Win Challenging Arts & Crafts´s Giveaways For FREE!

Yes , I´m conducting a Raffle Draw on my Facebok page Challenging Arts & Crafts which will be held this March 15! And here is the link íf you wish to join-in :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.427112060697044.1073741827.116804765061110&type=1

I  had been so busy finishing the bag you are seeing in the photo above.. In the real sense, I couldn´t decide what to do with the remnants I got from a textile shop, so I asked for suggestions from my FB readers on how they would like it to be if they were to make it.....mainly a cosmetic bag or a tote bag?
Most of the answers that came out were...a tote bag!!!

The bag is of cotton fabric which is machine quilted on thre upper part and is with a batting as well as lined with a solid cotton pink fabric and trimmed on the inner top part with a self adhesive lace...

The pair of bag holders is composed of bamboo material and  4 metal hook/holders that can be screwed in place. The bag can be used as book bag or lunch bag or for whatever purpose it may serve the new owner....

 

You may have been familiar with the set of 8 Glass Coasters in green... I featured them as my project while I was on holiday in Spain under the link below... http://challengingartsandcrafts.blogspot.co.at/2013/01/vacation-over.html

 

 

So, the Raffle Draw is a way of saying "THANK YOU" to my page friends and followers, some of whom were there already since the beginning of  Challenging Arts & Crafts on FB. Whether you are a NEW LIKER or  OLD LIKER, you are eligible to participate, the only thing you have to do is "LIKED" my FB page and COMMENT on what you would like to win... Tote bag or Glass coasters

 

I am inviting everyone to join the game.... it´s fun and exciting!!! ´

Who knows you might be the lucky winner!

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.427112060697044.1073741827.116804765061110&type=1

 

GOOD LUCK!!!

Collecting Old Wooden Boxes

 

Each of them has a story before they landed somewhere and finally at the fleamarket. I think they are fun to collect. And without any particular reason, I just collected each of them. 

I use them to store little things, needles, curtain hooks, etc. They are very handy and decorative and they create a big impact if grouped together on top of a dresser or side table. 

 

Some of them were carved and I think the one on top came from North Africa. I would guess this one is from Morocco or Algeria or can also be Tunesia because of the way it´s carved. I have a wooden box with similar carvings that hide my box of tissue paper.

 

This box here is intricately carved and came from my husbands family... it was said that this was made by an  uncle who´s bread & butter was to make all the  mother of pearl buttons I featured on this blog. This box needs some restorations, the wood used is very soft and delicate...

  

This is a box I found at the flea amrket...the surface is with inlays partly out of mother of pearl shells and partly wood... they are common works seen in the Middle East.

 

 

This one here has a laqcuered-finish surface and was given to me by a friend... It is made in Vietnam.

 

 

Again, a box with inlays

The top of this one has a thin sheet of metal that was inserted into the wood to form the design ..

 

 

I presumed that the box above had been used to store cigars because it smelled of tabak when I got it from the fleamarket. The external  wood surface is nicely treated with a marble like design. 

A pretty wooden box that I got almost for free because the fleamarket dealer was about to go home. It probably had been a school project of a boy whose birthyear was 1967...

 

 

 All of these boxes really cost almost nothing, but it´s fun to collect. Thank you for reading my blog today and wish you all an enjoyable weekend!

 

Til next,

Mercy



Stir-Fry Sweet & Sour Pork Filet

I´m the only daughter in my family of 5 brothers. As I was growing-up, I had the chance to see how my mom cooked....not that it was a privilege in my early teenagers days, but I seemed to have enjoyed it seeing how food was being processed.

While my girlfriends enjoyed playing outside, I was in the kitchen helping mom peeling potatoes & carrots, seeding the bell peppers, my mouth stuck with matchsticks to prevent teary eyes while cutting the onions...it´s the paraffin that creates a chemical reaction against the sulfuric acid of the onion, I was told. There are actually other methods to prevent  sobbing sessions when cutting the onions...like, peel its skin under  running water..  or have an exhaust fan running towards the onions while peeling and cutting them, that way the sulfuric acid is being scattered away from you.

 My recipe below is a deviation of the sweet and sour pork filet being offered in a chinese restaurant, my mom´s version simply calls for more vegetables where the meat isn´t coated with flour... here´s how I did it....



 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained (juice reserved)
• 2 tbsps table vinegar
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Vegetable oil
• 2 medium carrots thinly sliced and then cut into elongated 2 cm x 2 cm strips
• 300 gramms of pork filet cut into thin strips ( see photo above)
• a bunch of spring onions, cut into 1-inch lengths
• 1 each red & green bell peppers cleaned from seeds, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 head of broccoli stripped into flowerettes

Instructions:

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup water. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

 

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook pork, in two batches, until well browned on one side, about 1 minute (pork will cook more later); transfer to a plate.

To skillet with 1 tbsp oil, fry the crushed garlic til golden brown,  add the spring onions and bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until peppers are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes, set the spring onions aside.

Add pork to the skillet together with any juices left, then add broccoli, and pineapple chunks. Whisk the sauce and add this to skillet. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring, until broccoli is heated through, around 4 minutes. Stir in spring onions , and serve with rice.

Wishing you happy cooking and a beautiful weekend!

 

Til Next,

Mercy

More Glass Coasters - Holiday Over

 Hello everyone!

It feels good to be back home after a month of being away....although home sweet home, the freezing temperatures here in Vienna make me want to go away for another holiday.  We were blessed with a wonderful weather in Spain as from day one and I was able to scout for some craft materials for a few  projects I wanted to do. I was also able to crochet some glass coasters like the ones above which I will be giving away to promote my page at  https://www.facebook.com/Challenging.ArtsandCrafts?ref=stream. I´m still preparing the technicalities of the give-aways and will let you all know when it´s ready just in case you´re interested to join in.

These are the pearl crochet yarns that I have discovered at a local chinese store in our area...there are so many chinese shops emerging in Malaga the last 3 years, you can find threads that they sell off at a fraction of a cost....but, one has to look for the quality of the thread...

The yarns I used for the coasters above were brought along in my suitcase, I was afraid to have dull moments during my holiday..... so hooks, books, mp3 player  were also packed  and  voila, the result got me finishing 27 glass coasters.

Almost all of them were crocheted while watching TV,  and I´m glad that I have made many. A girlfriend secured the set of oranges that would fit her dessert plates...I guess, they would look lovely and would give  her spanish stone table that vibrant look when she serves coffee and cake the next time around.

 I´m really glad to be back here and am wishing you all  a nice time.

Thank you for reading this blog and hope to see you here soon!

Til next,

Mercy

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 !