Spicy Mixed Veg Soup

Have you been following my "things to do with a bag of mixed veg" posts?

Well, here is another one for you.  Spicy mixed veg soup.

You will need:

• Frozen chopped onion
• One large potato
• Bag of frozen mixed veg
• Olive oil
• Mustard powder
• Chilli Powder
• Veggie Stock

What you do:

• Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a good non-stick pan, or a soup maker as in my case. 
• Add the chopped frozen onions, half a teaspoon of mustard powder and half a teaspoon of chilli powder  (this gives the soup a little bite, but is not over spicy, add more chilli if you like it hot)
• Sauté a little.
• Peel and chop up the potato into small pieces, they need to be quite small so they cook along with the veg.
• Add to the pan along with the mixed veg (I tend to use the potato as a guide, however big the potato is add four times as much veg)
• Add stock to just cover the veg - I like this Marigold Bouillon powder as it has a lovely flavour.

• Cook for around 15-20 mins then blitz until smooth.  (the potato acts as a thickener.
• Season to taste.

• Serve with crusty bread & a generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.

This is a great way of getting kids to have some veggies, even if they only eat it scooped onto the bread (like Shona used to when she was little) it all helps towards their 5 a day.

As for my Cuisinart soup-maker, only this morning I got an email from Amazon to tell me they had dropped in price to  £126, mine has been worth every penny, it is one of my most used kitchen gadgets.

Nom nom  :)

ps: The Amazon links I've scattered throughout the page are affiliated  if you click and buy I might get a few pennies.  

Samye Ling - Tibetan Buddhist Centre

Yesterday I took a trip to Samye Ling - the Tibetan Buddhist Centre at Eskdalemuir.

The Temple

From Carlisle, it is just a quick 23 miles up the M74 to Lockerbie, then 13 longer miles along a winding road to Eskdalemuir.

It is a place I have been visiting since I was young with my parents, and still continue to pop back now and again.

Every single time I visit there is something new being built, it changes each time so much over relatively short periods of time.  There is either another beautiful building to see, or a garden, or pond.

It is a very welcoming place, visitors are encouraged and you are even allowed to sit in the temple during a worship and listen to the service.  (leave your shoes at the door)

The small room in the Temple

This is Daddy L's photo as I didn't  get a decent one inside the main temple.

The whole place just feels calm and serene, and there is no phone signal which is a plus point  :)
You can hang a ribbon on the wish tree if you like too.

There is a wonderful little shop, I bought myself this lovely 100% wool poncho for just £15.

And there is a cosy café which serves many different calming teas along with whole-food vegetarian fayre.

Check out this amazing stained glass window.

You can go and stay there, even take part in working holidays helping to do the gardens.  They also have lots of courses on offer, I am thinking about doing a beginners meditation one sometime.

Take some time out to visit the centre, I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Prayer Wheels

If you would like to see some more photographs, you can find them HERE on my photography Facebook page.

Camper Van

Following on from my play session with the Shrink Plastic where I made Beach Huts, let me show you my little Camper Van.

I did plan to make a row of them, like the beach huts, but only managed to do one before something else caught my eye and diverted me  :)  It happens, a lot!

I might do some more soon though, as it is a little bit cute  :)



ps: The Amazon links I've scattered throughout the page are affiliated  if you click and buy I might get a few pennies.  

April Giveaway

Where did April go? Did anyone see it whizzing past?  I seem to have blinked and missed it!!

Anyway, time for a giveaway, I know we are into May already, but this is the end of April giveaway.

It is going to be a surprise pack of beads!  All I need to know is your favourite colour and I will send one lucky winner a selection of lovely beads in their colour choice - worth at least £10.00.

If you do not care too much for beads, please feel free to share this with anyone who might.  :)

The giveaway is available to all people from all places, up until Wednesday 8th May (midnight GMT) The names will then be popped into a random name generator, then the winner announced on the 9th May.

To enter just simply comment on this blog with your chosen colour, or within the Bead Buddies Forum,  via email, or under this post when it appears on my Facebook page.

Good luck  :)

BB Colour Challenge May 2013

Goodness me what is happening?  It is the 4th of May (fighting the urge to say "May the forth be with you!"), and I have just finished my piece for the Bead Buddies Forum monthly colour challenge. 

Normally I totally miss the deadline, even though it's a whole month, or end up running about like a headless chicken trying to get something made.  This month it's different.

The colours were a randomly generated selection - this.....

I guess my entry is a bit of a cheat as I am still enjoying my Shrink Plastic experiments and just simply decided to use them and my lovely Sharpie pens yet again.

I've purchased a few stencils from the clearance box at Hobbycraft, one of them being a trio of hearts which is quite nice, so I used that.  They are just over an inch high.  

Feel free to sign up to the forum and enter yourself, there are still around 20 days left to take part this month  :)

  ps - I still won't win  ;)

ps: The Amazon links I've scattered throughout the page are affiliated  if you click and buy I might get a few pennies.

Knitted Sweet Treats

For any of you that follow my Facebook Page you will know that I have been knitting some random things of late.

Things such as Custard Creams, Battenburg Cake and Jam Tarts.

The reason for this is an up coming "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" at Hobbycraft (25th & 26th May - all welcome)

All the colleagues are adding a little something tea party themed to display on the day. My offering was a plate of knitted cakes, and here they are...

First was a custard cream, I got this pattern from a knitting magazine.  Quick and easy to make and surprisingly people recognise it for what it is  :)

From the same magazine I got the pattern for the pink wafer.

Next I did the little swiss rolls, I made this pattern up as I went, and really they are a little out of proportion, but hopefully I wont be judged too harshly on them.

I also found a lovely little book at work which we sell for the charity "Together for short lives"  (I will be reviewing this book as April's book review, so keep an eye out for that)  In the book was a bit iced doughnut.  It was made on 4 DPN (double pointed needles) which is a little like knitting with a big, stiff, metal spider!  It was decorated with bugle and seed beads for sprinkles.

I then found a crochet pattern for these jam tarts, they worked up so quickly only taking a few minutes each to make.

Finally I did a slice of battenburg, I made this pattern up myself too as I went, very simple really, but looks quite effective.

A tower of knitted cakes.

Harry the Sea-Turtle

I follow a blog from Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs and last month a post came up mentioning an April Challenge.

The challenge was to knit a Sea-Turtle, from the pattern provided, within the month of April.

I am afraid I failed, slightly, I was two days late. I am so tardy, but I also have too many things on the go at once.

Anyway, I did finish the Turtle, that's the main thing, and I called him Harry.

Here is Harry my Sea-Turtle.

He has the most beautiful thick, tactile shell. Made with a slip stitch pattern which makes it work up to be really chunky and sturdy. I am thinking this pattern would be excellent for a knitted jacket.

Such a cute face too, I didn't have eyes as large as the pattern said, but I think the smaller eyes work well, and framed with eyebrows is just so sweet.

He has a patterned underbelly (he really did not like being flipped onto his side to have his belly photographed)

If you would like to see other people's Sea-Turtles, then HERE is the Ravelry thread where all the photos are held.

Knitted toy display at Hobbycraft

The crochet display has now been taken down at Hobbycraft in Carlisle, and replaced with a toys and doll display.

I had a lot of help doing this fun display, little things can take a lot of knitting.  In fact, I think I got away with doing very little with this one (whistles innocently)

I used the decopatch tree as a display aid, and tied the knitted toys into it.

Let's start with Gaynor's knitted offering.

First we have a very cheeky snake.

Very cheeky, he checks out the young ladies as they pass his tree, he watches them furtively, ready to strike...... but he has not quite plucked up the courage to strike yet!

He has a friend, a Panda, that keeps him calm and collected.  When Snake gets out of hand, Panda whacks him with his stick of bamboo!

Then you will find Monkey, this is a greedy Monkey. He will not, under any circumstances, share his banana. He guards it with his life, only having a nibble when he thinks no one is watching.

At the base of the tree sits three beautiful dollies, lovingly dressed by my Mum, Vera.

This is Polly Dolly, she is a cute baby doll, dressed in pink and white with a band of fluff around her pretty little hat.

Her friend is Jemima, she is a trendy doll, working her 60's glam style clothing and poncho.  She likes bright colours.

Their friend is Penelope Pirate, she is dressed.... like a pirate, completed with bandana and eye-patch.

Two twin flower girls sit in the basket hanging from a branch.  They are the Tulip Twins and they like to be sitting up high, swaying in the wind.

Hiding around the back of the tree you will find Henrietta and Horatio, the lace knitted hedgehogs   These little chaps were created by a colleague from the Glasgow store on our opening day way back on September.  You can pick up a free pattern for these in Carlisle Hobbycraft.

Back up in the tree you should be able to spot Festive Fred,  he is one of the Great North Air Ambulance owls that I am knitting to raise money for the charity.  You can find him and his friends HERE, should you wish to purchase one.   Or you can purchase a pattern to make your own from Fluff and Fuzz on Etsy.

Another two GNIA Owls are locked in a bird cage as the wee naughties keep flying up into the roof space and refusing to come back down.  Their names are Hooby and Edmund.

A few more crocheted owls are adorning the remaining branches, you can read more about those HERE and also find a link to the pattern.