Sprouting

I've been fiddling around with sprouting seeds on and off for a while now.
I've tried using jars covered with muslin secured with an elastic band. The idea is you soak the seeds, in the jar, then upend it, allowing the water to run through the muslin, a couple of times a day. Sounds straightforward, but in practice, the water just didn't run off properly. Lots of water would be left, so I would end up straining the seeds through a sieve, then trying to put them all back into the jar, losing quite a few along the way. Too much of a palaver for me.
I bought this contraption at the local nursery a couple of months ago. It is a lot more user friendly. You just pour water into the top tray. The water runs through all the layers, and then ends up in the bottom tray which you empty. Easy peasy. Above are two trays of snow pea spouts and a mix of alfalfa and radish sprouts.
I've also used lentils.
Still haven't got it weighed off though. It seems you need to sprout a LOT of seeds, to fill the punnets you would normally buy. The tray of alfalfa/radish sprouts went onto one sandwich. Meanwhile, I ended up snipping the snow pea sprouts indvidually, because the seeds themselves aren't terribly palatable. A bit tedious, I tell you. The lentil sprouts weren't too bad - I used them whole in a salad.
Also, the seeds you buy for sprouting I reckon are expensive. Looking at ordering some through Green Harvest online.
Do you sprout? What are your favourite sprouting seeds? And how do you do it?

Made by Me - 50 cent serve of Sorbetto

Ok, so I promised I would start posting photos of my sewing projects after I bought my beloved Bernina 330 last month. Here is the first in what I hope will be regular "Made by Me" postings.
This top is Colette Patterns' Sorbetto top, which, if you are interested, is available as a free download here.
This is a simple sleeveless top - no, you aren't seeing me model it without the cardi.I'm not showing my upper arms to anyone.
I made a simple few alterations and changes. I dropped the bust dart about an inch, and lengthened the top about 5 cm (I am 175cm - this is pretty standard alteration for me). Also, instead of an exposed bias binding, I sewed the binding to the inside. I only had a small amount of fabric left to make bias binding. I could get enough metrage, but only at the cost of lots of joins, which don't look so hot on the outside.
It is a very easy top to make. If you are a beginner, I would definitely encourage you to try it. There are no buttons or zips to fiddle around with - a straightforward make.
I also like that this top is made from one of the few good Vinnies finds I've had. I don't know - so many people seem to strike gold often at Vinnies - not me. I did find this fabric at the local Vinnies for 50c. Yay.  It looks and feels like a cotton/poly blend, and though it doesn't show in the photo it has tiny embossed butterflies.
So free  pattern - 50c for fabric - even the cotton was a left over from my marathon curtain making effort of 2006  (8 sets of curtains). You gotta love that.

Rock cakes - school must be back in

How many rock cakes have I made in my lifetime? Answer: A lot.
School is back in, and here is another batch. Myyounger child, Amelia, started high school on Monday. Monday night I was bagging up unneeded primary school uniforms to take in for the clothing pool. I had polo shirts too that were too tatty or too daubed with paint to include, so I sat and painstakingly cut them into rags. I had a bit of tear in my eye as I did. Primary school stage is over. Whoosh. How fast did that go?
I think every year has a different rhythm. This year I will have quiet mornings. Both children are out the door at 7.15am to catch the bus. They get home about 4.15pm, so there is extra quiet there too.
Meanwhile, I've dropped a day's work. I am very happy about this. Toward the end of last year I was tired and not feeling that well, really (as evidenced by negligent blogging habits). I was feeling out of whack. Another day to keep on top of things around here will make all the difference. I've also booked into yoga classes again for this term, after a break of 10 months, and have joined the local tennis club. I haven't hit a tennis ball in years - we'll see how this goes!
So 2012 is shaping up well. There is a lot to look forward to and be thankful for. Hope it is the same in your neck of the woods.

White peaches

Luxury. A sinkful of peaches - white (can't remember the variety) and Golden Queens. You have to be careful with the white peaches. They drip with juice, and are so sweet. The Golden Queens don't drip juice. They are firm and yellow. Mainly used for canning.
My big regret when I chose the varieties of peach to plant was that I didn't go for freestone varieties. Both are clingstone. Not a big deal when you eat them fresh, but a little harder to work with when you are looking to cook or preserve.
Vegies and fruit are coming in the door thick and fast: tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, beans, figs, grapes, passionfruit, lemons, beetroot. No lettuces - they just go straight to seed in this hot, humid weather.
Meanwhile, mildew has attacked the zucchini. It's been really wet, and the last few days have been hot, so mildews and fungus are everywhere.
February is our most productive month by far - would that it came 12 times a year.

Kushari

I try to have one vegetarian night a week around here, sometimes we have two. Personally, I would do more, but the meatlovers around here bleat. I would make myself a vegie alternative, but know they would want to eat that as well so I would end up making two full meals each night. Too ridiculous, so I stick with the once-or-twice-a-week plan. (I have, though, basically cut out meat at breakfast and lunch, so I keep meat to dinners only).
This week, the family decamped to Brisbane to visit my mother-in-law, so I had four veggo nights. I made tofu and vegie burgers, a vegie curry, and tried out this recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian book. She calls it Palestinian Lentils and Rice with crisp fried onions. I call it kushari, as I recognise it as the lentil and rice dish we ate when we travelled around Egypt, and that is what they called it.
How cheap is this dish: lentils, rice, onion, a bit of oil, salt and a pinch of cumin. And yet, very moreish - I'll make this again, definitely.

Kushari

1/2 cup lentils
1 cup basmati rice
1 onion, finely sliced
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin.

Cover lentils and rice with water and soak for about an hour.
In a heavy saucepan, fry the onion in oil over medium heat until brown and crisp around the edges - this takes about 10-15 minutes. Lift with a slotted spoon and put onto paper towel.
Drain the rice and lentils. Stir into the oil left over in the saucepan for a few minutes until the rice is coated in oil. Add salt and cumin. Add water and bring to boil. When it boils, cover with a well fitting lid, turn the heat down to its lowest point, and cook for 25 minutes.
Fluff with a fork, and garnish with fried onion.

Feeds 4, I would guess.
P.S> I wouldn't miss out the onion step. It pretty much gives the dish it's flavour.

Happy Australia Day

Local identity, Sheepie, celebrates Australia in the same way many thousands will today- a barbie and the beach.

Without wishing to sound jingoistic at all, I think Australians would all do well to spend a few moments of quiet contemplation and count up the many reasons we should be grateful to live here. Here's a few to start: we enjoy a democracy; peace; a working judiciary; a free press; we've managed to combine all that is good about capitalism with enough safety nets to catch the not so well off; an education system; health services for all; clean water; reliable electricity. etc etc.

Recently I read Peter Hartcher's The Sweet Spot. It is a wide ranging read through Australia's political and economic history to show how we got here. Here's a bit from the blurb,

"Hartcher argues that Australia's prosperity was not built on dumb luck. In a time when the authoritarian success story of China is strong, Australia offers a better model: a democratic success story. Is it perfect? Of course not. But on some of the most important and appraently intractable problems of the modern world, Australia, believe it or not, is as good as it gets. And the beaches aren't bad either."

In a time where our politicians and media seem hell bent on pushing why things are so bad in this country, and will get worse, and why we should be fearful, Hartcher's book is an welcome antidote. We have challenges and inequalities, no doubt, and we shouldn't rest on our laurels. But I can't think of a country in the world better placed to rise up and meet them. Far from being fearful, and as hokey as it sounds, we need to count our blessings.

Happy Australia Day to all. Be thankful. And enjoy your day whatever you're up to.

A new addition

No, not what you might think.
Here's the new addition - a Bernina 330 sewing machine.
After enduring one too many frustrating sessions at my old machine, with its self-adjusting tension and stitch length, usually mid- seam (yes, it was regularly serviced), I took myself off and treated myself to this little beauty.
My mother sewed nearly all my clothes from primary school to wedding dress on her manual Bernina. It sewed like a dream. A couple of years ago, I bought a Bernina overlocker, and it too is a pleasure to sew with.
Since I brought this home last week I have spent a bit of time getting to know this beautiful thing. It's seam is brilliant. I can't think of a purchase I have made in my life that has made me smile more.
Another reason I was hanging out for a new machine was this pattern the Beignet skirt from Colette Patterns. Twelve buttons and buttonholes down the front. Completely undoable with my old machine, which had a woeful buttonhole from the get-go.
Stay tuned projects off the new machine..