'CAULIRICE' AND VEGETABLE CURRY

I'm going to show you an awesome side dish that Jamie Olivier taught me -not in person tough, but once by accident while appearing on a tv screen infront of me when I was climbing some sweat machine at the gym - cauliflower "rice"!  It's not really rice at all, just ground steamed cauliflower that tastes so much better than I ever expected. And I even like cauliflower in the first place!

This time here I made it with a quick and affordable curry to go along. Caulirice as I call it is a great way to get even more vegetables in your meal! It is also a low-carb substitute for rice.

To this I have to add that I'm not much of trying to avoid carbs. I am no nutritionist, but I read a lot on the subject of food and diets back when I got into vegan foods in 2004 (I followed a vegan diet only for a couple of years back then). The selection of foods was different here at that time (and compared to the nineties it's a whole different universe by now) with a lot less foods to choose from and more to think about. In everything I read was talk about complete protein, where the carbs and proteins complete each other in order get the most out of what you consumed. For example combos like lentils and rice, peanut butter and whole grain bread etc. So while it surely is true that many of us out there should cut down on carbs -white bread, sugar etc, which I very seldom have myself anyway - I personally have no issues with the fuel that keeps us going, carbs.  But I think due to the trend I too eat less grains and more alternative such now than before. But I still love pastas and sandwiches. And cake! Living la vida lo carb is not for me. Balance is key. I 'm actually bit freaked out when reading young girls' health and fitness blogs for example, where they put protein powder in absolutely everything they make, from their breakfast cottage cheese "porridge" to their some sort of cake substitutes to salads. And so on.  But anyway, this has nothing to do with anything really. So back to the actual food! Apart from the fact that some variation and new options are welcome it is sometimes also nice with a lighter version of things, one that make you very full but not stuffed. Like this one here -

 So, you nee some cauliflower and a micro wave oven or a pot/ steamer pot and a strainer with very small holes to steam it in.

 I use about this much for one person.

Then I chop it all in my food processor. I don't have one in the city and there I've just grated the cauliflower. On a side note, you can use finely grated cauliflower like this in salads as well,  raw; it's a great filling (like I did for my raw Valentine's day dinner this year).

Well, when everything is in small and tiny bits you put it in a bowl and cover with a lid or plastic film and microwave it for 5-7 minutes (the more you have the longer the time). Or put it in the strainer in your steaming pan and cover with a lid.

Fluff it with a fork when done and serve with something that has a lot of sauce - caulirice really absorbs liquid and taste a lot!

A good little extra about this one is it requires less dishes - you can just rinse you mixer and pots and bowls with water right after you've used them. Btw did you know it is the same when you make smoothies that only contain fruit and greens too -water is enough for the blender if you rinse right away.

 I put together a quick and affordable curry that turned out very good; with tandoori paste an a bag of good ol' herne-maissi-paprika (a frozen mix of peas corn and bell pepper) that I think many in my generation sincerely hate as that damn mixture was everywhere when we were kid and also something I had a lot when studying because it also rather cheap. I use corn and peas a lot and have now noticed that little yellow-green-red bag ain't all that bad.

Well, again, back to the recipe:
I fried some onion with the veggies and added tandoori paste, cooked red lentils, coconut cream and water to a quite runny sauce and let it thicken for some 20mins on the stove.
Added a fresh chopped tomato and served with the caulirice, put peanuts and raisins on top!

Any leftover of both cauliflower and curry can be mixed together and kept in the fridge. It tastes super good and chunky still a day or two later!

MORE COMFY CLOTHING: RED HALF-CIRCLE SKIRT WITH POCKETS AND FLAPS

 I have come to learn that I need more basic clothes that go with everything and that are of  more carefree material so I can also use them for playing with kids. Trousers and skirts.

I noticed most of my skirts are patterned ones so I set in on making a few in a solid color.
First I made a ½ circle skirt -they are so easy to do and take rather little time as well.
This skirt is made from a soft stretchy polyester blend.

On this one I  made round flaps (perhaps there is a nicer name for pockets like this) to cover the original less pretty pockets I first made.

Which I am presenting here tho the whole internet because that makes sense. Well they do not look that bad pictured actually. But their seams got a bit uneven and bulky and they looked like holes in the skirt rather than thin stylish pocket lines.  But actually the flaps fit the skirt better I think.


As usual I made a terrible mess after myself... Some days before I was updating scene costumes and their remnants are still spread around. I did pick up everything from he floor so it loos less bad but, I really am good at making  places look bad after crafting around them!

A GIRLIE 'DO AND A HUGE CLIP

 Sometimes it's like to spice up a basic girlie doe with something fun or kitsh -

Like with a giant hair clip for example!

