Saint David's Day - Welsh Cakes (Teatime Treat)

Happy Saint David's Day.
March 1st 2011 

Another chance to show you my Daffodil Yarn!

The first flowers in my garden this year

Welsh Cakes

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz self-raising flour, sieved
• 110g/4oz (preferably Welsh) salted butter
• 1 large egg or two medium eggs
• handful of currants
• milk, if needed
• 85g/3oz caster sugar
• extra butter, for greasing

Method

1. Rub the fat into the sieved flour to make breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, dried fruit and then the egg. Mix to combine, then form a ball of dough, using a splash of milk if needed.
2. Roll out the pastry until it is a 5mm/¼in thick and cut into rounds with a 7.5-10cm/3-4in fluted cutter.
3. You now need a bakestone or a heavy iron griddle.  (I used a good frying pan) Rub it with butter and wipe the excess away. Put it on to a direct heat and wait until it heats up, place the Welsh cakes on the griddle, turning once. They need about 2-3 minutes each side. Each side needs to be caramel brown before turning although some people I know like them almost burnt.
4. Remove from the pan and dust with caster sugar while still warm. Some people leave out the dried fruit, and split them when cool and sandwich them together with jam.

Granny 911 - Urgent Square Repair!

I have previoiusly introduced you to my 'Ugly Grannies'.  I also explained one had a terrible 'mishap'.  It was being used in the back garden by my youngest for something like this at the end of the summer....

The heavens opened and it got unceremoniously shoved in the shed and forgotten about.  It's winter warmth has been much appreciated by a family of mice in the shed.  It has been thoroughly washed and disinfected three times and has spent about five weeks in the deep freeze.  I am not sure how to go about repairing the damage, but where there is a will there is a way.  I have considered turning it into a pair of these:


I think these are really funky!

Or maybe one of these:

Slinky little numbers!



Eyecatching!

 Or maybe this,

I could do a version of this?

I have a more than ample figure, so if I went for any of the above I am afraid I would look like the back end of this...

So for now I just need to work on repairing it as it is, to restore it to it's former glory.  It was a joint project between me and my Grandmother about 25years ago, I really don't think I can throw it away.  I will photograph and show you the damage this week, then I will keep you posted as to the repair...

Global Networking

The countries making up 'Inthesky's' Blog Audience

30 Countries so far...click the link to see which countries and their National Flags...

I am amazed that the audience for this blog is made up of 30 Countries in such a short space of time.

I have just discovered a gadget that will track this information for me.  I have added it to the bottom of my sidebar.  It is called a flag counter.  I wish I had known about it a few weeks ago!

Lemonade Scones (Teatime Treat)

I was intrigued when I saw this recipe.  Scones, made with Lemonade and no rubbing in butter to flour!
How easy can this be?  Another great recipe for children of all ages.  You can't beat scones with a cup of tea...well you can actually.  Scones, cream and jam with a cup of tea. 

This very quick and easy recipe produces lovely light scones. They are best served hot from the oven.

Makes about 12-14 scones.

325g self-raising flour
170ml cold lemonade (use the carbonated type)
170ml Double cream (It needs to be a heavy cream as no other fat is going into these scones.)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Celsius (205 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Combine lemonade and cream in a medium bowl. Add lemonade and cream mixture to flour and gently fold ingredients together until just combined (don't over mix the dough as this will make tough scones). The dough should be fairly soft and sticky.

Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, form into a round and press out to about 3.5cm thickness. Cut scones using a floured 5cm diameter cutter.   Use a quick, firm motion to cut the scones to gives them a better shape and it makes them less likely to stick to the cutter. Form the offcuts into another round and cut some more scones.

Place scones close together on the tray, so they are just touching. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until pale golden and cooked through.

If you like your scones to have a soft crust, cover them with a clean tea towel for one minute after removing from the oven. Serve hot with jam and whipped cream.

