tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27020457884282884102024-02-08T12:48:04.682-05:00Crafty Little BritA blog to show off what I can do!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-36013443356627496202010-01-22T13:39:00.000-05:002010-01-22T13:40:52.738-05:00Recipes That Make Me Happy - 5Spag Bol or Lasagne<br />(just make the red sauce for spag bol!)<br /><br />Red Sauce<br />1 lb of lean minced beef<br />1 onion, chopped<br />3 carrots, diced<br />2 cloves of garlic, crushed<br />8 medium fresh mushrooms, sliced<br />2 tins of chopped plum tomatoes<br />1 tbsp of tomato puree/paste<br />1/2 tsp dried basil<br />black pepper<br />garlic salt (ordinary salt will do)<br />olive oil<br /><br />White sauce (for lasagne)<br />2 ozs butter<br />6-8 ozs cheddar, grated<br />30 fl ozs milk<br />2 tbsp corn flour<br />1 tsp dried English mustard powder or 1 tsp of Dijon mustard (optional)<br /><br />1 pkt of no-cook lasagne sheets or 3oz per person spaghetti<br /><br />In a large saucepan, heat a little olive oil and gently fry the onion, carrot, mushrooms and garlic together until the onions go translucent (see though). Add the meat and season with basil, pepper and garlic salt. Gently fry until the meat is brown. Add the tomato puree/paste and tins of tomatoes. Refill the tin twice with water and add that too. Simmer the sauce until the liquid has reduced by about half.<br /><br />For lasagne: While it is simmering prepare the white sauce. Melt the butter and remove from the heat. Add the mustard and cornstarch to make a paste. Slowly add the milk, stirring continuously and return to the heat. Stir continuously and bring to the boil on a medium heat, so it doesn't burn. Once it's thickened add the cheese and taste for cheesiness. Add more if it needs it.<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 375F (180C). Into a glass dish place a layer of no-cook lasagne sheets, taking care not to overlap them. Add a layer of red sauce (about 1/2). Place another layer of lasagne sheets, again no over laps, then another of red sauce. Finally, add the last layer of lasagne and then pour the white cheese sauce over the top. Bake in the oven with a foil cover for about 45 minutes, then cook for the last 15 minutes without the cover.Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-24638360034383010732010-01-04T14:35:00.002-05:002010-01-04T14:38:06.590-05:00Recipes that make me happy - 4<span style="font-family: verdana;">Chicken Korma</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 skinless chicken breasts (or de-boned thighs), chopped into nice chunky pieces</span> <span style="font-family: verdana;">(or one package of Quorn pieces to make it vegetarian)</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 onion, chopped</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 carrots, peeled and chopped into squarish pieces</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 largish courgette, chopped</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into large squarish pieces</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 cloves of garlic (that's the individual pieces of garlic, not the whole bulb!), crushed</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 14 and 1/2 oz tin of chopped tomatoes (no salt and not stewed)</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 14 and 1/2 oz tin of light coconut milk</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 and a 1/2 tsp of garam masala</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/2 tsp turmeric</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 tblsp chopped fresh leaf coriander, including stalks</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 tblsp oil, preferably olive oil</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">salt and pepper to taste</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Put the oil, turmeric and garam masala into a largish saucepan and heat on a medium heat until you can smell the spices. Stir in the onion, garlic and carrots. Let these sweat, keeping them moving every so often, until the onion goes translucent (see-through).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Add the chicken and stir regularly, allowing to brown slightly. Add the potato, coconut milk and tomatoes (if you're using Quorn, add it here). Cover with a lid and simmer on the medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the squash and simmer for a further 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You can let it go cold at this point, refrigerate preferably, then reheat later. Before serving, stir in the coriander, add salt and pepper if you need to and serve over steamed or boiled basmati rice (only takes 10 minutes to cook!).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">My kids absolutely adore this! I change out one of the ordinary potatoes for a sweet potato mostly and I also make it with butternut squash instead of courgette. Makes it sweeter to the small person's palate. I also often leave out the chicken (or Quorn) and just have it as a veggie korma.</span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-11547615666792232502010-01-04T14:33:00.000-05:002010-01-04T14:34:47.150-05:00Recipes that make me happy - 3<span style="font-family: verdana;">Leek and Potato Soup</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 medium leeks, cleaned and sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Knorr vegetable or chicken stock cube</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 oz butter</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">black pepper</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">salt</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Clean the leeks thoroughly. They grow them in sand and grit in your soup is horrid. Do this by cutting off the bottoms with the roots on and cutting off the brownest tops of the leaves. Slice the leek in half and rinse under the running cold tap, lifting all the layers to make sure there's no muck left.