this is...my trade secret

As a crafty chick who loves all things vintage, retro. pre-loved or recycled my biggest challenge is keeping things in order.

After seeing a post on Craftster last year about different ways to store fabric I bought some of these

from Minotaur Comic book store

Basically they are firm cardboard rectangles a bit smaller than A4. Comic book collectors use them to sandwich comic books to protect them. I use them to store fabric by folding and wrapping the bits of fabric around them. This allows them to be stored standing up in a plastic box or book case so that all fabric is tidy and visable. Makes such a difference!

Incidentally I appeciate this is not the tidiest picture, its when i was storing the fabric in our bedroom before we got another book case (and the spare room back as a study/craft room!).



This week's theme is from Amelia, and you can find all the "this is" players here.

The Wombats, Hi Fi Bar Melbourne, 31/7/08

It was set up to be an evening of contradictions. We started off by going to see Encounters at the end of the world, a simply stunning documentary about people who work and live in Antarctica. The film maker, Werner Herzog, had the most wonderful sense of humour and eye for eccentricity as he considered who would work in Antarctica and why, did penguins ever go insane and what happened if the Frosty Boy ran out? Also many dream-like photography sequences, the underwater ones were particularly memorable.

After the film we headed to Hi Fi Bar for The Wombats. Upon arrival I thought i was at an 'all ages gig' then I realised, no, I'm just old. The Hi Fi is a two story venue with a central 'pit' where punters typically sit and get in the way of anyone standing. It’s the kind of venue that is played by many touring UK indie acts, many of whom recieve almost no airplay here to the extent that tickets are given away before the event. But not the case for The Wombats. Their gigs sold out within two minutes of tickets going on sale.

First up was Kitchen Knife Wife, an indie Melbourne four piece who reminded me of Little Red, retro flavoured pop rock with a big nod to The Animals and The Kinks. Great opportunities for young scenesters, but their sound could be replicated in any front bar of any surburban pub by balding 40 somethings stuck in their halcyon days and be considered decidedly middle of the road. But cute looks can take you a long way.

There was the obligatory long wait whilst people applauded middle aged men setting up equipment and water bottles. I considered braving trippable stairs for a watered down gin and tonic (mostly ice and $8 for the privilege) , but ended up standing on the precipice of the central Pit in the hope of being able to actually see the band, without falling off in the process. The heating was desert like, the groups of young men with blonde tips gathered in packs.

The Wombats appeared. Almost immediately the audience started chanting and clapping, fists in the air. The band started with a rather fey acapella tune and then got straight into it to the accompaniment of much exuberant front row spitting and hyperactivity. They've toured Australia before ( I was overseas at the time) and their album is well known to Melbourne audiences. All songs were sung along to lustily by an adoring crowd and I can honestly say it’s the first time I've seen crowd surfing at a rock gig for a really long time. Seasick and Moving to New York were definitely highlights, but a lot of the songs sounded a bit too similar to really hold my attention. I think I'll stick to listening to them on internet radio.

Winter Sunshine is the best!

I had a rather unadventurous weekend. Much winter hibernation as it was freezing cold and I was very tired with my period and the tail end of a cold. Friday's intention to go to a gig was thwarted by an episode of Spooks and the heater. Saturday people came round for lunch and I went to visit my wedding dressmaker with Marni. I've picked a pattern and have a pic of how I would like the dress to be. Now I have to find the fabric, go for fittings and lose some weight...

Saturday night, Marni and I had a girls night at home with pizza, red wine and chocolate and we watched The Holiday and Jane Austin Book Club, both of which I quite enjoyed for a lazy saturday night-I managed to fall asleep during the latter.

It rained all sunday and was freezing cold so Chris and I stayed indoors all day watching dvds (I can't believe he had never seen Fame hehe) and we baked a lemon cake which turned out more like some kind of soggy pudding. In the evening we braved the elements to go and see George Romero speak as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival. Quite interesting and I always love visiting The Forum theatre, Chris got quite a kick out of it, as he's never been there before.

