A Girl's Best Friends

Still looking for that very special Christmas gift? What about these gorgeous pieces of jewellery from Etsy-Seller theBeadAerie?

This bracelet really is a statement! Chunky pieces of turquoise combined with white magnasite, fossilized coral and a Kazuri clay bead from Kenya, all put together with Sterling Silver that has been oxidized and polished to a soft patina. This is the first piece that caught my attention.

When Peggy later added this necklace I've been lost completely. Mookaite jasper beads in an incredible colour range, again with oxidized Sterling Silver. These soft colours and the beads of different sizes are just amazing!

Now we come to earrings - my favourite. There are a lot of different earrings in this shop. These here can go with every outfit. Bright and oxidized Sterling Silver with moonstones - what a combination!

That's jewellery for real women, not for bling-bling-girlies. Of course everything is handmade. But not expensive at all. If you want one of these pieces - hurry up! Before I do.

(All photos in this post are copyrighted by theBeadArie)

Etsy-Treasury

This is the latest treasury I created. Lots of gorgeous Etsy sellers and their lovely items. Although the treasury is almost feline I started with that woodpecker fledgling right in the middle. What a great and funny photo! It's from MNHPhotography. I guess, I've to get it.

Check out the complete treasury as long as it's alive!

BTW, the idea to mention this in my blog I've nicked from Erin Garrison whose lovely yawning white cat is featured in this treasury, too. She has mentioned it in her blog earlier. Thank you!

Brown Sugar - Make Your Own!

In Germany brown sugar neither is very common nor widely available, let alone in different varieties. When I read in Christina Geyer's excellent blog AmiExpat that you can even make your own brown sugar I had to give it a try.

You only need normal white sugar and molasses.

Molasses is what remains after sugar has been extracted from sugar cane. There are different grades of molasses, the thickest and most concentrated one called blackstrap molasses. I've never seen any other quality, so I presume this is the only one available here. Molasses has a very high content of minerals and vitamins making your brown sugar even a healthy thing.

In Germany you'll get molasses (= Molasse) from the Reformhaus.

Most recipes state just to combine plain white sugar with a bit of molasses with a fork. The first time I tried that and the result was good with just a few small lumps of molasses in it.

The second time I made brown sugar I couldn't get rid of the lumps. The third trial also had too much lumps. But then I remembered someone saying to reheat in a microwave shop bought brown sugar that had hardened. Obviously heat melts away these lumps.

My microwave currently is broken, so I tried a hot water bath.

I used around 750 g ( = 3 1/3 cups) white sugar and put it into a plastic bowl. The molasses I took out of the tin with the fork I used for mixing later. The molasses is fairly thick and stiff and this way you don't need an extra spoon from which to scrap off the sticky stuff. The amount I used roughly equals one tablespoon.

Update 12.Juli 2011:  Bettina from Woolly Bits has a great tip: she uses a spoon lightly covered with oil, so the molasses easily runs off the spoon. Thank you, Bettina!

Adding more molasses gives you a darker brown sugar.

In a large bowl thoroughly combine sugar and molasses with a fork. You will still have some lumps. Fill another bowl, slightly larger than the first one, with some boiling water. Put in the sugar bowl and go on stiring until sugar and molasses are well blended and most lumps have disappeared. Take care not to spill water into the sugar bowl!

Take the sugar bowl out of the water, let the mixture cool down and dampen off, mixing through it every now and then. Then fill into an airtight jar or container.

Voilà! There's your brown sugar!

If you want to use brown sugar in cakes or in desserts that are going to be mixed with a handmixer or food processor, you can simply add white sugar and molasses from the tin.

Molasses gives a somewhat silky texture to food. If you add some brown sugar e.g. to a natural low fat yogurt, it will make this very creamy without adding any fat.

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Puppy's Heaven

Some time ago I introduced pet-interiors to you, a German manufacturer of the nicest and best quality pet beds I've ever seen. The article with great pics you'll find here.

I'm still owing you another dog bed from this company. This cushion made from real leather has a special filling of high quality latex flakes. As with all their cushions this filling was developed to give pets maximum comfort.

This cushion is available in either rectangular shape or in an organic shape looking like a stone.

More details about the company you'll find on their website
www.pet-interiors.de. They do ship internationally!

No, the cushion comes without the puppy!  
(All photos in this post are copyrighted by pet-interiors)

New Rocking Horse Prints!

If you like rocking horses you may like my two new prints, too. I took my photos of the Dappled Grey and the small mahogany rocking horse and gave them a vintage feel with some discolouration, blur and scratches.

You'll find them in my Etsy shop www.SimplyPictures.etsy.com. The price for one print is $ 23.00 plus shipping or $ 41.00 plus shipping for both prints.

That's how they would look being framed with a bit of outer trimming but without matting in standard frames size 23 x 23 cm = 9” x 9” from IKEA. The frames are not included! The size is scaled properly - look at the wine bottles!

Simple & Rustic Apple Tarte

This is the best time of the year for simple and rustic cakes. After a walk on a cold and foggy November afternoon, with a fresh hot coffee it will enliven your soul and body.

The base of this apple tarte is not made with the traditional yeast dough but with this fast and easy quark oil dough.

For a baking tin of around 25-30 cm (= 10-12 inches) in diam you will need:

1 recipe quark oil dough

1 recipe vanilla quark (see below)

3 large apples

Apricot glaze to taste

Preheat the oven to 180°C (= 356°F) . Slightly grease and flour the baking tin.

Prepare the quark oil dough and line the tin with it. Slightly prick it with a fork.

Vanilla quark layer

250 g (= 8.8 oz) full-fat quark (the fattest you can get)

3 tablespoons sugar

1 package custard powder or blancmange powder for cooking*

Just whisk these three things together and put the cream into the pan on top of the dough spreading it evenly across the bottom.

