cookbook addict

I'm always a little shy about showing what I sew because I have two characteristics that make the resulting objects imperfect -and therefore probably a little laughable. I am impatient and not painstaking enough. Maybe that's the same. Because of my lack of training I just jump right in and draw the patterns without using weights or rulers, and usually just eyeball the allowances. That often results in wonky seams, unsightly little folds and unmatching edges. I often blame the designs but deep down I know it's my fault, I should be more concentrated and apply attention where it's needed. So that's just my way of saying I haven't stopped sewing or attempting to craft with the kids, I just keep quiet about it, but fear not, I may go on and unburden myself here in the future. Today I wanted to show you my newest bag. Bags are rewarding projects -usually, there is of course the odd exception- they're quick, useful and allow a variety of funky fabrics to b...

Faits ces derniers jours : * salade de petit épeautre, menthe et courgette de Jamie in Jamie's America, superbe opus dédié aux Etats-Unis, une excellente salade avec l'épeautre croquant, la courgette un peu grillée, la menthe, les oignons verts et la féta Made these past few days : *Courgette, mint and farro salad from Jamie's America, a superb book dedicated to food and the US, an excellente salad with nutty, crunchy farro (I used petit épeautre from Provence but think it's the same, really), partly grilled courgette bits, fresh mint and spring onions, as well as feta *soupe de poivrons rouges (pas de photo), toujours de Jamie's America. J'avoue que je me penche en détail sur ce livre que j'ai un peu oublié grâce à Kelly-Jane , merci à elle *red pepper soup (no photo), also from Jamie's America. I admit I have been poring over it lately thanks to Kelly-Jane's post * cake au chocolat  excellente recette à conserver, de smitten kit...

This post is brought to you via the amazing restorative power of Mojito :D I spent the afternoon trying to look after both children on my own during a birthday party on a farm. Then I drove 20km back home on winding albeit scenic backroads because the motorway was closed. I don't usually drink on my own but suddenly, the Havana Club, the organic limes and the mint on the balcony beckoned and were calling my name. Coming home I was exhausted, but now that I have nearly finished my first Mojito I must say the evening is looking pretty dandy -and I am grateful for the party, which was fun. Enough of that, I had this post in the making earlier today so I'll skip to that now. I have been sewing up a storm, trying to finish gifts for lovely people I'm about to see when I'm on holidays next week instead of packing up boxes for our impending move . But not only. Look at this pretty dress for Maya. OK, it looks a bit classic with its dainty fabric covered in cherries and...

Je me suis sentie un peu plus créative ces derniers temps, aussi bien dans ma cuisine que derrière la MAC I've been feeling a bit more creative lately, both in the kitchen and at the sewing machine. The before picture Le mois prochain, nous allons déménager, alors en triant un peu ma garde-robe, j'ai pensé remodeler certaines pièces plutôt que de m'en débarasser. Cette marinière Petit Bateau m'a été offerte il y a des lustres. Je n'ai jamais trop aimé la coupe, un peu baggy, mais pas assez pour cacher les parties un peu trop arrondies de mon corps, juste suffisamment pour les faire ressortir. Also, we'll be moving next month so while I've been sorting out my wardrobe, I thought I'd refashion some of the items in there, starting with this red marinière from Petit Bateau, which I got as a present many moons ago. I never quite liked the fit, which was a bit loose, but not enough to hide the plumpy bits of my body, just enough to make them stick out...

Lors de mon week-end à Paris, j'ai acheté du jersey rayé pour me faire une marinière. J'ai dû ensuite attendre impatiemment que mes nouveaux livres de coutre japonais  arrivent contenant un patron de T-shirt. J'aurais pû utiliser un  vieux t-shirt pour tracer le patron, mais j'étais un peu nerveuse à l'idée de coudre du jersey, je voulais donc mettre toutes les chances de mon côté. En plus, depuis les manteaux, j'ai eu une petite série d'échecs qui m'a laissé un manque de confiance en moi. When I was in Paris, I picked up some stripey knit to make myself a marinière , or stripey tee. Then I impatiently waited for my new Japanese craft books to arrive with the pattern for the shirt. I sure could have used an old tee to trace a pattern but I was already nervous about sewing knit, I wanted to make things right, or as right as possible. I must confess to a small series of disappointing projects since the jackets that left me somewhat insecure. J'ado...

I hope to get a bit more regular on this blog. I have made a few things since last year but it seems too much for a single post. Let's focus on the now and then. Today we're going to celebrate the third birthday of a little neighbour so I've made her an elephant. It's my third and it's true that the more you make something the easier it becomes. This one has less faults than its two predecessors. I have used fabric from Tilda, I think they're so beautiful, and the pattern is from this book , which is a great book for beginners. I received two Japanese pattern books this week and am planning on making this skirt first. I have long wanted a denim skirt with a pleat at the front, I'm thinking of making it all denim.     For the sweet tooth, here's a little pic of Jamie's baked chocolate tart out if his first book. Mmmhhh, so good! The recipe is here . I used "only" 100g butter, but it is very rich all the same. I used to make it often when I f...

We have put up our Christmas tree. It is a jumble of tinsel, tiny wooden figures and felt trees, and now thanks to Nikolaus, Kinder chocolate Santas. Just the way we like it. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Saint Nicolas, Kleesche,  the model for Santa Claus and a beloved figure in our area (Northeastern France, Germany, Benelux countries) is celebrated on December 6. The night before, children put their shoes out for him to fill with sweets, chocolates, little presents as well as something for him to drink and nibble on, and some snack for his donkey. I must say I don't relate so much to this tradition but I like to embrace it as it makes the children happy. In Luxemburg, Kleesche is often accompanied by his dark friend Houseka, whom we call Père Fouettard in French, who is supposed to come and spank/club naughty children. He certainly frightens smaller children but since his threats never come true, his educational value is low, ha ha. Today is also the second Sunday of Advent so we have ...

Instead of telling you all about my failure to finish those projects I was talking about here , I'll tell you about some good things. Baking cakes for teatime has to be the most relaxing activity. Here is a favourite of mine, already blogged about, but worth every post it can get. Olive oil and orange juice cake with pine nuts, only good things in there and a delicate cake, both dense and light, plain but delicious. It is dairy free too, if you know someone with dairy allergies. It's the olive oil and orange juice cake with pine nuts from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. I love baking cookies and biscuits too, but it's more time-consuming than cakes, so I do it less often these days. Browsing the web for Christmas ideas, I found out that the vegan punk girls' cookie book was out at last. Yay! So to be patient until next month, I set out to bake the PB chocolate pillows featured on their website, the Post Punk Kitchen. They looked so delicious with their little bellyful o...

This week, I received my first Japanese sewing book. When I realized many people sewed from such books and talked about it on their blogs, I thought that was a bit mad but kinda cool. Like they belonged to a special club . I also thought many of the clothes they made looked like oversized bags with sleeves, he he. That was until I saw Melissa's dress on tiny happy . I thought it was so pretty and stylish, in a simple way. The beautiful fabric certainly helped.  Stylish Dress Book -vol. 1 I wanted that dress, it's the one on the cover, dress E. I wasn't sure I'd actually manage to finish it because a) except for a few words of English, everything was in Japanese, and b) not being an expert seamstress, I didn't know if I could follow all the steps without botching anything. Turns out it wasn't that difficult, which also explains why so many people sew with these Japanese books. The patterns are simple, most have no zippers. I haven't tried sewing a zipper yet....

Today while Alma was napping and Maya was at pre-school, I finished Alma's fleece hoodie, the same model I made for Maya. I had a harder time somehow and had to undo some of the seams to sew them again properly. If I'm not paying close attention, I often end up sewing the wrong side on. I made it quite big, for a 2-year old, but shortened the sleeves. That way it'll be easy to put on.  I'm quite pleased with them, but if you inspect them closely, you'll see the little details that give away my impatience. I also wanted to tell you about a stew I made in my slow-cooker yesterday, because it was so good.  I used ox cheek for the first time instead of plain stewing beef. I was a bit worried, as I often am with stews, because I plonked the rolled cheeks still frozen into the pot, and after a while, when they had started to thaw I cut them up and they were so tough and stringy I thought they'd never soften. But after a long while in the pot, they had become so meltin...

We had exceptionally beautiful warm weather all September, but this week has been wetter and grayer, the leaves seem to turn more quickly to shades of orange and yellow and brown, and we're beginning to spend more time indoors (coughing and nose-blowing too). And so it is that I have been busy in the kitchen and at the sewing machine yesterday. We were out of everything for breakfast and I had been eyeing a pumkin scone recipe so I got to make it. I use potimarron, I think it's called Hokkaido squash, it is a small variety that has a dense flesh with a hint of chestnut flavour (hence the name). It is ideal for all recipes calling for pumpkin or butternut, and you can cook and eat the skin too -less waste, more vitamins, and above all by my book, less work! These scones were a bit dense, but nicely flavoured with a hint of cinnamon, and smeared with Nutella, they were quite easy to eat but dunk anything in Nutella and we'll eat it. Though perhaps not bacon or sausages... I a...