Sweet Tooth? Cookies for Everyone!

Having made a whole smorgasbord of savoury snacks in my felt larder I thought it was time that I ventured into the sweet zone.  Everyone loves a cookie and they are the easiest to do.  I struggled with the doughnuts but am pleased to see that they look alright from a distance. I'm relying on the fact that small children will be unlikely to be critical.

The Jammy Dodger is in recognition of my childhood and the oreo is a nod to modern Americanism.  The chocolate spiral started out as a poorly representational sausage roll but was successfully reincarnated as a swirly chocolate delight.

Hope I've inspired you to get creative 

Felt Snacks

There has been a lull in my felt addiction and I thought I'd lost the craving.  However like all savoury snacks all it took was one little cracker and then I couldn't stop ....

I wanted to create some picnic food and searched my other addiction 'Pinterest' to find tutorials and came across detailed instructions.  I used this more for inspiration than to follow it literally.  Mainly because I didn't have any wadding and couldn't be bothered to pin out all the dimples.  I then thought that cheese triangles would be easy and I had a surplus of deep yellow felt.  There are only so many egg yolks a girl can make!  

Racking my brains for other easy picnic foods I decided on a sausage roll ... easy you might think.  Not so for this needle challenged crafter.  I seem unable to make anything cylindrical as my attempt at a cooked sausage proved.  Luckily my grandchildren are not yet sophisticated or talented enough to criticise my sewing ability (I am sure it will come).  The sausage roll needs some improvement and is exceptionally large but perhaps it's a snack for all the family .. in fantasy land it can be anything I want it to be.

By this time I'm getting quite carried away with the whole food thing and decide that baking will be easy and for once I was right.  It didn't take long to create a baguette freehand.  All bread is individualistic and rustic and mine is no exception. After the first creation I altered the design and who knows what the next batch will be like.

Every picnic needs a cuppa and therefore a Tea bag was a necessity.  One bag should be sufficient for the pot and by now I need a rest ... and perhaps a picnic!

Next time I need to add a few sweet treats and I know there are ample examples out there to inspire me.  I'm thinking cookies and doughnuts ....................

Leeky Cauliflower Cheese

If you think one cauliflower cheese recipe is much like another ... think again!

I discovered this recipe when it came with our vegetable delivery from Riverford. I cooked it one evening as I happened to have the ingredients in the house and no other inspiration. It is most definitely the best cauliflower cheese I have ever had.  This time I made it with a romanesco instead of a cauliflower and it is equally tasty.  I cooked it for a person who claims not to like cauliflower or leeks and she said it was good so it must be worth all the hype I'm giving it.  As the evenings draw in earlier, colder and damper it is the perfect comfort food.

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower, cut into florets

2 leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices

6 rashers streaky bacon, diced

60g butter

60g plain flour

500ml warm whole milk

1tsp english mustard

70g mature cheddar, grated

70g parmesan, grated

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 220*C / 200*C fan / gas mark 6.

Boil or steam the cauliflower until tender. Dice and fry bacon until crispy. Blanch the leeks in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes until tender.

Make the sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and stirring for a couple of minutes.  Slowly add the warm milk, stirring all the time until you have a thick sauce. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the cheeses, nutmeg, mustard and cayenne pepper. Season to taste. Combine everything in an ovenproof dish. Grate over extra cheese if you fancy. Cook for 20 minutes or until golden on top.

Recipe serves two as a meal.

Aubergine, Tomato and Parmesan Bake

Receiving my vegetables from Riverford organic farms means that I don't get to choose which vegetables I have.  Some vegetables are harder to know how use than others and aubergines fit that category for me.  I tend to always make ratatouille so was very grateful when my son in law gave me a new recipe to try.  He recommended BBC Good Food for their aubergine, tomato and Parmesan bake.  However, those who know me also know that it is almost impossible for me to follow a single recipe.  When I searched on line I found a variety of recipes with the same title ... so I looked at several.  The were all similar but with minor variations, and they catered for larger numbers than I would normally cook for.  I based my recipe on a hybrid of BBC Good Food and Jamie Oliver.  I decided to use as many tasty ingredients as I could and at this time of year the more garlic and onions, used all the better for beating colds. This amount should feed 2 hungry people with some to spare.

