tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85860043604173500862024-03-14T03:34:32.681+01:00The Absinthe Fairy2011 - The Three Cs ProjectAbsinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.comBlogger427125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-5724785504834590512011-07-15T10:55:00.000+02:002011-07-15T10:55:43.876+02:00Pickling walnuts - part 2Once the walnuts have done their briney stint for a couple of weeks, drain them and spread them out onto a tray lined with absorbent paper and leave for a couple of days to dry out. They will turn black. This is normal. They will also stain anything they come into contact with. Including your hands - in fact you will look as though you have been on a 100 a day nicotine addiction for the last 10 years if you handle them without gloves.<br />
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Once they blackened they are ready to be pickled.<br />
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In a large saucepan (large enough to accommodate all the walnuts) bring to the boil the following pickling liquor:<br />
<br />
1 litre of malt vinegar, or a red wine vinegar. Use something with some colour to keep the dark colour of the walnuts.<br />
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to the vinegar add:<br />
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<br />
500g of sugar<br />
1 teaspoon of allspice<br />
1 teaspoon of cloves<br />
1 large cinnamon stick<br />
2 cms of grated fresh ginger<br />
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One the mixture starts to boil, add the walnuts and leave to simmer for 15 minutes or until the smell of vinegar makes your eyes bleed. (that may just be me though so don't worry too much).<br />
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Bottle up into clean jars while still hot. Bottling while the vinegary syrup is hot negate the need for excessive sterilising of jars.<br />
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These will keep for years, and are apparently very good with cheese. I have tried them but was not overly struck on the flavour, but I do know someone who really likes them so that's their presents sorted for the next few Christmases.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_z1jtQDlg9Q/TiAAN6PsR4I/AAAAAAAACCI/al_RHJwFYn8/s1600/IMG_3365.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_z1jtQDlg9Q/TiAAN6PsR4I/AAAAAAAACCI/al_RHJwFYn8/s400/IMG_3365.CR2.jpg" width="355" /></a></div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-24484713826000663352011-07-15T10:43:00.000+02:002011-07-15T10:43:46.951+02:00Dry spell + Downpour = GLUTOoops<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKMVYRCSEKU/Th_8Egqp9kI/AAAAAAAACB4/ki7LK2jJ5jk/s1600/IMG_3355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKMVYRCSEKU/Th_8Egqp9kI/AAAAAAAACB4/ki7LK2jJ5jk/s400/IMG_3355.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So what is a person to do with 15 kilos of courgette and another 20 of deformed patty pan squashes?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Light the Rayburn and get cooking......</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zDqNMTTN4Iw/Th_8L0V0JQI/AAAAAAAACB8/Oczk9yGwpeQ/s1600/IMG_3360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zDqNMTTN4Iw/Th_8L0V0JQI/AAAAAAAACB8/Oczk9yGwpeQ/s400/IMG_3360.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">... from left to right ratatouille, patty pan squash Thai soup and squash and veg soup.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-irI8Oh-k1lA/Th_8VIjWCpI/AAAAAAAACCA/VWk_EmoOnTU/s1600/IMG_3365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-irI8Oh-k1lA/Th_8VIjWCpI/AAAAAAAACCA/VWk_EmoOnTU/s400/IMG_3365.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Winter larder is stocked up, some soups in Kilner jars, some boiled down to thicken as sauce bases for Thai curries, and several tubs of ratatouille for the freezer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As well as the pickled walnuts now in jars ready for Christmas.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now the sun is out the greenhouse is starting to produce ripened fruits too, today's harvest is a one person serving of green pepper, aubergine and assorted varieties of tomatoes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHAxvVbPJdA/Th_8ZqEO3tI/AAAAAAAACCE/53Ojtz3F5R4/s1600/IMG_3374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHAxvVbPJdA/Th_8ZqEO3tI/AAAAAAAACCE/53Ojtz3F5R4/s400/IMG_3374.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">They are going to be my dinner tonight, chopped and fried with a bit of garlic to go in my risotto.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-7226099735429299072011-07-10T20:42:00.000+02:002011-07-10T20:42:15.227+02:00Week 27 - LightTwo for the price of one here, 'light' as a feather, shot against the last rays of sun 'light' through the window...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oWr_qeE2c0/ThnxpSU9N4I/AAAAAAAACB0/xjmbJUVuG54/s1600/light.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7oWr_qeE2c0/ThnxpSU9N4I/AAAAAAAACB0/xjmbJUVuG54/s400/light.CR2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-11351610247086230102011-07-10T20:20:00.000+02:002011-07-10T20:20:40.001+02:00Nocturnal VisitorOur house is really quite old, a couple of hundred years old, and as such it has some interesting quirks. One of which is a lack of foundations. The house sits on compacted dirt about 50cms deep before it hits the bedrock of the volcanic range we are part of. <br />
<br />
When we bought the house, it had no bathroom. Like ninety five per cent of the houses around here, inhabited or uninhabited seems to make no difference. Houses constructed in the 1800s had no bathrooms, and so as the houses here are mostly owned by farmers who know lots of things about cows and wheat, they have no interest nor desire to engage in any DIY skills, and so each house gets decorated once a generation and very few bathrooms were ever fitted. Kitchens mostly consist of a wood burning stove of some description, or if really modern a bottled gas cooker, and a table and chair.<br />
<br />
When we decided to include all the mod cons in our house, including a fitted bathroom, we had very little choice in its position. It went in what was once a dirt floored cellar, a 'cave'. To counteract issues of damp, we created a platform floor, constructed from treated outdoor decking, sitting on a series of beams that sit on a series of impermeable membranes, that sit on the original dirt floor, that is actually half a metre lower than it was originally to accommodate the new floating floor structure - and that took some digging out I can tell you, lots and lots and lots and lots of wheelbarrows of dirt were wheeled outside. <br />
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The upshot of this is, the floor is in effect free standing, it does butt up agains the walls but is not fixed to the walls in any way to allow for movements in the lime stone walls, and flexing caused by heat or cold. And so we have gaps. Some quite significant gaps.<br />
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And we get a few of these nocturnal visitors popping up through the gaps to hang out with us....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1Mu7M2DMDU/ThntP9VJI2I/AAAAAAAACBw/pexHyGY6g6w/s1600/nocturnal+visitor.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1Mu7M2DMDU/ThntP9VJI2I/AAAAAAAACBw/pexHyGY6g6w/s400/nocturnal+visitor.CR2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-70871894808558273892011-07-04T20:16:00.000+02:002011-07-04T20:16:01.374+02:00Week 26 - The photographer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>OK - how to photographer the photographer without just taking a picture of myself in the mirror with a camera to my face.<br />
