Glossy Box January/Jänner 2012

Today is a good day. My camera's working again, and therefore I can continue blogging. And I just picked up my first Glossy Box ever from the post office. A couple of weeks ago I decided that 2012 will be a glamurous year and so I subscribed to the Glossy Box. This is the Austrian January/Valentine's Day box. 

Heute ist ein guter Tag. Meine Kamera funktioniert wieder und daher kann ich auch wieder bloggen. Außerdem habe ich gerade meine allererste Glossy Box von der Post abgeholt. Nachdem ich vor ein paar Wochen beschlossen habe, dass 2012 ein glamuröses Jahr wird, habe ich die Glossy Box abonniert. Diese ist die österreichische Jänner-/Valentinststagsbox. 

This is what the box looked like when I picked it up from the post office. Lovely, isnt't it? 

So hat die Box ausgesehen, als ich sie auf der Post in Empfang genommen habe. Hübsch, oder?

Inside was the actual Glossy Box: a box of very good quality and the perfect size to re-use it as a packing for presents or candy. 

Darin war die eigentliche Glossy Box: eine Schachtel in guter Qualität und der perfekten Größe, um sie als Geschenk- oder Pralinenverpackung wiederzuverwenden. 

In the box is another wrap, including a card with information about the Glossy Box and about the products inside. 

In der Schachtel ist noch eine Verpackung und eine Karte mit Informationen zur Glossy Box und den enthaltenen Produkten.

I finally made it to the products! In my box are: CLINIQUE High Impact Mascara (a beautiful black mascara), KÉRASTASE Elexir Ultime (a "hair-oil" that's supposed to give you beautiful hair), KIEHL'S Ultra Facial Moisturizer (a moisturizer for the face that also protects you from UVB light), LANCÔME Génifique (an anti-aging serum - Hello, I'm 28!) and STYX Orange & Tangerine Body Lotion (I think that anything by the Austrian natural cosmeticy company STYX is great). 

I haven't tested the products yet, but I'm really happy with my Glossy Box!

Ich habe es geschafft zu den Produkten durchzudringen! In meiner Box sind: CLINIQUE High Impact Mascara (ein schöner schwarzer Mascara), KÉRASTASE Elexir Ultime (ein "Haaröl", das den Haaren einen schönen Glanz verleihen soll), KIEHL'S Ultra Facial Moisturizer (ein Moisturizer für das Gesicht, der auch vor UVB-Strahlen schützt), LANCÔME Génifique (ein Anti-Aging-Serum - hallo, ich bin 28!) und STYX Orange & Tangerine Body Lotion (Ich glaube alles von STYX ist toll). 

Ich habe noch keines der Produkte getestet, aber ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Inhalt meiner Glossy Box!

Yours,

New Nail Polish: GOSH Miss Sweety

I bought a relly nice nail polish today at BIPA. It's a really pretty nude color by GOSH cosmetics that's called 595 Miss Sweety. 

It is my first GOSH nail polish and I was really curious about it, at it was not exactly expensive (€ 8.49) and it turned out to be a really positive surprise. It's really opaque, the brush has a good quality, the color is perfect and it dries really fast.

Nude tones are perfect for black and white nail stickers, so I tried a couple of different ones. Which one do you like the best? 

I used the following products: 

• Nude nail polish: GOSH 595 Miss Sweety
• Clear top coat: essence quick dry topcoat
• Stickers: Blue Elf Beautynail and Pro Art

And here's how to do it:

• Apply nude nail polish twice, let it dry really well.
• Stick the stickers to your nails.
• Apply a layer of top coat.

Yours,

Orange & Pepper Sharmûlah

Sharmûlah or Chermoula (in Arabic: ‏شرمولة) is a kind of marinade used with fish, seafood and meat. There are many versions of this marinade, but there is alwaysfresh herbs, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in it.

This version is prepared with orange juice, orange blossom water and green pepper. It's great with chicken or vegetables, such as slices of zucchini or eggplant, eiter for a tajine or a BBQ. 

Prep and cook time: 5 minutes

• 1 handfull fresh coriander leaves
• lemon juice of 1/2 lemon 
• 1 red onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water
• 2 table spoons pickled green pepper
• 3 teaspoons baharât
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons salt

Cut coriander, garlic and onion into piecees. Blend with all the other ingredients until you have a smooth marinade. That's it. Yes, really!

Enjoy your meal!

Summer Soup with Grains & Yoghurt

Yeah, I know it's winter. But there's nothing like a little bit of Summer feeling when it's snowing outside. 

Youghurt soups are popular all over the Middle East and Turkey. This recipe comes from a friend of mine, who lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Originally this kind of soups (and many others) is made with frîka, but this is really hard to get here in Austria. So I tried to use dried unripe spelt grain (German: Grünkern) instead - and it worked perfecty. It does taste different to frîka, but both taste good in this soup.

