Evergreen

Beef Stew

This recipe is one of our favorites. This time I made it for New Year's Eve dinner. Turned out amazing as usual. I don't follow any particular recipe on this one and am not sure if I do something different than anyone else. It is truly delicious and I wanted to share it with you! So, I hope you will enjoy it :) here it is...

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 1/2 lb of beef
1 Onion
2 Small carrots
10 Small potatoes
2 Cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cup of mushrooms
2 cups of beef stock
1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 Teasp of Cajun spice
Bay leaves, Salt, Pepper



Directions:
Set slow cooker on low setting or put deep pot with thick bottom on to slow heat. Chop onions and fry them in frying pan with olive oil until golden brown. Spruce olive oil on the bottom of the slow cooker or pot, add fried onions. Chop carrots and garlic roughly and add to the onions. Season beef with salt and pepper and fry on the pan until all redness is gone about 1 1/2 minutes. Add beef to the slow cooker. Slice mushrooms into big chunks and add to the stew. Add cajun spice, worcestershire sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat 2 cups of ready beef stock or use 2 beef stock cubes and two cups of hot water to dissolve them; add stock to the beef stew; add bay leaves (2 or 3); leave to cook on high in slow cooker, or low heat in the pot, for about 2 hours. Cut potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size, making around 2 by 2 inch pieces. Add potatoes to the stew and let it cook for about 3-4 hours on high. After that keep on low setting in the slow cooker and keep warm until serving. When serving garnish with your choice of herb and enjoy!

Peppermint popcorn

This season I've tried to make some peppermint popcorn. The first batch turned out to be such a success that I kept making it throughout the entire holidays season.
I didn't follow any specific recipe but rather measured everything by eye. I used a popcorn air popper to pop some fresh yummy popcorn (used 1/2 cup of kernels). Then I got a big bowl and transferred whole pieces of popcorn there, getting rid of leftover kernels. Then I took one candy cane and mashed it into a powder using mortar and pestle (you can also use processor).
Now the almond bark, I had a difficulty finding it in the grocery stores and eventually ended up getting it at Walmart. I used three pieces of the almond bark (melting directions are on the back of the package; 90 seconds was enough to melt three pieces). Use baking spatula to stir melted bark to melt any non-melted pieces until its all smooth.
Next step is simply to pour melted almond bark over your popcorn, add peppermint, pinch of salt and, if you want a little bit of color, sprinkles. Gently mix popcorn until its all covered evenly. Transfer popcorn into a tray and let it cool for about 15-20 minutes. After it cooled down and almond bark hardened it is ready to eat!
So simple to make and so tasty to snack on :) ENJOY!!!

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus

My husband came across a great recipe on weight watchers. We decided to try it right away and make it for tonight's dinner. If you are looking for the perfect blend of crunchy and salty, spicy and tangy, meaty and veggie...you would love this one. Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with cream cheese. This is one of the tastiest apps I've ever had. There is a bit of a hassle while you make it because you need to carefully wrap every asparagus stem in prosciutto, and those who worked with this type of meat know how thin and fragile those slices are, oh and did I mention you also spread cream cheese on them; but I have to say that the prep work absolutely worth it.

Mandala Art

I created this mandala for a gift and was very pleased with the result. According to Wikipedia Mandala is a sanskrit word that means 'circle'. To read more about Mandalas click here. 

Typically Mandalas are created by using a basic geometric pattern. Using a pencil divide your canvas into concentric circles with the center in the middle. 

After you're done you can start drawing the contours using darker pensil or marker (anything in darker tones will work depending on your vision; I used black marker). Start in the center and draw objects one after the other filling the concentric circles evenly from each angle (you can draw anything you want). I went with very simple flowerish/ raindrop elements. 

Then when the contours are done and the pattern is ready, erase your pencil lines and start coloring. I filled in my mandala with crayons (coloring mandala is a lot of fun!). 

I hope you liked this project, its very creative and a great activity to do with you kids.

Blue Cheese and red potato tart

This is a must try recipe! Delicious small red potatoes with blue cheese crumbles on a savory tart. Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for this recipe. I am a big fan of a blue cheese and OMG this recipe is something I'll be making not once :)

For the recipe click here

Crispy Prosciutto Cups with Pear

The holiday season is here! It is time to think about tasty things I want to make. I came across this recipe at Martha Stewart's website; it is easy to make and sounds so tasty. An unusual combination of smoky and salty prosciutto with sweet pear...yum! I really like the idea of crisping prosciutto and making it into a cup. This appetizer recipe is on the top of my list for this season :)

I made this appetizer for New Year's Eve. Instead of the Bartlett pear from the original recipe I used Red pear (very similar in taste); in addition to lemon juice I used some maple syrup and a sprinkle of poppy flower seeds. Even though making the prosciutto cups was challenging, this appetizer turned out really delicious. I would recommend to use more meaty pieces of prosciutto to form the cups. The ones that had fat strings kind of bubbled up and were difficult to fill with diced pear. I also baked it for 10 minutes instead of 15 as they started getting brown very fast and I didn't want them to burn.