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And if I pose somewhere and someone else takes the photo then it is not 'my' photograph...<br />
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Oohh the trials and tribulations of trying to portray yourself in a photograph.<br />
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So here is my answer:<br />
<br />
and for anyone who knows me they will know how appropriate it is for me to portray myself through shoes, because shoes are my vice. I have a lot of shoes, not that namby pamby 'lot of shoes' that people say when they own 15 pairs stuffed under the bed. I own A LOT of shoes - shoes that require three bookcases and a room of their own in fact. Even with having had a cull of shoes when we moved to France, and a recent cull to free up some space for books on my bookshelves ready for the end of the month big car boot sale, I still own in the region of.... (big breath) ........ 150 pairs of shoes! <br />
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Yes that's right, 150 pairs. I own a lot of shoes!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tHt2Eb6LWcQ/ThIB3_uy_EI/AAAAAAAACBs/yX7hwOy-0Ek/s1600/the+photographer.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tHt2Eb6LWcQ/ThIB3_uy_EI/AAAAAAAACBs/yX7hwOy-0Ek/s400/the+photographer.CR2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
So here is what you have:<br />
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shit kicking cowboy boots - for my equestrian love and take no crap from anyone, but with a soft side, baby blue soft leather.<br />
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retro sandals - because I am a bit of a vintage chick at heart<br />
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high tech running shoes - for my new keep fit and healthy treadmill lifestyle<br />
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bead espadrills - because I am a bit of a hippy at heart and who can resist a bit of floral beading, not me for sure<br />
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and a pair of sturdy boots - for those jobs that just have to be done, and I will get on and do them, from gardening to roofing..Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-32431488350614383852011-07-03T22:23:00.000+02:002011-07-03T22:23:03.333+02:00The scariest storm ever....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I like THUNDER<br />
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I like LIGHTNING<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TW1JwWZ7rz8/ThDKokjRVGI/AAAAAAAACA8/h_dQpXW_NOY/s1600/IMG_3269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TW1JwWZ7rz8/ThDKokjRVGI/AAAAAAAACA8/h_dQpXW_NOY/s320/IMG_3269.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I DO NOT like hail stones the size of golfballs!!<br />
<br />
These fell in a storm on Tuesday night. I had just come in from my 5km walk, running ahead of the storm all the way, listening to the thunder rolling in from every direction, without a flash of lightning nor a drop of rain.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3c_OP-Nh3vk/ThDKx3Te-FI/AAAAAAAACBA/roPIokRCqQY/s1600/IMG_3274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3c_OP-Nh3vk/ThDKx3Te-FI/AAAAAAAACBA/roPIokRCqQY/s320/IMG_3274.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then these things appeared out of the sky....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">... and covered the ground.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vZqolZ04mJE/ThDLiIX1s_I/AAAAAAAACBQ/nFCRFQgdfh4/s1600/IMG_3293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vZqolZ04mJE/ThDLiIX1s_I/AAAAAAAACBQ/nFCRFQgdfh4/s320/IMG_3293.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Splashing down in the pool......<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-amz9-kPD2z0/ThDLpnSWWDI/AAAAAAAACBU/LzWjPXJdklQ/s1600/IMG_3298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-amz9-kPD2z0/ThDLpnSWWDI/AAAAAAAACBU/LzWjPXJdklQ/s320/IMG_3298.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>.....bouncing off the roof of the terrace.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KACepCkhquY/ThDLy5q8KmI/AAAAAAAACBY/-vLF5TsnLIU/s1600/IMG_3303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KACepCkhquY/ThDLy5q8KmI/AAAAAAAACBY/-vLF5TsnLIU/s320/IMG_3303.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Smashing a tube of our solar panel....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rr_H1mWhN1o/ThDL4wT3jXI/AAAAAAAACBc/Rj8PoZeJwMQ/s1600/IMG_3305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rr_H1mWhN1o/ThDL4wT3jXI/AAAAAAAACBc/Rj8PoZeJwMQ/s320/IMG_3305.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...and smashing through the guttering.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_CJk2_WoiI/ThDMWbQCJAI/AAAAAAAACBo/mNHXAhszTiQ/s1600/IMG_3310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_CJk2_WoiI/ThDMWbQCJAI/AAAAAAAACBo/mNHXAhszTiQ/s320/IMG_3310.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">.....and smashing up my cold frames.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f__v0ob8cLg/ThDMPVy5dgI/AAAAAAAACBk/YuCsryy_Pdo/s1600/IMG_3309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f__v0ob8cLg/ThDMPVy5dgI/AAAAAAAACBk/YuCsryy_Pdo/s320/IMG_3309.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> A couple of hours later, they had not even melted away....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IoeGgS7gKSU/ThDMDo0EiHI/AAAAAAAACBg/A3g0aV4bekA/s1600/IMG_3308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IoeGgS7gKSU/ThDMDo0EiHI/AAAAAAAACBg/A3g0aV4bekA/s320/IMG_3308.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">... they also knocked huge amounts of apples of the trees, you can see why, the hail stones are the same size as the poor little apples.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-68282734434557858642011-07-03T21:58:00.000+02:002011-07-03T21:58:38.156+02:00June's C of Cooking - Wheat and Dairy Free Chocolate CakeEspecially for my wheat intolerent friends:<br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wheat and Dairy Free Chocolate Cake</span></b><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
<br />
3/4 cup of rice flour<br />
3/4 cup of brown sugar<br />
1/4 cup of good quality cocoa powder<br />
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<br />
1 teaspoon of cinnamon<br />
1 teaspoon of baking powder<br />
pinch of salt<br />
1 large egg<br />
1/2 cup of good quality hot coffee<br />
1/2 cup of soya or rice milk<br />
1/4 cup of olive oil<br />
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence<br />
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Preheat the oven to 180°C. <br />
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In a large mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients, in a separate bowl, beat the egg well then add in the rest of the liquids ensuring that you mix the hot coffee with the colder ingredients before pouring over the egg.<br />
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Then pour into a well in the centre of the flour, beating well all the way until you get a thick dark viscous cake mix.<br />
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This mix can make one large sponge cake, or 12 cupcakes. Use a springform tin, greased then floured or paper or silicone cupcake moulds.<br />