Ingredients:

2 Aubergines, sliced 1cm width

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, sliced

Olive oil

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato puree 

40g grated Parmesan cheese

20g basil leaves, torn

handful fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C, heat griddle pan until hot.
• Slice aubergine and brush with olive oil and griddle in batches until browned and cooked through, turn half way through and set aside.
• Fry onions and garlic in olive oil and then add tomatoes.  Simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomato puree and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Layer aubergines in ovenproof dish and top with part of tomato mixture and basil leaves. Sprinkle with Parmesan, repeat with remaining ingredients. 
• Top with beaten egg and a little extra Parmesan and finally fresh breadcrumbs.
• Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes until topping is golden.

Dish up and enjoy a tasty and healthy meal.

Steaks with Blueberry and Gluhwein Sauce

This recipe is from the Lidl magazine using their ingredients. It uses the Deluxe frozen Reindeer steaks but I didn't have any today so used a beef fillet steak ... it was just as good. If you get the chance to do it with reindeer I would recommend it as the meat is juicy, tender and tasty.

I pack of Deluxe reindeer steaks (4 steaks)

75g plain flour

sunflower oil

1 pack of Oaklands blueberries

2 glasses Lidl gluhwein (or make your own ... see my previous post)

30g butter

1/2 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

• If the steaks are large, flatten a little before cooking. Mix salt and pepper into plain flour. Pat each steak dry with kitchen towel then dip into seasoned flour and set aside.
• Heat 2 Tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan until very hot.  Add the steaks and leave for 2 minutes to get a good seared edge. Turn over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Don't over cook. Remove to a warm plate to rest.
• Add the butter to the pan and throw in the blueberries (about a Tbsp per person ... although I use plenty, you can never have too many blueberries!)
• Add the wine and reduce. Pour over the steaks and serve with mashed potato.

The first time we cooked this I wasn't sure how it would turn out but we have now made it on many occasions and it is a quick, easy but indulgent meal to prepare.  Today's effort using fillet steak was incredibly good and this was mainly due to the steaks which we purchased from Lidl.  The steak was perfect in every way and was the most tender that I have ever cooked at home. Good Value and Good Taste ... perhaps I should get a job in marketing for them.

Gluewein ... a Taste of Christmas

There's nothing like Gluewein for getting into the winter spirit.  In England we call it mulled wine but my first taste was in Switzerland in my early twenties. It all tastes good!

Serves 10-15

10 cups claret

juice of 3 lemons 

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 tsp cloves (I use whole cloves and stud them in citrus fruit)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup (5-6oz) brown sugar

2 sliced lemons

4 cups lemonade, optional

(you can substitute oranges instead of lemons if you prefer)

Mix all ingredients together in a wine bowl and heat gently. Serve very hot, not boiling. Add lemonade if used and reheat just before serving.

Easy isn't it?  There's no excuse.  I've just made a much smaller amount to use in a recipe for steak.  The beauty of cooking (or drinking) is that you can alter everything to suit your own tastes, or what's in the cupboard ... so get off the internet and get mixing!

Felt Sandwich Bar

My obsession with felt food is taking over my life and I have studied so many other sites and visited numerous Pinterest boards.  In preparation for the visit of my granddaughters I have been stitching into the small hours.  My first attempt at slices of bread leave a lot to be desired but I have consoled myself with the fact that at three years old they are unlikely to be critical.  I will find out in 24 hours. 

wholemeal bread slices with very uneven crusts

Having visited predominantly American sites this is peanut butter and jelly (jam to those of us on this side of the pond).  It could be blackcurrant jam, and the brown splodge could easily be transferable to a savoury sandwich as pate.  These are all machine stitched and after several false starts with setting the tension I realised I'd used the wrong colour thread but I certainly wasn't going to redo them.