Here is the original recipe from Martha Stewart's website; below my version of it. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:

• Prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 1 ripe Red pear, finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
• Sprinkle of poppy flower seed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut prosciutto into 24 two-inch squares.
Place one square (overlapping any tears) in each cup of a mini cupcake tin.
Bake until fat turnes golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Using a fork, immediately transfer to a paper towel to drain; cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine diced pear and lemon juice, maple syrup or honey and poppy seeds. Fill each cup with pear mixture just before serving.  

NC State Wolfpack Basketball game

A few weeks ago we attended Wolfpack game at RBC center. It was a nice game. NC State won :) We went with our friend Jessianne.  After the game we went to Cook Out...and Oh My God that place got some delicious food. I had a hot dog, it actually was one of the best hot dogs I have ever tried....yes, that yummy :D

Right when we were about to leave a huge grasshopper landed on the wall behind our backs....

We had a great time, great food...lots of fun...can't wait to do it again!

Thanksgiving appetizers

I made little mozzarella/tomato/basil snacks on a toothpick. Here is the recipe I used - Tomato and mozzarella bites. Instead of balsamic vinegar/ olive oil as mentioned in this recipe you can also use any of the Italian dressings. I served these little bites on the platter with blackberries.

I don't have name or any particular recipe for this next appetizer: I took thin crackers (you can use any brand, I used Carr's). In this order I layered: whole slice of boiled egg on the bottom, then half a slice of cucumber and half a slice of radish. Then I squeezed a little bit of mayo by the flat edge of the radish slice so the mayo ended up in the center of the cracker. Then I used some tiny pepperoni slices on the top of the mayonnaise (I was able to fit three slices) and finished up with some fresh parsley.

I made two types of Russian salads and served them in the bite size cracker shells:  

- Winter Salad (Zimniy salat) (on the left) 

- Vinaigrette (Vinegret); made with beets  (on the right)

We also had some fresh peppers and salary
sticks with Sour cream, herbs and raisin dip.

Caviar Bites

For the drinks I made strawberry lemonade with mint leaves for kids and for grown-ups I made orange cranberry sangria with cinnamon sticks. My husband made a wonderful turkey. He used very simple classic recipe that calls for salt, pepper and oil. He also made an amazing gravy that was a big hit :)

Watermelon for Grown-Ups

This is the yummiest way to have watermelon!

Fresh and juicy watermelon cubes mixed with light, creamy yogurt, and sweetened with honey makes it perfect. 

I came across this recipe at Ladies' Home Journal website. It is a truly great and easy recipe.

Mix  together:

6 oz  of plain yogurt, 

2 Tsp of honey, 

1 Tsp of fresh lime juice, 

1/4 tsp of freshly grated ginger.

Spoon over  watermelon cut into cubes and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. 

Enjoy!!!

Accidental Art

Have you ever wanted to take a picture, but either the wrong setting on the camera or the lack/excess of light prevented you from doing so? Well, that happens all the time and instead of the desired view, you often get clumsy swirls or spotty circles.  Do not rush to delete those accidental shots as they may become a very cool art. Here I have a few shots that I took at night from a moving car; and because of the particular setting that I used, the shutter speed of the camera was a few seconds long and my pictures ended up very swirly and obscure.  Anyway, you probably have taken shots like that at some point when shooting at night. So, what to do with those kinds of pictures?  I took my night shots worked the light and shadow to make the colors pop, and used a simple sequence to make it worth putting in the frame :)

Before:

                                                     

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Pimp your car....with toys!

One day on my way home I came across this funky car parked on the side of the road and attracting people with its coolness. It was calling you to come over and look in more detail what was on the car. I came closer and saw hundreds of toys, anything from the Star Trek collectibles to PEZ candy holders. Needless to say this car was a masterpiece. This car made me wonder about the owner :) This is actually a great way to utilize your childhood toys :P

For people who like cartoons this car represents a jewel. For about five minutes I was there with my camera; my eyes were running all over the car recognizing cartoon/comics characters. It was fun. 

Mike from Monsters Inc.

Bender from Futurama

How many characters can you find?

Weird Fish

There is a Thai restaurant in Boston in Kenmore square. This place has a special memory for us because my husband and I had our very first date there. The food is delicious, my favorite is Crispy Basil Shrimp; my husband loves their Chicken Pad Thai. 

The place is great, but this post is about a fish. They have a fish tank in the restaurant with only one fish in it, but that fish is worth seeing :) Take a look:

Looks like an alien 

Autumn

Inspired by the Fall season: 

Pictures are from the Grandfather's mountain

Linville Caverns, NC

On Sunday we went to see the caverns and it was so much fun. We got to experience the total darkness, saw the bottomless pool and a lot of really cool stalagmites and stalactites. 

We saw a little bat :)

Trip to the mountains

Today we went to the Grandfather mountain. We couldn't wish for a better day. The weather was amazing and, even though trees lost most of their leaves, mountains still looked breathtaking. I hope you enjoy these pictures that I was able to put up so far. I promise there will be more :)

Blue Ridge Parkway

Here are some more pictures: