Author: Judith

my blog is plainandsimpleblog.com
craft

Twitter

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Twitter purses

With the vast majority of our social networking taking place on-line these days, it’s nice to occasionally log off and devote some time to developing deeper social connection. In our complex web of daily human interaction, opportunities arise that require more concrete acknowledgment of others than simply a ‘thumbs-up like’ or a :). Some eye contact, some heartfelt words and a handmade gift will lift the spirits of another to far greater heights than any clicked icon will ever manage.

It might be a cake taken into a neighbour, some freshly cut herbs brought in to a work colleague or a collection of recent photos with a note put into the post to a distant relative. Whatever it is, you can be sure that the gesture will be remembered, well after the form is no longer. For me, these zippered twitter purses seem as good a token as any to make this happen – little pouches to contain and release good wishes to the owner from their grateful maker.

Twitter purse pieces

To gather your own flock of twitter purses to acknowledge the goodwill of others, you simply need an afternoon and the following steps:

  1. To create a purse the size of these birdies, you will need 4 pieces of fabric measuring 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches – 1 front piece, 1 back piece and 2 inner lining pieces. You will also need a 5 inch zipper and some matching thread. (see above) If you want a larger size, cut your fabric to the desired dimensions and simply buy a longer zip, remembering it needs to be 1/2 inch shorter that the fabric pieces.
  2. Twelve 22 will walk you beautifully through the process of inserting the zipper and finishing the purse – I used 1/4 inch seam allowances for mine.
  3. Press your finished purse carefully and pop some tissue paper inside to give the purse form if it is to be gifted.

Twitter zippered purses

Postscript: My feeling is, that the recipient of your twitter purse will receive more gratitude from you than any line of 140 characters could ever convey.

recipes

Crockpot

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Thai Beef Curry Slowcooker

Growing up in a 1970’s household with a working mother, it was not uncommon to awaken to the smell of onions and meat browning. Reason being, my mother was the first generation of crockpot cooks, who have now evolved into the slowcooker generation.

A new name, but essentially not a lot has changed in terms of the workings or output of these machines. Perhaps only the aesthetics – ours being an earthy brown ceramic inner, housed in a vibrant orange metal unit to reflect contemporaneous kitchen décor. Today we are offered stainless steel and white. (In line with the colour pop emerging trend, I expect we shall soon be marketed these appliances in an array of primaries).

Our crockpot does all its work in the cooler months, and to provide us with lovely offerings it only requires meat and onions to be browned, cuts on the bone or large chunks thereof and removal of visible fat, in return.

At the end of the day (literally), regardless of model colour or name, there is nothing finer than opening the door to the aroma of your ‘low and slow’. Fill your crockpot with these Thai Beef Curry ingredients and an aromatic blend of cinnamon, lemongrass and bay will be first to greet you as you turn your key in the lock tonight.

2 tbsp peanut oil
2 large brown onions cut into wedges
1kg chuck steak, cut into large cubes
195g jar Massaman curry paste
250ml coconut milk
250ml chicken stock
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
3 medium potatoes chopped into chunks
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
handful of coriander leaves
1 lime

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan and cook off the onions until browned, place in slowcooker.
  2. Heat remaining oil and brown the beef in batches, add to slow cooker.
  3. Add paste to pan and cook, stirring for one minute until fragrant, add to the slowcooker.
  4. Add coconut milk, stock, cinnamon, bay leaves, potato and nuts to the slowcooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  5. Remove cinnamon sticks and stir in the sugar and fish sauce.
  6. Serve garnished with coriander, limes wedges on the side and fluffy white rice.

Massaman Curry Paste

Postscript: curiously, with the technological strides taken over previous decades, crockpot manufacturers may have managed to up the styling and revamp the recipes but have overlooked a feature that would change the lives of many disappointed hungry evening families – a reminder device to switch the machine on before you close the front door behind you……

homemaking

Picture

Judith2 Comments

autumn village painting

To be able to take in an image on countless occasions and still to see it as though for the first time, to come away each time feeling settled and content, and for all of this to occur bearing no relationship whatsoever to cost, I’d say then, what you have before you is truly a work of art.

