A little Addicted to Green

Having got out my green inks for a previous entry in this week's Fusion Challenge I decided to play around with another Stampin' Up set. With more time on my hands I have indulged in buying two new stamps sets and today was the perfect opportunity to experiment with Very Versailles. 

I got a little carried away with this wonderful set but sometimes the simplest designs are the most effective. I love how simple this leaf design is and was very impressed with the way that the leaves were easily brought to life with a little ink and a blender pen. I love Stampin' Up Lemon and Lime Twist ink and was pleasantly surprised at how the colour altered it's effect when blended into the veins of the leaves. 

This card may not showcase a variety of greens and I have not attempted to follow the sketch but I think it still fits the green category. Maybe tomorrow I'll see how different the same design looks in a different colour palette. 

A little more blending and fussy cutting and the frame came to life. All in all a very versatile card. This one is destined to send Mother's Day love but would be perfectly suitable for any occasion.

Green Fusion Challenge

 I always need a little direction or guidance rather than staring at all my craft supplies and wondering where to go next. The Fusion Card Challenge gave me that nudge today. I paid homage to the sketch and used a selection of green inks from Stampin' Up and Kaisercraft. The stamps are my latest love 'Enjoy the Moment' set. The die is one I haven't used before but I found it lurking in my cupboard from a moment of mad internet shopping. It didn't quite work out how I envisaged in my head but I'm happy with it and I'm sure the recipient will appreciate the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy The Moment

I have been spending a little too much time on crafting this week and the blame can be laid completely at the door of Stamping Up. I ordered a new stamp set and have got a little carried away. I love the botanical elements and the sentiments are spot on for this collection called Enjoy the Moment.

I was inspired by other designs by friends and spotted on line but ultimately everything always turns out with an individual twist by the very essence of my inaccurate cutting and sticking.

I started simply with just one stamp and got to grips with how it felt and coloured.

Two similar designs but different sizes and finishing touches

My personal favourite involved stamping a sheet of pattern and then dividing into strips 

A final effort for today was a birthday card

I'm getting to grips with how the stamps work with different colours. I think I may try using stazon next time to give a clearer outline and allow for more obvious colouring in for depth. Maybe even a little resist heat embossing. I'm still really excited to spend more time exploring all possibilities.

Card Challenge

It's been a long time since I took part in any challenges and I thought that I would try and kick start my mojo with trying something more personal than following layouts and styles of others. Discovering Fusion Card Challenge was an unexpected surprise. Having created a card using a previous week's challenge I decided to bite the bullet today and actually do a challenge in 'real time'. 

I wasn't quite sure where to start but decided to concentrate on the rainbow theme and progressed to utilising the layout sketch too. I'm pleased with the result and that's the most important thing. Thank you for giving me the push that I needed to be creative.

Easy Marmalade

When I retired I became a little obsessed with preserving and pickling and finally had the time to make marmalade in the way I had watched my grandmother do as I grew up. I studied various recipes, as is my wont, and finally settled on the one with the least faff involved. Now in my third year of making marmalade I have tried a couple of other recipes but still keep coming back to the one that I find the easiest. Why make a project harder than necessary? Although the original recipe came from the book: 'Jams and Chutneys by Thane Prince' I have amended it a little as I found the quantities a bit too unpredictable. They stated 7 Seville oranges but how big is an orange? This year the oranges were much smaller than those I've used previously. Therefore I have merged the recipe with one I have also used from Riverford which gives specific weights. I have also found it beneficial to have a formula for calculating how much sugar is needed in relation to the liquid yielded.

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg Seville oranges
• 2 lemons
• 1.8kg granulated sugar

Method:

• Scrub the fruit and place in preserving pan with enough water to cover fruit (I used 2.2 litres of water). 

At this stage I boil the fruit in a large stockpot which seems to prevent too much evaporation, uses less space on the hob and also my preserving pan doesn't have a lid!

• Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 50 - 60 minutes until the fruit is very soft. Remove from the heat, lift out the fruit and allow to cool.

• Meanwhile measure the liquid and make up to 2 litres with water. Pour into the preserving pan and stir in the sugar.

• Recipes vary in whether to mince, chop or slice the fruit and flesh. I like to cut into quarters and then scrape out the bulk of the flesh and pips and add to a muslin bag. I have tried tying a muslin square with string but now I use a jelly bag and just adjust the size by twisting any spare fabric. I then thinly slice the quartered fruit. I have found that stacking two or three pieces together makes this a little quicker.

So many people comment that making marmalade is time consuming and hard work. I actually find that slicing the orange skins is a very mindful activity and for me it is a vital part of the magic in creating sunshine in a jar.

• Add the sliced fruit to the preserving pain with the bag of pips and flesh. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

• Increase the heat and cook at a full rolling boil for 10 - 15 minutes until the marmalade has reached setting point. I have found that this takes much longer than anticipated but it may be due to my very old aluminum pan and I hope that a shiny new stainless steel one will hold the heat better. Keep testing for setting point every 2-3 minutes until achieved.

