shak-shuka

Dr Dewy Hauschka

If you're anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, you'll feel my pain: dry, cracked, even chapped skin on every part of your body. You can slather your body is oil or cocoa butter, but my face has been so dry lately (thank you climate change for making this the coldest winter in 100 years of Dutch history!) that I look like a plaster or mummy coming to life.

Literally every time I go out, I bring Dr Hauschka's Rose Day Cream with me. It is the ONLY thing that keeps my skin looking moisturized, dare I even say dewy (on days when the heat is not cranked up to the tropics at home)? The smell is divine, as if you've just gathered 1000 rose petals and slipped the natural wax of them off onto your face. No nasty fake rose "Grandma-esque" smells here. All natural, the tube is recyclable, biodynamic agriculture - Dr Hauschka is the face of green beauty products. Lately since my hands have been chapped too, I've also been slathering on the Hand Cream, and the handy tube is just the right size to slip into your bag so when you go to shake hands with someone, they don't mistake you for a reptile!

Hanging Tree for the Urban Home

We are near the finish line of moving in to the new Casa Shuka, so I've been keeping myself busy obsessing about furniture that we'll be having in our bedroom. The nightstands, bedding and rug have already been decided, but the storage has been a bit of a challenge. Sets of drawers to keep underwear and sweaters (yawn! boring choices) so I've given myself a bigger obstacle: how do I hang my (few) bags I have, as wel as some of my favorite everyday jewelry?

Most people just have a jewelry drawer, but I don't know about you, but that tends to end in one nasty mess of tangles that leaves me in tears. So - what are my choices? A jewelry tree? No thank you. But wait, that gives me an idea of something I saw in a magazine a few weeks back.....it was a real tree that had whimsical little branch-posts coming out of it to hang things on. Alas! I can have a tree and hang my jewelry on it too! Made by Gup is the Dutch webshop with the Hanging Tree that I've been waiting for to hang (ok, and display too) some of my favorite finds: jewelry, scarves and bags - all delicately perched on the natural, black or (my fave) fluorescent pink post-like-branches. For those of you who say "oh, but I could make that at home" - perhaps you can, but I don't have access to a forest nearby, nor do I have the skill/talent to make one on my own. Instead I'll be paying the cold hard cash to put my grubby little paws on a piece of nature fit for inside my home. Living the urban dream bringing nature inside my home so that it works with my decor!

Holiday Gift Guide: GIRLS

A perfect ode to little girls: this time our Holiday Gift Guide is chock-full of ideas for gift giving to a lucky little senorita. Clothing, tea sets, dolls - the choice is yours! We personally are finding it hard to pick through this top list from our press friends, so might we suggest stocking up on a thing or two....or three?

 

Recycled Fairies Fly Plate   Style Files pick

Recycled Bunny Doll   Bambino Goodies pick

Nutty Mama+Me Necklace Set  Bambino Goodies pick

Block Squares Wing Tee   Emma's Designblogg pick

Dining Set   Style Files pick

Black/Mustard Stripe Dress   Babyccino Kids pick

Recycled Tea Set   Bambino Goodies pick

Rain of Color Mobile   Emma's Designblogg pick

Fuschia Fun Tapikid Playmat   Bambino Goodies pick

Goodtimes with Goodbyn

I could lie and tell you I wasn't giddy with excitement to write about this new item, but I'd be lying. We've been waiting for A-G-E-S to get our hands on them, and now that we have, we are so excited to share them with our customers!

Without further ado, Goodbyn lunchboxes are not your average lunch box: when I think "lunchbox" I either imagine this sack which squishes all the contents when it's in your backpack, or a flip-open tin-style box that protects your food, but the food seems to fight against each other in the box. Alas, with the Goodbyn, none of that happens. Keeping all the foods separate (as we know many children like to make sure they have the ultimate control over their eating), sporting it's own BPA/Phthalate-free drink bottle and even a pack of stickers to customize the lunchbox in your own way. Love. Love. Beyond love it. It is so cute that you can easily carry it by its handle on top, or it's equally at home in your child's backpack. For us, it was a combination of the best of both worlds: safe, non-toxic materials combined with a functional product with heaps of style. This is the ethos of all of our products and we're so glad to now include Goodbyn in our family of eco-friendly goodies!

