You know winter is drawing near when you have to dig deep into the box of winter clothes in the cupboard and break out the beanies for the small-fry.
Browsing Category
Make It Perfect
A cold, cold day. 
Dinner in the slow cooker and out of my head. 
Two sleeping children (no photos here…didn’t want to risk my peace!)
And an afternoon of quiet, uninterrupted playing, creating and sewing!
My photos may not look too appetising…but trust me, this Indian feast was delicious for dinner on Thursday night.
Indian Feast
Dahl
200g red lentils
2 cm piece fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tbs oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 green chilli, finely chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp garam masala
lots of fresh spinach
Place lentils and 3 cups water in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, add the ginger and turmeric, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
Stir occasionally to prevent the lentils sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt.
Heat oil in a frying pan, add the garlic, onion and mustard, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion is golden. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and chilli and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the onion mixture to the lentils and stir gently to combine. Stir through finely chopped spinach and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and garam masala and season with salt and pepper.
Naan
7g dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup butter, melted
(I put all the ingredients except the garlic and butter in my bread maker and put it on the bread roll setting, so it did all of the kneading and first rising for me…but if you do it by hand follow the recipe…)
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand for about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk egg, salt and enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth.
Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise for one hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray.
Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
Heat a grill pan or fry pan to medium heat. Roll one ball of dough into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned.
Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over.
Brush cooked side with butter and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill and continue process until all the naan has been prepared.
Minted Yoghurt
1 cup natural yoghurt
Bunch fresh mint
Finely chop mint and stir through yoghurt.
Serve with dahl and naans.
I am very excited to see what cool creations people come up with from my patterns so I have started a “make it perfect flickr group”. The url is http://flickr.com/groups/makeitperfect/ or you can click on the little pink bird above to take you right to it. So far, I think the photo pool is just me (hehe) so if you make something from my patterns be sure to take a photo and share it!
Holidays are all about traditions, right? Well in our family easter bunny makes a special visit not once, but FOUR times over the easter weekend! Yep, he comes on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday! When I was growing up “my easter bunny” came to us four times, and now he comes to my children four times. It only happens once a year, so we want to make the excitement and magic linger for as long as possible.
We started out our day visiting some garage sales…I wish I could say I was one of those people who loved to opp-shop and find second-hand bargains, but I’m not. In fact, I kind of cringe at the thought of going into an opp-shop and have to wash my hands really well after I have been in one! I’m okay with people buying things for me from opp-shops, as long as they have been washed really well by the time they get to me! Weird, I know. Today we were lucky enough to find some really cool garage sales though and picked up a few fun finds – some toys for the kids, tupperware (you can’t have enough tupperware!) and cute shoes for Lil. Oscar is so happy with his 50c treasure, a set of Thomas lacing cards…looking forward to these keeping him quiet in church tomorrow!
We picked up these adorable little leather shoes for Lil. They are called “baby paws” and are handmade in Tasmania from genuine leather. We had a pair for Oscar and they were fantastic. A little on the pricey side, but totally worth the money. They would NEVER fall off him and were nice and soft and flexible for his growing feet, easy to crawl and learn to walk in too. I love how Lil’s are look like little ballerina shoes on the end of her chubby legs!
We headed off to the Farmer’s Market and picked up some local fresh fruit and vegetables, then off to the footy ground to watch Cade play his first game for the season. Oscar is going to be a sport freak like his Dad and uncles. Everywhere we go he insists on taking a football, soccer ball, tennis racquet, cricket bat, basketball or tennis ball…cute. He was so intent watching “Cadey” play football, calling out to him and focusing on the game.
He is really cute with Lil now too. He talks to her like a real big brother, sharing his toys with her and always asking her if she is feeling happy! He calls her “Willsy-girl-girl” and loves to give her kisses.
And me, sitting in the car at the football…sorry Cade, I try to watch, I really do! I just have more fun playing with my camera and reading magazines! 🙂