What to do with leftover cooked carrots? Soup would have been the obvious answer, but since I'd just made a huge pot of rustic lentil and tomato from The garden of Vegan (only minus the pasta and blended so that Dear Heart would eat it), I needed something else!
Dozens of food/vegan blogs later I came across this post.
http://www.shespillsthebeans.com/kitchen/2006/05/chard_fritters.html
Inspiration struck. I had a go with carrots and ate them zapped in the microwave for lunch with a little tub of vegan mayo. Very nice. I was thrilled when a co-worker spied them on my desk and commented on how delicious they looked! She probably didn't know that they were carrots dressed up to look fancy! I should have taken a photo, but I'm sure this won't the last time I make this.
Great to have something go well today. I went to renew my bus pass and realised that I had forgotten my photo card. Then I went to the market to begin purchasing items for this weekends Thanksgiving themed brunch club. As I got close to the vegetable stall I realised that my carefully drawn up shopping list (highlighted and all) was still sitting on my desk.
Think I need an early night.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Use it up...quick
Every so often I am gripped by an urge to use up all the foods that are in the freezer and the pantry. I can see that at one point this probably prevented the cupboards from over flowing. I did have a tendency to pick up new and/or interesting looking products while wandering around the supermarket. I'd buy just in case the shop never ever had it in stock again (that's logic, right?).
However as I've moved away from shopping in supermarkets I tend to buy stuff as I plan to use it. I impulse buy less. The types of food I'm buying have also changed. The pantry is much more likely to be stuffed with dry goods than anything else.
However, I'm still feeling that I need to use up stuff. This ranges from the last spoonful in the jar to any unopened packets (why aren't they opened? I can't have needed to buy them that much). The freezer is quite full at the moment with frozen beans, blackberries and peas.
Then I spotted an item that I could use up and satisfy my urge (for the present anyway). I bought a load of bananas really cheaply at some distant point in the past. I prefer my bananas green instead of ripe so I froze the lot. I'd eaten most of them but there was half a box just waiting for me to get the urge to eat them. Trouble is where the weather wasn't too warm this summer the urge for frozen stuff wasn't too strong.
I put them to defrost and then made banana choc chip bars from one of the Sarah Kramer books. 4 minutes in the microwave and - yum!
However as I've moved away from shopping in supermarkets I tend to buy stuff as I plan to use it. I impulse buy less. The types of food I'm buying have also changed. The pantry is much more likely to be stuffed with dry goods than anything else.
However, I'm still feeling that I need to use up stuff. This ranges from the last spoonful in the jar to any unopened packets (why aren't they opened? I can't have needed to buy them that much). The freezer is quite full at the moment with frozen beans, blackberries and peas.
Then I spotted an item that I could use up and satisfy my urge (for the present anyway). I bought a load of bananas really cheaply at some distant point in the past. I prefer my bananas green instead of ripe so I froze the lot. I'd eaten most of them but there was half a box just waiting for me to get the urge to eat them. Trouble is where the weather wasn't too warm this summer the urge for frozen stuff wasn't too strong.
I put them to defrost and then made banana choc chip bars from one of the Sarah Kramer books. 4 minutes in the microwave and - yum!
Monday, November 19, 2007
My busy weekend
Dear Heart’s mother and sister were visiting on Friday night. I made my completely fail safe leek and cider casserole. I can’t actually remember where I got this recipe from. I’ve also made a number of alterations to remove the animal products. It always disappears whenever I serve it. Essentially, you chop and fry and onion, stir in a spoonful or so of flour, add most of a can of cider and a cup or two of stock. Let it cook for a few minutes and add some kind of chicken substitute, a peeled chopped apple and a sliced leek. Cook until the leek and apple are tender and serve.
I served it with mashed potato and Really big bread. The bread recipe is astoundingly easy and I suspect I will be making regularly. I got it at the marvellous vegweb.
Saturday was my day to be a rock chick as I had tickets to see Alice Cooper. It was completely amazing. Dear Heart and I had a really great night. It's ages since we've been to see a band and we've decided that we must do it more often.
What a show it was. I've wanted to see Alice Cooper from years but I've never had spare money for tickets during previous tours. It was fun watching the crowd too. It used to be cigarette lighters that appeared in the dark at concerts. Instead one could see the lights of mobile phones appearing among the crowd. They looked like constellations.
I got a t shirt which I intended to cut a v-neck into and make more fitted. However, I was delighted when I tried it on at home to discover that it fits perfectly and doesn't actually need any further alterations. Only snag is finding something suitable rock and roll to wear over the short sleeves during the winter months.
We got home around lunch time on Sunday and chilled out for the rest of the day. I finished reading Set this house in order by Matt Ruff. It's a great novel about Multiple Personality Disorder. I made some Hearty Winter Potato soup for dinner. Then we watched another couple of episodes of Lost. It's probably this combination that bought on such strange dreams.