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Heat the butter gently to melt it in the bottom of a large soup pot. Throw in the sliced leeks and cubed potatoes. Grind some black pepper in; I like about 7-10 good grinds but you might like less. Gently fry for about 5 minutes, stirring gently every 30 seconds or so. Add about 3 pints of water and the stock cube. Bring to the boil and turn down to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender. Add a little more water (or milk) if it seems too thick. Add some salt to taste for you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">You can serve this hot or cold. It's called Potage Parmentier hot or Vichyssoise cold! It goes almost like thin mashed potatoes if you let it go cold and my husband has been known to stick it between two slices of bread as a sarnie...</span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-58918873656860144362010-01-04T14:32:00.000-05:002010-01-04T14:33:12.669-05:00Recipes that make me happy - 2<span style="font-family: verdana;">Curried Butternut Squash Soup</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into big chunks</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 medium onions, peeled and sliced thinly</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">6 oz green lentils, washed</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 tblsp Garam Masala (look for this on the spice shelf in the supermarket)</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Olive oil</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Vegetable oil</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Black pepper</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Garlic salt</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Salt</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Place butternut squash on a cookie (baking) sheet and drizzle olive oil over the pieces. Grind black pepper over the top and sprinkle with garlic salt (this can be the only salt in the recipe if you like). Rub the oil and seasoning all over the chunks until well covered and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until tender (when you put a knife in there is little or no resistance).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Place the washed lentils into a saucepan and cover with water so that there is about twice the amount of water to lentils. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, adding a little boiling water if it starts to run dry, until the lentils are tender (place one between your fingers and gently squish it. It should squish easily). Drain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Whilst the lentils and butternut squash are cooking, heat about 4 tbsps of vegetable oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions. Allow the onions to fry slowly as you want them to caramelise (turn the sugars in the onions into sweet caramel) not burn. You may need to keep them moving with a spatula to make sure they cook on all sides.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Get a big soup pot and drain the oil from the butternut squash and the onions into the bottom. Add the Garam Masala and heat it gently, until you can smell the fragrant spices. Add the rest of the ingredients and 'wash out' (use a little cold water to rinse the flavours out) the cooking pans into the soup pot. Add about 3 more pints of water. Use a handheld food processor and puree (you can use a ordinary food processor, it just takes longer). Bring to the boil and turn down to a very gentle simmer (simmering is usually a medium heat; it's where the pan bubbles gently, seeing one of two small bubbles every second). Add salt to taste.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Serve with chunks of your favourite bread.</span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-72076936325369926152010-01-04T14:29:00.003-05:002010-01-04T14:33:40.026-05:00Recipes that make me happy - 1<span style="font-family:verdana;">Shepherd's Pie<br /><br />1 yellow onion, peeled and diced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3 large carrots (4 smaller ones), peeled and sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 celery sticks, washed, trimmed and finely diced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Any other vegetables you like; parsnips and sweetcorn go well</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 pkg Smart Life soy grounds (or any grounds! Turkey, beef or Quorn)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">good handful of frozen peas</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">6 medium large potatoes, peeled and sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 stick butter</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">milk </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 tsp mixed herbs (Italian or herbs de Provence)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 tbsp cooking oil (I use olive oil)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 tsp powdered vegetable stock or veggie stock cube (I use a Brit one called Marigold Golden Bullion!)