Orchids , how to water them

Watering your orchid isn't such a difficult matter . It may vary, the frequency depend on the climate you live in, or what season is at the time or maybe just on what your orchid prefer.  Definitely orchids prefer to be to dry then to wet. Excess standing water will rot the roots and will accumulate bacteria, fungi or viruses. The best time to water your plants is early in a day so orchids can absorb remaining water. I worked out the routine for my plants. I water them every 10- 14 days but I haven't got a set time. I do this exactly the same way the whole year. But I want to point it out that my orchids like that way, they growing happily and flower constantly most of the year or even longer.

When I water my orchids I never pour water into the pot, I always take my plants under the tap and let the water go through roots. But by doing that I always make sure water isn't to cold. Otherwise orchid can get into shock which slows down its growth. I recognize when my orchids need water by checking the roots. When  roots becoming silvery I know my plants need water. Also you always have to check if there is no water left in a crow. If it is you have to remove it by using paper towel, otherwise crown may rot.

Please ask if you need any more information, I will help if I can :)
Pepper xxx

Easter Holiday

Easter is coming so I would like to wish you a very Happy Easter that is filled with love and happiness.

Pepper xxx

Saturday at Pepper's

First of all I want  to say big thank you to all my girls for coming and making that evening so wonderful. Food was amazing, cocktails even better. 

Our lovely shisha pipe. Such a little thing made us so happy. We tried a watermelon flavour tobacco this time.

We couldn't obviously forget about pampering session, provided by our lovely Vanilla.

Lets drink to that :))) We all decided to make our favorite cocktails. Before I did that I bought myself very useful book. The book contain delicious cocktails recipe and how to make them step by step. And believe me it is very important which ingredient you should use first, how to mix them all together. The results are amazing. 

The one I made is called blue blooded.

Ingredients:

-1 measure gin

-1 measure passion fruit nectar

- 4 cubes melon or mango

- cracked ice

- 1-2 tsp blue curacao

Method

Put the gin, passion fruit nectar, melon and cracked ice into a blender. Blend all until is nice and smooth. Poor the mixture into a glass filled with ice and top it with the curacao.

 
 

The best part in being a host is leftovers in the morning. :))

Time goes so fast and it is a shame that evening is finished but now we can look forward to the next one.:)

Pepper xxx

Thriller from Vanilla and Carrot Cake for Pepper's party ;D

Pepper's party was great !

We all made it a wonderful evening together :) Am sure Pepper, Cinnamon and Ginger will write a bit more about the party and foods and cocktails they prepared to make our evening together special ;D . Every one of us made a cocktail , so we had 4 different ones. Pepper did the first one. It was very colorful ,  yum :) and impressive ! I designed my own Cocktail for the party ;) and I named it 

Thriller from Vanilla ;D. Come back to see it...I will put recipe here ;).

I baked this Carrot Cake for the party also. I actually surprised myself, how good that recipe worked out. I made it for the first time ever ! It is one of these I am going to do again and will put it in my cookery book. It is definitely one to keep ! Girls really loved it ! and so did I ;)
Happy Birthday to Ginger ! Eventually ;)
Carrot Cake recipe will be posted here ;) so come back and check it out....

I apologize, I will not do it today, as it is very late here ;) and we also had change of time, that made day to go by even quicker ;(...
Take care for now....

Vanilla xx

Hello again. Here is the recipe , I found it on internet...And am feeling a bit jealous that it is not my own recipe, as I think it's amazing ! Tastes great !  It is moist and so easy to make, which is the best thing ;) Here it comes :
Carrot Cake : 2 cups - all purpous flour
                       2 cups - sugar
                       2 Ts baking soda
                       2 Ts cinnamon
                       1 Ts salt
                       4 eggs
                       1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
                       3 cups grated carrots
                       1 1/2 cups chopped pecans ( I used walnuts )
                     
For the topping :
                     
                       2 packages of cream cheese
                       1 butter ( room temperature )
                       1 box - powder sugar

Method :

In the large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Add eggs and oil, Use hand mixer , Blend until combined.
Pour into 2 pans. Bake for 40 minutes on 350 F
Allow to completely cool down before frosting.
Frosting : combine all the ingredients. Butter and sugar first , than add cream cheese.
Decorate ;) I used violets that I found in the garden....
Now I have confession to make :(
The cake would be so much taller, but the other half that I made in the heart pan unfortunately was bigger than the round shape, it didn't look good, so I didn't use it :( Still it was a quite a big cake, but if  I used the other half too, it would be even taller. Anyway, I was giving the heart half away to friends and family to try and I enjoyed it after work with my cuppa :)
Next time I need to use the same shape pans ;)

