Scrumptious Spelt Apple Cake with Apricot Jam Glaze

I'd like to thank Jeffrey Nakamura for always finding some time to give me advice on how to take pictures etc. My pictures will never be as nice as yours...but I'm trying...:)

Each single time some friends had to drop by for a coffee, and each single time we were invited somewhere for either a lunch, coffee, or dinner, my brain started working full speed in order to figure out what to prepare and offer to my guests or bring to our friends' place, that everyone would have enjoyed. After racking my brain for many years, and after offering many different kinds of cakes and desserts, I got to the conclusion that if there's one thing almost everyone likes is any kind of dessert/cake made with apples. The recipe I'm sharing today is the one I make the most – along with the French Apple Pie – and each time I served it, it didn't take long for my guests to leave their plates empty and ask for more. :)

As in many of my other recipes, I use ingredients like spelt flour, brown sugar, and goat milk, but you feel free to use “normal” ingredients – as a friend of mine calls them – and you are sure that the result will be as good as mine.

If you don't have any particular intolerance or allergy, you can use the following ingredients in the same amount suggested in the recipe:

All-purpose flour instead of spelt flour;

Refined sugar instead of brown sugar;

Cow milk or any kind of milk ˗ water works, too ˗ instead of goat milk.

INGREDIENTS:

200 g (1 ½ cup) spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)

½ tsp (3 g) baking soda (or 2 teaspoons baking powder)

80 g (1/3 cup) low-fat butter with 50% raps oil

100 g (½ cup) brown sugar

½ tsp pure vanilla powder (or pure vanilla extract)

½ tsp natural pure lemon flavor

A pinch of salt

3 eggs

1 or 2 Tbsp goat milk (or cow milk)

3 apples, peeled and quartered

For the glaze:

2 Tbsp apricot jam

1 Tbsp water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheated oven: 180ºC/350ºF

Baking time: about 45 Minutes

In a medium bowl, mix the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until well mixed and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing at least 1 minute each time you add an egg. Then, stir in the vanilla powder, the lemon extract, and a pinch of salt, and keep on mixing for another minute.

Combine the flour with the baking soda and fold half of this mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix gently and then add the remaining flour combined with the baking soda. Pour the milk into the batter and mix well for 2 or 3 minutes.

Butter and flour a round cake springform pan – mine is Ø 24 cm (about 10”), but also a bigger one will work just as fine – and pour the dough into it.

Wash, peel, and quarter the apples. Cut slits lengthwise in the external side of the apple quarters, but don't cut all the way through. Place the apple quarters with the sliced side up on the batter following the round shape of the cake pan and in the middle, too.

Place the cake pan in the preheated oven and bake about 45 minutes and remove it from the oven when a toothpick comes out clean. Then, in a small saucepan, mix the apricot jam and water over medium heat. Stir constantly until the jam and water form a nice syrup. Remove from heat and brush the top of the cake with the syrup.

Delicious Spelt Pancakes

In the latest Faith No More album, Mike Patton sings “Sunny side up, sunny side up, such a lovely way to start the day”...and on Sunday morning I sing “ Flip the brown side of the pancake up, flip the brown side of the pancake up, such a lovely day to start the day”. :) I'm sure Mike Patton will never read this post, so I'll never get sued for changing his lyrics in such a terrible way. :D :D :D

Anyway, yes, this is normally the way I start my Sunday morning: cooking pancakes. :)

My recipe is surely very similar to many other pancake recipes and also very easy to make. Due to my husband's intolerance I use spelt flour and goat milk, but feel free to use all-purpose flour and cow milk (or any other kind of milk) in the same amount suggested in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS FOR ABOUT 10 (10 cm/4”) PANCAKES :

1 egg

1 cup (150 g) spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 Tbsp (16 g) brown sugar

A pinch of salt

¾ goat milk (160 g) (or another kind of milk)

½ tsp (3 g) baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in all the remaining ingredients and mix just until flour is moistened. Don't overmix the batter or you'll end up having chewy pancakes instead of soft ones. According to the type of flour you use and the size of the egg, you might need to adjust your batter either in flour (if too liquidy) or in milk (if too thick).

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Brush it with some butter or vegetable oil and pour some batter onto the pan.

After more or less 2 or 3 minutes some bubbles will start forming on top and this means it's time to flip your pancake over. Cook the other side until golden brown.

Enjoy your pancakes and have a lovely day! :)

Spelt Coconut Waffles

Good to enjoy with some apricot jam or maple syrup. Excellent with chocolate or vanilla ice cream.

In the original recipe taken from the cookbook "Waffeln, Crêpes und Pfannkuchen", published by NGV (a cookbook I suggest you to buy if you speak German. The cookbook has been translated in Italian, too, and the name is "Waffle, Crêpes e Pancakes" editore Giunti Demetra), they suggest to use 250 ml coconut milk, 125 g sugar, and 2 eggs. Since I'm not a big fan of eggs, I prefer to increase the coconut milk to 300 ml, use 1 egg, and add some water or milk if the dough appears to be too thick. Please, decide what recipe you prefer to follow according to your taste. :)

INGREDIENTS:

250 g spelt flour (or wheat flour)

300 ml coconut milk

1 large egg

100 g brown sugar (or normal sugar)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

With an electric mixer mix the flour, coconut milk, egg, and brown sugar in a bowl until all the ingredients are well combined. Add the lemon juice, and 1 or 2 tablespoons water (or more) if you see that the dough is too thick, and mix well for 10 minutes.

I normally don't use any cooking spray, but you can decide to use it or not according to your waffle maker or your cooking habits. In case you are going to use some cooking spray, spray the preheated waffle iron, then pour the dough onto it and cook until golden brown. :)

Bloglovin'...

From today this blog, along with another blog of mine, will be listed on Bloglovin' :) Maybe, you'd like to follow me there. :)

www.blogloving.com/evebluefoot

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The Secret Lives Of Princesses - Illustrated Childrens' Book

             English Title: The Secret Lives of Princesses

Author: Philippe Lechermeier

Illustration: Rébecca Dautremer 

Hardcover: 92 Pages

  Published in English by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Have you ever heard of Princess Babbling-Brooke and her long speeches about everything and nothing? Or have you ever seen Princess Tanga-la perform one of her crazy dances? And what about the Faceless Princess who no one can see or recognize? Or did you know that the Princess of the Pea has a cousin called Princess Molly Coddle? Well, if this is the first time you've heard of them, it is definitely about time you discovered a completely new world full of quite unusual princesses.

When I first took this book in my hands, I was mainly interested in the beautiful illustrations and had no idea of what the book talked about, but it didn't take me long to start laughing like crazy while reading the short stories or descriptions of these odd princesses.

I was surely misled by the English translation of the title, which I don't find appropriate at all. As the original French title says, this book is about unknown or forgotten Princesses and it has little or nothing to do with the secret lives of princesses, but I'll never understand which criteria translators follow to translate books' titles. :/

Anyway...here you'll find tips on how to grow or shush a princess, what really happened to the Princess of the Pea, and by taking the test situated at the end of the book, you'll have the chance to find out what kind of Princess you are.

Of course, I took the test and I was impressed by the answer! According to the test, I'm a whimsical Princess and like Princess of the Disorient I'm a bit scatterbrained and everyone thinks I'm very funny. I mistake up for down, mix up salt and pepper, and confuse north with south. The slightest nonsense makes me laugh, and like Princess Babbling Brooke, I tell lots of silly stories..….This is 100% me. :)

Probably, the book is not very suitable for small kids whose sense of humor still has to “grow”, and I'm saying that because the 5-year-old daughter of a friend doesn't like this book at all and she doesn't even like the illustrations, which, on the contrary, I found incredibly nice.

So...absolutely suggested both for the hilarious stories and the wonderful illustrations.

Campaign to raise money - Replacement hearing aid for Skillet

I'm trying to help a friend to raise some money that will allow him to buy new hearing aids. I didn't start the campaign, another friend did it, and you can find his message here below. Please, click here if you'd like to open the page with the campaign and make a donation. Every single dollar counts. Thank you very much for your support.

