Savory Corn Crumble with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Feta from Ivy of Kopiaste

What do you do wirh carved fruits and vegetables after they were displayed? I use them for cooking.
Apples, oranges, kiwi, pineapple go to baking and compote (a Russian drink). Beetroot, daikon, bell pepper, carrot, pumpkin and squash go to soups and stews.

Today I am sharing a Savory Corn Crumble recipe by Ive from Kopiaste blog. Kopiaste blog is mainly dedicated to Greek and Cypriot meal. For her Savory Corn Crumble Ivy used a butternut squash which is great for crafting and delicious cooking :)

Savory Corn Crumble with Butternut Squash, 

Spinach and Feta

 This sponsorship is brought to you by GLAM Media who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Savory Corn Crumble with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Feta, recipe by Ivy Liacopoulou of Kopiaste…to Greek Hospitality

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Baking time: 1 hour

Serves: 1 baking dish (about 12 pieces)

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 2 lbs butternut Squash, grated
• 1 lbs spinach, squeezed
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 lbs feta, crumbled
• ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
• ½ cup fennel fronds, finely chopped
• Salt (with caution) and freshly grated black pepper
• A pinch of cumin

Crumble:

• 1.5 lbs corn meal
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 200 ml Greek yogurt 2%
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp salt

Additional ingredients:

• 3 tbsp margarine divided (to grease the baking tin and to add on top)

Directions:

1. Grate the pumpkin and mix all the filling ingredients.
2. In a large bowl add the crumble ingredients and mix using your hand until the ingredients are well blended to form the crumble. If you still see corn meal, add more olive oil, if necessary.
3. Grease a 35 x 25 cm baking tin with 2 tbsp margarine. Add half of the crumble on the baking tin.
4. Add the filling on top and sprinkle the remaining crumble on top of the filling.
5. Add the remaining margarine in small pieces scattered all over the baking tin.
6. Preheat oven to 180o C / 350o F and bake for about 1 hour or until the crumble is golden on top.

Serve as a main dish, a side dish or a snack.

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Carving Contest's Result and Winners

Dear friends,

The Contest is over and I am happy to announce the result. It was a hot competition. We met friend's support. Lot of efforts were applied to win. 

I thank ALL OF YOU who participated and who voted! 

At the end of this article you will find statistic data of the contest poll. 

Please meet the top winners!

1st place

Fall Flower Bouquet by Durdana, Bangladesh

Wonder Tree and a nice leaflet with WT decoration ideas is flying to Bangladesh.

I wish the Wonder Tree will bring joy and astonishment to Durdana's family. Thanks for all!

2nd place

Family Day by Rodolfo, Philippines

Watermelon plate is flying to my Philippino friend. 

I hope it will serve well for fruit carving job of Rodolfo. My congratulations!

3rd place

Tailed Beast of Fire by Jesse, Philippines

The set of 6 carving books is flying to Philippines.

Jesse, I hope you will find them advantageous. 

Looking forward to seeing your new amazing carving!

The Special Awards Winners

The Special Awards are kindly granted by a famous online shop TempleofThai.com. Many times my blogging activity has been supported by TempleofThai Team. Thanks for being with me!

The Special Awards Winners have been picked on by a guest judge, a showman and a creative person, Samsam Bubbleman. You may be wonder to get known that Sam can 'sculpt' with soap bubbles!

The Most Amazing Work

The Spirit Of Freedom, by Roger, USA

Roger is given with a set of carving knives

The Beginner's Award

Rock Melon Centerpiece, by Amy, Singapore

Amy is given with the Fruit Carving How-To DVD

And... TADAAM

We couldn't stop rewarding the participants:)))

The Standing Out Work

Shoes, by Homa, Iran

The Shoes has got lot of feedback as unusual and different work. 

It was also featured by Sam as outstanding work.

Homa is given with a present from me! :) 

My congratulations to all the participants! In the end I'd like to share a message form Jesse about the Contest:

I am happy that I joined that competition  and see my effort was supported by so many people. This event inspires me alot to work hard and practice more in culinary carving. Thanks a lot Selena, my dream is to join the actual international carving competion and meet the best people there and you also.. this event given me one step forward to pursue and continue with this.. a big thanks to you and your team..

