Cookery Calendar Challenge: July

Yes, that's right, July's Cookery Calendar Challenge, which I did in August and am bringing you in September, on a chilly Thursday night which has more than a hint of autumn in the air.

I chose the book POLPO: A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts) by Russell Norman, which isn't the sort of thing I would normally buy so I think it may have been one that John bought or was given. Visually it's gorgeous with a striking cover and as many photos of Venice as of the food. It doesn't have that essential, a bookmark, but does have a clever spine which is missing it's central cardboard panel so that the book, when opened, stays completely flat and never needs propping open, very useful when you're cooking from it. It could be really pretentious, this book, but is actually very down to earth and seasonal without being too aspirational or calling for too many expensive ingredients, although I do get annoyed when British authors insists on chucking Italian (or any other language for that matter) words into a recipe title because, unless I use google translate or read down a long list of ingredients, I don't have any idea what I'm actually cooking. 

First was Risi e Bisi which means, simply Rice and Peas, or pea risotto. You need for this fresh peas, still in their pods, which I've never bothered with before, but was easily able to get in Waitrose. I wasn't really sure what the difference would be until I ate them and then I realised why you need them; they are sweeter, firmer in texture, fuller in flavour and the pods form the basis of your stock. 

The recipe suggested adding pancetta, which we did for the flavour, but I think it would be lovely with simply the peas too. 

I don't tend to add fresh herbs to my risottos usually, but this used parsley and mint and was so good, with a light summery flavour. Top marks all round for this one.

Next, also from the vegetables chapter, was Cavolo Nero, Gnocchi and Pecorino Romano; gnocchi in a kind of pesto sauce made from cavolo nero.

The sauce is easy; cook the greens briefly then blitz with olive oil, garlic and pecorino although I used parmesan because that's what was in the fridge. 

The gnocchi, however...you'll notice that this is when the photos stop. I was trying to do this late one night before John got in from work (no chance my kids were eating this!) and the dog was underfoot and it was all a bit stressful. You have to boil the potatoes and then, when they're cool, grate them into a bowl and add egg and flour, which you then knead into a dough. I've never made gnocchi before so wasn't really sure how wet the dough should be so just used my instincts and made it up. Then you roll the dough into strips, chop into chunks and boil. My chunks were messy and missapen but they did cook, rising to the top of the water in a minute or two, before being tossed with the sauce. What a palava.

Luckily they were delicious and totally different to the shop bought gnocci, less gluey and sticky and much lighter. John found the sauce overpoweringly garlicky and didn't like it as much as I did. I think it was a gnocchi/sauce mismatch for him, and he would've preferred those potato dumplings in a different sauce, perhaps a simple tomato marinara sauce. However, the leftover pesto we ate with shredded chicken breast, more cavolo nero, and pasta and it was actually much better that way. I'll definitely make gnocchi again but not with this sauce.

I also baked the Flourless Orange and Almond Cake but totally forgot photos. It's not a pretty cake at all, almost more of a dessert, but so SO good and one of my favourite things to make. It's lovely served warm with a runny orange syrup and a dollop or marscapone or creme fraiche. This recipe is almost identical, just without the syrup, if you fancy making it. 

I'll leave you with a picture of Millionaire's Shortbread, something I don't often make because it's quite time consuming but Angus, in a cafe one day on holiday while eating a slice, said wistfully "Mum, I really wish you knew how to make Millionaire's Shortbread." to which I replied "Err, I do" and he basically looked at me like I'd told him Christmas was coming early. Honestly, if I'd known that was all it would take to earn his respect and adoration, I'd have made it sooner. I like it although I find it a little too sweet, but it's a crowd pleaser and I took some into work to try to win over my new colleagues. Bella says's it's better than the one in Costa...such an accolade.

The new role is going well so far although I am tired. Being based in the classroom is so very different to being in the office, in more ways than one, and I'm missing those two hours alone in the house before I go to work. People who work all day Monday to Friday - when do you do your housework/washing/shopping etc? I need your tips! A little every day or all on a Saturday morning?

Last of all, my blog has been nominated again for an Amara Interior Blog Award in the Craft Category. Thank you, whoever that was - you have no idea how much that means to me. If you would like to vote for me the link is here.

Seasons Turning

I'm never so aware of the seasons turning as I am in early September. Every year it's the same; the combination of darkening evenings, cooler mornings and the return of the school routine all collectively remind me that we are making that shift from late summer into early autumn. Even when the days are still so warm it no longer feels like summer to me.

