Red pretty things:

A few weeks back I was visiting William Topp with a friend, but due to the extreme heat that day, I think I had mild heat stroke when I was in there. As such I wasn't focusing too well, but my subconscious obviously took note, as just the other day I remembered that they sold bangles made out of knitting needles. As fate would have it, they had one red one left, which I promptly had put on hold for collection.

I heart it muchly and it's even better in that there is a llama on the back of the head of the needle.

While I was in the shop, I was taken in by all the other pretty things they sell and had to also have this ampersand brooch:

Ampersands have a special meaning for me, due to it being the name of a monkey in the graphic novel Y the Last Man, and the fact that I have a special Monkey too. (But in my case it's a person, not an actual monkey.)

It's a Kyoto coffee kind of morning.

(White Chocolate) Tim Tam Tarts:

I've already made these tarts once before, but this time I experimented and used white chocolate tim tams for the base and white chocolate buds for the filling. Aside from the fact they got stuck in the tins and came out looking rather squashed, they were very, very tasty indeed.

While overtly sweet, they were lighter (if that word can be used in the context of such things) than the dark chocolate ones. So while you certainly couldn't eat more than one at a time, these weren't quite so sickly. But they were close.

Next time I will round off the hat trick and try them with milk chocolate.

Some recent cooking adventures:

Last night I made baked ricotta with a dried fruit compote. It was healthy and diabetic-friendly, which suited the guests I was feeding. It was a really nice dessert, and very different from what I usually like, given it wasn't chocolatey or extremely sweet. But it was extremely yummy, and I'll definitely make it again. Another bonus was that it was so easy - put the ricotta in the oven on a tray, and stew up dried fruit in water, cinnamon & lemon rind. Plus, as it is served at room temperature, it's perfect to make for a dinner party, as you can do all the work before hand.

Flourless chocolate cake:

This cake is really tasty, but falls apart easily from being so moist, making presentation difficult. I made the cake for a girls' night I hosted, and was very keen to use my "cake" cake plates (which I bought in Kyoto, on a girls' day out - very fitting). Unfortunately I don't have a round cake tin at the moment and hence it was hard to try and cut the cake so that it suited the shape of the plates. But looks aside, the cake was delicious and quickly devoured, particularly when I brought out the raspberries that I initially neglected to put on the plate. The second photo down shows that everything was gobbled up.

Korma Chicken Rissoles:

I made these for a mid-week dinner for the munchkins, but didn't tell them there was korma curry paste in them until after they'd finished eating. I also told them that pappadums were like corn chips. Whatever works, as they both tucked in (though one of them had less gusto than the other). As they both love chicken, and especially chicken meatballs, it wasn't too hard a sell. They were surprised to know they had eaten Indian flavours but were happy enough. Aside from the pappadums which they politely said "just weren't their thing". Which is fine with me - at least they tried them. :-) And the rissoles themselves will definitely be made again, sans pappadums.

Knitting on display:

Cabin Fever cafe (who played host to a craft evening a few weeks ago) were happy for me to knit up some pieces to go on some of their pot plants, as they wanted some decorations to reference the craft night they had (and the ones they plan to have in the future).

I used quite thick yarn so each strip only took about half an hour to make up. I then stitched the ends together while in the cafe, sipping on some genmaicha green tea in the tea cup of my choice.

It's quite exciting to know that some of my work is on public display.

Afterwards I was strolling through town and found some 'yarn bombing'. (See last photo of this post.) Yarn bombing is when someone knits up a piece and decorates public property. While technically littering, most people who do it place the pieces where they will add to the urban environment in a positive way, not in a way that is detrimental to anyone.

Tim Tam Tarts:

Delicious magazine

These were incredibly rich but oh so yummy. The crust is made with a packet of tim tams whizzed in the food processor, then mixed with some melted unsalted butter.

I may have over-cooked them a little (as they weren't setting for ages and then all of a sudden they were really done) but they were still really good. The raspberries helped to balance out the extreme dark chocolate - next time I will try it with milk chocolate. Or as Monkey suggested, white chocolate tim tams and white chocolate filling.

Btw the yellow piles next to the tart are actually vanilla ice-cream, not mashed potato as they appear.

Making pasta from scratch:

Recipe taken from My Kitchen Rules website - http://au.tv.yahoo.com/my-kitchen-rules/recipes/article/-/9018190/porcini-fettuccine-with-roasted-hazelnuts/

So very yum scrum:

Preparing the dried porcini mushrooms for the pasta mix. (I wouldn't bother with this next time.)
My first ever batch of pasta dough:
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
The dough didn't want to go through the cutters beyond what is shown here, so I ended up cutting the rest by hand.
Drying - this shot was taken before the 'pasta disaster' where a lot of it got stuck and ended up on the floor.

The hazelnut pesto was very tasty indeed:

All in all, I voted the pasta experience a success and will be getting the roller out again soon. I will however learn from my rookie mistake of putting all the pasta sheets on top of each other - this lead to sticking and some rather chunky pieces. Never mind - we live and learn. :-)

Sunday breakfasts:

Sausage bites with mushroom scrambled eggs:

Spanish-inspired - eggs, poached in veggie liquids, with chorizo:

Both meals served with pane di casa bread from Brumby's (which has now taken over as my favourite 'fancy' bread - the title used to be held by Brumby's sour dough).

Pretty red capsicums. Just because.

Crochet night @ Cabin Fever Cafe

I've found my new favourite cafe. True to it's name, Cabin Fever is a very small space but the awesome retro design and accessories more than make up for that. One of my favourite features is the wall of one-off tea cups and saucers. Patrons select which lovely tea cup they would like to sup their beverage from and it's brought to you with a funky tray and tea pot, to offset your choice.

I was there for a crochet night and it was a fantastic little venue to do some crafting. (The fact that I didn't immediately get the hang of the crocheting didn't do anything to dampen my enthusiasm and in fact I ordered a 'how to' book on crocheting as soon as I got home - watch this space for more on that.)

The food menu is brief but what I tried (corn & zucchini muffin) was really yummy, and I hear tell they make a mean cheese toastie. Ruth, the manager, is just lovely and I can't recommend this place enough. Check it out in Bon Marche Arcade, off Barrack Street. I'll definitely be going back, and might just take my knitting...

My tea cup of choice, with my crochet hook and yarn:

Preparations for crafting:

Tea cups to choose from:
Zucchini & corn muffin and coffee:
Chai tea and retro tea spoon:
L's tea cup and tray choice:

Recent cooking ventures

Flourless chocolate cake:

Thermomix sorbet:

(I really want a thermomix.)

Jamie Oliver pizza sauce:

(Jamie At Home, pg 183)

Roast capsicum & coriander relish (whole):

(Ottolenghi, pg 125)
Roast capsicum & coriander relish (blended):

Breakfast @ Greenhouse

Wild mushrooms and slow-cooked eggs on sourdough toast:

Very nice coffee:
The eco-friendly design:
Interiors:

The verdict:

Great coffee, pretty good food, awesome decor. The wait staff were either really good or quite bad. But all in all a very pleasant experience, and the decor/atmosphere were awesome. I'll be going back again to try some other things on the menu.

Knitting: The Big Bad Purple Baby Blanket

(From Stitch 'N Bitch: A Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller. Pattern "Big Bad Baby Blanket", page 187.)

This project took months and months, and I think it ended up being much bigger than the pattern intended - the sunglasses in the first picture give an idea of scale. It would comfortably cover a grown child, not just a baby (thanks to my using a different type of yarn than the pattern specified, and obviously not getting the conversion quite right). But, given that it was knitted for a dear friend living in chilly London, I think having a big thick blanket that can be doubled over will be just fine for Bubs.

The Bubs in question is due to arrive in less than a week, so fingers crossed the blanket gets there in time. (I was knitting it right up till the eleventh hour - curse you Summer heat for getting in the way of productive knitting.)

Some photos of recent cooking endeavors:

Pea & mint rice pasta:

Pancetta for the pasta:

(Blurry) Heart-shaped meatballs for Valentine's Day:

Beetroot & feta spaghetti: