SSB: A step-by-step guide to wasting less food

I recently found this article on Yahoo.
I agree with it, couldn't of written it any better myself (or maybe yes :D).
Anyway, it is worth reading if you're like me and really feel miserable when food gets thrown out :(
I cannot not think of all the people in the world who keep on starving while I am throwing away food. Bad, bad, bad!

P.S.: If you work in finance you know why I am so absent lately :( no worries, I will be back soon with a whole bunch of stuff to show and tell ;)

Stay real!

Mumford And Sons - I Gave You All

I haven't forgotten you guys, just busy, busy, busy ;)

Beautiful Love Story

I rarely cry, but this story made me cry... on the other hand it is nice to know that true love still exists.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Happy weekend!

I want to throw my cell phone away and just be me with myself... that's it, no one and nothing else to disturb...


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Enjoy YOUR weekend my darlings!

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 :)


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Enjoy your weekend!