Pomegranate syrup - Grenadine

 This has been on my to-do list for a long time, but I had to wait for pomegranate season to get a reasonable price for a kilogram, because when it is off season, it can get pricey. The syrup is really easy to make because you only have to use the microwave and citrus juicer. It is also a great syrup to make for New Year's Eve for a delicious non alcoholic drink.

Tip #5: Dip cookie cutters in confectioner's sugar to prevent the dough from sticking to them

Tip #4: Regularly disinfect glasses frames to reduce breakouts

Tip #3: Use a hairdryer to defog a foggy mirror

After a shower, I used to either wipe the mirror or wait until it defogged by itself. One time I tried using a hairdryer to speed it up and I never went back.

It is the easiest way to defog a mirror AND it doesn't leave any streaks. To do so, you aim the hairdryer at the mirror and turn it on high. Soon, you will see the fog clearing up. And just like that, you have an defogged mirror!

Tip #2: When cleaning your sink, bath tub or shower, first wipe it with a wet sponge

Tip #1: Use a hotel shower cap to cover bowls

Hot glue glittered snowflake ornament

It is already that time of the year that stores display Christmas decorations way too early. I think it is still a bit early, but Sonja Foust decided it was the right time to do a Christmas themed PintesterMovement.

Chocolate bundt cake {pumpkin style}

Have you seen the photos of two bundt cakes put together to look like pumpkins on Pinterest? I decided to make them as well, now that it is fall. I tried to create orange white chocolate ganache, but I think the orange still wasn't strong enough, yet I wasn't willing to pour in an entire bottle. You can judge for yourselves. You could consider the appearance of this cake to be a fail, but it is pretty clever idea wise.

Chocolate Silk Pie

I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been really busy with school and couldn't post anything, but I did have time to whip up, literally, a chocolate silk pie, which is egg free and contains only six ingredients, including the ingredients for the crust.

Dulce de Leche Cookie Sandwiches and the Pintester Movement

Wow! I can't believe the third Pintester Movement is here! I really wanted to test a pin solely for the purpose of the Pintester Movement, but I time flew by, until I made an executive decision to post about cookies I made from Joy the Baker.

Zebra Bundt Cake

I really like the flavour of bundt cake and pound cake. I like the richness and texture of the cake. And so I decided to make this zebra bundt cake. My zebra lines didn't turn out as clean as possible, but that may be because I didn't follow the instructions and just randomly poured the chocolate and vanilla batter. If you want pictures, showing how to make the layers, check out the recipe link above. The flavour was delicious and because it was topped with ganache, a.k.a. the best frosting, glaze, topping ever! I plan on writing a post about ganache soon, but until then, you can use this recipe or the one from the polka dot cake.

Banana bread

Have you ever bought bananas and you kind of forgot about them until they were already ripe and browned slightly? I personally don't like eating browned or soft bananas, so the best way to use them up is by baking banana bread!

The instructions are pretty simple and easy to follow and Chef John even made a video!

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas, peeled
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/8 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit or 160 degrees Celsius.
2. Mash the bananas with a potato masher and put aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk the mixture for a minute instead of sifting it.
4. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a spatula. Whisk in the mashed bananas. The butter mixture and bananas won't want to mix, but keep mixing until combined.
5. Whisk in the eggs on at a time. Add the vanilla extract and milk.
6. To the wet mixture, add the chopped walnuts, coconut flakes and chocolate chips. Stir in the flour mixture until just integrated.
7. Transfer the batter into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Tap the pan so there won't be any air bubbles in the bottom.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let the bread sit in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it cool completely on cooling rack before slicing.

Enjoy!!!

Apple Pie and Mini Apple Pies / Jabolčna pita

During the summer, apples are in season. So the best way to use them is to make apple pie!!! I saw these cute mini apple pies and decided I wil make a few myself. This is the BEST apple pie recipe and I could eat the filling as it is. I found the recipe in a slovene cookbook written by Marija Ilc and sister Vendelina.

Chocolate Cookies / Čokoladni piškoti

I made these DELICIOUS chocolate cookies today. Everyone loved them and couldn't get enough.

