My first new recipe of 2010 to count towards my 52 in 2010 challenge was an accompaniment to a curry that I was cooking for Mr C. We had some mushrooms already in the fridge so I looked specifically for a side dish that would make use of what I had. This one that I found for mushroom bhaji fit the bill perfectly.It was found in the M&S curry bible that was providing the butter chicken recipe that I was making as the main dish and was a great accompaniment to the dish - and a necessary addition to my five a day! Despite the addition of a fresh green chilli it wasn't too ... read more
Archives for January 2010
52 in 2010
Rosie drew my attention recently to a plan that she and some other bloggers have to try 52 new recipes in 2010. I figure that a challenge like that looks like a good one and it may also give me a good reason to make better use of the large number of cookbooks that are sat in my kitchen.I figure 52 in a year is only one a week and that shouldn't be too difficult, should it? I admit things may get a bit difficult come the summer, but I'm determined to give it a go. I'm not sure if there are any formal rules so to speak, but I plan to count any recipes in my tally - main meals, ... read more
Paintbrush in hand
That how I feel I've been for the last week or so. Paintbrush firmly in my hand - I was even dreaming about painting skirting boards the other night. The good news is that all the front room is now decorated, the new carpet is down and Mr C's dad has just arrived to help him return the sofa to where it should be! I'm looking forward to it no longer being on end n my kitchen!Funny how decorating just one room can disrupt things for a while. Normal service will be resumed very soon I hope. ... read more
Snow – how we used to cope
As today's the first day in a week that Mr C has made it into work in central London by train this film seemed like appropriate viewing. From the BFI National Archive it really does make you realise how much better we were back then at coping. I certainly can't see our local train company going to this sort of effort to get people to where they want to go.Enjoy the film - Snow (1963) - and thanks to Cornflower for making me aware of it in the first place. ... read more
First knitted bootee
It's taken a little while, but I've finally finished my first knitted creation for Baby C - a little bootee (yes I know they normally come in pairs, but I've just not got that far yet!)Knit in baby alpaca (buttermilk and duck egg) in the newborn size following a pattern from UK alpaca that I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show last year (the day after I found out about Baby C in fact). Having completed one I have to say two things: 1) Mine doesn't seem to resemble that in their pictures too much; and 2) it was a real pain to knit! Lots of ... read more
Recycling Christmas cards
Whilst Mr C creates dust downstairs (or tries to dig out the old chimney as he describes it) I've brought myself upstairs and am doing one of those little jobs that I normally leave until much later in the year. I always hang on to all the Christmas cards we are sent with the aim of re-purposing them. Normally it takes at least 11 months to get around to it, but in a strange moment of organisation I'm ahead of myself this year.With a pair of scissors I cut out any interesting bits of cards we received, punch a simple hole in one corner and thread through a bit of brightly coloured ... read more
Snowfall
No, not another post about the weather, but the paint colour we're using to redecorate our front room! That's what's keep us busy this weekend as we need to have everything done before a new carpet is fitted next Friday. I didn't set out to find a paint with an appropriate name for the weather outside, but that's what we seem to have found. ... read more
Technical socks
Please don't think that I spend all my time at home with my feet up (despite what Mr C may say). I did have to sit back and admire this new pair of socks though. The yarn is Regia silk color in shade 0189 (nairobi color). Lovely to knit with and the socks themselves certainly have a silky feel to them when on my feet.I've spent the majority of today sat in front of my sewing machine, but sadly without much sewing going on. Sewing through a pin is never a good thing. It's even worse though when doing so somehow causes bobbin case and needle plate become misaligned so ... read more
First snow of the year
The garden's looking even whiter this morning and the snow's still coming down! The good news is that after a very late night I did manage to sleep in my own bed after a wonderful night at the top of the Gherkin (more about that later). Walking through snow does mean that you use a whole different set of leg muscles to normal and boy am I feeling that today! It's stil that lovely wet snow that clings to everything at the moment so everywhere's looking very picturesque. Not sure how much longer some of the branches will be able to take the weight though. Our new little ... read more
A cold snap
There's no doubt about it, it's pretty damn cold out there right now. This is how the garden looked yesterday morning as the sun came up. It didn't look much different by the time the sun went down yesterday afternoon! A couple of bit of grass had ben in the sun and therefore returned to green, but come this morning and all is white again.We've not yet had more snow here, but I understand that this is highly likely to change in the next 24 hours. In fact, most of the country is likely to be white over by tomorrow morning. Even London is likely to be covered. Of course this has ... read more