Campaign created by: Thomas Iorizzo

I am creating a campaign to raise money for my friend Skillet. Yesterday his dog managed to get ahold of one of his hearing aids and chewed it. Its not repairable. He got both hearing aids 2 years ago with a disability grant, but he's not eligable for another one for almost 2 more years. The total cost of ONE replacement with the fitting fees is almost $5000. He has one functional one, but it effects his balance and ability to do most normal things like walk and talk to his family. He's being treated for Chronic Heart disease and has had a few heart attacks. So he has no ability to replace the aid himself. He hates asking for help, so as his friend, i'm doing this for him. The hearing aid is an Audible Anthem XL with starkey molded ear buds and a 70 gain amplifier. If this wasn't a neccesity, I wouldnt be asking to help him. Anything you can contibute will be very appreciated.

Spelt Cous Cous Salad

Would you like to know how to make the best spelt cous cous salad you've ever tasted? And would you like to know how to make it taste each time surprisingly different? Well, it is very simple: just open your fridge and dump everything you have in it into a bowl. :D Okay, maybe not really everything. Maybe, you might want to follow a kind of meaningful criteria and your culinary instinct, try to avoid mixing peaches with anchovies – even if it could be a nice experiment to try – so that you won't end up with something absolutely uneatable, but on the contrary, tasty and original. :) Trust me, this is fun, always gives good results, and you'll never get bored eating the same salad. :)

For this dish, I used ready-in-5-minutes spelt cous cous, but feel free to use whatever kind of cous cous you prefer. Wheat cous cous is fine, too, if you have that, or basmati rice, wild rice, whole grain spelt, quinoa etc...according to me, they are all good for cold salads. :)

As for the peas, I had some fresh ones left from the day before, but peas from the can, or frozen peas are also good. It really doesn't matter and it is not important that they are fresh harvested. It would be better, but not necessary. Actually, you know what? I think you'll laugh like crazy after reading my story, or maybe you'll just find it very sad. Anyway, when I was a kid I was so used to eating peas from the can, that when my grandmother gave me hers to eat – just harvested from the field and freshly cooked in a pan – I didn't like them at all because their taste was weird. It was too real. That is what I said, I still remember. It took me quite a long time to get used to the fresh ones and in a way I still prefer the canned ones because they remind me of my childhood. :)

Anyhow...use the peas you like and enjoy your cous cous salad. :)

INGREDIENTS for 3-4 people:

250 g spelt cous cous

40 g fresh rocket salad

100 g peas

100 g olives (green or black)

4 or 5 marinated (in oil) artichoke hearts

1 teaspoon dried Provençal herbs (a mix of rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, savory, bayleaf)

2 or 3 teaspoons olive oil (or as much as you want : ) )

salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the cous cous as directed on the box. Wash and mince the rocket salad. Chop the artichokes and olives into pieces, add the peas (if you use fresh or frozen peas, boil them for 8-10 minutes before adding them to the salad), and pour everything in the cous cous. Add the herbs, and add some salt and pepper to taste. Since the artichokes are already a bit oily, taste your salad before adding some extra oil. You might not need it according to how much oil you poured when you added the artichokes into your mixture. Mix well and enjoy. :)

Ben & Jerry's French Vanilla Ice Cream

Absolutely my favorite ice cream! It's so creamy, tasty, and delicious that I could eat it every day. I took this recipe from the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream andDessert Book, a book I really suggest to buy. Just a couple of days ago I wrote a post on that book, and if you'd like to check it out you can simply click on the name of the book and my post will open. :)

Anyway, going back to the recipe of this ice cream. The recipe is very very easy to make and the result. extraordinary. Just think that even if I substitute almost all the ingredients with the ones my husband can have, the taste and texture of the ice cream still remain perfect.

Here, you'll find the way I make it and the ingredients I use for the all the lactose-intolerant fellows, but also the original recipe, so that all of you who don't have lactose intolerance can simply follow the original one and enjoy their Ben & Jerry's ice cream, too.

Most of the times, I use low-fat goat milk, since my husband can tolerate that, so if you like and tolerate goat milk, you might want to use that, too, and don't worry, its taste won't ruin the final product. No one will taste the goat milk once all the ingredients have been mixed and the ice cream, ready.

