Monday Munchies: Sauteed Chicken

Sunny Monday and time for yet another yummy recipe on the Monday Munchies.




Sauteed Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breast
- 1/2 kg natural pineapple
- 1 red onion
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- some parsley or coriander
- olive oil
- salt

Method:

- Cut the chicken in thin stripes. Peel the onion and cut in thin stripes too. Peel & core the pineapple, chucking out the central fibrous part, then cut it in small bite pieces. Wash & dry the parsley/coriander and chop it finely.

- Sauté the onion in a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stripes and sauté them for about 5 minutes. Then add the pineapple and cook for 2 more minutes.

- Add now the sesame seeds, soy sauce and the chopped parsley/coriander. Add salt to taste and stir to mix all ingredients. Sauté for one more minute and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Shopping Handmade: Náyade's birthday!

Happy Friday everyone!


Even if I have to work Saturday night shift, I'm feeling like I'm getting half a weekend off, even if I'm debating whether to take a nap or have a nice coffee! Maybe both?


Yesterday I met up with my friends from uni, since Náyade (the one living in Italy) was visiting and it had been her b-day on the 22nd, so we had to celebrate her b-day!


We met up over drinks and tapas, basking in the nice February sun, and enjoying having a lost spring day to enjoy in the outside tables of the pub we were at! As usual, we chatted, we laughed and we had a brilliant time! And of course, I took loads of pics!


All my present for Náyade were handmade, and she loved them all! First of all, since both Pilu and Náyade liked the lil nurse I got for Esther, I asked Camamiel's Ana to create a lovely adorable custom nurse for Náyade too, and as always, Ana created the perfect doll! Náyade loved her, and now Pilu is asking for a doll, too! She'll just have to wait for her b-day in October, though ;)






I also put together a lil care baggie for Náyade with a Green Tea soap from Sweet Petula, the awesome happy feet Peppermint cream from Right As Rain Creations and a sample size body lotion from Body Language Soaps! And you only have to read Náyade's body language to see she was happy with the gifts! ;)






Last but not least, a birthday is not a proper birthday without a birthday card! And my handmade route always goes through On Cupcake Moon, since Deb was so awesome as to make me b-day cards in Spanish, and to add the final touch, a lil stamping done with my cupcake stamp from Skull And CrossBuns!








I leave you with a toast to friendship and sunny days! Esther says: Have a tinto de verano with us! ;)

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Fabulously Fierce Home Decor!!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday time is here once again! Ready for an usual thing to wear?

"Wearing" a Fabulously Fierce Lampshade!

I've featured Kylie's pet shop before, it's where I got the collars for both Miss Cinnamon and Miss Indy, and though that shop is no more, you need to check her shiny new pet shop, The Willow Goose! But of course, this is not a feature of her pet shop, but of her amazing home decor shop, Fabulously Fierce!


Kylie's speciality are corseted lampshades! The perfect way to add a wonderful unique touch to the decor to any and all rooms in your house! They're so great that even if I don't have a place of my own yet, I got me the most awesome lampshade in history, go ahead, be jealous! You can find a lampshade to match any decor in her shop, from gothy to cutesy, and she can also make you a custom one to match your room's decor perfectly!


But, the lampshade I'm happily sporting is not the one I bought for myself, is one this lil lucky lady won on a giveaway on WhatTheCraft (you need to check this website, not only has awesome giveaways, but also all sort of info and tutorials for the crafty inclined!). This lampshade will be given to my friend Gema as part of her b-day presents next week, hope she'll like it!

Monday Munchies: Spinach burgers (non vegan).

Monday is here again, and I start the week trying to sleep to recover enough for yet another night shift tonight!


For this gloomy Monday I wanna share I recipe I really like. I like eating healthy and loads of veggies, but spinach isn't my fave one to eat, even if it's a very recommendable one for its high iron content. This recipe is a good option to eat more veggies in a yummy way!




Spinach Burgers (Non-vegan)
Serve 4

Ingredients:

- 1/2 kg spinach
- 300 gr cottage cheese
- grated cheese
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- breadcrumbs
- olive oil
- salt
- cherry tomatoes (to serve with)

Method:

- Wash the spinach, drain and cut them in tiny thin pieces. Peel & cut the onion and garlic cloves and saute in a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil for about 7 or 8 minutes.

- Clean the carrot and cut the ends, then grate it and reserve. Mash the cottage cheese in bowl. Add to it the spinach, 2 tablespoon of grated cheese, the sauteed onion & garlic and the egg, beaten. Add salt to taste, and add breadcrumbs until you get the mix compact enough.

- Form balls with the mixture and make them into burgers with your hands. Fry them in a non-stick pan with only a little oil for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

- Serve them with the cherry tomatoes.

Do Bats Eat Cats?!

Friday is here once again, and this time it means a weekend at work for me. At least I work night shift Friday & Sunday, which means that at least I get Saturday off!


Since today is the start of the weekend, I wanna share a special shop with you all, one to find something unique to complete your going-out-to-party ensemble!


I found Darlene's shop when she joined the Attack of the Craft forum, and I was quite amazed at her chainmaille jewellry seeing as by the word chainmaille, all the mental images I conjured where Middle Ages and or Lord Of The Rings armor related! And of course, something else that drew me to her shop was the name, right out of my beloved Alice: "Do cats eat bats?, Do bats eat cats?"




So, taking advantage of a sale she offered, I got myself a chainmaille ornament in silver and teal, in the shape of a Celtic star. Absolutely gorgeous! Once I got it I just couldn't stop turning it around in my hand and marveling at how intricate the work is. Seeing them in person really helps you see the amount of work involved in these pieces!






