Crochet: Hello Kitty

I had forgotten how cute Hello Kitty was. So when I was reminded by this post that includes a free pattern I was inspired to have a go. I decided to change it though, and made Hello Kitty in a cute blue dog costume. Although the biggest change I made was, I was too lazy to use the pattern, which is a pity because it's a nice looking Hello Kitty.

The dog hood comes off!

Websites: free craft projects, crochet patterns and more...

A few craft websites offering freebies:
Kind Over Matter - Free printable ideas to spread kind words and thoughts. It includes themed ideas for Christmas and Valentine's Day (among others).
Roxycraft - Free crochet, knit and craft patterns.
Free Amigurumi - Not currently being updated, but has a wide range of free patterns for the cuteness that is amigurumi.
K and J Dolls - free crochet patterns (found on the right-hand side).
By Hook, By Hand - free crochet patterns

Cooking: Lamb Stoba

I haven't posted much craft lately because I'm currently working on a 4 ply shrug. It's taking a while because a) I didn't have enough 4ply and b) I keep finding other tasks I need to do... and that's how I've come to another cooking post.

I've just bought a whole lost of Women's Weekly cookbooks. I haven't yet received them in the mail, but knowing they're on their way has made me feel guilty because I have a few others that I haven't yet used - Women's Weekly cookbooks and a few Jamie Oliver ones (all at reduced prices at Dirt Cheap Books or Catch of the Day). So the perfect opportunity came to flick through them when I decided I wanted to eat something different for a change, and I was actually going to be home to make dinner.

My three favourite things to cook are sweet foods, curries and toad in the hole. So it was easy to choose to look through my new New Curries cookbook by Women's Weekly for some inspiration. My criteria to choose a curry was simple: one where we had the ingredients at home to use up. So when I read the Lamb Stoba recipe I had hit the jackpot: we always have some lamb in the freezer, cumin, allspice, ginger, cinnamon stick, brown sugar and tinned tomatoes are always in the pantry. There's always capsicum in the fridge to stiryfry. We have chilli plants and lime trees in the backyard.

Lamb (and Veal) Stoba

 
I started to collect the ingredients... There wasn't enough lamb... That's ok; top it up with some veal... There wasn't any ginger... Oh darn!

I had another recipe I was going to make the following day. As we had those ingredients, I made it instead. So the next day ginger appeared in the shopping and the curry was back on the agenda! I made it without a hitch. It was delicious; although maybe too much sugar and not enough chillies. What I enjoyed about it most was that it's a different flavour to the curries I usually have, which at my house is SPICY, being sweet with a hint of spice. I actually like enjoying my curry without dousing the flames as I eat.

The Women's Weekly New Curries cookbook is really good. There's a variety of curries from around the world. At first I was disappointed that some recipes included curry pastes that you buy (because it's expensive and defeats the point of buying a recipe book), but I found at the back of the book there's receipes to make the mixed spices and some of the curry pastes.

Novelty Birthday Cakes

I think I missed out on something growing up. I can only remember having a cat cake for my, possibly, third birthday. Most cakes were whatever took my mother's fancy. Once I was in high school, though, it was up to me to make my birthday cake; and I've made one pretty much every year, but I was blindsighted by the phrase 'mud cake'. So in the past year I seemd to have regressed to my nnearly novelty-less cake childhood and use any excuse to make novelty cakes. Last year I made a giant cupcake for my birthday; then a castle with an invading choco babies army for my grandmother's 79th birthday (how do I top that for her 80th this year?!); and now I've moved onto celebrating my dog's birthday just so I could make a dog cake.

The dog cake: with chocolate and plain icing, and licorice face.

I went with a new cake recipe too - pumpkin and choc chip. Being Australian, I have never put pumpkin into a cake, pie or tart; and can't but canned pumpkin. So I claimed to be more healthy and utilised the kent pumpkin that was asking to be eaten every time I opened the fridge.

The result:
A cake I can claim is healthy (it has a 'real' vegetable - pumpkin and a want to be vegetable - chocolate!)
A cake that is way too cute (but not as cute as my dog!)

It's really easy cake to mix up. The dog face pattern is simple; although it's up to you how much detail you put into it. I really enjoyed cooking, decorating and eating it!

Dog face pattern, Pumpkin cake recipe

Crochet Banana

Mmm fruit is particularly delicious in summer.

I seemed to have lost the pattern for the above banana. It was a free pattern I found on the internet.

For inspiration, Crochet Pattern Central has a free banana pattern, as well as other food patterns.

Crochet Pattern Central banana design versus the above: about half of the banana is made with yellow yarn, and then make the other half with banana flesh colour (such as cream). Then make three triangles. Attach all together and stuff it before sealing off the middle.

Website: Crochet Pattern Central
This website is a treasure trove of free patterns. Have a look. Have a go!