little bits from me: 2012

Wednesday, 15 August 2012

bittersweet enmi: New patches!

bittersweet enmi: New patches!: There are even more to come, so there is plenty of reason to be all excited and jump up and down saying: "Yay! Emmy updated her shop again!...

Thursday, 5 July 2012

Morning Coffee

My Morning Coffee;

served in the beautiful mugs that my friends bought me when they came to visit!
Another warm yet cloudy day here in Berlin and after finishing the Roman Blinds I really need to tidy up! But first a little update on the flat decorating. I bought some plants for my balcony and have been reaping the benefits of fresh Basil and Rosemary definitely need to buy some other herbs. My balcony Tomatoes have not yet ripened but I am looking forwards to them and the radishes I planted have sprouted loads so hopefully they will be ready soon too. I also planted cress which as usual has grown in abundance so I really need to look up some recipes to use it in.

Last week I fixed a shower holder on the wall and bought a new shower head, it's awesome it has three functions one being shooting a really hard stream of water at you which is just amazing. Definitelt going to have adjust the shower cutain though as it doesnt cover the ends and water goes everywhere. Hmm just wondering if I should have closed the toilet lid in this picture *giggles* owell sorry I'm too lazy to retake it right now. Definitely would like to paint this room and really need to think about storage solutions.

I've created myself a nook in the hallway but it's far to messy right now to show off and needs quite a bit of work to get it productive but at lest I have my own space for my sewing machine :)

And while out and about I saw this in the shopping Mall in Mitte, it's so sweet :) yeah I used the little door hee hee...

Right now to today's tasks of tidying grocery shopping and deciding on the next project!!

Stuffed Aubergine = Yummy!!

Stuffed Aubergine

So this has been waiting a few days to be posted as I was busy making the blinds but at the weekend I cooked with my friend Maggie and we made yummy stuffed aubergine. Very simple but delicious recipe.

Aubergine per person

Cherry Tomatoes

Garlic

salt

sugar

oil

spices (we used fish and Italian mixed spices plus some ginger and pepper)

Feta cheese

You could add anything to this list really although this made enough stuffing to fill the Aubergine but perhaps mushrooms would be a nice addition.

Cut the Aubergine lengthwise near to one side so you have a lid and the rest will hold the stuffing. Scoop out the inners and cube.

Fry on low heat the Tomatoes in some oil with salt and sugar. (Tip: cut a cross in the tomatoes). Add the Aubergine cubes and spices. Fry until the flavours are mixed and the Aubergine is slightly browned.

Now put the mix back into the Aubergine with cubes of feta cheese and bake in the oven at about 150 degrees for minium 20mins a bit longer is also good.

This was so yummy I made it twice this week, serving it with Cous Cous.

And here's a few other dishes I have had this week.

Home made Roman Blinds

Home Made Roman Blind!

So the last three days this has been my project, my first ever blind making project and my first sewing project in a long long time made on my new Singer Sewing machine recently given to me by my boyfriend's family.

I checked quite a few sites on how to make a roman blind and in the end mainly followed these instructions http://www.housetohome.co.uk/articles/How_to_make_a_patterned_Roman_blind_265048.html

I made black bands down the sides of my material because it was not wide enough but I like the frame it gives. The material which you can see under has a pretty small motif which now I feel perhaps doesn't work as well but it was the best on the market that day and I felt it had a William Morris esq feel.

The first day I cut and pressed all the material after washing it. I started sewing the second day, I was a bit nervous as I hadn't used a machine for a long time and perhaps it would have been better to start with something smaller, but I like to jump in at the deep end and having made these I can honestly say it isn't too nerve racking or difficult, just keep concentrating!! and like everyone says measure measure measure, then pin pin pin, then press press press, then sew sew sew, then press again :)

I'm pretty happy with the outcome, still adjusting to it. As a working blind I'm very happy and I think for a first time project the handman ship is ok, I did run into some problems here and there. Fitting the batten was actually pretty hard as our walls are all plaster and not so easy to drill and plug.

Now on to the next projects which include this wall shelf unit and this free standing unit that I found on the street which I am hoping with a bit of ingenuity and a lick of paint work out as well.

Friday, 29 June 2012

Hmmm so after to waking up to another glass of the smoothie I made yesterday I decided to post ta couple of photos of a few other things I have cooked/ baked. Many thanks to my Moulinex Masterchef 650 Duotronic food processor that I was given by my Grandparents when I first went to University. I started using it much more when I took it over to Berlin but I'm yet to use a lot of the features :) Having a food processor is a really great thing it makes so many things quicker and with less mess!

And now on to food pictures :)

Thursday, 28 June 2012

So I may not have cooked my dinner today (lazy night- frozen pizza and chips) but I did make a really yummy smoothie to go with it. And the suns out this evening here in Berlin - Hurrah!

Banana Pineapple Basil Smoothie

3 Banana's chopped
1 cup cut up pinapple (into chunks)
1 cup yogurt
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
4 Basil leaves ripped up
3 ice cubes

Whizz it all up in a food processor and serve :) This made for me about 3oz/ 1 1/2 pints/ 3/4 litre.

Basil is really good for you and I'm growing a lot of it right now on my balcony, it also adds a really nice flavour to the smoothie as sometimes just banana can be a bit bland, the pineapple gives a refreshing zesty taste.

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Mango Lassi

I stumbled across a great recipe for Mango Lassi while having some friends over for dinner who had helped us to move our "stuff" from the storage room to our new flat. It was half inspired by recipes I had found online and dictated by how much ingredients I had around. However with Mangos being €2 for a crate (aprox. 6-8) its definitely going to be on the menu for the next few weeks.

3 cups pulped mango flesh (you could use tinned mango also, but i just cut three up and put them in the food processor)
500g yogurt (it was a whole container and all in :) )
1/2 cup coconut milk
8 table spoons sugar (and later add to taste, I used regular fine sugar but at the end it may be nice to add a richer sugar for example a demerara sugar)
half a lime squeezed in

After mixing this lot in my food processor, I did a final mix before serving with ice cubes and a little more sugar. It may be nice at this point to add something else to give it another flavour, I was thinking mint or coriander but still to try out these ideas.

Serve!!

I really like it because its taste is not over powering, it is frothy and refreshing. I used low fat yogurt so I can pretend its not too fattening. We ate it with mango spiced chicken and lime coriander rice.

Sunday, 8 April 2012

cupcake patterns

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-cupcake

http://sandra-cherryheart.blogspot.com/2009/07/yummy-scrummy-cupcakes_27.html

icing

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Beautiful colourful chrochet from Attic 24

I love the choice of colours and creative stitches Lucy at Attic24 has created. I want to learn these stitches so I can make a colourful kindle cover!