Strawberry hedgehog cupcake toppers

It was LoLo's birthday a few weeks ago, as you all know by now from my Strawberries and Snails birthday party photos and video. Additionally to the party, LoLo had a 10 minutes long birthday celebration also at their pre-school. It was a low-key affair. We were told to bring cupcakes, a few photos from when they were little, some of their baby clothes and their favorite music if we wanted to.
I wanted to make something special and not so unhealthy as the 4 cups of powdered sugar that goes into most cupcake icing. So, I made banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and as a token of "healthy" I put this adorable hedgehog on top. Btw- I am claiming all credits for this one :)))

Mint tudjatok, par hettel ezelott LoLo szuletesnapjat unnepeltuk. Itt meg lehet nezni az "Eper es Csiga" szulinapi buli kepeit es videot. Ezen a partyn kivul, LoLo ovodajaban is megunnepeltek az esemenyt. A tanitoneni kerte, hogy vigyunk be "cupcake" sutit minden gyerek szamara, par regi fotot, gyermekruhat amit picibaba korukban viseltek, valamint ha van ilyen kedvenc CD-t/dalt. Ugy dontottem, bananos sutit (cupcake-et) sutok es a szokasos porcukros tuledes krem helyett valamivel egeszsegesebb diszt teszek a cupcake tetejere. Igy lett a mindenfele zomanc, krem es "fondant" diszites helyett kremsajt (krem?) es epersuni. A sunit a sajat talalmanyomnak titulalom :)) mert meg ilyet nem lattam sehol. 

You will need: 

- the cupcake :)

- a strawberry cut in half  

- mini chocolate chips

- almond slivers (you can use the flat kind also)

- frosting to "glue" the eyes and nose in place

You know what to do ... the only "trick" I learnt was to use a toothpick when applying the frosting to the mini chip. Also, I did use the store-bought kind in miniature amount, just so the chocolate chip sticks better! 

Ami szukseges a sunihez:

- suti :)

- felbe vagott eper

- apro csokidarabkak (vagy barmilyen mas csoki/edesseg ami apro is szemnek lehet hasznalni)

- hosszaban felvagott mandula (napraforgomag is lehet - bar akkor nem ennyire disztingvalt majd a suni)

- cukor-vajkrem (amivel a szeme es az orra oda vag ragasztva) 

Gondolom leiras nem kell hogy keszul a suni, de annyit azert tanultam hogy a kremet legjobb fogpiszkaloval ravinni a szemekre/orra. En bolti kremet hasznaltam, mert abban annyi a cukor hogy akar ragasztonak is hivhatnak, de otthon ugyanugy el lehet kesziteni a vaj-porcukor "ragasztot" :) 

Jo sundorgest! 

    

P.S. "Don't call me a porcupine!" :))))

P.S.2. These are the photos LoLo brought to school ... Time flies!

Ezt a ket fotot vitte LoLo az oviba ... Repul az ido!

If you'd like more hedgehog kind of stuff or need some creative news in your life, you may "like" me on Facebook or sign up for a newsletter (or both)! I have many exciting projects in store to share and hopefully more often. 

Ha szeretnel maskor is sunis ujdonsagokrol hallani vagy kreativ dolgokrol olvasni/tanulni klikk a "like" gombot a Facebook LoLoVie oldalan. Meg sok-sok mas kreativ otlet sundorog a fejemben amit majd itt megosztok! Sziasztok!

    

LO(lo)V(i)E, LV

One meal muffin

It's 10 pm. The toys have been cleaned up, I've finished my second round of vacuuming up the kitchen, the washing machine and the dryer are endlessly spinning around and around and LoLo is peacefully sleeping in bed. The last compulsory task of the day that remains is making lunch for school for the next day. A boiled egg and a sandwich is always a hit with LoLo and so I get the turkey and cream cheese out of the fridge and realize that I forgot to buy bread at the store.
What now? I'll make savory muffins for them and stuff as many veggies as possible .. came the idea to me. I pulled up a few blogs, mixed and matched the ingredients on screen and on the fridge (I never seem to have everything that any recipe calls for) and the results were so delicious I just have to share it here ...

Recipe
1 cup of all purpose white flour
1 cup of whole wheat (I use organic whenever I can)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup low-fat milk
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large egg
1 cup of Trader Joe's broccoli slaw
6-7 sundried tomato slices chopped
6-7 finely chopped leaves of fresh basil (don't substitute for dried basil)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. Mix all ingredients together in the order from top to bottom
3. Fill cupcake pan with liners or grease and fill evenly with dough
4. Bake about 18 minutes on the top rack until the top of the muffins feel firm and a skewer inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
5. Enjoy and freeze if you'd like

P.S. I Lo(LO)Ve baking muffins - it's my ultimate one dirty mixing bowl recipe with hardly any clean up afterwards. If that's not an incentive to making muffins I don't know what is :) 

Basil infused iced tea ... hm hm hmmmmm

Basil, basil, basil, ... it's my favorite herb. I eat it, I use it as garnish, I grow it, and sometimes I just run to our terrace, rub my my hands over a bunch of it and smell its aroma for pure pleasure.

My favorite tea is rose hip. (I had no idea it's spelled in two words ... )
It's not very popular in the US, but we used to pick it and dry it back home, in Slovakia and drink it often (mostly in the winter). A friend of mine, Annie, found a Polish store in Brooklyn where they sell packets of it - as it turns out, it's actually 50% rose hip, hibiscus and dried apple and it's delicious.

Sooo, I made iced tea with it, added honey while hot, ice and about 5-6 basil leaves .. I let it sit for quite a while and the result is so refreshing, I am addicted!
I "sell" it as juice to LoLo and with the pretty color it really works! (for now)

This is how rose hip looks like: 

My basil ... (and LoLo's accidental bubble)

Basil infused rose hip tea ...

Hope you LO(lo)V(i)E it! 

LV

Line Cooks: Pasta Alfredo with Parma Ham and Tomatoes

Whenever I look at my friends I always think to myself what a great mix of people i have around me, from all walks of life. I know this sounds cliche, but I feel so lucky to have the people I do in my life and having met so many wonderful people, with whom I share my life, sometime a single memory and sometimes a photo album of an amazing trip ... I decided to "collect" my friends on this blog and tell the world about them, plus I thought it would be so great to see what's cooking in different households ... 

You've already met Denise from California and her Super Quick Pasta with Italian Sausage and Sauce, today Line from Norway will cook for us. 

Here she is with her two beautiful daughters: Sarah and Vilde: 

We met in 2002 (I think) on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. It was a Trek America trip and for those who are not familiar with it, it's one of those "hippie" busses with people crammed into a small van, who cook under the stars, sleep in cheap hotels and travel days without a shower at times. 

I have so many memories of this trip - celebrating New Year's Eve in San Cristobal de las Casas (an amazing city) and laughing my head off at Line's romantic encounter with a local boy a head shorter, who could not resist and mid-dance bit her nipple, sleeping in a hammock by the ruins of Calakmul, climbing up the Maya pyramids at the crack of the dawn and getting Montezuma's revenge right on the top surrounded by our group and a view of Guatemala, snorkeling a dark cenote (a sinkhole with exposed rocky edges containing groundwater) and feeling as if I had just stepped into the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. 

Oh those memories! Look at us so young and beautiful right below ready to conquer a cenote ... 

 

But back to what's cooking in Norway ... Here is what Line writes .... 

I once found this recipe in a Norwegian blog, and then I gradually changed it for my taste.

For 2 hungry people:

200-250 grams spaghetti

6 slices of parma ham (in small pieces)

75 grams parmesan, grated

1 tablespoon butter

1,5 dl (3/4 cup) cream

10 cherry tomatoes (divided into two)

toasted pine nuts

freshly ground nutmeg

maldon (or normal salt)

freshly ground pepper

olive oil

basil or/and leaf parsley

Boil spaghetti in salted water according to package directions.

Heat the butter and cream gently in the pan.

Season with nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the tomatoes and cook until they are slightly softer (but still a little "al dente")

Then add the cheese so the sauce becomes thick and creamy. (mmmm mmmm )

Don't let it cook too long after this, or it will be too creamy.

The sauce is then ready to be mixed with spaghetti and parma ham (yes, this is a very quick meal to make) Add salt if you like, but I would say that the parmesan and parma ham makes the dish naturally salty.

Top it with really good olive oil , chopped fresh herbs and toasted pine nuts... and if you are really into cheese: more parmesan ;)

Hungry?

Thank you Line for this delicious recipe! 

Just what any mom needs - a quick and easy dinner for the hungry bunch! 

Are you inspired yet? I hope you are! 

Do you have a recipe to share? Send it the LoLoViE way! 

LO(lo)V(i)E, LV