We might be going to London in December for Les Carter's 50th birthday ( I wouldn't have met Chris if it wasn't for Les) and to spend Christmas with Chris' family in the country. Kind of depends how much money we get back on our tax returns, as we were hoping for a trip to South America next year and I've already used this year's leave. But we have enforced Christmas close down from Dec 23rd to Jan 2nd so....

Having lovely drinks with a new friend tonight. Starting the gym tomorrow night (might not actually be weights as I have to go sign up so might end up just going for a swin or something).

I'm simply longing for summer

My creation
Originally uploaded by polkadotrabbit.com

Here's some pics to remind us of what it's like to be warm....

K is for Kale

pic from here

We had friends over for lunch on saturday and one bought a big bag of home grown vegetables including some rather wonderful kale. I put some in a veggie thai green curry with tofu but cooked the rest last night with some home grown spring onions, parsley, chilli, brocolini and parmesan and added some pasta-delish!

Here's some recipes I've found:

North African Chickpea and Kale Soup




1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced or diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8-1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
generous pinch saffron, lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
8 cups vegetable broth (or water plus bouillon)
1 large bunch kale, thick center ribs removed and chopped (at least 8 cups)
about 2 cups water
salt to taste

Spray a large saucepan with olive oil spray and heat it. Add the onion and carrot and cook over medium-high heat until the onion begins to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the spices, including bay leaves and cinnamon stick, and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat them with the spices. Pour in the 8 cups of vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped kale and stir. If necessary add water to cover the kale and cook until it is tender, about 10-25 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your kale. Check frequently to see if it is becoming dry and add water as needed. Add salt to taste and serve.


Winter Vegetable Hash

• 45 ml olive oil
• 30 g butter
• 455 g Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
• 225 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small acorn squash, diced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 6 g garlic powder
• 1 g salt
• 1 g ground black pepper
• 65 g chopped kale
• 4 sprigs fresh sage

DIRECTIONS

1. Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and mix in potatoes, mushrooms, pepper, squash, and shallot. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.
2. Mix kale and sage into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Serve and enjoy!

Kale and Roquefort Parcels

I'm a sucker for pastry so will be trying these for sure!

Ingredients

250g shortcrust pastry 200g kale (or Swiss chard or winter spinach) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 100g blue cheese, e.g. Roquefort or Stilton Handful pine nuts Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Heat a large frying pan with no oil and toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set on one side. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently sauté the onion with the garlic for 10 minutes until it is soft. Wash the kale well and dry thoroughly. Shred it finely. Add the kale to the pan and sauté with the lid on for 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted. Then remove the lid and continue to cook until most of the moisture has evaporated. Roughly chop the pine nuts and mix in with the kale. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir well. Roll out the pastry to about ½ cm thick. Use a saucer and a knife to cut 4 circles, to make the pasties. Put 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the middle of each pasty. Crumble the blue on top of the filling. Brush the edges of each circle with a little milk or beaten egg, then seal together to make a pasty shape. Brush the top of the pasty with milk or egg. Put on a greased baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crispy.

This is why I need another bunny!

Rabbit the bunny a hare-raising fire hero
From The Age
by Andrea Petrie
July 24, 2008 - 2:58PM

A pet rabbit has been credited with saving the lives of a Melbourne couple after fire swept through their home this morning - six days before their renovations were due to be completed.
Macleod resident Michelle Finn and her partner Gerry Keogh were woken about 7am by their family pet, named Rabbit, who was causing a racket from his cage.

"Gerry only got home from work about 5.30am because he works night shift and about 7am we both woke to the sound of a thumping rabbit,'' Ms Finn said.

"We heard windows breaking at the back of the house and got up to see what was wrong and the house was on fire.''

The blaze had broken out in the back office and smoke was spreading quickly through the house.
Ms Finn said she was grateful to her six-month-old, black, floppy-eared companion for reacting the way he did from his loungeroom cage.

"He's in the cage during the night and just started thumping and running around and was trying to get out I guess,'' she said.
"If it wasn't for the rabbit we probably wouldn't have woken up quite as soon.''
Firefighters donned breathing apparatus to get inside the house to retrieve the pet. His owners could not reach him due to the smoke.

