The Pretty Reckless

Oh I am so loving this band!
There is a fixation forming around this song for some reason, quite "unexplainable"



Help me ! I cannot stop singing it!

What's wrong with Blogger these days?

:(((
Guys, I feel like luck is running out on me. I am trying to post a recipe for two days! I could barely post this after 5 round trials, but at least I can tell you that I haven't forgotten you! It is just quite difficult at this time with these technical issues to post anything longer then 5 roads :((
I'll be back, you won't get rid of me that easy >:)

SSB : Homemade Mayonnaise

I don't know how many of you actually still do the mayo "inhouse" but it is worth it, believe me. Also, quite simple and uncomplicated.
The only mayo I bought was a Hellman's one, quite good actually, but still doesn't beat the REAL one ;)

Where to start, where to start...

Prepare the following:

1 Egg yolk - raw
1 Egg yolk - boiled - if you want a smaller quantity
1 tablespoon of mustard - any kind U like, I personally like the Dijon one ;)
oil - sunflower oil, olive oil, etc, whatever you prefer, but for the sake of a smoother taste choose one that doesn't have a very powerful taste on its own

optional:
lemon zest

Let's get to it, shall we?

Add one raw egg yolk and one spoon of mustard. If you need just a little bit of mayonnaise then add a boiled egg yolk as well, it will get thicker quicker with less oil ;) If you need more, a raw one will do it.





Mix together with a wooden spoon. Don't use metallic spoon or bowl when making mayonnaise. Keep it natural : porcelain, wood, glass, etc.



Mom always tells me to mix it always in one direction else the mayo will be spoiled... I don't know if that is true, never tried it :P

Add a bit of oil to the egg and mustard mixture. About a spoon or two at a time. Then mix. When its incorporated, put another spoon, and another spoon of oil.... and another, until you're bored :))) kidding! Add oil until it becomes hard enough that when you raise the spoon from the bowl, the mayo that is on the spoon, will not drop back in the bowl. It will look a bit elastic. Then you can stop.







You will see that even if you start up with barely something at the bottom of your bowl, by the 5th spoon of oil, you will have your bowl half full. IT GROOOWWWSSS! :))

Another tip, if by mistake you put in more then a bit of oil, don't panic, just start mixing it fast, with wider spins, you will see that it incorporates fast, no reason for panicking ;) I do not recommend you though to do this at your first attempt, you might not have enough practice yet, but if happens, just mix fast. Go, go, go!

Season with salt and pepper, just a bit. Add the lemon zest if you think that the mayo is way to ...oily. Some like it, some not, so test it how you like it. I personally like it plain, no lemon for me plsss :)

Now, you have your home made, all natural mayonnaise. Enjoy however you like it :)

SSB: Baked Potatoes - Jamie Oliver style

yes, I know, I am a traitor. I said I'll come back with a recipe and I didn't. Mea culpa!
BUT to recuperate, today I will post two recipes :D

So, first I choose a simple yet very tasty recipe which can be done regardless of season: Baked Potatoes.
Even if this is a widely popular recipe, everyone has a different way to do it.
I usually just bake a potato in tinfoil with some butter. Before you put this in the oven or on the barbecue don't forget to make some wholes in the potato with a fork, the butter will go in deeper in it and taste better even in the centre of the it, no just on the surface.
Jamie's version is even better, because it gets the butter and the herbs taste into the potato evenly.
I found the recipe over here, on his site and I had to try ;)

So for two persons U'll need:

2 bigger potatoes (or 4 if you have smaller ones)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
pepper and salt
thyme (or other herbs that you prefer)
optional: bacon or ham (whatever you prefer)

Chop up the garlic and slice the potato into 1 cm slices (not too thin though).


Spread the slices out on the tinfoil and put a bit of butter, garlic and herbs on each slice. Also, a bit of salt, pepper and the bacon if you choose to use some ;)




Now, reassemble the potato (I feel like a kid who disassembled the toy just to see what's in it :)))


Wrap up the tinfoil around the potato.


Pun in the oven at a medium heat for 30-45 minutes or onto the barbecue and enjoy when it's done ;)




Enjoy!

SSB: Lunch Boxes And A Pretty Red Pan

Remember that I was talking a while back about lunch boxes and that I NEED to buy a cute one?
Well (and this is interesting) I bought a Chinese made lunch box in a Japanese goods store :)))
It's quite cute. I bought one for me and one for my BF. I guess I don't need to explain which is who's ;)

So, the yellow (actually it is a light green-yellow combination, but in the picture it is quite yellow) one is MINE and MINE alone :D and the blue one is my BF's. We clarified that he wouldn't of liked the pink or the red version or the yellow/green one so he was ok with the blue one ;)






As you can see it is a typical lunch box, nothing unusual about it, but I still find them very cute :)
If you are out of ideas on what to put in your lunch box here are some good ideas from a very talented cook (in my humble opinion). Her name is Meeta and she runs the site "What's for lunch, Honey?". Step by to visit her.

