Colour Therapy

1. Relaxation
2. Magnolia in bloom
3. Tofu Kebabs (recipe in next post)
4. Florals x 3
5. Garden in the rain

At the moment I am trying to increase and appreciate the colours in my life. Partially inspired by Jek in the Box's fabulous Flickr page, she has such an amazing eye for happy colour combinations that just make me smile whenever I look at her pictures.

I've always been a bright colours girl, and I'm particularly reminded of it in Spring when the world seems to be finding its colours again. Easter especially is such a colourful time.

(As an aside, it breaks my heart that the word 'magnolia' has come to be associated with all things bland, colourless, plain and boring. Maybe the paint colour, but look at that tree! Nothing could be further from the truth. Bah. I always think they look like they belong on another planet, they're so beautiful and other worldly.)

Happy Easter folks. There will be a recipe post before the weekend is out!

Unwind...

Another week done! I am so glad to be home from work and beginning the weekend. Being a creature of habit, my winding down hour tends to follow the same routine, cup of tea, Radio 4, and usually a flop on the sofa (or if I'm feeling particularly upbeat, an hour of housework, weirdly I find this makes the rest of my evening more relaxing!), but today there are extra special additions because it is FRIDAY and it's been what I believe is known as 'one of those days'.

So! Cheap roses from Tescos and a marmite crumpet.

Simple pleasures, innit.

x

Little and often...

Hello, it's been a long time since I wrote here! I am full of good plans and intentions, but things tend to go awry.... And then it makes it a bit hard to pick things up again as my blogging plans are always "little and often" but instead I try and write a mega catch up post and then get fed up and can't be bothered. I think I'll pick up as I mean to go on, with the here and now...

Spring is almost here! And I for one am super excited, the clocks change this weekend and I CANNOT BLOODY WAIT. It feels a long time coming, I've absolutely loved the 'Proper Winter' we've had this year, but now I am ready for light evenings and breakfasts in the sun and cherry blossom and not nearly so many layers of clothing.


That's what I'm talking about! Crazy to think that was this time last year. George is convinced Spring will burst into action any day now and "it's going to be technicolour". Well I'm poised and ready....

But just the slightly longer days and lighter mornings have made me motivated to get started doing things again. Life seems sharply divided between weeks and weekends, weeks are an endurance battle in a job I hate, but that just makes me try extra hard to have nice weekends and they really have been recently, like little happy bubbles of plans and creativity! I'm going to try and post more about the things I've been cooking, making and reading and the things I plan to cook, make and read, but in keeping with my little and often plan I'm going to wind things up now to encourage me to come back again soon. Here's a little taster of recent weekend activity.


Clockwise from top left: 1. patchwork in progress, 2. marinating tofu, 3. veggie BLT (treat! yum), 4. homebaked linseed and oat loaf, 5. baking cake, 6. plans and intentions, 7. Spring bed linen, 8. Bradford On Avon in the rain, 9. Amazing owl lamp in a pub, 9. Patches, 10. Sewing station, 11. tidy kitchen window, 12. Happy Chocolate Cake

Happy Twenty Ten

Gosh, this is a bit overdue isn't it?

There is not much to say about the months in between the last post and Christmas, life was a bit stressful in ways which are best not dwelled upon. By the time Christmas finally rolled around I was so in need of a break, and a lovely break it was, inspite of being quite ill for most of it. So I start 2010 refreshed and ready for a shiny, fresh new year! Shiny and fresh indeed, on account of the amazing Winter Freeze Britain is currently undergoing...



I adore this sort of weather, the cold air in your lungs makes you feel so alive! Just as well I like it since it looks set to stay for a good while yet, we're expecting more snow tomorrow and most of next week by the looks of things. Hurray! So all in all I am full of the joys of new year, feeling all hopeful and positive about what is to come. I'm making another attempt at a 'Year in Pictures' project and absolutely loving it this time around, I don't know if it's because I've got to grips with my camera a lot more since last year's try but I really am enjoying it a lot more. For me it's not about improving my photography, or documenting my year (though obviously those things are excellent bonuses!), it's more about how it makes me see life, it's like looking through a lens makes me see so many things I'd otherwise miss. Actively seeking out beautiful things everyday, seeing things from another angle, focusing in on small details and sharing the things I love doing, it fills me with enthusiasm for life! And it's fun being able to try and communicate that enthusiasm to other people through photographs. So I'm really optimistic about lasting the whole year this time. Before Christmas I really felt like I'd lost touch with myself and my usual zest for life, but this is helping me find again.

Other positive things include busying myself applying for a new job at work, the more I prepare for the interview the more excited I feel about it, fingers and toes crossed it goes well! I am more than ready for a change, and I think this will be a good challenge, it's a job I could bring a lot more of myself to. Anyways, I'm preparing like I've never prepared before, so even if I don't get it hopefully it will have kick started something in me to be more active about finding something new. I remember this time last year saying to myself that it was ok to carry on as I was for now, but 2010 was going to be a year of changes and developments. So! I'd better get a wriggle on.

I've stolen Argyle Whale's excellent idea for keeping a list of resolutions at the side of her blog and ticking them off as she goes, to heep herself accountable to them. What are some of your resolutions?

I hope everyone is managing to stay warm in this cold cold weather, my recommendation is an extensive collection of blankets to combine in numerous ways and thus always be the optimum temperature. Voila!


