Anticipation

I'm filling the kettle, polishing the teaspoons and laying out my finest linen napkins.

See you tomorrow, and every day this week, for A Very Bloggy Morning Tea.

Can't wait to clink tea cups with you xx

PS If you can't contain your excitement and need to make a donation now, clink on the button over there on the right. (I made a button!) It'll take you straight to my Cancer Council donation page. Go on, you know you want to.

this moment

 {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

Via Soulemama.

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See you Monday (and all of next week) for a very big and Very Bloggy Morning Tea.

A Very Big Granny Square

I have big aspirations in the crochet stakes. But apart from a square or two, there never seems to be a spare moment to begin. With that in mind, I've been keeping my eyes open at the oppies for months hoping to find a crocheted rug that's just right. And they never were, until today. Bright colours, great design, and wool instead of icky acrylic. Best $8 I ever spent.

A Cook's Life

We're on a first-name basis with Stephanie in this house. Bunch of leeks at the bottom of the crisper needing to be used? Ask Stephanie. Too many zucchinis? Stephanie will know what to do with them. Not sure how to use those obscure greens from the farmer's markets? Yoo-hoo, Stephanie! Her 'Cooks Companion' has pride of place on my cookbook shelf and she's a regular at our table, at least in spirit (and in my fantasies). So when I read recently that her memoirs were being published, I didn't waste any time adding it to my Mother's Day wish list. I'm still in her childhood at the moment, but so looking forward to getting to the Stephanie's Restaurant years.

And an impromptu cast-on this week, a little cardigan for a little girl who is coming to visit this weekend and recently enjoyed her first birthday. Yes, there's a deadline, so I'm not going to dilly-dally here. I have two more repeats of the lace pattern before I can cast off and launch myself into the sleeves. The yarn is some Jo Sharp DK wool purchased many moons ago on eBay. Ravelry notes here.


Oh, and a quick reminder - my Very Bloggy Morning Tea starts here on Monday and runs all week. Come join the fun. It's all for a good cause.


Joining in for the Yarn Along today, as usual, with Ginny at Small Things.

Work, Play, Rest

:: work ::

:: play ::

:: zzzzzz ::

Old Hat

Oh, hello, winter. I see there's none of this waiting-till-June bizzo in the Highlands. Here you are, suddenly and in full swing. And I'm not ready. What's that saying? "The days are long but the years are short"? Or is it "the days are short but the list of things to knit is bloody enormous..." We need hats and slippers and scarves and mittens. Leg-warmers. Arm-warmers. Toe-warmers.

Yesterday, when the chill hit, we managed to locate last year's hats at the back of the drawer. Remember this one and this one? They still fit, sort of. I wish that gorgeous  thrifted red cardigan fit. Stella spent the day unable to lift her arms, but I shoved her into it anyway. Any chance to put a kid of mine in red.

I'm off to defrost my toes and get to work. Clickety-click.

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

Via Soulemama.

A Sort of Greek Lentil Soup

Being married to a Greek bloke has one or two consequences.

My children have a rather long surname.

They've each been through ritualistic torture, or a torturous ritual, however you want to look at it.

I have a Greek mother-in-law.

And people always ask me about the food I eat in her kitchen.

Truth is, my mother-in-law cooks a handful of things very well, but she tends to stick to what she knows. Her spanakopita and tiropita are exceptional, especially dipped in her tzatziki. Her roast lamb with lemony potatoes are a favourite of mine. And I always go in for a second helping of her chicken souvlaki.

I haven't tried her lentil soup, but I have heard a funny story about lentils which I thought was hers. Turns out it might have come second-hand via her sister. 

Lentils are called 'fakes' in Greek. It's pronounced fah-kes. Go on, say it out loud. Lots of emphasis on the 'fah'. As the story goes, the GM's aunt went into a shop in Sydney and, not knowing the English word, asked for a packet of 'fah-kes'. You know how this ends. She had to repeat herself several times. The shopkeeper thought it was hilarious. She couldn't understand why. Etc.

Anyway, all that to say, this is my lentil soup. I'm not sure how my mother-in-law cooks hers, I'm not even sure how Greek this version is. But it is easy. And satisfying. And far, far yummier than I ever thought lentil soup could be.

Cook a cup of brown lentils in water for about 20 minutes or until tender. I like using the small dark Frenchy ones. You could probably use stock in place of the water, but why bother if you don't have to? Meanwhile, saute off a finely diced onion, carrot, stick of celery and clove of garlic in some olive oil. Add the drained lentils and enough water to cover it all, plus a little bit more. You can throw a couple of bay leaves in too, and some pepper.

Simmer for about 40 minutes, skimming off the brown scum that rises to the surface, until the soup is nicely flavoured. You'll need to add a good quantity of salt to lift it. Turn off the heat and add the juice of a couple of lemons and a big handful of baby spinach. Test it again - it might need more lemon and salt. Don't be shy.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and some toast on the side.

And that's my fakes for you.

Knitter's Block

Thanks to Ginny and her Yarn Along, Wednesday equals knitting for me, and though there hasn't been much of it going on around here, I feel compelled to post. Like the book situation from last week (which hasn't improved I might add), I'm a bit in-between with the needles too. I'm noncommittal. A strange place for this knitterly knitter to find herself in. 

Perhaps it's all that energy I've been burning in the sewing room. One zipper and I'm spent.

But I've flung half a cushion cover on the lawn and photographed it in its many-squared glory. I'm not sure now if it wants a knitted back, or a fabric one. Is it even possible to sew a piece of fabric to a knitted square? Anyone tried it?

Then I went and draped it over the lounge and suddenly I saw it not as a cushion, but one square in a glorious blanket. Something like this one.

Oh, dear. Knitter's indecision.

A Very Bloggy Morning Tea

I like to start the day with a cuppa. Twinings English Breakfast is my current preference, white and sweet. There's usually a second cup after the first before I shift over to coffee mid-morning - black, straight from the plunger, if I'm at home, soy latte if I'm out and about.

The best cuppas are always made by someone else, usually loose-leaf in a pot, shared at a kitchen table with something sweet on the side and a hefty helping of chit-chat and catch-ups. Oh, how I love a good morning tea get-together. I'm really missing my old Sydney buddies and their kitchen tables.

For the past two years, I've had the pleasure of working on some little projects for the Cancer Council's Biggest Morning Tea. I wrote about them here and here and here and here. I wanted to do something more and host a morning tea of my own. It's a bloody good cause and also a way for me to honour my mum, with mother's day fast approaching. Trouble is, I'm new to town and only know a handful of people. So, instead of hosting a fundraiser at home, with just me, the GM and the nice lady from over the road, I thought I'd host one here on the blog. And I'm aiming big - the World's Biggest Bloggy Morning Tea...EVER...In The World.

So here's how it will work. Starting on May 21, every day for a week I'll be posting about something morning-tea related. We will share endless pots of the finest brew, sipped straight from Granny's polka dot tea cups. There will be baking a-plenty. I'm sure I'll find a way to get some knitting in there. And during it all, I'll be passing around a hat to collect your small change for one of the best causes I can think of.

And to say thanks, there will be a giveaway or two, or maybe even three. I'll give more details about that soon.

So what do you say? Are you in? Fancy sharing a cuppa with me for a good cause?

If you're up for it and want to donate something now, here's the link to my page. It doesn't need to be big. Anything over $2 is tax deductible here in Oz.

Looking forward to sharing a cuppa with you.

Recipe link for the above photo.