I'm almost sure you'll love it and decide to get the book right away, in order to try all the other incredible recipes written on Ben & Jerry's book. :)

LACTOSE-FREE RECIPE

1 cup (200 g) low-fat lactose-free milk or goat milk

2 cups (400g) lactose-free whipping cream 30% fat

2 eggs

¾ (150g) brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

ORIGINAL RECIPE

1 cup (200g) milk

2 cups (400g) heavy or whipping cream

2 eggs

¾ (150g) sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until light and fluffy (1 to 2 minutes). A little at a time, whisk sugar and continue whisking until completely blended (about a minute or a bit more). Pour in the milk, whipping cream, and vanilla extract, and whisk to blend.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacture's instructions.

It makes 1 quart (more or less 1 kg).

A little advice: if you blend all the ingredients for a bit longer (3 or 4 minutes) the ice cream gets hard faster. I don't know if this is just my impression or if it is really like that, but this is what I do. :)

One last thing: if you are looking for a very good brand of vanilla extract I really suggest you either the Pure Vanilla Extract by Spice Islands, which by the way doesn't contain any sugar, or Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract by Nielsen-Massey (the organic one doesn't contain any sugar, but the normal one unfortunately does).

And if you'd like to enjoy your ice cream while looking at a funny running fluffy sheep, you might want to look for her on my Etsy store. :) I love to paint funny little creatures and use them to bring some extra joy to my table. :) 

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Recipe Book

Title: Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.

Authors: Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield with Nancy J.Stevens

Design & Illustration: Lyn Severance 
Paperback: 128 Pages

Publisher: Workman Publishing New York (January 5, 1987)

A book that everyone should have! It doesn't matter if you are an ice cream lover or not, because you'll surely become one after tasting the homemade ice cream prepared following the recipes of this book.

I always loved Ben & Jerry's ice cream, but owing to my food intolerance I had either to avoid eating it or, in case I couldn't resist giving in to temptation, to deal with a hug stomachache. But now, thanks to this wonderful purchase (I bought it used for $0,01) I can finally enjoy this superb ice cream and use the ingredients I'm not intolerant to without spoiling the taste of it. This is a huge pro of this book, I can use low-fat goat milk, brown sugar, lactose-free whipping cream, and the result is still incredibly good, so good that all my friends never noticed that I used these so-called “alternative” ingredients to prepare it.

The book itself is very well done, the recipes are clear and easy to follow, the layout nice, and the pages are enriched with funny drawings. There's a total of 90 recipes including tasty sundaes, refreshing sorbets, awesome sauces, and incredibly creamy ice-cream concoctions. There's also a chapter in the book dedicated to “The Bakery” where one can find great recipes on how to make giant chocolate chip cookies, superfudge brownies etc...

Until now, I've tried the French Vanilla, Chocolate, Light Chocolate & Mint, Chocolate & Cinnamon, Light Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Coffee, Peanut Butter & Banana, and Honey Apple Raisin Walnut ice cream, and they were all heavenly good!!! Btw, I'm Italian, therefore I know what I'm talking about and how good ice cream should taste like and this is one of the best recipe books for homemade ice cream.

How to make your fruit salad more scrumptious by adding 4 simple ingredients

You might not believe this, but in the past few years I've been asked so many times what I “spike” my fruit salad with in order to make it so good and tasty, that I thought of sharing the answer on my blog because maybe someone out there might be interested in knowing my “secrets,” too.