* In Germany this is old fashioned 'Vanille-Puddingpulver zum Kochen'. It is important to use one that needs to be cooked. One package is about 38 g (= 1.34 oz) and sufficient for ½ litre milk. But don't use the milk here!

There is no need for this vanilla quark layer but it is a nice addition and really done in a few seconds.

Wash and core the apples, cut them into wedges. You don't need to peel them – it's a rustic tarte. But if you have no teeth or if the peel is very firm, of course you may do so.

Place the apples on top of the vanilla quark cream. If you like, sprinkle with sugar. (I had sprinkled it with brown sugar - together with the apricot glaze that's a bit too much)

Put it into the oven for around 40 minutes until it's crisp and golden brown.

If you'd like it being glazed with abricotage, do this immediately after you get it out of the oven. Instead you can leave it to cool and dust it with powdered sugar.

Eaten still warm with a dollop of vanilla or caramel ice cream would be heaven!

Yeast Dough Substitute: Quark Oil Dough

I'm not quite sure whether this is an appropriate translation of the German term Quark-Öl-Teig. However, if you are afraid of making yeast dough or if you don't have the time, a dough made of quark and oil is an easy and fast alternative.

Quark is a soft curd cheese being widely available in most countries now. This quark oil dough will not stick to your fingers and it doesn't need any time to rise as a yeast dough does. Taste and structure are very similar but the quark oil dough should be eaten freshly baked. It can be used for sweet and savoury dishes, especially for tartes and quiches but also for rolled cakes like 'Mohnstriezel' e.g. I don't think you can make bread out of it but maybe someone will try?

For a sweet tarte in a baking tin or springform of around 25 – 30 cm ( = 10 – 12 inches) in diam you'll need:

125 g (= 4.4 oz) low-fat quark
5 tablespoons neutral oil (like sunflower oil e.g.)
5 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sugar
200 g ( = 2 cups) flour
1 level teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
a bit of vanilla to taste

Whisk the quark with oil, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix the flour with the baking powder and add this to the wet ingredients. Roughly incorporate the flour with a wooden spoon or the dough hooks of your hand mixer or food processor. Then knead it all together by hand just until it's smooth and pliable.

This is all done very easily and fast. No need to bring the ingredients to room temperature.

Slightly grease and flour the baking tin. Roll out the dough a bit larger than the tin's diameter, put it into the tin and press it lightly to form a low rim. Prick the bottom with a fork.

It's ready now to be topped with whatever you can bake in an oven – apples and nuts, streusel, quark fillings, plums, pears, cherries – the choice is endless.

In a preheated oven it will bake around 40 minutes at around 180°C (= 356°F). This is depending on your oven and on the topping.

For a savoury dish like a quiche or pizza just leave off the sugar and vanilla, but you may add a little bit black pepper and nutmeg.

If you want your dough to have a healthier colour you can add an egg yolk, but then you should reduce the milk accordingly.

To cover a complete baking sheet just double the quantity.

Enjoy!

L'Abricotage (Apricot Glaze)

Have you ever wondered how this shiny cover on professionally made cakes and tartes is achieved? This simple and delicious glaze comes from France and there it is called abricotage.

I'm a bit addicted to this glaze. It does not only look gorgeous, it prevents the cake from drying out, keeps fruit fresh and with its slightly sour taste it adds that little kick to an otherwise bland thingy.

There are lots of time consuming recipes around of how to make it from fresh apricots. I've never done that. Fresh apricots with lots of flavour are hardly available here.

You better get the best quality apricot jam or confiture on offer and start from there.

• Pour a complete jar of shop bought apricot confiture into a bowl. Purée it in a food processor or with a hand mixer with a chopping blade attached until it is completely smooth and without any bits or pieces. It will look a bit milky at that stage due to all the tiny air bubbles being trapped. Don't worry about that.
  
  
• Put the purée back into the jar, close and store in the fridge. It stores for several weeks due to its high sugar content.

If you want to glaze something, just put a few spoons full of jam into a small pot, add a little water or rum and bring it just to the boil. Don't add too much liquid, it will become thinner when getting hot anyway. If it gets too thin, you can't apply it without running.

With a cooking brush apply the hot glaze to the hot cake or cookie. It will dry very fast and leave a shiny surface. If you want to cover fresh fruit on a cake, of course you wouldn't heat the fruit. But the glaze always has to be as hot as can be when applying.

That's it! Try it – you'll love it.

Glazed free-formed quark tarte.

The Girl

Finally, this is the very first rocking horse I got my hands on. She's a girl, definitely. Somebody has braided her mane.

Look how she's keeping her head. Wants to be hugged.

PS: No, these are no miniature horses! Each of them can be ridden safely by an adult being not too heavy.

Kid Brother

He is slightly smaller than the large mahogany shown first. But with his bow rocker he's still reaching a length of 1.74 metres (= 68.5 inches). Same stable in every respect.

And again, he's not for sale :-)

Another Beauty

Want some more? Here we go:

Next time you're looking at Toys'R'Us you first come back here, ok?

The World's Finest Rocking Horse

Well, we talked about English Rocking Horses earlier. When I looked through all my rocking horse photographs I found this:

This definitely is the finest rocking horse you can find on this planet. Made the traditional English way, completely hand carved - even mane and tail! The eyes are not made from glass, they are carved too and lacquered to this irresistible sheen. The wood? Solid mahogany, what else. Mounted on a bow rocker the overall length is 2 metres (= 79 inches). This is craftsmanship at the top stage!

The price? No, this horse is not for sale. Nobody who has ever touched such a piece of living wood would give it away. Be happy, it would break your bank anyway.