Also in 2010 there will be more regular blog updates.

Keep warm!

xx

I had to make a copy of this photo when I was housesitting for my parents last weekend. It's my mum in the early 70s, and it made me do a massive grin since, well let's see, cat, sewing machine, fairisle jumper, floral fabric, yes it could be me! I think I'm only realising as I'm getting older what a massive influence my mum has had on me, I'm sure she's the person responsible for all my biggest loves and what I'd like to think are some of my talents, I certainly have her to thank for my enthusiasm for cooking, sewing and all things home made! And she's just pretty gosh darn awesome in so many ways. Hurrah for mums!

I still have to post my recipe for rosehip syrup, I will do that this week. At the moment there just isn't enough time to do everything I want to do, I have about five or six sewing projects on the go and loads more I want to start... This week the theme has been sleep and I've been busying myself cutting and planning my patchwork quilt, making pajamas for a friend and attempting to refashion a charity shop dress into a babydoll nightie, but I'm already losing interest in those and fantasising about woolly skirts, checked blouses and pinafores, I need to learn to finish what I start!

Think the patchwork is going to have to be an ongoing project since there are 324 patches to sew....

Barley Butternut Risotto

Mmmmm, time for warming, hearty meals! I love barley risotto, it's satisfyingly earthy and nourishing and very easy. You can make it vegan, without the butter and cheese and it's just as good, but it's extra comforting with a good grating of strong cheddar. I'm not too sure on measurements since I made this up and don't really measure,and I tend to use whatever veg I have to hand (squash and mushrooms are essential though!) but I think it's about right. Also nice cold for lunch the next day.

Ingredients
Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers for lunch!)
olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
half a butternut squash/pumpkin, peeled and diced quite small
1 large/2 small courgettes, roughly chopped
good handful of chesnut mushrooms, sliced
1 mug of pearl barley
good big slug of red wine
tamari/shoyu to taste
2 mugs stock/water & bouillon (+more if needed)
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
large pinch dried sage
very generous handful fresh spinach (sometimes I use a whole bag, it's up to you!)
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
freshly ground pepper

Optional:
1 oz butter
handful grated cheddar cheese
extra seasonal veg (e.g. peppers, celery, leeks etc.)
Dried mushrooms, soaked to rehydrate (you can use the soaking water as tasty stock)

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan (with a little bit of butter if you like), and add the onion and garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add the squash, mushrooms, courgette and other veg. The squash can take a bit longer to cook, soI try to chop it quite small. Cover the pan, turn the heat down and sweat for 10 minutes or so (helps the squash get nice and tender).


2. Tip in the barley, and stir to coat with the tasty juices. Slosh in some red wine, followed by the stock. Add the tamari and herbs, except the parsley. Cover, and simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the barley has absorbed the stock and turned lovely and plump and tender, with a slightly creamy/saucey texture (you might need to add more stock). Like risotto, you want the barley to be al dente, thick and creamy but not too runny. Taste, and add more wine or tamari if needed.


3. Roughly tear the spinach and add to the pan in a thick layer. Put the lid back on and steam for a few moments until it starts to wilt, then stir into the mixture to cook down. Add a little knob of butter, the parsley and season well with freshly pepper, the tamari is salty so I don't tend to add any more.

4. Serve, with grated cheese and a little more parsley to garnish if you like.

Enjoy!

Hello Autumn! And a seasonal recipe.

It seems that the last post really did signal a 'goodbye' to Summer, and this one a 'Hello Autumn'... There's been a sudden swing towards the Autumnal, leaves on the pavements, windows steamed up in the mornings, blankets on the bed. And this week has been a celebration of the fact, for I have been doing seasonal activities a-plenty!


In spite of my optimistic Monday post I spent most of last week being a grumpy badger for no real reason, but the weekend was just what I needed to fix me up, I visited my parents with my brother and went fruit picking in the field by our house, we spent hours wandering around and ended up with tubs full of sloes, rosehips and blackberries (and scratched hands), there were more than we could ever pick, I think this time of year is when I most miss the country.

SO! The week so far has been a flurry of activity, I've been busying in my kitchen preparing my gathered fruit and filling the freezer for Winter, making rosehip syrup (photos and recipe to follow), and generally feeling very cosy and contented. There is a passage in 'Moominvalley in November' (one of my very favourite books) which sums up perfectly how I feel about this time of year:

"The quiet transition from Autumn to Winter is not a bad time at all. It's a time for protecting and securing things and making sure you've got in as many supplies as you can. It's nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hole inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is precious and your very own. Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst. They can grope their way up the walls looking for a way in, but they won't find one, everything is shut, and you sit inside, laughing in your warmth, for you have had foresight"

(There are so many bits of that book I could quote! Maybe another time.)



That is exactly how I felt on Monday night, sitting at my little table with a candle, listening to records and topping and tailing rosehips to boil up for yummy syrup. Also I have acquired a lovely blanket which makes me feel very snug indeed, though I swear I won't buy anymore and will learn to crochet my own instead. I think I am going to steal an idea from Argyle Whale's beautiful blog and start a To Do list, my brain is full to the brim of plans and intentions that I need to make sure I follow through on.

I have a seasonal recipe to post but I think I'll leave this all for my rambles and make a brand new seperate post.


* blanket picture from ebay, not me. I'll takea picture of my bed soon.