Sunset Picnic with a roasted beef and berries salad

What a blessing were the last few days. Tropical temperatures at daytime, and sultry summer evenings. It puts everyone in the mood to stay late outside and enjoy the evening sunshine. It doesn’t take too much effort to make it extra special with an outing that is fun, relaxing and unexpected. Why not take your family or significant other on a sunset picnic? Since I only live 5 minutes away from canal the Zijl and the lakes ‘t Joppe and Zweiland (both part of the interconnected lake system Kagerplassen consisting of 15 lakes), I spent last few evenings near the water. Yesterday evening I quickly tossed together a summer salad. Perfect for a picnic at dusk. [continue reading after photo]

The roasted beef and berries salad is a refreshing salad with blueberries, blackberries, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, roasted beef, cucumber, lettuce, arugula, and a dressing of balsamico-vinegar, oil, sugar and gorgonzola. The savory notes of the gorgonzola ties well together with the sweet and sour berries, the nutty flavours of the arugula and walnuts, the hearty beef, and the freshness of the lettuce and cucumber. [continue reading after photos]

The lake area (see the map below) boasts a beautiful landscape with picturesque houses and charming farms, windmills, waterfront pasture land, quaint Dutch boats, and leisure boats passing by every few minutes. Every couple meters there is a picnic table or you can just sit yourself down in the grass on the banks. It’s the perfect place to watch the landscape colour yellow and orange by the radiance of the sunset, and listen to the birds, wind and water. I made a short video to go with my photos this time. It’s taken from my parked car. Just to let you get a sense of what I’m talking about. What a bliss it was!

Route from my home to the Zijl canal and the lakes. As you can see, it’s just around the corner!

summer evening at ‘t Joppe from Louise de Miranda on Vimeo.