Project 237.....fish cakes

My grandmother used to make these......my mom's making them.....I'm making them.....

We all eat them served differently.....My husband likes them with lettuce and lemon juice drizzled over them on wholewheat bread.....I like them with lettuce and atchar.....or with quince jam!  The boys eat them without adding anything.....

Use a 410g tin pilchards it tomatosauce, add 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp bakingpowder, 2 eggs, a small chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste.  I add  2.5 ml origanum and about 1.5 ml mustard powder.  If it is too dry, I add some tomato sauce.

Shallow fry them in oil and turn around halfway to do the other side.  Drain on a paper towel.

This is so easy and makes about 20 cakes from 1 tin of fish!

Project 236......flower arrangement for a function

Although nurses day was earlier this month, our hospital only celebrates it today.  I got up at five today to do this bouquet......

I used roses and greenery only and jazzed it up with beads on some of the orrange ones, and some twirls between the white ones.......and angels hair to soften it.....
 

PROJECT 235....A GOOD OMELETTE

My youngest just loves eggs and if you really want to treat him, you should make omelettes.  I'm a little lazy making them, but everytime I do make them, I think I should make them more often!

I hated home economics at school, but this was the first thing we were taught to do in st 6(todays grade 8).  I only had the subject for two years....it was compulsory!  Today I don't know why I did not like it....I spend such a lot of time in the kitchen now!

Some things did make an impression then, as I still make the omelettes the same way we were taught!  Except, I don't place them under the grill in the oven....the only reason for that......the pan I like to use has a plastic handle!  I just fold it over in the pan and cook them until done on the stovetop.

I separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the whites until stiff.  I use 2 eggs per omelette...it makes quite a large one, as you can see on the photo...this is only half!

Add 12,5ml milk, 2.5 ml baking powder and salt and pepper to taste to the yolks and beat it all together.  Now lightly fold the whites ito the yolks with a metal spoon.

I spray my cooking pan with 'spray n cook' and then heat a little oil on medium high. 

Pour your egg mixture into the pan.  When the bottom is done that you can fold it over without breaking it... add your filling to the one half before folding it over.  Cook until cheese is melted.  You can place it under the grill in your oven at this stage if you have a pan with a metal handle.

Our family likes tomato and onion sauce, garlic mushrooms, bacon or ham and grated cheese as filling, but you can use whatever you feel like.

Project 234.....Leftover sphagetti in your muffin pan

As most of you know by now, I am a full time nursing sister apart from being a full time mom, a full time wife and a fulltime pastors wife as well!  So I have to work until seven at night with times......

Unfortunately(or is it fortunately?) three teenage boys are hungry long before that!  So my husband has to cook with times.....The only snag.....his cooking skills deteriorated after we got married, and his best effort is sphagetti and mince......ok, I must admit....he makes a pretty good macaroni and cheese......but oh!....the sphagetti.....I'll get that at least once on every shift of 2-3 days!  There was a time that he liked to make sausage with eggs as well..... I  then got  sphagetti the one night and sausage the next....two days rest(I'm cooking on my rest days), then sphagetti again....and sausage the following night!....His menu for the past few years!

I used to take the leftovers to work for lunch, but jee!  You do get slightly embarrassed eating sphagetti each and everytime you're working!  So I saw this on the net some time ago, and after eating sphagetti again last night, I decided to disguise the leftovers for breakfast this morning!  I totally forgot what the original recipe had in, but I used my immagination and made my own recipe....

The mince with mixed veggies was mixed into the sphagetti.  I then added some seasoned salt, two eggs, a little milk, half a teaspoon of baking powder, a little leftover BBQ-sauce, chopped onion and green pepper and a little grated cheese.   I spooned the mixture into the greased muffinpan and baked it for about 25 minutes at 180*C.  First time ever I did not have to eat the leftovers myself!

PROJECT 233: EASY TANDORI CHICKEN

Mix together 1 cup plain yoghurt, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp garlic, 1 tsp ginger root, 2 tbsp garam masala, 1 tbsp tumeric, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Allow your chicken pieces to marinate in this for a few hours, or even overnight.

Remove from marinade and brush chicken with olive oil and place in roasting pan.  The original recipe did not use the marinade again, but I like to cook my chicken in the sauce.  Place in oven set at 200*C and cook until done.

Project 232......another material flower

I made this one to use on a pillow......

Cut longish leaves from scrap material.  You can use different materials, or only one colour.  Sew 2 pieces together on the wrong side and turn them over to have the right sides facing you.  Gather them slightly together at the bottom.  Put all the leaves together to form a flower.  Use a round piece of material to cover the centre where you have sewn them together.  Jazz up with buttons or beads.

project 231.....a scrap material flower bangle

I'm on a mission to try different scrap material flowers!  Some are more successfull than others.  I made a bangle from this one.

Cut 5 circles from different pieces of material.  I used a velvety brown piece for 3 circles and made two from a lacy piece of material.

Fold 3 pieces seperately in half and then in quarters.  Put them all on top of each other and secure by sewing the bottom corners together.  Then flatten the other two pieces and place them underneath.  Sew everything together again(I used the lace pieces for this).

