Sugar-Free Vanillekipferl + Recipe for Christmas

Sugar-Free Vanillekipferl

These cookies originate from Vienna, Austria and they are tradionally baked at Christmas time...The cookies have a crescent form and is being made either with a real vanilla or with artificial vanilla flavor...

They are very  popular too and widely baked in Germany and the Czech Republic...If you have visited Vienna, you may have encountered these cookies because they are served in most Viennese Coffee Shops all year round. And if you are about to visit our city, then you should not miss these cookies in coffee shops.

They are traditionally baked by almost all austrian families as their first on their baking list at Christmas season. Other recipes call for hazelnuts as ingredient, but the the widely used is ground walnuts.

Ingredients:

200 grams all Purpose Flour
100 grams ground walnuts
50 grams confectioner´s sugar

    For those who are avoiding sugar :
    use 5 tbsp sugar substitute in powder form such as Stevia or Saccharine
 1 Pack Vanilla sugar such as Dr. Oetker
200 grams cold butter cut into small cubes
1/2 cup Confectioner´s sugar or sugar substitute to coat the cookies...
2 - 3 tablespoons milk

How to:

1. Mix flour, ground walnuts, sugar...blend well. Add the cold butter cut into cubes and blend all ingredients to a smooth dough, add the milk so that the dough becomes soft, flexible and easy to form...this prevents the shape of the dough from breaking when formed..

2. Scoop a small portion of the dough ( around 1 tsp) with your fingers and form
this between your palms so that it resembles like a quarter moon just like the
form in the photo shown below.

3. Place on a baking pan that is covered with baking paper, and arrange these
in rows... bake in a preheated oven of 180°C for about 15 minutes... remove
and place on a platter and coat the cookies with sugar ... if necessary, add
more confectioner´s sugar to coat when they cool down..

4. After cooling, place these in a cookie tin can and cover... after 2 days, they will
become softer...These can also be frozen and should be thawed 1 day before
consuming..

    Happy Baking!

Granola Kisses + Recipe

 

 

GRANOLA  KISSES


As Christmas is just a few more weeks away, lots of us are into baking cookies at home. I have started baking some already today and I´m featuring one of them here..

 Granola Kisses are easy to make and you can store them in tin cans so they get softer within a couple of days after baking... I make them in advance for the Christmas celebration or put them on the table as finger food just in case some friends or relatives come by. They can be frozen so you can also make plenty in advance and just thaw them just a day before Christmas.

INGREDIENTS:

140 grams rolled oats
50 grams Hazelnut - ground
2 tbsp. cooking oil
4 egg whites
140 grams sugar or 8 tbsp sugar substitute in powder form ( Stevia, Saccharin)
3 tbsp buttermilk
Hazelnut or walnut for toppings
30 gram chocolate bar, 4 tbsp milk ( blend the milk + chocolate and adjust milk, so that its consistency should be more liquid like).

 

 

 

How to:

1. In a pan with 2 tbsp cooking oil, roast the rolled oat + the ground hazelnuts til
golden brown, set aside.

2. Whisk the egg whites + the buttermilk with a mixer adding sugar by and by
until mixture is stiff. Add to the rolled oats and blend well til all oats are well
coated.

 3. Scoop the mixture using a spoon and place it on a baking pan with baking
paper, forming the mixture into a round one and top it with a walnut. Bake in a
preheated oven ( lower rack) under 180°C for about 15 minutes until the
cookies are done.

 4. Arrange on a platter and using the tip of a tablespoon , scoop hot chocolate
previously heated-up with milk and pour it forming swirls on top of each of the
cookies.. Let cool, then arrange on a muffin paper sheet. It will become softer
if stored in tin can covered for a couple of days... These can be frozen.

 

 

     HAPPY BAKING!

MENUDO ...My Dad´s Version

MENUDO - My Dad´s Version

The mexican menudo is kind of a soup that has chili in it! My Dad´s version or to say, the Filipino version  uses pork meat and is a mild one and has little liquid to almost dry in consistency. We always enjoyed this dish at home when my Dad cooked this on Sundays at home... He had all those fresh bell peppers from our backyard ... and I can still vividly remember how he cooked his recipe... This is really a delicious dish which can be eaten with or without rice and most Filipino families serve this on special occasions. I hope you would find this recipe worth trying....  

Ingredients:

1 Kg pork filet cut into cubes of about 2x2 cm or bite size marinated in 2 tbsp soya sauce for about 20 minutes
1 kg potatoes , peeled & cut the same size as the pork filet
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 onion, also cut into cubes
3 toast bread cut into cubes same size as the cut meat
1 each red & green bell pepper cubed
2 cups frozen peas ( thawed)
3 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups vegetable soup ( Knorr cube) or water
salt & pepper, creme fraiche (optional
cooking oil for deep frying potatoes and toast bread
 

 

How to:

 1. In a casserole, deep fry cubed potatoes in hot oil til golden brown ...set aside. In the same oil, fry the cubed toast bread til golden brown, set aside.

2. In a pan with 2 tbsp cooking oil, fry the crushed garlic , add the onion, then the pork filet.. all til golden brown...

