New recipes for July.

If you are looking for my July round up, you need to skip to the previous post.

I decided to do a separate post for my new recipe this month.

Anyone who has heard of the Keto diet has surely heard of 'fat bombs'.  I have to say the idea did not appeal to me. It conjured up thoughts of balls of butter or dripping. Not my idea of a tasty treat.

How wrong could I have been?

So far I have tried two different fat bomb recipes and I have to say....

YUMMY!

This first one is basically a bite size cheese cake.

Cheesecake Keto bombs.

125g Cream cheese

80g natural peanut butter. (No added sugar variety).

1 table spoon stevia or other sugar substitute.

80g dark chocolate finely grated. (The darker the better).

In a bowl blend the cream cheese, the peanut butter and the stevia until well combined.

Chill for an hour in the fridge.

Using a teaspoon and damp hands roll in to small balls then roll in the grated chocolate to coat.

Refrigerate to set. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

I doubled the recipe the second time I made them, believe me they didn't last long and now that Tony can eat them........They just vanish. LOL

They would probably work with normal sugar or a sweetened variety of peanut butter. 

There are other flavours/varieties and I'm sure I'll get to trying them, when I do I will share.

Enjoy.

The next recipe is more like a truffle.

Keto Coconut Balls.

150g Very dark chocolate

60 ml cream

50g shredded coconut

15g coconut oil.

2 table spoons shredded coconut or slivered almonds to coat.

Using a sharp knife cut the chocolate in to small pieces.

Put the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stir in the coconut butter until melted, then add the chocolate pieces and stir until melted and blended in. Next stir in the first measure of coconut.

Spoon into a cold bowl, a shallow bowl is best, spread the mixture out a little and chill in the fridge for 60 minutes.

Using wetted hands roll into bite size balls then roll in the coconut or almonds to coat.

Keep in an air tight container in a cool place.

My fridge is too cold, I keep mine in my cold pantry. 

This recipe would work with butter in place of the coconut oil.

Of the two, this one is my favourite.

Oh my goodness, it's hard to have only one!

And yes, this one comes in different flavours too.

I'm off to sample the latest batch. They must be set by now.

The July Roundup.

 I started July with a great rush, completing the RSC Kiwi on the very first day. 

Things slowed down considerably after that. LOL

But they didn't stop.

I completed the scrappy ripple crochet blanket.

It is in use at work, keeping someone warm. Then I started another scrappy crochet project, this time Granny squares.

A squirrel was born!

The completed top is sat on the 'To be quilted pile'. 

Eventually I got around to starting and completing the Friendship bag that was my Chookshed challenge this month.

I also made time to finish off my latest EPP project.

Spots and stripes now has borders.

And the completed top is on the 'To be quilted' pile.

Each morning before work I've sewn a block for my Windswept quilt top.

All of the A blocks are completed and I made a start on the B blocks.

Last months squirrel progressed a little.

It would be in the to be appliqued pile, if there was such a thing.

And I need to find a good border fabric for it.

Another squirrel was born last night. This wee bag needed a disguise.

I thought some hexies might help.

Things have progressed since this photo was taken.  All the hexies are joined and they are waiting to be appliqued onto the bag front. (Maybe there should be a to be appliqued pile). 

Oh and early last week I finally completed the Christmas ornament I started back in May. 

How does all of that fit in with my goals for the month?

1) Complete the Chookshed challenge. ✔

2) The RSC Kiwi. ✔

3) Cross stitch a Christmas ornament. ✔

4) Work 15 mins a day. ✔

5) Work on a scrap project. ✔

6)Try a new recipe. ✔✔✔✔✔✔✔

About the recipe....

I have a few new recipe books, 

I've tried several recipes from all of them.

I may have to do a separate post all about food. LOL

In case you missed it, I've embraced the no sugar, low carb way of life.

My favourite new recipe has to be last nights I think.

We  made a sausage and cabbage bake.

Which I served with beetroots.

Basically it is a frittata and it was very tasty. I found the recipe in the first book pictured above.

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Still on the subject of food. Tony has completed his three month Carnivore diet. For all of that time he has eaten only meat, eggs and cheese. The hope was that it would change his Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and he would no longer have to take tablets that are 'fixing' the diabetes but damaging his kidneys! The tablets never did change his blood sugar results but a drastic change of diet did! He saw his Doctor yesterday, and they were both amazed at the change, especially the Doctor. Current results show that Tony is no longer type 2 diabetic, he is now pre diabetic. So what next? Now he will follow a keto diet for three months and see what changes in that time. I couldn't face the carnivore diet, as I mentioned above, I have already made changes to my diet and I'm prepared to go Keto with him.

So tonights new recipe?

Fathead pizza. The bases are made with almond meal and sour cream. 

If I remember I'll get some photos. 

*

I'm on a day off today, it is persisting down outside, so a great day to stay home and play.

