Cook Craft Care

Hoodie Bunny Hop

2010-06-05T11:56:00.000+12:00

Isn't he just gorgeous? He has been homed as he was my first attempt from a pattern I bought here. Now I bought this pattern so I can't sell 'as is' because of copyright laws but I will make the necessary adaptations to re-create something very similar or even a different animal at your request... I can come up with all sorts of lovelies :)

He is $15NZD plus P&P or the equivalent in any other currency at the given time of order :)

Pink Panther and his friend Blue

2010-03-18T15:59:00.007+13:00

Something I made :)

My little girl was a Pink Panther in her Ballet show last year so I made her this cute Pink Panther to mark the occasion. It is based on a wolf pattern with a little tweaking of the colours, shaping and attributes.

While I was showing it off a lovely lady from my work (in a chocolate shop, be very jealous heehee) ordered a Blue Panther. This time round I improved the pattern further and my cute little Panthers are now ready for sale :)

Hand Washing Fun

2010-03-12T21:58:00.005+13:00

Sorry it's been a loooong time since the last post but I was busy finding work then busy juggling jobs. All is settled now so let the blogging commence!! (blogging shows up as not in the dictionary, surely it should be by now? Its what I'm doing!! lol - oh and lol hehehee)

Anyway... our washing machine died last week, R.I.P. and bless it's little over-used motor. I haven't rushed to the second hand store to buy another, no no noooo, I have instead taken this moment to learn how to wash clothes by hand. I must say, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I think I aught to be :D

I thought I'd share my experience and Internet findings for those of you interested in this path or maybe who also have a washing machine emergency.

First I had to decide which container to use and I chose our bath as it needs a clean and I could wash more more clothes at once. I used our usual budget laundry powder though I'll be switching to something bio-degradable as that stuff kills your hands. Yes I could have used rubber glove IF I owned them which I don't because I am then more inclined to solve my problems in a more eco friendly way if only to save my own skin! Call it a reminder. You can use a plunger to agitate the clothes but I prefer to get right in there and do it all myself.

Right so, bath 1/3 full of warm water I added only about a 1/4 cup of powder and washed 2 1/2 loads of washing starting with white and filtering to black. Slowly adding clothes and agitating as I went, then wringing and puting in a laundry bastket awaiting rinse.

Next step empty bath, re-fill 1/3 not-as-warm water and repeat process minus the powder. I found this one rinse was all that was needed. Next I put it all out on the line et voila... one very happy clean-clothed Squirrel was I :) (I like squirrels so shhh or I'll start throwing acorns :P)

Now to the comparison...

Pros

I actually used less laundry powder than I would in the machine for over twice the load. That's my stupid fault though for always adding more. Still I did get double the wash out of what I should be putting in the machine.
I've washed another 2 loads since then and both have been pretty much the same, they only take an hour from start to finish for 2-3 wash loads, I don't think the machine was ever even finished by then with one lot!
Added exercise and I felt really good about my achievement. I could do with a couple of tubs out in the garden though - much more relaxing.

Cons

I used a non-bio-degradable powder so I couldn't use the water for my garden.
duvets... hmmm not sure what I'm going to do about them, and thick or heavy things. Heaviest was one of my cozy jumpers and that was a pain!
I used (in total) approximately 54US/46UK gallons by hand as apposed to a supposed 42.5US/35UK gallons. I can't believe I actually used more water :( Bath measurements calculated using this page (((59*23)*14)= 18,998 cubic inches then convert to gallons). Though, I estimated 1/3 of the full bath and it could be 1/4 I guess? Can't find washing machine manual but online says 65L per load average. Meh, estimations *pouts*
the clothes are dripping wet when you put them on the line so 1 day out there might not be enough, not to mention trying this in winter!

I also found this awesome thread (a little drama in there but ignore it and chew through) where a lot of options are discussed and powder recipies. I recommend you look out for - or 'find' - the post by BikeWarrior.

Good luck in your washing ventures. Please do comment and/or ask questions!

Shoveling Shit

2009-10-12T13:33:00.004+13:00

The chook run has about a 10centimetre layer of the most wonderful black fertile, poo-enriched soil, so with the hope of growing the best asparagus and potatoes in the world, today's task has been to start digging it out and putting it into "raised beds" (the old compost bins I'm moving from beside the shed). It seems to go a long way, and the rhubarb that's already planted in it is doing fantastically well. We'll see how the spuds (or potentially, beans) do.

Pumpkin Time!

2009-10-06T09:27:00.003+13:00

The pumpkin and zucchini seeds were sown in paper pots less than a week ago. DS wrote some lovely misspelt labels - I think somehow it adds to the charm of the whole operation.
The tomatoes have taken a little longer (they were started on the bathroom windowsill), and I don't know whether they'll actually give us any tomatoes before the season's out.
We've invested in a heating mat from Nuklear Products, which has worked wonders! I leave the adjustments of the growing rig up to Dear Husband, and things seem to just sprout!
Now I've made some space on top of the heating mat, time to go through the seed collection and decide what's next!