It's been a long week so far and it's only Tuesday. So much is happening here; DIY work on the house, a new job for me, a new school for Bella, a new school year for Angus. It's a little overwhelming and I deliberately took Sunday afternoon out when I should've been doing a million other things like the ironing or labelling school uniform, to go to the beach with the kids and the dog. The weather was beautiful over the weekend, like summer's last hurrah, and it was time very well spent.

The new job is going well. I'm still working in a primary school but now as a teaching assistant (Y3) rather than an admin officer. It's more hours and less money but I am much happier being in a classroom and am very excited for the first day with all the children tomorrow. Bella's first day at secondary school went better than we ever could have hoped for. She left smiling and greeted me smiling when I got home, full of things to tell me. She loves the small amounts of independence that our new routine have given her; walking to and from school with her friends, her first mobile phone, having a key and letting herself into the house before I get in twenty minute later. She also looks adorable in her uniform with her blazer and tie, so smart.

It was a good summer though, wasn't it? I always find it easier to go into autumn if I feel like I've had a decent amount of sun, fresh air, sea swims, beach time.  I was thinking about our Summer Holiday List, and how we fared. We managed the meal in the restaurant (quite a few times), lots of family walks, a visit to my friend Abigail's and beach trips. We also squeezed in a day trip to London where we visited the Imperial War Museum, had lunch out, browsed Foyles bookshop in Charring Cross and went to Chinatown.

At home we did colouring and crafting, lots of reading and made Freakshakes. I think the children felt they were actually more fun to create than to eat/drink, and that there is such a thing as too much sugar.

I didn't find time to make a miniature room in a suitcase for Angus (it's ok, he says he'll have one for Christmas instead...) or have a barbecue on the beach, but I'm trying to persuade the family that we should have a hot picnic down there one day, with baked potatoes or soup. 

As for my list, I didn't get that cream tea in Devon sadly although my mum did make a fabulous one for us all last week, with homemade scones and tea in a teapot. I did however start making a quilt, start a blanket, and go blackberry picking.

And with those blackberries, kilos and kilos of them, I did one of my most favourite things to do at this time of year: make jelly. This year was a bumper crop of blackberries, they were huge and so sweet and juicy, so I made ten jars of bramble jelly and six of hedgerow, and have enough bags of fruit in the freezer to keep us in blackberry and apple crumbles well into next year. 

Making the Seasons: August

Each month, when I introduce my Making the Seasons post, I waffle on a bit about how important it is for me to make time - even when I'm stupidly busy - to do something crafty and creative, about how good that is for my mental health and general well being, and it's absolutely true. I really do think that and never have I felt it so much as this month. I'm up to my eyeballs in dust and renovations (which, ahem, may have slightly slipped from my control...) and about to go back to work next week, and feeling a little overwhelmed by life if I'm honest. 

I had plans this week of a day sewing quietly with Radio 4 on in the background, perhaps making my dress, then doing some baking, maybe a little yoga...instead I am right in the middle of ripping up flooring and general mess and so I decided that what I would love to do would be to hand stamp some fabric and make a new peg bag and ironing board cover. I don't know why but it did, and still does, seem like a good idea.

The idea came about when I was distracted in IKEA last week by the fabric section. I had been looking for something to replace my horrible burnt, stained ironing board cover (I have a really bad habit of leaving the iron face down on the fabric while moving the clothes around, rather than moving it to the rack at the end, if that makes sense) but couldn't see anything just right. So, remembering I had half a jar of fabric paint left over from Angus's blind, I bought two metres of plain white cotton and decided to do some more potato stamping.

I love these lines of semi circles and the potatoes give the perfect amount of irregularity to the rows. With this paint, you simply iron the paint onto the fabric to seal it, and then it's good to be used and washed. Remember to put scrap fabric under and on top of your freshly stamped piece to avoid the paint seeping into your ironing board cover or staining your iron while you seal it. 

To make the cover, I just cut the fabric into an approximate ironing board shape plus a generous seam allowance and sewed a deep hem all the way around leaving a gap at the top for the elastic. Then, once the elastic is inserted into the hem with a safety pin, you pull it tight and knot it, simple as that. 

I fancied a smaller print for the peg bag so I used a pen lid and deodorant lid as my tools and just stamped them into an ink pad, and stamped away on the fabric.

I played around with a mixture of rows, interlocking circles and dots, and then heat sealed with the iron in the same way as the paint.

While I am loving the absence of colour here (so quiet! so calm!) I do feel that this peg bag is a little blah and would be enormously improved by a bright yellow or pink ribbon trim along the opening, but I didn't have any to hand. I may yet buy some and hand sew it on. That's if Ziggy doesn't grab it off the washing line and chew it to pieces first, like he did the last one. 

