Matariki.

 This time of year in New Zealand is all about Matariki. A Maori festival that you can read more about here.

Matariki on Wiki

To celebrate Matariki we have been busy at work with the residents craft group.

Many stars were cut out and coloured, or had glitter added, then Jo the activities lady had me scooting up and down the steps adding them to a big black cloth we had pinned to the wall in the lobby. Of course they had to be in the correct configuration.

The birdbath to the right of the mural is representative of a Tangihanga.  Stones are placed into water as a symbolic way of honouring the dead. It is one of the many customs that are recognised during the mourning process. In recent weeks we have lost a great number of residents, many of them were active members of the craft group and those remaining felt it was a wonderful way to acknowledge their passing.

We also had some of the residents drawing around templates and cutting out feather shapes to make a Kahu huruhuru. The feather cloak worn as a ceremonial garment on special occasions.

In town on Friday evening we had the now traditional night market. It was introduced a few years ago and has become popular. Not so much this year as the weather gods didn't get the memo and it was not only bitterly cold but also pouring with rain.

The Timaru Patchwork and Crafters club were invited to join an exhibition showcasing some of the many clubs here in town.

The lighting was great for looking at the various exhibits, but really not good for photography.

I looked in briefly during the evening and there was a good crowd sheltering from the weather.

The members who were looking after our exhibition said there was a steady stream throughout the evening.

Lots of people looking to get some respite from the weather.

You might recognise one or two items. LOL

We shared the space with the local WI, the spinners and weavers, the embroiderers guild, the wood turners guild and not one but two choirs.

*

I'm off work again today. My head cold has made a comeback. 

Are these bugs and viruses getting nastier? Or is it just me?

Anyway, I'm sitting with my needle and thread making more progress on my Chookshed Challenge project. 

A Chookshed Challenge update.

 I wasn't roped in for extra shifts at work, so I've been enjoying resting on my days off. Not much has been done in the way of housework, just the minimum, you know cooking and a little laundry.  Wednesday I was off out early, I picked up Debbie as she dropped her car at the workshop first thing for it's service. We spent the morning together, Debbie knitting and I was busy with my Chookshed Challenge project. After lunch Debbie and I parted, I went in to work for a meeting before picking up some groceries, then I spent the remainder of the day, sewing some more.

Today I didn't even make it out through the front door. I've spent the majority of the day in my armchair, with a needle in my hand. It's been a good couple of days, I completed another block.

I've been working on this block all week, getting in my 15 minutes on two mornings before work.  It's kind of difficult to see in the above image, the bird house is done in chain stitch and the red border. All the other stitching is back stitch.

I have the next block loaded in my hoop and have made a start. Maybe I could complete it before the month ends. I have one more day off, so I should get a good start on it.

Feeling much improved.

 All of your good wishes were heard and I have to say that today I am feeling much improved. Thank you for those get well wishes. Whatever bug it was that got hold of me has loosened it's grip and I finally felt able to play a little.  At the start of the illness I was able to complete my Bumblebee cross stitch and blogged about it, then things took a down turn and I could barely think let alone concentrate on sewing. Looking back at my efforts to share the Crispy Chilli Beef recipe.... I could have done a better job, but I'll leave it alone.

So today I'm feeling better. I pulled out my Chookshed Challenge. And made progress.

This month if you remember it is my Down in the Garden project. A Leanne Beasley BOM I've had sitting around for a good few years. I took it with me to Scrub Stitchin' retreat and made some good progress. I made more after returning home, then it lay not forgotten but unattended for a few weeks. Today I pulled it out and took up needle and thread.

I've stitched one of two flowers and two pots of herbs.

I'm all lined up preparing to stitch a row of flowers next.

I'll pick away at it a little more this evening, and maybe after work over the next few days. I'm not sure how that will go though. I'm not the only staff member to be ill. It would seem that half of my colleagues are also poorly and in various stages of the illness. I may find myself roped in to working extra shifts. 

Thank you again for your get well wishes. 

Another recipe for you.

 There is a bit of a story to this one. 

