A Little Bit Of Pie Goes A Long Way

Pie On The Go...

Meat Pie

Last night I was craving for something savory, small enough to enjoy and I must admit that I didn't really have a lot of ingredients. So I came up with a basic recipe, baked the pies in a muffin pan and surprise surprise they taste delicious.

Recipe:

• Steaks (finely diced into small pieces)
• 1 Onion (diced)
• Puff Pastry (I took the 400g packet)
• Spices (any you prefer)

Firstly fry the onion brown in a pot and then add the meat. While the meat is cooking, add you preferable spices. I added some mince spice, 2 bay leaves, parsley, salt and pepper. I then added some water (around 500ml) to the meat and onions, and let it boil slowly. I did this to soften the meat and the sauce is automatically created. After 45min the meat is soft, but if your sauce/gravy is too thin add a little bit of cornflour/soup mix.

While waiting for the meat to cool off, I rolled out the puff pastry and then cut the pastry into 12 squares (12 cup muffin pan) and I still had some leftover pastry, which I then also cut up into smaller 24 strips.  Grease the muffin pan, gently place each square into each cup. Add the pie filling (meat & onions) and then I placed the leftover strips on top, half closing the pie and yet leaving open holes to let the pie 'breathe'.

Bake the pies at 200 Degrees Celsius for 30-40 minutes or until pastry is golden brown in colour. Voila! Serve hot.

Here are some other great ideas:

• Add chopped mushrooms to pie filling
• Chicken, mince, sausages, bacon are also great to add to the pie filling
• For a richer pie, add some cream or milk instead of water to create a lovely gravy
• Make an egg wash, brush on top of pastry before baking. This makes the pies look even more delicious. (1 egg mixed with a bit of milk)
• Brush pies with egg wash and then sprinkle some spices on top, such as rosemary or parsley.
• Or sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top, but I would suggest to do only so 10minutes before the pies are done. You don't want to accidentally burn the cheese.

The Paper Blooms

Origami Kusudama Flower

Origami Kusudama Flower

Bouquet of Kusudama Flowers

This is my favorite flower to fold, since it is so basic and ends up to become a really pretty flower. I made bunches of flowers, stick them on florist wire and cover the wire with florist tape. At the end you'll have a bouquet of paper flowers. I even went a step further and lightly sprayed some perfume on them; so that you not only have flowers that last forever, but the scent you can always 'touch up' or even change. 

Here is a link on how to make a Kusudama Flower:
Kusudama Flower

Another great idea is to paint your own colours on paper/thin cardboard, or adding textures by making use of a sponge. Just remember if you want the colour on the outside, fold the petal in such a way that the colour you want is on the outside. 

Digital Media

Exercising the right brain.

Basic Animation (Adobe Photoshop)

"Oh, I See" (Adobe PhotoShop)

The background is made up of different brushes. The hands are actually a sketch I did of my own hand, and I then redrew the hand in Adobe Photoshop. The eyes were added later, and then 'blended in'. The mouth part is also Adobe Photoshop, but is drawn with the Pen Tool and shaded/highlighted with the Brush Mixer Tool.

Zolani Mahola from Freshly Ground (Adobe Photoshop)

This was designed by making use of the Paint Mixer Tool in Adobe Photoshop. This tool gives the same effect as real paint being mixed.

DKNY Advertisement (Adobe Photoshop)

"Outer Space" (Adobe Photoshop)

This is made by making use of basic textures and knowledge of effects. Actually very easy to create.

"Play Time" (Adobe Illustrator)

This is an image I drew on my exam pad paper, which I then redid in Adobe Illustrator and I added some background & details.

"Nothing" (Adobe Photoshop)

"Hidden Demon" (Adobe Photoshop)

This image was created by making use of a textured background, the Burn Tool and the Dodge Tool in Adobe Photoshop. Simply adding highlights and shadows.

"Hand-Eye Coordination" (Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator)

They eye ball was created in Adobe Photoshop which I then imported to Adobe Illustrator.

"Dubstep" (Adobe Photoshop)

Follow (Adobe Photoshop)

"Eaten" (Adobe Illustrator)

Poster (Adobe Photoshop)

Type Self Portrait 2009 (CorelDRAW X4)

Steri Stumpie (CorelDRAW X4)

"Dead Bunny" (Adobe Illustrator)

Teddy Bear (Adobe Photoshop)

"Turquoise Ninja" (Adobe Illustrator)

Underwater Scene (Adobe Photoshop)

Self Portrait Logo Idea 2009 (CorelDRAW X4)

Self Portrait 2011 (Adobe Illustrator)

Ice Cream is Delicious.

For The Love Of Vanilla...

First of all this will only help if you have a ice cream machine and an electrical hand whisk. Trust me, you're going to struggle to get that fluffy/mousse ice cream effect if you work only by hand.

Home Made Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Sprinkles and Honey

So here is what you need:

• 250ml full cream
• 250ml (or less) milk
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• teaspoon of vanilla powder
• sprinkle peanuts
• honey

1. Whisk the cream until it is thick
2. Add the sugar, vanilla and milk to the whipped cream. The more milk you add the less creamy/mousse like it will turn out. 
3. Whisk further until mixture  is light and fluffy.
4. Add mixture to the ice cream machine, and let the machine do its magic.
5. When the ice cream is done, scoop out, sprinkle nuts over and drizzle honey on top. 
6. Serve immediately. 

*Take Note: The creamier the ice cream mixture, the faster it freezes. So keep an eye out so now and then. 

Death By Mostly Chocolate...

Home Made Chocolate Ice Cream With Crumbed Romany Creams

So here is what you need:

• 250ml full cream
• 250ml (or less) milk
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• Half packet of Romany Creams (I took choc fudge flavour)
• sprinkle peanuts
• Chocolate 

So here we go:

1. Whisk the cream until it is thick
2. Add the sugar, cocoa and milk to the whipped cream. The more milk you add the less creamy/mousse like it will turn out. 
3. Whisk further until mixture  is mousse like.
4. Add mixture to the ice cream machine, wait patiently.
5. When the ice cream is done, scoop out(mine is in glasses), sprinkle some left over crumbs, some nuts, push a cookie and a piece of chocolate into the ice cream.
6. And Voila! Serve immediately.

You See Me Crafting...

Up-cycle. Craft. Whatever you call it, I enjoy making things.

Oh Starry Jar

Jar Lamp

Jar Lamp from the top

Have an empty jar? Some spare Christmas/Fairy lights? Or even glow-in-the-dark paint?

What I did is take a big jar, and on the inside I made little drops of glow-in-the-dark paint. When the paint is dry (preferably wait for 24hours to pass) stuff the jar with the fairy lights. And there you go; a soft light starry jar lamp (what a mouthful). And when you switch off the lights, the jar will glow.

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

Fairy Circle Vase/Bottle

I have a couple of empty bottles and jars here; I can't seem to want to throw them away because each bottle/jar is a potential art piece (or at least that is what I see).

With this bottle I made a fairy circle, covered it in fake moss and at the bottom I glued on small pebbles. A fairy circle is believed to be magical and is made up of a circle of mushrooms. With this idea I made clay mushrooms and instead having the normal mushroom colour scheme, I went crazy with bright colours.

Now it's not just an empty bottle, but a decorated vase with a little bit of magic.

Home is where the art is...

So this is my first blog for 2013, which I think is a little bit late but then again it is never too late to start something. 

I want to share with you readers things that I have designed, illustrated, sketch, painted, created, made, baked, cooked, etc. I feel like it is something people would like to know, and most of the time the stuff I make is pretty simple. 

So here is some of the things I mostly do:

• Illustrate, making use of Adobe PhotoShop and Adobe Illustrator.
• Sketch on random paper/white space
• Baking/Cooking
• Crafting/Up-cycle 

Obviously the following posts will have updates on recipes, designs and ideas. Feel free to email me about any questions.