Weekend readings and wantings and doings and musings...

I'll attempt my first fluro mani this weekend a la the lovely nails above. 

Do a Ballerina (Sock) Bun in under two minutes... this video is one long shot - no edits - so it is definitely possible to do!

I keep playing this animated GIF over and over (make sure to hit the play button on the music below it). So cute and upbeat... I'm inspired to try it myself (she led me to this Aladdin's cave of a website too).

Love this GIF too.

His Paris paintings are great but his paintings of cake are even better!

DIY Sugar Waxing revisited and the follow-up post with tips.

Switzerland love.

Stay trim by eating like these women.

Do I like Tootsie Rolls? I wouldn't be a child of the '80s if I didn't. And I wouldn't be a modern day yuppie-hippie if I didn't drool over this homemade Tootsie Roll recipe. 

Forget chocolate. Please wrap one of these and seal the package with one of these for me for Valentine's Day.

Have two cents to offer to this housework debate?

Try the pastel hair-color trend without the commitment. 

This dress. 

This song and that song and this song and that song. Clearly my musical tastes are stuck in 2009.

And I've been thinking about this song from the Tiger Lillies concert I saw in 2005 with my lovely Slovene friends M and T at Soho Theatre (yipes... I need some new material). 

Curl up for some winter reading.

Figure out what exactly all that fancy speak means on your egg cartons.

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Everything that's wrong with America's attitude towards food

THE detestable Hungry Girl Show on the Cooking Channel is the epitomy of everything that's wrong with America's attitude towards food. More on this later but I'm so regularly filled with indignation every time I hear the drone of her Rachel Ray-esque voice begetting me to watch her show so I can finally eat 'guilt-free' (there's nothing GUILTY about food... I want to bitch-slap this descriptor when placed anywhere in a sentence relating to food or eating. What's it guilty of? Petty theft? Insider trading? And, for that matter, what are YOU guilty of by partaking in the simple, LIFE-SUSTAINING act of eating!?). Can you just about hear the binge-eating session being planned post-show? I mean look at that insane grin and those heaps of food... that would be enough to serve a party of 12 in food-loving France.

To my mind, the worst cooking show on television and utilizes so little real food it would be more at home in a PBS special on Chemistry than on The Cooking Channel.

HOW TO | Make quinoa porridge

THIS IS the bee's knees. It's a filling, yummy, warm way to start the day without a ton of stodge. You get your loads of protein (several amino acids in fact), fiber, phosphorus, iron and magnesium, little to no gluten (for celiacs) and is more closely related to, say, spinach than it is a real grain (so you're getting your veggies in from the moment you roll out of bed!).  There's little sugar, yet it has a wonderful, subtle sweetness. Cinnamon is anti-inflammatory, regulates blood sugar, helps lower cholesterol and is a surprising source for minerals. The pumpkin puree is jam-packed (seriously) with Vitamin A (you get a day's worth in one serving).

Without further ado, here's my beautifying, health-giving, warm, cosy, hearty, heavenly recipe for Red Quinoa Porridge:

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 c. rinsed red quinoa
• 2 c. unsweetened coconut milk (or soy, regular milk or almond milk but you'll need more sugar with these options)
• 1 tbsp (or as much as you like) ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp pumpkin puree if you fancy it (and have it available)
• 1 or 2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Combine quinoa, cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla, sugar and coconut milk in a saucepan 
2. Bring to a gentle boil watching carefully so it doesn't boil over
3. Stir regularly to make sure it doesn't scorch on the bottom until the liquid is almost totally absorbed
4. Turn off the hob, put on cover and let sit for 10 minutes
5. Take off lid, fluff with fork, scoop into bowl and serve with whatever you'd usually top your porridge

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