ART TAKES PARIS

Hello dear readers! Once more this year I'm asking for your help! I want to have my artwork exhibit in Paris and all I need from you is to "Vote" for my work on this link http://maria-constanzagarrido.see.me/atp2013



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Please, I'd truly appreciate it if you take the time and help me by clicking!
Much love and appreciation!

Messy Indie Cooking Vol.8 - Nice Summer Salads

I've been experimenting with salads lately and here are two recipes I'd love to share with you.

Lentil Tabbouleh

 Ingredients: 

(Serving for 4)

- 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils

- 1 cup cooked bulgur

-small leek or small scallion

-a bunch of parsley & cilantro (coriander)

-Olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and cumin as you find fit.

Preparation:

I called it Lentil Tabbouleh mainly because it has all the ingredients except tomatoes. I wanted to do a variation of the famous mezze. Here all you need to do in advance is cook your lentil and bulgur separately in advance. 

Cooking lentils is very easy, you might want to clean them well as sometimes little stones come in the package...I used small sized lentils as they cook faster and are usually much cleaner. (It could take up to 40 min to cook). I put some salt, pepper and bay leaves while cooking them. Drain them when done and let it cool. (I made these the night before, so it worked perfectly)

Cooking bulgur is even easier...it could take you just 5 to 10 minutes. Just pour bulgur in water with salt and pepper. Drain and let it cool. 

Chop all your other ingredients very finely, the secret to a good tabbouleh is that all greens and herbs are chopped in a very tiny manner!

Add lentils, bulgur and the greens in a bowl, mix and season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and cumin at choice...

Refreshing and nutritious!

Russian Inspired Salad

Ingredients:

(Serving for 4)

-4 large potatoes chopped and boiled

-2 large carrots chopped and boiled

-6 cherry tomatoes

-2 pieces of fennel (half a bulb with filiform leaves included)

-Olives

- 1 small scallion

-2 cucumbers

-2 pickled cucumbers

-a bunch of parsley

-salt, pepper and olive oil at choice

 (Boiled egg is optional, I did not add it here).

Preparation:

Start by cooking your potatoes and carrots together. The fastest way is to peel and chop them in small cubes. These will take up to 20 minutes to boil and be ready. Drain and set aside, allow them to cool.

Start cutting your scallion, parsley, fennel, cucumbers (both natural and pickled) and tomatoes. Chop all small and nicely. 

Once your potatoes and carrots have cooled down, place the previous cut mixture to it. Mix it well and add black olives and egg is desired.

Season with salt, pepper and olive oil...ready for serving!

Enjoy!

Bon Appetit!

Messy Indie Cooking (Baking) Vol.7 - Absolutely Vegan Yummy Pumpkin Bars

It's been since 2011 that I haven't posted a recipe on this blog...gladly I was making a nice vegan baking recipe I thought it would be awesome to share.

I started taking pictures late, so I'll basically narrate the process instead of posting pictures of every step like I usually do.

Ingredients:

for dough

1 1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of brown sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon powder cardamom

 100gr margarine (melted and let cool a few minutes)

1 teaspoon vanilla essense

for filling

2 1/2 cups of chopped pumpkin (Cooked the night before with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cardamom)

3 tablespoons of sugar if it's not sweet enough

4 tablespoons of corn starch

diced almonds (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 160°C.

Prepare your mold or pan by spreading margarine on it and then placing aluminum foil side ways. I suggest using a squared one mine is 23 x 23 cm (or 9x9 inches I think). Also spread margarine over the foil on the bottom and sides of pan.

Start by mixing flour, sugar, salt and cardamom. Mix well. Then little by little pour in the melted margarine and the vanilla. Use your hands to work the dough but not too much, it should make a ball on its own.

With your fingers place dough on the pan spreading it equally throughout.

Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden and crispy.

For the filling, I used the blender and put the pumpkin, corn starch, and sugar. When it's fully blended drain some water, it should be slightly humid but not too much.

Then, sprinkle some diced almonds and mix, do not blend.

Once the dough is ready from the oven, let it cool a little and then spread the filling over it. 

Place it once more in the oven for 30 min or until the bars are set. 

