Tinker's Threads- Some Early 80's Cool

For those who follow me on Twitter you'll know it's been a bit of a rat rat ratty week so forgive me if posts are little light on the ground.

To bring a little smile to your dial I have a couple of cute pics here. The little Tinker modelling something I wore for most of 1980-81.

She is so fashion forward my kid, she rocks whatever she wears doesn't she? Especially my *ahem* vintage gear. Seriously am I that old that my baby clothes are now vintage? Surely not?

*Just click picture to enlarge*

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Easy Steak

With all of yesterday's dramas I have been feeling rather exhausted today.
Didn't help that the poorly Tinker was up for a few hours in the night with a fever.
So I have not gone to any trouble at all with today's Wednesday recipe.
I searched for something that allowed me to make a quick and easy dinner without a trip to the supermarket this afternoon.
This is what I found:

Thanks to the clever folk at Taste.com today's recipe is:

Beef Fillet with a Quick Red Wine Sauce

If you don't have all of these ingredients at home I'd be surprised. It will take you a few minutes and if you are using great quality ingredients even a meal this basic will be delicious. Unless you turn to watch Yo Gabba Gabba while cooking and supervising some hard core crayon action by the toddler and then maybe you will overcook your steak. Not that I've done anything like that lately... *wink wink*

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
4 x 180g beef fillet steaks, trimmed
2 onions, halved, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g small button mushrooms, trimmed
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp plain flour *Actually I would recommend corn flour instead but it's up to you.*
1 cup (250ml) dry red wine
1 1/2 cups (375ml) good-quality beef stock
Mashed potato and watercress, to serve*

*I haven't got any watercress in the fridge so I am using fresh spinach leaves tonight*

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat 1 tbs oil in a frypan over medium-high heat. Season steaks and cook for 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a tray and cook in oven for 2-3 minutes for rare; 5 minutes for medium.

Heat remaining oil in same pan over medium-low heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and mushrooms and stir for 1-2 minutes. Stir in paste and flour. Add the wine and stock, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 minute or until well reduced. Season.

Remove pan from heat and return steaks to pan to just warm through in sauce. Serve steaks and sauce with mash and watercress or salad.

It's all about teal...

*click on pics to enlarge*

A few people asked how our bedroom makeover was getting on so I thought I'd post some progress shots. Don't get too excited, I'm no Ish & Chi or Twin 2 Trip but I try!




So this is what our bedroom looked like before we bought it. This is NOT our furniture, this picture was used for the marketing of the house prior to us buying it.

When we moved in here the first thing we did was restore the ornate ceiling and repaint the walls. Then we recarpeted and we removed those revolting light fixtures from the wall above that fugly bed and we added our black Venetian glass chandelier to the ceiling in place of the hideous ceiling fan that hung there.

Then we had wardrobes built into the wall where the previous owners had their bedhead and we had a window seat with drawers built into the bay window.

After that we started working on the colour scheme. This is picture of the fireplace in our room and with it's unusual shade of teal I decided that the fireplace was to be our feature item and I used a teal palette to complete the decor with cushions and wallpaper.

In these pictures it looks more blue than teal but in real life it is a very vivid teal colour.

So this is what we have done so far:

So what do we have left?

Under the smaller window the one to the side of the fireplace we are hoping to have a beautiful mirrored glass console. We have found the one we want, just have to get some spare cash. Also those hideous stripey curtains on the window will go as will the awful timber Venetians on our bay window. We hate timber Venetian blinds. They will be replaced with white plantation shutters.

Also we have the lampshade issue that I am meant to be sorting out with my *ahem* clever crafting and we are going to replace the stainless handles on the new wardrobes with black venetian glass to match the chandelier. I have found the ones I want, just have to get out and buy them.

Also we will be having our bed reupholstered in a light grey suede and the window seat will also be upholstered in the same fabric. Our bed is a cream leather at the moment and I'm sick of that I think grey suede will be better.

So that's all we have left, not must really I hope to have it all done by early next year. Will update you as changes happen!

P.s My husband wants me to tell you that we have pillows/cushions in our room. He thinks I have an addiction but I think it looks fine! See:

Tuesday Snapshot - Wee & Wallpaper

What does your Tuesday say about you?

I know it is hard to capture an entire day in one photo, especially if you are as creatively challenged as I am but I've tried my best as I do every Tuesday with this funny little segment of mine.

So here is my Tuesday snapshot, lets see what it says about me and my unusual day.

It is a roll of Laura Asley wallpaper, Marciana Teal to be precise and a specimen jar. Noice.

What for? Well the wall paper was hung today, on a wall of our bedroom and this is the leftover bit that I have stupidly decided will be used by my craft-challenged self as a lampshade. Shut up, stop sniggering.

Yes it is true that every other crazy craft project of mine has ended badly like the stupid chair that sits naked with 3 legs on my balcony and has been there since I did that post back in April.

This one, my friends is different. This project will work! Ok so I'm full of it and the truth is that I'm 99% sure that the project will progress no further than me sitting here telling you about it but it is worth mentioning at least to further perfect my stepford image to brand new readers who have no idea that I am so hopelessly removed from Martha it isn't funny.

As for the bedroom makeover, if anyone is interested I can post some pictures tomorrow?

The specimen jar is an entirely unrelated matter. The little Tinker has been unwell again, a high grade fever for 4 days with no obvious source of infection. The doctor has ordered blood and urine tests. Try getting a non-potty-trained baby to take wizzle in a jar! I have been chasing my pantsless child around the non-carpeted rooms of our house all day. She thinks it is hilarious.

Anyway, that's my day. How has your Tuesday been? If you had to take a photo of your day, what would be in it?

**edited to add we got the wizzle! Awaiting results**

Monday Giveaway - Ivy Designs!

Today is a marvelous Monday! Why? Because I have a massive giveaway from my gorgeous friend Wynona at Ivy Designs that is sure to cheer even the grumpiest of Mondayitis sufferers.

Wynona has long been a friend of mine and she is the most modest but talented mummy on the block. How she manages to juggle half of what she juggles, I'll never know but she does, and she does it with style!

Ivy Designs stocks the most stylish but playful childrenswear made right here in Australia. Wynona and her sister Anna both mummies to gorgeous little ones spend their time designing and creating these beautiful little works of art. Unlike some childrenswear, Ivy Designs is made to be washed and worn and definitely made for play. Tinker has so many gorgeous little gifts from Ivy Designs but her very favourite is a long sleeved top that she calls her "Winnie Deer Deer" because of the deer printed fabric that Wynona sourced from Japan.

Today's giveaway is a bag of goodies from Ivy Designs! The bag itself is gorgeous, printed with original Ivy Designs' illustration. 100% heavyweight cotton. It comes with a handmade fabric badge and grosgrain ribbon. Great for shopping, beach, daycare bag etc. RRP $20.

Inside your adorable canvas bag you will find these:

1. Headscarf: SIZE LARGE for adults - polka dot (pink). 100% cotton. RRP$19.95

2. Headscarf: SIZE MEDIUM for child - polka dot (blue). 100% cotton. RRP$14.95

3. Genuine leather bag: lined with Japanese cotton print. Beautiful buttery soft leather. It comes with ivy leaf key ring and a detachable handle - adjustable for adults and children. RRP $119

To win this amazing prize from Ivy Designs all you need to do is check out the store here and leave me a comment below. Tell me what you love about Ivy Designs- it is that easy! As always my little helper will draw the winner on Friday. It might just be YOU this week so why not give it a try, someone has to win.

Happy Monday!

A Little Pudding for my Little (Picky) Pudding!

I have one of the fussiest children ever when it comes to meal time. It takes me forever to find something she likes and then she usually goes off it very quickly anyway so I am always trying new recipes on the Tinker.

She isn't a huge fan of rice and doesn't like custard so I wasn't confident when I tried one of my favourite pudding dishes out on the Tinker and to my surprise it was a real hit. I thought I'd post my recipe here just in case you might like to try it.

I use soy milk but it works fine with regular cows milk. There are few things I hate more than soy milk, that awful nutty chemically flavour. Yuck. I hate it. That was until I discovered this soy milk from a Japanese recipe called Bonsoy. Honestly it tastes like regular milk, I like it so much that I have stopped buying dairy milk all together now. I can't believe I drink soy. I feel dirty just typing it. As thought I've become some sort of freak who doesn't ever eat hot chips and only uses that beige enviro toilet paper...

Ok so I'll stop waffling about bloody soy milk and share my recipe. This is my take on a basic rice custard that Stephanie Alexander writes about. I've changed quantities and added some brandy and my own favourite crust. Feel free to leave the brandy out and if you hate sultanas just double the rice and ditch those. You can ditch my walnut crust if you prefer a more traditional pudding but I really like the sweet crunchy crust at the top, it is nice when you break through to the soft pudding.

Tinker's Pudding

Ingredients

Pudding:
Butter
2 1/2cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of sultanas
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons medium grain rice
1/4 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 tablespoon brandy

Crust:
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons soft brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
3 tablespoons self raising flour
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, lightly butter a 1litre ovenproof dish and sit the buttered dish into a larger baking dish which will act as a basin.

Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and cook the rice for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla and brandy. Then add the rice & sultanas.

Stir in the milk.

Pour into your buttered dish. (for the dairy free folk I think if you use say a glass pyrex dish then the pudding is going to be ok without buttering, it may stick just a touch but no big deal)

Now add some boiling water to the large baking dish that is acting as the basin. Fill up to halfway.

Bake for 30 minutes.

While the pudding is baking you need to prepare your crust.

Mix the crust ingredients in a bowl or in your mortar & pestle. Once the pudding has been in the oven for 30 minutes, carefully take it out and sprinkle the crust on top.

Don't panic if it sinks into the pudding a bit, it will come back up and form a nice crust!

Bake for a further 15-20 mins. Check on your pudding, it should have a crunchy slightly gooey crust. Take it out and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes to cool and set a bit more.

Serve with some cream if you are feeling thin or serve it on its own if you are feeling fat.