personal pants wallet

happy (2D) xmas!

bluebell the crochet flower brooch

recycled fabric flower brooches for sofia

happy birthday, sofia!

would you like a brooch to give to a friend, or glam yourself up with? contact me to arrange colours, size and other preferences. prices start at $AUD9

rose petal jam

rose petal jam. how luxurious! and how better to enjoy roses from the garden than by extolling their fragrance  and eating them?

there is a massive variety of recipes available, and this is only my first attempt (i've been promised bags of petals from a colleague's garden to practice on). i've made 500ml batches to test the method:

60g fresh, unsprayed petals (the more perfumed, the better)

1.5c caster sugar

0.75c water

1/4tsp citric acid or 1/2tsp lemon juice

wipe or gently rinse bugs off each petal. with small scissors or fingertips, remove the pale pit of each petal (the part that connects the petal to the centre of the flower- if left on, the result will be bitter). in a medium glass or ceramic bowl, gently use a fork to bruise the petals with 0.5c of sugar. cover with cling wrap and leave overnight (or at least for a few hours)

the next day, mix the remaining sugar and water in a small pan. bring to a gentle boil, and cook until a slightly thick syrup results. add in petals and citric acid/lemon, and cook on the lowest possible heat for up to 10 minutes or until jam is a little sticky on the back of a spoon.

flower for rosie 3

baking powder

i have three words for you: make your own!


2 cream of tartar:1 bicarb soda:1 cornstarch 


combine and store in airtight container. voila!


you can omit the cornstarch if using all the mixture immediately, but put a quarter less than the specified measurement of baking powder in your recipe to make up for the different ratio. 

wedding outfit necklace

pickle post

awesome salad

based on my favourite vietnamese flavours, this salad is a serious meal and can be eaten over two sittings. all ingredients can be increased/decreased/omitted according to taste, diet and seasonality. make the dressing first, then pour over the veggies. can be served with rice.

dressing

120ml tamari/soy sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce, which i've heard of but not yet seen)

50g/3tbs palm or brown sugar

30ml sesame oil

juice and finely grated zest of two limes (lemon can be used for up to half of this)

2cm piece of ginger, finely grated

3 cloves garlic, crushed

finely chopped fresh chillis/hot chilli sauce to taste

splash of water

mix all ingredients in a bowl: adjust seasoning to taste.

500g firm tofu/cold roasted chicken/other

garlic powder/seasoning

.25 small cabbage (chinese cabbage is best)

4 medium carrots

200g bean shoots (2-3 big handfuls)

1 tomato/10 cherry tomatoes

1 bunch mint

1 bunch coriander

100g roasted unsalted nuts (peanuts and cashews are the best)

100g package mung bean vermicelli (glass noodles)

if using, cut the tofu into 1-2cm cubes. sprinkle with garlic powder or other dry seasoning, shallow fry in oil until crunchy, and set aside.

soak the vermicelli in a bowl of recently boiled water for about 2 minutes. stir, then drain.

grate cabbage and carrots into small-medium pieces. coarsely chop the mint and coriander. arrange these, the bean shoots, sliced tomato, nuts and vermicelli on a large serving platter (a large, shallow bowl of at least 30cm diametre is good). put the tofu/other on top, and pour dressing over.

serve sprinkled with these:

soap making class @ceres!

pouring the lye solution into the melted fats/oil

went to a fantastic workshop today at ceres environment park in brunswick: soap making! the instructor was great; knowledgeable and enthusiastic. it was also really exciting to meet so many lovely and like-minded people in the group!

we were sitting under the grape vines in the market area near the chickens, and had a few of the girls *brrt*bgrkbk-brrr-b-grk*ing around under our feet while we grated, melted and stirred the soap. i even had a chookie fall asleep in my lap at one point!

it was a really beautiful spring day; cool enough to be pleasant, plenty of sun to create plenty of shade. i even heard frogs in the pond!

felted wool scarf

recycling 100% wool clothing is easy- felt it! machine wash in hot soapy water, rinse in hot, and tumble dry in hot. most items should shrink like crazy when given this treatment (though each piece will shrink differently due to different wool type, weave, assembly, previous use and treatment- some may shrink very little, and can be donated to charity :)

you'll know your felt is ok to cut without unravelling when you can't differentiate between individual strands, or stretch the weave much.

i cut about 30 circles of each colour in different sizes (2-12cm diametre), but cut more later to add in specific places for strength and visual appeal. straight or zigzag sew the first two circles together slightly overlapping: pause your sewing with the needle down, and add in another overlapping circle and so on. turn over once you get to the desired length, and sew back to the start (adding reinforcing circles if necessary)

voila! the rebirth of my most favourite, uber-fluffy pink italian angora sweater!

funky onion tote

upcycled onion bag with crocheted plastic shopping bag handle 

reinforced with fishing line and love for the planet, this baby harnesses the indestructability of plastic and multiplies it by BRIGHT ORANGE, plus a cute blue bow.

available for sale soon!

blue folded flower for wendy

my lovely colleague wendy has left for another job; here is her farewell from me.

recycled catalogue packaging

nectarine blossoms

gingerbread: fail

*sigh*


like a lot of other people, i was really excited and quickly disappointed by "babycakes" cookbook. great photos, crazy celebrity endorsement, fantastic-sounding recipes... which just don't work. maybe they work only if you have a $700 kitchenaid? or pamela anderson in the kitchen?


apologies for the snark. the point is that i (and a million others) with considerable baking experience have not been able to make these recipes (fully of expensive specialty ingredients) work.


anyway. the gingerbread was ok; turned out very wet (still liquid after +10 minutes on cooking time +extra 30 minutes), and needed to be baked in a dry frying pan or sandwich press prior to serving. serve with butter and honey.


don't get me started on the frosting. #^&$?%!!!!!!!!!


*end grumps*

cynara scolymus

"...scale by scale,

we strip off

the delicacy

and eat

the peaceful mush

of its green heart..."

"we taste of that sweetness,

dismembering scale after scale.
we eat of a halcyon paste:
it is green at the artichoke"

"leaf by leaf
we unsheathe
its delights
and eat
the peaceable flesh
of its green heart"

part of pablo neruda's "ode to an artichoke", translated in different ways

trim stalks to 1cm beneath the bulb. boil upright in salted water for approx 30 minutes, or until heart is tender (you may need to re-boil to achieve this without overcooking them the first time). serve with vinaigrette or bechamel.


mona caron's amazing mural in san fransisco

strawberry jam

an unexpected abundance of strawberries led me to the unthinkable: jam.

i can't believe that i've had this opportunity; cooking strawberries, to me, has always been luxury verging on impossibility. i have not used as much sugar as is usually recommended, which means that it may not keep for long (as though that was really a concern...). if you want a thicker jam, increase sugar to 800g, and/or add pectin.

also, i don't fully sterilise (only sit my jars in boiled water for a few minutes), nor do i seal (but i do store in the fridge until and after opening). the peach and fig jams i made in march are still fine: no mould or other spoilage so far.

1kg strawberries, rinsed and leaves cut off

2 small green apples

400-500g raw sugar

1 lemon, juice and pips

cut strawberries into halves, place in large saucepan. thickly peel the apples, remove cores and wrap peel, lemon pips and core in muslin. tie muslin closed securely and place in pan with apple cut into large chunks. cook over low heat for 30 minutes. add lemon juice and sugar, cook for a further 10 minutes, or until jam sets on the back of a spoon. mash with a potato masher, or blend with a stab mixer.

i also made a smaller batch with xylitol (400g strawberries, 2/3c xylitol, 1 apple, 1 lemon juice and pips). it tastes 95% as good as the sugar batch, but is not as gelled.

loulou wins mushrooms!

these wontons ROCK! 

visit www.fungi.net for more mushroomy information

flowers for paula

here are the rosebud and rose in bloom crocheted hair clips i made for my lovely workmate paula :)

you can find the rose[bud] tutorial on youtube here, but it goes pretty fast and makes a much larger flower; experiment with the number of initial chain stitches to make a smaller flower or bud.

http://www.yates.com.au/vegie-challenge/spring-vegie-challenge/gardeners/louloumakes

bliss balls

1.5c pitted dates

.5c sultanas

.5c almonds, soaked overnight (this is my health preference, but is optional)

2tbs coconut oil, melted

3tbs cocoa

.75c dessicated coconut

1tbs coconut flour

process half the dates and half the almonds in a food processor. gradually add in the rest of the ingredients, and pulse until combined (the almonds will be about the size of sesame seeds). roll into balls and refrigerate; makes approx 20.

D thought these were chocolate truffles, and ate four before being told they contained dried fruit :) :)

bliss balls are forgiving to make, and infinitely variable: substitute in some portion of tahini; sesame, sunflower or poppy seeds; dried apples or cranberries...

bolivian birthday bestowances from my brotherette

thanks lu :)

lipbalms for angie and marcus

cultured veg class at wholefood organics

yeah!

the class was great fun, and super value ($15 for two hours including all ingredients). we brought home three jars of yummy kraut-to-be: on the left is red cabbage-apple-zucchini; in the middle is carrot-cabbage-beetroot-garlic; and on the right is red cabbage-kumera-apple-rosemary. we used grainfields liquid as a starter, but as yet i'm not convinced that it's any better than using kefir whey.

so my pretties are busy fermenting in the cupboard, and i have no idea how to accommodate them in the fridge... i guess i'll just have to eat them all pronto :)

UPDATE: 4/9/10 - i'm finding that i'm not super into the kraut cultures with the grainfields liquid; maybe i used too much? i'm finding the flavour of these krauts a bit OTT, and will definitely return to culturing exclusively with kefir whey.

update: sauerkraut

yum. this stuff is 2 weeks old now, and lives in the fridge. very nice as an accompaniment to any european or middle eastern food.

fermented: ginger beer 1

this is my first attempt at tibicos (water/sugar kefir) ginger beer. it turned out really nice, tasty and sweet, though the sweetness doesn't last- it just makes the drink pleasant :)

here are the tibicos and other ingredients (ginger, raisins, lemon) after straining. i'm a bit concerned that i didn't dissolve the sugar enough (i used unrefined palm sugar) and the very gentle agitation and undissolved sugar is going to hurt the tibi grains... will see how it all goes with future batches.

fermented: beetroot and cabbage sauerkraut

grating and mixing

oh so yummy (how did any make it in to the bowl at all?)

all the ingredients getting cosy.

they're stinking up the cupboard at the moment, and i found that the best way to keep the veg under the level of the juice (which i read somewhere is important to protect your veg from growing mould). it'll be a week on tuesday, and i'm looking forward to trying some! check out the recipe here :)

i'm also eagerly anticipating the cultured vegetables class at the wholefood organics store in a couple of weeks!

first crochet: wavy scarf with flowers

beauty

i just had to post this:

"The most beautiful makeup for a woman is passion, but cosmetics are easier to buy."
 —Yves Saint Laurent

rosie's flower #3

weeknight lazy: orange, fennel and avocado salad

weekend menu: agedashi tofu

all ingredients available from asian grocers 

1 package firm tofu (or silken, if you're very brave)

potato starch

bonito powder

tamari or soy sauce

oil for frying

put 1 tsp tamari and 1/4 tsp bonito powder in each serving bowl. top with approximately 100mls just boiled water, adjust to taste.

cut the tofu into cubes, and coat in starch. fry in 5mm of oil, avoid browning. drain on paper, and place in the sauce. serve with steamed rice.