Now for the savoury additions to make your own sandwich and some are machine stitched and others hand stitched with blanket stitch (something useful remembered from my childhood).  I agonised over how to create tomato slices and had several sleepless nights (literally) trying to think about how to do it ... but I decided to stop procrastinating and just take scissor to felt.  And I'm very pleased with the outcome, at least you can tell it's a tomato.  The cucumber was much easier and I love the egg slices. The cheese is Swiss and the pink stuff is meant to be ham but could be luncheon meat.  The lettuce leaf at the back is hidden as it is disastrous and not made out of felt.  I think I'll have another attempt at a later date.

As the girls have a play barbecue and a fish cage I thought they ought to have a fish to cook.  The examples I saw on line were either fish for swimming in the sea .. and who wants to cook Nemo?  or so in depth in their construction they'd look better in an anatomy book.  So I used my limited imagination and created an unknown species of fish small enough to fit on the barbecue:

This only leaves dessert and I couldn't be bothered to faff around with the incredible efforts of ice-cream cones and cupcakes that I've seen on line.  I settled for a haphazard blob of ice-cream and stewed berries:

After all these efforts of food preparation for two weeks I have spent a happy hour playing in the children's playhouse and arranging the food ready for their visit tomorrow.

The kitchen hob is filled with breakfast cooking: 

  

The vegetables are kept warm in a casserole in the oven

The second oven is keeping the pasta warm

And finally the table is laid with salad ingredients and cold pizza

There is a part of me that is worried the girls will not be interested in playing with this but it almost doesn't matter.  I've had fun creating it and I thoroughly enjoyed arranging it all in the playhouse.  And I can play with it any time I like!  I might even branch out and creating it for other people's children. This is an addiction that is beneficial rather than harmful.  I am sure that our grandson will enjoy it when he comes as he's already shown great interest in the plastic cakes and burger which was previously our only play food.

I hope it will still all be in place by tomorrow because some of the wood fairies are a little mischievous and they may decide to rearrange things when I turn my back.

After all .... they do have their own door!

Felt Food ... a Whole New World Awaits

Since last week's first steps into the world of felt I have discovered that it is indeed a whole new expansive territory.  I feel like a new explorer following the path trodden by those before me.  I am almost embarrassed to admit that the fascination with felt has become an obsession and I have even been dreaming about my next projects.  Rather than have yet another disturbed night it seemed preferable to actually get creative in the flesh (or felt) again.

Pepperoni Pizza is ready in the oven and my ability to create it is all thanks to the inspiration and instruction on Pinterest. Talented crafters out there have shown me that it is possible to create an entire smorgasboard of food, but I am making do with a small menu.  

Step by step instructions enabled me to prepare this pizza and I would never have done it without the talent and help of cyberspace crafters ... thank you Andersruff for this tutorial.  I am not great at sewing but this was easy enough for me to follow.

These are my stages of pizza construction:

Create a stuffed crust

                            Add a rich tomato sauce

Top with some mozzarella slices 

Add a selection of sliced mushrooms

And finally scatter some pepperoni and sliced peppers .... Good enough to eat!

Having got into the swing of this I still had time and the inclination to make a few more courses:

Farfalle with meatballs and cherry tomatoes in tomato sauce 

Ravioli with fresh herbs and tomato sauce

Thanks so much for humouring my current obsession ... be warned there is more to come.

I am now mulling over sandwiches, wraps, cookies and desserts.  I'm not planning a work of art but some practical representational food that will be good fun for play.

Remembering Summer Fun

Having lost my motivation and mojo I decided it was time to let CSI challenge me again.  I have been meaning to scrap the memories of summers with my baby brother for a long time and this seemed the ideal time to do it.  Unfortunately I have no photos of these times.  I can't even remember which years he came to stay but I know that he visited when I lived in two different houses.  He must have been about 6 years old and we both have wonderful memories of playing on the beach.

The title was a Kaisercraft Collectable from the Sandy Toes collection and was the perfect sentiment to make a title.  

The evidence I used were: stripes, triangles, arrows, signs, a solid brad and to hang something.
The testimony was that my journaling was behind the title which was hung by a peg from a sign and used the inspiration word 'Summer'.

