<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[MiaDeRoca Magazine for Alpine Lifestyle]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright MiaDeRoca Magazine for Alpine Lifestyle]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Calendar Sheet February 2012]]></title><description><![CDATA[  February is a short month and the shortest month of the year, in 2012 February will be a bit longer due to 2012 begin a leap year and February getting 29 days instead of 28. There is one more aspect that makes this February a little longer and more intensive: more than half of this Feburary is located right in the so-called 5th season: carnival – or how it is called in German Karneval or Fasching. What means lots of parties (in Austria they are called Gschnas) and balls – great costumes, colourful decorations, adorable party gowns and beautiful dancing dresses – February is going to be colourful, despite its white and grey weather.  

  Romantic Winter Evening  

  So we chose a colourful picture for our calendar sheet February – a colourful sky to be precise. Yes, the days are still short in the winter month February, but occasionally sunny and if your are really lucky your can get a beautiful sunset and afterglow. Matching February which is not only themed by carnival, but also by a very special for lovers, we chose a romantic and pinkish afterglow: red and pink stripes on a blue and dark-blue sky and twilight. The trees around the houses hold up their empty wigs and branches free of leaves. Valentine's Day 2012 will be a Tuesday.  

   ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:54:05 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-february-2012/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-february-2012/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dragon Theme Party - Dragon Food Decoration]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Dragons are popular amongst kids and teens for quite a while, sure, in the last years several books and even films have put some extra fuel into the hype like Eragon, Dragon Rider, Dragonsdale, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and of course movies like "How to Train Your Dragon" with the little hero Hiccup. Of course there are several dragon classics like the funny dragon Elliot from the Disney movie Pete's Dragon, or the tiny Grisou, or Fuchur from the neverending story and Tabaluga.  


  
  
	    
	  The sweet sweet dragon cutter Lutz, a funny little drago with dragon tale and wings looks great in Salami and Mozzarella.    In Kindergarten we heard marvellous tales of dinosaurs and soon knew who to distinguish a t-rex from a brontosaurus, and we where baffled by three year old kids who where able to say triceratops without flaws. But soon the dinosaurs where substituted by magical dragons, and for many years and several children's parties if there where dragons involved nothing could go wrong. When we start a children's party we usually start with lunch and despite all the kids classics in party lunch like pizza or wieners we liked to start healthy. A simple decoration idea and some involvement helped to make it a good start. Our dragon decoration at the lunch table does not need crafty talent and lots of preparation, most work is done by the kids themselves and they used to have fun doing so.  
  The lead part for our dragon soup is played by the   dragon cookie cutter Lutz  .  

  We love the funny shape of this dragon cutter and we love it because it is so versatile – not only for biscuits and cookies, As dragon riders, dragon trainers and dragon knights can't only eat sweet things during a party and most of our dragon parties took place during carnival (or Mardi Gras) what means plain winter, we choose to start the party with something nutritious and warm. The dragon's soups ingredients would please a dragon as well as its riders.    
  
	    
	  An enchanting creature: the body made of, scales made of red and green Pesto, the flames this dragon is breathing made with red basil.    
  Dragon Soup  

  You need:  
soup cube (without glutamate)  
carrots  
onion  
seasonal vegetable – in Winter in Austria this is cabbage, kale and celery  
1-2 Mozzarella or slices of cheese  
Salami (or any other sausage)  
some sorts of Pesto like green (Genovese Pesto) and red (Tomato Pesto)  
some leaves of herbs  
bread  

  A day before the party, I start to "flatten the mozzarella" – the typical mozzarella is a soft ball. In this dish we need this lovely white cheese to cut dragons out of it. If you would slice it in its original round shape you can 1-2 dragons out of it. If you flatten it what once was a ball is now something you can cut out slices and later cut out dragons of these slices. If you Mozzarella comes in bags, put the bag behind the bottles, if you get them open, put a mug on top. You can of course take Mozzarella which is already shaped as a block or get some sliced cheese.  

    
	    
	  Made of Salami on cheese cloud - what a yummy cloud dragon.    We usually cook the soup the very day of the party – you can of course prepare it the day before, store it in the fridge and heat it when the guest arrive. We use seasonal vegetable, in winter that means vegetable that can be stored. We like to use many different vegetables, on the one hand your soup will taste much nicer, we call this a full and round taste – the next advantage lies in the fact, that with many different ingredients it is not so easy to detect single types of vegetable (e.g. if one of your guest happens to dislike carrots). Of course we ask in advance our little guest and their parents if there are allergies, intolerances or severe dislikes to certain foods.  

  After cooking the soup, we take out all the vegetables again and sort them into different post – one for carrots, one for onions, one for the green stuff.  

  As soon as all our dragon tamers are around the table they get plates or boards and are aloud to cut and decorate their dragons. They made do as they like and will like to eat.  