Actually, I've never thought my fruit salad could have raised so much curiosity and I was happily surprised by all the interest shown by my friends/guests.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I'll tell you right away that there's nothing SOOOO special about my fruit salad. I mean, I don't use any particular ingredients that come from Mars (even if this would be awesome...maybe dangerous, but awesome) or from some far exotic island...I simply use Moon dust, unicorn tears, and some drops of dew collected from a four-leaved clover at 5 in the morning during the summer solstice . :D

Ok, ok...let's get back to reality. :) What I simply add to a normal bowl of mixed fruit is some cinnamon, some pecans or walnuts, some raisins, and the juice of ½ lemon. :)

To make the fruit salad you see in the picture I used the following ingredients:

2 Peaches

2 Kiwis

1 Apple

1 Pear

1 Banana

2 teaspoons cinnamon

some pecans

some raisins

juice of ½ lemon

If you are asking yourself if I made a mistake and I forgot to add sugar in the list of ingredients, I can tell you that there's no mistake. :) The acidity of the lemon increases the sweetness of the fruit; therefore, there's no need to add sugar and extra calories to something which is already good and tasty as it is. :) I know many people who add 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar to their fruit salad, and you are free to do so if you have a sweet tooth and prefer your fruit salad to be more sugary. :)

Oh, just one last thing: before adding any raisins, make sure your guests like them, otherwise you'll be very disappointed like it happened to me when I served some fruit salad to my little cousin. She refused even to try a small bite because she spotted a few raisins and removing them from her bowl didn't help to change her mind. :(

So, take advantage of this season, indulge in mixing all fruit you can put your hands on, and enjoy your scrumptious fruit salad. :)

Spelt Strawberry Shortcake with Coconut Whipped Cream

Strawberries, strawberries, sweet juicy strawberries!

This is definitely the perfect season to enjoy this delicious fruit. Don't you think so?

Today's recipe is a classic with a little touch of originality given by the coconut whipped cream. Good for those who don't have any problems with lactose and would like to try a new combination, and a happy suggestion for those who are lactose intolerant like my husband.

In the list of ingredients, you'll see I used low-fat goat butter and low-fat goat milk, but if you don't like goat dairy products or if you are also intolerant to that, you might think of substituting the got milk with low-fat lactose-free milk or vegetable milk, and the goat butter with any kind of low-fat vegetable products...but please, please, please, don't use vegetable products that contain palm oil...try to think of our orangutan friends and avoid using palm oil...please. :)

If you are not lactose intolerant, simply use low-fat cow butter and skimmed cow milk. :)

INGREDIENTS:

400 g (4 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced in 4 parts

250 g (2 cups) spelt flour or all-purpose flour

100 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

75 g (1/3 cup) cold low-fat goat butter

90 g (170ml or 2/3 cup) skimmed goat milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ lemon, juice

A package of coconut whipping cream ( 200ml/ 1cup)

BAKING DIRECTIONS:

Preheated oven: 350ºF/180ºC

Baking time: 30 Minutes

Cut each strawberry in 4 pieces, squeeze the lemon, add the juice to the strawberries, and set aside.

Some people prefer to add some sugar to the strawberries so that they get more sugary and juicy. I find strawberries good as they are, but choose what appeals to your taste the most.

If you'd like to add sugar, then add 100g (½ cup) to the strawberries and let them stand for at least 1 hour, so that some juice will form and you can wet your shortcake with it.

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in tiny little pieces using a fork or a pastry blender. Keep on blending until the butter combined with the other ingredients will look like coarse crumbs. Add the egg and milk and stir just until all the ingredients are mixed.

Transfer the quite thick batter into a buttered and floured 24 Ø cm/9-inch cake pan and spread it evenly.

Bake ca.30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Place the cake on a rack and let cool before slicing it in 8 parts. Cut the slices in half, pour some strawberry juice on the cake (if you added some sugar to the strawberries and some juice formed), fill the slices with strawberries and whipped cream, and top the filling with the other half of the slices.

If you'd also like to serve your shortcake on a dish decorated with some cute ducks and their footprints, why don't you take a look at my store on Etsy...:)

Grilled Zucchini and Bell Pepper with Feta Cheese

A Touch of Greece...is the way I like to call it.

This is definitely one of my favorite recipes and I have to thank the Flotte Karotte Team who delivered it to me with the weekly crate full of organic food.

