Traitor!

I find myself thinking that I am a Traitor? Why you ask?....... Well I will tell you and you can judge for yourself (But please be kind to me)

As you all know I LOVE NIGELLA LAWSON! She is my "Domestic Goddess" , I aspire to cook like her, I would love to look like her(all dark and exotic) and I certainly would love to eat like her! She devours food, she feasts and really enjoys it! I certainly love to eat but I very much doubt she pounds the streets in her trainers being all remorseful about the fact that she ate a third yummy, delicious, soft and gorgeous cupcake!!!

So ...... while channel hoping a few months back I came across  another gorgeous and sexy "cheffy" type person... Actually she is a model turned chef... a PLUS size model!! My kinda girl - Sophia Dahl to be exact! There she was prancing around her kitchen like it was a Christian Dior ramp, being all fluttery eyelashes at the camera and cooking up some  really lovely, Lovely, LoVeLy tomato soup. Racing to the kitchen with the recipe in my head I pranced and fluttered(My family thought I had gone batty!) and cooked! The tomato soup was  GOOD, Really GOOD! !(and of course really simple)  

So the next time I went into the local book store, I looked for her book only to be told it had not yet been released in good ole SA yet, not a problem, we were off to the UK in a few weeks time!  Now I have been known to lug loads of books back in my hand luggage and poor LSO always takes them off my hands, eventually(insert a broad smile here!) But cook books are for his tummy as well as mine, aren't they?

The Book!

From Season to Season is a beautiful book, not only are the recipes great but the book is beautifully written and the pictures are gorgeous(Helps if you are a SUPER MODEL  I suppose!) And although the recipes look long they are really simple! When I get a new recipe book I always pick one recipe - just something that catches my fancy and try it out as soon as possible!  What caught my fancy? Carrot and Cream Cheese Muffins -  YUMMY YUM YUM!!!

 

Chopped Walnuts!

Lots of Cinnamon

And Carrots Of Course

Mix Mix Mix.....

Lemons From My Garden



A Beautiful Book

My Carrot  and Cream Cheese Muffin



Three Left From Twelve-They Must Be Good!

So Now I suppose you want the recipe......

Miss Sophia Dahl's seriously good Carrot and Cream Cheese Muffins!!

2 Eggs
1 cup Caster sugar
3/4 cup Sunflower Oil
1 1/4 cup Self-raising Flour
1tsp Bi Carbonate of Soda
2tsp Cinnamon
2tsp Mixed Spice
1/2 cup of Walnuts(chopped)
1 1/2 Cup of Grated Carrot
1/3 Cup of Water

Cream the eggs,sugar and oil.
Put the flour,bi carb and spices in another bowl
Add the walnuts and carrot into the dry bowl
Fold in the  the egg mixture and add the water
Spoon into Muffin pan and bake for 25 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy!!

For the Icing.....

1 Cup of Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Icing Sugar
Vanilla Essence
Zest and Juice Of A Lemon

Whisk  al of the above together
Spoon onto the cooled muffins

And EATTTTTTT!!!!!!(With a Good Coffee - Of Course)

The only tedious thing is grating the mountain of carrots that you need for the muffins.  I love that she still uses good old cup and spoon measurements! So Vintage like, actually that is the feel of the entire book, very vintage! My darling Peeps these are seriously good - Have I ever lied to you??

 

So now to my dilemma at the beginning of this post, am I waxing too lyrically about the lovely Sophia, and her equally lovely book full of scrumptious things to eat..... I do still love Nigella but there is just something about Sophia that ..... well ...... OK.... don't all scream at once ....I can hear you all loud and clear .... TRAITOR!!! xxx

 

Fairy Magic

 

EXCITED, seems a very small and underrated word to try and describe how I was feeling in December when I went I was picked up by my friend Olivia and we trundled up the hill..... to Zolita's  Remember Zolita's? Yes, thats right,  Zolita the CUPCAKE GURU!!! We were off on another Cupcake Icing adventure....

 

Zolita's Beautiful Shop

 

Both of us were really excited about this course as we both have little girls and what do little girls like - FAIRY'S, and this was a Whimsical Fairy course, which meant that we would be learning how to make  teeny,tiny,small but totally gorgeous little fairy and forest creatures. I could hardly contain my excitement when we arrived and saw the adorable little fairy's she had already made!  