  
Each one can decide if they would prefer cheese or salami (you could even cut out bread), and can decorate their dragons with herbs and pesto – herbs make great wings and sometimes even flames. The dragon is allowed to take a rest on top of the soup or on a slice of bread.  

    
	    
	  With cheese dragon and sausage dragon you can turn a vegetable soup into dragon food.    We make sure to have some more cutters, e.g. for sensitive damsels and vegetarian squires, for kids who don't like to eat a dragon, they can cut out a carrot or a horse shoe, or dragon shoe.  

  When kids are allowed to prepare their lunch they are usually more willing to try something new. If they prepare their lunch it gives the lunch a little bit of adventure. As everyone is allowed to choose what vegetables to put into their soup none has to eat vegetables he or she does not like.  

  Those who love to cook with kids can bake real dragon cookies in the afternoon – or if you like crafts without messy flour, you can cut out modeling clay with the dragon cutters and each of the kids can make a dragon pendant. These dragon pendants can be painted or adorned with glitter and they can be bag charms for the kindergarten bag or the school bag – and you have wonderfully combined the guest gift and crafting.  

  


  
	  
		Cutters for Cookies, Cake Decorations and to decorate theme parties:  
	  
		        
		  Cookie cutter set vegetables with carrot, corn, chili and funghi    

	  
		        
		  A games evening with eatable jigsaw pieces can be made easily with jigsaw cutters    

	  
		        
		  Biscuit cutter dragon for the perfect dragon party    

      ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:47:28 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/food-recipes/dragon-theme-party-dragon-food-decoration/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/food-recipes/dragon-theme-party-dragon-food-decoration/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Embroidery Pattern Hearts and Apple]]></title><description><![CDATA[After we have introduced in October the   small crochet basket with embroidery  , we have received several emails by MiaDeRoca readers to ask for some more small stitching patterns... Small meaning a height of less than ten rows. Of course, we could, as we are as well caught by the embroidery bug – for the start we have some hearts and and apple.  
  
	    
	  Four small embroidery designs: three hearts and an apple (photo is taken from the German version)    
  
Hearts always work great in all sizes, you can make borders with hearts, you can combine hearts of different and use many hearts in different colours on one piece. In autumn we are especially drawn to apples: the smell of a ripe apple, the lovely sound when biting into a fresh apple, apples in all varieties: in an apple strudel, as a baked apple and accompanying venison ragout with some mountain cranberry. Of course there are in a technical sense many apple fans: and now you can add a little apple to you iPad sleeve, adorn your iPhone case with a stitched apple and another apple will be placed on the laptop bag to carry your powerbook. These are vitamins for your eyes.  
  
When stitching the apple we recommend to use a stem stitch for the apple stem (what else one would ask), to have it a little broader than with a normal stitch.  
We used the stitching pattern to   adorn our knitted tealight candleholders  .  
  
Especially for beginners in embroidery, be they adult or kids, these small embroidery projects are perfect to start – they are quick to make and you will soon experience a sense of achievement.  
  
If you have never done cross stitch before or the last time has happened some years ago a few advices: for the design it does not matter very much which diagonal stitch to make firstly: It does not matter at all how the backside looks like, don't make anyone stop you from stitching by making perfectionist specifications.  
But: grab a needle, some yarn and give it a try.  
You won't get a grade once your embroidery is finished you do this to have fun. And if you show us your embroidery on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/MiaDeRoca you will definitely get a "like" from us.  
  
Click to open:   Cross stitch pattern hearts and apple  
    

  
	  
		Get in the right mood with sweet stuff from MiaDeRoca store:  
	  
		        
		  Heart Cookie Cutters Lisa with Stamp    

	  
		        
		  EBook Pattern, two-coloured hearts crocheting for garlands    

	  
		        
		  Hand Made Porcelaine Bowl in heart shape with printing woods and roe buck    

      

]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:54:21 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/embroidery-pattern-hearts-and-apple/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/embroidery-pattern-hearts-and-apple/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Colourful Tealight glasses cover – sweet knit]]></title><description><![CDATA[    
	    
	  A woolly eye catcher during the colder months: tealight holder with knitted jackets and cross stitch embroidery    
With easy to knit woollen tea light glass wrappers you get coloured tealight candleholders, which you can embroider according to the season.   The knitted jackets for the tealight glasses are eye-candys during the day, a sweet touch of colour to your home, and when it turns dark outside and you light your candles they will cast gorgeous light.   The knitted pattern paints great shadows on the wall and the wool colours give the candlelight a warm, cosy glow.
    
    
Follow the pattern and make some sweet tealight candleholders.      
    
  
	    
	  Top and bottom ribbing, inbetween all knit - quickly made    
  Tealight Canldeholder Knit Jacket  
  This winter decoration is easy and quick to make, most of you knitters will have all the necessary equipment at home.
  
  
    You need:      
wool  
knitting needles,  
embroidery needle,  
clear glasses, half size. For this decoration projects you can use your heavy used glasses, if they are chipped, have some scratches or are already turning a little grey, Your well loved glasses can begin a new retired live as tealight candle holders.
    
  
	    
	  Green apple with stem in brown. Now you only have to stitch the sides togeher an geht the glass to pull it over - and ...    

  With knitting needle Nr. 7 (US size 10 ½, UK size 2) and wool for 3-3.5mm needles, like the Austrian new pure wool we sell at the MiaDeRoca shop,  
cast on 32 stitches, start with ribbing 3-4 rows, 4 knit stitch, 4 purl, after the ribbing you knit 10-12 rows (one row knit stitch, when turning around the knitted piece one row of purl),  
and to finish it up, again ribbing with 4 stitches knit, 4 purl stitches purl. With the ends you can sew the ends together to form a tealight holder mantle. It is okay to do it with a few stitches like 8-10. When your glasses are higher you might one to make the middle part longer.  

  You do the ribbing to make sure the wool cover sticks to the glass and does not drop to the bottom. The middle part does not have to be as wide as the circumference of the glass., it can be a little shorter, as the knitted wrap stretches and the form of the knit stitch can be even better seen when the tealight casts its shadows.
  

  Your tea light glass candle holder with pretty shadowing effect will be a little more individual if you apply an embroidery.   

  
	    
	  ...the tealgiths are ready in our   pretty self made crochet basket  .    

  You start with embroidering after finishing the knitting piece before closing it to form the mantle. We applied smaller cross stitch designs from our patterns - here you can find the hearts and apple cross stitch pattern. To apply cross stitch on knit is not as easy as cross stitching on crochet - have a look at our   crochet basket with embroidery pattern  .
  

  The easiest way to cross stitch on nit is to stick in the needle into the yarn, you can even make crosses over 1,5 rows. The small embroideries like the hearts are quick to make - give it a try.  

  If you like to have some get together, gatherings and dinner parties during autumn and before Christmas you can use these tealight candleholder wrappers will make great table decoration, you can even enhance the shining and glitter if you use some Christmas tree decorations. You can use your tealight candleholder covers outdoors as colourful windlight.  

  Tealight jar jackets can be made from woollen felt as well. Contrary to the knitted covers the wool felt covers up all the light for the candle you can cut some fine ornaments into the felt. If you want to try to knitfelt tea light candle holder wrappers try a very loose lace pattern with big holes already included.  
  
	    
	  Great light for cosy evenings!                  
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   Have fun with this DIY project!                
    

  	&nbsp;  
  
  
	  
		Great things for Winter and Christmas in the MiaDeRoca Shop:  
	  
		        
		  Exceptional Christmas Tree Decoration Camping Bus    

	  
		        
		  Sweet Cutters for Biscutis Doe and Stag    

	  
		        
		  Austrian Sheep Wool from the Alps in many colours    

      
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:44:36 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/colourful-tealight-glasses-cover-knit/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/colourful-tealight-glasses-cover-knit/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Baked Apple Recipe]]></title><description><![CDATA[When talking about baking delights in winter many start to fantasize about cookies, fine biscuits and gingerbread and its smell which fills kitchens with the essence of the Christmas spirit. We do love them, the Christmas cookies. And besides the classic Christmas bakery there is one special Christmas desert in our family that fills the hearts with joys and cheers up the faces with a smile: the baked apple.  
Baked apples is a fine desert that is prepared really quickly. You can prepare the apples a bit earlier, store them in the fridge, and while your guests and family are enjoying their cheese fondue, their   Grenadiermarsch   or cheese dumplings, the apples get baked in the oven and are ready to serve when you take away the dishes of the main course. The perfect desert as the chef does not have to spend time in the kitchen and can spend the evening with guest.    

  What you need:    
apples – one per person. For those who have a garden, all the long stored apples are wonderful to use for baked apples, like Boskoop  
  
  For the filling:    
marzipan  
jam  
cut almonds ( of course you can use hazelnut as, but have in account that many allergic to birch pollen can't eat hazelnut)  
cinnamon  
  
a sharp knife and ovenware.  
  
What we do like especially about baked apples – that you can vary them. You can leave some of the ingredients aside, replace them by others or add some more, like hazelnut brittle. Below we have some more inspirations for creative kitchen artists.
  
  Preparation:    
wash apples, core them – best by leaving a cone (diameter 2cm) big enough to fill in all the yummy ingredients. Make sure that the bottom is not cut, as you don't want the melted yumminess to leave your apple.    
           Delicious Baked Apple: recipe picture      
  Our preferred filling per apple:    
1 tablespoon marzipan, 1 tablespoon jam, 1 tablespoon crushed almonds – mixed a little. Put some grounded cinnamon on top. Those you prefer neat and pretty can give the apple an almond hat – a flat circle on top of the apple.  
  
