for babe: deux.

three months to go and i'm getting the urge to nest. i've been making lots of bits and pieces for babe. two knit blankets are in progress. a couple of small jumpers (sweaters) are being finished up in the evenings. and i've got a list a mile long of other things i'd like to get started on - this wee one won't stay 'wee' for long!

i had it in my head that i wanted to make the baby a blanket - something that maybe could be something held on to - enjoyed - for years. it needed to be suitably sophisticated and large enough to transition from baby-sized to child-sized. oh and it needed to be easy.

in my mind i enjoy sewing. in reality i'm a bit of a lazy seamstress. i like sewing just until the end of the project when i get bored and can't be bothered to finish the seams 'just-so' or be super careful about how the binding goes on...needless to say, i'm probably not going to set up an etsy shop filled with hand sewn creations. oh and those drapes i made last year - they are still un-hemmed. i foresee an afternoon sitting under the windows streaming public radio for distraction in my future.

so easy.

but cute.

and long lasting.

oh and gender neutral.

enter - the ten hour quilt. i saw this on pinterest a long time ago. declared it genius and promptly pinned it to my 'secret' baby board.

but just so you know - it's not ten hours. it took me max five. ok eight if you include the washing and drying. but i mean the washing machine did that - PTL for washing machines, can you imagine the days before there were washing machines?

i did not pre-wash the fabrics. the batting is a bamboo-silk-cotton mix that is supposed to shrink about 5%, combined with 100% cotton cloth, a very hot wash and a hot tumble dry leading to the crinkle quilt look. which helpfully covered up the inevitable puckers in the stitched fabric. top recommendation from this experience - save yourself and buy the bias tape pre-made - it was just brilliant to have pre-made bias tape when it came time for binding.

i simply cannot wait to wrap our little one in this for years and years to come. amazing to think that we're only eleven weeks to go!

october.

there's a chill in the air. it's definitely autumn around these parts. school has started back, leaves are covering the ground and it's thanksgiving this weekend.

if i'm honest i've felt a bit wordless. truly, my story's feeling a little bit stale. that is until i realise that my story is about so much more than the one thing that distracts me from the rest of the goodness. i'll be honest and say that i'm wrestling with my professional life at the moment, no longer feeling fulfilled in ways i used to be. i'm not sure what to do with the restlessness, but i also know that when god stirs you up, he's usually getting you ready for change.

::september recap::

spiritual:

• tuned into the beth moore simulcast 
• memorised psalm 68:11 & james 2:26 

mental: 

• read: crazy love (finally) it's crazy good, but crazy convicting also.
• read: orange is the new black, entertaining, poignant  a memoir and an insight into the life of a prison inmate and how choices can have long lasting consequences. 
• read: the orchardist, gripping. a novel that centres on how violence can be redeemed by love 
• read: call the midwife, bbc made a television series from this collection of stories of a midwife in post-WWII eastend london, watch the mini-series sure, it was fascinating, but read the book

physical: 

• took a bit of a break, it was necessary and well received, by my body that is! 

creative: 

• finished the drapes! now hung and looking pretty. 
• finished a knitted poncho, just my new favourite item in my wardrobe (photos coming)
• made jersey scarves, liking the diy aspect 

the drapes. finally. 

::october intentions:: 

spiritual: 

• starting a new bible study with our homegroup on grace - so looking forward to what god is going to show us

mental: 

• keep reading (what else would i do?)

physical: 

• start training for a 10km, i'm desperate to start running in earnest again, but i need a goal! 
• finish off the weight loss, i'm really happy with the progress, and i'd like to be finished by the end of the month! 

creative:

• starting a photography course this month, so looking forward to learning more about this art form and not just pointing my camera at things that look pretty! 
• working on a new knitted jumper
• contemplating making this for our living room - big and cozy

orange and turquoise.

the vacation was exactly what we needed, time away to recharge and reconsider and return! and return we have. the olympics get officially underway in a few hours, the city is a-buzz with lots of people and a feeling of hope, because really, isn't that what the whole thing's about? i love it. and i love that i'm here to experience it! we're catching the men's road cycling tomorrow seeing as they are coming through our neck of the woods (literally) and a kind friend has offered me a ticket along to some diving! so so excited. we'll try to catch the marathon and maybe the cycling time trial. and of course, we live in wimbledon, so there's always the crowd roaring just down the road. it gonna be great! plus some of our great friends are returning to this fair city for and we are hosting which just tickles me beyond belief. 

