Mmmmm.

Those of you in the UK will probably know of Sainsbury’s recipe cards – free cards with cheap recipes for family meals, drinks and desserts. We’ve been collecting them (new ones come out periodically) and trying out some of the recipes, with varying results. Tonight we tried out the paella – a traditional Spanish dish of rice and seafood. The last time I ate paella was on holiday in Ibiza about ten years ago – there were a lot more feelers and eyes and claws then than there was with this recipe, thankfully!

Mmmm!

This is so easy to cook!

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

* 1 x 100g pack of Spanish Chorizo
* 1 x 150g pack of large peeled prawns
* Olive oil
* 1 red onion, roughly chopped
* 1 red pepper, finely sliced
* 2 x 125g packs of Golden Vegetable savoury rice
* Frozen peas
(You can get all the ingredients for this recipe for less than a fiver from Sainsbury’s.)

1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add 1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped. Fry for a couple of minutes, then add 2 x 125g Golden Vegetable savoury rice. Add 800ml water, then turn to a low heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes until the rice is tender.
2. Meanwhile, cut 70g Spanish chorizo into halves and fry in a separate pan until it starts to become crispy. Add 1 x 150g pack basics large peeled prawns and 1 red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced. Heat through for a few minutes.
3. Once the rice is cooked, add to the pan with the chorizo and prawns and combine. Add a handful of frozen peas, then warm through and serve immediately.

We left out the chorizo, and just stuck with prawns. This was a tasty, filling and cheap dinner – ticks all the boxes for me!

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Progress

So I’ve actually been doing things lately, shock horror! (I know, I surprised myself).

I finished my mum’s Christmas present, for example.

The colour looks abit washed out in this photo…

… This shows it a little better

I started this about 5 days before Christmas last year, so it was a big ask for me to actually finish it in time, but there’s no excuse for me to have only just finished it! The pattern (which unfortunately I cannot remember the name or where I found it) wasn’t difficult, and I quite enjoyed knitting it. I just lost the motivation to finish it after Christmas, as I had no time goal in which to finish it.

I’ve also been knitting SOCKS D: I’ve tried socks before, and made a royal mess of them, but this one actually WORKED! The heel isn’t all twisted, and the toe is so even and neat! If I could change anything, I would make the foot a few rows longer, and possibly knit on ever so slightly bigger needles – it feels very snug. But live and learn! I’m on the leg of the second, and looking forward to perfecting it – I have several other skeins of sock yarn (more than I thought!) so I can make an even better pair once I’ve finished this pair

The garden is doing beautifully – my beans actually have beans on them! My tomatoes have tomatoes on them! My peppers (which I never expected to make it) are beginning to flower! And the Lollo Rosso is going berserk

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I wish…

… I could say I have been swamped with work, or busy with lots of Etsy sales, or coming up with weird and wonderful creations, to explain my blog absences, but nope. Just me being me. Sorry folks. And thank you if you still keep an eye out for my posts, I do appreciate comments and whatnot.

Anyway, now exams are over, and I am no longer a college student (!) I am a lady of leisure. So theoreticlly I have all the time in the world to craft and garden and do interesting things to blog about. Theoretically.

I’m pleased with how my “crops” are going:

The first ripe strawberries of the season!

And the first signs of tomatoes!

I also have some (relatively) new additions to my garden

Dwarf beans, complete with flowers

And last but by no means least…

Some thriving Lollo Rosso lettuce and carrots – seeds sent to me by a lovely friend

The carrots are in entirely the wrong sort of pot, but it’s the best I could find – our garden is far too stony to plant them straight in the flower beds. We shall just have to see what happens!

I’ve also done a smidgin of craft too…

Before – the box my hair straighteners came in

After – a prettily covered and lined box for thingymabobs and oojamaflips

I’m in London at the moment, but I’m hoping to do something with felt when I get home…
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Photers!

Where does the time go?! I hadn’t realised I had so many (well, not THAT many, but y’know!) things to post about!

Playing with my new circle cookie cutters!

