Brayergirl's Book of Banter

Finally a few Crafty Pieces

I've finally got my mojo back and made this Birthday card for my Mum. It's her Birthday today (Happy Birthday Mum!) No stamping in this card, just some paper piecing and use of my die cutting machine. The papers are from Basic Grey's Pyrus Collection.

I also knitted a hat and made a felt flower pin which my Mum can either wear on the hat or on her Denim Jacket.

A close up of the pin:

Owl Messenger Bag

I'm on a bit of a mission at the moment. I'm trying to turn an old pair of jeans into a Messenger bag. It's been over a year since I last posted. This has been for many reasons, my ceiling collapsing in my Living Room in September 2009 was a big impact on my creativity, I had to wait until all the repairs were complete, most of the redecorating was completed by myself, which took time. I was also travelling quite a bit last year to Egypt for work, and finally, my mind wasn't at all in the creative zone. I didn't make a single card last year, and found myself apologising quite a bit for giving close family shop bought cards.

The few things I did manage to do was knit a few hats, I've developed a bit of an addiction to hats in general recently. My Mum also benefits from this fascination, as I have knitted her one and am in the progress of kinitting her another.

However, just now, owing to the fact that I bought a Cricut in 2009 that has had barely any use, I've been veering more towards sewing projects using applique made from die cut designs, and the Paisley Cartridge from Cricut has some nice designs which suit this technique. I'll keep you posted on the project, for now, I'm just working out the design, and making the appliques....

 

 

Chickpea Roast with Sherry Sauce

As you may have realised, these new recipes I have been trying are all vegetarian. This one is probably one of the most delicious vegetarian dishes I have ever tasted and I know for sure I'll be making this one again in the future!

Ingredients:

450g can of Chickpeas, drained
1 Tsp Marmite (yeast extract)
150g chopped walnuts
150g white breadcrumbs
1 finely chopped onion
100g chestnut mushrooms
50g can of sweetcorn, drained
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 Tbsp dry sherry
2 Tbsp vegetable stock
1 Tbsp chopped coriander
8oz of ready made Puff Pastry
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
Salt & pepper

SAUCE
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 leek, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp dry sherry
150ml / 1/4 pint vegetable stock

Method:

1. Blend the chickpeas, marmite, nuts & breadcrumbs in a food processor for 30 seconds. In a frying pan, saute the onion and the mushrooms in their own juices for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chickpea mixture, the sweetcorn and the garlic. Add the Sherry, stock, coriander & seasoning and bind the mixture together. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured suface to form a 35.5cm x 30 cm (14 inch x 12 inch rectangle. Shape the chickpea mixture into a loaf shape on top of the rolled out pastry and wrap the pastry around it, sealing the edges. Place seam-side down on a dampened baking tray and score the top in a criss-cross pattern. mix the egg and milk and brush over the pastry. Cook in a preheated oven, 200C / 400 F / Gas Mark 6, for 25-30 minutes.

3. Heat the oil for the sauce in a pan and saute the leek for 5 mins. Add the sherry and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with the Roast.

Scrumptious!  

 

The Goddess & the Poet - Week 1

I've signed up for an On-Line Art Class over at Suzi Blu's Les Petit Academy called 'The Goddess & the Poet'. This week is the first week and we have homework to do! The page above is my first effort at homework, and the one below is my very first 'face' drawn using Suzi's hints and tips from her class. Seriously, I have not drawn like this since my O' Level Art Class, so I'm actually surprised that I've been able to do this without totally embarassing myself. HOWEVER - I do have a problem. As you can see from the sketch of the eyes above in my sketchbook, the faces we are supposed to be drawing are meant to be highly stylised. My problem with this is that to me my eyes look 'dead', and so on my first face drawing I ended up making them a little more realistic. The reality is that although I've surprised myself, this is actually not the type of work I am supposed to be producing, in fact it is supposed to be more akin to Manga/Anime drawing rather than what I have ended up with!

Oh well, back to the drawing board!      

Girl's Cardigan

 

I'm very pleased with how this turned out. I knitted this up using left over wool from my own cardigan I posted about a month ago. The wool is Twilley's Freedom wool in the Spirit colourway. This cardigan is sized 1-2 years and I love the pretty colour combinations, especially the way the collar has come out, as it looks two different colours have been used, even though there hasn't. I really enjoyed knitting this too. I still have loads of this wool left, so may need to knit a few more child sized projects to get through it all, either that, or put the wool up for sale on E-Bay!

Guilty Pleasures

 

These arrived today - my first set of very expensive Copic Markers. Looks like I'll need a blender pen too, so I'll have to wait until I manage to order one of those before I can use these properly! I wish I'd know that before I had bought them. I did have a quick play with them, but it became clear very quickly that these need the blender pen to achieve the results that other people get with them.

I'm thinking of buying this.......

 

I've been looking at chimneas for a while now as I want one for my garden, and then I came across this. It's actually a 'Pizza Oven' but like a Chimnea you can use it as a Patio Heater, and, if you take the top off, it converts to a barbeque. So, in other words, this has 3 functions, whereas a chimnea only has 2 and the price is not really that different from some of the chimneas available.

So.... do you think I should buy this? Does anyone out there have a chimnea or a pizza oven and what do they think of it? Do you use it a lot? I'd be interested in your opinions, so leave a comment below! :o)    

My Garden in July

Crushed Pineapple & Carrot Muffins

These were pretty quick to make and contain no fat at all, just vegetable oil so they are pretty healthy! Taste great too!

Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

100g/4oz plain flour
100g/4oz plain wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
200 ml/7fl oz vegetable oil
90g / 3 1/2oz caster sugar
2 eggs
120g / 4 1/2oz finely grated carrots
225g / 8oz tinned crushed pineapple, semi-drained
100g / 4oz raisins

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

2. Sift together flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon & salt and mix well. Beat the oil, sugar and eggs until well blended. Add the grated carrots, crushed pineapple and raisins. gradually ass the flour mixture, beating just enough to combine all the ingredients.

3. Pur the batter into muffin trays lined with paper cases (I used silicone cases) and bake for 25 mins. If you are using a fan assisted oven then 20 mins should be enough. Cool on a wire rack.

Aubergine Salad with Fennel & Orange

I'm trying some new recipes in order to expand my repertoire and so I thought I would share them here. This one was very tasty, but did take quite a lot of preparation.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 a bulb of fennel, sliced very thinly on a mandoline
2 Oranges, 1 segmented, 1 zest & juice
50ml/2fl oz sherry vinegar
175ml/6fl oz extra virgin olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
2 Aubergines, cut into wedges
4-5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large naan breads, cut into 6 discs 10cm/4in in diameter
small bunch of fresh watercress leaves

METHOD:

1. In a bowl, mix together the fennel slices, orange segments, orange juice, orange zest, sherry vinegar and olive oil until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add the chopped tarragon and stir well.

2. Rub the aubergine wedges all over with 2-3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Heat a griddle pan (I used my George Foreman grill) over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the aubergine wedges and grill for about 1-1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown griddle marks appear on both sides and the Aubergine is tender. Set aside on a warm plate.

3. Brush the naan bread discs all over with the remaining vegetable oil. Add the naan bread to the griddle pan the aubergine is tender. Set aside on a warm plate.

4. To serve, place one griddled naan bread disc in the middle of each of six serving plates. Place a pinch of watercress leaves into the centre of each naan bread, then a portion of aubergine wedges on top. Spoon over some of the sherry vinegar dressing. Arrange small piles of the marinated fennel and orange around the naan bread and drizzlr over the remaining dressing.