Wednesday 18 January 2012

So I'm making a shirt for Fluffrick


Okay this isn't Fluffrick's shirt,  After cutting out Fluffrick's shirt, I had about 30cm left, too little to make another garment, too much to just discard.  With the addition of 60cm of Denim, the result is this skirt.  The pattern is from the September 2000 issue of Burda Magazine.  The check bias trim just adds a little fun to a basic skirt.  I've not worn it yet, but I think I will be wearing it a lot, I might just wait until it is a little warmer.

Fluffrick will have his new shirt before the end of the week, provided Minnie doesn't fuss too much.  She would much rather I gave her a snuggle, than got out the sewing machine.

I don't know if I'm being unreasonable


It's been a very long time since I have eaten red meat.  I announced to my Mum when I was thirteen that I was becoming a vegetarian and she told me that I wasn't.  She was worried that as a teen age girl a vegetarian diet would not provide me with enough iron or protein, it was the 1980's, she probably wasn't wrong.  We came to the compromise that I wasn't going to eat red meat, but I would still eat chicken and fish.

This has been the status quo for almost 30 years.  However, I find that I am increasingly adding vegetarian meals to the weekly menu and cutting down on the meat and this is not always going down well with my Mum.  I made the cover recipe from "Vegetarian Living" for Sunday lunch this week, a Borlotti  Bean and Chestnut Stew and Mum's initial reaction was to ask why we weren't having Chicken or Salmon.

The are several reasons that I am switching to more vegetarian meals, it's cheaper, it's healthier, it's also more exciting for me to cook, I love trying new things.  Is it unreasonable for me to expect my Mum to eat this food?  I don't mean to give the impression that Mum is a whinger, most of the time she happily eats the food I put in front of her.  I am just being too sensitive about any negative comments?  Maybe I just need to chill a bit and cut back on the Celeriac.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Beetroot and Carrot Soup

I made Borscht last autumn for Fluffrick's lunch, but for the life of me I can't find the recipe again, so this is not an authentic Borscht but a slightly spicy very earthy Beetroot soup

 Ingredients - for 4 servings
1 Large Onion
250g Carrot
400g Beetroot
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 Teaspoon Mild Chilli Powder
1 Litre Vegetable Stock
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

 Finely chop the onion and sweat in a little olive oil for a couple of minutes.  Add the Cumin and Chilli Powder and fry for another couple of minutes.  Peel and finely grate the carrot and beetroot. I definitely use the food processor for this, if you only have a box grater it would be a good idea to use rubber gloves to avoid very pink hands.
Add the grated carrot and beetroot to the onion and mix everything together.  Add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer, put a lid on the pan and very gently simmer for one hour. Blend the soup with a stick blender and serve.

Wednesday 4 January 2012

A really easy tea

This is a very quick and easy meal, and really quite delicious.  Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Mushrooms and Cream.

Ingredients - serves 4

120g Smoked Salmon - a use a pack of trimmings as you cut the Salmon up anyway
250ml Double Cream - you replace this with Creme Fraiche for a sharper taste
200g Mushrooms
400g Pasta

Boil the kettle, the sauce doesn't take very long to make.  Slice the mushrooms and fry them in a little olive oil. Put the pasta on to cook. Add the smoked salmon pieces to the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add the cream and heat through.  Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, serve and enjoy

No I'm not ready for my close-up.

 Minnie does not like having her picture taken, the easiest way to get a cute picture of her is to do it when she is asleep.

 No I'm not going to stand still so you can take a picture of this silly coat. 
Walking out of frame is her usual course of action


Here is a picture of my new coat, with the benefit of Dad's wrist to lick.

Unfortunately Minnie is not going to get to wear her new coat this month. She twisted her knee a couple of weeks ago and the Vet has prescribed four weeks without walks in the hope that it will heel without surgery. Minnie's less than stellar kidney function means that we really doing want to have to put her through a surgery unless it is absolutely necessary.  Thank goodness she is small enough to carry up and down stairs.