Pom Pom Pom!

2009-08-23T16:56:00.003+12:00

We revisited a childhood favourite with the kids today - a great way to waste an afternoon!

Warm Cabled Beanie

2009-08-05T22:00:00.002+12:00

OMG this beanie is sooooo warm! I found the awesome pattern on The Loop Craft Cafe and adapted it to have a ribbed fold edge. I'm getting jealous of the things I'm posting off, better make myself something soon :)

This can be re-made for sale in any colour for the following prices excluding postage: $15 NZD, $10 USD or £6 GBP

Herb Garden Eye Candy

2009-07-26T12:55:00.000+12:00

We've decided to plant our front lawn up as a herb garden. So as we are finishing the plans for the vegetable garden out back and planning in the time to complete it we are now looking to the Herb Garden. I've found a few cool websites along the way:

Our Red House - this lady takes amazing photos! She blogs about family life, cooking and gardening and the post that drew me to her was 'Herbs and Herb Gardening'

The Gardens of a Golden Afternoon blog just left me drooling. This is what I want for the path from my gate to my front door:

And you must see these 2 posts on treehouses: Part 1 & Part 2.

There are a few Herb Garden Designs in a nifty book I bought for just $2 at my local library - The Herb Garden Displayed by Gilian Painter & Elaine Power. Written in my birth year no less! The book has a basic, easy introduction followed by a very large section of plant descriptions. And the best bit is...its written for New Zealand...yippee!

I also bagged Flower Works by Hilary Walden for $2 - what a find! No planting guide with this one but I think the latter has that area covered. This book gives a quick look at how flowers can be brought into the home as food, drinks, cosmetics, medicine, gifts and much more. Lots of great recipes!

Our plan is to ... um ... get a plan. We know we want something structured but are torn between the formal and wild looks. There will definitely be a sundial in there :) As I'm looking for useful plants rather than pretty I guess we can have both as Rosemary and Lavendar are great for formal hedges.

We plan to fashion our back porch somewhat like a bigger version of this:

I would like an area like this somewhere round the back of the house - with a mirror on the door for added effect :)

Now there's an idea for a playhouse, but how to build it to look like stone and stop it crushing Chrissy in an earthquake? hmmmm

July Gardening

2009-07-21T20:53:00.003+12:00

Wooohooo, I've just planted: garlic, peas, beans, onions, swedes, cabbage, cauli, broccoli and more spinach. It's been a long weekend in the garden for our family and my good friend Sally helped me on Friday too creating the garlic bed and giving me lots of free canes - sweet!

Basically, the bald turf bed...

turned into a full plot of vegetable promise...

It's taken heaps of planning and although I'm still not 100% sure it'll work, it sure has been fun :D The 4 plots will be rotated somehow and next time round they'll get fertiliser as this time we just don't have the money. Yes horse manure is free but we'd prefer not to use it.

Last night I made 2 great internet garden finds:
http://www.gardengrow.co.nz/ - tells you what to plant when given 3 climate zones of New Zealand

http://www.thekitchengarden.co.nz/ - an inspirational gardener in Wellington who sells her produce and provides real yummy recipes and courses in gardening

Now I need to plan for August in the garden and sow some cabbage, cauli, broccoli, shallots and onions. mmmmmmm yummo!

Rainbow Chain Blanket Free Pattern

2009-07-14T12:43:00.003+12:00

I haven't got much to say right now as I'm knitting like crazy and planning a garden so here, have a free pattern off the internet - the Rainbow Chain Blanket - but remember...it's copyright for personal use only ;o)

Rainbow Jumper in the Making

2009-07-14T11:55:00.011+12:00

I've been swatching like mad to get the feel of this new acrylic wool bought from TradeMe (thank you Kiwicat63!) and make it chunky for my friends requested jumper. I've really enjoyed it! Knitting in 1 strand of 8 ply (DK) then 2, 3 and 4 strands of it using different needles and variegating stripe styles. I know my friend only really wanted a random striped sweater just like the one Mick Aston from Time Team wears -------------------------------------------->
but I couldn't help myself, I had to play!

It's also taught me the wpi (wraps per inch) of each thickness and how the scale of stitches x rows pans out. All in all its been fun and I'm now ready to start my new project of a home-style, Mick Aston Jumper with a roll crew neck and drop sleeves...watch this space!

