Monthly Meal Plan - June/July

I'm pretty excited that it's going to be school holidays soon, and I think that might be reflected in this menu. Not only is it birthday month at chez Jorth (so there will be cakes and desserts aplenty to be baked) but with Tyger being home for the holidays, we're going to roll up our sleeves and get properly sprinkled with flour in the kitchen as we busily make our own pasta, gnocchi, pizza and tacos. CAN.NOT.WAIT!

Week One
Monday - Roasted vegetable risotto
Tuesday - Lentil, farro and vegetable soup
Wednesday - Beef stroganoff
Thursday - Roasted sweet potato soup
Friday - Tofu burgers with red cabbage coleslaw and wedges
Saturday - Chicken schnitzels with creamy garlic mash and broccolini
Sunday - Roasted vegetable lasagne with salad

Week Two
Monday - Garlicky tomato soup with buttered baguettes
Tuesday - Steak Diane with potato gratin (birthday dinner)
Wednesday - Malaysian vegetable curry
Thursday - Butter and onion tomato pasta with garden salad
Friday - Spiced cauliflower and lentil pilaf
Saturday - Roast pumpkin ravioli (with homemade pasta)
Sunday - Coq au vin

Week Three
Monday - Zucchini soup with cheddar scones
Tuesday - Potato and split pea curry with garlic naan
Wednesday - Oven baked tuna and tomato risotto with rocket salad
Thursday - Ricotta and spinach filo triangles with garden salad
Friday - Vegetarian chilli con carne
Saturday - Winter tacos with creamy greens (from Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers)
Sunday - Ricotta gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce

Week Four
Monday - Smashed felafel burgers with Greek salad
Tuesday - Potato and leek soup with brie toasties
Wednesday - Lentil spaghetti bolognaise with feta and rocket
Thursday - Crumbed lamb chops with minted peas and broccoli
Friday - Spinach, tomato and cheese omelettes with salad
Saturday - Corned beef with mash and vegetables
Sunday - Home made pizza (mushroom and cheese, roasted capsicum and marinated feta)

And for a bonus - here's some breakfast ideas!
 - Maple banana bread with fruity compote
 - Buttermilk pikelets with strawberries
 - Huevos rancheros, heavy on the coriander and freshly ground black pepper
 - Coddled eggs with spinach

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Yarn + bloggers + one super cute baby

I performed a vital public service today: I taught a very cute 5 month old how to shop for yarn. Never too early to start, says I!

Bwahahah! Actually, I taught his mum, the talented Julia Bobbin, and very good she proved at it too. Oh, and that bag I'm holding? Er, well, yes, I may have purchased a little myself. As did Nic. Our mission today was to come, to paw and to conquer. Well, maybe credit cards were conquered, but nobody got hurt in the process. Besides, it's for a jolly good cause - there is going to be a Miette knit-a-long in the works rather soon. Exciting times!

So watch this space, knitters! We'd love you all to join in, so once we figure out our time frames and all the other bits and bobs I'll pop the details up here, and we might even run a class over at Handmaker's Factory for beginner knitters who want to knit along but need a little help. Yarny goodness for one and for all! Hoorah!

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Pretty in pink: lace knit cardigan

Knitting is good. Speedy knitting is even better. Speedy knitting that results in a cardigan knit up in two weeks is freaking superlative!

Seriously, it felt like I spent more time seaming this baby together than I did actually knitting it! The only modification I made was to sew the lace flat down onto the bodice pieces (the lace being knit separately). The pattern called for it to be left with a looser edging, but I had a feeling that over time and after washes, the edging might start to look a bit tatty, so I seamed mine down flat, using two ply strands of the yarn.

I'm rather chuffed with the fit of this cardigan. The slightly dropped shoulders give it a relaxed feel, but the overall fit is decidedly slimline, which I like. I'm also rather taken with the lace...I think I might need a lacy cardigan of my own this winter!

The buttons are vintage glass buttons that are ever so slightly faceted, which suits the cardigan exactly. I didn't want anything to distract from the lace, so these clear glass ones are perfect. Big thanks to Kim at L'uccello for patiently digging around in button boxes for me!

