Author Archive | Rasa Pelham

Things I look forward to in May

By Rasa Pelham on May 1, 2014 in Blog, Updates

I can’t believe its another month gone, last month of Spring! Here is what I am looking forward in May:

1. MY HOUSE RENOVATION TO BE FINISHED! Generally I like decorating my home and adding all those creative details in it. But currently I am insulating the walls, so if you can imagine it is quite boring :-(. Really looking forward to finish so I can move on to fun stuff.

2. TIME TO PICNIC as I am dreaming about summer! I recently came across this lovely website called The English Muse, even if the author is completely not English. I really love their outdoor photography!

3. BABY SHOWER, not mine of course! My really really good friend Suzanne, who is about to pop out the baby and is my Matron of Honour (such a funny title must I say) a month after. I amazed by her dedication!

When it comes to Baby Shower gifts I love the creative ideas. This DIY Hospital Survival Kit is so much cooler than all those diaper bouquet displays (I think you know what I mean).

Happy May!

Rasa xoxo

Baked English Breakfast

By Rasa Pelham on April 29, 2014 in Blog, Break-the-fast

Here in England we are dedicated to English breakfast and we are loving it! It comes with many components such as bacon, sausages, eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, toast and so much more. Here is how I make mine all baked: easer and lower in fat ;-).

BAKED ENGLISH BREAKFAST

serves 2-3 breakfast lovers

4 portobello mushrooms
1 tbsp butter
10 (or more) bacon rashers
4 eggs (I started using duck eggs, you so should try that)
Handful of cherry tomato

1. Start by frying mushrooms in butter. I know I know this sounds like high in fat, but mushrooms need butter (Julia Child would agree with me in this). After all, traditional English breakfast would have even more fat as it is all fried.

2. Lay everything in baking dish: fried mushrooms, eggs, bacon rashers and tomatoes. Bake everything in preheated 200C oven for 20-30 min.

Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Yummy mug cakes

By Rasa Pelham on April 26, 2014 in Blog, Sweet Treats

Anybody who have a very sweet tooth like me would understand that a piece of fruit just doesn’t do. In emergencies I tried everything including all those mug cakes that seem so hyped up at this moment. I am however disappointed that they are often a little dry.

Here is my version of yummy mug cakes ;-). They are moist and can be served with many type of toppings such as fruit, jam or chocolate sauce!

I developed these yummies from Joni’s mum’s microwavable syrup sponge recipe (which is one of my favourites!). Single serving in the mug is a perfect way to kill that sweet tooth craving!

YUMMY MUG CAKE (single serving)

2tbsp butter
2tbsp sugar
1 medium egg
5.5tbsp self rising flour
2 tbsp coco powder (optional to make a chocolate sponge)
syrup to cover the top (I like golden syrup the best)
toppings such as chocolate sauce, jam, fruits, berries or even poppy seeds

1. Cream the butter with sugar. Gradually mix the dough with egg, flour and coco powder (if using).

2. Spoon the dough into the mug (if not mixed the dough in the mug already). Cover the top with some syrup.

3. Microwave the mug for 5 min.

4. Top the cake with more syrup and other toppings.

Enjoy while it is still warm!

Rasa xoxo

Creative gifts: handmade token

By Rasa Pelham on April 24, 2014 in Blog, Gift Giving

When it comes to gift giving, I love making handmade gifts. But sometimes I am just short of time. Handmade tokens just works best in these cases. Here is the one I made recently for someone who is Tottenham Hotspurs fan (I happened to live very close to football grounds). You are welcome to use this tea/coffee and cake token for your own gift giving. Just print it out and write your address ;-).

Rasa xoxo

A trip to Beaulieu

By Rasa Pelham on April 22, 2014 in Blog, Travel

A trip to Beaulieu sounds a little bit like a trip to Bel Air (from Fresh Prince). Except this British seaside town looks completely different and is much more beautiful than the tropical beach (at least in my opinion).