Now zoosh it up with some beads and a piece of ribbon to tie it around your arm.  I made a pink one as well and added a safety pin at the back and some seedbeads to look like waterdrops. Quick and easy to zoosh up a plain cardigan!
 

Project 230....spinach stuffed chicken pieces

I made this the other night.  I did not have deboned chicken, so I just used boned ones, but I think with deboned pieces it can even be better, as it was so tasty.  With deboned pieces you can even add more of the filling!

Blanch same spinach until just wilted.  Place in food processer and chop finely.  Add some garlic, salt and pepper, grated cheese and a little cream.

Rub your chicken pieces with some cajun-spice.  Make slits in your chicken and fill with stuffing.  Take a bacon rasher or two and wrap your chicken in it and secure with toothpicks.

Cover for about 3/4 hour when starting to bake at about 180-200*C.  Take off the lid or foil and allow to brown for about 15 minutes.

Project 229...the easiest savoury muffins

One of the ladies at church made these on mothers day.  I don't know why I haven't thought of this before!  I made it for lunch last week and the boys just enjoyed it......

Fry a chopped onion in a little butter.  Add some bacon pieces(about half a packet will do) until done.

Mix a packet of savoury muffin mix as directed on the packet.  Add your bacon mix and a cup of grated cheddar cheese.  Bake at 180*C for about 20 minutes. 

project 228....crochet a belt

I made these to wear with my jeans.

Crochet 12 chain stitches, and the do double trembles until ti is long enough.  Attach your yarn again in each stitch and do a long chain with chain stitches in each one....all the same length.

Plait three together.  Add some flower motives to your belt.  I've even used some buttons on one I made for my sister.

Project 227.....notebooks

I can not take the credit for this one!  It was a team effort!  I did the beading and taped it to the backs of the books.  My friend did the typing, her husband the cutting and she glued it to the books and gave it the golden linings and glued the flowers it to it.  We made it for mothers day gifts in church.

Since we started doing the dances in church, we were asked for the meanings of the colours.  So we decided to give them the meanings on the notebook, then they have something to go back to and they can use the notebooks to write notes on the sermons.  A short mothers day message was added in the front of the book.

Meanings of colours......

BLACK...................Jesus death and for the death of all(some) of what has been in my life
RED........................Jesus Blood- forgiveness of sin, cleansing, healing 
BLUE.....................Gods grace and mercy.  Heavenly places
YELLOW...............Joy
ORANGE.............Fire of the Holy Spirit
GOLD.....................Glory of God
SILVER/WHITE...Holy Spirit/holiness
GREEN..................Healing, leaves, healing of nations
PALE BLUE........ .Rivers /streams of healing water
PALE YELLOW...Promises of God are true
PURPLE................Sovereignty of God
Cherise...................A husband-Jesus
AQUA....................Victory
VIOLET.................Peace

Project 226....coconut tart

I took shortcut on the crust!  I've used a roll of frozen puff pastry...rolled it open and baked it for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Filling:
2 2/3 cups of milk
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup maizena
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 1/3 cup coconut

Heat the milk on the stove top.  Mix the rest of the ingredients except the coconut.  Mix in with
warm milk and stir until it thickens.  Stir in the coconut.  Spread on top of the crust.  Allow to cool.

Topping:
1 cup coconut cream
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whip together and spread on top of your other layers.

Roast 1 cup of coconut in the oven for 4-5 minutes. spread it on top.

Project 225....no knead bread

I made this super easy bread the other night....one of the easiest breads I've ever made!  I've adapted the recipe a little by adding the sugar.  The original recipe did not have sugar, but maybe I am a little silly.....I always think that you need a little sugar when you use yeast.....and the original recipe had much more salt.

 cups flour
1 packet of instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp sugar

Mix everything with a wooden spoon and keep in a warm place to double in size. 

Put some olive oil on your hands and place your dough in an iron pot with a lid, or a pan with a lid or use foil.

Allow to double in size again. Bake at 180*C for half an hour with lid on, brush with olive oil and then bake open for 15 minutes.

Project 224....melkkos

This is a traditional South African dish.  At school we got this for supper in boarding school, but my family like it for breakfast.   
 
Heat a litre and half of milk with two  tablespoons of butter.  In a bowl mix 1 1/2 cups of flour, a teaspoon of salt and 2 eggs.  It will make small crumbs. When your milk is hot, add the flour mixture and simmer for about half an hour.  Serve with cinnamon sugar. Yummy!

project 223.....half circle flags

This was a team effort, but they are working so well, I had to show you.

As you know by now, we have a dance group at church, and the more we dance, the more excited we get!  My one friend said the other day she can not stand still anymore during the worship....she just wants to move! Surely something to get involved in!

She cut half circles and over locked them.  I then put a wide hem in on the straight lines  leaving a small space in the middle for a stick to go through.

Cut your stick slightly longer than half of the flag.  I used a pencil sharpener to sharpen the end and glued a large wooden bead to the end.  When you hold your flag, you pinch the bead between your fingers, and it is so easy now to move the flag.

String your wooden stick only in the one half, leaving the other half to hang loosely.  Staple the material to the stick at the two ends with a staple gun.

Try moving it now!  It has these lovely 'flowy'  movements!