I served it with mashed potato and Really big bread. The bread recipe is astoundingly easy and I suspect I will be making regularly. I got it at the marvellous vegweb.
Saturday was my day to be a rock chick as I had tickets to see Alice Cooper. It was completely amazing. Dear Heart and I had a really great night. It's ages since we've been to see a band and we've decided that we must do it more often.
What a show it was. I've wanted to see Alice Cooper from years but I've never had spare money for tickets during previous tours. It was fun watching the crowd too. It used to be cigarette lighters that appeared in the dark at concerts. Instead one could see the lights of mobile phones appearing among the crowd. They looked like constellations.
I got a t shirt which I intended to cut a v-neck into and make more fitted. However, I was delighted when I tried it on at home to discover that it fits perfectly and doesn't actually need any further alterations. Only snag is finding something suitable rock and roll to wear over the short sleeves during the winter months.
We got home around lunch time on Sunday and chilled out for the rest of the day. I finished reading Set this house in order by Matt Ruff. It's a great novel about Multiple Personality Disorder. I made some Hearty Winter Potato soup for dinner. Then we watched another couple of episodes of Lost. It's probably this combination that bought on such strange dreams.
Friday, November 16, 2007
The BrocanteHome Puttery Treats Challenge
Today my blog is inspired by Brocante home the source of all delicious, cosy and wonderful in vintage housekeeping. If you haven't yet discovered Brocante home do visit at http://brocantehome.typepad.com The puttery treat challenge asks for a post inspired by a certian puttery treat. I have chosen this puttery treat about vintage fabrics to start me off.
Use the stacks and stacks of vintage linens I know we are all hoarding. Stretch scraps of vintage embroidery over canvas and prop them one leaning against the other on your mantelpiece. Cover a pinboard in a tablecloth. Peg a line of pretty hankies across your kitchen window. Use crocheted table runners to scoop back your curtains. Decide to have a fresh pillowcase daily. Just for the hell of it. (It will be a teeny bliss you will come to adore). Use your bestest teatowels till they are threadbare because that is what they are for- to bring pleasure to something dull...
I rarely buy material and when I do it tends to be an end piece in the sale that has caught my eye. What I have been blessed with in abundance over the past few years is vintage fabric in various forms. Much of it came from my grandparent's house. My grandmother worked in a clothing factory for a while and used to bring home offcuts. When I see these I am transported back to afternoons at Nanny's making clothes for various toys while sitting in front of the gas fire. A plate of homemade buns and a cup of tea usually featured as well.
I've also inherited lots of curtains. Some are pairs in beautiful condition that I feel the urge to tuck away until I have somewhere to hang them. There is a pair in magnificent shiny green that have a gold sheen when viewed from the right angle. Some curtains have been damaged (one has a large round hole in the middle!). I also have pillow cases and antimacassars, often with beautiful embroidery.
The cupboard that I have designated for fabric storage is usually over flowing with bundles of fabric, ribbons and jars of buttons. To overcome this I have paper carrier bags. Only really lovely ones are permitted. I have a Kew one and two deep, dark blue ones from a charming home and kitchen accessories store called 31st of August. Into these I pack projects that are in progress.
Of course, progress doesn't always mean that I have begun the project, merely that the fabric has been designated for a project. I take a Saturday afternoon. Chilly Saturdays are best, but summer days when it is too hot to be outside are also pleasing. I will already have visited the High Street and purchased bread and other supplies for the week ahead. Dear Heart and I will have had a light lunch and he will be lighting a fire (unless it is summer) in the living room and settling down to play with this friends on Xbox Live.
I go up the stairs to the room I grandly call my study, mug of tea in hand. I close the door to block out the electronic beeps from below, disturbing the wind chimes hanging from the door handle. I might play music but not always. It's good to enjoy the small sounds of the house. I begin to unpack the fabric from my cupboard and from the bags. I examine each piece in turn seeing how it speaks to me. Sometimes a piece of fabric is clearly wanting to be made into a bag or a wallet or a dress. Sometimes when I sort through my designated projects I discover that the fabric has changed its mind and wants to be made into something else.
I fold the the fabric with a pattern if appropriate and any trimmings that I have to hand. Then it goes into the paper carrier bag ready to begin. Often a piece of fabric knows what it wants to be so much that I must begin to cut and sew immediately. A beautiful green and white curtain spoke to me this way in the early summer and I made a kind of wrap dress which I wore with white linen trousers all summer. A crocheted doily that wanted to be part of round drawstring bag.
Maybe I'll cut out the pattern. Or pin it to the fabric. Or decide to wash and iron a new piece of fabric. Or look through patterns and sewing books for inspiration. Or change the lace pinned up at the window.
When I've finished I pack all of the fabric back into the cupboard and bags. Maybe I'll leave out on my desk something that is actual work in progress. A piece of fabric with a needle and thread resting in it looks so pleasing lying on the wooden surface with light coming in from the window next to it.
Then (wearing my new creation if possible) I'll venture down stairs to Dear Heart and the fire. He'll hopefully admire my new work of art. I'll top up the mugs of tea and put some more wood on the fire. Then I'll curl up with a book on the sofa, pausing in my reading occasionally to admire my handiwork.
Use the stacks and stacks of vintage linens I know we are all hoarding. Stretch scraps of vintage embroidery over canvas and prop them one leaning against the other on your mantelpiece. Cover a pinboard in a tablecloth. Peg a line of pretty hankies across your kitchen window. Use crocheted table runners to scoop back your curtains. Decide to have a fresh pillowcase daily. Just for the hell of it. (It will be a teeny bliss you will come to adore). Use your bestest teatowels till they are threadbare because that is what they are for- to bring pleasure to something dull...
I rarely buy material and when I do it tends to be an end piece in the sale that has caught my eye. What I have been blessed with in abundance over the past few years is vintage fabric in various forms. Much of it came from my grandparent's house. My grandmother worked in a clothing factory for a while and used to bring home offcuts. When I see these I am transported back to afternoons at Nanny's making clothes for various toys while sitting in front of the gas fire. A plate of homemade buns and a cup of tea usually featured as well.
I've also inherited lots of curtains. Some are pairs in beautiful condition that I feel the urge to tuck away until I have somewhere to hang them. There is a pair in magnificent shiny green that have a gold sheen when viewed from the right angle. Some curtains have been damaged (one has a large round hole in the middle!). I also have pillow cases and antimacassars, often with beautiful embroidery.
The cupboard that I have designated for fabric storage is usually over flowing with bundles of fabric, ribbons and jars of buttons. To overcome this I have paper carrier bags. Only really lovely ones are permitted. I have a Kew one and two deep, dark blue ones from a charming home and kitchen accessories store called 31st of August. Into these I pack projects that are in progress.
Of course, progress doesn't always mean that I have begun the project, merely that the fabric has been designated for a project. I take a Saturday afternoon. Chilly Saturdays are best, but summer days when it is too hot to be outside are also pleasing. I will already have visited the High Street and purchased bread and other supplies for the week ahead. Dear Heart and I will have had a light lunch and he will be lighting a fire (unless it is summer) in the living room and settling down to play with this friends on Xbox Live.
I go up the stairs to the room I grandly call my study, mug of tea in hand. I close the door to block out the electronic beeps from below, disturbing the wind chimes hanging from the door handle. I might play music but not always. It's good to enjoy the small sounds of the house. I begin to unpack the fabric from my cupboard and from the bags. I examine each piece in turn seeing how it speaks to me. Sometimes a piece of fabric is clearly wanting to be made into a bag or a wallet or a dress. Sometimes when I sort through my designated projects I discover that the fabric has changed its mind and wants to be made into something else.
I fold the the fabric with a pattern if appropriate and any trimmings that I have to hand. Then it goes into the paper carrier bag ready to begin. Often a piece of fabric knows what it wants to be so much that I must begin to cut and sew immediately. A beautiful green and white curtain spoke to me this way in the early summer and I made a kind of wrap dress which I wore with white linen trousers all summer. A crocheted doily that wanted to be part of round drawstring bag.
Maybe I'll cut out the pattern. Or pin it to the fabric. Or decide to wash and iron a new piece of fabric. Or look through patterns and sewing books for inspiration. Or change the lace pinned up at the window.
When I've finished I pack all of the fabric back into the cupboard and bags. Maybe I'll leave out on my desk something that is actual work in progress. A piece of fabric with a needle and thread resting in it looks so pleasing lying on the wooden surface with light coming in from the window next to it.
Then (wearing my new creation if possible) I'll venture down stairs to Dear Heart and the fire. He'll hopefully admire my new work of art. I'll top up the mugs of tea and put some more wood on the fire. Then I'll curl up with a book on the sofa, pausing in my reading occasionally to admire my handiwork.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Lots to be grateful for
According to the always interesting Sewing my shadow on, it's gratitude month. Bloggers are encouraged daily to add an entry about something they're grateful for. I'm not sure I can commit to daily blogging. However, I do count my blessings most mornings and evenings either before getting up or going to sleep.