I am enjoying this suggestion of domestic bliss in the form of these everyday, utilitarian objects, all clean and new.

I am also enjoying the benefits of a closely cropped image, because when you zoom out...

...it's still a building site, and there's still a big pile of ironing to do and a never ending amount of washing to peg out on the line.

Please do pop along to Lucy's beautiful blog, Attic24, and read her Making the Seasons post. I am so enjoying this monthly project and can't believe this is the tenth post! 

Renovations

Well hello! Thank you for your comments on my last post, it's great to hear that so many of your are fans of the Camber dress pattern. I haven't even started it yet because I've been a bit busy. I didn't mean to leave it so long between posts, what with this being the summer holidays and all this free time I'm supposed to have, but we've been occupied with a little light renovation at home lately with two rooms being turned upside down.

We've embarked on a project in our hall; the removal of our cupboard under the stairs, and the wall between the porch/entryway and the hall, with the idea that this will make the whole space lighter and more spacious. Our hallway is dark and narrow, and the end nearest the kitchen and bathroom gets very gloomy (and when we ever get around to replacing the internal doors we will definitely put a glass door between the kitchen and hall, for the borrowed light) but removing the cupboard and wall has already made a huge difference. The cupboard isn't that necessary for the storage, as next to it is a large walk in cupboard where we keep all our shoes and coats, and opposite is the door to the internal garage, where I will from now on be keeping things like the vacuum. 

Anyway, here are some progress photos for you. They are not pretty, and only snapped on my phone, but I thought you might like to see what we've been up to.

This is the cupboard under the stairs, as it was.

 The door and plasterboard was removed...

...then the panelling...

...until we were able to remove the carpet from the stairs...

...and the stair risers to expose the original, sixties staircase.

Here's a before and after photo:

Now, a word or two about these stairs; yes, we are aware that open, wooden stairs have their risks and we would never consider doing such a project with young children in the house. As it is, ours are nine and eleven and no more likely to fall on/through the stairs than I am. At the moment the stairs are so caked in glue that no-one will be slipping any time soon, but when they've been sanded and treated we will be adding a discreet but safe anti-slip strip to each wooden stair. As for them being open, I love this feature. It's not to everyone's taste, and I know some people find open stairs disconcerting to walk up and down - I get that, spiral staircases freak me out - but I think it's a beautiful original feature and I'm so happy to be restoring those stairs. 

Safety announcement aside, I love the way the light falls through the wooden slats and we plan to put the shoe storage unit under here with the children's shoes in it.

Next, the removal of the porch window and door.

 Once the glass panels had been carefully removed the wooden surround came out. John and my Dad did the heavy lifting here, while I offered helpful suggestions.

There is obviously some repair work to be done to the walls, ceiling and floor around the old threshold, but already the sense of space is amazing. 

Here's another before and after:

 Since then, my Dad and John have been plastering around the old threshold.

While my mum and I have been removing the paint from the stairs and metalwork. I know this photo looks a lot like the one above but there are hours and hours of scraping and rubbing down in this photo.

We now need to:

• finish plastering/filling/sanding the walls
• decorate walls and ceiling
• sand and treat the stairs
• paint the metalwork under the stairs (colour in dispute at the moment!)
• remove the old laminate flooring
• lay a new floor - John is very excited about doing this himself.

So we will be living in a bit of a building site for the next month or so as we are doing all the work ourselves, but I will keep you updated.

The second project that has taken up so much of our time is Bella's bedroom. I think Bella's bedroom has undergone more changes and transformations than any other room in our house (the last one here), but that's because it's absolutely tiny and she keeps on growing, so I am constantly thinking about ways to maximise every last inch of space in that room and adapt it to her changing needs. This time, is was the sudden realisation that the child's wardrobe she'd had since she was two was no longer big enough to hold her clothes and that it was high time she got something more suitable.

This time there was no decorating, but a day spent in IKEA and another day spent removing furniture, assembling furniture, putting furniture back, and also having a major sort out of all clothes, books, toys etc and the inevitable trips to tip, charity shop etc that this entails. Her new wardrobe is perfect and her old one was donated to a charity shop locally that takes furniture. 

We had fun though. Bella chose a few new postcards in IKEA and arranged a little gallery wall to go above her desk. She laid it out on the floor, then I took a photo of it and banged all the nails into the wall as per her instructions. We are a good team, Bella and I, when we're doing stuff like this. She may not want to craft, but she is creative and has a good eye.

Everything else in her room was already there, but it's just been moved around. 

We both really like her bed under the window there, and she loves to arrange cushions along the length so it's like a sofa.

Ah, my little pre-teen girl, she's growing up.