keeping busy

It doesn't look that appetising!

 Chutney slowly cooking. This one is made from apples given to me by one neighbour, tomatoes that failed to ripen by another and a bag of courgettes reduced down to 50p in the local shop. Appearances can be deceiving and this super chunky chutney is really good!

 Stripey and wavy scarf  finally finished. it was over 15ft in total. In the end I folded it in half and stitched it back to back to make a double thickness scarf and to stop it curling in on itself! This one is to be given away as I've knitted yet another in the same yarn - different pattern - for myself.

Last lot of haws gathered over the weekend simmering with vinegar to make a haw ketchup. First batch tasted really good and has all been used up!

Who can resist a cup of tea and a delicious new teapot?

 I spent an evening untangling all this yarn and for £1 a ball instead of the usual £5 it was worth it! When I get a chance this will make me 2 new pairs of socks or maybe one pair of socks and a pair of gloves.

clouds

Autumn Woodland Walk

A few photographs from this weekends walk. Lovely and sunny but bitterly cold with the wind. The woods provided a lot of shelter and gave us a chance to explore and forage for the last of the autumn berries.

I think this is a Birch polypore. This one was as big as my hand.

Sweet chestnuts still ripening.

Fighting the squirrels for the tiny number of sweet chestnuts this year. Just like the apples the sweet chestnut trees were laden with nuts last year, this year we've struggled to find them and those we have found the squirrels had first.

My favourite tree. Its trunk roughly a metre across.

My guess this is one of the oldest trees here, just behind it hidden by the bushes is an old dry stone wall. These woods were originally market gardens gardens and farm land growing everything from strawberries, rhubarb and daffodils and they would then send the harvested produce by river to the train stations. A few of the boundary walls are left, hidden beneath the undergrowth. Cast iron gates are slowly decaying amongst the thriving trees and if you look carefully you can see the old stone gate posts. I walked down what was once perhaps a right of way between the farms. The trees towering over on both sides growing between the stone walls and the path beneath my feet slowly being washed away down to the slate once quarried just a few miles away.

pine cones gathered ready for christmas wreaths and deocrations,
These will be dried out allowing them to open.

A patch of the woodland has been taken over by pine trees. Thick layers of pine needles litter the floor and not much else grows. The odd fungus grows on a decaying pine and squirrels come for the pine seeds. Once they've gone, not even the birds bother much with these trees.

Pine trees. Squirrels were already in the trees
tearing at the pine cones for the seeds.

fallen leaves outside my house.

plans

Today I woke with the best intentions, a morning walk in the woods to gather sweet chestnuts and then the rest of the afternoon to work in the garden. The weather has put a halt to those plans, bitterly cold, windy and very very wet!

Instead I plan to sit here at my desk and tackle to long list of jobs. I have had this list since since June. Many have been crossed off and yet more added. Its safe to say it is a work in progress!

I have a lot of small sewing jobs that need finishing. I'll get to those first, then there is the cleaning. I'll be doing that room by room, locking them up as I finish. It is the only way to save my sanity with the boy.

I have more photographs to mount and frame. Then they can be returned to the freshly (july!!) painted walls in my bedroom freeing up some much needed space.

There's an illustration idea I need to work on. Some small book binding projects. Books I need to find homes for. I want to cross as many jobs off that list as I can today freeing up tomorrow for all those jobs listed in the garden.

Recipe: Laksa

I first had this dish a few years ago from a street food stall in London. I couldn't for the life of me remember its name and only had a vague recollection of it. 32 hours in London with little sleep and I could just about recall the deep fried tofu, creamy coconut and ginger sauce and citrusy hit of lime.

I began hunting for it, looking for a dish that best matched the one I'd enjoyed to no avail. In the end I merged two very easy recipes and came up with my own version of this laksa - a spicy Malaysian noodle soup.

laksa, photo taken by yuri

here's how to make it :

Spice paste

1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 chili - I use a mild red chili
2 inch piece of fresh, peeled ginger sliced thinly
1tsp tumeric
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 lemongrass stalk, sliced and crushed or 1tsp of lemongrass paste
1tsp ground coriander

soup

1 pint of stock - vegetable or chicken are best
1 can of coconut milk
noodles - either egg or rice noodles will work.
firm tofu - dipped in well seasoned flour and fried.
vegetables - I add vegetables depending what I have at home or whats in season. sweetcorn, mange tout, cherry tomatoes, courgette and mushrooms all work well.
Fresh, chopped coriander
Fresh lime juice
handful of chopped mint leaves


Method

First prepare the tofu for frying.  Drain the liquid and set it on a cloth to let the last of the liquid drain.