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Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool and decorate as you wish.<br />
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Oooops - forgot the photo! Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-54341362629062724032011-06-27T16:08:00.001+02:002011-06-27T16:11:58.817+02:00Today's harvest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWxnLLQJfkw/TgiKCHUatUI/AAAAAAAACA4/PbDmskAiF0Q/s1600/today%2527s+harvest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWxnLLQJfkw/TgiKCHUatUI/AAAAAAAACA4/PbDmskAiF0Q/s400/today%2527s+harvest.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Poor Brendan, as the weather hots up and food finally starts to appear in the garden I feel another supermarket embargo coming on.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Today's harvest gives me: 5 quail eggs, 4 chicken eggs, some raspberries, 1 yellow tomato, a clump of swiss chard, some patty pan squashes and some courgettes - of course!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tonight's menu based on my harvest and store room staples:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Courgette and tomato tart (on pre rolled flaky pastry) - thinly sliced peeled courgette and ripe red tomatoes arranged on pastry then seasoned with salt and pepper and a drizzle of sun dried tomato flavoured olive oil</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crab and grated carrot salad in homemade mayonnaise with garlic and ginger</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tuna and cucumber with home made mayonnaise with paprika</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Courgette bake - thinly sliced courgette with bechemal sauce made with some frozen pheasant stock, topped with hamburger cheese - because that was all I had in the fridge, and some dry bread toasted and whizzed up for breadcrumbs mixed with dried parsley</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://agraimpex.pl/uk/slaska.html">Silesian </a>sausages - a polish deli treat courtesy of my lovely mummy :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-69QTlt-xZ90/TgiJu9N-9SI/AAAAAAAACA0/EixvasxOGbY/s1600/today%2527s+dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-69QTlt-xZ90/TgiJu9N-9SI/AAAAAAAACA0/EixvasxOGbY/s320/today%2527s+dinner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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To make mayonnaise, take a small bowl with a narrow base so that you can whisk into the bottom easily, and separate two egg yolks (discard the whites or freeze into ice cube trays for use in meringues or something). Add a teaspoon of dried mustard powder, salt and pepper and start whisking - if you are using an electric whisk support the bowl on a teatowel because you need two hands for this. Very very very slowly add about 250ml of oil, not oilve as that is too strong flavoured but a grape seed oil or similar, whisk each drop that you add into the egg and mustard powder emulsion, don't be tempted to rush or it won't work. Just before the last of the oil goes in, add a teaspoon of vinegar, not malt but any pale vinegar, I use apple cider or raspberry because it adds another depth of flavour to the mayo. Then trickle in the last of the oil, at no point stopping the whisking, and you should end up with a lovely thick yellow mayonnaise - which I should have photographed but had dumped into my tuna and crab bowls before I remembered.<br />
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And as for the raspberries - well I scoffed them with some yoghurt and cereal for my breakfast.Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-9004072427744729552011-06-26T14:05:00.000+02:002011-06-26T14:05:08.143+02:00Week 25 - HOTand it certainly is.<br />
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By the time I was back from my walk this morning at 10, it was 27°C, and now we are hiding in the house because the temperature is up to 38°C.<br />
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Hence today's photo for this week's theme of hot - my poor tomato plants in the greenhouse, struggling to cope with the heat in there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRFePl33WKc/TgcevVx_PBI/AAAAAAAACAo/Nr4dm_GBVkc/s1600/Hot.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRFePl33WKc/TgcevVx_PBI/AAAAAAAACAo/Nr4dm_GBVkc/s400/Hot.CR2.jpg" width="266" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">River seems to be enjoying the heat, adopting her favourite position of belly up in the sun on the doorstep.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AS-Jd6nrS1E/TgcfgAFTPMI/AAAAAAAACAs/fwv6VA7nNm4/s1600/IMG_3174.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AS-Jd6nrS1E/TgcfgAFTPMI/AAAAAAAACAs/fwv6VA7nNm4/s400/IMG_3174.CR2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-8422709866113055282011-06-26T13:47:00.001+02:002011-06-26T17:17:56.559+02:00June's C of Creation - Crochet Baby Blanket / Lap ThrowFinished the baby blanket that I have been crocheting for my friend's imminent delivery.<br />
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I used a thin grey lambswool in conjunction with a thicker cream wool to create a neutral toned chunky blanket.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AevE0dBgY9U/TgcXVfreP6I/AAAAAAAACAk/YBoblCIalDE/s1600/2011-06-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AevE0dBgY9U/TgcXVfreP6I/AAAAAAAACAk/YBoblCIalDE/s400/2011-06-26.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a super easy pattern, that crochets up very quickly in pretty much any sort of wool you would want to use, just adapt the size of your hook to the wool as required and keep going until you get the size you are after.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I used 400g of each wool to create a chunky blanket 120cm by 150cm. Gauge is not vital, just sit back and crochet away in front of the TV and a couple of evenings later you will have a lovely textured throw.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Shell Rripple Throw</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stitches used : SC = single crochet, DC = double crochet, CH = chain</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Shell pattern : work 2 DC, ch 2, 2 DC in next stitch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chain 112</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Row 1 : (DC, ch 2, 2 DC) in 4th stitch from hook (the first shell - the first 3 skipped stitches count as the first DC in the shell pattern), * Chain 2, (skip next 2 stitches, sc in next stitch, ch 3) 7 times, skip 2, sc in next stitch, ch 2 skip 2, work shell in next stitch, repeat from * to end, working shell in the last stitch. Ch 3, turn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Row 2 ; Work shell in chain 2 space of the first shell, * dc in next ch 2 space (ch 3, sc in next ch 3 space) 7 times, ch 3, dc in next chain 2 space, work shell in ch 2 space of next shell, repeat from * to end. Ch 3, turn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rows 3 and 4 are the main pattern rows, repeat these until you have reached the size you are after or run out of wool, finishing on a Row 3. At the start of each row the chain 3 acts as the first DC of the shell.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Row 3 : Work shell in chain 2 space of the first shell, * (ch 3, sc in next chain 3 space) 8 times. Ch 3, work shell in chain 2 space of next shell, repeat from * to end, Chain 3, turn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Row 4 : Work shell in chain 2 space of the frist shell, * dc in next chain 3 space, (ch3, sc in next chain 3 space) 7 times, ch 3, dc in next chain 3 space, shell in chain 2 space of next shell, repeat from * to end. Ch 3, turn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The shell pattern creates a thick ripple the length of the blanket.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did not add a fringe as I intend this for a baby, but it does lend itself to fringing in the chain 3 loops at the ends of each row.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-36907757581197891442011-06-21T09:14:00.000+02:002011-06-21T09:14:07.466+02:00Week 24 - PeopleStruggled with finding something to photograph that wasn't actual people.<br />
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I was going to do graffitti but didn't have time to go and find any, so had this idea instead, and found the perfect name.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Api4BH7hI1U/TgBEgVoTHJI/AAAAAAAACAg/w4FYIFujorM/s1600/people.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Api4BH7hI1U/TgBEgVoTHJI/AAAAAAAACAg/w4FYIFujorM/s320/people.CR2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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How cool would it be to be called Mrs Cupcake?Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-22169101330246804092011-06-20T11:13:00.000+02:002011-06-20T11:13:27.950+02:00Pickling walnuts - part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NVaPfFet_ZE/Tf8ENk9-95I/AAAAAAAACAE/bc4cP0y4K-g/s1600/IMG_3063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NVaPfFet_ZE/Tf8ENk9-95I/AAAAAAAACAE/bc4cP0y4K-g/s320/IMG_3063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I don't actually like pickled walnuts, but we do have friends who do, so if you are reading this, guess what you are getting for Christmas!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-METr3NeWDcw/Tf8E9S693fI/AAAAAAAACAI/yvJrCWpF6Ao/s1600/IMG_3065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-METr3NeWDcw/Tf8E9S693fI/AAAAAAAACAI/yvJrCWpF6Ao/s320/IMG_3065.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Pick walnuts while very young and green, before the shell has formed within the green outer skin, so normally before the end of June.<br />
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You will soon know whether they are too advanced because you won't be able to prick them through the shell.<br />
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Start by rinsing the walnuts clean.<br />
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Then kit yourself out with some rubber gloves and a steel BBQ spike or a long tined fork.<br />
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Prick each walnut a couple of times at least, quite far in. If the shell has started to form you won't be able to force the skewer in further than about 5 mms, and they won't pickle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zPxE7FBk66o/Tf8Fi7sTj5I/AAAAAAAACAM/3t7wP3epWdc/s1600/IMG_3074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zPxE7FBk66o/Tf8Fi7sTj5I/AAAAAAAACAM/3t7wP3epWdc/s320/IMG_3074.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Don't be deceived by the clear liquid that seeps out. It will stain your fingers a most interesting nicotine colour if you don't wear gloves!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zg2Va1NdVyM/Tf8F91SGbbI/AAAAAAAACAQ/oqfYzwHxLmA/s1600/IMG_3075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zg2Va1NdVyM/Tf8F91SGbbI/AAAAAAAACAQ/oqfYzwHxLmA/s320/IMG_3075.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Mix up a brine solution of one part salt to six parts water and pour over enough to ensure the walnuts are fully covered.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-17mGSsaVJBA/Tf8Gg3KVTrI/AAAAAAAACAU/102pynI98Ls/s1600/IMG_3079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-17mGSsaVJBA/Tf8Gg3KVTrI/AAAAAAAACAU/102pynI98Ls/s320/IMG_3079.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Weigh the walnuts down with a plate to keep them all immersed, then cover and leave for a week.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d_O8mvbA_7I/Tf8HMU3ADEI/AAAAAAAACAY/fvAelRCk4IQ/s1600/IMG_3080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d_O8mvbA_7I/Tf8HMU3ADEI/AAAAAAAACAY/fvAelRCk4IQ/s320/IMG_3080.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>The best thing about these plastic bowls is the plastic lids. I can just write the instructions on the lids and tuck the bowls away in the back of the pantry.<br />
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As per the instruction on the lid, after a week, make up a new brine solution and leave for a second week. <br />
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Stay tuned for the next installment in pickling walnuts!Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-10168901445314562752011-06-20T11:02:00.000+02:002011-06-20T11:02:56.852+02:00Another succesful car boot day and a bit of foraging....I like a good car boot as I am sure I have mentioned before.<br />
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Sunday's car boot was in <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvic">Volvic</a>, and yes the water does come from there. You can visit the source itself, but Volvic itself is mostly water bottling factory. But it does have a good car boot.<br />
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This week, I bought a beautiful 50's mustard yellow casserole dish, and a set of copper pans.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--OemW71t790/Tf8CDZJ7YkI/AAAAAAAACAA/ZTGbFoCShdU/s1600/IMG_3071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--OemW71t790/Tf8CDZJ7YkI/AAAAAAAACAA/ZTGbFoCShdU/s400/IMG_3071.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I know I don't actually need any more pans, but they were a bargain, and they do look lovely hanging up in the kitchen in place of the 70s brown enamel ones I had before.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While we were out, we initiated our friends into the fine art of foraging, starting with a bag of immature green walnuts and some red sour plums.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Another happy afternoon of jam making ahead then, and the first stage of pickling the walnuts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">River is enjoying herself being a naughty puppy, there is something so very cute about the way she runs around like a loon, pouncing and bouncing, then just collapses for a snooze.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not sure what the sleeping with the tongue stuck out like that means, perhaps a way of thumbing her nose at the cats by managing to claim a bit of living room floor to herself. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-26512662182963387232011-06-16T10:00:00.001+02:002011-06-18T13:01:15.185+02:00Another shawl finished<a href="http://localhost:50840/e288ac8f3bb06d9982f21b556e911b98/image/32fa4bca90373199.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://localhost:50840/e288ac8f3bb06d9982f21b556e911b98/image/32fa4bca90373199.jpg?size=400" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> Added the fringed finish to this last night.<br />
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Another shawl finished. I am not going to be cold this winter and no prizes for guessing what everyone is getting for Christmas this year!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.caron.com/images/yarn_images/simply_soft/ss_proj/ss7_spider_stitch_wrap3_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.caron.com/images/yarn_images/simply_soft/ss_proj/ss7_spider_stitch_wrap3_lg.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
This shawl is adapted from this pattern by Caron:<br />
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<a href="http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/ss7_spider_stitch_wrap.pdf">http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/ss7_spider_stitch_wrap.pdf</a><br />
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but I used a thicher thread and bigger hook size to create a denser feel throw.<br />
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As I like the pattern, I may give it another go in a different yarn, but for now I am moving on to my next crochet project.Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-966184287579936832011-06-12T15:37:00.000+02:002011-06-12T15:37:33.439+02:00Am I a vintage girl or not......After last year's ranting about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alys_Fowler">Alys Fowler</a> and her vintage style, I have been having a long running debate with myself as to whether I am a vintage girl or not.<br />
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As I am not a person to consider that I have a great deal of personal style, not now my goth days are long behind me, and being as I am mostly clothed in items sent over from the UK bought at charity shops and car boots by my mum, I struggle to dress myself. Literally some mornings.....I have been known to go to work in my PJs with a knee length baggy jumper thrown over the top - just admitting that makes me feel bad - unfortunately it is true.<br />
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Anyway, when watching this last year I developed a real yen for vintage clothing, but considered it to be something for the less clothing size challenged, and now that I have lost a bit of weight I am reconsidering my position on vintage.<br />
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But am I vintage girl or not? How do you tell?<br />
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I couldn't wear it and ascribe ironic post modernistic tendancies to myself, because quite frankly most of my elderly neighbours are still wearing items lovingly handcrafted in the 70s. So I would just fit right in. From a distance in fact, bent over my hoe in the garden I would simply be another piece in the rural mosaic here. And indistinguishable from my septegenarian best friend. <br />
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Not sure if that is a good thing or not?<br />
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Alongside issues of size there is also the issue of cost, vintage clothing and fabric is at a premium, and loads of it has made its way from ebay to specialist on line retailers, putting it way out of my price bracket.<br />
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But today, at my favourite car boot of the year I found these little treasures: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPB-ApqPHQw/TfS_GDemI2I/AAAAAAAAB_0/Qz5UM__yDmk/s1600/IMG_3036.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPB-ApqPHQw/TfS_GDemI2I/AAAAAAAAB_0/Qz5UM__yDmk/s320/IMG_3036.CR2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>2 hand made floral dresses with button through bodices, in simple A-line styles, 1 handmade pinafore dress with big white buttons and white edging details on the front pockets, and a hand crocheted white jumper.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zXFJET5vDpo/TfTATPPM8AI/AAAAAAAAB_4/UgNRtTSa5KI/s1600/IMG_3045.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zXFJET5vDpo/TfTATPPM8AI/AAAAAAAAB_4/UgNRtTSa5KI/s320/IMG_3045.CR2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I also picked up an orangey tweed jacket with faux fur cuffs and collar, but forgot to take a photo of that. <br />
As it is dry clean only, I have popped it outside to hang to air it out a bit, it looks like new and is not really dirty just musty. <br />
<br />
Now I just have to try to find the courage to wear these things, but at 3 Euros for the dress and jumper and 5 Euros for the jacket, at least I am not out of pocket to the tune of a small fortune.Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-24955228528698934462011-06-12T15:09:00.000+02:002011-06-12T15:09:02.684+02:00Week 23 - Weather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SVMQpmxdx5U/TfS5-0HTpzI/AAAAAAAAB_w/heT2-NpHAms/s1600/weather.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SVMQpmxdx5U/TfS5-0HTpzI/AAAAAAAAB_w/heT2-NpHAms/s400/weather.CR2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What do you do on a rainy Sunday afternoon - why curl up with a good book. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Week 23 - Weather, 52 images for 2011 flickr group</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-58601051436382926642011-06-12T14:57:00.000+02:002011-06-12T14:57:32.305+02:00River settling in<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xglqDVgd6Kk/TfS1rMqbxlI/AAAAAAAAB_o/CbWnarrC6dQ/s1600/IMG_2999.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xglqDVgd6Kk/TfS1rMqbxlI/AAAAAAAAB_o/CbWnarrC6dQ/s400/IMG_2999.CR2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Arthur was the only dog I have every owned, and River is the second, he was a dog and she is a bitch. Is this why she sleeps like this? Arthur never did. Cute though.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UA-owLKwAMo/TfS3IbAiHMI/AAAAAAAAB_s/zqGeLGWEh1o/s1600/IMG_3003.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UA-owLKwAMo/TfS3IbAiHMI/AAAAAAAAB_s/zqGeLGWEh1o/s400/IMG_3003.CR2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The biggest problem for River is getting used to the fact the cats want to share her blanket at night. Mr Pink likes to curl up into her tummy and Ferguson and Pond swiftly follow suit. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-2680458486644615912011-06-10T21:45:00.000+02:002011-06-10T21:45:52.255+02:00A day in the life of my RayburnGot up to another showery day, with gaps between the showers too brief for a walk, and the flue on my fire requiring a bit of attention so a studio day out of the question, all leaving me a bit loose endy feeling.<br />
<br />
So I reverted to my default setting for a rainy day, I lit the Rayburn and spent the day cooking.<br />
<br />
I started by playing a little game I like to call 'Deep Freeze Tease', which basically involves finding random unlabelled packages in the chest freezer and cooking something out of the contents.<br />
<br />
Today I found:<br />
<br />
2 duck breasts<br />
1 small joint of shin of beef<br />
1 handful of chestnuts<br />
5 hot dog sausages<br />
<br />
which translated to:<br />
<br />
1 spicy chinese duck with noodles<br />
1 beef curry <br />
1 mediterranean beef casserole<br />
6 spicy beef kebabs<br />
10 sausage rolls<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DfZbtjs_t4U/TfJt-Cl60-I/AAAAAAAAB_g/V_kr-6W-HwE/s1600/IMG_2987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DfZbtjs_t4U/TfJt-Cl60-I/AAAAAAAAB_g/V_kr-6W-HwE/s400/IMG_2987.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
So here are my recipes for June<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Spicy Beef Kebabs</span></b><br />
<br />
500g lean beef <br />
3 slices of bread<br />
1 teaspoon chilli powder<br />
1 onion<br />
2 garlic cloves<br />
4 tablespoons of dried parsley<br />
2 tablespoons of lemon juice<br />
1 tablespoon of tomato puree<br />
<br />
<br />
I started by piling all the ingredients into my food processor and whizzing them all up together.<br />
<br />
