Day 17 Blogtoberfest - Wordless Wednesday

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Day 16 Blogtoberfest - Blinky Bill Fabric

Blinky Bill has made his appearance on the blog before here and here, but this has to be my favourite. This is a 100% cotton fabric from the 1980's. I got it recently via Etsy. Ironically the seller lived nearby!

This weekend I cut into it. Yes, it was hard to do, but I can't wait to show you what I am making:) Cyndy

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Day 12, 13, 14, 15 Blogtoberfest - Falling off the Wagon

OK, I knew it would happen at some point. You guessed it, I fell off the Blogtoberfest wagon. And I was doing so well; eleven posts in eleven days, that's the most posts by me ever in a month!

The wagon falling began on day 12 (Friday).  I thought I could catch up on day 13 (Saturday), but by then it was day 14 (Sunday) and now, well now it's day 15 (Monday).

So like anyone who falls off the wagon, I am acknowledging that I fell off and getting back on. Do I have a good reason for falling off? Not really, just choices about how to spend my time over the last couple of days. I spent Friday dealing with two crisis:

1) getting new tires. I got a flat tire earlier in the week, so I needed to replace it, but I really needed to replace all 4 tires, I had just been avoiding it due to the cost.

2) getting a new TV. Our very old pre-flat screen era TV (yes, it really is as deep as it is wide) finally went kapooey on Thursday morning, I could only take the silence for 36 hours. Yes, I am weak:)

I spent Saturday and Sunday preparing for several upcoming events: the toy sale for our local toy library (getting rid of unneeded toys), the local baby and children's market (getting rid of unneeded baby stuff, since the baby is now 4 years old) and two craft markets in November (making new stock).

And that's real life. Falling off the wagon and getting back on:) Cyndy Pin It

Day 11 Blogtoberfest - My Creative Space

Have you ever been afraid to make something? I have. I have embroidered many Australian native flowers, but for some reason I have been intimidated by the idea of embroidering a waratah. I am not sure why. Maybe because its big? Maybe because it has lots of texture? Maybe because it's red?

Honestly, I have no idea why, but I've been scared so I haven't.  And then a funny thing happened, last week some beautiful photographs of real and sketched versions of waratahs showed up in my instagram feed. I knew when I saw them I needed to bite the bullet and try one. So I did:

There are layers of stitches and a lot of them, so its taking me a while. And while not done yet, I can already see some things I would do differently when I make another one.

Yes, I can already tell I will make another one. You see, it turns out it's not as hard as I thought it would be to embroider one:)

Hope your not feeling intimidated or scared to make something in your creative space:) And don't forget to check out My Creative Space for more inspiration. Cyndy Pin It

Day 10 Blogtoberfest - Wordless Wednesday

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Day 9 Blogtoberfest - Ready for Halloween

The Halloween decorations are up! A friend stopped by yesterday and as she peered through the front door into the rest of the house she commented "you really do Halloween, don't you?"

We don't, really. If we lived in the US what we do would be considered pretty mild, but here in Australia Halloween is still not the norm, so that makes us unusual:)

I suppose we have my American roots to thank for that. It's one of several American "holidays" I celebrate/commemorate in some way with the children to help them stay connected to their American heritage:)

And hey, next to Christmas, it probably has the best decorations.These are just a few of ours. There is something in every room in the house. Some of it bought, some of it found, some of it made. The best part, of course, is that the kids love it:)

Do you celebrate Halloween in any way? Cyndy

PS PicMonkey has LOTS of fun Halloween themed photo editing tools this year. And I mean LOTS, so if Halloween (or just spooky, creepy) is your kind of thing, be sure to check them out. Pin It

Day 8 Blogtoberfest - Keeping it in the Family (Chicken Paprikash Recipe)

For dinner on Sunday I made chicken paprikash. It's a Hungarian dish: chicken and dumplings in a paprika and sour cream sauce.

I've been eating this dish since I can remember.  My great grandma made it, my grandma made it, my mother makes it and now I make it. Its the one dish that all three of my children unequivocally love.

As I was standing at the stove I had a bit of a moment. My great grandmother and grandmother are no longer here so only my mother and I are left to make this dish (I've never known my sister to make it). If I wasn't here would my children know how to make it?

So I called my oldest (age 11) into the kitchen and said to him "Do you know how to make chicken paprikash?"And he replied "sorta." So I made him tell me the ingredients and the steps for making it.

As he shared what he knew, I found myself adding details here and there, sharing the small differences between how my great grandma, grandma, mother and I made/make it and some tips I have picked up over the years in making it.

When we had finished talking through the recipe, my oldest asked why I had wanted to know. And I told him that it was a dish that was important to our family (part of our heritage and traditions) and I wanted to make sure that we were keeping it in the family; that he and his sisters would be able to make it for their families. He told me not to worry:)  Cyndy


Chicken Paprikash

• 1 kg chicken legs and thighs with the skin on
• 1 onion chopped finely
• 1-2 fresh tomatoes diced
• 2-3 heaping tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
• water
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup sour cream
• green pepper (capsicum) slice thinly

Pull some of the skin off the chicken and brown with chopped onions. After about 5 minutes remove chicken skin and add chicken pieces (most with skin still on) and brown chicken.

Once chicken has been browned, add water to just cover chicken pieces, paprika, salt, diced tomatoes and simmer gently with the lid on for 50-60 minutes or until chicken begins to fall off the bones.

Remove chicken pieces from broth. In a glass or small bowl mix flour and some of the broth. Keeping adding broth until a smooth and silky texture is achieved. Add this back into the broth and stir until well incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps.

Next place the sour cream in the glass or small bowl and add some of the broth. Keep adding broth until a smooth silky texture is achieved. Add this back into the broth and stir until well incorporated. Make sure there are no lumps.

Add the chicken pieces back into the broth. Add the dumplings and simmer until warm all the way through. Just before serving add some green pepper slices.
 
Dumplings

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1-2 tablespoons water

Place flour in a bowl. Add salt and mix together. Make a well and crack the egg into well. Mix egg into flour using a fork. When you have achieved a crumbly mixture add 1 Tablespoon of water. Continue to mix using fork. Switch to using your hands to mix/knead the dough and add water in small amounts until mixture begins to form a ball.

Dough should be well mixed and begin to appear slightly shiny. Drop small pieces of the dough into boiling water (I use a small spoon or you can use a knife to cut off small pieces) and remove when they float to the surface (this should take about 30-45 seconds). Use a slotted spoon to remove them and place directly into the Chicken Paprikash or place into a covered bowl to add them later.

Note: I generally make 2-3 batches of dumplings for the Chicken Paprikash recipe above. I make the dumplings in small batches as I have found that the dough does not come out well mixed or with the right texture when I make it in larger batches.

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