but in between spectating and working and hosting, we're on the diy path. our time in california was spent with dear dear friends who have the cutest little house just outside san fran. they've been in their place less time than we've been in ours, but are much more established. the whole - how to actually decorate a house has paralysed me. what if it goes wrong? i guess we repaint.

so this weekend my wonderful husband has agreed to paint the final room without any adornment. we've decided to keep with the soft grey that's been used in the bedroom and the living room, mainly because we have leftover paint, and because, well, it makes things easy and keeps the space feeling connected (or so say the decorating mags...)

i was lucky enough to snag some cool curtains from marvellous while i was home - in grey. so grey it is. with orange. we chose orange boxes some time ago for open shelving storage, they aren't going anywhere and actually, orange and grey really work. i should mention that this plan includes spray painting a ceramic statue of a horse bright orange. i inherited this from my grandmother (and have been assured it is of no value other than sentimental). and i love it. partly because she made it, and partly because well, it's going to be an orange horse. (grin)

ignore the homebase sign, it's just where we get our paint, not part of the design elements...

and turquoise, well it's predetermined. the kitchen already has bits, and apparently i'm drawn to it. i can't explain this. it just happens. it happened to marvellous also, there's shots of it throughout her house. i'm my mother's daughter. i probably say that once a week now...

so i'm framing three prints of butcher cuts (we're clearly not vegetarians, but really, i'm the grandaughter of a cattle farmer, so there's little hope for me there) in turquoise frames, and thinking of an oil cloth on the table and utilizing one of my absolutely favourite wedding gifts -a turquoise water pitcher. hopefully it will bring the the kitchen and dining room into a more cohesive space.

art on walls, cushions on chairs, drapes on windows. i know it's simple, it's just about getting. it. done.

thread & needle.

last week a dear friend asked if i'd help her prepare a wedding gift for a friend of her's. she just didn't want to buy off the registry.

i understand this. i loved getting things off our registry, but i generally avoid them. i prefer to pick gifts that celebrate our personal relationship with the couple. unless there's something on the registry that we just LOVE and have to give...

in the past i've done

• a giant wooden salad bowl with a list of family favourite salad recipes. 
• wine and cheese boards for with a slot for a single wine glass. 
• handmade vase from travels. 
• a one-of-a-kind tray covered with a map of london and focussing on the spot where the bride and i went to grad school. 

but i think i like this the best, and i might just use this idea myself for future weddings...

i traced the design on the fabric and spent an hour or so stitching around the design, i added the date of the wedding to the back flap and made a basic envelope pillow the next morning before work. the design can be found here and is customizable! 

sew-nice.

a few weeks ago le boy and i had a conversation that went like this:

him: hey babe, if we got you a new good sewing machine how long would it last? 

me: hmmm about 20 years. 

him: let's go tomorrow morning. 

and when we went to john lewis and spoke with the lovely and helpful sales lady, she informed us that yes, they do last 20 years, in fact they last longer :) i was pretty certain about what i wanted (a jonome) le boy, being the consummate value for money man, asked a lot of questions, maybe more questions than most men would ask in the sewing department, and definitely more than a man who won't ever actually touch a sewing machine should ask. but i kinda love that he did, because it means that he cares about the stuff i care about. (ok sappy portion is over). in the end we walked out with a janome, of course we paid for the privilege. 

so what else to do but put the new baby to work? 

and work she has!

wanting to dress up our bed i made a few quick throw pillows. the basic how-to for cushion covers is here with a great measurement guide for the most common sizes. 

i wanted to dress them up a bit and turned to martha for some ribbon inspiration.

for the loopy centre pillow.

and for the rosette.

i just pintucked the ruffle until i liked it and sewed straight down the centre of the ribbon.

all very easy and very very quick!

and for the thing i'm currently most proud of? the console table slip cover! an ikea expedit bookcase turned on its side and covered now provides oodles of hidden storage. the instructions and genius behind this is found from in the sept 2011 canadian house and home.

