Mixed Veg Pancakes

It's been a while since I did a "What to do with a bag of mixed veg" post, but I was rooting about in the freezer wondering what to have for tea, when I found a tub of mixed veg in tomato sauce left over from a lasagne.

Pondering on what to make I decided on savoury pancakes.

They were blooming yummy, so in case you would like to make them for yourself, here s the recipe:

You will need:

• Wholemeal flour
• 1 egg
• Fizzy water or soda
• Salt & Pepper
• Dried chilli flakes
• Mixed Herbs

What you do:

• Shake a fistful of flour into a bowl.  (chuck away those scales and work by eye :)  )
• Add salt, pepper, chilli flakes and dried herbs.

• Make a well in the centre & drop in the egg.

• Stir, dragging the edges into the egg mix as you go.

• Add sploshes of fizzy water or soda, stirring in well, until the mixture resembles a porridge texture.

• Chuck in the mixed veg, and any left-overs in the fridge if you have them, I chucked in a bit of Quorn ham.

• Give it a stir, but not too vigorously to mush up the veg.

• Heat up some vegetable oil in a frying pan & drop in large blobs of the mix, spread it out a bit rather than leaving it too high so it cooks more evenly.

• Let it cook a while, the bottom has to be cooked before you can turn it over.
• Flip it gently & cook the other side.

• Serve with a blob of sweet chilli sauce - delicious!

If you want something else to do with your bag of mixed veg, try my other recipes  :)

Spicy Mixed Veg Soup

Mixed Veg Lasagne

Mixed Veg & Edam Pie

Mixed Veg Noodle Bake

Fimo miniatures class with Helena Wilton

Have you ever fancied taking a Fimo/Polymer cay class?  Well, if you have (or even haven't) I would really like to recommend a class with Helena Wilton from Heevis Miniatures.

I attended her 'Fimo Miniatures' class in Hobbycraft, Carlisle on Friday night. I've worked with Fimo before, of course, I even teach bead-making in it myself, but having seen Helena's tiny cupcakes, cheesecakes & macaroons I really need to have a go at miniatures.

I learnt how to make a cheesecake, we could choose our own fruit - I picked kiwi,  and how to make the biscuit base look biscuity as well as how to make the jelly topping.

Cute little cheesecake :)

We then went onto cupcakes, I could tell you how to make these but it might be a trade secret, so I better not :) they are smaller than my little fingernail!

The one thing we didn't do was the actual cane that becomes the little fruit slices, but Helena has agreed to return to HC to do a cane class, so can't wait for that one!

Some of the class mates.

(It's on the 1st November if you're interested :) )

Hobbycraft's 1st Birthday Cake

Saturday 15th September 2012 was the day of opening for the new Hobbycraft store in Carlisle.

That means that Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th September 2013 is the first birthday, well a cake needed to be made didn't it?

I bashed up a Victoria sponge recipe and made two cakes, so I could tier them up.

They are filled with strawberry jam & vanilla buttercream.

The coating is white chocolate candy melts, that sets hard & it is going to make an incredibly nice crack when it is cut.  You can actually hear it now can't you?

The toppers are just a mixture of random ones that had been put to one side due to a few in each pack being broken.

Happy Birthday Carlisle Hobbycraft.

Crochet along.....

At Crochet Class at Hobbycraft yesterday I hurriedly bashed up a crochet doily/mandala so the students could follow the pattern and learnt to add their own stitches in.  they really enjoyed this and were thrilled with the outcome, so I thought, perhaps, I should have a "crochet along" right here on the blog.

What it would entail is me writing up a few rows each week, and we all work together in various colourways and share the photos at the end.  What do you think?  We could make a cushion cover each.

All you would need is a 4mm or 4.5mm hook and a few scraps of DK (Double Knit) yarn.

I will try and include some lesser used stitches and we can all have fun!  Yeeea  :)

Look out for the first post if you want to join in, it will be called "Crochet Along.... Mandala (1)"

Amelia

I wanted to show you my doll - Amelia.

She has been in my life for as long as I can remember, but its only recently that she became 'mine'.

I've often told my mother, "if anything happens to you, I want that doll" (cheery bunch we are in my family!). So she decided to give her to me before that time came.

Amelia always sat in my mothers bedroom, on the dressing table. She has always worn the same clothes, but she had a new addition of 'hair clips' about 35 years ago. The hair clips are actually clip-on costume jewellery earrings.

She has only just been given a name in the last few weeks, when I took her to my home - I thought after 50 odd years, she deserved a name.

My mother bought her for her younger sister one Christmas (her sister is 10 yrs younger) but unbeknown to her, my gran had already bought her a doll, so Mum put her doll away and that was that.   

The clothes Amelia wears were made by my Mum. Pretty tartan dungarees and a long jacket - the material has softened so much of the years, you're almost scared to touch it.

