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Friday 28 December 2007

Soap-a-rama






Another text-light, pic-heavy post of the soaps I made a few weeks ago.

They all turned out lovely in the end, and the cranberry-fig one only ran into the sandalwood one a little, so most of the bars were fine.

I LOVE this (new) recipe! Lots of yummy shea butter -- feels great.

I should have brushed the soap crumbs away before I snapped the pics...

More Christmas Food!


Poached salmon in aspic. Mum poaches it to tender perfection. Mmmmmmm-m.


Poppyseed cake ("Makowiec"), and gingerbread-chocolate cake.

Just the most delicious cheesecake I have tasted in DECADES!!!! From Europa cake shop on Acland Street, St. Kilda.

Thursday 27 December 2007

Barszcz Recipe


Recipe for traditional Polish Barszcz, which is a peppery, clear beetroot soup based on vegetable stock (no meat, as per Polish Catholic tradition for Christmas Eve fare).


1 large or 2 small leeks, green ends trimmed.
2 large or 3-4 small carrots.
2 parsnips
1 small celeriac, peeled, OR half a bunch of celery, leaves cut off.
Few bay leaves.
1 or 2 heads of garlic, cut in half widthways (across the cloves)
small handful of whole black peppercorns
2 850 g tins of sliced beetroots
salt to taste

Throw all of the above in a large stock pot, and add 3-4 litres of water. Bring to a boil and boil gently for 45 minutes. Remove and discard all solids, and strain liquid through cheesecloth/clean teatowel. Add a small pat of butter to make lovely oily droplets floating on top. Serve with "Uszka" (mushroom dumplings) (making them is VERY time-consuming, so we buy them from more energetic Polish people in Melbourne).

Tuesday 25 December 2007

Merry Christmas!

With a tum full of yummy food I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Holidays!

Friday 21 December 2007

Me crochet!

I am totally excited tonight!!!!

I have only ever crocheted a short chain and a couple of rows of single crochet, and tonight I made this!!


Following the video tutes on Nexstitch (as tipped by Meshell) and the Purl Bee's granny square tute.

I know -- it ain't nothin' much, but for me it is a Christmas miracle. I am seeing in real life a granny square crocheted by ME. Wow.

I'm back on the crafting radar.

(And if it wasn't after midnight, I'd be going through my lil' stash of Japanese craft mags, ready to take over the crocheting world!!)

Tuesday 4 December 2007

Soapin'


Made more soap tonight. On the menu were: lavender & patchouli, and tea-tree & blue cypress.

The last lot turned out a mess, albeit a lovely smelling one. One batch broke through the divider and ran into the other batch, then the cranberry fig batch developed a fatty layer on top, and both took daaaaaayyyyyys to firm up, blah blah blah... By some miracle they both turned out okay in the end. I didn't learn from my previous mistake and soaped them too cold again.

Tonight I turned up the heat, and they look much healthier (at this stage) compared to the last lot. Thank goodness. I even got excited and ran a purple swirl into the lavender batch.

Hopefully by tomorrow they will be firm enough to cut, then I will take snaps of the lot.

They are for a special Christmas order for a buddy who is sending them as gifts for relatives overseas.