(and isn't the new chair pretty?) we're ambling our way toward finishing up the living room. in my dreams i'm sewing the curtains this weekend...

march.

a day behind. i feel that way a lot recently. like i'm coming to life late or something. i wonder if i need to slow down or speed up or evaluate what's on my list and what's possible or get a better routine or abandon routine? but i'm also here. so that's good.

a recap on february. i'm trying to be gentle with myself. some great things (great big things) happened, but they took energy and time, and so there was less of me to do the things i absolutely love. i've also decided to set myself a monthly creativity goal - most often sewing or knitting i expect, but we'll see what else makes it's way in...

creative: i finished a baby blanket for our closest friends' new baby, she is now snuggled up in it, so it was finished and delivered just in time. no pictures of the blanket yet, but i used this purlbee pattern and i LOVE the way it came out. possibly the cushiest, softest, loftiest baby blanket.

spiritual: memorised hebrews 4:12 & john 10:10

physical: ran/walked my first 2 km in more than 13 months! this is huge. i've not lost weight as quickly as i'd like (we went to france, they do bread and cheese and chocolate particularly well...), but i am reinvigorated to stay focussed on the goal!

mental: this was pretty much a failure. i started off with my fiction pick - the children's book by a.s.byatt. a.s.byatt is notoriously dense. and this is no exception. i am liking the story, it's just taking a long time to plough through. i may set it down to read the hunger games, which a.b. emailed me about to say that i HAD to pick it up. i'll report back. in other news, i've decided that at the top of my birthday wish list is a kindle, perhaps this will make reading novel (no pun intended) again! i've also started eat this book by eugene peterson, in the non-fiction category, i'll report back.

::intentions for march::

physical: get to running 20 min straight through. lose 2kgs (but i have a good incentive, we've just booked a florida trip for easter, so it's bathing suit (or swimming costume, as they say here) time! 

mental: read the hunger games - i'm so serious about this i'm picking the book up on my way home tonight :) finish the children's book and eat this book. 

spiritual: i've started a lenten devotional on my youversion bible app - i want to make sure i finish it! and to continue memorizing two scriptures this month. 

creative: working on a short sleeved alpaca sweater knit sideways - i'll be interested to see how this goes, and sew a slip cover for a storage unit in our living room. 

pantry.

what to do in a kitchen with no space? we have about 5 cupboards in our teensy kitchen. and both food and dishes for cooking and eating, to store. so how to fix this?

we've put up a couple corner shelves, painted white to match the walls, and we're using glass jars.

to keep from mixing up the sugar and salt, icing sugar and flour and the different types of flour i use, i printed cute labels found on pinterest onto sticker paper (seriously, the most useful stationery item i own!). this was an inexpensive project, gets us away from using plastic to store food in and prettied up the kitchen! all with the added bonus of random food no longer falling on our heads when we open the cupboard doors!

Source: sissyprint.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

i love the look, the old-time feel and the ease of it all. the kitchen is 100% more functional! which makes me one happy lady! 

glass jars from ikea, variety of sizes: £0.90 - £2.69

sticker paper: free

corner shelves (4 total) : £4/shelf

Total cost for new pantry: £30

bread.

it's such a simple thing really. bread. and yet in our home, it is essential for domestic harmony. i read an article by mark bittman years ago in the nytimes about no-knead bread. i thought it intriguing, but i also considered it to be rather impractical, what with so many hours of rising time required. but recently re-reading the articles, i realised that many people had tweaked this recipe to work for their own purposes. i've linked all the related content from the nytimes below, and here i'll go through my process.

i started baking bread out of curiosity and really, frugality. we are lovers of good, wholesome, artisanal bread. i am suspicious, to say the least, of grocery store bread, really it's the list of preservatives that i shake my head at. and while we're fortunate to live near an excellent farmer's market (wimbledon farmer's market for those who are local) with an impressive array of vendors, the bread we favour is £4 a loaf, and with le boy at the table, that only lasts a couple of days! and that's if he's distracted by other delights the kitchen has produced. needless to say, this was becoming an expensive indulgence in a daily necessity.

perhaps i could bake my own bread? perhaps i could feed our (small) family for mere pennies a loaf? and so i started experimenting. my first attempts were faltering. i started by following the quicker of the recipes to the letter. the bread was good, really an excellent first attempt, but the quick recipe calls for dousing the flour with yeast, and so the bread tasted yeasty.  we wanted perfection. in all honesty, i'm not great at following recipes and it occurred to me that perhaps i could get a loaf we were satisfied with, with less yeast, and a middling rising time. a compromise so to speak (or taste?).

