Carnovsky Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle

 

 If you are super organised, you might have already finished buying gifts for Christmas. If you're like me, you are beginning to look at the gift guides and online gift posts in autumn.

Carnovsky Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle (500pc) is a stunning unique jigsaw puzzle and a work of art in one package.  

I haven't done a jigsaw puzzle in over a year, and forgot just how much I enjoy them. My younger son was keen to help me, but I wanted to assemble it solo. I worked on it for a couple of days, on and off, and enjoyed every moment of it.

It's quite tricky (not totally fiendish but not super easy either), as the images in different colours are superimposed over each other. 

The beautiful artwork is created  by Carnovsky, a Milan based art and design duo - Francesco Rugi and Silvua Quintanilla. They are best known for their RGB project, which was first presented at Milan Design Week in 2010, and since then appeared in numerous international exhibitions.

RGB is an ongoing project that experiments with the interaction between printed and light colours. It's all about exploring "the surface's deepness".

This splendid puzzle comes with three pairs of coloured glasses, which highlight different images underneath. The images are interwoven, the lines and shapes are not clear when you look at the mixed scene, but put on the glasses and gasp with admiration, as layers re-emerge with clarity and sharpness of detail. The result is simply mesmerising and captivating.

This is a view through green glasses.

Red glasses' scene:

It was not easy to take the image with the blue glasses, as it wasn't as sharp as red and green through the camera of my iPhone.

As usual, I started with the border, finding pieces that will build the "frame", and then worked on the designs inside. Sometimes I looked at the design, sometimes at the shape of pieces.

Attention to detail here is something special. The sea creatures are drawn in the style of the old encyclopaediae. 

As you can see from close-ups, the graphic design is intricate and elaborate.

You can also scan the QR code to turn your device into a magical viewing lens.

The puzzle measures 50x50cm (19.7x19.7 inches) when complete.

One more thing worth mentioning: the puzzle pieces come in a paper bag inside the box, so there is no plastic to throw away. 

This wonderful puzzle is suitable for ages 8+ (not suitable for children under 36 months due to small parts which present a choking hazard).

It will make an excellent gift for any jigsaw puzzle lover. If there is such a person in your life, Carnovsky Ocean will make someone happy - be it for Christmas, birthday or any other occasion. 

I know I would be delighted to get a new puzzle for Christmas.

Disclosure: We received the jigsaw puzzle for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are our own.

Green Beans with Sesame and Chili

 

With a family of fussy eaters, I realised that I'm stuck in a rut of cooking the variations of the same meals from week to week. I told my guys that from now on I would be cooking at least one new recipe a week and hopefully find some new family favourites.

Last week I tried a recipe for Ribollita with Yondu. Yondu is a Korean seasoning which unlocks natural flavours in blander foods. This Vegetable Umami all-purpose savoury seasoning is perfect for plant-rich cooking.

A few days ago they shared another recipe, which I wanted to try - Green Beans with Sesame and Chili.

Fall in love with Autumn’s most underrated vegetable

 

Chef Bettina Campolucci Bordi, author of Happy Food, 7 Day Vegan Challenge and most recently CELEBRATE, is sharing her killer green bean recipe with Asian-inspired flavours and a kick of her a favourite umami ingredient: Yondu. Bettina has show her 128k Instagram followers that, with the right seasoning, even the most simple greens can be dressed to impress.

 

As home cooks get excited about medleys of roasted root vegetables, Bettina warns to not overlook one of this season’s most nutritious choices - the humble green bean. Fresh, vibrant and vitamin-rich, these greens are in season from late summer right into the heart of Autumn. Adding just 50ml of Yondu’s umami seasoning will add depth of flavours, and bring this versatile vegetable to life.

 

For the dressing, Bettina suggests combining Yondu with chili, garlic and maple syrup to infuse these greens with natural flavour. The result will be ready in ten minutes and can be served warm as a side with dinner or cold as a salad for lunch. Sprinkled with spring onions and crispy shallots, you’ll never turn your nose up at green beans again!