Remove from oven and lift it up thanks to the aluminum foils, carefully place it on a plate and let it cool...once it's colder cut it into squares. Once they have fully cooled off, you can eat them next to a nice cup of black tea.

VOILA!

 

Bon Appetit :)

Your own Veggie Garden

In April we moved to Amman, Jordan. We rented a nice little flat in Abdoun with an amazingly huge garden. I found the backyard to be completely empty and isolated. I thought it was a pity it hadn't been put to any good use, so I decided to make it a veggie garden.

 

The first gardener made rows for us to plant our vegetables. We started off with Tomatoes and Peppers. It didn't look like much in the beginning...this was on April 10th.

The soil is very hard and rocky...it's almost like clay for ceramics. It became smooth once we applied water on it.

The first plantation didn't look like much...

Mom and I created 3 paths to cross from one side to the other...each time we crossed without the paths we would get all muddy and gluey...We then planted red geraniums and some herbs...

 Eventually, more little plants appeared... and more were planted, onions, scallions, mint, basil and beets. April 27th.

By beginning of May, we had our first pumpkins appear. This is the first one that came out. They will give "fruit" by September-October.

 I don't know if it's very clear but these are our swiss chards...still very small...

 We planted one more basil and sage.

By May 13th, tomatoes were in bloom!

My carrots seem to be doing well...

And the peppers were also having some small white flowers...

We got 7 small lettuces

And planted eggplants...

I had bought dried corn to make pop corn, but decided to plant it instead...I had no idea it would come out so quickly in just 1 week!!!

Rosemary joined us, too.

By May 19th, we spotted our first tomato!

These are the latest pictures of our growing garden... Today, May 27th we counted 15 tomatoes

An amazingly big quantity of corn plants!

Our first zucchini, which we didn't plant so this truly came as a surprise to us...

 A green bell pepper

And spotted around 5 chili peppers

One of our beautiful lettuces 

And the eggplants....slowly...but surely growing

This is how it looked like today!

Our onions

Our Pumpkin

Our beets

Scallions and onions and garlics!

And Rosemary getting comfortable in its new location.

 On May 17th, I planted a series of seeds...Watermelon, cabbage, purple carrots, and these cute little "Berros" or Cress...Also we are to see the spinach and more swiss chard to pop out!

And our cantaloupes...which have come out in large numbers!

Here are the fabulous 3: minty, basilio and salvita

Did I mention we also have an apple tree?

I'm forever thankful to Mother Earth and Father Sky for letting me benefit from these beautiful plants and their offerings. 

May each seed planted here on this garden bring food and happiness to each of the people going to try them. 

My suggestion to anyone: plant your own veggie garden or small pot in the balcony. Grow your own food and take care of them with love, water and sun... 

It's been a while

I left this blog for a bit, as I needed to focus on myself. As I look back on what I have done since April 2012, I'd like to share what happened earlier that month last year...

I enjoyed the first few days of Autumn by the beach, headed to Zapallar for a weekend. It is such a unique and old fashioned place, that spending a few days there can take you back to the past. I imagined for 3 days to be back in the 1950's, in a chic beach area, where colorful umbrellas, skirt long swimsuits and bright fabrics in happy prints. It is still a very fashionable place to be, however, I just wanted some peace and quiet, and most of all reconnect with nature. This is a small voyage to that simple yet beautiful place.

We were staying on the upper part of the beach, towards the hill parts. So we took the path down to reach the actual beach. On the way I saw a solitary tree. I knew that on the following morning I would do my pilgrimage there. On the way I  found a few houses from the past...

 April isn't a good month for the beach...but that weekend we were lucky. It was sunny and not so crowded.

 I saw the tree. I decided to go up.

 There were lots of stairs...and paths leading to the tree.

I reached there to find Christian crosses. I proceeded. I was there alone. Just me, the tree and the vast Pacific Ocean. I became one with it all.

 I sat to stare at the immensity of it all. Feeling so small yet so united to the whole. I reached Oneness.

The flora is very varied, as you can see. All these colors and shapes took me back to the 1950s. I hope you could come to Chile and visit this beautiful and calm place. And find yourself, find peace, find Oneness...here or wherever...
Much love,
Blessings.