How to Press Tofu

I've been experimenting with tofu for a few years, and I've come to quite like it. I'm not a vegetarian, but I still really enjoy vegetarian dishes, and tofu is no exception. I especially love to fry it (both in chunks and chopped up in stir-fry), as well as use it in smoothies (silk tofu, that is). However, in order to be able to fry it, you have to know how to press it first.

When serving fried tofu to some friends for dinner a few days ago, they asked me how I had cooked it. I noticed that when it came to pressing the tofu before frying, nobody knew how to do it. While quickly explaining it at the dinner table, I thought that I should probably do a short tutorial on this here, too - no one should be kept away from enjoying tofu because they don't know how to prep it for cooking, it's so simple to do!

1) Buy a block of tofu. If you are going to press and fry it, choose firm tofu. Lay a cloth on a dish, and the block of tofu on top of the cloth (you can wash the cloth afterwards, don't worry).

2) Wrap the cloth over and around the tofu, so it is completely covered.

3) Lay a plastic bag over the tofu and the cloth (this is for protection, see the next step).

4) Lay heavy books on top of the plastic bag - I usually use those two cooking books you see above.

Now leave this standing like this for about an hour. The heavy books will press the excess water out of the tofu, resulting in a sturdier block of tofu. If necessary, change the cloth after about half an hour, since the pressing won't be as effective if the cloth is already soaking wet.

After this, your tofu is ready to be used and cooked as you like! If you've never tried tofu before, I encourage you to try some, it's a great addition to a healthy diet.

Love,

Miss Diorista

OPI - Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?

This amazingly bright orange jelly came out with the Texas collection (2011). The colour is perfect for summer. It's as I said, really, really bright, and has the amazing shine and jelly-look that you can expect from the jellies that came out with this collection. Love it!

My thoughts on the OPI "sorbet" (aka jelly) formula:


The jellies which came out with the OPI Texas collection are very, very sheer, but other than that, they apply like a dream. They are buildable, but getting them completely opaque would take many, many coats. You can get away with three coats, but the true magic doesn't happen until the fourth, or even the fifth coat. I usually use four coats, and I get the most amazing jelly finish I've ever seen. No patchiness, just gorgeous shine and everything looks completely even, like a professional manicure.

As far as weartime goes, those jelly polishes wear much better than the average cream formula. I don't get any chipping until the sixth day, and tip wear is minimal. Removing the jelly polishes is relatively easy, but if you use a top coat (which I don't find necessary) you might find it a bit more difficult.

Really, there is only one real flaw to those polishes - they are completely addicting!

Isn't this pretty? Click on the picture to enlarge it, and it will look even more gorgeous!

Product (65%) - 9.5/10 (would have been a straight 10 if it hadn't been so sheer)

Value (10%) - 8/10
Would I repurchase? (15%) - 10/10
Packaging (10%) - 8/10

Overall - 9.5/10

Love,
Miss Diorista
 
P.S. No, it's not just you :) This text is almost exactly the same as in my review about OPI's Do You Think I'm Tex-y? because the formula is the same. I will also post pictures of the other jellies I bought, with the same text.

Weekly Gratitude - Swimming and Nice Songs

• Thank you for the great weather today! We had amazing sun last week, but the weekend was rainy. However, the sun is back now!
• Thank you for a fun trip to the swimming pool last night - I swam for almost an hour, and it was so lovely. Just me, the water and the evening sky.
• Thank you for healthy veggies and fruits being in season!
• Thank you to my furry friend, for waking me up so sweetly this morning :)
• Thank you to the radio, for playing nice songs today. At work, we often have the radio on, and it's so boring when they just play the same songs over and over the whole day.
• Thank you to the flies of Iceland, for politely flying where I'm not walking/biking... This might seem like a funny one, but flies are really not my thing!
• Thank you to God, for letting me know that my loved ones are safe and enjoying summer!

xox,
Miss Diorista

Giveaway - Dior Addict Lipstick in Diorkiss (CLOSED)

Finally I can announce the giveaway and the prize! I'm so excited! To celebrate my blog's 1st birthday (which was yesterday :) I am hosting a giveaway, my second giveaway! The prize is a product I've been using almost every day since I got it in April - a Dior Addict Lipstick in Diorkiss! This collection of lipsticks has recently been reformulated, and oh my. Those lippies are so pigmented and give great, juicy shine. They are wonderful, and perfect for summer, so I though it would be the perfect prize for a birthday giveaway! It obviously had to be something from Dior, after all, this is Miss Diorista here :)

Isn't this a wonderful lipstick? Diorkiss is a nice pink with no shimmer - great for every day or more formal occasions, and I think it's a shade that most people would love. I certainly do, I have one and I never let it out of my sight! Review will probably be up soon.

Now to the fun part, how you can win it! Please read the giveaway rules before you enter:

1. The giveaway is international. As long as you can receive packages through mail, you can enter.
2. If you are under the age of 18, you must get permission from either your parent or your legal guardian before you participate in the giveaway.
3. You have to follow my blog (it's easy and completely free, just click the "Follow" button to the right).
4. Only one entry per person.
5. The giveaway closes the 1st of August 2011.
6. There are two ways to enter, you can use both or only one:

• Comment on this post, telling me what one product you can't leave house without during summer. Leave your e-mail! OR/AND:
• Blog about this giveaway on your blog, linking to this post. Remember to leave a comment telling me about your blog post with a link to it, so that I can see it! And leave me your e-mail!

Alrighty! I will choose one (1) winner completely randomly. If something is unclear, feel free to ask. I really hope that you enjoy this giveaway, it is my way of trying to thank all of you for the support and all the comments during the past year. You are amazing!

Love,

Miss Diorista

Happy 1st Birthday, Miss Diorista!

Can you believe it? It's already my blog's 1st birthday! This day, the first of July, a year ago, I founded my blog. Now, a year later, I feel as I have come so far. I have learned so much, gotten to know so many amazing people in the online beauty world, and of course, I have bought so much during the past year, that it's almost too much! That being said, one can never have too many blushes :)

However, none of it would have been possible without all of you, my readers and my followers. I am so grateful for your support, and I hope that you have enjoyed what I have written. I sure have enjoyed your comments, as well as reading your blogs! To show you my appreciation, I am hosting a giveaway. Unfortunately, I can't find my camera (where the picture of the prize is), so I will have to post about the giveaway tomorrow. Sorry about the delaying, but I can tell you that hopefully you will find it worth the waiting :)

In this year, I have written 193 blog posts. My goal for the year ahead of us, is 194 posts :) The next year will hopefully be as full of delightful surprises and products as the past one has been. I can't wait to start Miss Diorista's second year!

With love and gratitude,
Miss Diorista

P.S. Picture from partypro.com.

Benefit Boxed Powders - Old Packaging vs. New

 A few months ago, Benefit changed the packaging of their famous boxed powders. Some people have been wondering what the difference is between the old and the new packaging, so here are the main changes. Please note that I'm not sure whether all the boxed powders have gone through the changes or just some, since Benefit isn't sold here in Iceland.

The old boxes had lids that came completely off (Sugarbomb, to the right), but the new ones have lids that flip open, and a mirror has been added (Bella Bamba, to the left). I'm personally all for those two changes - you don't lose the lid, and you can do your makeup on the go, since you have the mirror with you.

The accompanying brush has also been changed a bit (old to the right, new to the left). The new one has a shorter handle, the bristles are softer and the brush is a bit more rounder (as opposed to almost square). The old brushes were sometimes hard to use, but the new one is a bit better.

Finally, the new box (new to the left, old to the right) is smaller than the old box, and holds a smaller amount of product. The old boxes usually held between 10 to 12 grams of product, but the new one holds 8 grams.

So, which packaging do you like better? I have to say that I think the new packaging is a winner... I'm really liking the mirror.

I went shopping today for some skincare items, haul will be shared soon. However, I also bought the product for the upcoming celebrational giveaway! I will be announcing the giveaway and the prize tomorrow, but for now, I'll give you a little hint: It's a high-end product which I've been using every day this month (my own product, the winner will get a brand new one)... it is from a brand I love, and it is perfect for summer! I'm so excited to announce this, I can hardly wait!

Love,

Miss Diorista

Summer Trend - Big, Bold Rings!

I'm starting a "short and sweet" series of summer trends! Those trends will be ones which I've spotted around me, on other blogs, in magazines, on TV or somewhere else, but they will all be ones I love! I'm really excited about this!

This first trend is big, bold rings (as you could probably tell from the title ;). There are endless possibilities here. You could go big and bright (I'm thinking yellow... or orange!), big and glam (a few sparkles won't hurt, promise!), or... you could go big, bold and dark! I fell completely head over heals when I spotted this ring two or three weeks ago, and have been wearing it almost every day since!

As you can see, it is pretty big and a solid black. It is made out of a bunch of metal roses. How pretty is that? I bought it in NEXT, when looking for a birthday present for a friend (I always end up getting something for myself when shopping for others! In my defense, I did buy her something really cute as well :)

And as if this ring isn't chic enough on its own, it goes amazingly well with fun, quirky polishes! Above I'm wearing Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Mint Sprint, but I also love it with yellow polish, such as OPI's Need Sunglasses? (both are soon to be reviewed).

So, have you been wearing any big, bold rings lately? I'd love to see them, leave me a link if you've seen a cute one!

Love,

Miss Diorista

P.S. Would you be interested in seeing guest cooks on the blog?