Project Details
Pattern: Sirdar girl's cardigan #2389 (comes in both long and short sleeved versions)
Yarn: 7 x Rowan by Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran in shade 218, purchased from Sunspun
Needles: 4mm and 5mm
Buttons: 6 x vintage glass buttons from L'uccello

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Lola dress

The only bad thing about making this wonderful, wonderful dress up is the fact that I had that darn "Lola.....la la la la Looooooola!" song stuck in my head the entire time. Gah!

But never mind me and my mind worms - the full pattern review of the Lola dress, by Victory Patterns, is over at Handmaker's Factory. One thing I would like to say here, though - this is one super comfy dress, and the pattern was great! So if you are after a dress that looks great but feels as cosy as they come, then this pattern might be the girl for you!

I did make my sleeves a wee bit longer, as I prefer a long sleeve, but apart from that no other changes were made. Love those deep wrap-around pockets!

Project Details
Pattern: Lola dress by Victory Patterns
Fabric: 1.5m fleecy, with matching ribbing, from Spotlight

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Soft boiled medicine cup

Hmmm... even though our household economics/savings budget is tighter than Superman's underpants, I'm pretty sure we can afford to purchase another egg cup.

#notveryfancypants, #awkwardwhencompanyarrivesforbreakfast

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Knitted leaves, deconstructed.

This past week I've been feeling a bit like a Bletchley Park girl. I've been hunched over a type of code, muttering to myself with my brow furrowed, grey lead pencil making deft marks over certain numbers, and a little pile of eraser rubbings forming at my side. There was puzzle in front of me, and I was damned if I wasn't going to crack the encryption!

But before you get all excited and start imagining me working for ASIO, or even M16 (how cool would that be!?!) the only code I've been working on is a knitting code. Yup, yet again another one of the patterns in the Labour of Love book is wrong. Terribly wrong!

Now, I haven't spent this long growing my hair only to be tearing it out, but that is what this book is making me do! Firstly the Isabel Cable dress pattern was wrong, and now I've found out that the Flora Layered Leaf Skirt pattern is also. I've hunted about on Ravelry, and learnt that another pattern in the book is also riddled with errors. 3 patterns in one book? That's a bit rich! And now, as a result this lovely piece of work...

...now looks like this:

It took me 11 pattern repeats before I sorted the mistake out for once and for all, and got the pattern right. Which mean, for the layperson, that 10 out of 11 knitted leaves were dodgy. Sure, I could have left it. After all, I probably would have been the only one to have noticed it, but it would have bugged me for ever, and once I had posted the pictures of the finished garment up on this little ol' blog, I would have lived in fear that some clever knitter would point out my mistake, and call me out as a big fat knitting dunderhead.

Now, I'm not sure about you, but I don't fancy being called a big fat knitting dunderhead, even if it wasn't my fault that the pattern was incorrect, so I ripped the whole darn thing. Every single row. Every single stitch. I was going to knit it again, and this time it was going to be PERFECT, nagdammit. But don't let me spare you feelings, dear reader - it hurt. After all, that's 220 rows of knitting down the drain!

But all is not lost - every cloud has a silver lining etc etc, and if there is anything this exercise has taught me is that how important - crucially important - testing a pattern is. I'd quite like to start making some knitting patterns of my own in the not-so-distant future, and when I do I am going to test them so hard that they will be begging for mercy.

In the meantime, I have a grey lead pencil to sharpen. And another 220 rows to be reknit.

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Knitting of the cheering up variety

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love on Dapple. Seriously, guys, your kind words totally made my day(s). I'm still not sure what to do with it, so I have folded it nicely and popped in away in the drawer, and will give myself time to muse.

And you know what they say - if you have a problem that you are dwelling on, a little bit of knitting is just the thing to let your mind free up and roam over the possibilities. Well, that's my excuse for this:



Yup! Pink lace. I couldn't help myself - the yarn was there in my stash, imploring to be used, so I simply had to set it free! It's actually part of this cardigan, which I'm making for the Tyger, and being aran weight it's almost done. Nothing like a bit of speedy knitting to cheer a lass up!

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Dapple, the knitted dress, is done!

So my Dapple is finished. Many hours and 13 balls of yarn later, and all I've got is a whopping big case of CPA, otherwise known as Completed Project Apathy.

I really cannot figure out if I like this dress or not. Even though the dress is fitted, I feel like I'm drowning in it. The baggy sleeves certainly don't help! When I first saw the photos my initial thought was "Oh my word, I'm wearing a big purple cabled sack!", so I scurried over to the mirror to double-check the sackiness, but didn't think it looked too bad. Maybe it's one of those outfits that look better in real life? And let's face it, I'm no model! Maybe if I had legs up to here, was better endowed in the bosom department and learnt how to do my hair properly I would rock it, but at the moment it's more Cable Loss than Kate Moss.

On the plus side, I love the colour, and the cables are pretty cool. But then again the neckline is way too wide for me, and the overall design silhouette makes me feel a lot wider than I actually am. Gah! Do I like the darn thing or not? I think it definitely needs a belt, to break up the upper width.

It also didn't help that the cable pattern graph in the book was wrong. But no problem - there was an errata insert that gave the correct graph symbols. Except, darn it, they were wrong too! I spent a couple of hours swatching, exclaiming at intervals "What am I doing WRONG? I know I can be a dunderhead a times, but surely I'm not that stupid!" Finally I jumped onto ravelry and discovered that the errata was also incorrect. D'oh! So if you want to make the dress, the corrections for the cable pattern can be found here. Nobly I have suffered so you don't have to. You can thank me later. Chocolates are always nice.

So that, my friends, is the tale of Dapple. Well, I guess you win some and you lose some. That's the problem with knitting - a whole lot of work can go into a project, only to find the final result is more "meh" than "look at meeeee!" At least with sewing projects you can more easily try things on as you go, and it's usually only a couple of days work down the drain if it doesn't work out, rather than weeks for knitting.

The more I look at these photos the more undecided I feel. Keep? Unravel? eBay? Can. Not. Decide. At. All. I feel I ought to like it just because there is over 1.1 kilometres of yarn in the darn thing!
Ok, over to you: thumbs up or thumbs down? Be kind - this whole Dapple drama has left my knitting ego feeling rather fragile!

Project Details
Pattern: Dapple by Kim Hargreaves, from the book Nectar
Yarn: 13 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in shade 0226, purchased from Sunspun
Needles: 4.5mm, 5mm straight needles and 4mm and 4.5mm circular needles

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Monthly Meal Plan - May/June

Can I just say YAY for winter? I am love love loving these cool winter dishes now. It's my favourite time for hunkering down, enjoying our space whilst letting the house warm up with slow cooked dishes. No need to rush, and no special place to be when the rain is hammering at the windows - just inside with my favourite people. Feeding. Nurturing. Appreciating all that is good, and how very lucky and blessed we are.

Week One:
Monday - Ham, cheese and pea frittata with new potatoes and green salad
Tuesday - Zucchini, pumpkin and chickpea pasta
Wednesday - Potato and leek soup with garlic baguettes
Thursday - Moroccan lamb sausage rolls with salad
Friday - Roasted vegetable and barley risotto topped with fresh rocket
Saturday - Satay veggie and tofu burgers with wedges
Sunday - Sweet potato and pea curry puffs with salad

Week Two:
Monday - Pumpkin and macaroni pasta bake
Tuesday - Beetroot and chilli soup with rocket, cucumber, red onion and feta pitas
Wednesday - Chicken and chorizo risotto
Thursday - Carrot fritters with broad bean and spinach salad
Friday - Spinach, feta and onion tarts with salad
Saturday - Baked fish with spiced sweet potato mash
Sunday - Roast chicken

Week Three:
Monday - Creamy chicken pasta (with left over roast chicken)
Tuesday - Minestrone with cheesy toasts
Wednesday - Silverbeet and cauliflower wraps
Thursday - Mixed tomato and herb pie with salad
Friday - Salmon and zucchini pasta
Saturday - Home made pizzas
Sunday - Cauliflower soup with cheese scones

Week Four:
Monday - Vegetable and ricotta cannelloni
Tuesday - Pea, dill and rice soup
Wednesday - Sausage and beans stew
Thursday - Mushroom and spinach risotto
Friday - Lentil shepherd's pies with salads
Saturday - Chicken and lentil soup
Sunday - Birthday party - dinner out!

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Loving those print out patterns!

I'm sitting here inside today, feeling snug and warm as the rain lashes at the windows, merrily beavering away at sticking a print out pattern together, and I suddenly realised, with a great big warm gush of gratitude, how very very glad I am for the internet.

