Homemade Vegan Bath Bombs

November 14, 2017March 18, 2018 - Tobia 4 Comments

I mentioned that I attended the blogst conference last weekend. One fun thing about this conference is that during coffee breaks you not only drink coffee but can craft. Because those sponsors are cool. They don’t just set up a booth no they set up crafting tables for the attendees to get creative. One of the sponsors was PonyHütchen a natural cosmetics shop from Berlin. And we were able to make our own vegan bath bombs.

It was so very simple and most all ingredients are either already in your house or are available in any grocery or drugstore. Now that does sound good right. Not only because the product really is natural if you can actually (almost) eat it. So I asked Lucie (head of marketing & Berlin store fairy) if I can share this simple DIY with you here. She said yes!

So lets get started (recipe makes two vegan bath bombs):

♥ 100 g baking soda (Natron)
♥ 50 g citric acid (Zitronensäure)
♥ 35 g corn starch (Maisstärke)
♥ 15 ml almond oil (Mandelöl)
♥ essential oils, food colors, nonpareils – optional

Now it is really simple. You have to mix well. And by well I mean well. If it is not really mixed the bomb might break when drying up. So take you sweet time, let your mind wonder and start relaxing.
Then press the mixture into a form. We had some half balls but I guess you could easily use silicone mutton of praline forms. However it needs to be packed really good. Otherwise it will all crumble.
Now it needs to dry over night. And ready to go. Wrap them up, gift or just enjoy a bath yourself.

This is a wonderful gift idea. It could also be a cool idea for a girlfriends night. Oh the possibilities.

I’ve heard from PonyHütchen before the event but I was happy to have gotten a better idea what they are doing. I have to admit I am usually not the biggest fan of natural cosmetics. Not because I think it is not good valid cosmetics more so because of the fanatics behind it. Fortunately this was not the case it was just lots of love, enthusiasm and joy. I loved the displays they put up in the bathrooms and the packaging is so cute too. It is nice to see such a young fun brand.

After I tried their hand cream at the event – it smells amazing and makes the smoothes hands, really no joking here – I was really happy to find a sample of the deodorant cream in the goodie bag. I will give this a good try during my business trips as I like to travel with the smallest amount of weight and it comes in a tiny cute tin. I am excited how it works.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share this discovery from my weekend with you. If you are into vegan handmade cosmetics this could definitely be something for you as they do have some decorative things too. And they own an online shop for everyone not in Berlin. I am not sure about worldwide shipping though.

Now I am wondering, have you ever tried making cosmetics yourself?

Happy Tuesday,

Tobia

PonyHütchen Store Berlin | Straßburger Straße 37 | 10405 Berlin

linked to creadienstag | Dienstagsdinge | Handmade on Tuesday | MMI | Freutag

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Lohikeitto – Finnish Salmon Soup

February 12, 2017February 12, 2017 - Tobia 2 Comments

It has become a bit of a tradition that I share a Finnish recipe to celebrate my anniversary. In year one we had cake, year two I shared pancakes and today I invite you for soup. Lohikeitto – Finnish Salmon Soup.

And let me say this soup is amazing! I am so glad I actually know about it. When we spent our honeymoon at the attic circle I’ve seen this soup everywhere. Unfortunately I felt sick most of the time and fish soup just didn’t sound appealing.

On our last night in Finland we slept in an ice hotel. And there Lohikeitto was served yet again. I decided to give it a try. Been angry with myself for not ordering it earlier ever since. It comes as no surprise that I immediately googled a recipe for this Finnish Salmon Soup.

You can find original recipe easily. I made my own version the other night and really enjoyed it.

You need:

♥ 1 Tbsp Ghee (you can also use regular butter or olive oil)
♥ 1 Finely chopped onion
♥ 1 sweet potatoe
♥ 1.25 litres vegetables broth (alternatively you may use fish stock)
♥ 1/2 kg fresh cubed salmon fillet
♥ 250 ml cream (use milk for a thinner soup)
♥ 1 handful finely chopped baby spinach
♥ 5 pieces Bay Leaf
♥ 5 grains of allspice
♥ 5 grains of junipers
♥ dash of sea salt
♥ dash of pepper

Lets get cooking

Chop onions and add to large saucepan, simmer in the ghee over medium heat until soft
Cut the potato roughly into 1-inch cubes and add to onions, let simmer a bit.
Add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Add allspice, junipers and bayleaf. Turn up the heat to high, cover the saucepan with a lid, bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until almost soft
Add the vegetable broth.
Cube the salmon and add to the pot. Cook until it is mostly opaque (maybe 5 minutes). Do not stir the soup so as not to break up the salmon – I did as I didn’t care much though.
Add cream and make sure it does not cook anymore. ( I hardly ever manage that part. The cream will clot. It doesn’t matter for the taste but it just doesn’t look too good.)
Take off the heat and stir in chopped spinach.
Serve hot and enjoy.

So can you image coming back home after a long day outdoors with freezing numb cheeks? This soup is a total game changer than. Its warm, it’s reach, it’s filling.

Let me know how you liked it.

Happy Soup Sunday,

Tobia

Snowy Winter Walk

January 20, 2017January 22, 2017 - Tobia 3 Comments

Every one of you who has read more than one post here knows I am winter crazy.

So it should not surprise that I am beyond excited when I see the tiniest snowflake.

A couple weekends ago I woke up and snowflakes were dancing in the air. After having a quick coffee I grabbed my camera and went to the park.

My mission: catching the untampered winter wonderland. Unfortunately I was not the only one with this idea. The park was filled with morning joggers, dog walkers and excited kids sledding down every available rise in the ground.

I craved for some quietness and alone time but obviously that wasn’t going to happen… the perks of living in a city.

Anyhow I went some lonelier pathes, and came a across a few birds feeding on seeds someone had left.

I am usually not so much into birds and animals but I found it interesting and challenging to try to snap a good picture. It was tough. These are my best shots.

After two hours or so the park became even busier, my stomach louder and my feet colder so I headed back home for breakfast.

I want to repeat my snow walk in the park on a weekday hoping for more solitude. So please snow, come and delight us again.

Have you taken a snowy winter walk? What’s your favorite place to go?

Happy snow wandering

Tobia

Hello Fall {Schreibzeit #9}

October 4, 2015October 3, 2015 - Tobia 1 Comment

So, apparently fall is here. The other morning I wrote my bike to work and it was cold. Not one of those sudden shivers more a cold that crept into your layers of clothes.

I like fall. I like when the air feels fresher to breath. I like all the funny fruit things on trees. I like the smell of rotting leaves and mossy grounds. I love picking mushrooms and hardly ever get to do it. (Note to self: Maybe I should make a fall list?!) I love eating plum streusel cake and apple pies. When I was growing up I even sometimes enjoyed raking leaves in my grandparents backyard. Then you could also watch the squirrels hiding the walnuts and when dusk came the hedgehogs took a walk. And my dad would cut trees and we would build a fire and roast potatoes for dinner. Sometimes I miss those happy and carefree times.

Now fall is all about “oh, soon it’s Christmas”, what do I need to get done, what didn’t I do during summer, why does time fly…

I find it sad that I do not appreciate the seasons properly. I run through life and hardly look left and right. But when I do it’s most likely a happy moment right there.

So for this fall I will walk around with eyes open. Observe the leaves changing color, discover a sparkling spider web, smell mossy grounds, take a walk and hopeful pick some mushrooms.

I will enjoy fall because it’s the pre-season to my favorite one: winter.

All seasons are dear to me. I mean imagine living in a area where there are no seasons? Where temperatures are mostly the same and it’s either raining or hurricane season or no other. I love watching the change. Do you? Or do you prefer hot temperatures throughout?

I will add this piece to Bines Schreibzeit as it has been a while. And I will grab a cuppa tea and read the other fall stories.
Happy fall y’all

Tobia

Cucumber Potato Salad :: Perfect for Summer

August 9, 2015August 7, 2015 - Tobia 4 Comments

Hey lovelies!

wow this salad blew me away. Seriously! And I came up with it in a whim. On a hot hot summer day. One of those days where you just don’t feel like eating but than late afternoon you realized you are getting really hungry. Well this is for you.

A wonderful yummy cold cucumber potato salad!

What you need:

♥ 1 kg potatos
♥ 1 cucumber
♥ 200 g sour cream
♥ scallion
♥ salt & pepper

1. Wash, clean, cube your potatoes and then boil them in salted water. When they started to boil I added a bit of instant vegetable stock for seasoning. Let potatoes cool down.

2. Peel cucumber and cube it. Thinly slice the scallion.

3. Mix potatoes and cucumber. Add sour cream and mix well. Add scallion, salt and pepper to taste.

4. Let sit in the refrigerator for a while so the flavors can develop.

5. Enjoy this yummy salad.