Fabric-covered frames

I made one of these frames ages ago (last year, if not the year before) and never got round to covering it as my staple gun wasn’t hardcore enough But I dug it out the other day and used some nails to attach the fabric, and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. I think they need a little something else – some beads or buttons – but I’m not sure, and I don’t want to spoil them! I went down to Homebase and got some more wood the other day, and then did so again yesterday… I am like a girl possessed at the moment haha! I got some nails from a local shop the other day, but they are just a couple of millimetres too long to hammer in completely, so I popped to Homebase AGAIN today, and got some smaller nails to use on the next frames. I think something like this may be making an appearance on Etsy sometime soon…

Whilst I was at Homebase today…

… I got a gooseberry bush… WTF?!

I’ve gone bonkers buying plants lately. I nearly bought some cherry tomato plants whilst I was there today, but just about got away without!

My new mini greenhouse and tenants – peppers on the top, and newly potted up tomatoes in the middle ^_^

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So Like A Rose…

One of a bunch of roses currently adorning my desk

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Magnets!

Heart-shaped polymer clay magnets

These are listed in my Etsy shop. I enjoyed making these – I was faffing about at my desk today and saw a pot of magnets I’ve had sitting there for months, and started playing around with them. I really like how they’ve come out Hopefully I will have some more different shapes and colours available in the next few days.

That’s about it from me for today

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Buttons, a necklace and gloves

Today I shall be doing what it says on the tin.

Polymer clay heart buttons

A result of playing with my new mini cookie cutters! I’m undecided as to whether to make a bracelet out of these, or to list some on Etsy as is. Maybe I should make some more and do both!

A star necklace

I really like this – it makes a cute tinkly noise as I move. I made this from chain and charms I found at a bead shop just off Carnaby Street. I found this shop ages ago on a previous trip to London, and a couple of times since, I’ve tried to go back but couldn’t find it. I walked past it completely by accident the other day, and was very glad to do so. They have a lovely collection of beads (I was drawn like a moth to a flame to the Swarovski beads) and charms, and also chain – I also got some chunky chain to make a charm bracelet. You may remember I went a bit mad buying charms at last year’s Knitting & Stitching Show, with the intent to make a charm bracelet. The chain I bought was apparently not strong enough, as it kept breaking whilst I was working with it. Very frustrating. Hopefully this new chain will be stronger!

And some fingerless gloves

I started the cuff of one of these gloves (I think it was intended to become a mitten) months ago, and it remained abandoned until last week, when I picked it up and just knitted. Totally on the fly, I ended up with these – quite happy with them, for a first go. They’re a bit tight though, but who needs circulation to the fingers?!

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Pictures!

Coo-eee! I’ve mainly got pictures today

Another bracelet in my shop

And another! I had fun playing with different bead shapes for this one

I got some heart and star shaped mini cookie cutters this week!

A shot of Amanda Palmer at her gig on Wednesday night in London – amazing gig, had a fantastic night!

Feeling pretty good at the moment! *touch wood* I’m spending Valentine’s weekend with Mr Y in London, I’m very excited! And I feel rather pleased with myself that I’ve managed to update my blog more regularly (again, touch wood!). If you’re reading this, leave me a comment to say hello! I like to know who’s reading

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Ahoy hoy!

Well I survived the dentist’s chair. It was almost pleasant! Didn’t get any beads done today – been napping this afternoon, tentatively eating soup and mashed potato, and trying to ignore the sudden urge to eat pickled onions. I don’t think that would go well at all.

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Who needs love…

… When there’s Southern Comfort?

I am having a manic Amanda Palmer sesh at the moment – I’m currently listening to her doing a live set on BBC Radio 6 (Hopefully it will be available to listen again online!) which is getting me VERY excited for seeing her on Wednesday at the Electric Ballroom in Camden You can listen to some of her stuff here! She also does an amazing cover of Creep by Radiohead on the ukelele.

Anyway, fangirl moment over…!

Another bracelet…

…And another

Been on a bit of a roll with these! I’ve got a huge stack of clay to be getting on with now, and some cookie cutters on the way in the post. Hopefully some new jewellery ideas on the way soon

I’ve been thinking, it feels weird – I got into craft by way of knitting and sewing, it seems odd to be doing lots of stuff with clay and nothing with yarn or fabric. I guess I have a short attention span when it comes to crafts haha.

Hopefully I can get some more bracelets done tomorrow whilst in a sedative-induced fog – I’m having a wisdom tooth extracted. Eeep. Bit nervous, I don’t like needles. But apparently it’s just like feeling drunk, haha.

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