Pear & Apple Crumble with Vanilla Bean & Elderflower Icecream

After a few of Sydney's warmest July days since 1928, the weather has turned chilli once again. And what better way is there to warm up than with a yummy crumble for dessert.

I had a few overripe pears that needed to be used, so after a google search for pear crumble I based my recipe on this one.

For the stewed fruit:
2 Granny Smith apples
3 pears (not sure of the variety but they were very sweet)
250ml water
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cinnamon (I used ground)
100g brown sugar

Combine all but fruit. Simmer until slightly syrupy (about 8min). Add fruit and simmer until slightly tender. Drain and put the stewed fruit in a pie dish with a little of the syrup.

For the crumble:
80g unsalted butter
120g plain flour
80g brown sugar
40g rolled oats
65g walnuts, coarsely chopped
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp baking powder

Preheat oven at 180*C. Combine butter and flour with your fingers to make 'crumbs'. Add all other ingredients and mix.

Top fruit with the crumb mix and bake until golden brown (about 25min).

I served the crumble warm with Maggie Beer's vanilla been and elderflower ice cream. It was the perfect accompaniment to the crumble. Along with ginger, lemongrass and rosella tea :)

I hope you are all finding tasty ways to stay warm this winter. 

Luv Neen x

Op Shop Tieke Tour

I love days that take you places you didn't plan and that's what happened to me today. I woke up planning to do uni study and perhaps a bit of house work. Instead I ended up in the car on a 'tieke' tour of op shops around the northern beaches suburbs of Sydney.

Op shops in this area can be rather expensive ... especially once you reach Narrabeen. So instead we stayed south and explored Manly, Balgowlah and Forrestville ... and found some bargains :)

This beautiful crochet doily was in Manly with a price tag of $5. 

$5!! I couldn't believe my eyes. It would cost a lot more just for the cotton, not to mention the time it takes to make such an amazing piece. It reminded me of doilies my grandmother made. She favoured the 'pineapple' design.

While searching the op shops, John and I head straight for the crockery section first. For a while now I have been wanting to make up an 'odd' dinner set of random plates ... I was thinking of having flowers as the common feature as I inherited a few pretty china violet plates from my grandmother. While I love them, John is not keen on a full set of china plates :)

However ever since being introduced to the vintage Johnson of Australia stoneware by Zara I have started to collect them. And the bonus is they appeals to both John and myself. While we have found a few random plates in our search, today we struck gold!

An 'almost' complete set of Johnson of Australia.

It is a huge frill when you are looking for something specific and find it. It is an even bigger frill to find it at a bargain price! Turns out this little op shop in Forrestville was having a 50% off sale! So we bought this lovely collection for 60 cents a piece :)

Naturally I put it to use straight away. I swear dinner has never tasted better :

Luv Neen 

Minnie's Lemon Butter

In the backyard of the old country house, where I stayed (and worked) during my holidays, grew a large lemon tree, whose branches were loaded with lovely juicy lemons :) Naturally I came home with a bucket full so had to look around for ways to preserve them.

My grandmother, Minnie, was celebrated for making lemon butter (especially by my father who loves the stuff). So I looked through her old recipe book and came across this recipe. 

With the internet providing conversions from pounds, ounces and fluid ounces (fluid ounces???), I filled up Minnie's double saucepan and produced 4 jars of lemon butter. 

I call it lemon butter but it is also known as lemon curd and is apparently good on toast, in tarts, and how about a lemon pie?? While I was never a fan of lemon butter as a kid, I might just be converted with this sweet tasting jar of sunshine :)

Luv Neen x

Holiday snap shots

Here is a bit of what I've been up to on my two weeks off work ...

Photos 1&3 - house renovations in the country

Photo 2 - putting a bucket full of lemons to good use

Photo 4 - crochet cookies and wallpaper envelopes

Luv Neen 

Barnaby

Meet Barnaby ... the crochet giraffe.

He loves sunshine and enjoys hanging out by the lake. He also likes babies and has made a home with his new best mate, Baby Barney. Only Barnaby has arrived first :)

Pattern: Crochet Stripy Giraffe 

Hook: 3mm

Yarn: 8 ply scraps 

It is a fun pattern. Easy to hook up and a great way to use up all your odd bits of left over yarn. I have started a sister for Barnaby. Only she plans on heading over the ocean to New Zealand to live with her BFF, Sienna. 

luv Neen x

Aussie Battler Jacket

The Aussie Battler button I found in the last post was used to finish off my first ever cardigan. Knitting a cardigan has been on my crafty to do list for a while now. Ok, I might have meant an adult size cardigan for myself ... but this is a good start :)

Pattern: Top down Garter stitch Baby Jacket by Nancy Munroe. It is available as a free download on Ravelry.
Needles: 4mm circular (although the cardigan is knit flat, apart from the sleeves).
Yarn: Bendigo Wollen Mills Rich Alpaca (60% alpaca, 40% wool) in the colour rich grey.

It was a pretty easy knit with a few new techniques to learn such as a stretchy cast off. While I love the finished jacket, I would not choose an alpaca yarn next time. It is quite a hairy yarn and I am not sure how suitable it will be for a newborn. But it will definitely keep him warm!

To go with the jacket I made a pair of socks ... crochet this time. For some reason I loose interest when knitting socks and usually stop at one! But these were quick and easy to whip up.

Pattern: Arianna Baby Socks

Hook: 3mm & 3.5mm

Yarn: Sock yarn from the stash (I have lost the band)

I think a crochet toy would complete this handmade gift perfectly. I have until the 19th ... better get started :)

Luv Neen

The Perfect Button

I have just been searching for the perfect button to finish off my latest knit project. I could picture the ideal button in my mind ... it was just a matter of finding it.

Unfortunately my buttons are not sorted by colour, or by shape, or even by size. Nope .... just three large jars full to the brim with buttons, collected over the years. So I upended them all onto the floor and amongst the pile I found this little beauty. Not the one I had in mind. But perfect for the project all the same.

More on that project later .... when the light is better to take a photo.

My problem now is what to do with the pile of buttons ... I think it is a great time to join in the button swap hosted by Taz over at Butter and Buntings.

Do you have a pile of buttons you'd like to share?

Luv Neen

Ginger Kisses

I can't think of a better way to start my blog journey than over a cup of tea. Especially a stimulating blend of ginger, lemongrass and rosella. Care to join me?

Let me introduce myself ... my mates call me Neen. I love craft, particularly crochet but will try my hand at almost anything. I enjoy working in the veggie patch and searching for a treasured find in thrift shops. I love getting out into nature .... hiking, fishing, kayaking, or just having a BBQ at the beach with friends.

I strive to lead a simple life, although at times my life can seem anything but simple.

I live in Sydney, in a household of 8. Actually make that 9 if you include my crazy conure Ned :) I work full time leading a 56 bed unit in an aged care facility while studying to achieve a Masters of Nursing, Advanced Practice. I am rapidly chasing away the years to 40. And I am in the process of buying a house in rural NSW, a 5hr drive away! Luckily I have a wonderful partner, John, to join me in my adventures.

Luv Neen will be a place to share my love of craft, perhaps with a little gardening, cooking, thrifting and general life thrown in. But more importantly, I want this to be somewhere I can slow down, a place to stop and appreciate the every day beauty in my life. 

So pour yourself a cuppa and get comfy. You are more than welcome to join me on this journey. I would love your company :)

Luv Neen x