Bluebird Scrubbie und Bienenstich Kuchen

I just finished crocheting this little amigurumi bluebird. Insted of stuffing it with the traditional polyester fiberfill, I put a blue nylon scrubbie inside so that the bird can get wet without getting ruined. I used 100% mercericed cotton and am planning on making more in different colors. I used this pattern, only as you can see, I altered it a bit. I usually change patterns around to suit my individual fancy ;-)

I thought it would look adorable sitting there in the kitchen window while not in use. He could also be used in the bathroom as a facial scrubbie. Either way, he looks cute just sitting around doing nothing, maybe hiding in a flower arrangement or center piece on the table.



I love Bienenstich Kuchen, which is a German dessert cake that translates to Bee Sting Cake. I love it because, as most German pastries, it's not overly sweet and is made with only the finest ingredients: real sweet butter, heavy whipping cream and almonds (and honey.)

There's a million and one recipes on the Internet for this traditional Bavarian dessert. Making it entails a 3-step process: cake, filling and topping. You can make the cake with or without yeast and even the fillings vary. I prefer the traditional pastry cream filling, but again, you can chose from very simple to elaborate, one thing for certain: I love baking with honey. Did you know that baked goods containing honey have a longer shelf life, because honey is a natural preservative?

I don't spend as much time in the kitchen like I used to when I had someone to cook for. Now I keep it quick and simple, but occasionally, especially during Christmas time, I really love to bake for two reasons: (1) When it's cold outside, using the oven heats up my apartment and it smells so good (2) baking those traditional German recipes remind me of my childhood growing up in Franken (Bavaria) with my Oma (paternal grandmother) who helped raise me. She's been gone for many years now, but continues to live on in my heart. She was a very kind soul who loved animals and loved to laugh. She was the Rock of the family and the best cook ever. She was the Julia Child in my life. That woman could take the simplest ingredients and turn them into a delicacy fit to be served at the Ritz Carlton - no kidding. She learned to cook in a Vienna (Austria) kitchen and Austrian cuisine is notorious in the culunary world for being quite exquisite.  I still miss her!

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