The stinky hound has a shower

 

finally - as he is rather stinky, and with his new friend coming to stay in a couple of weeks it was definitely time to spruce him up.

His shower was the final act in a morning long work-a-thon in the garden.  

Lots of weeding, mowing, trimming, harvesting and pruning.  The last bits will wait now until the potatoes get dug over, no point in digging and weeding the same patch twice.

Another lovely hot day - it may be the last chance to lounge in the pool, of course that means that Thea is hiding in her room playing computer games!

Each morning now our vulcanoes are veiled in autumnal mists, presaging the balmy day to come.

Invasion of the courgettes

You turn your back on them for one day and they have taken over. The invasion of the courgettes has begun.

 Time to once again delve deeply into the recipe searches to find something interesting to do with them.

Today's courgette recipe idea is courtesy of the Smitten Kitchen website.  I found this by following a link from a link from a link, a chain that started by clicking on the 'next blog' button on the taskbar - a sure fire way to get lost in space for a couple of hours.

I am making an adaptation of her ratatouille tart.

Courgette Tart


On this occasion I am in complete agreement with the smitten kitchen, summer is too short for making pastry, so I am using ready rolled feuillette pastry - a type of puff pastry readily available in the chiller cabinet here in France.

Roll out over a baking tray, and smear on a fine layer of tomato puree.

Then layer on thin slices of aubergine and courgette.

Add a sliced ripe and and juicy tomato, then drizzle with a little garlic infused olive oil, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Just before baking, add some mozzarella roughly torn into chunks and a generous spinkle of dried or fresh basil leaves.

°

Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.

Serve warm or cold for a summery lunch or as we are tonight, as a side dish for some barbequed pork chops.

Garden Pea Risotto recipe

I'm on a roll now.  With things finally ready to eat from the garden, I am continuing my domestic goddess impersonation with another fresh from the garden recipe today.

Garden Pea Risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil
risotto rice (1 cupped handful per person)
1 crushed garlic clove
1 finely chopped onion
fresh peas (or frozen) - same volume of peas as rice
1 small glass / 150 ml white wine
2 litres of veg or chicken stock - you may require less depending on how many people / how much rice you are using


For the best flavour, if you can; start the risotto cooking then nip out to pick your peas for the ulitmate in fresh food, if not, pick peas then leave in a bowl in the freezer, start the risotto then use the peas when required by the recipe, but don't leave them in there longer than half an hour.

Fry a finely chopped onion and a crushed garlic clove in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

To the oil add a cupped handful of risotto rice per person.  For risotto you do need risotto rice, otherwise you don't get that creamy texture.  If you use normal rice you get a very good rice side dish though, so it is a win win situation!

Fry the rice gently until it is transparent, then add a small glass of white wine and let boil for a couple of minutes to eradicate the alcohol.

Turn down the heat, and start ladling in the stock, a spoonful at a time; as each spoonful is absorbed add another.  You may not need all the stock depending on how much rice you are using, for 2 people a litre should be enough for the 2 cups of rice, and 1.5 litres for three people, and 2 litres for 4 people and 4 cups of rice.

When the rice has been cooking for about 15 minutes, add the peas, and cook for a further 5 minutes.

The risotto rice should be creamy and soft on the outside but a little firm on the inside, and there should be enough liquid to coat each grain and leave a smear on the plate without the rice swimming in stock and needing a bowl to hold it all together.

At this point you can stir in some butter for extra creaminess, or some grated cheese.  I like mine as is with a couple of sprigs of mint on top.

Alterations - How to spend a couple of hours on a hot Sunday morning

Following yesterday's denim cut off start, I am continuing the theme of alterations.

My lovely generous mummy sent me some charity shop bargains again, and for a change they actually fit, in fact they fit so well that I have one cropped pair of trousers that don't need anything doing to them!

But there are some minor alterations to be made to the two shirts she sent, one simply because the buttons gape a bit and it just needs a stitch to hold everything in and decent, and the other shirt has a small hole and way too much tight elastic around the arms so I am going to remove the elastic and get rid of the puff sleeves.

In the meantime Thea is sorting out her wardrobe and has a pile of requests of her own, one dress to be altered to a t-shirt, another pair of trousers to make into shorts, this time with turn ups rather than a frayed edge.

So coffee and a biscuit then off to the studio.


Edited:-

OK it is now Sunday night, and the alterations plan went well as long as it lasted, then things took an embellishment twist.

I started off by cutting and hemming a pair of jogging bottoms for me to wear for work, then moved on to the stitch for my gaping buttons, but by the time I had shortened Thea's dress to a t-shirt I was bored.

Which meant that by the time I got to the brown shirt that just needed a small hole fixing and some elastic removing I couldn't just stop there, out came the ribbon and lace basket and I found this bit of pom-pom trim, which was just long enough to attach to the sleeves, then I added a couple of wooden beads to the neckline ties.  Another original for the summer.


This morning we started the day with a quick visit to a local small car boot; there was not much there to be honest but at least we left the house and had a change of scenery for a couple of hours.  Whilst there about the only bargain that I found was this piece of vintage 70s floral fabric, only a small remnant but enough there to make up another bag.  And while the weather was way too hot for gardening (36°C in the shade today) I stayed in my studio and got another bag sewn up.

My plan for this week while Thea has a free day is to get another little photoshoot sorted for the collection of bags I now have ready for listing on Etsy.