Put your apples in the ovenware and into the oven – 20mins at 150 degree Celsius.
You can as well use your tiled stove to bake your apples, they will need a little more time.  
Serve the baked apples with some milk or vanilla sauce (for those who can't eat milk – you can use soya milk or vanilla sauce with soya as well).  
For vanilla sauce we use vanilla pudding and add the double amount of milk. Use the instructions on the package. You can pour the vanilla sauce on top of the apples when still warm. Those who are not keen on vanilla sauce can use whipped cream with honey as topping. This topping will melt neatly on the baked apples and you can prepare it during the afternoon. Another quick topping would be vanilla ice.  
  
We love to serve baked apples during celebrations before Christmas. Especially when there are kids we love to prepare baked apples together. It is not only great fun when everyone can prepare his or her special filling for the apple, it is also a great possibility to "bridge time", when waiting for Nikolaus to come or when there is still time before the performance at the nativity set starts.  
  
We core the apples, prepare all kinds of fillings in little bowls and many spoons. There are kids wo don't like raisins they might want to use only jam. And you can prepare baked apples without marzipan, maybe the classy way with sugar and cinnamon only or use a spoonfull of honey.  
To be able to tell which apple belongs to which kid we use several small ovenware and mark some apples with a toothpick.  
Adults can use raisins in rum or add some Calvados or Cointreau.  
  
Baked Apples (in German: Brataple) is a great desert for mountain chalets, you might want to give one of the other Mountain Cabin recipes our Hüttengaudi recipes a try like   cheese dumping (Kasnockn)  ,   Grenadiermarsch   or   Cheese Fondue  .  
If you want to try out more Christmas recipes,   bake some lemony angel wings biscuits   and for adults some spiced hot wine - the so called   Glühwein  . 

  



  
  Nice Equipment for Baking, Cooking and Serving in our MiaDeRoca shop:  
 
            Hand made Espresso Set with Stag and Cross Stich    

            Nativity Set Betlehem for Baking    

            Cow Pauline, the funny baking tin        

    ]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 12 Nov 2011 13:20:29 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/food-recipes/baked-apple-recipe/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/food-recipes/baked-apple-recipe/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calendar Sheet November 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[I love the autumn mist. The landscape changes and where you once have been able to see the high peeks form a far you can hardly see where the next house is located. The land seems to be enchanted, and I don't think of any ghostly creatures or monsters, but a fine spell that has been cast over the whole countryside.
   ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:21:54 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-november-2011/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-november-2011/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Christmas Give-Away at MiaDeRoca]]></title><description><![CDATA[Christmas is an amazing time! Smell of cinnamon in the air, smiling faces, glittering decorations, heart-warming Christmas songs, lots of candles, time to spend with your loved-ones baking and decoration cookies . We love Christmas and each time we are looking forward to it. That is why we love to celebrate the time before Christmas, anticipation – best do this with an advent calendar, bay bay day, 24 little pieces of Christmas.  
  
  
    
	  Win this hand made advent calendar with 24 chocolates. A truly Austrian product: the wool is from the Alps of Salzburg, the chocolate by Mirabell is made in Salzburg Grödig and the crochet was done in the city of Salzburg.    
  

And there we have directly landed at our great Christmas give away:  
  
You can win a self made advent calendar filled with 24 marvelous Mozarttaler (Mozart chocolate from Salzburg),  
or you can chose to get a   DIY-set of the advent calendar "Christine"   choosing the wool colours you like.  
  
How to participate – lake with an advent calendar we offer many options for you. And if you take all of them you can not only double, triple but quadruple your chance to get this lovely Advent calendar.  
  
  Chance to win 1:    
Post below this article a comment, about what you do especially like about Christmas.  
  
  Chance to win 2:    
Become a fan of   MiaDeRoca at facebook   and tells us about your special Christmas spriti, what fills you with joy or maybe you want to post a picture of some Christmas bakery.  
  
  Chance to win 3:    
Report on the MiaDeRoca sweepstake in your Blog and link to the MiaDeRoca shop or this give away page.  
  
  Chance to win 4:    
twitter about our Christmas give-away  
  
Please help us to find your twitter or blog post by entering the link in a commentary (below).  
  

We are looking forward to hear about your special traditions and what makes your heart sing about this very special time of year – as you might know: shared joy is double the joy.  

  
We will pick the winner on November 21th 3 p.m. (cet),  
please enter your e-mail address when commenting (it will not be shown publicly), we will contact facebook-fans via facebook.  

  
If you are already in the mood for a taste of Christmas go ahead and make some   Glühwein   (Austrian hot spicy wine) and   lemon tasty angel wing biscuits  .  



  
  
  In our webshop you find great gifts and inspirations to get into Christmas spriti:  
 
            DIY set advent calendar Christine with chocolate    

            E-book pattern for self made crochet advent calendar    

            Extraordinary Cookie Cutters Stag Antler    

    
      ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:54:26 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/give-aways/christmas-giveaway-at-miaderoca/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/give-aways/christmas-giveaway-at-miaderoca/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Autumn Decoration Basket with Candle Embroidery]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
	When it is getting cold outside and snow glitters at the top of the mountains, than it is time to light candles. In our living room I love to use tea candles. Dear friend do bring some great smelling ones when they visit. To have those lovely close at hand and keep them in a nice box, I do need the perfect little basket. The mission: a sweet crochet basket.  
  
	    
	  Quickly made and already in use our crochet basket for tea candles. In the back I stored some walnut shells which still wait for their destination - are they going to be autumn decoration or Christmas decoration. The beautiful metal box holds all dear letters, postcards and cards I received during the last months and the empty bottles is used as vase for some meadow flowers or nice twigs.    
  	&nbsp;  

  
	Free Pattern Crochet Basket  
  
	The basket is easily made using double crochet (US single crochet). When the basket had the perfect size I did add a small and quick embroidery. To make it clear what the basket carries, I did choose the cross stitch pattern for tea candles, which you can find here:   free cross stitch pattern candles  .  
  	&nbsp;  
  
	  You need for this crochet basket:    
	wool or wool left overs, I did choose anthracite, violet, pasture green, sky blue and orange,   Austrian sheep wool from the MiaDeRoca shop    
	crochet hook Nr 7 (US size K),  
	embroidery needle  
  
	To have a basket strong and cuddly at the same I used two threads of yarn. If you don't have two balls of yarn at hand, just pull out the the end of your ball of yarn and hook the beginning and the end of your ball of yarn at the same time.  
	I started with the base and did crochet 17 chain stitches. As I tend to have a tight style I chose a hook 8 for the chain stitches.   

  
	    
	  A few stitches and you will get a sweet embroidery for the colder months.    

  Afterwards I did crochet 13 rows of double crochet (US sc). Finishing the base I start with the body and crochet 17 double crochet (US sc) for the long rows and 13 double crochet stitches for the shorter rows (wherever you begin you will start the row with two chain stitches for the first double crochet stitch). After finish 8 rows of anthracite, I did change the colour and worked three rows with violet wool.   I just love all shaeds o lilac and violet and think they go perfectly together with dark grey.  
  
	Choose a cross stitch and start. For the stitches I used the wool with a single yarn. The wool is thick enough and of strong colour to show well on the dark grey background.  
  
	The pattern of the double crochet stitches(US single crochet) looks like a big Aida fabric and you can loosely pull the yarn from one hole to another. To have a real cross stitch there arr only crosses in the front and only straight stitches in the back – but to be honest, do whatever is fun to you, as you will only admire the outside.  
  
	    
	  The basket is holding my tea candles and a lighter.    
 So be cheerful if you can figure out the stitches the right way and if not enjoy how stitch by stitch the shape evolves.  


  
	As the dark grey of the body of the basket is already very dark I did not add the stitches of the candle wick - and to my surprise there where people who were not able to see what the stitch symbols meant. The funniest interpretation was: to giraffes on coloured tables. Never thought that a small woollen basket could cause so much funny conversations and laughters.  
  
	My finished crochet basket measures: 14 x 8cm and is 7cm in height.  
  	&nbsp;  
  	&nbsp;  
  
	Have fun making you own crocheted basket with embroidery – like always: we would love to see photos post them on our facebook page:     www.facebook.com/MiaDeRoca    


  
	    
	  Close up of my new woollen baskets.    

  You can make this wollen basket really quickly and the stitches are applied in a few minutes. You can use such crochet baskets as a little gift basket to gift some chocolates or a winter goodie bag with self made bath salt, your prefered poem, nice candles and yummy sweets.  
  	&nbsp;  
  	If you are in the mood for more selfmade projects, some knitting and crocheting: At MiaDeRoca you can not only buy sheep wool from Salzburg, at our   web shop you can get patterns, instructions and DIY kits for felted bags  , which are knitted or crocheted and afterwards felted, Kits readily equipped with detailed descriptions and step by step explanations, and crochet patterns which we send as pdf-document by e-mail. By this way you can quickly work some decorations like heart garlands or autumn bunting with trees, there are as well creative instructional ebooks for Christmas decorations.  

  
	  
		Beautiful things for autumn and winter decorations at MiaDeRoca Online-Shop:  
	  
		        
		  Sweet metall box as gift box, cookie storage or for beautiful things to keep    

	  
		        
		  Austrian Sheepwool from the Alps in 20 colours    

	  
		        
		  Yarn in different colours to knit, crochet and felt    

      

]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:55:12 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/autumn-decoration-basket-with-candle-embroidery/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/autumn-decoration-basket-with-candle-embroidery/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Quick sweet-sour-hot Bell Pepper Sauce]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
	In the 70ies my mum used to cook Cevapcici with Ajvar. In the butcheries readily seasoned Cevapcici could be bought - lying next to Shaslik skewers. Ajvar was taking home from holidays. Classic Ajvar as you may know it from vacations in Slovenia is made with lots of red bell peppers, some aubergine, chili and garlic and you boil and stir slowly for a very long time. I did change this sauce and made a very quick vegetable sauce featuring red bell pepper which you can combine with meatballs, minced meat patties or frikadeller. The quickly prepared bell pepper sauce is a great alternative to tomato sauces or ketchup.  

