Baking Round-Up

After reading this post you will probably think I am an uncontrollable sweets junky........and you aren't far off.  I DO like my baked goods, and I feel that it is better for you, and your wallet, to make things yourself.  It allows me to control what my children consume as well.  They love to bake with me, and getting kids interested in cooking can only be a good thing.  This post is titled baking round-up because it is what I've been baking (and enjoying) the last several weeks.  I'd like to do a post like this maybe once a month, with simple, tasty treats.  Go on, be nice to yourself.

Lemon Squares!

Timeless and delicious.  I use the recipe from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook (a.k.a. the red and white chequered one), and you can find it here:

Better Homes Lemon Bars 

I cut the recipe in 1/2 and make it in an 8x8 pan.

The girls like juicing the lemons.

A powdered sugar shaker is a girls best friend.

French Breakfast Muffins

These little beauties are scrummy!  I made them slightly differently than the recipe.  After they are cooked I brush butter on the top with a silicone pastry brush, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar.  Excellent with a cup of tea.

Lime Bundt Cake

I had a few limes I needed to use up, so I went looking for a nice lime cake recipe.  The recipe I've linked to is actually for an orange bundt cake, but it was very tasty with lime.

It has a lovely tangy citrus glaze, which my girls weren't too crazy about, but my husband who doesn't love baked good like I do, really liked.
I kept catching him sneaking extra pieces.
That always makes me happy though.













Lastly, the humble scone.

My kids LOVE to cut scones out in fun shapes, and I love to eat fun shaped scones, so it's a win win situation.  And yes, there is a bat on that tray, I'm just not sure why.

I use the basic scone recipe from this cookbook:

 

I got this cookbook as a gift years ago when my girls were small(er) and I still use it.  There are some fun and really tasty recipes in it.  However I linked up to Delia's recipe, because it appears to be about the same, and is free.  This time we went all out and had them with strawberry jam and clotted cream.  So indulgent, and so good!  I don't have a picture of that though, we ate them too fast.

Happy Baking!

Here are some weekend blog hops:

Monday Blog Hops to Check Out:

Pyjama Trousers

Maybe it is the organic food, maybe it is my excellent home cooking, but it is certainly something, because my girls do not get their height from their parents.  They have little legs that go on forever, and skinny little bodies.  I was a tubby little kid, and the runt of my family.  Of course, I grew up in the midst of Little Debbie and frozen corn dogs, but let's not blame convenience food on my height issues.

So, the question is, what does any good seamstress do when she is making pyjama trousers for her daughters and finds out she has to combine two different sizes due to their excessively long legs and skinny bodies?  Well I wouldn't know, because I am only a mediocre seamstress at best, though I do try.  What I did was head straight for the tracing paper to trace out the correct size.  Upon discovering that in fact, I had no tracing paper, I used the next best only thing I could find, tissue paper.  Sure, I bought it for wrapping presents and it is very thin, but I have a whole roll of clear tape to fix up those annoy rips, so watch me go!

 By the way, if you are looking at the above picture and scratching your head--yes one leg is slightly bigger than the other.  No worries, I fixed it.  Still not quite sure how I did it though.

I got the pattern traced out without much issue.  Isla & Rori picked this pink flannel with white stars last summer when we were visiting family in Michigan.  Why is fabric so much cheaper over there?  It doesn't seem fair, but I can' t complain right now because last summer my Grandma cleaned out her fabric stash (yay!) and I brought home a whole suitcase full of fabric.  The joy!

Back to the trousers.  The pattern was very easy and straightforward, so we went from this:

To this:

 

Why is it they normally LOVE having their pictures taken, but when I asked them to pose for me, no joy.  So instead you get funny faces.

Just so you don't think I haven't got any knitting going, I am currently working on a fitted tank top.  Yes, I'm ready for summer already.

 

 

Now, before you think to yourself "that is pretty small looking" it is a 3x3 rib and has a lot of streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch.  So far, so good.  Of course I got the pattern on Ravelry, though it is a Lion Brand pattern so you can get it on their website too. 

Fitted Tank Top

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Pasta with leeks, chorizo and beans

With all the dreek weather we've been having, comfort food is a must.  It isn't that it is cold, or snowy, it is just wet, wet, wet, and GREY!  I mean, look at this poor dog

We call this position 'quavered' and often when the girls find her like this they put a blanket around her.  Such a hard life...................


Once a month or so the grocery stores around here give out free magazines.    Yes, they had me at free.  Inside are recipes, tips, etc.  From the recent ASDA magazine I  tried the following recipe.  It was delicious, and oh so comforting.

Pasta with leeks, chorizo and beans

serves 4
113g chorizo (for me that is three small links from Cost Co) cut into small cubes
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil (I skipped this because it wasn't needed)
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
1 can barlotti beans, drained and rinsed.  I used black beans because I canned them ages ago and they needed eaten.
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into pieces
1/2 (100ml) cup white wine or chicken stock
300g penne pasta
Parmesan to serve

1.  Cook the chorizo until is starts to crisp.  Tip into a bowl and set aside.
2.  Wipe out the pan, then heat the butter and oil.  Add the leeks and cook over medium heat until softened (about 5 minutes).
3.  Add the chorizo back in, along with beans, tomatoes and wine or stock, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
4. Meanwhile, add the pasta to a large pan of lightly salted, boiling water and cooking according to package directions.  Drain and return to pan.
5.  Add the leek mixture to the pasta and toss everything together.  Serve with grated or shaved Parmesan.

In the Tesco magazine they had an article about money saving, and ways to make money.  They listed a website called Folksy.com, and it is pretty much the UK version of Etsy.  I'm going to get knitting and open up a shop and see if I can't make enough to cover the cost of my wool addiction.   Or postage for my KAS squares.  Not likely, but it is only 20p to list an item, so I'll give it ago.  For all you crafters out there, check it out!

Folksy

Red curry.......and meatballs?

This might sound a little crazy, but go with me on this one.  My husband is studying for his medical finals, and when he gets stressed out he likes......food!  Well who doesn't like good food all the time?  We love Thai food, and I try to replicate restaurant grade meals at home, usually without success.  This time, I got lucky.

Why meatballs in a curry?  For the meat of course.  I don't mean to insult any vegetarians, but we like our meat.  A lot.  It was something new to try, and at first I wasn't convinced, but it didn't take me long to decide--yum!  Now it has been over a week, and I'm still having fond memories of this dish.

Red curry and meatballs 

For the meatballs:

1/2 lb ground lamb (or whatever you have, I think turkey or pork would be awesome)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper

First I whizzed the onion and garlic in the Cuisinart, then I added the breadcrumbs and meat and whizzed up until it was well blended.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Shape into balls and fry in a wok in a little bit of oil until cooked.  Remove from the pan.

For the red curry:

1 medium onion
1-2 cloves garlic
2 tbs red curry paste (do this to taste)
1 can coconut milk (I used lite)
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
peas, green beans, corn, you choose or just use what is handy.  I just dump whatever vegetables I have in my freezer at the time.
1 tbs fish sauce
coriander to garnish

Sauté onion and garlic in the oil left in the pan from the meatballs.  When they are soft add 2 tbs red curry paste (do this to taste as all pastes vary, and some like it hotter than others) and stir to mix.  Add coconut little by little until whole can is mixed in, allow to just start boiling.  Add veggies of your choice and the fish sauce.  Put a lid on the pan, and let cook on low for 10-15 minutes until veggies are almost cooked.  Then remove the lid, turn up the heat to  medium, and allow the sauce to cook down until it reaches the desired consistency.  I like sauce, but I like it to be thick not runny, so I cook it for about 25 minutes this way.

Add meatballs back to pan and allow to heat thoroughly.  Sprinkle coriander over and serve over rice (I prefer brown)

Awesome Blog hops:

Tissue Roll Cover

Right now I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.  I've been attempting to do a make-over of my blog, and so far I like what I've accomplished.  This is truly a learn as you go experiment, and every thing I learn is so much fun!  I've heard Sundays are supposed to be relaxing, but as I've just finished mopping the kitchen floor I'm not so sure.  I swear there are little gremlins that come out while we are sleeping and make the house dirty.  

I've been making some good progress on my knitting.  I finished the cable scarf I started back at Christmas, and now I can't decide whether to keep it for myself or sell it in my Etsy shop.  Perhaps I just let it sit for a while so I can stare and it until I decide.  

I'm not sure if every knitter is the same as I am, but I am addicted to buying yarn/wool.  I just had a parcel arrive yesterday with 400g of wool blend in a lovely cornflour blue colour (thanks Ebay).  While at the same time I just ordered 300g of pure wool to give felting a go.  It is an addiction!

Every now and then I come across a great idea to save money.  Or the environment.  Or my sanity.  Here is one such idea.

 

11am blog

I wish I could claim credit for this, but I found it while doing a blog hop a few weeks ago.  I refuse to call myself cheap, so pick either frugal, fiscally conservative, or economical.  We do not buy boxes of tissues (Kleenex if you will).  We just go to Cost Co and buy the HUGE supply of toilet tissue, and we use the rolls both in the bathroom, and in various other rooms for our noses.