Back on the Isle of Man there is a Chinese takeaway just at the end of the main shopping street in our home town of Ramsey. The Mandarin Takeaway. We enjoyed going there, it was close to home and you could watch the chef at work. There was no hidden kitchen, everything happened right there in front of your eyes. There is a big gas fired range with several burners and two or three chefs working away with their woks. Behind them and also to one side were boxes and boxes of ingredients. As they started each new dish you saw them taking a little of this and some of that adding them to the wok and working away, tossing all of the ingredients together. It was noisy and hot in there, the sound of the steel utensils against the edge of the woks, the big fans in the cooker hood drawing out the oily steams and the chefs chattering away to each other as they cooked. Then in what seemed like moments they would be tipping your order into a tray and the girl at the counter would call your number and off home to eat. It had a special kind of magic to it.

The Chinese takeaways we have found here in Timaru I have to say leave a lot to be desired. I ordered lemon chicken in one and took home a tray of chicken nuggets with some sort of sticky sauce from a plastic squeezy bottle poured over it! A far cry from what I was used to back in Ramsey! We still want good fresh Chinese food so had to find our own recipes. And we have had some successes. We've tried various packet mixes and jars but never really fell in love with any of them. I've yet to find a good replacement for the Beef Chow Mein I used to favour. The local Thai restaurant does a good sweet and sour and we have found other new favourites to make at home. 

One of Tony's favourites from the Mandarin take away was Deep Fried Crispy Shredded Beef in Hot Chilli Sauce. I scoured the internet for a substitute. Eventually I found one. Here you go...

Crispy Chilli Beef.

500g Thin cut beef. We use rump and slice it into strips.
1 egg beaten
2-4 table spoons corn starch.
Salt and pepper
Plenty of cooking oil
1 medium onion sliced
Veges (See notes)
1 red chilli finely sliced
1 tea spoon minced ginger
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 table spoons rice wine vinegar
3 table spoons dark soy sauce
2 table spoons tomato puree
3 - 4 table spoons caster sugar
2 table spoons tomato sauce/ ketchup
2 table spoons sweet chilli sauce.

Place the steak into a bowl with the beaten egg and mix well, then add the cornflour and seasonings and stir to ensure the egg soaks up the flour and the meat is coated.

Heat plenty of oil in a large frying pan or wok and cook the beef in batches. Your oil needs to be hot, We usually work 3 batches. Drop in the first batch and try to spread it out a little, but don't stir fry as this will reduce the crispiness. It generally takes about 5-6 minutes per batch. Give it only about 3 stirs to separate the pieces. Once it is dark brown and crispy lift it out with a slotted spoon or tongs and keep warm while you cook the next batch. You may need to add more oil.

Once all of the beef is cooked add more oil and reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion and cook until it begins to soften, then add the other veg and stir fry for a couple more minutes. Next add the chilli, ginger and garlic stir frying for another minute before adding the remainder of the ingredients.  Allow it to warm and bubble for a minute or two until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the beef back in and give it a stir to coat the beef in the sauce.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Notes.

No, it's not keto friendly. Yes I've replaced the sugar with stevia and I could make my own sweet chilli sauce using stevia. 

The veges.

The recipe I found didn't mention any veg except the onion, but the dish Tony used to get back in Ramsey had carrot batons in it and sometimes there would be sliced capsicum, depending on which chef cooked it. I have experimented with various veg, but usually just add carrots or capsicum. Last night I was too tired to mess about chopping veg so just threw in a couple of hand full of ready sliced coleslaw. (Without the dressing of course). YUM! We'll do that again!

The beef.

As I mentioned, we use rump but you could use any beef that you would normally use to stir fry.

Don't stir fry though. Do your best to separate the strips but let them sit for a while then have another go after a good minute or two. I made the mistake of keeping it moving one time and we got soggy beef not crispy beef.

The sauce.

Once the beef and veg are cooked everything happens very fast. I prepare all of the ingredients and have them ready to go. I mix all of the liquids and pastes into a jug with the sugar and have it ready to add all at once.

We have played with the sauce recipe, reducing the sugar content, the original had 6 - 7 spoons of sugar! I'm very tempted to omit the ketchup/tomato sauce next time...