	      
	  Bell Peppers-Onion-Chili Pepper-Sauce - reminds with its radiant orange colour of summer months. In the photo you can see our homegrown chili pepper this year, it is called Skopje. It is a rather small plant, not higher than a meter and over and over covered with red chili peppers.    

  
	We usually eat the sauce freshly made and warm, put you can fill it up into glasses and store them in the fridge. You can serve the sauce with köttbullar, albondigas, rissole, frikadellen, kotleti, polpetti – everything prepared with ground meat or minced meat. You can of course eat them as well with fish or fried camembert.  
  	&nbsp;  
  	&nbsp;  
  
	  Ingredients:    
	1 big red bell pepper (or 1,5 - 2 smaller ones)  
	1 big onion  
	1-2 chili peppers  
	100 ml of water  
	1 ts apple vinegar  
	1/2 ts sugar  
	salt  
	some cumin and curry powder  
  	&nbsp;  
         Typical for a family meal: everyone decides what goes on his or her plate and everyone arranges the food to his or her taste. Even the little meat lover gets a portion of vegetable masked as hip chili pepper sauce - shhh, don't tell.  

  You can of course leave the chili peppers apart if you serve it to kids or people who don't like chili peppers.  

  	&nbsp;  
  
	Gourmets can skin the bell pepper before blending – by either roasting the peppers or putting them into the oven at high temperature.  
  
	Blending vegetables is a trick in our family to get children to eat at least every now and then vegetables they usually would not touch. We love self-made vegetable sauce. First we can eat something where we can control that there are no preservatives or artificial flavours and we usually don't add that much sugar industrially produced sauces have.  
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	Have fun preparing the sweet-hot bell pepper sauce recipe.  
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		Extravgant, hot and nostalgic, all this you can get at the MiaDeRoca Shop:  
	  
		        
		  Lined notebook - cover designed by French artist Llor    

	  
		        
		 ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:31:45 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/food-recipes/quick-sweet-sour-hot-bell-pepper-sauce/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/food-recipes/quick-sweet-sour-hot-bell-pepper-sauce/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calendar Sheet October 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[October – the 10th month of the year. In October autumn is at its peak and shows us what green leaves are able to do: they turn colour in all different shades, red, yellow, orange and brown. They swirl through the air, pile in heaps, you want to let yourself fall into.  
  

   ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:45:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-october-2011/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-october-2011/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Selfmade Ivy Wreath]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
	Wreaths made of ivy or other climbing plants like Virginia creeper are easy and quick to make. You can use them as simple green wreath or add some autumnal decoration. The wreaths usually stay nice for some weeks and you can adorn them depending on the occasion or season.  
         Firstly we collect all our treassures on the table before we are starting.  
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	Preparations  
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	We love to make our ivy wreath in autumn. Autumn or Fall is our time for long walks and hikes. In our bag there is usually an additional bag or sometime we take a box for all the nice things we find when hiking. We do collect cones, beechnuts and sometimes nice stones, especially around Untersberg and Adnet you can find marble.  
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	Cut several twigs of ivy or other evergreen climbing plants. Young ivy twigs are not very strong, so kids can cut them with scissors. When crafting with kids we make sure that there are tasks for every kid.  
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       Sling the string several times where you bind the first twig together. Leave a loop to use as a hanger  
  
	Take the longest twig and form a ring with a strong cord, now spin the ends around the ring. Take the other twigs and spin them around the ring as well. As these twigs are very flexible its easy to bind, and as they have leaves they will hold together in the ring.  
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	Now you can decorate the wreath as you like it. We chose a fabric yoyo and a heart made from the pattern Maria. You can further use fir cones,&nbsp; beechnuts and a rose hip, which we did knot onto a string to wrap around the wreath as well. As it was matching the fabric, the red of the rose hip and we like it for our autumn theme we used a string in red and white. You can as well use cotton yarn in a colour you like or a strong brown string.  
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       After you have slung several ivy twigs around the wreath is now shaped round  
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	What else can you use to decorate your fall wreath or autumn wreath: pine cones, chestnuts – maybe already adorned as chestnut animals, deer and fawn made of salt dough and gingham ribbons. Choose what represents autumn for you and you might have some help from your kids to choose the perfect family autumn wreath decoration.  
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       Our Ivy Autumn Wreath - a family project  
  