If you are going to barbeque these, then make sure you soak the kebab sticks, but as I am going to grill mine I haven't bothered.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N4uH3rJugoc/TfJuJMABjSI/AAAAAAAAB_k/bhMMq9cD3PU/s1600/IMG_2994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N4uH3rJugoc/TfJuJMABjSI/AAAAAAAAB_k/bhMMq9cD3PU/s320/IMG_2994.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Flour your hands and take a golfball size of mix and roll between your palms to create a sausage shape, then push the stick up through the centre. Coat with flour and leave to set in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_3sqsN58o0A/TfJtiMAU3ZI/AAAAAAAAB_U/A7HULdR48CQ/s1600/IMG_2965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_3sqsN58o0A/TfJtiMAU3ZI/AAAAAAAAB_U/A7HULdR48CQ/s400/IMG_2965.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> This the joint I found in the freezer, as you can see it is not that big, but it was half price, and that is always a selling point.<br />
<br />
After taking the bit required for the kebabs, I cut the rest up into little chunks and spread them out between two further dishes, a curry (on the right) and a light summery mediterranean casserole.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Mediterranean casserole</span></b><br />
<br />
2 large onions roughly chopped<br />
1 kilo of tomatoes roughly chopped<br />
4 cloves of garlic<br />
500g of lean beef cut into small cubes<br />
1 large courgette cut into chunks<br />
12 pitted black olives <br />
<br />
Fry all the above in a little olive oil, then add a litre of water and a veggie stock cube and leave to cook overnight in a Rayburn or 4 hours at 150°C, season and serve with hot crusty freshly baked bread.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7MI6Tmahpr0/TfJtsUE-DpI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/UZ39pfLOjf0/s1600/IMG_2981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7MI6Tmahpr0/TfJtsUE-DpI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/UZ39pfLOjf0/s400/IMG_2981.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Spicy Duck Noodles</span></b><br />
<br />
Marinade ingredients:<br />
<br />
<br />
2 cm of fresh ginger<br />
2 cloves garlic<br />
1 fresh red chilli<br />
1 tablespoon of soy sauce<br />
2 limes<br />
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds<br />
1 teaspoon of chinese 5 spice powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper<br />
<br />
Blitz everything up together in a food processor.<br />
<br />
2 duck breasts<br />
1 small glass of wine<br />
1 teaspoon of brown sugar<br />
250g of dried rice noodles<br />
<br />
Take 2 duck breasts or chicken or pork or whatever meat you have, and cube, then stir over the marinade and leave for about 4 hours in the fridge.<br />
<br />
Scoop the meat out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and fry.<br />
<br />
Once browned add back in the marinade juices and leave to cook for a couple of minutes. <br />
<br />
In the marinade dish break up the dried noodles and pour over enough hot water to just cover the noodles, cover and leave for 5 minutes, enough time for the noodles to swell and soften and absorb most of the water. <br />
<br />
Add the noodles to the meat pan, pour over a little glass of wine and finally add a teaspoon of brown sugar to thicken and sticky up the sauce.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BSK25uNZpZE/TfJt2NaVNHI/AAAAAAAAB_c/N6eXAddeB68/s1600/IMG_2984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BSK25uNZpZE/TfJt2NaVNHI/AAAAAAAAB_c/N6eXAddeB68/s400/IMG_2984.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>And finally, what are you supposed to do with 5 random hot dog sausages and a handful of chestnuts.....<br />
<br />
....well sausage rolls of course.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Chestnut Sausage Rolls</span></b><br />
<br />
Whizz up some hot dog sausages with a couple of teaspoons of whole grain mustard and a handful of blanched and peeled chestnuts.<br />
<br />
Roll in some pastry, either filo or flaky, whichever you have or whichever you like to make, I like to make neither but usually have a roll of flaky in the fridge for tarts and the like.<br />
<br />
Bake in the oven at 180°c for 20 minutes and eat either hot or cold. <br />
<br />
Well - that's the rainy day cooking over, just enough residual heat to make me a pot of coffee!Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-7660777310676360802011-06-05T19:40:00.000+02:002011-06-05T19:40:54.397+02:00Week 22 - GlassThis week's theme was glass and I was overwhelmed with inspiration - or at least I would have been if I had looked at the right week, instead of skipping ahead to next week's theme. On the bright side, I have lots of ideas for week 23 - weather!<br />
<br />
So today before heading off for Sunday lunch with friends, I took this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wHFlR3veY8o/Teu-bhgO8KI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/Gt39pPqhPtM/s1600/glass.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wHFlR3veY8o/Teu-bhgO8KI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/Gt39pPqhPtM/s400/glass.CR2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the dusty tops of a couple of kilner jars of last year's produce, tucked away in the corner of the barn. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Every year I try to find ways of preserving as much of my veggie harvest as I can, and kilner jars are one of my favourites.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There is something about the heavy glass lids and wire catches that just evokes authentic homegrown produce.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-91150709207214496912011-06-01T09:44:00.001+02:002011-06-01T09:44:36.157+02:00Today is bought to you by the letter B<a href="http://localhost:52047/a612ce7c3454e7003307e1e71fc9d61a/image/4ba874cc04697be9.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://localhost:52047/a612ce7c3454e7003307e1e71fc9d61a/image/4ba874cc04697be9.jpg?size=400" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> ......and the letter B stands for buttons.<br />
<br />
Today I am getting my hands mucky with some air harding clay and making buttons.<br />
<br />
With a multitude of thick chunky and cosy crochet and knit shawls awaiting the autumn months, it is time to get those finishing touches on the way.<br />
<br />
Thick chunky buttons are the way to go.<br />
<br />
Just cut a 1.5cm square of the clay, roll into a ball between your palms, then press your finger into one side to create the dip. Wet your finger in some water and smooth the hollow out, making sure to smooth out any creases or cracks with a bit of water, then punch out the button holes with a toothpick, wiggle to enlarge them enough to take a woolen strand rather than just cotton thread, then leave to dry. <br />
<br />
The clay needs one day per centimetre thickness to dry fully.<br />
<br />
Once dried, they can be painted and varnished, you can stick beads, dried flowers or sequins and glitter into the clay while hardening, or press out a pattern using lace, then use a resin or varnish to set the button and the decorations. <br />
<br />
Now I just have to contain myself to ensure they are fully dry before playing with them some more.Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-29253681812201387872011-05-31T19:31:00.000+02:002011-05-31T19:31:58.178+02:00May's other C - for CoffeeFollowing on from my personal promise to myself that it should be quality and quantity that counts, coffee has been the next thing to come under scrutiny.<br />
<br />
Not that long ago I never drank coffee, only black tea. Over the last few years I have developed a need for caffeine in order to face the day, in fact it would be fair to say that without my coffee in the morning I am not human, bearing in mind I am normally up at about 6.00am to start my day.<br />
<br />
Over the years we have drunk any number of cheap brands, middle of the road brands, then cheapo brands, then anything we found on offer in the supermarket, never having developed a favourite flavour. <br />
<br />
But on a recent flea market trawl I bagged one of these - an Italian coffee percolator.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-reOh_kQSX8g/TeUioFA-bPI/AAAAAAAAB-0/sEydg5eHAqs/s1600/IMG_2916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-reOh_kQSX8g/TeUioFA-bPI/AAAAAAAAB-0/sEydg5eHAqs/s400/IMG_2916.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I love the way these look, but looking good is not enough, it is time to use it now, with some good quality Arabica ground coffee. Now that should have me bouncing around first thing ready to start the day!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CNvhKcgMeEY/TeUiyHLleaI/AAAAAAAAB-4/VgwXgQLRaXU/s1600/IMG_2922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CNvhKcgMeEY/TeUiyHLleaI/AAAAAAAAB-4/VgwXgQLRaXU/s400/IMG_2922.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to use an Italian Percolator:</b></span><br />
<br />
Unscrew the base from the top and remove the filter.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AGoAg17Hbmc/TeUi6j2GNOI/AAAAAAAAB-8/4WzB44yMlrM/s1600/IMG_2924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AGoAg17Hbmc/TeUi6j2GNOI/AAAAAAAAB-8/4WzB44yMlrM/s320/IMG_2924.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Fill the bottom reservoir with water to just below the expansion nipple. <br />
<br />
Use a heaped teaspoon of coffee for each cup of water - this percolator makes coffee at expresso strength so don't stint on the coffee grounds!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4dqqHMWdF_A/TeUjCSYJSkI/AAAAAAAAB_A/eFkBmn0Eg-0/s1600/IMG_2927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4dqqHMWdF_A/TeUjCSYJSkI/AAAAAAAAB_A/eFkBmn0Eg-0/s320/IMG_2927.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Put the coffee into the filter and place that on top of the base, then screw on the top.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AoUIwGzUcEM/TeUjK4JciSI/AAAAAAAAB_E/WvA_-6-QyPc/s1600/IMG_2930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AoUIwGzUcEM/TeUjK4JciSI/AAAAAAAAB_E/WvA_-6-QyPc/s400/IMG_2930.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>The top reservoir will be empty until you put the precolator onto the heat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F52WVsfen-Y/TeUjSeyBKcI/AAAAAAAAB_I/z8sRU0hiW6k/s1600/IMG_2935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F52WVsfen-Y/TeUjSeyBKcI/AAAAAAAAB_I/z8sRU0hiW6k/s400/IMG_2935.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>As the water starts to boil it will rise through the coffee grounds and emerge into the top of the percolator, when it has finished boiling, the coffee is ready. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LnmXGtZphk/TeUjZZGsQsI/AAAAAAAAB_M/JBstHBKXqCg/s1600/IMG_2943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LnmXGtZphk/TeUjZZGsQsI/AAAAAAAAB_M/JBstHBKXqCg/s400/IMG_2943.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Beware the hot steam though, and let it finish boiling through before trying to pour.<br />
<br />
If drinking black, serve into little expresso cups, but the coffee also lends itself well to cappucino and lattes as it is strong enough to hold its own against the milk.<br />
<br />
Off for my second cup now, that should keep me awake through Thea's choral concert tonight.Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-49384544509911046462011-05-31T19:06:00.000+02:002011-05-31T19:06:37.072+02:00May's C of cooking.........Hmmm, now this is a really hard one, because I have not been doing much new recipe stuff this month. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>In an attempt to save some money after being away for Brendan's birthday earlier in May we have been eating a lot of leftovers, quiches and salads. In addition as Thea and I have been watching our weight, there has been no baking either, apart from bread to go with the salads and soups.<br />
<br />
In place of a recipe, here instead therefore are some low calorie snack ideas for breakfasts and light lunches for those who are also watching their weight.<br />
<br />
Never having been much of a breakfast eater, making myself eat an additional meal in order to lose weight was a real mind bender, but this is where I have found myself - a fruity, yoghurty muesli mix.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ftm3EDl9yE/TeTVX4FzVCI/AAAAAAAAB-g/IAA90vHBKD0/s1600/IMG_2800.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ftm3EDl9yE/TeTVX4FzVCI/AAAAAAAAB-g/IAA90vHBKD0/s320/IMG_2800.CR2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Start with whatever fruit you have in your garden or what is in season or what you fancy, for me that is a banana and either kiwi or strawberry, or more recently cherries too.<br />
<br />
Pour over a small 100ml pot of natural yoghurt, and add a small handful - approx 20g of mixed nut muesli.<br />
<br />
This makes a great breakfast for about 250 calories (if you are counting).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-USKqtlvsmVs/TeTWAlc7vyI/AAAAAAAAB-k/0-OxwLWqsH4/s1600/IMG_2837.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-USKqtlvsmVs/TeTWAlc7vyI/AAAAAAAAB-k/0-OxwLWqsH4/s400/IMG_2837.CR2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
We have also been eating a lot of salads, with lettuce leaves, radishes and chives from the garden, shop bought tomatoes, canned sweetcorn and last years pickled beetroots. <br />
<br />
Alongside a loaf of home baked bread, this is a salad filling enough to be a meal in itself, but I usually add a smoked herring or some sardines to balance it out. <br />
<br />
We have been cutting out quite a bit of bread too, usually if I bake a loaf it lasts the three of us a couple of days, then I'll leave it a couple of days before baking another. The days that we don't have bread are the days that I'll add in some wheat via home made pasta.<br />
<br />
Up front I have to say that I don't believe in low fat versions of things like yoghurt, cup a soups, spreads, milk, cheese, cream etc etc, especially if you are going to the trouble to make something from scratch you make it with the ingredients that make it taste at its best. Just eat less of it! <br />
<br />
Nor do I believe in doing without, if you want chocolate, then have 25g for about 100 calories for a snack, or a two finger KitKat rather than an enourmous bar, if you want crisps than have some, just not a family sized pack, and that goes for most things. Thea and I may be watching our weight and calorie intake but we still have sweeties and pork scratchings and peanuts, just in moderation.<br />
<br />
I certainly don't believe in diets that cut out fruit and veg, like Atkins or the current fad doing the rounds in France, the Dukan diet. For my snacks during the day, I eat my five a day, apples, carrot sticks, tomatoes sliced with salt and pepper, grapefruit, bananas, and tinned fruit in juice, sunflower seeds and sultanas.<br />
<br />
Here are another few 'lighter' meal ideas:<br />
<br />
<br />
Breakfasts (approx 200-250 calories)<br />
<br />
1 x wholemeal scone with 1 tablespoon of butter and a handful of berries<br />
1 x toasted teacake topped with a sliced banana<br />
2 x slices of wholemeal bread toasted with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter<br />
