Sunday, August 29, 2010

My Little Swedish Jewel Box

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Yayyyy!!!! its Make It For Monday. I've been waiting for this Make It For Monday all week. Well I told you last Monday in my post that I was working on doing a Swedish garden room. Well I did do it, but because of space it couldn't be the garden room I wanted. Then I realised my budget was limited also, so no big budget makeover here (I ended up shopping the house for a lot of things). One thing I can say I love the results.
This is what I started with an enclosed room off my kitchen, never really used for anything....
Here it is.......
My little Swedish jewel box (I had to change the name, this name seemed to fit better). There is one of my redone chairs (no money, they have been waiting for me to do something with them), lamp (It has been in the attic for a while now, the shade was $20.00 at Target), the column (came in from outside), the urn (hanging around here too), the mirror (I got that baby from my booth, can you steal from yourself!!!), the nightstand (I got that from Maine Cottage a while ago and never had a place for it), and the votives (came from Pier1, $1.50).
The footstool is actually the Tu-Tu vanity stool without her white wedding attire. I made a new top slip for her. The rug is one I had around, I never could part with it.
A close up of the new slip (yes its not white, its toile. I always turn it inside out for a more faded Shabby Chic look).
Oh I almost forgot....The roses cost a grand total of $8.00.
I love this mirror, it has such a sense of history.....
The other chair, with a rolled up Ikea throw (yes I already owned the throw). There you have it, a room done on almost no money. oh I'm forgetting something I got a new ceiling fan (from Lowe's for $15.00, sorry I didn't picture it, but its a ceiling fan for $15.00). I did the room for about $46.00, just by shopping my house and doing a few redoes. It was fun and didn't break the budget (BTW if I didn't mention paint or fabric I already had it). Have a great Make It For Monday and for more incredible makeovers go see Cindy at http://cottageinstincts.blogspot.com/.
See everyone next time.......

Recipe of the Week - Farfalle Pasta with Zucchini and Lemon-Cream Sauce

This weeks recipe is one that I tried on my menu plan last week! It is super easy to make and delicious too! I found it on allrecipes.com


Farfalle Pasta with Zucchini and Lemon-Cream Sauce

 

Ingredients

  • 1 (16 ounce) package farfalle (bow tie) pasta

  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, at room temperature

  • 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon peel, or more to taste

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 4 cups thinly sliced zucchini

  • 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided

Directions

  1. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the bow tie pasta and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain the farfalle well in a colander set in the sink.

  2. While the farfalle are boiling, mix together the ricotta, mascarpone, and Parmesan cheeses in a large serving bowl, and stir in the lemon peel and basil until the mixture is well combined.

  3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the zucchini and garlic until the zucchini are tender but still bright in color, about 8 minutes. Stir about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into the cheese mixture and mix until smooth; add the hot drained pasta and cooked zucchini, and lightly toss with the sauce. Season with the salt and pepper. If mixture is too thick, add a little more pasta cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is the desired thickness.




Enjoy and happy cooking!! Be sure to link up below with your recipe of the week!!

Heather

Like Dylan in the movies.


On Thursday I'll be back on Barcelona, and I'm afraid that for a couple of weeks I'll be without internet :(! That's because I'm moving, yes; we had some problems in my other flat and tomorrow my flatmates will make the move to our new house. It's a little bit more expensive and I'm afraid that September it's gonna be a hard month, but as I'm starting a new job and I'm coming back with new expectatives for my life, I think everything would be ok.



Anyway, before leaving my home, I guess I can plan some entries, as I have some interviews to show you and a few things more! But please, don't worry if you don't see me around here from next thursday until maybe two weeks!


You may think about what I told you a few weeks ago, moving to Sweden.
I still want to do it, but for the moment I'll stay at Barcelona for a while, learning swedish and saving money; so maybe for next spring I can move there, as Sweden it's my dreamed land.


I know that for most of you, the point of a spanish girl, used to a hot weather and a sunny life, moving into Sweden may sounds strange; but if you knew me since I was a little girl, you would know about my passion for this country. It's not about what I see/read in swedish blogs; it's about me and my life. I need to miss Spain, and I need to miss the sun... yes, the swedish weather is one of the hot points for me about moving there, I want to live a real winter, without sun and with snow and all those things, I love that... las January, at Berlin, I was the most happier girl over the earth... and I know that Sweden would makes me happy too, I'm sure about it!


I feel a little bit sad about leaving my home after a month here with my family and friends, but the show must go on and I'm sure that lots of adventures are waiting for me... and I hope you all would be there for reading about them!! Thanks for being with me during all this long journey, when almost a year ago I packed my suitcases and moved to Barcelona!


Hat - Oysho
T-shirt - Primark
Skirt - Zara
Shoes - Women'Secret
Totebag - Blanco (old)
Flowers - Blanco
Ribbon - Primark



One thing more; I would like to ask you... is there something you would like to read about here in my blog? Anything you would like to see aroun here? Please, tell me about it!

And have a lovely end of the weekend!

new camera

i bought my new camera :)
Sony Cybershot TX1
all of sudden today, actually the price is RM1399 but I saw the price got discount RM999, I suddenly buy it.
But too bad, no pink color :(
so i bought the grey one..

colors. actually either pink or gold me like.
but sold out already.


but doesnt look grey in picture

as always, label your camera.. =)

look how thin it is O_o

i like this cam, because got Exmor-R sensor, can take pic in low light eventhough without flash

A Louse-y Day

My cliche-loving husband repeats himself a lot.  Let me repeat that.  He repeats himself a lot. Especially when it comes to cliches.  I've heard countless times his pronouncement that "no good deed goes unpunished."  Really, Henry?

I myself am not that jaded.  I am much more trusting, believing that it all works out in the end.  Every once in awhile though, this comes back to kick me in the you-know-what.  Like it did recently.

A friend (we'll call him Mike) who was moving, needed a place to stay for a couple of days until his new apartment was ready.  I offered up our terrace level (which is a nice way of saying "basement").  Since he was bringing his two childen (ages 19 months and 9 years) I figured there was plenty of room down there for all of them.  It has a lovely large bedroom, a nice bathroom, a television room, a pool table and lots of room for running around.  Besides, it meant I got to spend time with the kids, both of whom I like a lot (uh-oh, here comes that grandparent thing again).

They showed up on a Sunday afternoon, the day before what was going to be a crazy Monday for me.  I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, Atlanta Magazine was showing up in the afternoon (more about that later) and  friends were coming for dinner that night, meaning a lot of cooking had to happen.  No problem.  Superwoman Liz can do anything!

Until I got a call from Mike around 1pm to tell me his 9-year-old son had to leave school early BECAUSE THEY DISCOVERED HE HAD HEAD LICE!!!!! 

Now if you have kids, you've probably experienced this lovely event at some point in time.  I'll refrain from the graphic details but suffice it to say you have to pretty much tear your house apart and vacuum or launder everything the kid came in contact with.  Remember my telling you in the last post how I have tons and tons of decorative pillows piled on all the beds in this place?  That did not serve me well in this instance.

So I canceled dinner with our friends (Emily, Tristin and Charlene, I owe you one) and set upon the cleaning task at hand.  At the end of it, I decided I should reward myself with either a cocktail or chocolate.  Oh screw that.  I had both!

CHOCOLATE MADELEINES   (From Gale Gand's Chocolate and Vanilla)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 4 tablespoons, softened for buttering the madeleine molds
3 eggs (I used extra-large)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup good cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed (I used Valhrona)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

(Note:  you will need a madeleine pan for this recipe.  If you don't have said pan, just suck it up and go out and buy one.  This is worth it).

Preheat oven to 325-degrees.  Brush the madeleine pan well with the 4 tablespoons of softened butter and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.  Cook until the butter turns golden brown, being careful not to let it burn.  Remove from heat, strain into a small bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with both sugars until mixture is light and thickened, about 10 minutes, scraping down bowl occasionally.  Add the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and stir on low speed until just combined.  Add the vanilla and browned butter and mix until just blended.


Insert a large (1/2-inch) plain tip into a pastry bag and fill it with batter (alternatively, you can spoon it into a Zip-Loc bag and cut a small piece off one of the corners).  Pipe mounds of batter into the prepared pans to fill the molds, mounding the batter in the center of the molds but not filling to the edge. 


Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the madeleines are firm and a little mound is puffed up in the middle.  Remove from oven and cool slightly, then remove madeleines to a baking rack to cool completely.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Yield:  2 dozen  (if you only have 1 madeleine pan, bake off one batch, then re-butter pan and bake second batch).

Alright, so now I have a few comments.....

Have you ever baked a dessert, sprinkled it with powdered sugar, only to find that in an hour or so, the sugar has totally dissolved and become invisible?  (Think lemon bars).  Here's the solution:  non-melting sugar.  You sprinkle it on and it lasts and lasts and lasts.  I buy mine from King Arthur.  Here's the link:


I don't know who created this stuff, but I am eternally grateful.  Once you use it, you will never look back!

Another note - as far as I am concerned, madeleines are like little miniature pound cakes.  That means they are good for dessert, an afternoon snack with a cup of tea (or a cocktail!) or a sneak-in-the-pantry late night splurge.  Your choice.

Oh, and take the time to brown the butter for this recipe.  It makes a big difference and gives it a much greater depth and layer of flavor.