I have lots to be grateful for. Here are the first few that skittered into my head:
Dear Heart
Lovely friends
comfortable bed
My cat
beautiful house
breakfast
lunch
dinner
the colour green
my sister
tofu
kale
hot water
I have lots to be grateful for. Here are the first few that skittered into my head:
Dear Heart
Lovely friends
comfortable bed
My cat
beautiful house
breakfast
lunch
dinner
the colour green
my sister
tofu
kale
hot water
Monday, November 12, 2007
bread, boots and Lost
I think I've made progress with my sourdough. I've been making my dough too dry and the result is a very heavy bread. This week I made sure it was still capable of sticking to my hands before I began the second proof and it's much lighter with a chewy crust. I used rye flour and sunflower seeds for a change. The starter is doing amazing well and is happily bubbling away.
I'm getting in the mood to see Alice Cooper in Saturday night. I 'm so excited. I've wanted to see him live for well over a decade. I was really tempted to buy a new pair of boots f0r £20 from a cheap shoe shop. They weren't leather but I'm betting the glue was probably made from boiled up animals. they were probably made in a sweatshop as well. I resisted and got the glue out on my old boots. I don't very often get dressed up in rock/goth gear so a new pair of boots seems largely pointless. I am saving up for another good pair from www.bboheme.com
And finally, Dear Heart and I have been watching lots of episodes of Lost. Oh, wow. Every episode gets more mysterious. We're on the third series and I'm no closer to figuring out what's going on. I have to stay about from Lost websites, message boards and forums because I fear that I will be sucked in. On similar lines I've just finished a fascinating book on the Voynich manuscript. I suppose it would be the low tech version of Lost.
I'm getting in the mood to see Alice Cooper in Saturday night. I 'm so excited. I've wanted to see him live for well over a decade. I was really tempted to buy a new pair of boots f0r £20 from a cheap shoe shop. They weren't leather but I'm betting the glue was probably made from boiled up animals. they were probably made in a sweatshop as well. I resisted and got the glue out on my old boots. I don't very often get dressed up in rock/goth gear so a new pair of boots seems largely pointless. I am saving up for another good pair from www.bboheme.com
And finally, Dear Heart and I have been watching lots of episodes of Lost. Oh, wow. Every episode gets more mysterious. We're on the third series and I'm no closer to figuring out what's going on. I have to stay about from Lost websites, message boards and forums because I fear that I will be sucked in. On similar lines I've just finished a fascinating book on the Voynich manuscript. I suppose it would be the low tech version of Lost.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Tempeh
I love tempeh. However, it's quite difficult to buy (generally only independent health food shops stock it) and then it needs to go into the freezer (which means trips to purchase it need careful planning and cool bags). Hence I was delighted when Dear Heart suggested that I should consider making my own.
The only snag seems to be purchasing the culture. The closest place I've found it for sale is Belgium! However, I've signed up for the yahoo Tempeh group so maybe they will be able to direct me to a UK source.
Apparently Tempeh used to be widely available until the growth of the vegetarian foods market which saw a much greater variety in a wider range of locations. Thinking back I used to buy Tempeh 'bacon' at University, only I didn't know it was tempeh I just called it 'the bacon stuff with grains in it'. It was actually much nicer than the stuff that is just about everywhere now. You know the stuff I mean - it turns into cardboard in the microwave!
I'm still wondering what's going on at my local Holland and Barrett. Their chiller cabinet is empty most of the time. I'm eating less tofu than I have for years because they simply don't have any in stock most of the time.
This weekend I'm going to have a crack at making some cookies from The everyday Vegan. I've also purchased some rye flour and I'm planning on using that with my sourdough starter. I've got a new leek and potato soup recipes to try (Dear Heart has revealed it's the chunks he doesn't like in soup and that practically any flavour would be OK if it was blended). I've begun work on the Christmas present bags so I am also looking forward to a few hours of sewing.
Have a splendid weekend and enjoy the nip of winter in the air.
The only snag seems to be purchasing the culture. The closest place I've found it for sale is Belgium! However, I've signed up for the yahoo Tempeh group so maybe they will be able to direct me to a UK source.
Apparently Tempeh used to be widely available until the growth of the vegetarian foods market which saw a much greater variety in a wider range of locations. Thinking back I used to buy Tempeh 'bacon' at University, only I didn't know it was tempeh I just called it 'the bacon stuff with grains in it'. It was actually much nicer than the stuff that is just about everywhere now. You know the stuff I mean - it turns into cardboard in the microwave!
I'm still wondering what's going on at my local Holland and Barrett. Their chiller cabinet is empty most of the time. I'm eating less tofu than I have for years because they simply don't have any in stock most of the time.
This weekend I'm going to have a crack at making some cookies from The everyday Vegan. I've also purchased some rye flour and I'm planning on using that with my sourdough starter. I've got a new leek and potato soup recipes to try (Dear Heart has revealed it's the chunks he doesn't like in soup and that practically any flavour would be OK if it was blended). I've begun work on the Christmas present bags so I am also looking forward to a few hours of sewing.
Have a splendid weekend and enjoy the nip of winter in the air.
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