A Sunday with a difference!

One of my many New Years resolutions was to make use of the stacks of recipe books that adorn my kitchen shelves especially as I now have a bit more time at home to actually cook proper meals for me and my husband... My daughter usually has the leftovers for her lunch the next day so doesn't miss out...

Sunday supper has always been something we have always had traditionally as something big and bold. It harks back to the days when me and my husband worked at a school together and, because it was a boarding school, we used to frequently be on duty over the weekend meaning that we wouldn't see one another until Sunday evening... So a tradition was born.

I usually do a roast - something that has taken many years to perfect (something my husband can vouch for!) but for this Sunday I was asked by my husband to do something that resembled a fry up ... But slightly healthier!

So, the books came out and after a merry hour of scouring the shelves I came across The hairy bikers Perfect Pies book (see link below!) I love Si and Dave and they had a sausage and bean pie topped with potatoes... So I took it one step further...

You need:  an onion, sausages, a tin of baked beans, potatoes... (I added mushrooms, chopped bacon, black pudding)

I boiled the potatoes until they were cooked but still firm. I cooked everything else (bar the beans) on the grill and, once cooked, put it all in an oven proof dish, added the beans and covered the top with potato.

It then baked in the oven for 20 mins until the beans bubbled...

And then....

It was delicious... And serves three... And look at the rest of the book... Whoever said that cooking wasn't an art form obviously had never tried doing it!
The link to the book: The Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies: The Ultimate Pie Bible from the Kings of Pies

Done in a few pips...

As I have said before I love freebies! Especially on the front of magazines.

 This little one was from the magazine Craftseller and was a quick little project that kept my fingers busy while on a train journey from York to Portsmouth.

 The main body of the strawberry was cut out of felt and stuffed with a thin layer of sponge.

The black thread was used for the pips and the ribbon was sewn in between the felt pieces.

 The green stork was cut out and the button was sewn on top. A five minute project and very effective...

I have made a couple of these into broaches for birthday presents and my friends have loved them...

Not just for Valentines...

One of the very first things I got given when I started crafting was 'Craft' by Kirstie Allsopp. I admire the way that she tackles every craft she tries with an eager enthusiasm.

This cute little project seemed quite a quick little one to do and didn't need more than some felt, a button, a short length of ribbon, some stuffing and some thread.

I tweaked Ms Allsopp's design a little by using polystyrene balls as stuffing (a huge bag of them still lives in my guest room!) I also didn't put a tassel on the bottom as I thought it might look better without it.

I have made a few of these since my first one. They make great gifts for someone you love - or just because you want to remind someone that even if it isn't Valentine's Day you still love them.

These can be found at my etsy shop too!

From coaster to coaster...

It can sometimes be difficult to find things to do with crafts around the home and fitting them in with the stuff you already have.

 I certainly have this problem frequently as the crafts I try don't necessary have a purpose - they are just done because I can!

 My husband found this when starting his cross stitch work especially when doing little quick ones of an evening and we ended up with little squares of cross stitch.

 I found on my travels that you can buy little acrylic blank coasters that fitted the little cross stitches perfectly. We now have a completely unique set of coasters all made by my husband.

 I wish that I could cross stitch so that I could make a set for friends - what a unique gift they would be!

Ragu time ...

Last year was a wonderful time for surplus tomatoes. We had had a particularly bountiful year as my husbands grandfather (a master of all things green and growing) had given us a couple of tomato plants and they had thrived on the patio outside. We also had a single courgette that had survived the onslaught of slugs which also seemed to thrive in my garden.

I wanted to preserve them in some way and ended up buying a book helpfully called 'The Preserving Book' (see link below!)

This recipe makes a Vegetable and Tomato Relish.

You need:
1 kg ripe tomatoes (I used cherry)
2 onions roughly chopped
3 courgettes roughly chopped
1 yellow pepper de seeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
2 red chillies (I didn't use these as my husband doesn't do chilli!)
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp English mustard powder (I used normal English mustard)
300ml malt or cider vinegar (I used some locally made cider vinegar)
150g granulated sugar

The tomatoes, onions, courgettes, pepper and garlic were first chopped by hand (although they do say you could use a food processor if you don't want chunks in your relish but as I was going to use this as a ragu base I wanted it chunky!) At this point you can add the chilli too but I never put it in and it tasted great without it!

All the chopped vegetables then go into a large pan (I used my jam pan as it has a heavy bottom) but any preserving pan that is stainless steel would do.