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 heaped tsp Marmite</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 tsps cornstarch</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Salt and pepper to taste</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Put oil into a saucepan and heat. Gently sauté the onions, celery and carrots (and parsnips if you're using them) with a couple of good squeezes of freshly ground black pepper and the herbs, until the onions are translucent. Add the package of soy grounds and break up (if using meat, brown thoroughly at this point). Add about 2 pints of water (I usually just 3/4s fill my large saucepan which I think is about 2 pints!) and bring to the boil. Add the Marmite and stock cube/powder. Turn down, cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes or until the root vegetables are tender. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">While this is simmering, cover your potato slices in water, add a little salt and bring to the boil. Boil until tender. Strain (I often reserve a little of the potato water to add to the gravy) and return to the saucepan. Mash with butter and milk. Add enough milk that it reaches the right consistency, not too sloppy but not too thick either!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Taste the grounds mixture and add salt if you need it, which you shouldn't as the stock and the Marmite are both quite salty. Into a bowl/small saucepan, strain off through a sieve and reserve the liquor. Place the mixture in the bottom of a lasagne dish. Over the top add the peas (and frozen sweetcorn if you're using it). Over the top of that, spoon the hot potato. Using the back of a fork, smooth out the potato evenly. Brown in the oven using either the broil immediately or reheat the whole shebang at about 375F for 25 minutes, or until browned and crispy on top, from cold.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For the gravy, put the strained liquor (and potato water) onto boil. Taste (VITAL!). Add a little more stock and/or Marmite to intensify flavour. Put the 2 tsps of cornstarch in a cup. Add a little water to make a thin paste. Add to the boiling gravy whilst stirring all the time (or you'll get lumps!). Add more cornstarch if you want it thicker!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Eat on its own or with a side order of Collard greens/cabbage!</span>Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-44923956758668437702009-05-18T12:34:00.002-04:002009-05-18T12:47:44.562-04:00Switch platesIt's not the done thing to funk up rooms over here. When I came to do the playroom, I wanted to do a mural on the wall, like I'd done with my eldest's room in the UK and the back of the downstairs bathroom door (I WISH I'd got a picture of that :-( ). Instead, always thinking about selling the house on, I bought some plain wooden light switch plates and funked them up instead.<br /><br />One of these days, I might do this for a bit of cash!<br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0108-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0109-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0110-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0111.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0114.jpg" />Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-39089216949723830762009-05-15T14:49:00.003-04:002009-05-15T15:33:04.048-04:00Getting Knitty - EighthEighth piece:<br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/nov_0526.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/nov_0527.jpg" /><br /><br />Now, these hats were FUN! I have made five of them now and they are so very easy to make. I knit them in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran which is lush! These were the first thing that I've knit on the round, on a set of needles that are joined to one another. Again, this is a pattern that I have got off of the internet and it's worked out pretty well. It did have an odd cast on, I think it's called the chain link cast on, which makes the bottom of the hat more stretchy. It also has a wide rib cuff at the bottom, which again contributes to the stretchy bottom. I think I should have also made them a little longer, as they fit my kids pretty well, but the rest of us have bloody great heads and mine keeps popping off. I made one for my brother for Christmas. I did make it longer and it fit me better than mine did. He probably doesn't use it, but we get quite a lot of wear out of ours!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-56011858584296017692009-05-15T14:48:00.005-04:002009-05-15T15:42:24.815-04:00Getting Knitty - SixthSixth piece:<br /><br />A Zoe Mellor piece. Again, I don't have a picture of this one! It was beautiful though! I will have to look and see if I can find it to photograph it for you!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-67326239608883603542009-05-15T14:48:00.004-04:002013-06-05T21:16:33.357-04:00Getting Knitty - SeventhSeventh piece:<br />
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I've knit three pairs of these for friends and I still have a half finished pair I had intended to give to Gabe. Why is it that I can't seem to finish things for my own children?<br />