Creating this layout was a challenge with no photographs to scrap.  I scanned a school photo of that time period and then took a trip to Weymouth to photograph an inflatable crocodile ... that in itself was a memorable visit.  Scrapping this has brought back so many wonderful memories and the layout encapsulates the joy of summer.  Bunting was the perfect way to hang something and mirrored the bunting hanging above the crocodile outside the shop.  Bunting is also quintessentially British Summer Time.

The journaling reads: 
I can’t believe that I took no photos in the summers 
that you stayed with me. Perhaps it’s because we were 
too busy having fun. We bought an inflatable crocodile
and had fun on the beach and in the sea.  I remember you
ran into the water and then rushed back to say: “Daddy 
says I can’t go in the sea without you”. I had my clothes 
on and didn’t want to go in but I assured you that I could
 see you and that if you needed me I would rush in to get 
you. I have memories to  last a lifetime, images engraved 
on my heart that will always bring a smile and I know 

that those summers will forever be a bond between us.

As I could not remember the dates that my brother visited it seemed fitting to use washi tape that listed days of the week. It is almost irrelevant when he came ... it's the memories that are important. I had wanted to try some different crafting techniques but I seem to stay within my comfort zone.  I am getting better with using stamps and am developing a love of collectables, but still struggle to 'cluster' in the same way that I admire in others' layouts.

Thanks for looking and thanks for all the inspiration over on CSI

Preparing Food the Crafty Way

Having grandchildren has given me a different outlook on life.  They love the new playhouse that we've put in our garden and as they seem to enjoy the play kitchen I thought it would be good to have some food to cook.  I looked at all the plastic stuff for sale and the expense of the wooden food and then I was inspired by a friend of mine. She had made food out of felt for her daughter and granddaughter.  An idea was born and today I have created breakfast and dinner.

It is not a masterpiece and I wont win any prizes but it has kept me out of mischief today and I hope will stimulate the imagination of our grandchildren next time they visit.  I will welcome any ideas of how I can make more convincing food but in the meantime this will do.

The egg is frying nicely and the streaky bacon, sausage and baked beans are ready to serve.  The beans are wooden beads sewn onto scrap material and the yellow button was the perfect find in a charity shop.  

Pork chop served with sweetcorn and peas

I hated art at school and would often cry in lessons at my failure to achieve what other children managed with little effort. My felt pork chop may not be award winning, and some people may think that I've wasted an afternoon but I am impressed that I managed to create this in a few hours. 

My next project will be pizza but I'm still working out how to manage that one.

Any ideas for adding to my larder will be greatly received ... Thanks for dropping by

Storing Ribbons ... a Rainbow of Colour

Once again I've neglected to blog and I can't say it's because I've been too busy.  There are no new recipes and no new craft projects.  I did try to get my stash in order and sorted out boxes and drawers.  An internet surfing friend innocently shared a link to a site displaying ribbons stored in jars ... and then inspiration struck.  I'd always kept my ribbon in jars but they were all pushed in and worked their way into a tangle of mixed colours.

Now they are tightly wrapped around lolly sticks and tongue depressors and stored in coordinating colours ... but take up twice as much space on my shelves.  I think I can feel another shopping trip coming on to buy new storage solutions.  

A scrappers stash is never complete ... life is a work in progress!

Kohl Rabi, Potato and Thyme Gratin

A Kohl Rabi is an unusual vegetable and one that I'd never heard of, or seen before I started getting an organic vegetable box delivery from Riverford.  However I followed the recipe suggestion that came with it last year and now I've discovered a new delight, and only wish that it had a longer season.  Join me with discovering this new vegetable:

The recipe supposedly serves 4 but it depends how generous a portion you have and what it accompanies.

Ingredients:

• a little butter for greasing
• 1 large kohl rabi, peeled and very finely sliced
• 500g potatoes, peeled and very finely sliced
• 200ml double cream
• 100ml milk
• leaves from 2 large sprigs of thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 3 Tbsp grated parmesan or vegetarian equivalent

Method:

Grease a gratin or baking dish with a little butter.  Preheat the oven to 180*C.

Put the cream, milk, thyme and garlic in a pan and heat until steaming.  Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 15 mins.

Layer the potato and kohl rabi in the gratin dish, seasoning with salt and pepper as you layer.  Pour over the infused cream. 

