Spiced Rice is nice!

Tonight for dinner I made spiced rice, the best thing in the universe to make when you have leftover rice. It's simple to make, and while it takes a while to cook if you really want the flavours to infuse, it's really lots of 'leaving it to simmer'.

Spiced rice and turkish bread

INGREDIENTS:
500g mince meat
2-3 cups of leftover (cooked) rice
1 cup sultanas
100gm slivered almonds
4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 red capsicums, roughly chopped
750ml Vegeta vegetable stock (mixed to directions)
2 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp coriander seeds
1 bunch fresh coriander
Chilli to taste
Salt to taste if required

METHOD:
Brown the mince and garlic in a large pot and add spices, stir until fragrant. Add stock and bring to simmer. Remove the leaves from the fresh coriander and set aside, add the stems and roots to the pot. Add shallots and capsicum, simmer slowly for about 20 minutes then add the sultanas and half of the almonds. Add the rice and stir through, continue to simmer until stock has been absorbed. Top with remainder of almonds and coriander leaves to serve.

Beautiful blues.

I love pens. I love things made out of blue glass. I had new pens at home, I was shopping for blue glass to go with my grandmother's vase. A wonderful thing happened!

Blue glass vase/ pen holder

I found this in St Vincent de Paul for a mere $3! It's hard to see in the picture, but there are nice little flowers in relief on the glass. It really does catch the light most beautifully, and it's the perfect height for my favourite pens. I can see this being item number two in a massive 'blue glass' collection.

Shoe lasts.

What's a shoe last? It's awesome, that's what it is. But the actual definition would be: the solid form that is used to mould a shoe to the correct shape. These days they are made out of plastic, and that's nowhere near as cool as the old wooden one I picked up.

Wooden shoe last

Quirky, hey? I love the 6½F stamped on the side! I really think that things that have been worn and used, with thousands of tool marks on them like that have such a 'history' about them. They provide such warmth, especially in timber, and this piece has such gorgeous curves and surfaces.

This piece is a part of 'Project bookcase' as you may guess from the backdrop of books in the photo. The collection for this particular project won't ever be finished, I don't think! But it's nice to have one more thing to add to the collection.

Available at Doug Up On Bourke.

Electrostatic!

This is a dusty dear little house, there's lots of old things, we have timber floors, and there's that small matter of the busy roads close by. But it's all okay, we have a marvellous Dyson vacuum cleaner, and I recently discovered these little beauties!

Pledge Grab It electrostatic dusting cloths

If nothing else they are time saving, as they are very efficient at grabbing the dust rather than just moving it around. These ones are citrus scented, but the scent doesn't hang around. I'm not sure how good for the environment they are, but I managed to dust the whole house with just one cloth. I do have an electrostatic duster, but it just gets filthy and you have to replace it frequently. For my money, I'd rather the disposable cloth rather than the whole unit that has to be disposed of.

Fabulous first-aid.

Who can resist a bit of vintage glam? Not me! Absolutely mental about this ice pack that I bought last week on a random shopping trip- I was actually looking for a pen but these things happen, you know?

Robert Gorden Fabulous Ice Pack

How cute is it? So 50s! So glam! So "not now dear, I have a headache"! It's got pink and red love hearts on it an everything. It's that magical blend of uber-kitsch with function, my favourite. Now that I have the ice pack all I need is to somehow manage to emit that effortless glamour that goes with the look, right?

Fabulous Ice Pack by Robert Gorden available at Shack Homewares.

Delicate issues.

Nothing is more annoying than putting on a load of washing and not being able to find your delicates bag for your unmentionables (because of course we all always use that special little bag all of the time). I have managed to solve this problem completely! Check this out.

Delicates bag with magnetic bamboo clip

I bought these magnetic bamboo clips a couple of weeks ago, and have since found two uses for them. I simply clipped my delicates bag to the side of the washer/ dryer stack with the magnetic clip.

So far I have found it very handy, as I must admit that I am totally guilty of ruining bras and knickers by just chucking them in with the rest of the wash because I can't remember where I put the bag.Having the bag constantly within arms reach means that I can always find it, and keeping the clip on the side of the dryer means that I can just clip the bag back up when I pull the washing out of the dryer. Clever!

Sensational cedar.

Would you love to banish the manky, musty drawer smell without having to smell like a bucket of pot-pourri? Then here, ladies and gents, is your answer! (drumroll please...)

Cedar Blocks by Cedar Fresh

These handy dandy little fellows help prevent drawers from developing that musty smell and keep your clothes smelling nice and fresh. Unlike mothballs and scented drawer liners, these actually smell pretty damn nice! Not too girly for Michael's t-shirt drawer and not too allergy inducing for mine, unlike those little lavender sachets.

Bargain hunting for classy crockery.

You don't always have to spend a lot of money to be stylish. I am a first class bargain shopper (if I do say so myself) and I practically never pay full price for anything. Here are a couple of small items that both cost less then $2 each, but really make your table look a million bucks. Why serve sauces and condiments with a tea spoon out of a jar when you could present them so nicely!

Dipping sauce bowl and wooden serving spoon

The true difference between a nice table and a sensational table is really the company around it, however that doesn't mean that presenting a meal beautifully and with style is a wasted effort. The way that you show off your food is almost as important as the way that it tastes. People do almost as much eating with their eyes as they do with their tastebuds!

While there is something endearing about a slap-dash meal with a few good mates, there is nothing quite as satisfying as an amazingly presented dinner table. When it is evident that much effort and thought has gone in to the preparation of a meal and the setting of your table people really appreciate it, even if it's not conscious on their part. You need to spend a little time- not a lot of money- to create a table with 'wow'.

Make sure that you think about what kind of serving dishes you already have at home before you plan what you want to cook for your guests. If you don't have something nice to serve your meal on you have two choices; re-jig  your menu, or buy yourself some new serving-ware. I personally would re-jig the menu, because I'm a bit of a cheapskate.

A great collection of crockery is an amazing thing, and taking your time to collect it over years makes it even more satisfying. Relatively cheap 'basic white' serving platters and dishes are available at supermarkets and stores like K-Mart and Target, and are often on sale. Check in homewares stores whenever you see that big 'sale' sign out the front. I actually keep a 'wish list' of things that I would really love to own and wait until I see them on sale. When you see an opportunity to save, take it.

A great opportunity to build on your collection is when people ask you what you want for a gift. There's nothing wrong with asking for something that you really want! Let's face it, there are plenty of times you get a gift that you really don't like or will never use. When someone asks that magic question, be specific with what you want. Occasions like house-warming parties, anniversaries and engagement parties are great for this! Not to mention the wedding registry.

Never rule out thrift stores and op-shops! Some of the coolest serving dishes and crockery are to be found in your local Vinnies. There's nothing wrong with an eclectic table of purposely mismatched pieces, just make sure there is something to tie everything together such as a pattern, a colour or pieces of similar sizes and shapes. The hunt is the most fun bit!


Dipping sauce bowl available at Woolworths.
Small wooden serving spoon available from;
"Morning Tea", Shop 16a, 79 Sailors Bay Rd
Northbridge, NSW 2063 Ph: (02) 9958 2924

Matryoshkas made to measure.

Nothing is too kitsch for the dear little house kitchen! Who doesn't love a bit of functional kitsch in their lives? So when I found these little beauties they had to be mine. I can't even remember where I got them from but I'm starting to see them all over the place!

Measuring cups just like Russian matryoshka dolls! They measure 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 and 1 full cup. Quite a way to 'doll up' your kitchen (sorry, I couldn't resist) and to get the old measuring up out of the cupboard and in to the limelight. Well, maybe that's taking it a little bit too far, but I just find them too damn cute to shove in the drawer. They are living on the shelf next to my gluggle jug.

Designed by Fred.

Crazy about canisters.

My lovely retro kitchen canisters had a role as ensemble cast for a previous post about my crazy coffee clip gadget, but I think they deserve a post all their own. Inherited from my grandmother, these groovy canisters are a splash of kooky colour in the otherwise fairly drab top-of-the-fridge land.

Retro kitchen canisters

These are way cool and groovy man. To be honest, mostly they don't store what they are meant to, however Irish Breakfast tea (a must do with my morning Vegemite toast) does live in the tea one. Tea also lives in the flour one. And in the sugar one. Hey, I like to have a vast variety of different teas on hand! That's just the kind of tea-loving weirdo I am.

