Bamboo Plant

Botanical Name:  Dracaena Sanderiana
Common Name:  Bamboo or Lucky Bamboo

• Straight, curly or spiral stalk
• Popular plant used in Feng Shui
• Flexible strap-shaped leaves

Bamboo "Dracaena Sanderiana" is known as a lucky plant is a grass which is can grow up to 8m height. Their care level is tolerant, and they like low light, which is they need 1-2 hours of indirect light per day. Bamboo needs frequent watering, temperature never should drop below 5 degree Celsius, and also if you have bamboo at home you need to fertilize it every 2 months. 
Bamboo generates oxygen, adds humidity to room air during dry conditions, creates healthier living environment and purifies the air of impurities.Can be used in offices, bathrooms, low light dining and living areas.
I designed to decorative vases with bamboo today which is one of them I'm going to put in my kitchen and another one I'll give present to my Yoga trainer.

My first project: I bought this vase in Baku, Azerbaijan from Chinese Exhibition in 2004, and I used 7 bamboo stalks for this project, 4 curly and 3 straight, and water.

My second project: I bought this tall glasses (2 glasses) before Christmas in 2009 and I broke one of it and I'm going to use another one for my project. I also used crystals, river stones, water, one curly bamboo stalk and red silk ribbon.

Please, contact me if you need any custom decorated plants for your home. Thank you for your interest in advance!

Fine South American Jewelry

My friend Vilma Pokorski is a Colombian. She' s importing fine hand crafted jewelry from South America and going to open her jewelry store soon in USA and asked me if  I could take photos of her products for catalog and I accepted. I took photos of jewelries today and edited. Everybody liked it! 

For any questions about jewelry and its quality, please, contact me at nurlana80@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest!

Coffee Glisse

If you love coffee, or are looking for an easy-to-make coffee drink for after dinner or a "stand-alone" dessert, try this coffee drink that is popular in between us Europeans.

Ingredients:

• Freshly Brewed Coffee (we prefer Italian Roast and Blonde Roast coffees)
• Brown Cane Sugar (if you prefer sweet)
• French Vanilla Ice Cream
• Hennessy Cognac  2tbs (you can make it non-alcoholic too)

Add sugar to the freshly brewed coffee, according to taste (or not at all if you prefer to have only the sweetness from the ice cream), allowing the sugar to dissolve completely while the coffee is still hot. You can cool the coffee in the refrigerator for a few minutes if you like to serve chilled, and/or you can directly add Cognac and on the top French Vanilla Ice Cream in tall glasses or coffee mugs.  You can garnish it with shredded coconut, grounded hazelnut or almond. 

Enjoy Your Dessert!

Note: This drink can be made with Nescafe Gold instead of freshly brewed coffee, too.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is known as a French food, but Azeri cuisine has 3 different way and name of this food: 1st is called "Badimjan Govurmasi" means Stir Fry Eggplant, 2nd "Ajab-Sandal" which is sliced and steam cooked vegetables, and 3rd is Fried Aubergine. Stir Fry Eggplant always serves with garlic-yogurt sauce. All this 3 recipes almost uses same ingredients. I'm going to briefly write all 3 recipes and cooking instructions.

Badimjan Govurmasi


Ingredients: 3 medium size aubergines, 3 green peppers, 5 tomatoes, 1 yellow or white onions, 2 potatoes, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 ts salt, 1/2 ts black ground pepper and 1 ts sour grape juice for taste, 2 cups yogurt and 3 cloves garlic.
Cooking direction: aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, onion need to peeled, washed and cut into cube sizes. Aubergine skin can be totally peeled or some stripes or with skin, it's up to you. Add all cut vegetables to deep fry pan add salt, oil, pepper and 120 - 150 ml water and let it cook in medium temperature for 15 minutes, then add peeled, washed and small cut potatoes, sour grape juice and let it cook 20 more minutes. In separate dish mix mashed garlic and yogurt with salt and some water. Add sauce as garnishing when you serve food. It can be served with bread aside.

Ajab-Sandal


Ingredients: 3 medium size aubergines, 4 green peppers, 5 tomatoes, 2 yellow or white onions, 3 potatoes, 4 tbs olive oil, 1 ts salt, 1/2 ts black ground pepper, 1/2 bunch of basil. 
Cooking direction: All vegetables need to wash and cut into flat slices, then start to make layers from each vegetables and after each 5 layers (it's 5 layer, because we have 5 type of vegetables it means each of them one layer) add salt, pepper and chopped basil, then again start other layer until you finish all vegetables and on the top add oil and 100 ml water. This food can be cooked on stove top dish or in oven safe dish in oven. It needs to be cooked for 20-25 minutes.


Fried Aubergine


Ingredients: 3 medium size aubergines, 4 green peppers, 5 tomatoes, 2 yellow or white onions, 3 potatoes, 4 tbs olive oil, 1 ts salt, 1/2 ts black ground pepper, 1/2 bunch of basil and 3 cloves garlic.
Cooking direction: All vegetables need to wash and cut into flat slices except garlic. Start to grill sliced vegetables in a grill pan and put them to separate dishes. In fry pan stir fry chopped garlic with oil for 5 minutes, then set it aside. Start making layers in fry pan and between each 5 layers add some chopped basil, fried garlic, salt and pepper then start other layers until you finish all your vegetables. Cover fry pan and let it be in warm temperature for 15 minutes. You can serve it cold or hot in either way. It also can be garnished with chopped parsley.


BON APPETITE! 

Some Tips For Healthy Eating and Healthy Life

I always use Organic and 100% Natural Products. If mother Nature didn't grow it I won't use it in my Recipes ever. 
Wash all vegetables and fruits thoroughly before cutting and cooking. 
Try not to eat after 18:00 if you ate your breakfast and lunch. If you eat late try to eat some fruits, nonfat yogurt or drink 1 or 2 cups of green tea after food. 
For late dinner and supper use 1 glass of red, dry wine with food. Other good habit is to walk half an hour after late dinner and supper.
If you want eat less amount of food for your lunch, dinner and supper try to drink one full glass of spring or mineral water 10-15 minutes before food. 
Never try to buy home necessities, food, clothes and other items from first place. Try to check at least 2 other places before you purchase merchandise you want.
Colours are very important issue for relaxing, comfort and psychological affection ! Especially, shades and tones have to be match exactly or can be used at least 1 neutral tone in between.

Perashki

Perashki is a Russian food, actually it's kind of hand-made and fried sandwich. Please, use only Organic and 100% Natural Products as I do for maximum taste and freshness!

Ingredients: 

For Cooking:

• Grapeseed Oil

For Dough:

• Iodized Salt
• Brown Sugar
• Floor
• Water
• Yeast

For Fill:

• Baking Potatoes
• Yellow Onion
• Black Ground Pepper
• Iodized Salt
• Dill
• Coriander

Borcsh

Borcsh is a Ukrainian National Vegetable Soup. It's delicious seasonal soup or can say main course, because it's vitamin rich food. This Recipe has been modified and added extra ingredients for better taste and freshness.


Ingredients:

1. White cabbage - 1 mid size
2. Carrot - 5 mid size
3. Beetroot - 3 small or 2 big
4. Yellow Onion - 2
5. Garlic - 6 cloves 
6. Dried Lime - 4 
7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 cup or 250 ml
8. Tomato Paste or Tomato Puree - 400 gr
9. Kosher Salt - 3Tbs
10. Crushed or Whole Black Pepper - 1/2 ts
11. Bay Leave - 4
12. Spring Water - 1lt or as much it needs
13. Potato - 2 mid size Idaho potatoes preferably
14. Parsley - 1/2 bunch

Beef (200 gr cubed) for Meat Lovers can be added (it's optional as this original soup is a vegetarian food)


Cabbage, carrot, beetroot, onion, garlic need to cut into small sizes and add it to pot and add its water, salt, pepper, bay leave, dried lime, tomato paste or puree and oil. Let it cook in mid temperature for 30-40 minutes, then add cubed potatoes, and let it cook for additional 20 minutes,  when it's done set aside and add chopped parsley. 


If you'd like food  with beef so you've to add meat from beginning with cut vegetables.


Enjoy your healthy meal!!!