Margot, Author at Coffee & Vanilla

NeverSeconds Blog on School Lunches by 9 Year Old Martha

Martha Payne “VEG” from Argyll in Scotland has been taking photos and rating her school lunches on her NeverSeconds blog since April this year. Martha gave each meal detailed ratings including: food-o-meter, mouthfuls, courses, health rating, price & pieces of hair in her meal. Together with help of her Dad Dave they brought to her website […]

Lemon, Vanilla & Poppy Seed Cake

INGREDIENTS 2½ cups plain flour 1 tbs baking powder 3-4 eggs (I used 4 small ones) ½ cup of milk 1 cup golden caster sugar 2 tbs vanilla sugar 125g / ½ bar of unsalted butter zest from 1 large lemon juice of 1 large lemon (⅓ cup) ⅓ cup poppy seeds + 2 tsp of […]

Hi-Tec Lady Waterproof Auckland Trail Shoes – Review

Couple of days ago my new Hi-Tec Lady Waterproof Auckland Trail shoes from SportsShoes.com has arrived…They have quite a huge selection of running shoes from well known brands at great discounted rates too. From all the available shoes I chosen this model because of their brownish (taupe/winter plum) colour and waterproof properties… in this order. I […]

Scented Drawer Socks & Other Spare Sock Ideas

MATERIALS couple of spare socks (baby ones are the best) favourite soap bars pieces of ribbon METHOD Put soap bars inside the socks. Tighten them up with the ribbon pieces. Place in your drawers and enjoy nice scent. NOTES Thanks to those drawer socks you will never run out of the soap in the bathroom […]

“The Singing Mermaid” by Julia Donaldson – Children’s Book Review

“The Singing Mermaid” is wonderful, well-written rhyming colourful book that makes kids join in and read along. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Julia Donaldson, creator of so loved “The Gruffalo” and “The Snail and the Whale”, just to mention few. Lydia Monks‘ illustrations are beautiful and lettering on the cover pages very inspiring. After […]

Vanilla Ice Cream Coffee

Coffee served with vanilla ice cream…

Turmeric Root / Curcuma

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) also called Curcuma, Indian Saffron, Kurkuma, Haldi, Kunyit, Kunir, Manjal is native to tropical parts of Asia. It’s roots / rhizomes are very similar to those of ginger just smaller with more orange flesh, not without the reason as they both belong to the same Zingiberaceae family. Turmeric contain 17% manganese, 10% iron and […]

Home Made No-Knead Half Brown Bread Loaf & Rolls

Quick and easy no-knead bread recipe.

Traditional English Breakfast Alternative – Green Pepper and Red Onion Egg Fry Up

This is my alternative to traditional full English breakfast, which I make sometimes as well (minus the sausages). INGREDIENTS 2 eggs a little bit of butter or oil to fry (I used real butter) 2 slices of brown bread (toasted) ½ green bell pepper (coarsely diced) ½ red onion (cut into wedges) couple of cherry […]

Recycled T-Shirt Crochet Rug – Spring Cleaning Idea

How to turn old t-shirts into beautiful crochet rugs – crochet pattern.

Ultimate Dry Skin & Cracked, Split Heel Remedy

With summer just round the corner I’m always more than ever concerned about dry skin especially the one on the elbows and heels that is exposed in summer clothes and shoes. For the past few years, during and after two pregnancies I struggled with those problems a lot and tried most available on the market […]

DIY Truffula Fluffy Pom-Pom Trees from The Lorax

After watching very much loved “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” movie last weekend, we could not resist making some themed crafts. And with the pot of grass already on hand (leftover from Easter) we had no other choice but to make truffula trees :) MATERIALS wooden skewers fluffy pom-poms in candy pinks and yellows flower pot […]

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax – Movie Review

Last weekend my 6 year old daughter and I we went to Odeon West End to see “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” movie preview. The Lorax is a comedy for children, adaptation of one of Dr. Seuss books written back in 1971 and now animated by Universal Pictures & Illumination Entertainment under direction of Chris Renaud. […]

Pancake Doodles & Alphabet Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup

I made those pancakes for my older daughter who is not feeling well today and needed some cheering up. INGREDIENTS for the pancakes 1½ cups self raising flour or ½ cups plain flour + ½ tbs baking powder 2 cups milk ¼ cup oil (I used hazelnut oil) 2 eggs for the topping fruity syrup – I used […]

DIY Sponge on a Rope with Beads and Ribbon

Easy low cost sponge on a rope idea.

Warner Bros. Welcomes Bloggers in London

Some time last week I attended Warner Bros. Welcomes Bloggers event in Central London where we were introduced to the newest technologies in sharing, storing and watching movies and at the same time we got a chance to meet up with other bloggers. I do spend quite a lot of time on the computer and […]

“The Goblin and The Girl” by Neil Irani – Children’s Book Review

“The Goblin and the Girl” written by Neil Irani, is another great book we have received to review from Maverick, available also through my Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com stores. First, a little bit about the author – Neil who writes stories for children for over 8 years now. His previous publications were mainly written for boys […]

Handmade Mulberry Paper Stamped Party Invitations / Cards

MATERIALS square pieces of handmade Mulberry paper pieces of ribbon tied into bows square blank cards with envelopes glitter glues, we used orange and pink colourful ink (we used purple bingo dabber instead) marker – same colour as the ink craft glue EQUIPMENT large stamp for the front of the card little stamp for the back […]

ZABU Coffee Beans & The Grinder – Review

A while ago I found on my door step very fragrant package filled with freshly roasted coffee beans from ZABU Coffee. In addition to the beans coffee grinder was included which I find very useful and not complicated enough to grind a little bit of coffee in the morning while I’m still half asleep, just before […]

“Sparkle’s Song” by Samantha Hale – Children’s Book Review

Over the Easter holidays we were enjoying reading some new children’s books from Maverick, one of them was “Sparkle’s Songs” by Samantha Hale, available through their website or from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com stores. “Sparkle’s Song” has adorable, sparkly cover and very original, awesome, textured like old cracked oil paint illustrations by Mariana Ruiz Johnson. The […]

Truvia – Natural Stevia Leaf Sweetener Review

For the last few days I’ve been testing this Truvia – new natural sweetener by Silver Spoon. Very positive thing is that it is natural because made from stevia leaves. It can be used in drinks, cooking, baking or simply to sprinkle over cereals or fruits such as strawberries or grapefruits without feeling guilty about […]

Very Lazy Garlic Sauce

INGREDIENTS 3 tbs plain flour 25g unsalted butter 400 ml of boiling water 1½ vegetable cubes (10g each) or stock powder 1 tbs ready chopped garlic from the jar (I used Very Lazy Garlic) crème fraiche / single cream / double cream or even full fat milk – to taste METHOD In a saucepan heat flour […]

Boisdale of Canary Wharf – Cuban Cigars & Live Jazz in The Heart of London

Just a short note to let you now that new venue – Boisdale of Canary Wharf is now open with live jazz music, restaurant, whiskey bar, cigar terrace, caviar & oyster grill bar and Cuban library with cigar shop. Boisdale is located on the 1st and 2nd floors of colonial Art Deco-inspired building overlooking the […]

Happy Spring 2012

Happy Spring wishes from us…

Easter Wholemeal Cat Bunnies

When couple of days I making this Wholemeal Plaited Bread I used ⅓ of the dough to make 12 bunny shaped rolls that actually turned out looking more like cats… but we still enjoyed them a lot so I decided to share the images with you.

Crochet Lining for Easter Basket

Quick and easy crochet Easter basket lining tutorial, also great for picnics.

Plaited Wholemeal Bread with Addition of Potato Flour

INGREDIENTS 6 cups wholemeal plain flour 2 cups potato flour 1 cup oil (I used rapeseed oil) + some more for brushing the tins 1½ tbs instant dried yeast 1 tbs fine sea salt 1 tbs fine sugar 2½ cups lukewarm water EQUIPMENT three x 11×22 cm (4.5 x 8.5 in) non-stick loaf tins silicone […]

Jacket Potatoes with Garbanzo Bean & Red Onion Filling

INGREDIENTS 6-8 large baked potatoes (you can use ready baked potatoes from Bannisters’ Farm) for the filling 3 x 400g tins of garbanzo beans / chickpeas (drained) 2 large red onions (diced) some butter or oil to fry onions few tbs crème fraiche or soured cream (I used about 100g) 1 tsp garlic powder few dashes […]

Tissue Paper Gift Wrapping Ideas

Gift wrapped in tissue paper, topped with tissue lotus flower, paper leaves and chocolate lady bugs – all connected with double side tape. Another gift topped with tissue lotus flowers and skeleton leaf. Step by step tutorial how to make those lotus flower in upcoming post. And monochromatic golden tissue paper used to wrap […]

Drumstick Vegetable from Moringa Oleifera Tree

This long green vegetable is called Drumstick or Moringa, Sanjana, West Indian Ben. It comes from Drumstick Tree, also known as Benzolive Tree, Horseradish Tree, Clarifier Tree, Moringa Oleifera Tree that is very common in Pakistan, India but also Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Africa, Central and South America, East Africa, Malaysia, The Philippines and some Caribbean […]

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Author: Margot