Google+ Sidhe banshee: July 2012

Monday 30 July 2012

Onigiri-My-Way

I found time today to try and make onigiri.
The title explains that is not the original onigiri, that's because.....i'm not so good at cooking so better to explain...that way i hope you don't get a trauma seeing my onigiri!
So what i used is listed in the post below..
oh...okay okay, I'm gonna say again:
Japanese rice, Nori seaweed, red bean cream (with pieces of bean inside), salt, sugar.
The recipe says to use rice vinegar, but i hadn't.
I cleaned the rice in water until the water was looking clean, then i let the rice to rest for 15 minutes


After 15 minutes has pass, i did put the rice with clean water in a pot on the high fire until it boiled, at that point i lowered the flame and let the water to dry.
when the water has gone, the recipe tells you to use the wooden pot, but i don't have so i just used a clean pot.

I should have melt the sugar and the salt (for 500g of rice is 2 little spoon of sugar and 1 of salt) with vinegar but i just used sugar and salt in the new pot and mixed it gently, because you don't have to break the rice or it won't stay in shape.

while mixing i flatter the rice to make it to cool down, then i covered it with a cloth and waited 10 more minutes.

After that i used my heart and star shape, i first put in them a little rice then in the center some bean cream and covered with more rice.

Turned it upside down on the seaweed and cut the shape.
The wet rice will glue the seaweed.
This is the result, not wonderful, but it taste good ;)


Sunday 29 July 2012

Poporoya, real Japanese food

It was some months we wanted to try this place, Poporoya.
http://www.poporoyamilano.com/


It is a sushi bar, and it is famous because the chef is a true, certificate Japanes chef.
There is also, in front of the sushi bar, a sushi restaurant, but is only in the bar where you can eat food made by the real Poporoya.
As you enter, you find a little shop where to buy Japanese ingredients and such.
And the clerck who is (or i think so) his daughter, she takes your order, so you have to chose what to eat at the entrance, and as there is a free spot she makes you to sit.
The food arrives very fast, and is yummy!
There you can find also daifuku and dorayaki.
Too bad i ate too much and didn't had space left for the sweet.
It is forbidden to take pics inside, so this is the only shot i took before notice the forbidden sign.


After dinner, we decided to buy something from the shop so i went for what is needed to make onigiri, easy!


So soon i will post my onigiri ( not so soon) !!

Monday 23 July 2012

Thursday 19 July 2012

Shaped rice for onigiri

Today i decided to prepare my tomorrow lunch.
And pushed by this desire i used for the first time the...thingies to make shaped rice.
I got them to the Japan Center, in London, close to Piccadilly Circus.



They even put the instruction, in Japanese obviously, and everybody knows i'm fluent in Japanese, aswell i'm a great chef so i don't need any instruction...

So, yeah it is quite easy, first of all you have to cook some rice.
At this point is up to you, you can cook Japanese rice and make onigiri or whatever, or just cook whatever rice you have as long as it sticky.
Then Let it to cool a bit.
At this point you can just use the shaped thingies as a spoon and get rice in it, like this


Press it down like this


And close the clover for a few, like one minute.


On the back the thingies got a spot made to push the rice out, and this is the result, enjoy!




Wednesday 18 July 2012

Ladies and gentlemen the kitchen is HERE!

Yeah!
In the end we got a new kithcen, cause we argued with the landlord and told him that after all the time we waited he was just kidding us and we were going to leave the flat.
The kitchen is an IKEA cheap one, but at least is new, clean, the oven works and we got more space.

This is the new kitchen in our living room waiting to be assembled

This is kitchen after we almost disassembled it all



And this is the new kitchen (oh! i have to send pics to my mom!)



Cakes incoming!

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Me and the cats

I own a blog about my cats, of course.
It is in Italian, because....well, no reason, i just started it in Italian.
My cats ( 2 ) are really lovable and cute i love them so much my boyfriend is jealous.
This my last pic with our new kitten.

This is their blog, it is all about them: My furred loves.
http://stregatti.wordpress.com/

Monday 16 July 2012

Wanna play?

I'm too lazy to check pics, edit, post, tell you the story.
They are assembling the kitchen, so it is a mess, the whole house.
I have a thoot hurting like hell so i cant focus on anything.
Just this:


p.s. if you know a cheap dentist let me know OUCH! :(

Friday 13 July 2012

Backwards

It is SALE time!
And i go for shopping even in my lunch break.
And is really time i STOP it!
By the way, one of my last purchase is this t-shirt with a big red bow.
It was supposed to be on the back, but why?!
So i just decided to wear the shirt backwards cause I like it on front.
Yeah much better!