  

 

Zolita's Sleeping Fairy

 

Sweet Sitting Fairy and  a Toadstool Town
 

So where to begin? I really don't want to bore you by trying to explain exactly how to make these sweet little fairy's,  The process is long and very labour intense. Zolita explained to us that it is an art form to her and that nothing need be perfect - and to be honest, through a child's eyes they would look perfect anyway!

Tables in Waiting

When you arrive at the store, the tables are ready with 4 beautiful little cupcakes, fondant icing,  all the tools  on the table, all good to go!  It is a sort of explain as you go class which is really clever as no one gets left behind and no one can race ahead, making you feel like you need to hurry! There were only 3 of us on this course which was brilliant as it gave you extra attention by Zolita - which meant extra tips and very helpful information too..... We learned how to  mix two colours together to give a two toned effect and even how to tie dye icing! We fast became very good at doing Icing hairstyles, tiny little arms and legs(this was a challenge for me - I kept getting LOOOOONG legs and very short arms) Designer icing dresses were soon being made - Christian Dior would have been proud! Hair accessories came next and very soon Zolita was sitting with us and making another one of her little masterpieces and chatting awy with us  like old friends

Fairy Dresses Being Designed

My Litte Fairy

 

I chose blue as my fairies little dress and as you can see from the picture above. Can you see the two toned effect? I felt like I had worked on her for only a few minutes so  when I looked at the time, I was suprised to see that nearly two hours had rushed by! but I having such fun and was so very happy with the end result. She is sooo cute, I really could not believe that I had made this sweet little thing - I was EcStATiC to say the least.

Zolita's Two Masterpieces

The Other Girls Masterpieces

My Masterpieces, And Zolita's Little Elf

I eventually got Two little fairy's made, and a toadstool city! But as I said in the beginning it was very labour intense, a TOTAL labour of love if you make these for anything except money, were my thoughts on the way home..... When Little Madame saw these she shrieked and whooped and jumped around - she wanted to eat them, I wanted her to NOT eat them - I had just spent 4 very looonnnggg hours producing two  teeny tiny fairy's. Who do you think won that round?  Yes, that's right Little Madame! She declared them "yummy yummy in her tummy" good and promptly decided that for her next birthday she would like a fairy tea party with lots of fairy's just like those  on her  Birthday cake.......Mmmmm ...... Think I will call Zolita and find out how much she charges?..... xxx 

Butterfly Fairy!



 

Summer Lovin'

 

Summer lovin' had me a blast
Summer lovin', happened so fast
I met a girl crazy for me
I met a boy, cute as can be

Summer days driftin' away,
To uh-oh those summer nights
Tell me more, tell me more,
Did you get very far?
Tell me more, tell me more,
Like, does he have a car?

She swam by me, she got a cramp
He went by me, got my suit damp
I saved her life, she nearly drowned
He showed off, splashing around
Summer sun, something's begun,
But uh-oh those summer nights ............

Summer days are the long hot and humid here in the fishing village! The long summer afternoons are  best,  the blazing hot sun has left the midday sky and things begin to cool down, the shadows in the back garden are long but cheerful and you can hear the happy shrieking of children all over the suburb, as mom's allow them out of air conditioned houses and into  swimming pools to play away the afternoon! Splashing and yells of "cannonball" fill the air and a general feeling of happiness is all around! I simply love this time of the year, it makes me happy, it makes me joyful, it makes me giddy! There is quiet simply nothing like a summer afternoon here!   

  

Long Shadows

 So here is a small peek into our long Summer afternoons......

 

 

Our Boy Bones

Baron or Bones as he is more affectionately know as is a "Crockerty" Spaniel. Crockerty because he is getting on in years. Although he has never lost his youthful exuberance for life! He is the eternal puppy! He has loved swimming from when he was a very tiny. As soon as one of us has leaped into the pool he follows suit! Leaping in with wonderful enthusiasm, and he can swim like an Olympic gold medallist....  We actually cannot keep him out of the pool and when we go out he swims all by him self! I love it when he does the shake-yourself-off-thing that dogs do..... everything shakes, his jowls makes a noise and his ears fly and he sneezes madly...... And he is silly happy! Just the way a loved dog should be! 

 

Should I Jump Or Not

 Now another little creature in our household that you cannot keep out of the pool is Little Madame!! Oh My Goodness she loves the water and loves nothing more that being thrown high up into the air by her daddy! I sometimes have to bite my tongue and look away,  I cannot believe that she gets catapulted so high and so far but as she comes up she screams "more,  more" in a delighted and happy voice! She divides her time between being above the water and .........