I have lots of projects to chose from, I'll let you know what I do. 

My Day out with Lee.

Last week I introduced my Daughter in Law Lee to the delights of Annie's Country Quilt Store. 

She bought s few fat quarters, a cutting board, ruler and roller blade. We still have no idea what she wants to make next but she has been looking at hussif patterns and asking if she can use hexies to make one......

She has also purchased a very tidy previously loved Husqvarna sewing machine and has asked for some guidance. We will be playing with that on Sunday when the family come for their regular visit.

It really is not taking a great deal of effort on my part to enable this young lady. LOL

So anyway, what did I buy?

I found a cute batik charm pack.

Love the blues and that sunflower!

Wow!

I'm sure these will be used but for now they are nestled safely in my batiks drawer.

Next these French General mini charms found their way in to my hands.

I have a plan for those, more about that another time.

As I arrived at the check out to pay for my precut fabrics I spied some cute little tins.

Look what was hiding inside.

I am a sucker for a cute pair of scissors.

Look aren't they tiny.

Obviously a pair came home with me.

We also made time to have a look around some other stores and I found this book in one of them.

Tony and I have already made two of the recipes.

YUMMY!

More about those in another post.

Having worked over the weekend, I'm off to catch up on chores and do some baking before I go play with my sewing machine. 

 

Chook Shed Challenge #1 July.

 My Chookshed challenge is complete.

I had a DOH! moment when I cut the front panel upside down!

I was able to pop in some off cuts from the base and handle fabric.

Phew!

You can't see it in these images but like many of the others I quilted the side and back panels so that it has a bit of body and sits up nicely.

Very happy with my Scrub Stitchin' bag.

Thank you Chooky for including it in our packs.

Now I'm off to add a Loulee label to it.

Poof! Another week gone.

 So in no particular order...

Today I helped my soon to be Daughter in Law Lee to complete her first ever patchwork project.

You know she was having a go at EPP and had selected some of my fabrics to have a play. She even had a go at fussy cutting, then with the briefest of how tos.... Off she went and glue basted and sewed.

Then after an even briefer how to, she got on and hand quilted her completed top!

Today I guided her through having a tidy up around the edges, cutting and hemming two pieces for the cushion cover back, her first time using a sewing machine ever, then we used my overlocker to sew the back pieces to the front.

She is rightfully incredibly proud of her achievement. So Many firsts.

I think my son Joe is quiet proud of her too.

I caught him admiring her work and giving it a squeeze.

So what's next?

She thinks she might like to have a go a wool applique!

GULP!

I've never tried, so we borrowed a book from our club library while we were there yesterday and asked around about where to get some not too expensive wool packs near home, so that Lee can feel the fabrics she will be working with. Even newbies like to fondle fabrics. LOL

I've suggested that her first wool project could be a hussif.

That led to a lot of googling, she had never heard of a hussif before or even a housewife.

But if she is going to continue with needle crafts she will need one, my spare pin cushion and an old choccy tin is fine for now, but as she grows so must her tool kit.

So, on Thursday we are both off work and we'll be taking a bit of a road trip up to Annie's Country craft store. I've blogged about Annie's before. Lee says she has looked as she has driven passed, and wondered what is inside. In a few days she will find out. 

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Well that was Lee's week, what about mine?

Yesterday at club I sat on one of the couches rather than at a table and pushed on with my Spots and Stripes EPP. I've decided that it is big enough and it is time to begin filling in the spaces around the edges.

Not a great shot, but you can just see the dark pink with red spots filling in along the left side of this image. I'll do better next time I promise.

Also reaching a milestone is the A blocks for my Windswept paper foundation pieced quilt.

They are all made.

Tomorrow before work I'll be making some B blocks.

Yippie!

Progress is also being made on my latest scrappy crochet project. My pile of granny squares is slowly growing.

I was also able to get in a few hours on my Christmas Cross stitch ornament this week too.

It's not finished but hopefully by the end of the month.....

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Two weeks ago when we celebrated Miss Charmaine's 8th Birthday I gifted her a Frozen activity box. It had a great where's Olaf? book and a 200 piece jigsaw puzzle. She was very daunted by such a large puzzle but with some guidance and encouragement and also a little help she was able to get all of the sides sorted and completed and she even had about half of the inner pieces done before it was time to go home. I promised to look after the puzzle until she could visit again. I kept it safe and somehow managed to not put any more pieces in. Today Charmaine ran to it as soon as she arrived, but as I was busy preparing lunch then helping her mum, her attention did not last long and she wandered off to play with the building blocks.

After lunch we sat together and with some more encouragement she got on with the job of completing her puzzle.

Just look at that face.

Another very proud young lady.

It wasn't an easy puzzle to complete and I think she did incredibly well. 

After completing that big puzzle with all those small pieces she made easy work of her 35 piece mermaid puzzle. LOL

I might have to find some more puzzles for her.