I am somewhat of a connoisseur of the regional Delicacy 'A Cream Tea' and I have the waistline to prove it!  This is a little tea ritual in itself, tea, definitley served from a pot, into a cup and saucer with milk and sugar to add if required, scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream, not whipped cream, not double cream, not squirty cream but Clotted cream for an authentic 'West Country' Cream Tea.

The English 'Riviera' Holds an Annual Cream Tea Festival in April



A Traditional English Cream Tea
(Best consumed outdoors on a sunny day)

Tunisian Crochet

I have had a crochet hook in my collection for more than 20 years, it was my Grandmothers.  It is longer than all the others and has a bobble on the end.  I have never known what it was for.  I remember when she was teaching me chain stitch as a child asking about it and her telling me 'That is for something called Tunisian crochet.  You won't need that yet.'  I think I must have been a terrible child to teach anything because I have a very short concentration span and as far as 'projects' go I am like a butterfly, flitting from one to the other.  I go off at a tangent very easily.  It was only last year I discovered Tunisian Crochet.  I wanted to put the lonely old hook to use.  It looks a bit like these:

I got on Youtube and searched for 'Tunisian Crochet' Tutorials and sat for a while practicing only one type of stitch, 'Tunisian Simple Stitch'.  Sounds like my kind of stitch! 

I was amazed by the result, a nice compact and neat stich that is fast and simple.  It looks woven to me.  I also think it makes a very dense functional fabric.  I got busy making Hot Water Bottle covers.  I tried one horizontally and one vertically.

I found these quite quick to make and not particularly challenging.  These were in self patterning yarn and then I tried another to practice colour changing the rows:

Yep, there were a few recipients this Christmas of Tunisian Hot Water bottle covers!  (Wether they wanted them or not!)

You can buy Tunisian Crochet hooks with flexi cord attached to enable you to work bigger pieces.

As I found the Hot water bottle covers so easy and therapeutic to make I chose to work on a scarf, on my flexi hook, with Recycled Sari Silk Waste.

I love this yarn however I am labouring over each row, it is not fast work due the the inconsistancies in the yarn and the lack of elasticity.  It also seem to be consuming loads of yarn, my scarf is realistically going to be a 'short scarf'.  I am delighted with the resulting fabric though I think it looks fantastic and I would like a jacket and trouser suit made from it!  I think it would also make beautiful cushion covers or Upolstrey covering (nothing too big and adventurous).

It is possible to work any cross stitch chart with Tunisian simple stitch, this really intrigues me although I havn't tried it...yet!  Check this out for FANTASTIC!

All made in Tunisian Simple Stitch.  Awesome, I will put that in my project queue!
Use the link to browse other fantastic picture Afghans.  You will be impressed!

  http://peskypixie.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html

I have looked at other Tunisian stitches, there are many effects you can get from different stitches, however I get a bit confused so for now I am sticking to simple stitch.  There is enough there to keep me busy for another decade or two...
  

Mimi's Mommy, Medha's Delicious Indian 'Potato Recipes' (Vegetarian)

I enjoyed reading Medha's Blog about daily life and her young son in Bangalore.  http://mimismommy.wordpress.com/  I find it fascinating that we can share each other's cultures without leaving our own homes, we also have things in common with women around the globe, Motherhood, Cooking, Crochet and Ravelry, to name a few!  Medha posts some delicious recipes, I must try her Cashew Nut sweets, but will wait for Diwali.  I love cooking and eating authentic Indian food.  I requested some potato recipes and these are the ones Medha posted.
        The recipes are as Medha wrote them, I will note any alterations I made with a photograph of my finished dish.  Medha has posted additional photographs that help explain what it is you need to be doing. (well worth popping to her website)
 
