Author Archive | Rasa Pelham

Savoury oat breakfast (leftovers for lunch)

By Rasa Pelham on November 13, 2014 in Break-the-fast, Healthy, Lunch or Dinner

As you know, my favourite meal is breakfast. In fact I love it so much that I sometimes have it for lunch as well! These oat fritters have been introduced to me by my dear friend Vicki. We used to have this type of breakfast every time I used to sleepover at her place (good old days!). This is diffusion breakfast between porridge and classic fry-up as it taste a little meaty. Very good vegetarian recipe from Vicki’s mum!VICKI’S MUM’S SAVOURY OAT FRITTERS enough for 2-3 brunch lovers

2 cups basic oats
1 egg
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp moroccan or cajun spice
1.5 cups (375ml) boiling chicken stock
1-2tbsp coconut oil (or any other oil if you prefer)

1. Mix all the ingredients (except oil) together into sticky oat mixture.2. Heat the oil in the pan and then spoon the mixture in, leaving gaps in between. Fry the fritters while occasionally turning them over to ensure they cook on both sides. 3. Serve with cream fresh and tomato salad!Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Our weekend at Grannies (in Cley-next-the-Sea)

By Rasa Pelham on November 11, 2014 in English, Travel

Just came back from long and wonderful weekend in Cley-next-the-Sea. As promised I brought back more pics from this beautiful countryside (more pics than I could handle in fact!).

Breakfast did not always look like this. I had a hearty fried breakfast Saturday & Sunday but tried this overnight porridge on my last morning there and I absolutely loved it! Granny cooks this porridge in a low temperature oven, which makes the porridge taste heavenly. I will be experimenting with this in my slow cooker as I have bought myself steel cut (pinhead) oats to try this out!Going for a walk, beyond the Cley Windmill this time :-)Although Clay Windmill is no longer used for milling, we also visited Leatheringsett Watermill where I was able to get some flour. How exciting! So looking forward to baking with traditionally milled flour!Walking through the Marshes is a must do in Cley-next-the-Sea! We walked till Blakeley village this time!Loved the outdoor reclamation yard! Bath tap anyone? And vintage & antique shops/fairs….Got inspired by this crochet edge antique table cloth. I so could make this myself!

I could not help myself but buy some buttons (they just looked too cute!!!).

On the way back found some interesting bugs (that’s unlike me to look for them, but this one might be useful someday :D). And some blackberries!Some work done around Grannies house…

After all this, I am ready to face a week :)Have a wonderful week everyone!!!

Rasa xoxo

Pinterest challenge: apple and cheddar quiche with hash-brown crust

By Rasa Pelham on November 7, 2014 in Autumn, Lunch or Dinner

This time I took a double challenge. I practically combined two recipes from Pinterest! I loved the flavour match in this quiche, but I did not want all that dough at our dinner table, so I have decided to seek for alternative. I once baked this quiche that had hash-brown crust. I loved the idea of making quiche gluten free by adding extra vegetables. It’s like the pizza I made once with courgette crust!It turned out well (luckily!) and we did end up having a nice dinner! The only thing I can say about the hash-brown crust is that it does not go with all quiche fillings out there. I thought apple and cheddar filling was just ok with that kind of crust, but if you made it let’s say with pears or something than this would be totally wrong. But then again, it’s up to you! You may have completely different taste to me ;-). Joni did not like apples in the quiche as much as I did, so there we are… everybody have a different taste!

APPLE & CHEDDAR QUICHE WITH HASH-BROWN CRUST

(for the crust, adopted from Martha Steward

420g grated raw potatoes (about 3 large ones)
1 egg
30g butter, softened + some for greasing

(for the filling, adopted from Bob Vivant)

1 tbsp butter
2 shallots, finely diced
1 apple, chopped
120g ham, diced
pinch of cinnamon
115g grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs
110g sour cream
190ml milk
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely chopped sage leaves

1. Line a pie dish (or any other baking tin) and grease the baking paper as well.

2. Combine grated potatoes with butter and egg, and press the mixture into lined baking dish. No need to blind bake, yey!2. Fry the onions and apple in butter for few minutes, than add it together with cinamon and cheese into baking dish on top of the hash-brown mixture

3. Lightly whisk the eggs together with sour cream, milk, salt and chopped sage.4. Pour the egg mixture over ham, cheese and apples (and all the rest). Bake the quiche in preheated 180C oven for 30-40min. Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Homemade Christmas: an Art, Craft & Vintage Market

By Rasa Pelham on November 6, 2014 in Crochet, Gift Giving, Homemade, Inspiration

Just a quick reminder (in case you missed my other post), I will be at the Kings Arms Christmas Market this year (in Bedford). Would love to meet you there! It’s on 29th of November, on 245 Ampthill Road.