It has brought me so many things: a craft community, access to mountains of inspiration, the chance to make new friends - both online and in real life - and the ability to share my projects and in turn delight in creations by others.

But one of the very best things is being able to buy a new pattern and print it right out! Seriously, how blimming awesome is that? Remember the bad, dark days of crafting, where you had to plan an expedition into town, and had to hope that (a) they had the pattern in your size and (b) you might be lucky enough to chance upon the right fabric while you there? It was such a dicey business, particularly if you were in the country, and choices were limited. Now, I'll always love being able to go into shops and paw their fabrics/yarns but it's also such a brilliant thing to be able to buy online, especially if you are not lucky enough to have a wealth of craft supply stores on your doorstep.

So today's post is a big shout-out thank you to all of the people, particularly the indie designers, who are making digital patterns, and making crafters happy everywhere. My particular favourites are:

Victory Patterns (I'm actually cutting out their Lola dress right now!)
Oliver + S
Figgy's Patterns
Colette Patterns
Violet Fields Threads
Grainline Studio (thanks to Suzy from Floating World)
Made by Rae (thanks to Jacinta from Sew {MM} )
BurdaStyle (again thanks to Jacinta)
Cake Patterns (thanks to Tania)
HotPatterns
Wink Designs
Kitschy Coo (thanks to Kate from Two Little Banshees for the above 3 links!)
Ohhh Lulu for gorgeous lingerie patterns (thanks to Lucy from Maud Made)
Pattern Runway (thanks to Jano from Sallieoh)
Salme Sewing Patterns (thanks to Kirsty from Top Notch)
Thread Theory for menswear patterns (thanks to Threadie of We Sew Retro)
Tessuti (thanks to Stitching at Stone Cottage)
SavageCoco Patterns (thanks to Coco Savage)
Blank Slate Patterns (thanks to Melly of Melly Sews)
Sinbad and Sailor (thanks to Kirsty again!)
Your Style Rocks (thanks to Megan of Meggipeg)

Any other great digital patterns out there that I don't know about? I'd love to hear about 'em, so leave a comment and share the love!

****UPDATE!**** Just had a scathingly brilliant idea - if you leave a suggestion I'll add it to the above list, with a thank you link to who provided it. That way we can all be happy digital sewing campers. Hoorah!

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Hail the hail!

It's got nothing to do with sewing. Or knitting. Or even cooking. But how cool (hee hee, geddit?) is this hail action shot?



Makes me wish so hard that it would snow in Melbourne. Proper snow, like. Not the odd dusting every 68 years.

I love interesting weather. I love hail, I love wind, I love looking up at big storm clouds. In my next life I am definitely coming back as a meteorologist.

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Things I have

Well, looky at what we have here!

I have a blocked piece of Dapple. In fact, I have four blocked pieces (front, back, two sleeves) of Dapple. I also have Tyger home with me, full of the cold, but that's more than ok because it means that what I don't have is a school pick up deadline, and instead do have a lovely clear afternoon in front of me, the only interruptions being to make another cup of lemon/ginger tea or heat up more chicken soup.

I also have one ball of yarn left, with which I need to pick up 192 stitches, and knit up a lovely thick garter stich neckline.

Gulp. One measly ball with which to do all that? As you can probably imagine, I also have clammy hands, severe doubts about my yarn supply and very few fingernails left, as I have bitten them all down to the quick in my current state of lack-of-yarn induced anxiety.

If this doesn't work out, I may also have a hissy fit. Just warning y'all!

(And trust me - although they don't happen often, my husband tells me that when they do, they are SPECTACTULAR! Even more so when craft induced.)

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Bringing them over to the knit side

I had so much fun on Saturday. In fact, I was in crafting heaven! Not only did I get to spend a very pleasant afternoon knitting away inbetween scoffing bits of sponge cake, but I got to do it in the company of some freaking awesome people!

I was pretty chuffed to discover that both Poppykettle and Julia Bobbin were coming along to the Handmaker's Factory Learn to Knit class. I love teaching people how to knit, but even better than that is teaching people who I have pretty darn serious blog crushes on! Over the course of the afternoon Nichola and I gave them a crash course on knitting basics: casting on, knit, purl, increasing, decreasing, chart reading and casting off, and they mastered it like the crafting superstars that they are!

I was so proud of them! Ladies, next time I see you I expect knitted dresses all around, ja?

So. Much. Fun!