                     Try it, and enjoy it :)

7.4.2015

Hi again. I am so ready to add Thriller from Vanilla today. I am just enjoying it now,so I thought, I can't leave you waiting for this Delightful Delish cocktail any longer.
Thriller from Vanilla - cocktail

You need : 3 1/2 ounces of vodka
                    1 1/2 ounces of triple sec
                    Kopparberg - pear cider
                    1 can of pear helves in light syrup
                    1/2 of vanilla bean pod
                    1 ts  Natural Madagascan vanilla extract
                    1/2 of lemon
                    vanilla sugar for decorating the glass
                    pear to decorate the glass
                    ice - 4 handfuls

Prepare your glasses, rub the lemon around the top of the glass. Put vanilla sugar in the saucer and rub glass into the vanilla sugar to make it pretty ;).

Next : Can of pear helves with the light syrup goes into the processor with the ice. Crush it all together.
Measure vodka and triple sec in your shaker. Add iced pear mixture ,you made in processor to the shaker. Open vanilla bean pod and with the back of the knife scrape the both sides and add to the shaker also,squeeze the lemon and add vanilla extract and shake vigorously.
Pour cocktail into the glasses and top it up with pear cider.It will fizz and give it a bit of special Champagne moment ;)
Decorate with the pear cut into different shapes. It is really up to you. I put bit of vanilla bean pod, that I used for cocktail on the top for the special effect ;) Get creative. You are probably more artistic than me :p
 Sorry to be late with updating this post.
Now Thriller from Vanilla is here :) don't hesitate and try it. Weekend will be here soon.Treat yourself to this drinking desert.


Vanilla xx

                 
            

Party at Pepper's

Hi everyone!

Party is still going on.

Cocktails are delicious :-)

We needed coffee in between cocktails.

Something sweet for my girls for Easter.

Ginger xxx

Another surprise for our party... can't wait for tomorrow evening!

This is my treat for us, girls :-)

But what is it for?

No, it is not an other dessert... 

So surprise, surprise ;-).

Cinnamon x

Healthy cocktail, before naughty cocktails ;D tomorrow.

 Hello.
Well, it is not a secret, we are having a 4falvours Party tomorrow evening at Pepper's.
 I have a free afternoon, so I will use it to get ready for that party, as tomorrow I will be at work all day. :(  All of us, are bringing something to make the party special. So it is a sharing effort. I am bringing the Desert. Everyone of us is making a cocktail , so am really curious, what are girls going to come up with. I've got a bit excited about Cocktails, as I don't drink much, I am " The Driver " and also I watch my drink because of the health. But occasional drink doesn't hurt ;)
Especially as we are staying over night...

 So here they are. New glasses for tomorrow. You girls wait, when I fill them up ;D with my something special...The will look so much better ;) Can't wait to taste your Cocktails...Wow, 4 different ones...Hope we will be o.k. after that. He he..

Look what I am drinking today ! For the first time this Spring, I went to pick first stinging nettles , which are very healthy and I put them in my Healthy Cocktail :) Put all of these ingredients to the juicer.
                         For two portions : 4 carrots
                                             3 apples
                                             1 lemon ( pealed )
                                             5-6 plants - Stinging Nettles

Not all veg and fruit have the same amount of juice in them, so if it is a bit less than you expected, you can still top it up with sparkling mineral water ;)
It is very , very tasty ! Really , you can't even tell Stinging Nettles are in your healthy drink.

Why Stinging Nettles ?
Because , they have blood cleansing properties...they act as an antibacterial and also they make your skin blossom. Not many people know much about this plant. Perhaps only one thing , that it is  stinging , if you touch it.
One doctor once said : if people knew, how healing this plant is, they would only have that in their garden ;)
Like with everything, you have to be careful as it is medicinal and you have to watch it, not to over consume...It is not advised to be drinking tea or using plant for more than 2 weeks in a row.
We always used it in our diet, especially in Spring, so I know, what I am picking.
If you would like to try it, you can buy it in the health shop as a Tea.
 Fresh I make sure I pick it somewhere in the meadows or woodlands, where it is more pure than if you just picked it somewhere close to the road...
Who would think that something so prickly could be so good for you;D
Stinging Nettles are great in Quiche also...I will try to put the recipe of that yummy meal on soon, so you can try it. Take care for now...enjoy the weekend. I can't wait to party on Saturday night...

