shak-shuka

Dollhouse Gone Green

It's beautiful to watch the progression of a child from baby to toddler. Many people choose to highlight the negative (think Terrible Two's), but I've found that this age comes with a wonder of positive discoveries. Most notably, and possibly the most fun for me, is the blossoming of the imagination. I've watched my daughter move from toys that do the playing for her, to toys (or even things which were never intended as toys) that she plays with in the most unusual ways!

Imagination is such an amazing part of being a child. I even wonder to myself: when does the imaginative part in all of us die and we become hard-core-realistic adults? No fun! What is fun is to watch my daughter play in her imaginary world, which currently includes lots of dolls and houses. Lucky for her (and me) we just received the new Recycle Mobile Home from Kidsonroof which gets 2 thumbs up from us. Made from recycled and biodegradable cardboard, this house is roomy enough for her medium sized dolls (no more teeny-tiny people to buy!) and she can place all of her other tchotchke-collectibles in her own Type-A way. Secretly I've been longing for this time when we can play with a dollhouse together, as it is one of my fondest memories as a child.

How great that my daughter can have this Mobile Home that is so eco and so portable?! Going to a friends house who doesn't have one - Recycle Mobile Home to the rescue.....meaning it lives up to it's name - mobile! I'm grateful to the playfulness of the Kidsonroof crew for keeping their imagination intact as adults and creating such wonderful playthings made from eco materials. May it inspire the imagination in all of us!

Roasted Chickpeas alla Cri

When I lived in Florence, my best friend and I used to go to the organic market happened once a month in Santo Spirito. Seriously, it's as if we LIVED for that market to come - we would debate: is it the first Sunday of the month, or the last? These are the debacles to deal with when living in Italy - the randomness of monthly markets and whether they fall on the first Sunday, second, or well, you get the idea here. My suggestion is just to pass by every Sunday to see if you're missing something.

Besides the wonderful soaps, potions and toys that we putzed over for ages, they had a great fruit and nut stand. My best friend would mull over the selection for ages, trying to pick out the best nosh of the season. Without a doubt, she almost always chose the roasted chickpeas. Or was that me? Maybe she bought it and I ate all of it, which means my memory is a bit fuzzy.......

So I've re-created a roasted chickpea recipe which is SUPER versatile. You can do it plain, with just salt (I recmomend a LOT of salt) or you can mix it up with a selection of spices. The best part is, that you can roast these and use them post-roast in salads and main dishes, or leave them to sit in the oven to roast and dry out a bit longer, so they turn quite hard and are perfect for snacking! Kind of like a dehydrator, but without the extra appliance!

Roasted Chickpeas

3 cups freshly cooked chickpeas, or 2 cans rinsed chickpeas

salt and pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil

spicy spice selection: paprika, cumin, coriander, chili powder

Preheat the oven to 200c/400f. In the meantime, rinse and drain the chickpeas, and leave to dry as much as possible. Mix together the spice mix (is using), and prepare a baking sheet by putting the drained and dried chickpeas on it, drizzle with an abundant amount olive oil, and dust with salt and pepper. If using the spice mix, shake over all the chickpeas, and roll around so that all the chickpeas are coated in the mix.

Place in the oven, and cook til golden brown - about 20-25 minutes. If you want to use these in a salad, I recommend taking them out now. My favorite salad to do with these is: rucola, sun-dried tomatoes, sprinkled with these chickpeas. A perfect meal in itself!

Otherwise, if you want to use these as a noshing snack, turn off the oven, but leave them in overnight to dry out more. You will notice in the morning that they are nice and crisp, and if not (if you live in a humid environment this might be so) turn the oven on low, about 100c and dry them out again for 10 minutes, leaving them to cool in the oven. Poof! Chickpea nosh supreme. Make sure to keep it in a well-sealed container to preserve their freshness and all your hard work!!

Phyto Hair Food

I've been spending a lot of time in the health food store lately, not because we're eating more than usual, but because it's become a part-time playground for my daughter. She loves the water fountain in the front of the store, running through the aisles, and her favorite: organizing the soap shelves. Yes, she does actually organize and puts things back where she found them - it's scary and amazing to watch! Needless to say that means I've been spending my fair share of time in the beauty department....and probably for good reason....

Besides this being a brutal winter in terms of the length of time we've been bundled up in sweaters, coats and boots, but it's been brutal to my skin and hair as well. Permanently-run heaters, blisteringly cold wind, and general winter dryness have left my hair a in dry, frizzy mess. Thank goodness I've had time in the Health & Body department of our health food store to rediscover one of my old favorites! Phyto 7 is a classic dry hair remedy, a soothing blend of 7 plant extracts which transform my poofy, dried-out hair into an (almost) coif-like do. Amazing! But this winter I've called in the cavalry, the Phyto 9, which has 2 more plant extracts (hence the 9 instead of 7) and is for extremely dry hair, which, unfortunately describes my hair this winter. I used to use Phyto 7 back in the day, and loved using a dollop of the sweet smelling potion, and now find myself falling back in love with the Phyto 9 in the same way. Although now I discovered that the brand who makes Phyto 7 and 9, Phyto, also makes an extensive line of shampoos and conditioners which I will be testing over the next few weeks of winter. That's right, I saw WEEKS of winter - not months!!! (wishful thinking)

(Un)Cut Your Own Slippers

I think it's very telling about my lifestyle that I seem to wear out slippers more than any other form of footwear I own. Gone are the days of replacing heels for my stilettos, these days I'm burning the soles off my slippers, poking holes in my socks, and wearing "at home" wear more than I am any other form of clothing. Yes, I confess: I am an at-home kinda woman. I used to wish my mother would dress like Claire Huxtable (from the Cosby Show) but now I see what an unrealistic, hilarious request that was (from an angry teenager of course)....

The problem with most slippers are that they are made from not very environmentally friendly materials. Foam, plastic, filling - the works. Add to the fact that I end up burning through them in about 9 months or so, it makes my slipper carbon footprint (enter pun here) quite large. Hmm. What to do? Cut out my own slippers! The lovely Spanish brand Amor de Madre has come up with a unique solution to my eco slipper challenge: UnCut Slippers, made from 100% natural felt making it's cradle-to-cradle profile high on the green scale. The best part of these slippers (in my opinion) besides the eco factor, is that you cut them yourself to your size, so if you're like some people in my family (not naming any names....) who has one foot larger than the other, this is the footwear dreams are made of. Plus if you buy a pair, you can decide later whether or not you will give them as a gift or keep them for yourself depending on whether or not you bust out the scissors........to cut or not to cut??? I say buy two!

GRRReat Giveaway

It's been a while since we've had a giveaway, so we decided to come back with a GRRRReat one. Since having such a great response from the Babyccino Kids site about our Zid Zid Masks, we thought it was only fitting that we stick with the jungle animal theme. So, without further ado, our Embroidered Bag with Tiger (in sunny yellow to help bring in the summery weather!) is up for grabs. Perfect for the older kids (think ages 5 and up) or mama (perfect for those wallet and mobile phone dash-days), it's a crossover bag with style.

To win this lovely Embroidered Bag, simply sign up for our newsletter here, or if you already have, just leave a comment here below saying "Me2" and you'll be in the running. Giveaway ends midnight (GMT) Thursday, 11th March, so hurry hurry!

Cooking & Cutting with Bambu

I'm not sure about other children that are my daughter's age, but it is the age of independence. Getting dressed (almost) by herself, putting her bag together in the morning, and beyond self-feeding, it's not self-cutting food portions. It's amazing to see the progress of your baby into this little independent creature who doesn't need you for everything any more (enter parental tears here)! A bittersweet moment....

So now that I have a little mini super chef on my hands that wants to help me cook and also cut, scoop, and stab her own food, I had to find the right set of utensils for her. It had to be a perfect combination of safety (no BPAs, lead, or PVC), as well as fun shape or design that would peak my daughter's attention away from our steak knives! Look no further than a brand we've carried since day one: Bambu! To the rescue again with their trademark sustainable, organically grown bamboo, Bambu has created a Kids Cutlery Set that is as cute (really - dinosaur faces on the handles? what could be cuter?!) as it is functional: easy to handle for little hands, smooth texture to create a firm grip, and nothing super sharp. This is the perfect set for my daughter to gain her culinary independence in a safe and organic way. It makes sense since she's helping me cook her food with her own set of Kids Kitchen Tools, that her cutlery set also be made from the same organic bamboo - it's only natural!

Eda-mami Hummus

Poking around in the health food store a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a gem. I think that I know our health food store so well I could blindly shop, since the stock never seems to change and now new items to keep me interested. But this time was different - I stumbled upon pre-cooked Edamame soybeans in a box! Like a flash from the past of my mother and I digging into bowls full of edamame beans with tons of salt on them, popping them as we watch trash TV. Ah, those were the days!

So I decided to try my hand at re-creating one of my favorite dishes from one of my favorite NYC take-out restaurants: Rice. They have an Edamame hummus that is the yummiest ever, so this box of Edamame is just begging to be made into the Rice dish. Although the color pales in comparison to the Rice version, I'm pretty darn pleased with the taste, and think I may have even topped the original! 