Here is a tiny preview what will be happening at Friendly Nettle’s stall ;-).Hope to see you soon!

Rasa xoxo

Autumn vegetable risotto

By Rasa Pelham on November 5, 2014 in Autumn, Lunch or Dinner, Winter Warmers

Since november is a last month in autumn, I though I will make something special and heartwarming. This autumn vegetable risotto is the best risotto I ever made (and I made quite many in my lifetime). I picked roasted root vegetable for the topping and that went like a dream with goooeeey risotto.AUTUMN VEGETABLE RISOTTO

3 carrots, sliced
4 beetroots, pealed and chopped
1 large parsnip, pealed and sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
pepper and salt to taste
olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
300g risotto rice
200ml white wine
700ml chicken (or vegetable) stock
20g butter
70g parmesan cheese

1. First make the vegetable topping. Place all chopped/sliced vegetables into the oven proof dish. Sprinkle everything with garlic (reserve one for the rice) and herbs, season it and drizzle it with olive oil. Bake it in preheated 200C oven for 30min. 2. Meanwhile cook risotto rice. Fry the onions and remaining garlic clove in the pan with generous mount of oil. Then add rice, continue frying for a minute until rice become sort of transparent and then pour in the wine.

3. Now reduce the heat and add the stock gradually while stirring the rice constantly. This process should take about 15min or so. Every time you add some stock just wait until everything becomes thick again. At the end of this process the rice should be cooked and nice!

4. At the end add butter and some grated parmesan cheese into the rice and let it rest. Remove roasted vegetables from the oven and serve it with rice.

Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Homemade play dough

By Rasa Pelham on November 4, 2014 in Budget £, For little ones :), Gift Giving, Homemade

Although I have no children of my own, I once had a chance to make some play dough for a kids group. My favourite Lithuanian cook book (yes, a cook book!) had a recipe for play dough and I was determined to try out ALL the recipes from the book. I sort of had a competition going with my mum, which of us will complete the book sooner. If you are wondering who won, it was of course ME!!! I take competitions very seriously, just in case you did not know ;-).

Anyway, making play dough was fun, although not everything came out right. This time round I decided to do more research rather than relying on one recipe. I was looking for a recipe that is quick and easy to make, long lasting, and a very flexible texture. I came up with a semi-cooked version which basically does not need a hob, but “cooks” in boiling water you pour over it. Smart, isn’t it? And apparently it last 6 months!

So, the reason for this post (in case you are wondering), is to make some play dough for gifts to friends/family who have children. These are perfect for that I thought. I even thought of custom packaging!For one lump of play dough the size of an orange you will need:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tbsp citric acid or cream of tartar
1 tbsp oil
food colouring (amount depends on the brand of colouring you are using)
1tsp orange extract (totally optional, adds nice smell)
3/4cup boiling water

1. Combine flour, salt, citric acid, oil and orange extract (if using) in the large jug or bowl.2. Mix food colouring with boiling water and pour it over the flour mixture. Mix it with the spoon until you get a clean dough ball. If it is too sticky, add some flour.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl and kneed it vigorously until it becomes really smooth. I love this part of the making as the dough is still warm and nice to touch!

4. If you are giving this as a gift the best way to store is all wrapped in cling film or in the air tight container.Here are the labels, free to print ;-). I hope you will enjoy making this :)

Rasa xoxo

Mini passion fruit cheesecakes

By Rasa Pelham on November 3, 2014 in Sweet Treats

I made up this recipe when I was given a sample of passion fruit cheesecake by a restaurant in London. They wanted me to replicate it and deliver it together with other cakes that I baked for them. Although they loved the cheesecake I baked, the whole set up did not work out long term. I realised that doing wholesale baking is not for me. I felt more like a factory rather being a bakery. Doing that for almost a year made me feel like Friendly Nettle lost it’s face. I realised i preferred to create a variety of different bakes instead of the same thing day in day out. I’m currently working on my bakery site to make it more accessible for you guys! But for now, I am pleased to share my passion fruit cheesecake recipe that I have now turned into a mini cheesecake recipe. I think they are super cute and perfect for individual portions at a dinner party. MINI PASSION FRUIT CHEESECAKES makes 12-20 mini cheesecakes (depending on size)

(for the base)

200g digestives, finely crumbled
75g butter, melted

(for the filling)

600g soft cheese
125ml passion fruit syrup (50g sugar+passion fruit juice)
4 eggs
150g caster sugar
2 tbsp corn flour

(for the topping)

170g passion fruit pulp (either from a can or from around 6 passion fruits)
50g caster sugar
1 gelatine leaf (about 1-2g), soaked in cold water

1. Combine biscuit crumbs with melted butter. Divide the mixture into the mini cake tins and press it down with the spoon. I used a silicon muffin baking pan because I don’t have any other baking tins suitable. What I really would like to have is this type of pan!