Also, as I went out shopping (actually for food, but I cant help it if other stores got in the way as well)I also bought myself a new frying pan.
When I was little I could not understand how my mom can be happy for receiving anything that she would use in the kitchen. It was beyond my understanding! I always thought that she should kick my dad's behind for not buying her a perfume or a nice outfit or anything else more ... prettifying.
Well, now I start to get her. I cannot tell you how happy I was when I found this ceramic covered red pan. It's extra nice and it's supposed to he healthier than the usual non-stick pans.



I fell in love with it at first site :)
As I was restless I already tried it and it is different in the most positive way possible.

Enjoy your weekend my darlings! I'll be back tomorrow with some recipes ;)

Emma Stone

I always had a soft spot for redheads,but Emma is just gorgeous. When I saw one of her pictures I was thinking "where did I see her??? Her face is so familiar". A deeper research was needed, so I asked the help of the great IMDB for help. Looking at her movies I realised I saw her in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, she was the 'Past girlfriend', although not as pretty as in reality :)


from


from




from


from

Enjoy your weekend!

In the mood for Chris Isaak

Oh God, how young I was when he was still singing his famous "Wicked Game" ?!
Probably barely a couple of years old, but his songs are ageless, just listen and let yourself carried away to a word of romance ....












Enjoy!

Boudoir

Pretty upset folks... Why?
Well, while I wrote about this a long time ago, it still bugs me. People nowadays mistake boudoir with sexy half naked girl images, that should not be the case.
Boudoir is a lady's private space, dressing room and NOT sex. Yes, she might have some in her private room, but that is not the point here.
Boudoir photography invaded the net(I still don't really understand how some soon-to-be-brides are comfortable with their sexy images invading the net, but that is their issue) and everyone forgot from where the word comes from.
I could luckily find one lady who still seems to appreciate the real value of a boudoir and I quote her below:

Every woman should have a boudoir. While the definition of a boudoir is a private room or dressing room, I like to think a boudoir could be a corner of your bedroom where you can go to pretty yourself up, powder your nose, spritz on some perfume...
There is a certain feeling that the word "boudoir" evokes. I always imagine lace, chiffons, pearls, delicate rosettes, tiny trinkets that glitter and sparkle in the sunlight.

Agree, totally so :)
How refreshing to know that some people actually do their homework.
While others ask stupid questions - like I got one - : "are you posting naked women pictures?" This came from someone who obviously has no idea of the real world. I got this question from a "he", so we can forgive him his ignorance on this little slip :P

Now, to the pleasant side of the subject, I love these bedrooms, indeed very boudoirish ;)



From here

Oh and this one is like a princess room from the fairytale in which she is locked up in the tower waiting for her prince to rescue her :)

From here

Have a nice weekend my dears!

SSB: Nigella Lawson

I'm more of a Jamie Oliver fan, but I have heard a few things about Nigella. Although curious, I never reserved the time to look her work up, until I accidentally stumbled upon her thoughts on cooking on www.channel4.com.
I must admit that I recognise myself in these thoughts.

"I am not a chef. I am not even a trained or professional cook. My qualification is as an eater."

(How To Eat)

"Cooking is not about just joining the dots, following one recipe slavishly and then moving on to the next. It's about developing an understanding of food, a sense of assurance in the kitchen, about the simple desire to make yourself something to eat. And in cooking, as in writing, you must please yourself to please others. Strangely it can take enormous confidence to trust your own palate, follow your own instincts. Without habit, which itself is just trial and error, this can be harder than following the most elaborate of recipes. But it's what works, what's important."

(How To Eat)

"I'm not interested in barking instructions: this isn?t meant to be a monologue. As I've said before, I want to be there in the kitchen with you; my words are merely my side of the conversation I imagine we might have."

( Nigella Bites)

Oh, that is exactly the way I feel about cooking!

Not to mention she is hot!




I think I will search up one of her books to see what kind of recipes she recommends.

Enjoy your weekend!

Who loves fonts?

In the attempt of creating new signature for blog posts, I stumbled upon this font collection. UUUUU, shinies :D

I particularly like these ones:

Catharsis Espresso

Deadly Breakfast

Kelly Ann Gothic

Herbert
And a few more, but for now, I will be using these ones ;)


Check out the whole Cool Text site, nice little shinies all around ;)

Tibetan Rites

Haha! It's funny how sometimes life links moments of life together..
For example, last time I wrote you about Tibetan Rites and then I had a doctors appointment as my back hurts sometimes (I do spend a loooot of time in front of the computer) to recommend me an exercise plan for back pains. What do you think? He talked to me about.... ???... Tibetan Rites, that's right. How is that for coincidence?!
So now, want it or not, I will try them :P
Autumn is here, so I am feeling a little lazy and comfy and melancholic.

Have a very nice Friday!