Homemade Hummus - easy recipe

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

I was quite excited when I saw that naan has been introduced to the Mission range of bread, pita and wrap products.  I bought it and decided to prepare a hummas dip for dinner to go along with the naan.

I would usually use dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas) but I did not have the time to soak the beans overnight since I wanted to prepare hummus for dinner.  So, I grabbed a can of garbanzo beans and made my way home.

There are many varieties of hummus recipes online, but this is how I prepare mine.  I usually make use of what I have instead of going out to get every single ingredient for one recipe. 

Most recipes call for lemon juice but I hardly use lemons at home, so I replaced it with just water since the chickpeas form a really thick paste when blended in a food processor.  Tahini which is a paste made from sesame seeds is usually needed, but I do not have that in my kitchen, so I added the next best thing, sesame seeds.  In place of fresh garlic, I made use of garlic salt... hehee... seems like I am replacing most of the usual ingredients used to make hummus - but I assure you, it still taste pretty good, imo (",) 

So, I blended everything together and when a smooth paste is formed, I transferred everything into a bowl and added olive oil.

Here's dinner for Kiddo and I (",)

Although Kiddo loves the naan, I thought it was too 'bready'... I prefer the frozen ones that I usually buy.  I think I will start storing some hummus in the fridge and bringing it to work for lunch along with some carrot and celery sticks.

Talk to you ladies soon (",)

Hazelnutt House Facebook Page

Dear Friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

I have decided to set up a Facebook page for Hazelnutt House (",)

I am using the Hazelnutt House FB page as a platform to keep readers updated of my new entries as well as showcase hair accessories and knick knacks that I intend to sell.

You can click on these pictures and you will be taken to the page (",)

Please supper Hazelnutt House by liking the page (",) Thankie!!!

https://www.facebook.com/hazelnutthouse

Thankie, once again!

Craft: Medal for the #1 person in your life

Hi hi ladies of Hazelnutt House (",) 

Kiddo loves medals and trophies.  We decided to make a '#1 Dad' medal for The Hubs for his birthday.  We got the idea from a craft book that we borrowed from the library.  

So, to start off, we made circular templates and pinned them onto felt and cut the circles out.  You will need 1 big and 1 smaller circle.

Next, we stitched the smaller circle onto the larger piece.

The last and biggest piece of circle is optional and we decided to use a scallop shears to give it some nice details.  We hot-glued the circles as well as the number 1 cut out as shown below.

Kiddo wanted jewels on hers so we glued some on hers.

Here's The Hubs' '#1 Dad' medal (",) 

This DIY craft is suitable for grandparents as well as teachers too (",)

Craft: DIY Teachers' Day presents

Hi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

Teachers' Day is approaching.  Kiddo and I are busy preparing little gifts for her teachers.

I've collated last year's as well as this year's gift ideas in this entry. 

Here are some ideas: 

1) Magnets - teachers use magnets all the time, right?  

I drew the outline of these cupcakes and flowers and got Kiddo to fill them in.  After which, we laminated them and cut them out together. 

Affix these adhesive magnets onto the back and you've got yourself some DIY decorative magnets! 

2) Clips 

Other than magnets, teachers probably use clips very often.  Using the same cupcakes and floral laminated cutouts, affix a clothes peg behind and you've made yourself some clips (",) 

3) Hair accessories 

Kiddo's dance teachers have long hair, so using the Big Shot die cut machine and the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die we made them some hair ties. 

Here's Kiddo cranking up the machine...

and peeling out the felt cutouts.

We layered the felt pieces together and made them into layered floral pieces.

I used hot glue and adhered an elastic band at the back of the flowers.  You can adhere a magnet and turn this felt flower into a magnet as well (",)

4) Cards... good O' cards

We made some simple cards with cutout clothes.  When her teachers open these cards, they'll get a poppin' surprise!

Check out the pop up flowers hidden inside the cards (",) 

For the simple instructions to making this pop up card, check out this video (",)

Hope you've enjoyed the gift ideas for Teachers' Day (",)

Castle craft for kids

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

It has been some time since Kiddo and I embarked on a 'large scale' project.  Since we've no plans today, we gathered ALL the boxes, cardboard pieces and all the odds and ends that I have been saving and we spent some time thinking of what we can create.  

Eventually, Kiddo and I decided to create a castle.... 

"A big one, Mama..." reminded Kiddo.

We made use of the wall paint that we have and painted all the sides of the boxes and cardboard materials.  I particularly like using wall paint as it dries really quickly.

To add some texture to the plain walls of the castle, we stencilled some 'bricks' at random parts of the walls.

Lastly, we assembled all the parts onto a large piece of cardboard and secured them with hot glue.  

Kiddo made some flaggies for the towers and added her figurine family on the deck of the castle.

Here's the back of the castle.

We spent almost the entire day working on this project.  We did not rush.  Took our time to get it right and also lots of breaks in between.

Talk to you ladies soon!  

My love affair with iHerb... Another iHerb haul

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

I'm back with another iHerb loot to share.  My past few iHerb orders contained the usual regular stuff that I tend to order, therefore, I wasn't excited to share them.  However, this time round, I ordered several items that I've never ordered before.  

So, here goes... 

I am obsessed with coconuts... the fruit, the drink and the scent... therefore, there's no stopping me when I saw the Alaffia Everyday Coconut range of coco-nutty products.  I've completely used up ALL my body lotions (YEAH!!!... it was a slow process and a tall order making my way through all the lotions I had stashed up.) So, I decided to order the Everyday Coconut body lotion which smells pretty good - the coconut smell is kinda sweet, but not crazy sweet.  It doesn't linger on for long which is a plus and absorbs rather quickly.  The texture is similar to that of Jergens and Crabtree and Evelyn's body lotions.  

I use the Everyday Coconut Face Wash in the shower as a second cleanse to remove any remaining traces of makeup.  It has worked pretty well thus far; cleanses we'll  does not sting and does not dry out my skin.  It contains neem which helps to regulate my oily skin.  The Everyday Coconut Face Toner contains neem too.  I use it as a hydrating toner and stick to Paula's Choice 2% BHA lotion as my exfoliating toner.  The spritz bottle is kinda big and heavy to spritz with one hand... I have to hold it up with one hand and spritz with the other.  

So far, I am enjoying these coco-nutty products (",) 

Everyday Coconut Hydrating Body Lotion - $11.19USD

Everyday Coconut Face Wash - $7.20USD

Everyday Coconut Face Toner - $7.20USD

I ran out of the Paula's Choice Resist C15 Super Booster which is a vitamin C serum and I had been eyeing Mad Hippie's products.  So, I decided to make an order of the Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum.  I've yet to use it, therefore, can't comment on it. 

I've had really good results with the Badger Damascus Rose Antioxidant Face Oil (click to read review) but I also wanted to try out this Mad Hippie Antioxidant Facial Oil.  I've used it a couple of times, mainly at night, after serum.  It smells of berries and all things good hehee... My skin feels evenly hydrated the next day.  

Mad Hippie VItamin C Serum - $27.19USD

Mad Hippie Antioxidant Facial Oil - $19.99USD

In the supplement category, I picked up these items up.

Zoi Research Vitamin C in Mixed Berries - $2.95USD

Nature's Bounty Evening Primrose Oil - $8.75USD

Doctor's Best Extra Strength Ginkgo - $7.69USD (for my mum, thought she'll benefit with some brain boost... hehehe) 

Doctor's Best, Best Lutein - $12.99USD

These Aubrey Organics shampoo and conditioner were on trial for $1USD, so I picked them up for future travels.  This Harvest Apple scent smells great :) 

I love the Bee Natural's facial polish.  Will be doing a short review with more details on it soon.

Reviva Labs, Firming Eye Serum - $13.30USD

Bee Naturals, Queen Bee Facial Polish - $7.28USD

This ChildLife Liquid Vitamin C is for Kiddo and it tastes super duper good.  It's has a seriously concentrated sugary citrus flavour which I enjoy too heheee....

ChildLife, Liquid Vitamin C - $6.12USD

Use this code if you're making your first iHerb order (",)

That's all for now... talk to you soon!!!! 

Kiddo's 5th birthday - My Little Pony Cake

Kiddo just turned 5 and I planned a small party for her.  She requested for a My Little Pony rainbow cake and of coz I had to fulfil my little girl's wish. 

So I came up with this idea, thinking that it will definitely cut down on preparation time without compromising on taste and how the cake will look.

So the idea I had was to bake the rainbow layers using Betty Crocker white cake mix and then frost the cake with the Best Ever Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe from Wicked Good Kitchen which I have tried and loved.  However, I added way lesser sugar coz my family prefers desserts that are not overly sweet.  I would then decorate the cake withMy Little Pony figurines that we bought from Toys R Us and top it with cake bunting flaggies which I see lots of online.  

HOWEVER, two nights before the party, as I was preparing the rainbow cake layers using the cake mix, Kiddo squealed at the sight of pastel coloured layers but at the same time turned her nose up and remarked that the cake smelled like play dough.  I thought so too myself, but couldn't put a finger to it.  I asked Kiddo if she would like to try a small piece of the cake and she declined firmly.  I took a small bite of the cake and was rather turned off by how over the top sweet it was and how artificial the vanilla taste was.  *Urgh*... I wrapped up the layers, parked them in the freezer and called it a night.

I had a bad bad feeling as I went to bed... Knowing that with Kiddo's heightened taste buds and sense of smell, I knew that she wouldn't eat the cake no matter how pretty it will look.  So I got out of bed to look for a white cake recipe.  

The recipe that I followed was the Heavenly White Cake Recipe from allrecipes.com 

I am glad I decided to bake the cake from scratch coz it turned out really pretty without the off putting smell of play dough that came with the cake mix that I first used.  The texture of the cake that I made wasn't fabulous though, it was rather dense.  Coz I had to mix in the colours while folding in the meringue mixture which must have caused lots of bubbles to pop. 

So, here's how the cake looks like with all the ideas put together. 

We spruced up the place a little with these pompoms which both the kids and adults loved.

As for food, I prepared Curried Yong Tau Foo... 

Cold tea...

Pumpkin soup....

And we ordered lots of pizza! 

Here's how the inside of the rainbow cake... Kiddo and I both agreed on a less vibrant, pastel rainbow layers. 

The kids loved the cake, but the adults found it much too dense which I totally agree.  Well, I'll still call this a success since the cake turned out the way that I envisioned it to look! (",) 

The first cake that I baked for Kiddo was when she was 3.  

This My Little Pony rainbow cake is the second cake that I've baked for her birthday.   

I wonder what kinda cake she will ask for next year ... I hope I'd be able to fulfil her wish too for her next cake request. 

Talk to you ladies soon!