Scarf.

This year I feel more exited about Christmas then any other years for no particular reason. Just feel so happy and jolly, I want to decorate more and can't wait until we get our tree but for now I started knitting a Christmas scarf for myself. 

 

Carrot cake.

Yesterday I made my very first carrot cake, the recipe calls for some pineapple and coconut but I didn't add them because I'm don't like pineapple in cakes and it came out really nice.

Carrot cake:

- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp finely grated orange rind
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups grated carrots
( 1 can crushed pineapple drained and 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl beat eggs with sugar until light and fluffy, beat in oil, orange rind and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients, stir just until moistened. Stir in carrots ( pineapple and coconut), scrape into prepared pan, smooth top and bake in 350F until the cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean about 1 hour.

Cream Cheese Icing:

- 2 tbsp each cream cheese and butter softened.
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup icing sugar

In bowl beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla. Add sugar in two additions, beat until smooth.

Stitching.

My little one is asking me for stitching lessons so I got the fabric and I wrote for her what she want to stitch and she picked the thread.

 

Waffles.

This weekend I have a big Christmas Show happening so I'm spending all my time sewing but yesterday I managed to find a free moment and I made waffles. Delicious with blueberries and whipped cream. 

 

Flower baskets.

When I had to bring my flowers indoor I didn't have enough room for all of them so I had to make some hanging baskets using twine. Now they are away from my cat and look nice in the window.

 

Reading.

Reading is very important to me and I try to encourage my children to read more. I remember spending lots of time with my older daughter, now 14, with books and around books and now she loves to read. My younger one (8 years old) is a different story, she loves comic books which is something totally new to me, she read many like the Ninja Turtles, Amulet, Jellaby and Legends of Zita the space girl but she often expresses that she doesn't like to read, perhaps I didn't spend enough time reading with her when she was little. When it comes to my reading I just can't find the time, when I read before bed I simply fall a sleep with the book. The past few weeks we fell way behind with our books, my older one is reading the second part of Maze runner for a long time now, my is the Happiness Project and my little one is not reading anything, so I decided that change is in order. We will get ready for bed one hour earlier and spend the time with books, all together cuddled up in bed in pajamas read out loud one story or quietly with our own books. I also got new book for my younger daughter and its a chapter book with hope that she will like it and to get her started I will read to her before bed and maybe she will want to read every other chapter.  

 

Cabbage rolls.

One of my most favorite dishes, it takes a day, sometimes two but its all worth it. 

1. Cut the core from the cabbage and cook in salted water on medium high. Every 5 minutes or so using two forks remove few layers of leaves. When the leaves are cool cut off the hard part in the middle of the leaf.

 

 2. Cook rice, fry mushrooms and 1 onion (separately) and mix all in big bawl or pot.

3. Add ground chicken, salt and pepper and mix all well.

4. Get the roasting pan ready, put few pieces of butter on the bottom of the pan then line it with smaller leaves from the cabbage ( I use the really small ones that are too small for rolling or any that ripped ). In each leaf put some of your rice mixture, fold the sides in and roll, arrange the rolls tight. On top put more little leaves and butter.
I always make more then we can eat for dinner so the extra ones go to freezer.

 5. I make mushroom sauce but you can also make tomato. I use 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, some water and extra mushrooms, heat it up and pour it over the leaves.  Bake in 400F for about 40 minutes.

Delicious.

 
 

In my Kitchen.

Fall is time for cabbage, and I love it. I make many dishes with it but cabbage rolls are my favorite. So yesterday I got two big ones and today I'm working on the rolls.