*

And that was my week.

I wonder if Chooky is still on zoom?

She was there this morning, I was glue basting some batik scraps given to me by my pal at club yesterday.

A Beautiful Box of Goodies.

 You know I like to keep an eye on the local trading pages on Facebook. I often see great deals and giveaways but miss out because I see them too late.
The other day I got lucky. The lady was giving away a box full of 'Crafting Bits'. When I asked what she said some calico, some hessian and some trims.

Yes please said I.

Look at the lovely box, it's so full the lid won't close.

Under the lid.

There were some pretty broderie trims.

More trims and bias tape.

Look at these pretty roses.

Sadly it's only a small piece.

Next out was two big pieces of calico and another mystery fabric.

A good size piece of polyester batting.

And also some iron on pellon.

Some stabiliser for backing stitchery and embroidery pieces.

And finally in the bottom of the box about 2 meters of hessian!

I hadn't realised there was quite that much. I have a plan for a small amount of it.

More about that when/if we use it for the wedding table dressings.

And just look at the box.

Isn't it beautiful?

Not just on the outside, the inside is pretty too.

The lady told me she had a few Trelise Cooper boxes, they like to use pretty boxes when they mail out your purchases.

All the goodies have been put away and the beautiful box has become a project box.

It's right at home with all of my other lovely boxes.

Yes, I have done some sewing and some crochet, I'll tell you about that another day.

I also have some great recipes to share.

Remember that squirrel?

It's now a completed top. 

It looks much prettier in real life.

We are having dark winter days here and getting good photos is not easy.

So anyway about this quilt top.

It was a 20 piece layer cake that I found in spotlight, the outer green border was on the shelf right next to it. The red border came from my stash.

No cutting or fancy blocks required, I just put the squares together after a quick shuffle on the design floor, consulted with my pals Chooky and Janice on the borders and Voila!

This pretty will be going to an ex colleague who will be having her first baby very soon.

So I need to find backing fabric and get it on to the frame. 

*

In other news I have made a start on my Scrub Stitchin' bag. Yesterday before going in to work an extra shift I completed all of the applique and stitching on the front. Hopefully today I can make more progress.

I'm also progressing nicely on my latest scrappy crochet project.

And that is all of my news.  

Now I'm off to find a new recipe.

Something sweet. For me. 

New Recipe....

 It's a carnivore recipe but very tasty.

Last night we were invited to a friends place for a pot luck tea.  Our friend knows that Tony is on his carnivore diet and was happy for us to bring along something for him to eat but also let everyone else have a taste.
We opted for the Carnivore Bacon Cheeseburger Pie.
This is not my photo, we forgot to get images and the small amount that came home with us may taste good but it no longer looks pretty. LOL
So I took an image from the website where I found the recipe. 

This was a very tasty dish and something that we would both do again. Our hostess and the other guests all had a taste and I saw people going back for a little more. By omitting the sprinkle of chopped chives or parsley this one is a strict Carnivore meal.

*

Charmaine's birthday lunch today.

Roast chicken, boiled potatoes and veg with yummy gravy, followed by Chocolate Birthday Cake (I cheated and bought one) and ice cream.

Grandad gets dry chicken. LOL

Progress....And another squirrel.

After setting off with a hiss and a roar on the first day of the month, I have slowed down a lot!

I've managed to have a look at my Friendship bag pattern and even pulled out vliesofix paper ready to trace the applique elements. But that is as far as that got.

While I was hunting for the pattern I found a wee layer cake and a squirrel was born....

More about that soon.

I did complete the crochet ripple blanket, and have even taken it to work.

It's not the prettiest but it will keep someone warm.

I've since begun another scrappy crochet project.

So that will satisfy the 'work on a scrappy project' goal for the month and also keep up my 15 mins of hand work per day.

Now, about that squirrel....

After writing the last blog post on Tuesday I went in to my room to have a play and wait for the rest of the world to wake up and get moving. I pulled out a 20 slice layer cake that I had purchased from Spotlight earlier this year. I got busy sewing it together. Nothing fancy I simply laid out the fabric pieces in a 4x5 layout and started sewing. Then following consultation with Chooky we agreed on this red for the inner border, but I wasn't sold on the grey the Chooky liked so I went off out to do my chores in town.

Once I got home Janice and I had a good catch up chat and a consultation, we agreed that the green fabric should be the outer border.

And that is as far as that particular project has gotten. It's still lying on the floor of my room awaiting my attention.

I've made a few more of my Windswept blocks, it's exciting to see the little pile of four patches that make the centers of the blocks growing smaller and smaller. 

*

On a very exciting note we have booked our flights to Sydney for next years Scrub Stitchin' retreat. 

YIPPIE!

Now I'll need to work out my make it or fake it gift and figure out when to make it.

Plenty of time for that I hope. 

*

Time to go and put a pot luck meal together, we're off out for tea at a friends place.