Almond Delight (Gluten-Free!)

The other week we were invited to my first Thanksgiving, in about 5 years. I forgot how much I love that holiday - sitting around, eating til your filled to the gills, then retiring to the couch to pass out, or pretend to watch a sports game you really could care less about. This Thanksgiving was a bit different, as it was a potluck so we all brought something to share. I was on the dessert front, and made a pumpkin cake (didn't want to compete with any pumpkin pie makers) and a dessert for someone who was gluten-free. Hmm. Had to put my old natural gourmet chef hat on and decide what to make....

Here it is! A delectable cookie from an ancient ripped out magazine recipe that is super easy to make, doesn't require any funky flours (which most gluten-free recipes do require) and will not leave any leftovers. Make two batches if you want to share or have some for the next day!

 

Gluten-Free Almond Cookies

3 cups almonds

1/4-1/2 c apple juice (I used cherry to highlight the almond-y flavor)

squeeze of lemon juice

1tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp cinnamon

1 cup rice syrup or barley malt syrup

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 170/325. Grind the almonds in a blender to make almond meal. Pour into a bowl. Add enough apple juice to make a smooth paste. Combine the almond paste with remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoons onto a well-oiled baking sheet and press each cookie lightly with a fork.

Bake in oven for about 10 minutes, watching them carefully, as they can easily burn. Remove from oven, cool on a cooling rack, and devour!

 

Osborn to Love Shoes

Maybe it's the holidays that's brought out my inner shoe nut, but it seems as though lately I use most of my spare time (which is very little these days!) daydreaming about shoes. Or maybe it's the fact that I've been stcuk wearing rainboots/wellies for the past 10 days that my feet are itching for more! Although rain/winter boots are super practical, there is always missing that bit of zazazoo about them.....I long for more exciting footwear with heels, detailing - even maybe a history behind them.

Given this information, you can imagine why I'm drooling behind the screen when I see Osborn Design shoes. Handmade in Guatemala by cobblers (read: artisans of the shoe craft) using sweatshop-free labor and many times using recycled materials (like rubber tires for soles), these shoes are like no other. Booties, oxfords, and good ol'boots can be found in Osborn's limited designs, using fabrics that will make any outfit pop. I personally am drawn to the Electric Blue Wool Booties, but wish I was more daring and could go for something like the Lightning Bolt oxfords. Alas, I know myself too well that I would only keep them to lovingly stare at them ever so often, but that's not the point of these fair trade beauties! They deserve to have a life full of love and dancing, which is exactly what will happen once they make it into my home.....oh Santa/Yenta Claus, are you listening???!

Holiday Gift Guide: BOYS

You are probably being bombarded with Holiday Gift Guides, but we just couldn't resist. Or stop ourselves. We're having too much fun and we had too much help from our wonderful press friends to create another great list of holiday gift ideas for the little tikes in your life. Even though we at Casa Shuka don't have that much experience with the boy-related goodies, we do have a lot of experience at Shak-Shuka HQ as we know what sells well and these items in this list are definitely HOT!

 

My Jan Cardigan, Emma's Designblogg pick

Bicyclette Recycled Print, Style Files pick

Lions & Giraffes Messenger Bag, Babyccino Kids pick

Drive a Hybrid Tee, Babyccino Kids  pick  

Rain Cloud Henley Tee, Emma's Designblogg pick

Nature Kaleidoscope Glasses, Bambino Goodies pick

Recycled Dump Truck, Bambino Goodies pick

Elephant Shoulder Bag, Style Files pick

 

A gigantic thank you to our press friends for this fabulous gift guide:

The Style Files, Bambino Goodies, Babyccino Kids, Emma's Designblogg

Ho-Ho-Holiday Giveaway

Since we're back in the swing of things, why not cap it off with a great giveaway? Remember those lovely items chosen by our press friends for our Holiday Gift Guide for Babies? Well now's your chance to sweep up some of those goodies - for free! That's right friends, it's giveaway time here at Shak-Shuka, and we're offering up quite a group of goodies: an adorable and cuddly Crinkle Bear, a set of Bambu utensils and a lovely grey Rabbit Rattle. Not too shabby for a holiday giveaway, right?!