Stir in the tomato purée, mustard and then add the vinegar and sugar.

Simmer the mixture, stirring continuously until the sugar has dissolved. Then turn the heat up and cook the mixture for 40 minutes to an hour. Make sure it is stirred frequently over this time as it might stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken.

Have your jars ready and sterile but warm and then ladle the mixture into them. Make sure the seals are vinegar proof!

Store in a cool dark place. I use the cupboard in my shed which is perfect.

Let it mature for a month before using in pasta sauce or similar. It is very, very good!

It's pumpkin night tonight!

Last year I was fortunate enough that my husband dug me out a vegetable patch of my very own. It had been one of my many dreams. I wanted to be able to grow and then make stuff with the vegetables that I grew.

However, last January I fell pregnant which kind of put the dampners on anything that involved a lot of bending down for long periods of time so I needed to plant stuff that would be easy to maintain.

I also had a major store of vegetable seeds that I had been hoarding for as long as me and my husband had been living together (at that time three years!) and couldn't wait to see what I could grow.

The most successful vegetable of the patch was also the one that managed to take over most of the surrounding lawn too - my pumpkins!


Out of the patch I managed to get two huge pumpkins.
The problem with pumpkins is that they take hours to carve up and it also takes time trying to find different recipes to try to use it!

I was given a book for Christmas from my dad which is 'Jams, Pickles and Chutneys' by Midge Thomas - from a series of books by the WI. (See link below!) The ingredients needed were:
1.5 kg pumpkin flesh (no pith or seeds)
1.3kg granulated sugar
675g prepared oranges
675g prepared lemons
1 litre of water
Ginger

I adjusted the recipe and swopped the ginger for cinnamon as I am not a big fan of ginger.

Also needed is a jam pan, jam funnel, wooden spoon and jars.

So the original recipe requires you to prepare your lemons and oranges. I have to admit that I don't want to faff too much so bought my oranges and lemons in tin form... Just as good!

The pumpkin, oranges, lemons and water go into the pan together and then are brought to the boil and then the heat is turned down to a simmer.

This simmer is to soften the pumpkin though in the original recipe it is to soften the peel of the citrus fruits.

Once the pumpkin softened I added the sugar and then turned the heat up to bring it to a boil again. Once boiling I brought the heat down to a medium heat and then waited.

I needed to wait for the mixture to thicken enough for the spoon to leave a clear path at the bottom of the pan ... I didn't wait that long to be honest as I wasn't sure if the fact that I had used tinned oranges and lemons might have affected its setting point so I experimented with how quickly it set on a back of a cold spoon and was satisfied that it would set once jarred up.

The jars had been sterilised earlier in the process in my daughters bottle steriliser (so little hassle!) and were ready to be filled.

I am pleased with the finished product - though it seemed to take a lot longer than the recipe specified. The marmalade tastes good on toast.

Thank you WI for this amazing recipe for using a monster of a pumpkin!
P.s. I love the Kilner range of preserving stuff so that is why I have put links for them here too!

Making the apron strings...

I sometimes find when I am out shopping that there is some amazing fabric out there but it comes with a hefty price tag. But on the other side of it there are some beautiful tee towels out there tat are crying out for a new use other than drying the dishes!

Purple is my favourite colour so when I picked up a pack of tee towels a couple of years ago with different hues of purple I knew that I simply had to make a half apron out of them.

The only extras that I needed for this project was a length of bias binding and something to make the ties. These particular ties are off a bridesmaid dress that was adapted for my wedding a couple of years. I kept the off cuts for a rainy day. A thick length of ribbon would also suffice.

I cut the tee towel in half. I put the half I wanted to keep to one side. With the other half I cut it into half again. This would act as the pocket of the apron.

Around the sides of the pocket and the main part of the apron sew around the bias binding. The bias binding works better if it is pressed in half first as it feeds through the sewing machine better. This can also be done by hand if you prefer!

Then sew the pocket with whip stitch to the main apron.

The attach the apron strings to the back. I used a simple running stitch but it might be better to sew it with your machine. (I didn't as my machine was having an off day and refused to take the fabric!)

And there you have it!

This pattern can be adapted and changed to purpose. I use the apron when I am crafting and need a lot

of little things at the same time. I have also used it at school during school productions for the normal paraphernalia that is needed there too.


This project does not cost a fortune ... Give it a go!