  

Above

.... below the water, I am sure that I could not possibly hold my breath for so long under the water when I was that age! I am sure she is part fish although she assures me on a daily basis that she actually is a descendant of a mermaid! I BELIEVE HER....... 

 

Below!

 

As the long afternoons draw to a close, The smell of meat on  braai's fills the air making mouths water and sends you scurrying to the kitchen to see what can be eaten for dinner. Swimming all afternoon is hungry business! Our dinners are  always eaten out side on out veranda, meat and chicken done on the fire with big cool and crisp green salads or Al fresco type dining eaten straight out of the bowls with crispy icy cold glasses of white wine...... and as the sun starts to leave the bright blue summer sky, little people are happily yawning, tired from all the playing and swimming, saying their prayers, waiting for Mr Sandman to tug their eyelids closed.  Moms and Dads  settle down in front of the television to rest and think about  long hot summer days of the past..... xxx 

  

Dinner on The Veranda

 

Tee Shirt Magic!

Sometime the Simplest Things can be made to look FaBuOuls! Take a few simple Tee Shirts and use you imagination ....Abracadabra .... Hey Presto..... and all that magical jargon.... and you have a gorgeous hand made unique garment!

Now I cannot claim that the 2 tee shirt inspired garment below are all my idea, I do browse the net and look at magazines and books for inspiration! I will see something, and let in float around in the vast imaginative space that is my head until I figure out exactly how to do it myself - as you all know, I like to figure thing out on my own, sometimes I really should read the instructions but hey, where is the fun in that?

Sooooo..... Tee Shirt No 1:

 

Take a plain white Tee Shirt.....  

Turn it over, and cut out some wings, I used  pink felt for the bottom wings and a pretty vintage floral for the smaller one! Use your imagination to cut out the wings, any shape will do and make it unique. Place the wings onto the tee and pin  them in place with loads and loads of pins so that they don't move. Then check the placing and mark with chalk( it will wash out)

Use the zigzag setting on your machine and set it on the longest but smallest width stitch, I then unpinned the big wings and stitched the smaller ones on to the bigger ones, then re pin the large ones and sewed them onto the tee..... Abracadabra..... Hey Presto.....

Angel Wings for An Angel Child

Sooooo..... Tee Shirt No 2

You will need a tee shirt and about one and a half meters of fabric.....

Cut the Tee shirt so that it is about waist length for your little angel( or yourself - it would work perfectly for an adult) Can you see where I cut it - the pin marks the spot!

 

This is the only tricky part and only if you have never cut a full circle before.... fold the fabric in half, then in half again( sure hope that makes sense) then decide how long you want it and pin you tape measure to the top, start at the one end and move your tape measure along the fabric and keep cutting toward the tape measure.....getting that?

 

See what I mean? Then in the same manner cut out a smaller hole right at the top.

Unfold your fabric once -A half circle.......

Unfold again and you have a full circle - SO CLEVER!!!!

Keeping the right sides together, pin the top of the tee shirt into the skirt- look at the top of the picture - see what I mean? you might have to cut you top hole in the skirt a bit bigger but do it little at a time, although the beauty of the tee shirt fabric is that you can stretch it slightly... slightly. Sew the two pieces together!

 

I cut two long pieces of fabric out as I wanted to make a waist band type thing......(I LOVE bows on the back of little angels dresses)

Fold it over and sew it together, start at one long  end, turn the corner and sew straight across the width then turn and down the other side, don't turn the other corner or you won't be able to turn it out!

 

 

Cut the corners like I have done in the picture above, and turn out, Sorry to say this but iron it ( have I mentioned my total aversion to ironing - poor LSO) Then fold over the opening and hand stitch it closed!

I used the seams on the side of the tee as a guide to sew my two bands on, and did you notice I used a contrasting pattern....  I simply roll hemmed the bottom of the skirt, I find this much easier the trying to hem an impossible curve .....  Abracadabra .....  Hey Presto..... a sweet little dress in no time at all!

She Loves Being A Model!

Little Madame loves the dress, I think because it has a twirly. Honestly I get quiet giddy watching her twirl and twirl and twirl on our lawn, in the house, actually every where we go! I LOVE the Angel Wings!  Both Tee 's Cost me R 40.00( that is about $5 and 4 pounds) and the fabric I had lying around in my stash. I spent about an hour on both and really they are so easy to do... I just want to say that you could even do the Angel Wing Tee by hand, with a simple blanket stitch (just use fabric that does not fray) I cannot tell you how many people have stopped me to ask where I bought  these, and honestly I do feel a little... OK, LOTS of PRIDE when Little madame proudly announces "My mama made it".....xxx 

 

The Week In-Between...