After this I still have a child's fluffy, striped coat, socks, fairy dog, legwarmers and shawl to complete :)

Knitted Fruit/Veggie Bags

2009-07-04T09:35:00.000+12:00

Surprisingly, these net shopping bags didn't take too long to knit up. Well, after I stopped trying to knit it exactly to instructions with only 3 double pointed knitting needles, I've never done that before you see and so didn't know that it's common knowledge that you use the forth to then actually knit. You can imagine me sitting there knitting one lot onto another pointed needle that already has stitches on it and wondering why it's now all straight and un-knitable :) I knitted this bag flat on 2 lovely normal needles and then all I had to do was sew up the join. It was after this that a friend told me (through much laughter) how you must use a forth needle, even if the pattern doesn't mention in. I did try to use the forth needle but my brain sorta collapsed as it tried to fathom the reality of using it.

Something for another day me thinks

Knitted Balaclava

2009-06-05T08:00:00.001+12:00

Just for Helen and her recent post about how cold it is here in New Zealand right now, I've found this free balaclava pattern - I think its pretty nifty. Keeps your nose warm too!! I might make myself one for when I'm standing at the stall selling my knitting :D

100 lbs. Of Potatoes In 4 Square Feet!!!!

2009-06-05T07:35:00.002+12:00

I just read this tip on Tipnut.com about growing 100lbs of potatoes in just 4 square feet of ground space. I must admit, I feel rather silly about not coming to this conclusion sooner. Don't get me wrong, I knew about the upwards growing of potatoes but had turned down the chance as I refuse to use tires in my garden. They're made for cars and roads, not for food. I just don't trust that they won't be toxic to our food. I hadn't thought of wooden boxes, mostly because we just don't have the money to go buying wood. I love one of the commentors stating "You need not buy lumber. There are plenty of used wooden pallets that are free for the taking."... hahaha not in NZ mate! Well, I don't know anywhere you can get them or wood free but if you do... please let me know :)

I'm wondering if this will stop the potatoes leeking out the sides and growing anywhere else they please. I have them running rampant in a corner of my garden already and just want to contain them (plus growing up would give us tuns more - yipeeee!). I thought of diggin a trench and putting corrugated iron down under the surface to contain them, now I'll have to consider this or combine the 2 plans - gee I love potatoes, don't you? :D

Sockpixie's Sunshine Socks

2009-06-04T11:05:00.005+12:00

Aren't these just adorable? I very well might have a go at these soon as I've finished my other projects. I guess that will be 2010 lol

Pattern is here

May in the Garden

2009-06-04T10:58:00.000+12:00

As I am now searching through websites and books each month to work out what to do for my grand garden plan I thought I'd share my findings. Here's the first months installment...

Note: This is for temperate climates in the south of north Island. It may also be good for central UK and US, you'd have to compare your climate to see. Also, you'd have to displace the month by six months to November-ish :)
______________________________________________________________________________________

Vegetables

Cut back asparagus to within 15cm of ground level after the stems turn yellow
Thin root crops
Transplant cabbage, cauli, broccoli, silver beet and in warm areas - lettuce - into raised beds. Use Quash to control snails and slugs (I'd be interested to hear of better solutions, I've heard sawdust + potassium is a good solutions)
Spray celery, cabbage and cauli with Copper to prevent fungal diseases
Sow a green cover crop in vacant areas
Mix composts into the soil
Sow broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, radish, spinach, cress, lettuce, mustard, onions and spring onions (not so sure about that), peas, potatoes, shallots, kale and rocket
Plant mizuna and frilly kale for pots

Fruit

Feed trees
Plant deciduous fruit/citrus trees using slow release fertiliser under each tree that lasts 2 years
Pruning should start as soon as the leaves have dropped
Harvest your lemons now before the frosts start to make the fruit bitter and dry
Harvest Feijoas, Kiwi and Tamarillos

Other

Prepare new beds for roses by adding compost chose an open area away from trees where they can receive at least 5 hours of full sun a day
Cut back geraniums, Daises, Phlox and perennials that have finished flowering
Clean up dead leaves under rose bushes to prevent the spread and pest and disease
If you want to create leaf mulch collect all your leaves in a sack/bag/tub and find a place to leave them for a year or 2
Plant shrubs, remembering they grow up and outwards, so leave enough space for development

Indoors

Cyclamens add colour throughout. When flowers or foliage die off, pull out the whole stem with a sharp twist to avoid any fungus disease setting in and rotting the plant

Enjoy!

Pork Pies...nom nom

2009-03-02T21:19:00.001+13:00

I made these a week or two ago but didn't get round to blogging them. I loved the pastry for this recipe, it tasted very authentic. I wasn't so sure about the filling though. Still, the whole thing tasted scrummy and I'd deffinately make them again with a few changes... I would roll the pastry out next time and bake in a muffin tray rather than mould them by hand. I would also wait until the stock was cooled instead of filling the pies with warm stock because I didn't leave enough time (a day before you want them is best).

Let me know if you make them!