Every time I make it, the intense and strong aroma of the thyme and rosemary mixed with the Feta cheese create such an incredible taste that I almost have the feeling of being in Greece. I love Greek cuisine and I could prepare this dish over and over again without getting tired of it. My husband likes it, too, and he's not even a big Feta cheese fan, but I have to admit that the herbs play a really huge role here. :)

Originally, the recipe says to slice the vegetables and roast them in a pan with some oil. I prefer to grill them and add some olive oil before putting the casserole in the oven. This way, I have the filling the vegetables remain more crunchy and the taste is more distinct. I know, the preparation can take longer if you grill the vegetables instead of just dumping them in the pan, but I think you'll taste the difference. :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 large zucchini

2 large red bell peppers

200 g low-fat Feta cheese (more or less a package)

1 Tsp rosemary, fresh or dried

1 Tsp dried thyme leaves

Black pepper

Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheated oven: 400ºF/200ºC

Baking time: 20 Minutes

For 3-4 people if used as side dish, for 2 people if served as main dish.

Cut the zucchini and bell peppers in slices not too thin. Grill them on a grill pan for a couple of minutes, but don't over grill, they still have to remain quite crisp. Crumble the Feta cheese at set aside.

Then, cover the whole bottom of a casserole with some slices of zucchini, spread some Feta cheese all over the zucchini, and sprinkle everything with some rosemary and thyme. I'm normally very generous with rosemary and thyme and I double their doses because I really like their taste. But many people don't like thyme that much, so I suggest you to stick to the basic instructions and change the doses after the first try if you think you can dare to use more spices. :)

After this, lay some slices of bell pepper all over the ingredients you previously put on the casserole, then some Feta cheese, sprinkle some rosemary and some thyme all over, and go on like that with another layer of zucchini, Feta cheese, and bell pepper until you finish all your ingredients. You should end with Feta cheese on top. Sprinkle the top with some rosemary and thyme, grind some fresh black pepper, and add some olive oil.

Put the casserole in the preheated oven and bake for ca. 20 minutes.

Usually, I don't add any salt since the Feta cheese is pretty salty itself. I suggest you NOT to add any salt during the preparation. You might add it later if you think it lacks salt.

Enjoy your Greek zucchini and bell pepper . :)

Omelet with Bear's Garlic Brie Cheese

Oh boy! What was I thinking this morning when I decided to clean every single inch of the house?!?!?! Probably, I stayed too long in the sun yesterday! :(

Just when my stomach started begging for food I realized I had been cleaning for almost 5 hours!!! All of the sudden, I had the sensation of having boiled spaghetti instead of two arms and the energy of a worm that had just won a marathon. At this point, you can imagine that my last thought was cooking, but I was very hungry and I didn't feel like having some yogurt or fruit. So, I came up with this idea and I hope it can help you, too, if in an insane future you'll ever find yourself in the same physical condition. :)

I think omelet is always a good and easy alternative suitable for any moment of the day, perfect for those moments in which one doesn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen and has squishy spaghetti instead of two arms. :)

In this recipe, I used Bear's garlic Brie because it was the only cheese I had, but please feel free to use any kind of cheese you fancy for your omelet and combine it with the salad or fruit you prefer. This is just what I came up with according to the food I had in my fridge. :)

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs (2 eggs for each Omelet)

100 g Bear's garlic Brie cheese (sliced)

200 g strawberries

A small honeydew

Some salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Beat two eggs in a bowl until fluffy and then add some salt and pepper to taste. Pour the eggs in a nonstick skillet pan, or if you use a normal skillet pan remember to oil its bottom with some olive oil (just a bit...I normally pour some drops of oil and then I spread it all over with a rubber spatula) before pouring the eggs into it.

Spread the eggs evenly all over the bottom of the pan and cook until the bottom of the omelet turns lightly brown. Put some slices of Brie on one half of the omelet, run the spatula all around the omelet in order to detach it well from the pan and then fold it in half. Wait a few seconds and remove it from the pan when the cheese starts melting.

Cut the honeydew and strawberries into pieces, serve them with the omelet, and enjoy!!! :)

How to make stamps at home

Let's have fun making some personalized and probably unique stamps. This is a very simple way to make stamps at home that allows everyone to create his/her own stamps without using super duper materials and get a first approach to the whole process of making stamps.