	A tip for placing the wreath: we like to use the wreath on the door of a cupboard. It is a cupboard which is large and of wood and we don't use it very ofther. If you put your wreath onto a door which is frequently opened and close make sure that the wreath can stand so much movement. On our front door we use a simple wreath with one decoration on top - usually a salt dough stag. This combination even stands smashing doors, which might occur when you have older children in your household with much energy and little time.  
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	Have fun making your own wreath – we would love to see photos, feel free to post your autumn wreath pictures on our   facebook page  .  
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		Shop beautiful things at MiaDeRoca Webshop:  
	  
		        
		  Crochet hearts in two colours using pattern "Maria"    

	  
		        
		  Devilishly yummy cookies shaped as a little devil with cutter "Friedl"    

	  
		        
		  In autumn take some time to write post cards to your friends    

      

]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:29:55 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/selfmade-ivy-wreath/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/for-children/selfmade-ivy-wreath/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calendersheet September 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
	On the 1st of September meteorologically we have the start of autumn / fall – the changing of seasons. We love the ripening of the fruits, sun which does not burn that hot anymore, cooler days to drink tea and burn some logs and the yellow, orange and red leaves on the trees and the start of   Alweibersommer  .  
  
	      
	  Photo for our Calendar Sheet September: a walk in an Alpine forest close to Salzburg      


  
	In Salzburg we experience some more highlights in September. Of course, for many kids and youngster school starts mid September after 9 long weeks of summer break. On the 24th of September it is Saint Rupert. As Saint Rupert is the founder of Salzburg there is a big fair around this date in the city centre. For kids you can find several traditional fair ground attractions, some roasted almonds, apple coated in candy, Lebkuchen hearts and several more sweets, of course there are beer tents and you can try the first Sturm of the season. Sturm is early wine- still very sweet, still fermenting and with bubbles.  
  
	In other regions of the Alps, September is awaited with glee: Oktoberfest starts in Munich the 17th of September and lasts until October 3rd. It is mainly a Septemberfest this big party with Dirndl, Lederhosen and beer. You can find   great accessories for Oktoberfest at the MiaDeRoca Shop  .  
  
	What we especially enjoy in September is long walks and hiking, we visit waterfalls, mountains and other nature attractions in the region of Salzburg. The photo we chose for this calendar sheet of September is taken near a small waterfall close to the city of Salzburg, it is our fairy forest, enchanted, calm and beautiful.  
  
	  Print out Calendar Sheet September 2011    
  
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		Beautiful things you can buy online at MiaDeRoca store:  
	  
		        
		  September is ideal to knit and felt your own Hobo bag    

	  
		        
		  Cute Shoulderbag by French Designer Mlle Heloise    

	  
		        
		  Adorn your window with garlands of autumn trees    

      

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:03:46 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendersheet-september-2011/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendersheet-september-2011/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calendar Sheet August 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
	We love water, be it in the form of lakes, ponds, rivers or waterfalls - of course we do love the sea as well, but its hardly to find any more in the Alpine area. Any more - because in former time there used to be plenty around, that is why you can get salt from the mountain. When talking about salt. Let us talk about Salzburg (what can be translated as salt castle). And Salzburg owes its wealth to salt. The richness nowadays in Salzburg derives from: untouched nature, great landscape, amazing mountain views, great buildings and in winter all this covered in glittering snow. This is a great place to spend holidays and a great place to live.  
       August Calendar Sheet- Sightseeing in Salzburg with sight of castle Leopoldskron and mountains  

  
	If the weather is not in summer time there is still plenty to do. Especially the city of Salzburg is highly frequent during rainy days: be it for shopping, sightseeing, walking around, visiting museum – you don't need 30degree to do so. Did you know that in summer there are sometimes so many visitors that there is a bad weather closure in Salzburg? If the weather is bad and there are too many cars in the city that cause hours (!) of traffic jam – only citizens of Salzburg are allowed to enter the city in car, all others have to leave their car outside the city gates in one of the &quot;par an ride&quot; parking spaces and can use public transportation to visit the city centre. Which in fact is far more comfortable than to drive by car and wait for hours to get a parking space in the city.  
  
	But of course there are more things to do if the summer in Salzburg is rather rainy and cold – as each weather conditions has its pros. Wet summer means that in August there are plenty of mushrooms and fungi waiting to be picked. This is the perfect season to prepare some chanterelles – have a go on our   recipe for roast chanterelles    
  
	The calendar sheet of August shows a place many people like to visit – especially those who have seen the movie &quot;The Sound of Musik&quot; with Fräulein Maria and the family von Trapp. The place which is shown as there home was in fact &quot;Schloss Leopoldskron&quot; the white castle which you can see in the picture, located at a niece pond. Ythe mountain in the background on the right hand side is called Gaisberg, on the left side you see part of Mönchsberg, one of the three mountains in the city of Salzburg – and of course you see the building that gave Salzburg its name, the castle Festung Hohensalzburg.  
  Print out our   calendar sheet of August 2011  , showing castle Leopoldskron  
  
	If you like the view of castle Leopoldskron, I can recommend you another website, it is in German and bears lots of information on travelling to Salzburg and there are   desktop wallpapers - one is showing the castle Leopoldskron   and the hills which are alive with the sound of music.  

  
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		Pretty things from Salzburg to order via internet:  
	  
		        
		  August, a time to pake pies and strudel, pretty onews with this rolling pin to quickly cut bars    

	  
		        
		  Happy summertime muffin cases in pink, yellow, blue, red and green    

	  
		        
		  In the mood for vacations and Alps: get a taste with it with cookie cutters Heidi, goat and mountains    

      

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:50:50 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-august-2011/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-august-2011/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calendar Sheet July 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[  July in Austria – for children and teenagers that means summer holidays. School break in Austria means 9 weeks of long vacations. In the eastern part of Austria it will start on July 2nd and in the western provinces, among them Salzburg, summer vacations will start on July 9th. Vacations will end in September, in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland this will September 3rd, youngsters in the rest of Austria will end on September 10th.  

       July Calendar Sheet - Summer feeling at the lake: swimming, refreshing and happiness    In July Austrian kids have plenty of time and in Salzburg this means lakes, outdoor swimming pools and lidos and having fun with water.  

  Especially in Salzburg we thick medieval stone walls and stone buildings which accumulate lots of heat during sunny days. Fortunately there are a lot of big and small lakes around Salzburg that give you some refreshment. Wallersee, Mattsee, Obertrumer See, Wolfgangsee, Fuschlsee and Zeller See are great lakes for swimming and there might even be a little cooling wind and big trees to provide some shade.  

  If that does not help to relieve the heat of the summer, than do it like shown on the photo of our July calendar sheet - make a big leap into the water and have a long swim. Most lakes in Austria have rafts and maybe little islands you can swim to.  

  Our single page calendar sheet of July come with refreshment - guaranteed ;-)  

    Calendar Sheet July - click to open      



  
	  
		Good Mood Shopping in July, summer feeling included:  
	  
		        
		  Time for do it youself and creativity with these sweet iphone cases and felted smartphone covers    

	  
		        
		  Gorgeous sparkling mythical garnet stones decorating earrings Helene    

	  
		        
		  Summer time swinging striped Handbag, Tote or Shoulderbag as a kit to make yourself    

      


]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 26 Jun 2011 01:14:44 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-july-2011/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-july-2011/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Calendar Sheet June 2011]]></title><description><![CDATA[  June 2011 is a month where one catholic holiday comes after the next. For Austria this means, plenty of days off work and off school. For visitors to Austria this means, keep in minding that  shops will be closed due to holidays. So much free time will be used by many to take care of the plants and flowers in the garden and on the balcony and it is the time to pick berries: expecially strawberries, but as well red currant, and raspberries - usually black currant, black berries, blue berries and brambles take a little longer to ripen.  

       June calendar sheet - heart by heart, to clebrate Father's Day, hearty and cudly cosy. The   hearts are easily made   with the pattern Maria and step by step instructions, as well for less experienced crocheters or thos who love knitting and want to give something new a try.  
  Depending on weather and vegetation it is the time for the elderflower tree to blossom – this is the time to hurry up and fetch some of these lovely smelling bushes of tiny little white flowers. You can use elderflower blossoms to make a yummy desert. Cover them in batter and fry them.  
Very popular in Austria is elderflower cordial – at MiaDeRoca we offer you our very own recipe we have use for ages to produce this yummy elderflower syrup made of elderflower blossom.  

  Give the elderflower cordial recipe a try, the effort is definitely worth it. You can use this syrup for yummy aperitif serving it with Champagne or Prosecco, our make some delicious and refreshing summer punch. On a garden party, or doing some BBQ with friends we always have some elderflower cordial at hand. The good thing about self-made is, that you treasure it as being something special and you always know which ingredients it has, and what is not included.  

  Our June calendar photo is dedicated to Father's Day – in Germany Father's Day is celebrated on the holiday of Ascension, which is on June second this year. In Austria Father's Day is like Mother's Day on a flexible date, on the second Sunday of June, which is June 12th.   
  
  Calendar Sheet June 2011 to print out      



  
	  
		June: fresh, happy and all summery at MiaDeRoca webshop:  
	  
		        
		  Pretty Greeting Cards and Post Cards are ideal to send invitations    

	  
		        
		  Necklace in green with robin and cherry blossom    

	  
		        
		  Exceptional self made gift wrapping shaped as a carot    

      
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 26 Jun 2011 01:02:35 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-june-2011/</link><guid>http://www.miaderoca.co.uk/calendar-sheets/calendar-sheet-june-2011/</guid></item></channel></rss>