Cover with foil and bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until the veg is just tender (this will depend on how thinly you sliced the veg).  

Remove the foil and scatter over the parmesan.  Bake until golden, approximately 15 mins.

Riverford gave no indications of what to serve this with and I believe that it is versatile enough to go with whatever you fancy.  Today we had it with a roast but it is also excellent with sausages,  and vegetarians can eat it with green vegetables.

Your greatest challenge will be obtaining a kohl rabi but if you manage to get hold of one I would definitely recommend cooking this.  If it's a hot summers day it is perfect in a coleslaw or salad ... but today is a disappointing finish to May and we needed something hearty and warming.

How to make Friends

It has been far too long since I took part in a Scrapbooking challenge and today I took the metaphorical bull by the horns.  I finally visited CSI again and decided that there was no time like the present to dive back in.  Case file 164 was one I felt able to crack and I am pleased that I managed an entire layout in an afternoon.

I started by deciding on the photo ... one that I have been meaning to scrap for a whole year.  It was perfect for a CSI challenge as the photo would never have been taken and the memory never made without CSI.  

The testimony is presented as a 'how to' instruction and details how to make new friends.  I had not expected to make new friends by participating in an online challenge and yet that is what happened.  The very first week I joined CSI I ventured into the chat room; and that in itself was a major first for me. It was here that I was able to answer a question posed by Gayle who was also a newbie to CSI.  It was a first challenge for both of us. I was impressed with her submission and we became 'friends' on the site.  It was not long before our private messaging became more of a conversation and we ultimately exchanged email addresses.  

I think for both of us it was like having a pen pal as we had when children. Sometimes a scrapper needs a fellow soul to understand the passion and be non-judgmental about the quirkiness of crafting. After just 6 months a friendship was forged and we met up in New York City.  

I have used papers and embellishments that Gayle generously gave me as a gift and I've filled the rest of the space with my new love ... Kaisercraft collectables.  My efforts with ink are still tentative but I'm persevering.  I'm not sure if ink counts as 'wet medium' as evidence but it is certainly wet (my fingers are testament to that!)  I also used a brad to anchor some ribbon and to start the story of 'How to'. Other evidence used is stripes, architectural accent and speech bubble. 

A few close ups:

 I haven't used much washi tape before now but this recent purchase by freckled fawn is perfect and led me to use yellow as my primary colour.  I had intended to create a predominantly blue layout but somehow it evolved on its own.

Thanks for not giving up on me and for taking the time to scrap with me again, I love to read any comments that you leave.

Layout Kit

It has been far too long since I scrapped but spending time with my ardent scrapper friend inspired me to rediscover my mojo ... or at least to give it a bit of a shove. Last summer I purchased a layout kit from Merly Impressions which had sat on the floor in its box for 6 months. This month I have enjoyed completing it and reliving memories from a holiday 19 years ago.

 Unfortunately my photos weren't the recommended size and I think the layout looks a little too 'boxy' compared to the Merly example. This layout did challenge me to do random stamping which, for somebody who likes straight lines, is a little scary.  Fussy cutting is always a challenge for me and I kept looking at the piles of flowers thinking 'surely this is enough?'  I added a touch of glitter to add some sparkle and overall am happy with the result.

For the next layout I deviated from the recommended paper and used an alternative side. This was a major step for a rule follower!  I was initially hesitant about this layout but it is now my favourite. The photo was a very old one and not good quality but with a little photo editing to add a vintage feel to it the end result was perfect.  More fussy cutting and stitching and I began to feel that I was back under the eagle eye of Chrissy on last years scrap retreat.

I find it hard to create a layout that does not include journalling and this layout did not provide much space to journal. I decided to make a mini book with the left over scraps and to my delight then discovered Basic Grey magnetic snaps which were the perfect solution to attach it to my layout.

Now that I've discovered this method of securing books I shall create a lot more on future layouts. I know that pride is a sin but I am quite proud of the amount of fussy cutting that I did and that I didn't cut off too many bird's legs!

Thank You to Merly Impressions for giving me the inspiration and products to create layouts that bring me such happiness in sparking old memories.