Author: Crafty Kestrel

Mothering Sunday

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel
The weather was gorgeous over the weekend and my garden is starting to blossom.

 

 

 

My husband knew I was upset my teenagers could not spend the day with me. One was working in a pub kitchen up to his elbows in greasy pots and pans. The other one was doing homework ? so he took me to Burford for a walk and a browse.

 

 

 

Oh how I would love to live here with its creamy coloured buildings and its pretty gift shops. Even the local Co-op had wicker baskets for sale outside on the pavement. My lovely fella then brought me some hyacinths and daffodils, which have now three days later fill my kitchen with a strong scent.

I got home and decided to bake a carrot cake to say thank you for my day out. It had nothing to do with wanting to use these cute chocolate carrots I brought from Sainsburys. These Easter bunnies I keep knitting seem to appear everywhere. I think that is why I launched an Etsy shop to clear up my house.

 

Happy Hump Day

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

Well what a hectic few days. The weekend was busy with the usual shopping, gardening ( we planted a hedge) and visiting Tofts Alpaca Farm again !!!! for some food, coffee and a workshop. My husband and I learnt to spin fleece into one long strand. I really enjoyed it and it was very relaxing. One lady asked me if I was getting alpacas. I live in a dormer bungalow so I did smile to myself, our garden would probably be big enough for one alpaca not a herd.

I also have news my Easter collection is for sale in my Etsy shop. I love making my keepsakes and I have made plenty for friends and family recently.

Does a lime green frog count as an Easter creation?. My husband and I had frogs leaping on our wedding stationary when we got married 18 years ago ( I cannot remember why we chose frogs?!!!), but for some strange reason I kinda like them.

 

Sunday stroll.

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

Where has the week gone?, half term was blur in this household. There was a sleepover for my daughter so we had her friend to stay. My son was busy with work experience all week, poor lad did not have a holiday at all. My husband had to work and  I spent most of the week decluttering and tidying the house and garden. So Sunday was a catching up day for the whole family.

 

Sunday morning while most people were enjoying a lazy time in bed we went for a stroll around Dunchurch and wondered what it would be like to have a cottage here. We walked passed the pub, which we go to for special occasions as the food is always delicious. We found the village stocks, the thatched bus stop and the village planters were looking better than mine at home. The first signs of Spring were everywhere and I looked really geeky snapping everything in sight. My hubby thought I was going to get squished at one point as I lunged at a grass verge camera phone at the ready.

We then decided that after all this walking we needed a rest, so we strolled up to Tofts Alpaca Farm. They had just happened to open and had hot scones with cream and strawberry jam. My hubby brought my coffee to the table with a scone which had just winged its way on to the tray.

 

 

Oh well I had better get on with knitting my Easter bunnies. I have a pile of heads and no bodies and squares of fabric waiting to be turned into dresses and dungarees. I wanted them all in my Etsy shop by Tuesday. Have a great week.

 

February Bits and Pieces

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

 

Recently I have been very tired and have dark circles around my eyes. The winter months always make me feel drained and sluggish. Though catching the lurgy has not really helped with tonsils the size of small golf balls and the breathe of a stinky bin life has been an effort. Half term is here though and with no work for a week who could be down.

The weather has been so cold here and I am a warm weather person, being cold really isn’t my thing. So we decided that today as the sun was shinning that a trip to a garden centre was the only thing to be done. Unfortunately for my husband the garden centre I love going to is an hour away from our home. Burford Garden centre is the stuff of dreams, Emma Bridgwater pottery, lovely expensive candles and soaps. Even the toilets are posh with smelly hand wash and proper paper towels.

I am now happy after getting my fix of spring flowers, smelly hyacinths and sunny daffodils. I came away with two shopping bags full of stuff so a good day for me. My husband was happy as we had lunch there too and even though he is on a diet he could not resist the chunky shortbread biscuits they bake.

 

 

New beginnings

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

This week has started well – I have a cold and sore throat. I have really been feeling sorry for myself. However every cloud has a silver lining I have had my first pre order of my new cards for my Etsy shop.

This is my Springtime card made with an image of a sugarcraft Peony that I made a year ago.

As you might already know I love making my quirky knitted creatures and here are two more cards I will be stocking.

I am really enjoying being creative and making things. I must have passed this skill or illness on to my lovely daughter. I found one of her computer pictures the other day when clearing out a few old boxes.

Country Fair

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

Well January is nearly over and I must plough ahead with all my plans. The knitting book is coming together, though I had to take a break this morning and get some more wool supplies from Toft Alpaca Farm. I wanted to make all my creatures this year out of British wool and I did not realise how tricky locally it is to find. Oh well Tofts is always a good place to visit and mooch. My husband and daughter enjoyed helping me as they got a drink and millionaires shortbread from the Café there.

I am currently working on samples for my big springtime Country Fair. I have been knitting all afternoon and look what I created. I now need to do the ironing before my eldest is back from Cern with more dirty washing.

 

Weekend ramblings

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

What a busy weekend. Baking for the week ahead, Broad Bean Falafels, Filo Pastry Bacon and Pepper Flan ( The Hairy Bikers Cookbook) and Filo Jam tarts  Date night with my husband at a local country pub, Dahl and Merlot yum. Life does not get any better than this.

Oh and the most exciting thing gathering all the patterns together for a knitting book. 2017 you are a very good New Year already, just a bit more colour in the gardens, warm sunshine and it would have been a perfect weekend.

 

Healthy eating Pt 2

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

Well here I go another Blog about cooking a healthy meal. My family had a Greek evening meal Friday made by me from scratch and I am impressed that it actually looked ok after a lot of chickpea squishing and pitta bread toasting. This is what I did.

Falafels

 
Serves 4
 
Ingredients
1 x 400g chickpeas
about half a can of red kidney beans
1 teaspoon allspice
A sprinkle of lemon juice
1/2 a bunch of fresh coriander
Method
Drain the chickpeas and beans. Then mix in a bowl with allspice, lemon juice and coriander. I used a stick blender and made a smooth paste. Then shape the mixture into round patties. Shallow fry them until golden, do not move them around too much in the pan until they have a golden base. When they are golden on both sides pop them into toasted pitta breads.
Hummus
 
200g chickpeas
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 big grinds of dried garlic
A sprinkle of cumin
a glug of Olive oil
Method
Blend the ingredients together until smooth.
Tzatiki
 
1/4  washed cucumber
2 grinds of dried garlic
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
A sprinkle of lemon juice
A small handful fresh mint leaves chopped
About 4 tablespoons Greek Yoghurt
Method
Cut the cucumber in half and discard the seeds . Grate the cucumber into a bowl, pat the excess water out of it with a piece of kitchen roll. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
 
 
 
 

 

Healthy Eating

Posted on by Crafty Kestrel

 

Happy New Year everyone, well out with the old and in with the new. My lovely husband has eaten his body weight in Christmas cake and chocolates which is always the way this time of year so I played around with some old recipes. I made us all an alternative Sunday lunch, vegetable hot pot with broccoli and peas with a pudding of baked apples. It was really tasty. All of the ingredients I had in cupboards or the freezer.

Recipe


Vegetable Hot Pot


Serves 4 with leftovers.

Sauce ingredients

Small amount of oil or butter
1 onion, chopped ( I prefer red onion, but I am sure any will do)
2 carrots diced
garlic granules to taste or a couple of cloves if using fresh
half a pack of mushrooms diced ( or to taste)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
1 can green lentils in water
50ml or a big splosh of red wine ( optional)
600ml vegetable stock ( to taste depending how much sauce you like)
2 tablespoons tomato puree

For the crispy topping

2 big potatoes sliced up after being washed ( I did not bother peeling)
big handful grated cheddar
salt and pepper

Method

To make the sauce heat up the oil and fry off your onions, carrots and garlic until soft ( do not let them brown). Add the mushrooms, then cook for a few minutes. Stir in the herbs, and the tin of lentils. Pour over the wine and stock and then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until everything is looking sauce like. Keep checking and stirring and if it is too watery just keep simmering.

While everything is cooking wash and slice the potatoes into thin slices and part boil. Then drain them.

Heat the oven to about 200 C , I think that is about a Gas 5 or 6. Then assemble the hotpot, the filling on the bottom of a casserole dish then arrange the potato slices over this. Scatter the cheese over the potatoes and I cover this in foil and baked for 20 minutes then I took off the foil to brown the potatoes for about 10 minutes.

I then served this with lots of broccoli and peas my favourites.

Now the baked apples were just four big green apples I had in the fruit bowl. I washed them took the centre out of them leaving a bit of apple in place at the bottom so I could fill them with dried fruit. Each apple was filled with the fruit, a small knob of butter and a tea spoon of honey. I popped them in a high sided metal tray and covered the whole thing with foil. I then cooked them until the apples were soft which took about 30 minutes as the apples were big, but I did check them after about 20 minutes.