Ms Finn said they had been renovating the house for two years and were due to finish next week.
"It's my Mum's 60th birthday in August and we were supposed to be having the party here,'' she said. "That's not going to happen now.''

Metropolitan Fire Brigade commander Mick Swift said it was the first fire he had attended where the life-saver was a rabbit.
"It could have been a lot worse and without the rabbit it could have been a tragedy where lives were lost,'' he said.
"We're pretty happy to be able to giggle about it.''

Four fire appliances and 15 fire fighters brought the blaze _ which was caused by a faulty electrical heater _ under control in 10 minutes. Damage is estimated at $80,000.
Mr Swift said a smoke alarm had been removed from the ceiling while the back of the home was being renovated.

"The lesson to learn from this is that even if a smoke alarm is removed it can still be put high up on a shelf or attached with double-sided tape or Blu Tack until it is put up permanently,'' he said.
Mr Keogh, a nighclub employee, said while he and his partner faced the difficult task of rebuilding, Rabbit had also been left homeless by the fire, with his cage ruined.
"We don't know what we're going to do with him in the meantime,'' he said.
"The fire-fighters did a wonderful job saving him and we're just glad that we all got out alive.''

C is for cauliflower

Well winter veggies are certainly overrepresented in the beginning of the alphabet! But from tomorrow we take a significant leap down the list...

But for today:

I like cauliflower (not as much a broccoli though), we are even growing some in the garden. When all the 'low carb' eating was the rage, I used to see a lot of recipes that substituted cauli for mashed potato. But I was never fooled.

Cauiliflower and Potato Pie

• 1 cauliflower, separated into florets
• 11/2 cups mashed potato or 3-4 cooked potatoes
• 3 tablespoons cream or sour cream
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan or other hard cheese (our hard tomme cheese is fine)

Preheat oven to 180degrees Celsius. Steam cauliflower. Drain very well. Process for 30 seconds in a food processor or chop by hand. Mix cauliflower with potato (crush the cooked potatoes, if using). Add cream and seasonings. Use half the oil to grease an ovenproof pie plate or gratin dish, then drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.


Cauliflower Poppers



1 large head of cauliflower
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried dill
fresh black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Directions:

These are soooo good - sometimes when I want a light dinner I'll just make a batch and eat it all myself, easily as good as French fries!

Preheat the oven to 400, and separate the cauliflower into bite-sized florets.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients and toss with the cauliflower, then bake for 40 minutes, stirring once about halfway through the cooking time.

They're ready when they get nicely browned and they're tender but not mushy -- I like to leave mine in until they get chewy blackened parts, but that's just me. ^^

Serves: 4-5

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 40 to bake

Fresh Pappardelle With Cauliflower and Zucchini

Serves 3-4

• 2 heads garlic (if roasting, or 1-2 minced cloves if just sauteeing)
• 4 T. butter
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
  
• 1-2 medium zucchini, cut into 4 lengthwise strips and then sliced 1/2 thick
• pinch of tarragon
• 1 lb fresh pappardelle noodles
• black pepper
• salt
• pecorino romano, cut thin with a vegetable peeler

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Put your serving bowls somewhere to warm.
2. If you want to roast the garlic, trim the upper 1/4" off of each head, rub them with some olive oil, wrap in tin foil and place in the toaster oven (or regular oven) at 400 F for about 40 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork. If you don't have that kind of time, skip it and just add a minced clove or two to the saute.
3. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, melt 3 T of the butter. Add the cauliflower, and stir. Add a couple tablespoons of water and cover for a couple of minutes, until just starting to become tender. Squeeze in the cloves of roasted garlic, taking care not to add the skins. Add the tarragon and 1 t. of salt. Add the zucchini and stir occasionally. Check the seasoning.
4. When the vegetables are 3 minutes from done (probably just after you add the zucchini) turn them down to the low heat and drop the noodles in the boiling water.
5. When the noodles are al dente (about 3 minutes for fresh pasta), drain them and toss with the remaining 1 T. of butter.
6. Divide the noodles among heated bowls, top with 1/4 of the vegetable saute, several nice shavings of pecorino and freshly ground pepper.