Not photoshopped


Thursday 12 July 2012

I think i'm a feminist

Because for years i claimed and i still do, that i don't need to be mother of children to be "complete".
Not having children doesn't means being wrong, there is nothing to fix.

Because i never accepted the stupid questions at family meeting "when are you going to get married".
I'm going to whenever i decide to.
There is nothing wrong in being single, or in living with your partner without being married.

Because when i will get married and i will have children i will teach them the same things, despite their gender.

Because I'm free and able to take care of myself alone, without a man looking after me.

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Ichi & Nichan

I had a cat, and now........ i have 2 cats!
Ichi, the male one, is 11 months old, and Nichan, the female one, is just 2 months old.
I love them so bad!!!!
OMG.


Monday 9 July 2012

Affleck Palace

Looking to find some lolita clothes i asked mu friends, to take us to Affleck Palace in Manchester.
It is a, 3 and half floors, palace with open market of alternative shops, like a little Camden Town.
In there we found a small bar in 50's style.


I was really tempted to buy many things, but as usual my taste are too complicate.
But at least i got a Petticoat and a jeans.
The lolita shop didn't had anything SO good to make me really wanting it, and price were too high for what it had.



The palace is in the city center and is very easy to get ther with the bus (we drived from Leeds to Manchester, then we parked the car and got the bus to go to the center)


On the first floor there is a very cool shop to get everything is needed to craft jewels, bracelets, rings, necklaces.
Steampunk, kawaii, or whatever is the style you are looking for.
I should have the flyer somewhere, with the url for online shop.
I will post it when i find it.
<3


Sunday 8 July 2012

Food in UK

Here some pics of what we ate while in UK.
For all the other you can refer to my flikr :
Click here






Thursday 5 July 2012

A night out!

I told to those friends of mine we wanted to taste the real English life!
So they made us to eat real English food (will see in another post) and the English young life.
So basically they took us out to drink and dance on Friday night ;)
First stop was at a veeeeery crowded pub, lot of beer and voices and music and noise and girl laughing and drunk guys.
After that we went to a club where we could sit, drink and dance!
So this is a before-pic

And those are the AFTER!



 (you can see the fatty side of me..leeeeeegs)

I'm not good at drinking, i don't use to.
Here i just had a cocktail and i was kinda....silly!





House moving in 6 months (probably)


My Landlord is a …..ok i’m gonna censure myself…
We entered the flat on november the 1th past year.
The oven in the kitchen was broken. And we told him as he came to get the first paymant on December.
After few weeks the drawer got broken too and we found out it was rotten and kept together by pins.
After we told all this to the landlord, we asked if he could repair the drawers and get us a new oven, he said was going to change the whole kitchen, and we were happy about that.
That could have been january.
The in the next months he came few times to get measurement, showed us some kitchen, and keep delaying the affair.
Untill The end of April, after we complaint about the situation, then he told us the kitchen was arriving in May.
May passed, and the second week of June, he told us the kitchen was about to arrive, we were leaving for our vacation in a few days, so we got an appointment to assemble it on the first weekend of july.
Then yesterday he came with his uncle who is the real owner of the flat, to get measurement AGAIN.
And at a point the uncle said, there were no reason to change the whole kitchen, that was new, they could just fix the drawers and change the oven.
i was like ..WHAT THE FUCK??!
My bf was at job, when they left i called him on phone, he got upset as me, called back the landlord and argued with him.
Now we’ve decided to leave this flat, it doesnt worth the rent we pay, we can find a better one.
I’m afraid about packing all and move. It would be my 7 time.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Vivienne Westwoods in Leeds

Well...I know, there are Vivienne Westwood shops in Milan aswell, just I was not expecting to find one in Leeds.
It was in this luxury fashion arcade.




I like very few things from Vivienne Westwood, and i really think prices are just crazy.



Sunday 1 July 2012

Build-a-Bear

On the second day in Leeds (i start from day 2 'cause on day 1 we took airplane and landed at 8pm) my friends took us to their biggest commercial centre "White Rose".
White rose is Yorkshire's symbol.
There, as in almost all commercial centres, you can find Build-a-Bear shop.
It is just lovely, kids can't resist it, you can build your own bear to be your best friend forever.



You can chose your bear type and color, it comes empty and then they fill it, you can also chose it to be softer or harder filling. Then you take a little hearth and you rub it on your arms and belly and front so it get permeate of you.
At this point you put the little heart into the bear and fill it with their help.



Before or after filling it you go chose how to dress your new friend, there is a large choice, you can even dress as a jedi, darth vader, fireman.

There are shoes, boots, skates, hats, bags, and many other things!
At this point you get a code and go sit at the pc station to chose a name for your bear and start it's own story

Then they pack it for you.
This is my Bunny, i called it Leeds and is female.

And this is me and her happy together <3