British Banger Week - Spicy Sausage Casserole

Its British Banger Week and I thought I would do something different to standard bangers and mash so searched my store cupboard for ideas.

It was the last day for using up my pack of gluten free sausages that had been sitting idly in the fridge so I grabbed them and decided to make a casserole. Gluten bangers can be a bit dry so cooking them in a sauce makes them more palatable. Any bangers will do of course but any excess fat needs to be drained away early in the cooking process.

My store cupboard produced a tin of baked beans in tomato sauce, a beef stock jelly melt and a tomato cup-a-soup. A rummage in the fridge produced three big chestnut mushrooms and I found an onion in the potato store. Yes! I had my main ingredients together.

I cut the thick sausages each into four making twenty four large bite size pieces and put them into a wok with a little hot cooking oil, added chopped onion and roughly chopped mushroom. I swirled them around a bit until they started to colour and got to the sweaty stage. I didn't need to drain any excess fat away. I then added the rest of the ingredients plus a large cup of hot water and brought it up to the boil. I then let it simmer gently with a lid on for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a drop of hot water when necessary.

It was time for the taste test and though the casserole was full of flavour I thought it needed just a bit of spice to give it a kick so I added half a teaspoon of madras curry powder. That did the trick and my spicy bangers casserole was ready to be served up with good helpings of creamy mash. I had a small portion which was ample for me while my other half, had a full plate and came back for seconds. There was still enough left over for two small lunches which will see me through the next couple of days. I reckon I made enough to serve three or four regular portions,

I can pat myself on my back (smile). Whose a clever girl then, lol. I've done my bit for the great British Banger!

Pro-Life Pilgrimage

On Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to join with the Pilgrimage of Reparation and Prayer for the Sanctity of Life which took place at Osmotherley in the Hambleton Hills of the North Yorkshire moors and on the route of the Cleveland Way, National Trail. Our journey began with the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary prayed collectively on the coach as we sped down the A19 and then through the beautiful countryside of the North Yorkshire moors.

The picturesque village of Osmotherley was bathed in sunshine under a cloudless blue sky making it a perfect day for our pilgrimage hike up to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Grace. There were twenty eight souls making the pilgrimage and ages ranged from as young as three years to the very old and was led by Marileine who was the organiser of the pilgrimage. Any infirmity didn't seem to matter as the young and old, the fit and the rickety and those with a bag on each arm to balance themselves gathered together in faith outside the village shop before our ascent to the shrine.

Turning off the main road we started our climb up a muddy and stony track that led up a steep hill. Rivulets of water from recent rains flowed or trickled down the track, crossing our paths unexpectedly and causing us to pick our way for fear of slipping into puddles and getting soaked. The woodland hillside was still green and lush, not having given into Autumn as yet. Occasionally we could peak through the trees at the vista beyond, way below us and as far as the eye could see fields and hedgerows bathed in glorious light.

 

Every so often we stopped at a station of the cross and prayed. I was reminded of the road to Calvary and the great sacrifice made by Christ for our sins. I hadn't thought I could manage this climb but with a leap of faith I was able to make it and was so glad I did.

Stations of the Cross

We all made it to the shrine and Our Lady's Chapel in one piece and after praying the Angelus we took some rest and had a picnic in the grounds of the Chapel. Tea and coffee was kindly provided.

Sisters of the Renewal and Marileine.

I chatted to two Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal who had joined us on the pilgrimage. They were both from the US but were based in Leeds. Sisters Catherine and John Paul were lovely, very young and very dedicated and it was a pleasure to have their company.

Our Lady's Chapel

Inside Our Lady's Chapel

Later we attended Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. We prayed the sorrowful mysteries and took time to reflect on the needs of babies in the womb, their mothers and the support they need in these  sorrowful times and our own pro-life ministries. There was then an opportunity for confession before mass and time to take a break. Father Damien led mass in the tiny chapel, which was filled to capacity with pilgrims. During mass I noticed a beautiful butterfly, a welcome visitor and possibly a Red Admiral dancing in the sunshine rays that cascaded through the high windows of the chapel to the altar below.

Father Damien joined us after mass for tea and coffee with home made scones and cake provided by volunteers. He was kept very busy chatting and blessing lots of medals and religious objects bought at the piety shop. I was able to buy three delightful nativities, one each for my grown up children and their families. Each one carries a Christmas Blessing and I hope they will stay in my children's Christmases for many years to come.

Although the day had been beautiful in every respect I was feeling too tired to head back down the hill to Osmotherley on foot and accepted a lift from one of the volunteers. I am very grateful to Flora for taking four of us in her car down into the village centre where our coach was waiting for us. On the way home we prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, making our glorious pilgrimage complete!  Although not officially starting until October 11th I hope it is for me, the preparation and beginning of my Year of Faith, 2012 - 2013.

sometimes less is more

I love the multi layered cards that some people make and the swirls and embellishments that seem to go on forever. One day I will try my hand at such masterpieces but for now I'm just glad I was able to motivate myself into creating some pressed flower designs and transformed them into 'any occasion' cards or note-lets.

An American friend of mine sent me some lovely pressed flowers when I was ill and I was thrilled to eventually get to use them over the last few days and create something special. Amongst the assortment Barbara sent me were Roses, Hydrangeas and Love in a Mist. I made very simple designs with them adding a few pieces of my own pressed items too. They scanned well and I played with the images adding text and created some 5 x 5 inch cards with them. They are very simple cards with no message inside but sometimes I think just one word coupled with a pretty image is enough and can speak volumes.

This is the first run of these particular cards and although they are perfectly OK as they are I have to admit (I am my own worst critic), that they could have printed better. The next run will be using a superior card and hopefully one that my printer likes! I'm sorry the close up images shown here are a bit out of focus but that's because my hands aren't too steady. I should have a little tripod somewhere, errrmmmmm, where's that gone!

I said they were something special and so they are! I recently joined an organisation called  Cancer Connections, whose headquarters are in a bungalow in a neighbouring town and I was delighted to find two boxes in the lounge - one for men and one for women. The boxes are for giving and taking out little surprise gifts for members. Just something to cheer up their day. I thought how much I would like to give something in support of this wonderful charity and decided to donate some special cards. Nothing elaborate or fancy, just something small and simple that might be appreciated. I hope they will be well received.

Carbonara and Plums

With just a small part of my stomach left and a need to avoid gluten and lactose its not always easy to find something to eat that is both appealing and fits the bill. I always had a good appetite and enjoyed most foods and taste experiences. My grandson is also gluten and lactose sensitive and I now realise the need to become more creative with food and make nutritious meals that the whole family will enjoy.

Today I made a loose take on Pasta Carbonara. Instead of cream I used soya milk, thickening the sauce with cornflour and lactose free cheese and completely forgot to add egg! The cheese was quite strong so I didn't need much - just a couple of tablespoons of grated cheese was enough. I cooked gluten free pasta until it was cooked through but still firm, drained it and poured boiling water over it to refresh.

I hate waste so I used the single rasher of bacon that had been left idling in the fridge for days and a slice of cooked ham from another opened packet. Chopped them both up into small pieces and fried them in olive spread, adding chopped mushroom and a good mix of home grown yellow cherry tomatoes and red baby plum tomatoes. I like a coating sauce best so I added enough soya milk to amply wet all the fried ingredients without letting them swim, then thickened with a heaped teaspoon of cornflour mixed previously with a drop of milk to make a creamy paste. Just as you would do when making custard before instant custard became the norm. Brought the mixture to the boil and allowed to simmer for a minute or so, stirring all the while. 

I added some torn coriander leaf at the end of cooking time, mainly to add a bit of colour but in hindsight, for extra flavour I wish I had added either a touch of garlic or some green pesto during the cooking process. I was able to divide it up into four small portions for myself but otherwise it would make two regular size portions or one large portion for those with big appetites.

My husband tasted it and said that it reminded him of something he'd had abroad and yes he would have some if I made it as a family meal. So I took that as a compliment!

While all this was going on I had a wok full of plums from the garden simmering in water, demerara and white sugar, ground ginger and cinnamon. The smell was divine! I let the liquid reduce to a syrup consistency and when it has cooled will pack it into zipped storage bags for freezing. It will come in very useful for making cobbler or crumble desserts in the future, though I have yet to master the technique of using gluten free flour!

Bon Appetit for now.

salmon and kippers

Well, my blog went by the wayside for the last couple of months due to me having my operation brought forward and my recovery since. I'm really glad that's over with and I just have to concentrate on getting better and hope the sarcoma doesn't return.

Staying on that positive note I want to tell you about my trip out yesterday and yummy purchases. We chose a lovely day for a drive into Northumberland sightseeing the coast and castles up there. It was almost like being on holiday and my first proper day out in months. The scenery was beautiful but I could have kicked myself for forgetting to take my camera, oh noooooo! Never mind we intend going back for a revisit, especially to Warkworth, which is fabulous and has superb river walks and steeped in heritage. The trees and vegetation were still lush and green but I also look forward to visiting in autumn when seasonal colours should be radiant. I will remember to take my camera with me next time.