 

The Best Green Beans with Sesame & Chili (recipe courtesy of Bettina Campolucci Bordi and Yondu)

Ingredients

400 grams of green beans

2 sprigs of spring onions chopped

 

Dressing

50ml of Yondu

10 mm of maple syrup

1/2 thumb of ginger grated

small garlic clove grated

1/2 red chili sliced

 

Sprinkles                                                                                                                                     

Crispy shallots ( the ones you buy)

2 tbsp of sesame seeds

 

Method

Get a pot of water boiling while you wash and trim the ends of your green beans. Once water is boiling add a pinch of salt along with your green beans and let them boil for about 5 minutes. You still want them to have a bite. While they are cooking mix Yondu, maple syrup, grated garlic and ginger and mix. Slice the spring onions and chili and set aside.

 

Drain the beans and plate or add to a shallow bowl, pour the dressing on top and sprinkle with spring onions, crispy shallots and chili. Give the beans a bit of a mix and eat straight away. They will be sweet and salty, crispy and spicy all at the same time! Incredibly delicious!

 

Notes

 

Yondu is available to purchase via its UK website and Amazon, retailing at £6.88 for 275ml. Visit www.yondu.co.uk/recipes/ for cooking inspiration.

 

Follow the brand on Instagram: @yondu.uk and Facebook: @yondu.uk.

 

Notes about Yondu:

 

• Yondu’s philosophy of healthy living stems from its creator company, Sempio, an established Korean food company
• For over 70 years Sempio is committed to expanding the world's culinary horizons through the art of fermentation
• Yondu is a 100% plant based product. It includes organic soybean, sea-salt, eight vegetable broth, and yeast extract  
• Yondu is clean label, certified Organic, non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-free 
• Non-GMO organic soybeans are triple-fermented over the course of 100 days, then blended with the savoury broth of onions, white radishes, leeks, cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, ginger and garlic to create Yondu’s unique flavour that enhances the taste of a variety of cuisines 
• The Yondu Culinary Studio in New York is where Yondu develop culinary solutions and ideas. Including a team of chefs that create healthy recipes. The team is led by Jaume Biarnes who was previously the culinary director at Alicia Food & Science Lab founded by Ferran Adrià, a pioneer of molecular gastronomy 

My notes:

I have halved the ingredients, as I had a pack of 200g green beans. The recipe is easily halved (or doubled if you are cooking for a bigger family). Instead of the grated ginger I used a ginger paste.

It is a delicious side dish, which will work perfectly well with a vegetarian meal, or served with fish or chicken. I will definitely be making this side dish again. Typically I just add a dressing of lime/lemon juice and maple syrup or honey to green beans, but Bettina's recipe is inspired. Love the combination of flavours and textures. I think sesame seeds might be better toasted. And I would give the green beans another minute or two of cooking time. 

Disclosure: I received a bottle of Yondu for testing and reviewing. All the other ingredients are not supplied.

The recipe is being published with kind permission from Yondu. 

All images are my own.

Photo diary: week 38, project 365

 The September sky is as blue as silk,

Silk - spread out for a party dress,-

Through the yellow thrill of the windy leaves,

In these summerdays' last caress.

And the sun is hot, and so kind - you feel

That your grief subsides for a while,

That not only you want to, but could forget,

And forgive, and relearn to smile. 

(Lydia Pasternak Slater)

September is rushing through like a freight train, carrying concerns, worries and memories. Soon it will be gone. The evenings are getting dark much earlier now, and the mornings are on the chilly side.

A couple of weeks ago Rodda's got in touch with me on Facebook, to say that I have won their competition. We're big fans of Rodda's. Scones are not the same without their delicious clotted cream.

When the prize finally arrived, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was all the wonderful things to recreate a Cornish picnic away from Cornwall, with scones, clotted cream, jam, a lovely picnic rug, a set of Cornishware including a cake stand and even a bottle of Brut made in Cornwall. How splendid is that?! 

The prize arrived just the day before our 25th wedding anniversary. 

When I look at our wedding pictures, we look so young and radiant. We had a simple ceremony in the registry office, with no family present. I didn't want to wear a white wedding dress. Three of my dear friends who were witnesses at the wedding, are gone now.

When I was a kid, I used to tell my Mum that I would marry a foreigner and an aristocrat. Fate sometimes has the last laugh. It's the case of you have to be careful what you wish for. I didn't consider that marrying someone from a different country would mean leaving your home, parents and friends behind. My life could have been so different. 

With such big milestones, you tend to look back and ponder. 

My main regret is being so far away from my Mum and brother. The best thing, however, that came from this marriage is my children. They are truly the centre of my Universe.

Monday was a stressful day, as we woke up to the shocking news to the shooting incident in my old University. I wrote about it last week, as I was finishing my previous post on Monday. It's still difficult to imagine how it could have happened. 

My niece was on the way to the doctor's when she had a text message from her friends, saying that they have barricaded in the classroom. Six people are murdered, five of them were 19-20 years old. My heart goes to the families of those kids.

Eddie and I enjoy watching the GBBO, mostly for the bloopers. I don't think I would have fun watching it on my own, without a running comment on what's happening on the screen. We laugh at the bloopers, and criticise the judges and contestants mercilessly. 

I don't get it, what's with all the hair?! Shouldn't chefs be wearing hats to cover their flying locks. Some of the contestants had their hair shaken all over the food. Cookies with dandruff, anyone?! So unhygienic.

I can't say I have warmed up to anyone in particular, but most likely I will be rooting for Giuseppe and Jurgen. My predictions are they would propel the vegan girl to the very end.

To munch something during the GBBO, I baked a batch of melting moments, i.e. cookies made with custard powder. Check out the recipe for Melting Moments at Claire Huston's blog. I had to buy a tub of custard powder, an ingredient which I haven't bought before. I either make my own custard from scratch or buy ready-made (more often). The cookies totally deserve their name, they are truly melting.

The monthly cheese club from Abel and Cole didn't disappoint this time again. It is a selection of British and international cheeses - Taleggio CasArrigoni (stinky but delicious), Laganory The Ethical Dairy (sharp and tangy), Roquefort (another delightful smelly wonder), and Merry Wyfe Bath Soft cheese (creamy and pungent). 

A feast with oatcakes and fresh fruit. And a glass of that Cornish Brut...

For a couple of days I worked on Carnovsky jigsaw puzzle. It is unlike any other puzzle I had in the past. I have lost my contacts with Ravensburger, and haven't done any jigsaw puzzle reviews in over a year. I forgot just how wonderful and therapeutic it is to sit, and find all the pieces, creating a picture.

 Carnovsky is a stupendous work of art. Technically it is three images, super-imposed on each other. To see each image you need different viewing glasses. It is truly magic. 

Book reviews have become a big part of my blog, as my content has slowly moved from  a baby-themed to foodie to bookish blog. This is something I enjoy. I love discovering new authors and books. Sometimes it is taking over my life to the point that my family reasonably mention that I'm not paid for doing that. I also feel a part of the book community, especially on Twitter and Instagram, and many authors follow me and/or request my services for book reviewing ( please excuse my boasting, but it genuinely thrills me). 

Sometimes the authors thank you on Twitter, sometimes leave a comment or send an email. It gives me a flutter to see my endorsements mentioned in books or book websites.

Last week I was thrilled to bits to read Helen Christmas writing on her website about the recent blog tour for Lethal Ties. Just look what she said about me:

I should have checked the product description better, when I placed an Amazon order for 16 mini KitKats from Japan. The total weight of the package is 185g. You get a variety of teeny-weeny chocolate bars. At £13 it is a costly mistake. 

How was your week?

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Ribollita with a Yondu Twist

 

Have you heard of Yondu? Not the blue character from Guardians of the Galaxy who has kidnapped and raised Star-Lord... I mean the Korean seasoning sauce which unlocks natural flavours in blander foods. 

This Vegetable Umami all-purpose savoury seasoning is perfect for plant-rich cooking. It is a combination of triple-fermented soybeans and concentrated broth from 8 vegetables. Yondu is USDA certified organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, contains no artificial ingredients, carbs, sugar or fat.

This versatile ingredient is a healthy flavour booster.

Use Yondu as substitute for:

2tbsp Yondu = 1 bouillon cube

1tsp Yondu = 1 tsp fish sauce

1tsp Yondu = 1tsp soy sauce

2tsp Yondu + 1 cup water = 1 cup of dashi

1tsp Yondu = tsp Worcestershire

Yondu could be used as an ingredient in many international cuisines, including Italian. This month they come up with an inspired twist on a classic Italian stew/soup Ribollita. 

Ribollita is a vegan/vegetarian dish, which features seasonal produce and makes the most of traditional ingredients bringing stale sourdough back to life to with the warm cream of cannellini, and uses every part of the celery, peppers, and carrot, making it more affordable to shop organic as the seasons change.

Root for Vegetables with a Ribollita Stew and an Umami Twist

Plant-based seasoning brand Yondu has taking inspiration from the hills of Northern Italy with their take on a rustic Ribollitta. Just a tablespoon of Yondu’s all-purpose seasoning can add depth to flavour whilst adding an umami twist to the dish and reduce the need to simmer the veggies for hours

Lighter than a stew, but chunkier than a soup, this Mediterranean-inspired meal will be on the table in no more than thirty minutes. Using seasonal, readily available produce, the dish is a comfort that can be brought to the office for lunch or shared with family on cozy evenings in.

Take notes from Tuscany, where a culture that has been built on using leftovers and reducing food waste. Bring stale sourdough back to life to with the warm cream of the cannellini, and use every part of the celery, peppers, and carrot to make it more affordable to shop organic, this autumn.

Yondu brings out the best in the vegetables, while beans and spinach layer this dish full of texture. Freezable, this hearty meal, can be cooked in bulk and kept aside for days you haven’t had a chance to do the food shop.

Originally served to those working on the autumn harvest, the hearty meal offers sustenance and strength as the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler. This humble dish is a celebration of living better for less!

A Ribollita stew (recipe courtesy of Yondu)

Total time: 30 min

Serves 2

Yondu effect: Replaces broth and boosts the flavor of each vegetable

Recipe benefits: Healthy and quick complete dinner

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

½ onion, diced (100g)

1 carrot, sliced (80g)

1 celery stalk, sliced (50g)

¼ red pepper, diced (25g)

¼ green pepper, diced (25g)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp. flour

500ml. water

1 Tbsp. Yondu

1 can of cannellini beans, drained

A sprig of thyme

50g fresh spinach

1 slice of sourdough bread

1. In a pot over medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, peppers and garlic and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
2. Add flour and stir well. Add water and Yondu and stir again.
3. Once it starts boiling, add beans and thyme and let is simmer for 5 minutes covered with a lid.
4. Turn off the heat and stir in fresh spinach. Stir until spinach are wilted.
5. Rub some fresh garlic and drizzle olive oil on the slice of bread before toasting it. Serve the stew with this toast on top and freshly grounded black pepper.

Notes/tips:

You can use gluten free flour or corn starch instead of wheat flour if you want to keep it Gluten Free.

From pastas and salads, to mid-afternoon snacks, Yondu’s fun and simple recipes can found on their website (www.yondu.co.uk/recipes/) or on their Instagram @yondu.uk All choices are healthy, natural and aim to bring pleasure to cooking for friends and family.

Yondu is available to purchase via its UK website and Amazon, retailing at £6.88 for 275ml. Visit www.yondu.co.uk/recipes/ for cooking inspiration.

Notes about Yondu:

·       Yondu’s philosophy of healthy living stems from its creator company, Sempio, an established Korean food company

·       For over 70 years Sempio is committed to expanding the world's culinary horizons through the art of fermentation

·       Yondu is a 100% plant based product. It includes organic soybean, sea-salt, eight vegetable broth, and yeast extract  

·       Yondu is clean label, certified Organic, non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-free 

·       Non-GMO organic soybeans are triple-fermented over the course of 100 days, then blended with the savoury broth of onions, white radishes, leeks, cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, ginger and garlic to create Yondu’s unique flavour that enhances the taste of a variety of cuisines 

·       The Yondu Culinary Studio in New York is where Yondu develop culinary solutions and ideas. Including a team of chefs that create healthy recipes. The team is led by Jaume Biarnes who was previously the culinary director at Alicia Food & Science Lab founded by Ferran Adrià, a pioneer of molecular gastronomy 

I cooked this Ribollita with a Yondu twist yesterday. It is a delicious and healthy stew/soup, which is a great addition to our range of vegetarian meals for the family. I would ordinarily use a stock cube/pot in a similar recipe, but adding Yondu was a revelation. It is a great substitute for stock cubes.

It might sound strange to add a Koren seasoning to the well-known Italian recipe, but it works as a perfect fusion of international flavours. 

Yondu emailed me several recipes throughout this year, and I'm very keen now to try several of them, so watch this space for more Yondu recipes.

Disclosure: I received a bottle of Yondu to try the recipe. All opinions are my own.

A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore #BlogTour

"All the time it meant guarding her tongue and never relaxing or being herself. Then there was the guilt. She genuinely liked some of the comrades and they seemed to like her. How shocked they'd be if they discovered she was a spy. On some days it felt like a huge act of bravery simply to get up and go to work".

"She'd be working for her country, that's what she told herself. She was being offered the chance of a lifetime, the opportunity to uncover secrets that no one else had cracked".

A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore tells the story of Minnie Gray, an ordinary young woman from Edgbaston who becomes one of the bravest seceret agents working for the British government.  

Minnie's background is pretty ordinary: middle-class, dyed-in-the-wool Conservative, she works as a typist. Her job at the Automobile Association is a respectable position, but she feels stuck. "Life should be opening out. Instead nothing seemed to change. Her work offered no path of progress and she couldn't afford to leave home even if she wanted".

Everyone in her social circles expects her to find a husband and start family, but she has other ideas about her future. When an opportunity arises to work for the British Intelligence, she grabs it - finally this is something important, and her new job will make a difference.

She is recruited as MI5 infiltration agent by Maxwell Knight, or M, as he is known in his circles. Minnie moves to London and becomes a member of the Friends of the Soviet Union in 1932. Due to the nature of her job, she is not allowed to tell anyone what she does. 

"No one else of her acquiantance knew she was a spy. Only he [M] understood the daily pressure she was under, appearing to live a normal existece while conducting parallel secret one. 

In the different areas of her life her friends and family, her colleagues at the charity and her comrades at the FSU all saw a different facet of her, but not one of them could know the nature of her most important work".

Her mission is to infiltrate the Communist Party and gather as much information as possible. She is considered so reliable and trustworthy, that she is offered a position of a secretary to the League Against Imperialism and the Anti-War Movement. As Minnie says excitedly, "Two Communist organizations for the price of one!"

Working inside "the Kremilin" was "a terrific mark of success for her". 

But every day brings a new danger of being discovered. "It made her heart beat in panic and the palms of her hands clammy. It was fear. Fear of the enormity of the task, fear of the pressure on her that everything could go wrong".

Leading a double life is taking its toll on Minnie. And she is terrified of being found out by the Russian comrades of the British Communist Party. They are known for the cold-blooded "liquidation" of their enemies or those suspected of betrayal.

When I was reading the novel, I realised that the story was very familiar, and then remembered that I read an article about Olga Gray a few years ago, who was an inspiration for the main protagonist of A Beautiful Spy.

Being a spy/secret agent is never an ethical job. You can see what a huge strain it would be to lead a double life for a person with a moral code. Minnie finds it hard to betray people who believe her to be one of them. "She liked some of the people she met here, if not their beliefs. Part of her wished that she hadn't been planted to spy on them".

When she looks at Glading (co-founder of the British Communist Party), she ponders, "You think I'm your friend, but I'm not, I'm your betrayer... Here I am smiling at your daughter, laughing with your wife, but I'd turn you over to the authorities tomorrow if I had to".

I liked that the author didn't make her baddies one-dimensional. I would even say, that she portrayed the members of the Communist party sympathically.

The British Communists and sympathisers were complex people, with ideas and ideals of their own, who believed they were creating a better future. While some of them passed the secrets to the foreign goverments for money, some were genuinely idealistic and believed in the Communist cause because they thought the capitalist world is rotten through and through. 

The world of MI5 is also portrayed as a Byzantine organization. Even Max, who at first appears the charm incarnate, is cold and ruthless. He puts so much pressure on Minnie, guilt-tripping her into continuing her spying activities, claiming it would be so damaging to the government if she chose to stop. They want the results, and don't care for the person who is working for them. 

You would have thought that the British government would appreciate the source of the invaluable information, but no, MI5 is a cruel machine that doesn't care for human frailty. When stress takes a huge toll on Minnie and she has a nervous breakdown, her condition is barely acknowledged. "And what did they know or care about her? Hardly anything, she imagined, beyond sending out her pay cheque".

A Beautiful Spy is a compelling, absorbing historical fiction with an irresistible main character against the real historical background.

I found this novel outstanding. The story is fascinating and quietly powerful. It's not a type of spy novel, where the main character is a sex bomb who uncovers the secrets by sleeping around. Hore's portrayal of the enduring tension between mundane reality and close danger is vivid and believable.

Purchase Links

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untitled-Rachel-Hore-Pa/dp/1471187217

US - https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Spy-Rachel-Hore-ebook/dp/B08955K1RB

Author Bio

Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she taught publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia until deciding to become a full-time writer. She is the Sunday Times (London) bestselling author of ten novels, including The Love Child. She is married to the writer D.J. Taylor and they have three sons. 

Visit her at RachelHore.co.uk and connect with her on Twitter @RachelHore.

Many thanks to Rachel Hore, Simon & Schuster and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

This post is part of the blog tour.

Photo diary: week 37, project 365

 As I was editing this post, I heard shocking news on TV about the shooting at the Perm University, my old alma mater. I am watching the videos of students escaping through the windows. Eight people are shot dead, more are wounded. My heart goes to all students and teaching staff. 

Anxious to hear about my niece who is a student at the University, I messaged my brother. My niece was off sick this morning and didn't attend her classes. He shared the image of the message on Viber which was sent to everyone at Uni.

It says, "Attention! If you're at the University at the moment, if you are in an auditorium, please try to lock the room from inside and stay there. If you're on the campus, leave it, if possible. If you're on the way to the University, turn back." Heart-breaking.

When such events happen, everything else appears banal and unimportant. I was hesitant about publishing this post altogether as all my chit-chat feels quite trite in comparison to how I feel at the moment.

Last week I read A Murder at Rosings by Annette Purdey Pugh. This is a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, which centres on the happenings at Rosings. Mary, the overlooked middle Bennet girl with less charisma and talent than her sisters is taking a leading part in this story.

We had a fair in town for a couple of days. My younger son was very keen to go. I wasn't enthusiastic about them mixing in the crowds, but who ever listens to me?! Off they go, my husband and Eddie. Later they come back looking sheepish. It so happened that Eddie has pulled a muscle on his neck on one of the rides, not sure if it was technically a whiplash, but he couldn't move his head to one side.

He was still in pain for the next coupld of days. You can spot him in the photo (taken by my DH), in a black and blue top, grinning happily.

My greenhouse tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen. I took a picture of this beauty and ate it later, it was delicious. 

On Thursday morning I had a quick coffee and chat with my bestie in town, early in the morning, while my husband looked after Sasha. I was finally able to give her a big pack of Smugglers' Brew, tea which I always buy when we stay in Cornwall.

Cooking Cornish sardines with a wild coastal mix (sea beet, sea aster and salty fingers) for lunch. I love the flavour of the coastal mix, and it makes me think of our lovely holidays in Cornwall. I buy it at Abel and Cole.

Peeking through the curtains late at night. The street lamps are pretty bright, and our Virginia creeper is taking over the front of the house, despite me trimming it several times this year. 

Our local Waterstones has a new window display, dedicated to one of their books of the month, The Wolf Den. Have you read it? I think I will buy it at some point, as the reviews are pretty good, and the plot sounds fascinating.

Stay safe, wherever you are. 

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