Crochet

Trying to teach myself to crochet, after admiring some very nice crochet slippers on etsy :o)

I started with this youtube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqca00LdmAc - thanks Naztasia! So helpful and positive!

Here's my first attempt. It is a square masquerading as a blobby triangle. But it is cute.

Decided the yarn I was using (100% acrylic) was too stringy, hard to tell one chain from the next. I dug around in a bag of wools and other goodies my hubby's Nana Mavis gave me, and found this netting kind of ribbon fabric. Someone crafty will tell me it has a proper name. It didn't come apart as the wool had done, and was pretty sturdy, so was good to practise on. This is what I made next:

and that grew into this:

In the background are tonight's effort - something that ended up looking like a mini-beanie, and another - maybe the start of a scarf. Oh! The places you'll go!

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Sugar-free Banana Bread

Sitting around with huzzy and friend drinking pots of coffee and decided we needed some food... so I made this up. Everything is approximate! And when I say sugar free - there is probably a little in the yoghurt... and of course in the honey - but no sugar as an ingredient.

Melt 100g butter, stir in about 2-3 tablespoons honey, mix well, add 2 eggs, mix! Add 1-2 overripe bananas (I only had one but another would have improved it). Mix well and mush the banana so its not too lumpy. Add a big spoonful of vanilla yoghurt. Mix. Add a handful of chopped walnuts and macadamias. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon, and some freshly grated nutmeg if you have it. Add about half a cup wholemeal flower and about the same of self raising flour. Mix well and hopefully it looks something like a cake mix. Add milk if too dry, or more flour if too wet. Put into lined loaf tin. Oven about 180, for about 20 minutes. We have polished off half the loaf! I'd probably go a bit more honey next time, and i think with the extra banana it would be a little sweeter.

 

Tis a bit rustic... but tasty!

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Ruthie's Thyme & Bacon Chook

I managed to extract this secret recipe from my friend Ruth, and what better way to keep a secret than stick it on my blog!

Its is with adoration and thanks that I post this recipe, in honour of this wonderful person who is moving to another city for exciting adventures with her family.  Thanks for the memories :) Skype ya later.

No idea what the official measurements are, but this is what worked for me:

What you need:
- A whole chicken, broken down into parts - I got the butcher to do mine. I think I'd use just chicken thighs or drummies next time for something different.
- 300g bacon - cut into small pieces
- 12 shallots, peeled and halved
- olive oil
- white wine
- fresh sprigs of thyme
- fresh rosemary
- pepper
What to do:
- heat oven to 220 degrees celcius
- place shallots in base of heavy casserole dish
- sit chicken pieces on top of shallots and scatter bacon over
- pull some of the thyme leaves off and scatter, and throw in some sprigs whole, same with rosemary
- add pepper to taste
- pour olive oil over the top of the chicken and bacon (about 2-3 tablespoons)
- put in oven for 20 minutes, covered
- after 20 minutes pour a glass of white wine over and give the pan a shake
- return it to the oven without lid for another 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked and tender.

We served this with potato/sweet potato combo mash, just cooked buttery brussel sprouts and garlic mushrooms. Was a treat the following day for lunch with a basic salad too.

Thanks Ruth for sharing your recipe :) - you'll probably tell me that my interpretation of your recipe totally sucks, will have to come and try the real thing in ADL!

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Chunky 'Choke & Chickpea Chow ♥ aka Chunky Artichoke & Garbanzo Spread

Today's vegetable recipe: A great veg(etari)an sandwich spread, a sort of hummus meets artichoke dip. Weight Watchers, just 1 or 2 points, that's because the dense calories of chickpeas have been lightened up with virtually calorie-free artichokes. Vegetarian and when made with vegan mayonnaise, not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

Cha-Ching! When the word dancer in me noticed the chance to title this recipe with three CHs in a row, twas no chore to challenge myself to channel a fourth. "Chow" fit the bill! Chafing, I know, to my chagrin! But it might have been worse. You just don't the temptation to turn this into a mushroom spread too, you know, with chantarelles, perhaps with cheese and leaves of chive, served on china? And eaten with chopsticks! Please, tee hee, won't this arouse a small chortle?
Keep Reading ->>>

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Greek Spinach-Asparagus-Potato Gratin ♥ (Spinaki me Sparaggia Orgraten))

Today's extra-special spinach recipe: A gratin that starts with a layer of potato, then is topped with a thick layer of the best "creamed spinach" I've ever made (or tasted). The secret? The spinach is mixed with asparagus! What a spring treat!

Three or four times a year, we share a dinner with a group of food-savvy friends who are the culinary branch of the Missouri Mycological Society. Each dinner carries a theme. Last month, we celebrated a "Greek Orthodox Easter" by cooking a whole lamb (note to vegetarians) at a green-as-summer outdoor venue west of St. Louis, part of Shaw Nature Reserve. I love-love-love this group! It's plain fun to cook with/for smart and food-obsessed like-minded food people and I also appreciate the forum to cook dishes slightly more complicated. Plus I always learn something!

And here's what I learned with our assigned dish, a vegetarian casserole called σπανάκι με σπαράγγια ογκρατέν, that's Spinaki me Sparaggia Orgraten [pronounced spah-NAH-kee meh spah-RAHG-yah oh-grah-TEN]. Spinach and asparagus are one very magical combination! The combination makes the very best – by far – creamed spinach I've ever tasted. I wondered if the bottom layer of potatoes might be gratuitous – but once the creaminess drops to the bottom to cook the potatoes, oh my, the potatoes are good too.
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Seven-Layer Strawberry Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing ♥

Today's party salad: A spring riff on the traditional Seven-Layer Salad, layers of strawberries, mangoes, kiwi and avocado plus the traditional romaine and red onion. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

Everybody loves the Classic Seven Layer Salad, that messy concoction of lettuce, bacon, cheese, bacon, tomato and hard-cooked egg. Wait, is that seven layers? Ooops, add green peas, too.

This is a summer and fruity version of that salad, substituting colorful layers of fresh fruit: strawberries, kiwis and mango plus avocado and toasted walnuts. Seven-Layer Strawberry Salad: the name alone makes me want to mix up another beautiful bowlful!

It was the crowd favorite at a party last week and would make a great contribution to the next potluck or dinner gathering.
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Savory Muffins with Sweet Potato & Feta ♥

Today's "baking with vegetables" inspiration: A muffin, a real muffin, and decidedly savory, there's not a speck of sugar, even the spices are just salt and pepper, you know, savory. The best? The muffins are studded with tiny cubes of roasted sweet potato and creamy feta. For Weight Watchers, just 3 points (Old Points) or 4 points (PointsPlus)!

What in the world has happened to muffins? Is it just me or have they taken a turn to the too-too sweet and the too-too cake-like?

And okay, so cupcakes are supposed to be airy and cakey and sweet. But there are two-million-bazillion cupcake recipes, each one competing on the Cute Quotient. (I kid you not. Have you seen the baking blogs lately? Talk about CuteCupcakeOverload.) Cupcakes have their place.

But on the other end, the muffin end, how many muffin recipes are of the savory sort? Once upon a time, I did one of those get-to-know-you corporate team-building exercises. One query after another, virtually all the participants ended up on one side of the room, leaving one or sometimes two people feeling awkward and isolated on the other side, wondering what, exactly, they'd said to warrant the separation. Well, that's the savory muffin, lost and friendless at the far end of the cupcake-to-muffin lineup.
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