otark productions

Exceptionally

2012-02-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

Coming Sunday our breakfast will exceptionally last only until 13:00,

from 16:00 Kristien will be baking pancakes at de Roscam.

Exceptionally good ones.

Tonight!

2012-02-03T02:56:00.000-08:00

Cocktails at the 4 day Atelier Solar Vintage Shop from 19:00 on!

Pomegranate Gin Fizz

Zuta Tea and Rum

Cava & Lavender

Be Welcome

Otark's Breakfast Club #46

2012-02-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

Djangology

2012-01-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hot gingerbread and Dynamite (Nagasaki)

on hot cocoa and snow

2012-01-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

what to do with this kind of winter?
it is cold but snowless, very wet but not frozen, grey yet sunny. (?)
in this case, let us offer you our guide to hot chocolate, including exciting tastes and smells, right here and now! all you need is cocoa powder, milk or soja milk or rice milk, bitter chocolate, and some spices. please try this at home!
for some background, we advices a deep look into alan davidson's 'the oxford companion to food'.
according to davidson, producing cocoa was made possible by a dutchman named van houten, who developed a screw press in 1828, which allowed a lower fat product to be made.

=======
hot chocolate and bay

4-5 bay leaves - better fresh than dry
4 spoons of cocoa or bitter chocolate
honey
milk
*
mix cocoa with 2 spoons of warm water. add 2 tea spoons honey = lightly sweetend
add milk, half a liter for 3-4 drinkers. put in the bay leaves
warm on a small flame, mix with a swedish wisk or your favourite wooden spoon.
when hot, serve each cup with a leave of bay.
=======

hot chocolate and ginger

small gingeroot
cocoa powder or bitter chocolate
honey or cane sugar - as sweet as you fancy
milk of any kind
*
grate the ginger quite roughly, mix with sugar or honey, add the cocoa and the milk or if you use bitter chocolate, add first the milk and when warm, add the chocolate, allow it to melt.
keep mixing it untill it is smooth. to serve, strain and pour!
======

some more additions you should consider to try - pink pepper, chilli pepper (dry),
star-anis, cinnamon, clove and lets not forget whisky and congnac...
=======

One

2012-01-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

Wintersun and Calendula for our anniversary

a breakfast for a king

2012-01-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

Our King and our crackers

for the new born year

2011-12-30T16:12:00.001-08:00

for this year, that is allready

arround the corner,

we wish for peace, sense and new energy,

lots of travelling,

adventures

and fun!

and we wish for all of you

to have a FANTASTIC

new year!

Last weekend of the Solar Giftshop

2011-12-17T04:01:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow (Sat. 17 and Sun. 18) are the last days of

the Solar Giftshop, the one stop shop where you can drink the

warm drinks we brewed together with our friends at

Dambruggestraat 48, 2060

breakfast under our mistletoe

The last otark breakfast of the year

2011-12-17T00:32:00.000-08:00

We'll be back in 2012!

Christmas Pudding

2011-12-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

For everybody that bought our Christmas pudding at Atelier Solarshop:

Before eating it, the pudding has to be steamed for about an hour or two.

You can do this by putting the pudding in a bowl, wrapping it in baking paper and

then heating it au bain marie, covered.

If you heat it in the oven it gets dry, and don't even think about a micro wave!

After steaming it you can flambé it with rum or another spirit you like.

It's easy, really.

a Breakfast for Lumberjacks

2011-12-10T10:55:00.001-08:00

Look at those lumberjacks!

Dinner dates at Atelier Solarshop

2011-12-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

2011-12-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

Otark's Breakfast Club #38

2011-12-03T08:38:00.001-08:00

otark's breakfast club # 37

2011-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

there is a chinese saying about eating - in the morning eat like an emperor, at noon

like a prince, and in the evening, like the poor.

it is inspiring to be able to explore three different points of view in one day

and to give your self the chance to slide from rich to poor...

lucky for all of you out there, eating like an emperor would be very possible

with the specials we made for this sunday - rye bread with avocado, spring onion,

smoked salmon and lemon, hot chocolate with zesty pink pepper and a red quinoa nest

with a poached egg on top of it.

be welcome!

2011-11-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Time for a rerun

2011-11-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

Coming Up !