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Elephant Dress

Have you ever made something for your child, and thought to yourself "Hot diggity dog - I could TOTALLY do with one of those for myself?"

Me too. Case in point below:

Seriously - how cute is this elephant dress? I love the cut, I love the pocket slash side panel design, I love the pleated sleeve caps, I love the overlapping shoulders. I think I need to make her another. Denim? Liberty print? Maybe a whole wardrobe, in every colour/design that I can think of!

The fabric I used was a heavier weight cotton, and I was a bit nervous that the dress might end up a bit stiff looking, but it actually has turned out perfectly. In fact, I think if you used a quilting weight cotton, the dress might not hold up as well.

Project Details
Pattern: Sunki Dress ePattern from Figgy's Patterns
Fabric: I.5m of "Trèfle" by Kokka, purchased from l'uccello.
Notions: 30cm invisible zipper

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All cry and no wool

"Take cover!", yelped Jorth, as almighty crashing noise reverberated around the lounge room.

"What the devil was that?!", asked an understandably a shell-shocked Galumph as he got to his feet.

Wiping her brow, Jorth answered "Oh, just the sound of my illusions disintegrating around me. What was I thinking - who knits up an entire dress in 3 weeks? I must have been mad!"

Galumph was about to speak, but was interrupted by an odd, windy sound that blew chillingly right past him. "And that...?" he queried.

"That would be my knitting reputation, flying out of the window. I was so close! One sleeve and the finishing to do, but alas - time was no friend of mine. Gah!"

Once more Galumph opened his mouth to say something reassuring but was again interrupted - this time by the merest echo of the saddest song he'd ever heard. He didn't even bother to speak this time - just raised his eyebrows in his wife's direction.

"My bitter, bitter disappointment that I won't be able to start a new project this week, like I'd planned. The crushing horror of it all!"

And with that Jorth stalked off to begin that dastardly second sleeve, leaving Galumph to wonder, once more, if his wife was perhaps wired a little differently to other people.

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The story of my new boots

I bought a new pair of boots on the weekend. I love them - they are black, fit exactly right,  and have a cool chunky exposed zip. Classic with an edge. Perfect with jeans, perfect with winter dresses. You can spend decades looking for the perfect boot, so I am really really really glad I found it.

And the best part is that the boots were made here in Australia. I can't remember the last time I saw shoes made here in Oz, but these were. Admittedly they were on the pricey side, but every time I thought about getting a cheaper pair I kept having images flash in my head of the poor people buried alive in the clothing factory collapse in Bangladesh. Sure, the other boots might have saved me a few dollars, but at a morally reprehensible cost to somebody else. And that I just couldn't do.

So I paid the big bucks, and walked out of the shop happy that I had chosen a pair of boots that were made in decent conditions by well paid workers right here at home. Plus these boots can be resoled and reheeled for years to come - if I look after them properly, I should have them for a long long time. My well made, well looked after boots will be the very antithesis of fast fashion. And even though I have pretty much blown my entire clothing budget for the year on them, I think I've made a good choice.

I know I touched on the subject of fast fashion only a few weeks ago, but this latest tragedy has made me realise once again how far removed we are, as consumers, from the production conditions of so many of the things we buy. There's a great opinion piece in today's Age newspaper, and one of the points made really struck a cord with me. The author states:

 

How much are my modern first-world luxuries dependent upon the dark satanic mills of a Dickensian global south? And if I would never buy battery hen eggs then why on earth would I buy clothes made in similar conditions?

Exactly. So that's my goal from now on - if I can't be making my own clothes (or those of Tyger) I shall be doing my utmost to make sure that the clothes I do buy are from companies whose workers get fair conditions and proper pay. I might not have a bulging wardrobe, but at least I won't have a guilty one.

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Monthly Menu Plan - April/May

Yay for autumn! There are so many things I love about this time of year - rugging up in coats and gloves, leaves fluttering to the ground in front of you like a golden blessing, shops all brightly lit on grey days. But one of the absolute best things is being in the kitchen, enjoying all the autumn produce.

I am a much bigger fan of hearty food than I am of salads and light things, so autumn cooking suits me right down to the ground. It's also much easier to be frugal in the kitchen this time of year, with all the pulses and grains coming in to play, which is awesome if you are watching the dollars. I love being able to grab an onion and some root vegetables from the grocer, then come home and rummage in the cupboard for some lentils and voila! Some tinned tomatoes and an hour later you have one awesome winter soup bubbling away on the stove. Just the thought of it makes me happy!

