Disney Plan for Adults

The internet is full of plans and activities to get kids excited for a trip to Disney, but what about adults?

We’re going on a Paris/Disney vacation this week and I wanted to plan a ‘Paris Week’ to get us in the mood before we go – even though we are bouncing of the walls with excitement anyway. Because there are just the two of us going and no children, I was really struggling to find fun Paris/Disney themed stuff for us to do the week before – the internet wasn’t even helping much. Everything was based on kids, not adults.

I decided to plan a week of Disney meals and activities that are more suitable for adults than kids. I had no intentions of sharing it with you when I began, but why not? You can see the ‘Paris Week’ schedule I printed out here (the font and alignment is all messed up!) and the details for everything below.

Breakfast Ideas

Three Little Pig Sandwiches [Bacon, sausage and ham sandwiches]

Rapunzel’s Breakfast Towers [Stack of bacon, sausage, hash brown, scrambled egg and toast]

Dinner Ideas

Little Butter Chicken and Mole’s Rice

Taylor the Turkey & Cranberry Casserole

Chef Louis’ Soup of the Day

Humongous Chicken with Thumper’s Secret Stash

The Swedish Chef’s Burger & Baked Chilli Cheese Fries

Snow White’s Homemade Pies

Bambi Rossini

Butter Chicken from simply-delicious.co.za

Dessert Ideas

Profiteroles [Recipe to come!]

Evil Queen’s Caramel Apple Crisp

Caramel Apple Crisp from www.hilsblog.com 

Drinks

Filmore’s Organic Fuel [Whatever cocktail you’re in the mood for]

Alice’s ‘Drink Me’ Potions [Colorful shots]

Games

Qu’est-ce? [What is it?]

This is a bit like Pictionary – someone draws something French or Disney related and the other has to guess.

A – Z of Disney

You each have a list of letters A-Z and must come up with 1 Disney film and 1 Disney character for each letter. I made a rainbow-coloured list that you can download here. I created it using the Disney font found here, but Google docs doesn't seem to like it and switched it to a plain font. 

Épingler la Queue de L'âne [Pin the tail on the donkey]

You each have a map of Paris and 10 pictures of famous Paris landmarks. You’ve got to pin the landmarks onto France. Whoever gets the most correct (or closest if you don’t get any correct!) wins. You can download my map here and my landmarks here.

Qui a Dit Cela? [Who’s that?]

One of you has a list of Disney quotes to read out and the other has to guess who said it and what film. You can downloadmy list of quotes here.

Disney Rescue

This one is a little extravagant. I created 12 cards with Disney characters on with clues leading to another character somewhere else in the house. My Official Treat Taster will have to follow the clues around the house, picking up prizes along the way. There is no point in giving you the download because all the clues are specific to my house, but if you’d really like to see it, just leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to send it to you. 

Here are the link parties I take part in.

Come and join the fun! 

Special Announcement

I'm interrupting my usual foodie blog posts to bring you a special announcement. A great big bundle of cute in the form of a baby guinea pig!

My Official Treat Taster holding the new baby

Remember a while ago I wrote a post about visiting a house that was like a farm? Well a few weeks ago one of my piggies got sick and, sadly, died. I knew I had to get another friend for my other piggy, so I went back to the house-farm and caught myself two new piggies - Cupcake and Fudge.

Sprinkles is the one with the white fur, Cupcake is the big black one (mommy) and Fudge is the one having her face nibbled by the baby

After snuggling with Cupcake for a couple of days, I knew something wasn't quite right. She was a very odd eggplant-like shape and often had tummy-twitches. I carefully felt her stomach and almost died when I could distinguish two tiny piggies with heartbeats moving around in there.

Less than a fortnight later I came home from work to find Cupcake snuggled up with her new baby. She had given birth to another baby, too, which unfortunately hadn't made it. Because we weren't there we've no idea why. The other baby is healthy and is huge - about half the size of the mom! He came out with all that fur and those sparkly eyes wide open, too.

The baby is slowly getting more confident and exploring the cage more every day. I'm reluctant to name him because from what I can tell he's a boy and if he's a boy, we can't keep him because the other three are girls. I know they're difficult to sex at this stage - he's not even 48 hours old - so I'm hoping my first check was wrong and he will turn out to be a she.

Visit Your Local Farmers' Market

I’ve recently acquired a favourite indulgence that might seem a little odd to some of you and others may question why I only discovered it a short time ago. Brightly coloured produce pilled high, bustling aisles packed with people searching for ingredients, rough voices bellowing the latest offers. What am I talking about? My local farmers’ market, of course.

Although technically not my local market – although can anywhere on the tiny island of Tenerife not be considered local for anyone who lives here? – my favourite one has to be the Mercado de Nuestra Señora de Africa in Santa Cruz. Here you’ll find not only a spectacular array of the finest fruit and vegetables, but also a great selection of fresh cuts of meat, a huge choice of home-made pastries and stalls offering locally-produced wine and honey.

I had not been to this farmers’ market in some years and I was surprised to see some almost prestigious-looking shops in the otherwise rough-around-the-edges market. The first one to catch my eye was a modern, yet quaint tea-room called Mi Rincon Favorito (My Favourite Corner). Unfortunately, different varieties of tea don’t usually get me excited but even I was stunned at the sheer amount of choice available here.

Not only was their selection of teas fantastic, but they also had every flavour – is this the correct way to describe it? – of incense imaginable, as well as loads of coloured and flavoured sugar crystals packaged in cute little bags with ribbons. 

It's typically Spanish and very old-fashioned – possibly even bordering on misogynistic – but every time I see this scene it always makes me smile. The women, most of them between 50 and 70, go off in large groups to gather what’s needed for the week’s food and gossip about last week’s events. Meanwhile, the men reside in large cafes in the centre of the market, happily putting down each others’ favourite football teams and drinking Tenerife’s favourite beer straight out the bottle – Dorada. This scene probably doesn’t sound that unusual – until I point out that it takes place at 9am. This will go on until well into the afternoon, until the women - laden with bags - have to prise their drunken husbands away and get them home. Ian and I opted for a coffee instead.

That’s one of the reasons I love farmers’ markets so much – they aren’t just places to buy the freshest and best-priced produce, but they are microcosms in their own right. They are places to meet new friends and keep in touch with old ones. They are places to get a hold of the best seasonal produce available whilst also supporting local farmers. Personally, I think of farmers’ markets as places to discover food the likes of which I have never seen before.

There is something incredibly exciting about coming across something bizarre-looking here. For me, it was the pink/purple broad-bean looking things on the right of the above image. Do I ask the person behind the stall what they are and how I should cook them? Or should I just scoop them up and experiment on my own? The second option sounded more fun – but I really should have asked for some advice! They didn’t turn out well at all.

But that’s all part of the fun of it! If you always stick with what you know, you’ll never discover anything new and where’s the excitement in that? but beware, if you’re like me, and are drawn by bright colours when food shopping, you'll be trying to snap up almost everything you lay your eyes on.

So this weekend, don’t lie in bed until noon and grab yourself a bowl of cereal for lunch. Get up early and head down to your local farmers’ market and pick up a load of interesting ingredients to make a great dish. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Valentine's Day in Rome

I didn't have much opportunity to blog this week because I was enjoying a much-deserved Valentine's holiday. I did manage to write up a couple of chocolate themed posts, though:

Triple Chocolate Mouse Cake

Valentine Brownie Bites

Whilst in Rome, we visited two cupcake shops! It probably doesn't sound very exciting to most people, but in Tenerife I have yet to find a proper cupcake shop, so each time before we venture away, I always research any nearby cupcakeries.

We popped into Sweety Rome for a chocolate brownie with caramel frosting and a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting.

Unfortunately, neither of them was up to much and we were left really disappointed. The caramel frosting tasted very peculiar, the cupcake was heavy and the frosting was rock solid and looked like it had been put on with an ice-cream scoop.

However, we did visit another cupcake shop during our stay - The Perfect Bun. Everything about this place was amazing. As soon as we walked through the door we were welcomed by the amazing smell of freshly baked cupcakes coming just out of the oven.

We tried a Valentine's cupcake (chocolate cupcake with raspberry frosting) and a strawberry cupcake (chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting) - both were fantastic. The cupcakes were soft and moist, whilst the frosting was creamy and fluffy.

We got to savour these great cupcakes in a cosy little corner filled with comfy furniture and cute baking pictures. There were many beautiful large cakes in addition to the cupcakes. Ian's favourite was a winter-themed igloo cake - he was shocked that everything down to the penguins were made out of cake and not plastic!

We enjoyed so much delicious food in Rome. Slices of pizza were cut from great big slabs - no round pizzas here! Every single cafe or pizzaria seemed to use only the freshest ingredients which made every bite fantastic.

I didn't think Nutella was much of a big thing in Europe - Rome definitely proved me wrong. Sandwich shops served it between bread, bakeries served it inside croissants, pizzarias served it between focaccia and cafes even served small tubs of it to eat on its own! I even found small jars of Nutella which were intended to be used as Christmas decorations!

Due to the snow, loads of the major tourist attractions were closed, but we did manage to visit:

The Trevi Fountain

The outside of the Colosseum - it was closed the whole time we were there!

St Peter's Basilica

Ian was brave enough to climb the 600+ stairs to the top! Even the photo of the view makes me feel dizzy.