Secured some years ago in a local charity shop and now firmly mounted on our entrance hall wall, this amateur painting is possibly the first and last thing those that pass through our home will set eyes on. For some, it may not warrant a second glance, but for me that pathway is so inviting and I’m sure there are some welcoming kitchens and fire sides in those bright little cottages. My first task would be to pick a handful of those wildflowers for the table and then later in the afternoon as the autumn chill drifts down, take a brisk walk toward those mountains. Five minutes spent with this picture is a simple reminder of what is good.

Find your own piece of framed friendliness and park it where it is likely to intersect your line of vision, so no matter how demanding your day has been, your soul is not forgotten.

autumnal virginia creeper

Postscript: If you subtract the vista of rolling background hills, the bovine grazing and the picket fence, I guess the picture framed by our front window does similarly good things for the spirits.

craft

Scraps

JudithLeave a comment

lavender sachets

Often the charm of individual graphics are lost in the overall ‘busyness’ of beautifully designed fabrics. This can have its advantages though. If ever you have spent time gazing at curtains or upholstered furniture, and suddenly a creature materialises that you may have looked at and not seen on so many occasions, it can seem like a reward for your patient observation. So it was for me, when a second inspection of a leftover remnant from our cushion covers revealed hidden gems. And as such, that was how lavender sachets came to be this week.

four lavender sachets

Maybe some sachets need to ‘come to be’ in your home too. If so, when you have settled on your piece of fabric, it is a matter of deciding what size to cut your shapes. Mine measured 5 x 5 1/2 inches, simply because they were the best dimensions to capture my images. Once you have your shape measured and cut all you need do is:

  1. Cut a backing piece from plain fabric to the same dimensions.
  2. Pin both pieces right sides facing and sew around the two sides and top edges.
  3. Turn your sachet to the right side and press under 1/4 inch of the open edge.
  4. Fill with lavender.
  5. Hand sew the bottom edge closed.

If you make an afternoon of it, you will finish up with lots of sachets – some to keep and others to gift.

The whole business of producing a pile of lavender sachets is a rewarding one. Employing skerricks of treasured fabrics with limited yardage for little else, does good things for the soul. Spending an afternoon in lavender infused surroundings does likewise. And that sense of productive satisfaction settling within as the finished articles stack together, that intrinsic reward humans seek, which cannot be purchased but only experienced from a job well done, is the unanticipated by-product of this simple process.

lavender sachet ingredients

Postscript: with a special day on the horizon, it may be opportune to have some set aside for those treasured maternal figures who like these hidden gems, often blend into the background of our busy lives and really deserve the spotlight.

recipes

Coffee

Judith5 Comments

coffee and walnut cake

When was the last time you savoured a lovely slice of coffee cake? 1972? Yes, that’s very likely the same decade that I last had mine too. With its pseudo-European overtones and bordering-on-illicit focal ingredient, one could not help feeling just a little bit grown up being offered a slice.

With movement in time, so came improvement in coffee cake. Today’s are far superior to those gran-used-to-make, and I say this not because I’m gerontophobic, but because we now have access to authentic rich coffee – the essential ingredient that alluded our grandmothers. When I think of the talcum-style coffee products these early cooks had to rely on, it is a wonder that the coffee cake recipe was not forced to extinction. Instead of large screw top jars of dust-like powder, we now have the benefit of slick espresso machines to deliver a damn good shot on demand. (Just one more thing to be grateful for)

And with one shot in the batter and the other in the icing, this coffee and walnut cake is a wonderful way to cherish culinary evolution.