RECIPE 1: Aloo Paratha (Aloo = potato, Paratha = regular chapati made with a stuffing)
 Here’s what you need:
For the filling:
 *4 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
 *1-2 green chillied, finely chopped. Alternatively you could use red chilli powder (vary the quantity as per your taste)
 *Salt to taste
* A sprig of finely chopped coriander
For the chapati dough:
 *250 gms of wheat flour
 * Pinch of salt
 * 1 tablespoon of refined oil (vegetable, sunflower oil)
 * Water
To make dough, mix all ingredients well in a bowl. Slowly add water and knead the dough. Make lemon sized(or slightly larger) balls and keep aside. Mix the ingredients for the filling together. Make sure there are no lumps from the potatoes. You could squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice to this filling. A fourth of a lime will be enough.
Roll out the dough into to make a chapati. Make sure the chapati is thin. Now add a spoon full of the filling and spread it out evenly with a spoon making sure you don’t tear the chapati. Add this filling onto one half of the chapati. Fold the other half and press the edges. Slowly lift this and place it on a tawa/griddle. Sprinkle a few drops of oil and roast the paratha well on both sides.



My Chapati skills need improving, the filling was delicious, I did not have coriander and used finely chopped Spring Onion and red chilli instead.  Delicious with Lime Pickle.


RECIPE 2: Potato and Raw banana cutlets
Here’s what you need:
* 1 raw banana (cook/steam the banana, remove the peel and mash it)
* 2-3 boiled, peeled and mashed medium sized potatoes
* 2-3 green chillies / red chilli powder (depending on your taste)
* Salt to taste
* 1 finely chopped onion (0ptional)
* A sprig of finely chopped coriander
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure there aren’t too many lumps from the potato or banana. Make a ball and press it into a cutlet shape between your palms. Coat with bread crumbs on either side (you can work without the bread crumbs too). Shallow fry on a griddle.
Very, very tasty…
You could completely do away with the banana and make just pototo cutlets. Or you could add boiled and mashed carrots, beans, peas and make veggie cutlets. Use your imagination to vary the veggies..



I was a little sceptical about banana and potato as a combination, but I trusted Medha and made these to the recipe, of the three dishes, that were all delicous, these were my favourites.


RECIPE 3: Aloo Mattar (Potato and Green peas curry)
Here’s what you need:
*4 medium sized potatoes, cut into cubes of about a 1 inch
* 1 cup of green peas
* 2 finely chopped onions
* 2 ripe chopped tomatoes
* 1 tea spoon of ginger and garlic paste
* 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
* 2 teaspoons of garam masala powder
* 2 tablespoons of oil
* Salt to taste
* Pinch of sugar
In a deep pan heat oil. To this add the ginger garlic paste and onions. Once the onions are soft, add the tomatoes. Stir and cook well till the tomotoes are completely soft. Add the garam masala, chilli powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the peas and potatoes. Add about 2 cups of water and close the pan. Cook on medium heat till the potatoes turn soft. The peas will cook very quickly, so no need to worry about them. Keep checking once in a while to make sure the water has not evaporated. Add salt and sugar (I always add a pinch of sugar to all my dishes as I feel it balances out the spice). It’s your choice if you wish to leave out the sugar.
***Alternately you could boil the potatoes before hand and cut them to cubes. Then add them at the last stage when you feel the peas are cooked. After adding potatoes just cook the curry for a couple of minutes. ***
The consistency of the curry is how you would like it. Add more water if you want it be watery or if you wish to savour it with rice.
Serve hot with chapati or white rice.

Note: If you don’t have garam masala powder, just add the salt, chilli powder and pinch of sugar. It will taste equally good.



I followed the recipe for this curry but I included a cupful of chopped spinach.  This made a great meal with the accompaniments.  Delicious with Mango Chutney.

I am not vegetarian however I do support the idea of eating less meat as a family we have discussed vegetarianism as a family but as yet no one has made the commitment (I have been vegetarian for a number of years in the past).  We all care about animal welfare greatly and the environment so eating less meat is a positive choice.  It is also a healthy dietry option and eating a meal like the 'above' recipes is very economical.  My youngest help me with the chapatis and liked his hot with butter.  He also tucked in to all three dishes quite happily, even with my addition of red chilli.  I hope you try them and enjoy them.  Do pop over and say hello to Medha she will be pleased to see you.   :)