UPDATE!!!

Oooooooh, this weekend I made these pork pies again but changed a couple of things...

I ignored the order of putting in the ingredients, instead I melted the lard and butter in the microwave, added the eggs then flour, mixing with each addition. I forgot the salt and because it was dry and crumbly I added a little milk.

I rolled the pastry real thin (after being in the fridge an hour), cut a large circle to line a muffin tin and a smaller circle for thed top then squashed them together at the sides after putting in the pork. The pastry cooked just as well in the muffin tin as before.

I pre cooked the diced pork (I just get the packs of stir frypork) in a frying pan until just cooked on the outside. There was no need of boiling bones for jelly, the pork was so tender and juicy without. I don't add any of the herbs and spices as I have a small child.

I kept the baking paper on for 30 minutes, put more egg on the tops and baked uncovered for another 30 minutes.

Yippee I've made it easier!
(sorry, I don't have photos because the Hubby eats em so quickly!)

yay for duct tape

2009-03-02T13:06:00.004+13:00

Now that I have finally sort of fixed my space bar with the aid of Duct Tape, I can update again!
At the moment, the weeds seem to be winning. Probably because I'm not getting out into the garden as much as I'd like. On the plus side, they'll all make fabulous compost once I take to them with the weed whacker.
The Urenika (tutaekuri) Maori Potatoes I was looking forward to died down, and I harvested them. It was a disappointingly small crop, but tasty fried up with beans and zucchini (from the shop, my one zucchini plant has finished for the season) in garlic butter. mmm.

Aside from the spuds, I've been pickling more gherkins, about a jar a week, some of which have been absolutely gigantic (for gherkins).
My tomatoes are just starting to ripen up, but I've made a deal to swap some with a friend who has too many, for some of my eggs. Yay barter! I've got 2 new chooks now, a total of 4. Only one of the new ones has a name - Mrs Specky (see below): the other one is still just "the other one". I've put them in with the others today for the first time, after about half a week in separate cages. There's been a bit of squabbling, but I've got my eye on them.

The garden is starting to take over my life...insofar as it can compete with an energetic toddler for my attention! Last weekend saw me collecting pallets (for chook housing or garden edging), straw bales, and pony poo... in the rain. I will learn to drive, I will... these tasks don't make for a happy husband.

Hopefully today I'll also get around to bottling the pears I took off our tree just before the weekend (before the fruit flies eat them all up!), and maybe later in the week I'll harvest the neighbour's apples for making into cider. Muahahahaa.....cider.....omnom.

Most of my seeds from last time have germinated, and I put in another lot on the weekend. Now I just have to dash outside and save them from expiring in the sun.....

Hedgehog Eating a Carrot

2009-02-27T13:07:00.002+13:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I'm busy with the house and gardens but I'll be back soon. In the meantime I'll post funnies...

The Great Seed Swap

2009-02-16T22:35:00.005+13:00

Turns out, Cheri and I are both the proud owners of large boxes of seeds. We've both at some point had the brilliant idea of ordering "everything" from a catalogue (as you do). Luckily, we've ordered enough different things that we could split some of our packets to try. I'm really looking forward to growing lots and lots of different things in the coming year, and I sowed my first batch of seeds for transplanting on the weekend. Cabbages, Broccoli, Chard, Cauli, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach (I think), and a few broad beans and peas. They're all sort of under glass, and I've been giving them the odd squirt with my squirty bottle - here's hoping they all germinate and don't subsequently die of the apparently dreaded "damping off"!
This batch isn't the really exciting stuff, but I have almost completely run out of brassicas. There are a few tiny sprouts on one of my broccoli, another one I've let go to seed, and the others haven't started heading up yet. I can tell it's going to be difficult timing my sowing to get a good succession of things to eat...only 'cause I don't like maths!
I've been harvesting lots of beans, a good big handful every other day, and the lot that I put in a couple of weeks ago are already racing up their little teepee. The corn, on the other hand, seems to be taking its sweet time to ripen. I guess that's normal.... annoying, but normal.
I'm getting ready for a tomato explosion soon, hoping for enough to make some sauce or relish or some such. I really need to practice my chutney and relish making.
The gherkins are still doing fabulously, and I keep finding giant ones hiding under the leaves. They're covered in spikes, so they're not the easiest to harvest, but they seem to be well worth the effort.
So much is going on in the garden at the moment that it's complete chaos. The weeds have totally gotten away on me, and I can barely keep up with the harvest and processing, let alone planting more.... but I promise another update soon... I have maori potatoes (tutaekuri) getting near to ready.........

h

a slightly nervous hello

2009-01-21T07:38:00.004+13:00

Thanks Cheri for inviting me :)

It's great to have somewhere to post about the garden and such, since I get much more excited about it than my dear husband thinks reasonable! *grin*

This week I have been stealing blackberries and apples, and making jam-like substances from all sorts of fruit, gifted, stolen, bought and grown. Did you know it's illegal to gather food from public places in Wellington? I sure didn't!

My wee stash of jams and chutneys is growing by the day!

Another thing that's in season at the moment is gherkins, unfortunately I only put in one plant so my harvest is a bit pathetic! At the moment I'm brining them in preparation for pickling - I figure I can add a couple more over the next few days.

With so much in season at the moment, I'm looking forward to posting more as time allows!

lots of love

hana

Welcome Hana!!!

2009-01-20T20:02:00.001+13:00

My dear friend Hana has joined the blog to share her gardening adventures with us...yipeeeee! I'm hopeless in the garden so I'm looking forward to knowing whats going on in her's. Welcome Hana, I'm so excited to have you on the blog!!

Kisses :)

Rainbow Cake!

2009-01-20T19:51:00.003+13:00

Happy New Year!
a little late but meh...

OMG this cake is to die for...I mean so laden that it trys to kill you apon eating lol

I found the recipe for this beautiful Rainbow Cake here. I stumbled across it last October while looking for cakes to make for my girl's 4th birthday. We made a mermaid ice cream cake instead which, unfortunately, I don't have any good pictures of. I hope you try this cake out too as it's super delicious! Tell me if you do :)

Mince Pies

2008-12-29T09:34:00.003+13:00

A little late but here you go...

Ingredients - Makes 12
1 Cup/250g Plain flour
2 Tblsp/25g Icing sugar
1/2 Cup/125g Softened butter
Grated zest 1 lemon
2 Eggs (1 egg for glaze)
1 cup of mincemeat

Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter to form fine crumbs. Add the zest (you can add the juice too if you like or use it for a nice chilled drink) and 1 egg and mix thoroughly. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm it up a bit. (It will keep in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for one month)
Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough to $1 thickness. Cut out 12 rounds to fit your pie/muffin tray (I find a cup just larger than a pint glass rim works for me but I guess aiming for around 8cm radius is good). If any dough is left over you can cut shapes to go on top, my 4 year old girl cut all the santa tops for these.
Place your rounds into the pie/muffin tin but no squashing them down in the pan, lightly poke them in so the sit in enough to stay, that way they'll be easier to get out. (I hope that made sense) Fill the pies with 1 teaspoon of the mincemeat - do not fill to the top, it just bubbles and dribbles out. Glaze with beaten egg. Cook for 15 minutes or until golden. Leave in the tray for 5-10 minutes before attempting to remove. I remove mine by running a sharp knife around the edge and then levering them out, though I shouldn't suggest this as it damages the non stick in the tray - any ideas would be welcomed.

I hope you have fun making them and enjoy eating them.
Let me know if you try it :)

Banana Cream Pie

2008-12-25T17:36:00.003+13:00

Using the recipe here I created this wonderful Banana Cream Pie. I even substituted the Thickened Cream for Cream Cheese and the Cornstarch for flour and it still tasted devine. We even had the leftover pie filling as custard for our mince pies after adding a little pouring cream and re-heating...Yummy!

Let me know if you try it :)

Cauliflower Cheese Pie

2008-12-23T18:45:00.001+13:00

Ingredients - Fills 1 pyrex dish and serves 4-6 people

1 Cauliflower
500g Minced beef
1 Large carrot
1 Pepper/Capsicum
1 Large Onion
6 Medium Mushrooms
1/2 Cup of sweetcorn (whole kernels)
1 Tin of tomatoes
1 Tablespoon of tomato puree (the thick stuff)
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 Tablespoons of plain flour
1 Pint of milk
250g of grated cheese
Seasons of choice

Cut the cauliflower into florets and boil for 10 minutes or so...until soft.
Brown the mince in a frying pan. Chop the carrot, capsicum, onion and mushrooms small (pea size) and add them one by one straight as they are cut, stirring each time. Add the sweetcorn, tomatoes and puree and cook a further 2 minutes. Take off the heat and pour this mixture into the pyrex.
Drain and chop the cauliflower then add this layer in the pyrex.
Add the butter to a pan and melt, then add the flour and stir. Now add the milk and continue to whisk for the length of time it takes for it to thicken. Add this sauce to the pyrex and cover with grated cheese.
Bake at 180 celsius for 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it :)

Random Mosiac

2008-12-22T16:42:00.004+13:00

1. Cheri, 2. Avocados-thief, 3. Enfield County School, 4. Maroon, 5. Ephesus Museum, Marcus Aurelius, 6. fairy cakes & tea cups., 7. Universal Camping, 8. banoffee pie, 9. Housewife in Kitchen, 10. Sunset on the family farm..., 11. Squirrel, 12. Rainbow Knitted Leather-Sole Shoes

The mosaic above is generated for the following meme:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favourite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favourite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

I got this meme from Su - go visit her, she's awesome.