2011-11-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

Atelier SOLAR SHOP will be

gift shop for

days

we'll be there with hot drinks

and edible gifts

for all information look here !

food from the books

2011-11-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

toast

procure a nice square loaf that has been bakedone or two days previously, and with a sharp knife, cut the requisite number of slices, about a quarter of an inch in thickness; place a slice of the bread on a toasting-fork, about an inch from one of the sides; hold it a minute before the fire; then turn it, hold it before the fire another minute; by which time the bread will be thoroughly hot, then begin to move it gradually till the whole surface has assumed a yellowish brown colour; turn it again, toasting the other side in the samne manner; then lay it uppon a hot plate, spread rather less than an ounce of butter over, and cut it into four or six pieces; if three or four slices are required cut each slice into pieces as soon as buttered, and pile them lightly upon the hot plate on which they are to be served, as often in cutting through several slices with a bad knife all butter is squeezed out of the upper slice, and the lower one is found swimming in butter.
warming the bread gradually on both sides, greatly improves the quality of the toast, and makes it much lighter. the butter used should not be too hard, as pressing it upon the toast would make it heavy.
dry stale bread may be dipped in warm water, and toasted gradually before being buttered.

vegetarian cookery by a lady (1886), p. 207

Breakfast Club # 35

2011-11-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T08:02:00.001-08:00

What Miljan is drawing in his notebooks while having breakfast at Otark's

Breakfast Club # 34

2011-11-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Club #33

2011-10-29T07:21:00.001-07:00

2011-10-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Club # 32

2011-10-22T05:14:00.001-07:00

Sunny side up

2011-10-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

Autumn light at Otark's

Where the wild things are

2011-10-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

on a sunny morning in autumn, an adventure is about to embark...
with us: one dog, one busket and a herbs and plants dictionary in two different Languages.

the mission - to learn about poisonous plants, and on the other hand - to taste and gatheras many edible plants as possible.

it was great! we tried rosehip fresh from the tree, picked apples and gave some to the dog,tasted leaves that resemble musterd and roquette, and digged up wild carrot, and raspberry...
i forgot the names, but still remember the taste and smell of everything.

thank you yves for the beautifull day.

Quince

2011-10-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

2011-09-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

dillflowers, cornflowers and mimosa

Pears

2011-09-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Photo's from Arti Capelli

2011-09-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Coupons for One harvest

Dukkah ingrediënts and a work of JCJ VANDERHEYDEN

Other paperwork

The Arti Capelli cauliflower

Otark for Arti Capelli

2011-09-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 17th of september

Otark for Arti Capelli in 's- Hertogenbosch (NL)

from 20:00 till 23:00

Breakfast Club # 27

2011-09-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Club # 26

2011-09-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

pop-up

2011-08-30T02:56:00.000-07:00

Our solar friends launch their 3rd POP-UP

the 31st starting from 18:00

at Dambruggestraat 48 2060 Antwerpen

for more information have a look at

www.ateliersolarshop.be

we'll be running our bootleg cocktail bar in the yard

ginger-ale galactic

sweet lime and basil

HRH reine-claude

Bagels # 2

2011-08-27T03:43:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Cosmos and Astrantia

Georgian bread

2011-08-27T03:40:00.000-07:00

4 colors tomato jam

2011-08-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

O-o

2011-08-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

owl

origami

olive

oat

octapus

ocean

olive

oil

Breakfast Club #23

2011-08-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

new breakfast season!

2011-07-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

dear friends, familly and breakfast lovers! after a month long of being far and away, we are back with new energy, armed with new ingredients and thoughts, and fully ready to wake up early and make you some breakfast! next sunday re-opening morning party with cocktails, new freshly made granola, and of course the good old georgian bread...
feel free to come from 08:00 till 14:00, we are looking forward to see you all and hear about your summer adventures...

love,

charlotte, sanja and hadas

(Wild thyme, anise hyssop, crème de marrons)

2011-07-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

2011-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

breakfast club # 21

2011-06-20T07:32:00.001-07:00

hello!

please join us next week for a last breakfast club before the holidays -

we will take the month of july as a time to rest, research, travell and meet old friends

and family.

we wish you a lovely summer, full of adventures, exiting gatherings

rest, reading and love.