3. Add the bell peppers to the pan, continue mixing....then add the tomato paste, soya sauce, 2 cups vegetable ( broth) soup, thawed green peas,.... bring to boil, simmer under low fire til the meat really becomes tender about 15 minutes. 

At this stage, the liquid must have evaporated already, so add 1 tbsp flour diluted in 1 cup soup/water + 1 tbsp soy sauce ( more liquid if necessary) to the meat and carefully ´mix all ingredients...

4. Season with salt & pepper ... if you prefer to add the vegetable soup instead of water, season with less salt as the vegetale broth contains salt already...

Now, for a more tasteful menudo, I add 1 tbsp of creme fraiche ( or double cream) to the meat... but this is really optional.

5. Add the deep fried potatoes to the meat mixture and carefully mix all ingedients... adjust seasoning as necessary.

Serve with cooked rice or white bread...This dish can be eaten alone because of the potatoes, but we prefer to eat it with freshly cooked rice.
  

Happy Cooking !

Decorating Ideas For Vintage Laces

Most of my readers know that I´m an avid collector of anything blue and the ones above are part of it.. In order for me to highlight the cupboard because of the dark background, I used vintage laces that were handed down to me by my Granny...These laces were handstitched and are really beautiful. I got plenty of these so I thought of using them in many ways.

I use these vintage laces to trim any soft furnishings at home, recycle old tablecloth and make them into pillowcases...display  old laces anyway I can, they really add romantic touches to the home...

For the ones that are one of a kind and did not belong to a set, I used it as trimming like in  this neck pillow.

 I also trim  a pillowcase which in turn can be used to protect the chair from becoming soily as  píllowcases can be washed and the chair is difficult to clean if it gets soily.

this is an intricate stitchery that has been in hubby´s family since decades, her Grandmother

was fond of the richelieu embroidery. This can be used to adorn a pillow that was actually used

 cover the seal that cold air that slipped inside the room, the houses in those days did not have

 double glazed as in today´s modrn world.

This is also a lace or shall we say doily crocheted by Granny and now 

covers my reading chair.

A vintage lace that I cut and recycled to use as trimming for the 

bed skirt.

the above is an intricate lace and is 1 of 6 that I´m still keeping and 

just don´t know yet what to make out of them.

This is also an old intricately stitched doily and I use it just for display...

 the tray is made by an aunt who is producing and exporting their

 rattan products.

Whatever vintage laces you may have, make the most out of them,

display them in so many ways and show how lovely they are...

Afterall, not so many women are lucky to have such treasures!

Til next,

Mercy

The Odyssey of an Amazing Spanish Amaryllis

These were the very first blooms after the bulb arrived in Vienna from Spain. The Story one year before is below the update.

 

Update : the year after

 Below, is an update of this amazing plant,  a year after I got it from my spanish friend( updated today June 3, 2013). In the meantime, it has now about 6 tiny siblings and I´m cultivating them...

                             above & below, the updated pics, 1 year after... 2013

                            



One year after , this stalk reached around 80 cm in height (2013).

THE STORY

It came all the way from Southern Spain, this amazing  amaryllis...

A spanish friend loves gardening and Amaryllis is one of his passions.

He grows , propagates and sells some of them. I guess, I was lucky to have gotten

 the biggest bulb he had.

The Story of this amazing plant began  at a friend´s house.

When I got it, it was sprouting and developing its top, so I had to be careful not to damage the stems and the flower because I want to bring it home after the holiday.

To be able to transport it to Vienna, I wrapped it like a mummy with full of  wet sponge and old newspaper, placed it in a  freezer bag and add as part of my luggage for check-in.....

 and it did survive the flight!

The day after, I set it in a pot and it started blooming amazingly!!!

 Later, after 2 weeks of aaaahhhs &  ooooohs, we finally cut the stem as the flowers dried off...

But, a miracle happened, there was new growth of stems again ,

and  just like the first round,  each stem ( there were 2) had 5 or 6 flowers....

 Super, wasn´t it?

If you´ll have a look at the above photo, the 1st stem had at least 5-6 flowers and the

2nd stem, have had also the same.

A close-up Photo of the center of amaryllis.

I have really no idea how to grow amaryllis, this is my first and I think I was lucky

 to have picked the biggest bulb...

Five months after, the original bulb has gotten 5 newbies which I now propagate,

 and in a year or two, it will start blooming ( well, at least I hope so!).

*************** 

Thank you for reading my blog today and  wish you  were inspired by todays´s posting.

Wishing you all a  pleasant morning/evening wherever you are in your part of the world.

Til Next,

Mercy

Colorful Stylish Mineral Earrings

Hi everyone! Today, I will simply share some of the earrings I have made in the past... I collect mineral stones and as I find the time, I make them into jewelries like the earrings above.

These sets of earrings were made in a very simple way using spacers, wires,  hooks, stones and crystals.. Minerals and semi-precious stones are very fascinating materials to work with. It´s so amazing how a simple stone can be turned into a fabulous gem....