and so with my willing taste-tester at my side, i began baking bread. and since i've started we've scarcely bought a loaf! i think we're spending in the neighbourhood of 40p a loaf. because this recipe calls for so little yeast the overall cost is negligible and really bread flour is about as inexpensive as any ingredient comes.

so here we go, the recipe for white bread. i'll be back next week with a follow-up of our very favourite, whole grain, seeded bread that follows on the same principles as this loaf, but with some small tweaks to accomodate the whole grains.

firstly, bread requires remarkably few ingredients - flour, yeast, salt and water.

to 3 cups of strong white bread flour, add 1/4 tsp of yeast and 1/2 tbsp salt. the long rising time allows for the small amount of yeast to distribute throughout the dough and means that the 'yeasty' taste that can sometimes characterize homemade bread is no longer an issue.


mix the dry ingredients and add 1.5 cup of lukewarm water. i mix the dough in a stainless steel bowl and use a spatula to get all the dry mixed with the wet. i'm hoping (not so secretly) for one of these for christmas. it's really important to make sure all the dry bits are incorporated, the dough will be shaggy, and nearly impossible to knead as it's extremely sticky.

at this point, cover the bowl and leave in a warm place. i put mine in the oven, using the 'rising' function. if you don't have this a warm oven from after dinner or a warm place in the house will suffice. ideally the temperature needs to be about 70 F or 21 C. the first rise needs at least 9-10 hours. i usually make the dough after dinner and leave it overnight, waking early on 'bread mornings.'


after the rise the dough will look like this

the holes are the indication that the yeast has worked.

at this time you need to heat your oven to full whack - 450 F or 230 C. and you need to heat whatever you're baking your bread in at the same time. this is an essential aspect of this bread. it needs to be baked covered. so a dutch oven or a covered glass pyrex would work. i use my le creuset ovens. caveat: technically le creuset knobs are only recommended to 400 F or 200 C, but i've been using both my ovens at this temperature for months now with no problem - plus i have absolutely lovely, wonderful ovens that deserved to be used and why not use them? i'll just replace the knobs if they ever get damaged. 

here's what i do next - pour a tsp of oil onto a flat surface, a kitchen board would work well, i cover my dough with aluminum foil, so i turn that over onto the counter, and smear some oil on it. 

pull the dough out of the bowl, kneading it a couple of times in your hands, and then shape into a round loaf form. turn the loaf form in the oil and return to the bowl, covering again. allow to rise for another 30 minutes - 1 hour, this is about how long it takes my oven to heat. 

once the oven is heated, take the baking pot out of the oven (CAREFUL it's very hot!) and drop the dough in - it should sizzle as the oil hits the bottom. 

bake for 30 min with the lid on, take the lid off and bake for another 15-30 depending on how brown you want the crust. 

according to what i've read it's the hot oven and the lid which makes all the difference. because this is a fairly wet dough this creates a steam action inside the pot which is why you can get a fabulous crust from this recipe (it's hard and crunches when you eat it). 

remove from oven, and place on rack to cool (i just use the stovetop as it's gas and sort of rack-like?)

and really, make sure you enjoy this with butter, there's nothing better. nothing. 

recipe: 

ingredients: 

3 cups strong white bread flour

1/4 tsp instant/fast acting yeast

1/2 tbsp salt 

1.5 cups lukewarm water

instructions: 

• in a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. add lukewarm water, stir to combine thoroughly, cover and leave for 9-10 hours in a warm place. 
• preheat oven to 450 F or 230 C - making sure to also preheat whatever you are baking it in, form dough into round loaf, turn in oil and rise for further 30-60 minutes
• carefully place inside hot pot and return to oven for 30 minutes with lid on, and further 15-30 minutes with lid off
• remove from oven, allow to cool, and serve warm

because of the high water content the crust will eventually become more soft, it hardens again if toasted or if the loaf is put into a warm (350 F) oven for 10 minutes. 

nytimes links: i very much recommend you read these articles if you're looking to develop your own technique, they gave me ideas and confidence to stray from the original recipes...

original article - 20 hours rising time

faster no-knead bread - 4 hours rising time

reader's comments - this was very helpful for tips and tricks!

something new.

'upcycling' is a huge trend these days. i'm sure our grandmothers would laugh if they heard about this - taking something that's no longer fit for its original purpose and giving it new life with a little creativity. part of the 'make do and mend' trend. that being said, i'm loving it. i constantly find things all over the house that can be made into something new.

most recently? old wool sweaters. i love wool - i mean i've usually got some of it tangled in my fingers and ready to keep another warm, but what happens when a sweater is past its prime? i had two sweaters that were in this condition. one sweater, the red one, is more than 30 years old. it originally belonged to marvellous, and i believe was purchased over here in the british isles (we have a long love-affair with this island in my family). i came into ownership about a decade ago and i wore that sweater to death throughout university. the moth holes and thinning elbows making it all the cooler. but now, it just looked pitiful. the second was a super cute short sleeved sweater that i accidentally shrunk in the wash...i tried to wear it a few times after that, but it was never the same. so what to do?

i felted the red sweater in a super hot wash and then dry in the dryer - this thing was half it's original size and had fuzzed up really well. i then cut off the sleeves, hemmed closed the arms and neck holes and stuffed a pillow inside. i then used an invisible stitch to close the seam. the white sweater was of course, already mainly shrunk and so i didn't feel it needed a second whirl. i followed the process a second time and had two sweaters-pillows with minimal sewing or effort. plus, i didn't have to buy any fabric or spend any time knitting to then felt it. and really, that's all folks. they are now sitting pretty in our living room, a little seating nook has been created with a footstool and a few cushions and that's a welcome relief because we are sorely short on seating at the moment!

palletting.

we've got a large open space in our living room. the room is shaped in such a way that all the furniture needs to go on the edge of the room, i know, it's a design no-no, but really we're not able to do much else. so the centre of the room needs something to fill it. i have a love of reclaimed things, (which is awkward when combined with my love for ikea) but rarely do i approve of the price tag associated with such items. so when i saw this on one of my favourite online shops i thought - i can do that...

and so began my obsession with pinterest and pallets. my pallet board is here. and i found some ideas i liked.

but how does one find a pallet?

firstly, i should say that pallets are pretty big, about nine square feet, so one wouldn't fit in our car. but when you start looking, suddenly pallets are everywhere. i've seen at least five in people's trash in the last couple of weeks. what is most fortunate is that we live down the street from a carpet warehouse (bizarre, i know, but that's london for you) and i was pretty sure if we asked nicely they'd let us have one. so i dispatched le boy one morning, and indeed, he was allowed to take his pick!

and this is what we started with.

it was in pretty good condition, considering it's former life as a warehouse storage item. but pallets are made from rough wood and have some not so nice parts (read: big splinters). i'll outline what we did but i didn't take step-by-step photos because, well, i wasn't planning on a tutorial and i'm a bad blogger and i had paint all over myself and it was cold and really we all know how to sand and paint, right?

pallet transformation:

materials needed:
wooden pallet
sandpaper (coarse and fine)
dropsheet
paint for interior wood & brushes
pre-painting wash solution
wheels

steps:

• start by wiping down pallet with wash solution, we found some handy wipes at the hardware store, but even just rag with some water and vinegar would do the trick, allow to dry 
• sand entire pallet with coarse sandpaper, this will take quite a bit of time, but is worth doing well so that you get a good finish 
• wipe down again to get rid of all the dust (very very important!) 
• paint your first coat and allow to dry. because the wood is untreated it sucks up quite a lot of paint, consequently we painted it on quite thickly - if you are going for a fully professional look it's better to do light coats and more of them, but i'm ok with (and indeed want) a slightly more rustic look, so as this gets used, i'll be happy for paint to chip etc. 
• sand with light sandpaper (this allows the second coat to bind well to the first) 
• paint second coat and allow to dry 
• attach wheels, we used castors from ikea, 2/£10, easy to attach and they have brakes so the coffee table doesn't go flying across the room! 

total cost: £35

paint & supplies - £15

castors - £20 

pallet - free! 

pretty great savings. and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it. a lot. 

i'm linking up to take it on tuesday.

lately.

it was a weekend of projects and friends and relaxing and it was wonderful. all of my photos are of half-finished things, so not yet ready to post.

but i wouldn't leave you empty handed.