To niso navadni čokoladni piškoti, vendar najboljši čokoladni piškoti. So mehki in polni čokolade!!
Recept je zelo preprost, vendar potrebuje 425 gramov čokolade! Se zavedam, da se to zdi ogromno, vendar so ti piškoti vredni toliko čokolade.

                                           

The cookies are soft and chewy and loaded with chocolate. I wasn't sure if I was willing to use a pound or about half a kilogram of chocolate for these cookies, but these delicious cookies are definitely worth it.

Caesar salad dressing

You may have seen a post on my facebook page and noticed that I celebrate Canada day instead of Fourth of July. I lived in Canada for a while and I really enjoyed celebrating Canada day. This year we had a picnic for Canada day and invited some of our friends. We had an awesome time and enjoyed all of the delicious food. For the picnic, I made a lemon meringue pie and cinnamon rolls for everyone ( I doubled the original recipe). And besides that, I made a Caesar salad from allrecipes. I did add grilled chicken to the salad, which the recipe did not include.

Pintester Movement 2.0 - Crazy Cake / "Nora" torta

I have participated in the first Pintester movement and it was a huge success. I got more than a thousand views from the site, which for me, is a HUGE success. Since this pin test had to be of a pin that Sonja already tested, I decided to test the crazy cake. It seemed pretty simple. And thanks to Sonja's advice, I greased the baking pan before mixing. It was harder to combine all of the ingredients since all of the dry ingredients stuck to the pan, but I scraped it up so the batter was fully combined.

This cake recipe was developed during WW2, when eggs, butter and milk were very expensive, that is why it substituted eggs with vinegar and butter with oil.

My cake turned out looking very similar to the original source's. Yay!

So the directions to make this cake are really simple, and so are the ingredients.

Ingredients:

• butter (for greasing the pan)
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups cold water
• powdered sugar (as garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F or 180° C.
2. Grease a 13X9 baking pan with butter.
3. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in the baking pan.
4. Make three holes and pour the vanilla extract into the first, vinegar into the second and oil into the third.
5. Pour water over the entire pan.
6. Mix everything with a fork or whisk. Make sure to get everything on the bottom.
7. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar.

I hope you try this recipe, it is delicious. You don't have to make it in the baking pan, you can always make the batter in a bowl and then pour it in.

Please comment below!!!

The Pintester Movement and sugar wax recipe

I follow Pintester because it tests the pins that I like, before me trying them out. It is really refreshing to see that I am not the only person that messes things up. When Sonja Foust announced the Pintester movement and said that anyone can participate, I was up for it and I knew exactly the pin that I wanted to test. Sadly, the testing didn't go so well, since all three of my tries failed. I really thought I was going to do it right the third time, since third time's a charm, but no such luck. I think that there is nothing wrong with the recipe, but the instructions that were on the website.

Flourless chocolate cake

I made a cake today! I really wanted to try out the recipe. It was really simple. It used up five eggs that I needed to be used up, so if you are looking for a recipe to empty your egg supply, this is it. I don't have any pictures yet, but I will try to make another cake and take MANY photos.

Raffaello balls

http://www.kulinarika.net/recepti/13404/sladice/rafaello/

Cinnamon rolls

A year and a half ago, I joined the allrecipes community. There I found a highly rated recipe for a Cinnabon copycat recipe. I made the cinnamon rolls yesterday and they were delicious!

Espresso chocolate muffins

What is better than having delicious muffins for breakfast on a busy morning? I don't know. That is why I wanted to share with you this recipe for espresso chocolate muffins. They are very easy to make. I got the recipe here.

Chewy chocolate coconut bars

I have been REALLY busy these past few weeks, with school, Easter and everything in between. I did have time to make these chewy coconut bars. They are really easy to make, just blend and bake. I found the original recipe here.

How to make your own sprinkles!

When I started using Pinterest, I found two recipes for sprinkles. One for colourful ones and one for chocolate. Since the colourful sprinkles needed an egg white, I decided to rather make the chocolate ones instead of trying to find a recipe with an extra egg yolk.