Toilet roll covers:

This clever idea is a wee cover for your toilet roll so it can look cute, and blend in with your furnishings.  I've done a very brief tutorial, though really you could do it any way that pleased you, all you need is a bag with a drawstring that will fit a roll.  It is my first time attempting to write a tutorial, so please be kind.

First off, bend both ends of the cardboard tube in the middle of the roll.  Then when you have wiggled it loose, pull it out of the centre.

Next, find the inside start of the roll and tease it up through the centre.

For my bags, I had to guess a bit, but I ended up cutting two rectangles that were 8.5" x 10.5"  This size makes the bag pretty tight, so if you want it a bit bigger that's fine.   If you wanted to use a wider ribbon for the drawstring, I would extend the bag to account for it.  I used a very narrow ribbon, because that is what I had in the cupboard.

Sew three sides of the bag, with right sides facing together, leaving one end open.  Next roll the open top down about 1cm, and roll that under again another cm.  Before you sew this top hem, you will want to but a button hole in if you will be using a ribbon tie.  The size of the hole will depend on the size of the ribbon.  Make sure you put the button hole on the inside-facing of the rolled hem, so it will be on the outside of the bag when you turn it inside out.

Sew along edge of hem.  This will give you a rolled hem for the ribbon to go through.  If you were using wider ribbon, make a wider hem.

Turn the bag right-side out.  I use a safety pin attached to one end of the ribbon to thread it through the rolled hem.   Pop in your tissue roll, pull the end of the tissue up, and tie the ribbon in a bow.

for the girls room

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Baby boom

It seems to me there is a real baby boom going on right now.  I know of at least 4 people that have just had babies in a 2 week period!  One such couple just had a little girl they named Willow (love that name) and I quickly whipped up a present for them.

This is my favourite baby hat to make, it is fast and I think really cute.  I also used my new-found love of Ravelry to get a pattern for little mitts.  Here is the link:

They are from Spud & Chole, and the blog and 

free patterns are fabulous.  I need more time in the day to knit!

I knit the mitts using magic loop--for the first time.  It really is magic, I'm hook on it now.  Right this minute I am trying to make a bowl to felt--for my first ever felting.  So many firsts lately, I love it.  If you haven't tried magic loop before, here is a great tutorial on youtube:

Knitwitch magic loop tutorial

Being a new blogger, I'm still leaning.  I took several different pictures trying to get the white on the hat and mitts to show up (it is bright white) without being full of glare, and I had little success.  I am still practising with my camera to take good pictures of my crafts, sometimes a hit, often a miss.  I actually quite like this picture above because it reflects the gloom we are having outside right now.  While we can't compete on the scale of blizzards and cyclones, we had some serious wind and rain last night.  I woke up this morning to see this in the garden:

Normally that playhouse is well, right side up, and about 10 feet away from where it is lying.  One of our neighbours had a side of their fence blow down, so I count us lucky.

I-cord it!

There are lots of reasons for me to be pleased right now

1. First off I finished one side of the bag I've started, and I've already got a few rows done on the second side.  I have even ordered the handles for it, so I might actually finish it before this next week is over.

1. My ever so kind husband has decided I need to update my mobile phone--to one that actually has reception!  It will also bring me into this century, with a fancy touch-screen and internet.
2. With the purchase of the phone, I decided it needed a nice little cozy to keep it safe.  I found a wonderful pattern on Ravelry, which leads us to;
3. I discovered Ravelry!!  Was I living in a box?  It's not like I never spend time on the internet, I practically live in front of this machine.......and I had eve read/hear/seen the name before but I never went so far as to figure out what the website is.  Don't be foolish like I have been, oh the patterns I could have been browsing this whole time!  But let's not dwell in the past, lets think of all the things I can knit in the future!
4. Lastly, for now at least, I made my first ever i-cord, and it is COOL!  How could I have gone this long lacking i-cord making abilities? Collective sigh of relief, because now I can!

Whilst browsing through Ravelry I found the coolest pattern for a mobile phone cover/cozy.

Here is the link for the pattern, it is free:

Lacy Cable cell phone cozy


Of if you don't belong to Ravelry (seriously, sign up for free and feast your eyes!) here is the link to a webpage:

  Here is a picture of the one I made 

There were a few difference from the pattern.  I have never done magic loop (well I'm going to try it now, it looks fab), so I had to make a front and back and sew them together.  It would have been a neater job had it been done in the round.  I also did a bit of crochet around the top, because it was a TINY bit too short for my phone.  If I'm honest I made it without the phone in front of me (hubby was giving it a test drive) so it was all my fault! I also used a bigger needled (3.25mm) because I didn't have anything smaller.  It seemed to work just fine with the yarn I used.