pizza night

last night i hosted an informal, casual pizza dinner for three friends plus boyfriend. i wish i could do nothing but cook dinners for friends all day, everyday. admittedly, i had a little help with the dough - from my dad. and i overestimated the amount of pizza (as in: i can't bring myself to cook for the exact amount of people that are eating... i always end up with 2 spare plates, minimum): i made pizza dough from 1.5 kg of flour. let me tell you that managing such an amount of pizza dough that you've prepared the night before caused me a sleepless night...

home-made sicilian pizza recipe

ingredients:
serves four
for the dough:
500 g flour
1 soup spoon salt
25 g yeast
3 dl warm water
5 soup spoons olive oil

for the topping:
tomato sauce
mozzarella
goat cheese
cherry tomatoes
mushrooms, in quarters
pickled zucchini & aubergines (will post the recipe soon)
carciofi (sott' olio)
fresh oregano and basil
preboiled potatoes
brocoli
olives

directions:
mix the flour with the salt and create a little hole in the middle of it. mix the yeast with a bit of the warm water, pour it into the flour-hole. cover the yeast-water mix with a little of the flour and let stand for ten minutes. in the meantime, add olive oil to the rest of the water. after the ten minutes, pour the water-oil-mix in, and mix the dough either with a mixer or by hand in the bowl for 8-10 minutes.
cover the dough and put it immediately into the fridge (if you keep it in the warmth you will cause the dough to rise quicker). let rise for at least 45 minutes or longer. 'slap' or depuff the dough together.
to shape the dough, use a little flour and some olive oil. don't worry, you can't harm the dough, simply treat it as long as it's the shape you want.

i covered the pizza with two spoons of tomato sauce and various vegetables. bake for 15-18 minutes. serve immediately.

have a happy weekend, everyone. lots of love.

two totes

i have always been keen on styles that are casual and comfy but nevertheless chic. i prefer an understated, relaxed and unagitated overall look. it's all a question of the right mix, really. thus, my wardrobe consists of both, simple basics and some glam items to make sure i can spice up an everyday outfit without much effort. but also the other way round: i often feel a dressy, glam outfit needs a little understatement.

an easy way to dress down a glam dress or an over the top outfit is to use simple, textile totes instead of shiny handbags. here are my current favorite two totes. i've got a few other ones that are on constant rotation. the first is a giveaway from the trend tutorial hosted by li edelkoor that i attended last week. the second one is from the fantastic en soie store in zurich.

skinny rings

every girl loves to dream - in particular about the ring she is one day going to wear on her finger. when she finally vows 'forever' to the guy she loves and this big commitment will be sealed with a ring. it needn't be an engagement ring, a simple love ring is just as big an occasion. 

i am not really the glittery, harry winston type of girl. i like something a little more discreet (not so show-offy). it needs to be timeless and versatile, too. with the new skinny ring trend, that dream could easily come true. there are different sorts of skinny rings: simple threads or knot rings, classic ones with a solitaire or script rings with letters. here are my favorite pieces i'm currently lusting after (or forever, in good times as in bad, equally, haha).

1 avanessi white gold knot ring

2 morganne bello friandise tréfle clover gem ring

3 catbird little heart ring

4 satomi kawakita black diamond solitaire ring

5 sidney evan love script ring

6 lush gold love ring

7 cartier oui script ring

8 asos skinny heart ring

photo above by honeyisle

supernatural

as you know, i love to read about food. it's one thing to read through the many (many...) food blogs i've got on my watchlist. but, there's nothing like flicking through the pages of a brand new, virginal cookbook. i love the smell and feel of it.

here's a new one on my watchlist. heidi swansons' 'super natural every day'. her blog 101 cookbooks is already genius, so i'm sure that her book is, well, supernatural. you can order heidi's book on her blog or on amazon.

summery clutch

there isn't anything more flattering on a woman than the right accessories (men inclusive, hadiha). i bought this summery clutch in paris in may. since, i haven't had the right occasion to let it accompany me out. but i'm sure with the summery weather we're having it will soon be in use, like for a night out at one of the several city based baths in zurich. i think it looks just as good with a simple light blue, frayed jean as with a  dressy dress. can't wait!

clutch bag by accessorize

roasted radicchio salad

i love vegetables and salad, in all versions. but, unfortunately, some ugly germ has recently been raging in germany that was suspected to come from vegetables. so, raw vegetable was suddenly temporarily banned from our food list (no, it's not a nice topic, so no need to elaborate). but since we didn't want to pass on all vegetables, we switched to cooking it instead of eating it raw. yes, the salad, too...

this might sound a little strange to you. but the italians are in fact really good at grilling and roasting salad-like vegetables, like chicory or radicchio. nothing peculiar there. i grilled the thin leaves briefly on each side in a pan with a some olive oil. then added a dressing of olive oil, balsamico, chopped peperoncino, a little honey, salt and pepper, and added in on the still warm salad. serve immediately. tipp: i sprinkled some fresh, chopped mint leaves over it before serving.

chocolatey pleasures

we spent another lovely weekend in germany. it was wonderful to hang out with friends. so we had a chocolatey sin straight out of the oven to celebrate the long weekend.

this moelleux au chocolat, or lava cake, is a recipe from a friend and former fellow student. we, a bunch of girls, used to eat it on tuesdays while watching sex and the city on the french tv station (because it was quicker in showing new episodes) in rotating homes. those were nights of lighthearted girls' talk and laughter. needless to say, i only have good memories of that cake.

its liquid center is divine, something between a cake and a mousse. unfortunately, we didn't have any small, heat-proof moulds or cups. so this bigger version was a bit too liquid in the center - but just as tasty.

darling wedding shoes

so need this pretty jelly bow ballerinas! you might have read my post on jelly flats some time ago. well, i'm still crazy about them. and now that this newish, darling pair by vivienne westwood is out, i came to think they would be the perfect match with this dress. or any summery, glam, wedding attendee dress, really.

goat cheese on radicchio and pear

i discovered some old food shots i haven't posted yet. and this salad just looked to good not to post it - even though it's totally not the season for an autumn inspired starter. never mind.

basically, this salad recipe is nothing exciting. plain red radicchio and some pears. autumnal elementries. until the cheese comes in: choose a good (really good) goat's cheese, since it will make all the difference. stinky ones permitted (so don't be too quick to exclude them. but i'm certain you would never do that to cheese... ). i'm positive you can whisk together the balsamic vinaigrette on your own (you know, a little olio, some mustard, some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper... things that make a salad dressing divine).

handmade german spaetzle

it's not a secret that i'm partly german. well, it is actually, but only if nobody asks me. i mean, i don't have a german passport. so i think i'm not really german, at least technically speaking. truth is: my father is (formerly) german. from the south, to be precise. this much can be revealed at this point: we all (including him) don't really love that typical southern german accent... but, what we do love is spaetzle.

here's how you do it (totally easy): for every 100 gramms of flour (all purpose or a special one) use 1 egg (e.g. for four people use 400 gramms flour and four eggs). mix it, add a generous pinch of salt and some sprinkles of water. combine it until all the flour-lumps are gone and the dough is soft. the consistency check: if you dip a whisk into the dough and pull it back out, the drops pouring from it should be just a little thick. important: let the dough rest for 20 minutes or until tiny bubbles of air appear in the dough.

in the meantime, heat a big pot of salted water. you will then need a spaetzle-device. excursus: if you don't have one, make sure you make the dough thicker (i.e. fewer eggs), put it on a board and shave row per row gently into the hot water (the spaetzle should to be longish and not too thick).

the spaetzle are done, when they appear at the surface of the water (after 2-3 minutes). take them out with a sieve, drain them quickly under the cold water and put aside. you can prepare the spaetzle up to this step well ahead. shortly before serving, either heat (not really fry) them in a pan in some butter. or, as i did it here, combine with some butter and swiss cheese and put in the oven for 10 minutes.

tipps: spaetzle are delicious on their own - but they go just as well with every kind of roast or meat and with seasonal vegetables. for a change, you might want to experiment with spinach or herbs spaetzle (the green color is seductive).

wanderlust

since i'm with someone, i've learned that spending a weekend abroad with your loved one is not only romantic, but vital. it's soothing, for body, mind and soul. it is inspiring. and it gives you the possibility to reload your batteries. i am currently craving for colors, for ethno prints, for shabby, old furniture that tells lovely stories of the orient, the south or long gone colonial times.

i would love to document that 'wanderlust' in my home, with some signature interior decor inspired by travels around the world. it needn't be an eifel tower or a buddha, a few ethno print pillows or a new elephant theme ash tray will do as inspiration. until we're going on our next trip, that is.

from left to right and from top to bottom: vintage inspired hat boxes by cafe society, elephant theme ash tray by hermès, random vintage globe, vintage bird's cage via kaboodle, yellow ethno ear studs via dawanda, vintage inspired opium table & suitcases by housedoctor.dk, vintage swatti ethno print pillow.

oyster mushroom pasta

normally, i like something to eat something simple and light for dinner (since i can't bring myself to reduce my calorie intake throughout the day). then there are nights when i simply can not stop myself from craving hearty stuff. like pasta. and parmesan. and mushrooms. prefarably in one plate. accompanied by a chick flick (but shh, we will just pretend i didn't say that).

here's a dish i did last week. i adapted it from this recipe from the flour sack. mainly, i switched the portobello mushrooms for oyster mushrooms. judgement: quite a sensible answer to hearty cravings.