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I'm doing a craft fair here this Easter Sunday!

Come along for vegan cakes, pumpkin muffins and mushroom shaped cupcakes :D Paddington bear vintage recycled handmade bags, russian doll badges and felt plushies! Fun bands and vege cafe too in the Lovely Islington Mill in Salford!

Vegan Shortbread

Few ingredients are needed to make this delicious and simply effective British biscuit.

Shortbread is an ideal biscuit to make as it is so simple to make and makes an ideal present as it has a long shelf life. (I put some in a mug, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a ribbon and gave to my mother, she was delighted). Shortbread originates and is most commonly associated with Scotland. Not surprising that the most notable shortbread manufacturer is the Scottish company, Walkers, specialising in providing shortbread and fine Scottish specialities. With this being my first attempt at vegan shortbread, the question was would it taste too dry without the essential ingredient of butter? Shortbread is named thus because of its reaction with the butter creating a crumbly (shortening) texture. Thankfully my experiment was a delicious success.

Ingredients:

8 oz Plain flour

4oz Icing Sugar

8 oz Vegan margarine

4oz Corn flour or rice flour

Preheat an oven to 200C

Sieve both and icing sugar into a large bowl and mix in margarine.

I like the next bit, use your fingers to make the mixture crumble like breadcrumbs. Then knead into dough. If your dough is too crumbly add a little water or Soya milk to bind the mixture or add more margarine. Don’t add too much water as the shortbread is supposed to be quite dry. Grease a cake tin and press the dough into the tin. Make sure the dough is quite thick to make chunky biscuits and to prevent breaking. You can press down the sides to create the petticoat tail effect and cut into triangles or cut into stripes for the classic shortbread fingers. You could even use a rolling pin and use cookie cutters to make adorable shortbread shapes! Use a fork to mark holes in the dough and pop in an oven at no more than 200 C. Shortbread needs to be cooked slowly so that it does not brown to maintain the classic smooth white colour. Keep checking on your biscuits to make sure they do not brown this should take about 30 minutes. When your biscuits feel slightly hard take out of oven. Don’t worry if they are quite soft they will continue to harden on a cooling rack. Dust with caster sugar and share with friends, or if you are greedy or have no friends eat all yourself hoorah!

An afternoon of Origami

This weekend I had a lovely afternoon of folding paper to make some lovely paper ornaments :) This was at Nexus Art cafe in Manchester and is run every Saturday 2-4. we are hoping to make a stop animation film with paper boats! how cute!
We made some paper boxes, a daffodill and some envelopes.
I bought a vintage Rupert bear book with a complicated elephant pattern, but I will tackle that when I'm more adavanced!
Origami is quite simple as long as you follow the steps correctly!
Apparantly I'm a natural at folding :D
Grab yourself some paper and have some folding fun!

Tick Tock Tick

Tick Tock Tick
Frosty Coloured Frock
Tick Tock Tick
A Mouse's nose twitch
Tick Tock Tock
eyes to the clock
A poem tucked in a pocket
Secrets in a vintage locket
Tick Tick Tick
Candle Flame Flick
Tick Tock Tick
Your time is up
Tick tick tock
A memory forgot

Christmas 2009

As the fresh breath of new year approaches I thought I would comment on my Christmas. I would say it started with the Cherryade Christmas party in which I read my poem and compared for most of the night. I also made some lovely vegan mince pies, a very slushy nut roast and some delectable vegan shortbread, see the Shrieking Violet January issue for the recipe! I also made an adorable handmade mouse with a string tail for my beloved sister Lily. The performace I saw at the Dukes, Lancaster of The Wizard of Oz was a exciting, contemporary take on one of my favourite children's classics. My favourite aspect of it was the puppet Toto and other textile quirks which really revitalised the performance. I am still to eat the Christmas pudding I bought from the Coop and sadly the Gingerbread house my friends and I made collapsed but did not spoil our fun at Your mama's cookin'. I hope to have such a fun and revolutionary year as I have of 2009 but perhaps with a wiser owl perspective.

A Christmas Echo

My Christmas poem featured on Cherryade's Christmas album 09 and the December issue of The Shrieking Violet, (An alternative fanzine guide to Manchester) I made the mouse for my little sister Lily, She loved her and named her after my pet rat Pandora.

A Single Candlestick flickering in the shattered light.
I thought I saw a shadowed illustration of you on this cold December night.
Tinsel laced Christmas trees, ribbon wrapped gifts, gingerbread biscuits, a misplaced mistletoe kiss. You couldn't possibly resist.
You worry now your hands become cold, you were bad this year now coal lines your stocking sole. You wonder if you will grow tired and alone, no candy striped treats will surround your home.
The sweet sick smell of cloves, suffocate your old dusty lungs. Remember the carved wooden hearts together we hung?
The place where the Christmas tree once sat echoes now the love we once had.
I sliced my hands on the Christmas tree ferns. Buttons of blood fell to the floor. Now when I think of you it makes my heart burn.
As I walk through the cold, I feel strange steps as I saunter through the soft sludgy snow. But no footprints are left as I step through winter's bitter glow.
Ribbon red twirls, curls and swirls, tinsel lace wrapped around your wrist, pulled so tight blood
drip
drip
drips
A Christmas tinsel tingle brushes past my neck. was that Father Christmas I saw put presents by my bed?
Not for me you fail to let me forget.
No presents are left for those who are now dead.



Merry Christmas! x