The rice one, however is home to the tin of milo. When you have a teeny weeny tiny kitchen like we do you need to come up with creative places to store things. The coffee one is empty at the moment, but knowing me I'll probably fill it with tea. Why not?

Magnetic.

Who said you have to use stuff for what it's supposed to be used for? I came across these magnetic bamboo bag clips and initially thought that they were stupid. Why would you need a bag clip with a magnet in it? So you can do something else with it, of course!

Formbu Bag Clips by Interdesign

They were cute and they were on sale. What can I say? I bought them to use as a handy magnetic clip that can do things like clip shopping lists and assorted notes up on the fridge, or hold a handy dandy pencil. This is also a neat way of creating an ever-changing display of kid's artworks or photographs. (Or bills. But that's not cool.)

Made from sustainably sourced bamboo they are good for the environment, and they look sleek and cool on my stainless steel fridge. The clips are big enough that they can hold heavier things such as the pencil, but still have enough grip to hold a teeny weeny scrap of paper.

I bought them at Howard's Storage World but you can source them online easily.

My Moo MiniCards arrived!

Oh wow, so excited! I ordered these a couple of weeks ago and I've been pee-my-pants excited about their imminent arrival ever since! I knew they would be cool because my photographer mate Rog had some a while back and they were rad, but these are beyond cool. They are awesome!

Moo MiniCards and MiniCard holder

Moo MiniCards are about half the size of a boring, regular business card and they are cute, quirky and eye-catching. Pretty much everything you'd want from a good promo tool. You can fully customise them and the process of uploading and ordering your cards is straight forward and fast.

There is the option to put up to 100 different images on a pack of 100 cards, thus giving people the option to choose their favourite image from the bunch- talk about a way to get people's interest! They are made from good quality card stock with a matte laminate (my favourite!!) so they are sturdy and professional looking. The packaging they come in is also super-cool and suave looking, great for popping straight on a display table at an event or on a counter in a shop. I also sprung the extra $5 for the MiniCard holder (pictured above attached to my keys) so that I would always have a cute collection of MiniCards with me.

Moo MiniCards are so reasonably priced with a fast turnaround and worldwide shipping. Can't go wrong! I almost can't wait for these ones to run out so I can order some more!

Bookcases and bobbins.

I like collecting odds and ends to display around the house, and the ongoing 'Project Bookcase' gives me reason to indulge this eclectic (or eccentric? totally mental?) past-time.

Old bobbin

The aforementioned 'Project Bookcase' is certainly a work in progress, and therefore I cannot give away too much! I need to collect many many more bits and pieces, not to mention change my mind about how everything is arranged!

The basic premise is that the books are grouped to create a display that has impact. Situated opposite the front door, they are the first things that you see upon entering our dear little house. If you're clever you might notice that the books behind the bobbin are arranged according to colour. This allows the bookcase to be an ever changing, colourful display of books and treasures. A bookcase should be interesting, it entices you to want to peruse the books in an idle moment (or even a really busy one when you'd much rather be curled up with a good book!).

I will continue to document the evolution of 'Project Bookcase' as it develops further.

Assorted bobbins available from Doug Up On Bourke.

Cool coffee clip.

Seems rather pointless, but also kind of cool. The Coffee Clip is a bag sealing clip that doubles as a scoop for your coffee.

Evriholder Coffee Clip and Scoop

The primary benefit is that the scoop is always with the bag. Sure, I could use a spoon, keep the scoop in the coffee bag, or even just pour the grounds straight from the bag. But that's nowhere near as fun as having a nifty little gadget to keep you amused.

I make a point of always having coffee grounds in the freezer just in case people pop by. This is also my excuse for always having biscuits in the cupboard. Handy excuse!

Available at Howard's Storage World and other retailers.

Happy Valentines Day! Measure your love.

I bought these a fair while ago now in a store in the back streets of Balmain, the name of which escapes me. So cute! And remarkably practical. Who can resist anything in graduating shades of pretty, pretty pink?

Love Heart Measuring Spoons by Lark

Makes baking all the more fun really! Lark also make a set of measuring cups to match, just in case you hadn't had your fill of cutesy and kitsch for the day. You can separate them as necessary and each one has the measurement clearly marked on it. Somewhat surprisingly they measure well, the love heart shape actually adding to the practicality by supplying a pointy end!

Wonderful WoodWick.

I discovered these great candles recently, and I must say I highly recommend them! They have a strong enough scent that it lingers nicely while managing to stay subtle enough that it doesn't overpower a room.

WoodWick Trilogy scented candle in 'Cafe Sweets'

No need to open the windows if a candle is burning! An added bonus with the WoodWick Trilogy candles is that there are 3 coordinated scents in the one candle, and you experience each scent as the candle burns through. The reason that the brand is called 'WoodWick' is because (drumroll please) the wick is made from wood. Apparently, it is supposed to make a comforting crackling sound not dissimilar to an open fire, but I didn't notice.

Available at Romantic Notions: 101 Longueville Road, Lane Cove NSW (02) 9427 6952

Dear little birdies.

Coasters; so many of them out there, so many of them ugly. Such an epic search for non-tacky coasters that would look spiffy on the coffee table. I ended up falling for these dear little birdie coasters that, while new, manage to emulate a vintage look.

Square ceramic coasters with bird designs

Unfortunately it was just about impossible to get a decent photo of these bad boys close up as the downlights in this room create too much glare on the gloss surface. (Don't worry, the downlights will go at the earliest possible convenience!) I guess there's a benefit to that in that you can now see how they pick up on the colours in the cushions.

There are a few tricks to blending contemporary with vintage, or indeed any 2 styles, and the main one is that one must be the 'underdog' so to speak. You can see a few subtle hints of the contemporary edge in this shot, the strange lettuce and the picture frames for example, but neither compete with the vintage pieces around them. In this image the evidence of the contemporary style may at first seem minimal, but when you consider the soft grey of the walls and the glitzy cushions you start to see more of it coming through.

Don't make the room a constant battleground of two competing styles, allow them to work together. Team big yet subtle with ornate and intriguing. Balance your furniture with your walls, ceiling, lighting and floors. If you try to make a statement with every piece you will loose all of them! The lesson here is; choose a dominant style and follow with complementary elements from the secondary style.

Coasters available at Romantic Notions, 101 Longueville Road, Lane Cove. Phone: (02) 9427 6952 ‎

Retro rag rug.

I guess these were popular in the 50s? Not sure to be honest, but they look to me like that's where they come from! I seem to have some vague childhood memory of wriggling my sandy toes on one of these rugs on my way in from a beach somewhere.

Rag rug up close

I picked this one up from Kmart for a mere $5. In fact, I'm so tempted to go back and grab a bunch more because I know that this one won't last forever. That's a good tip: if you find something reasonably priced that you love get more than one, it will keep for when the first generation is worn out.

The rag rug adds a nice splash of colour to the floor without being overstated and it serves the purpose of doormat pretty darn well. The best thing about this decorator's dream is that it goes with everything all at once because it's so colourful. It really works well with the warm timber floorboards.

Sweet, sweet storage.

It's funny how you go to the shops with the intent of buying one thing, and come out with a bunch of completely awesome things that are totally unrelated to the thing that you went to buy in the first place. In this instance, I went to buy a shower cap and came home with a storage jar. Go figure!

Maxwell & Williams Olde English Storage Jar

I filled it up with Daim chocolates from IKEA for a nice colour splash on the kitchen bench. I like the chunky 'old school' style of the jar, especially as it goes well with my spice jars.

The reason that it works well with the Daim chocolates is because they are small, and uniform in size and are a bright 'statement' colour. If the aim is to have one element make a statement (in this case the colour) then the others must 'take a back seat' and let the boldness of the colour take over.

This kind of grouping would be less successful if the bright red things in the jar were all different shapes and sizes. Different shapes and sizes can look good in a more open space such as on a bench or shelf, but in the confinement of the jar there must be some agreement by the items to work together.

Today's lesson is; If you want to go bold there should be some element of uniformity.

Jar available from Giving and Living and other retailers.

Simply Slice Strawberries.

I couldn't resist this purchase for only $3. Then of course I had to go and buy strawberries just so I could use the strawberry slicer.

MSC Simply Slice Strawberry Slicer

It was surprisingly satisfying, actually. It did save me a lot of time and it was easy to use. If it was more than $3 I would say it wasn't worth it- let's face it it's not like sliced strawberries feature on the menu daily- but at that price it's a good buy. The store I bought it was was getting rid of it because they were having trouble shifting them, but they are readily available online.