I'm really glad to be home - I couldn't stand the cold temperatures any more. Instead of using the fridge in our room, we kept our drinks on the window-sill outside because it kept them colder! 

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Valentines Printables

Even though Pink Recipe Box is a foodie blog, I couldn’t help sharing some loved-themed stuff with you guys over the days running up to Valentine’s Day.


Today I’d like to share with you my favourite Valentine’s printables from around the web.

Although printed in Chinese, the instructions for this Valentine’s card are easy to work out. Simply fold along the dotted lines and cut along the solid lines to create your own super-cute card. Unfortunately, I didn't have a Stanley-knife and really struggled with scissors, so make sure you have some sort of craft-knife at hand if you plan on making this card.

Here is a collection of 14 different Valentine’s printables – one to use each day until Valentine’s Day. Each mini-card has been written to pair perfectly with a cheap, yet cute gift – e.g. “I’m nuts about you”.

There is something incredibly sweet and innocent about these Valentine’s cards. I think the cute, almost childish messages go great with the fun images.

This is one of my favourites – it’s a “Declaration of Romantic Intent” with gaps for you to fill in with your own words to make it personal.

I don’t know what it is about the latest moustache trend, or why it’s so cute, but I just had to share this with you. It just begs to be cut out and turned into a sweet Valentine’s card.

These Grade School Valentines just made my heart melt! The colours, patterns and messages are so adorable that I couldn’t help printing them and handing a few out.

Keep checking back on the days running up to Valentines day for great Valentine's ideas!

Valentines Baking Made Easy

Just because you don't have buckets of spare time and wads of excess cash doesn't mean that you don't want that special someone to know you care on Valentine's Day. I'm not sure that the list below actually counts as Valentine's "baking", but they are all really sweet gestures which are sure to please.

So for those of you who want to put in the effort, but just don't have the time, carry on reading for Valentine's baking made easy! All of these recipes are guaranteed to take minimal time and only basic supplies.

Heart-shaped ice cream sandwiches

     Instead of just serving ice cream for your Valentine’s dessert, turn it up a notch and serve your loved one a Valentine’s ice cream sandwich. Take a heart cookie-cutter and two cookies. Use the cutter to cut a heart out of each of the cookies and cut another one out of ice cream. Place a cookie heart on the bottom, then the ice cream, then the other cookie – it’s that easy! You can make as many of these as you like and store them in the freezer until you’re ready to serve them.

 Chocolate-dipped strawberries

What says romance better than chocolate-dipped strawberries? Nothing, that’s what! And now that you’ve got your hands on this easy recipe, you’ve no excuse not to treat your special someone. Melt dark, milk or white chocolate in the microwave with cream. For every 50g of chocolate you use, use about 20ml of cream. Remove from the microwave every 20 seconds to stir and to make sure it doesn’t burn. When fully melted, hold each strawberry by its leaves and dip into the melted chocolate. Try and balance the strawberries on their leaves on a plate so the chocolate doesn’t smudge. Leave in the fridge to set – about 30 minutes should do it.

Chocolate fondue

      Chocolate fondue is a great, inexpensive alternative to an extravagant chocolate fountain. Simply place some dark, milk or white chocolate in a microwavable bowl with some cream. For every 50g of chocolate you use, use about 40ml of cream. Heat this up in the microwave – removing every 20 seconds to stir and to make sure it doesn’t burn. When you have thick, melted, chocolatey goodness, pour into a small serving bowl and accompany with strawberries, marshmallows, cookies, or whatever you wish.

    Sandwiches with a heart window

     Do you prepare your love’s lunch? Then this is a great way to add a bit of Valentines sparkle to their day. Cut the bread into the shape of a love heart using a large heart cookie-cutter or use a smaller cutter to cut the middle section out of the top slice of bread.

       Heart-shaped jellies/jello

These heart-shaped jellies – or jello – are super-easy to make and look incredibly cute. Invest is a silicone heart tray – you’ll find them next to the ice-cube trays in the kitchen section of most household shops. Simply adapt the recipe on the packet of jelly so you have enough to fill your tray. I chose strawberry jelly because it’s red, but you can use any flavour you like – use your imagination. Serve with ice cream or regular cream and you have a sweet Valentines snack.

   Toast with heart butter and heart jam

    Most of us grab a piece of bread and a toaster when we’re looking for a fast breakfast, but why not make it love-themed on Valentine’s Day? Simply make the toast as you usually would, but instead of spreading the butter, cut a heart shaped piece of butter with a cookie cutter. 

Cupcake Madrid

During our stay in Madrid, Boyfriend and I visited Cupcake Madrid – the first cupcakery I’ve ever been in!

As soon as we walked through the door, we were greeted with the intoxicating aroma of butter, flour sugar and vanilla as cupcakes cooked in the back of the shop.

As it was late October, we chose to Halloween-themed cuppies – one spider and one bat. Both of the cupcakes were chocolate flavoured – the spider was coated in a delicious chocolate buttercream and coated in chocolate sprinkles with liquorice legs and jellybean eyes, whereas the bat was topped with vanilla buttercream and topped with a cute bat decoration.

Unfortunately, the bat cupcake didn’t make it back to the hotel room intact. Boyfriend made me run through the station with only one shoe on for a train we missed anyway. During this mad process the cupcake bag was swinging from side to side with my precious cupcakes getting bashed about inside the box.

How to Not Make Molten Chocolate Cakes

Pictures of molten chocolate cakes are always gorgeous. A rich, warm sponge which encases a gooey chocolate sauce that oozes out over the plate. I've tried to make these fabulous creations twice now and always come across the same problem - all the recipes I find make enough mixture for at least four portions. Boyfriend and I live alone, so I always try and reduce the recipe so there are only two portions - this is never successful. 

If you want to make overflowing warm mousse with a blackened soufflé top, follow these tips very carefully.

Use far too many eggs

Don't use enough chocolate or sugar

Fill the molds too high

Make sure the oven is too hot

If you follow those tips correctly, you should be left with a horrible Yorkshire pudding-tasting undercooked soufflé/mousse, as well as a very disappointed boyfriend. 

Hopefully the next time I try to make these, I get to update my blog with a successful post and show off tempting photos of what these gorgeous treats really should look like.

Degusta.Me Food Festival

Last weekend, the Degusta.Me food festival was held in Adeje and Boyfriend and I thought it sounded fun. There was a variety of cold and hot tapas available, as well as rivers of wine. For just €1, you could purchase a large engraved wine glass and fill it for only €1 each time. All the tapas selections were also really cheap, ranging from €1 to €3 each.

This food festival was to celebrate the diversity of restaurants in the region and encourage people to venture out of their houses and discover the culinary delights which are on their door step.

One of the first stalls Boyfriend and I visited first offered a variety of hot and cold tapas including a rather bizarre pasta dish. In a small plastic cup was some home-made pasta stuffed with something that had the colour of minced beef, the texture of paté and a really sweet taste. I'm still not quite sure what it was, but my best guess is some kind of cheese, or possibly 'gofio'. To complement the pasta was a small portion of delectable goats cheese, alongside a roast cherry tomato and gorgeous caramelised onions.

Next we moved onto a stall that had an open barbecue, on which stood some warm, toasty buns and huge chunks of pork and crackling. After taking our €2 ticket, a woman cut some chunks of pork and crackling and gave them to us while we were waiting for her to assemble the sandwich. They tasted so fantastic that we just wanted to devour the whole tray there and then. Mounds of pork were stuffed into the white, crusty bun, before being lathered with a typical Canarian sauce - gorgeous.

Next was a stop at what turned out to be Boyfriend's favourite stall - a Harry Chrisna stall, which served vegetarian food. We were given a dish which contained a tomato and yoghurt based sauce, flavoured with a hint of Indian spices. The other half of the container held a potato-based vegetable mix, coated in batter and deep fried. 

There was also a deep fried piece of broccoli, which I thought looked fantastic. The chef had somehow managed to cook it at the perfect temperature to brown the batter and make it nice and crispy, whilst still allowing the delicate vegetable to remain perfectly intact. 

Perrito Caliente Especial

I really enjoyed writing about carnival food in Tenerife - specifically the papa asada - in a previous post and thought it deserved a follow-up. Every time I think of this fiesta feast I uncover a montage of memories - everything from winning a fluffy tiara the first time I had one, to Boyfriend being ill all over the floor the first time he had one.

Take Boyfriend's advice - don't eat fast food before going on fast rides which spin around and around... It doesn't end well. 

The star of this post is the perrito caliente especial - or the special hot dog. Just like the papa asada, this hot dog can be mistakenly underrated from just a glance - everything is just piled on top carelessly. It starts off as a jumbo hot dog placed in a soft white bun. Layers of ketchup, mustard and mayonaisse are slapped on top, forming the perfect bed for oodles of crispy onion bits, mounds of cheese and fine, salty chipsticks.

Generally, I do not condone fast-food, but this has got to be my favourite I-cannot-even-kid-myself-this-has-any-nutritious-value food. From the bun loaded with complex sugars and the hot dog made from a negative percentage of  'meat', to the full-fat mayonaisse and the deep-fried chipsticks, this treat does nothing for my health, but does wonders for my happiness.

The most difficult and only disappointing part of eating a perrito caliente especial is that most of the chipsticks fall on the floor, the crispy onion lands in your lap and the sauces gloop all over your clothes. Luckily for me, my mouth is so huge that I can overcome all these problems.