The Arrival of Autumn: Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

I am so excited to say that Autumn is here! Well technically Autumn doesn't officially begin until 22 September, but hey! What's a few weeks? Autumn is by far my favourite season and not just because my birthday is soon... Although that is a plus! I love the watching mother nature take it's course by putting the earth to sleep for the winter. As we prepare for winter I am going to be sharing loads of great pictures and ideas for projects around the house. Today we are going to start with a fabulous little recipe for pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice is one of those essential ingredients for Autumn and Winter baking. Its used in lots of yummy treats like pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie. With just four simple ingredients you can whip up a batch of your own pumpkin spice and store it in a jar in your kitchen cupboard. This way each time you need to bake something that requires pumpkin spice you will have it all ready to go! I have also included cute printable labels for your pumpkin spice jars! (Click here to view & print label)

Ingredients

2 tsp Nutmeg

2 tsp Allspice

4 tsp Ginger

8 tsp Cinnamon

Now that we have made some pumpkin spice I thought we could incorporate it in with this next tutorial for How to make a Latte without one of those fancy machines!

I ab-so-lute-ly love coffee. Whether its espresso, cappuccino, macchiato, or just a plain old americano I will drink it! If I had to choose a favourite I would probably say a latte. I love the strong flavour of the coffee combined with the soft milky texture. And the colour is very subtle and pretty. Most of us don't have a brilliantly expensive coffee machine to make delicious lattes at home, so we enjoy them in a lovely cafe or even a takeaway latte to enjoy while strolling down the street or off to work. But, what if you just wanted a cafe quality latte at home while you read the paper, browse your favourite blogs, or just watch TV and didn't want to out? I thought I'd share my little secret for making perfect lattes at home without using a coffee machine. 

I don't actually own any latte glasses, so for this tutorial I used a jam jar... I quite like it!

The first thing we need to do is get the coffee brewing. I used a cafeteria  . If you don't own a cafeteria, I would highly recommend getting one. You can make a delicious espresso with them! 

Now we want to heat the milk. Put just over half a coffee mugs worth of milk into a pot and heat gently on the stove. Be careful not to burn the milk. If you stick your finger in the milk you want it to feel very warm, almost hot.

Pour the milk into your french press. Pump the plunger a few times and you will see the milk start to froth at the top. Continue doing this until you have the desired amount of froth. If you don't own a french press no worries, There is a plan b! (Pour the warmed milk into a bowl and use a whisk (manual or electric) to froth. This may take a bit longer, but the result will be just about the same.

By this point the coffee should be brewed. Pour the coffee into the mug (however much you like). Now it's time to add the pumpkin spice! Add a small 1/4 tsp of pumpkin spice to the coffee and mix well. It would also be a good time to add any sugar if you take sugar in your coffee. 

Pour the milk into the coffee and scoop the remaining froth on top, sprinkle with a bit more pumpkin spice, and WALLAH!!

Dinner Last Night

Mini Eggplant Pizzas & Stuffed Mushrooms

* Makes enough for 2 (1 normal serving for a me and the rest for my husband Ben who has the appetite of an elephant)

Ingredients
2 eggplants
2 large cupped mushrooms
1 ball of mozzarella
1/4 cup cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like)
1 heaped tbsp parmesan cheese
Tomato puree (enough for a tablespoon for each piece of eggplant)
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1 bag of spinach
Bacon (as much as you want really, but for a minimum amount I would suggest at least 3 large pieces)
1 tbsp butter/margarine/olive spread
Sprinkle of basil
Sprinkle of mixed herbs
Pinch of salt
Couple of shakes of pepper

Preparations

Preheat your oven to 150 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 4).

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Cut your eggplant into round disks 1/2"- 1" thick and pop in the oven about 10-12 minutes (5-6 minutes each side).

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While your eggplant is cooking make a start on the mushrooms. Start by scooping out all the bits of the mushroom thus creating a little bowl shape. Here's a pic so you can see what I mean.

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Rub the butter all over the mushrooms and put to one side. 

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By now its probably time to flip the eggplant!

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Take the bacon and chop into little pieces. I think the easiest way to do this is to use kitchen scissors (regular sharp scissors will do just fine too). 

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Pop the bacon in a frying pan and cook on a medium heat for about 2 minutes. Then add the spinach. You can add as much as you want. I added about 3/4 of a pack because of how much it shrinks when cooked. Once the spinach is added check the eggplant continue cooking the spinach for another 3 minutes or so. 

You can then put the eggplant and spinach and bacon mixture to one side. 

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Now it time to finish the eggplant. Start by sprinkling a bit of salt and pepper on the eggplant. Then add a tbsp of tomato puree to each piece of eggplant spreading evenly as you go. 

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Slice the onion, cut the tomatoes into small chunks and chop the garlic into fine pieces and sprinkle all over the eggplant. Sprinkle  the herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Cut the mozzarella into small chunks and sprinkle on top of the eggplant and place back in the oven for 7-12 minutes (depending on your ovens personality) You want to see the cheese melted and hear things bubbling.

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Now for the mushrooms! Take the spinach and bacon mixture and add the cheddar cheese and some pepper (you don't need salt because the bacon has plenty!) Toss around gently so it's mixed. Spoon the mix into the mushroom cups and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top. Place the mushrooms in the oven for 7-12 (again depending on our trusty oven!) 

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ENJOY!  :)

Welcome to Elu!

Hello all you creativity lovers! This is the first post as Elu and I want to welcome you all. Elu doesn't officially launch until the 1st of September but after much thought I decided to start blogging a little sooner so I can share the progress of the shop and blog from the beginning!

Today I want to share some of the things that I have made and inspired me this year while I have been creating Elu.

Slow and Sleepy Saturday, Sunday, Monday

This weekend was as slow as you can get without going backwards... I think I took about a weeks worth of footsteps in the wrong direction, thus leading me further and further into the consumingly cave of crafting ideas.Which then of course led me to make lists upon lists upon lists of new projects I am determined to start and most importantly complete!! Consequently I have been googling non stop for the past 72 hours

The cause of all of this brain stirring activity is from the sweet little gift of a major cold from a dear friend of mine who has been staying with us for a while whom of which conveniently disappearing to his mum's house for the weekend which i suspect was to escape the shame of spreading germs!!

So now that I've vented I would love to share with all of you great diy tutorials, music, and inspirational finds I've stumbled across during my weekend adventures through the world wide web.

First up this a wonderfully simple tute on painting horrible laminate furniture. And if you are a new couple just starting out or a single guy or gal in one of their first few flats I'm sure you will have plenty of cheap furniture laying around that you can play with.

Take a look at how Delightful Dwelling revamped their old book shelf to something new, pretty, and one of a kind!

Click here to find out how they did it.

There is no limit to how many ways you can upcycle something!

 Click here to see what these ordinary doors were turned into...

Of course because it is Museful Monday I have to post some of the things that inspire me.

I will admit that The Smiths are not exactly my favourite band in the world. They're just a bit to slit-your-wrists for my taste, but this song is one that I absolutely love. I wonder if my relocation to the North West of England had anything to do with it???

Grizzy Bear is a fantastic band from New York that is a little more Jaztastic if I do say so myself. 

This is slow but in my defense it has been a very very slow few days... 

Happy Halloween!

Leaving the Flat today the air felt eerily warm. Leaves rustling in the wind, all the mayhem driven youths still quietly tucked away in their beds... And you know without a shadow of a doubt all hell will be breaking loose in Liverpool tonight.

But enough of the monologuing for now... Its time for Museful Mondays! It being Halloween of course there has to be a corresponding theme of pics but not the traditional orange and blacks, ghouls and goblins. What about things that are empty, deserted, rundown, old, or just plain creepy?? Here are some of the creep creep things I see in my day to day about town.

(Yes people that is Heidi Klum...)

Click to view more pics of her costume

And well being a lover of crafting and all things creative, I thought it necessary post this cute tutorial I found on Craft Gossip on how to make pretty painted pumpkins

Click Pretty Painted Pumpkins to go straight to the tutorial

The Power of the Cloth

I have always loved fluidity. The graceful movements or natural elements, shapes, shadows... It has always been about contours and, and things becoming alive right before my eyes, dancing and existing in space. So of course at one point I would be drawn to fabrics. I think I have always been interested in fabrics but I never know how to use them or even in which way I wanted to use them. I assumed because I am an artist that i would do something quite sculptural and installation like. Alas, I was wrong. I am making clothes instead. I don't want to become a fashion designer or anything. I am merely exploring new contours and ways of movement throughout space. Of course these new movements and shapes are created the body. It is only me wearing the clothes, thus exploring my own movements... Becoming one with my creations... (I think)

I have posted couple pics on www.burdastyle.com

http://www.burdastyle.com/profiles/aliiume/my_studio

time to start creating fabric flowers.

I am tired these days... This weekend at work was a horrible experience, one that I had hoped to avoid. I now feel physically and emotionally drained.

There is quiet peace coming from the smoke of incense.

Ben and I are watching this show about people that get themselves into a serious amount of debt from buying unnecessary and ugly crap. oh society.

the web

My husband is creating our website... its nice too see that we are finally getting somewhere...

golds and amber

2 weeks left.

I need there to be a bit more freedom.

I don't know what to do with the things I create..

I would like to own one of those machines

things are vague

creating to the surface of things.

Today I feel more free.

Its started again..

A new idea is coming to the surface..

Something new to create..

I think I want to quiet the colours down again.

beginnings

Now there may be time to get one's own life together...