185g softened butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp good coffee
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts and some extras to dot on the icing

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease a large round cake tin.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
  3. Add eggs individually, beating well after each addition.
  4. Sift all of the dry ingredients together and fold them through the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream.
  5. Add the coffee and gently mix through until well combined.
  6. Fold through the chopped walnuts.
  7. Spoon mixture into cake tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  8. After cake has cooled, ice with 1 1/2 cups of sifted icing sugar, with 1 to 2 tablespoons of good coffee mixed in until it is a firm spreading consistency.
  9. Scatter walnut halves across the top.

coffee and walnut cake sliced

Postscript: Now I’m sure our European friends are smirking quietly here, as never were they without the magic stuff.

personal style

Frocking

JudithLeave a comment

formal dresses

A close inspection of the chart dictating our life course would reveal various rites of passage dotted along its topographical contours. Weddings, debuts, and a myriad of other formal occasions would all be represented. From an anthropological viewpoint, the crucial element of these transitional events is the acquisition of one’s identity within the social group and thus the achievement of social inclusion. From a female viewpoint, it’s the acquisition of the dress.

The moment a glamorous social engagement is added to our calendar, a woman’s second thought is who will I get to mind the children, the first being, what will I wear? Something in our DNA (dress need addiction) switches on and the quest begins to secure the quintessential frock.

If you think back, this early gene flickering begins in the dress-up box, with bottom-up rummages taking place to extract that divine tulle fairy gown that the princess game cannot possibly proceed any further without. Soon after is the ‘party dress’ with the graduation dress following closely on its frills. By early adulthood, the formals are flowing thick and fast and dress pursuit has developed into an art form.

In fact, if a calculation was made of the number of man woman hours devoted to securing ‘a dress’ for an upcoming event, the resulting figure would possibly treble the timeframe of the event it was required to be secured for. Considering time spent perusing fashion glossies, undertaking online research, peer discussion and being curtained-off in hundreds of change rooms, it is amazing that anything else in a woman’s life is ever achieved. However, when finally that zipper is fastened on a swathe of fabric transforming your being from duckling to swan or simply from everyday to elegant, it is worth every moment.

embroidered lace dress

Postscript: and might I add, regardless of how exquisite the resulting frock is, how complimentary it is to your form or how euphoric you feel twirling in it on the night, it will never be appropriate for any other occasion – ever.

family · recipes

Salute

Judith3 Comments

Anzac Biscuits

As we pause to pay respect to our brave soldiers who fought on distant shores, an equally courageous group must also be remembered – the women who remained.

Without a single text, email or status update for reassurance, the womenfolk endured what must have seemed like an endless silence, with only the hackneyed adage ”no news is good news” for psychological comfort.

So what did they do to fill this emotional void – amongst an inventive array of homecrafts, they baked. Unable to be at the side of their loved ones, they did what most of us do to protect our broods as they go forth into the world – nourished their souls in the best ways they could think of: fruit cakes and biscuits.

And if we can recall our own intense care and attention lavished on first-day lunch boxes, then I guess we have some minor benchmark to compare the love and concern that went into the parcels of baked goods, sent lovingly to their cherished.

Anzac biscuits have become an iconic representation within this time of tribute, and lest we forget those who baked them.

1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp boiling water
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

  1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius. Grease or line baking trays will silicone paper.
  2. Combine first four dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Melt butter and golden syrup over a low heat.
  4. Mix the boiling water with the bicarbonate of soda and add this to the butter and golden syrup mix (it should foam well).
  5. Add this wet mix to the dry mix and mix well.
  6. Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared trays and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.
    (Biscuits will harden as they cool. Makes approximately 24)

anzacs and ename lware

Postscript: Even though much of the baking finding its way to the front had perished or disintegrated upon arrival, the intention and love packed within the parcel remains forever intact. 

family · recipes

Chocolate

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chocolate cake

I’m not afraid of spiders,
and lions don’t make me quake,
but there’s one thing I cannot pass,
and that is, and that is,
a chocolate cake!

But why are you afraid of a chocolate cake Grandma? was something I often wondered, when in early childhood, as I followed my grandmother around her garden she would recite this and other childhood rhymes to me. Now, many decades later, I have come to understand the essence of this verse clearly. One of the most divine (and irresistible) experiences of life, is certainly a slice of fresh, lavishly iced, rich chocolate cake.

My preference is for chocolate rather than cocoa in a chocolate cake and moist fudginess (the sour cream takes care of that). Turn out one of these, and let’s see if you have the courage to pass it.

