Mid-March Resolutions

Home grown nasturtiums on the (very dirty) window sill

So, monthly resolutions are going to be my new thing. Obviously they will ordinarily occur at the beginning of the month, not over a week in. Ordinarily, I will be a super organised, ultra-diligent, enchanting blog-writer. Monthly resolutions, friends, are going to help me get there.

Institute a new Monday night curry night tradition. Make an exciting new curry each week so that Mondays quickly become a weekly highlight (so far, this has gone swimmingly)

Make an attempt to start baking bread regularly. Good, wholemeal, fibrous bread.

Buy and read My Life in France by Julia Child.

Go camping in Jervis Bay (we went last weekend!)

Plant bulbs in preparation for Spring: anemones, snow bells and some of the weirder varieties that look like exotic insects.

And Winter veggies in preparation for Winter: sugar snap peas, kale, spinach, rainbow chard, sprouting broccoli.

Scavenge for second-hand jars and start sorting out my mess of a pantry prior to the entry of our two new housemates at the end of March (task begun).

Watch Harold and Maude.

Cook some delicious autumnal things and post some delicious autumnal recipes.

Climb a mountain at least twice.

Drink pear cider in a cozy bar.

Get a haircut.

Refrain from becoming a monthly blogger. At the very least, aim to be bi-monthly.

quilting, doiling.

I had a great doily find today, at my faithful local Salvos. They always have piles of doilies and it takes all my restraint not to buy all of them. Most of these will be used to make more doily cushions - some of them dyed, some left naturale - for my market at the end of march.

Photograph by Be*mused

Looking through piles of cheap stained and damaged doilies and various grandma linens at an antique shop this weekend made me want to put together some kind of brilliant, large project that would use up the gorgeous details. I love the look of this beautiful, natural Japanese quilt with all its little details and embroidery. And I think a quilt that uses little pieces of beautiful embroidered doilies, lacy place mat edges etc. to add detail in a similar way would be pretty. If it goes well I might also make some quilted cushions for selling at my market.

Photograph by Be*mused

Seriously though, look at the detailing of this quilt. Exquisite, no?

Photograph by Be*mused

the perfect weekend lunch

I only just rediscovered cheese on toast, and don't know why I ever left it behind. This version is rather posh, although I think cheese on toast is one of those miraculous concoctions that is divine regardless of the quality of the ingredients. This one is extra spesh, though, and definitely worth the effort and pennies. I've been eating it every weekend for a while now. The sharp cheese, zingy mustard and aniseedy tarragon vinegar really compliment one another perfectly. I like to think it's something Nigel Slater would prepare in his charming London kitchen on a frosty autumn day (which, thankfully, is exactly what today feels like).




Spread a slice of rustic, artisan sourdough with wholegrain mustard. You want the bread to be the excellent, springy, chewy type. Top with grated aged cheddar and grill till golden and bubbly. Serve with some fresh mixed leaves dressed with olive oil, tarragon vinegar (or white wine vinegar if you don't have a mother who grows copious amounts of tarragon and puts it to good use) and a blob of seeded mustard.

Perfect, simple, harmonious flavours.

More Woodlands

Today is the perfect rainy day for contemplating woodlands.

Flikr mushroom inspiration:


Image credits from left to right, top to bottom: Ben, azmuskoka, Shimie, petitelectronlibre, malc_smith, Canis latrans, Shimie, Theo Groen, -Mike Potts-

The Animals of Farthing Wood inspiration (thanks, Nicola!)



Some preliminary sketching:



The first Handmade Market is on the 28th of March which is scarily soon, so I'll be whipping myself into a crafting frenzy over the next few weeks. xx

A woodland winter

So I have been thinking about my Autumn/Winter home made craft products collection, which will make it's debut (hopefully) at Canberra's Handmade Market. Although, right now with this 38 degree heat and a fan violently whipping my fringe across my face it is almost impossible to imagine that it will ever, ever, be cool again. But we must hold out hope, my possums, my cherry blossoms, that the leaves will begin to fall, the frosts will begin to freeze, and everything will be returned to its right and natural order.

For Spring/Summer I had something of a 'circusy' theme, with bright galands and doilies and such, and I have decided after much soul searching that a 'woodland' theme would be lovely and quaint for Autumn/Winter. I love talking about collections, it makes me feel so professional.

My thorough researching (and the above images) has revealed that the kinds of animals that dwell in woodlands include badgers, hares, foxes, owls, deer and the like, although in the woodland of my imagination - which is what I'm really talking about here having never visited a true English or American woodland - there is also a great variety of toadstools and mushrooms, plenty of moss, some geraniums, acorns and birch trees.

As a starting point, I have carved lots of slices of wood:


Some will become buttons, some little badges, and Mr T is going to make tiny stools for displaying precious things. There will also be notebooks, cards, cushions...and many other fun things I've yet to think of.

I have also purchased a Gocco machine, which is most exciting! I shall be able to make infinate copies of my drawings, which is much, much easier and more professional than my current system of doing everything individually. Yay!

Sewing, nuturing, harvesting.

Hello puffins, peacocks and peahens,

Here is some photographic imagery of my garden. It isn't quite so lush as it was now that I have returned and mishandled it with my erratic nurturing style. Still, there have been harvests and successive sewings and I have embedded dirt so deep beneath my nails that it has become a permanent feature of my person.



I planted zucchinis the other week. Three kinds! It's very late in the season, but it's exhilarating seeing how fast they grow in summer.

My tomato plants are outgrowing their stakes, which is a bit of a worry, actually. They're most unruly.


So far the lemon drop heirloom variety has been most fruitful. Most days I just eat these little babies straight of the plant before they make it to the kitchen, but I collected a skirt-full for a tuna and quinoa salad today.




My eggplants have done rather magnificently. They also produce the most adorable purple flowers. I've eaten two so far, both roasted in a delicious miso sauce. I must share the recipe soon.

Dot-point-not-post

Ducks at Foxglove Spires

Hello blossoms,

Today it is too hot to create or comprehend full sentences. Please except the following incoherent dot points in lieu of an actual post:

• Thomas and I just returned from a road trip to Melbourne, Mallacoota and Tuross Heads. Highlights included the Innocent Bystander winery in Healsville (pizza to die for and an incredible sangiovese), lunch with my Philipino uncle's family (like being on Food Safari), Heidi, the Abbortsford convent, the amazing tapioca dumplings at Cookie, beer and cider at the Little Creatures dining room (which isn't as good as the original Fremantle brewery, but has a nice vibe nonetheless), dinner at Lucy's Homemade Noodles in Mallacoota, sampling excessive amounts of cheese in Central Tilba, and visiting the enchanting Foxglove Spires garden in Tilba Tilba and taking solitary beach walks.
  
• My housemate Sally is a far superior gardener to me. I came back and my humble veggie patch had become a magnificent green jungle. I suspect she has been singing to the plants or injecting them with steroids.
  
• I had resolved to eat only raw food all week but have decided against it due to the wise words of Dr Karl and the fact that I don't have a food dehydrator, which almost every slightly appetising, filling looking recipe I can find requires. Plus I have the appetite of a Thoroughbred and need carbohydrates, damn it.
  
• Right now I am eating Tom's homemade granola from a purple Bison mug. It is slightly burnt but still delicious. It also looks very pretty.
  
• I have started drinking sage tea. Apparently it is good for female hormonal...things. Pick 3 sage leaves, cover in boiling water, steep for 4 minutes, drink. Tastes like roast lamb.
  
• Looking for jobs really is devastatingly boring and soul crushing and I wish I could live in a cottage in the country, eat only home grown vegetables and eggs and read fine literature and knit all day.
• Seeing people you grew up with get engaged is scary but actually surprisingly fun, and engagement parties are just like 21sts but with generally classier alcohol (mmm...sangria).
  
• I visited the Mark Tuckey show room in Fitzroy and now desperately want to become a furniture designer and am considering doing a woodwork for women course at art school.
• I really miss cozy blankets, my doona, cardigans, socks, scarves and sleep. Bring on winter.