2. In the food processor mix the filling and pour it on top of the cheesecake bases. Bake the cheesecakes in preheated 180C oven for 45min. I usually bake cheesecakes in the a bath, all you need to do is fill the baking tray below the cheesecakes with some boiling water. 3. Meanwhile, heat the passion fruit pulp with sugar. Melt the gelatine leaf into the mixture and remove then from the heat. Pour the topping over the baked and cooled cheesecakes. Place the cheesecake tray in the fridge to set. Once set, these mini cheesecakes should easily come out of their moulds/tins…. what ever you were baking them in!Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Things I look forward in November

By Rasa Pelham on November 1, 2014 in Autumn, Updates

It’s getting really busy here running up to Christmas (you know, crafting gifts and stuff), but there are plenty of stuff I look forward to. Here are few…

1. VISITING CLEY-ON-SEA. We visited this lovely village briefly in September, but now we will be visiting Grandma Elizabeth for the whole weekend. Really looking forward to that!2. BONFIRE NIGHT. I have made these pasta tortilla bites with leek and bacon last year. Really hoping to go and see fireworks in Bedford this year! Do you know any good places?3. CHRISTMAS MARKET! This is something that has made me even more busy! I’m prepping for it now as I will be selling Friendly Nettle goodies there. It’s a perfect place if you want to get a unique gift for someone. Save the date and come along (I will be sharing my tips on crochet, embroidery and more).

Happy November!

Rasa xoxo

It’s a hold up! Feathers McGraw strikes again! (as a door stopper)

By Rasa Pelham on October 31, 2014 in Home-sweet-home, Sewing

Do you remember this from Wallace & Gromit “The Wrong Trousers”? If not then I really really recommend watching it! I love every detail of this stop motion movie. Joni and I particularly like the Feathers McGraw character, notorious criminal mastermind and bird of many faces. He is so mysterious and funny at the same time! Joni suggested that I should make my next door stopper just like him :-).

I wanted to make Feathers McGraw in his chicken disguise, but sadly making his comb (aka the rubber glove on his head) did not quite work out. The fabric I used (PVC sort of fabric as I thought this would represent rubber glove best) did not invert back well after stitching on the wrong side. Maybe you have better ideas for this? Maybe thinner fabric? Anyways, the pattern above is an initial pattern that worked well, minus the chicken comb. Click HERE to see how I made it!Feathers Mcgraw turned out quite friendly after all, he serves as a perfect door stopper :). Really pleased with this project!I hope you will enjoy this project too!

Rasa :)

Savoury sweetcorn muffins

By Rasa Pelham on October 29, 2014 in Lunch or Dinner, Savoury Delights, Winter Warmers

I’ve wanted to make these since the first time I tasted them. Once while out with the girls we ordered them at this american style restaurant (don’t remember the name). Now when it’s getting wintery outside (almost), I thought these muffins would be perfect with soup. We dipped them in spicy Mexican soup and we absolutely loved them (especially Joni).SAVOURY SWEETCORN MUFFINS makes 12 muffins

245g superfine cornmeal
3 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp coconut oil
250ml milk
50g grated cheddar cheese
100g sweetcorn kernels (used frozen ones)

1. Measure all the ingredients into the mixing bowl and combine everything well.

2. Spoon the mixture into lined cupcake tinned. I used silicon cupcake baking pan this time, so did not need to use any liners. Bake the muffins in preheated 180C oven for 20 min.Serve warm! Oh, did I mentioned that it tastes heavenly with soup? Should definitely try that out! Enjoy!

Rasa :)

Few ideas on how to survive Halloween at home

By Rasa Pelham on October 28, 2014 in Autumn, Budget £, Paper Crafts, Sweet Treats

I don’t want to be a fun spoiler, but I really don’t like Halloween. I think I mentioned my reasons last year, one of them being the difficulty of making Halloween deco pretty. Anyway it’s fun for kids and you don’t want to stop that! Have you ever had one of those awkward moments when group of kids knocks on your door and say “trick or treat” when you have no single sweet treat in the house? To avoid this, here are few tips/ideas on how to avoid these unpleasant moments ;-).

1. Treats! Yes, stock up on treats! The best treats are candies and if you feel like making some here is the recipe that I made last year (it’s vanilla and black pepper BTW!). Or if you prefer, bake this ghost meringue cake. Autumn butternut squash cupcakes is another alternative if you want something sweet yourself while you wait ;-).2. Decorations, at least at the front of the house. Because you don’t want to bother and decorate the whole house! Garlands are grate for this. Here is one for you to try. Just make sure it’s all ready before 6pm this Friday!3. Failed to do no. 1 and 2.? Just pretend you are not home and switch the lights off or something. Close the curtains and light the candle, that should be fun!

Happy Halloween!

Rasa xoxo

Pinterest challenge: Chinese dumplings

By Rasa Pelham on October 27, 2014 in Lunch or Dinner, Pinterest challenge

I have wanted to learn how to make Chinese dumplings for a while now. My father in law gave me a dumpling cube for my birthday (yey!) and that spurred me into my Pinterest challenge to make this type of dumplings. I was nervous to begin with as I had never made Chinese dumplings before and they looked quite tricky to shape. Luckily it turned out ok, although I almost used a few profane words along the process (oops!). Overall I would say this could be fun activity in relaxed setting (with a glass of wine in the hand) when not pressured to make it for dinner. So making these dumplings when hungry is not recommended!

PORK & SHIITAKE MUSHROOM DUMPLINGS adopted from Two Loves Studio

I made a lot of substitutions, so you are aware! Because I don’t see myself running a Chinese restaurant or cooking mostly Chinese. Basically I did not want to end up with lot’s of oriental ingredients that I am not going to use again. Some ingredients has been replaced just because they were difficult to find in shops.

(for dumpling wrappers)

300g ’00’ flour
150-250ml boiling hot water

(for pork & shiitake mushroom filling)

200g pork mince
0.5 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
0.5 cup celery sticks, finely chopped
0.5 cup spring onions, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp chilli puree
1 egg, lightly beaten

(for dipping)

3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

1.First make the dough by mixing flour with very hot water. Do this gradually as you may not need the whole amount. Kneed the dough for 10-15min, wrap it and place it in the fridge for 1 hour to rest. I was really pleased with my dough, it came out silky smooth as described!2. Second, make the filling (one day ahead if possible so flavours get a chance to marinate). Mix the minced meet with finely chopped mushrooms, celery and spring onions. Add ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, chilli puree. egg and combine everything well.3. Split the dough in two and roll each piece into tube with a diameter of about 3cm (or 1inch). Cut the tubes into evenly sized pieces. Squish each disk with the palm of your hand with little flour and roll out the dumpling wrapper into the thin circle, working from the outside of the circle to the middle. Since I have been using a dumpling cube, I had to trim the circles into squares (luckily square cutter included in the kit) and place them onto the dumpling moulds. If you don’t have a dumpling maker then this video should be useful to you ;-). I spooned small amount of filling onto each dumpling wrapper square and folded the cube inwardsI stamped the cube couple of times to make sure it has pressed the dumpling edges securely. The dumplings came out well, except some dough kept sticking into the cube hinges! Not a huge problem as I cleaned it all out at the end of the day.Made quite many dumplings, although I am not too sure if I made my life easer with this dumpling cube. I guess I will have to find out next time and try shaping them by hand. 4. I wanted my dumplings steamed, so I lined my steamer with baking paper (did not have any bamboo steamer) and cooked the dumplings that way for about 10-15 min. However you can boil them or fry them as well (will try frying next time!). My dumping liquid have leaked out a little bit, but they still tasted really good. Will definitely try shaping them by hand next time to see if that makes any difference! Have a lovely week!

Rasa :-)

Tips on making a photo album

By Rasa Pelham on October 24, 2014 in Gift Giving, Organisation, Paper Crafts

I will admit, this is my first time making a photo album. So I guess you are thinking why on earth am I sharing my tips on this! The thing is, when I was at Uni (studied Fashion) I did my fair share of presentations in booklet form (I don’t even remember what they were called, that was such a long time ago). They were kind of similar to a photo album. At least the planning process is the same. And this is what I am going to share here about. The way I create a layout that is eye pleasing, not just how to cut and paste.

I am using our wedding album as an example as I have been putting them together over the last few weeks.