My other half was keen on getting some Craster kippers to take home so we drove to the little fishing village and had a pleasant walk by the harbour and visited the smoke house shop where traditionally smoked fish can be bought. I treated myself to some hot smoked salmon and wondered later why it had cost so much till John pointed  out that it had been £29 per kilo!!! Agghhhh!! I made up my mind there and then to make sure I enjoyed it. So last night I cooked some pasta in tomato sauce and tossed in some of the very expensive hot smoked salmon, a few peas, coriander leaf and home grown lettuce and baby plum tomatoes...delicious!

Before we went home we visited some tea rooms in Alnmouth and had some very nice coffee and cake.  John had carrot cake by the Cake Root company and I had a gluten free chocolate cookie which I have to say was the most decadent I have ever tasted. The coffee wasn't bad either.

I'm so looking forward to my next trip.

Its been ages and ages since I wrote a blog post. That's probably down to me getting the diagnosis everyone dreads. My grandson was diagnosed with cancer shortly before I was but he had his operation not long afterwards and so far he is recovering well. I am on treatment to shrink my tumour and it may be early 2013 before I get my operation. Its a long and depressing wait. I hate it, I hate it with a passion. Its a parasitic squatter and has no right to make its home in me. Can't wait to get it evicted. That rant over, lets get down to craft and creativity.

I was lucky to get two orders last week. They came out of the blue and an offer of stand space to fill with my cards in a local party shop. I had some note cards in my stash so I bundled three at a time and wrapped them in raffia ribbon with a little tag. I had some singles left over too and they all went onto my new stand. I'm delighted to say the least and I'm planning on making lots more cards to fill up the stand.

The two orders I got were for a new pet grooming business being launched and a pearl wedding invitation. I felt a bit rusty but gave it a go and came up with these.

I used a scalloped card blank and added freebie backing paper edged with line peel offs, A doggy image I've had for so long I can't remember where I got it from and added line peel offs to the inside border. I think that worked quite effectively ! The sentiments are Anita's die cut messages and tags from The Range and I finished off with some peel off scrolls. I included an insert with an apt message but can't remember what it was now...oh dear!

This one was for a pearl wedding anniversary. I knew nothing about the couple other than their names. I just hope they like the card. 
I made an A5 blank card out of Stardream from Joanna Sheen and trimmed the front by about 5 cms so that the pattern on the inside of the card could be seen and to make it just a little bit different.

The image is a photo I took in my own garden and cropped to show a perfect rose. I personalised it digitally and gave it an embossed frame. I think this works well as there is no need for matting....saving on card there! The ribbon effect which is down the centre of the card is freebie backing paper which I tore to make a strip. The tear showed its white core edge but I didn't like it so coloured the edges with pastel and I think it works better. I finished the front off with pearl hearts and a sentiment.



This is the inside of the card. I printed off a much lighter and magnified version of the rose image and typed in a verse from i-magination. Trimmed it to fit the same width as the card front and added a strip of the same backing paper as on the front of the card and a border of gold hearts on an ivory background. I then finished off with a big thirty peel off.

 

I left them at the shop for my customer to pick up so haven't had feedback directly but I'm told my customer was pleased. I'm going to get my tea now as all this blogging has made me hungry :)

Mixed media collage

I just couldn't let another day go by without doing something creative so I shut my eyes to household chores that I had no will to do anyway and focused instead on my box of pressed flowers and leaves. 
Hiding myself away in my craft room and listening to classic fm made the perfect environment  for artistic play. 


I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do. I have sheets of handmade papers collected over the years (I had a passion for papers at one time) and so I unrolled them all and marvelled again at their diversity then selected some sloshy handmade lokta paper in greens and browns and some white mulberry paper to layer on top.


I spray glued the layers down onto a 10 x 8" matting board to create a background and then opened up my box of pressed botanical treasure. Layer upon layer of pressed flowers and leaves collected over the years and stored in a cardboard box with silicon packets to keep them dry. Normally I would take great pain to select specific flowers and leaves, going through every layer in the box before being content with my palette. This time I broke with tradition and chose from just the first few layers, otherwise it would have taken me all day. All the plant material is from my own garden except the yellow petals which were kindly sent to me from Italy by fellow pressed flower artist Sylvia Barsotti.


Arranging the flowers and leaves onto the collage was quite easy but gluing them down was a bit tricky at times. Finally it was finished and I am happy with it, especially the sky effect produced by white mulberry paper on sloshy lokta. 


After scanning the original I searched for a suitable verse to layer on top of the scanned image and decided on the Serenity prayer. The image is now printed off and waiting to be framed and the original will go into storage. I decided to print off more images at 5 x 7" for card making. These images have no verse but can have a verse or a greeting added as an embellishment like the one shown here.

The scan could be better but its a good indication of how an image can be used in different ways. I will probably play around with it digitally, creating different effects over the coming days. It will be fun!


Hope you like :)