Homemade Mod Podge / Domače lepilo

I saw many ways to make your own mod podge. Many use school glue, but I found one that uses flour sugar, water and oil. I wanted to try this one out first, to see if it is worth buying school glue or mod podge. The results are good, if you don't mind any lumps while spreading it. I used a paintbrush to spread it, so I didn't have any problems. The results are as good as regular mod podge.

How to make your own body wash / Kako narediti tekoče milo

I joined Pinterest a few weeks ago and I found soooo many interesting things to DIY. One thing that really compelled me was making my own body wash or liquid soap. Making your own soap can really help you save money, since the difference between the bars of soap and the body washes with the same scent are big. To make your own body wash, all you need is a bar of soap and water. It is THAT simple. I made the soap in a small batch, but you can easily double the recipe, so you can make the soap in bulk.

This recipe makes 500 ml or 2 cups of soap.
Ingredients:

• 30 gram bar of soap
• 500 ml (2 cups) water

Directions:

I used some hotel soaps since I didn't have any other soap on hand.

1. First, you grate the bar of soap. When grated, it should amount to about 60 ml or 1/4 cup of soap.
2. Then you boil the water and add the grated soap until it melts. You can also add some extracts to your liking. I like to add some citrus juice, but be careful to subtract the amount of water, so the amount of liquid will stay the same. You can also add some zest.
3. Let cool and stir every few minutes until thick. If it is too liquidy, heat it up again and add more grated soap. If it is too thick, add more water.

My melted soap with some lemon zest.

Enjoy your homemade soap!!!!

Chocolate mousse / Čokoladni mousse

I made brownies last night. I wanted to make them Valentine themed and shape them into hearts. If I wanted to do that, I would get leftover brownies which I really didn't want to waste. That is when I got the idea to make a mousse and layer it between brownie crumbs. GENIUS!

DIY Frosting bags

Homemade frosting bags are much cheaper than store bought. That is why I decided to fuse a regular plastic bag and fuse it in a way to create two frosting bags. I used the Ikea Hylta plastic bags, but you can really use any type. To fuse the bags, you need an iron and an ironing board, wax paper and of course the bags. I was really new to fusing bags, so I used tips from Releve design.

Devil's food cupcakes with sour cream chocolate frosting

                                     

I found this REALLY simple recipe for red devil's food cupcakes with sour cream chocolate frosting on pinterest (day 14). All of the other recipes look great as well. I didn't want the cupcakes to be red, so I omitted the red food colouring.

Polka dot cake

I was "surfing" on pinterest and I found this really great idea to make a cake with polka dots INSIDE. I don't have a cake pop pan, so I just made a few muffins, crumbled them and rolled them into balls. I'm not really familiar with cake pops, so I didn't alter the recipe in any way. The cake turned out great and it looks amazing and added that extra wow to the cake.

Colourful earphones / Slušalke po meri

This a REALLY simple DIY craft. All you need are some earphones and nail polish. You can easily paint over the plastic and voila, you have customized earphones that look great.

To make the craft, I suggest you use darker colours on black earphones because you can see through lighter colours. If you have white earphones, you can use any colour.

To je res preprost ustvarjalni izdelek. Potrebuješ samo slušalke in lak za nohte.Slušalke prebarvaš z lakom in voila, so že edinstvene.

Mini Cheesecakes

I made a frozen cheesecake on Friday. I really wanted to try something new, so I made mini cheesecakes as well. The real trick is to make the crust and filling, then just put in a muffin pan with the paper linings, then bake, or in this case freeze. I tried out a new recipe this time which I am still not sure about, so I will give you  the recipe that I made a few times with great reviews this summer. The original recipe is from allrecipes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

I finally got the time to bake a lemon meringue pie. I really wanted to make the pie taste and look great, since my last try failed. I adapted a recipe from Kitchen for Kids by Jennifer Low. I adapted it a bit to make it fit a   10-inch pie pan. Everyone at home though it looked better than the store bought.