 I'm not going to go into the details of how you check for setting point, I suggest you google the different methods. Suffice to say that I am an old fashioned girl and use the cold saucer wrinkle test that was good enough when I was at school and is still reliable today. I don't need fancy thermometers or anything more complicated than a saucer and freezer.

• Remove the muslin bag and squeeze out any liquid as it is rich in pectin. Pot the marmalade in sterilised jars, seal and label. 
• This year I made a variation in adding 80ml of Amaretto to the pan and stirred through prior to pouring into jars.

If you find that you have differing quantities of liquid you can adjust the amount of sugar  proportionately. The principle is that for every 500ml of liquid you need 450g sugar. With this knowledge you can play around with any ingredients and create your own little jar of sunshine.

I hope that you find this as easy and tasty as we do. You need to like a bitter marmalade to enjoy this, but that is exactly what I like about it. If you'd rather have something less bitter substitute a couple of Seville oranges for sweet oranges.  Watch this space for another post featuring grapefruits. I discovered pink grapefruit marmalade last year and now I am a convert. Although there may be dozens of different recipes out there I can't imagine myself ever deviating from this tried and tested delight.

Pea and Lettuce Soup

 At this time of year I love nothing more than a warming soup and I am not impressed at the thought of being given salad ingredients in my vegetable delivery.  I received a lettuce at Christmas and could not face the thought of serving it as a lone ingredient. Therefore I was thrilled to find a recipe for soup using an entire lettuce. The perfect combination of creating a lush soup with an otherwise unwanted ingredient. 

No matter how unusual it may seem I would say take the plunge and give it a go ... you won't regret it!

Serves four

Ingredients:

• 15g butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 shallots, finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 large round lettuce, leaves separated and roughly chopped
• 400g frozen petit pois (I used normal frozen peas with no obvious ill effects)
• 1 vegetable stock cube, made up with 900ml hot water
• small handful fresh mint leaves
• 4 eggs
• small handful fresh dill, leaves picked.

Method:

• Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the shallots and garlic. Fry for 5-6 minutes until tender but not brown. Stir in the lettuce and, when it has wilted, add the peas, stock and mint. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, season and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until thickened slightly.
• Remove from the heat and blitz the soup with a stick blender (I have done this and I have used a liquidiser; both are effective). Season
• Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to a simmer. Make a whirlpool in the centre by stirring rapidly with the handle of a wooden spoon. Allow the swirl to almost subside, then crack the eggs directly into it. Poach for 3 minutes over a low heat. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon; set aside.
• Divide the soup between 4 bowls and top each one with a poached egg and some dill leaves.

The first time that I made this I added eggs but had no dill. The second time I made it as a quick lunch and didn't have any eggs so served the soup as it was and found it just as enjoyable.  I would urge you to give it a go and amend it as indicated to suit your needs and the contents of your fridge.

Aloo Gobi Soup

With 11 months of new recipes behind me I am making headway in trying out the recipes torn from magazines in previous years. Today I tried Aloo Gobi soup torn from a Tesco magazine and I am not disappointed. Easy to make with store cupboard ingredients and very tasty. 

The recipe states it serves four but with the large portions I served today as a complete meal it would only serve three. A normal sized portion at lunch would serve four perfectly.  I also found that some of the timings were not quite sufficient for complete cooking so I've made notes and suggest you listen to your instinct and test consistency before moving onto next step.

Ingredients:

• 2 maris piper potatoes (about 200g) cut into cubes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 head of cauliflower (about 200g), roughly chopped into small florets
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 5cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 Tbsp tomato puree
• 400g chopped tomatoes (I didn't have any so used passata)
• 1 vegetable stock cube, made up with 500ml water
• 100g Greek style yoghurt ( I used feta cheese)
• 1 tsp nigella seeds (I didn't have any so used cardamom seeds)
• handful fresh coriander, finely chopped

Method:

• Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the potatoes and simmer for 8 minutes until just soft. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile heat half the oil in a large, heavy based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until it begins to soften. Stir in the cauliflower, garlic, chilli and ginger. Cook for 1 minute and then add the ground cumin and turmeric. Fry for 2 minutes, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5-6 minutes (or longer) until soft.
• Remove the lid and stir in the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes. Bubble over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes (I found it took longer) until thickened. Stir in the stock and half the cooked potatoes. Remove from the heat and blitz with a stick blender until smooth (or you could use a food processor). Stir through the yoghurt and return to the pan on a low heat. Season.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pain over a high heat. Add the reserved potatoes and fry for 4-6 minutes turning frequently, until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. 
• Serve the soup on bowls, scattered with the potatoes and topped with the nigella seeds and coriander.