Week 18 - Play - 52 images for 2011

I know I am a bit late but I do have a good reason - Brendan turned 40 last Friday so we took our first holiday together for over 5 years.  This shot was just a spontaneous rush to the sea.

week 17 - Animal Vegetable Mineral

Had a super day today, one of those days that I wish I could bottle and bring out and sniff on a not so good day.

Started out with a trip to my two lovely ladies that I care for on a Sunday morning, a bit of a chat then nip back to change my shoes for comfy boots for strolling around the car boot sale. The sun is shining and all is well with the world.

Found a parking spot and wandered up and down the stalls finding lots of bits and bobs, including fabric remnants for a couple of euros, another cast iron pan in a fantastic lime green colour, a pretty white top for a euro ready for my jolly holidays at the end of the week, and best of all these skeins of lambswool for .50€. So I bought a couple in every colour and a couple more crochet cotton skeins and then some more of what ever colour she had.

They are this weeks animal, vegetable and mineral - lambswool, cotton and dye.

April's C of Creation - Bobble Cowl

A couple of weeks ago I had a great swappsie with my neighbour - some of our lovely fresh eggs for a yummy yoghurt cake and 4 balls of left over yellow wool.

It took a while to decide what to make with my 4 balls, not enough for a shawl, just right for a thick long scarf but honestly how many scarves does a person need - I do have them in every colour and length now!

So I decided to have a go at a pattern I had seen recently for a bobbly effect scarf, but feeling a bit adventurous I thought I would adapt the pattern to a cowl instead.

You will need 4 x 50g balls of wool and size 6.5mm needles - long ones!

Bobble stitch:   knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1, all in the same stitch

row 1 of pattern: slip first stitch, *purl 5 together, bobble in next stitch*, repeat from * to * until you reach the last from end stitch, knit last stitch

row 2 of pattern: knit every stitch

row 3 of pattern: slip first stitch, *bobble in next stitch,  purl 5 together*, repeat from * to * until you reach the last from end stitch, knit last stitch

row 4 of pattern: knit every stitch

Cast on 168 stitches loosely, you will not need to worry about gauge in this pattern.

Purl the first row to create the edging
Work in the 4 pattern rows until the cowl measures about 25 centimetres from the beginning row
End in pattern row 2 or 4
Purl a row to finish the edging

Cast off loosely, knit wise.

Then just sew together the edges - the slip/knit ends of each row make this much easier.

Just a word of warning though - when you do the knit rows in the patterns remember to knit VERY loosely - otherwise the stitches will be too tight to purl 5 together and won't accommodate the bobble stitch either.

 

The cowl is long enough to be looped twice around your neck for a snug warm coat collar filler, or worn loose over a plain top to add a splash of colour and texture.

Week 16 - Favourite Things - 52 images for 2011

Another last minute photo shoot this week - at least my models were cheap if a bit impatient for their salary - paid in dandelion leaves.

They are one of my most favourite things - every year we say - no babies - we have way too many rabbits - and every year I time it wrong and end up with at least two pregnant rabbits.  This year just two mummies with 5 babies between them, but as I am still trying to cull last year's litters 5 is about all we need.

Since moving to our little small holding here, rabbit has become my favourite meat.  It is fantastically versatile, you can roast it, barbeque it, use it in stews, pies and currys, very lean and very good for you.

Finally a bit of rain

After weeks and weeks of unseasonal heat and even longer without any rain, we are finally having a shower. But that is all it is - 5 minutes of loud thunder and the storm clouds gathering overhead, and a beautiful rainbow.

I just love the way that the sky is cut in half here, dark stormy clouds one side and lighter sunnier skies on the other.

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down....

Inspired by a Facebook friend's success in recently fitting into her size 10 shorts, I decided to get out my nemesis skirts.

With my recent forays into the depths of the countryside walking kilometres and kilometres I am being to feel that my weeble days may be behind me.  So I thought I would try on my secret stash of clothes that don't fit me but have been stashed away just in case one day they might. 

In amongst that stash are two skirts that I bought because I utterly adore them. 

My Nemesis skirts.

First is a Lypsy sequinned full circle skirt in purple, size SMALL.  I have never worn this skirt, it must be 10 years old now, still with its labels attached.  I have packed it and moved house with it several times and it has never take up residence on a hanger in my wardrobe.  Every now and again I would take it out and stroke it lovingly, and if feeling particularly good about myself I would attempt to slip it on.  Most times it would reach the tops of my tighs and there it would remain.