Saturday projects - Flavoured oils

I make my own flavoured oils, as these are so simple to do, yet so rewarding, they taste and look great, and don't cost a fortune.

I tend to get my bottles from my lovely clients who have little 'Monika' stash boxes next to their bins for their jars and glass bottles, newspapers and toilet roll holders, as well as from friends, although less from friends these days as everyone is at the make your own game now.

Today, even though it is still drizzling a bit, I thought I would get outside and set about the herb garden a bit.

With the oregano, the sage and the thyme doing well, I took a few cuttings from these for the oils.  To make the best oils or when drying herbs, always pick them in the morning when the levels of essential natural oils are at their highest.  This will give you the best flavour.

I am using grape seed oil as the base because it is much milder than olive oil, as well as having a beautiful greeny colour.

Whilst there I found a few strawberries nestled amongst the grasses and nettles.  To be honest we quickly scoffed the best ones, and what was left I put in some vodka for the freezer and summer cocktails when the summer finally gets here, and a few more into some gin - mother's ruin with some added kick.

With a strong steady rain settling in again, I am off to fill in all the school forms now.

Day 3 of the Larder Challenge - Carrot and Potato Thai Green Soup

It seems ridiculous that I am considering making a hot soup to eat in June, but with the constant rainfall, a winter warmer soup is just what I need.

And with the Rayburn lit for the hot water as the solar panel is 'resting' (posh actor's euphemism for not working - due to lack of solar input), I thought a hot soup bubbling away on the hot plate would raise our morale from the sodden depths.

Raiding the depths of the veg basket - I should have considered stocking up on fresh veg before starting this challenge, oh well too late now, I found a handful of sorry looking carrots and a couple of spuds.

Carrot and Potato Green Thai Chili Soup


Peel and chop into smallish chunks a handful of decidedly limp carrots and a couple of spuds about to sprout (you could use fresh ones but this is what was left in my larder)
Boil in a litre of chicken stock until they begin to disintegrate, then either blitz with a stick blender or use a potato masher to achieve a puree
At this point you may need to add some water, taste to see if you need just water or seasonings as well, a strong stock would be fine but if you are using a cube you may need the additional seasonings.

Now stir in a heaped teaspoon of green Thai chili paste

Leave to simmer away gently for half an hour  until serving or cover and stick in the oven for later, then serve with some bread.



To make your own paste:  Green Thai Chili Paste

Blend all the ingredients together to make a small
jar's worth that will keep in the fridge for a couple 
of weeks, or can be frozen in teaspoon sized dollops
on a tray in the freezer to use another time.

• 1 small onion or a shallot
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger
• 1  cup chopped fresh coriander leaves & stems
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper 
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp. coconut milk or double cream
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 1-3 green chilies depending on how hot you like your curry

Easy BBQ salads, Chinese 5 spice mix and a Chinese Marinade

With Saturday another lovely sunny day before the storm due on Sunday afternoon, we had another impromptu BBQ with friends.

After a morning spent weeding and pottering around the garden it seemed a really good idea to kick back and relax with a cocktail and plenty of food.

I whipped up a couple of salads - really easy and quick.

Pasta salad with french beans

Cook up a generous pile of pasta (about 500g) - for this sort of cold salad I just use the cheap twirl pasta and boil for 2 minutes less than the recommended time, for the last couple of minutes, turn off the heat and leave the pasta in the hot water to continue cooking, test to make sure the pasta is still firm then drain and immediately pour over some cold water to stop the cooking process. You want the pasta to be firm and not soggy.
Cook 250g of french beans (or cheat by using a tin!), drain and leave to cool, then mix with the cooled pasta
In the meantime, take 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, add a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard, stir together then stir through the pasta and beans, then grind over some sea salt to season.

Whole grain wheat with sweetcorn

I buy this here in France in the dried pulses aisle along side rice and cous-cous, just boil up for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water, leave to cool. Add a tin of sweetcorn, stir in a tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.


My pork I decided to marinade in a Chinese flavour for a change.
Chinese marinade:

2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of sherry (or sweet wine, or port, or some red wine with a pinch of sugar - whatever you have to hand)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil - I normally use sunflower as that is what is normally in the pantry as a back-up, don't use olive oil, the flavour mix is not right
1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice mix
1 generous pinch of salt

Massage well into the meat, leave in the mix for at least two hours in the fridge before cooking., the oil will help it cook on the BBQ without sticking to the grills.


Chinese 5 spice

As this mix is not readily available here in France I make my own in large batches to use when I need it.

My recipe is:

2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
4 cloves
8 star anise
1 stick of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of fennel seeds

Either grind in a mortar or whizz up in a blender - I have a mini blender for this sort of thing but sometimes it can leave the bits too big and not grind them down into a fine powder so normally I whizz it then grind in the mortar to just make sure I get a fine powder.




Lovely evening sat outside in the garden watching big beetles flying into the studio light.

Reluctant model

With the rain finally easing off, and after a manic hour of weeding in the garden as well as getting my beetroot seedlings planted out, I finally got my reluctant model to don her coat and head outside for a few photos.

I finished this lastest round of hats the other week, but had not managed to get them listed yet as both the weather and my model were conspiring against me.

With this dry spell possibly continuing into tomorrow I may be able to get the rest of my items photographed and listed. This afternoon I am making a start with these.

Late Spring may seem to be the wrong time to list wooly hats, but as the inclement May has shown us, it is not summer yet.