Too much chocolate? Ha-ha, never! Chocolate,chocolate,chocolate..mmm

Do you like weheartit.com? As for me, I do, most of all I like food photos, especially tasty desserts photos. M-m-m ;) However not long ago I suddenly got an idea "What if I would cook my own desserts then photograph them and make my own pictures?" So I've decided to make my first chocolate cake (XoXo, most people like chocolate, don't they?;)). I found an amazing choco-cake by Anna Kurzaeva on eda.ru. It looks and tastes like brownie but it is containing no nuts.

Well, lets cook it together right now!

Ingredients 

Butter	200 g
Brown sugar	100 g
Dark chocolate	200 g
Cocoa powder	50 g
Мilk	160 ml
Wheat flour	170 g
Eggs	3
Baking powder	¼ teaspoon
Salt	pinch Instruction 1.  Preheat oven to 180°. Spread a thin layear of butter and wheat flour on the baking dish. 2.  Melt dark chocolate (100g) and butter (150g) on a "steam bath". Add sugar, cocoa powder and milk. Remove from the heat and mix it till it would form homogeneous mass. Then cool it for 5 min. 3. Add 3 eggs, sifted flour (wheat flour + salt + baking flour). 4.  Put the dough in baking dish and bake it for 40 min. 5.  To make a ganache melt dark chocolate (100g) on a "steam bath".Remove from the heat and add malaxated butter then mix it together. Cool ready cake and cover it with ganache.  P.S.: I reccomend to serve it with ice-cream and berries ;) Bon appetit!;)

Blog-returning time &Yoga-challenge

 Not long ago I've been looking at my blogs statistics (rus-language and eng-language blogs April Swallow) and then I found out that both of them are roughly similar, so I decided it would be better to continue writing in both blogs. 

Well, todays theme is my May Yoga-challenge.I think everybody knows that day by day fitness yoga gains popularity therefore I've decided to try myself at this. Of course when you start doing some new kind of sport you'd better to go to yoga-classes where teacher would help you to do asana correctly. After a few classes you can start doing yoga by yourself.
As for me, I found two yoga classes - hour and a half and hour-half morning complexes.

Also before starting doing yoga you will need to buy some sport equipment: yoga mat (you should pay attention at thickness of the mat), leggins (or shorts) and sports bra (T-shirt or tank top).

Inspirate with April Swalloow Yoga Wishlists:

(All clothes my H&M)
So now you can enjoy your yoga-classes,
Good luck! ;)

Film: "Penny dreadful"

As for me, April was the most eventful month of this spring. This april I had started 2 blogs (http://april-swallow.blogspot.ru/ in russian language and http://aprilswallow.blogspot.ru/ in english), had cooked 2 amazing cakes (Nutella-cake and Brownie-cake), had read 2 books ("La Vie en mieux: Yann" by A.Gavalda and "Nine stories" by J.D. Salinger) and had started watching "Penny dreadful" (British-American horror drama television series). I was really delighted with it in spite of my dislike to horror genre. The most wonderful thing in this film is that every frightening moment is shooted so qualitatively that it fully attracts your attention!

Frankly speaking, I had been daillied so long over whether to watch "Penny dreadful" or not because of rash and slipshod written reviews of the film. That is why I think there is no point for me in writting my own review because I think that every person has their own opinion.

 

                                          

           

"May the 9th"

It is V-Day (Victory Day) coming soon and this year this event is significant for many people because of 70th anniversary since the capitulation of Nazi Germany from the Soviet Union in Great Patriotic War. To celebrate this occasion social movement  "Суть Времени"  created a website where you can find last letters of fighters against fascism. There was one letter which infinitely touched me, so I've decided to translate it for you. 

Part of the letter from Major Petrakov to his daughter:

"My black-eyed Mila!

I'm sending a cornflower to you...Just imagine: there was a battle, enemy's shells were bursting, craters all-around and there was growing the flower too...sudden explosion pulled the cornflower... I picked up it and put it in my soldier's blouse's pocket. The flower had been growing there until a blast have pulled it and if I did not picked up it, it would be trampled down. Fascists do the same with the children from occupied territories, where they kill and trample down kids... Mila, your father Dima will fight against fascists to the bitter end in order to prevent them doing with you the same they had done with this flower..."

After reading this letter I suddenly understood what the Soviet Union soldiers had been fighting for... they had been fighting for us, for our independence, for our freedom, for peaceful future - for life.

Manicure: Shine bright like a diamond!

Weekends let us much free time and plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy ourselves. I think that weekends are the right time to do something new. As for me, for example, I've decided to try a new nail design (ombre made of light base and sparkle topper).

1. The 1'st cover is nude base (CATRICE '54 My APPricot'). Cover nails with the  nail polish with thin layer;
2. The 2'nd cover is topper (essence '02 circus confetti'). Firstly dip a make-up sponge into the topper, then dab it over your nail. After add more topper on the nail tips.

(P.S.: I reccomend to try different bases (especially vivid colours))

Good luck!

Healthy food: Fruit Salad

XoXo, it's weekend today, so I have much time for myself, that is why I've decided to spend a part of it for cooking delicious fruit salad! It is a fact universally acknowledged, that the most part of fruits are healthy for us for vitamins contained in them. That is why fruit salad is a storehouse of vitamins!

Ingredients:

1. Apple (1);
2. Orange (1);
3. Banana (1);
4. Cowberry (about 50g);
5. Honey (3 teaspoons);
6. Cinnamon (1 teaspoon);
7. Lemon (lime) (1 slice)

Recipe:

1.) Peel orange, banana and an apple. Cut into slices banana and dice an apple and orange.

2. ) Squeez lemon (lime) and add its juice to 1.) and mix up them.

3.) Add 3 teaspoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 50g of cowberries to 2.) and mix up.

Enjoy the salad!

(P.S.: You can also replace cowberry with any other berry and add other fruits and berries.

 Just experiment with different combinations! Good luck! ;))

J.D. Salinger "Nine Stories"

Recently, a friend of mine (N) has presented the book to me. It was Salinger's "Nine stories".
Well, I honestly tried to read it and even greater to fetch out its meaning. However, try as I might, still I can not understand its idea.
I think that understanding comes with the years. On the internet I've found out that every Salinger's story has its own implication, so I hope I will understand it in future.
All in all, as everybody knows, everything (your understanding, vision and attitude) depends on many factors such as your age, world view, tastes and erudition so I think this book is worthy to read.