By Helen

quick crochet coaster…

After using the same breakfast bowls for the last umpty years, I decided it was time of some new ones.   After spending time browsing the home-wear shops of York, walking away from some very beautiful (very expensive Polish pottery) I cam home with some very plain white bowls.  There is something I like about eating of plain white crockery, it somehow feels right.  I was pleased with my new bowls.  The pleasure lasted right up until I used them.  I should explain.  I like to start my day with a hot-steaming bowl of porridge.  Now, I know the porridge-purest of you will be shocked at my next sentence, sorry.  I cook my porridge in the microwave.  I have attempted to cook it on the hob, slowly and lovingly, but it somehow just doesn’t work for me.  Then there was the occasion when I was left, at a re-enactment, to cook breakfast on an open fire.  I am still apologising to a certain someone (you know who you are) for the pan then he manfully spent the next three hours cleaning with chainmail! Yes, it was THAT bad. For porridge, for me, the microwave really comes in to its own.  But my new lovely plain white bowls are rather rubbish in the microwave: they get soooooooooo hot you can’t actually hold them to sit and enjoy your porridge.  What is a girl to do?  Crochet of course!  After a happy few hours I had four crochet granny-square coasters…

They were crocheted from some very chunky Rico Creative Filz: which given that it is 100% wool, will over time felt with the heat from the bowls, but that’s ok.  I love the denseness of the stitches that the wool gives…

Once again crochet to the rescue: and breakfasts no-longer involves burring hands…

Perfect!

Autumn in York…

Autumn is here.  Yay!  The trees haven’t started to turn the beautiful hues of oranges, purples, greens and golds: but the weather has defiantly taken a turn towards Autumn with chilly, misty, mornings.  It seems like the perfect time of year to make chutneys, jams and pickle things!  I decided to make jam: bramble (black-berry) jam.  First thing I needed to do was to go and pick brambles: armed with a large tub, Si and I set off – foraging urban style!  York, in the city centre is very short on hedge-rows and we didn’t feel like driving into the country-side, so it was foraging city-style.  We knew exactly where to head: to York Cemetery.   York Cemetery is an amazing place full of high Victorian monuments and nature at every turn: from butterfly walks, herb gardens, ponds to, yes brambles…

Lots and lots of brambles…

The hint of Autumn was with us at every turn…

After a couple of hours picking the brambles, our tubs were full, so it was time to head home to make the jam.  Looking back through my blog, the picis I took of the jam making looked very very similar to those from a couple of years ago: there was something very reassuring that as the seasons change something’s stay the same. 

Fortunately we had picked sooooo many brambles that we found ourselves with a surplus: so we just had to make some bramble whisky – tis a hard life! 

baking up a treat…

It seems like ages since I blogged about baking, in fact it was way back in June .  That is not to say I haven’t baked since then, I have baked lots and lots.  This last week Si has been a bit under the weather and I have to confess that I am not the best of nurse-maids.  I get frustrated, even though I know it is not his fault that he is feeling unwell.  I get annoyed that we don’t eat together; Si seems to have existed to toast and tomatoes soup (from a tin).   Tonight I am going to tempt him with chicken casserole with herby dumplings.  Yesterday I decided to stop feeling frustrated and really treat myself.  I decided to bake something just for me.  I decided to bake an old favourite, something that my Grandma used to bake.  I decided to bake really posh sausage rolls!  I scaled back the recipe so it was just for me, just for one, and this is what I ended up with…

I would encourage you to make these, they are wonderful, perfect as a treat.  Here is the recipe that I made, just for me, but it is really easy to scale up to feed as many hungry mouths as you have.

For one person, you will need:

• 3oz plain flour
• A pinch of mustard powder
• 1 1/2oz of butter, or margarine – whatever you have to hand
• 1oz grated cheese
• 1 egg – separated
• Water
• 1 sausage – skin taken off
• Chutney – I used some of my homemade tomatoes, date and apple chutney from last year

This is what you do:

• Put the flour, mustard powder, butter and cheese in a bowl and rub together until the butter has incorporated into the mixture.
• Add the egg yolk (keep the white you will need it later) and mix in.  Add a little water to combine the pastry together
• Chill the pastry and then roll it out into a rectangle shape
• Spread the chutney over the pastry rectangle
• Spread the sausage meat over the chutney
• Gently roll the pastry towards you, to make a big sausage roll
• Cut the sausage roll into to equal slices and put these onto a lined baking sheet
• Brush the egg white over
• Pop in the oven and cook at gas 7 for 15 minutes then gas 6 for a further 15 minutes
• If you can leave to cool for a few minutes (I struggle with this)

Enjoy!

cooking up a feast…

Si and I love having friends over and cooking for them; and that is exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago.  It was the perfect opportunity to cook something from my new cookbook.  Rachel Khoo’s The Little Paris Kitchen…

Ever since watching The Little Paris Kitchen I had been hooked, so when the cookbook came out, I knew that it was destined for my bookshelf.  After spending time reading the recipes and looking at the beautiful photographs: I decided what to cook. 

The meal was to start with galette aux pommes de terre et poires avec Roquefort (potato and pear galette with Roquefort.   I have to say my galette looked NOTHING  like Rachel’s…

But then I have not been trained at the Cordon Bleu cookery school.  Despite their appearance they tasted fantastic, even if I do say so myself!  Next I made boulettes de viande avec une sauce piquante et des pates d’Alsace (meatballs in spicy sauce with Alsatian pasta), only I substituted the Alsatian pasta for good old penne.   This did look like Rachel’s…

The only hick-up with this, was I felt like I was eating gravy with pasta.  Nevertheless it tasted good!  Next came dessert, which Si offered to make.  Si carried on the Rachel Khoo theme choosing to make a dark chocolate and raspberry pudding…

This was good, very VERY good!  Chocolate and raspberry loveliness, what more can you ask for?

All of the recipes were very easy to follow and we keep trying out different things from the cookbook and from Rachel’s amazing blog.  I would recommend that you try some out and create your own Little Paris kitchen in your own little home,…

Enjoy x

happy birthday cake...

Last weekend it was Si's birthday, so in the true tradition of birthdays, I downed crochet hook in favour of spatula and created cake!

I couldn't decide what flavour cake to make Si, as he likes ALL cake: and he couldn't decide what flavour he wanted, because he likes ALL cake.  So I  set out to make a coffee, chocolate, vanilla cake.  Loosely based on the Victoria Sponge, with added umpf: I am not sure the WI would approve.

I went for a divide and rule approach, splitting the batter in to three, and then adding the flavour.  To be quite truthful; I couldn't be bothered with the faff of making three small batters.  So to one third I added coffee, very strong instant coffee.  To one third I added cocoa powder mixed with water - thank you L for that tip. To the last third I added milk so that I would have the same consistency of batter.  Told you the WI would not approve!

I decided not to be all arty and try and swirl the batter around into interesting and creative shapes, opting for something which rather resembled a football.  Ironic as Si hates football: but useful as my friend's small child loves it...

It worked well...

...even if I do say so myself.

All that was left to do was decorate it...

...and eat :-)

Si was more than happy with the cake, and I was happyish with the make. 

Note to self: more cocoa powder next time.

Note to Si: remember this cake in March.

Now back to the hook...

no time for crochet...

...but I have got a really, really, really great excuse...

 
That's right, we have just returned from a glorious week in Florence.  We visited lots and lots and lots of museums, galleries and churches.  Ate lots and lots and lots of amazing food.  Drank lots and lots and lots of wine!  The weather was hot and the hotel wonderful (although Charlotte would not have approved: no view)!

I  managed to get Si to visit...

 
The museum of Salvetore Ferragamo which contains shoes, shoes and more shoes.  Some of you might remember the article about the museum in July's issue of Inside Crochet?

See, even on holiday crochet has not been totally forgotten about!

Here's some more picis for you to look at...

 The famous Porto-Vecchio over the Arno.

 Under the Tuscan sun, okay - moon!

Chianti of course!

I am still quite tired from the holiday, so today is a gentle day of pottering, apologising to the garden (looking very sad and neglected) and maybe some simple crocheting later on...