Lemon & Raisins Cake

There were not many ingedients in the pantry today, but  I thought that the lemons from my parents farm and the raisins leftovers from this past Christmas could really  go well together and  I dind't give it a seconfd thought. Crisp on the outside and moist and fluffy in the middle and so easy to make this delicious cake will be today's treat for tea.It is light and fresh tasting, perfect to enjoy on a sunny day like today!

Ingredients: 

• 3 eggs 
• 250 g of wheat flour 
• 150g sugar 
• zest of 2 lemons
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup milk  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 70gr melted butter
• raisins

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease a cake mold with butter and sprinkle with flour. Whisk the egg whites aside and reserve. In an electric mixer, beat the eggs yolks with the sugar, the butter and lemon zest until you get a homogeneous mixture. Then add the flour, baking powder and lemon juice and beat. Add the milk and beat . Add the raisina and mix into the batter. Then add the whipped egg whites.  Pour the dough into the mold and bake for about 40 minutes in a pre heated oven at 180º. Remove the cake from the oven and unmold it when it's cooled. 

Too Good Not To Post It Right Away

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Do you ever make it at home? So, how do you make spaghetti alla carbonara? Obviously there are many, but here is my way.  While it's fundamentally a simple dish, the challenge of carbonara is cooking the sauce just enough to form a thick, luscious and wonderfully indulgent, silky coating on the pasta. Spaghetti alla Carbonara is one of my favourite fall-back meals when the weather is still inconstant or the go-to dish when unexpected guests arrive and we need all the comfort and convenience that carbonara provides. Truly delicious! 

 Ingredients:

• 300g spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 250g bacon cut into thin slices
• 200g sliced mushrooms
• 400 ml cream
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon grated cheese
• qs salt
• qs pepper
• nutmeg qs
• oil qs
  

In a pot with boiling water, season with salt and place a bit of oil. Add the spaghetti, stir well and cook for 10 minutes. In a fryer take to heat the butter and the garlic. Hence it's hot, add the bacon and fry it a bit. Add thye  mushrooms and fry everything till the water has evaporated. Season the cream with pepper and nutmeg. Add the yolks and a spoon of grated cheese and mix. Stir in the cooked  and drained spaghetti to the bacon and mix everything. Add the cream sauce. Turn off the heat immediately.

Ingredientes:

• 300g de esparguete
• 1 colher de sopa de manteiga
• 1 dente de alho picado
• 250g de bacon cortado em fatias fininhas
• 200g de cogumelos  laminados
• 400 ml de natas
• 3 gemas de ovo
• 1 colher de sopa de queijo ralado
• Sal q.b.
• Pimenta q.b.
• Noz-moscada q.b.
• Óleo q.b.

Numa panela com água a ferver, tempere com sal e coloque um fio de óleo. Junte o esparguete, mexa bem e deixe cozer durante 10 minutos.Numa sertã  leve ao lume a manteiga e o alho.Quando estiver quente, junte o bacon e deixe fritar um pouco.Junte os cogumelos e deixe fritar tudo até perderem a água.Tempere as natas com pimenta e noz-moscada.Junte as gemas e a colher de sopa de queijo ralado e misture tudo. Junte o esparguete cozido e escorrido ao bacon e misture tudo.Junte as natas e envolva tudo. Apague o lume de imediato.

February Beauty Buys

For February I've chosen a beautiful lacquered plum nail polish to celebrate Saint Valentine's day, an amazing top coat that gave my nails a polished shine and a pair of seductive fake eyelashes that I wore on a romantic date's night [and that I'll pull off any other special occasion in a nearby future]. I hope you'll enjoy them!

1. Fancily named "coup de coeur" the Chanel nail polish was perfect to celebrate Saint Valentine's! It has quite a bit of red mixed into the color but on the nails and in real life it's a purply-plum shade. It has a high shine finish like most Chanel nail colors and I loved the fact that it applied very smoothly with full coverage after two coats. Dry time is fast and this is a great point. It's a classic shade that I think is universally flattering.

2. A top coat really makes a total difference on nail polishes and this one is a amazing. With a simple streak-free application the nails acquire a fantastic elegant shine that ups the ante of any manicure [even if homemade like mine always is] -plus, it keeps your manicure from chipping for days. For a  top coat that dries almost instantly and won't break the bank, this one by Anny is by far your best bet.

3. I love wearing fake lashes on special events and though they're a bit difficult to tackle after you get the hang of it you'll do it in a blink of an eye! I was so pleasantly surprised with the quality of the H&M lashes– they adhered perfectly [I even used the glue that comes with the pack] and they went on easy and stayed the entire day/night.  Although these are not made from natural hair, they certainly appear natural enough.  I like the fact that the band is really really thin, it makes them easier to blend into your natural lashes, and easier to apply [I always use the help  of a pair of tweezers to apply them], and in general more comfortable to wear. As they are still in amazing shape [I've cleaned them down and desinfected them after use] I will be able to reuse them again which is a great bonus.