A Jumper Just For Me

I've been a bit cheeky.

 

I've spent the last couple of weeks knitting a jumper, not for a present, not for the shop, but just for me.

 

 

The yarn is Stylecraft's Palladium, a Scottish wool-blend that I've had for ages. They don't make it anymore, my Mum gave me a big batch and I've started projects with it but never found anything that really suited it til I came across this pattern from Wendy:



I love the flecky specks of lavender, it gives such a lovely textural (is that even a word?) look.

 

And in case you're wondering where else you've seen it . . . .

 

 

It's one of the Oceanview set of crochet frames from my shop!

There's another fabulous Etsy find in one of these photos ~ a gorgeous vintage knitting needle bracelet from Yellow Bear Wares. Can you spot it? (yet again I need to apologise for my photography!)

I still have a couple of hundred grammes left. Hmmm, what shall I make with it?

Comic Relief Cake Sale

It's Red Nose Day here in the UK, the 25th year of Comic Relief, a British charity which has so far raised over £750 million to help poor and disadvantaged people both at home and globally.

 

We raised £60 at work, selling cakes that people baked and brought in to share.

 

I was a little worried that not many people would join in

 

but every department had an abundance of yummy cakes to choose from

 

and even some of the guys who had poo-poohed baking had brought something

 

and of course I had I very hard time choosing which ones I wanted to sample 

 

but I figured that if a little of what you fancy does you good, then a lot of it must be even better!

You say Banana, I say Banoffee

You know how you could just mash those couple of over-ripe bananas on some toast for breakfast, or be a bit naughty and mash them on toast spread with nutella for a naughty breakfast, but instead you bake a big batch of muffins?

Oh yeah, I went there.

I didn't stop there either, I got all toffee on their ass too.

 

Banana / Banoffee Muffins

Ingredients

2 large ripe Bananas (or 3 small)
175g / 6oz Butter / Margarine
175g / 6oz Demerara Sugar
3 eggs
225g / 8oz Self-Raising Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
Toffee Sauce

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4

Peel the bananas then mash with a fork. Beat the butter or margarine with the sugar til creamy then add the vanilla essence. Beat in the eggs one at a time alternately with the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in the crushed banana.

Line a muffin tin with paper cases and half fill each case. Bake for 20-25 mins until golden then turn out to cool on a wire tray.


Now you could just leave things there. Why not? You have some pretty blimmin' lush muffins after all.

Or you could Banoffee them.

Using an old-fashioned potato-peeler / corer, scoop a 'core' of cake from the centre of each muffin. Be careful to only go about half-way down or you're going to end up in a mess. Then take your toffee sauce (I used shop-bought because I'm laa-aa-zy!) and fill that crater, make sure you spill over onto the top of the muffin too.

Sluuuuurp!

 

 

I've added them to my fitness pal if you are dieting. If you make these plain (with butter) they work out about 196 calories each. If you use margarine instead you could save at least 20 calories per muffin depending on the brand. I'm not sure how many calories you get when you banoffee them.

Probably none.



Knitty Bits

I do love browsing Etsy. I don't get as much time to do it as I'd like, but I had a lovely mooch through the stores last night, looking for gifts for knitters. This is the Treasury I made:

 

Just click on the photos and you they should magically whisk you to the page they are sold on! (how techno am I getting?!)

 

 

 

This mug from Kelly Connor Designs made me giggle.



 

I love these knitting needle bracelets from Yellow Bear Wares.

 

 

 

I secretly feel I ought to wear a cape and mask while knitting, like the hero girl in Jam Fancy's print.

 



 

And Tangerine 8's badge is spot on ~ what knitter doesn't wish they had a Tardis to store their stash in! 

I hope you enjoyed these knitty treats.

Sneaky Peek

It's been so long since I've made something new for the shop. That's partly down to the chaotic events of the past few months, and partly down to my flighty, never-finishes-anything nature.

Well, finally, I've finished something.

One of the many new designs I've been working on recently is some vintage-style luggage label keyrings.

 



 



Made from plain or chai-stained calico, and decorated with vintage images, fabrics and trims, these tags are a perfect way to add a shabby chic touch to your keys. Or why not do as I plan to do and add one to your suitcase strap ~ it certainly makes your case easier to spot amongst the others on the carousel!

 

These will be listed in my Etsy shop tomorrow, as soon as I can get some decent photos!



Souper Douper!

I don't use my slow cooker often enough. As a working single Mum, I really need to take advantage of this fabulous piece of kit. There is nothing cosier than coming in from work on a chilly day to the satisfying fragrance of a ready-cooked meal waiting for you.

Today's treat was Parsnip and Apple soup.

Ingredients

10oz Parsnips (3 med)
4oz Apples (1 eating apple)
6oz Onions (3 small)
1 litre chicken or veg stock (I used 3 stock cubes)

Peel and dice the onion. Peel and chop the parsnips into roughly 1cm chunks. Peel, core and chop the apple into roughly 1cm chunks.
Chuck the whole lot in your slow cooker, top with about 1 litre of stock, and cook on low for however long you're at work. Mine was on for 8 hours, but 5 or 6 would probably be enough.
Blend. Serve with a fresh grinding of pepper.

This is a delicious and light soup (80 calories per serving!!!) and because you're not sweating the onions in butter or oil it's almost fat-free! You can find it on my fitness pal if you're interested. Although I am trying to diet, I teamed ours up with a toasted cheese sandwich, cut into hearts in honour of St Valentine :)

This is the first time I tried soup in my slow cooker. I was a bit worried it might be too runny as you get very little evaporation, but it turned out fine. It took about 10 minutes to prepare which is perfect when you're busy. I got 4 portions from this batch too, so 2 go in the freezer for another day.

Pancake Day

Today is Pancake Day!

One of the traditions that normally go with Pancake Day is the pancake race, where people race whilst tossing their pancakes. In our house we have a race, but it's a different kind of race ~ to see if I can cook them faster than my son can eat them, so I actually get to eat a couple myself! This year I got 3, plus this little oddity:

Pancakes are easy peasy lemon squeezy to make, you really don't need to buy a batter mix! Here is my recipe:

1 egg
4oz plain flour
semi-skimmed milk
pinch salt
water
oil for frying

Crack your egg into a jug and make up to 1/4 pint with cold water, then up to 1/2 pint with milk. Add the flour (you don't even need to sift it!) and salt then beat well. I usually allow my batter to stand for a while, but there's some debate whether you actually need to bother so if you are to eager to get flipping, go for it!
Heat a tiny bit of oil in a small pan, you just need enough to stop the pancake from sticking, a few drops should do it. You want the pan to be pretty hot but not crazy hot. Pour a little batter into the pan and swirl it around to coat the base. Leave it to cook for a minute or two then flip and cook the other side.

Hey Presto ~ a pancake! This recipe made about 9 six inch pancakes, and they're only about 55 calories each before you add toppings. (search for Cheery Chicken Pancakes on my fitness pal)

Top it with whatever you like, I prefer the traditional sugar and lemon, my son likes nutella and banana. What are your favourite toppings?