Gently fry the onion in a little oil until softened adding the garlic, ginger and other spices to create an aromatic paste.

Add the mushrooms and other vegetables and cook for a few minutes before adding the stock and coconut milk.

I bring this to the boil. turn the heat down until its just simmering. then add the noodles (prepared to instructions!) chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime. Take it off the heat, with the lid on.

While waiting for the noodles, coat the drained tofu slices in well seasoned flour and fry in oil until a crispy golden colour. about 3-4 minutes each side.

ladle noodles and sauce into bowls with a fried tofu and chopped mint on top. serve.

christmas...

Yes, I'm uttering that dreaded word. The one that has slowly been creeping into hushed conversations and dark corners of the supermarkets since early September.

As a single parent of one and tight budget I have to think about these things early. Im grateful the boy is still young enough to not want the expensive gadgets his friends seem to want. He has no obsessions the other boys in his class do and I can get away with so much! This year has been easier. hand knitted hat, a new scarf and some DVDs. I plan to buy him a new scooter and a helmet. His current ones are getting too small and he does use it on the way to school everyday.

I've put aside a box and started adding food, jars of chutney and jam I've made specifically for that month! Chocolates and biscuits were added last week when finding them on offer and Ive replenished the store cupboard with a lot of extras should the weather get bad enough or I get too sick to go out. last year I fell ill with 3 chest infections and barely had the energy to take the boy to school. this year im going to be prepared!

The usual autumn preserving is carrying on with jars collected from friends and neighbours. Blackberry vodka has been bottled and labeled ready for winter celebrations (i'll post the recipe as soon as i get a spare moment) sloe gin is still in the cupboard I hope to bottle it soon.

We are picking the last of the blackberries, making use of haws, rowan and sloes for a fantastic hedgerow jelly and already putting plans in place for next spring. With new, deeper raised beds and a new patch for the strawberries.

I'll be making a start on christmas cards soon getting the boy on board to help. Thankfully this year I dont have many to send! Then new decorations - last year a lot were damaged when the loft had to be quickly emptied in early spring.

fun with a bird table!

Another Saturday and finally autumn seems to have kicked into gear. It has been one of those slow, productive days. The boy and I erected a temporary feeding station for the birds. Sadly the bird table I bought just isnt up to standard! it needs some minor work to make it usable.

I weighed up sending it back and asking for a refund - I ordered online and I guess this is one of the risks you take when ordering goods over the internet. Instead of sending it back, at a cost to me with postage I've decided to make the repair myself. The stand just isn't wide enough to sustain it in any kind of breeze. A minor job to get it 'functioning'. It has however made me wonder just how many faulty goods are sent back and what on earth do they do with them? not everyone has the skills or the tools to do these kind  of repairs. A little disappointing to think they might end up in landfill.

For now the bird table will sit indoors until i can get out to get some new screws and while I'm at it some wood preservative.

With that let down we decided it was time to get back out and forage. haws for ketchup and jam, sloes for yet more gin, blackberry, rowan and what ever else i can get my hands on to turn into jams and sauces!

First we tucked into good cheese and pickle sandwiches opening a jar of green tomato and courgette chutney I made last month. I had made this batch up with regular sugar rather than brown sugar and I have to admit, its pretty damn good for a light chutney. Im going to experiment using regular sugar as its cheaper especially if there is little difference in taste. The colour however did look interesting!

reflecting on the year

It has been a crazy, tumultuous year here at number 32. Illness, money worries amongst a whole host of other misfortunes and lost opportunities. It can be hard not to dwell on them, to find a positive spin on life when everything seems so miserable and depressing, especially when for a while things begin to look up and then crash back down around you.

Its finding those little sparks and flourishes, the smiles and quiet moments that make life a little bit more worthwhile. The things you've forgotten amongst the hardship that should be savoured.

This year there was so much I'd forgotten I had achieved and enjoyed.

I gained a qualification. Proof I'm good at what I do and honestly I need a massive kick up the backside when it comes to belief in myself.

There was the day spent roaming around an organic farm. Picking up hints and nifty tricks I've put in place here in my own makeshift organic garden. Theres still much work to be done but its in a far better state than this time last year! An achievement in itself.

The quiet days on the beach, the photography trips, foraging and jam making. They are all things that get drowned out in the haze at the back of your mind when you have so much else to think about.

I guess I need to slow down. take a few good days off and plan something just for me? forget about the projects building up or sons health and just.. be.