And finally, here's a question.  Do you live in Atlanta?  Do you have pets?  If so, you need to know about Dr. Leslie Neely.  She is an amazing veterinarian who practices both eastern and western medicine and SHE COMES TO YOUR HOUSE.  For me, with five dogs, that is a godsend.  It's much more than the convenience, though.  She really gets it, she cares beyond belief and she inspires absolute trust that your pets are getting the best care possible.  Haha, even Elton John entrusts his pets to her!  Anyway, Atlanta Magazine decided to feature her in an article, so they followed her around for a day as she visited clients.  We were happy to be asked to participate.  In spite of the lice!

http://www.thebalancedpet.net/




Calbee

29 Agustus 2010, minggu

Bulan kemaren, iseng2 ngikutin undian berhadiah dari Calbee...Cslbee itu sejenis snack potato istilah kerennya kripik kentang...haha, sapa si yang ga demen ma snack ginian?? Gw demen banget, walaupun kalo kebanyakan bisa bikin sakit leher..heheh.

Back to story, coz keseringan beli, jadi gw tuh suka ngumpulin trademarknya calbee, disimpen aja, sapa tau emang bisa dipake buat ikutin undian yang ga tau kapan bisa menang? Tau2 Mei ketemu tuh kartu pos yang buat ngirim undiannya Calbee, wah gw langsung bersemangat buat ngisi data n nempelin trademarknya calbee. Lumyan juga bisa ngumpulin sekitar 30an biji, langsung buru2 dikirim, coz dah mpir datelinenya.

Sore pulang ke rumah, eh tau2 ada 1 kotak kardus di depan pintu. Suami gw bilang dari Calbee..buseettt,gw menang undiannyaaaaa...ahahha, seneng dah, isinya 10 bungkus, butuh berapa lama ngabisinnya ya?? Yang pasti anak2 juga pada seneng, uda berebutan pas buka kardusnyaa...
Berikutnya gw ada ikutan undian buat jalan2 ke Hokkaido...bisa menang ga ya??

Rissole Indonesian Style (Risoles)

Rissole Indonesian Style Risoles

For Risoles wrapper

150 g all-purpose flour
1 egg
200 ml milk
salt

For filling

150 g minced beef or 150 g chicken
3 small potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 carrots, cut into small cubes
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
1 tablespoon flour, mixed with a little of water
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 beef bouillon cube
sugar, to the taste
1 cup water

For dipping

1 egg
breadcrumbs

Wrapper: take a bowl then combine the flour, salt and egg. Gradually add the milk whisk them to make a smooth texture. When it's done, heat up non-stick pan. Take about 2 tablespoons of the mixture, pour to the pan and make it thin (just like how you make crepes). Cook it with low heat. When the edge of the skin is dry and you can peel off easily, it means it is cooked. Set aside.

Filling: heat up the wok, then sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the meat and mix them well for few minutes. Then add carrots, pepper, salt, celery and 1 cup of water. Cover. When the carrots are half-cook, add the potatoes. Continue cooking until they are tender and add 1 tablespoon of flour mixed with water to make the filling thicker. You can add a little of sugar to adjust the taste.

The Risoles: take one Risoles's wrapper then add the filling in the bottom. Leave the bottom few cm's clear. Lift the wrapper over the top and tuck it in under the filling. Fold over the left side, and then the right side and roll it up to form a tube. Repeat until all the wrappers are finished.

Dipping: dip the rissoles into beaten egg then coat them with bread crumbs. Deep fry them with low heat, set aside and use the tissue paper to absorb the oil.

Serve with fresh green bird's eyes chillies or chili sauce.

Rissole Indonesian Style (Risoles)

Rissole Indonesian Style Risoles

For Risoles wrapper

150 g all-purpose flour
1 egg
200 ml milk
salt

For filling

150 g minced beef or 150 g chicken
3 small potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 carrots, cut into small cubes
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
1 tablespoon flour, mixed with a little of water
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 beef bouillon cube
sugar, to the taste
1 cup water

For dipping

1 egg
breadcrumbs

Wrapper: take a bowl then combine the flour, salt and egg. Gradually add the milk whisk them to make a smooth texture. When it's done, heat up non-stick pan. Take about 2 tablespoons of the mixture, pour to the pan and make it thin (just like how you make crepes). Cook it with low heat. When the edge of the skin is dry and you can peel off easily, it means it is cooked. Set aside.

Filling: heat up the wok, then sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add the meat and mix them well for few minutes. Then add carrots, pepper, salt, celery and 1 cup of water. Cover. When the carrots are half-cook, add the potatoes. Continue cooking until they are tender and add 1 tablespoon of flour mixed with water to make the filling thicker. You can add a little of sugar to adjust the taste.

The Risoles: take one Risoles's wrapper then add the filling in the bottom. Leave the bottom few cm's clear. Lift the wrapper over the top and tuck it in under the filling. Fold over the left side, and then the right side and roll it up to form a tube. Repeat until all the wrappers are finished.

Dipping: dip the rissoles into beaten egg then coat them with bread crumbs. Deep fry them with low heat, set aside and use the tissue paper to absorb the oil.

Serve with fresh green bird's eyes chillies or chili sauce.