1 x Smoothie made from a 125ml pot of yoghurt, handful of strawberries, handful of blueberries and 100ml of apple juice<br />
1 x toasted non-sweetened bagel with 2 tablespoons of apple cooked into a puree with a handful of sultanas<br />
2 x slices wholemeal toast with a scrambled egg made with a splash of milk, salt, pepper, paprika and parsley<br />
2 x slices of wholemeal toast with grilled sliced tomato<br />
Porridge made with 4 tablespoons of porridge oats, to 4 tablespoons of milk, topped off with water and a handful of sultanas for sweetness<br />
<br />
Lighter Lunches (approx 250-300 calories)<br />
<br />
Grilled fillet of an oily fish (mackerel or herring) with a leafy green salad, balsamic vinegar and chives<br />
Sliced tomatoes with pickled gerkhins, onions and a splash of chilli oil on 3 rice cakes<br />
2 x handfuls of pasta cooked then tossed with chilli flakes,ground black pepper and cherry tomatoes<br />
1 x can of drained crab meat with green salad leaves and sliced raddishes<br />
2 x handul of prawns fried in a drop of chilli oil, served on 3 rice crackers <br />
1 x cup of a thick soup, either a homemade one like my Thai pumpkin or a shop bought cup a soup and a thick slice of home made bread for dipping<br />
1 x pitta bread stuffed with leafy salad and a boiled egg<br />
2 x slices of home made bread spread with 2 tablespoons of brie and thinly cut apple slicesAbsinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-1382756411673596072011-05-31T13:40:00.000+02:002011-05-31T13:40:35.921+02:00May's C of Creation - Pretty as a picture<a href="http://localhost:52047/a72b5de81c564417e5237ebd161eb695/image/40f3e9335e6a7ef0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://localhost:52047/a72b5de81c564417e5237ebd161eb695/image/40f3e9335e6a7ef0.jpg?size=400" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> When it comes to decorating Brendan and I never agree, on colour, on textiles, on furniture placement, nothing.<br />
<br />
So trying to decorate the house is a nightmare, which is why I have resorted to doing things while he is out of the way on a bike rally.<br />
<br />
Having managed to paint walls and move furniture around already this year, I am now tackling some of the blank canvas walls I have created.<br />
<br />
(Brendan rode off to Bordeaux this morning so I am free to decorate to my heart's content.)<br />
<br />
I am lousy at choosing pictures, I have no eye for a painting or wall art at all, but at the start of the year both Brendan and I managed to find this calendar full of copies of old enamel advertising plates for soaps, and we both agreed that we liked the pictures.<br />
<br />
Here is a 'how to' create a picture from a calendar.<br />
<br />
Cut out the picture that you like, cut right to the edges leaving no borders around it.<br />
<br />
The next bit depends on what you have got knocking around, but at a push you can use some thick box cardboard. One of the best things to use is bits of plaster board off cuts, which thanks to a builder friend I have large pile of in the barn! Also, old lever arch folder covers are good, as is plyboard.<br />
<br />
Cut a piece of your backing material to the same size as your picture. If you are using plyboard or plaster, you can rub the edges with a bit of sandpaper to get a smooth finish. Liberally apply a coat of PVA glue, which has the advantage of being easy to clean up as well as cheap, over all of your backing medium, especially the edges to seal them together. Leave to dry for about 30 minutes.<br />
<br />
Then apply a thick layer of PVA to the backing piece and stick down your picture. If you apply a thick enough coat of glue you will find that you can easily slide the picture around to line it up neatly, then press the edges down gently to get the PVA to squidge out of the sides, and with your finger tip, smooth this glue surplus up onto the picture itself to create a good seal all around the edge. Leave to dry for about an hour to ensure the glue is completely set.<br />
<br />
Once the picture is glued down firmly and the PVA has gone off - it will be translucent rather than white, paint a layer of glue over the picture, running the brush over the sides of your backing medium, leave to dry and repeat a couple of times to create a varnish like finish over the picture.<br />
<br />
Then hang on your wall of choice, I used a hot glue gun to stick some cotton kitchen string to the backs of my pictures and hung them one above the other in the bathroom. A nice surprise for Brendan when he gets back.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d2nF_GjnwEE/TeTS3mebCFI/AAAAAAAAB-c/RKaWcNr6KTk/s1600/IMG_2909.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d2nF_GjnwEE/TeTS3mebCFI/AAAAAAAAB-c/RKaWcNr6KTk/s400/IMG_2909.CR2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-70346675142032068592011-05-31T10:09:00.001+02:002011-05-31T10:10:31.792+02:00Puppy learns a few life lessons<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q90ty6pr22s/TeSiOAyRWCI/AAAAAAAAB-U/9ahuqY49MfM/s1600/IMG_2902.CR2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q90ty6pr22s/TeSiOAyRWCI/AAAAAAAAB-U/9ahuqY49MfM/s400/IMG_2902.CR2.jpg" /></a> </div>Poor puppy, she has been on a very very steep learning curve since arriving on Saturday.<br />
<br />
But she has mastered the first most vital of life's lessons.<br />
<br />
<b>Pointy Bits<br />
</b><br />
This is a valuable lesson and one that must be learnt early and it goes like this:<br />
<br />
Cats have pointy bits.<br />
<br />
Puppies are not allowed to eat out of cat bowls - cats reinforce this rule with pointy bits.<br />
Cats are allowed to eat out of puppy bowls - cats reinforce this rule with pointy bits.<br />
<br />
When cats are tired they sleep on puppy beds - cats reinforce this rule with pointy bits.<br />
If puppies are already attempting to take a nap on puppy beds and a cat decides it wants a quick lie down, puppies must move - cats reinforce this rule with pointy bits.<br />
<br />
Puppies are not to chase cats - cats reinforce this rule with pointy bits.<br />
Puppies are not allowed to sit on laps, these are cat places - cats reinforce this rule with pointy bits.<br />
<br />
<br />
And then to add to her education, poor puppy discovered that chickens have pointy bits too:<br />
<br />
<br />
Chickens have pointy bits even when you sneak up behind them.<br />
Chickens have pointy bits even when you stick your nose through the fencing at them.<br />
Chickens have pointy bits even when they are a plucking just short of a grilling on the BBQ.<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8586004360417350086.post-53151252741910135832011-05-30T09:12:00.000+02:002011-05-30T09:12:23.100+02:00River<div class="japanese"><br />
</div><div class="japanese"><br />
</div><i> </i><div class="english"><i> <span style="font-size: large;">watching the river<br />
through a window of trees...<br />
spring rain falls </span></i></div><div class="english"><br />
</div><div class="english"><br />
</div><div class="english"><br />
</div><div class="japanese"> ISSA - 1804 - .川見ゆる木の間の窓や春の雨 <small> kawa miyuru ko no ma no mado ya haru no ame</small></div><div class="japanese"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MOi5dEW-_54/TeNCsLDQnUI/AAAAAAAAB-Q/mRC_HQJDKrw/s1600/IMG_2845.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MOi5dEW-_54/TeNCsLDQnUI/AAAAAAAAB-Q/mRC_HQJDKrw/s400/IMG_2845.CR2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="japanese"><br />
</div>Absinthe Fairyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798996439507393624noreply@blogger.com0