Sea horse (Hippocampus)

coloured pencils, 9x6 inches

coloured pencils,9x6 inches

Montreal houses

ink, 8x9 inches

ink,8x9 inches

Recipe for a happy marriage

1 cup of love

2 cups of devotion

3 cups of forgiveness

1 cup of friendship
1 cup of respect 
1 cup of communication and similar values

10 Tbsp s of hope

20 Tbsp s of tenderness

4 liters of Trust

1 barrel of laughter

goodness

and understanding

Mix the love and the devotion and the trust. Add the tenderness, the respect, the communication, the similar values,

the goodness and the understanding. Add the friendship and the hope ,

dust with a lot of laughter, bake it during a sunny day and serve it every day

in big portions . Don't be afraid you are not going to be fat ...just Happy !!!

After the rain photo and an interesting video

Photo:Ziniania January 18, 2012

I always knew that crows were intelligent birds, but this is something else !!!

Wordless Wednesday

photo:ziniania

Like a child again...

teddy bears and doodles

 This Greek children's song is about a brown bear who is sitting in the grass and is crying because she is fat. She is jealous of the skinny and tall giraffe and wishes to be like the her. The giraffe is not happy either and complains that being skinny and tall and so close to the sky and not on the ground were all the other animals live, she cannot make any friends and that she would trade her long neck for the fat body of the bear. So they are both unhappy of how they are made, instead of accepting themselves the way they are! A nice lesson here, even for grown ups :)

Red bike

Ink and pencil, 6x9 inches

The frozen beaver pond and I

Photo:Ziniania

Photo:Ziniania

Photo:Ziniania

Photo:Ziniania

Photo:Ziniania

Photo:Ziniania

 January the 15th, 12 pm, Sunny, -21 C°, windy, the pond was empty and frozen.  I was wearing a parka, a tuque and my hood and for just a moment I would take off my mitts to take the picture.

Youvarlakia avgolemono

photo:Ziniania

Greek meatballs with an egg-lemon sauce.

recipe:

1 pd ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 egg
3 Tbsp parsley chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste

2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups hot water

Avgolemono sauce:

 1 large egg
the juice of one large lemon
1/2-1 cup of hot water

In a bowl mix together the ground beef, onion, rice, parsley, salt and pepper.Form into small balls. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and place the meat balls in the pan. Pour enough hot water to completely cover the meat balls and simmer over low heat uncovered until the meat balls are cooked 30-35 minutes.

In a small bowl beat the egg with a fork and add the lemon juice and the hot water gradually beating constantly.
Pour the avgolemono sauce in the pan and slowly boil in very low heat, shaking the pan often so that the sauce doesn't curdle. You can serve them with steamed broccoli and a fresh grated carrot salad.

Brand New Day

photo: Ziniania (7:14 am)

Vasilopita (Greek New Year's cake)

Ziniania's Vasilopita (Greek New Year's Cake)

Recipe:

3 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
rind of one washed lemon
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
1 cup milk

In a bowl shift together flour and baking powder and add the rind of the lemon.

In another large bowl beat butter with sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time and slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture alternately with milk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of milk.

Pour batter into a greased and floured round (9 1/2 inches spring form pan)
Bake in center of a 350°F or 180°C, for 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilopita