Roman blind

The roman blind I made last weekend is finally up!

I also made some matching cushion covers, which were really easy: one piece of fabric (length: 2x width of cushion plus 11 cm, width: width of cushion plus 4 cm), hemmed at both short ends (2 cm hems), folded with right sides facing and ends overlapping by 7 cm, then stitched on both sides taking a 2 cm seam allowance, and turned inside out to create a pillow-like cushion cover. I plan to add some buttons to the back 'pocket' to jazz it up a little.

I really enjoyed making the blind. I'm now thinking about what window treatments to make next, for our downstairs room.

Vegetable boxes

A few months ago, we decided to start getting fortnightly vegetable box deliveries from Abel and Cole. It's been really fun opening up the box every other Tuesday, seeing what's inside and thinking about what to make with it. We've tried some veg that we never would have thought of trying before: celeriac, black salsify, and turnip, among others. We never get carrots or onions though, since they're pretty cheap to buy in the supermarket. Another plus is that we've really reduced our meat consumption, which is good for the environment, our health, and our wallets. This week we got: orla potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, purple sprouting broccoli, red pepper, courgettes, radishes, and parsnips. I'm looking forward to seeing what we get in the spring and summer, as different veg come into crop.

One particular recipe that I've really enjoyed is Chickpea and Spinach Curry. I make it like this:

Chickpea and Spinach Curry
1 tin of chickpeas
1 red pepper, chopped
A bag of spinach, washed and chopped if large leaves (or substitute with any leafy green)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Sunflower oil
2.5 cm ginger, finely chopped
Green chilli, finely chopped
Medium curry paste
Turmeric
Cumin
300ml vegetable stock
Tomato purée
Fresh coriander (optional)

Heat oil in a large pan. Cook onion, garlic, ginger, and chilli gently until soft. Stir in two large tablespoons of curry paste and after 1 minute add 2 teaspoons cumin and 1 teaspoon turmeric. Cook for 1 minute more.
Add the tomatoes, pepper, stock and a good tablespoon of tomato purée. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the spinach leaves in batches, allowing it to wilt before adding the next.
Stir in the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes.
Season and add coriander if using.
Serve with rice or on its own.

Walk in the park

Here are some pictures I took on a lunch time walk in the Oxford University Parks today.

The cricket pavilion under blue skies. It was a bit breezy though, and not that warm.

These daffodils were in full bloom...

but these ones haven't woken up yet!

Things I've done this weekend

1. Made a pavlova for the first time.
2. Made dumplings for the first time.
3. Made a roman blind for the first time.

Conclusion: all three very good both in terms of fun had and end results.

Photographic evidence of the pavolva:

My meringue ended up like one large slab, but because I whipped the cream well and mixed a small pot of custard in with it, it stayed on top nicely. 

Pavolva recipe:

Whisk 4 medium egg whites until firm.

Add 200g caster sugar bit by bit.

Spoon onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 1 hour at 140 degrees.

Turn the oven off and leave it in there until cool.

Add the topping just before serving: 300ml double cream, whipped until thick then mixed with a small pot of custard, and topped with fruit.

Our garden in the winter

A selection of pictures from our garden this winter:

Frosty morning. 7 December 2010.

Then it got even colder! 18 December 2010. The snow was with us until just after Christmas.

The violas were snow survivors, planted in early October and still there on 6 February 2011. (Update 20 March 2011: they are still going strong and show no signs of fading.)

Crocuses and snowdrops, heralds of the approaching spring. 6 February 2011.