Relishing Sunday

I told you that I bought a big bucket of ripe tomatoes last week - well I made them into relish today.  It was a perfect Sunday, just pottering around with the lovely smell of cooking relish permeating the house.

I'm a bit of a sucker for kitchen equipment - I have lots of old and new gear and love a new toy, but one of the most useful things I have in my kitchen is the grottiest.  An old friend showed me  how to funnel jam and relish into the jars - just cut the top off an old plastic vinegar bottle.  I made this gorgeous item years ago and it's lived in the cupboard coming out on special preserving days.  It doesn't win any prizes for glamour, but it sure as hell wins the practicality prizes!

I made 4 times the quantity of the recipe in the old Edmonds Cookbook - an old Kiwi standard!

It made 24 jars - that's enough for a jar every three weeks or so for a year and a good few to give away.

 

TOMATO RELISH

1.5 kg tomatoes, blanched, skinned and quartered (I skip the blanching, skinning and anything fussy)

4 onions, quartered (I actually like mine chopped a bit finer than this

2 tablespoons salt

2 cups brown sugar (there's no way around this - you need to use real sugar - it acts as a preservative.  You can, however, use raw sugar, but there's little difference)

2 1/4 cups malt vinegar

3 chillies

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon curry powder

3 or more tablespoons maize cornflour (so it's OK for wheat free friends)

Another 1/2 cup malt vinegar

Put tomatoes and onions into a non-metallic bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and leave for 12 hours.  Drain off all liquid formed.  Put vegetables, sugar, first measure of vinegar and chillies into preserving pan.  Boil gently for one and a half hours, stirring frequently.  Mix mustard, curry and cornflour with second measure of vinegar and mix to a smooth paste.  Stir into relish.  Boil for a good 5 minutes.  Pack into sterilized jars.  Makes about 4 x 350ml jars.

illy & Mojo had a sleep-in and didn't get out of bed till almost 1 o'clock.  So of course the bed remained unmade until they'd finished with it.  They refused even to open their eyes for this photo.

We went into town late in the afternoon and hung the last sign.  Apologies for the awful photo, quite apart from the fact that you can see my finger, you can't see the gorgeous copper roses that the Toy Boy made to adorn the top.

Counting my Blessings

How was your week?  

Did you have blissful moments?

Have you stopped and thought about the things you are grateful for lately? 

It's so enriching to do this all the time - just noting the wonderful events and abundance that surround us as we go through our days can give a whole new perspective on the world.

Wishing you all a BLISS-FULL week!

Being Inspired

Years ago I read a life changing book called The Artists Way by Julia Cameron and one of her suggestions for re-fuelling our creative tanks was to have regular "Artists Dates".  That's not exactly what I did this week, but I did have two days out visiting with family, shopping and just generally browsing.  The effect was similar, however, and I have come back to the workroom with my head bursting with new ideas!  Yah!  I just cant wait to get back on the torch and convert some of those mind pictures into form.

 I stayed with my darling big sister and we spent some really special time together.  She took me to a new cafe in Nelson, situated in an old historic house on the Nelson foothills called Melrose House.  We had lunch there, served on beautiful china and drank an artisan tea from a gorgeous tea pot in china cups.  Not only was the food amazing, but the staging and setting are to die for! 

I had a fresh fish cake - YUM!

Jane had Chicken Liver Pate with Toasted Walnut Bread and Caramelised Onion Relish

  We've decided that we will take our little sister there when she comes to visit next month. - oops!  Did I let the cat out of the bag?  Was it to be a birthday surprise? Maybe the treat will be magnified by anticipation!

There's a tea wagon loaded with cups, fresh flowers and a gorgeous old garden to wander

New Swarovski Crystal Designs

Erinite (Sea Blue Green) and White Pearls Necklace

Erinite & White Pearls Bracelet

 As I mentioned in my Bliss List, I've been making a few new designs in Swarovski Crystals and silver.  I love to  just sit and ponder over a tray of beautiful beads - how lucky am I to be able to do this regularly?

The Erinite and White Pearls will go with almost anything - it's one of those pieces that will go anywhere, night and day, casual or dressy.   Such and exquisite colour and my absolute favourite in the Swarovski range!

The crystals are so perfect and so full of dancing light and colour that it's hard to resist them - no matter who you are - I think they bring out the magpie in all of us!

Jet Black Drop & Pearl Necklace

Aquamarine Drop& Pearl Necklace

These two necklaces are a little longer and quite fine and dainty in a very flattering shape.

I've (very poetically) put them in a category called "Other Crystal Designs" on my website.

Sadly I've just heard from Swarovski that they are putting their prices up, so I will have to follow suit in the new financial year.  

So that makes this a great time to buy!

Introducing the Toys

Sammy the Snail comes in green, yellow, blue and purple.  2 pieces -  body and shell (roller rattle with bells inside) - $35

I've been pondering what to write about today and have just realised that I have never introduced the toys.  I'm not sure how that happened - perhaps I just assumed that you would know about them!

Are all your (Daffy) Ducks in a row?  She is also two pieces - body and egg, which rotates on her wheels.  Comes in blue, yellow, green, purple & pink - $35

Anyhow, my partner, the Toy Boy makes these gorgeous toys - of course!.  They're all made of wood and many hours are spent in his man-cave cutting out the pieces.  He brings them all into the workroom and paints them there - I often help - I always seem to get to paint the red bits!  

2nd Shelf - Henrietta Hen is two parts - body and egg, which rotates on her back wheels.  She comes in red and yellow $40 and Colin the Caterpillar wibble-wobbles along $55

An awful lot of the work in the toys lies in the painting - they all have four coats of high quality lead-free paint, including an undercoat, and we know they last for years and generations of children.

Foreground - Shape Train comes with an engine and 3 carriages of shapes $120.   Vintage truck $65 and                      Kiwipost Moneybox $70

 The toys are mostly pull alongs with a rainbow coloured cord - they move freely and are kid-sturdy.

Ferdy the Frog hops along $30

The Toy Boy sells through the little shop come workroom (called Traders of the Lost Arts) in Commercial Street, Takaka, on the Nelson Market every Saturday and through my sister on the Wellington Underground Frank Kitts Market - she has the Stitchbird Fabrics stand.  We also go to the Dunkley's Great New Zealand Craft Shows in Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill in September, the Culverden Fete in October and Hunters Garden Marlborough in November.

Tyrone the Turtle's shell goes round and round as he wheels along - he's all one piece and comes in yellow, green, purple and blue $30

This is just some of the toys - there's a grasshopper, a push along penguin, a snake, a hippo....

Please contact me if you would like some more information.  Though the Toy Boy doesn't have a website, he'd be happy to send you a catalogue - look out for Golden Bay Toys.

We think they're pretty cool little critters!