Uninspired

Today I feel uninspired. Probably I'm just tired, or is this thing of being paid to be inspired all the time that dries my head from time to time. Whatever. I don't know what to write, still, I feel the need to share it with you, is this nonsense?

I have several posts planned and started on drafts, but today is not the day to finish anything.  I can promisse you, though, that following the started thursday's series a pause to play, more series will come. I can only say that it involves wedding stuff, travels and more about the place where I'm from. If you're brave enough to put up with my nonsense from time to time, hold on.

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photo by me

Get creative!

What do you do when the husband hates cream and you happen to love it?

No, I will not make him eat it without knowing. What are you thinking? That would be a mean thing to do! Ok, I like being bad sometimes... but in this case there's no way that would work. He really hates the creamy taste of milk fat even if slightly there, trust me, he knows! And if we can't distinguish the taste, then what's the point? Oh, I know, tricking him! But, lets skip this part, just this once.

We are working on tasting small bits. Maybe in a distant future he will be able to tolerate it and, who knows, enjoy it, or so I like to believe. In the mean time I need to be creative in order not to have to give up on recipes I love to do and eat. Or else I'll be craving for creamy food whenever we eat out!

For sauces I use milk with a teaspoon of cornstarch flour for thickening, in other cases yogurt, or coconut milk. And these have really been working for me, plus we gain in cutting of calories. Not so bad, uh? Still, I really like a generous spoon of whipped cream over a pie, or a chocolate cake, or a pavlova with fresh fruits sliding on the cream... How do you replace that?

One thing I think works very well is using a thick yogurt, like a greek. I've also tried different custards based on milk or yogurt. They worked, the taste was good, and they looked pretty spooned over the desserts. In some cases this is a very good option. Other thing that also works is whipped cream cheese with icing sugar. Still, for my taste, in both cases it lacked some freshness. I'm pretty sure crème fraiche would be a very good choise also, but I haven't convinced the hubby on that one yet. I'm taking it slow.

Back to the yogurt. It is, so far, the best choice. Listen, if you're looking for something to replace whipped cream, whether you have a picky friend like I do, or you just want to let go of cream for health/diet issues, first you need to face it: nothing will ever replace it. That being said, you can move on and search for something that is a feast to your eyes and a fresh delight to your palate, without comparisons, just enjoy it.



One thing about greek yogurt around here is that it can be pretty expensive and it is very likely that you'd find a fake one (with cream added, instead of the straining method used to thicken the original greek yogurt), so I don't have it very regularly on my fridge. What do I do, then? I do my own greek yogurt, well, something similar, just by draining it over night on the fridge to remove the whey (the liquid). Its the basic technique I use to make cream cheese, this is called labneh. It is a very useful technique, because from here you can do lots of things. You can add salt and herbs and get a very tasty cream cheese (I do this all the time), you can make Tzatziki dip, you can use it to replace mascarpone cheese, you can make balls and roll them on a mix of bread crumbs with parmesan and herbs and deep fry it... Or you can have your hubby doing you a delicious flourless chocolate cake for you to top with yogurt cream and fresh fruits! Have a try!

Labneh

(strained yogurt)

plain yogurt

coffee filter or cheesecloth

medium bowl

colander to fit the bowl

Put a coffee filter or a cheesecloth over a strainer and place it over a bowl. Pour in the bought plain yogurt, and cover with cloth or film. Keep in mind that the yogurt will reduce to at least half of what you started with when calculating the amount of yogurt needed. Let it drain over night on the fridge, or as long enough to get the consistency you want. For cream cheese I let it drain for at least 24 hours, for a greek yogurt consistency, to cream with sugar, usually 6 hours is enough. Simple as that.


You can keep the whey on the fridge and use it for any recipe that asks for buttermilk. That's great too, because I was passing by too many recipes for the lack of buttermilk (that thing just can't be found in here), and besides I like the idea of using everything.

If you're interested on the recipe of the chocolate cake go to  Delicious Miss Dahl. She knows how to do it! No point in copying it here, we haven't changed a bit. For the yogurt cream, just cream the labneh with sugar as you like, and if you want a bit extra creaminess just add a tablespoon of butter to the mix. Enjoy!

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all photos by me

Life isn't always fair, but take it. It's a gift.

A few days ago I received the unexpected news of the death of Fernando. It was a shock at first because he was young, in its fifties, and full of life. One can never get to totally understand this kind of things, not even when we are prepared for it, less when it's unexpected. But that's how life is. And one thing Fernando knew and was the personifcation of it, I'm sure, is that life is a gift. So we can only try to do the best we can with it. The death of Fernando was the end of his cicle here, but was not the end of his life, because it will continue through the many people he touched.

Fernando was one of the most incredible persons I've ever had the chance to meet. I knew that, even before I met him for the first time, because that's how everybody described him to me. He could not stand without doing nothing while so many people suffer around the world. He went to Haiti after the earthquake, he took water, medicines... and he did that having nothing to give, but simply by infecting everyone around him with this virus he had: his kindness and his will to help and do like Christ did, love every human being. From there, gathering money looked easy. He went to Honduras, he went to Ghana... and many many places around the world. I dare to say he changed the lifes of hundreds of people. He started the project of a professional school in Haiti, he took architects to Africa to rebuild schools, he helped to get potable water to small villages in Ghana... He arranged bicicles for kids that had to walk miles every day to go to school... And I could go on and on.

And he was never alone. He touched children, youngsters and adults to act and share, take matters in hands and do something. Act. He was a teacher, but mostly he was a captivating human being. The diabetes was his own personal fight, the only one he lost. He died in Guinea, doing what he loved the most, helping other people.

We particularly will never forget him, for he was the one who got us a priest, his friend, for our wedding celebration when we were one month to it and had run out of solutions, as our parish priest was not available. That's a fun story we will always remember every year.


One can feel revolted against life. One can shout "why him if the world need him so much?". But one should definetly be grateful for being touched by all this amazing people that set foot on hearth. This is how life his. His life may have been short, but he did the most out of it.

What are you doing with your life? This is what you should be asking yourself.


 

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Dear Lord, 
thank you for giving me the chance 
to be enlightened by the life of Fernando. 
I ask you to give his family the strenght 
to understand and be grateful. 
And to all he touched, may he be an example of Christ on earth, 
and may his path continue to be drawn by the feet of others.


Thank you Fernando for touching my life.

Thursday's pause to play... Bon Iver

I've been thinking of this for a while, so, today is a good day to start, right? Good as any other day... so, here we go!

I can't conceive life without music. Actually, don't you think life would be much interesting with a soundtrack? Imagine you're walking barefoot on a desert beach, and as your thoughts float with the sea waves you start to hear the strings of a guitar followed by a ukulele... How cool would that be? Well, I actually think there's a soundtrack to each life, just not that Hollywood way. It would be pretty awesome, though!

Music has been there every moment of my life. It's the perfect moment when I hear a song that reminds me of a certain moment of my life and, for few instants, I'm transported there and recall what I felt back then... Whether is a particular moment, or a phase I've been through, or even that highschool year I used to hear that band, or see that tv show where that music used to play... It's the soundtrack of my life.

So, this is what I'm up to share with you: the songs that make the soundtrack of my life. Some are with me for so long I can't remember, others I've just discovered a week ago. There are those with a story behind, others are just meant to make feel happy. All in all, for me they are beautiful.

You may be asking, why thursday? Well, what I propose is a pause to play. Just that. A little break in the middle of the week. Three days behind, three days yet to go. Stop what you are doing for at least 3 minutes and listen. Maybe it's a new song that blows you away. Maybe it's not new for you, it's ok, hear it again with new hears. Maybe it's a foreign song, in a language you can't understand, but even so, try it, feel it. Maybe you don't find it that interesting? That's the beauty of being human! Wait for next week, there will be more.

Does it remind you of something? Does it make you feel something? I would love to hear it. Wanna suggest something for me to listen? Bring it on, I love that! This is an open space. Just one rule, make a pause, and play it.

Let's start with Bon Iver. Two days ago I told you it is one of my current favourite bands, so it makes sence to start with them. And just because it's the first one, I have not one but five musics in a row for you. I know I said it would be a 3 minutes pause, and I maintain that. Just hear the rest while you work, while you cook, while you do the dishes... Or don't if you don't feel like. But, just trust me on this one, these guys make music out of this world.

The story behind this is a short one, but actually is one of the reasons I decided to start this series. I came across this band over here (I told you before about this girl, the talented Corinne Krogh) and it was like an immediate connection. Next I wanted to hear more, and more... 

I was getting on the last weeks before my wedding, and this were the songs that walked with me from train to bus, to work, back home... and made me relax and walk trough it. And when I say I was weeks from getting married, that means several months after that was posted. For some reason I passed by it without hearing (I was a regular reader), and one day I was browsing for someting and found it, and decided to hear. And OMG I'll never pass a suggestion without hearing!

I found it because someone shared it, now I'm passing it on. Pause, play it and feel it.

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P.S. Sorry for the late posting, today... Never mind if you only read this on friday, it's always a good time for a music break!