Whip it good.

This is my Swift Whip hand mixer. It was made in the 1930s and still whips better than any egg beater in town! In fact, they still use the exclusive ball drive system today.

Swift Whip by Propert Housewares

I bought it at Rozelle Markets a number of years ago for around $12 and they still pop up fairly regularly. If you're not in to the whole vintage thing but you're still looking for a great hand mixer, well don't worry because Propert still make one based on the same design!

Shake it up!

Salad is hands down my favourite thing to cook in my dear little house, mainly because I'm so good at it! (Seriously, I am.) That is why I was so excited to find this little gem.

Kuhn Rikon Vase Whisk

This is at least the second greatest thing ever invented*. It's for mixing up your salad dressing, and boy-oh-boy does it shake it up! In fact, not only does it shake it up, it's so awesome it emulsifies! So far superior to the 'leaky plastic container' salad dressing shaker, or the old 'reused vegemite jar' that becomes impossible to open once you've got olive oil from the dressing all over it. It can go from kitchen to table so that everyone can dole out their ideal amount of salad dressing (great at our house because I tend to be an 'over-dresser'). Dishwasher safe too, so it's a breeze to clean.

Available at Peters of Kensington and other retailers.


*For the record, I pretty much refrain from saying that anything is the best thing ever in case there's something that is the greatest thing ever and I forgot about it or didn't know it existed yet.

Gone fishin'

It's not true, I haven't gone fishing at all. I just caught these tadpole poles on their way to the skip bin! One of the many awesome things that I have 'rescued' from garbage bins and roadsides all around Sydney.

Scavenged and salvaged; wooden wonders

I actually liberated almost everything in this photo from a skip bin. Public schools that are being closed down or refurbished are a treasure trove of sturdy yet worn pieces, believe me I have loaded up the mini-van numerous times. The vase is just a plain glass cylinder vase from a discount store, and it just has smooth river pebbles and various collected seed pods and giant gumnuts in the bottom. The little birdy is a Hanging Heron from Have You Met Miss Jones.

The first aid cabinet is supercool, I love the message "ALL INJURIES MUST BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY".  It was pretty worse for wear when I picked it up, and the top of it was covered in some nasty grease that was in turn coated with dust. I gently cleaned it with soapy water and then needed to give it a rub over with some eucalyptus oil to remove the last of the sticky grease. I had to be careful not to get that on the labels though, as that would cause them to peel off. I gave it a rub down with orange oil and now it's beautiful!

Talk about quirky interior decorating ideas!

Bamboozled.

I bought these bamboo utensils with holder and they look simply smashing! Bamboo utensils not only look great, but they don't damage your non-stick pans, and bamboo is also known to have antibacterial properties.

Maxwell & Williams Bamboozled 6 piece set

Kitchen utensils like stirring spoons and servers are things that you use often and thus are best kept close to the stove. Make sure that your most frequently used utensils are near at hand by getting them out of the drawer and on to the bench, it makes sense to have utensils that are not only functional but look good too.

I bought them from homewares store Giving and Living, who stock all kinds of wonderful things and are having a big clearance sale at the moment. You can visit them in store at 146 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove, alternatively they have online shopping through their website(see link above).

Fantastic fresh flowers.

Nothing lifts the mood of a house like fresh flowers, and it makes just about any room look like a stylist for an interior design magazine has staged it for a photo shoot.

Heavenly hydrangea flowers

I really like to have a bunch of fresh flowers in the house all the time if I possibly can. Today I picked up this beautiful bunch of hydrangeas from our local florist Indulge Floral Design, who always have gorgeous flowers and arrangements. Usually I stick to white flowers because any coloured flowers look terrible against the dark tone of the blue wall, but the tones in these Antique Green hydrangeas compliment the blue paint nicely.

Stinky sponges.

Years ago I discovered a way to prolong the life of your kitchen sponges, kill some icky germs, and stop the sponges from stinking up the kitchen sink.

Milton soluble tablets

Once a week after I clean the kitchen I soak the sponge and the washing up brush in the sink with Milton solution for an hour or so. It kills bacteria that can live in the sponge and also makes them smell nice and clean. I abhor manky sponges, and I was replacing them way too often before I decided to try this out.

Milton is available from pharmacies.