Right now I have my eye on one of her necklaces and a zipper pull, both with Celtic stars designs, you could say I'm quite fond of said design! ;) DO check her shop and you'll understand why!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Meow Kiki!!

Cloudy Wednesday over here, and even if that shouldn't be at all related, it caused today's Wearing Handmade Wednesday to be slightly delayed!

Wearing my Meow Kiki baseball top at Lodhi Gardens

I've already talked in one of my first blog entries about Heather and her amazing Meow Kiki brand and the huge amount of her clothes I own, so it was only fair I did a Wearing Handmade Wednesday featuring her! Not only she has all sorts of clothes for all occasions but also has some start of the art fashion pieces!

All in all, wonderful shop that all of you need to check!

Monday Munchies: Rice with chicken and raisins!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!


Today I'm going back to Monday Munchies recipes, and though this one isn't the most exotic of recipes, it is a yummy one and it has cinnamon (supposedly aphrodisiac) so it could be a good idea for a homey Valentine's dinner!




Rice With Chicken & Raisins
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 400 gr rice
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 big onion
- 50 gr raisins
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Put a pan with salted water on the stove. When the water starts boiling, add the rice and cook for 18 minutes. Then cool it under the tap with cold water and let it drain well.

- Clean the chicken breast, wash, dry it well and cut it bite sized pieces, add salt to taste. In a non-stick pan, shallow fry the chicken with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once done, put the chicken bits on a plate covered with paper towels, so they absorb the excess oil.

- Peel the onion, cut it thinly and cook it on low heat in the same pan you used for the chicken, once the onion starts getting translucent, add the raisins and the chicken. Saute them together for a few minutes and add the ground cinnamon. Add some more salt if needed, sprinkle some ground black pepper and add the rice. Mix well on high heat for a pair of minutes so the rice mixes well with the rest.

- Serve hot and enjoy!

Attack of the Craft Book Club!

Friday is here again!


With the weekend almost here, and some time off coming, what better than curling in your sofa with a good book and a nice cup of tea? At least that's my idea of a lovely relaxing day!




Being the crazy bookworm I am, it was only a question of time till I ended up organizing a book club with other members of the Attack of the Craft, after one of them suggested all the bookworms with similar taste organized one!


For now, we're in the process of people signing up for it, and voting on a book genre poll, and we'll later select a book to read during March. We'll be discussing the book progress weekly on AOTC chat. I'm really excited about this, I've never been part of a book club, but I'm hoping this will be a fun experience and a way to discover new books!


I'll be probably blogging each month about the book we'll choose for the book club, if I can find a good name for my entries... any suggestions?


If you want to join us, head over to the AOTC forum, sign up for it and look for the book section, cause you know... the more the merrier!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Glamasaurus!!

Today, for my Wearing Handmade Wednesday you might think I'm cheating, but I just had to think quick and I really didn't feel like taking a pic of myself today, stupid cold!

Our family picture "wearing" its new Glamasaurus frame!

I'm showing off (sideways, I know) my new and amazing frame from Glamasaurus! I needed a cute frame to show off the first complete family picture, including Gaurav, and this one was absolutely perfect!


I've already blogged about Andreanna's shop, first when I won her giveaway and then again when I got some more awesomeness from her shop, but I just couldn't help it and needed to show off my new frame! Btw, did you see my Jack Skellington frame? No? Lookie and turn green with envy! ;)

Not exactly handmade, but crafty indeed: T-Shirt Sites!!

Hey everyone!


Today I just want to share something that is not exactly handmade, but do involve independent artists and crafters, t-shirt websites!


Most of you probably know about Threadless, and also about some great designers that turn those tees into tops and hoodies. But I want to introduce you lot to a few more sites, like Red Bubble (artists submit their designs and can be printed in t-shirts, and also sold as prints) and there are also places with a limited time edition tees for cheap, designs submitted by independent artists, like Teefury, Ript Apparel and Qwertee, to name a few!


You might be wondering why do I like these places so much? Not only cause it's a way of supporting independent artists, but also cause it's the best way to find cool t-shirts for geeky ladies like me! Many Star Wars tees, Doctor Who tees even True Blood ones!


Here you can see a pair of examples of tees I own!

Photos for Friday: Tutankhamun Exhibition

Friday is here! and for once, I'm having the day off and half the weekend off too! Hooray!


I was wondering what to blog about today, when I realized I hadn't showed off some of the photos I took last month when I visited the Tutankhamun Exhibition with two of my best friends. Every piece in there were replicas, the originals being in the Cairo museum, but they were fantastically crafted, and the amount of info presented everywhere was fantastic, I want to go to Egypt! (but not right now, the country is too shaken!)


So without further ado, here I present you a few of the shots I took there!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: My Funky Camera!

Hey there everyone!


Early Wednesday for me here, but it's mainly cause I've just come back from working night shift, and I've decided to write my blog entry before going to sleep today! And work related is this Wearing Handmade Wednesday post too!

My Funky Camera neck strap for my work's ID badge

I discovered My Funky Camera when Gaurav gave me a wrist strap for my camera as a birthday gift, I don't know how he does it, but he can always find the most awesome sites for camera related gear! When checking the website, I saw that they also offered neck straps for point & shoot cameras that were longer and could also work as straps for video cameras and for ID badges, and I thought that I really needed one for my work ID card! I got me the super cute Geisha print, and to this day, all my co-workers are envious of it! ;)