2011-06-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

it's lemon time!

with special aroma and heavenly blossoms,

with a color as bright as the sun

and with taste that magically creates

a harmony, freshness

and beauty...

breakfast club# 18

2011-06-06T11:36:00.001-07:00

for some people, birthday means another year

that has gone by, older age, things you wanted to do but somehow could not.

and for others, birthday means celebration, that could be

materialised as cakes and lovely food, playing records and wearing bow-ties.

this birthday celebration was lovely - with lots of friends coming, family visiting

and even, some rest...

***

breakfast club # 17, 19

2011-06-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

a rooftop-garden bouquet of Malva, Rocket, Fennel and Cornflowers

flyers from breakfast club 16

2011-05-19T14:56:00.000-07:00

breakfast club #

2011-04-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

it is easter tomorow
and if you look deeper into the origins of this holy-day
you would find a celebration to the spring godess,
and to spring it self.

we decided to dedicate this breakfast club to childhood
memories related to easter or pesach
a man made from dough with egg in his tummy,
goat cheese sandwich with dates and nuts paste (harosset)
and two middle east dishes with eggs:
koekoe from persia, a herby ommlette,
and a sandwich from iraq with tahina, egg and a spicy sauce

happy holy-day!

fotos from solar-otark # 2

2011-04-20T08:08:00.001-07:00

today is the first day of our spring project with the

solar shop!
we have ice teas, ice coffee, candies and a quiche.
if you are not in antwerp, let me report to you that the weather is fantastic,
people are walking down the street looking happy and dressed up in nice colors
that is great!!

be welcome

***

solar - otark # 2, the opening

2011-04-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

dear all,

you are very kindly invited to

the opening of our second project

with atelier solar shop

it is for two weeks, with works by

kevin welslau

hanging string plants by fedor van der valk

and very beautifull and super comfy

rocking chairs by simon Saelaert.

***

for the opening we will make botanical cocktails

african marygold with rooibos, rum and lime

corn flower with cava and lavender syrop

dill flowers with cucumber, gin and lemon

***

please join us!

solar-otark # 2

2011-04-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

http://stringgardens.com/

did not mentioned yet three other talented people

who will take part in our project.

the drawing is by kevin welslau

and the charming string garden are by

fedor van den valk.

also lovely and very comfortable rocking chairs by

Simon Saelaert.

please join us!

BEHOLD! NEWS!

2011-04-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

from nineteen APRIL till seventh' of MAY we will

have a second project with the lovely

SOLAR SHOP in antwerp.

it is a TEA garden, with plants and art, with ROCKING chairs

and lamps, OPEN from wednesday till saturday.

we will make iced tea and coffee, cake and quiche,

with sweet take away's such as

figs and apricots covered in chocolate

greek sesam-honey candy

honey taffy

and

be welcome!

much more details soon...

breakfast club # 11

2011-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

INDEED, IT IS A BOLD

STATEMENT.

but hey, who ever thought that moustaches will become

fashionable again? and yet they did!

this sunday, to mach with the bowtie, we made puffy,

chubby and sweet blueberry pancakes

served with yogurt-cream and honey,

and stormed with white powder suger

we also had a mortadela, mayonaise with baked garlic

and radiccio rosso

and a rye bread with tomato jam,

smoked mozzarela and roof-top herbs

great week everyone!

breakfast club # 10

2011-04-12T11:20:00.001-07:00

lost and found

last week we had a sunday special of a french toast

the amazing thing about it - beside of course the nice taste and the lovely combination

with cream and honey

it's

name!

in french it is lost bread

in dutch it is a bread you win

in english it is a french toast

and in swiss german it had again a different meaning...

so funny

and so

interestring!

good week!

breakfast club # 9

2011-03-25T13:18:00.001-07:00

to-day was the swedish waffle day! they sure

know something about celebrations, if they dedicated one day a year

to waffles...

instead of sending you all postcards shaped as a waffle, we will simply invite you

to come and taste home made waffles with cloudberry jam and cream,

sandwich with home made gravadlax, and a speciall cheese with cumin, that will

be served with the lovely vilmas knackebrod.

be welcome,

happy waffle weekend!

breakfast club # 8

2011-03-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

breakfast club # 7

2011-03-12T10:54:00.001-08:00

hello, goodbye

hello to the spring, goodbye winter

hello new wooden spoon from broadway market in london

goodbye opinel, which was taken from me by the

security people in the train to brussels (in london)

hello to all the flowers in the world

goodbye snow

hello

see you

soon

breakfast club # 6

2011-03-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

with the spring in the door

and the sun showing itself, we had a colorfull breakfast today - lovely orange pancakes with

buttermilk and pumpkin, served with ginger cream

and mexican inspired sandwich with tomato salsa, lots of koreander

and avocado, which used to be called "aligator pear" - such a funny but quite truthfull

name for this interesting fruit.

