Sweet Fabric [Search results for cooking

  • Sunday Supper...

    Sunday Supper...

    Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

    Some girlfriends & I had a vegetarian cooking class a couple of weeks ago & this was the meal that was demonstrated by Marisa & devoured by 14 women.

    I've made it & you should have a go - it's yum!

    Quick Chickpea & Vegetable Curry
    1/2 small cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
    2 cloves garlic, crushed
    2 medium onions, diced
    1 & 1/2 Tbs Red Curry Spice
    2 stalks celery, sliced
    1 large zucchini, sliced
    1 red skinned potato, peeled & sliced
    1 white skinned potato, peeled & sliced
    2cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
    Fresh coriander roots, thinly sliced
    1 large handful of green beans, sliced
    1 cup of peas
    1/2 sweet potato, diced
    1/2 small pumpkin, diced
    1 tin chickpeas
    Sea salt to taste
    2-3 Tbs oil
    25 gms butter

    Fresh chopped coriander to serve

    Heat a large heavy based pot. Add the oil & butter.

    Add the onion, celery, garlic coriander root, ginger & 1/2 tsp sea salt. Saute for 3-5 minutes.

    Add the carrot, red curry spice mix & garlic & saute for another 2 minutes.

    Add green beans, sweet potato, red & white potato & chickpeas. Just cover with recently boiled water. Simmer for 8 minutes with lid on, slightly ajar.

    Add the cauliflower, zucchini & a generous pinch of salt & continue to simmer for 15 minutes.

    Add the peas & simmer for a further 1-2 minutes.

    Turn heat off, sprinkle with fresh coriander, cover & allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

    Towards the end of cooking you can add a tin of coconut milk for a lovely creamy taste.

  • Test kitchen...

    Test kitchen...
    Cooking with Kids

    My kids are taking a serious interest in cooking the family meals.

    The little guy is making lasagne for dinner tonight & the small girl whipped up chicken satay for dinner last night.

    Pity the smallest is such a shorty & they all claim they are a wee bit short for the sink. I find this pretty interesting as they manage to snaffle treats from above the fridge by fashioning a human ladder!

  • Dear Blog Reader...

    Dear Blog Reader...
    Roast vegies

    Hello!

    I hope you've had a gorgeous weekend.

    Melbourne has turned on another rainy miserable day today. The girls & I have spent the day in the craft room though so I'm not complaining.

    I'm wondering if you might be able to help me out? I would really like to know your very favourite foodie blogs.

    If you're a reader of cooking blogs please leave your recommendations in the comments.

    Thanks muchly in advance.

    See you tomorrow.

    Kirsty
    x

  • Football, meat pies...

    Football, meat pies...

    kangaroos & holden cars. Classic Australian advertisement - it gave me a chuckle.

    Classic September fare - the meat pie. I'd not made them before so I found a base recipe & then adapted to include some veg for the smalls & following my "use what you have" method of cooking.

    So today's contribution to Mikes week of baking is:

    Meat Pie a la me

    1 kg quality mince
    1 zucchini
    2 onions
    1 big handful of mushrooms
    2 garlic cloves
    4 tbs plain flour
    1 tbs Dijon mustard
    1/3 cup tomato sauce (ketchup)
    2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
    1 litre of stock (I used chicken)
    1 tsp dried herbs (I used basil)

    Puff Pastry
    Egg Yolks

    Preheat oven to 180C.

    Process the zucchini, mushroom, onion & garlic.

    Heat a bit of oil in a large frypan (about wok size). Add the veg mix to the pan & saute for a couple of minutes. Add the mince & brown.

    Add the flour & mustard & cook & stir for a minute or two. Add the tomato, Worcestershire, stock & herbs. Bring to the boil & then simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the mixture has reduced & thickened.

    Allow to cool.

    Prepare your pastry casings. Because I'm lazy I just made square pies - less prep & less clean up. Plus the smalls didn't mind a bit. It tastes the same no matter what shape it is right?

    Brush the sides with egg yolk. Spoon cooled mixture onto the pastry & seal edges with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with more egg yolk & cut slits in the top of each pie.

    Place the pies onto a baking sheet & cook for about 15 minutes or until pies are puffed & golden.

    MUST be served with tomato sauce.

    I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm not so much for the meat but I loved this! Good for the iron levels.

  • The little guy hosts Sunday Supper...

    The little guy hosts Sunday Supper...

    Sunday Supper hosted by Meet me at Mikes.

    The little guy & I have spent the afternoon in the kitchen doing a bit of cooking for school lunches.

    I've made cake: one for Brown Owls & one for snacks.

    The little guy made raspberry pikelets.

    Raspberry Pikelets
    1 1/2 cups SR flour
    1 Tbs caster sugar
    1 egg beaten
    1 cup of milk

    1/3 bag frozen raspberries

    Mix flour & sugar together in a bowl.

    Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.

    Add milk & egg to the well & using a wooden spoon gradually beat dry ingredients into the milk & egg.

    Once mixed stir through the raspberries.

    Heat fry pan, grease lightly & add spoonfuls of the pikelet mix to the pan turning once the bubbles appear...you know the drill.

    Cool inside a tea towel on a wire rack. I'm not sure why you do this but my mum did it & my grandma did it so it must be right!

    Freeze in a plastic container & add to school lunch boxes.

    They thaw beautifully in time for play lunch. We do this for cake & muffins too.

  • On my desk - the players...

    1/4 of an inch
    3 red buttons
    62 cherry
    a little bird told me
    air: work in progress
    Allsorts
    Anna-Lisa
    Aprons & Hammers
    Art with a Soul
    August Street
    Beaded Lady
    Betty in the Kitchen
    Big Cats Emporium
    Boobook Sausage Dogs
    Bowerbirdz
    Bridget's Flame
    Bug and Pop
    Cassandra Allen
    Celestina Carmen
    Cloud Cakes
    Collective Elements
    Cooking my Life
    Cool.According.To.Kylie
    Crafty Doodads
    crafty remix: djbebe
    Creating Nunde
    Curly Pops
    Daily dose of inspiration
    Daisy Chain
    Daydream Lily
    Dear Fii
    Design for Mankind
    details homegoods
    domoshar
    doobleh-vay
    Dragonflies eat Mosquitoes
    Earl & Cookie
    Edward & Lilly
    fancypicnic
    florcita
    flutterby patch
    etc etc
    Glorydaze
    going green
    Growing Together
    G.R.Y.B at home
    Handmaiden
    Hanies
    Hanna's Life is Cool
    her heart my hands
    Hokey
    Honi Design
    Hop Skip Jump
    if only i had chocolate
    iSew
    janene renee
    Jelly Baby Blog
    Jogirl's Journey
    Journalette
    Judy's Notebook
    kerri's provincial patch
    Kiddio
    Kimberly Michelle
    Kittys Kaboodle
    Knit Owl
    konnykards
    Last Stop Muse
    Laugh Out Loud Dolls
    Lauren Williams Handmade
    Leni and Rose
    Lilli Boo
    little letters
    Loobylu
    Made by Molly
    Mainichi Design
    maya*made
    Meet me at Mikes
    Miss Muggins
    mon petit lapin
    monda loves
    musings from the fish bowl
    No life without wife
    no pod
    One Girl
    One Red Robin
    Owlet
    Peapods
    Pigeon Pair
    pink licorice life
    Pint's Palette
    planet treasures
    Pot aux roses
    Precarious Tomato
    Project Incomplete
    puddle wonderful
    Recuperation of Nathalie Brault
    Roots and Leaves
    September Bird
    Sew What
    Shabby Chicken
    Silly Gilly
    Slip cover Diva
    Starashan
    Strawberry Kisses
    Strawberry Season
    Studio Window
    Super Monkey
    Swirlyarts
    Taccolina
    Teacups on Treetops
    Teddy Bears Wednesday
    Textilosophy Oz
    turtle club queen
    The Crafty Librarian
    The Essess
    Twenty Cent Mixture
    Two Cheese Please
    The acorn collective
    The Bird Bath
    The Lark
    The Monday Project
    The Natchbox
    Thimbly Things
    Thousand Threads
    Three Buttons
    tis rhubarb
    Tissue papers
    TreeFall Design
    truth be told
    tsk tsk
    unbecominglily
    vanilla pixie
    whosies
    wide eyed wonderfuls
    you SEW girl
    your cover's blown

    On my desk... is posted on a Wednesday. It's just a shot of your desk & maybe a bit of banter. Let us know what you're working on or what interesting bits & pieces have crossed your desk during the week.

    There is a wonderful blog here - sharing the desks & creative spaces of really clever creative folk. I only found out about this blog after the Wednesday thing began...

    Our Wednesday gig is just a bit of fun.

    Comment on this post if you decide to play along & I'll add you to the link list.

    This list will be updated frequently so feel free to join at any time.

    There is no obligation at all - post when you feel like it. Just super casual & a bit of fun.

    Button Code if you'd like it:

    <a href=" http://kootoyoo.blogspot.com/"><img src="//farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/2607211450_e50e1fc40b.jpg?v=0"/></a>

  • New Ideas...

    New Ideas...

