comfort

Hello there,

As I was saying in one of my previous posts, it is very cold at the moment by Sydney standards. This has led to me, like most people I assume, craving comfort foods and sitting around inside like a blob.. so last night I made one of my favourite warm, winter comfort foods ever: lentils!

I don't know how enthusiastic about lentils other people are, but I got the idea about a week ago after browsing 101 cookbooks and coming across a lovely-looking recipe for lentil soup.


Delicious lentils with yoghurt..

Of course I made my own alterations to the recipe, namely using green/brown lentils because my dad couldn't find the right ones and adding heaps of Worcestershire sauce (I had to look that up to spell it properly..) because I always remember my mum making lentils with Worcestershire sauce when I was little, which adds to the comfort-factor.


I also made an exciting discovery in my bookshelf a few days ago, a set of three rather large folders filled with information on sewing. Apart from the hilarious eighties-style pictures, it looks amazingly helpful as it includes different stitching types and when to use them, how to sew with different fabrics, attaching zippers and buttons, as well as many far more complicated tips that go way over my less-than-basic sewing knowledge. For instance, one folder is filled entirely with tips on how to get the perfect fit from your garment, and when they say perfect they mean perfect. In fact the fit in some of those photos looks so extremely perfect that it is probably not at all comfortable, and the people were probably sewn into the garments and couldn't sit down..

There are tips on how to fit for every single not-exactly-average measurement that your body might have, including a wide back (who knows how big their back is?) and narrow thighs (sorry, but if I had narrow thighs I don't think I would be worrying very much about "disguising the problem" !!)


a similar eighties-style sewing pattern (showing off the crazy-close fit) from vintagegifts4sale on etsy


Anyway, having flipped through these folders I have been inspired to try harder to make some actual clothes and expand my sewing experience, starting with a black velvet skirt because I have wanted one for months yet can't find one that is the right length because I am too tall.. (I have a couple of skirts that I hardly ever wear because I am constantly paranoid about them flying up an inch or to and revealing far more than it necessary to the general public! 6 ft is not a height you should ever aspire to..)  


So I guess that's all the exciting reporting I have for today, I have a post about my Newcastle trip lined up but I need to take a couple of photos of my exciting loot first..


xx Elly

cooking.

I have decided that as it is extremely cold (in Sydney terms) at the moment, to warm you up i've compiled some of my favourite sites on the theme of: cooking!
number one : whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner

So basically this is a site that will help indecisive people like me decide what they want to cook themselves for dinner. There is also a helpful vegetarian-only option for the herbivores/vegetarian fakers (that is just being mean to my eating-only-chicken-and-fish self, no offence intended!) among us. Just don't hand this site on over to your granny, unless she likes the work "fuck" a lot..

number two : eggwatchers

This site is one of my all-time favourites as it taught me how long to boil an egg for. Sad I know, but I do actually learn everything I know from the internet. Plus, this fancy gadget will not only tell you how long to cook your eggs for varying different sizes, temperatures, and outcomes but entertain you with fun youtube videos while you wait! So no more pacing around wondering why six minutes suddenly seems like years.. Some good ones i've seen have been crazy claymation zombie killing and a star wars dance-off. Awesome.

number three : recipelook

Oh my good, words cannot describe how much I love this site. Seriously. A combination of two of my most favourite things: cute illustrations and cooking. Heaps of yummy recipes have been hand-illustrated, creating a very long list of images that are both beautiful and useful. Here are a couple of my picks from the site:


short and sweet nutella tortillas by Emilie Boudet


roasted potato wedges by Rachel Rauch

number four : taste.com.au

Okay, so this one is a bit more boring than the others, but this is really my first point of reference when I want to find a recipe. They have pretty much everything I have ever looked for, although sometimes the search tool is a bit unhelpful and you might have to try a few different ways of wording what you want. Other than that, love it forever <3

And a one last thing for those who can't be bothered to cook:

Who doesn't love nineties one hit wonders..?

xx Elly

buns

Hello all,

Since my last post my motivational ideas seem to have diminished somewhat. However, I have upped my consumption of Swedish culture, mostly of their food! My grandfather lives in Finland (he is not Finnish, he is English, but that's another story..) and I remember when I visited about ten years ago we ate these really nice sweet buns that were flavoured with some sort of spice. Yum!

Anyways, so while researching Swedish food to get we into the swedish-learning mood (yes I am a poet..) I found these Swedish Cardamom and Cinnamon buns, cousins to the Finnish buns which are called Pulla. I have actually tried to make the Pulla before but it failed miserably so I was a bit scared to try it!

So I had a bit of a one-person baking party a few days ago and made them, with the yeast and everything! It was very exciting because I have never cooked using yeast before.. But it was so good! I felt like a real proper baker because there was actually a chance that things could go wrong, unlike with my normal biscuits and cakes where pretty much the only that can go wrong is that they have too much/not enough sugar..

I did actually take heaps of nice photos, which also showed off my sweeeet new dessert stand that I got from the Salvo's the other week, but you will have to wait a couple of days for them as I am a bit lazy with the uploading at the moment.

But because of my laziness what you do get is a couple of photobooth pics of my recent purchases (because I know you care!): my super-duper yellow tights and some new additions to my owl collection, which now looks quite sizable and needs a bit more shelf space I think!


Banana legs!
In a way they just make my legs look a little bit diseased but I like them anyway!


So many owls...

In more shop-related news I have actually added a few new items including a beautiful vintage typewriter and a spotless glomesh bag (which I really love but really I think four glomesh bags is enough for my personal collection!)

So I hope you have learnt something about Swedish cooking or maybe more about my laziness here today!

xx Elly

P.S. While researching Swedish food I found this picture of a Swedish Crayfish Party!
How crazy !! (Plus aren't lobsters kind of expensive?? Swedish people must have too much money..)