     
                                                              Vanilla xx

Lecho

Hi everyone!

This is my first "Lecho"  I would translate as a stew in English. I actually didn't know how easy is to make it. All ingredients my husband bought on the market, didn't spend even  £5.

So you need:

5 red peppers
2 small packets of mushrooms
1 or 2 onions (it is up to you)
1 tin of tomatoes (you can use fresh)
1 large-sized polish sausage (you have to go to polish shop to get a good one)
1 cup of stock
few bay leafs
few grain of allspice
2 tbsp of tomato paste

First fry chopped onion then add chopped sausage. After couple minutes you can add chopped peppers and sliced mushrooms and cook about 15 min then add the rest ingredients and stew about an hour. That's it,  "Lecho" is done. I told you easy to make.

Ginger xxx

My sincere condolences go out to the families of the passengers on flight 4U9525 who were tragically taken away from them!

May their souls rest in peace!

Cinnamon x

Orchids-how to make them survive

Like my friend said  "Orchids don't need perfum, they are to beautifull". She is so right. But how to keep them so pretty? Before you buy your dream plant, make sure you check the leaves and roots. Quite often plant is already damaged in shops and when is dying at home we think it is our fault. So once you got your plant first thing you need, is to think where about to place your orchid. I will be talking here about phalaenopsis orchids and all I'm writing here is based on my experience. Best way to learn is to try :)
All my orchids and as I mentioned before I have got 10 of them prefer window sill direct to north east. Orchids love sun but not to much, ideally when is the morning sun, which is nourishing but not so strong to burn their leaves.

If you want to know more about orchids, follow me on Pepper's Monday:) Just remember orchids don't grow to satisfy our ambition. They come out because we expend our effort on them:)

Pepper xxx

Shopping

That's what I like the most... shopping. Noo, not really. But it definitely does cheer me up.
Always nice piece of clothes brings smile on my face, especially when it was a bargin :))))

Spring is coming, so is summer, let check what is in a bag for coming seasons :)

Happy Monday to all :)
Pepper

Switch from drinking coffee to drinking healthy coffee

Hi
I would like to share with you, my love for coffee. I use to drink 2,3 sometimes 4 cups a day. My Mum and my Dad are drinking coffee a lot, my sister, is totally addicted !
One day my Mum told me, how  it is so bad for me , to be drinking too much coffee. Because really it dehydrates you and it brings you PH into bad levels..When your body is acidic, nothing works...It affects lots of different things...I am not going to tell you all of that...Only one thing, that I am very happy with my decision, I swapped Normal coffee for a healthy option coffee, which I enjoy. I am off coffee for quite a long time now. I think it is probably from last September, when I decided I am only going to have one as a treat, when am socializing with my friends, even than, I sometime rather have a cup of tea.
I would like to tell you about the replacement of my coffee.
Well Matcha is a great thing, which I already wrote about in my blog Matcha my gold and My special something. I will show you, how I prepare Matcha Latte one day.
Today I will introduce you to my special Shatawari Coffee
The product contains Common Chicory and Shatawari extract - which really is plant Asparagus racemosa, that grows in Himalayas and India. The root is very much used in medicine there. It helps many medical problems. It is a good antioxidant too. That suits me.
What suits me even more, is that I really , really like the taste of my new coffee and I enjoy a cup 2 times a day...You shouldn't have more than 2,3 cups a day.
I bought my Shatawari Coffee abroad, but I think it is possible to get it on line.
I hope you will give it a go, and realise , that there is a nice tasting coffee, which is good for you.  :)

There are many different types, which I am going to try like : Brahmi ,Ashvaganda , Garcinia , Arjuna an Valeriana.
They are all the same type of coffee just have different healing properties ....Like for example  Valeriana is  supposed to be good for winding down before bed time and makes you sleep well.

How I make my cup of Shatawari coffee ?
Simple. 1/4 or 1/2 tea spoon (1g) with hot water. Add milk in ratio 2;1 if necessary. Add sugar at taste. Use cold milk ,never boiled milk!
And it's ready :D


Vanilla xx

Running late, I blame it on hand bags ;)

One for me,  one for my sister  one for my friend...and one for....stooop!

