easy standing felt christmas tree

 i was making an ornament-a-day felt xmas tree for the boys, and Ji wanted to make his own, so we made an easier version for him - not that mine is anything difficult, but i was making a sewn and stuffed version that will have a wooden stand...that i still need to finish :s .....Ji dressed his already :)

  

Ji's tree:

corrugated cardboard
felt

toothpick

tools: pencil, scissors, glue stick

  

directions:

1. CUT OUT cb triangle and 2 rectangles (stand)

2. TRACE, CUT and GLUE felt
3. make STAND
DECORATE!!!


 1. cut out the triangle with the ribs going verticallly - this is important so you can stick your toothpick into one of the ribs (that way, it will be hidden and won't make a bump under the felt).
2. cut the triangles a little larger than the drawn triangle - it looks better ;), use 2 different greens - more fun :), glue with glue STICK - liquid glue could soak through the felt.
3. glue the 2 rectangles together (plain or "x"), make a hole in the center w/ your toothpick, then apply glue to both ends and stick one end into your stand and slide other end into the center rib of the cardboard

decorate!!!:
with felt scraps, thread, string....anything that will latch onto the felt (.....or when doing with older children you can use pins to pin on just about anything!)

or you can glue on your "ornaments", but i like the no-glue method more, since you can redress your tree as you like :)

tip: we found it best to decorate by holding the tree in the air by its toothpick - gives you more control   

favorite tractor

Ji got this wooden tractor and wagon from my mom's good friend for christmas 3yrs ago and he has been playing with it ever since  - almost every.single.day....literally!

it has rooftop stearing, and a dumping wagon and is very durable! he loads the wagon with all kinds of things - blocks, animals, cars, "mail", etc. and drives them from place to place.....sometimes even to clean-up!

he just loves his tractor so :)!

more deer-watching...

from our bedroom on a frosty november morning...

:)

LOS - legos on a string

Ji is really into making lego planes lately, so we decided to fly them :)

i used my cordless driver with a tiny 0,5mm drill bit

p.s. if you don't have any tiny bits, get some -

they come in handy for small projects like this!

make mobiles, pull toys or just hanging art!

best ever liver-pork-pâté!

this is a recipe from my mom's good friend.
the first time i tasted this pâté i fell in love with it...everyone does!

...i didn't want to put easy in the title, since all of the recipes i post are easy, but it really is easy. i even compared it to pâté recipes in my cookbook and all of them had much more ingredients and were also more complicated.


ingredients:
300g ground pork liver (1 liver is approx 500-600g)
900g ground streaky pork (the bacon cut)
1 large finely chopped onion
20g salt
1 tsp peper
2 tsp of seasoning - i use either trader joe's 21seasoning salute or alnatura klare gemusebruhe
mason jars and lids

3 STEPS: 1. MIX thoroughly with your hands or in your kitchen aid - smaller portions and on low.
2. FILL jars only 2/3 full (if you fill it more, the juices will get under the lid and it won't be able to suction.
3. COOK - lightly boil for 2hrs.

notes and tips:
- for those of you who have a meat grinder, grind it yourself :)! - i have a grinder attachment to my favorite(!!!) kitchen appliance - kitchen aid :).
- if the lid doesn't end up suctioning, which has happened to me many times - put in freezer or give out to friends for ealry consumption :)!
- 1 liver makes a batch of approx 10 300ml jars(filled only 2/3!)

go fly a kite!

easy-peasy cake!

...so easy, even the kids can make it!

last week St turned 1(yay!!!)and this is the cake i made him. first thing he did was grab some piškoty - has one in his hand on the photo :)

Ji loves this cake and also enjoys making it! and even dad had second helpings....he doesn't have much of a sweet-tooth(more like meat-tooth...lol), so that means it really is really good! 

ingredients:

- piškoty - lady fingers

- 200ml whipping cream

- 200ml sour cream
- 1-2 tbs sugar

- fruit - canned/frozen/fresh - i used frozen strawberries and blueberries and canned mandarin oranges and peaches

- agar(optional)

- cake pan or if you don't want to make a "cake," you can just put it in bowls

directions:
- whip up the whipping cream with the sugar(i use vanilla sugar)
- gently stir in the sour cream *1
- start layering: 1. piškoty, 2. wc-sc, 3. fruit *2
- refridgerate *3
- agar layer according to the instructions *4
- decorate *5

* notes/tips:
1. the amount of creams vary depending on how many layers you want to make...i made 6 layers (2 of each) and used a 22cm cake mold. the ratio if wc/sc is up to you - the best thing to do is taste as you go along :)
2. for the first layer of piškoty, i fiil in the holes between the whole piskoty with broken up pieces. if you are using frozen fruit, make the cake with it still frozen, so it doesn't get soggy. if you are not going to add a final agar layer and you are using canned and/or frozen fruit -  after adding the fruit, spread another thin layer of cream on(so the fruit doesn't dry up).
3. usually a couple of hours will do...depending on the number of layers. if you are going to add agar, refridgerate for an hour or so, just to set it and get it cool before you add the agar.
4. i like mine thin, just to make a nice glaze. make it natural or add some fruit juice or syrup to add color.
5. after you take off the outer cake pan ring you can add some piškoty to the perimeter - the cream soaks through so it's moist enough to just stick them on.

p.s. this cake is also really good with just one type of fruit - like fresh strawberries...:)))

happy weekend!

:)

Aronia berry syrup recipe

quite easy to make -  the worst part is the picking and mushing...

here, it is very popular to make and drink berry juices form syrup. last week i made my second batch of aronia syrup and it is sooo good. it's my second favorite, first is black current!

this is a recipe from my friend and it works for all kinds of berries:
- wash picked berries and mush them up with your fingers in a large pot - it is best to mush them in smaller amounts before adding more.
- fill the pot with water so it is leveled with the mushed berries(or just slightly above the berries)
- add a little bit of citric acid and mix - i used aout 2 tbsps for 5 liters of berries
- cover pot and let it sit for 24-48 hrs at room temp (beware - while fermenting the juice level will rise!)
- then strain the berry juice and try to squeeze out all of the remaining juice from berries (do it over the strainer)
- add sugar to the juice - 1kg sugar/1 liter of juice
then you can either make the non-boiled or boiled version, or both!:
(the non-boiled version is great because you don't loose any vitamins, but it doesn't last that long.)
- after adding sugar stir occasionally until dissolved.....took me about an hour. (good to do while doing another kithcen chore :)! i didn't want to take my chances, so i stored mine in the fridge. 3 liters lasted for about a week....we drank it all :)!
- for the boiled version - let boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. fill glass bottles while still hot and cap.

p.s. aronia berries are very high in vitamin C and antioxidents :)!