1 cup boiling water
125g dark chocolate, broken up
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
250g softened butter
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
3 eggs separated
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 1/2 cups plain flour
a pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup sour cream

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
  2. Grease a large bundt tin or two loaf tins.
  3. Combine water, chocolate and bicarb in a bowl and stir until chocolate is melted (it foams up and becomes light and airy). Leave to one side.
  4. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
  5. Stir in the vanilla and gradually mix through the chocolate mixture.
  6. Sift the remaining three dry ingredients and fold into the mix alternately with the sour cream.
  7. Beat the egg whites until peaks form and fold into the mixture.
  8. Spoon mix gently into prepared tin(s) and bake for40-45 minutes (loaf tins) or 1-1 1/4 hours for large tin. Test with a skewer to ensure cake(s) are cooked through.

Our cake was topped with a chocolate icing – melted butter and chocolate, icing sugar, vanilla essence and 2 tbsp of boiling water, but it is equally good dusted with icing sugar and served with fresh thick cream.

slice of chocolate cake

Postscript: if you reside with locusts, as I do, this recipe is brilliant as the end result will be a large generous cake, or two regulars (one for now and the other for the freezer – if it makes it there)

family

Sizzle

JudithLeave a comment

sausage in bread

Duties, tariffs, taxes and rates – all designed to raise much-needed national revenue and yet there is shortfall. I wonder how long it will be, until the powers that be, turn their gaze to the sausage and realise its fiscal worth. Playgrounds have been constructed by them, libraries resourced by them and deserving individuals jetted around the world by them. If local communities can finance their projects by weekend sausage sizzles, imagine the budget surplus that could be achieved if our governing body was to adopt this approach …

A sausage in bread. Bread being white, sauce vivid red and meat so hot that it must be held at bay for a good ten minutes before the first bite. This is good Australian weekend fare and whether you are visiting a hardware store, voting in an election or attending a sporting event, you will be hard pressed not to find it. As the enticing aroma drifts on the breeze, man and beast appear – the former delving into their pocket for loose change and the latter gazing expectantly at the grill.

Apart from their utter delectability, they answer the prayers of a busy parent – that’s lunch / that’s dinner, so do have an extra one. The protein and carbohydrate have been covered, will just have to double up on the leafy vitamins and minerals tomorrow.

Not to be forgotten however, is the camaraderie developed between the gathering of strangers who come together, glove up and work shoulder to shoulder to serve these well browned offerings for the greater good.

Postscript: have a lovely weekend.

family · gardening

Sprout

Judith1 Comment

sprouted seeds

To have the privilege, be the silent observer of life unfolding in its most rudimentary form, has great impact on the psyche of the young. To know the grain will become the tree, plants the seed of understanding regarding our own place on this terra firma. And holding this belief, I have enormous gratitude for my mother, who in recent weeks, arranged a sprouter for the youngest in our family, so he too could make this cognitive connection for himself.

Seed sprouters have certainly made significant leaps since my early days. Ours, being ice-cream lids or saucers lined with damp cotton wool, played the role of propagators to handfuls of wheat. Every kindergarten nature table in the 1970’s displayed them proudly. The sprouting science did not stop there, but continued on into early high school. ‘Controlled experiments’  were devised to prove hypotheses around photosynthesis – one poor saucer being sentenced to a darkened cupboard whilst the other basked on the sill. After a short space of time it became abundantly clear to us all, as we extracted the yellowed, wispy lifeless growth from the pitch, that plants do indeed require sunlight to thrive. Basic conversion of light to energy – simple chemistry.

If you believe that your grasp (and that of your progeny) of your collective place in the scheme of things is quite sound, rendering a seed propagator superfluous, then there’s more to be learnt. Once their educational role has been performed, these lovely shoots will become nutritious accompaniments to your sandwiches, salads and stir fries. Think alfalfa, radish and broccoli (below) for your sandwiches, adzuki beans, mung beans and lentils for your salads and chick peas and soya beans for extra protein in your next stir fry. Who knew that simple germination could yield such results?

seed sprouter

Postscript: and for the Breaking Bad fans amongst us, in the words of Walter White: always respect the chemistry.