***

from this week, we sell in our breakfast club the amazing georgian bread

(see the drawing below).

it is baked in antwerp by monks, in a wood oven, and it is possible to place an order by

email, last call saturday noon.

***

soon to arrive:

granola to take home

have a great week!

breakfast club # 5

2011-02-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

when you say BREAKFAST, what do you imagine

first thing? which image comes jumping

to your mind and taste buds?

is it a pancake?

an oatmeal?

maybe

simply

a round, beautifull

egg?

this sunday, we will make an omelette, but not

any omelette, one with ricotta and mint

that comes from corsica.

have not been there yet, but i can imagine

a shepard, sitting to rest on top of a mountain

making a fire

(he is on holiday)

and baking an egg with a leaves that grow there

...

have a great weekend!

breakfast club # 4

2011-02-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

today we had a wonderfull day: many families

with children, that makes us happy and it is nice to see them walking about,

looking at everything, tasting.

the breakfast for bears was amazing! the blini wear soft and puffy, the sour cream

fresh and cold

and the fish eggs in bright orange color and great taste...

so good!

have a great week!

take care, be sure to smile...

***

Breakfast Club #3

2011-02-12T08:16:00.001-08:00

breakfast club # 2

2011-02-05T10:27:00.001-08:00

early birds, young mothers, grandparents,

sun, wind and snow.

all welcome to start your day with us...

good morning

news!

2011-01-25T04:17:00.000-08:00

Otark Productions happily presents:

the breakfast club

Starting from this Sunday, the 30'th of January, at the Roscam, Friday market, Antwerp

fotos from solar-otark

2010-12-27T05:15:00.000-08:00

yesternight we had a performance of joachim badenhorst, starting with clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone.
it was breathtaking and beautifull.
we made some super nice cocktails:
lime and bubbles - cava with limonchelo made by j.
gingerine - frozen ginger and tangarine juice with rum
liquide jazz - plum extract with smoked tea, honey, mint and rum

we think to make our next research on cocktails! its fun!

****
**
*

2010-12-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

fiesta!

liquide jazz and groovy cocktails

till the rum is gone...

from 18:OO

in atelier solar shop

solar otark day menu

2010-12-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

on the menu these days

sandwich with pyrenées cheese and membrillo

sandwich with shropshire cheese and i come (mango) chutney

swedish meatball and red beet salad sandwich

toast tehina

toast marmelade

soup

cake

hot chocolate with bay leaves, lavender and ginger

**********

see you soon!!

RESERVATIONS.. hurry, hurry!

2010-12-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

dear all

as you know, we will be making three dinners during
our pop-up period in the solar shop -

for the dinner on the 23 december, there are few more seats left
for the dinner on the 28 december there are still seats
but for the dinner on the 30 december we are full...late evening visitors are most welcome

*
**
***
****
******
*********
*
*
******

new project before the new year

2010-12-15T03:49:00.000-08:00

as promissed - more details about our new project!

in the tradition of solar shop, the space of their atelier with transform into a tea

and lunch room for ten days - from the 21 till the 31 of this month.

we will make cakes and edible cado's, soup and sandwiches, and will serve coffee, teas and wine.

three dinners will be held during this period. the menus are on their way...

happy holidays and see you soon!

The last cantina

2010-12-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

celebration needs no reason - there is always something to be

happy about, sad about or even excited,

but this time, with our last cantina we feel it is a super nice occasion

to celebrate the experience this has been.

first of all, cocktails!

bloody mary with beetroot, horseradish and lemon

pinapple - ginger gin

jasmine - melon - lime margarita

***

we want to thank everyone who has supported, tasted or gave their opinion

everyone who volunteered to help us

especially to k. from the roscam who is a lovely lady!

