I'm Live!

Good Morning. And it is a beautiful day today, the sun is shining even though its a tad on the chilly side. I'm surprised by the number of people complaining about the cold. We've been spoilt this year by unseasonably warm weather, the girls were still in the paddling pool at the beginning of the month. But I can always remember freezing my toes and fingers off at fireworks events. And that's only two weeks away.

Well I wouldn't be British if I didn't have a comment to make about the weather every so often! So, yes..I'm live. My computer based activity (and occasional bad language) has been recently focused on building my on line shop, which actually has been surprisingly easy, not to mention free- and that's never a bad thing. so if you have a moment to spare, why not take a mosey on over?
www.whatcarolinemade.co.uk

I love productive business. So often the weeks disappear and I'm left scratching my head at the end of them wondering exactly what I have done with my time. My parents can testify to this, as so often our phone calls run along the lines of  - them- what have you done this week? me- ummmm?
But this week I have been productively busy, website aside. Doing this craft stuff has forced me into an early acceptance that Christmas (say it quietly) is on its way.
So first up, some seasonal bunting.

This is a doddle. I bought a charm pack of fabrics a while ago. August I think it was. Didn't look properly at it. Didn't expect it to be quite so Christmassy. To be fair, I only looked at the first few squares and they were just spots and stripes. The trees and gingerbread men were hidden well below, so I had to shelve the original plans. I dug it out again a couple of weeks ago and have been working on them a little bit at a time.

Firstly I cut the squares in half, then on the diagonal to make four triangles. I then mixed them up and sewed them together to make the flags, pressing the seams open so they lie flat. Then I pinned them right sides down onto a strip of calico and machined down the long sides.

Then cut them out, taking the point off the triangle too, turn the right way round and press.

Take some bias tape and iron it in half, then position your flags where you want them, pin in place and sew a running stitch along the open edge. That's it. Not quite sure why it took me so long to do them.

I haven't done a recipe for a while, so I thought I'd share with you my child friendly curry. Hubby and I love curries, but the girls are not quite so keen on the hot stuff and I imagine they're not alone. I like a bit of spice, but this recipe seems to satisfy the need for a curry without having to cook two separate meals to keep the girls happy too.

Ingredients
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 inch piece of garlic
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp curry powder
1 400g tin of coconut milk
150ml chicken stock
3 chicken breasts
Handful of frozen peas
100g mushrooms.

Fry your diced onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened, then add the ginger, garam masala and curry powder. You can of course vary this to taste and at this point add some chilli powder or fresh chillies you don't have to cater for a delicate child palette. Fry for a further minute or two, then add in the coconut milk and stock. Bung in the chicken and mushrooms and simmer for 30 mins. Add in the peas and cook for a further five minutes. Serve with rice. And now I feel hungry.

Off to the supermarket, take care

Caroline xx