Hand bags !

 Now I am running late to meet my friend, as I've got mesmerized ;) and forgot myself in the Hand bag bubble !!! Great sale. 

Got to get them quick, and run !

O.k. not too bad.Just 2.min. late. I am meeting my friend for a catch up after long long time no see.

Lots of things changed in my friends life.She is shocking me with her news..She is facing some problems at the moment. She has to move.... But still we were happy to be drinking afternoon tea together.It was one of these exciting meetings, that we ended up talking so fast and changing subjects and coming back to the ones we started..It was so much to say.

My friend brought me a bag full of things and said, she thought I might  like them and if not, I should pass them on someone, who would.

My friend also asked me, if there is anything that would be use to me, before she gives all her things away. I feel so sorry, when you get to the point, you are giving all your things away. All things, that created beautiful home and family memories... I wish I could help her, but sometime you can do nothing, but watch from afar and when you needed ,be there for the person and offer your helping hand, which I did.  I will see my friend next week again and we will be moving things to her new place.. Am sure, she will make her new home look and feel absolutely wonderful. 

 I will show you hand bags I bought. I think you can never have too many ;D  ha ha

 The big furry bag, wow, I was looking at it before Christmas, and was hoping and hoping, this will be my one day... I like the rang-tangled bottom, it is spacious and it is easy to find things in it.... It is out of season now, but next winter, I will find it handy...Fashion wont change that much, as fury stuff is always popular.  

 Why this one ?? We are going to 3 Weddings this year.  I thought, I better buy my bag on sale and even more important, when I find a right one. So this one was exactly that ! ;D  It will go with my shoes.

                      Poker dot leather like hand bag. Very nice.

There was one more, but I gave it away for the present and it was very much liked ;)It is always good to know ;)

O.k. and my present from my friend now...apparently if I don't like it, I can pass it on to someone, who would? Would you not like that? She really made my day. And it is even more special, that is from her. This is my most favorite day hand bag now. Fiorelli. No more hand bags for a while ;D now...

Vanilla xx

My husband's favourit sweet treat

Hi everyone!

I'll be honest I was trying to make this on Monday and now is nearly end of the week. Not enough time again, my little princess likes my attention very much. But today I organize myself and I made WAFERS. My husband is a big fan of them, me actually too.

Fancy a BBQ...?

... It's a bit cold yet but soon :-)!

The weather was so lovely today I decided to do a bit of gardening instead of going to the park and the play area. In fact, I just tidied up, pulled weeds and got the soil ready for some new plants. I had a good helper, too.

  She really enjoyed being outside. 

As you can see my garden is tidy now but it still looks a bit sad, my crocusses withered, only two left, and my daffodils are in full bloom. So I want to get some new plants. Any ideas, girls? Not too difficult, shade loving, not poisonous and not too expensive but still pretty and nice to look at. 

Do you like creepy crawlies? I hate them but only in my house. Outside they are ok, maybe because they have got every right to be in a garden ;-)? One spider was trying to scare me though, running up my sleeve. She must have regretted it cause I blew her over to my neighbour and she has to find a new home now. Little flavour found the black thing quite fascinating. 

So ladies, as soon as it gets a bit warmer I want you to come over for a nice German-African BBQ!

Cinnamon x

When I feel under the weather...

O no !

I do not like that ! Illness gets in a way exactly , when I feel on top of the world and loving doing things. When I am busy. 

It  sits me on my bottom, here ! I have to stop ! I guess, if nothing stops me, this will, my friend told me yesterday. There you go, you can't be told ;) She always tells me to slow down, just like my sister and my Mum 

Well, all I want is to get better as soon as possible. 

On Sunday I wasn't even hungry, but my Darling cooked a beautiful meal for us. He fallowed Jamie Oliver's fish and chips recipe. 

 If it was left to me, we would eat nothing. That is not the usual me. I love cooking normally.

I just kept drinking lots of Ginger and Lemon Tea with honey, Peppermint Tea ,  

Chai Tea in which I added some ground cloves, it suppose to get rid of cold.

 Last night,after left over dinner from night before  I was craving something healthy , but also something that would help me to get better .

 I would like to share with you  my STEWED APPLES recipe 

I cut up 3 apples , fried them in one table spoon of coconut oil.

After about 5 min. I added 50 ml.

of water and

s

1/3 of tea spoon of cinnamon

and 3 shakes from ground mixed spice,

2 crushed cloves and kept stewing the apples, 

for 5 min.longer.

2 hand fulls of blueberry's 

and splash of Maple syrup to your taste

and if you have got bit of Vanilla sugar,

that would make a dish taste lovely and

home to smell incredible ;D

When blueberry's bursted and apples are soft, it's ready. 

Dish your Stewed Apples on plates and sprinkle with ground walnuts or any other kind of nuts you would like or have in your cupboard. If you like to spoil yourself even more, you can serve it with  yogurt , custard, of even ice cream .

               If you not well, try this. Enjoy and get well with Vanilla ;) xx

Orchids

My not so new passion, orchids. I promised that I will write some more about them. Before I bought my first orchid I was afraid that they are very demanding flowers and difficult to maintain them so beautiful like they are in shops. Then  I only reassure myself in that when I lost my first orchid received from a friend. For a long time I didn't even think to buy any more orchids and what is worse watch them die later.

But as time goes by orchids became more and more popular and I did again, I bought one, again. What really surprised me that orchid is still alive and it is nearly 2 years. Since then my collection got bigger, currently I have10 beautiful orchids, growing and blooming all the time.

I would like to introduce one of my flowers today. 

I choose this one because not long time ago I thought it wont survive. I found this orchid at work dying because lack of care.

I replanted it, removed all the rotten roots and was waiting and waiting. For couple of months there was no sign that this orchid will grow. Considering it had only 2 healthy roots left and drying leaves the chances were pretty low. But one day when I was checking my flowers like I do every day, I spoted a new root and new spike coming out. I was so happy. All people say whay are you doing it when for 5 pound you can buy a new orchid. Well satisfaction when your plant is growing and all the excitement  when your are waiting for first flower, priceless. I suppose when you do what you like will always make you happy and you just want do it more and more.

More tips and advice how to care for your orchids on Pepper's Monday.

Pepper xxx

Party time

I have found very interesting quote :

"I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade.. and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party"
                                                      Ron White
So luckily happened that I have got lots of lemons and already start making lemonade. So all my dear flavours I shall see you Saturday 28.03.2015, at 6 pm with a bottle of vodka ;)
Sexy fashion and beauty party this is. Wear whatever you like but make sure you feel beautiful, confident and happy with yourself, like we always should :)
So Saturday will be about fun, relax, pampering, delicious food and spending time with friends  :)
Just for you girls something to look forward to it :)

Pepper xxx

A new week full of great things ahead of us ;-)

Best friends can turn a horrible day into one of the best days of your life.

Nathanael Richmond

Girls I hope you are all well and enjoyed your weekend. It went too quick as usual. I'm already looking forward to meeting you all again soon!

Vanilla, thank you very much for sharing your secret protein shake and all the ingredients with us. I'm really curious about Matcha now and I don't think I've ever tried chia seeds :-). 

Have a great week flavours!

Cinnamon x

4 flavours meet for coffee today ;) not !

Today was arranged for ages, but it didn't work out, exactly as we were hoping. Ginger and Pepper came a bit early and were half way trough their coffee and cake, when Cinnamon and me -Vanilla arrived...:(. Ginger wasn't well, so she had to go to doctors as soon as possible :( and Pepper went with her.

We missed them very much. We hope to get new date in the diary for 4 flavours get together ;D soon.

I can't even believe, I suggested Chococo :( as I gave up chocolate for Lent. We were given complimentary chocolates with our order and I just gave them away ....Looking at daffodils, Easter must be around the corner..

I really like look of that, I think I know, what is going to replace my Easter Egg , if I am lucky ;) Doesn't that look good? Just one slice would be a treat. All of it would be a massive treat ;D

Cinnamon had caramel hot chocolate, and ginger cake.

My choice was cheese and marmite scone. It was nice, but...I would of prefer something chocolaty obviously ;).

It is Red Nose Day and Cinnamon's mini flavour was loving it...


We had to play as well ;)


Cinnamon's Little Flavour, was helping me to sort out my teapot ;D
Here is something little from Vanilla to Cinnamon, Ginger and Pepper

After some catching up, we went for a walk around Winchester. We felt a bit cold actually...

 Abbey Gardens, very plain this time of year. We should come back , when roses are in bloom.

Cinnamon gave me some valuable tips on photography ;) we had a lovely time.....

... and Cinnamon enjoyed my chocolate treat for me haha.

Vanilla xx