I had an amazing opportunity to visit Beaulieu during this long Easter weekend. Did you know that the wild ponies run around free there? Sounds magical already, doesn’t it?

wild ponies in the New Forest, Beaulieu, England

Ok, ok, maybe I wish it was warmer there, but still worth the visit ;-)

Have a lovely week ;-)

Rasa

Deviled eggs

By Rasa Pelham on April 19, 2014 in Blog, Savoury Delights

If you did paint a lot of eggs for Easter like I did, then this snack is perfect to use up all those unwanted boiled eggs. This is big thing in Lithuania and it comes with many type of fillings. I like the ones with sprats (little fish that comes in the tins packed with sunflower oil). These are the simplest of all! If you can’t find sprats, then skippers will be as nice ;-).

DEVILLED EGGS WITH SPRATS

4 boiled eggs
1 tin of sprats or kippers in oil
1 tbsp mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cucumber slices to decorate

1. De-shell the eggs carefully. Cut the eggs in half and remove the egg yolks.

2. Crumble the egg yolks and mix it together with fish, it’s oil and mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Pipe the filling onto the egg halves.

4. Decorate the eggs with the cucumber slices.

Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Rasa xoxo

Au naturel Easter Eggs

By Rasa Pelham on April 17, 2014 in Art, Blog, Errors

I don’t often share my errors, but today I thought I will. I admit it happens too often when the craft project I am working on does not turn out how I would like to. Sometimes it’s about forgiving yourself and learning how to use those errors to your advantage.

This year I have decided to go all natural when dying my Easter eggs. I suppose to have loads of experiences with this as Lithuanian Easter traditions are all about dying eggs (we don’t eat that many chocolate eggs). So I decided to go with batic technique. I applied molten bees wax on the areas that I wanted to stay un-dyed. This was really tricky as I used paint brushes (when I was little we used to use cotton buds, so I thought the application would be smoother with the brush. Oh I have been so wrong!). I chose duck eggs as I could not find white shelled chicken eggs in the shop. I boiled the eggs with coffee grinds for 10 min to get the brown colour (I somehow feel that the onion shell gives better colour from my previous experiences).

So here we go, the results were horrific in my opinion. The dyes did not stick well at all and completely ignored the wax I applied. The wax just melted off :-(. When I removed the eggs from the pot I could easily rub the colours off. So I tried to do it nicely and still make them pretty… no luck :-(.

Let’s put this way. We had dyed amazing Easter eggs in the past using this technique. And although I did everything exactly as before here is what I would do to make it better next time I get to dye Easter eggs again:

I would try to use pin heads instead of paint brushes to apply molten wax
I would not boil the eggs in the dyes
Therefore would use food colouring instead

Maybe you have better suggestions? Please let us know ;-).

Happy Easter everyone!

Rasa :-)

Make your own tatted bead necklace

By Rasa Pelham on April 15, 2014 in Blog, Projects, Sponsored

Since I have learned how to tat, I have been really enjoying making lacy jewellery (thanks to CRAFTSY tatting course I took)! This simple tatted bead necklace project may not make the most delicate tatted piece, but it is still pretty and really good starting point for beginners ;-).

Enjoy ;-)

Rasa xoxo

Banana & peanut butter mini cheesecakes

By Rasa Pelham on April 12, 2014 in Blog, Sweet Treats

I came across this recipe in GoodFood mag many years ago, when one of my flatmates had a subscription for this yummy magazine (good old days!). I absolutely loved it and wanted to make more, but I could not, because I moved out and lost that recipe :-(. Luckily I found it again! So I made mini cheesecakes, they were super cute for the party ;-).

I must warn you that these cheesecakes might not be to everyone’s taste! My friends actually commented that this is not my best sweet creation. Well… It taste quite rich and it is really sweet so I suppose some people might find it too much… Why do I think so? Because I love it as much as before when I tasted it for the first time. Your choice ;-).