***

we will be back in january with a special breakfast club

open with love from morning to early afternoon

more details soon!

invitations for the cantina

2010-12-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

very

exiting

and also

a bit sad, that next week

monday

will be our last

cantina.

we are planning grand finnale

with great food

lovely people

music

and super nice atmosphere.

soon,

we will start two new projects,

and about this

will

tell you all

soon

otark and atalier solar shop

2010-12-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

starting from the 21 of december, we will creat a pop-up coffee place for the christmass period.
we will cooperate with atelier solar shop, which is responsible for some of the most exiting events in antwerp - from art space to pop-up shop, those guys have a very uniqe approach to design.

the space will transform itself once again into a cosy cabine, with warm drinks, great music and very lovely food.
edible gifts are to be expected, too!

see you all there!

otark cantina # 35

2010-11-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

last summer in the oxford symposium on food and cookery,

we found some lovely books:

"a honey from a weed" by the lovely named patience gray, prospect books

and a book about baghdad cookery, also from prospect books,

with recipes from the 13 century, lots of recipes of meat and some nice ones without.

the spices and herbs to be used are mint, selerjac, koreander, musterd seeds and lots of sesam oil.

we will make labne from yogurt with a relish of leek, mint and selerjac leaves

pumpkins with nigella seed

turnips with honey, apple viniager and ginger

eggplants with sessam paste and garlic

hard boilled eggs fried in sessam oil with musterd seed and koreander seed

and for dessert: a tart with halva and dates!

do join us

***

otark cantina # 34

2010-11-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

sometimes,

all you want is a simple yet rich taste

that will fill you and warm you

and will make you happy

for us, all of that is in the soup...

we made a soup of chesnut, carrot, pumpkin, fennel and tomato

with a vegetarian or an ox-tail buillon.

and it was sweet, soft, and every bite was different

together with the soup we had a pinky quinces butter

our beloved georgian bread

eggplants with dill and marjoram

and a very lovely walnut taart

...

good night

sweet dreams

otark cantina # 33

2010-11-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

(Graphics by Hadas)

and once again, the smuggling is on, this time from the very north of europe, mighty sweden.

with pine trees and brilliant fish, clogs, mushrooms and vikings we bring you a light meal full of wonders: yellow lentill soup with jerusalem artichock and green green herbs, salty wafels shaped as a heart, gravadlax with lots of dill, orange and lemon, pickled beet salad, sour cream and goat cheese.

and then, from the mist comes the beautifull green princes - the most known and loved by children of all ages - princesstarta! three layers of light cake with raspberry jam and cream, vanila casturd and a blanket of green marzipan...

we wish you all good night and see you on monday!

Otark Cantina # 32

2010-11-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Something new in Antwerp:

just got an email that makes us very happy - a new place to eat vegetarian - ayurvedic food on fridays in antwerpen! it is very nice to know because there are not so many options for ones who choose to be vegetarians, and it is for sure a healthy step in making antwerp a more green and eco friendly city. it makes one think about a restaurant in n.y.c, that serves only that kind of food. it was on spring or prince street, 11 years ago, but the memories of colorfull, fresh dishes are still very vivid! so good luck! we would come to support and eat for sure!

otark cantina #31

2010-10-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

(Graphics by Hadas)

half of us went to walk in the mountains, while the other half is hosting a guest-cook in our next cantina! the guest is s. an italian friend who lives here allready for eight years. she cooks with passion and spark and to have dinner at her place feels like going to a very very good restaurant!! she also offers lovely grappa in the end of the dinners and it is so good!

so this week we will have dinner from the area of venice, we will wear our striped shirts and sing gondola songs and we will serve eggplant which is slow cooked and served with fresh garlic and parsley, then white ploenta with baked andive and balsamico, sardines in marinade of sweet silver onion and a mix of mushrooms and fontina cheese for those who are not fish friendly.

for dessert, panetone, allthough it is strictly a cristmess thing, with powdered sugar mixed with other spices...

arivaderchi!!!

edible roof top - otark productions and frederik heyman

2010-10-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

(Photo's Frederik Heyman)

two weeks ago we made an edible installation

in de brakke grond, amsterdam.

it was for frederik heyman's solo show

we made:

edible tiles for the roof top from speculaas cookies

a body coverded in marzipan blanket

a skeleton made from grisini

bones from grisini as well

and in the stomach of the body was hummus to eat with the bones.

it was a lovely experience!

thank you frederik

otark cantina 30!!!