 

Agate & Tiger´s eye 

 

 

Lapis lazuli

 

 

 

 

Jasper, Agate and Swarovski crystals

 

Freshwater pearl and Agate

 

Green colored Howlithe with spacers and Swarovski Crystal...

 

If you would love to create your own jewelries, try getting some reference books or magazines on working with Beads... there are many available in the market, try your bookstores or maybe try the tutorials in youtube.

 

 

I wish everyone a happy Sunday!

 

Til next,

 

Mercy



 

 

Scrumptious - No Bake Lime Cheesecake + Recipe

No Bake - Lime Cheesecake

Dear friends, here is the recipe of this scrumptious cake which can be easily

prepared for a short time and you don´t even have to

 bake this in the oven.

Ingredients :

200 g Buttercup cookies/ biscuits ( or diet shortbread cookies)
120 g butter or margarine
1 pack Vanilla sugar
5 pcs Gelatine squares ( I used Dr. Oetker´s)
500 g curd cheese
250 g Mascarpone cheese
100g icing sugar or 10 tbsp sugar substitute.
2 tbsp cherry water
2 lime or 1 fresh lemon
250 g whipping cream

1 cup various berries

How to:
1. place the cookies in a freezer bag or sturdy bag and by means of rolling pin or bottle, crush the cookies so they resemble crumbs. Melt the butter and pour it into the crumbs , add the vanilla sugar. Mix all ingredients lightly with your hand, set aside.

2.Line a springform of about 26 cm in diameter, (a springform size for 12 cut cake pieces) with a wax or baking paper, then distribute the cookies mixture into the form evenly & pressing the mixture hard. Place the from in the refrigerator and let it cool for about an hour.

3. Put the gelatine in a container, add cold water just to cover and soak for 5 minutes.

4.Mix the curd Cheese, Mascarpone Cheese and sugar + 2 tbsp cherry water evenly. Wash and dry the lime ( organic lemon could be used instead) and grate its rind.. press to get the juice. set aside.

5. Squeeze the water from the gelatine and slowly heat it until it gets dissolved, then add the lime/lemon juice, add 5 tbsp. of the cheese mixture by & by and then mix this to the Cheese mixture evenly with your mixer.

6. Beat the whipping cream, fold this together with the grated lime/lemon rind into the cheese mixture using wooden spoon...mix thoroughly.

 7. Distribute the cheese mixture into the prepared Springform evenly and refrigerate for about 3 hours..

When cheesecake is already stiff in form, remove the cake carefully from the springform and arrange on a platter.

Toppings : 

 You can add toppings like berries or chocolate... for the berries, you have to remove excess juice if you are using frozen ones. Put  the frozen berries in a sift, then drain its juice til the  dripping of liquid stops.

  For the choco liquid  topping, just melt a small plain chocolate bar with 3 tbsps fresh milk, mix chocolate properly til well blended and pour this on top of the now cold cheesecake .

Add the berries and pour more of the chocolate liquid as in the first photo above.

  

The texture of color of this shot  is slightly different than the other images posted above

 because this shot was taken in the night.

Please take note that, for those of you who are avoiding sugar, you can replace the recipe´s sugar with sugar substitute in powder form, diet ( Shortbread ) cookies can also be used instead of the the normal Buttercup cookies/biscuits. Just a Reminder to all..... remember that diet cookies which are supposed to be sugar free can contain enormous amounts of fat...

A warning to everyone trying-out this recipe, this cake is not for you if you are in the process of having a diet or avoiding fat....!!!


   

Til next,

Mercy

This post is linked to :
google+ communities - Food Bloggers 

Let´s Make Christmas Wreaths

It´s the time of the year that we should start to  think about the Christmas decor we want to have for the home. The Advent time is nearing ( last Sunday of Nov) and so is  time  essential in preparing the materials needed...I love to start making my decors around November, and at some point I will buy new ones when the time comes when ornaments are being offered for sale at the stores.

Now, the above  door wreath was  made 2 years ago.... actually, the materials I used for the above were old. The bells were one time used as hangings for the Christmas tree as well as the angel in the middle of the wreath... the angel was one of 12 pieces, they were gifts from my brother who sent me various tree decors made of capiz shells and other ornaments that he bought for the family.  The base or the ring of dried twigs came from a hardware store and is used as decor whenever I feel like creating a new wreath..

A simple wreath like the above can be easily done in less than an hour. Also this is an "as you go craft" ...just gather all decors you would like to add to the loose cobifer greens , tie with a ribbon

 add some hangings like a skate shoe or conifer cones,there are so many possibilities.

Here are the materials I used to make the wreath below:

1 wreath base (styrophor)
thin craft wire, pine "green needles"
ribbon of around 1,5 meters, trimmings like christmas bells, christmas deco, etc
 

Simply cover the wreath base with the pine greens using craft wire until all the wreath´s exposed surface is fully covered... 

add ribbon around the base (see pic) and add whatever trimmings you would like to have to give character to your wreath..

Use your fantasy, whatever design you may end-up with, it will reflect your personality and the originality of your wreath.

Wishing you Happy Crafting!!!

Til next,

Mercy

Shared at : Feathered Nest Friday