She can walk! You stand her up, hold her hand, and tilt her from side to side. This causes her little legs to kick out & she walks along. Her head moves from side to side at the same time.

Once upon a time she also used to say "mama", when you tipped her up. She doesn't anymore, but you can still hear the mechanism when you turn her upside down.

Her eyes also close when you lay her own.

 I wish I knew more about this doll, there doesn't seem to be any marks on her except 'Made In England' on her neck & shoes. Her face seems to be made from a hard plastic, almost ceramic like, but not quite. I imagine it would shatter if she was to be dropped.

Now, Amelia is sitting in my bedroom, one day I might pass her on to my Grandchildren - she'll be a good old age by then!

Theatre Trip To Glasgow

At least twice a year we have a "girlie" trip to Glasgow for a theatre night.  We don't have much of a theatre in Carlisle, it is really a sports hall in the local leisure centre with pull out tiers of chairs and crap acoustics, so going to a beautiful old theatre is such a great experience.

This time we went to see Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat.  This is a musical I have seen many time, and love it more each time I see it, but some of the group had not seen it at all, but judging by their faces at the end I think it will now be a favourite for them too.

We left Carlisle station at 10.04 on Saturday morning, and as soon as we were on the train, our came breakfast nibbles.  Pasties, Crisps, Cakes, Biscuits ....... and alchohol!  Yep, cocktails at 10.00am  :)

Arriving into Glasgow we dumped our bags at our usual hotel - the Alexander Thompson.  We love this hotel, it's clean, modern, brilliant location and a great bit Scottish buffet breakfast too, at very reasonable prices.  We got a quad room and a double room.  It is a bit of a lucky dip of who you get to share with, some snore, some read in bed, some rattle  (me, my bracelets apparently)

A little bit of shopping, read Primark, and a Costa Lot Coffee  (how much???) followed.

Shona (daughter) Helena (Daughter In Law)  Julie (Sister)

Then back to the hotel to glam up for our theatre night out.

We started at Bella Italia for a nice dinner.  I had a Calzone pizza with goats cheese, spinach, olives and mushrooms.  They do one of my favourite drinks in there too - Big Tom, a spiced tomato juice.
They also do mini desserts which is great when you want  bite of something sweet but not a full pudding.

It was dark in the theatre and I have no flash on my phone camera, so all I could snap was the ceiling, but isn't it beautiful?

"H" from Steps, was Joseph, and a good one he was too.  We waited at the stage door afterwards and grabbed an autograph.  I always hang about at stage doors, like some mad groupie.  We have met some lovely people. I think Michael Ball was the nicest when we went to see Hairspray, Les Dennis was a bit grumpy and couldn't be bothered.  "H" signed some autographs then tried to head back into the theatre, but I wasn't having that so I followed him and tried a little emotional blackmail - it worked  :)  Couldn't get a photo through as he had his baseball cap pulled down low and his head bowed - spoilsport!   I think if I was famous I would sign everyone's autograph, after all, they are quite willing to take our money for their lavish lifestyles  ;)

(Don't get me started on the Boy George story!!)

A couple of drinks in a bar followed, then back to the room where we started to get really tired - it had been a busy day after all.

Next morning we trotted down to our lovely Scottish buffet breakfast, this hotel does a great buffet with potato scones, as well as loads of other stuff, but how nice are potato scones, with beans and brown sauce?  Yum.

Check out time, and the hotel let you leave all your luggage in their holding room, as it is only 3-5 mins walk from Central Station it is quite doable to pop back in to pick them up before you leave the City.

Shopping time again, and I got a few Christmas presents!  Yes, me!!  In September.  Buying presents. Unheard of!  I have to hide them in a place I will find them again now, as in the past I have rediscovered Christmas pressies in June!

We stood for ages watching this puppeteer, he was fantastic and mesmerizing.  Very cleverly done so we popped some pennies in his hat.

Click on photo to see some video.

Afternoon Tea time.  I had pre-booked a table at Cup Tea Lounge for a posh afternoon tea.
What a wonderful place, the most gorgeous interior - all tiled and ornate with sparkly chandeliers.
We ordered the Afternoon Tea (£15.95 each) with a list of 40 different teas to choose from!

This is what we got  (yeah, seriously!  All of it, EACH)

Top Tier

• Mini Chocolate Éclair
• Mini Cupcake
• Mini Summer Fruit Cheesecake
• Home Baked Shortbread
• French Macaron
• A wee scoop of Luvians Ice Cream

Middle Tier

• Freshly baked scones; 
• Plain and Coconut Tea infused scones
• Served with Galloway Lodge Preserves and Vanilla Whipped Cream

Bottom Tier

• Mini Bagel with home smoked lapsang souchong Salmon
• Cucumber and Elder ower Finger sandwich
• Mini Brioche with Chicken, Mango and Chilli Chutney

I had Hummus and Cheese & Pickle in my sarnies, being the awkward vegetarian one  :)

Then came the 'hot from the oven' scones which were just divine, served with jam in little kilner jars and cream.