2010-10-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

our dear friend dieter is here on a visit from london and it is his birthday! do you remember our first birthday edition? it was many weeks ago, and we still have sweet memories from that evening. this time we make less cakes but we made stronger choices that fit to the season - with figs, pear, chesnut, apple and some chocolate balls for the inner child in all of us.

happy birthday!

birthday edition # 2

2010-10-14T04:12:00.000-07:00

next monday will be our second birthday edition! what does that means? you might ask your self. well, that means lots of desserts this time, more that we always make, and special surprizes to everyone that has his birthday next week!

we will make probably kervel soup, with toasted beloved georgian bread with different tapanade
to go with the bread, and butter.

and the dessert of course...not sure yet what, but it will be great!

happy birthday

see you on monday

menus from the last cantina

2010-10-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

food from the books

2010-09-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

butter

this is a fatty, oily substance, made with cream taken from milk and thickend by beating.

all kinds of milk can produce butter. the richest butter, with the largest fat content, comes from goat's milk. the scythians and the paeonians introduced it into greece, hippocrates only talk of the scythians butter. horace and virgil speak of cheese, but not of butter. werther made butter poetical. it was while watching charlotte buttering bread for the children that he was overcome by that fatal passion which ended with a pistol shot.

goethe was right; children like nothing as much as buttered bread, except it is bread and jam.

in a few countries where i have travelled, i have always had freshly made butter, made on the day itself. here, for the benefit of travellers, is my recipe; it is very simple, and at the same time full-proof.

wherever i could find cow's milk or camel milk, mare's milk, goat's milk, and particularly goat's milk, i got some. i filled a bottle three quarters full, i stopped it up and i hung around the neck of my horse. i left the rest up to the horse. in the evening, when i arrived, i broke the neck of the bottle and found, within, a piece of butter the size of a fist which had virtually made itself. in africa, in the caucasus, in sicily, in spain, this method has always worhed for me.

alexandre dumas

1873

from dumas on food, the folio society 1978

otark cantina 26 & 27

2010-09-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

(Graphics by Miljan Vukicevic)

to celebrate and welcome the wind, the rain and the grey, we made a meal with home made soft cheese made by miljan, then mashed potato, pumpkin and celerjak, served with a stew of carrot, onion, schalottes, pastinak, bay leaves and girolle mushrooms....mmmm...

for dessert we had a baklava with wallnuts, sultanas, filla, served with yogurt and cream.

see you next week!

this weekend

2010-09-22T02:25:00.000-07:00

we are very happy to pressent to you the vegetable zodiac. it started with our friends mieke and veronik from the late 'mieke willems' who wanted an after noon of fortune telling. they had very beautiful tarot cards from andrea ayala, and we came up with the vegetable zodiac.

we also made strong turkish coffee for anyone who was there, took a picture of the cups, and they all recieved an email with their personal coffee stories, to be told by miljan.

this weekend we will join mieke and veronik in their weekend-shop in amsterdam, with the vegetable zodiac and fortune cookies spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper.

food from the books

2010-09-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

"sakes alive!

it's almost five!

it's time to have my dinner.

the outer part of me is fine,

but what about the inner?

from "whiskers and rhymes"

by arnold nolen

otark cantina 24

2010-09-14T14:14:00.001-07:00

we just love smuggling. not talking about drugs or humans, guns or weapons, but the good old

alcohol, sausages, bread and vegetables. in some parts of the world, people are carrying big suitcases full of expensive clothes, and in other parts, suitcases full with whatever that remind you of your home. our friend L. brought from normandy for the cantina buckweat flour, honey-wine, vegetables and the knowledge of making the tastiest salidou - a creamy cream of sugar, butter and fresh cream.

coming soon - a recipe for salidou..

otark cantina 23

2010-09-14T14:09:00.001-07:00

it is almost almost cold here, and just before the season starts,

we welcome it with open arms:

come nuts, welcome leaves, fresh young roots.

come sunny day with grey sky, come fresh air.

we are ready

welcome.

food from the books

2010-09-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

"when he bring me the bread basket i see that the rolls are twisted and baked into adventurous
shapes. they bare all faintly and disarmingly zoological in their outlines. i chose one which is coiled likea snail with two horns sticking out. but i could also take one shaped like a sea cucumber or one which is a fanciful rendering of a scorpion in its death pangs.
the body of the bread is yielding like clay, and tastes of mould. the crust is thin, brittle, and yellow, flaking at the merest touch. bad dough badly baked.
the apset thing one can say about the cremonese rolls isthat they are intriguing.
this in itself is already a condemnation, because the job of the roll is to play second fiddle to other more important dishes. the roll should be to the meat what the secretary is to the executive: soothing, aiding, absorbing, and never domineering.
rolls, therefore, should look self-effacing, and when i come across rolls which rivet my attention by their very appearance i am seized at once with grave misgiving.
the rolls of cremona should not be classed under food but under arts and decoration, and treated
accordingly. the wise traveller will no more attemp to partake of them when he would break off and nibble the scroll of a façade."

from the surprise of cremona, by edith templeton, published 1954

otark cantina no° 21

2010-08-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

"azafran" is a spanish word of arabic origin, meaning 'yellow'. the area around la mancha in central spain produces some of the best quality saffron in the world.
we will use this elegant spice in the dessert, but the spirit of it will follow all the rest of the dishes.

we will use almonds, figs, tomatos, fennel and potato - a very well balanced mix of spanish and arabic ingredients.

we have not been really to spain yet, so by cooking this dinner we hope to open a spanish path
of new words, friendships and of course, food.

otark cantina no° 20

2010-08-22T07:27:00.001-07:00

otark - cantina no° 19

2010-08-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

this week polenta with lovely pumpkin, eggplant, butter beans and grilled tomato's and mushrooms.

holidays

2010-08-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

few weeks ago we went for a swim in the north castle in antwerpen. it was a very hot day. we made three circles arround the pond but did not found a place to seat.

instead, we found a huge plum tree with loads of very red plums that were so sweet and so lovely we decide to risk out lifes and climb it.

the result was three pots of plum conserve and two bittles of plum cordial which we had in the two last cantinas.

happy summer, everyone

otark - cantina no° 13 & 14

2010-06-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

please join for a summer evening with a hint of mint, for a soup full of tastes and surprises from persia.

have an evening of jasmine and mint, as the arabic saying goes.

fotos from otark - cantina no° 11

2010-06-05T14:21:00.001-07:00

(Photo's by Chaïm Eefting)

otark - cantina no° 12

2010-06-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

from begining of time as we know it, jesus and his miracles, the satan and his cheeky behaviour we tend to choose between good and bad, thinking that this would be an easy choise...

this week we started our journey re-membering janson, a swedish monk from many centuries ago, a man of pride and minimal needs, that got conflicted whether he should take another bite when he tasted the dish that later would be named after him a potato-leek-cream-anchovis dish out of the oven, out of this world...

we will make a devilish combination of choclate and hazelnut, straberies and cream (angelic)

and a vodka with cumin seeds, just to remind us that we all enfold both heavenly and great, together with the notion of hell and animality..

foto's from otark cantina n°10

2010-05-30T09:57:00.001-07:00

(Photo's by Chaïm Eefting)

foto's from otark cantina n°9

2010-05-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

(Photo's by Chaïm Eefting)

otark cantina no° 11

2010-05-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

this monday we will make one big birthday party for all of you who has their birthdays soon or had them allready...

there will be a vichysoise soup with potatos and leeks, served with toasted bread with garlic

and then

lots of sweets to be chosen..

muddy chocolate cake

lime and laventer tart

poppy seed cake

rhubarb cramble

tart tatine

dates with cream

pears with apple cider

strawberries with wine

walnut pies

pavlova with cherries and cream

....

please join us from 18:30

otark cantina no° 10

2010-05-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

this week, we will make a homage to all things white.

white clouds with ever changing forms, white socks with no matching pair, white flowers that smells like summer itself, milk, lace and flour, butu theater, kabuki and pantomime

the white of hair later in the years, snow, the color of baby-birds, white china vessels

the color before all others...

we will make:

white gasspacho with almonds

risotto with white asparagus, a recipe we got from our dear friend rico (his nona's recipe)

white roots salad

white chocolate mouse

marzipan

and a

white

drink