    I was lucky enough to pick up quite a haul of Enid Gilchrist pattern books as well as a New Idea magazine from 1965.

    I've spent hours pouring over the patterns & have read the New Idea cover to cover.

    New Idea circa 1965 was very much like a crafty pages I read online.

    -there's only an occasional mention of a celebrity
    -there are tips contributed by large numbers of women from all around the country
    -there are patterns contributed by readers as well as women with considerable skill
    -recipes & cooking tips
    -reader advertisements
    -& my very favourite feature...

    Readers' Requests
    WOOL: Mrs B Richardson, Buckaroo PO via Mudgee, NSW: A pattern for a man's knitted balaclava or helmet, to borrow or buy.

  • My creative space...

    My creative space...
    creative space crop

    I'm multi tasking like a maniac at the moment.

    Stuff I'm getting paid for, stuff I'm doing for pleasure, cooking, knitting, sewing, stitching & hooking too. It's out of control.

    Just because I have the attention span of a hyper 2 year old I borrowed this Crop-O-Dile from Cathy. I've said it before & I'll say it again. Scrap bookers have the best tools ever! This thing is amazing. Don't get too close to me or you may find yourself with a few holes punched in you!

    Good stuff comes in small black boxes lined with velvet doesn't it? Well, let me tell you the thing inside this box is just about the best thing in the whole wide world. It's made by one of the cleverest people I know. It's beautiful but you'll have to come back tomorrow to see it. I promise it will be worth the click.

    Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

  • In the kitchen...

    In the kitchen...
    buttery goodness

    Cooking something entirely inedible.

    I'm quite pleased with the way the signals from the brain to the finger tips are coming together on this one.

  • Aussie icon...

    Aussie icon...

    with a twist.

    I made roasted strawberry & caramelised mango pavs as well as a few other yummy things. Of course I didn't photograph the finished product but these are the freshly cooked fruits.

    Today was Mum's real 60th birthday. We had a lunch today with the family & some very old family friends.

    It was a bit of a challenge cooking in the beach house kitchen which only has a micro/convection combo oven & very limited resources but I made do.

  • Hawkers' Market...

    Hawkers' Market...
    Hawkers flags
    Hawkers Ready
    Hawkers Cucumber

    The Heat Beads Hawkers' Market is running as part of The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

    What a magical event this is!

    I was lucky enough to be there to watch the Vic Market transform into a bustling Hawkers' Market (& then back again ready for this morning's regular market).

    Last night the Vic Market sheds were filled with the smell of delicious Asian foods sizzling over hot coals. There was live entertainment, cooking demonstrations & tables jam packed full of people soaking in this rather magical event (& they are doing it all again tonight & Wednesday).

    It's certainly an experience I'd recommend so if you're in Melbourne you should consider making tonight or tomorrow night's meal plan "The Heat Beads Hawkers' Market".

  • Elsewhere...

    Elsewhere...

    I've been busying myself in spaces other than this one...sorry (& I'm hoping to catch up with a few people tomorrow).

    Pictured is the beginning of what I've been busy making for Art Fights Fire.
    I've been busy getting some things together for the comfort packs.
    I've been busy going through my recipes for the cookbook.
    I've been busy assembling some stash packs for re-stash a crafter.
    & now I'm busy cooking dinner for some mates we haven't seen for a while.

    Just to let you know that I've decided not to relist the item I had on Ebay.

    I've mentioned before that I'm a rule follower & the "alert" put me off a bit. Instead I'm concentrating my efforts on the above busyness & I've made an additional donation to Red Cross which I'll submit to the Handmade Help Tally.

  • My creative space...

    My creative space...
    Creative Coke

    I'm boring myself with all the talk of the old house so lets just say I'm being creative in a whole other kind of way & leave it at that. This other creativity is going to keep me away from you all this week but I'll look forward to catching up with you all after next Tuesday...that's D Day. The photos are being taken then (at 7:30pm...pretentiously called a "Dusk shoot") & after that it's out of my hands & into the hands of the real estate guys.

    Visit my favourite space from last week right here.

    The kitchen is also my creative space this week but there's no cooking going on. I'm soaking the gas burners in Coke & hoping for the best.

    Thanks for playing along & thanks also for popping in to other players to say hello. I like Thursday...it's friendly.

  • Words & pictures...remember?

    Words & pictures...remember?

    It’s a freezing Melbourne day.

    I’ve got the heater going in the car and it’s nice & cosy. I have to force myself to turn off the engine. I’m staring across the road at the “manor” and willing myself to go in. I tell myself it’s too cold to get out of the car, acutely aware that’s not the real reason for my reluctance.

    Non hasn’t recognised me for months. The visits are painful for me and I’m sure her as well. She’s not one of those sweet little old ladies who retain their social niceties and chat merrily about church, hydrangeas, cooking, suitcases and their cats. The visit isn't easy. I force the conversation and offer prompts.

    Remember?
    Warm moccasins, hand knits, sweet treats, close cuddles, leather gloves, working together, imaginary games.

    Remember?
    Pancakes, deep baths, silky pillowcases, strong perfume, daytime television, cross word puzzles, travel stories.

    Remember?
    Tic Tocs, shared dreams, dinner parties, Max Bygraves, the garden, Pop, your girls….me?

    Non doesn’t, she can’t.

    Occasionally I see that she is searching the far reaches of her failing mind, but she comes up blank.

    She stares straight through me. When she does speak she is often angry and argumentative. I can’t blame her, I’m sure I’d be the same. I suppress the urge to scream.

    This is no way to live.

    I leave feeling completely drained.

    The grieving began long before she died. I do remember & I cherish.

    More remember? stories here.

  • Tinned Apple...

    Tinned Apple...

    Fresh Home Sewn Produce

    Not available at a supermarket near you.

    My teeny cooking apple. He's tightly sealed inside the tin waiting to be gifted to someone special.

  • Hand stitched handbag...

    Hand stitched handbag...
    Bag slouched

    Did you guess?

    You might remember last year I made the perfect bag for a friend. Well, this is my perfect bag but it's also for a friend. I plan to make myself one over the weekend! I based the bag on one I already owned...a very nasty op shopped piece of rubbish but with great bones.

    Bag stitching

    I love the way the embroidery finished up & I've added the bright red zip to keep things interesting.

    Everything came together really well except the flaming zip! That thing drove me nuts. I've got a "can do" attitude & I'm pretty confident with zips but really sewing a zip into a curve (& then trying to top stitch) proved impossible.

    I ended up unpicking the top stitching. You know that rule about cooking something new for a dinner party? Well it's the same for gifts for friends, I've discovered. I'm pretty sure that she won't mind though.

    Bag inside

    Just a peek of the vintage sheet lining.

    worn across the body, single strap, slouchy, soft
    tick, tick, tick, tick
    (with the added bonus of being machine washable)

    I hope she likes it too.

  • My creative space...

    My creative space...
    Creative Space Cylinders

    I went out to reverse art yesterday & this is my haul.

    I'm planning something kind of tricky & fun & on a pretty big scale. We'll see how it goes.

    The fabric (which is foam backed) is for my softie for mirabel. I've got an idea cooking for that too & wanted something with a bit of structure.

    Are you making a softie for mirabel too? This fabulous project has now been running for three years & I'm proud to say I've contributed each year.

    my 2008 softie
    my 2007 softie

    Visit last week's favourite space here.

    Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

  • Busy nothingness...

    Busy nothingness...
    Busy nothingness

    It's been a big long weekend.

    Shopping, cooking, footying, coffeeing, gym competitioning.

    The biggest news in this lot of "ings" is that there was no crafting to be had - not even at the gym comp & I'm usually very well prepared for the 4 hours of boring.

    & this is the way the weekend ended. Crumpled heaps in front of Masterchef last night & then falling into bed.

  • My creative space...

    My creative space...

    I've been domestic more than creative this week.

    Cooking & folding mainly.

    I do have a couple of little things on the go:

    ...tiny inspiration boards
    ...having a crack at some scrappy piecing
    ...can't remember how to use knitting nancy but mighty glad to have found her
    ...Yokens - gifted by Op Shop lady (only a couple of them work) but so good to look at
    ...vintage embroidery transfers

    Pop in and add your link if you're playing along this week.

  • Quinoa Salad...

    Quinoa Salad...

    Sunday Supper hosted by Meet Me at Mikes.

    Not the best day for a salad but I've been wanting to try this out for a while & now the house smells lovely & roast pumpkiny.

    This was the other dish Marisa made at the cooking night I went to (the night the vegie curry was cooked).

    I couldn't remember the recipe properly so I've done a bit of ad lib. This would be yummy with any of your favourite vegies. The Quinoa is what its all about. It's super yum & so good for you.

    Quinoa Salad
    1 Cup Quinoa cooked & cooled
    Cubed pumkin roasted
    Baby Spinach
    Celery chopped
    Cannelini Beans (1 tin) drained & well rinsed.

    Salad will keep in fridge for a few days at this point.

    Before serving...

    Dressing: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, whole grain mustard & salt

    To Serve: sprinkle with toasted pine nuts & chopped fresh herbs

    46