Just some months ago I attended a course on how to make comic books and during the course the teacher also showed us how she makes her own stamps using a particular rubber sheet and some special tools suitable to cut rubber very easily. I found it very interesting, but at the same time, a bit complicated. First of all, I looked for that kind of rubber sheet everywhere without good results. I also wrote the teacher of the course I attended asking her the name of that material and where I could find it, but I never received an answer. :/

So, I thought of trying with some materials I had at home and the result wasn't bad...not professional, not extraordinary, but nice. :)

This is what you need:

• Crazy glue
• An eraser (old or new, it doesn't matter, but make sure its surface is flat)
• I sharp cutter
• A pencil or pen
• Any mini paper craft punch/stencils (not extremely necessary since you might even want to draw the subject yourself)
• A wooden or plastic cube (this is also optional as long as the eraser is pretty thick)

I used a footprint-shaped paper craft punch just because I didn't like the foot I drew and I wanted to be more precise, but, as I previously mentioned, it is not necessary...you can simply draw it without using a “guide”. :)

Draw the subject you'd like to transform into a stamp on the surface of the eraser and cut the whole external perimeter of your subject.

After this, cut all the extra rubber around your figure away. At this point, if you have a drawing that doesn't need to be cut inside, too, ( I suggest you start with something easy that needs to be cut only on the outer area) you are basically good to go. :)

If you have a plastic or wooden cube or whatever else on which you'd like to glue your self-made rubber stamp, you might need to remove some of the extra rubber which is below your drawing, and make the base of the stamp thinner - as shown in the last figure. Now, glue your stamp on the wooden cube and enjoy your new stamp.

In this figure, you can see that my layer is pretty thin, it's about 3mm, but feel free to leave a thicker layer.  

If you don't have a little surface on which to glue the rubber stamp, you can leave the eraser as it is , but remember to use a thick one, so that you can hold it quite well when you use it.

I hope you have fun making your own stamps and I also hope to find the rubber sheet I told you about pretty soon and come back with a more “professional” tutorial. In the meantime, I just wish you a good time in making as many stamps as you like. :)

Pear and Rice Nougat White Chocolate Muffins

Are you looking for delicious and soft muffins? This is the recipe for you! :)

Yesterday morning , I found a new brand of vegan chocolate and I as soon as I saw it I thought “White chocolate pear muffins! Finally, I can use my recipe!”

I kept this recipe in my notebook for so long that unfortunately I don't remember who gave it to me and I can't thank this person personally. :( I hope this nice lady will read my post, so that my thanks can be delivered through it.:)

Anyway, as you probably have already noticed, the original recipe lists white chocolate chips and not rice white chocolate, and you can absolutely feel free to use any kind of chocolate you want. I found the combination of rice white nougat chocolate and pear very nice, but, for example, it tasted too sweet for my husband....Mmmm...maybe you should try it, too, and give me your opinion. :)

For this muffins I also substituted cow buttermilk with goat buttermilk, but I imagine that not everyone uses goat dairy products since their taste can be quite strong and many might not be thrilled at the idea to use goat buttermilk. Therefore, feel free to use low fat cow buttermilk if you are not intolerant to it, or low fat lactose-free buttermilk, or, as I always suggest, just experiment using the ingredients you can use and let me know how it will go by leaving a comment. I'd be more than welcome to read your opinion and hints. :) So....Have fun and enjoy your muffins! :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups (320g) spelt flour or all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (100g) granulated brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup low fat goat butter milk (180ml) or mix 90ml plain goat yogurt with 90ml goat milk

1/3 cup (85ml) vegetable oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla powder or vanilla sugar

1 cup fresh pear cut into small pieces

1/2 cup (60g) rice white nougat crisp chocolate in pieces (or white chocolate chips as the original recipe says)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheated oven: 350ºF/180ºC

Baking time: 20-25 Minutes

Quantity: about 12 Muffins

In a medium bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract. Then, fold in the fresh pear and white chocolate..

In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

With a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. 15-20 turns of the spatula should be enough. If you over mix the muffins will come out very dry.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups (remember to grease the muffin tray if you don't use paper cups . Place the muffin tray on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before removing them from the tray. If you used paper cups you can remove them right away and let them cool on the rack.