 

The week in between Christmas and New Year is a funny week  or is it just me?... The presents are all unwrapped, the Turkey eaten the decorations are down, the excited build up to Christmas is gone and it seems like...... well.....a bit of a ANTICLIMAX really ...... A sort of a In-Between week!

 

Now unfortunately for me, I am not the kind of person that can sit around all day doing nothing, I really wish I could but I just cannot! I had read my wonderful new Christmas present, the New Nigella Lawson book Nigellisima(LSO makes me soooo HAPPY) from cover to cover and even managed to churn out our Christmas pudding from it! I wondered into the kitchen and picked up my favourite book GIFTS FROM THE KITCHEN and began to page through....   

 

 

My Favourite Book!

 

When my little fingers stopped dead on a recipe I had been trying to muster up the courage  to make for months...... Nougat - now I know its not everyone's cup of tea, but I just love it - it is soft, white and full of yummy scrummy Nuts and Cherry's! What more could a girl want? Why had I not tried it yet? I hear you ask ... well... it looks complicated and YES..... I can all hear you scream out the answer  in unison..... I only do SIMPLE!!! I had gathered all the ingredients over the last few months, all everyday things, except for rice paper..... I had scoured every baking shop,cooking shop and Chinese shop in our  little fishing village but not a piece was in sight( so that had been the excuse up to now) but a few days before Christmas, a small Indian Deli in our local mall had totally delighted me by having piles and piles of edible rice paper - So, no more excuses......

 

 

The Recipe

So on a Hot and Humid Boxing Day,  feeling very brave, I got stuck in. Nuts were roasted, ruby red Cherry's chopped(Not a good job for me, as I ate more Cherry's than I chopped) Dried apricots chopped, Eggs whisked and honey syrup made. Now one thing I must tell you, but I think you a;ready  know... I often try to find the quickest route to the end, but in this recipe, I followed instructions closely, the only thing I did not do was used the electric beat, which I should have (It was the one recommend tip but  HONESTLY ... I was just too lazy to get it out of the cupboard - learned my lesson!!) Luckily my mother was on hand when I started to yell and panic because I needed more hands!  

Nuts and Cherry's

I must admit that up to the point where I added the syrup to the egg white I was feeling like it was all just too much effort..... you know me ....  keep it EASY and SIMPLE! BUT then we added the two together and it was like a wonderful science experiment, while my mother added the syrup in a thin and steady stream, I manned the hand beater and before our eye the dreary looking egg white transformed into a thick,sticky ,molten goo, that was creamy and rich looking and the smell was Heavenly..... I think if my mother wasn't with me I might have sat down on our kitchen floor and devoured the entire bowl of yummyness!!  I kid you not!! The rest of the ingredients were added and VOILA and TA DAH we had Nougat!!!

Such Concentration!

Mom Stirring The Syrup

All Mixed

After the whole family tasting the nougat, it was decided by general consensus that I could sell it, it was that GOOD! There was not much Nougat left by six that evening, I managed to put a bar into the freezer for LSO as he  was away..... And I do have to admit at this point that the major culprit of eating it was.... little ole me.... well every time I walked into the kitchen is screamed to me...  EAT ME! EAT ME! And I did what any self respecting girl would do ....  ,I HAPPILY and WILLINGLY obliged!

SO YUMMMMMMYYY!!!

Delicious and Delightful Nougat

So the in -between- week has now sort of become a making pickle week for me... because  I didn't stop at Nougat, I made Brinjal/Eggplant Pickle, more Chunky Beetroot, Mango Pickle and a delightful little Sweet pickle I found on the Net, called Sweet Cherry Pickle - apparently it tastes like Cherry Pie.... will have to report back to you on that! (and give you all those recipes)And I Have Picture of all of the yummy Pickles but for some unknown reason my computer refuses to upload them! Oh Well......

Brinjal Awaiting Pickling

The rest of my week was taken up with Little Madame, she has become quiet the tent/fort builder and we have made a tent to go to sleep in every night! It is such fun as we both creep into a small space cuddle up and wait for Mr Sandman..... I probably love watching her go to sleep best of all! As little eyelids get heavy and finally shut, it reminds me of her baby days! I often watch her and wonder how did LSO and I created such a perfect little person...... so full of Love, Joy and Wonder. The innocence of childhood is such a blessing! xxx

Tent Built

Sleeping Angel!