Eda-mami Hummus

1 box of drained, cooked edamame beans, or do it yourself! (about 1.5cups)

2Tbsp tahina

3-4 Tbsp Umeboshi vinegar, or you can also use lemon juice

2Tbsp toasted sesame oil

1Tbsp garlic powder (you can use regular garlic, but it's quite overpowering)

1/4 cup water

*optional* but really great: about 1-2tsp of wasabi paste

salt to taste

black sesame seeds for sprinkling on top (not essential but ups the "wow" factor)

Just like regular hummus, place all the ingredients, except the water, in a food processor, and puree into a smooth, hummus-like mix. Along the way, add more water if the mix is too thick, and keep tasting and adjusting the amount of lemon juice/Umeboshi vinegar that you use. And if you're feeling brave, keep adding that wasabi paste! Garnish with black sesame seeds if you've got them around and you're feeling fancy.

Serve with rice crackers, or homemade pita chips: just cut up some pitas into triangle shapes, drizzle with olive oil, and pop into a pre-heated 200c oven for about 10 minutes. Devour!

Spring into Spring Collections

It's March, so I'm already pretending that it's spring. Even though the weather isn't cooperating, that won't stop me and my fashion denial. Two layers of clothing instead of the usual four, pants without tights underneath, and shoes that are not Uggs (I know, shame on me) or boot-related. And did I mention the waxing and pedicure? Spring here I come!

My favorite part of spring collections are the refreshing bursts of color into the monotone black-grey-cream winter wardrobe. At Shak-Shuka we've had so much fun introducing our new spring/summer collections for kids, but I'm so happy that we've been able to add to our growing mama section as well. We've recently added the Shampoodle adult collection, which comes in the most beautiful aquatic shades that make me want to swim into all of them! Comfy Indian-style pants made from organic cotton, natural viscose jumpsuits which are so soft, I could find myself sleeping in them and then running around town (oops). Yes, this is my favorite part of spring: warmer weather, long bike rides, flowers in bloom, and new collections like Shampoodle's to get me in the mood!

Doggy Cloud 9

Ah....it's been a long time since I last posted. But I needed a mental vacation. I'm sure those of you in the Northern Hemisphere can understand as this has been a particularly long and grueling winter. Alas, back to the regular scheduled program.....

Our house in tiny. But our 70kg St Bernard bundle of lovin' is not. That means her bed is not one of those cute canopy-style beds that you see Paris Hilton's dogs in. Our girl needs a good place to slumber, and the bed that we have her in now is a disaster. I've seen the lot of dog beds that they have out there, but most of them don't fit her, and the ones that do have that not-so-lovely polyester feel and styrofoam filling. Uh - YUCK! Yuck to sleep on, and double yuck for the environment!

Since looking for a replacement, I think I found seventh doggie heaven in Big Shrimpy's recycled pet beds. Made from 75% recycled materials and filled with SmartFill, Big Shrimpy's own recycled blend of polyester fibers, this is the eco dog bed du jour. For our big girl, I'm loving the look of the Nest, as it looks poofy enough to withstand the test of time, and it has the added bonus of resembling a human bed (which strangely I think our dog prefers too!?). My favorite part has to be that the SmartFill filling can actually be removed and washed as well - that gets double cheers from home of the big drool machine! I think we know what's on our pet wish list for this year.....

Hug My Lashes

For years now I have had a losing battle in the quest to find the perfect "natural" mascara. It feels as though my eyelashes have seen and tried them all - and most of them in the end have the same result - raccoon eyes after about 2 hours of wear. I'm not even a big eye rubber, but clearly I must be a great test-guinea-pig seeing as I can melt off even the most "smudge-proof" of eye make-up. I think even my friends have gotten so used to seeing me with smudged eye make-up (and not in the sexy, smoky, sultry way) that they don't even bother telling me to fix it. Ouch.

But alas! I have finally met my (eco) mascara match! Free of the parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes, and tar (yes! that's what makes mascara waterproof!), Tarte Lash Hugger Mascara appeals to my inner diva and inner treehugger. Sophisticated enough to stay put when given the full-day test, but eco enough to keep my inner flower child happy. Housed in a recycled aluminum container, chock full of good ingredients like rice bran wax, mineral wax and carnauba wax, this is my the queen of mascaras in my book. Safe for my eyes, gentle to the environment, and good for my ego (no more "hey! raccoon girl!") my quest for the perfect natural mascara is officially closed.