1. Select the photos that you would like in the album. Go over couple of times to see if there are any photos that look very similar. Make sure you have a good selection of pics to tell a ‘story’ including some close ups as well as the main photos. I don’t personally like a row of pics with everyone posing in the groups, unless this is the style you are aiming for of course. Basically, aim for variation!2. Organise your photos into subfolders. If you have a large number of photos (which you should as it is an album that you are making) then this is a must. Sorting your pics into chronological or some other order helps to spot even more photos that you don’t need. Having to deal with a big volume of photos can be quite overwhelming. So cutting them into smaller bites is always a good idea. Here are a few subfolders I made for our wedding album: preparation, church, bride and groom exit, church group pics and so on. I of course mixed a few pics in between the folders to make it look good, but organising photos this way helps to see a bigger picture. 3. Create a mock up photo album on PowerPoint (or similar program). This helps you to play around with photo layouts before it is stuck in the actual album . At this stage you can also decide on the album theme and style. You can pick the font, picture frames, layout style or even small embellishments. It’s important not to overdo it and pick only a few theme details that will reappear throughout the album. Reappearing features (let it be one font type or frame style etc) connect an album as a whole from start to finish. Try to do the same with the photos, look out for similar colours and shapes and have a good variation (some close ups next to wider angle shots). The last thing I want to say is have fun with it. This is your photo album at the end of the day ;-).4. Cut and paste the photos in pre-planned order. This should be quite straight forward. One thing you should remember is that the layout might not look exactly how you planned, but it will be pretty close. 5. Fix the unexpected issues. When you plan ahead it can help you to avoid mistakes. However mistakes do still happen. If there are any issues sometimes you have to think outside the box to creatively fix them. Sometimes the fixed mistake ends up better than the original plan. When making our album I made a mistake about the number of pages. I did not want to leave the extra pages blank as it would look unfinished. I put “to be continued…” to give a sense that the story being told in the album is still ongoing. I created our wedding album in one of the hand bound books I made last week. That was great as I had complete control on how many pages to insert and what type. I could even choose the most suitable cover for our wedding theme!I hope this inspired you to make your own photo album!

Rasa xoxo

Lazy caramel and cranberry bites

By Rasa Pelham on October 23, 2014 in From my childhood, Lithuanian, Sweet Treats

In Lithuanian these lazy bites are called “Tinginys” which essentially means “The Lazy One’ (fancy some history about this? There we go!). Traditionally this easy to make treat is made with crumbled biscuits, coco powder, condensed milk and butter. But when I was little I experimented a lot (because there is no oven needed here) and I came up with this version (read on). I forgot about this for a while until I treated myself with my first cooking book “Cheap as Chips, Better Than Toast” just before my student years began (in year 2004, long time ago!). Oh, I learned so much from it, thanks you soooo much, Miranda Shearer. I probably would not be writing this blog if you have never written this wonderful book! But where art thou? I searched for you in twitter, no luck :(.

Anyway, I came across “Fridge Cake” recipe, which reminded me of my “The Lazy One” recipe. I used Miranda’s recipe to recover my childhood’s recipe and there we go! In all it’s glory!!!! You would be silly not to try it! Even better if you make it with kids (because that’s how simple it is!). LAZY CARAMEL AND CRANBERRY BITES

175g malted milk biscuits
90g butter
30g sugar
60g caramel (I use the one that comes in the tin and can be found in condensed milk department)
60g dried cranberries

1. Crumble the biscuits either by hand or by using food processor. It does not have to be crumbled so finely, roughly will work as fine!2. In the pan melt the butter with sugar and caramel.3. Add the biscuit crumbs and the cranberries into the melted butter. Combine everything well and let it cool slightly. 4. Wrap the mixture into the cling film and baking paper like the sausage. If you want even easer method, then put the mixture into cake tin and press down well. Leave it to harden in the fridge. 5. The cake is ready after few hours! Just unwrap it (or remove it from cake tin) and slice it to serve. Enjoy!!!! This is really yummy!

Rasa xoxo

Say it in 3D: make a pop up greeting card!

By Rasa Pelham on October 22, 2014 in Budget £, Gift Giving, Paper Crafts, Pretty patterns for crafts

Let’s be honest, do you keep the greeting cards you receive for birthdays or Christmas? I don’t, although I try to reuse them in paper crafts. I know that majority of us would eventually bin them. And knowing this makes me sad :(. I don’t like the idea that we spend 2-5 pounds on the card for it to be binned. This is why I make every possible effort to make a handmade card. There are two major reasons for that. It cost practically nothing since I reuse or use up all the paper stash I have. Handmade cards have a better chance in surviving longer as it has a sentimental, caring value attached to it.