I like exaggerated versions of basic things (in the right context), like this one here. I am still dreaming of that giant safety pin-handle bag (which apparently will remains a dream as it's some designer bag...)!

I found the hair clip at Ninja. As I thought it won't hold up the hair properly by itself and serves more as a decoration, or needs a few pins to help.

I did not back comb my hair for this do, but pinned the top layer of a hair donut (which I had cut off), like a little mat on top of my head, and pulled my hair back over it. Twiswted it in the back, secured with one bobby pin and the giant clip. Three minutes max!

CASUAL AND CROPPED x2

Well hello there from the sunshine!

This time blog-posing in repro items in a fifties casual style - a cropped top from Freddies of Pinewood and capris form Vivien of Holloway.

The capris are great because they are quite loose in fit, but still goes well with heels. I was meaning meaning to get a pair of these forever and could finally tick that of my list last winter although I haven't really got around wearing them until now.

My top, which I love,  is a size XL. And I have no idea how anyone normally built fits into the smaller  sizes- I once got a couple of Freddie's tees on sale in M, which usually is my size. They were too small for my ribcage and incredibly short on (yes I know they are meant for high waisted garments but they were still a bit too short) so I set out to get a top in size large. L was out of stock for this one so I opted for XL thinking I'd need to take it in but no need for that, any smaller and it wouldn't be wearable!

 Dag was wearing a t-shirt with tractors.

By the way.
I want (and this time also need) to get a pair of blue jeans for hanging out with Dag in the park and such. I sold my Vivien ones as they were too big and they are now out of stock in my actual size, so I am thinking of going for Freddie's instead. The sizing info on their page is pretty clear but I still don't think any of the sizes seem suitable to me (my waist just won't go back to it's pre-pregnancy measurement but clings on to it's +5 cm, while my hips is are their old big happy self..). It's also hard to choose a cut from the internet without the possibility to try the pair on first. Any suggestions on those, the Freddies ones, or others?

A SUMMER'S DAY

We've had summer here the past week! The kind of days Shakespeare's sonnets wanted to use as comparison.

And all tree are blooming by now.

It really is crazy hot and sunny for May! I've been working all of the warm days so today I turned my Monday into a Sunday instead, in other words, took a day off (almost) everything.

I jsut can't get enough of blossoming trees...

But they are fading already, the smallest hint of wind and the air is full of cascading petals.

Most of the lambs are also out now for the summer.  The baby ones were a little bit scared the first half hour or so as the sky was so big and open.


I set in on reading some magazines and having a beer in the middle of the day just because I could. It also called for some Skatalites.

And heading over to that exact spot over there.

MY WORK : BURLESQUE

I often get the question what it is I really work with when it comes to burlesque (that, and of course the classic one about what burlesque really is, which you seldom get to answer properly but just in a sentence or two. If needed to put in just one word: entertainment).

The Itty-Bitty Tease Cabaret in Stockholm last year. By John-Paul Bichard.

The same number being performed back in 2011 performed at The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in Las Vegas.

By Tuomas Lairila.

I, as part of the Itty Bitty Tease Cabaret (IBTC) and the others who got into it back in around 2008 have been part of building up the scene over here since day one. I have managed to create a lot of work for myself, although it of course is a constant process of further development. Burlesque has turned into a full time job, although it does not and most likely never will pay exactly like one. But you never know! Still, considering where it started from it is going rather well; for the moment it is mainly the only thing I work with, some graphic tasks aside whenever I have the time. That, and taking care of my child, as I am home with Dag during the day, which is a full time job as well. (So for those who pondered if I have the ads in the background on my site because "I don't work anymore and am just at home with my child": NO) But the constellation at home-during-the-day-at-work-in-the-evenings works pretty well for now at least. I have no idea how I ever had the time to also have a full time job and be a perfumer at same time!

A big part of the work is administrative, taking care of offers and bills and studio-issues and organising shows etc - all of that takes up so much more time than one would imagine (except if you’ve run a business yourself; then you’ll know). And we don't even advertise (other than self promotion in the form of shout-outs on Facebook). Would we start marketing ourselves more we’d have to get that assistant we always joke and dream about.

The Rubies crazy action by Tuula Ylikorpi.

'We' nowadays mostly mean Tinker Bell and I. We swill have the Itty Bitty Tease Cabaret, three persons strong now, but we mainly perform solo or as our duo act The Ravishing Shangri-La Rubies.

We also collaborate and exchange gigs a lot with the few other professional and semi-professional performers in the area, the community is very strong and we're all good friends.

 Performing at the Helsinki Burlesque Festival in March this year. By Tuomas Lairila.

As most shows and performances don't get their mentions on Facebook or instragram etc and as many shows are not open to the public people don't always get how much we perform or how much work we actually do. Well - we do shows weekly. Sometimes there can be a week or two without performing but other times we can have as much as four performances per week. Gigs can happen aywhere from at a mansion with Veuve Cliquot in the back room to somewhere where you have an elevator as backstage… Over here, the actual, grand burlesque shows only take place a few times per year, with some smaller burlesque club evenings spread out here and there over the country in between. And then we have the occasional “drum set” gig as we call it; performing in between bands (where you will always have to share the stage with the drum set). We used to do a lot of those rock-gigs before, when we had our monthly clubs Wanted and later Blues trash Cabaret. Fun times!
But when it comes to work, it’s all the other shows that apart from earning something of a living also pay the rent for our studio and the costumes we make. Dinner parties, company gala nights and other corporate events.  So apart from the regular restaurants and theatre scenes, so far this year we have for example been performing at a castle, at the race tracks and in an office lounge.

We do not only perform burlesque but also throw a cabaret spectacle with live song, more dance and burlesque vibes. We use such an amount of stuff during that half hour it’s crazy.

Reharsing our Lady Laverna & The Rubies cabaret show at our studio Raspberry Fields, with some of our things spread out...

But, no matter how much you perform (over here, in this country) you are not going to get enough to make a proper living out of it. So we also teach and hosts workshops. Well, that's not all about money of course, we also do it because it's fun, most of the time at least.

As The Rubies we coach our own group weekly, putting in flesh (read:glitter) those ideas we didn’t get around doing with the IBTC. The Shangri-La Showgirls is a performing student group, which is full for me moment, but we will start a second class for beginners, the Shagrilettes, next fall. Check our Facebook page for more info on that soon!

 

The Shangri-La Showgirls, photographed by Tuula Ylikorpi last fall.

Hen parties have also become rally popular during the past years,where we teach a short and fun dansative introduction to burlesque. We do those at Vertial club, which you can read more about here. The summer is startgin to be pretty fully booked though. We also host them at our own studio with a slightly different concept. I also do showgiurl-pinup stylings for brides-to-be. If you are organising a bachelorette night and are interested, drop me an email!

I also give private classes upon request, both for those aiming to perform as well as those just looking to have fun and learn something new.

Every now and then we also host intensive and/or beginner’s workshops. The next one will be in June with an exotica twist. We have two places open still! More info HERE.

Teaching a Burlesque beginner's class with Tinker Bell when in Pori earlier this year.

The next big show will be tonight at Kaisaniemi, Spring Awakening, and there are apparently some tickets left still! Our Showgirls are also performing their new act for this season :)

Summers are always a little more calm when it comes to performing. This year we will head out to the Eastern parts of the country with the IBTC a lot; we were close to Mikkeli yesterday and then it's time for Imatra in July and Nurmes and Iisalmi in August!


Roadtripping to a gig far away. Lots of ladies and lots of suitcases...

 The previous, but not original line up of the Itty-BItty Tease Cabaret. Photo from Milan Burlesque Awards 2012.

VERY BLUE & RATHER STRIPED

Sunshine and warm weather - what a perfect reason to take out the good shoes!
In this case, my azur blue Lulus from Minna Parikka.

The bag is vintage and the dress is from Indiska.

Dag, always eager to be a part of everything everything (and touch and grab and possess all things :) also joined in on the color scheme and theme.

THE PARTY

Last week Eddi turned a big even number and we celebrated that during the weekend.
(It's funny btw how you one day realize you start being the same age as your parents! Or,  you think you are ; I always think of my parents as in their forties but, well, obviously they are not anymore.)

Quite suitably summer decided on kicking in at the right moment.

The party was put together of old things on the farm, wagons as tables, old buckets etc.


And we finally got around hanging up a hammock-chair that was waiting last year already. (Having a lot of people over is always a good way to have to tick things of your to-do list...) Summer chill points to the max!

Birthday boy and BBQ master with his home made smokers.

Another bbq-boy; my brother-in-law. Not the first time he and Eddi turn up as accidental textile twins, and probably not the last either.

My sister with K and their big bellies.

The "how to pose for photos" one finger test. Cheese!

Obviously I didn't go for it in this one.
I'm wearing a kind-of new Trashy Diva dress btw, because you know, the internet must know.

Then it got dark and my dusk-activated fairy lights turned on!

I have a huge thing for fairy-and party-and-what-not lights you know. If there's a party, it will need liiiiights. I take it a big part comes from the parties the Moomins held, the books I read as a kid. They always had lots of lights hanging in their gardens at their hullabaloo's, those images got stuck in my head.

But the the May night is pale and does not last long.

The sun is up around four already.

And so the party is over. (Carefully cropping out anyone sleeping on the lawn).