Yarn Along

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Jacinta

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things.

Well I have made a little more progress with my Tea Leaves cardi.  I now have one sleeve! I made a start on a Beyond Puerperium for a friend’s baby and it has been knitting up beautifully, but it is sizing up HUGE!  I tried it on Jairah who is 3 and it fits him, it’s meant to be 3-6month in size.  I have put it aside and will try knitting another Puerperium but I’ll try the newborn size.  Has anyone else found the Puerperium runs on the large size?  I have used the yarn and needle size the pattern calls for.  Oh well, looks like Jairah will score himself a new outfit.  The yarn is by Bendigo Woollen Mills from their Rustic line in Elm, which I would describe as a lovely grey/green.  Thankfully when I originally ordered the yarn for this project, I could decided between Elm and another yarn colour, Lake blue, so I got them both.  Looks like the baby will be geting a lovely blue Puerperium instead!

 

I could always go for a Michael Jackson look!

This is meant to be size 3-6months!

I am reading The Year The Horses Came, by Mary Mackey.  It is the first book in the Earthsong trilogy.  Based back in ancient times, it is based on a girl, Marrah, who only knows peaceful living.  Her people worship Goddess Earth.  She has a vision of terrible beastmen invading their peaceful living and sets off accompanied by her brother, Arang, and Stavan, a man who she rescued from near death, to warn a priestess in a faraway city of the possible attack from the beastmen.  I’m only half way through, so the storyline is still unfolding.  I’m liking it so far.

Looking forward to seeing all your gorgeous knitting and hearing about what everyone is reading.  Jacinta x

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Chicken Bites with Shredded Nori

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Jacinta

These bite size pieces of chicken are so tasty and really hard to stop eating!  They are gluten free too.  We serve them with vegetables and noodles, but they would also be yummy as canapés.  The recipe was originally from a Women’s Weekly cookbook.

Ingredients:

500gm chicken breast, cut into cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce/Tamari
1/4 cup mirin
ginger, a small knob, finely grated
1 nori sheet, finely chopped
1/3 cup cornflour
oil for frying

Method:

Place soy sauce, mirin, ginger and cut up chicken into a bowl, toss so the pieces are evenly coated.  Marinate for at least 15 minutes in the fridge.  Once marinated, drain off any excess liquid.  Mix the cornflour with the nori, and using your fingers, lightly coat each piece of chicken in the cornflour mixture.
Heat oil in a wok or high sided pan over a medium heat.  Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown, turing regularly.  Drain chicken on paper towel.
Serve with noodles or rice and vegetables of your choice.  They are yummy dipped in mayonnaise too.

Enjoy!  Jacinta x

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This Moment

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Jacinta

From Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I love your moments too.  So feel free to leave a link in the comment section for us all to see.  Have a beautiful weekend.  Jacinta x

Posted in Family Life, This Moment | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

‘T’ is for…….

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Jacinta

Tarantula!  Tarantula? I hear you say.  Tenneille’s class had a dress up day last week at school and they had to go as something that starts with their first initial. If you know my dear Tenneille, that would not be a teapot or something dainty, no a spider is so much more fitting. That girl loves her bugs dinosaurs and dragons. She wanted to go as a Pterodactyl, but that rascally silent ‘p’, fixed that idea up.

Anyway, I traipsed off to Spotlight to see what kind of spidery fabric I could find.  Of course, there was the small problem of, ‘how do I make a tarantula outfit?,” and did I mention I only gave myself a day to get this finished?  Ah, nothing like being the queen of last minute projects.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the fabric with the golden spiderwebs.  I kind of fashioned the fabric as wings, so it would stay on her back and not get in her way.  I had a giggle imagining anything like this available it the overly pink girl’s section of toy stores!

The kids all looked super cute and there was actually another tarantula too!  I think it was a nice day for the kids and gave them a chance to express their creative side too.

Jacinta x

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This Moment

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Jacinta

From Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I love your moments too.  So feel free to leave a link in the comment section for us all to see.  Have a beautiful weekend.  Jacinta x

Posted in This Moment | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Yarn Along

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Jacinta

Joining in with Ginny from Small Things.

I won’t bore you with another ‘in progress’ of my Tea Leaves tonight, partly because the lighting is non existent and also because I haven’t gotten much done this past week.  I have started one of the sleeves, but I am not far into it yet.  A good friend of mine had a baby last week, a little boy.  He is so gorgeous and I am feeling a little sad that this is the first of all her babies (he is the 4th) that I won’t get to cuddle for a while.  They live overseas now and I have decided I want to knit him a Beyond Puerperium.  I ordered the yarn today from Bendigo Woollen Mills.  I have sample cards for all their yarn and it was nearly impossible to choose what colour and type of yarn I wanted.  I ended up ordering two different colours, as I couldn’t decide between a lovely green called Elm and a grey/blue colour called Lake.  Tough call, I know.

As for reading, I finally finished Keeper of the People.  It’s based on a small tribe of people who come together in adversity.  They are trying to escape with their lives from a cruel warrior and his band.  Of course the story has ended with a cliff hanger you might say, so if I want to find out how the story goes, I need to buy the next book in the series.  While I didn’t dislike the book, I found I was skipping over a lot of the wording to get to the storyline.  It waffled on a little, but thankfully I still liked it.  I might read something else in the meantime, before I commit to the next book in the series though.

Looking forward to seeing your lovely creations and find out what good books I can add to my ‘to read’ list, as it needs a top up.  Jacinta x

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The Sweetest Bunny

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Jacinta

Scarlett was going through a phase recently where she was having bad dreams.  My solution, a gorgeous nightlight.  Scarlett chose the bunny and I have to say it is the sweetest thing (next to Tenneille’s squirrel nightlight).  I don’t think Scarlett’s bunny has been named yet, but I do know her dreams have been sweet ever since bunny arrived and the bad dreams are no longer.  It omits a lovely soft, warm glow.  Bunny was purchased from Bockers and Pony and they have a special for this month which applies to their lamps, so I got a 10% discount.  It arrived the day after I ordered (how I wish other businesses were this quick) and was beautifully wrapped.  We are most grateful to this sweet bunny and all of us are benefiting from having a good night’s sleep.

You can choose from a selection of ribbons and get a personalised card attached to your order

Isn’t she pretty

Jacinta x

Posted in Family Life, Recommendations | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Thermomix Love

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Jacinta

I am so excited to have received my long awaited Thermomix.  I have been wanting a Thermomix for a few years now.  At first I couldn’t get my head around the initial investment, but after seeing that all the people I know who own a thermomix, use them everyday, I realised that it would be a great investment for my kitchen.  When we decided to renovate the kitchen, I had factored the cost of a Thermomix into the budget, but alas, that budget was blown out, so I have waited (albiet, not so patiently) till now for my lovely new machine.  It only arrived yesterday and after the lovely demo lady guided me through it, I have been experimenting ever since.  I can’t believe how quickly it chops, sautes and whizzes things (it does a lot more too).  So far I have made, pumpkin soup, lamb and lemon risotto, mushroom soup, rice bubble slice, chocolate cake and chicken and fetta sausage rolls.  I haven’t exploded yet, thankfully, as I have had very enthusiastic taste testers helping me out.  I can already see an influx of recipes coming on.  So I suggest you go ahead and let out a belt notch or two and let the gastronomic funfair begin!

Thermomix

Mushroom soup

Lamb and lemon risotto

Chicken and fetta sausage rolls

Chocolate cake

Jacinta x

Posted in Gastronomic Explosions - aka Yummy Food/Recipes | Tagged | 4 Comments

Yarn Along

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Jacinta

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things.

Yippie!  I have finished the body of my Tea Leaves.  Now on to the sleeves and button band.  Lets see if I can do that by next week!?  I haven’t done any knitting the last couple of days.  We had a small earthquake/earth tremor here last night, which kind of threw me out and tonight I fell asleep on the couch while Greg read the girls their nighttime story, so I think I should have an early night!  Although the wind is blowing something fierce here tonight, which is rather unnerving, with the huge trees that surround us.

The colour is more ruby that the photo shows. The picture was taken at nearly 9pm with poor lighting.

I’m plodding away at my book, Keeper Of The People, but the plot is still developing, so not much to report.  It seems to be an ok read so far though.

Looking forward to seeing what all you talented people have been up to this past week.  Jacinta x

Posted in Books, Craft, Knitting, Yarn Along | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Chicken and Mushroom Risoni

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Jacinta

I’m all for quick and easy weekday meals.  Especially when I know all the family will eat it without complaint.  Risoni (rice shaped pasta) cooks quickly and this meal only takes about 15 minutes cooking time and it only uses one pot, so not too many dishes!  I add a small dash of cream to the kids servings.  I love pepper on mine.  Parmesan cheese would go well with this dish too.

Ingredients:
Serves 4-5 

2 chicken breast fillets, cut into small cubes
1 cup risoni
2 cups water
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 mushrooms, chopped finely
2 rashers bacon, chopped
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
Chicken stock powder to taste
small amount oil
cream/Parmesan cheese optional

Method:

Fry onion and garlic in a little oil for a couple of minutes, then add bacon and chicken.  Brown off chicken slightly then add the mushrooms and cook for approximately 1 minute.  Then add tarragon, risoni, water and chicken stock powder.  Stir well then cover the pan and reduce the heat.  Stir regularly to avoid the risoni sticking.  Cook until risoni is just tender.  Dish up into individual bowls and add a dash of cream or parmesan cheese if desired.

Enjoy!  Jacinta x

Posted in Gastronomic Explosions - aka Yummy Food/Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments