I’m writing up this post that I have been wanting to for quite a while now. as this seems to be the perfect chance to share another of my creative DIY projects with you, this time…. A vintage look Jewellery box. As you know if you have a creative streak you can pretty much customize anything and as soon as I bought this green tea box I knew it would probably remain in my possession for longer than was intended!

All I did with the empty box was cover it using some vintage style fabric I had – you can also find lots of fabric pieces on EBay. On the inside i lined it with the pink tissue paper to cover the fabric edges and it’s not glued down or anything as it’s really easy to mould into the corners of the box and will stay perfectly. If you wish and have the patience to do so, you could cover the inside in a satin ivory (The inside might be a bit difficlut to line then the outside)

Add some finishing touches to personalize the box, I added these cute buttons and ribbon which i thought suited the vintage look and the colours blended together perfectly.

You can use the box for anything, jewellery, your sewing kit or odd bits and bobs.

DIY Workshop with Tina Aileen – London Green Fair 2011

Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know about the London Green Fair coming up on the 9th and 10th of June at Regents Park, it a free event which I went  to last year and really enjoyed it. Aside from meeting liked minded people and feasting on the BEST chocolate and coconut cake ever, I got to take in a yoga workshop and a Eco fashion DIY workshop which is open to everyone. I sampled dishes from different cultural cuisines from Turkish to Ethiopian to good old British food.  Even though I never got to stay for the music and fashion show as it was raining, I am hoping this year the weather will be good to us (fingers crossed). You can find out more from my post of all the goings on last year and you can also find out about the events and exhibitors on this here at the London Green Fair website. See you there!

What you will need:

It’s best to use a sewing machine as it’s so much faster than doing them by hand, which is how i started then gave up and took out my mother’s old Singer and it took all of 10 minutes for 10 pillows.

Instructions:

Measure and cut your fabric pieces 12cm by 12cm, you can do them smaller, they actually look cute when you have lots of smaller ones in a basket.

Lay 2 fabrics together so the inside is facing out so after you have sewn it and you turn it inside out you will get the correct side. I think it’s better to use two different fabric pieces on either side to make the pillows reversible.

Sew around all three sides and on the last side sew only 3/4 of the way. Turn the cover you have made inside out and fill with the lavender flowers.

The piece left open you will need to sew with a needle to get a neat closed edge.

You can use ribbons and gift boxes to present  to someone, I find it’s a lovely birthday present for you mum, sister or gran.

You can add cute accessories like below!

Source: Shutter Sisters

This is one of my recycled posts from last year as the weather is hotting up it’s the perfect drink!

As promised here is another summer drink, easy to make and so refreshing to drink. Made with Ginger ale,  a hint of pomegranate and lime. Of course you can add Alcohol to this as you want.

To make you will need: (will serve 2)

330 ml Ginger Ale

6 Tbsp Fresh Pomegranate juice

2 Tbsp Lime juice

Ice

In a glass, add crushed ice, half the Ginger Ale and 3 tbsp of Pomegranate and 1 tbsp lime juice, add the rest to another glass and serve immediately.

Bhajya are a popular North Indian street food, actually when I was there I found people love it so much they travel from town to town to find the best ones around and once found they often keep going back for more. Usually the street vendors keep cooking till 1 am and that is when everyone turns up for last orders.

My mum makes the best I’ve had, of course I’m biased but maybe it’s because nothing can really beat a mothers cooking! You can make variations of the dish by using different fillings. We use bananas, aubergines, onions, courgettes using the same batter and process, the banana ones are a lovely mix of sweet and savory, one to try!

The Fresh Tomato dip is so simple but the coriander and fresh chilli add a citrusy slightly hot flavour you need which is best for this simple dish.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups gram flour

2 crushed green chillies

1.5 teaspoons vegetable oil

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup chopped up Fresh Spinach

4 potatoes thinly sliced, keep dipped in cold water for 2 minutes

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Heat up oil for frying.

2. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients, except the potatoes into a batter, until you have a hick creamy consistency.

3. Dip the potatoes one at the time into the batter and into the oil, fry each side until golden brown and let dry on a paper towel.

4. Serve hot with saucy dip.

Tomato Dip

4-5 fresh tomatoes blended up

1 whole green chilli or adjust to the heat level you want

3/4 cup chopped coriander

salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

This is a special post for a friend who wanted some inspiration for a vegan Valentine’s Day treat for his fiancé. (Aww!) So I made it as easy as possible,  with this in mind this post is dedicated to all you guys who want to whip up a healthy chocolate treat (yes such a thing exists!)  for your girlfriend/fiance/wife, it doesn’t take much effort and tastes oh so good!

This recipe originally comes from Health goddess Ellie Krieger when I watched her make this on her show “Healthy Appetite’, it’s light and creamy but tastes amazingly decadent.  I know you shouldn’t mess with such a good thing but I did change some a few parts of the recipe but you can find the original Chocolate Mousse here.  So I used Rum instead of Brandy and I used vegan chocolate chips instead of sugar. And for the topping I used pistachios replacing the heavy cream.

Ingredients

½ pack silken tofu

¾ pack bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2  cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon brandy/ I used Rum

Chopped Pistachios

Directions

In a blender or food processor, puree the tofu until it is smooth.

Put the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, 1/4 cup water and brandy in a saucepan or heat-proof bowl fitted over a pot containing 1-inch barely simmering water. Stir frequently, until melted and smooth.

Add the chocolate mixture to the tofu and puree until smooth and well blended. Spoon the mousse into serving dishes, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When ready to serve sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top.

I hope she likes! Enjoy!!

I’m making this my go to dish for keeping a healthy start to the New Year; it’s mostly flavoured with herbs and makes a light but wholesome dinner option. I vary the dish by using different side vegetables; here I’ve served with mushrooms, green beans and fresh tomatoes but feel free to have with any vegetables you want.

Grilled Polenta

Ingredients

3 cups vegetable stock

1.5 cups fine polenta

Few Sprigs of thyme

Directions

1. Bring the stock to a boil and add in the thyme and chilli flakes. Pour in the polenta and stir until thick and creamy.

2. Pour the polenta whilst hot into a greased loaf tin and let it set at room temperature

3. Remove the polenta and cut into portions

4. Lightly coat a griddle a griddle pan with olive oil and cook the polenta for 5 minutes on each side.

Pepper sauce

Ingredients

3 red bell peppers diced

1 medium onion diced

2 gloves garlic chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp. Fresh parsley (all herbs finely chopped)

1 Tbsp. Fresh basil

1 Tbsp. Fresh chives

1 Tbsp. Fresh oregano

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a pan and cook the onions, pepper for 5 minutes and add the garlic and tomatoes, cook until everything is softened.
2. Add salt and pepper and bay leaf and cook for 2 minutes more
3. Roughly blend the mixture and put back onto a low heat, add the rest of the herbs and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Pour onto grilled polenta slices and serve warm.