Yup. Soup. I could totally do autumn all year round!

Anyway, enough of that and my soup love - on to the menu plan.

Week One
Monday - Zucchini and pea risotto, topped with loads of parmesan and fresh rocket
Tuesday - Puy lentil, pasta and vegetable soup (an on the fly minestrone, if you like)
Wednesday - Tomato, spinach and potato dhal
Thursday - Pumpkin and silverbeet penne
Friday - Cauliflower and cheese soup with garlic bread
Saturday - Vegetable pasta bake
Sunday - Silverbeet and potato soup


Week Two
Monday - Roast chicken with vegetables
Tuesday - Pumpkin laksa, using left over roast chicken
Wednesday - Potato and leek soup with olive foccacia
Thursday - Chickpea and spinach curry with quinoa
Friday - Tofu burgers with wedges
Saturday - Spaghetti and meatballs with garden salad
Sunday - Spinach crepes with mushrooms


Week Three
Monday - Tuna shepherd's pie with salad
Tuesday - Silverbeet and cauliflower wraps
Wednesday - Sausage ragu with parmesan mash
Thursday - Curried sweet potato soup
Friday - Home made pizza with salad
Saturday - Chicken and pesto lasagne with salad
Sunday - Spiced carrot and coconut soup


Week Four
Monday - Sweet potato and ricotta cannelloni
Tuesday - Silverbeet and feta parcels with roasted tomatoes
Wednesday - Bacon, vegetable and lentil soup with crusty bread
Thursday - Roasted vegetable, chickpea and feta couscous with lamb chops
Friday - Zucchini pasta

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Totally awesome yarn interview

Hello everybody! Here today on Jorth we are interviewing these lovely balls of Sublime yarn. G'day, fellas! Although, now I look more closely, there aren't as many of you as when we first met. What's happening?

Yarn: Ya, dude, I know! Our numbers are being, like, totally depleted. It's pretty full on.

Interviewer: Tell us about it! There used to be 12 of you, but now we are down to 4! Can you explain that?

Yarn: It's like this Dapple dress, dude. Jorth is knitting like a maniac. Something to do with some shiz she was sprouting about getting it done in like, I dunno, 3 weeks or some crap? Anyway, she's blitzing through us like a gnarly dude carving up some air!

Interviewer: Wowsers! She certainly is knitting you up quickly, although you are yet to see the needles yet. How does that feel?

Yarn: I'm like, you know, totally missing my comrades and shiz, but I hope to join my brothers in yarn soon. She's like whacking through a ball a day. Soon we'll all be together dude! And, you know, we'll be a dress and shiz, but I'm cool with that. Handknits are like totally dope, bro!

Interviewer: Indeed! Well, thanks for joining us, and we'll be watching closely to see if Jorth can indeed get a dress knitted in 3 weeks.

Yarn: Laters, dude!

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Coconutty Jam Drops

I am a fiend - an absolute fiend - for coconut in baked goods. Cannot get enough of the stuff! So when Galumph and the Tyger decided to bake some jam drops on Sunday, I was all "YO! PUT SOME COCONUT IN DEM COOKIES, Y'ALL!"

I'm not sure why I hollering at them in an atrocious home girl accent, but it worked. They whacked in some coconut, and boy oh boy - are these things hot diggity dog delicious!!

Coconutty Jam Drops

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cup self-raising flour
2/3 cup desiccated coconut
1/3 cup raspberry jam

1 - Preheat oven to 180 C (or 170 C if fan forced). Line two trays with baking paper. Use an electric beater to beat the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until pale and creamy. Add the egg, and mix until combined.

2 - Sift the flour into the butter mixture, and add the coconut. Mix well to combine.

3 - Roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Place each ball onto a baking tray, leaving some room for the biscuits to spread. Flatten the biscuit slightly, then use a finger to poke an indentation into each biscuit. Fill the indentation with jam.

4 - Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. Cool on tray for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

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Beach

I'd forgotten how good it feels to get sand between your toes. And to breathe in briny, chilled air. To walk for miles, and not see anybody else. Just you, the ocean, your footprints. Which rapidly are reclaimed by the sea.

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