Serves: 3-4

Prep and cook time: 45 min

• 750 ml vegetable stock
• 125 ml yoghurt
• 1/2 cup frîka or unripe spelt grain
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 2 hands full fresh spinach 
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon harissa
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh peppermint 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 

Put the uripe spelt grain in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak for 20 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add onion and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the soaked unripe spelt grain, tomato puree and harissa and fry for another 2-3 minutes while stirring. Add the vegetable stock, peppermint, spinach and ground coriander and cook for 20 minutes.

Switch off the burner and when the soup is not boiling any more, add yoghurt and lemon juce. Stirn the soup and serve it while it's still very hot. 

Enjoy your meal!

Berry & Almond Smoothie

I drank a smoothie very similar to this one in Chicago a couple of years ago. Unfortunately I can't remeber the name of the smoothie bar or where it was ...

Serves: 2
Prep and cook time: 10 min

• 100 grams raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 100 grams blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 table spoons honey
• 2 table spoons ground almonds
• 1/2 vanilla fruit
• 1/2 tea spoon ground cinnamon
• 300 ml almond drink 

Cut vanilla fruit lengthwise, remove vanilla pulp. Squeeze juice out of the lemon. In a blending container add raspberries, blueberries, lemon juice, honey, almonds, vanilla pulp, cinnamon and almond drink. Blend until it's smooth.

Enjoy your meal!

Shakshukah

Shakshûka is a dish Tunisian origins, that is now a staple of Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisines, and is also popular in Israel. It's originally hot or very hot with chilies in the tomato sauce, but for breakfast I prefer a milder version.

By the way, it's not only great for breakfast or brunsh, but whenever you want a good, healthy & fast meal. 

Serves: 4
Prep and cook time: 30 min

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cans peeled tomatoes (400 grams each)
• 1 red sweet pepper
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon harissa (2 teaspoons if you like it hot)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 hand full fresh coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Cut pepper, onion and garlic into pieces. In a large non-stick frying pan heat the olive oil, add pepper, onion and garlic and fry until the mixture starts to brown. Add harissa, tomato paste, cinnamon, coriander seeds and cumin. 

Cut the potatoes into pieces and add them (with the tomato sauce from the cans) to the pan. Cut half of the the coriander leaves into pieces and add them to the pan. Cook for 15 minutes, stir regularely. Add the eggs to the pan and cook for 10 minutes. 

Cut the rest of the coriander leaves.

Enjoy your meal!

Almond & Orange Cake

This is a very light and fluffy cake. It's perfect to be served in the afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea. You can also freeze pieces of this cake and defrost them, whenever you need them.

• 2 oranges
• 6 eggs
• 250g caster sugar 
• 250g ground almonds 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• icing sugar for dusting  
• peeled almonds for decoration
• oil for greasing the pan

Preheat oven to 190°C. Wash oranges and place unpeeled, in a pot of boiling water for 2 hours. Drain the water and allow the oranges to cool.
Break 6 eggs into a mixing bowl or blender. Add caster sugar and beat or blend together.Place the two oranges into the egg mix. Break up the oranges and then blend together to a smooth consistency. Add the almond meal and baking powder and blend.
Grease a square baking pan with vegetable oil. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour to an hour and a half or until the top is golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with peeled almonds to serve.

Enjoy your meal!

Rice & Almond Pudding with Raspberry Sauce

This is a lactose-free, vegan and vegetarian version of a popular lebanese recipe.

Serves 4

Prep & cook time: 15 minutes

• 200 ml rice drink
• 2 table spoons rice flour
• 2 table spoons ground almonds
• 2 table spoons sliced almonds
• 2 table spoons honey
• ½ vanilla fruit
• 100 ml raspberries 

Cut vanilla fruit lengthwise, remove vanilla pulp. Heat rice drink with 1 table spoon honey, vanilla fruit and vanilla pulp in a non-stick frying pan. When boiling, add rice flour and ground almonds. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring.

Pour the pudding into 4 tea glasses.

While the pudding is cooling, puree the raspberries with 1 table spoon honey. Add raspberry sauce to every pudding and top with sliced almonds.

Enjoy your meal!

Lentil Soup à la Hatice

Yes, it's another soup recipe. I don't know how you feel about it, but in Winter I'm really into soups and eat some rich soup almost every day. Soups keep you warm and are the perfect Winter dish. 

This is a Turkish lentil soup, I followed recipe I gor from my friend Hatice and it's not only one of the best, but also the fastest lentil soup recipes I know. 

Serves 3-4

Prep & cook time: 45 minutes

• 0,75 liter vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup dried red lentils 
• 1 celery rib
• 1 hand full of celery leaves
• 1 yellow carrot
• 1 tsp fresh chopped ginger
• 1/2 onion
• 2 potatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground curcuma

Grate carrot, chop onion, cut celery rib & potatoes into small pieces. Fry the vegetables with the ginger in a large pan until they start to brown. Add vegetable stock, lentils, potatoes, cumin, coriander and curcuma and cook for 20 minutes.

Enjoy your meal!