White wine mussels with fresh thyme.

It's been a while since I last cooked mussels myself, we usually order them in batches whenever we dine out, but it is really so easy to make and the recipe I used is just brilliant. It uses the right amount of ingredients you need to get all the flavor and unique taste of mussels.

I used white wine instead of vermouth and fresh thyme instead of fresh tarragon and here it is-also you can double the portions or adjust to your tastes..

White wine mussels with fresh thyme

(adapted from here)

1 pound mussels
1 tbs unsalted butter
about half onion, minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine
fresh thyme

After you have cleaned, removed beard, discarded any chipped shells, or those not completely shut, cook the mussels in a medium pot along with the butter, onion and white wine which have been previously boiled. Cover the pot and steam them over high heat until they open. It can take from 3 to 6 minutes. You can shake them around a bit, to make sure they are getting equal access to the wine and heat. Once the mussels have swung open (discard any that have not), transfer them to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Turn the heat all the way up, and boil the cooking broth for 1 minute, then ladle this over the mussels. Garnish with some fresh thyme and eat immediately. :)

Designer of the week: Sea NY.

a glimpse of one of my latest obsessions: SEA NY and seriously all of their collections-
this is fall 2015.
ADOOOOORE...

photos

Music of the day.

cannot stop listening to this one.
the new track from mumford & sons ->believe is out
and it simply gives me the goosebumps-

FBF.

on the days we had snow and crystallized nature...

Homemade cocktail drink & recipe.

Just so that I can keep track of my right out of my head moments of spontaneous creativity for new recipes, (remember fellow bloggers: this is also a place to right them down), I am delivering you one that can become an obsession, really.

This is a rum cocktail drink I recently attempted to experiment with, so here what I came up with:

you can obviously bring it to your tastes, depending on how strong or not you like it, so this how I went:

I began by pouring ice in a low cocktail glass and a portion of white rum, I then added some pink lemonade, a few drops of agave syrup and some lime juice. Bingo! The portions were right, exactly to my likings, the agave syrup is giving the right amount of just a hint of sweetness (which is something I'm looking for in a drink) but not to the overall result which has also has the citrus-y flavors and eventually bring it to the perfect balance.

*attention: it may become addictive..:b

Designer of the week: Christina Economou.

So proud of this girl being from my places- I adored her FW14 collection/ this one is right out of SS15. Prints, prints, prints, silk, silk, silk and coolness. Christina Economou.

photos

Spotted: Ikkii boots.

love these boots-they can change an outfit completely.
check out more here

photos by ikkii

Salmon bagels.

One of my favorite things to have for breakfast or in the middle of the day is one of these salmon bagels. I use these -out of this world- bagels from Trader Joe's (look at: multigrain bagels) which I cut lengthwise and warm/toast a bit at my favorite toaster, I spread some cream cheese and on top of that small slices of smoked sockeye salmon. I drizzle with a bit of olive oil, top it off with some red onion slices (if I feel fancy), some dill and capers. I end it with some freshly squeezed lemon juice along with some freshly grounded black pepper. You cannot imagine how incredible this thing is..

*on a side note: salmon, dill and lemon are bffs, so don't forget to add them, it makes the difference---> ;)

(ceramic plate by anthropologie/ kitchen towel by ikea/ coffee mug by west elm)

Music of the day.

Fantastic new tunes from the latest Belle & Sebastian project..................................................................this is the track: the party line---------

Designer of the week: Cedric Charlier.

Simply in-love with this guy's collections: Cedric Charlier and this is pre-fall 2015/2016.............................

Coconut curry carrot soup.

This is a new recipe I discovered browsing through the web and which actually comes from one of my much loved blogs, that of A cozy kitchen. We all are craving for a soup this time around, it's undoubtedly the answer to what will keep company to these cold weather times. It can be made with items that we keep in our pantry regularly and that's what I mostly love when I try to find a new recipe to add on to my to-go-menu-of-the-week.

This is a combination of carrots and coconut milk which along with the fresh cilantro and the red curry powder make one of the most perfect soups I have ever tried out. I substituted coconut milk (only because I didn't have that in my pantry at that time) with coconut cream and water until I reached the desirable coconut milk consistency. I also made red curry powder from scratch which is no other than mixing ground coriander, ground cumin, chili pepper, red pepper and cardamon together. If you are not a chili person, you can simply pass with the chili/red pepper addition. It will be delicious either ways. Recipe follows.


Coconut curry carrot soup (adapted from A cozy Kitchen)

2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil) 2 small shallots, minced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
7 small carrots, peeled and diced (equals to about 2 cups of carrots)
1 tablespoons red curry powder
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus more if needed
Fresh cilantro, for garnish

In a medium pot, heat the coconut oil, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Next, add the garlic cloves, carrots, red curry and fresh ginger; stir until everything is thoroughly mixed and cook for about a minute, until very fragrant.

Mix in the veggie broth and coconut milk. Once the mixture reaches a slight simmer, turn the heat to low, cover the pot and allow to cook for 20 minutes, until the carrots are tender when poked with a fork.If you have an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. If you don’t have one, no biggie. Carefully add the soup to the blender (you’ll have to do this in a few batches) and puree the soup, being sure you allow the hot air to escape (if not, you’ll have a bit of an explosion on your hands). 

Adjust the soup’s consistency, if you like. I added about 1/2 cup of veggie broth to thin it out just a bit. Next, salt to taste. (I added about 3/4 teaspoon of salt).Divide the soup between bowls and garnish each one with a sprinkling of freshly chopped cilantro 

Serves 3-4

/red curry powder making in my favorite marbled french kitchen style pestle and mortar/