Giveaway Winner

And the giveaway of the 20% off coupon to Bed, Bath and Beyond is......

Gen from Girls and Sunflowers!!


Gen, please e-mail me with your home address and your coupon will be in the mail the next day!

Thanks for everyone who participated! Stay tuned for more giveaways in the future! :)

Music test

I've stolen this test from Emma's blog, and as it is about music, I'm doing it, of course!!


- What are you listening to right now?
"54-46 That's my number" from Toots & The Maytals

(The rest of the answers, here!)

- Name a song that makes you feel sorry:
"Acrobat", by Maxïmo Park. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever listened.

- What's the world's greatest song?
I don't know, I think that it depends of the person and of the time of their life... for me right now maybe could be "Never seen the light of day" by Mando Diao, it's one of my favourite songs.

- Name your favourite artist/band from all the time.
It's so difficult, I must say The Smashing Pumpkins, David Bowie, The Clash and Sex Pistols.

- Name a band or artist you recently discovered:
Fever Ray; I had the album for so long ago but it's now when I've started to listening to it properly. Also Handshakes and Highfives, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Karen Elson and  Annbjørg Lien.

- Best female voice?
Lisa Gerrard.

- Best male voices?
Johnny Cash.

- Wich musical style you listen to most?
Almost everything: indie rock, rocksteady, dark folk, garage, experimental, folk, country, jazz...

- What do you listen when you want to be happy?
The Hives, The Vines, Miss Li, The Clash...

- What are you listening when you want to calm down?
Fever Ray, Björk, Dead Can Dance, Belle & Sebastian, Paul Banks/Julian Plenty...

- Wich one was your las concert?
Placebo, here at Barcelona; but maybe I'm seeing Belle & Sebastian this saturday!

- Who do you listen to most?
Maxïmo Park, Mando Diao, The Vines, Florence & The Machine, Foals, Smashing Pumpkins...

- Have you ever dated a musician?
Yes, I had a boyfriend who played the piano in a band and I had an affair with a punk rocker from a swedish band, but that's an old story XD

- Best girl band?
I hate that tag XD! I like Plasticines, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Gossip; and The Donnas, of course!

- Do you like classical music?
I adore Shostakovich and Paganinni.

- Do you like country music?
Johnny Cash & June Carter forever!

- Do you listen to music in foreign languages?
Yes, I listen to music in french, swedish, japanese, english, indian, polish, german... almost in every language!

- Wich instrument would you love to be if you were one?
A violin.

- Do you listen to the radio?
I used to, but not now.

- Do you like MTV?
MTV Rock yes, not the other ones.

- Can you name all the members of the band you're listening to right now?
Karen Elson, as I'm listening to her right now.

- Wich famour musician would you marry if you had the cance?
James Iha from The Spamshing Pumpkins, Paul Banks from Interpol or Paul Smith from Maxïmo Park. 

- Your favourite soundtrack?
Walk the Line, The Little Mermaid.

- What are you listening right now?
"Lunasa" by Karen Elson.

- Do you use bands t-shirt?
Yes, I've got lots of them: Iggy, The Clash, Sex Pistols...

Sorry for being so missing these past days, but I've got good news for you... tomorrow, finally, I'm starting at Barbie Store! the first day of autumn it's gonna be great! :)!

And remember to check my new porject, We ♥ Redheads! Today I started with the Redhead of the Week Award, don't miss it!!

Shrimp with Chipotle Cream Sauce

   

  
Can you guess where everyone walks around with a smile on their face?  It's not Indonesia, where they practice smiling with their liver, although my trip to Bali does confirm that there are a lot of people with good karma there.  Similarly, Thais love to flash a big grin, but they seem caught up in their political troubles at the moment.  India, the people who gave us the word "nirvana?"  No, I'm not think of that either.  I'm actually thinking of a travel destination closer to home, popular now, where the temperature and humidity is so ideal, so not hot, so not cold, so bright sunshine year round, that people can't help but walk around with a smile on their face.  San Diego is the place I'm feeling right now.  In part, because here in Washington we are in that ideal weather season of autumn when for about two months we have the weather of San Diego:  dry, warm, but not hot, little humidity.  Fall is not quite here.  It's not crisp, it's not sweater weather.  It's just perfect weather.

So how does that relate to food?  Because many times I eat what I feel.  I'm not talking about how much I eat given my mood, I mean what kind of food.  Sometimes my mind stimulates that with a yearning for travel.  Sometimes my emotions stimulate that with a desire for comfort food.  Either my mind or my emotions can stimulate a need to get spicy.  Sometimes it's a feeling conjured by an aroma, maybe lemon, or lavender, or oregano.  Menu ideas can even be spurred by a sense of feel, hot and sticky, or cool and crisp.  The San Diego weather outside makes me think of San Diego food.  While I'm not a big fish taco person, putting cole slaw on tacos or BBQ sandwiches is something I just haven't warmed to, I can still conjure feelings of Mexican seafood fusion in my mind.  A little fish or seafood, a little Mexican spices, a little lime and cilantro, that's what I'm talking about.  It helps that rising celebrity chef Marcella Vallodolid of Mexican Made Easy Fame does her shows from a kitchen with windows overlooking San Diego.  How can you not wish you were there sharing in the blue skies and fresh Mexican tastes? 

   

One of Marcella's signature dishes is a rosemary-skewered shrimp marinated in chipotle.  That is a great recipe, but I did a different recipe this evening from her Fresh Mexico cookbook.  Bobby Flay certainly introduced us to the world of chiles and the potential of chipotle.  While Bobby takes many of our American ingredients, and that adds the chili spiced layers, Marcella's recipes seem to start with a more Mexican set of ingredients that also utilize the chili flavors.  True or not, she has shown me how to use Mexican crema and cheeses in recipes.  This shrimp recipe with a chipotle cream sauce does that in spades.  It is fast, easy, flavorful in a Mexican chile way, but also has that tummy coated goodness you want from any sauce.  Try it and find out how.  Serves 2.

   

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 lb shrimp, peeled

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles, plus 1 tbsp of diced, seeded chipotle pepper if a hotter dish is desired

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

   
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the flour, 2 tbsp of cilantro, salt and pepper.  Add the shrimp and toss to coat.  Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the shrimp and saute until golden, 2-3 minutes per side.  Transfer the shrimp to a plate.  Add the wine and deglaze the pan.  Boil for 2 minutes and then add the cream, adobo sauce (and chipotle if desired), garlic and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir to mix and boil for 3 minutes to reduce slightly.  Return the shrimp to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce.  Season further with salt and pepper if desired.  Serve over rice and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

    

Pork, Pepper and Pineapple Puff Pastry Pie

This is a recipe which came about when I was given a bag of small, homegrown red bell peppers and I wanted to come up with some different ideas for using them in cooking. I first considered a pork, pepper and pineapple stir fry but ultimately decided on this alternative.




Ingredients (Serves Two)

1/2lb diced shoulder of pork
2 small red bell peppers or one normal size
2 rings of pineapple (if canned, in own juice and not syrup)
1 pint of fresh chicken stock
4oz puff pastry
6 small lettuce leaves
2 plum tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

1 beaten egg for glazing



Method

The first and most time consuming step is to cook the pork shoulder meat. The meat should firstly be browned in a large pot before the hot chicken stock is added and brought to a simmer. The pork should be simmered for around an hour and a half, to become beautifully tender. Note that the chicken stock may well need topped up with some hot water during the cooking time. Do not let the pork boil dry and remember that some liquid stock will be required in the pie.

When the pork is cooked, the pepper(s) and pineapple rings should be roughly chopped and stirred through the mix. The combination should then be added to a pie dish, as shown above, covered and left for at least half an hour to cool.



The puff pastry should be rolled evenly out on a floured surface to a size slightly larger than is required to top the pie. The cut-offs should then be used to line the edges of the dish before the main pastry is added to top the pie.

A couple of slits should be made in the top centre of the pie to allow steam to escape during cooking. The pie should then be glazed with the beaten egg and added to an oven preheated to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for thirty-five to forty minutes, or until the pastry is beautifully risen and golden.

The pie should be served with the lettuce and tomato and garnished with fresh basil leaves, as shown at the top of this post.

Who's Ready For The Beach???

Hi everyone, Here we go. I finally did it, I finished Gracie (well at least most of her, I still have some small bits in the bathroom). I couldn't wait to show you all. Lets start at the beginning, Gracie was inspired by Kerrie at Sea Cottage, she has a vintage camper she calls the Pearl. Seeing her adventures, and hearing about the wonderful times she had got me thinking. So I decided to go for it this summer. Mr. Swedish Room at first looked at me like I lost my mind, but I convinced him we could be in the great outdoors more often. Saying that cinched it. So we started looking for campers, or for those in the know BCOW (Beach Cottage On Wheels). It took so long, and seeing so many dirty, expensive, and bad layout campers, I thought this was never going to happen. Then we finally found my Gracie, don't get me wrong she needed a lot of work (a new ceiling for one thing). Well you can see for yourself........

I'm going to enjoy the great outdoors more, as long as its done my way.
You always need a layered bed, on those cold nights. I made the pillow in the front, the rest are Ikea and Target(I love both of these places). The nightstands were refaced. All the hardware was replaced. The lamps are also Ikea. I know you all remember the headboard from three post ago.
A wider shot. Yes, those are wood floors (actually laminate, but it still looks good).

The kitchen. This might get some use in the morning (I love my morning coffee), but not much cooking (I have to draw the line somewhere). Rug and trash can, Ikea.

Tray is Target, teapot is an antique I found (yes it's going camping with me), and mugs are Shabby Chic.

Where the eating action is going to happen, naaaaaaa just laptop work. Oh the slipcovered cushions are from Ikea (actually I tucked and fitted them, they don't really go). The lantern is Ikea also.

The refrigerator door was damaged so I took some embossed wallpaper and covered the inside panel then painted it (semi gloss so I can wipe it down).

I see a lot of reading going on here. Another slipcover from Ikea, so are the two white pillows and the rolled up throw. I made the other two pillows.

Don't disturb me, I'm in repose.

Curtains as room dividers are from Ikea. All the other curtains are from Target.

Some before shots......

Fixing the sofa.

Refacing the nightstands.

Oh No Ceiling Down!!!!

Just kidding Mr. Swedish Room taking down the bad ceiling, it only took $300.00 to get it back up. Great job Honey. ( I guess this is why he don't want to be in the blog)

I was cleaning lots of this.

Now that it's done. Watch Out World, Here I Come!!!! and with a white camper named Gracie, oh and Mr. Swedish Room and Zeus (our dog) can come, I guess.

Ok I'm doing things a little different this time. I'm posting this on three parties.

Cindy at Cottage Instincts, Make it for Monday

Kathleen At Faded Charm, White Wednesday

Debra at Common Ground, Vintage Inspiration Friday

Thanks for visiting.

See everyone next time........