To enter, simply sign up for our newsletter here, or if you already are a lucky subscriber, simply leave us a comment here. The giveaway winner will be announced Monday the 6th of December to ensure there will be one happy baby for the holidays! Good luck!

Lil'Miss Gift Wish List

If you have a child who has a December birthday, you'll feel my pain: all year long I get away with not giving any presents, but come December, when Hanukkah, Sinterklaas, Christmas AND Lil'Miss' birthday hit, it's like a gift giving bonanza around here. My mind swarms with ideas of what to get her, and I have to remember to pull in the reigns a bit, as my over-consumption tendencies get the best of me and her/my wish list ends up a mile long....

So if you have a child turning 3 maybe you'd like to know what to get them? A few people have shown interest in what Lil'Miss is getting for her birthday and the holidays, and I thought I'd give you the shortlist of it all. That way maybe you can pick and choose to see if there's something the toddler in your life might like. If I can make someone's life a bit easier, than it was worth it! De-stressing you, one gift at a time.....

Chef Set - "because you've got to have something to cook your food with!"

Ikea's DUKTIG Mini Kitchen - "may not be the most eco-friendly in the world, but gal-darn-it, it looks good"

Partygirl Pyjamas - "a big girl deserves some equally glamorous pjs. these hit the nail on the head"

Glob Paint Kit - "lately we've had a MASSIVE arts+crafts moment, and this is the coolest thing EVER"

Eco Molding Clay + Accessories - "feeding the arts+crafts urge with this non-toxic clay kit is perfect"

Bubble "Mama+Me" Necklace Set - "every little girl loves new jewelry, especially when it matches mama's"

Spring Doll Wall Stickers - "a new Casa Shuka means new bedroom walls to decorate. perfect timing!"

 

(NOTE: not all of these gifts will be given at the same time, as to encourage Lil'Miss to appreciate each and every one. But this is a general list of what she'll be getting, which I know means she's pretty darn lucky!)

Ode to Stamppot

I'll spare you the details and get down to the nitty-gritty: even though I lived in the Netherlands, I never eat Dutch food. French fries in a cone, yes - but anything else remotely Dutch, I'm not a big fan of. Except one dish that I love giving my own unique twist to: stamppot. Basically a hodgepog mix of mashed potatoes and a green, personally for me it was always too blah and not enough pizzazz needing some fried something to give it texture and serious yum-factor.

So, here it is: my ode to stamppot. For those of you who are purests out there, who like everything just as the natives do it, look away. For those of you who want an easy, one-pot meal, keep reading and get your forks ready!

De Amerikaans Stamppot

1 leek, cleaned and sliced into thin crescents

5 large potatoes, cleaned and scrubbed

large handful of fresh greens of your choice - I used endive in mine, but you can use kale or whatever you have on hand

butter or coconut oil for flavor

(optional) 1 heaping Tbsp nutritional yeast

salt, lots of it!

 

To make it more time efficient, I like to put the potatoes in a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking. I find it usually takes about 20 minutes, which is enough time for me to get the rest of the cooking done.

While potatoes or cooking, heat up some olive oil and saute the sliced leeks over a low flame. Once the leeks become translucent, add the greens. Stirring often, make sure the greens get nice and wilted. Take the potatoes off the flame once their cooked and mash them with a potato masher. Add the sauteed green mix and PLENTY of fat (butter, coconut oil, etc) and salt. Don't be shy - potatoes need, and can take a lot of salt without being overly salty. If using, add the nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.

I serve the stamppot with some already prepared veggie sausages, but you can do real meat sausages, and I go to town and serve it with fresh sauerkraut, but that might be a bit too much (or too Dutch - ha!) for some. Serve hot and I find the sausages go well with some Dijon mustard. Lekker!