Treats

Hi people! Tomorrow is my name day. It is an Orthodox Christian custom to celebrate name days, and even today they are considered more important than birthdays. It means that the most important day of your life was not the day you were born, but the day you were given a Christian name, and became a 'soldier of Christ'. Very interestingly, Demi is a Greek name originating from the words 'Earth Mother', hence the goddess Demeter, goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons. It is also a Christian name, because of St. Demetrios of Thessaloniki, a martyr of the early 4th century, an aristocrat and high rank officer of the Roman army, a military saint who was martyred very young because of his faith in Christ. He is considered a very important saint, equal to Saint George, and many people carry his name. In iconography he is often depicted on a red horse, just like St. George is seen on a white horse. 

I love the fact that my name day is placed in the heart of autumn. I will be baking today, and will be using must and sultanas or apples and walnuts, I haven't decided yet which version for a cake I'm going to go for. Oh, and I made a sinful chocolate dessert with biscuits last night, that my mom calls 'salami mosaic', which is currently 'maturing' in the fridge -it is better eaten two days after you make it.

OK then, this post is meant to give you some treats while I'm off the Internet... Here goes!

Edible Sugar Leaves, by andiespecialtysweets

Pumpkin Pie Blend-Jar, by Souperspices

French Nougat Samplet, by KettleConfections

Fudge with 5th Avenues, by ajoyha

Pick your own cookie-wich, by tookies

Appleless Caramel Apple Butter Caramels, by FusionSweets

Corby's favorite apple pie, by redoakcrafts

Have a sweet day everyone!

Pumpkins, pumpkins!!!

There is something so comforting about pumpkins... Their sweet natural scent, their cuddlesome shape, their bright color in this dull weather, the delicious food or the happy ornaments they make...

I was given a huge pumpkin yesterday. When I cut and weighed the pieces, it turned out I had a little more than 8 kilos of this amazing gift of nature!!! So today's post is about pumpkins, and I'm sure you will enjoy it!



1. Pumpkin Pie - bulky 2-ply merino, flax, silk and sparlke handspun yarn, by sosaecaetano
2. Handmade decorative pumpkin in harvest gold, by SeaPinks
3. Fresh pumpkin fudge - Southern style, by VeesWear
4. Organic Rouge Vif D Etampes Pumpkin seeds, by cubits

Blog Giveaway in Celebration of Fall, 9-16 October

As promised in an earlier post, the Metamorphoses of Amoronia is having a giveaway in celebration of fall!!! From this moment till October 16 you can enter and you may be the winner of my Pumpkin Marshmallow Earrings. All you have to do is follow these simple rules:

1. Leave a comment below this post telling me which your favorite item from my Etsy shop is.
2. In your comment you should also let me know of your email address so I can contact you in case you win. If you are reluctant to share that information here, email me at amoronia.jewels [at!] yahoo.com and confirm your identity.

You can blog about this giveaway, tweet, share it on Facebook, invite friends and so on and so forth. The more, the merrier! All of the people who will take part in it will be entitled to FREE shipping if they decide to purchase from Amoronia till the end of November. Yes, November!!! (That's perfect for Christmas shopping, right? And anyway, what have you got to lose?) This way everyone is a winner somehow, and that makes me very happy.

The draw and the announcement of the winner will take place on October 17. Good luck!!!




Όπως υποσχέθηκα σε μια προηγούμενη ανάρτηση, κάνω ένα διαγωνισμό στο μπλογκ μου για να γιορτάσω το φθινόπωρο και την εποχή της συγκομιδής!!! Από αυτή τη στιγμή και μέχρι τις 16 Οκτωβρίου μπορείτε να δηλώνετε συμμετοχή και ίσως να κερδίσετε εσείς τα σκουλαρίκια μου Pumpkin Marshmallow. Το μόνο που θα πρέπει να κάνετε είναι να ακολουθήσετε αυτούς τους δύο απλούς κανόνες:

1. Να αφήσετε ένα σχόλιο κάτω από αυτήν την ανάρτηση, στο οποίο να αναφέρετε το αγαπημένο σας κομμάτι Amoronia από το ηλεκτρονικό μου μαγαζί στο Etsy.
2. Στο σχόλιό σας επίσης να αναφέρετε την ηλεκτρονική σας διεύθυνση έτσι ώστε να μπορέσω να επικοινωνήσω μαζί σας σε περίπτωση που κερδίσετε. Αν είστε απρόθυμοι να μοιραστείτε αυτήν την πληροφορία εδώ, μπορείτε να μου στείλετε email στη διεύθυνση amoronia.jewels [at!] yahoo.com και να επιβεβαιώσετε την ταυτότητά σας.

Μπορείτε να αναφέρετε αυτό το διαγωνισμό στο μπλογκ σας, στο Twitter, να τον 'μοιραστείτε' στο Facebook, να καλέσετε τους φίλους σας να λάβουν μέρος, και ούτω καθεξής. Όσο περισσότεροι, τόσο το καλύτερο! Όλοι όσοι λάβουν μέρος θα δικαιούνται ΔΩΡΕΑΝ αποστολή για αγορές Amoronia που ίσως αποφασίσουν να κάνουν μέχρι το τέλος Νοεμβρίου. Ναι, Νοεμβρίου!!! Τέλειο για τις γιορτές! Έτσι κι αλλιώς δεν έχετε να χάσετε τίποτε! Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, όλοι θα είναι κατά κάποιον τρόπο νικητές, και εγώ θα είμαι πολύ χαρούμενη!

Η κλήρωση και η ανακοίνωση του νικητή θα γίνει στις 17 Οκτωβρίου. Καλή επιτυχία!

Amoronia Fall Specials: Giveaway Announcement, 9-16 October

Hi everyone!

I'm really excited about the fact that we're in October, it really is a darling month :)
The air is pleasantly cool, the rain falls on the earth, and the senses are awakened. The harvest time is in full swing, since many of us are busy harvesting and processing delicious food for the winter months... Nature's goodies are plenty, which inspired me to do my second blog giveaway, this time featuring a favorite piece from my shop, related to fall and the harvest: The Pumpkin Marshmallow Earrings, made with papier mache, peridot and copper.


Entries for the giveaway will be accepted from Saturday 9 October to Saturday 16 October and the winner will be announced on Sunday 17 October. More details will be announced soon, so stay tuned and spread the word!!!



Γεια σας!

Είμαι ενθουσιασμένη που είμαστε πλέον στον Οκτώβρη, αγαπώ πολύ αυτόν τον μήνα :)
Η ατμόσφαιρα είναι επιτέλους καθαρή και δροσερή, οι πρώτες βροχές νωτίζουν τη γη και οι αισθήσεις ξυπνούν. Η εποχή της συγκομιδής έχει αρχίσει και πολλοί εργαζόμαστε πυρετωδώς για να επεξεργαστούμε τα δώρα της φύσης, προκειμένου να τα απολαύσουμε τους κρύους μήνες του χειμώνα... Τα δώρα της φύσης είναι άφθονα, έτσι λοιπόν εμπνεύστηκα το δεύτερο διαγωνισμό του μπλογκ μου, αυτή τη φορά χαρίζοντας ένα αγαπημένο μου κομμάτι από το ηλεκτρονικό μου μαγαζί, σχετικό με το θέμα 'φθινόπωρο και συγκομιδή': Τα σκουλαρίκια Pumpkin Marshmallow, φτιαγμένα από παπιέ μασέ, περίδοτο και χαλκό.



Οι συμμετοχές για το διαγωνισμό θα γίνονται δεκτές από το Σάββατο 9 Οκτωβρίου μέχρι το Σάββατο 16 Οκτωβρίου, και ο νικητής θα ανακοινωθεί την Κυριακή 17 Οκτωβρίου. Περισσότερες λεπτομέρειες θα ανακοινωθούν σύντομα, οπότε μείνετε 'συντονισμένοι' και διαδώστε το!!!

Grapes Mosaic

Beaded Purple Earrings - AracneDesigns
Talking Tiles - BlackSheepDoRoam
White wine jelly autumn harvest - falldaisies
Multibubble Scarf Damson - Clariceonline

Baking: Boiled Must Pie

Grape juice (must) is consumed fresh, or it will soon start to ferment. To be stored for the winter it has to be boiled, traditionally with ash so that all impurities will be removed in the process, and so it ends up being boiled must, which is actually a thick syrup, safe to put in bottles and enjoy all year.

In Greece we use boiled must as a sweetener in many cakes, cookies and desserts. In the old days it was used almost exclusively, along with honey, because sugar was too expensive and exotic for the masses.

A neighbour who owns a vineyard gave me a whole bottle of boiled must yesterday (!), so I couldn't wait for the weather to get really cold, I just had to start baking! Besides, I only needed a cup of it, so there's still plenty more to last...

This is the recipe I have from my mum, so I used it and thought you might like to try it yourself.


INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups of self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp ground cinammon
1/2 tsp ground clover
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup sultanas
1 cup olive oil
1 cup boiled must
1 cup orange juice
1/2 caster sugar
1/4 cup brandy (optional)

SERVES: 16
PREPARATION TIME: 30'
BAKING TIME: 50', medium


PREPARATION

Sift the flour in a large bowl and then throw in the sugar, the soda, the cinammon and the clover, mixing them all with a spoon. Make a well in the centre and pour in the liquids, i.e. the olive oil, the boiled must and the orange juice, using a whisk to blend everything into a mixture. It should be thick, but not too thick. Finish with the currants, sultanas and walnuts, add brandy to taste, whisk some more, and voila!, ready to be baked in a greased pan, of 11 inches (28cm) diameter or similar. Use a toothpick to determine if it is ready after 45 minutes. It will be dark anyway, so you can't tell by the color! Leave to cool...

...and serve!

NOTES:

1. I need to stress that this is probably not safe for nut allergy sufferers. But you can always leave the walnuts out!

2. You can make home-made boiled must directly from grapes, just make sure you filter any impurities out and remove the foam from the grape juice while boiling. It should be OK.

Enjoy!