Second is a skirt I bought on ebay about 5 years ago.  I bought it on a particularly thin day, thinking that a Next Petite size 12 was not impossible.  It proved not just impossible but improbable.  But I love the material, great big blue and purple 60s inspired flowers on a half box pleated skirt.  Now this I have previously managed to wiggle all the way up to my waist and even managed to get fastened - however never so that I would want to be seen in public - more muffin top than Greggs.

(drumroll please)

The Lypsy skirt is still a little on the tight side, but does up, won't be long now fingers crossed and I will finally be able to cut the tags off and wear it -it will only have taken 10 years but as I am a trained hoarder extrodinaire that is not bad going.

The Next skirt fits - I mean it really fits - all the way round - without unsightly buldges (except when I sit down, so as long as I am only going to an all day standing up do I can actually wear it!).

Hurrah.

Although I am not quite there yet in terms of venturing out in either of these skirts, I have now hung them on the wardrobe (not inside but outside) and they are there to be my inspiration and motivation whenever I think 'oh I won't bother today', or 'I can't be arsed to go out today'.

So thank you FF for your inspiration - and thank you lovely Spring weather that has made me leave the house and get moving.

PS and a thank you to the Wii fit male fitness instructor who says 'Your posture is fantastic' and 'You move beautifully' whenever I manage to stay upright on the balance board long enough to do the Yoga poses first thing in the morning.

French onion soup with a Tuscan twist

OK - so the photo does not do it justice. In fact it looks pretty awful. Good job it tastes totally yummy.

I call it a French onion soup with a Tuscan twist - because it has cured ham in it - and apparently that is a Tuscan touch to a traditional French recipe.

So here is the recipe and my economical cooking method.

French Onion Soup with a Tuscan twist

4 large white or yellow onions
1 red onion
2 rashers of pancetta cut into lardons
2 litres of chicken stock
1 large baking potato
3 tablespoons of dried parsley

Use a heavy bottomed, cast iron pan with a lid if you have one.

Chop the onions thinly, then fry in a tablespoon of olive oil, with some generous twists of pepper and the lardons.

This is not a lot of oil, but the fat from the lardons will help the frying, when it starts to dry out in the saucepan, add a bit of water rather than any more oil, cover and leave the onions to sweat for a couple of  minutes until they are starting to become translucent and soft.

Add the stock and bring to the boil - taste and season if you need to, but the pancetta is quite salty so go carefully if adding more salt.

Cut the potato into small cubes, less than a centimetre, without peeling, then add to the soup and just bring it briefly back to the boil.

Then turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with its lid - then cover again with a layer of aluminium paper.

Leave to stew in its own heat while you go off and do something more interesting - I went for a 5km walk with the dog and came back starving.

To serve, just heat up - the small cubes of potato will have cooked in the residual heat in the pan and their starchiness will thicken the soup, throw in the parsley, stir through and munch a bowlful with some home baked bread.

Wow - that's a week gone by in the blink of an eye

I have posted nothing this week but can't believe that this week has already gone by.  In fact the shocking thing is that I need to do a photo for this week's image - and it is nine o'clock in the evening already.

So what have I been up to all week - gardening, gardening and gardening, then some more gardening.

We had a lovely dinner party on Friday - with more hand made pasta - I feel a bit of an obsession coming on.

We were up at the crack of dawn to head off for a car boot sale today, then had a lovely day in the sun messing about with the new timber for the terrace, then a surprise visit and drinks and nibbles in the garden with friends this afternoon - and in between I have been chasing down my pantry mouse - who has developed a real taste for noodles.

Week 14 - Curves

It can't be wrong to make something to photograph for this week's theme, when it tastes this good.....

 

Pasta lovingly made by hand, photographed then scoffed by the starving hordes for dinner!

3 in 1 activity

1. Dinner made - home made pasta courtesy of the pasta machine bought me by some friends.

Home made pasta is easy peasy - one cup or mug of flour to one egg, for three people use two cups and two eggs. Mix well together to create a dough, as your hands warm it up and you work it, it should become smooth, if it stays a little crumbly, then wet the tips of your fingers and work again.

Wrap it up in a bit of plastic wrap and leave to one side for about half an hour.

Then either roll with a pin and cut into strips with a knife to create pasta strips or cut into circles or squares for ravioli.  
Or pass it through a pasta machine.

Once cut, sprinkle a little flour over it and coat the sides of the pasta with it to prevent it from sticking, and leave for a few minutes to dry while you bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil, then throw in the pasta for 3 minutes to coik, drain well, and add your sauce of choice.

2. My new kitchen table serves its first worktop function - as a pasta making area.

3. The pasta serves to provide the inspiration for this weeks 52 images for 2011 theme - curves.

There you go - 3 in 1.

Now off to eat my bowl of pasta and pesto.