Wholemeal Rolls

2008-12-22T11:21:00.001+13:00

Ingredients
2 Cups of warm/hot water
2 Tablespoons of yeast
2 Tablespoons of honey
4 Cups of wholemeal flour

Add yeast and honey to the water, stir and leave for 15 minutes.
Lightly oil and flour an oven tray or put baking paper down.
Set the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Add the flour and mix well. Dust your hands with flour and separate the dough by half until you have 8 pieces. With more flour on your hands roll these piece lightly into rounds and flatten slightly onto the tray. Don't worry if they look bitty, it adds to their 'crusty-ness'. If you want shaped like these rolls press your shape in now. If you want the rolls shaped you'll need to add more flour at the mixing stage and roll it out instead of half it - cooking times vary to different shapes and sizes though.
Place the tin in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
Place on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it :)

A gift from a friend

2008-12-21T19:35:00.004+13:00

I just wanted to share these beautiful Gingerbread shapes crated by my friend and gifted to us for our tree. Aren't they just super cute?

I am grateful to be blessed with such lovely people to share this life with. The other day our neighbor gave us some homemade Apple/Fruit Cake which was divine and once when I was unwell a friend gave me some honey collected from her hive and fresh white sage to help me clear my cold. I'm about to make shoes for a friends girl and in exchange she'll give me maybe a broach and some eggs. Life doesn't get much better than this!

I want to make one of these...

2008-12-19T17:46:00.002+13:00

If only to put it on my cat too! See more photos here. The pattern is here.

Christmas Dinner Pies

2008-12-18T14:32:00.005+13:00

In a moment of inspiration I created this little 'Dinner-in-a-Pie' recipe. It's best made after a meal where you just cook extra to bake into the pies...Enjoy!

Ingredients - Makes 12
1 Cup/250g Plain flour
2 Tblsp/25g Icing sugar
1/2 Cup/125g Softened butter
Grated zest 1 lemon
2 Eggs (1 egg for glaze)
12 Tblsp Gravy
12 Tblsp mashed potato
12 Slices of cooked carrot
12 Tblsp Peas (frozen is fine)
12 Small pieces of meat
12 Tblsp Cranberry sauce

Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter to form fine crumbs. Add the zest (you can add the juice too if you like or use it for a nice chilled drink) and 1 egg and mix thoroughly. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm it up a bit. (It will keep in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for one month)
Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough to $1 thickness. Cut out 12 rounds to fit your pie/muffin tray (I find a cup just larger than a pint glass rim works for me but I guess aiming for around 8cm radius is good). If any dough is left over you can cut shapes to go on top or make a mini Christmas Dinner sweet Pizza with it as I did.
Place your rounds into the pie/muffin tin but no squashing them down in the pan, lightly poke them in so the sit in enough to stay, that way they'll be easier to get out. (I hope that made sense) Fill the pies with the rest of the ingredients in the same order as above and finish with a glaze of 1 beaten egg. Cook for 15 minutes or until golden. Leave in the tray for 5-10 minutes before attempting to remove. I remove mine by running a sharp knife around the edge and then levering them out, though I shouldn't suggest this as it damages the non stick in the tray - any ideas would be welcomed.

I hope you have fun making them and enjoy eating them.
Let me know if you try it :)

Candy Cane Biscuits

2008-12-18T14:30:00.002+13:00

I absolutely adore these biscuits! The recipe is from Good Things Catered, an inspiring blog written by a wonderfully skilled Lady. These are easy and fun to make and the peppermint flavours sure put you in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Decorations

2008-12-18T14:26:00.004+13:00

My gril is really into Chrismas this year so we bought a real tree and candy canes, much to her excitement. The tree only cost $25 which I thought was great value!

The mantle and dining table has been revamped too.

Snowball Biscuits

2008-12-16T10:56:00.005+13:00

Ingredients (makes around 12)

250g Butter
1/2 Cup of sugar
1/2 Cup of syrup
1/4 Cup of milk
1 Teaspoon of vanilla essence
2 1/2 Cups of flour
750g Packet of ready-to-roll icing
2 Cups shredded of coconut

Preheat oven to 150 Celsius. Soften the butter, add all but the flour and mix well. Add the flour and take small quantities then roll the dough into 12 equal balls. Place on baking paper on baking trays and bake for 25 minutes or until just golden. Once cool, coat with icing by taking small chunks of icing and gently pushing it onto the biscuit, or roll the icing flat and wrap them. Roll them in the coconut and press them gently in your hand to make the coconut stay. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it :)

(brown white ones are chocolate sprinkles for my girl)

My first Bento!

2008-12-16T10:12:00.006+13:00

I'm so excited about this. I've drooled over endless pictures of Bentos in Flicker and online (here, here, and here) but had yet to make one. As it's Christmas and my girl has taken a considerable interest in cooking lately I decided to make her a Bento to take to Kindy.

The snowman is mashed potato. His eyes and buttons are sultanas, the hat is ham and scarf is cheese. The Christmas tree is broccoli and decorations are cheese and carrot. the two red things are meant to be mushroom toadstools made of half a cherry tomato and cheese as the stalk. The rest is just salad packed in.

As if that wasn't grand enough, she also had the added bonus of an iced cookie! (Recipe here)

Felt Bootees

2008-12-16T09:00:00.000+13:00

I made these the other week and forgot to blog them. I used a pattern from , though next time I would use thicker felt.

Milk and Syrup Biscuits

2008-12-15T19:33:00.004+13:00

Ingredients (makes 30-40)

500g Butter
1 Cup of sugar
1 Cup of syrup
1/2 Cup of milk
2 Teaspoons of vanilla essence
5 Cups of flour

Preheat oven to 150 Celsius. Soften the butter, add all but the flour and mix well. Add the flour and roll to 1 cm thickness. Cut into shapes as desired. My girl chose Christmas trees, Santa and bells. Place on baking paper on baking trays and bake for 25 minutes or until just golden. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it :)

Leather and knitted Shoes

2008-12-14T20:42:00.002+13:00

These have got to be my best yet!

Note: I cut the hard leather but didn't use it this time. Also I used the pattern from The Sockpixie Blog again.

Have your child stand on some hard leather (insides up) and draw the outline of their feet. Draw a 1/2 inch allowance around this outline (round off the toes neatly - no 'bumps') and cut around the allowance line.
Now us this as a template to cut two more pieces from softer leather (insides up). Make holes as large as to fit a knitting sewing needle through, around the softer leather pieces, 1/4 inch in from the edge and at about 5mm apart (Hubby said "whatever I felt comfortable having my thumb near while drilling").

Now take your sewing knitting needle and thread a base yarn through the holes, starting at the center of the heel. One round in and out and tie off under the heel then another round going through the holes missed the first time round and tie off under the heel (trying not to have them tied at the same point). If one breaks the other should hold and two makes it more secure.
Now, pick-up the loops created and knit them onto three circular or double-ended sock needles:
1) Center of heel to big toe (the longest run)
2) Big toe to little toe corners (shortest)
3) Little toe to center of heel
Here's the pattern, including the colours I used

Rows:
Cast on Cream
1: Purl (Cream)
2: Knit (Cream)
3: Purl (Pink)
4: Knit (Pink)
5: Purl (Pink)
6: Knit (Purple)
7: Purl (Purple)
8: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle. (Purple)
9: Purl (Blue)
10: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle. (Blue)
11: Purl (Blue)
12: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle. (Green)
13: Purl (Green)
14: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle. (Green)
15: Purl (Yellow)
16: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle, Knit-2-Together x2 at beginning of Toe-Toe needle, Slip-Slip-Knit x2 at end of Toe-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle.
17: Purl (Yellow)
18: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle, Knit-2-Together x2 at beginning of Toe-Toe needle, Slip-Slip-Knit x2 at end of Toe-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle. (Orange)
19: Purl (Orange)
20: Knit-2-Together x1 at end of Heel-Toe needle, Knit-2-Together x2 at beginning of Toe-Toe needle, Slip-Slip-Knit x2 at end of Toe-Toe needle and Slip-Slip-Knit x1 at beginning of Toe-Heel needle. (Orange)
21: Purl (Red)
22: Cast off LOOSELY (Red)

Glue the hard leather onto the soles of the sandals covering the base stitches and voila, new shoes!

Sunday Omelette

2008-12-14T09:36:00.005+13:00

Celebrate the fact that it's still the weekend with this scrummy Omelette...

Serves 4-ish :o)

Ingredients
4 rashers of bacon
3 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
some grated cheese
seasons of choice

Fry 4 rashers of bacon. Remove bacon from the pan and scrape the pan of residue with a plastic fish slice (metal damages non-stick pans so don't use them here). Mix the milk and eggs and pour into the pan. While the eggs cook chop the bacon into small pieces then sprinkle over the eggs. Turn on the grill, take the eggs off the heat and sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

Let me know if you try it :)

Comments have been fixed!

2008-12-12T09:39:00.002+13:00

I apologise to those of you that have not been able to comment...I had 'comments' set to Blog users only but that has now been changed. I'd love to have your comments so please, gibber away! :)

FUNNY ALERT...Holiday Eating Tips

2008-12-12T09:37:00.001+13:00

Although this is the equivalent of spam email I just couldn't stop myself posting this...it's real funny :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table
knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave
immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find
it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.
Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed
potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car
with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across some thing really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out nd screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Have a great holiday season!

Rainbow No-Sew Knitted Bootees

2008-12-11T18:43:00.003+13:00

Using the pattern from The Sockpixie Blog again I made these gorgeous little Rainbow Magic Slippers.

Having given myself a nasty bang on the head Monday morning (courtesy of the car frame and frantic multi-tasking), I've been unable to sew so it's given me a chance to play with my girl and knit. I'm going to try and knit onto leather to make her a pair of sandals. I'll let you know how I get on!

The Green Fingered Photographer: Free Headers

2008-12-09T12:54:00.001+13:00

The Green Fingered Photographer: Free Headers

If you were wondering where I got the beautiful header for my blog, wonder no more. The Green Fingered Photographer has a few more of these babies to share so head on over to Mark's blog now!

If you were wondering why I picked the acorn, well, I've always loved walks in the park with Oaks, Squirrels and Acorns :)

No-sew Knitted Baby bootees

2008-12-09T11:57:00.002+13:00

Using the pattern from The Sockpixie Blog I made these gorgeous little bootees that Sockpixie calls her Magic Slippers. I'll be making more soon in rainbow colours as they are such an easy and nice looking pair. If you make any, please let me know how you get on and provide your link :)

Mayonnaise

2008-12-07T08:29:00.006+13:00

I used this Homemade Mayo on a Portable Salad I made for a BBQ yesterday.

Ingredients
2 Eggs
A dash of salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon of mustard (any, dry or made up)
1 Tablespoon of vinegar (any)
1 Tablespoon of hot water
1 Cup of oil (any but I prefer cold pressed extra virgin olive oil)

Add to blender all but the oil and 'whizz' for a minute. Some say you should add the oil slowly, I add half the oil and whizz for a minute then add the other half and whizz until the mixture turns pale yellow.

Let me know if you try it :)

You're done! Now wasn't that easy?

Wholemeal Bread

2008-12-06T09:00:00.007+13:00

I've devised a recipe that gets rid of the bulk of nasties that can be found in some commercial breads.

Ingredients
2 Cups of warm/hot water
2 Tablespoons of yeast
2 Tablespoons of honey
3.5 Cups of wholemeal flour

Add yeast and honey to the water, stir and leave for 15 minutes.
Lightly oil and flour a bread/loaf tin.
Set the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Add the flour and mix until just combined (don't over mix).
Transfer dough to the bread tin and leave on the oven, near the vent for 20 minutes.
Place the tin in the oven for 40 minutes.
Remove bread from the tin and place on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it :)

Hooded Baby Towel

2008-12-05T21:53:00.005+13:00

I'm so proud of myself! I can't stop looking at the Hooded Towel I made yesterday and wonder at how it looks shop-bought. I've not made many things and my daughters mermaid outfit turned out too large and a little dismal (in my eyes but shes happy of course). There's a few curtains and minor quilt toppers half-complete but I'm very much a beginner in sewing. I hope to change this given time.

Anyway, I cut:

two pieces of toweling into 26x26 inch squares
one piece of cotton and one toweling into triangles with 10 1/2 inches down each right-angle side
a few of cotton, 2 inches wide and ultimately measuring approx 110 inches long

I sewed the two triangles together, right sides facing, along the diagonal side. I pressed the seem to one side and then folded it back into a triangle, wrong sides facing, pressing then cutting the shape to a perfect flat hood. I sewed this loosely to one corner of one of the pieces of toweling.

I took the strips of cotton and sewed them to the edges of one piece of toweling - right sides facing (so as to hide the seem that keeps it from fraying). I pinned the two toweling pieces together and then pulled the other edge of the cotton to the other piece of toweling and hand sewed the edging on through fear of missing the edging on the other side if I ran it through the machine.

I can only guess this would be better attached after folding the two edges to the middle and pressing then folding in half and pressing. That way you can wrap it over the toweling edge and run it through the machine. Corners, well, I cut the edging straight to the corners so I had a hard time! I tried to make corners like a picture frame, it worked but only just!

So, I'm pretty happy with myself as a novice. If you have any tips to share please do! I do refuse to use that spray on stick-it stuff though. I hope you enjoy using these instructions or admiring my work :)

Potpourri

2008-12-03T12:14:00.004+13:00

In a moment of inspiration while trimming my Parsley plant I made some Potpourri. I like to keep cut flowers for longer than most would as I like to see them dry and they bring cheer for longer. Once they've gotten past the droopy, slimy phase that is!

If you can't bare to watch them then put them away somewhere warm to dry and once crispy you simply remove the pretty parts, place in a bowl and sprinkle with your choice of essential oil.

Mine is residing on the toilet for long lasting fragrance and I used Rosemary oil to uplift our spirits and wake us up.

Here's to my first blog entry!
*clinky*