We used to serve it over rice. When we made it last night we didn't bother, we just had a big bowl of crispy beef in tangy chilli sauce. It was delicious.

No work for me today.

 You know I often wish I didn't work so many hours, or that I could retire. I should be careful what I wish for. I have me a nasty head cold and as you know in my line of work I'm not welcome at work with such bugs. Though I'm not feeling great I have been able to get on and complete my cross stitched bee. There really wasn't much left to do.

Now all that remains is for me to wash it and give it a really good press. It will be put away until I decide how I want to finish it. 

Next I hope to be getting on with my Chookshed challenge.

Wish me luck.

Steve's Surprise.

 We were recently invited to a gathering to farewell a friends daughter. She is going over seas to live and work for a few years. We were asked to bring a pot luck. I took along my slow cooked Chilli Con Carne, it always goes down well. That's not what I'm here to share, but I will one day. At the farewell party there was a platter with the most beautiful soft roasted beef nestled on a bed of mash. YUM! The next day I reached out to the guest who brought it along and he was kind enough to share.

The following is what he sent to me.

Hi Lou lol the recipe is pretty much Steve surprise (I'll be surprised if it works) What I did for last night: 1.5 kg beef ribs In the slow cooker on low for 11.5 hours Put them in at 0615 Salt pepper mixed herbs over the ribs mainly on the meat side Bay leaves (4) Rosemary sprigs one for each rib bone Ribs sitting on Swede slices about 1 cm thick Tin of watties basil tomates half on top and half around the Swede and half a tin of water into the base. I also added a touch of chilli powder as it was cold Let it do its thing and then mashed the Swede and tomatoes as the base and sliced onto the plate. I reckon you could use red wine in place of the water and it would add to the gravy It changes each time I do it depending on what I have available ie mushrooms courgette, etc

Like most slow cooker meals it looks pretty simple and also versatile.

Inspired I decided to have a go myself. I started at 07.15 though. 

I placed thickly sliced swede into the bottom of my slow cooker. Popped a 1.5 kg lump of topside roast on top of that. (I don't have ribs and as I have just put half of a home grown  cow into my freezer I wasn't going shopping for them). I sprinkled on plenty of salt, pepper, an Italian seasoning and a little beef stock powder. Then I  decided to add some sliced carrots around the beef. Next I poured in a pottle of Uncle Ruffies tomato sauce (Look on my recipe tab above for that). A little water, two huge cloves of garlic and some bay leaves and rosemary. Then as Steve says, I let it do it's thing.

I came back to it a few hours later after taking a frosty walk, completing my chores the grocery shopping and visiting a friend for a cuppa and a catch up. I decided it could do with a little more liquid so added the suggested red wine. Then I let it do it's thing for a few more hours while I cross stitched.

Later I strained off some of the fluid to make a gravy, adding some flour to thicken it. We pulled out the bay leaves and rosemary stalks and mashed the veges.  Tony carved the beef and we plated up with plenty of gravy and some steamed broccoli on the side. 

YUM!

I forgot to take photos of course and to be honest my version did not look as pretty as Steve's. But it did taste good and it was oh so soft. I've done pot roasts in the slow cooker before but it was nice to be reinspired.

So there you have it. Steve's Surprise pot roast.

A couple of days worth of hexies....

 This is not what I was going to do with my days off this week, but once the mending and hottie cover I mentioned in my previous post were taken care off I fell down the hexie hole. And I have a happy pile of hexie flowers to show for it.

There are some very pretty fabrics being used in this latest batch of flowers. The flower at the top of this image, with the dark centre has more pink in real life. It's still dark here this morning, so the lights are on and as you know that can mess with the camera.

I have a couple of small chores to do today, then my time is my own. I don't plan to stitch hexies, but we will see where my muse takes me. My box of prepped hexies is running low, so I will need to find some fabric scraps to make more.

I do have fabrics pulled for a very special quilt. I have a whole year to make it, so no rush but you know how quickly a year can pass! I keep on telling myself I should make a start. Then we have another cold dark wet day and I curl up in my chair with some hand work.