The tea I chose was Rose Grey, it was really nice. I meant to buy some on the way out but forgot.

Can you believe you get served 6 cakes?  Ok, so they are mini and some are just one mouthful, but 6 cakes?

Em, yeah, I ate them all!

As we were all moaning about eating too much, out came the ice-cream menu.

We opted for sorbets thinking they would be easier to get down - well, we couldn't refuse could we, it would have been most rude.  I had mango and it was delicious.

We rolled out of there and down the hill to pick up our bags, before heading home again.  Tired and happy.

I did laugh when visiting the loo on the train to find this.....

Girlie weekends are great. 

Monthly Crochet Group at Hobbycraft.

Last night was our monthly tutored (by me) group at Carlisle Hobbycraft.

It's slightly different than a 'class' as its much less structured, everyone works on their own project, with a little help if needed.

It's great being part of a group, you look at other people's work, and suddenly you want to make what they are making - yarn envy I call it.

We have blankets going on, and flowers, and more blankets, and baby's hats and petals another blanket thrown in for good measure. We also had a Christmas Wreath started tonight, in reds & greens, can't wait to see it finished.

The next one is on Monday 14th October at 6.00-7.30pm, and costs just £5.00. Bring your own project or buy something in store & start a new one :)

Demo Day at Hobbycraft

What a great day today.  I organised a "demo day" at Hobbycraft, Carlisle, so people could pop in and see our Artisans at work doing what they do best - crafting!

The idea was to promote some up and coming classes, talk to customers and let them know that we do indeed offer craft classes at great prices and a lovely variety of them too.

We had a great turn out, so a great big THANK YOU to all that humoured me and came along to play.

So, in no particular order, we had:

Marie from Nim & Num who worked on the most gorgeous piece of free-hand embroidery of a hummingbird on a cloudy background.    Her 'Beginners Embroidery' class will run on Friday 20th September, 6.00pm-7.30pm, just £10, but is limited to 8 people.

Cannot wait to see this one finished.  You can find her on her Facebook page if you would also like to see the end result.


Janice from Blackwell Crafts made some gorgeous Christmas cards using the Grand Caliber die-cutting machine.  If you are thinking about purchasing a die-cutter then pop along to Janice's 'Getting ready for Christmas' class and learn how to use one with an expert.  The class is on Friday 4th October, 2.00pm-4.00pm and costs just £10, all materials included.

Micky is a master of all crafts and like to do almost all of them!  From beaded spiders to friendship bracelets, but I think her fabric balls are one of my own personal favourites.  Join Micky at her classes, 'Fabric Balls' which will run on Sunday 6th October, 1.00pm-3.00pm and costs £10, and 'Beaded Halloween Spiders' which is on Saturday 26th October, 10.30am-12.30pm and also costs £10.
You can also find Micky on her Facebook page.

Next we have Anne from Monkey Tales.  Always with a monkey story to tell, Anne kept us entertained most of the day.  But would you believe she forgot Fargo, her special monkey that likes to go everywhere with her, apparently he was most upset, you can ready about him on his own Facebook page, Monkey Tales.
If you fancy making your very own naughty sock monkey then sign up for Anne's monkey making class on Friday 18th October, 12.00pm-3.00pm, a bargain £12 for a 3 hour class, which includes all materials.

Helen, our resident artist, also known as 'A Little Bit Askew', started painting a most fabulous acrylic canvas.  This is going to be on of those pictures that you stick your head through at the sea-side, you know the type?

Her work is wonderful, I love it all, especially these fishees.  I do like fishees.

Helen is doing a whole host of art classes, check out the Carlisle Hobbycraft website for up to date details of those.


Julie from Community Based Art popped in to show us how to do some wonderful landscapes and abstract felt pictures.  We were all mesmerised. She has provisionally booked a workshop for Friday 25th October at 3.00pm - 17.30pm, the price is £12 and places are booking up already so jump in quick and have a go.

I just love the texture in this abstract piece.

Then there was little old me  :)  I did crocheting, of course, but I do run a varied class list over at HC, Carlisle, from beginners crocheting to jewellery making, and I am running out a 'Craft Skills course, which is aimed at people who really don't know what they might fancy doing as a hobby.  The 6 week course will run every Wednesday from 11th September at 1.00pm-3.00pm and each week we will do something different - cross-stitch, zendala doodling, earring masterclass, crochet, needlefelted bags and decopatch.  The price is £10 per session or £50 if you book them all, saving £10, which includes all materials.

Thank you for coming if you did, I hope you enjoyed seeing all the different demonstrations, and thank you to the manager Dawn, who kept us all going with chocolate  :)

If you fancy booking any of these classes, then pop into the Store and pay a 50% deposit which secures your place.  All courses have limited places so book quickly if you can.