Author Archives: Sade

Christmas Is Here!

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Or at least, for me! I’ve been feeling like browsing Christmas ornaments, and making a nice tree for a couple weeks, and that doesn’t happen every year.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you may remember that last year I had this no-contest where everyone won a Christmas Card. I had so much fun making the cards together with Jan, cards we later sent to our friends and family, and to all of you who sent me their address, that I want to repeat it this year too.

So here it is how it works: you use the Contact Me page to send me a message with your name and your full snail mail address (please, include the country!) (feel free to include the nick by which I know you usually if that is the case).

I’m setting a deadline for this, you have to send the message by the 30th on November. This way I can get more cardstock and envelopes if I don’t have enough, and make the actual cards. Each card will have a personal message handwriten by me, of course.

Fine print? I will not share the information you provide in this no-contest with anyone, by any reason, not even if they pay me a ton of money. The information will be used only for the purpose of sending you a pretty handmade Christmas card, and nothing else.

Hurry up, the cards are waiting!

MeMe & Blog Action Day

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You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you’re a dreamer, but you’re not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Now, let’s talk about the future. Blog Action Day wants bloggers to dedicate a post today to the environment. I’m going to discuss my future (dream) house. Not really discuss, ok, just give a few hints on what I’d love to have. Let’s start:

  • Solar panels, for electricity, and for heating. Why use coal / petrol / etc, when you can use the Sun to provide energy? The first inversion is expensive, yes, but you start “earning” money in less than five years (both in Spain and Belgium the electric companies are forced to buy the energy you produce at a higher price than you buy it from them)
  • Water recycling systems: all the tap water used for washing hands and showering is recycled via mechanical ways (no chemicals at all), and then used for laundry and toilet flushing. Give your water a second chance!
  • Rain water deposits: can be used to water the garden when it doesn’t rain enough, and also for showering & toilet flushed if rightly treated.
  • Double or tripple layer window panes: you know, the kind that has inert gas between two layers of glass. Thermal & acoustic isolation all the way.
  • North-South Orientation: Getting the best orientation on a custom build house can save you money, making the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
  • Local gardening: by this I mean planting local trees and flowers, and not trying to grow a tropical fruit tree in below zero conditions.
  • Veggie garden: Grow your own food, or, if you can’t do this, buy locally produced food. Are you sure you want to eat that tomato that has rippened in the truck refrigerator? Of course you can’t buy everything local, but at least you can try. Also helps buying in season. Speaking of that tomato, fresh tomato salad in winter?

Now, I don’t want to preach. Those items up there are just things I’d love to have, and will do my best to get whenever we can afford a house. Pss, good isolation means tax cuts in some countries *cough*Belgium*cough* Gotta love it!

Randomness provided by: a cup of koffie verkeerd, two double chocolate chips ahoy, and cold medicine.

Can I Skip Today?

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  • I woke up at 3 am, after 4 hours sleep. Thanks family, I love you too. Sleeping this little gives me migraines. I’ve been having this kind of migraine for the past two weeks. Not happy.
  • The metro took twice as much to take me from point A to point B this morning, meaning I arrived with one minute to spare before classes started. How come I had one minute to spare? I always leave way too early because you never know when the metro service will break down. The same metro service that advertises itself saying that you can save 20 minutes in the morning if you take the metro instead of the car. That only happens one in five mornings, if you’re lucky.
  • Uni’s Wifi kicked me out more than usual, and in the end, it kicked me for good.
  • Lunch consisted of two sad uber thin slices of bread, one leaf iceberd lettuce that had seen better days, three or four slices of tasteless tomato, three slices of hard boiled egg, one canned asparragus, and spoonful mayo. They call that a “vegetarian sandwich”. At least, it was cheap (1.40€) and made to order.
  • Tried to use the wifi again after lunch: seems the building that is marked as WiFi area is not such. Zero signal
  • My phones’ batteries died. The other university buildings have plugs to spare. This one (the no WiFi one) has none. Thus I was left: phone-less, clock-less, and unable to send a message to tell Jan the building had no WiFi.
  • Exam revision: The problem I thought I had more or less decent solved? I got a zero. I got a zero on two problems, actually… I got a frigging 8 over 60 !

Now, really, can the day PLEASE finish? I’m exhausted, and it’s only 3pm.

Update: 6.30 pm, I found out they changed my Fluid Mechanics I mark, from a 4.7/10 to a 5/10, which means I passed the course(!). Do I have to start cursing my bad days to get some small good thing back? Inquiring minds want to know ( :p )

Eat

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This recipe was requested by YarnTalk, and since one has to eat, one can as well take a picture and post the recipe, making someone happy at the same time. Good karma this way, please!

Green Beans with Potatoes and Carrots

Food!

and its recipe

Bon Appétit!

P.S.: Yes, I’m knitting, it still looks the same as in the previous post, only a bit taller. I’m not going to bore you to death with the progress of cables and calf shaping. Wait till I start knitting the fold over, that will be fun :) I promise!

Chickpea Salad

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Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 to 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1/5 cup pre-cooked couscous
  • 1/5 cup broth (or water)
  • 1/4 red onion
  • 1 inch piece green italian pepper
  • 1 small carrot
  • 3 red cherry tomatoes
  • 3 yellow cherry tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar
  • 1.5 teaspoons olive oil
  • salt and (freshly) ground pepper

Proceed:

  1. Prepare your vegetables: peel the carrot and chop in 1/4 coins, clean the pepper and cut in small pieces, chop the onion thinly. Cut the cherry tomatoes in 8-12 pieces (depending on size). Put all these ingredients in your serving dish, add vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, mix well and let marinate.
  2. Prepare couscous: heat broth in microwave till nearly boiling, add couscous and mix with a fork, let rest until all liquid has been absorbed and it’s fairly dry. Fluff grains with fork, then add to the marinated vegetables.
  3. Add chickpeas to dish, mix well, and enjoy!

Servings: 1 as full meal, 2 as starter.

Notes: I used dry chickpeas that I boiled, ’cause I don’t really like the canned ones (and the weird things they add to them). Take 250 grams (about 2/3 cup) dry chickpeas and soak overnight in at least twice as much water. In the morning drain the water, rinse with fresh water, and drain again. Put chickpeas in deep pot, add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 small bay leaf and 8-10 fennel seeds, add water until it doubles chickpeas’ volume. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for around 2 hours, until chickpeas are as tender as you prefer them.

Cooking (Book)

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Did I mention I love cooking? And books? So cooking books are always appreciated. I’m also a vegetarian (ovo-lacto in case you wonder), so this cookbook is great for me.

Vegan with a Vengeance Cookbook

Vegan with a Vengeance, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

If you clicked on that link, you’ll notice my book is different from the one on the Post Punk Kitchen website. That’s because mine is the British edition. Sadly, the publisher Grub Street left out the few pictures that can be found on the original version. Will that keep me from cooking these delicious and vegan recipes? Nope! Will it encourage me to take pics of my finished dishes from this book? Definitively!