BANANA & PEANUT BUTTER MINI CHEESECAKES

(adapted from BBCGoodFood)

3 small bananas
50g butter, melted
10 digestives, crushed to crumbs (I baked my own)
142ml double cream
140 icing sugar
400 soft cheese
237g crunchy peanut butter

1. Several hours before, place 2 bananas in the freezer until the skins go black, then remove and defrost. You’ll be left with really soft bananas. Peel, then mash well and set aside.

2. Mix the butter and biscuits together, then press into 10 small ramekins.

3. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar, soft cheese and vanilla together until completely combined. In another bowl, beat the peanut butter to loosen it.

4. Fold the cheese mixture into the peanut butter, then tip in the mashed banana and gently fold in the cream. Spread the mix over the biscuit base and smooth the top.

5. Freeze for several hours or preferably overnight. To serve, leave the cake in the fridge for 20 mins. Slice the remaining banana and use to decorate the cheesecake. Optionally you can sprinkle some chocolate flakes on top.

Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Knit your own Easter “Pigeon”

By Rasa Pelham on April 10, 2014 in Blog, Knitting, Projects

Hey, do you remember this knitted bird decoration? I have been digging out some decorations for Easter and this is what I came across. This little birdie never goes out of fashion ;-).

The reason why I called it a “Pigeon” is because my friend Anna thought that the colours resembles it quite well! What do you think? Pigeons might not have a good reputation, they still look cute if you think about it.

To knit your own “Pigeon” go here!

Happy knitting!

Rasa xoxo

Easter feast with friends

By Rasa Pelham on April 7, 2014 in Blog, Lunch or Dinner

When it comes to Easter feast with friends, first thing comes to my mind is some sort of roast. I think this is the best way to use up all the leftover preserves such as apple sauce or pickled beets for sides . That is if you are lucky enough to have any leftovers from last Autumn ;-).

This weekend we tried to roast a gammon. I was terrified at first as I have never dealt with such a big piece of meat. Luckily the recipe that we found on BBC Good Food website had really good reviews so we just went with that. Gammon pre-cooked in cola and roasted with honey and mustard glaze tasted amazing!

Unfortunately we did not have any leftover preserves. I made quick Lithuanian white salad instead! My favourite festive salad in fact ;-).

LITHUANIAN WHITE SALAD

3 medium size potatoes, cooked
2 carrots, cooked
3 hard boiled eggs
3 big pickled gherkins
2 small cans (300g each) processed peas
3 tbsp or more mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
fresh herbs to decorate (optional)

1. Dice all the ingredients and place them in the large bowl.

2. Mix everything with mayonnaise, season and decorate with fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Selvedge Spring Fair

By Rasa Pelham on April 4, 2014 in Blog, Updates

Anybody who knows Selvedge magazine will be excited that there is Selvedge Spring Fair on King’s road this weekend. I had a little preview, looking good! :-)

Lovely embellished fabrics from Gallery 196 and Jenpatola that came all the from India.

Love the idea of knitted jewellery designed by a textile designer Amy Lawrence.

I am intrigued by the style of Minus Sun crocheted creations!

Have a lovely weekend!

Rasa xoxo

Wholemeal English muffins + low-fat hollandaise sauce

By Rasa Pelham on April 3, 2014 in Blog, Break-the-fast, My Daily Bread

English muffins are great for breakfast, especially when making Eggs Benedict! And it’s easy to bake them too… well, actually you almost fry them in the pan. So basically you don’t even need an oven!

Today I have decided to make a healthier version of Eggs Florentine (its like Eggs Benedict but with spinach). Therefore I experimented and made English muffins wholemeal. I am pretty pleased with the results! Made little batch just because I wasn’t sure how it will turn out. do double or triple the amounts, because the recipe bellow only makes 3 English muffins.

WHOLEMEAL ENGLISH MUFFINS

100g wholemeal flour
70g plain flour
3g fast acting dry yeast
4g salt
110ml warm water
drizzle of sunflower oil

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl to form a sticky dough.

