The Weather Outside is Frightful

Ok, so that's the beginning of a Christmas song, but it's quite appropriate for the weather in general lately.  We're at the beginning of March, and even though it's technically autumn, we usually have lovely late summer weather here in Dunedin. But not for us in the past couple of weeks!  It's been cold, rainy and windy, so I've spent quite a few weekend days inside cleaning, making cakes and doing a bit of work for the shop.  Cosy inside days warrant cosy comforting dinners, and one of the yummiest things I made was Moroccan-ish lamb stew with mashed kumara..delicious!

I say Moroccan-ish because I didn't follow any recipe, instead I just used the knowledge I've absorbed from watching the Food Channel at every opportunity!  If I'm spending a day inside I'll have the TV on that channel rather than have music playing. I really do feel like I've learnt lots from watching all those cooking shows. I've written the "recipe" below, but I kind of just threw in what I felt like, so by all means mix it up! If you like some spices more than others then feel free to add them to your own taste. As long as you get your seasonings right and cook it so the meat is tender, you can't really mess this up*.

*Disclaimer - you might mess it up, in which case you probably haven't been watching enough Food TV.

Wintry Warming Lamb Stew (serves 2-3)

1. Brown 3 lamb chops in a large pot. Make sure the pot is on medium high heat. 

2. Add one chopped onion, 3 finely chopped cloves of garlic, and a half teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and turmeric.  Add chilli powder to your own taste. I added a quarter of a teaspoon, but also added a whole dried chilli to the mix, which I took out before serving.

3. Cook until the meat is caramelised on the outside and the onions are softened.

4. Turn down the heat to low and add a tin of tomatoes, half a tin of water or stock, and two tablespoons of tomato paste.  Stir everything together, add some pepper and leave to simmer, stirring every 15 minutes or so.  Cook until the sauce is thickened and the meat is very tender.  If the sauce is too thick before the meat is cooked, you can always just add more water or stock and just keep cooking it down. Add salt at the very end to your own taste.

I served this with mashed kumara and steamed courgettes and peas from our garden, and it was so delicious, and extremely comforting at the end of a cold wet day! 

If you want your whole meal to be in one pot you can add a tin of drained chickpeas or cubed potatoes at step 4.  If you want to add greens try stirring in some frozen peas or baby spinach just before serving, so they are heated through but still lovely and green.  Enjoy :)


P.S. There isn't an end photo because I was hungry and forgot to take one....

What Happens When I Try to Do Work

The other day when I was making labels, all these little bits accumulated from cutting them out...and because I was tired I got distracted and started playing. Then I made up these little designs, and now I'm calling it art. So there.

Rekindled Romance

 After a little bit of post-Christmas laziness (well, a lot actually considering it's almost March) I've got my motivation back and have spent a few evenings making more bunting and labels.

I've been having fun developing my tastes and playing with different fabric combinations, and each time I make new labels I get to choose new pretty colours to match the product. I am in love with every set that I produce, which is really important to me because I would never want to make something that I wouldn't be proud to keep in my own home!  Even though my fabric stocks are pretty static at the moment (I have promised myself that I will use up what I've got before I go buying any more), I still love every design so it's always enjoyable to make things.

Some of these sets are for sale in my Felt shop, so I hope you take the time to have a look!

A Flurry of Creativity

In the spirit of creating things I had a lot of fun last week making a costume for a party.  It was so much fun, I went crazy with the glue gun and all the pearls and necklaces that I've been saving for decorations.  When the really cheap jewellery shops have sales, I often stock up on the long chains with lots of charms on them. They really come in handy when you want to decorate presents, I just pull them apart and thread the decorations onto ribbon and thin strips of fabric. Beautiful!

Green Thumbs Up

Oops. I haven't done this in ages.  It's not that I haven't been inspired, just busy. Plus I forget my camera a lot and think "this would make a great post, where's my - oh".  No matter, I'm here now!  Some of the things I do remember to photograph are the veges, fruit and herbs from my little garden. I love my garden!  We only just started growing things before the summer but we've had so much from it, for so little effort.  There's such a sense of satisfaction that comes from growing veges - it's easy, cheap, healthy and most of all - delicious! Plus I actually like doing the weeding and watering because it makes me spend time outside. 

I'm hoping there will be enough sun to ripen my tomatoes, but if not, I think some green tomato chutney will be on the agenda. Which will make a great post if I remember to photograph it.....