Autumn

The Indian summer days are over, so not only on paper has it come, but its everywhere - the air is crisp, the first frosts set in, leaves are starting to fall and cover the streets, people are wearing knittings and suede, the world is adjusting to autumn's saturated and earthy colour pallet. It is time of a very particular sensation, some kind of bitter-sweet melancholia, like what evening is for the day - time for reminiscence. The season of harvest and transition.

Apart from the flu (I am being a victim now) I love everything about autumn. It is time for long walks, cups of hot chocolate, pies and stews, pumpkins and apples,  golden-daisies and rowan-tree berries, ponchos and berets, cosy evenings at home crawling under the tartan blanket, reading a great, thick book or watching a nice movie. Yes, movies by the way - which is your autumn movie? Mine is "You've got Mail" for some reason (though it actually covers all the seasons but for me it is an autumn movie).

And speaking of stews, here is the recipe of a very tasty vegetable stew I made yesterday:

• carrots (approx.8)
• cabbage-head (medium size)
• potatoes (1 kg)
• canned green peas
• sweet cream (200 ml)
• flour (1 table spoon)

 (of course the proportions depend on the mouths you want to feed and you can always improvise with the ingredients)

So you chop carrots, put them in a pot and add some water (not too much, remember it is not a soup we are making), after a little while add the chopped cabbage-head and mix every once in a while so that it doesn't get burnt, add some more water if needed. When carrots and cabbage is almost done, add chopped potatoes and after a while peas. Don't forget to mix it and check the water level, add some salt, pepper if you want and some sugar to make the taste milder. When all the veggies are ready, pour the liquid from the pot into a bowl and add the flour and mix it well, then pour this liquid back in the stew and add the sweet cream. Mix it all in, keep on the range for a little more and your stew is ready. Healthy, tasty and rather light food.

So,  bon appetit, be inspired and enjoy this beautiful season!

500 Days of Summer

And the soundtrack is just YES as well:

Moments

Reminiscing over the conversation I had today with my friend on the essence of life I came to a conclusion once again that perfection of life often appears to us in those little moments, even if it's just about the way the sunlight plays on the wall of our bedroom...

Sweet dreams and have a great week!

Valērija's Apple Pie

Returning from another Saturday at the Apple Festival I wanted to share  the  recipe of this tasty apple pie, which I learned from Valērija, hoping she would not mind :) So here we go:

• 2 eggs
• 250 g of sugar
• 250 ml of kefir or Greek yogurt
• 400 ml of flour
• vanilla sugar
• baking powder (one little package of Dr. Oetker's)

You need to stir it all, pour it into a greased baking pan and lay slices of 5 apples on the top of it. Then top it with stirred:

• 3 table spoons of sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tea spoon of sugar
• 2 pinches of cinnamon

After pouring this over the apples' slices you can still spread some cinnamon on the top of it. Put it all in a pre-heated stove at 200 degrees and let it there for 25-30 min. And there you go - enjoy the delicious apple pie! And, Valērija, thank you on behalf of everybody! :)

P.S. Concerning the information given in the previous post about the fact that apple cider equals apple wine I have to withdraw it as tested on me, myself and I - NO, IT IS NOT THE SAME THING. But still tasty :)

Apples, more apples, plenty of apples

Last Saturday we went to Steinsel's (a town in Luxembourg) surroundings for the Apple Festival which has become a MUST GO over the years for many here and serves as one of the tourist attractions as well. And I have to admit - well deserved. It takes place on the last weekend of September and the first two weekends in October. This was my first time around since my stay in Luxembourg (bad, bad girl) but I got so excited that we are going again this Saturday :)

Firstly it is a great outdoor activity for you and your family and friends, secondly you get really beautiful fruits (and cheap I have to mention), you can also buy many other good things there, like pumpkins, potatoes, cheese, honey, different spirits, even sweatshirts (but those were quite ugly I have to say) and apple juice and hard cider but there is a trick about the cider - you have to ask for the apple wine because apparently this is how they call it here and if you'll ask for the cider they will shake their heads saying - nein, wir haben kein. That was what was recommended by the English speaking community members on one of the local radio stations :) Though I have to remark that  my apple juice has become a hard cider over the days staying in the fridge but I am not really sure one should consume it :)) 

It is getting quite crowded during the day therefore I recommend on going earlier unless you are a competing type :) After collecting the apples and all the other goods you can enjoy a drink and some food and the great weather there on the spot as well.

You can find all the necessary information once you 'google' Steinsel apfelfest or for those who understand some German this can serve as a site of the reference: http://www.eistuebst-usuebscht.de/produzent4.php.

Autumn in a clutch

Autumn in a clutch by lokolo featuring carven dress

Long Live Stripes

Photos from Freshome