2.Turn the dough out on to a clean work surface. Kneed for 10min until smooth.

3. Shape the dough into the round , coat with a little extra oil and place in the clean bowl to rise for about an hour.

4. Deflate the dough by pressing it all over and divide it into three rounds.

5. Let the dough rise for another half and hour.

6. Preheat heavy pan (cast iron one would be perfect) and lay the muffins inside.

7. “Fry” the muffins dry and turn them over gently time to time. This process takes about 10 min. Initially the muffins might be sticking together, but that should be more hand-able ones the muffins gain the crust.

The muffins then can be toasted, buttered and served with the eggs. In my case scenario I toped it with weltered spinach (remember? low-fat Eggs Florentine?).

Pouched eggs of course…

and Hollandaise sauce. Although that is rich in fats I hear you say. Luckily I have recently discovered no butter Hollandaise sauce which taste as nice!

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

1 egg
juice of half lemon
1/2 tsp mustard powder (e.g such as Colman’s Mustard)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp water

1. Put all the ingredients in heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.

2. Whisk for 5 min or until the sauce thickens to mayonnaise consistency. Remove from the heat as soon as it is done.

Enjoy!

Rasa xoxo

Things I look forward to in April

By Rasa Pelham on March 31, 2014 in Blog, Updates

April is tomorrow! Another month of spring ;-). Here are few things I look forward to this month:

1. GARDENING! Every year I take time to plan what I am going to plant or sow in my little urban garden. I absolutely love doing that! However through four years of gardening I made plenty mistakes. My common failure is that I often plant the plants too close to each other. Hopefully this year is going to be different and everything will grow in harmony ;-). Just for fun, here is how my garden looked like 4 years ago (trust me, it turned into jungle soon after).

2. EASTER, it’s time with friends and family! Really looking forward to that. Hmm… should I paint the eggs or should I eat a lot of chocolate ones? I really like these Easter eggs that are simple and really pretty. I found them on the Joy Ever After blog that I absolutely love!

3. WARM AND SUNNY DAYS. I know, I know we had some of those already, but more of spring-like weather would be a bonus ;-). I am looking forward to wearing my spring wardrobe. Need to make those dresses very soon!

4. MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE. We went to part 1 already and both of us are looking forward to part 2. Really recommended for couples that are engaged or not engaged!

Have a lovely week :-)

Rasa xoxo

✿The Edible Garden Show✿

By Rasa Pelham on March 28, 2014 in Blog, Gardening, Inspiration

Today I had a chance to pop in to The Edible Garden Show! Luckily it is just round the corner :-). Sometimes it’s so convenient to live in London. This event has really inspired me, not to mentioned that I have accidentally bumped into His Majesty Prince Charles!

So, I have been inspired to start seedings now (bought plenty of seed packs while there) or I will have to buy ready plants very soon. I also got inspired to help bees by creating this bee hotel!

I also participated in degradable pot making DIY organised by Garden Organic charity. I have posted a tutorial on how to make degradable pots using empty toilet paper rolls earlier this year. Using newspaper instead is an alternative.

Just follow there simple steps: 1. have compost, seed, newspaper and small bottle ready. 2. Fold the newspaper piece 1inch in and place the bottle on top. 3. wrap the newspaper piece around the bottle. 4. Fold in the bottom and press it against the flat surface such as table. 5. remove the bottle and your pot is ready! 6. pour the compost into the pot, then place the seed and then cover with a little bit more compost.

From now on urban herbs is my favourite herb supplier! They even had chocolate mint plant… whats not to like about that?

Feniton Foods has inspired me to grow edible flowers in my garden! Huge potential here, don’t you think?

Although marigolds are not suitable for baking (perfect for salads however), I went completely crazy about them when I was buying the seeds. The good place to go is the edible flower shop ;-).

If you would like to visit The Edible Garden Show, you are not too late as it ends by the end of this weekend. Go here for details.

Rasa xoxo

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