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Again these are from Zoë Mellor's book. Such fun to knit in seed stitch and they come together to beautifully. These are also knit in Rowan Cotton Glace on US size 2 needles, which are tiny! They also have the distinction of being the first things I knit on bamboo needles. Having used them, I would not go back to metal ones AT ALL. Wonderful things to knit on and so much easier to keep the tension on.Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-8648362026266396062009-05-15T14:47:00.005-04:002009-05-15T15:18:29.658-04:00Getting Knitty - FourthFourth piece:<br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0127.jpg" /><br /><br />Another Zoë Mellor piece. This one took me the best part of a month to make because it was the first time that I had knit a figure into anything. It was also the first time I used quality yarn! The yarn was Rowan Cotton Glace, as the pattern in the book exactly called for, and the total cost of making this sweater, without my time added in, was about $60. But I thought my nephew was worth it!<br /><br />However, my sister-in-law didn't. She 'passed on' the the sweater immediately. She hadn't realised I'd knitted it myself and thought I'd just bought it. It didn't go over my nephew's head, so she gave it to a jumble sale.Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-63502975382182501592009-05-15T14:47:00.004-04:002013-06-05T21:10:18.187-04:00Getting Knitty - FifthFifth piece:<br />
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This is really my five-point-one piece! I made Imogen a shrug for dancing as I'd been unable to find her one, even in the dance stores, which I found both annoying and slightly odd. I found a good on-line pattern, it took me about four days to knit it up and she was pleased with it. Then I had my sister's birthday coming up and thought that she might like something similar as shrugs were in that year as a fashion item! I got the wool, this is Lion brand acrylic again but it's their suede feel yarn, stockingette stitch on US size 6 needles and made in about a week.<br />
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I fit it to me but made it slightly bigger as she's taller than me by about 6 inches and was wider then too. I loved it! What a great colour. Learning from my previous mistake with my nephew's sweater, I sewed a label into it, so that she could see it was hand knit and which way up it should go. Even so, she still asked me where I got it from! So my knitting can't be all that bad.Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-61771035941899417992009-05-15T14:46:00.003-04:002009-05-15T15:17:36.749-04:00Getting Knitty - ThirdThird piece:<br /><br /><img style="width: 399px; height: 531px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0283.jpg" /><br /><br />This took me about two weeks to complete. I loved it! I bought an excellent book by Zoë Mellor with all sorts of toddler knits in it. This had a complicated daisy pattern knit into it which I didn't feel up to doing, so I chose a variegated acrylic and knit the cardigan straight, without following the intricate daisy. The stitches are stockingette for the body, seed stitch (or moss stitch) along the button front, collar and the pocket top, and a flaring seed stitch which is used to make the ruffles along the bottom and cuffs. The variegations came out really nicely as a kind of striping which eveyone who saw it thought I had knitted in, but I hadn't, which was cool. It washed nicely too and she wore it for a while.Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-45699210667255818082009-05-15T14:45:00.001-04:002009-05-15T14:50:41.207-04:00Getting Knitty - SecondSecond piece:<br /><br />I don't have a photo of my second piece. To be fair, it took me three weeks to make and it was a very simple striped sweater for Imogen, knit in stockingette stitch with simple k2 p2 ribbing on cuffs and sleeves. Again I knit it in very cheap Lion brand acrylic yarn in greens and purples on US size 8 needles. It was OK. Nothing special, but I was practising!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-12457548820366197142009-05-15T13:50:00.005-04:002009-05-15T15:17:14.345-04:00Getting Knitty - FirstI've accomplished a few bits and pieces, though I have lots I would like to do. I haven't done as many things as I would like, simply because I don't sit and do nothing with my hands most of the time. When I used to watch TV a lot, I used to get far more knitting done than I do these days :)<br /><br />First piece:<br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0084.jpg?t=1242410864" /><br /><br /><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Jeliwobble/DSCF0254.jpg" /><br /><br />I made the hat and scarf a long while back, as I was just getting back into knitting. I learned to knit when I was 12 when my dad taught me. I made a scarf (ish) and half a sweater but I wasn't very good at holding my tension and I really didn't understand patterns. So this set was the first thing I'd made since taking up the needles again, four years ago.<br /><br />I made it with very cheap Lion Brand bobbly multi coloured acrylic on US size 8 needles in basic stockingette stitch. I even made the bobble! She still wears the hat occasionally!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2702045788428288410.post-31506261335723091792009-05-15T13:42:00.000-04:002009-05-15T13:45:12.762-04:00The Reason BeingMy mother is a bit annoying sometimes. I'm not being silly or anything but today she just put me down for no real reason. All I said was that I could knit and then she decided to say that she's seen some of my knitting and it's not bad, not good, but not bad.<br /><br />I mean, what possesses a parent to do that to a child, even if that child is 37 and should know better?!<br /><br />Anyway, I've set up this blog for the sole purpose of showing the world that I am not bad, when I put my mind to it!Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18408707293147281784noreply@blogger.com0