it's boiling, leave to simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are cooked and you can split them using a fork. 

Take out of the stove and blend using a hand-held blender until the soup is really smooth. Then add the coconut milk and blend a bit more. There has to be no lumps on it.



At this point, I think it would be great to add a few chopped coriander leaves on top, but Mr M hates it and the kids are not too fond of green bits floating around, so it was a no go for me.

I served the soup with "croque monsieur" for the kids and something slightly ligther for the grown ups. 

Monday 7 October 2013

Organic box delivered on a bike

For a while, while driving through Brussels wih Mr M and the kids, we often spotted a guy riding a cool delivery bicycle with organic fruit and vegetables. We could make out the website, so we noted it down and we decided to give it a try.

The company is called L'Hereaux Nouveau and it offers a weekly delivery service for organic/ bio fruit and vegetables straight from the farmers. They have a shop in Saint Gilles but you can order your delivery through their website (only available in French, I am afraid) in a fairly straightforward manner. Every week, deliveries are made on Fridays, so orders can be placed until Wednesday afternoon. You can view the composition of the organic box (or "panier") and choose between Belgian-only produce or European-wide produce and go for a small, medium or large box. For a few extra euros, you can ask for the box to be delivered straight to your home address, or choose one of the delivery points in St Gilles, Forest, Ixelles, Etterbeek, Uccle, Brussels centre and St Josse.

Last week, we went for a medium, European box, which weighted about 7 kilos.


The produce is delivered in a paper bag and it contains a description of the contents and also a leaflet with some recipe ideas. When you register in the service, you also receive a weekly newsletter with more recipes info about their producers, and a whole array of events they are involved in.

I think organic box delivery services are a great way of encouraging eating seasonal, organic produce that is healthier than the average supermarket variety. It also makes you discover less popular fruit and vegetables. and kinds of forces you into planning your weekly menus around the contents of the bag, making sure nothing goes to waste. It definitely pushes you a bit out of your comfort, tried-and-tested zone, but it is definitely worth it.