Speaking of hand work, my cross stitch Bee needs only one wing and some back stitch......

My batik EPP is here waiting for me.....

My Chookshed challenge is here waiting for me.....

The Christmas ornaments I have kitted are waiting for me....

Oh! I forgot to mention... I completed last months Chookshed challenge. I used my rulers while I was quilting the hottie cover. Yay!

A tidy up was needed.

Yay! Three days off.

What to do with myself?

The first job on the list was a good tidy up in my very messy room.

Things have been dumped everywhere, the first stop on the tidy up mission was to sort out the pile of felt pieces that I was lucky enough to score yesterday.

A facebook seller was letting go of her late Mother's huge stash. There was a massive amount of threads, ribbons, magazines, fabrics and, and, and...

After a good look I settled on this big pile of craft felts for a very small price.

Time to sort it out.

The pieces are all different sizes,

Many have been cut into, but that's ok.

And some are just pieces. 

There, that is better, all put away. 

We have a felt project at club later this month, I'll take one of these boxes along.

NEXT!

That big bag of fabric I scored from neighbour Shelly.

Those beautiful batiks did fit into the top drawer without any major maneuverings. 

Only just.

The other fabrics in Shelly's bag soon found homes in various drawers. Then I had my cutting table back and could get on with a quick repair job for work.

When we are working in the dining rooms at work we wear cute cotton aprons. Some of our residents also wear an apron at meal times. Yesterday this poor apron fell apart while in use.

So I brought it home for a quick repair. A dig through my lace trims and ribbon jar found just the right piece.

Five minutes later it was all fixed and ready to return to work.

Next I had a request from a colleague.

Please make her daughter a hot water bottle cover.

Plan A will become something else. LOL. But plan B looks cute. I'll deliver both tomorrow.

NEXT.

I ironed the small pile that had grown.

Tidy up and chores completed.

After some lunch I think I'll sit and sew something for me.

Acquisitions.

 My second blog today. But I had to record this... I mentioned earlier today that I was going over the road and a few doors along to visit a pal who is destashing....

What an incredibly generous lady. She agreed to my original offer, but when I got home and had a play in the rather large bag, I doubled my offer and paid it before she could object.

About half of the pieces in the bag are batik, you know I love batiks. Many of those are over a meter, one is a very generous two meters. There are fat quarters, off cuts, and even a panel to make a very cute quilt. 

WOW!

Take a look.

This piece is about 1 meter.

Another big piece.

Two half meter cuts.

These two Christmas fabrics are half meter cuts. They both have a lump missing, but that is ok.

A skinny off cut.

A fat Quarter.

Three more FQ.

A beautiful Japanese dragonfly FQ

And a bunch of leafy browns and golds.

The horse fabrics are about a half meter, one is a little bigger.

A collection of kiwiana. Mostly long thin pieces, not skinny quarters, thinner than that. 

A whole layer cake and a charm pack.

And some left over layer cake pieces. 

More not quite FQ off cuts.

And more....

The lighter green below is a half meter cut. The darker piece with white butterflies is a Japanese Tana. A half meter.

And some off cuts. 

A huge purple triangle. 

A huge piece of blue check.

I got the deal of the Millennium!

And what a cute panel.

I just need to find a coordinating fabric and follow the instructions.

I saved the best for last...

It looks like not much in this image, I'll spread it out a little...

Some random shapes and off cuts. That piece with the purple splodge is a half meter cut.

There is a meter cut of this one, look at the chain stitch all over the swirls.

A bunch of FQs.

And some more FQs...

A big pile of golden off cuts in all shapes and sizes.

Then the big pieces...One is over 2 meters.

On the left are the 1 meter or larger pieces and on the right the half meter pieces.

Oh my goodness. I can't stop looking at it all, stroking and folding and stroking and refolding...

You know how it goes. 

I might keep it here by my chair for a day or three. LOL

I'm not ready to put it all away just yet. LOL

A bit of a reshuffle will be required to get the batiks away, that drawer is pretty full already. 

I really need to get some quilts made.