The statistic data of the Poll

The poll used anti-cheat algorithms. The system calculated based on geographic location, client info and IP address. Poll service provider is http://www.easypolls.net

The Contest Voting page have had 24994 views in the period from October 25, 2012 to November 10, 2012.

5031 people have voted.

5338 votes were made (multiply selectons were allowed).

Blog views by Top 20 countries (Oct 25, 2012 - Nov 10, 2012):

Poll results (a screenshot)

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Contest's Poll is ending on November 10, 2012

Dear friends,

The Carving Contest is coming to the end. The poll will be closed on November 10, in midnight Alaska (USA) time, 24-00 GMT -9. 

I thank all the friends and visitors for giving support to the Contest's participants! Great job has been done. We are having leaders and they are yet competitive. It is very intriguing. Don't miss the fight and help our participants to win the main prizes, they are 

a Wonder Tree 

a Watermelon plate 

and a set of unique 'How-To' books on carving art.  

The other surprising things will be the Special Awards prepared by TempleofThai.com, the famous online shop of tools, knives, books and DVDs on fruit and vegetable carving art. 

Temple of Thai accepts different payment methods and sends the products worldwide. If you need a good carving knife you are welcome to them! Two of our participants will be nominated for one of the following award and will be given with the wonderful prize from Templeof Thai as

The Most Amazing Work – A set of carving knives

The Beginner’s Award – “FruitCarving How To” DVD

The Special Award Winners will be choosen by my Facebook friend, Mr.SamSam Bubbleman. 

Frankly speaking, a carving artist has the only judge, it is a consumer. And our best award is joy of our family, friends and clients. SamSam Bubbleman will not judge you, and no marks and points will be count. Sam's job is to amaze people and make them happy :) I am glad to have such a cheerful and kind 'judge'. 

Check up the Contest's Voting Page 

and support your favorite artist by your vote.

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Black Cats and Pumpkin Heart

Black cats out of zuccini skin

Black cats out of zuccini skin and a pumpkin heart as a top decoration of the fruit display made for the 1st birthday of a young girl. 

This is my 'Cute Halloween Greeting' to all my readers and friends! 

Fruit display for kids

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Autumn Ikebana Arrangement

We are having Ikebana Sogetsu week here in my hometown. Six teachers from Sogetsu Branch in Sapporo came to Sakhalin to exhibit thier arrangements and teach. Being a student of Sakhalin Sogetsu school I set up my Ikebana arrangement with vegetables (Morimono).

Usually Ikebana arrangements have no names. It lets people to think thier own meaning. The main point of Ikebana is beauty of natural materials (flowers, leaves, branches). Sogetsu is a free styled Ikebana art. 

This time I used whole pumpkins with no carving elements.

The first day of the exhibition

Once done, a master of Ikebana cares for his arangement till the last day of the materials live. You have to refresh and rearrange the components to extend the beauty of the Ikebana. 

The forth day of the exhibition. Rearranged by my teacher.

Learning Ikebana art helps me to see beauty in the simple things. I use some Ikebana principles for making my carving arrangements. 

I also hope that the Carving Contest's participants will take advantage of the Ikebana rule and will care for thier voting results till the last day of the Contest poll. 

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Urgent and Important Note About the Contest Poll

Dear friends,

I recieved messages about the Contest Poll fault, that does not count votes. Indeed, the Google Poll service works incorrectly. It sounds like a Halloween nightmare! I have changed the poll service and restarted the Contest Poll. I am sorry if you voted, but your vote didn't count. Please visit the page back and vote again. 

The Contest Poll is prolonged to November 10, 2012. 

I am so sorry for the mess. Hope you understand, and the situation didn't hurt you.

Thanks and hugs!!

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The Fall Carving Contest Stage 2 Voting

Carving Contest is over. 
Check up the Contest results and winners

Dear friends,

The Online Carving Contest Stage 2 is on air. Find the Contest entries below and use the side bar poll to vote for your favorite carving work. Invite your friends to support the participants by voting for them. Please UPDATE THE PAGE after voting to SEE THE RESULTS.  The poll ends on November 10, 2012.

According to the poll results the top 3 winners will be given with the valuable prizes:

The 1^st place – Wonder Tree

The 2^nd place – Watermelon plate

The 3^rd place – A set of carving books.

Besides the top prizes, there are special awards from TempleofThai.com.

Temple of Thai is an online shop for Thai food, Asian kitchenware and fruit carving books, tools and DVDs since 1999. They accept different payment methods and ship worldwide from their location in Los Angeles, California, USA. 

Webpage http://www.templeofthai.com

Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/fruitvegetablecarving

The Special Awards from Temple of Thai:

The Most Amazing Work – A set of carving knives

The Beginner’s Award – “FruitCarving How To” DVD

To determine the special award winners I asked for a help of a special man SamSam Bubbleman!

Sam is a British artist making a Grand Soap Bubble Show in London, UK. Sam performs Bubble Shows at private parties, weddings, kids party, science show and corporate events. He does the show for television, films, videos and celebrities. Samsam Bubbleman has bubbled the Olympics 2012 in London.

Webpage http://www.bubbleinc.co.uk/

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/samsambubbleman

I asked Sam a few 'carving' questions. This is what he said:

Q.: Sam, I know that you do Bubble shows at the different events which are weddings, corporate, birthday and kid's parties. Have you seen fruit carving displays at the events? What they were like? 

A.: I don't remember seeing fruit carvings at any events, although I remember reading about a performance made by some musicians who made their instruments out of fruit and vegetables (like a flute carrot!), played a concert, and at the end of the concert, the musicians would cook their vegetables into a soup and all the audience could eat it! I didn't get a chance to see it, but it sounded like a remarkable performance!

Q.: I wonder if there fruit carvings were displayed at the Olympics 2012 events?

A.: The Olympics were everywhere! There were celebrations and events organised all over the country. We were involved in a couple of these - one was to do with the Olympic Torch, and the other was the Opening Ceremony itself. Regrettably I saw no fruit or vegetable carving at either of these.

Q.: Have you ever tried yourself in a fruit and vegetable carving art? Simple food and drink garnishes? Fun with food?
If yes can you share your favorite one?

A.: I think the favourite food garnish I have ever done was impaling pieces of vegetarian hot dog sausages with pieces of spaghetti and then cooking them together for my kids. They love them! ALso I arrange their food on their plate into faces sometimes to help them find fun in their food. I used to like peeling oranges into faces/shapes.

Vote for your favorite work at the side bar poll:
Click the photo for close look


1. Vade Retro, by Matilde, Spain

Vade Retro

2. Watermelon Basket with Rose, by Sayani, Malaysia

Watermelon Basket with Rose

3. Sweet Lime Bouquet, by Pradnya, India

Sweet Lime Bouquet

4. Rock Melon Centerpiece, by Amila, Singapore

Rock Melon Centerpiece

5. The Spirit of Freedom, by Roger, USA

The Spirit of Freedom

6. Art Fusion, by Elio, Italy

Art Fusion

7. Spring Color, by Huynh Van Hoa, Viet Nam

Spring Color

8. Fall Flower Bouquet, by Durdana, Bangladesh

Fall Flower Bouquet

9. Rose, by Boonmee, USA

Rose

10. Fruit Decoration, by Maja, Serbia

Fruit Decoration

11. Chinese Sign, by Tony, Mexico

Chinese Sign

12. KingAmato Watermelon, by Gianni, Italy

KingAmato

13. Alfredo Mukimono, by Alfredo, Mexico

Alfredo Mukimono

14. Peacock, by Snezana, Macedonia

Peacock

15. Tailed Beast of Fire, by Jesse, Philippines

Tailed Beast of Fire

16. Abstract Watermelon, by Tarun, India

Abstract Watermelon

17. Shoes, by Homa, Iran

Shoes

18. Honeydew Melon, by Ilda, Brazil

Honeydew Melon

19. Pumpkin, by Branka, Croatia

Pumpkin

20. Wedding Watermelon, by Edibleglamour, Canada

Wedding Watermelon

21. Family Day, by Rodolfo, Philippines

Family Day

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Doves Carving

A pair of doves sit on the wedding watermelon.
The bird's material is daikon.
Carved with a thai knife. I use the Soap Carving Book for birds carving ideas.

Bird carving for wedding

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Watermelon Carving Display For Fall Wedding

Fruit display for fall themed wedding

Watermelon carving arrangement made for the fall themed wedding reception. The watermelon with the fruit tray was displayed on the head table. There are vegetable flowers on the top of the watermelon.

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Pumpkin Displays For Kids To Kindergarten

Pumpkin tree with the funny inhabitants was made for kids to kindergarten's fall event.
I attached the 'Owl on the Moon'  idea to the Pumpkin Tree.
The main material for the display is pumpkin.

I couldn't stop myself and made a  Happy Harvest display as a bonus using the rest of pumpkins.

If you have a photo with your pumpkin craft feel free to submit it to the Fall Carving Contest 2012. Up to October 24 send your photo to my e-mail selen15367@yahoo.com and win the online poll.  The top 3 winners will be given with lovely prizes. There are also some extra awards form Temple of Thai! Don't miss it!

Pumpkin tree

The animals have many things to do

Dreamy owl

Happy Harvest

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Class on Making a Vegetable Bouquet

I want to share some pictures from my class on making a flower bouquet. There are works of my students and one of mine on the photo. 

At the class we carved flowers out of chinese cabbage, daikon, zuccini, cucumber and carrot. The flowers are not complicated. You can find them in the books and DVD's teaching basic skills. But I am not sure if all the books teach how to arrange the carving centerpieces in a nice bouquet. 

I love the photo because it shows the variety of arrangements in spite of using the same flowers made with the same tools. 

See other arrangements in the pumpkin frame:

Pumpkin Displays for the City Day

Sausage Bouquet in the Pumpkin Frame

Cook Like a Star

Share your carving work and win a special prize from GarnishFood Blog. Check out the details!

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Photo Report of The 'Crazy Hand-Made' Exhibition, September 2012

On September 30, 2012 my Carving Studio participated in the 'Crazy Hand-Made' exhibition. 'Crazy Hand-Made' is a name of crafter's community in my hometown. 

Every exhibition I show new displays never made before. When an idea or an image comes to my mind I write them into my A4 notebook. Some of them I use for my work, others have to be tested before. An exhibition is a perfect occasion to try new things out.

I invited my students again to make carving displays. I asked them to not take the exhibition seriosly and let them play with materials. I believe that even basic skills can amaze. See what we made!

Click photo for bigger size

Fruit owl on the pumpkin moon and vegetable roses bouquets. Work of mine

Lemons and daikon roses, playing with colors. Work of mine.

Beet roses arranged in the metal vase.
Simple things look great when you add interesting details. Work of mine.

Melon and fantasy flowers on the holder made of  Sakhalin bamboo.
Work of mine.

Zuccini ship with gladiolus sails. Inspired by the painting. Made by Tatiana

Ice rock out of daikon and penguin finger food. New look of the popular food idea.
Made by Galina.

Vegetable flowers. Made by Natalie

Marrow squash house. Made by Natalie.

Watermelon carving by Claudia.

Visitors took photographs and asked the recipe of the penguins :) The favorite displays were the Ice Rock, the Marrow House and the Owl on the Moon. I think this is becouse they are simple and reqired a little of carving experience to do.
I had 'Triangle' tools and carving books for sale. And, of course, a short free class was given.

I show how to make the fantasy flowers

Carving propaganda :) Try for free and take a paid course after

tools

Take a look or take a try!

The results of the exhibition:

• Studio advertising
• Tools sales
• Contact list for classes
• My students are inspired for the Christmas exhibition in December
• short inreview on a local TV 

Just to remind that The Fall Carving Contest 2012 is on its first stage. Submit your carving work up to September 24 and take a chance to win a lovely prize! Feel free in using materials and creating displays. Never mind if you are just a begginer or non-experienced. I have a surprise for you!

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