on saturday after i had spent time painting and sewing and cleaning and organising, le boy was tasked with dinner. he pulled a ziploc bag out of the freezer and asked if this was the spaghetti sauce? i glanced up from what i was doing and said, oh yes! umm, just kidding. i talked myself out of a meltdown - it wasn't the end of the world, but man was a hungry and a little annoyed, it all got better with food, even if it was inventive!

now, i know this has happened to all of us, and i know you're saying, brie, come on, a sharpie would solve this. but now, where's the fun in that? so to avoid eating brisket over pasta for a second time (although, actually, it was pretty good!) i've downloaded, printed and cut out these freezer labels. courtesy of our favourite, martha.

i used a few sheets of sticker paper and voila! amazing.

i'll be back later in the week with an update on our kitchen organisation project. it also involves labels and food storage. and a printable!

for now, download, print off and keep these handy in the kitchen. save your marriage, save yourself.

cards.

i'm a big believer in christmas cards. truthfully, i've not been great at the whole thing in the past, but i love love love sending cards, receiving cards - looking at people's cards online. living abroad means that we need to be even more on the ball. i've recently made our christmas cards and while i'm not going to show you just yet what we've chosen. i will point you to the fabulous site where i got my download.


becky higgins. there's a photo scrapbooking idea that she came up with called project life - so super cool and i think it may just top my christmas wish list - i would love a way to keep all the memories that i shoot with my camera in a more tangible way!

on her free stuff page - free people - you can download lots of goodies, but particularly at the moment, christmas and holiday cards!

i gave myself a crash course on using picnik premium to add a photo to our selected card and i just love how it turned out! (ps, with picnik premium you can do layering, so you don't need to have photoshop or elements - i got a one month subscription for less than £3, if i like it, i'll upgrade to the yearly subscription, plus i love how it integrates with my picasa pool for the blog!)

we have a couple of 'family guidelines' when i comes to our cards - first, we don't say 'happy holidays.' we are big believers that christmas is about christ. so the card must say 'merry christmas.' second, if possible we'd like a place for a scripture verse. finally, we wanted a meaningful picture - we have dozens to choose from this year, so that was easy!

i've placed my free order with snapfish (new customers get 40 free prints) and paid the shipping. i plan to write the cards when i'm laid up with the knee and need a distraction.

i'll post our card later, but for now - enjoy deciding which you'll choose!

twenty-nine::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

a perfect saturday:

palletting:

& slow-cooking:

more to come on both!

twenty-four::newlywed::food

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

it's something i do. freeze food for later. use up old bits from the vegetable bin. recently, i was on a train (a daily occurrence around here), and two men were having an interesting, if slightly self-congratulatory conversation about wastefulness and food and how people no longer know how to do simple things to conserve, things that people from previous eras would have done without thinking twice. i should probably pause and say i completely eavesdropped on this conversation, but it was a grouping of four seats, so it was hard not to hear. on this particular morning i was knitting. most mornings on the train find me knitting or reading. and i'd like to think of myself as semi self-sufficient. i do try, earnestly, to converse food, and make good use of household products and needs. i'm investigating homemade bath and body products, trying to make informed decisions about the foods we eat, the cleaners we use, the products we buy. 

after a little research i've found that in the uk we throw away 8.3 million tonnes a year of food from our homes, which costs the average family more than £50. as much as possible, we try to throw away nothing. with a little forward planning, and a freezer, most food can be kept good until later. most food can be used for multiple meals, and most food is not bad once it's past it's 'use-by' date. one prime candidate is milk and dairy products.

• i sniff most days before i pour milk, why? i've had 'good' milk go bad, and i've had 'overdue' milk, that's still perfectly fresh. keep your milk inside the fridge and not in the door, keep your fridge cold and food stays fresh longer. 
• use veg that is a little 'off' for soups, stews, sauces. the slightly wrinkly red pepper languishing in your crisper can be chopped up and used, maybe not for eating raw, but it can definitely be added to something cooked. wilting celery, stand in a mug of water with fresh cut ends for an hour - and it's revitilised! and in the end, when in doubt, freeze it. spinach (add to sauce), most vegetables (soups and stews), meat bones (stock), ends of bread (whizz in the food processor for breadcrumbs).

in honour of using up old bits: 

chicken soup. 

use as the recipe calls for soup. reduce for chicken pot pie filling.

ingredients:

3 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb cooked chicken, shredded (i had some extra bacon frozen, so i added that too!)
2 carrots, diced
2 leeks, sliced
1 lb green beans, trimmed
2 large potatoes, cubed
large onion, diced
*or really any vegetable lying around the kitchen in desperate need of cooking
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

 heat olive oil in heavy stockpot, sautee onions, carrots and leeks until soft. season with salt and pepper.

add potatoes, chicken, chicken stock. simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour. 

add green beans. stir in cream. simmer for a further 5 min.  check seasonings, adjust as needed.

serve hot with toasted bread.

twenty-one::newlywed::food

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

i'm toying with a food friday feature here. it will ensure after this month is over, that i've still got things to report. and really, it will keep me creative in the kitchen.

last saturday while i was being productive, i spent the time with bbc iplayer (on-demand bbc recent programming). nigel slater has a new show where he pairs two food combinations and explores the idea for the whole show. while i can find him slightly dramatic and pedantic, he's definitely encouraging creativity and substitutions in the kitchen, and really, the more people who are cooking their own food from original ingredients the better, right? this particular show was on crispy and soft. which is one my absolute favourite combinations.

the inspiration - crab cakes and mushy peas (a british delight). but i didn't have crab and (much to my surprise) i didn't have frozen peas. i did have canned tuna, and i did have frozen spinach. so? tuna fish cakes and creamed spinach. it was delicious.

here's his original recipe.

and here's my crispy and smooth dinner, it came together fairly effortlessly, it tasted amazing and since i had everything on hand, it was incredibly economical. i expect that most of us would usually have many of these ingredients to hand as well...

fishcakes and creamed spinach (serves 2)

for the fishcakes

• 1 can of tuna (or any cooked fish)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced (or lime)
• 1 deseeded chilli, diced (optional)
• 1 shallot, diced (or green onions)
• a handful parsley, chopped
• 100g/4oz breadcrumbs
• 1 egg

 

for the creamed spinach

 

• 1 cup frozen spinach
  
• 1/4 cream
  
•  2 tbsp butter

  
  

  drain tuna. in a large bowl combine lemon zest, then juice, chilli, shallot, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. mix with hands. form mixture into four patties. set on plate and place in fridge for 30 min to firm up. 

  
  

  melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. add frozen spinach and allow to steam off extra water. when still wet but no visible liquid, stir in cream, and simmer until thickened. season with salt and pepper. remove from heat. 

  
  

  heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to hot pan. when oil shimmers add fishcakes. don't play too much! just let the crust develop, about 5-7 min. turn over and fry for the same amount of time.

  
  

  serve hot on a bed of creamed spinach with choice of sauces - homemade ketchup and some south carolina remoulade went nicely.

twenty::newlywed::homemaking

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i mentioned that i was changing out our curtains the other day. the old curtains were intended to match a purple wall - which is no longer purple. and really, the flowers weren't really our style anyway. i was looking for an inexpensive option (remember, we're on a budget). inspired by pinterest to go with drop cloths and yes, i'm a little behind the times, i realise this was cool about two years ago, but i didn't have a flat to decorate two years ago...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Brie on Pinterest

i dispatched le boy to our local diy store - he's definitely making friends with the owner! and he returned with two drop cloths of 12'x12'. we've got one of those drapery hanging systems which has hooks and eyes - i wasn't really looking forward to the sewing, but determined to make this experiment work! as it turned out once i'd washed the drop cloths and looked at the whole system - that i could wiggle the hooks through the drop cloths without any sewing - a big bonus is that drop cloths are already hemmed! 

here's a before: 

and here's a few afters...taken at night (darkness is falling at about 6pm these days...)

the next afternoon le boy and i took a walk around the neighbourhood and our local park.

can i pause for a moment and just say how blessed we feel to live in our neighbourhood? there are families with children everywhere! which might seem normal for a neighbourhood with a park, except that this is london and generally children are nowhere to be seen. the park has a small pond/lake, a couple of playgrounds, a track and field area, enormous playing fields, three sets of tennis courts, a mini-putt and a fantastic running/cycle route - we LOVE it.

on the way back i asked le boy to go in ahead and draw the curtains, i wanted to ensure they looked good from the street side too! and in the process i took a few shots of our lovely house. oh how we love it!

where's le boy?

the wrought iron:

our red door:

 

and the gate: